One day a wizard and his student were walking through the moors learning about the world around them. At that time the kingdom that they were protecting was in danger of war between their neighboring kingdom. As the wizard talked and the student listened, they decided to take a break. As the student, who's name was Elijah, talked to the wizard about his secret love for the princess of the land. At that time in that kingdom, wizards were scorned upon for their recent failure in trying to prevent the war, and therefore, a marriage, love, or even a word with his love was an impossibility.
The wizard Aslack, had lived in the kingdom of KeeNell all of his life...and had served King Roughbeard for many years. Aslack was not a perticularily good wizard..but he was a strong wizard, and that was what the King liked about him. If it were not for the Kings protection Aslack would have surely been killed already, for the people blamed him for their recent failures in the war with their neighboring kingdom of Bruteck. The Bruteck's were a cruel people..trying for decades to enslave all the people of KeeNell. Two years earlier the Bruteck's sent hired men over to try and kill the wizard Alsack..but fortunaly they underestimated his power and did not succeed. It scared Aslack into getting a young apprentice..just in case he was not as successful in defending himself. He did not want all his power to die with him. Elijah prooved to be quick at learning the trade but his inexperience was painfully obvious to the old wizard. Aslack had taken young Elijah to the castle once or twice when he was summond to the King,and once he caught him starring at the Kings daughter, Princess Deela. Weeks later when the young apprentice professed his love for the Princess the Wizard angrily told him his place in the world, and that the Princess was already promised to another. Elijah still hoped in his heart that someday he would be able to pledge his love for her. That day came sooner then he thought.
It was just before sunrise when the whole world was silent..that there was a knock upon their door. It was a summons from the King..there had been another attack of the Bruteck. It took them only minutes to prepare themselves and go straight to the king. When they arrived, the King received them in his bedroom. The King was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. As they entered he jumped up and ran to Aslack.."They have taken my daughter..you must help me get her back!!" Elijah's heart plummeted to the floor. The King went on to explain that she had simply disappeared from her bed during the night..and that some sort of magic must have been used. The wizard promised the King that he would help bring her back and that all would be well, but as they left the room Elijah could feel the tension in his mentor. A fear crept in his soul that maybe this task was going to be too much, even for Aslack.
Even so, the king bade Aslack to travel to Bruteck to rescue his daughter. Elijah begged to travel alongside him, but Aslack knew that if there was no one to protect KeeNell the Brutecks would surely seize the oppurtunity to wage war on it's helpless citizens. "But sir," pleaded Elijah. "I must go, I may never get to see her again, and with her in danger, I will surely go mad!!" Finally, Aslack let his softer side take over and bade him farewell with his blessing.
So, armed with a sword, and an abudance of goodwill from his only friend, Elijah, who had never ventured out of KeeNell before, set off on a long journey made longer by his constant worry that he would be too late and they would have done something awful to her. Meanwhile, Aslack summoned up his powers and watched his young friend, whom he often thought of as his own son, walk off into the forest which separated KeeNell from Bruteck. After a morning's walk, he stopped by a beautiful pond to rest. As he stayed and watched this place, he became more and more enchanted by it's beauty. Then, almost out of nowhere, a beautiful unicorn seemed to walk up to him. He decided to keep it and ride it to Bruteck.
So there is Elijah, wandering the roads of the forest with only the unciorn as company. It was easy for even his skill at magic to discover that the men who took the princess were on there way to the castle in Bruteck. So off he rode his beautiful white unicorn till he reached the outer edge of the forest. There he dismounted and bid goodbye to the beautiful beast..for he did not want it to be captured and ensnared by the evil Brutecks. It only took him an hour to walk to the village that surrounded the castle. As he entered the small village he raised his hood over his head to conceal his idenity. Then he entered the nearest tavern and sat to hear the news. All around him he heard people talking of the beautiful Princess that had come in tied onto a horse earlier..and then one man stood up and shouted above the crowd that he was the guard who would be watching over her that night. As the man sneered, Elijah clenched his hands into fists until every muscle in his body hurt, until a plan came to mind..a way to save the princess. He waited until he saw the man get up and swagger to the door, and before anyone could notice his movement he slipped out behind him. Before the man had even takin two lungfuls of air, Elijah had grabed him from behind and dragged him behind the tavern. Once there, he took the man's cape and royal crested armor from him and put it on. Quicky he grabbed the keys and took off for the palace. He knew deep in his heart that anything could go very wrong for him, but he also knew that he had to try, and this was his one chance. As he entered the castle he felt a sense of forbodding, but then another knight came up to him and said,"You are late for your duty as usual Sigurd, you