#chronicles of sturgia

[fishy12233]

Chronicles of Sturgia

Chapter 2 Finale: “The Sinister School”

Porvurious Academy was once a place of joy. But now there was nothing left except despair. As the group entered the school, they could see that the school was filled with shadow. The grand hall was in ruins. Even the house whales that hung from the ceiling were destroyed. The surviving students could only feel despair welling up in their souls. They hoped that they could find their friends.  

As the group walked through the halls, they could only sense a feeling of loneliness. It was completely abandoned. The colorful attractions and games that were once here were all destroyed. Macabre lanterns were scattered around the school, just like outside. The group decided to split up, so that Prince Drake was with the six kids while Nadia was with everyone else. The faster they could find their friends, the better. 

As they walked through the school, they encountered a surviving student. She was a girl with long, dark hair, jaded eyes, and a skull bow.

“Dark and depressing,” said the girl. “Just like me.”

“Who are you?” asked Maddie.

“Me?” replied the girl. “I’m Jade Villaverde. If you want to survive, you need to make sure you do as I say.”

“What do you mean?” asked Lisa.

“If you step too far into the shadows, the creatures will take you,” said Jade. “And there will be nothing you can do.”

As Jade guided them deeper into the school, the kids noticed what she was talking about. Dark figures lurked in the shadows, fallen students who were taken by the darkness. As Jade shone her flashlight around, the figures scattered, followed by a swarm of insects.

“They’re scared of the light,” Jade said. “But don’t rely on a simple flashlight to ward them off. I’ve found that breaking windows can provide a decent light source.”

Meanwhile, as the other group walked deeper into the school, they began to freak out over the dark figures lurking in the shadows. Luckily, they ran into a mysterious adventurer who was able to keep them from venturing too far into the darkness.

As the kids wandered into one of the classrooms, they encountered a horrifying sight. It was a monster, much larger than the others. It looked like some sort of stuffed bear, abandoned by their owner and left to rot. It must have collected a large amount of mass from all the garbage, making it practically shapeless. It was attacking a frightened student, who was crying in the corner. The kids leapt in and tried to ward it off. It was frightened of the light, but it wasn’t enough to stop it. Jade tried using a cherry bomb she had on her, which was enough to harm the monster. The monster threw garbage at the group, trying to crush them under the weight.  Its smell was enough to make them sick. The kids found some flares that they could use to scare it off. It fled, burning and screaming in agony. It was a sad and frightening sight. Broken beings, fighting for survival. The kids felt sorry for the monsters, but they knew that they had to defeat them so that they could protect their friends.

The room was safe, for now. Everything was calm. But a sinister feeling still lurked in the halls. The kids turned on some lights in order to ward off monsters. It was surprising that the lights even worked. There were also plenty of windows, which helped them a lot. After they secured the room, they checked the surviving student to see if she was safe.

“I-I was really scared,” said the girl. “Thank you. By the way, my name is Tristessa Branwen, but you can just call me Tristy.”

“What happened?” asked Jade.

“Well, I was in the bathroom when it happened. After the incident, I had fallen into some sort of weird basement. Then, I tried to find my way back to the classroom. After that, the rest is pretty much history.”

“We should go,” said Maddie. “The faster we get find the culprit and stop them, the better.”

The group continued up towards the top of the tower in the school. They figured that the culprit was the shadowy figure in the tower.

As the group passed by Jade’s classroom, shadowy figures began to creep out and chase them. Jade looked more scared than usual.

“Run!” cried Jade.

The group of shadowy figures only got bigger. They chased the group to the tower. Jade was especially scared of facing them, because they were her classmates. Seeing the dead, anguished looks on their faces was more than she could bear. 

Everyone was tired of running, but the shadows were relentless. It felt hopeless, but Jade did her best to ward them off with the last cherry bombs that she had with her. Once they reached the tower, the shadows finally fled. Everyone felt a rush of relief, but they hoped that everyone else was okay. 

The tower seemed to never end. Everyone was already tired from running, but now they had to climb many flights of stairs in order to reach the top. As the group reached the clock’s inner mechanisms, everyone began to grow anxious. How could they fight their enemy after all this? The dark red light emanating from the clock face created a sinister atmosphere through the clock’s mechanisms. Gears were spinning out of control, and parts began to fly everywhere. Everyone needed to hurry. Peter tripped, grabbing onto the ledge of the stairway. Gears were spinning below him, scaring the group. They desperately helped him up, making sure that they were extra careful climbing the rest of the steps. Once the group reached the top, the saw that there was a huge lock on the door.

“What are we going to do now?” said Lisa.

“Wait,” said Peter. “Doesn’t that lantern look strange to you?”

Everyone looked up. There was a macabre lantern on the ceiling, but it was different from the others. The design was different, and even the color looked off.

Peter used his mechanical owl to hit it. Suddenly, light began pouring out of the lantern, restoring the top of the tower to its previous, more colorful state. Everyone was relieved that they could reverse the damage, but the contrast of the colorful tower against the rest of the school was disturbing. It felt out of place. The large lock on the door was gone, allowing the group to enter the bedroom.

The bedroom was colorful, saccharine, and incredibly messy.  Toys were scattered everywhere and there was paint splattered all over the walls. It looked like someone had trashed a princess’s bedroom. However, someone was waiting for them in the room. He looked like a skeleton in heavy armor. He led a troop of smaller skeleton knights while riding some sort of tank.

“I’m General Warren Bone-apart! And if you think you’re going to get the key that we’re guarding, you are sorely wrong!”

“You’re guarding the key we need?” asked Annie.

“Dang it!” General Warren muttered. “I-in any case, you won’t be defeating us! CHAAARGE!!!!”

The skeleton troop charged at the group. They tried to dodge out of the way, but they couldn’t dodge General Warren’s tank. He even fired small rockets at the group. 

“How can we even defeat them?!” exclaimed Lisa. “They’re already dead, right? We can’t kill them again!”

“I think I have a plan,” said Chris. He fired back his own bottle rockets at the troop, hitting the obvious weak spot on General Warren’s tank. Meanwhile, Jade shot at the skeletons with her slingshot.

“Ow! That hurt!” exclaimed General Warren. “You can’t just do that! STOP PELTING ME WITH THOSE THINGS!!!”

The group managed to destroy the tank, leaving General Warren vulnerable. However, the troop began throwing paint at the group in order to slow them town. But with the help of Prince Drake and Jade, the group managed to fend off the troop. Some of them even fell out of the window.

“STOP!!!” exclaimed General Warren. “You want this key, take it! But I promise that I will have my revenge!!”

He shoved the key into their hands and ran off.

The kids rested inside the bedroom for a while before hitting the lantern again, granting them access to the top of the tower.

Once the lantern reverted the top of the tower to its dark state, everyone felt a chill of despair. They had gotten used to the saccharine appearance of the bedroom, but now they had to face the music. Whoever was causing all of this destruction was beyond those doors, and they had no choice but to stop them. The group slowly unlocked the door, as the padlock shattered and fell onto the floor. When they entered the bedroom, they were surprised to see a princess in the corner of the room, trapped by a magical force.

“Elmira?!” exclaimed Jade.

“You know her?” asked Peter.

“Yeah,” said Jade. “She’s my classmate.”

.

Maddie quickly looked through her spellbooks to find a spell to undo the magical binding. Meanwhile, everyone else looked for the one who caused the disaster.

“Where is that coward?” grumbled Annie.

“Wait,” said Chris. “Was that staircase there before?”

He pointed at the staircase, which had previously been blocked by a large pile of plush toys and a huge splatter of paint.

“Doesn’t that lead to the observatory?” asked Jade.

“That must be where the next sanctuary is!” exclaimed Susan.

The group was anxious. They slowly climbed the stairs as they approached the sanctuary door. This time, it depicted a large amount of constellations, with the strange monsters and the skeleton troop that they had faced before. The six kids hesitantly opened door, just like they had done twice before.

The third sanctuary was a beautiful observatory. The kids realized that the tower rose above the clouds, because they could see a brilliant night sky filled with stars. The walls were made up of beautiful aquariums, filled with exotic fish. There was a desk, presumably for doing research. It was cluttered with papers and books. There was a raised platform in the middle, with a giant telescope on the top. Intricate patterns adorned every inch of the room. If it wasn’t for the current situation, the group would want to just lie down and look at the stars for all of eternity. And in the center of the room, there was a pedestal with the Piscatorical Gyroscope on it.

But they couldn’t focus on the scenery now. A witch stood before them. She was old and had a big nose, like a stereotypical witch. 

“Bwahahahahaha!!” cackled the witch. “So it seems that the heroes have arrived.”

She stared at the six kids, then she suddenly used telekinesis to push the rest of the group out of the room and lock the door. 

“And just who are you??” asked the witch. “You’re just kids. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“We’re not five!” exclaimed Annie.

“You think you can stop me??! An all powerful sorceress??!!” said the witch. “I can’t help but laugh!!! Bwahahahaha!!! But I digress. I never even introduced myself. How rude. My name is Soreena Le’Agitha, and you won’t stand a CHANCE against me!!!”

And so the fight began. Soreena began flying around on her broomstick, throwing potions at the kids. The kids dodged, trying their best to hit her. Lisa tried throwing water at the witch. 

“What are you DOING???!” she screamed.

“Trying to melt you!” exclaimed Lisa.

“This isn’t some sort of fairy tale!!!”

The kids threw all they had at the witch. It was enough to knock her off and daze her. However, when Soreena realized that she was in danger, she blew a loud whistle. Suddenly, the blue dragon that they had seen flying around the tower flew through an opening in the ceiling. The children felt greatly intimidated. How were they supposed to defeat her now?

“You really thought you could defeat me,” said Soreena. “How cute.”

The dragon spit fire at the kids. However, Chris noticed that the fire didn’t burn anything in the room. But it wasn’t time for questioning things. They had to find a way to defeat her, and fast. 

“Susan!” Chris exclaimed. “Use your fireworks!”

“But everything will burn!” cried Susan.

“No it won’t! Don’t you see? The fire isn’t burning anything in the room!”

Susan lit some fireworks and threw them at her. The kids stood back and took cover. Soreena and her dragon screamed in pain. Susan lit and threw more fireworks. The explosion was enough to throw them out of the window. Soreena screamed as she fell into the ocean below.

Suddenly, the sky was filled with sparks of orange light. Each of the lanterns on the Island of Dreams exploded, creating a burst of color. The kids ran outside and watched as the ruined island came back to life. It was the first time that the kids truly felt powerful. They felt like they could accomplish anything. Everyone got back together and celebrated as Porvurious Academy was restored to its former glory. The kids got to ride all of the fun rides and even enjoy the delicious food. Everyone was so happy. Fireworks were going off, illuminating the night sky. 

As the sun began to rise, Princess Elmira called the kids over to sit on the beach with her. She was blowing bubbles as she sat with the kids.

“Thank you so much for everything,” she said. “I don’t know what happened with my sister, you see. When she had that Royal Parade, I was only ten years old. I’ve been going to school here, but I just feel like I’m not strong enough to stop her.”

Elmira sighed, looking off into the distance. She blew more bubbles as the sunlight reflected off of them beautifully.

“You guys are so strong. I wish I could be like that...” 

“But there must be something you can do to help!” exclaimed Annie. “Even if you can’t fight the queen, you could help protect everyone here.”

Elmira sat up. “You’re right. I don’t want this to happen again. It’s my responsibility to protect this island, and my friends here.”

