THE LITTLE MAGICIAN AND THE GOD OF DREAMS
By LOUISA SYAURA AMALIA
HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY
“Mommy, I can’t sleep.” said a little girl from the door frame of a dimly lit office,
where two women werer talking. One was wearing a white cloak with a tall collar so
high it covered half of her face before she turned to see the source of the voice.
The woman in the white cloak smiled softly then she spoke to her counterpart,
whispering something that made her exclaimed. “But my lady, this is an emergency
situation. She is back and the people need you!”
She then pulled her white cloak, calmly wore it off and gave it to her
subordinate. “In this sleepless night, Joanne, nobody needs me more than my
daughter. I’ll be back in short.” She said and left the room before picking up the little
girl in her white pajamas.
The little girl was clenching onto her mother all the way to her bedroom, and
her mother would stroke her hair very gently, and so gently she was when she put
her daughter on her bed.
“The thunders kept me awake, Mommy.” Pouted the little girl, holding to her
mother’s arms still.
“Hmm, then I wonder what could get you to sleep.” The mother said in a playful
tone.
“Read me a story, Mommy! I promise I’ll ignore the thunders and sleep.”
The mother laughed. “Okay then. I do have an amazing story to tell you! It
happened long time ago-”
“Don’t you need a book, Mommy?” The little girl asked when her mother
started to recite.
“Oh I remember this one just fine, dear.” The mother said and tap her finger on
her daughter’s nose, and her daughter giggle as her mother took a deap breath and
started again...
...
It happened a long time ago in a nation on the foot of a mountain, called
Herona. The country was blessed everyday with nice weather and good food. Tourists
come and go everyday to see with their own eyes the beautiful view of the sun rising
from the mountain’s summit or the sunset in Herona’s western sea. But what was
amazing from Herona was its people, for they were no ordinary humans, they were
wizards and witches, called Magi. Everyone there lived happily, including a girl named
Lisa, this is a story about her.
Lisa lived by the sea with just her mother, a humble brewer who sold remedies for
coughes or mild fevers, sometimes allergies. Lisa was a Magi like everyone else in
Herona, she could fly on a broomstick, brew potions, or make things move with a swift
of her hand, but her favorite was pyromancy, the fire magic. Lisa loved her mother so
much, and so did her mother to her, although her mother sometimes worry for Lisa
loved studying pyromancy so much, because fire was identic with bad lucks back then.
Her mother was afraid that Lisa would fail in her life for she loved fire more than
everyone else in the country.
Other than her mother, Lisa had another person who was just like a family to her,
a man in the same age of Lisa’s mother, a fisherman named Bern. He’d come to their
house to buy her mother’s potions every week. Once he had asked for a potion to make
him stronger so he could catch the Kraken, the legendary sea-beast. Lisa loved Bern as
much as she loved her mother. But sometimes, looking at Bern would make her sad, for
she remembered that once she had asked her mother about where her father was, and
her mother had sadly answered, “I’m sorry, Lisa, but I don’t know, he left us a long time
ago.” The answer her mother gave her made Lisa think that it was probably for the best
if she was not to question about the topic anymore, and that was the last time she
wondered about her father.
One night in Herona, it was Lisa’s seventeenth birthday on the first day of the
third month. It was a tradition for Magis to venture to study wizardry further when they
turn seventeen. While many Magis would cross the seas or climb mountains to do their
part of the tradition, for Lisa never went to anywhere for as long as she has ever lived,
she only settled for Herona’s capital city, Maerd, where the people there were infamous
for their kindness towards newcomers.
Lisa was to start her journey to the city when the moon is out, and that night was
a stormy night, where thunders and winds seemed to battle each other. But Lisa was
determined to ‘celebrate’ her coming of age then and there.
“Would you not like to wait until the storm calms, dear?” Asked her mother, as
worry as she usually was towards her only daughter.
