Fuming with hatred, I pace back and forth while thinking of ways to destroy Mysteria. Finally, I halt and smile as the answer comes to mind. Thypon, the God of ferocious monsters. He has the head of a dragon, a bat’s wings and a serpent’s body. Once a God amongst the other deities in the Celestial Realm, Thypon wreaked death and destruction across many worlds. To end Thypon’s terrible ways, the deities and I trapped him beneath a volcano for all eternity, compelling the volcano never to erupt since that was the only way Thypon could be released.
I immediately travel to the world of ash and lava, where Thypon has been sealed. Approaching the volcano, I raise my hands high and begin the chant. The seal dissipates, and the volcano erupts. An explosion of ash rises into to air whilst lava flows out from the crater. A boisterous roar emits through the cloud of ash. Enormous wings flap and push the ash away. Thypon, now silent, gazes at me. I smirk and cross my arms.
‘Finally, after thousands of years, I am free,’ Thypon roars, ‘But of what purpose did you free me?’ he asks in a deep gruff voice that vibrates through the land.
‘I want the Deities to suffer, all of them, including my sister Selene. I’m sure it’s on your agenda anyway?’ I say to him.
‘Go on,’ he says, giving me his attention.
‘In your absence, a new world has been made, which they named Mysteria. Selene, Ogrun and many others have created life forms in their image and gifted them with some of their abilities. They have grown a great love for the world and its people. Destroying Mysteria would destroy them. I want to see them all suffer. The midsummer solstice is near and would be the perfect time to strike.’
I purposely leave the detail out that the only way in and out for a deity is during the solstice. Once he enters, he will be trapped there until the next solstice or longer if he doesn’t figure that out.
‘I suppose I can start with their precious world of Mysteria before finishing the destruction of the other worlds I was pursuing before being sealed under this wretched volcano.’
‘I will place a temporary shadow spell over you, so the other deities can’t trace your whereabouts. It will only last until the solstice ends. That is when you need to cross through the veil,’ I explain.
Thypon nods, and I begin a chant. A blue iridescent sphere encircles Thypon and then vanishes.
‘There, it is done,’ I will return when it is time,’ I say.
Thypon nods, and I return to my realm and await my revenge.
The Moon Goddess
‘We sealed Thypon with an unbreakable spell. I don’t understand how he broke free?’
‘Selene, we must find and seal him again before it’s too late.’
‘I know that Valkrim, but even you haven’t been able to trace him yet,’ I say.
‘We must let all the deities know that Thypon has somehow been released. As soon as anyone knows his whereabouts, we will immediately gather and work together to seal him again, just like last time.’
‘Selene,’ Ogrum interrupts, ‘I understand finding Thypon is of utmost importance, but we need to find out how he became free. There isn’t much point to sealing him only for him to be freed again.’
‘Ogrum has a point,’ Cerridwen says in agreeance.
‘The only way he could have been freed is if the spell used to seal the volcano had been removed,’ I say.
Cerridwen stiffens, and her eyes grow wide.
‘What is it, Cerridwen?’ I ask.
‘Atlanta is the one who placed the sealing spell. You don’t think she is the one who removed it?’
We all stare at each other in thought.
‘It’s possible,’ Ogrum replies.
‘I know we haven’t seen Atlanta in over a thousand years, but she wouldn’t do this, would she? As far as I’m aware, she is still locked inside the dark crystal realm. If she had come out, someone would have known about it and would have told me straight away.’
Valkrim places his hand on my shoulder, ‘But what if it was her? The question is, why? What is her intention? Does she want Thypon to continue with his ambition, destroying the innocent lives of the weaker species?’
‘I can’t imagine that Atlanta would resent us so much to the point of releasing Thypon. If only she knew the love we have for her,’ I say, shedding the sparkling tear that runs down my cheek, ‘Mysteria is the only world protected by a veil. If we can’t find his location, we will need to split up and monitor the different worlds that carry life forms and wait for his wrath to begin. Once we know his location, we will continue with the plan to gather and seal him again. In the meantime, I’m going go to Atlanta’s realm and see if she is there.’
The Deities nod in agreement. I take my leave and go straight to the dark crystal realm. The dark crystal dome still covers the domain. I cannot see through it. I knock many times but receive no response. But even if Atlanta is still in there, she would probably not answer. Letting out a heavy sigh, I peer around at the other realms and decide to question them.
So far, everyone claims they haven’t seen Atlanta leave her realm, but a few say that they haven’t seen Aria in a while, which is very unusual.
My next stop is to visit Aria’s realm, which is opposite Atlanta’s.
Her realm is a blue sphere of wind that sits on the ground made of clouds. I enter the globe to see small whirlwinds of flowers whizzing around. It’s raining white feathers. I raise my hand, take one, and caress it across my cheek. I laugh from the tickle’s soft feel, release the feather into the air, and watch it float away. Then, approaching the stairs made from clouds, I look around for any sign of Aria. Once I reach the top, I knock many times, and the door opens on its own.
‘Aria?’ I say, poking my head in, and receive no reply. Worried, I enter and search every room of her home. There is no sign of her; it appears she hasn’t been here for days. A bad feeling consumes me.
‘Something is not right. Aria informs everyone of everything and visits many deities each day. She is probably the biggest social butterfly among us. It’s not like her to vanish without saying anything.’
I wander outside her home and through her garden one last time and come to a halt when I see an imprint in the shape of a circle on the ground with black crystals. I kneel and touch the mark, immediately sensing Atlanta’s power.
‘Atlanta, my sister, what have you done?’ I say and return to my kingdom without stopping.
I enter my hall and walk across the mosaic tiles of the moon and take my seat in the moon chair. My friends can sense I’m distraught as I stare blankly down at the table in thought, wondering what she has done to Aria and confirming the suspicions she is behind Thypon’s release.
Valkrim, Cerridwen, and Ogrum take their seats silently and wait patiently for me to talk.
‘As I expected, Atlanta either ignored me waiting in her realm, or she isn’t there. After asking the neighbouring realms if anyone had seen Atlanta, they said they hadn’t but found it strange that they hadn’t seen Aria for a few days. They said she had visited them every day for thousands of years, so to vanish without a word worried them. So, I went straight to Aria’s, there was no sign of her, but I found a sign that Atlanta had been there,’ Everyone gasps and gazes around with worry. ‘There were remnants of her magic, and Aria is now missing.’
‘Why would she use her magic against Aria, though?’ Cerridwen asks.
‘The only logical theory I can think of is because Aria is the only one who knows Atlanta is out. If she had released Thypon, she might not yet want everyone to know. Which means silencing anyone witnesses that know she has left her domain,’ I say,
‘This is not good, not good at all,’ Ogrum says in a glum tone.
