“Oh, I know! There was this one time when I was invited to tea and-”
“And the guy turned out to be an assassin so you had to fight to the death, and you’ve got the scars to prove it. I’ve only heard that one like a million times.”
“Fine then if you hate all of my stories, why don’t you tell one for a change!” Jarod huffed, folding his arms tightly across his chest.
Victor heaved a sigh and leaned closer to the fire. It was the coldest night in a while, and his arthritic fingers really needed some extra heat. He stared into the flames, trying to come up with a story on the spot.
His mind was as empty as a recently raided tomb. He was about to give up the fight and tell Jarod to go to sleep, when he looked up at the columns they had stopped next to. One look and the story popped right into his head.
“Many years ago, before humans inhabited this land, magical creatures ran free. Fairies fluttered from flower to flower. Dwarves mined their tunnels in peace. Centaurs roamed wild and free. All magic was unbound. It blessed the land wherever it pleased and cursed those that sought to abuse its power.”
Jarod’s eyes were wide, reflecting the flickering flames between them. His pure excitement almost made Victor sad that the story was completely made up.
“But peace like that can only last for so long. Eventually greed must run its course. Witches and wizards previously blessed with the magic, turned on it. They captured it and harnessed its energy for their own purposes.
As soon as they did this, the world began to wither and die. Fantastic creatures could no longer roam the land, and the magic could no longer bless the land. Life turned dull and gray, meaningless for everyone but the few who had captured the heart of magic.
It carried on this way for many years, until the land was nearly uninhabitable. It was at this point that the universe set about righting itself - in the form of a clever and good witch. She tricked the others into loaning her the heart of magic, and with it she created this doorway.”
Victor gestured to the great stone columns they were sitting beneath. Jarod’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull in surprise.
“She called all the creatures out of the shadows and led them through the door, where a new world full of life awaited them. It was there that she released the magic from its bonds, losing her own power in the process. The heart of magic, grateful to the witch for freeing it, blessed her with a small portion of its power.
With this portion, the witch closed the door and locked it, removing magic from our world until the day that we can prove ourselves worthy of it again.”
As soon as the tale ended, Jarod was on his feet. He walked circles around the stone doorway, tapping it in some places. Victor shook his head and rolled his eyes. The kid was probably trying to find some evidence of an entrance that had never even existed.
Victor watched him for a minute before settling onto the ground to get some sleep. He was just closing his eyes when he caught a glimmer in the middle of the stone doorway. But no, that was impossible. It was clearly just his sleep deprived mind playing tricks on him.
Or was it?
Thanks for reading and for being here at Claire’s Short Stories! This offering comes straight from the depths of the story archives. After shaking off the dust and doing a few small edits, I have deemed it worthy to be shared.
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A well written and well-crafted story, Claire. I enjoyed every bit of it. Loved it!!
An excellent story with so many memorable lines. Loved it, Claire!