Silver Rose

A Way Over

Kyrin sat down in front of the wall. She slowly created a strong searching spell.

“Search for a subject strong in the ways of dark magic.” She whispered as she wove the spell. “One who the wall protects from outsiders. One who loathes the human race. One who will join me in the destruction of the humans who live within this wall.”

The completed spell flashed a blinding bright white. Kyrin had never seen what her spells looked like before. She felt even more powerful.

“And one more thing… make sure the subject is no where near as powerful as I am. I want a subject, not a master. There’s no need for a power struggle.” She added. “Now, go on swift wings and do not return unless you are bringing the subject back with you.”

The spell, in the shape of a slender bird, flew up parallel to the wall. Somewhere high up was the top of the wall. The searching spell flew over it. Kyrin let out a sigh. The first part was done. She wondered how long it would take the spell to find a subject. Who or what would the subject be? What could she do while she was waiting? She briefly recalled praying when she was a child. She would pray to the god of the universe, the god of everything while she waited. The fairies simply called Him “He Who Is” since He always was and always would be. Kyrin knew that He Who Is would not like what she was doing. He loved all His creations, even humans. The fact that He truly loved humans made Kyrin extremely angry. Grandmother Rafzen had told her that He Who Is created the magical creatures first. He created the world and all the creatures in it. Then He made the humans. And the magical creatures were supposed love Him; and love and protect the humans and other creatures.

Some of the creation turned against Him. Because He Who Is was eternal good, justice and love those who turned their backs on Him become the opposite. They were evil.
Kyrin covered her ears. She felt like the wall was speaking to her. It tried to tell her the real reason it had been created. She stood up. It tried to tell her that it hadn’t been created to protect the magical creatures. She ran away from the wall. She ran far from it until she couldn’t hear what it was saying.
In the absolute silence of the magical realm, Kyrin convinced herself that the wall was lying. She pushed aside the knowledge that only truth was shown in the magical realm. She pushed aside all thoughts of He Who Is. She pushed aside everything the wall had said.






Kyrin sat in the magical realm for a long time. While she waited for the searching spell to return she plotted. She decided on the best course of action to take in destroying the lands up to the wall. She decided to wait until the destruction of the people inside the wall was set in motion before moving the Landon army toward that part of the world. She might allow them to take some land near what they already had, but they couldn’t touch the nations that were near the wall. That meant countries that bordered the wall’s outside and those next to the bordering countries. The closer they got to the wall, the more powerful the nations became. She couldn’t risk these countries feeling threatened and uniting against her army.
Although her army was strong, she knew little about the technology and skills of the countries to the west. She couldn’t risk discovering that they were significantly more powerful on the battlefield. There was little room for mistakes.

Kyrin still feared the day when other magical creatures would discover what was really going on. She didn’t know what they thought right now. As far as she could tell most didn’t suspect that this was anything more than an army of creatures acting on their own. Those who lived in this world might be suspicious of the motive and the short amount of time it took the army to form and begin to take over. Then again, unless they had ever been to the Forbidden Mountains, (which was very doubtful) they wouldn’t know if the army had been around for a day or a thousand years.

Yes, the magical creatures of this world might feel that something was amiss, but they’d probably shrug it off as shock and fear from the sudden appearance of the army. Those in other worlds, like the Fauyen world and the elven worlds, may not even be aware of what was going on. If they were they probably didn’t care since (as far as they knew) this was a war that had nothing to do with them.

“As long as they think that, I am safe,” Kyrin thought to herself. “As soon as they find out that a magical creature is behind all of this, they will act.”

Kyrin closed her eyes as the words of the wall came back to her: The wall was created to protect the humans. If it hadn’t been created, the magical creatures would have killed the humans. He Who Is and the creatures loved the humans so much that they could not kill them to stop them. So the wall was created with the blessing of He Who Is to protect the life on this world from each other. When the magical creatures left this world they forgot their purpose, and the truth.

