A Secret World of Magic Book 2: The Paragon
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Jassy Doe
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Prologue
Book 2: The Paragon
ELYON
War between the good and evil beings had been going on for as long as anyone could remember.
But there was a time when we didnāt even know how strong our enemy was.
Twenty-five years ago, the last war of unimaginable horror raged.
Twenty-five yearsā¦
For the immortals of our realm, itās no more than a breath, a fleeting moment in endless time. The blink of an eye between centuries.
But to me? Thatās everything. My entire life.
Every breath, every memory, every pain and joyāthey all exist only in that tiny slice of eternity.
While the elders of our kind think across ages, I have been living in the present. I donāt even have three decades behind me, and yet every single day feels like it counts. Maybe because I know I donāt have infinite time.
Maybe because I can feel the minutes ticking by, while others donāt even notice them.
My mother, Queen Iris, was fighting for our future with me in her womb back then.
Antarisāour home, our sanctuary, the last refuge for all good beings born with the gift of magic. For centuries, we had weathered the storms, repelled every invasion, beaten back every enemy.
But this war ate into the souls of our people like a curse that no one could break.
My father, King Avery, had received the crown in tears only a few moons earlier, after Grandfather Elior had fallen in battle.
We lost countless warriors in that final battle, and Antaris was severely weakened.
Rebuilding was difficult then, and even two decades after the return of peace, the pain still weighed heavily upon us.
Death did not even spare the amicusāsoul animals that each of us was supposed to have. Year after year, they became fewer and fewer, until they finally became a rare sight.
For those of us born after the war, they remained just a distant legendāsomething we would never know. We could only gaze in wonder at our parentsā soulfriends and imagine how it must have felt to have such a deep, fateful connection.
Mother never spoke about her lost amicus. The pain must have been too much for her, even after all this time.
I knew she loved Alatus deeply.
But at least we still had our matesāthose soulmates who would appear to us in our dreams.
Yet even that seemed unattainable for me. Because Iā¦ Iād never dreamed before. Not even once in my entire life.
And without dreams, there are no visions. Without visions, there is no guide. And without a guideā¦there is no hope of ever being found.
Years passed until the wounds healed, but the memories remained. Each of us was now enlightened about our enemy from childhood.
Abbadon, the last survivor of the Lords of Darkness, seemed to have been swallowed by the earth. He was the killer of so many innocent beings from Antaris.
The reason why we are missing so much in our lives.
Since his defeat and escape from Antaris, no one had seen a trace of him or even heard his whisper.
But Mother was sure he would return.
As Antaris seemed to settle down, while others relaxed their guards and celebrated the peace, she urged me never to let myself lose my guard.
āHis hatred has not died,ā she warned. āHe will wait until we feel safe. Until we think we are protected. And then heāll strike.ā
Sometimes I wondered if she sensed something that we didnāt. Or was it simply the unfailing clear-sightedness of a queen who had seen peace shattered?
Mother told me she felt her red aura in me when I was a baby. In my first months of life, I changed inexplicablyāmy once black hair faded overnight until it was snow white.
But not only my hair changed. My once green eyes became onyx.
My parents were worried, but nobody could explain it. It was as if something in me had swallowed the color.
I know that Mother blamed herself for a long time. She once told me she didnāt know she was pregnant when she used enormous power against Abbadonās army.
But Iām sure this had nothing to do with my condition.
A few years after my birth, my sister was born, untouched by the curse that seemed to have been placed on me.
The difference between me and Eliara was already evident in our childhood.
While she effortlessly mastered the elven gifts, I was partly lost and tried to find myself. I didnāt understand her magical talent, which she controlled like a second breath, because my own powers remained foreign to me.
My mother, whose red aura was so powerful it made the air shimmer, tried to help meābut the more she explained, the more distant my success seemed.
She was the Prodigy, the chosen being who brought salvation to Antaris. Her power was a gift, but to me it felt devastating.
The hours of training, the patient words of my father, the strict lessons of the court magesānothing helped. I could feel the magic within me, but it was like a locked gate that I couldnāt open.
And with every year that Eliara became more radiant, the feeling grew in meā¦ I was the son who didnāt belong here.
