Dominions

Chapter 10: Asher

Asher couldn't believe what was happening. Was he honestly supposed to believe that he was transported by magic to a random castle in the middle of God knows where? What happened to Chantel? Was she okay after he was pulled here? He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

    "We should start at the very beginning," said the woman. "My name is Elora. I am the rightful Queen of this land called Glorianna. My people, the Glorians, have lived in harmony for years with foreign realms. Over three hundred years ago, a new realm emerged called Coventry. It was dark, and the Covents were fueled with hate and envy over the success of Gloriana. Their leader was a ruthless man who was possessed with dark magic. He had many horrors in his realm, but none as horrendous as the powers of Vein."

    Elora paused and let her eyes drift to everyone in the room. A tear rolled down her face as she recalled her memories of what happened. Asher felt uncomfortable. It reminded him of the nights when his mother would cry because they couldn't afford rent.

    "Our Guardian is mighty, and most nations fear it, but the Power of Vein was too audacious. The magic is all-consuming. It's been known to change people from good to evil, and it requires a great deal of human and living sacrifices to achieve powerful spells. We couldn't stand up to the Covents with the magic our realm possessed, and they knew that. So our Guardian bestowed upon us the powers of the Dominions."

    Asher shifted in his seat and bit his lower lip. His stomach was in knots. There was no such thing as magic. Asher knew that. He knew the others knew that, so why they allowed this foolishness to continue was beyond him.

    "I want to go home," said Asher as he stood up from the circle. Everyone looked at him, shocked as he walked toward the door. "There's no such thing as magic. This whole story is a weird-ass fantasy, and I demand that you let me go right now!"

    The woman stood up and lifted her hand. A white glow came from it and wrapped around Asher's body. He felt the white light pull at his body, and the more he tried to shake loose, the tighter it got. He gasped as he was lifted into the air and did his best to kick himself free.

    "Listen here, sir," said Elora.

She motioned with her hand to come closer, and Asher flew across the room toward her. He let out a yelp as the light stopped hard in front of Elora and made his whole body jolt. He looked at the others for help, but they were just as scared of what they just saw.

"Put me down!" screamed Asher. He attempted to kick his leg towards Elora, but the light engulfed his body to where he could no longer move.

"I have waited seventeen years to have this conversation," said Elora. She brought Asher's face level and stared into his eyes. "The least you're going to do is listen to what I have to say."

The light disappeared, and Asher fell to the floor with a loud thud. He winced when the hardwood floor hit his butt. When the light was gone, he crawled back to the group and wrapped his arms around his legs. This was all real. There was no denying what just happened. He was lifted into the air by a white light that shot out of a crazy woman's hand.

"I've endured an innumerous amount of tragedy," said Elora. Not a single one of the teenagers spoke as Elora sat back down in their circle. "May I continue now?" Silence answered her question, and she took a deep breath. "The power of the Dominions was revolutionary. They were originally supposed to be granted to one person, but after" she paused and looked down. "After a terrible accident that almost cost us the kingdom, the Guardian decided to place the Dominions in the hands of five individuals."

"What are the Dominions?" asked Elle.

Elora smiled and looked at the teenagers. "The Dominions held power over five essential elements to life. Water, sky, earth, the mind, and death. Each of them was given to five people handpicked by the guardians after the tragic accident."