Mangesh Shirke

Drama Fantasy

4  

Mangesh Shirke

Drama Fantasy

Iliana

Iliana

23 mins
255


Today was the last day of the magical teachings of Kaazam, the renowned guru in the field of magic in the island city of Burdorth. He had 8 disciples, & one of them was this girl named Iliana.

“I’ve hath called thee all to giveth thee a quest,” Kaazam said as all his disciples sat with him below The Divine Tree of Magic, the tree which was planted many centuries ago by the 3 Great Gods. It was believed that all the holy magic in that World was alive because of the blessings of the tree.

“I’ve did teach all the charm to thou. I may not calleth thou the greatest magicians, but thou all has't the capacity to becometh one. However sharp a sword may beest, t is of nay useth if 't be true hath kept sheath'd. In the same way, thy art shalt beest of nay useth until thee learneth the right way to useth t. It’s f'r this reasoneth I am giving thee this quest. Each one of thou shalt taketh one of the 8 directions & expl're t with adventure. Thou shalt cometh backeth to me with the most precious thing you’ve ev'r discov'r'd”


As Iliana came home, she remembered the conversation with her mother some months ago when she was about to die.

“Your father, the great Richmond, was the most renowned magician in all the cities on earth. He was one of the 11 masters of the hidden clan of Draenei. No one knew this except me & he wanted you to become like him. He saw himself inside you, whenever he looked at you, whenever he played with you. I could not get a final glimpse of him. He never had asked anything to me, but his only wish was he wanted his ashes to be immersed in The Sacred Fountain.”

“But no one knows where it is. People have only heard stories about it.” Iliana replied.

“No one knows this, but your father & his clan clearly knew about this Fountain. It is way ahead in the North Direction, above the Mighty Mountain.”

Iliana then looked at the earthen pot, which contained her father’s ashes.

She glanced at the birthmark on her wrist, similar to what her father had. She then remembered her mother’s last words.

“You have the power of Fire Element, dear. Do not consider yourself as a weak one. Remember, all the great fighters were called so because they had faith in themselves. An ant is small, but it can dig an entire mountain because it has faith in itself. An elephant is mighty, but a small bee can sting it because it believes in its power. Believe in your power dear one, because you have the potential to become one of the greatest Magicians, much bigger than your father…!” 

 

The next day, she went to meet Kaazam, who was meditating below the Divine Tree of Magic.

“Master, I don’t know which direction to go in.” She bowed before her teacher.

The Master slowly opened his eyes & said, “All mine own 7 disciples has't did select their direction, except thee, Iliana. As for thee, the North is the only direction yond is hath left. Traveleth further north, & as hath said yest'rday, receiveth to me the most precious things thee findeth.”

Oh no.

“But Master…! The North has the Dark Forest…! No one can cross it...! And even if I cross it, ahead is the Forbidden Dwarf Island, which is ruled by the Evil King Exhart...! What will I find there?” Iliana disagreed with her Master’s choice.

“Thee has't to fulfil the quest, as per the rules of our hermitage,” the Master replied, “This is for thy owneth valorous, dear one.” Saying this, the Master closed his eyes.

Iliana was now in a fix. She never wanted the North, but destiny had something else. She couldn’t say no, for it was compulsory for all the disciples to fulfil & complete the quest. Plus, her mother had told her about The Sacred Fountain, which was somewhere in the North, where she was supposed to immerse her father’s ashes.

Finally, with no alternative left, she decided to start her journey.

I may not find anything precious, but atleast I’ll fulfil my father’s wish.

 

The next day, at the first light, she started in the North direction. In a sack she took her father’s ashes. She also had a map, a magnetic stone to show her the direction & most importantly, she took her magic book which contained all the spells that she was taught by the Master.

She crossed her village, & reached on the hill where The Divine Tree of Magic was planted on.

“Blesseth me with all the powers of witchcraft so that I may successfully fulfil this quest.” She folded her hands & prayed.