Lisa smiled calmly and hold both of her mother’s hands. “Mother, I’m a Magi, a
fully grown one at that, and I’ve survived countless of storms with you and Bern before.
This one is no different. Now, Mother, I’ll take my leave. I love you.”
“Oh, I love you too, my fire. Be careful.” Her mother replied and kissed her dearest
daughter, crying as she did.
With that, Lisa left her tiny house and her beloved mother to the city, to fulfill her
childhood dream to be the best and kindest pyro Magi ever to live as she felt courage
and ambition inside her raged. She was ready to tackle every challenges that may
come. But before anything, she needed to get through the storm safely.
After endless of exhausting walk all night in the rain, Lisa finally arrived at the
city’s famous white gate made of rocks where a writing was sculptured on it, saying
“Welcome to Maerd, the City of Dreams.”
“The city of dreams indeed!” Lisa said to herself, and continued to walk. Her first
destination was the beautiful citadel, which was known with its golden bell that made
beautiful ringing echoes, so beautiful that it was said that those who declared their
wishes by midnight when the bell is chiming would have their wishes granted.
Lisa couldn’t even start to imagine how beautiful the citadel was, for halfway
there she had seen many mesmerizing things, like pearls and emeralds at display, silver
roses and giant crysanthemums growing in front porches which smell reminded her
that she was hungry, so she decided to have her lunch by the nearest park. The park
was very lovely as well, there were lots of people having a walk or picnics with their
loved ones, and birds were chirping when Lisa sat on a long chair where in front of it
was a fountain spurting water that sparkled, and as the warm breeze swept her cheeks,
she enjoyed her lunch after heating it with a fire she had created with a snap of her
finger to warm the meal.
“Pyromancy.” Said a raspy voice beside her and she saw an old man sitting next
to her. Suddenly she remembered that once her mother had said that most people
thought fire meant bad luck.
“Oh, I am truly sorry if I had startled you, sir, but this pyromancy is never to be
used for harmful acts. I was just heating my meal.” Lisa explained in the most
mannerful way her mother had taught her.
But the The old man had yelled, gaining everyone’s attention in the park.
“Pyromancy!” In no time everyone started screaming all at once at Lisa, attacking Lisa
with words, some with sentences she doesn’t know what it meant.
“Leave the town!”
“Bad luck!”
“The beast rider!”
Before she could defend herself or ask the meaning behind those words, Lisa’s
hands were pulled to the back and she cried in pain when she was tied.
“But, what did I do?” She cried in disbelief. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“No, but you’re a pyro Magi, the practice is forbidden in the city.” Said her
capturer as he took her arm, and Lisa saw a man in a blue uniform,he was a police
Magi.
“What, but I harmed nobody-”
“Be silent if you do not want a binding spell casted onto your mouth.”
“I AM HARMLESS!” Lisa cried again, and before she noticed, she had heated her
palms so hot that the handcuff melted and the police who grabbed her cried out in
pain and pulled his hand back. Everyone near her screamed, some even duck their
head, while Lisa was frightened with their reactions while the police still hurting on the
ground.
“FIRE IS NOT EVIL AT ALL! PLEASE, LISTEN!” Lisa begged out, but none of them
did, then one person had thrown a tomato at her, and others followed throwing her
with more tomatoes, smash peas, even pebbles, and one might hit her head if it wasn’t
for a fire shield she needed to rose, knowing even if it would scare the people even
more. People froze when they saw the yellow and red shield, Lisa saw this as her
chance to leave, so she took her bag then ran as fast as she could from the park and
search somewhere for her to hide.
After running for quite some time with police Magis chasing her behind, she
finally managed to get them off her when she turned in a dark alley. She then sat in
the alley, next to a garbage can and wept. Her first day in the city of dreams, and she
had encountered quite of some bad lucks. She began to wonder if she should continue
chasing her dream, but before she decide anything, she had cried herself to sleep.
