After training had begun, I felt my strength grow exponentially, and I was now able to hold my own against my father— except of course, my father hadn’t moved any part of his body except for his hand and fingers. Still, the fear that brought out within me had almost disappeared, and it felt like second nature.

  It seemed like time was going by quickly.

  Because that first spar with my father… was around a month ago. The days would gnaw at me, and the unsettling feeling that was all someone else’s plan— plan, never left me. Not when I was training with father, speaking with Cidris, cooking with mother, playing with Millie…

  Or thinking about Sara.

  For around two weeks, Queen Remi hadn’t shown up for tea, and I think it was leaving Sara quite distressed. I had gone up to her to try and comfort her, and she had “accepted” my comfort, but I was still left with guilt—

  Nothing had changed.

  The nightmares had become so commonplace that I wasn’t even terrified of them anymore. Occasionally, the woman’s voice from the Dowsing rang out in my brain, trying to alert me of what I assumed were future events, yet the words didn’t mean anything together.

  Was something… broken?

  Pacing around the living room at the crack of dawn, I yawned, throwing all the silk blinds open to reveal the sunrise. The amber light was enough to fill me up with warmth as I smiled, taking a few steps back and closing my eyes to enjoy it.

  As soon as I closed my eyes, I felt the trembling in the atmosphere, shuddering around me and wrapping around me subconsciously. It was like a second skin now, always there, always helping me. And to me, it felt like the force of life was the most loving of all.

  Stretching my arms, I glanced backwards.

  The door to the library was closed, as always…

  Peering closer, I found that it was the slightest bit ajar, like someone had gone in but forgotten to close it completely. Curious, I walked over to it, trying to look through the stained glass window in the middle of the door to no avail.

  Wiping the thick layers of dust off of it, I saw the silhouette of a woman.

  Gradually, my ears met with a heavenly, haunting melody, precarious notes that sounded deep inside my brain to form a harmony— one that filled me with intense emotion.

  My body shuddered as I held the handle, slowly opening the door so that it wouldn’t squeak.

  Well, the hinges had been recently oiled.

  I looked in awe at the library.

  Our library, for a cottage, was quite large. The “cottage” was the size of a small manor in the first place, and the majority of the first floor was the .

  The one that my father had forbidden me from entering.

  It was filled with the thick, nostalgic scent of hardcover books and paper. As I tiptoed across the wooden floor, kicking up dust and scrunching my nose to prevent myself from coughing, I looked up at the towering shelves, wishing that I could simply pick a book and read it.

  But that wasn’t what I came here to do.

  Turning around an aisle of books, I pushed some stacks further away from me as I was met with a wonderful sight. The woman— my mother, was hunched over a large, wooden instrument attached to the wall. Her eyes were closed, yet her elegance was apparent as her fingers danced across the black and white keys.

  The sound of each press brought heaven to my ears.

  Softly, I whispered. “ Since I wasn’t sure what expression to show on my face. I didn’t want to interrupt my mother, so I quickly took a few more glances, turned around to block the filtered light, and prepared to leave.

  “Wait, Amir.” My mother’s pure voice rang out, stopping me.

  Light as a feather, my head turned back toward the instrument.

  She turned towards me as well, a warm smile on her face.

  “Do you want to learn?” She left the subject ambiguous.

  Slowly…

  Filtered golden light began to stretch across the room as I realized the sun was rising higher in the sky. Slowly walking back to the door and shutting it quietly, I dashed towards my mother, who lifted me, placing me on her lap, and taking her fingers off of the instrument.

  How long had it been, that I was able to spend time with my mother like this?

  I realized that maybe… I’d been taking her for granted?

  Even if the world fell, my mother would be

  “What is this?” I asked softly, pressing my finger on a key.

  A bright sound rang out, happy and beautiful. Without pausing, I pressed another key, and another sound echoed through the library— this time, it was sad and melancholic.

  “It’s called a piano. An instrument that all the races came together to create, one of the most beautiful advancements of the world as a whole. At least according to me.” My mother smiled while ruffling my hair, playing a sad melody with her left hand that reminded me of the rain. As if on cue, I heard the of drops falling outside.

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  A… How… wonderful?

  I’m not sure what to call it. Nothing seemed to fit.

  “The elves, the dwarves, the humans, the sea people, and even the witches and vampires came together in Minacht, just over a century ago. And the story goes, that through fifty days and fifty nights they thought, thought, and thought…”

  My mother began to play another melody, an infinitely deep one that chilled me to the bone. It reminded me of the child, of my time in the other dimension before I was born, and strangely, I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. Lifting my hands up in front of my face, I watched silently.

  My mother wiped my face— she noticed everything.

  She guided my fingers across the keys, letting me play the melody.

  “Would you like to know a bit more about your mother?” She asked, sincere and gentle, enough so that I wouldn’t be scared away, just right so that I still to know everything.

  I nodded without hesitation.

  She giggled a little bit.

  “Before I took your father’s surname— my family name was Amina Rose, that was who I was.” My mother paused for a moment, letting that sink in. “Rose, Blackwood, and Heather. The three families, with the title of the ”

  “The… oldest?” I asked curiously.

  My mother nodded, continuing her entrancing keypresses.

  “In this world, families are power. They are political power, as well as spiritual power… The ones who inherit the of those families are called Your father has mentioned this to you, right?”