She had only one weapon with her. Lazarus, the divine bow which was used by her father. This bow could create arrows on its own & this could only be used by her. It can be easily folded into a wrist amulet. Whenever she wants to use it, she can remove it & use it for her defense. The moment she flaps the amulet, it will turn into a bow.


 She then saw the Dark Forest in the distance.

She crossed the barren land & entered the forest. Till now, no one from her village had crossed this jungle. Someone had only gone halfway & returned back.

As she went deeper inside the forest, it appeared silent to her. It was totally silent. She looked upwards & saw that the foliage of the trees was so dense that it didn’t allow sunlight to come in. There was no pathway as such, & she just walked in between the trees.

Hissssssssssssss…

Suddenly she heard a loud hissing sound behind her. Terrified, she turned and saw a giant Black serpent slithering on a tree. It’s eyes were dreadfully red & its scales were so black that they were reflecting whatever light fell on them. Making a hissing sound & flickering its tongue, it approached towards Iliana. She was so horrified looking at the huge snake that she stood fixed in her place.

Suddenly, in a swift movement, the snake jumped towards her & opened its mouth to eat her. In a second, she saw huge sharp teeth in its mouth. Fearing it would eat her, she covered her face with her hands.

“No..ooo….!” she shrieked in panic.

The next moment, the snake was gone.

Iliana turned around & looked expecting the snake to be behind her, but it was nowhere.

Was it in my mind?

She then understood that this forest showed all the fears a person had inside him.

She then opened her bag & removed the magnet. Hanging it on a tree branch, she confirmed the North direction & started walking on the path.

Even though it was daytime, due to the dark foilage around, it looked like night.

She kept walking, crossing all the fallen trees in her path.

Iliana…!” sudddnely she heard someone calling her. She looked around, but saw no one. She had already reached quite deep inside the forest, where no one from her village had gone.

Who could have followed me?

“Iliana…! Wend not in yond direction…!” It was her Master’s voice.

Why have you come here? Go home…!” Abruptly she heard her mother’s voice in other direction. Before she could understand what was going, at once she heard a tiger’s roar in far distance.

Someone screeched loudly. She heard various crying sounds. All the sounds she heard, kept getting louder & louder every moment.

What the hell is this?

Frustrated, she covered her ears. She could still hear those sounds. They were echoing around her. She covered her ears tightly.

Slowly the sounds started fading away.

Iliana stood up, looking around. Suddenly, she understood that all these voices were inside her. She then remembered what her Master had told her about thoughts, “The most wondrous way to neglect negative & unwant'd thoughts is to not payeth attention to those folks. Alloweth those folk cometh. Aft'r some timeth, those gents shall wend on their owneth.”

Following her Guru’s advice, she decided to neglect them. Taking her Red scarf, she wore it around her ears & kept walking ahead. She opened the map & checking it, she realized it was already more than halfway down. Confident on her achievement, she kept walking forward.

After she went ahead, she came in a small ground covered in green grass. Here the light was direct on the ground. As she crossed the ground, she suddenly heard whimpering sound. She had heard various unwanted sounds in this jungle, but this was different.

What was it?

Again she heard it. That was coming from somewhere in the adjacent trees. She didn’t want to, but somehow, she final gathered courage to look in that area.

She approached & saw that it was a small white coloured dog. It was looking straight at her, wagging its tail. At first, Iliana never wanted to go, but then she saw that it was injured. It was bleeding at various places. It looked as if someone had thrashed it badly & left it here.

But who could do it?

It was looking innocently at her. Its eyes were full of despair & pain. She was not sure whether to help him or not.

Nevertheless, she decided to help it. As she recited the healing spell, her hands started glowing in white. Instantly, all the wounds on his skin were healed. Its skin was totally free of any wounds. As soon as it realized it had healed, it jumped up & started wagging its tail. She then saw that it had a amulet in its collar. As she bent down & looked at it, she realized itt was broken. It had another piece to it.

Where could this broken part be?

Iliana never wanted to leave the dog alone here. She placed him in her bag with its head popping out of her sack & started walking in the North direction.


Finally, she saw a clearing & realized that she had reached the end of the forest. She crossed the tall tress & came out on a sea shore. No one from her village had reached this far. She happily lauded her achievement.