better run before the captain comes." Elijah felt pleased that he had fooled the guard at the castle gate and that gave him the strength to continue. Down the long hallway he walked until he saw a set of stairs that looked like they were winding down to the center of the earth. Down, down he went until he saw another guard that opened a huge metal gate and said,"Hurry up there young fellow the captain is coming!" Inside was a laberenth of tunnels so Elijah turned back and said quietly, " Where is the princess being kept?" "Straight down the hallway to the left, it is the last cell. Only the best for Royality" the guard sneered. So down the hallway he went, as he got closer he could hear a woman crying, and knew he must be close. The guard at the end of the tunnel was pacing back and forth. "You sure took your time about coming! Better do the cell check now, before the captain comes." grumbled the angry guard as he opened the door. Inside the cell it was dark, but in the far cornor he could see deep blue eyes looking back at him. As he took a few steps forward he heard the gates to the cell grind and then slam shut, followed by evil laughter. "I have caught you Aslack..you fool! Did you think it would be that easy?" Elijah turned and saw the face of King Rundell of Bruteck. "You were outwitted my friend!" he continued. But soon his evil grin was replaced by a look of great anger.."You! Why were you sent? I guess your Father doesn't value you as much as I thought he did my girl, pitty, enjoy your new home boy, for the few days you both have left alive!" Then the old King turned and stormed away, angry that he had been foiled in his attempt to capture the powerful wizard. Elijah turned and walked over to the sobbing woman and said," Are you ok my lady? Did they hurt you?" "No", she whispered,"They did not hurt me, I just want to go home. Do you think he will kill us?" "I don't know princess, but if I can think of a way I will get us both out of here."he said sounding more confident then he felt. So, he thought, they really wanted to trap Aslack. No wonder the King was so angry. Outside somewhere in the night sky, the moon shone down and far away the wizard Aslack knew that something had gone wrong.
Aslack knew deep in his heart that everything was not right with Elijah. He decided after careful consideration to use his dwindling powers to see where Elijah was and how he fared. He crept up dark winding staircases until he reached his secret room, that not even Elijah was ready to know about. He unvailed an intricately designed glass ball and conjured up an image of his dear friend. He was in a dark room, with a very beautiful woman, the princess. The aura in the room was red, black, and blue. Fear, sadness, and death was in the air. The old wizard, exhausted from his excursion, fell asleep on the floor, promising himself that as soon as he regained his energy, he would help them...somehow. Meanwhile, Elijah was in a point of desperation. Never had he known pressure this big. Not only was the king's faith riding on him, but the fate of himself and this woman that he loved, and the admiration of Aslack, whom he looked up to more than anyone in the world, and his fate, for they would catch him if he didn't warn him soon. He could see no way out of this room, and his powers were so lacking that he didn't see a way to escape. He was now wondering why he didn't let Aslack go in the first place. After hours of silent thinking, it was Deela that broke the silence. "Who are you?" She said, for she had neither heard of him or seen him staring at her. "I am Elijah. I am an apprentice wizard to Aslack."
"So why didn't my Father send Aslack? Now we will both surely die." she sobbed. "I am sorry my lady..it was my fault, I begged him to let me go." Elijah whispered. "Why? Did you wish to die then?"she spat,"Why did you have to drag me down with you? I don't want to die." Then she fell to the floor weeping. Elijah, who was unable to bare the sound of her despaire knelt down beside her and said,"No, my lady, I did not want to die, I just couldn't bare the tought of you dead. It would have killed me." The princess stopped weeping and looked up and saw his deep brown eyes filled with unshed tears. This gave him the courage he needed to continue,"Ever since I saw you in your Fathers castle, I knew I loved you..yet I also know that it could never be. I'd rather have lived know that you were alive and well with someone else, then dead and alone here." "You know even if we wern't going to be killed in a few days, it could never be, Father has promised me to someone else. Only to gain a huge army of course, but our Kingdom needs it desperatly." she replied,"I always knew that my life was never my own, and that love would not be an important part of it. I...I know you only say these things to me because you know we will never make it out if here alive..and that really scares me." "Don't worry Princess, Aslack will save us, I know him, and I bet that he is preparing a plan to resure us right now." So there they were, huddled in the cornor of the cold cell, as miles away from them Aslack started to awaken. "How will I help them to escape the prision?" he thought. No one has ever escaped the deep cells of Bruteck. His strength was slowly returning, and with the strenght came a plan, it could work if planned out carefully. An hour after, his horse was loaded with supplies and he was ready to go, all the way to Bruteck for the great escape. After days in the forest he soon reached the edge of the forest just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. It would be a good day, a very good day indeed. So into the beautiful sunrise he rode..within a few hours the young couple would be on there way home..or they would all be in the cell waiting to die.
