Chapter 3: The Journey

"Stop being so dramatic Elian! It won't kill you" It had been 5 minutes of waiting for Elian to recover from his dizzy. When using a portkey, the time and space will be bent much faster causing a rapid shift. When our minds have to synchronize with magic, there will be a side effect causing anyone in it dizzy and nausea.

 He groaned, "I think I'm sick." why did nobody tell him, that magic also has the side effect

 Iris rolled her eyes, "You'll be fine. We need to continue our objective, plus we are not in a human world! Anytime the evil wizard will come and kidnap us." said Iris emotionless.

"Where have we landed, Iris? " asked Elian when he noticed unfamiliar surroundings. It looks like they are out of the forest.

Iris pointed at the distant horizon. "I think we've arrived near the village." When she noticed a wooden sign with a village's name. Celestial Haven. 

As Elian and Iris are planning what they need to do next, their conversation is suddenly drowned out by a subtle rustling in the bushes nearby. Both of them exchanged intrigued glances, but at the same time worried, pondering what might be hiding within, adding another level of suspense to them.

Eilan whispered to his sister. "Iris stay behind me" They cautiously stepped into the rustling bushes.

Out of nowhere, Whimpzy appeared from the bushes, catching them off guard. Both of them are so startled that they let out screams.

"Bloody chicken, Whimpzy! What are you doing here" asked Elian.

Iris took a deep breath, so her heartbeat could return to a steady rhythm. "Oh My God, Whimpzy. Can you greet us in a more normal way?"

"Sorry, I was just about to greet you normally, but these ants decided to give my tail a little nibble," Whimpzy explained with a sheepish grin. "Lucian sent me to guide you both until you find someone named Orion at Aetherion Grove." 

"Orion? Is he also a wizard?" asked Elian.

Whimpzy replied, "You'll find out when you meet him later. For now, let's focus on finding something to eat and a place to sleep tonight. Come kids, follow me."

The twins followed Whimpzy into the village, once they passed the border, they went through the market area which bustled with activity. Merchants displayed an assortment of mystical items beneath ornate stalls. The air carried the tempting aroma of various foods, adding to the sensory richness of the lively scene. As Elian and Iris strolled through the market, they noticed the villagers, all donned in black robes and hats, giving the vibes of wizarding. The twins are attracted to the various magical items and potions and how the wizards complete their transactions.

"Their money was different from us, they used silver and gold coins". Elian wonders how they are going to buy food if they don't have any gold or silver coins.

Whimpzy led the trio through the bustling market, weaving between the crowds. "Is there anything you want to buy kids?"

"We can't buy anything here Whimpzy, we don't have coins like them," Iris replied.

"Oh yes, both of you are not from this world. Don't worry leave everything to me i know the right place for us". said Whimpzy confidently. 

They continued their way until they arrived at Woodland Bites. "What place is this? asked Elian.

"This the place where we can eat whatever we want." As Whimpzy opened the door a soft chime of bells jingled.

The jingled bells caught the attention of the parrot that perched near the entrance. He excitedly squawked, "Someone here, someone here!" 

"Pretty bird" Iris couldn't resist the charm of the bird with jewel-like feathers that shimmered with colors of emerald green, deep blue, and ruby red. She reached out to pat it gently. However, Sylvan, her curious cat, saw the fluttering feathers as a fun toy to play with. Sylvan pounced playfully toward the parrot, trying to catch the bird. 

"Sylvan, no!" Elian warned. Luckily he managed to hold Sylvan.

The parrot was startled by the presence of the cat that tried to catch him. "Bad cat, bad cat." as he fluttered away to the shoulder of the shop owner. 

" I'm sorry mister, our cat was a bit friendly" explained Iris. He worried that that person might chase them out. He has a long beard and based on his figure, maybe he is around 70 years old.

"It is okay, are you lost my child?." Their innocent face reminded him of someone. Then he noticed Whimpzy's presence. "Hello old friend, what brought you here? come and have a seat."

"Hello Albert, I'm here for a mission. Introducing The Hansley's twins, Elian and Iris." Then he turned to the twins as they shook hands with Albert. "He was an old friend of mine and the owner of this shop."

Albert welcomed them warmly, and a table was set for the twins. As Elian and Iris sat down, he prepared a various meal for them. "Enjoy your meal, all on me," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

 The twins were overwhelmed by the unexpected generosity received by them. It's been a few days since they were having proper meals, and they are quite hungry right now. The yummy smells came from the food's urge to eat after a long day.