Kyrin let the thought run through her one last time. Then she pushed this thought and He Who Is away from her forever.

Like lightening, she felt a black-ness, hard and cold, clutch her heart. It gripped her with a force that was never going to let go. She didn’t care. In fact, she welcomed it. The darkness blotted out anything that would try to deter her from her path, her curse.

Kyrin realized she was no longer alone. Opening her eyes, she saw her searching spell floating in front of her. Next to it stood a glossy black figure. It seemed to be no shape and yet many shapes all at once. Kyrin stood.

“Who are you?” She asked it.

“I am Shad,” it said in a voice that sounded like the soft clink of many drinking glasses tapping each other.

“What are you?” Kyrin asked.

“I am exactly what you need.”

Kyrin smiled.

“You have done well. Your search is over.” She told the searching spell. Its purpose complete, the spell slowly faded away until it was nothing but a dim ember.

“The spell has told me everything,” Shad said. “I was created to destroy and I have waited over 400 years for a time such as this.”

“Four hundred years is a long time to be dormant.”
Shad laughed.

“It is a long time, but I was never dormant… only watching and waiting. After my dark lord, my master, was defeated, he gave his soul to me. He knew that one day a powerful darkness would come back. That would be the day that we would rise again.”

“Who defeated your master?” Kyrin asked.

“A fairy and a charmint,” Shad replied.

Kyrin didn’t know of any records of a Fauye fighting in the human world. That meant it was probably a Riea, easily defeated if it was still around. Charmints only lived about two hundred years, so that was long gone. Hopefully, there wasn’t any more opposition by magical creatures. But it was encouraging to know that the fairy and charmint were unable to kill this dark lord.

“Is your master with you?” Kyrin asked.

“His mind is apart of mine and therefore he can use me to speak for him, but physically he is not here. The Dark Lord is trapped within the walls of my home… his cage. He can never leave it.”

“Oh, I’m sure there is a way. What is your master?”

“He is a sorcerer, a very powerful one. He once ruled all of Brovan, Eknosh, and Adger together.”

“Adger? I do not think I remember that country’s name.”

“It is a very small country north of Eknosh… outside of the wall. It is where my lord is from. The country is surrounded by mountains. This isolation from the rest of the world has made it a wonderful place for those of… of a higher standard to call home.”

Kyrin raised an eyebrow as she wondered what Shad meant. Shad chuckled.

“In other words, it is a breeding spot for witches, wizards, and those who study sorcery. Adger is the only country in the human world that appreciates the magician’s work. It is a haven for magic.”

“I am surprised I have never heard of it.”

“Most human maps don’t even have it on them. They fear to even speak the name. By now, unless they are part of the government, most people have reduced the existence of Adger to a legend.”

“Don’t the people of Adger ever leave their country?”

“Rarely. They are not like you. They are still human and can be killed like any other. They are usually persecuted and murdered when they are discovered in another country. The best they can do is go undetected as a hermit or become a magician in a royal court.”

Kyrin nodded her head,
“I see. I think I may visit Adger someday.”

“They would warmly welcome someone who has mastered so much dark power as you have,” Shad said.

Kyrin smiled at the compliment. Suddenly, her mood changed.

“Now we must move on. I need to figure out how to bring down the countries within the wall.” Kyrin said.

“You may want to know that my master and I have already set a plan in motion to rock the foundation of one of the countries. But it can be used to not only destroy the country, but those around it,” Shad said.

“Really? What country?”

“Brovan. It is the country my master was defeated in. He has wanted to be rid of the family that has ruled it since his demise for centuries.”

“What makes your master think he can do that now?”

“One of his descendants is in Brovan with us. We share living quarters. She is angry and vengeful. My master has been carefully feeding that anger so that it has turned to pure hate.”

“And what will you do with her?” Kyrin asked eagerly.

Shad chuckled.
“She was raised a witch. Then when she came to Brovan she put all of that aside to be a normal human. Do you want to know why she has now changed her mind?”