Elmira looked at the kids. “Thanks again. You guys are really nice.”

After an amazing night at Porvurious Academy, the kids bid farewell to everyone on the Island of Dreams, sailing back to Sunset Grove in order to return the Piscatorical Gyroscope to the monument. There is always a feeling of melancholic nostalgia whenever a fun time must come to an end. It’s always a sudden feeling, but it is inevitable. That is what the six kids from Citrione City were feeling at this very moment. But when it is time to say goodbye, we must always remember to reminisce on the good times, and look forward to the future.

[fishy12233]

Chronicles of Sturgia

Side Story 1: “Smefanye Fawkes and the Curious Clock”

It was the night of a full moon. A beautiful witch and her dog stood gracefully, staring  at the moon. She stood across from a  young monkey witch who held a strange clock while trembling in fear. The monkey was afraid, but had to put on a brave face. Be scared later, she was told. The witches stood, ready for battle. They threw powerful spells at each other in perfect harmony. There was a clash of light as the two witches dueled. They did this all while standing on the face of a falling clock tower. The witches’ power kept the clock in the air, falling up and down as dark spirits flew around them. Their battle was long and tiring. The monkey was pushed over the edge. She couldn’t hold on any longer. Her power was faltering. The beautiful witch stood victorious, prepared to push the young witch to her doom.

Four years before the main events of Chronicles of Sturgia and two years before Smefanye’s debut in America’s Next Top Model, she worked as the owner of a fruit cafe in Sunset Grove. She had graduated from being a barista at Starbucks and didn’t really know what to do with her life. But it had been a long time since she was a detective, and it had all ended when she ended up in the dumpster. One day, a villager came in who would give her the answers she needed. It was Nadia Tokemi, a monkey villager who lived in Sunset Grove during the summer. She held an odd clock in her arms.

“I’ll have a peach smoothie, please,” said Nadie.

She drank her smoothie, staring off into the distance with beady eyes.

“Actually,” said Nadia. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“I’m all ears,” said Smef.

“So let me ask you, you’re a detective, right?” asked Nadia.

“Former detective, but yes, I was,” said Smef.

“This may sound strange, but can you come with me to my school?” said Nadia. “My clock told me that there something horrible will happen this year.”

“Your… clock?” asked Smefanye. Nadia was making no sense.

“It’s a long story,” said Nadia. “But could you come to my school anyway?”

“Okay,” said Smefanye. “Why not?”

And so, Smefanye closed her shop. Nadia told her that she would need to close her shop because it could take a long time to solve the mystery.

They went on a boat and sailed to the island. They called it the Island of Dreams. It looked like a fun place to be, but seeing it up close was a fantastic experience for Smef. The island had a beautiful harbor and even a theme park. The school looked just as fun as the theme park did, which was a first for Smefanye. It looked like there was a culture festival going on. There were colorful decorations and fun booths everywhere.

“WOW!” said Smefanye. “I wish my school was this cool! You go to school here?”

“Not exactly,” said Nadia. “Let me show you. Prepare yourself.”

Suddenly, Nadia began fiddling with the odd clock she always kept with her. She grabbed Smef’s arm as the clock activated. A bright light shone from it as the world began to spin and spin around them. Smef became super dizzy, but Nadia kept staring at the clock. Suddenly, the spinning stopped, and the world had changed.

Smef looked around. The school had completely transformed. The colorful festival had gone away and everything looked more old-fashioned.

“Where the heck are we??” Smef asked.

“Porvurious Academy,” Nadia replied.

“I know that,” said Smef. “But why does it look so different?”

“Because we time traveled,” said Nadia.

“WHAT????” exclaimed Smef. “How did we time travel? This shouldn’t be possible!”

“I used my clock,” replied Nadia. “Time travel is one of its powers. I’d like to talk, but we don’t have much time. I need you to go undercover as one of the students and see if you can solve the mystery about the horrible thing that’s happening this year?”

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” said Smef. She was still processing how all of this could be possible.

And so, Smef had to stay in this strange school. Smef met up with Headmaster Porvurious, a falcon headmaster who registered her as a new transfer student. Smef was 18, which meant that she would be a seventh year. She had a lot of catching up to do, since she would be graduating this year. It was a week before school started, so she had to study for classes so that she could focus on solving the mystery. She also spent time looking around the school, seeing if there was anything of importance. She stayed in the dorms. She wasn’t sorted into a house like most students were during their first year, so she was put into the house of Tanakaryu, represented by the ambitious dragon, since it was the only house that had a free room available. Smefanye wanted to go into the house of Canellion, represented by the kind stallion, since it fit her the most, but there was nothing she could do.

Smefanye stayed at a hotel east of the Island of Dreams. It was a spooky, rundown place filled with strange creatures. At the very least, Smefanye had a great view of Porvurious Academy. The first time she looked out her hotel window was when she realized that there was a city below the island, where the water would be. Smef would try to visit that place, but she would never get the chance to go there that year.

When the first day of school was upon them, Nadia took Smefanye to the capital city east of the academy to go shopping. It was a beautiful town that was bustling with people. There was so much to look at and buy. Smefanye got to buy her robes and books. She even got to buy a cool wand to go with it.

“Porvurioius Academy is really focused on teaching witchcraft and wizardry,” said Nadia. “Nowadays, which is technically about two decades from now, the school decided to focus on teaching a more broad range of subjects for everyone to enjoy.”

“I can see that,” said Smef. “But they still teach magic stuff at Porvurious, right?”

“Yeah,” said Nadia. “It’s just not as big of a program unless you’re really interested in it. There was less of a need for magic classes after a while, since it was only needed so students can be safe and learn how to defend themselves.”

“Why do they need to defend themselves?” asked Smefanye.

“Because of the Blue Sages,” said Nadia. “They’re a group of troublemakers who go around causing mayhem. Do you see that island in the sky.” Nadia pointed to the strange city in the sky.

“WOAH!” exclaimed Smefanye. “Was that there when we were back in the present?”

“No,  and I have no idea why,” said Nadia. “Apparently, the Blue Sages took over that city and use it as their base of operations. Some of my classmates were there during the initial takeover. One of them even lived there, I think.”

Smefanye could only wonder what that strange city was like. It was probably really dangerous now. Did she need to remember that for this particular case? She also wondered if she had to keep what happens in the present a secret. Smefanye stayed silent just in case.

Once Smefanye and Nadia finished shopping, they boarded the train. Smefanye never got to go on this train. She just went on the boat from Porvurious Academy and took a carriage to town from the beach. When the girls boarded the train, they went into one of the open cars and began to study. Nadia gave Smefanye a crash course on all of the basic subjects. Since Nadia was only a third year, she would only be able to help Smefanye with subjects from the first two years.

While the girls were studying, some of Nadia’s classmates, including Caroline Porter, were spying on her.

“Who’s the girl with Nadia?” asked one of her classmates.

“Nadia’s so strange,” said Caroline. “She always disappears during the summer. I don’t even know where she lives!”

“Why does she always carry that clock with her?” said another classmate. “She treats it like solid gold or something.”

“I really don’t think it’s very nice to gossip about her behind her back.” said yet another classmate. “You guys know how shy she is,  just don’t bother her about it.”

“Sorry,”

“But what if she’s a Blue Sage in disguise? She could be one of them!”

“Don’t even suggest that! You know they’re not that smart. Do you even remember their ‘disguises’ from last year? Pathetic, they were.”

As the girls continued to study, they bought some candy from a witch who worked on the train.

“Are witches this common nowadays?” whispered Smefanye.

“Kind of,” said Nadia. “It’s less obvious than during this time period, though.”

Suddenly, the train began to shake. The sky grew dark and stormy, and dark spirits began to fly around the train.

"What's going on?" asked Smef.

"Dark spirits," said Nadia. "They only come when someone dangerous is near."

Suddenly, everyone could hear the gentle clicking of heels on the roof of the train. Nadia looked particularly anxious. It was like that feeling one would get when needing to use the restroom. But Nadia did not need to use the restroom. Nadia excused herself. Several torturous minutes passed. The train rattled. Smefanye tried to not overthink about what was happening. She clenched her fists, frightened of what may be waiting to attack. Smef began to freak out when she started seeing the dark hands of the spirits claw at the windows. Her heart began pounding. Smefanye tried desperately to remain calm. As suddenly as it appeared, the darkness vanished. Nadia returned to her seat. She refused to tell Smef what happened.

When the train arrived at the school, it was already nighttime. The train ride wasn’t really long, but everyone always finished their shopping late in the day. The students entered the grand hall, welcoming the new students as they were sorted into houses. The opening ceremony was long, but there was plenty of food to eat. Students sat towards the back of the hall, where they ate at tables that sorted them by house. The staff sat towards the front of the hall, in a lowered area with round dining tables. This series of events seemed very familiar to Smefanye, but she had to focus on the investigation. Headmaster Porvurious stood up for an announcement.

“We’d like to welcome our newest transfer student, Smefanye Fawkes,” said the headmaster. “We deeply hope that she will feel safe and secure here.”

Everyone in the hall applauded for Smefanye. She was flattered, but tried not to draw too much attention to herself. When she got to her dorm room, she got to meet her roommate.

“Hi! My name is Monica Zion! Nice to meet you! I’m the person stuck rooming with you. Uh, I mean you’re the one stuck rooming with me! Heh heh.”

“Uh, nice to meet you, too,” said Smefanye.

“It’s senior year, and you must really need to catch up,” said Monica. “Sorry about that.”

“Oh, it’s alright.”

“Uh, what should I be telling you about...oh yeah! Make sure to read the student guidebook and avoid getting in trouble with Constance Calloway, the hall monitor. She is vicious.”

“Really?”

“Definitely. She is not only one of the top witches at school, but she also has strong martial arts skills, so she’s a double threat.”

Smefanye listened carefully to Monika’s words. She could provide vital information for her potential case.

“So tell me a bit about yourself,” said Smef.

“Oh! Of course!” said Monica. “I’m kind of your typical nerd. I REALLY like studying reptiles. They’re so interesting to me, so sorry in advance for having you deal with having so many reptiles in my room. I’m just really invested into my research.”

“I see.”

After talking to Monica for a while, Smefanye went to bed. However, she couldn’t sleep because of the strange cacophony of musical instruments that were playing all night. Then, she heard banging and screaming from someone.

“STOP WITH THE RACKET!!!” They screamed.

The noise didn’t stop for the entire night.

Smefanye was exhausted the next morning. She didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. Her hair was normally slightly feathered, but this morning, it had turned into a birds’ nest.

“Are you okay?” asked Monika. “Sorry about the noise. Bellamira always plays her weird instruments at night. You get used to it.”

“How the heck am I supposed to get used to it???” said Smefanye. She was flabbergasted at how Monica slept so well. Smefanye had to spend an hour combing her hair out. She hoped that it wouldn’t become her normal routine. Spoiler alert: it did.

The first thing that Smefanye did that morning was march into Bellamira’s room. She immediately saw what was causing the noise: some sort of intricate gothic music machine.

“Was that thing the noise you were making last night???” Smefanye demanded.

“Introductions first! It’s pretty rude to barge into someone’s room unannounced, you know.” said Bellamira. “My name is Bellamira Sabrina Pandora Avelina Magnificent Marcellina Ulva Souffle Ursula Briallen Ianira the Sixth. You are standing in the midst of gothic greatness. ”

“What??” said Smefanye. She was in a daze just over hearing Bellamira’s full name. “You know what? I don’t have time for this. I’ll be back for you later.”

