Chapter 9: Bernie's Story

"You're the Prophecizer?" asked Merlin in an awed voice.

"Yes. I am." replied Bernie grimly.

"But how? The Seven lived millennia ago."

"Just listen to what I have to say. If you still have questions at the end, I'll answer them.

"The Vasillan Realm wasn't the only realm. In fact, there's seven realms: the Akanavian Realm, the Bengorian Realm, the Jakashin Realm, the Human Realm, the Vasillan Realm, the Utopian Realm, and Annwn, the Spirit Realm. Each of these realms is unique in their own way, and is named after their dominant species. The only exception is Annwn, which received its name from the Celts before we even understood it. Anyhow, the Utopian Realm was the first of the realms. All of the realms' base comes from the Utopian Realm.

"The Utopian Realm was besieged by war when I was a boy. They were a very advanced race, and had recently prospered in the Isolation, the time when every country in the Utopian Realm isolated themselves from the rest of the world. They had weapons that were unimaginable; they had found the secrets of many branches of science, mixed them with those of nuclear war-fare, and had the most powerful weapons in the world, more powerful than even a nuclear bomb. They fought one another, all the while developing new technologies, and incorporating them in their weapons.

"Then one day, something happened. I'll never forget that day. I was your age on that day. A man had come to our city to talk to us. He was in his mid-twenties, and carried with him two things had never seen or heard of: a bow and an arrow. He explained to the world that we need not fight one another meaninglessly. He explained that there was much more to life than war. Then he told us. He told the world something no one knew besides him. He told us of magic, and that our world was overflowing with it, and that we could use it to our advantage; not for war, but rather peace.

"He told us how this strange energy could be harnessed. He even demonstrated for us that we could charm the magic itself so that it would give us anything we pleased. So many secrets were found, so many lives saved, so much more food, no more war, starvation, prejudice, or unfairness. Everyone was happy. Satisfied, the man disappeared for a number of years. If he hadn't, we might have survived.

Although everyone thought they were happy, they weren't. Everything they had was false. Their joy was only mask. When they realized that, everyone became plagued by despair and disappointment and sadness. The magic noticed this, and saw only one way to make them happy: take them away from this realm. I still remember the day my mom walked home and collapsed on the floor, dead immediately. My little sister, your mother, was also shocked. It took days to calm her down. Then the man came again.

"He asked what had happened. I explained, blaming him for everything. After listening to me, he told me there was other escape, for both me and my sister. He told me he would take me to a land where the sun rose and fell. That land happened to be the Vasillan Realm.

"Over the years, he found more survivors, and tutored us all in the ways of magic. Eventually, we became the Seven. I became the Prophecizer, and Nasuada became the Sorceress. The man took the name of Ambro. Only one thing was missing: the Young One. Ambro had been keeping a secret.

"For years, Ambro had been training a boy he had found shortly after the Plague. He turned out to have been named Shiroix by his parents before they died. Ambro had been training him,

supporting him, fathering him. They had developed a close relationship that very few people ever had. Ambor, the day he told us about Shiroix, he suggested we give him a seat in what was the early version of the Council. After Shiroix proved himself, almost everyone agreed he would be a great Council member. I didn't. I had had a dream the previous night. I saw what Shiroix would become. I tried to prevent, but Ambro didn't listen; he thought Shiroix was harmless.

"As the years went by, I began to doubt whether what I had seen was really going to happen. Then it was Betrayal Day. That tragic day when Shiroix attacked with his Jakashin army, killed Ambro, and forced everyone to flee. That day; I can never forget how Ambro loved Shiroix, and ended up having to kill the person he had come to think of as his son. I just can't imagine how painful it must have been for him . . .

"Anyhow, when the war ended, the remaining five gathered together. We all decided we had still to fulfill everything fate wanted us to in our lives. The problem was, not everything that had to happen could happen then. For weeks we searched for the solution. We finally realized we could hide out in the Utopian Realm, helping the other realms when we felt it necessary. Your mother found it hard to stay in one place, and was constantly on the move, making excuses to visit other realms. Eventually, we settled here, in the Human Realm. The others of the Seven are still alive, save for Ambro and Nasuada, but prefer to stay in the Utopian Realm." finished Bernie.

"Are there any descendants of the others?" asked Merlin, curious as to how you could tell you were of Utopian blood.

"Of course! Look at yourself; you're a descendant of the Sorceress!"

"Are we marked in any special way?"

"Yes. Let me show you how to tell if one is a descendant of one of the Seven." said Bernie, taking a small feather from his robe and dusting Merlin's hand with it. What was on Merlin's hand looked something like this:

"What is it?" asked Merlin.

"It's what we call 'The Story'. Everything about us is in that mark. I saw it in one of my dreams. I knew it was our symbol, and cast a spell on all of the Seven so their descendants would have this mark. You see the v? It stands for the Vasillah. Those other symbols, I'm not quite sure of yet. But I do now that those two intersecting lines at the bottom represent Ambro and Shiroix. The bold line is Shiroix, and the thin one is Ambro. The reason the thin line ends at the bold one, is because Ambro's life was taken by Shiroix. That dark blotch behind the bold line represents the Dark. Everything of great importance is in this mark. Also, I presume your blood has turned gold?"

"Yes. How did you know?" asked Merlin, bewildered.

"It's what marks us as coming from the Utopian Realm."

Just then, several thoughts occured to Merlin.

"Is Shiroix the Young One?"

"If you mean the one whom has lived with us for a while, then no. He was just an regular boy."

"He died in the Fall, didn't he?" proposed Merlin.

"I hate to tell you, but yes, he did."

"Who was that man in the forest? And why did he call you an old friend?" asked Merlin, already knowing the answer.

"That man was the Young One."