From the sea shore, she saw that it was almost evening. The Forbidden Island was much farther up inside the sea. If she started now, it will be almost late night when she reached there. In addition, it was not possible for her to cross it or go around as it was quite huge. Finally, she decided to start at the first light of the next morning.

Let’s see what that evil king says. 


The next day, using some fallen trees & dried leaves, she constructed a small raft. She pushed it into the river & rowed the raft towards the island. The sun had rose & it was dawn past time. The wind was strong & using her rower, she guided the raft towards the island. The dog was still with her in her sack, looking at every direction as the raft swayed up & down.

Finally, she reached the banks of The Forbidden Island. But something was disturbing here. She looked around and saw the whole place was filled huge boulders & all of them were of the same size & shape.

What are these?

Taking her sack, she crossed the shore & went in.

The whole island was filled small houses & dwarf people. Just adjoining the shore was a market. There were noises all around & the entire place was hustling with dwarf people. But she again noticed something was wrong.

What was it?

She then realised that there was darkness all around. The whole place, the whole city was fileld with darkness.

But how’s that possible?

Just a short while ago, it was day outside.

How come its dark here? is it some kind of spell? Does time run slowly here? 

She then looked up & saw that ‘something’ was stopping the light from coming in. She could see the sky was blue, but here it was dark.

I must try something.

She closed her eyes & started reciting the ‘Lighting’ spell. But she couldn’t remember it. She tried again, but it seemed as if she had forgotten it. Stunned, she opened her Magic book where she had written down all the spells, but it was empty. It was as if all the spells had just vanished from there.


“Your spells won’t work here, lady,” suddenly she heard someone say. She looked and saw a tall man wearing black armour & a black mask. He was holding a spear made of black metal. There were 4-5 similar men standing behind him. With feary eyes behind his mask, he looked at her & said, “Our Lord Exhart has owned this entire land. Without his permission, no one can spell magic here…! Arrest her now…!” he gave orders to his men. Immediately, they surrounded her with huge chains & tied to her hands & legs. Someone grabbed her sack. She was then produced in front of the emperor.

Iliana saw that it was a huge palace. The court had ceiling that was so tall that she had never seen any courtroom this big. The evil emperor was seated on his thorn, looking straight at her. He was almost double in height as compared to her, & was wearing a black metal armour similar to his guards, but his armour had silver-coloured lines in between. In his neck, he wore a huge Silver amulet. His face was deadly, with Red eyes & fearful expressions.

“Why are you here?” he asked Iliana. His voice boomed in the entire courtroom.

“I…I want to cross the island & im…immerse the…the ashes of my father in the deep sea…” stammering, Iliana replied back.

Suddenly, the dog started whining.

Emperor Exhart looked at her with dreadful eyes.

“She’s right…your highness…!” one of his commanders opened her sack & produced the covered vessel.

“Why would you like to go there? The sea is all around…!” the Emperor questioned her in his huge voice.

“Because it was my father’s last wish…!” Iliana answered.

“Enslave her, your highness,” the tall man who had arrested her said, “She was caught casting spells…!”

“Let her go…!” the emperor ordered, “We will deal with her when she crosses this island while returning back…!”

Iliana was stunned. She knew that it was impossible for her to fight this mighty king, but he was letting her go.

The dog kept on whining. It seemed that it did’nt like this place at all.

The soldiers grabbed her & pushed her out. She was taken down the gates & pushed away towards the other part of the shore, which was behind the island. She untied a left-over boat & started rowing it. Checking her magnet, she confirmed the North direction.

As per her map, she must now head further up North towards the Mighty Mountain.

The dog had now stopped whining. Iliana looked at it and asked, “What happened? Did you not like that place?” The dog wagged its tail, licking her hand. It seemed that he approved of what she said.


Her mother had told her of a legend that said the mountain was exactly in the middle of the sea, & somewhere on top of it was the Sacred Fountain, which was created by the Gods when the Universe was formed. It was said that drinking its water could fulfil any wish & could give immeasurable power to the person who drinks it.

