The Opus Of Spells

For he opened the Book, and read the spell,

Never knowing, what the insides of the Book would Dwell.

"Daniel, get up & have your breakfast…!"

Hearing his mom's voice, Daniel woke up, only to realize it was morning around.

 "Get up, son. You'll be late to school." His mom said, as she entered his bedroom.

Yawning, Daniel sat up on his bed, and looked at the Violet Crystal Ball placed next to his pillow.

"Now stop looking at that. Come downstairs. I have your favorite candy on the table.” His mom said, as she arranged his school bag.

Daniel quickly got up and while brushing his teeth, looked at the Voodoo Magic Book, handwritten by his grandfather, Lord Artemis, who was popularly called Uncle Art in the entire village. He had placed it on the bottom most shelf of his personal library. His bedroom was full of pictures from various sea-shores all around the world.

Earlier night, before sleeping, he took out this book, which he found in the cellar, along with the Violet Crystal Ball inside an old wardrobe. Unbeknownst to his parents, he had quietly brought it to his room. He wanted to open the book and read all the Magic Spells written in it, but he did not dare to do so, for he feared the magic may backfire on him & his family.

But he liked the Violet coloured Crystal ball, which housed a white mountain & free flowing snow-like particles all around. In the middle was a human figure, next to a small wooden bench.

He never mentioned about the book to anyone, to avoid attracting any unnecessary attention towards himself.

The entire day in the school, he was only thinking about the book & the ball. He tried to brush those thoughts away, but still, somehow he wanted to read that book and understand something about magic.

Finally, that night, he decided to open that book. It was tightly tied with red laces from all sides, and was about the size of a modern diary.

As Daniel untied the laces, a bad thought brushed his mind.

What if, this book has trapped an evil inside it? What if that evil consumes him, never letting him out of the magic?

Brushing it away, he opened the book. On the first page, a name was written in old English style letters.

Lord Arkamenn.

Who is he? Daniel thought.

On the next page, there was a spell named Gilesto Hozmonweed. The names and spells both were written in English. Daniel tried all the other pages, but all the other spells and their meanings were written in foreign or unknown languages.

However, at the end of the book, there was a story, a story which he had never heard of.

Before sleeping, he read the spell written in English.

Daniel opened his eyes. He turned and saw a beautiful landscape. It was a bit cold, and Daniel observed it was due to the snow falling around. The air was very much fresh, and the surroundings were quite and silent. 

"Hello, my child." 

Suddenly Daniel heard a soft voice. He looked in front and saw a man in Tuxedo suit, standing a few feet away from him. 

Somehow Daniel didn't like his presence. He was about to ask something when he heard a huge banging sound. 

 

Daniel woke up and saw his mother screaming at him.

"Get up, you fool...! You are already late...!! What will you answer your teacher... That you were dreaming?"

Daniel quickly got up and got ready.

While at the breakfast table, he decided to ask about Lord Arkamenn to his parents.

"Mom, dad, have you heard about the wizard who trapped the king, who was ruling this village many years ago, and how lord Arkamenn released the king?"

Both of them looked at each other.

"There is no story of this type that we have heard of. Now, get ready fast and go to school instead of thinking about such stories. And don't forget your candy." His dad scolded him.

The whole day, Daniel was thinking about the dream. Who could be that man whom I saw?

That night, Daniel read the spell and went to sleep.

He was again in that mysterious place. 

The man in black tuxedo suit welcomed him. 

“Hello my child." 

He was tall, fair and had a wooden cane with leather handle, which he swirled after every little while. 

"Who are you, sir? And what is this place?" Daniel asked. 

On hearing his question, the man smiled. It was the most pleasant smile he had seen. 

"You are in your own world, my child. The world which you like the most. The world, where every magic comes true." The man replied, while swirling the stick in his hands.

"I have read about such world in books. But it only exists in fantasy. Nothing of it is actually true." Daniel replied, using the knowledge of the books he read.

The man smiled again. 

"Think of it again, my child. Everything is possible, nothing is fantasy in this World. Magic exists everywhere around us, in every nook & corner of this Mighty nature, it's just that we are unaware of its presence." Saying this, the man moved his cane in the air, and a candy appeared in Daniel's hands. 

"Wow... That's my favourite...!" Daniel yelped in joy. 

Daniel opened his eyes. He was on his bed, with the candy in his hands.

So the magic works well, he thought.

That whole day, he was impatiently waiting for the night, thinking about what he would demand tonight.

