Second Chance

PROLOGUE

The AltVeritas of Vyronas – Present Day

Laina Mercea, Chief of the Conclave of the Royal House of Clairmont, walked through town on her way to Conclave Hall. She had a meeting. One she was not looking forward to.

She glanced over at the schoolhouse, and decided to peek inside. She knew she was just avoiding the inevitable, but she still wanted to take a look. Her niece had just started teaching Vyronasian History and she was curious as to how she was doing.

Walking up the wooden steps to the school, she entered through the open door. Most doors and windows in Vyrona were always open, given the temperate climate.

Once inside, she immediately stepped to the left and leaned her back against the wall. She didn’t want to call attention to herself and ruin the lesson. The schoolhouse was only one room, and it was filled with desks and chairs, all organized in neat rows. A teacher’s desk sat at the front. Laina realized they were lucky to fill half of the seats with children. It had been a brutal four years and war had decimated their numbers.

Her niece, Shelana, was standing at the front. She was dressed in a long, flowing gown of lilac. It was simply belted at her waist and she had no other adornments. Jewelry and hair clips were hard to come by in wartime. Shelana looked up and saw her aunt, giving a short wave of acknowledgement. Laina gave her an encouraging smile back.

Shelana walked around the front of her desk and leaned back against it. “Today, we are going to learn how the AltVeritas came to be. Who can tell me what an AltVeritas is?”

A little girl with blond ringlets framing her face yelled out, “It’s the world in which we live.”

“That’s correct, Nadya.”

Shelana stood up from the desk and gracefully waved her arms in a large circle. The children all gasped as a holographic image formed in front of them. It was transparent so the kids could still see Shelana, but had enough color and substance that they could tell what it was. Taking note of the various continents and oceans, Laina realized it was a rendition of the planet Earth.

Shelana rotated the Earth model and pointed to a place just in front of the children.

“Here is where every AltVeritas started, in ancient Egypt. Now, much of what we know cannot be proven, as no written records have been found. Rather, these stories have been handed down from our ancestors.”

Shelana had a great teaching voice Laina realized. She spoke as if every detail she was revealing to her students was full of mystery and wonder.

“Legend has it that during the time of the Pharaohs, a large fragment of stone, larger than this whole schoolhouse, was found in the middle of the Egyptian desert. It was coal black, and dirty, and other than its immense size, it was not very interesting at all. It may not have been pretty, but it was different, for no other type of stone like this had ever been seen, particularly not of this size.”

“Was it a meteor from outer space?” one of the children asked.

“As a matter of fact, that is exactly what most people thought. The Pharaoh, King Khufu, certainly thought it came from outer space. In fact, he believed that this stone contained magical properties and he sought to hide it from the rest of the world. He built a giant pyramid over it that was later called the Great Pyramid of Giza.”

Shelana waved her hand to the side, and another holographic image appeared beside her, showing a picture of the Giza Pyramid. The children gave oohs and ahhs of appreciation.

“But, as is often the case, some secrets are not well kept, and people found out about King Khufu’s hiding place. Thiefs broke into the pyramid in an attempt to get the stone. Of course, it was so large, that most looters could only hammer off a piece or so to bring with them. Some pieces were sold, but most were studied by scientists, sorcerers and alchemists.”

Shelana made a quick motion with her hands, and both images disappeared. Hands clasped behind her back, she walked up and down the rows of desks as she continued her lecture.

“Again, we have no known records, just stories handed down, but our own mythology says that someone discovered that the stone could create a doorway that led into another world…a world that co-existed on the planet Earth.”

A small boy in front raised his hand and Shelana nodded at him. “I don’t understand. How can there be another world that co-exists on Earth?”

Some of the older kids giggled, like this was the easiest thing in the world to understand. Shelana gave a sharp look around the room and the laughing died.

“That is not a silly question. It is a difficult concept to understand. Because we only have an oral history of the AltVeritas, we don’t necessarily know how or why it works. We just know that we exist on the planet Earth, but in a completely different dimension that is unknown and unseen by the people that live in Earth’s First Dimension from where we all originated.”