Smefanye fled the room, running downstairs before running into someone else. Well, she didn’t really run into them as much as she crashed into them.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Smefanye.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” the student said.

“Sorry,”

“Was it Bellamira? She can be pretty scary. I’m Nova Macbeth, the student council president.”

“I’m Smefanye, the transfer student.”

Nova helped Smef up, then showed her around the school, introducing her to the classes she would have to attend that year.

“One of the best teachers in school is Trixie Brodeur,” Nova said. “From your schedule, it looks like you’ll be in her class with me and my boyfriend. It’ll definitely be a good time!”

“I’m sure it will be,” said Smefanye.

“Her nephew, Augustine, actually goes to school here, too! Can you believe that?”

"Huh, interesting."

"Oh, one last thing! Watch out for ghosts, they cause a lot of mischief."

"Ghosts? That seems a bit far-fetched."

"We're in a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Nothing is far-fetched here."

For the first couple of weeks, Smefanye had to get acquainted with her classes and school life. She occasionally talked with Nadia, but she was usually busy with her classmates. Nadia tried her best to check in with Smef once in a while, though. She sometimes poked her head into Smefanye’s room just to give her a small care package filled with candies and snacks. Smef found herself studying a lot in the library. She mainly studied with Nova and her boyfriend,  but she got to meet Augustine during study sessions sometimes. Monica tried to join Smef’s study group sometimes, but she never really fit in. Smefanye and Monica shared only one class together: herpetology. Monica’s eyes lit up with excitement during every lesson. She was at the top of her class.

After getting used to her classmates, Smefanye saw a sign posted about a job opening.

“I could get a job at the snack stand!” said Smefanye.

“Sounds awesome!” said Nova. “It’s a great way to get some extra cash.”

“Or maybe I could use that job to eavesdrop on people,” Smefanye thought to herself.

And so, Smefanye got a job at the snack stand, eavesdropping on the other students for and possible leads. This left her with almost no time to spend with Monica, but she didn’t mind. She insisted that socializing too much would get in the way of her research anyway. As she watched the students, she realized that Nova was right about ghosts. For example, a certain ghost of an elf played pranks on the kids sometimes, including pouring water on their heads or throwing books at them. He even stole ingredients from the snack stand in multiple occasions. Then, a ghost girl would come in and cry her eyes out, creating puddles on the floor. She was very cranky at times, and even threw potions at some of the students. Smefanye tried to talk to the staff about it, but there was nothing they could do. The ghosts we're already dead, after all. After working at the snack stand and fending off ghosts for a while, she got a lead.

“Have you seen that janitor?” said one of the students.

“Yeah, he’s super creepy,” said another student.

“I heard that he murdered someone who was blackmailing him because he was buying illegal research or something.”

“Really? What would a janitor need super secret research for anyway?”

Smefanye knew that she had to investigate this lead immediately, or at least after her shift was over. As she followed him around, he kept glaring around with a crazed look in his eye.

“Yup. Definitely suspicious,” Smefanye thought to herself.

When Smefanye returned to her room that night, she had a strange note waiting for her.

“‘Please meet me in my room down the hall. I need some help with a project. Can’t wait <3. -Virginia Sherwood’ Who is Virginia Sherwood?” asked Smefanye.

“She’s the class flirt,” Monica said. “She’s tried to date everyone. Bellamira and Augustine actually dated her for a while. She’s never asked me out though. I’d say lucky you, but I’m not too sure if it’s a good thing that she has her eye on you.”

“I guess I’ll go anyway,” said Smefanye.

“Good luck,” said Monica. “You’ll need it.”

Smefanye headed up to Virginia’s room, where she greeted Smef with a hypnotic glare. Smefanye tried to keep her eyes from locking with Virginia’s.

“It’s nice to meet you and all,” said Smefanye. “But if you want to flirt with me, it won’t work. You’re not my type.”

“Sigh, rejected immediately,” said Virginia. “I could make you like me, but that wouldn’t be very fun. Anyways, that’s not really why I asked you to come here.”

“Then why did you ask me over?” asked Smef.

“I was going to persuade you to help me with my project, but I might as well just ask you to help me upfront. Will you take some photos of some of the students around the school? I need photos of landmarks around school, too. I’d ask my roommate Faye, but she’s always busy with something.”

“I’m afraid of what you’ll do if I refuse,” replied Smefanye. “So okay.”

Secretly, Smef wondered to herself why everyone makes her to their chores. At least it was a good way of investigating things without being noticed. As time passed, Smefanye could find nothing to use against the janitor as evidence, because he wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was getting frustrated. Smefanye decided to go to the Divination teacher, Madame Sinfi Mango, and ask her. After a few minutes, Madame Sinfi asked Smefanye to open her eyes and gaze into the crystal ball. Smefanye saw a howling wolf, followed by a horde of butterflies.

“The answer you seek lies in the mysterious event that nearly closed the school just last year,” said Madame Sinfi. “I highly suggest using jack-o-lanterns to protect yourself. Burning a charcoal disc with protective herbs like rosemary would be a good idea as well. If you seriously want to investigate this impending danger, you need to protect yourself lest you risk your life.”

And so, Smefanye did all that. Monica was weirded out by all the jack-o-lanterns in her room, but this was a school of witchcraft and wizardry, so she had no choice but to not question it.

“Hey Monica,” said Smefanye. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Ask away,” said Monica.

“What was the strange event that happened last year?”

“You want to know about that?” Monica leaned in closer, as if she were trying to keep anyone else from hearing, even though the girls were in their dorm room. “The teachers kept it a secret, but they say that the current third years got themselves into trouble as they always do. But this time, there were these threatening notes being spread around school, and students were injured or went missing. They almost closed the school! Sorry that I can’t tell you more, but the school really tried to keep it under wraps.”

“No, that was plenty,” said Smefanye. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure!” Monica said.

As Smefanye took photos around the school, she looked for anything involving wolves or butterflies. One of the teachers happened to be a wolf. One of the students seemed to have a strange obsession with butterflies. Other than her during her photo taking run, both of these people were too out of Smefanye’s way for her to investigate. So she asked Nadia to investigate for her.

Before long, the first disaster occured. A student from Smefanye’s class blew up like a balloon and flew away. The teachers had to go out searching for him. Students were frightened. When a note threatening the students and calling the victim out for plagiarizing appeared on the walls, a panic spread throughout the school.

“Who do you think did it?” asked one of the students.

“It must have been someone who knows intermediate magic. A third year, at least.” said another student.

“Was he being blackmailed?”

“Who knows? He was probably being too nosy.”

“Or maybe someone wanted to shut him up.”

“It’s just like what happened last year.”

The school was forced on lockdown, and no one was allowed outside the school. They couldn’t have another student fly away again. The holiday trip was cancelled. Everyone was devastated. Smefanye questioned her classmates about the victim.

“He was really studious. Austere even. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone just didn’t like him,” said Bellamira.

“He was kind of cute. To cold and distant for my tastes, though,” said Virginia.

“The stress was really getting to him,” said Nova. “He was so focused on his research, I don’t know why anyone would have had anything against him. He barely spoke to anyone.”

“Him? He was like me,” said Monica. “A social outcast who was really into his research. We got along pretty well. But now I’m scared.  Could I be the next target?”

Testimony wasn’t enough to find any leads. Especially since there weren’t any witnesses the moment of the incident. In fact, no one noticed until it was too late. The note and his disappearance were the only reasons that they knew that it was him who flew away. There were no leads. But it wouldn’t be long before the next incident occurred.

Smefanye tried to sneak around the school at night, but she needed to avoid Constance and the teachers so that she wouldn’t get in trouble, or worse, suspected of being the culprit. As she was wandering around, she bumped into the wall, knocking down an art display with many pieces. Smefanye began panicking, hearing Constance’s footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Just WHAT was that??!!” exclaimed Constance.

Smefanye realized that she had to hide. She went under the stairwell where Constance couldn’t see her. That was when she found it. It was a strange looking map of the school. She was careful not to make too much noise with it, because it was enormous. When Smefanye returned to her dorm room, she made sure not to make too much noise so as to not wake her roommate. It looked like there was a secret basement in the school she didn’t know about. Just then, she realized that it was quiet. Too quiet. Why wasn’t Bellamira playing her music? It was so quiet, that she could hear it. The sound of people chanting coming from outside. She looked out the window, seeing a group of people performing some sort of ritual. Smefanye quickly took notes about what was happening so that she could search her textbooks about it later. Suddenly, there was a scream. Her heart began to pound. That anxious feeling laying in her stomach turned into fear. It was Constance who screamed.

Smefanye stayed in her room, but she heard people making noise outside. She carefully looked out through the peephole. The light had been turned on, and people were panicking. Smefanye rushed outside and down the hall, where everyone was gathering. Constance lay on the floor, a trophy laying beside her. A message was scrawled on the wall, saying: THE BEAST IS LURKING. CONSTANCE CHEATED AND SHE PAID FOR IT.

Porvurious Academy was safe no more.

There was confusion and chaos. People feared for their lives. Many people considered leaving the school. The mystery needed to be solved quickly. Meanwhile, Smefanye overheard two underclassmen boys, both anthropomorphic lizards, talking about how they lost the map. She tried to listen in more, but they lowered their voice down to a whisper so that they wouldn’t be heard.  

Smefanye decided to question Bellamira.

“What were you doing last night?” asked Smefanye.

“Nothing!” said Bellamira. “Nothing at all.”

“How about performing a strange ritual outside the school?”

“Ok, fine. You caught me. But we were just trying to perform a ritual of protection, okay? You might be new here, but stuff like this is normal. Our club is allowed to gather and perform rituals as a group once a month, beneath a full moon. But, at least you know now that I’m innocent, right? After all, I wouldn’t be leaving a very good legacy if I was the culprit, would I?”

“Right,” said Smefanye. She still suspected her somewhat.

Smefanye spend the day doing research in the library, but stumbled upon a curious passage. It described the large map she had as a sort of tracking device. If a charm was put on someone they wanted to track, the caster could track them through the map. The tracking charm was permanently bound to the map. There was a certain spell in the book that would reveal anyone who had the charm already placed on them. She tried the spell on the map when no one was watching, revealing several students and most of the teachers’ locations. Perhaps the charm was used my many different people over the years. This would be incredibly useful for Smefanye’s investigation. Unfortunately, Smefanye would need a lot of time and skill in order to make a tracking charm to put on someone.

Smefanye began preparing and practicing the charm. It took a couple of weeks to get right. She just didn’t know who to use it on. Perhaps Virginia Sherwood. But another disaster happened before she could choose. Another student was found injured. Eduardo Santiago, Faye Evangeline’s boyfriend, was put under a strong sleeping spell that kept him from waking up for a long time. His bag had been stolen, so his valuables couldn’t be searched. However, Smefanye found a bag of newt eyes in his pocket. Did he not know that eye of newt is mustard seed? The message on the wall read: HE WAS GREEDY. HE TRIED TO STEAL AND SELL TOP SECRET INFORMATION AND HE PAID FOR IT.