After a satisfying meal, Elian and Iris were brought to the inn upstairs of the shop. "Okay kids, you will stay here for tonight. Restore your energy for a long journey tomorrow." 

"Where are you going Whimpzy?" asked Elian.

"I will be downstairs with Albert, if you need anything just call me. Goodnight" Whimpzy switched off the lamp after he wished the twins.

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In a quieter corner of Woodland Bites, Albert and Whimpzy engaged in a deep conversation. Albert, with a thoughtful expression, shared, "The prophecy about the twins is true, my friend. Their presence will bring a change in this world, and I sense that history will repeat itself. I will be with them if they need anything from me."

 Whimpzy nodded. "However we can't expose them to the outside world. Other wizard will take advantage of them, at this young age they have been through a lot of things in their life." 

"Tell me what happened to their foster family," asked Albert. "And I heard there are few people in the village who were killed by that creature."

"The only person who survived in Langsley's family was Rowanna. The youngest one can't be traced until now. There is no other attack reported after the barrier was sealed again." answered Whimpzy.

In the middle of the night, Iris switched on the lamp, and a radiant light spilled forth, filling the room. The sudden brightness disturbed Elian, who was on the verge of sleep. "What's wrong, Iris?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. 

Iris replied, "I did some research about what happened." Her face turned into a serious mood. "The thing that attacked Langsley's house before this was called Vorathax, this monster was a flesh eater, and it is not normal for them to be in the human world." 

"So is it true we are the reasons? as said by Lucian. Did you know why Iris?" Elian sits in front of Iris, waiting for further explanation.

"There are a lot of ways to open the barrier Elian. I'm not sure about that since nothing is mentioned in this book. But the chest owned by our parents is not an ordinary chest since it is related to the wizarding realm. Maybe our guess was right."

"That.. our parents were wizards" Elian sighed. "I think it is not that surprising since we found a lot of weird things lately. Just imagined other people would enter the forest in a normal way, but as we stepped in, everything changed because we entered another world."

"I wondered too but I always read story books about wizards until I found this book and practiced my first spell to defeat the monster. Since that, I believe all of this was real. It is amazing right?" 

"Yes Iris, but there are a few things we need to figure out about our family"

*********************************************

"Good morning kids, did you get enough sleep last night?" Whimpzy greets cheerfully. "We need to continue our journey."

"Yes Whimpzy" Iris answered. Both of them are still sleepy because they spend half of their night discovering how to unlock the seal of the enchantment book given by their parents.

Once they are ready to set out, someone calls them.

"Wait! Before that, I want you to have this" Albert handing them a loaf of bread and jam. "I freshly baked this for your journey, please be safe my children." Albert smiled while hugging them.

"Thank you, Albert, I hope we will meet again soon". They waved at Albert before continuing their journey.

After a few hours of walking, they decided to stop in the middle of the valley. Iris and Elian found themselves in a stunning valley filled with lush greenery. The hills around them were covered in green grass and it felt like walking in the grass carpet. Colorful wildflowers added a touch of beauty with fresh air carrying a sweet scent of nature. They ran and chased each other with joy. It felt like they were one inch closer to a peaceful life. 

"It is okay Sylvan, you can play with me!" said Whimpzy. However, the cat itself already lying and rolling, enjoying catching the butterflies. "It is okay I can enjoy myself". As he wandered around the valley, he was captivated by a vibrant red flower. "You are so pretty like me," said Whimpzy. He couldn't resist its allure as took a deep sniff, the fragrance from the flower made him addicted to sniffing it again. 

Then Iris rushed over and tried to warn Whimpzy. "Noo, don't sniff it Whimpzy! It will make you drowsy and fall asleep." 

Whimpzy on the other hand started to feel drowsy and his eyes began to close. It was dark.

"Is he fainted?" asked Elian. He tried to move closer.

"No, he is sleeping, don't get too close Elian or you will be like him," 

"What flower is this? it looks normal to me but it can make people into deep sleep within a minute."

"It is Crimson Slumberbloom, it was a wildflower that can be found in the valley area. Pretty but deadly" Iris explained with confidence. She gasped in surprise as Sylvan leaned towards the flower and tried to sniff it. In a swift move, she quickly grabbed her cat and an unfortunate event happened when she accidentally sniffed the flower and fell into deep sleep.