In the midnight, Lisa was awaken to the sound of a bell chiming, it was the most
beautiful sound she had ever heard after her mother’s voice. “The citadel.” She had
realized, and she mustered all the courage in her heart to go to where the sound came.
She looked from the right to left before she left the alley to see if it was safe for her to
be out, but nobody was at sight, the roads were empty, and up there the moon was
shining.
Turns after turns she took to get to the citadel, when finally she arrived in a large
place circled by buildings around it, and in the center was a high tower painted in
white and green, where high up on the tower was a statue of a young man with a silver
crescent moon on his right hand and a chiming golden bell on his left, it was the statue
of God of Dreams whose name was the name of the citys as well, Maerd. The statue
was shining in the night, the silver crescent was glimmering, and the golden bell sang a
lullaby. Lisa was mesmerized by what she was seeing and hearing, and wondered how
come there are no one else enjoying the view.
Then she put her hands up and began to pray. “O’ God of Dreams, Maerd, I want
to give up chasing my-”
When suddenly a large howling noise disrupted her joy. “Aaaoooo!
It was the scariest thing Lisa had ever heard. She searched everywhere for the
source, which seemed to be getting closer to her every second, and she felt as if the fire
in her had died out and she was cold feet. Her first instinct was to get out of the citadel,
but the idea of running seemed bad for her, so she went to the large bushes that
surrounded the tower to hide. But before she ever settled in her new hiding place, she
was too late.
A large magical beast stood by one of the roads. A big black wolf that has been
making the howling sound. Lisa froze to her feet when the howl growled at her,
showing its big white teeth, its big yellow eyes with pupils like knives prowled at her.
“AAAAOOOOO!” The howl came again and the beast lept towards Lisa.
She thought that was the end for her before suddenly a white fire ball hit the
beast at its head, knocking it down. At her left where the fire came, there stood her
savior; a man in a long white blouse with a black pants and a white robe covered half
of his body. His hair were as blue as the night sky, while the eyes were as blue as the
morning sky. The man looked surreal.
“Get out of here!” Shouted the man as he took of his robe and fire at it. The robe
exploded and the pieces of the fabric spread all over the place, then a shining shield
rose to protect the buildings circling the citadel. The beast then prowled and jumped at
the man, its claws out to rip his prey, but the man was as fast when he evaded and put
a spell on the beast’s feet and a golden chain tied its leg, and it dropped to the ground.
Then it howled again, this time in pain. Short after, silence followed, and Lisa felt as if
every hair on her body stood up, she felt that something worse was coming.
As if answering the howl, a loud sound of muttering was then heard, a loud
whisper speaking in a language Lisa never heard, and someone dropped from above. A
woman in black gown on her head came out of nowhere to the beast’s aid. Lisa quickly
knew that she was the beast’s master. The woman held her hand out to where the
beast’s leg were, and the chain disappeared when she shot black fire. When the beast
stood up again, the man took his stance, he was defending himself, no longer
offensing. The woman then spoke in alien tongue again, but Lisa heard one word that
she has heard so many times it had became a part of her; Maerd.
Lisa felt her breath stopped when the woman let out an incredible evil laughter as
a crack began to appear where the man was only standing. All the mutters before were
a binding spell to the man’s feet, then the woman ran towards him, her hands covered
in black fire, the beast followed behind her. Without realizing, Lisa stood up and raised
her hand, she didn’t know what she was doing, all that she knew was the man needed
to be saved. A bright light came out of her two palms and after that a large fire in the
form of a spear shot through the air to the beast’s body. The master stopped to see her
beast fell hard, not moving.
Lisa let out her biggest breath, she felt her legs shaking, the next thing she did
was to get rid of the master, so she held her hand out again and this time a large fire
shot out of her knuckles, it was so large that a loud sound of BOOM was created when
it hit the woman, knocking her down. She started to mutter again, Lisa thought she was
going to cast a spell on her, but then the woman disappeared with her wolf, and the
man dropped to the ground along with his shield.