Smefanye couldn’t figure out out who could be doing this. But if she wanted to get to the bottom of this case, she had to do it immediately, before anyone else got hurt. If she could find a way into the secret basement, maybe she could find some answers. The problem was, where was the entrance? She decided to snoop around some of the students’ rooms. First, she looked through her own room while her roommate was out. Under Monica’s bed, she found something more sinister than she could imagine. As she looked under the bed, she stumbled upon a hidden door. Inside, there were boxes of dead reptiles. Some of them were pinned inside frames, some of them chopped up and placed into bags. Then, she found a journal filled with disturbing research on cruel and disturbing experiments performed on reptiles. Before she could continue searching, she heard Monica coming upstairs. She quickly put the reptiles and research away and leaped onto her bed to read her textbooks. She decided that she would use the charm on Monica.

A month had passed since that ritual occurred, and the moon was full once again. After Monica went to sleep, Smefanye cast the charm on her. Then, Smefanye snuck out of the room and hid with the map in order track her. Sure enough, Monica left the room and began heading downstairs. Smefanye followed behind her, making sure that she wasn’t seen or heard. Monica went into the girls bathroom. Smefanye saw her going down into a sort of basement by activating a secret passage through the sink. Smefanye had to figure out how to properly work the mechanism in the sink so that she could go to the basement. Once she figured it out, she went through the secret passage.

The secret basement had a sinister feeling to it. It was dark, and smelled disgusting. There was a chamber lit up by the moon that had a peach tree growing surrounded by  butterflies. Monica was there, admiring the view.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” said Monica. “This  is apparently where last year’s incident occurred. It took a lot of research to find this place. But isn’t it fascinating, Smefanye? Just look at this place. Who knew that these butterflies could cause so much trouble?”

“Why did you go through so much trouble to find this place?” asked Smef.

“It was supposed to be kept a secret, but when that boy found out what I was doing, I had to stop him. It was the perfect way to not only silence him, but to also get the whole school riled up. With them distracted, I could find this place. But then that hall monitor saw me. I knew I had to take care of her, too. Finally, there was Eduardo. He needed to be silenced. After selling me so many reptiles and so much information, he just knew too much. But it was all worth it. ‘The effect of the Medusa Butterflies on reptiles’. It will be the perfect experiment.”

“Why are you telling me this?” asked Smefanye. “You won’t get away with this. When they find out about your schemes, you won’t be torturing those poor reptiles anymore.”

“Oh, really?” said Monica. “You’re the only one who figured it out. No one else suspects me. I’ll end you, then I’ll do what I’ve been doing to all of my classmates. They never liked me anyway.”

Suddenly, Monica began shooting spells at Smefanye. Smefanye shot some spells back and began to run. She disarmed Monica and began having a full on catfight with Monica. Suddenly, the earth began to shake. Something was happening outside. The girls looked up, seeing dark spirits in the sky. Monica ran, using spells to slow Smefanye down. She ran out the other exit,  going up into Bellamira’s room. Bellamira was about to go to her ritual, but was shocked when Monica barged into her room.

“Just what is going on?!” exclaimed Bellamira. She blocked the door to her room.

“Get out of my way,” said Monica. “I don’t have time for this right now!”

“You just came out of the FLOOR! You need to explain to me what is going on!”

“For Monica, it’s over!” yelled Smefanye.

As Monica was being escorted out of school by the staff and Smefanye, they noticed that the clock tower was smashed. They also realized that it was falling straight towards them. They ran, but just as it was about to hit them, It flew back up into the air. Nadia and some sort of witch were fighting on the clock face. This was the perfect distraction for Monica to get away. The fight was intense, and Nadia almost lost, but she was victorious. Smefanye had managed to shoot a spell at the beautiful witch and give Nadia enough time to defeat her. The beautiful witch screamed dramatically before flipping and vanishing into the night.

Months later…

Monica Zion was gone. She ran away and no one could find her. But at the very least, her victims made a full recovery in time for graduation. Smefanye never thought that she would graduate high school at Porvurious Academy. And as it turns out, Nadia had an adventure on her own. The witch was out to steal her clock, and she attacked the school in hopes of confronting Nadia. The witch stole part of the clock, the two of them battled on the clock tower, and then the rest is history. Smefanye and Nadia returned to Sunset Grove after school had ended, and things returned to normal. But Smefanye would never forget that mystery she solved at Porvurious Academy, probably because she would have to solve another mystery, this time in her own time, but with some familiar characters….

[fishy12233]

Chronicles of Sturgia

Chapter 2 Part 1: “The Crumbling Carnival”

The Island of Dreams was in ruin, creating a dark atmosphere that pierced the bright, cheery atmosphere of Sunset Grove. There were no boats in service, keeping anyone from going to or leaving the Island of Dreams. Just a short time ago, this had been a place of happiness and joy. But now it was a place of darkness and despair.

The six kids from Citrione City had a long journey ahead of them. There were no boats going to their next destination, so they had no choice but to swim. Liana Culiseta recommended them to go to someone who could make a potion that let them breathe underwater. Smefanye’s skills in witchcraft allowed her to help make the potion they needed. Nadia also went with the kids to help them, just like she promised. After the kids prepared themselves, the villagers bid them farewell as they embarked on their journey to the Island of Dreams.

The water was cold, but when the kids got used to the water, they saw a fantastical sight. A ruined underwater city, just below the Island of Dreams, which had a grand castle right in the middle. It felt like their adventure had truly begun right there. The darkness below could not pierce the calming waters or disturb the abandoned city. It was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful. The kids felt like they had discovered Atlantis. There were so many colorful fish swimming around. It looked like the fish had taken it over and made that city their kingdom. The kids swam towards the city, beckoned by the mystery of what may lie in the ruins..

Nadia felt a sad sense of nostalgia from seeing the underwater city. She felt like the city was beckoning for her to go inside.

Nadia decided it was best not to let her spirits fall, so she decided to stay with the kids. The kids played with the fish, but were careful as to not disturb them too much. They knew that they needed to go to the island, but the beckoning call to adventure and Nadia’s sense of nostalgia was enough to convince them to look around, at least for a little while.

The palace in the middle of the city was grand and beautiful. As the kids swam through the ruins, they felt like they were floating through air. Room after room was filled with beautiful fish. As the kids explored, they came upon a strange room. It was a room with a machine in the middle. It looked like an advanced sleeping pod. There, someone lay inside it. He looked like he was wearing some sort of advanced scuba gear.. Suddenly, Peter realized that he had pressed one of the buttons by accident, and the pod opened. The strange person awoke. He sat up, looking around hazily. He was a complete stranger to the kids, but Nadia recognized him immediately.

“W-what happened?” he asked.

The kids didn’t know what to say.

“Oh, now I remember. I’m Prince Drake Eldoris.”

“Drake!” cried Nadia, as she threw her arms around him.

“You’re okay,” Prince Drake said. “I’m glad.”

He looked around, saddened.

“It’s all gone, isn’t it?” Prince Drake paused, sighing.

“Yeah,” said Nadia. “It is.”

“I-I guess that doesn’t really matter anymore. Anyways, you six never introduced yourselves.”

The kids introduced themselves, feeling sad for the poor prince. They then explained their situation.

“Porvurious Academy’s in danger?” Prince Drake said. “Please, we must head there at once!”

And so, the prince led the kids out of the palace and towards the shore. As they were making their way to the island, the prince looked around the city, seeing how his friends and family were all gone. He was sad, but couldn’t help but feel astonished at how beautiful the city was underwater.

“You know, I’ve never been scuba diving before,” the prince said. “It’s kind of a bittersweet experience, really.”

Once the group reached the shore, they could immediately see the devastation. In contrast to the ocean, the island was dark and filled with despair. Buildings were crumbling. The only similarity between the ocean and the island is that they were both completely abandoned. There were black lanterns scattered around, each emitting an orange glow, creating intricate shadows through intricate designs. While sad about the destruction, Maddie was oddly fascinated by the atmosphere.

“I wanna go back to Sunset Grove,” said Susan.

“M-me too,” said Chris.

“It’s totally destroyed,” said the prince. “Who did this?”

“We don’t know,” said Annie.

They wandered into the carnival, where there was even more destruction. As they were walking around, they saw some students running from various monsters. The kids leapt in and fought the monsters. After they defeated the monsters, they checked to make sure that the students were okay. Two of the students had cameras with them. One of them, Aira Balitaang, was a paranormal investigator using her camera to fend off ghosts. The other one, Claire Calloway, was disappointed that she couldn’t find her friends. Both girls asked to help take care of the ghostly monsters using their cameras. As the kids wandered through, they only saw more destruction and more lanterns.

“What’s the deal with those lanterns?” asked Lisa.

“They’re what’s causing all of this,” said Claire. “They suck all of the happiness and joy inside them. The only way to reverse the damage is through the one whose causing all of this.”

The kids tried their hardest to break them, but what Claire said rang true. They wouldn’t budge.

As the group continued onwards and fought monsters, they encountered some other survivors. A gothic girl was on the back of a really tall kid with glasses, screaming for the monsters to get away. The kids leaped in to help them. As they were fighting the monsters, they noticed the desperate, despairing looks on their faces. They looked like they’ve been through the most horrible torture anyone could experience. Their faces were locked into eternal anguish, abandoned by life itself. After the monsters were defeated, the gothic girl leaped off of the tall kid’s back and hugged Claire.

“I knew you would come for me!” she said.

“I only wanted to save Dexter, Colletta,” said Claire.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” said Colletta. “You’re always so cold.”

“I guess we should introduce ourselves,” said Dexter. “I’m Dexter Chisholm, and this is Colletta Brodeur.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you all, but we need to hurry,” said Colletta. “Our friends are trapped inside the school, and I am afraid of what might happen if we do not rescue them.”

“Yeah, we should hurry,” said Susan. “I really don’t like staying out here, and the faster this gets fixed, the better.”

And so, the kids walked towards Porvurious Academy, apprehensive of what dangers may lie inside.

As they got closer to the school, they found another survivor. He didn’t look like a student. The survivor actually looked like Gabriella Reyes. He had the same red plaid shirt and straw hat that she wore. Even the hair color was the same. He was holding his arm in pain. It looked like the monsters injured him. The group rushed in to help him fight the monsters.

“Thanks,” said the survivor. “I was afraid that help wasn’t coming. I’m Gabe Reyes.”

“Wait,” said Annie. “Are you, by any chance, related to Gabriella Reyes?”

“Y-yeah,” Gabe said. “She’s my sister. Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” said Annie. “But we need you to get somewhere safe. You can’t walk around with that injury.”

“No where’s safe on this island,” said Gabe. “Not anymore.”

“He’s right,” said Maddie. “Besides, there’s safety in numbers.”

Aira couldn’t help but worry about her own sister. Where was she? Was she okay? Would any of this be okay? She began to walk slower than the group, but she knew how scared the rest of them must be. She couldn’t stop now.

The school stood menacingly over the group. There was a massive clock tower that the storm clouds were circling around. A sinister dragon flew around the tower, not noticing the group below. A dark figure stood in the window at the very top of the tower, lurking, cackling. The surviving students could only think about how happy their school used to be. But now it was in ruins. Their friends’ fate was uncertain, but they needed to go in and reverse the damage before it was too late.

Prince Drake was apprehensive, too. After all, he used to go to this school. It used to be his home, his sanctuary. But he had to be brave. Not for the kids, but for himself. But deep down, he knew how much braver the other kids were than himself. But it was no time to hesitate. After all, even Nadia was by his side. The group entered Porvurious Academy, readying themselves to face off against the treacheries within the school.

