Ivor, the master of magic

Out in this vast desert, there was nowhere else to go but forward. O'Neil had no other choice but to keep moving. He walked, and walked, and walked, but there was nothing he could see ahead, but the large land mass of hot desert. He was so tired and thirsty, there wasn't even a little patch of Oasis where he could get water to ease his thirst, no plant to shade him from the scorching heat of the sun. His legs pained badly, but he trudged further, gradually slowing down. He had yielded all the strength left in him already, he could go no more. He soon lost all hopes of survival. Collapsing to the sand, he passed out. The hot desert wind gradually waved the sand over him as it passed, till he was buried alive beneath the sand heap. This seemed to be O'Neil's final destination.

Suddenly, the sun shining above transformed into a bright light blue glow of light. The wind came like a hurricane, to where O'Neil was buried under the sand. It began to blow away the sand covering him, till he was revealed lying there on the ground. O'Neil gasped out loudly, like a dead man, brought back to life. He quickly got to his feet, totally confused about where he was. He was transfixed by how strange everything looked. The light seemed to be shining from everywhere, blue and cold. A bright blue radiance filled the place, it was like something he'd never seen or experienced before. He found it so spectacular and magnificent. As O'Neil observed this blue environment, lost in wonder, something drastic happened.

"O'Neil Anders," came a thunderous voice, echoing from all around.

O'Neil almost fell in trembling. He looked around him, but there was no one else anywhere around.

"Why hath thou come here?" said the voice again.

O'Neil got more confused, he was getting terrified too. He heard the voice, but he saw no one. He searched around him, but he still couldn't find anyone else there with him.

"Who speaks to me!?" he shouted.

"Who hath thou come to seek?" said the voice again.

"I came to meet the ancient white sorcerer, I came to find Ivor, the master of magic," answered O'Neil.

As he was still searching around with his swift eyes, for the one speaking to him, he felt a touch on his back. A cold chill ran down his spine, as he slowly turned around. He saw standing behind him, a very old man, with straight long snow-white hair, and a white flowing beard. He was wearing a white woolly garment that covered his feet, and a silky white cloak. He wielded a silvery scepter in his hand, with blue flames burning above it. His eyes were glowing in blue.

"You must be very wiery from the long travel," said the man to O'Neil, placing his palm on the side of O'Neil's face.

O'Neil felt like a heavy weight had just been lifted away from him. He felt energized and rejuvenated once more, agile like a wild horse. This happened due to the touch of the old man. It was something he had never experienced before.

"Come with me," he said to O'Neil, leading him into a thick fog of blue smokes. As they went into the fog, a ring-like portal formed from the blue smokes ahead of them, swirling around aggressively. The old man stepped right into the portal. Having no other option, O'Neil followed suit. O'Neil found himself in a stygian dark passage. The old man led the way. As they went, candles lined up by the sides of the perpendicular walls, ignited on their own accords, with blue flames. This encounter appeared like a dream to O'Neil, but as moments passed, it felt more like reality. There was a large door at the far end of the passage. The door creaked open on its own, without being touched, and the old man went. All these things were mysteries to O'Neil. He followed the old man, entering through the opened door. They were in a round hall, with lighted candles on every side of the wall. There was a large shelf lined with scrolls and different mystical objects. There was another door in the round hall. The door was partly opened, so O'Neil saw the inside. He saw a large white strange creature. It had large broad leathery wings, and it breathed out from its mouth, blue flames of fire. Its eyes were blue, like those of reptiles, and its skin was scaly, like those of lizards. O'Neil was led to a long rectangular table, surrounded by chairs. He sat at one end of the table, while the old man sat down at the other end of the table. O'Neil sensed that the old must be Ivor.

"I am Ivor, the person that you seek, what has brought you here, causing you to risk your previous life?" he asked O'Neil.

"I have heard, and read numerous times about you, that you are a good man. How you paid an uttermost price, to save the Sirkarians," said O'Neil.

"I know why you are here," he said to O'Neil.

"I have seen the suffering of the people, how they are being maltreated by De voe, a man who has proven to be an enemy to the realm. I also know that he has your daughter".

O'Neil was shocked to hear this. He knew that De voe would be the person with Iris, but he just wondered how Ivor knew all these.

"Since you know all these, why not save us? Please save us from this enemy of the realm," pleaded O'Neil.

"I wish I could do something about that, but my impotency to leave this place is what hinders me," said Ivor to O'Neil.

"Why can't you leave this place, and come back to the land; the part of the realm with life?" asked O'Neil.

"If I come any close to the land, the worst would happen. You have to be patient, for the time is soon to come, when a god will be risen from amongst men, as foretold in the prophecies," he said to O'Neil.

"gods?" muttered O'Neil.

"There's something else I need you to explain to me," said O'Neil.

"I feel something's not right with De voe's men like they're not in their right minds," he added.

"There's a dark spell I sense, and it isn't mare sorcery, it's witch-crafts. De voe went as far as trying to draw power from the dark holds of helluva. If he continues, he'll gain enough power to take full control over the body, soul, and spirit of anyone he chooses. Right now, he's in control of the body and mind of the men with him. Once he gets hold of the soul and spirit, there would be no stopping him," explained Ivor.