Further, she then remembered the Legend of the Silver Fairy, who was cursed by the Evil king Exhart. Now she came to know why he had silver linings on his armour.


As she rowed for the whole day, she finally saw the Mighty Mountain. She could see it straight from many kilometres across the sea. It kept getting mightier by every second as she approached it. Finally, she saw a shore at the end of the sea. The mountain was so huge, its apex was not visible at all. She tied the boat to a rope & stepped on the shore. The shore slowly slopped upwards, indicating that the mountain began from here.

Iliana started climbing the mountain. It had greenery around it, with lots of trees & plants. As she kept climbing, she saw a jungle, filled with various flowering trees & bushes. Different types of birds were perched on the branches of these trees chirping & singing in various tones. She also saw a brown coloured owl, with white & blue feathers, perched on a tree top. After a long time., she was visiting nature on this mountain.

Slowly, the night crept in. She didn’t knew how far she had come, but the mountain never seemed to end. She was totally exhausted with hunger & thirst.

Finally, she sat down beneath a tree. The map she had displayed only the location of this mountain but it never showed where exactly the Sacred Fountain was.

Just then she saw another owl, sitting on a branch of tree looking at her.

“Do you know where the Sacred Fountain is?” Iliana asked the bird.

The owl just kept staring at her.

Iliana had plucked some fruits while on the way. She lit a small fire using flintstones & ate the fruits, giving some pieces to the dog, who ate it hungrily. Lost in her thoughts she slept.

Wake up, dear one.” Suddenly she heard a soft voice. She woke up & saw the Silver Fairy standing beside her. She was the most beautiful woman Iliana had ever seen.

“Thou art on the right mountain. Followeth the path of the trees with yellow floweth'rs. Thee shall reacheth the land of Shanyla, which is did rule by queen Ariel. Bid her thy identity, & the lady shall guideth thee to the Sacred Fountain. But remember, the evil king Exhart is seeking the path to this fountain, f'r this fountain holds immeasurable pow'rs. Beware f'r that gent may followeth thee. If 't be true that gent cometh, thee has't to stop that gent from drinking the holy wat'r.”

“But I am not worth it,” Iliana said, “I…I only came here for my father…! I can’t fight him…!”

“Rememb'r, if 't be true the evil king reaches the fountain, that gent shall awaken his dead Black Army. Those gents shall causeth havoc in thee village, & in many villages 'round. That gent shall ruleth the earth & shall removeth out ev'ry positive element from this world.” The Fairy said.

“But why I should do it? I am not capable of it…!” Iliana was not ready to accept the challenge.

“Thee has't the pow'r to becometh a most wondrous magician. Thee the fire element inside thee. The entire humanity is looking upon thee to stand ho the evil king. Thee has't to help yourself & winneth ov'r the king. The choice is yours. Has't faith in yourself.” Saying this, the fairy vanished.

Iliana woke up with a start. It was daytime, & all the birds were nicely chirping on the trees.

Why did the fairy tell me to stop the king? Could he be following me?

Suddenly she realised that he can come in any form to stop her.

The dog.

She never knew who it was, or from where did it come.

Could he be the evil king, in the disguise of a dog? But he was present in front of the king. Could the king have forms at one time? 

She knew that the evil king was a great magician, expert in witchcraft. He could stop light, something which her own master couldn’t. So he could easily disguise himself as anything, or, worst was, he could create anything, anywhere.

Worried, she removed the small dog from her sack & tied it to a tree. The dog whined again, looking at her with innocent eyes, but Iliana believed what the fairy said.

Leaving the whining dog behind, she searched for the tree with yellow flowers. Soon she found it. There was a small path next to it. She followed that path, & another tree appeared. She kept following the trees, until she reached a huge ground. She wondered how come such a huge ground could be present at this level on a mountain.

“Who are thee? And what’s your purpose here?” suddenly she heard a huge sound booming in the air. She looked around, but saw no one.

“Tell me your purpose of coming here…! For no mortal climbs this high up on the mountain…!” again the voice boomed.