[fishy12233]

Chronicles of Sturgia

Chapter 1, Part 1: “The Gorgeous Grove”

The only sound one could hear was the sound of chirping birds and running water. The gentle sunlight shone upon the peaceful cove, creating a grand rainbow among the waterfalls and reflecting off of the water with a brilliant light. This was the peaceful sanctuary that was Sunset Grove.

Seven years ago, Gabriella Reyes was banished into a forest ruined in the midst of war. She was left to die. However, through impossible odds, she managed to not only survive, but to also revive the forest into a grand sanctuary. It was a place of safety. Over seven years, it became a glimmer of hope among the shattered kingdom of Sturgia, especially now, when nowhere else was safe any longer. Gabby founded a quaint town of peace and happiness, hidden away from the dangers of the treacherous world. Many people came here so that they could be safe. They needed somewhere safe more than ever. Over seven years, Gabriella longed to see Samuel again. When the six children from Citrione City came out of that waterfall and into the cove below, the hope that the couple would be reunited began to glimmer once again.

The six children were wet, soggy and cold. But seeing the beautiful grove that they arrived in gave them strength.

When the six kids had crashed into the cove, they also crashed into two hapless villagers who were talking on top of large lily pads. These villagers were Dan Avidan and Arin Hanson in squirrel kigurumis. Before long, Gabriella Reyes and a large group of villagers showed up to help them. The kids introduced themselves and Gabby recognized Maddie and Susan as Samuel’s nieces, seeing it as a sign that Samuel was alive. They had grown so big since Gabby last saw them. She said that the kids were the second incident of someone coming in from the waterfall. The first incident was a girl from the kids’ school who somehow stumbled into the cave in Eagle Mountain and found herself in Sunset Grove. They also met Liana Culiseta, a wise and enigmatic woman who wore a long black dress that showed off her ankle. She also had seven very large, very wound up ponytails. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a large cackle. Everyone turned towards the large tree that stood in the middle of the forest. A bizarre girl stood on a branch.

“This scene is nice and all, but the queen wouldn’t like this. She ordered me, Robyn Avia, to burn down this forest. She can’t have people taking sanctuary here.”

The bizarre girl sent her phoenix down upon the villagers, frightening them. She resolved to burn down the forest, but she threw a tantrum when she realized that her fire attacks were being blocked by a hidden force coming from inside the large tree. Robyn flew away with her phoenix, vowing to find a way to stop the protective force. After the kids dried off, Liana told them to place the Diamond Step into a pedestal on a strange monument. It looked like some sort of large pavilion without a roof. There were eight pedestals, but Liana told them which one to put it on. Liana seemed extremely excited, but was trying to keep calm. Her eyes were always so squinty, but her excitement still showed through them. Once the shoes were on the pedestal, the world began to spin around the kids. A large flock of doves began flying around the pavilion as the world changed. Soon the kids entered another realm, and the pavilion changed into a large, circular stained glass window depicting Caroling Porter weeping by her husband, who lay comatose in bed. The surrounding forest had disappeared, leaving only darkness. The flock of doves flew away, and suddenly, Caroline Porter stood in front of them. She explained that the kids were now on a quest, a quest to find all eight items and stop the dark force that was controlling the queen. Caroline was one of the eight wizards who encountered this dark force nineteen years ago. The Diamond Step was a pair of shoes that belonged to Caroline’s life-sized porcelain doll. She couldn’t leave her house because her husband Gent was comatose due to the queen making an example of him at the royal parade seven years ago.

"The next artifact is the Canary Cornucopia," Caroline said. "It's a sunflower located within the large tree in the middle of the forest. The tree is actually an abandoned facility named Twilea Incorporated. Go there. The Cornucopia is what protects the forest. If it's returned to the monument with the Diamond Step, it'll remain safe."

When the kids returned to Sunset Grove, they told Gabby everything that Caroline told them. They decided to explore Sunset Grove and prepare before entering the strange facility. Suzy, one of the villagers, volunteered to give them a tour. She showed them around the orchard, which was one of the town’s main food sources. The town mainly survived on fruit, fish, and honey. They also used imports from other towns, but they were isolated by recent events, making trade impossible. Suzy showed them to the beach, where they could see an island covered in shadow. It was a heavy contrast to the bright and sunny forest they were in right now. The kids saw one of the villagers sitting contemplatively on a nearby bench. She was a monkey who held a strange orb in her hands. It looked broken. Suzy showed them around town, including town hall, the salon, and the bank. A cat villager was delightfully playing the fiddle in the town square. Another cat villager sat by the train station painting blue things. He painted blue houses, blue cows, blue people, etc. It looks like he had run out of other paint colors. The train station was also out of order due to recent events. The kids visited the fruit cafe, the most popular restaurant in town. Smefanye, the owner, was really nice. Apparently, Smef was a model who was really popular a couple of years ago.

Afterwards, the kids went to the local store to restock. Peter saw a really cool beetle backpack with more space, so he bought it. Then, the kids got to watch the local band play a song. They called themselves the Coffee Shop Hipsters. The song they sang was a song of peace. The lyrics we're hopeful and empowering. It was a soothing song that also evoked a sense of adventure. The kids loved it.

The tour took the kids back into the woods, which had trees whose leaves were already changing. Suzy explained that the woods to the east had been frozen over, and that a large ice wall prevented anyone from going to the town in the north. They entered the camp site, which had a food truck that Dan and Arin were running. For some reason, they only sold variations of mac and cheese, from lasagna to fettucini alfredo. There was also a troop of small scouts, which was run by Gabby’s dad. Their campsite had a lot of modern commodities in it, like a projector screen and a laptop. Annie really loved the campsite, not because of the commodities, but because it reminded her of camping trips she went on. She happily devoured the food that the scouts offered her. Mr. Reyes told the kids that the troop was working on making a guidebook like the one the kids made for Citrione City. Apparently, there were two siblings, Trixie and Wayne Brodeur, who were also making their own guidebook. He suggested that if the kids added stuff from Sunset Grove into their own guidebook that it would help everyone gain as much information about Sturgia as possible. There was a strange cabin nearby. It belonged to Trixie and Wayne Brodeur, the park rangers. Suzy explained that they were always so busy obsessing over a strange book series that they found one day. The kids looked inside, and Suzy’s words rang true. Trixie and Wayne were inside, putting together a huge conspiracy theory chart that covered the walls. Sure enough, they were frantically reading through the 12 strange journals that they found. As the tour continued, the kids entered a strange part of the forest. The trees turned into white mushrooms, and a strange purple mist lingered in the air. Suzy said that this place was once called "Beau Village". To their surprise, there was a crashed UFO in the ground. An alien that looked like the same species as Retro was talking to three villagers: a librarian owl, a girly bunny, and a strange boy. He was also holding a strange creature. Weirded out, the kids walked away from the scene. After shopping around for a while, the kids were ready to enter Twilea Inc. However, as they were about to enter, the banker, Mr. Sauer, stopped them. “What do you think yer doin’, laddies? This is my property!”

Mr. Sauer was a strange man. In fact, he wasn’t a man at all. He looked like some sort of dinosaur with tiny eyes and fluffy bird feet. However, no one, not even Mr. Sauer, knew what he really was.

“What do you mean? We're the ones who’ve been trying to restore it to working order!” Gabby retaliated.

“That place is dangerous!” said Mr. Sauer. “If you want to go in and risk bein’ attacked by that girl, you laddies need to defeat me and my pigeons!”

The kids groaned, but they had no choice. Mr. Sauer’s pigeons pecked at their eyes annoyingly. Luckily for Chris, his glasses protected him. It was an annoying battle, but they managed to defeat him. Tired, Mr. Sauer called his secretary. The kids recognized her as one of their classmates. Mr Sauer had her unlock the door so that they could go through, accepting that they were strong enough to take on Robyn.

The six kids entered Twilea Incorporated, ready to face what lay before them.

[fishy12233]

Chronicles of Sturgia

Prologue Part 2: “The Wacky Week”

It was a quiet night in Citrione City. The date was Friday, May 18. There was only one week left until summer vacation.

A group of kids sneaking out in their pajamas interrupted the peaceful night in the suburbs. They quietly made their way towards a hidden treehouse; it was their clubhouse, and a secret meeting was about to take place.

The clubhouse was filled with all sorts of objects, such as walkie-talkies, binoculars, toys, spy gear, game consoles, and most importantly, piles and piles of books. In the clubhouse, the kids would talk about their plans for summer vacation, studying for final exams, and possible rumors and adventures. However, the biggest thing that the kids worked on together was a guidebook of places they’ve been to. The guidebook had information about Citrione City and the neighboring Spookyville, but there was still plenty of blank space for their future adventures. They never expected it, but the kids’ guidebook would be almost completely filled up before the end of summer vacation.

“I can help you guys study in the library on Sunday, if you want,” said Chris, with a hopeful look in his eye.

“That would be great Chris, but me and Susan still have to go to church,” said Maddie, looking a bit more gloomy than usual.

“You guys can go to the library early, then we’ll be over later. There will be plenty of time for us to be there!” Exclaimed Susan, who wore a warm smile on her face.

“Now that that’s settled, what are we, like, going to do this summer?” Asked Lisa, with a bored but energetic expression.

“None of us have plans this summer, but I’m sure we could find adventure somewhere in our town,” said Peter, who wore a thoughtful look on his face.

“We can do it! It’s going to be so much fun! We’ll go camping, exploring, eating, and just doing whatever we want!” Exclaimed Annie, who looked as gung-ho as ever.

“Alright then, so we’re still on for the park tomorrow, right?” Chris asked. He was hesitant, but hopeful.

“Of course,” said Maddie. “We’ll meet up tomorrow. Well, goodnight everyone.” Maddie quietly left, while the others followed. Everyone returned to their homes, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

The date was Saturday, May 19.

For every kid, Saturday morning was the time for their most important ritual: Saturday morning cartoons. While these cartoons have become rare in recent times, kids always found a channel that still played Saturday morning cartoons. All the kids in the neighborhood were watching cartoons on Saturday mornings in their pajamas while eating colorful, sugary cereals.

After the cartoons stopped playing on TV  in favor of boring adult shows, the kids would all go out to the park to play. Some played on the playground while others played on their portable gaming consoles. The kids weren’t the only ones at the playground, however. Teens who lived in the neighboring town of Spookyville would often hang out at the playground. There were a series of popular home movies that featured some of these teens as stars of a sort of horror movie parody. Many kids gossip about them, creating rumors that the events in the movies are real. However, nobody ever believes these rumors. Peter’s older sister Jessica often goes to the park to sit at a homemade stand she made that sold advice. Her business was popular among both children and teens alike. This is how Jessica knew all the latest gossip and drama. It was also how she got extra cash. Like many of the kids in Citrione City, Jessica was a schemer.

Each of the kids loved going to the park for different reasons. Maddie and Chris loved looking for bugs or reading books together. Susan always liked to set up a nice picnic with bento lunches for everyone. Peter would always walk his dog Biscuit or play super spy with Lisa. They had walkie-talkies, binoculars, and a bunch of other spy gear that a spy kid would need. They loved to spy on people in the post office or watch people from the vantage point that came with their clubhouse. Whenever Peter wasn’t walking the dog or playing super spy, he would play video games, find someone to play trading card games with, or do tricks with various skill toys like yo-yos. Annie was always volunteering on Saturdays, helping clean up the park or helping maintain the garden. Sometimes, Chris and Annie liked to feed the ducks at the duck pond. They always thought there was something shining in the water, but they weren’t allowed to dive in. Sometimes, all the kids would get together to play tag or hide and seek. One of their favorite games was sardines, a variation of hide and seek where there were multiple seekers who would go hide in the same place as the first hider.