Aslack rode through the forest warily, but hurriedly. The sun shone brightly and there was an aura of aliveness in the air, but Aslack felt fearful. He stopped at a beautiful pond to water his horse. As he watched, it seemed like a beautiful unicorn came up out of the water. As he left the pond, the unicorn followed, until just before the city limits. Then it left as if he had let it loose. He hid his horse and pulled his hood over him. Through the city, he walked with a purpose. He knew exactly where he was going. Bruteck and KeeNell used to be best friends, until the wars, and he's spent many days there. He used his powers to get through the maze of tunnels, and to get past the guards. He reserved his powers for extenuating circumstances, and he figured this qualified. When he got to the cell he tried to get in, but all of a sudden four pairs of hands grabbed him and roughly threw him in the cell. "There you go. The king will be pleased." yelled one of the guards. Aslack turned around to face a shocked Elijah and Deela. Elijah immediately knew what it meant and hid his face in his hands. The less informed princess demanded to know immediately who he was. "I am Aslack, the master wizard of KeeNell." "So there's no protection now for KeeNell?" asked Deela. "No."
As Elijah looked closer at the old wizard he could see a grin spread across his face."What is it my Lord?" Thinking that maybe he'd got mad. "The fools,"Aslack sneered with contempt,"they forgot to take my most powerful weapon" He lifted up his cape and there was the crystal ball, full of all it's power. As the old man held it, it began to glow. Soon the cell was filled with the light, it was the light of hope. Up to the door of the cell he walked with the glowing orb perfectly balanced on his fingertips. "What we see as light, they will see as darkness..we will walk right out of here.Stand by me now you two." The young couple moved right along side him as he whispered the ancient language and gazed at the door. Then there was a crunch and a grind and then a boom as the door slammed open, knocking the guard against the wall. They quickly jumped over the unconcious man and back down the tunnel. Then the sound of men approaching made Aslack stop and tell the others to press against the wall. Sight he could control, but if they were touched by any of the passing guards they were surely doomed. As the man went by the trio didn't even breath, but once they were past, they ran. All the way up the long stairway, and out throught the front gates. The dark night hid there silent but hasty departure. Before sunrise they were all standing at the edge of the forest, each knowing they were now very close to home.
As they entered the forest, they saw the Unicorn, she appeared out of the mist. "It is time Aslack" it said with a soft female voice. "No, not yet..my apprentice still needs me. He must have more time to learn his skills." Elijah looked bewildered at the unicorn and then Aslack. The Princess who had heard all the tales of this beautiful beast knew what would happen next. She sat down on the grass, and looked away from the heartwrenching scene. "Where are you taking him?"Elijah asked the unicorn. "It is his time to join the others who have the magic in their hearts. You have that magic Elijah, you will be a good wizard. Go back to the castle, and serve your King in his time of need. My bussiness is with Aslack and he will not be joining you." "Go on boy, remember all that I taught you, and maybe you will become immortal to someday," said Aslack "it is now your time boy, take the Princess back to her Father." The Wizard climbed up on the Unicorn's back and then took the glowing orb from under his cape and said," One more thing boy, you will need this to protect the Kingdom" Elijah stepped forward and carefully took the crystal ball and put it in his cape. When he looked up all he could see was the unicorns tail disappearing through the trees. "Come Princess, we must hurry to the palace..where you will be safe." Although she was very tired she got up, took his hand and began the trip, without the old wizard, home.
The journey was long and saddening. Every step Elijah took he knew he was
one step farther away from where he saw his only friend for the last time.
Deela could sense his pain and was debating whether to talk to him or to
just stay quiet and go home. Her head was still spinning from when he told
her he loved her. No one had ever loved her, excluding her father. It was
always just duty. She decided to talk to him.
"Are you alright?" she asked hesitantly.
"I think so." answered Elijah.
But then maybe he didn't want to talk after all. She decided then to keep
quiet and be thankful that he loved her at all.
When they got to the beautiful pond where Elijah had first seen the
unicorn, he couldn't take it any longer. He sat down and put his head in
his hands. He wasn't crying, he just looked lost. Deela decided to do what
she always thought she could do, if anyone had ever let her. She knelt down
beside him and comforted him.
"Aslack was the only friend I had." he said. "I had no real family, my
first memory is in the streets being hungry. Then Aslack found me and
decided that I would make a good replacement wizard for him."
After he had gotten everything out that he wanted to say, he decided to
focus on Deela now. He put her on the horse that they had, and led her
through the forest.
As they got to the gates of the kingdom, they knew that something was
wrong. Everything was quiet. Elijah, knowing what this could mean, took
Deela off of the horse and got in front of her. They walked through the
gates, and into a valley of burned down houses, everyone gone. They walked
through in awe.
"Aslack knew this was going to happen, he sacrificed his kingdom for you,
Elijah." said Deela.
They walked toward the palace and, after seeing the sorry state it was in,
decided that no one would be there.
"We have to get out of here and find my father." said Deela, not quite
aware of what was happening.
"Your father's dead. He would have been the first one they killed."
"No he's not!" yelled Deela.
Elijah took her by the hand and pulled her away from this scene, knowing
that wherever they would go, he would protect her.