“I’m here to find The Sacred Fountain. The Silver Fairy told me to find Queen Ariel. I’m seeking her guidance to find the Sacred Fountain somewhere in this place.” Iliana answered back.

Suddenly there was a huge movement at one end of the ground. The trees at one end shaked violently, & a huge figure stood up. It stood up further, till it became a huge giant, so tall that Iliana couldn’t see its face.

“I’m Garrick, the protector of this place. There are many more like us on this mountain. I shall take you to the queen, for she is seeking your presence.” Saying this, the huge giant brought his hand down & lifted Iliana on it. His hand looked like a huge boulder. As he lifted her up, Iliana saw the wonderful scenery around, but she couldn’t locate the fountain. She saw Garrick’s face. It looked like a huge building, with eyes much bigger than the windows of a palace. He started walking on ground. Within a short time, they reached another area on the mountain, with huge big houses & lots of other giants exercising & practising warfare. Garrick took her to the queen, who was seated on a throne made of stone. She was so huge that Iliana couldn’t see her whole body in one look.

“I heard from the Silver Fairy about you,” the queen had a very soft & gentle voice, “But tell me, why you seek to find the mountain?”

Iliana then told her about her father Richmond, & about his final wish & her quest.

“You are Lord Richmond’s daughter…?” the queen asked, “Your dear father hath saved myself & my entire clan from the evil hands of Emperor Exhart. Now I know why he wanted you to seek the Fountain.” Saying this, she instructed Garrick to guide her till the Sacred Fountain.

“The Fountain does exist as your dear father said. When you go there, you will discover yourself, your true self.”

Garrick then boarded his vehicle, a huge chariot with wings the size of war fields. Iliana sat in front of him, and the chariot started flying. They kept flying upwards, till they crossed the clouds. The mountain now started getting narrower, & Iliana finally saw the apex. It was golden in colour, with streams of rivers flowing around it. The chariot flew along the narrow mountain & finally they reached on the apex.

“You see that temple…? That is where the fountain is…!” Garrick said, pointing to a huge temple. The entire soil here was gold in color. The trees had wonderful flowers & small bushes around.

Iliana reached the temple. It was closed with huge doors, almost as big as the giant. She gently pushed it, & the doors opened.

Inside was the Sacred Fountain.

It was the most beautiful fountain she had ever seen. It was huge in size. There was a pleasant smell all around the place. the water from that fountain flowed down to a river. Beautiful coloured birds were flying around it. The water made wonderful sound as it flowed through it.

She went near it & was about to immerse her father’s ashes into it, when suddenly someone screamed.

She turned & saw the Evil king Exhart standing at the door of the temple.

“I knew you would finally seek this, lady,” the emperor said, pointing at her, “The moment I saw your birthmark, I realised you’re one of us.” Saying this, the emperor showed his wrist to her. There was a similar birthmark on his hand too.

“That means…..” Iliana now realized who he was.

“Yes, I am the 11th one who betrayed your father’s clan. I wanted this fountain, but no one could clearly tell me where it is. When you told me that you’re going north, I let you go, because I knew you will find that fountain. I disguised myself as an owl & kept following you everywhere. I went against the entire clan & killed everyone….! And then I became the evil emperor Exhart…!”

Now Iliana understood that she had taken the wrong decision. The dog was someone else, not what she thought him to be.

“You killed my father…!” Iliana screamed in anger, “I will never let you reach that fountain…!”

“Get away, mortal…!” saying this, Exhart pushed her away. She landed hard on the temple floor.

“Oh…you think you can reach it, demon?” Garrick came at the entrance. He was huge, too huge in front of the evil king.

Suddenly Exhart cast a spell on him. Garrick tried defending it, but collapsed hard on the ground, shaking the entire apex as she fell.

“NO one is of any match to me…!” Exhart bellowed.

“Don’t you think that…!” Iliana screamed. She united her wrist amulet & it turned into a bow. She aimed straight at the king & fired three bows at once. But the king deflected them easily.