Today, Lisa happened to be listening to a popular band on the radio: The Crazy Eights. She was dancing her heart out while wearing round, rose-colored sunglasses. This band happened to be in town, which made Lisa pretty excited. Rumor says that they’re in debt with the local music venue, trapping them in Citrione City. Lisa was hoping to meet them and hear some of her favorite songs from them, such as “Utopian Train”, “Soaring Guy”, or “Makin’ Pals”.

“Tomorrow, after we go to the library,” said Lisa to Peter, “I want to sneak into the local theater and get an autograph.” Lisa had a scheming gleam in her eye, a look that Peter knew well.

“But Lisa,” Peter said, “We’ll get in trouble again! Remember the mailman incident?”

“I had to break into his house!” exclaimed Lisa. “He was too suspicious! I still think he’s an alien.”

Despite Peter’s pleas, Lisa was determined to get an autograph.

By the time the kids got home, the sun was already setting. It had been a long day. Lisa slept over at Peter’s house while everyone else returned to their own houses. Saturday night was the best time to stay up late watching movies or playing video games.

Despite being close friends, the kids’ families were all different in their own way. Maddie and Susan were sisters, and they lived with a mom who owned a church gift shop, a dad who was an English teacher, and their Uncle Samuel, who was a gemcutter. Peter had an older sister and a younger sister, and they both lived with parents who were dealing with financial problems. He also had a loving Border Collie named Biscuit. Lisa was an only child, and she lived with parents who were just as free-spirited as she was. Annie lived with her older brother, who recently graduated college. Her parents lived far away. Chris lived with a younger sister named Ash, who often spent time drawing on her tablet, away from other people. He also lived with a dad who was a scientist, but his mom left when Chris was only two years old. Chris and Ash would often see their mom on the news, living her life as a successful programmer.

Saturday was always a day of fun for the kids. Tomorrow, they would have to get ready for their last week of school.

* * *

The date was Sunday, May 20.

Today was the day that the kids would go to the library and study, even though Maddie and Susan could not go for the first hour because they were with their mom at the church gift shop. The library can be a cool place to explore, especially modern libraries. Many libraries house art galleries and may have bizarre sculptures. Books are also fun to find, because anyone can find a book interesting to them. For the first 30 minutes, the rest of the kids were having fun at the library, hanging out and getting help from Chris. The six coordinated girls who went to their school were there as well, hanging out by a nearby table. However, things quickly got boring without Maddie and Susan. So they decided to go wait for them to get out of church. When Maddie and Susan got out of church, the kids played tag, had donuts, spent time at the gift shop, and played around the fountain and fire pit. The kids’ favorite thing to do there was play with the wind chimes in the gift shop. Afterwards, they returned to the library to study.

After a few hours, Lisa left the library and ran off towards the theater. Of course, her friends immediately noticed and ran after her. Lisa snuck around the back side of the theater. She saw the Crazy Eight’s bus. It was yellow and was painted with colorful swirls and citrus patterns. Lisa pulled out a picture of the band so they would sign it. When she saw Cool, one of the original members of the band, she screamed with joy so loud that his sunglasses fell off his face. She rushed to him, speaking so fast that no one else could understand her. The other kids remained in hiding, watching her talk with Cool. He was weirded out by her sudden arrival, but happily signed her poster, anyway. Some other members came out of the bus, including Retro, who looked like an alien with a hippie outfit and a black shirt with a red ghoul on the front, making Lisa practically faint out of excitement. The other kids watched as they all signed her poster and sent her home.

“Did you see that?” she exclaimed. Lisa was shaking like a chihuahua. The other kids nodded nervously. Then Lisa leaned in and whispered, “You know Retro, right?

I think he’s an alien.”

“Not this again!” Peter exclaimed.

“I’m serious! That definitely does not look like a costume, does it?” said Lisa. “His face moved and everything!”

“I believe you,” said Maddie. “He is definitely an alien.”

“Thank you, Maddie!” said Lisa. “At least someone gets it!”

Chris shot a doubtful look at Retro, then at Lisa.

“Alien or not, that’s not what we need to worry about now,” said Annie. “We need to go home and get a good rest! Our final exams are gonna be hard, but I know we can do it!”

By the time the kids got back home, it was time to get ready for bed. When there is a school day the next day, time at home always seems to fly by, since the kids have to go to bed earlier. Sometimes, kids like Chris would prepare for school too much, leaving them laying awake in bed all night thinking about nothing but what they would do the next morning. By the time they finally fell asleep, their ten alarms would go off, indicating that it was time to get ready for school.

* * *

The date was Monday, May 21.

Mondays is definitely the worst day of the week. The transition from weekend mode to vacation mode always left the kids tired and unwilling to go to school. Luckily, it was the last week of school before summer vacation, so it was slightly more bearable to get up earlier. Some kids, like Chris, were heavy sleepers. Even though they may have set ten alarms, they would always sleep through them, pressing the snooze button five times before actually getting up.

After getting ready and eating a nice breakfast, the kids would walk to school. Their school was only one block away from the kids’ houses. Unlike weekend mornings, when Citrione City was lively and busy, weekday mornings were peaceful and serene. The soft glow of the rising sun coming to wake up the sleepy town was a beautiful sight. It didn’t make up for having to get up early for school, but it helped.

One of the strangest things the kids saw on the way to school was the neighbor’s house. Chris described it as Art Nouveau, which was an art style that focused on natural forms and structures. The house had been around for about seven years, so the kids had gotten used to seeing it all the time.

The nice thing about the last full day of school was that the kids didn’t have to do much work. They had plenty of time to study and enjoy themselves and reminisce on the past year. They remembered field day, when they got to play fun games and get soaking wet. Afterwards, they would eat ice cream and frozen fruit pops. The book fair was one of their favorite events, since there were plenty of cool books and toys to buy. It was all the rage at school. Kids always loved reading the latest book series, whether it was about time traveling tree houses or secret organizations that fought fires. Science fairs were Chris’s favorite. He won first prize for the first time at the most recent science fair. There were so many fun events it would take hours to talk about all of them. Through the fun memories, and even the trials and tribulations, Citrione City was home sweet home.

After school was over, the kids went home to study and relax. The late afternoon was the time of day when the kids just sat around or walked around the house looking for something to do. Some kids just watched TV or played board games. Others rummaged through their toys or bookshelves, leaving a mess that their parents would make them clean up. However, this afternoon wasn’t like other afternoons. It was the beginning of something strange.

Maddie was sitting in her room, which was decorated with many spooky things. She was busy reading a book series on wizards. That was when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. The wardrobe door was open. Curious, Maddie slowly walked up to it reached for the door. Suddenly, it snapped closed. Then, something unbelievable happened. The wardrobe came to life, jumping towards her. It opened its doors and started sucking everything inside. Terrified, Maddie leaped for the door. She threw whatever she could find at the wardrobe. After struggling to not get eaten, she finally escaped, closing the door inside her. Thankfully, the wardrobe was too big to fit through the doorway. It couldn’t open the door, even if it knew how to.

She ran to Susan’s room and told her everything that happened.

“Really?” Susan asked. “That’s scary. You could sleep in my room if you want.”

“No thank you,” said Maddie. “I would rather sleep on the couch bed.”

Then, Maddie and Susan went to their parents and uncle and told them what was going on. Their parents laughed, but Samuel believed them.

“I’ve seen stranger things than an evil wardrobe,” said Samuel. “Compared to the weird stuff that’s been going on in Spookyville, this is nothing.”

Meanwhile, Peter’s family was freaking out over the vase and boombox that had come alive in the kitchen. Peter was intrigued, but when they started attacking everyone, he bashed them with a baseball bat until they ran away.

Back at the Avarell household, Samuel was wondering what to do. “We can’t make the wardrobe leave,” he said.

“Then what are we going to do?” asked Maddie. “Is it going to live in my room forever?”

“Maybe we can fight it,” said Samuel. “What do you have on you?”

“I just have some old books that I got from the Spookyville library last week,” said Maddie. “I should probably return those soon.” Samuel looked at the books. They were actually spell books that taught simple magic attacks.

“Why does Spookyville have all this weird magic stuff there? I guess that kind of stuff would be normal there, but I’m pretty sure it used to be just a normal town a few years ago.” Susan asked.

However, there was no time for questions.

“Are you ready?” asked Samuel.

“Yes,” said Maddie. She was hesitant, but Samuel could tell that she was shaking not only from fear, but from excitement.

Maddie bravely marched inside her room. She felt the strong winds. While she had read over the spell book many times already, she never tried out the spells. The wardrobe relentlessly tried to suck her in. She stood her ground. If this was real, it would be a dream come true for Maddie.  The winds became stronger. Maddie began to lose her footing. Samuel was right behind her, just in case. Hesitantly, she chanted the spell. A shot of electricity hit the wardrobe. The winds died. She did it. The wardrobe was shaking in fear. It wouldn’t bother her again.

After some celebration and confusion, everyone returned to their rooms and went to bed. Maddie got to sleep in her room that night, but was still apprehensive of the wardrobe that quietly slept next to her bedside. That night, Samuel couldn’t help but worry about why these things were occurring, especially since it’s been only three days since the seventh anniversary of the day he was separated from his fiance.

* * *

The date was Tuesday, May 22.

Today was the first day of final exams. The kids couldn’t afford to worry about the strange occurrences that happened last night. Only Peter, Lisa, Susan, and Maddie knew about the inanimate objects that attacked them that night. None of them had the opportunity to tell Annie or Chris that day.

Anyone who has taken a test can testify to how difficult, tedious, and terrible it is. Hours of complete silence, having to resist the urge to cheat, and not knowing the answers to many of the questions is unbearable. The only strategy is to study and be a good test taker. Thankfully, Chris could help his friends study. But even with the knowledge, tests are still impossibly difficult for bad test takers. Imagine only hearing the sounds of writing, coughing, and the ticking clock, working quickly before time runs out. When the students took their tests, time felt tediously slow yet frighteningly fast. It took forever to get through the test, but there was still not enough time to answer all the questions.

After the long hours of test-taking, it was finally over. However, there was still two days of test-taking left.

The kids left the school worried about their grades but relieved that it was over for the day. Since the school didn’t serve lunch on half-days, the kids went to the pizzeria. There were two pizzeria’s in Reality Valley, the area where both Spookyville and Citrione City were located in. Everyone went to the pizzeria in Citrione City, but no one went to the one in Spookyville. Despite it having a full arcade and an area for kids’ parties, it had a history of ghost sightings, dangerous incidents, and bad service.

Maddie and Susan told the group about what happened to them last night.

“You too?” asked Peter. “Lisa and I were attacked last night.”

“So it wasn’t just us,” said Maddie, with a meditative look on her face. “Were you or Annie attacked last night, as well?”

“No, of course not,” said Chris. “Uh, this has to be a joke right? I mean, that isn’t scientifically possible!”

“Didn’t you see Retro the other day?” asked Lisa.

“But, that must have been a costume,” Chris said, “There are plenty of costumes with moving facial features like that.”

“What about those happenings in Spookyville?” asked Maddie.

“Um, those have to be fake, right?” Chris asked. He was notably more anxious after Maddie started questioning him. “They just, um, faked those home videos to gain publicity. That has to be it.”