"Bloody chicken everyone is sleeping now, now I'm all alone. Eh?." Elian was shocked as he observed Sylvan, still playing with the flower, unaffected by the magic that had befallen the others. A puzzled expression crossed Elian's face, raising questions about Sylvan. "You are not an ordinary cat right, Sylvan?". The cat rolled over as a response.

Iris felt dizzy when she woke up under a big tree. It was already night. The effect of the Crimson Slumberbloom had taken her into a deep sleep and wasted a lot of time. She searched for Elian and she almost laughed when she saw Elian's face covered with black dirt. "What happened to you Elian?" Iris burst into laughter.

"Stop it, Iris, I tried to make a bonfire, but a little explosion occurred." Luckily the fire survived, sparing them from the need in the dark and cool night. "Sylvan also helped me to gather the woods." 

"Wait, you said Sylvan did not fall asleep and survived from that flower?" asked Iris.

"Yes, it was amazing. I don't think Sylvan is normal like other cats."

Iris thought for a moment. "If Sylvan is not affected by the Crimson Slumberbloom, maybe he can survive other poisonous and enchanted plants."

"We can try that in our way later! This superboy also can understand what we said!" Elian turned to Sylvan. "Here boy come and sit!". Quickly Sylvan moved near to Elian and sat as instructed to him.

"Woahh, good boy Sylvan!"

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"Aqueous Incantation"

"Ahhhhhhh, help I'm drowning". Whimpzy woke up from his peaceful sleep.

"Don't worry you are safe Whimpzy," said Iris.

"What is going on? How long did I fall asleep?" asked Whimpzy.

"Quite long, that forced me to use a water spell to wake you up. Sorry Whimpzy, no choice," said Iris while smiling. " Hurry up, I want to try using Portkey, maybe we can go faster"

"Oh I hate that very much," said Elian making a face.

"But I love Portkey, I don't need to walk again." Said Whimpzy happily.

"Stop being such a baby Elian. Gather around, ready one, two, three..."

As all of them held each other, they expected to arrive at the determined destination. However, something went awry, the magical devices seem to have taken an unexpected turn. They found themselves in different places. Dark and full of sorrow.

Elian winced in pain as he crashed onto the tree branches, the impact sending a sharp ache through his body. " Auch it was hurt" he complained. He felt nauseous and wanted to throw up before he saw a monster wandering around under the tree. He holds a deep breath trying to stay silent. Then he noticed, Iris was missing along with Sylvan and Whimpzy. 

"Let me go!" Iris winced in pain when she was tied by a group of masked creatures. Something crossed her mind, maybe this was a carnivore people that all people talked about in the Celestial Haven. They are under the command of the malevolent witch with a thirst for blood to make him more powerful. He was a shapeshifter, tricked a lot of kids and kidnapped them. Suddenly, Iris was tied upside down, on the stone table adorned with intricate enchantment symbols. She screamed when the fire was lit around the stone table.

Elian carefully followed the steps of these masked creatures. They were heading to someplace like there would be a ritual that would be held soon. Elian's ears caught someone screaming. Iris? He lost his focus and stepped on the rotten wood. The sound attracted one of the masked creatures as he approached Elian's hideout.

The creature now stands in front of Elian. "Ithyra voktus, et nithar nefar kidum. (I found you and I will kill you, kid)". The creature spoke in an unfamiliar language, trying to attack Elian.

Elian is now stuck in the middle of the tree. He took a handful of sand and hurled it at the eyes of the creature, temporarily blinding it. Elian ran quickly before he noticed he was floating in the air by the magic of the creature. He screamed in pain as the creature entangled his neck and whipped him endlessly. The pain was unbearable, but he needed to be alive for Iris. Blood flows out from his mouth, his eyes slowly closed...

Iris tried to endure the pain, she knew something happened to Elian, and she could feel the pain. There is nothing she can do with this state, she turns down and finds Whimpzy tied behind the big rock. She whispered trying to wake him up. "Wake up Whimpzy, we are in danger.". She kept calling him until a group of creatures came in and surrounded them. "Let me go, what do you want from me"

"Shut up," said one of the masked creatures. His size is quite big compared to the others. Suddenly, he kneed down in front of Whimpzy. He recited something and Whimpzy opened his eyes. 