“Don’t try to stop me, mortal...!” saying this, he moved his hands in the air. At once Iliana was lifted above the ground & she banged hard on the temple wall & crashed on the ground. The impact was so hard that she started losing her consciousness.

“Receiveth up, warrior…!” Iliana at once heard the Silver Fairy’s voice, “Has't faith in thy pow'r…!”

“But he’s too strong…! I can’t fight him…!” Iliana almost cried as she said this.

With weak eyes, she saw the evil emperor take the water in his hands. He uttered some words & threw the water in the air.

He’s awakening the dead Black Army.


Back at the sea shore of Forbidden Kingdom, all the boulders started moving & shaking violently. Suddenly, they transformed into mighty creatures, with huge claws & fangs & deadly faces. They jumped into the water & started swimming towards the village, where the Divine Tree of Magi was housed.

Master Kaazam saw the creatures coming towards the tree. He at once understood that Iliana must have found the Fountain & the evil king must have followed her. Using his powers, he created a huge shield on the whole island. The creatures banged & kicked on it, but the shield didn’t move.

The master wished that Iliana should destroy the evil king as fast as she can, because the shield won’t be able to hold for long.


“If 't be true the black army awakens, those gents shall destroyeth the Divine tree of Magic, which shall eliminateth all the charm from this world. The entire humanity is looking upon thee. Thee has't the element of fireth. Useth t. Believeth in yourself. Else thee shall at each moment keepeth cursing yourself the entire life…!” Iliana heard the Silver Fairy’s voice.

If the Divine tree of magic is destroyed, then everything will be gone. She has to save it.

Now she understood, why her father wanted her to come here. Somewhere he knew that his daughter can become the greatest warrior in the world.

The evil king was chanting something. He then immersed his hand & lifted up a handful of water in his hand. He held up in the air & closed his eyes.

I have to stop him. I will not let him win till I’m alive.

The evil king was about to drink the water when suddenly his hands caught fire. Stunned he looked & saw Iliana standing in front of him.

“I will not let you have that water…!” saying this, she fired multiple fireballs at the emperor. He dodged them easily. She used her bow & fired arrows at him. At the same time, she fired fireballs at him.

The arrows pierced the king’s arm, but still he defended the fireballs. He moved his hand up, but Iliana fired arrows at his hand. She kept shooting him hard with everything that she got.


Back at the village, all the people were running to find shelter. The shield was still surviving, & Master Kaazam used all of his energy to keep away the demons, but he could not hold any longer. Finally, the shield broke.

At once, all the demons & squid looking creatures pounced inside, destroying every home that they came across. Quickly they started running towards the Divine Tree of Magic.


“You will die, mortal…!” saying this, the evil king fired sharp shuriken towards Iliana. But she used fire & burned them down.

“Attacketh his chest. Destroyeth his heart, f'r that is controlling his life.” Iliana heard the silver Fairy speak.

At once Iliana threw fireballs at his chest. She knew that the king will use his arms to move away the fireballs, which will give her room to fire at his chest. As thought, the king used his hands to move the fireballs away. Immediately Iliana fired arrows at his chest. They pierced directly in his heart, injuring him.

“No…...!” the king collapsed down, holding his chest. Iliana fired fireballs at him. He tried to defend, but he had already lost most of his power.

Suddenly she heard huge sounds outside. She then realised that Queen Ariel had come with her army to help her. The huge giants stormed inside the temple & started slaughtering the evil king. He tried his best to fight them, but they were much powerful as compared to him. Finally, they cut the evil king into two halves & threw them away from the mountain.


Master Kaazam saw the demon army suddenly stop & turn into ashes. He now knew that Iliana must’ve killed the evil king.

For the first time in the Forbidden Islands, sunlight came down on the surface. All the people were joyful & happy for now the evil king was finally destroyed.


Iliana cut the amulet from the king’ head. His body was already thrown from the mountain. Queen Ariel got the small dog & Iliana joined the amulet.

Instantly the dog transformed into a Silver Fairy.

The Fairy then asked for a boon to Iliana.

“I’ve got what I wanted. I’ve discovered myself, the most precious gift that I can give to my guru.”


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