  Well, yes. My father did say something.

  But he didn’t actually tell me what were.

  “Hmm, you seem a bit confused, don’t you? I should have let Iyad allow you to read the books here, there’s a restricted section for a reason, not everything is bad…” Placing a finger on her lips thoughtfully, my mother picked me up, placing me on the ground. She tapped her foot, and all the dust blew away in the wind.

  What was left was a small, circular clearing of wood.

  That was where I sat as she rummaged through the bookshelves.

  I stared at her back, wondering.

  Anticipation clawed at my throat.

  The bubbling excitement that made me feel like I was going to burst lived on, through these small moments. Not everything was foreboding, I realized.

  I heard three consecutive noises as three books fell in a perfect stack in front of me. I reached out, but my mother pushed my hand away gently, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. As she laid the books out in front of me, I read their names.

  And finally, the one that interested me the most…

  Hushed, I simply watched books below me as my mother stared at them for a while, finally picking up by She smiled as she embraced it, and then blushed slightly in embarrassment when she realized what she was doing.

  “This book was written by my mother, and your grandmother. Unfortunately… she is no longer with us.” My mother’s voice trembled slightly as I watched, unable to comfort her in any way.

  Because how could I?

  It wasn’t my place, or my duty to do so.

  But still, I

  “I’m sorry.” I said simply, looking down.

  “Don’t be. I apologize for souring the atmosphere.” She smiled, opening the thick book. I suddenly realized that it was completely blank. Each page that my mother flipped through was filled with nothing, no traces of ink, not even a smear.

  I watched dumbfounded, as she placed her palm on it.

  Slowly, the in the surroundings began to crowd around her— it wasn’t by force of will, but more like a deep desire which caused the movement. Wreathed in a slight golden halo, my mom said something, loud and clear.

  A chorus of angelic humming began to sound, surrounding me in its delight as I watched the book slowly become enveloped with Am, turning into a pure ball of light as it spread slowly, out into a structure that hovered in the air.

  The structure was about the size of our dinner table.

  Three layers floated on top of each other, connected by two things— a gigantic tree in the middle, whose roots seemed to stretch from the horizon to the center of the world, encapsulating all three gigantic landmasses and oceans. And second, a waterfall that fell from the summit of the tree, through each layer.

  I was quick to realize that each was a

  A small-scale replica of what I assumed to be the “world”.

  It was truly magical.

  Powered by Am in every way… but even I didn’t know that there were applications for Am like this. And I was right— there While this was Am, there was a mixture of Yu in there…

  A combination… meaning the Parables influenced it somehow.

  My mother pointed at each layer.

  Her voice was silky, soft, and ethereal.

  “There are three realms of the world that are known to exist— and at the center of each realm, lies the , the center of all Am in the world, and the most divine place of all.”

  My mother pointed at the gargantuan, spiraling tree, whose roots stretched across the entire world and whose leaves and branches separated the realms like a canopy. Then, she pointed at the waterfall.

  “The tree allows those chosen to travel between realms— but there exists another way— the Waterfall of Life, also known as the ” Blinking my eyes, I was shocked to hear that name.

  The The one that supposedly, the “Raikai” had made?

  Were the Raikai really so powerful that they could bridge a gap between realms? It seemed absurd to me— there must be a mistake somewhere. But my mother continued to speak.

  “The lowest realm is known as and it is where the demons reside. One day, a prophecy foretells that a demon will rise to become and our world will be invaded by demons— it is then, the prophecy says, the ”

  The demon king… human hero… it seemed like a standard prophecy.

  Yet with the way my mother was speaking, it didn't sound so simple.

  “Why… are you telling me all this?” I asked my mother.

  Damnit.

  Why did I—

  “Because one day, Amir, you will leave this cottage, leave the Sherwood, and venture out into the world. I would have hoped to save this for later, but your Mark is spreading too quickly… your dear mother has one as well, you know.” Lifting her palm, I saw what looked like a shimmering in and out of existence.

  I couldn’t quite catch what it looked like.

  My mother’s use of the name from my Dowsing, gave me clues.

  Of course… I knew my mother was marked.

  Yet I feigned surprise regardless.

  “Mom, you’re—”

  “Yes.” My mother smiled. “But didn’t you already know?” She giggled.

  “If it's the piano you want to learn, I’ll teach you that today as well. But first, wouldn't it be nice to know about more than just this small place here? You’re going to leave the nest as you grow, won’t you?”

  I smiled wistfully at the thought, because…

  Yes, I suppose I would.

  “... Yes, mom.” I agreed brightly.

  She nodded simply, full of emotion.

  “The lower realm, the one we call — the name originates from old historians, is a realm constantly pressured by the other two. On Earth, there are two continents— and separated by the a gigantic chasm of an ocean filled with dark, nightmarish creatures.”

  My mother paused to let me digest what she was telling me. If this was all true, the world might be more fantastical than I had imagined at the start of my life— yes, this could be more than I had previously thought!

  I tried to memorize the landscape. My eyes fixated on a tiny area far in the northeast of Caerthys— a small forest, incomparable to the other great ones. This area was labeled in golden writing—

  My fingers drifted over it longingly.

  That… was here.

  We were on the map.

  Somewhere on the outskirts of those woods, there was a cottage. A cottage where two families lived together, struggling through hardships and pushing through life with smiles on their faces.