A prince who stood in the shadow of his ancestors, without ever reaching their splendor.
How was I supposed to take on the duties of a king if I couldnāt even rule over my own body?
Sometimes I felt like I didnāt really belong to Antarisāeven when everyone treated me with loving patience.
My parents, their siblings, and friendsā¦ They were all a united community. It was no surprise that we, their sons and daughters, were just as inseparable.
The deep bond between our parentsāthat special mixture of friendship, loyalty, and unshakeable trustāshaped us children from an early age.
What began as an alliance between them became a natural closeness for us that grew stronger with every shared laugh, every shared tear, and every survived adventure.
Even as children, we were inseparable, a unity that grew through the school years and now, as young adults, still endures.
We not only shared secrets and dreams, but also the silent promise: we will always be there for each other, in the same way our parents were.
That certainty was our anchorāthen as now.
Noah and Jade were some of the most frequent guests at the palace.
Jade kept trying to read my thoughts and peer into my mindābut each time, it ended the same way. After a few seconds, she winced in pain, her hands on her temples.
āItāsā¦like a wall of thorns,ā she moaned once in pain.
Over time, she gave up.
Her daughter Alira was the spitting image of her motherāthe same fiery red hair, the same emerald-green eyes.
And the same magical gift.
A witch who did her mother justice. No wonder she found her destiny in Manou, the son of healer Keijou.
Then there were Evangeline and Devasānot only Antarisās oldest beings, but also my fatherās most trusted advisers. Despite his duties, the demon Devas insisted on staying with his family in his myrrh forest, away from the hustle and bustle of court life.
He had a special bond with Mother, affectionately calling her sister. His son, Cassil, had been my best friend since childhood.
Even in school, he stood by my side when others teased me, and to this day, he tirelessly searches with me for a solution to my problem. Although his mother was a half angel, he not only inherited his fatherās looks but also his demonic powers.
Cassilās mate became the blue-haired Miriel, daughter of my uncle Aidan and Innia. Aunt Innia, once a sea princess, had passed her gift and beauty on to her daughter.
Their elder son, Kai, on the other hand, showed the elvish powers of Uncle Aidanāpowerful, elegant, everything I had not been. Kai decided to become a soldier very early on.
Alongside his father, he ensured the safety of Antaris. They spent most of their time on Bellatorum Island, where they not only lived but also trained relentlessly.
And above all these soldiers, Evangeline was the commander.
But my favorite being on Antaris was and always would be Ava, my fatherās only sister. With her husband Bael, she made the warmest couple you could imagine.
Her carefree nature, her laughter that filled the whole room, and her inexhaustible joy for life made her something special. But what really set them apart was their boundless love for children.
Although they were denied the blessing of having children of their own, they found happiness in guiding the young generation of Antaris. Aunt Ava did not just teachāshe inspired passion, sparked curiosity, and made every child feel special.
And they were all specialā¦except me.
I was the ghost of the palace. The prince with the dead eyes and lost aura.
A living riddle that even the sages of our kingdom were unable to solve. Perhapsā¦there were answers waiting for me outside.
Somewhere beyond the protective barrier of Antaris, there had to be others like meābeings who didnāt fit into this world. But it was a dangerous thought.
To leave Antaris was strictly forbidden. A rule that was not given lightly.
Even for royal family members like me, if you wanted to leave, you not only needed permission, but a whole ward of guards, magic protectors, and the blessing of the Council of Elders. Everything to protect us, they said.
Anything to prevent the shadows of the old wars from catching up with us. So there was only one thing left for me to do.
I had to find another path. A path that didnāt lead through the protective barricades of Antaris.
One that would lead me to the answers I was looking for despite all the prohibitions. Cassil knew of my planāof course he did.
He was the only person I could confide in. And so he secretly searched the hidden archives of Antaris, carefully questioning the oldest beings, combing through every legend for a clue, a lead that might help me.
āThereās always a way out,ā he whispered to me as we searched for dusty scrolls in the forbidden chambers of the library again. āWeāll find it. Iām sure we will.ā
But sometimes when he looked at me, I recognized the doubt in his eyes. What if there werenāt any answers?
What if I was truly alone with this mystery that made me a stranger in my own world?
I had to find answersā¦at all costs.
