Midsummer's Magic

                                                                                 

                                                                                        Prologue

In the far west of England lies the county of Cornwall. With most of its inhabitants descendants of ancient Celts, it is an area abundant with folklore and legends. One of the most famous would have to be King Arthur and his kingdom of Camelot. Many believed this was located around Tintagel Castle on the north coast of Cornwall. But the legend most people are interested in would have to be about the Cornish Piskies (or faeries). They were said to be small in stature, probably the size of a child, but with the face of an older person. They liked to dress in fancy clothes and hats and accessorized with bells, ribbons, and gems. They were always portrayed as mischievous beings, ruled by their queen, Joan the Wad. She is famous for using faerie light to lure people to the bogs and marshes, sometimes even to their deaths. The Cornish countryside is littered with small stone circles, many of which have mythical stories behind them. They were often linked with Piskies and magic. This is the story of one such circle, found outside a small Cornish village, and the Prophecy of Lost Souls.

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"Jory an Gwyn, step forward and explain yourself." Joan the Wad, queen of the Piskies, sat on her stone throne and glowered at the crowd in front of her. Male and female Piskies stood nearby, watching the old crone as she scanned among them. They chattered nervously to each other, not daring to look her in the eye as she searched out her prey. It didn't take long for a skinny little man, no taller than three foot, nervously shuffled forward, cleared his throat, and squeezed his hat. The queen then leaned forward and thumped her staff on the floor. As a result, a ball of eerie light glowed at the top. The crowd collectively gasped in surprise. "SILENCE!"

Everyone in the room froze at her words. Even Jory couldn't help but let out a small whimper as he cowered in front of his Queen. "Jory an Gwyn. I gave you the position of potion maker in the court hoping that you would be mature enough to handle it. Your job was to make healing potions and salves for members of this court." Jory lifted his head and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off before he could utter a word for his defence. "However, you decided that healing potions were not enough for you and decided to dabble in other forms of magic. Your experiments have wreaked havoc in our village. Not a day goes by that I don't have someone coming to me complaining about your...," she waved her hand around as she searched for a word, "...mishaps." "My...my queen," Jory stuttered, "I can assure you that I meant no harm. I just thought my talents could be put to better use." "You may be the son of a master potion maker, but the only talent you have shown so far is to turn half the population purple and make Taryn Fey fall in love with a cow!" Members of the audience started giggling at her words but automatically pretended to cough once Joan shot them a scathing look. "I feel that it is my duty, in order to protect this community, to hereby banish you to exile." The crowd gasped in shock at her declaration. Jory, meanwhile, stood in silence, stunned by the gravity of his punishment. "My queen, may I make a proposal?" Everyone looked around to see who had spoken. A female Piskie, in a bright blue dress and her styled up red hair adorned with jewels, stepped forward. "Kerensa an Gel, why am I not surprised to see you here?" the queen scoffed. Lifting her head proudly, Kerensa looked at her queen straight in the eye. "It is well known that Jory and I are friends, and I think someone should stand up for him. He may be a bit unorthodox in his approach to magic and potions, but I believe in his talents. And I don't think he should be exiled." The queen impatiently reclined on her throne with arms crossed. "So, princess, what do you propose I do with him?"