“I believe Chris. After all, nobody believes those rumors, so neither should you,” Annie said. “Listen, Chris and I need to get going. We’re volunteering at the food bank today. My brother’s taking us. See you later.”

After Annie dragged Chris out with her, the other four kids were alone.

“We can just show them the wardrobe in my room, right?” said Maddie. “They’ll have to believe us! After all, there’s no way for the wardrobe to leave, right?”

Maddie wouldn’t need to show Chris and Annie the wardrobe. The events that transpired that afternoon would be all they needed to be convinced of the strange happenings in Reality Valley.

The food bank in Citrione City provided many volunteer opportunities. Annie was a regular volunteer there, but her friends also came along with her sometimes. Since she needed an adult with her, her big brother would always go with her. They always volunteered on Tuesdays for a couple of hours. The food bank always needed people to help pack food to send off to people who needed it. Working there was pretty boring. However, it would stop being boring once a good conversation started between volunteers. Then, work went by very quickly. Annie always prided herself in her many volunteer hours. It was one of the few things she felt she was good at. She always felt safe when she volunteered.

However, that would soon come to an end.

Chris, Annie, and her brother were busy packing lunches into small, disposable lunch boxes. The one thing Annie didn’t like about volunteering was how the food she was packing always made her hungry. She often stole  snacks for herself. Her big brother noticed this, but never said anything. He knew how much Annie loved eating food.  Annie even saw kids from her school there, including some of the girls who dressed in coordinated clothes. The afternoon was fun and peaceful.

Suddenly, everyone heard a loud crashing noise from the warehouse. The coordinator in charge asked someone to volunteer to go investigate with him. Annie’s brother volunteered and went with him. After a few minutes, they never returned. However, everyone could still hear noises. The rest of the volunteers cautiously entered the warehouse. There, they saw an unbelievable sight. A bunch of inanimate objects had come to life and made a mess in the warehouse. There were many strange creatures and animals devouring the food scattered by the mess. The volunteer coordinator and Annie’s brother were busy fighting them off. Chris and Annie could only watch in shock and disbelief. The look in their eyes was the look of someone whose life has been turned upside down. It was the look of someone who was facing the shock of having been betrayed by their knowledge of how the world works.

The sight froze Chris in place. What could he do? He was only a kid, and he had to come to terms with the supernatural creatures that stood before him. As a lover of science, Chris couldn’t process how this was happening. Annie was also in shock, but she quickly realized that her brother was in danger. She had to snap out of it, there was no time to waste. While she tried to grab Chris and drag her along with him, he wouldn’t move.

“Stop moping around!” yelled Annie. “There’s no time! We need to help, you can question everything later!”

“O-okay,” said Chris. He slowly started running with Annie to help defeat the enemies. They grabbed whatever they could and threw it at the creatures attacking Annie’s brother and the volunteer coordinator. Having distracted the creatures, everyone had the time to evacuate.

Everyone was standing outside, staring at the food bank. The news had arrived to report on the mysterious incident that occurred. Chris’s family and the other kids quickly arrived to check on him, Annie, and her brother. Everyone was in utter shock and confusion.

“Is everyone all right?” Chris’s dad asked.

“Y-yeah,” said Chris.

“I guess you were right about those weird creatures,” sighed Annie. She had a weak smile on her face.

“How do we stop them?” said Maddie. “It will only get worse.”

“Do you think Uncle Samuel could help?” asked Susan. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

And so, the kids made their way to Maddie and Susan’s house. Uncle Samuel was running out of the house.

“What is going on, Uncle Samuel?” asked Maddie.

“I should be asking you that,” said Samuel. “I saw the news, and I’m afraid of what could be happening.”

“Of what happening?” asked Susan.

“You might find this hard to believe, but there’s another world beyond the mountains behind our house. I used to live there, but an evil queen separated me from the love of my life and banished me.”

“This is ridiculous,” said Annie. “How can we believe you?”

“Look around,” said Samuel. “The unbelievable has occurred before your eyes. I know it may be hard to accept, but it’s true. Remember the meteor from seven years ago? It was on the news.”

“Yeah, I remember!” said Peter. “I was only a kid, but I remember seeing the meteor outside my window. The news the next morning said it was two meteors colliding with each other, but what does that have to do with our current situation?”

“I don’t know,” said Samuel. “But it happened the night I was banished.  I can only imagine how devastating that must have been for the citizens of Sturgia.”

“Sturgia?” asked Lisa. “Is that, like, the name of that place?”

“D-do you really believe we can only believe your word on this?” said Chris.

“Chris!? What are you saying?” said Maddie.

“It’s okay,” said Samuel. “You don’t have to believe just my word. There’s someone else who can testify to what I’m saying. Do you see that strange house there?” He pointed towards the Art Nouveau house that the kids walked by every day. “An old friend lives there. She can tell you everything you need to know.”

“But how come we’ve never met her?” asked Susan.

“You’ll understand when you meet her,” said Samuel. “It’ll be best to get some rest tonight, then we can meet up with her after school tomorrow.”

Everyone said goodnight to each other. Then they went to bed. Most everyone was worried, not only about the supernatural occurrences, but also about the final exams. Only two days left.

* * *

The date was Wednesday, May 23.

Everyone was tired and confused. In two days, the kids’ lives were turned upside-down. They could barely focus on exams. Who was the woman who lived at the strange Art Nouveau house? How was she connected to all of this? Did the meteor have to do with any of this? There were too many unanswered questions.

After school, the six kids met up at the strange house with Samuel. The group slowly approached the house, seeing the strange flowers growing on the vines that crawled up the wall. They also saw a large group of birds playing in an ornate birdhouse. There was also a broomstick against the wall next to the door. As they came up to the door, the kids noticed a strange symbol on the door’s window.

Samuel knocked on the door. After a couple of minutes, someone opened the door. It was a woman with short black hair and glasses. Her eyes were filled with distraught and worry. She wore a long, flowing dress that was swirled with green and white. When she saw Samuel, her expression became gentle.

“It’s been a while, Samuel,” she said. “Come in.”

The inside of the house was cramped, but just as bizarre as the outside of the house. There was a casserole that smelled like it was fresh out of the oven. It didn’t look like the house was connected to any gas or electricity. The house appeared to be completely self-sustaining. There were plants everywhere. Everyone sat around the dining table.

“I see you brought everyone,” the woman said. “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m sorry I couldn’t come and visit you Avarells.”

“By Avarells you mean me and Susan?” asked Maddie.

“Who else?” said the woman. “Anyway, I should introduce myself. My name is Caroline Porter. I should probably explain this situation.” Caroline leaned in closer. “Seven years ago, Samuel was getting married to the love of his life, Gabriella Reyes. But the evil queen, Mareen Tarlington, split them up. She’s been acting strange for so long. The night after the wedding, she hosted a Royal Parade and seriously injured my husband. He’s been in a coma ever since, and I’ve been waiting for him to awake for seven years. Sturgia has become dangerous and desolate. I would help everyone out myself, but I can’t abandon my husband.”

“But what does that have to do with what’s been happening here?” asked Peter.

“That’s the thing,” said Caroline. “May 18 was the seventh anniversary of that fateful day. I suspect that the queen is the one behind it. She’s become too powerful. I can only suspect she’s been influenced by an old enemy.” Caroline stopped and took a breath. “Anyway, the important thing is that I want you six kids to go to Sturgia.”

“What?” said Susan. “Why?”

“Because,” Caroline said, “I want you to talk to someone there. Go see Gabriella Reyes and tell her that there is a plan. Tell her not to lose hope. I also want you to find someone names Liana Culiseta and tell her that the items are ready to be retrieved.”

“Items?” asked Lisa. “Like, what items?”

“Liana will explain when you get there,” said Caroline. “I need you to know this because you will go through the cavern in Eagle Mountain to get there. But there is one more reason you’re going through the cavern.”

“And what is that reason?” asked Maddie.

“I need you to retrieve an item for me,” said Caroline. “It’s a pair of blue diamond slippers. They’re one of the eight items you need to bring to Liana. She’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“But we have exams,” said Chris. “We’re only kids. What can we do?”

“Tomorrow is the last day of school, right?” asked Caroline. “Tomorrow, you can start your journey. It’s a pretty simple task, but it’s also a crucial one. I believe you’re the only ones who have the attitude and the free time to accomplish this task. Are you in?”

Annie put her arm out. “I’m in. What about everyone else? We can do this!”

Chris reluctantly out his arm out as well. “O-okay, I’m in too. I’m still sort of confused, but I think that we’ll figure it out along the way. We just need to get used to it, right?”

Lisa excitedly put her arm out. “Me three! This sounds like fun!”

Peter put his arm out too. “Me four! I can’t just shy away from my friends!”

Finally, Maddie and Susan decided to put their arms out. “It is a difficult decision,” said Maddie. “But I think it is important for us to do this. This situation is bigger than us now. If we do nothing, we will only be part of the problem.”

“I’m not really as good with words,” said Susan, “but I’m in too!”

“It’s settled then,” said Caroline.

That night, the kids would have to say goodbye to everyone. Maddie and Susan felt that their parents wouldn’t understand. After all, they didn’t even believe the news story. Uncle Samuel promised to tell them after the kids left.

“I’m sorry I can’t come with you,” said Samuel. “If I could go, I would have gone seven years ago.”

Peter’s family held a going away dinner that night. His mom always made the best food in Citrione City. Her food was so good that she wrote her own cookbook. Tonight, they had a fancy steak dinner with meatloaf. It was a family favorite. Their dog Biscuit had plenty of leftovers.

Lisa said goodbye to her parents, who fully embraced her decision. They went to Peter’s house that night to visit and play board games.

Annie said goodbye to her brother, who was pretty cool about the situation.

Chris gave a heartfelt goodbye to his dad and sister, but he was still sad that he could never say goodbye to his mother. They watched her on the TV that night as she announced her latest programs.

Everyone went to bed. It would be the kids’ last night in Citrione City for a long time. They were nervous, but they were sure that things would go well.

* * *

The date was Thursday, May 24.

It was the last day of this wacky week.

It was the last day of school.

It was last day the kids would be in Citrione City for a long time.

The morning was as peaceful as always. The kids got up, knowing that today was the day that their adventure would begin. They silently walked to school, appreciating the last time they would see the sleepy town awake for a long time. People never truly appreciate something until they lose it. School was bustling with the same kids and the same garbled gossip as always. The kids saw the coordinated girls walking down the hallway, the bratty kid who liked pranking everyone, and even Ash, who was drawing on her tablet as always. There was one thing that was different, though. Everyone was excited, talking about plans for summer vacation and signing each other's yearbooks. Now that school was over, it didn’t seem so bad. During final exams, the bratty kid began bothering Peter.

“Hey Parker!” he said.

“It’s Peter,” said Peter.

“I don’t care if your name is Peter or Parker!” said the bratty kid. “What’s up with that weird stuff that’s been going on? All of the students are completely ignoring it!”

“I dunno, Lincoln.” said Peter. “Leave me alone.”

“The name’s Landon, Parker!” said the bratty kid. “Everyone here’s such a weirdo!”

Peter tried to focus on his test while Landon kept throwing stuff at him. Thankfully, he wouldn’t be seeing Landon for a while. Kids like that have always bothered Peter and his friends. One of the best things about summer is not having to see annoying kids in school every day.

The final minutes of the school year are the most exciting. This is when all the students count down to their freedom from school. Once the bell rings, everyone cheers. It’s time for celebration as the students say their goodbyes.