In the evening, he quickly finished his dinner and went to his room. Very much excited to have another candy, he read the spell and tried to sleep, but his excitement was too high. He couldn't sleep the whole night. He closed his eyes, tried to focus on his breathing. He did everything he could, but just couldn’t sleep. Everytime, thoughts of the man & the magical place, wherever it was, kept coming in his mind.

The next day, after having breakfast, with an exhausted mind, he read the spell again & started for the school. He boarded the school bus & got a seat. While all his other friends were chit-chatting about the school & the homework, Daniel’s mind was in a different wavelength. The whole way till the school, he kept thinking about the man in tuxedo suit, and his magic.

The man in black tuxedo was standing in front of him. 

"How are you, my child? You didn't come to meet me yesterday?" 

"I couldn't sleep the whole night, I tried sleeping, but it just couldn't happen." 

"No problem, my child. Such things do happen." The man said.

Suddenly Daniel woke up. There was a candy in his hands. While seating in the bus, he had dozed off, engrossed in his thoughts.

So the black man came to meet me, even during daytime. But why does he come to meet me? Is it because of the book or the spell?

That night, after reading the spell, he fell asleep and met the man.

"Who are you? And what's your name?" 

The man smiled. Bending down, he brought his face close to his friend's. 

"How come you did not recognise me? When you were a kid, your dad used to get you an orange-coloured teddy bear every week, because you liked orange colour. And you loved that snow white rabbit so much, you literally cried like anything, just to have it stay with you. You were so adorable in that white coloured hat and clothes, that photo is still in your living room."

“But, how come you know all of this? That photo in the living room, was kept there by my.... "

And then, suddenly he realized. 

“Grandpa...?”

"Yes my child..!" Uncle Art said, with tears in his eyes. Both of them hugged each other. 

Daniel woke up. With tears in his eyes, looked around and saw he was in his room. A chocolate candy was kept in his hands. He still couldn’t believe he met his grandfather in his dreams.

As he sat on the breakfast table, he wanted to tell his parents about what he had seen in his dreams, but he feared his parents may not believe what he was saying.

"Study properly, your exams are approaching." his mom said as she helped him get in the school bus.

While on the way to school, Daniel still kept thinking about his Grandpa and how good he was as a human being.

"Who are you...?" Daniel kept running away from someone. He couldn't see who it was, but it was something human, something which looked human, with an abstract body. 

"Listen.... To... Me...." he heard a voice from behind. The thing tried to catch hold of Daniel.

"No.... Get away...!" Daniel screamed at the top of his voice. He did not dare to look behind.

 

Suddenly, Daniel opened his eyes. Every kid in the bus was looking at him.

"What happened son, are you alright?" The school bus conductor came & asked him.

Daniel was so terrified; he could hardly speak. He was still thinking of that thing which had followed him in his dreams.

The whole day in school, Daneil kept thinking about that thing. He clearly remembered not reading the spell, then what was it in his dreams?

"You said, someone followed you?" Grandpa asked. 

"Yes, I couldn't see who it was, but that thing was terrifying....it was trying to... to catch me...! It was as if it wanted to tell me something. I don’t know what it was, but I dared not to look behind…!" 

Grandpa was silent for a few moments. 

"I have an idea. Remember the dairy that you have found out? It is called The Opus of Spells. Keep that book next to you tonight and sleep. See if that thing attacks you again." 

"But who could be it? Isn’t there any spell or verse in that book which I could read and keep that evil thing away?" 

Grandpa was thoughtful for a few minutes. 

"Don't get panicked, but that is Jareth, the evil sorcerer, and he is possibly trying to catch you. Almost a century ago, he was trying to capture the King’s castle. A very good disciple of mine, he had excelled himself in the art of Magic & spells. The Royal King called him my successor, but then, somehow, he changed."

“Why did that happen?”

“It’s simple, he wanted greatness. He wanted to be the Supreme Lord of Magic. And he started overcoming me in everything. He had even gone to the King, to ask for more power, and when the King denied, that was when he tamed the Royal King and took over the castle.”

“After that, you had a fight with him & defeated him?”

 “I had to. I took away all the Magic he had learned, but now, somehow, the evil one has awakened himself.”

"So how do I avoid him?" Daniel was terrified. 

"Don't worry, just keep the book with you. The book is magical. It beholds many magical spells that were used by me during my days of Witchcraft. And if you can, read the first 10 spells from the book. I know you cannot understand the language, but just keep your fingers once on all of them. Let them come into your mind.”