“Are you all right?” Lisa shouted at the man while she walk to his rescue.
“That, girl,” the man said as Lisa stopped and helped him stand, “was the Goddess
of Misfortunes and Devastations, Eterna, with her black giant wolf, Eteri. You beat them
both.”
“Eterna? I thought that gods and goddesses were only legends!” Lisa said, half
amazed for the man didn’t seem to be scratched at all, not a single dust on his dark
hair.
“And you just fought a legend, saving my life twice all the while, even if I have
told you to run.” Said the man, and as he spoke, Lisa had noticed that there was
something familiar about him, but she couldn’t know what. “I owe you twice as much,
so I’ll grant two of your biggest dreams.”
Lisa gasped and shook her head. “But I was only doing the right thing.”
“Then take it as a reward.” He said back as he held his hand high when white
pieces of fabrics changed to a white robe.
While still in awe, Lisa waved her hand once at the man and corrected. “I don’t
have any big dream, sir. I have only wanted to feel accepted in Herona as a pyro Magi,
to show them that fire is more of good than bad. I just don’t see why they hate it so
much.”
“That is quite hard.” He said, wearing his robe back on his left shoulder. “But
nothing is impossible for me, though it may take some time.”
“Well you are saying it quite easy, sir, as if it is a flick of a wrist. Not to offend
you, but you might be helpless as well for you are a pyro Magi too.”Uttered Lisa.
But the man chuckled only and he put his hand on his hip. “Oh, I believe I haven’t
introduce myself. My name is the name of this beautiful city, I am Maerd, the God of
Dreams!”
“What?” Lisa shouted in the silent night, her voice echoed through the buildings
around her.
“You might have seen my face. I’ll explain to you if you’d like to come to my
house.” Maerd said and pointed to the statue above them, as for his house, the inside of
the tower was what he meant. It turned out that there was a door on every side of the
tower which Maerd said only he could see and open. The tower’s interior was beautiful,
the walls were painted with the sun, the moon, clouds, stars, and galaxies, and Lisa sat
on a chair below one red star when the God of Dreams started to talk.
“Eterna lives in the rocky island across our western sea. She had been planning
for the world’s destruction for a long time, and her first move would be on the land
closest to her lair, Herona. She had been giving warnings to the city’s commanders
since ages ago that she would come after the first day of the third month and lay fire
everywhere, and now the city think pyromancy is a curse. Since ages ago then too I’d
always come down from the High Palace to protect it in these dark times, and it turned
out that she was attacking tonight, and I was almost too late, for she and her beast
were already here when I arrived. She also had gotten stronger more than I had
prepared myself. Now,this might be quite of a task for you, but I want you to help me
defeat her, Lisa, or at the very least injure her until we figure out what to do.”
“But, I am a mere pyro Magi, I can’t possibly go up against a goddess.”
“But you already went up against a goddess and her beast, and you took her by
surprise. Besides, you have said you wanted to reach your dream to show people the
good side of fire didn’t you?” Asked the God of Dreams, and Lisa nodded hesitantly.
“This is your chance to use your fire inside and protect the city. I promise I’ll grant you
that dream. It’ll be no easy feet for you’ll also need to train hard, and you're to train
with me!”
Lisa then had her jaw dropped and her eyebrows raised so high it could touch her
hairline. “Really? You’ll train me? But what if I fail?”
“It’s fairly amusing to see how you could not see the talent in you.” The God of
Dreams then laugh, and the bell above chimed as he did. “You have talent, Lisa. With
talent and the will to work hard while believing in the dreams, no one would ever fail.”
Ever since then, they would train at night when the city was asleep, and rest at
the day while Maerd went out to do his ‘godly things’. Maerd taught her a lot of things,
starting from how to defend and to attack, and most importantly he taught her how to
control the fire within herself. Within two years, Lisa was a way better pyro Magi than
she ever was before.