“That isn’t necessary. All I need to know is what she will do to bring about Brovan’s demise.”

“Right now the circumstances are in our favor to put her in a position that would eventually give her political power. Once there, she will get rid of the DeLaney’s, the royal family, and rule in their place. We can send for people from Adger, without telling them why so they can get past the wall. Then together, they will take over all those lands, killing anyone who gets in their way.”

Kyrin thought about Shad and his master’s plan for a long time. Shad didn’t seem to mind the wait.

“If I agree to this,” Kyrin finally said, “what’s in it for you?”

“My master will have his revenge and you will spare Adger and its people from your curse. Also, you must be available to help my master if he ever needs it.” Shad said.

“That is easily done. Let us take action then Shad. I will send you Flike. He is a bird of my world and he will oversee what you do. If you need anything you will tell him and he will let me know.”

“I do not think we need someone to watch us.”

“Flike will only make sure things go smoothly. As a bird, he has more freedom than you and he can spot trouble before you may notice it. There is no point in making this more complicated than it needs to be.”

“You’re words are wise. But it is only a bird and we must treat it as one.”

“Although he will go under any guise you choose, you must remember to treat Flike with respect. He is a friend of mine and he will report to me every so often.”

“I understand he can see more, but I still don’t think we need him to watch what we do.”

Kyrin knew Shad and the dark lord were resisting her first request. They needed to understand who was in charge and they needed to know that now.

“Your vengeance is apart of mine,” Kyrin begin. “We will bring down these countries because I want them destroyed. When you joined me you became subject to me.
“You are no where near as powerful as I and you know it. Do not toy with me! If you test me, you will feel my wrath! I want this done in my name. That way it will be apart of my curse. You will tell the humans that the Lady Kyrin brings this upon them. You may rule the lands within the wall after the humans are dead. You may enslave some if you wish, but eventually they too must die. After you have fulfilled all that I ask of you, you are no longer under my hold. Only then will I tell you how to get out of your cage, dark lord.”

“You know how to release me?!” Shad cried.

“Yes, but I will not tell you until the deed is done.”

“You have my complete loyalty Lady Kyrin.” Shad said.

“Good. Because if you betray me, I will personally
kill every inhabitant of Adger. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Lady Kyrin.”

“I will send Flike to you shortly,” Kyrin said, calmly. “Tell me, where are you at?”

“We are in Akinsis, the capital, in the palace. We live in the highest tower in the west wing,” Shad said.

“Very good. You may tell Flike all the details of your plan.” Kyrin said. “To seal the deal, find out what her greatest desire is and I will grant it.”

“And I suppose I must tell Filick what it is.”

Kyrin rolled her eyes.
“Yes, tell Flike.”

Kyrin hoped that because Flike was an animal he’d be able to get passed the wall. She was pretty sure that even if he had thoughts of annihilating all humans, the wall would recognize that one animal could not do that.

She said farewell to Shad and watched him walk in the direction of the wall. His master was used to doing what he pleased. Being under someone else’s hand would be a tough adjustment, but Kyrin was sure he’d soon see that the benefits far outweighed any pride he might try to hold on to.

Satisfied with the way things were going, Kyrin left the magical realm. She sat in the dark room for a long time, pondering her next move. Finally, she went out and announced her return (for she had been gone for three months. Time barely moves in the magical realm.) She was gladly welcomed back by her subjects. The Kandors had been fighting each other for power and were on a downward spiral since she had left. Kyrin quickly restored order by putting to death any who opposed her return to the throne. She sent Flike out to Brovan. Then she busied herself making sure that the Kandors and their army were in top shape.

Kyrin knew it would take Shad, his master, and the girl at least a few years before they could shake the government of Brovan. But she wanted to be ready at a moments notice to march the army toward that area.

She sent a bottle with a beauty potion when Flike told her that was the girl’s greatest desire. After that, it would be eight years before Shad needed her assistance. And this time it was because they were ready to begin taking over the country.