The next full day, Daniel kept the book with him in his bag, as was told to him by his grandpa.

But still the evil one came in his dreams, trying to talk to him.

This time, Daniel saw his face. It was distorted & looked very hideous, but something about the eyes of that evil one troubled him.

He had seen those eyes somewhere.

 

That night, Daniel met his grandpa.

 

"Even though I kept the book with me, that Evil Sorcerer kept coming in my dreams. Today, while I was in school, don't know how, but I dozed off, and saw him. He was trying to chase me again...!" Daniel was now getting afraid of the Evil Demon.

Grandpa was terrified. On hearing him, he closed his eyes for a few moments, before speaking:

"That means, he has released himself. We need to do something to stop him. Else, if he gains control over you, everything will go out of control. Using your thoughts, it will make you read out all the spells and will re-birth itself into the Evil Sorcerer again." 

Daniel was horrified on hearing the reality. "What should I do to help you?" 

"Let me cast some spells. The best that I can do is to stop him from coming in your dreams. Did you read the spells I told you to?"

“Yes, I was not able to understand, but I kept my right finger on every word.”

“Good, keep doing it. That will help you in many ways.”

The next day, Daniel couldn't pay attention in school at all. Every 10 minutes, he kept dozing off, and the evil sorcerer kept coming in his dreams.

That night, before sleeping, he kept the book next to him, to try and keep the evil demon away from his dreams. As usual, before sleeping, he read the spell, because he wanted to meet his Grandpa.

"But what happened to you, grandpa?" Daniel asked, as soon as he saw Uncle Art.

"I tried to fight the evil sorcerer, but he is gaining more power. His powers are slowly increasing. We need to somehow stop him, else, if his power grows, it will be difficult to stop him." Grandpa replied. He looked exhausted and tired, possibly due to the exertion that had happened to him. 

“Tell me how I should help you.” Daniel asked on looking at his grandpa’s condition. He was eager to help his grandpa and finish the demon once and for all.

"Remember one thing. Whatever you place your hand on while sleeping, it will come in your dreams. Check, you have the diary with you." 

Daniel checked his side. The diary was placed next to him on the wooden bench. 

"Give that to me. Using the spells in this book, I remove out the demon." 

Daniel gave that book to grandpa.

After this, for two full night's, grandpa didn't come in Daniel's dreams. He read the spell in English 2-3 times before sleeping, even throughout the day, but still, somehow, grandpa didn’t appear.

What must have happened to him? Daniel wondered.

The third night, however, grandpa appeared, looking much happier.

“You’re back.” Daniel asked him. He was overjoyed on seeing his grandpa.

"Why do you look so young?" Daniel asked him that one question which was troubling him since quite a long time. 

"it's because you are seeing me in the same way you have been informed about, my young age, my charm, and my beautiful works in youth days." Grandpa replied.

"Where were you for two nights?" Daniel asked him.

"I finally managed to put away the evil demon. It did took me sometime for that. But now, he won’t come in your dreams." 

Looking around, Daniel realized he had come in the same open area. With flecks of snow flowing throughout, the entire landscape was white. But this time, it was snowing heavier than usual. The green landscape was not looking green anymore. It was all white, with everything blanketed in white snow. A cool wind was blowing, creating chills.

Daniel wondered why it is looking different than every day. 

“Grandpa, since these are summers, outside, even at night, it’s too hot. I like coming here since it’s very cool in this place. You know what, before sleeping, I always keep my favorite Crystal Ball next to me, because I wanted to show it to you. But somehow, the Crystal Ball is not with me now.” Daniel said.

“That’s amazing.” Grandpa said, with a little smile on his face. "I would like to thank you, my child, you helped me in taking down and permanently removing that demon from us. You are very clever." 

“I noticed one thing the previous night, you told me to place my hand on the book and have it with me in my dream. So I can get anything here. But why is the Crystal Ball not with me?" Daniel asked. 

Grandpa gave a hearty laugh. He waved his wooden cane in the air, and in an instant, a feast of his favourite chocolate candies appeared in front of Daniel.

“Oh.... So many candies....! I have these every night, but today, my stomach is a bit upset….” Daniel replied, while trying to push back his urge to have the candies.

In an instant, the chocolate candies vanished.

Grandpa purposely didn’t answer his question.