Shelana waited to see if there were any further questions. There were not so she started to wrap up her lecture.

“No one knows what happened to the original stone inside Giza. It is gone. No one knows exactly how it was determined the Giza Stone opened up an AltVeritas. But we do know that there could be hundreds of these hidden worlds, all co-existing on the planet we know as Earth. It is safe to say that the stone clearly had inherent magical properties, because the residents of any AltVeritas that have managed to travel among the worlds have inherent magical abilities themselves. So far, no modern science or technology in The First Dimension has been able to discover these AltVerita. Only those with magical abilities like us here in the AltVeritas of Vyronas can travel among The Veils that separate them.”

A bell rang that signified the end of class. Laina did not wait around to talk to Shelana. She gave her a wave to indicate she was leaving and left the schoolhouse.

As Laina continued to walk to the Conclave Hall, she ruminated on the concept of AltVeritas. In ancient times, they named another world that co-existed on Earth as Universitas Caecus. Somehow, in the Modern Era, it got changed to AltVeritas, which she knew roughly translated to mean Alternate Truth. Regardless, she had never given it much thought until she was forced to send someone out of the AltVeritas of Vyronas to live back in The First Dimension. That was four years ago.

Laina knew that many people with magical abilities traveled freely between the worlds. It was done with a simple, magical incantation. It was believed that when the original AltVeritas was created, the stone from Giza was used as nothing more than a way to tear open a doorway between the places of existence. Thereafter, magic allowed people travel to and fro. The doorway was often referred to as The Veil.

It was fascinating to see how different Vyronas was from The First Dimension of Earth. Like most AltVerita, Vyronas’ growth and advancement did not mimic that of The First Dimension. Because the original inhabitants of most AltVerita were those practiced in the art of magic, that was the only advancement that was considered necessary among the people who settled there.

Advancements in science, machinery, weaponry or industrialization just were not on par with that of The First Dimension. Instead, the inhabitants of most AltVerita used magic to obtain those things that they didn’t have from lack of technology. Still, magic could only do so much, and the people who settled these different worlds tended to live a more antiquated lifestyle.

In addition, the sizes of the AltVerita tended to be quite small compared to the massive population and geographical area that was The First Dimension. Whether it was lack of technological advancement, or lack of desire to push outward, most AltVerita were hardly larger than the United States as a whole, some much smaller.

Lost in her own little history flashback, Laina came to Conclave Hall fairly quickly. She entered and noticed all members were already present. In addition, she saw Carrick Dunne standing beside their meeting hall table, clearly looking unhappy to be there. He carried his 6’7” frame with ease but never for a moment would she forget what a deadly killer he could be. Even though they were fighting on the same side for now, Carrick considered her a personal enemy and she would always need to remember that.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Carrick.”

Carrick gave a curt nod but didn’t say anything. He hardly ever gave away anything for free, mused Laina. Carrick was Commandant of the Army for the House of Clairmont, and he spent most of his time waging their war. Carrick did not like the Conclave and with good reason. But she knew he still wanted what was best for Vyronas and so would always come when they called.

Without trying to break into the subject easily, Laina thought it best to just state why he was called.

“We have word that Empress Ralina has found Ava in The First Dimension. We fear that she may be sending some of her forces or those demons she has conjured through The Veil to capture her. You must leave at once and return Ava home.”

Laina knew this was a lot of information for anyone to process. The only subtle hint that Carrick was bothered by this news was the darkening of his blue eyes. Other than that, he did nothing more than nod, and turned to leave.

Laina knew she would get no argument from Carrick. Ava was a royal heir in hiding in The First Dimension, and all was lost if she fell into enemy hands, or worse, was killed. Laina knew that Carrick could get to Ava quickly and that he would not fail. He had more motivation than anyone to see that she remained safe. Yes, Laina had made the right decision to tell him like this. Now, she needed to get ready for the certain amount of fallout that would occur when Ava returned. Laina was so very tired of this war and hoped Ava’s return would signify an end may soon be near.