Guardian - Rise of the Gods, Chapter 2

 

CHAPTER 2

Soulamir Realm

3rd Realm

 

At the very same time in cosmic existence, on the Soulamir Realm, or third realm of the Kuboran Galaxy, a watcher observes a figure emerging from behind the old gnarled oak on Ridges Hill. From the watcher’s viewpoint, the figure is seen wearing a brown dress of armour fitted to her body with flowing skirts of brown and gold stitching forming elegant designs and patterns. Her hair is raven black, flowing to her shoulders, and set deep into the platinum band surrounding her head is a large purple amethyst stone. But it is her piercing emerald eyes that draw in the watcher.

The visitor to the realm is High Duce of Wisdom, Mursulla, first elder of the Korninti race who finds herself standing in the middle of a glowing field. She pauses, surveying her surroundings. Studying further, she realises she is not looking upon flowers, but yellow and pink jammenflies, small winged insects only found on the Soulamir Realm. Flapping their fragile wings, they depart the ground, rising upwards, their wing movement slowing as if they are hardly moving. Mursulla stares at the spectacle until the jammenfly wings return to their normal speed and depart, leaving trails of pink and yellow dust behind them. Placing her hands gently through the trails of dust, she smiles. Rarely did she venture into the Soulamir Realm, but when she did, its beauty never failed to amaze her. 

She heard a calling, only audible to her, and was drawn to the Soulamir Realm to make sense of it. At first, all seems at peace, but instantly, on the departure of the jammenflies, an unsettling sensation hits her. There is magic in the air, and the space behind her crackles.   Turning, she catches sight of the bright flash of light streak across the sky. It disappears as quickly as it appeared, but she instantly knows what it means. The realm she is now in has been sealed shut from the other side on the Cosmic Pathway. No casting spell or power of any kind can open it from within. The Soulamir Realm can now only be entered from outside. The reaction triggers a moment of disbelief as who would trap her, the High Duce of Wisdom, within the Soulamir Realm.  

Mursulla’s thoughts immediately turn to her sister Soulep, her fellow elder, High Duce of Strife, both being the most powerful of the four Korninti elders. Together, the essence of each elder fuses into their home on Uis-Valla, and flows out through the Cosmic Pathway onto each realm, ensuring a balance between order and chaos. Should her sister have been somehow compromised like she has, then, the very fabric of existence between the realms will be altered. Her fellow elders, Garab Té, High Duce of Healing, and Sarek, High Duce of Love, cannot maintain stability alone. Mursulla fears the outcome for all life on every realm. Keeping cosmic balance is the very reason why the Korninti exist and have done so since the birth of the Kuboran Galaxy.

Stepping forward a few paces, her eyes fall onto the plains of grasslands rolling out before her. The peace settles her thoughts a little, but she feels alone. No longer sensing her home or her people or any other realm, her mind is small, confined only to this world. Her connection has been severed. The feeling of not being able to sense the fabric of life, the cosmos itself, is unsettling, and she is unsure of the new feeling that is now coursing through her body. Control is leaving her rapidly.

The image of Gornus looms in her thoughts. The Korninti elders have been monitoring his movements of late and his many off-realm trips. It is not against Korninti law to travel to other realms, but it is prohibited to interfere with life on those worlds. That is the founding principle of their laws. The Korninti are always to remain hidden, and should not interact with other forms of life. Their existence has always been unknown. Gornus serves as a member and head of the senior council, a level two within the hierarchy of the Korninti. The senior council act as advisors to the elders, and with that come many privileges and influence among the Korninti. Mursulla and her sister Soulep have not humoured Gornus and his ambition to have the Korninti race evolve into more, exploring another level of existence. She now questions whether her current situation was caused by him. If so, is it his intention to weaken her by prolonging her stay away from Uis-Valla, the source of their power?

Sensing a presence behind her, Mursulla turns and faces her secret observer who first watched her appear from behind the old oak tree. Mursulla knows the female biped before her can only be Queen Miranda, the ruler of this realm. The Soulamir Realm is a world where nature is respected and conserved, and home to all creatures, including the dominant species known as the Zarin Fairies. There are very little differences in appearance between male and female fairies, with both being tall and slight in build. Bipeds, they have large ears and a very pale skin pigment.  They are scantily dressed in woven leather dresses, loin cloths, and other fabrics of nature interwoven over their arms and legs, as if nature has taken root within their bodies. Their habitat is trees and woodlands, having the ability of flight, with four green, almost translucent wings that fan out in all directions. Often classed as nature spirits, they use nature’s energy as part of their everyday lives as well as for defence. 

Mursulla fixes her gaze on Queen Miranda, a mystery itself as to the origins of the beautiful creature before her as she does not belong to the fairy species, nor it is believed that she belongs to the Soulamir Realm. An anomaly in cosmic existence. The queen differs in appearance from the Zarin Fairies, lacking the ability of flight, with pale pink pigmentation and two penetrating eyes, hair the colour of blue, and ear lobes that extend forward, wrapping onto her forehead, blending into her eye sockets. She stands almost to the height of the fairies. The queen is a sorceress and master of deception.

The High Duce watches her closely. Standing next to the queen is one of the Zarin Fairies, a male and their leader, Mursulla recognises as Morna, dressed only in a loin cloth and shoulder coverings of interwoven fabrics. Morna is the strongest of all the fairies in appearance, with dark eyes, sporting his slender build, curvaceous hips, and slim waist.

The queen remains poised, waiting for Mursulla to make the first contact, but the High Duce does not grant it.   

“I know every living creature on this realm, and I do not know you. Who are you, and where did you come from?” Queen Miranda asks, stepping closer to Mursulla, studying her in detail.

Mursulla keeps her gaze fixed on the queen standing before her. More and more fairies arrive, filling up the hilltop, with many others hovering overhead in the sky. Mursulla’s options are limited. She can explain to the queen who she really is, and ask her to prepare for a battle should Gornus open the portal from inside the Cosmic Pathway, or, and she pauses, focusing on the army of Zarin Fairies now standing and hovering around her – she can remove the queen and take her place, building an army that will be a challenge for Gornus and the Korninti when the time comes to return to Uis-Valla. 

Anger has now replaced the initial unsettling feeling that she had not quite understood, urging her body into action to undo the situation she has found herself in. She is the first elder of elders of the Korninti race, the bearer of the staff of power, which she knows now is probably in the hands of Gornus, who has dared defy her ruling.

Returning her attention to the queen standing before her, Mursulla takes a few steps forward. “My name is Mursulla, High Duce of Wisdom, and where I come from, for now, is not important.”

“Why are you here?”

“Presently, that is not what is important, as you and I, Queen Miranda, have a more serious issue ahead,” Mursulla states, keeping her eyes locked on the queen.

Publication Date: 24th of November 2023. 

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