“Grandpa, can you please give that diary back to me? I am asking that because, ultimately, we are in a dream, which is not the reality. In reality, I'll keep that diary safe, and don't worry, I won't be able to read any of those magical versus written in it.” Daniel requested. 

Grandpa was silent for a few moments.

“I need it, so that I can move out of this space, my child. And I want it because,” he came closer and brought his face so close to Daniel’s that the kid could smell his rotten breath, “Your Grandpa placed me here.”

 

For a moment, Daniel didn't speak at all. He just kept quiet, trying to digest the reality. 

 

“But this is a dream. How will my grandpa place you in my dreams?”

“You really think you are in a dream, kid?” Still keeping his face close to Daniel’s, the man who had called himself Uncle Art laughed. Horrified, Daniel stepped behind and observed the surroundings.

It was the same snowy field on all three directions, and he knew that clearly. The same was behind….

Wait.

Daniel looked behind and was shocked.

Behind him, was the White Castle, towering high in the night sky. The sky was black, and he saw the snow was not falling straight, but continued to move in circles around the entire landscape.

“Don’t you realize where you are, kiddo?” The man in black suit, who had called himself Uncle Art said, laughing out loudly, “You are in your favorite crystal ball, my child. You see, Lord Arkamenn, the famous wizard entrapped me in this crystal ball, which, you found days ago in your Grandpa’s closet and moved it out. And if you may know…. I am the master of Human Minds. I can control your mind & subsequently, I can control what you think & dream.”

“So you are Jareth, the evil wizard who had trapped the King in his castle…!” Daniel suddenly realized the truth. “But it was all a myth. My Grandpa used to tell stories about you to my father. My dad used to tell me those stories many times …!”

“Oh, you humans are such fools & idiots.” Jareth gave a huge laugh, “Didn’t you know that the spell you unknowingly read every night, was actually to activate your dreams? Didn’t you ever think, I mean you cannot think that much since you are small, that all the spells, except the one in the start, were written in Indo-Aryan & Latin scripts? Because no one can read them…!”

Shocked, Daniel realized he was used by the Evil Demon.

“But if I can’t read, why did you tell me to place a finger on all those magical words?” 

Jareth laughed again.

“The magical spells carry a lot of power. If reciting them can change a person, just placing your fingers on them will also get the energy inside you. And, as I told, I am the Master of Human Minds and I can clearly ‘read’ your thoughts. Don’t you remember, why you kept getting chocolate candies everytime you met me, in your dreams & reality?”

All the realities suddenly hit the young Kid.

“But that book has been written by my grandpa…!” Daniel was now agitated by his own actions.

Jareth laughed again.

“You think that whole book was written by your grandpa? That’s not the case my child. Your grandpa did write the book, but I, using my powers, added that spell in the beginning in the most commonly spoken language, English, so that you can read it & bring me out and, of course, we could meet, in your dreams.”

Daniel could do nothing, but could only hear all about his wrongdoings.

“Understand this, nothing’s a myth, my child. All are facts. It is just that sometimes, reality is made a myth, as per the storyteller’s convenience.” The man in black suit, who called himself Jareth, gave a wicked smile.

“Aeons ago, I learned powers from Lord Arkamenn, and I just wanted to help the King. But your grandpa trapped me with the King’s castle inside this crystal ball….! But now, amazingly, you have helped me come out of this. Goodbye…!” saying this, Jareth waved his walking stick in the air.

There was a bright, blinding flash for a second.

The next instant, he woke up in his room.

He looked around and saw it was daytime. The diary was still with him.

He quickly looked at the Crystal Ball.

Everything was as is inside it. The same castle, the same snow flecks and the same tiny statue in the front.

He smiled.

“Thank you, my child.” The kid now decided to call himself Daniel.

100 years earlier, Lord Arkamenn was seated inside a cave, facing the hoodoo sorcerer.

“I trapped that evil wizard in the crystal ball, Grand Master, but I don’t believe him. He can create magic on anyone. What if someone finds that Crystal ball, and the wizard mesmerizes that person to get that diary back? Once free, he can’t be trapped again. He is a master in controlling minds, something which none of us are able to do.”

The hoodoo sorcerer stayed silent for a few moments, his eyes closed.

Then he slowly opened his eyes, and spoke in a hoarse voice, “Unknown to Jareth, the Isolecto Celestenum spell is to be cast on that diary by you. Remember, that spell be not written anywhere in the book. The evil one may discard the diary after coming out, but that spell will still work. For how much ever witchcraft the evil one may do, before dawn of the next day, all of that will be diminished and he will be back in the Crystal ball at night.”

