Memoir of a Sorceress: Heroes Unite

     The times were dark, little light was to be found throughout Neopia. My teacher, Seradar, and I began to grow worried about the purple clouds surrounding Meridell. Our efforts to make any contact with King Skral had failed, so we decided to take our concerns to Faerieland. Usually, I enjoyed my stays in Faerieland. The foliage always seemed greener, the faces were friendlier, and the air smelled vaguely of freshly baked flower crackers. This time, however, was different. There was a sense of panic in the air, a feeling of hopelessness that was almost contagious. It was a difficult feeling to shake off, but looking back I somehow managed. We had a meeting with Fyora around lunch to discuss the darkness that consumed Meridell, I had to collect myself. The meeting was not as helpful as I had hoped. Reflecting on the experience, it was just a group of empathetic people bonding over their shared confusions and frustrations. Our only hope was Illusen, but her and her glade seemed to succumb to the darkness as well.

     Unsure what to do, the meeting dismissed and I headed towards the library to do some additional research. Along the way I ran into a kind, old Aisha who had a peculiar familiarity to her. She had beautiful silver hair that flowed elegantly down her arms. She was dressed in old rags, but that did not take away from her beautiful aura, if anything it mysteriously added to it. I helped her with a chore and she bestowed me with a strange amulet. It was very clunky and had an odd gemstone on the front, but I put it on anyway; I could not refuse her hypnotic request, she seemed adamant about it. By the time I had finished up with her, I was exhausted and decided to head towards my guest room in Fyora’s Palace. I went to sleep that evening with a sense of impending doom, and woke up to find that doom was my reality. Faerieland was now overrun by gnarling teeth and dark magic, my only hope was to reach Seradar. Navigating the hallways of Fyora’s Palace had never seemed so difficult. Each corner brought me face to face with a different minion. Much to my demise, Seradar had also been taken over by the dark magic, I was too late. I found myself wondering who was capable of such chaos and how I was going to get out of this situation.

     I heard a scream escape from the lower levels of Fyora’s Palace and I immediately investigated. When I reached the source of the scream, I found the old Aisha who had given me the amulet. She was tied up and looked to be worn down, and out of the corner slithered the Darkest Faerie. Her tall, slender bodied cast a shadow that seemed to consume any trace of light in the room. Her hair was as wild as the look in her eye, and her voice was even more sinister. The possible expiration of the old Aisha loomed over my head, I had to figure out a way to distract the Darkest Faerie.

     Those short moments of contemplation felt like hours, but finally I decided to head to the clock tower of Fyora’s Palace. The trip there was long, even though it was just across the palace. When I arrived, I noticed that the tower was taken apart, and the gears were out of place. With all of my might and will, I put the gears into place pausing only to feed a red juppie to a nearby, hungry Noil. The bell tolled and I knew I only had seconds to escape and save the old Aisha. On my way back to the lower levels of the palace, I had to take cover in a broom closet; the Darkest Faerie was only a hands reach away. The clicking of her shoes stopped right outside the closet I was hiding in; my heart was beating out of my chest. Wand at the ready, I was prepared to fight for my life—to fight for the Old Aisha’s life. Thankfully, a minion grunted in the background and the Darkest Faerie headed back on course for the bell tower. As quiet as a Miamouse, I left the closet and ran towards the room where the old Aisha was being kept.

     As I approached her, there was a light that illuminated her eyes.

     I hurried to help her out of the shackles that were holding her up, she looked at me and said "I knew you were the right person to give the amulet to, you have the heart of a hero." Her comment had taken me off guard, at the time I had not a clue what she meant. What was so important about this amulet?

     I didn’t have time to ask her these questions. She grabbed me by my hands and said "you must go, find the amulet’s twin and save Neopia! You are our only hope." Within a blink of an eye, the old Aisha vanished, and I was alone.

     What did she mean that I am the only hope? At the time, I had no idea and my only concern was to get out alive; I could worry about the details at a later date. I sprinted towards the staircase at the east end of the Palace. This had always been my favorite spot in the palace because the stained glass windows were absolutely resplendent. Even as I rushed down the staircase, I could not help but to take a second to admire them. Their colors were so captivating, that the next thing I remember is being thrown through the air like a starry Bruce plushie. It took me a moment to realize what had happened, but when I came to my senses a giant minion artillery was standing right in front of me. The colossal beast towered over me. Drool dripped down from its fangs and it let out a monstrous growl. I grabbed my wand and prepared for battle.

     The minion artillery spitted dark magic my way at an alarming rate, I couldn’t find a moment to make a decent attack. I had tripped over some debris when I noticed the large chandelier hanging above the staircase. Stumbling to get to my feet, I let out one large burst from my wand and the chandelier came tumbling down onto the minion, that allowed me to have a moment to breathe. I had to find a new way out of the palace, the door was now obstructed with the chandelier draped body of the minion artillery. I ran back up to the stairs and had a moment of clarity, "the endless staircase!" I shouted into the void. I turned in the immediate direction of the endless staircase, put my head down, and ran as fast as my feet could take me. Minions gathered behind me in an attempt to stop me from leaving. I didn’t have the time or the energy to battle them all, so I only occasionally turned around to disarm one. I finally made my way to the endless staircase, I opened the door and transcended time and space.

     The staircase spitted me out in the library in Faerieland. I had wondered how much time had passed since I ventured into it. The library was surprisingly filled with company. I rushed over to the bookkeeper and asked her what time it was. I didn’t get a response, and in a panic I grabbed her arm and turned her towards me. Glancing at her face I realized that she too was under the same dark magic as Seradar.

     Her eyes were empty and swirled with darkness as she shouted maniacally "IT’S TIME FOR THE DARKEST FAERIE TO RULE NEOPIA!"

     I let go of her hand immediately and moved towards the exit. Everyone I passed seemed to look right through me, they were unaware of their surroundings. I tried to interact with a few folks along the way, but I couldn’t communicate with anyone. I left the library and headed towards the chariot that brought me to Faerieland. I climbed in and instructed the Uni driving the chariot to move as fast as he was able. Looking out of the back window, I notice the Darkest Faerie moving towards me.

     "Come back here immediately!!" she shouted.

     I tried to instruct the Uni driving the chariot to move faster, but before I could finish my request we were struck with dark magic. The cable that connected the Uni cab to the chariot was broken, and I was falling to Neopia at an astronomical speed.

     Before I could even consider being terrified, I hit something hard on the beach below Faerieland. It must be true that I passed out, because when I awoke, there was a handsome young Lupe standing over me. I could tell from his armor that he was a knight of Meridell. I looked into his eyes and all I saw was sunshine, starkly different from what I had experienced in Faerieland. Around his neck I saw the same amulet I had been given, and I burst out "You are my partner!"

     Confused, the Lupe replied "Pardon me?"

     I fumbled with the amulet around my neck, I held it up to him. "See" I said "we have the same amulet! I was told to find its twin. You have the other amulet!"

     "Why is that important though?" the Lupe questioned.

     "I’m—I’m not really sure. An old Aisha gave it to me and told me to find its partner. I was being chased by this evil faer—"

     "You mean the darkest faerie of them all?" the Lupe interrupted.

     "Yes! Precisely! I responded, thankful to have a friend in all of this.

      "Well I guess I could use some company out here. I’m Tormund by the way, Sir Tor of Meridell! "And who are you?

     "I’m Roberta of Brightvale, pleased to meet you!

     The End.