One day, a news came to the city saying that Herona’s western hemisphere had
been destroyed by massive black fires. All Lisa could think was her mother and Eterna,
she then asked Maerd to quickly go with her to the edge of the sea to see her family’s
house, which when they arrived was already destroyed, burnt to ground. Her mother
was standing where it used to be their porch. She had told her that Bern was heavily
injured when the fire took down their house and had been already taken to the nearest
curer for her mother could not fix the wound. Lisa was fused with rage.
She then spoke after seeing her mother went to safety. “I’m not letting more
people get hurt, Maerd. I’ll face her! You’ve trained me well, and I will fight well.”
“But this is too dangerous. Eterna could be at her strongest right now.” The God of
Dreams said as he pointed the destruction along the shore line,
“You promised me to grant me my dream! Fighting Eterna is the way to my
dream! I’ll see to her end!” Lisa exclaimed in a deeper rage, but Maerd was silent as he
was not sure if the both of them was ready. Impatient with Maerd, Lisa then took
everything by herself and left the god behind.
She crossed the sea with a broomstick she had found and casted a spell upon to
make it twice as fast. Not long after, Lisa arrived at an island made of black rocks
where thunders roared and winds screamed, with on the top of the highest rock, there
stood the Goddess of Misfortunes and Devastations, Eterna.
“How wonderful! The girl who killed Eteri with the fire spear through his body.
I’ve found out that your family lived by the sea. Do tell me, is your father alright?” The
goddess asked laughingly.
“He was a friend of the family, and you made a big mistake hurting him and my
mother!” Answered Lisa, her voice growled.
“So you’ve came here to avenge me? How wonderful, do try your best, you might
as well die with your friend!”
Then the two clashed. One attacked the other with fire as black as the rocks and
the stormy clouds, while the other with fire as bright as the sun and stars. Smokes
clustered the battlefield as shots of fire released after the other. Explosions took place
everywhere near the two, destroying the rocks they were fighting on, but in short Lisa
was overwhelmed by Eterna’s godly power. Those two years of training were almost
nothing compared to this. It was too much for her, and she was to lose when the
goddess put her hand up, turned, and swing her fiery fist to Lisa when suddenly she
heard her name being cried, then a force pushed her and she tripped by the rocks, she
looked up and saw that the God of Dreams took her place.
“Maerd!” Lisa yelled when she saw her mentor thrown to the ground, hundreds of
feet away from her, before she could do anything, Eterna was already lunging to
Maerd, her right hand once again formed into a fist wrapped in fire, blacker and bigger
than before. Then it all happened so fast when Lisa light fires onto her feet and she
boosted herself to the place where Maerd was lying beneath Eterna.
But the God of Dreams shouted instead. “No, Lisa! It’s a trap!”
The goddess then turned around, with a wide grin on her face as she swing the
fist Lisa thought was for Maerd to her chest. Knocking her body several feet away, her
breaths taken aback several of times, and she couldn’t seem to get herself to stand up
as her legs weren’t moving.
“Lisa!” Maerd screamed from afar only to be silenced by Eterna’s fire to his
stomach.
Lisa’s ears were ringing, like the bell she heard on her first night at Citadel, and
she remembered the first time she had heard of the howling, saw a giant wolf beast,
then saved by the god whose name was the city’s, and she returned the favor two folds.
“Stop!” Lisa cried out as she strengthened her arms to stand up. “Stop it! Fire isn’t
supposed to be used to to hurt others! It is used for the good of your loved ones!”
Lisa clenched her fingers very hard that they whitened as she mustered all the fire
inside her to her fist, so did the bright yellow fire that wrapped it. The fire was now as
white as the crescent moon on the citadel’s tower, and as it glimmered more than ever
each second, it became enormous, and finally swallowing her whole body. “It is to
protect them from any misfortunes!”