“But with this, he will keep coming out every night, Grand Master. How should we stop this?” the Lord questioned.

The hoodoo sorcerer smiled.

Daniel opened his eyes, after the bright, blinding flash.

He remembered everything about the previous night, how the evil sorcerer tricked him and got the book and how he was trapped in the crystal ball.

Staying inside was the loneliest part of all the times he had. It was absolutely silent inside, he could not even hear the wind blowing.

And then he saw the statue. It was placed atop a small pedestal & it’s hands & legs were turned away.

Something seemed familiar to him about it.

What is it? 

Being curious, he approached it, only to find a stunning surprise waiting for him.

The statue was the same person, the horrific looking guy who had come in his dreams, trying to speak to him.

But there was something different about him.

The face & the eyes.

Where had he seen the face? The eyes…..

He had seen these eyes in all the photos, in his room.

"Hey Danny, my child... How are you doing?" he heard someone speak in a very soft voice.

At once, the realization hit him like a lightning bolt.

"Grandpa...?" He immediately knew it was his grandfather, because his father had told him that it was his grandfather who had given him his nickname – Danny, when he was born.

"Oh grandpa, I don't know how, but I failed to recognize you." The demon did lure him by saying some things of his childhood, but he had never addressed him by his nick name.

How did I forgot all this? He thought.

"It’s ok, son." The statue spoke. "I tried a lot to stop you from believing him, but the evil demon had turned me into a statue, totally stopping my moments."

"But how did you turned up inside this crystal ball?" Daniel asked, now realizing that the small statue he saw every time inside the ball was actually his grandfather.

"After I defeated the evil demon, I thought the negativity was over. But it did not. I trapped him inside this ball, but he silently kept increasing his powers. It was my mistake I didn't burn down this ball the moment that sorcerer was trapped inside, and this was what backfired on me. After I died, he trapped my soul here, in this abstract statue. "

"So that's the reason you were trying to contact me, with this same abstract body."

"Yes. The demon desperately wanted to access that book, because it contained a number of spells written in the ancient language, which will help him get access to all the demonic powers in this world. It is all in the book." Grandpa was silent for a while.

“He has got access to that book, and using his magical abilities, he wrote the Gilesto Hozmonweed spell. This is the dream spell, which will compel a person to dream & the bearer, or the one who wrote this spell, can come in the reader’s dream, in any place the bearer decides.”

“But how do we stop him? If that book is so powerful, it has gone into the wrong hands. "

“Don’t worry Danny. You will be back in your own home tomorrow morning. Just do one thing, once you get back, burn down this ball in the forest. And dissolve the ashes in seawater. "

“But grandpa, this is your favorite one. You used to have this ball every time with you. This is the only thing that I have which reminds me of you."

"I know that, Danny, but you have to be honest with this. You cannot keep this ball permanently, because it is dangerous. Even though the demon will be trapped here and you will be out, he is evil, and evil cannot be trusted, so do what I say."

“But what about the book, grandpa? Even if he comes inside, he shall still have the book.” Daniel asked a valid question.

“Remember, he will never let go off that book & as per the spell, he will be trapped inside with that. So do what I say, tomorrow morning, go to the sea shore, burn this ball & scatter the ashes in the sea.”

Danny spent the whole time with his grandpa, chatting and telling him stories about himself.

After some time, he fell asleep.

Due to his own abstract body, he couldn't even touch and feel his grandson. He also knew that this would be the last time he is seeing him.

He remembered what his grandmaster, the voodoo sorcerer had told him, 100 Years ago.

“Only once will the spell work. Unkownest to anyone, scatter the words all around in the entire book. The last word in the last spell will activate this reversible spell. The evil one may use any spell to come out. And after coming out, to unleash all his power, the evil one will read all the spells, thereby activating this reversible spell. And, before dawn of the next day, in the Crystal ball the evil one will be trapped, forever, and all the magic and bad doings he has done, will be redone. "

The next day, Daniel woke up in his room. He remembered everything that was being told to him by his grandpa.

And as was told, he took the crystal ball with him, burned it on the sea shore, using a liquid fuel, and scattered the ashes in the seawater.

"Thank you, grandpa. I will always miss you." Daniel said to himself, as he sat on the sea shore, hearing the soothing sound of the waves.