"Whimpzy, be careful they want to kill us". warned Iris.

But he suddenly laughed so hard. "Stupid kid." Soft light appeared from his body and his real existence was revealed. 

Iris's eyed widened. They was deceived by him all of this time? The evil witch was closer to them, all of this time. 

"HA HA HA, it was easy to deceive all of you! I never thought I would taste the blood of one of the Hansley's heirs. Thanks to you I will be immortal after this," He laughed maniacally. "Untied her so we could enjoy our meal today, torture her. I just need her blood and she can be eaten by all of you." His servants cheer happily, ready to enjoy their food. 

"You killed a lot of innocent children. You will never be forgiven!" Her tears flow nonstop in rage. "You are the loser who took advantage of a child because you are too weak to fight a real adult"

Feeling madness, he ordered them to kill Iris. "Kill this insolent kid, so she can join her parents". The poisonous spear ready to stab Iris, she closed her eyes and...

"Don't touch my sister! Remove your filthy hand from her!" Elian removed her mask. 

Flashback...

The creatures approached Elian when he detected no movement from him. He stopped attacking and planned to bring Elian for their dinner tonight. "Veknar mor (He died)"

Elian holds his breath, waiting for the creature to off guard. When the creature held him, he pulled the enchanted roots in the creature's hand and entangled him in the tree. The creature is struggling, with the same trick, he temporarily blinds him with sand, when the creature howls in pain, Elian grabs the spear at the back of the creature and stabs it in the neck. "Now feel it". Without wasting any time, Elian grabbed the mask and ran to get Iris.

**********************************************

"Thy tardiness vexes. The sacred rites commence anon.(why are you late? The ritual will start soon)" asked someone similar to the creature he killed in a foreign language.

Elian heart was pounding so fast that, if he didn't answer, they would know he was an imposter, but he seemed to understand what that creature was talking about. He gathered all of his courage. "In filaris silva erravi (I lost in the forest just now)". He doesn't know what language he is talking about, as long as they don't feel suspicious.

"Ireimus (Let's go)" said the creature. 

Elian followed them into the small ritual place. He can't believe his eyes Whimpzy was the evil witch. "He doesn't know whether he could fight them, there are many and their strength is nothing compared to 10-year-old kids like him. When they wanted to kill his sister, Elian stepped out. "Don't touch my sister!". He removed the mask, ready to face anything that might happen in the future.

"HA HA HA, this silly boy trying to be brave." The witch smirked. "It gonna be so fun, killed two birds with one stone. Finish him first!" 

Iris noticed her bag at the corner of the place he quickly grabbed the bag and threw it at Elian. "Grab this!"

Elian managed to grab on time, he pulled something from the and now the sword was ready to fight with him. The fight becomes so intense but very smooth and the creatures don't have any chance to attack him.

Observing how easily Elian defeats his servants. He decided to take Iris away from here. He can't fight in this condition since his power is still not recovered. " Astrum..".

"Aegis Lumina". Iris managed to break his spell and focus. 

The witch became raging mad and tried to kill Iris. "Avada Keda..."

"Agonarum Tormenta". Someone with a hoarse voice breaks the curse spell by the witch. 

The witch howled in pain as his body starting burn and become ashes.

"Thank you, sir, for saving my sister." Said Elian, his face and cloth covered with blood. He was glad this man came and helped him.

"Thank you, sir". Iris ran towards Elian and hugged him. Both of them cry happily. "I'm glad we can meet again"

Watching the twins hugging each other, he gave time until both of them looked at him with curious faces. "Before you ask, I'm Orion, the person you are looking for. In other words, I am your godfather."

Their faces showed double confusion right now.

"How you know we at here sir?" asked Iris.

"That wizard locked Whimpzy in some place and shape-shifted into him. Once Whimpzy managed to get out, he went directly to me because he lost his track to find both of you." He stopped for a while for the twins to absorb his words. "Sylvan is the one who brought me to you. He noticed that Whimpzy was fake and he hid the real portkey so it won't fall into the wrong hand."

"Y..you can understand what Sylvan said?" 

"I can understand animals language." Said Orion. "Based on your expression, I believe you need more explanation. Come let's go from here before unexpected harm comes". 

Iris and Elian were too tired to move, and both of them nodded. 

Orion held both of their hand. "Astrum Portare"