Unexpectedly, Eterna staggered back from where she was standing as she saw the
Magi transformed to something that could be more godly than she ever was.“What
are-”
“Eterna. You have lived up to your role as the Goddess of Misfortunes and
Devastations! But now it’s time for you to be sent to the deepest part of the earth and
never to return to the surface forever more!” Declared Lisa as she looked to the goddess
in the black gown, her eyes locked to Eterna, and she plant her fist to the rocks,
creating a loud sound of crack.
Seconds later, the ground split open as white fire erupted from beneath her to the
place where Eterna was standing hopelessly, and as she lost balance and her black fire
disappeared, the goddess fell into the crack to the dark abyss below, screaming while
she did. “LISA THE MAGI, I’LL RETURN FOR YOU, I’LL GET TO YOU AND TAKE AWAY
FROM YOU YOUR LOVED ONES, YOUR WHOLE BELOVED HERONA!”
Then the Magi clapped her hand, sealing the large hole, and immediately ran to
the other person on the island. “Maerd!”
“Lisa, you defeated her, you did it.” Said the God of Dreams, coughing as he did.
“The time to fight might be over and we can rejoice later, for now someone needs you
to be there for him.”
Lisa then said under her breath.“Bern.”
As fast as she could, Lisa went on her broomstick and returned to the village by
the sea where Bern was being taken care on, praying that his second most beloved
person would be smiling when she gets to see him. They were almost too late as when
she and Maerd arrived, her mother was sitting next to Bern whose breath were slow
and rough, he was pale from the head to the toe.
“Bern, stay with us.” Lisa whispered while her tears flowed down onto her cheeks,
the god beside her was as depressed. “You are not to leave me and Mother alone, who
will catch fire crabs with me? Sail in summer with me? Buy Mother’s remedies when no
one would? Stay, Bern.”
Then she felt a hand pulled her face and the God of Dreams wiped her tears.
“Lisa, remember a year ago, I asked for your two dreams, and you only answered
with one because you said you have never dreamed about anything else?” It was a very
weird thing to be asked about that by the time, but Lisa nodded anyway. “Bern might
not be your real father, but he’s the only man that has mattered to you, and your
second dream, if not the last, is to live with your mother and him happily forever. I’ll
save him to grant your second wish...
... I’ll give him my life.” Maerd said.
Lisa shook her head so strong her coming tears went away. “No! I don’t want to
lose one to save the other, I’ve had never asked for that, Maerd!”
Then a bright light shone from inside of the god’s chest, growing bigger every
second as his body slowly went transparant, and Lisa cried harder when the god
whispered. “You’ve reached your dreams, now live happy.”
“Maerd!” Called Lisa when she reached for him, but she only catched the air.
Before he was completely gone from Lisa, the God of Dreams smiled for the last
time with a hint of apologize, then he burst into bits of lights, blinding Lisa. Bern woke
up seconds after to the tight hugs of Lisa and her mother.
Years after, pyromancy was then accepted all over the land, and people would go
to the citadel to enjoy the view and the beautiful sound the bell made, no matter if it’s
day or night. Fear was gone from Maerd, replaced by dreams and hope. While the fire
Magi, Lisa, was made as the nation’s commander for she was known as the hero of
Herona after saving the land from misfortunes and devastation, with the help of a god
whose name was the city’s.
The...
... end.” Said the woman ending her bedtime story.
She was going to asked her daughter if the story was good, but she sighed and
laughed instead when she saw her daughter already sleeping with her hand still
holding her mother’s.
Then a knock was heard from behind, followed by a call. “My lady, the captain
has arrived.” Said her subordinate standing by the door with a man in a knight armor.
“Commander Lisa,” Saluted the knight. “Captain Daren, reporting for duty.”
The woman smiled and nodded, then both her subordinate and captain left.
“Sleep tight, Maerd.” Said the woman as she kissed her daughter’s head very
gently, turning off the candles in the bedroom with a flick of a wrist before she left to
face the enemy of her past one more time.
***