After school, the kids went to buy supplies to take with them on their adventure. It was their last outing. Peter’s mom gave him some cash to use to buy supplies and anything they would need. The kids wandered around the mall, having fun and buying supplies. Malls are the most popular hangout spots. They’re large and have a variety of cool stores. Peter decided to buy some video games to use with his portable game console. Annie bought all the food that would be long lasting, filling, and cheap. She also bought a bunch of the survival tools they would need. Shopping at the mall was almost an adventure in and of itself. By the time their visit to the mall was over, Peter’s bag was stuffed to the point where it couldn’t close. The kids needed to use other bags to hold everything they needed.

After visiting the mall, the kids met Samuel behind the Avarell house. Maddie and Susan said their goodbyes, then all of the kids entered the cave. They hesitated at first. It was dark, and no one knew what lurked inside. However, they needed to face the great unknown in order to proceed. They entered the cavern, bravely facing the future that lay before them.

[fishy12233]

Chronicles of Sturgia

Intro: “The Lost Lovers”

There once lived a loving couple who wished to spend their lives together. Their names were Samuel Avarell and Gabriella Reyes. Samuel grew up in the city. Ever since he was a child, the wonders of his hometown astounded him. From the tall skyscrapers to the advancements in technology, Samuel admired them with a passion.  He learned to appreciate how amazing humanity was in its ambition. When he got older, he developed a love for rocks and precious minerals. He loved gems because they reminded him of humanity. “Gemstones come in every shape and size imaginable, and they have the potential to become something amazing. Humans are no different,” Samuel said. Despite his admiration of humanity, Samuel lived alone and had a hard time socializing with people. He didn’t know how to care for others. Samuel lived a lonely life.

Gabriella grew up in the country. Gabby’s parents taught her how to run the family farm. As Gabby grew older, her parents saw how dedicated she was towards her animals. She even slept in the barn on stormy nights because she wanted to protect them. Later, Gabby grew to love gardening, too. She grew so many plants they overtook her house. Plants grew everywhere: the wall, the roof, and even the pipes. It became a major issue when the plumbing broke. Gabby’s parents always taught her how to care for others the way she cares for her plants and animals.

Gabby and Samuel’s first meeting at the marketplace was a fated one. There, Samuel tripped and broke Gabby’s potted plant. She was angry at first, but because Samuel kept apologizing to her, she forgave him to get him to leave her alone. But they kept running into each other at the market. That's when their friendship formed. Gabby taught Samuel everything she knew of plants and animals. It amazed him how complex they were. After a while, Samuel and Gabby began a romantic relationship, which later led to their engagement. Gabby made Samuel’s life whole. At first, Samuel doubted himself, believing he couldn’t care for Gabby the way she cared for him. “Why do you love me?” Samuel asked. Gabriella sighed, “I love you because you believe in the power of humanity. You can see humanity’s ambition. I want to help you help yourself and others reach great heights.”

Samuel and Gabby’s wedding was small but quaint. It was more special that way. Bouquets of flowers graced the chapel while the gentle lighting created a pleasant mood. Gabby wore a wedding dress decorated with flowers that appeared as if they were flowing in the breeze. The couple only invited their closest friends and family. During the ceremony, Samuel couldn’t stop staring at Gabby. Everything was perfect. It was a dream come true, a typical happy ending. But happy endings don’t exist. This was only the beginning.

Before they said their I dos, a voice boomed, “I OBJECT!” Instantly, the skies went dark, and the door blew wide open. The voice, loud and commanding, made everyone silent as Her Majesty, Queen Mareen Tarlington stood in the doorway. Mareen’s silhouette gave everyone chills. The twin-horned escoffion she wore gave her a demonic presence. Something infatuated Mareen with Samuel. She had gained power within her, endless jealousy and a surge of confidence. Her conscience vanished. She lost tact, wanting Samuel’s heart for herself. Mareen and her most powerful generals, whom she considered her closest friends and strongest allies, stormed the wedding and threatened Samuel. “As your new Queen, I order you to abandon Gabriella and become my husband. We will be together at the Royal Parade tonight. Everyone will witness a spectacle that happens only once in a lifetime.” Samuel refused. “I will never abandon Gabby,” he said. “And I will never love you.” Mareen became furious. Realizing she could not force him to love her, she made a choice. She exiled Gabby and Samuel from her kingdom. She separated them, exiling Gabby to a treacherous forest, one torn apart by war, and exiling Samuel to Reality Valley, separating the couple with a massif called Eagle Mountain.

Queen Mareen used powerful magic, separating them with a magical barrier so that neither Samuel nor Gabby could pass through it. They were both alone. Mareen wanted them to forget each other. She wanted Samuel to live a happy life without Gabby. Mareen couldn't explain why she lusted after Samuel, or why she separated the couple. She believed she had to separate them. But at night she lay awake, wanting Samuel and Gabby to reunite. "What am I thinking?" she thought. Mareen became irritated. She felt jealousy towards Gabby but still wanted her to be with Samuel. It made little sense.

Queen Mareen’s generals noticed that she wasn't the same. They obeyed her orders, but they worried for her. Mareen had a wicked fashion sense and a bossy manner, but the wedding was a different story.  When she became queen, Mareen followed the rules to an obnoxious extent but swore to harm nobody. Weeks before the wedding, her generals noticed that she spied on Samuel for hours without realizing it. She had wished to be a powerful queen with a great kingdom. But after the wedding, her motives became vain and twisted, wanting Samuel, wanting glory. To separate Samuel and Gabby using barrier magic unknown to her wasn't something she did. During the Royal Parade after the wedding, Mareen showed off her authority by injuring a defiant citizen. She convinced her generals and subjects that her actions were justified. Many people didn't believe Mareen and fled from Sturgia. No one else dared to question her. Things only got worse. She became unstoppable. Sturgia's skies turned dark and stormy thanks to Mareen's growing powers. An endless storm formed, forcing remaining citizens to flee. Mareen became more twisted each passing day. Even her generals fell under her influence. Her lust for power grew further, becoming a passion for domination. Mareen still doubted herself, but a voice inside her kept saying, "Don't question it; it's easier that way." She wanted to stop, but she couldn't defy what influenced her. She shut herself inside her castle to prevent the storm from spreading. The storm became a cocoon for Mareen, sealing her and her generals within, only opening when they needed food. Sturgia had fallen into decay.

Though separated, Samuel and Gabby never lost heart.  They cared for themselves, wishing for each other's safety. What controlled Queen Mareen?  It was a dark being who caused major problems in the past, controlling others' emotions. The dark being's power is formidable. But, the being cannot defend itself. There is a way to stop it from controlling others. 16 years before the wedding, the dark being took control of a poor sorceress. It warped her desires into a sick greed for power over others. After seven years of chaos, eight young wizards stepped up to defeat her. They used love, friendship, and powerful magic to create eight items that defeated the sorceress. After defeating her, the dark being retreated, seeking to return and create chaos in Sturgia once again. Knowing this, the young wizards sealed away the items in sanctuaries to gain enough power to put an end to the dark being. When the eight items gain enough power, a group of heroes can bring them together once again. Then, the items will expose the dark being's identity. When the heroes defeat the dark being, they can break the barrier. Seven years later, hope shines for Samuel and Gabby once again…

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The Characters of Chronicles of Sturgia's Intro: "The Lost Lovers"

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Chronicles of Sturgia

Prologue Part 1: “The Garbled Gossip”

In order for a story to make sense, the reader must know who the main characters are. After all, the main characters are the ones who drive the story. Imagine a middle school cafeteria, bustling with chatter, like a theater before the show. The cafeteria is bright and cheery with its checkered floor and artistic walls. Hundreds of children are chattering at once, some talking about the newest member in a famous band; others are talking about mysterious rumors of aliens, but everyone knows rumors like that are only real in comic books and movies. The chatter continues, an endless garble of noise. Anyone in the cafeteria can see a variety of different students. Six girls walking by while wearing coordinated outfits, a typical guy surrounded by his strange friends, a girl who chooses to doodle on her tablet by herself. However, none of them are our main characters.

As lunch begins, a girl sits down at an empty table with her lunch. Her name is Maddie, and she is the first of our six main characters. She wears a school uniform in a school that doesn’t require school uniforms and has a poppy in her hair. Her eyes are dark, mysterious, and a little sleepy, though her left eye is partially covered by her one-sided bangs. Maddie prefers to spend her time reading spooky novels or playing spooky video games. Her lunch is chopped beef with a slice of devil’s food cake on the side. Maddie isn’t the one who talks very much at her table, but when discussing her interests, she takes full control of the conversation. During an everyday conversation, Maddie is the type of person who tends to listen and observe. This is great for Maddie since she always knows exactly what type of gifts to give her friends on their birthdays.

The chatter continues. Sometimes, when you listen closely, you can listen in on gossip. This can tell someone a lot about what others think of them. Gossip isn’t always the best form of entertainment. But passing students continue to eavesdrop nonetheless.

“Did you see Maddie? She’s so elegant and graceful!”

“She’s like everyone’s big sister. They shouldn’t need to be so dependant on her! She acts like some concerned mom sometimes.”

“But she’s a total goth too! Have you seen her clothes? She looks like she came right out of boarding school! I bet that she’s secretly a witch or something.”

The children continue with their daily routine. The coordinated girls eat healthy salads. A nerdy girl talks to her friends, making sassy remarks with a deadpan voice. Meanwhile, a bratty kid is playing pranks on other people. But none of them are our main characters.

A second girl sits down to eat with Maddie. Her name is Susan. She’s Maddie’s little sister and her total opposite. Susan wears a purple A-line dress with pink flowers on it and keeps a white lily in her hair. She also wears black stockings and flowery shoes. Her eyes are bright, happy, and excited. Susan loves cute things, especially cute things from Japan. She likes doing things like watching cute anime or buying cute plushies. Susan makes her own Japanese bento lunch, complete with octopus sausages and onigiri. But sometimes, Susan decides to go all out and create a cute and elaborate bento lunch with cute characters and a large variety of food. When Susan first saw how cute bento boxes could be, her eyes sparkled with awe. She saved up her allowance so that she could buy her own genuine bento box. Her friends always love her bento box designs and ask her if she could make lunch for them. Susan is extroverted, which in this case means she loves to talk, but is overly dependant on others and sometimes comes off as rude and annoying. Anyone who calls Susan annoying isn’t her friend. During an everyday conversation, Susan is the type of person who gets distracted by her surroundings and always carries the conversation. Susan truly cares about her friends, but always forgets things like their birthdays. Fortunately, she has her sister Maddie to help her remember.

The garbled gossip goes on and on. Everyone wonders what people think of them. They get self-conscious and anxious just thinking about it. Gossip is always behind one's back, but it’s not always well hidden.

“Have you seen Susan? OMG! She’s soooo cute!”

“She may be cute, but she’s annoying. Why can’t she just leave us alone? She should just go back to relying on her sister for everything.”

“She’s also a total weeb! Susan is so into anime and cutesy stuff, it’s sickening! Also also, she totally copied my style!”

While the peanut gallery rambled on, the kids kept eating their lunch. One of the coordinated girls finishes eating and walks over to another table to talk to her other friends. A snarky girl who looks rather similar to Susan gossips and acts as if the leader of her group, even though she’s not. Meanwhile, two sisters and their friend talk about the latest horror movies. But none of them are our main characters.

A third kid sits at the table with the sisters. This time, the kid is a boy named Peter. He wears a propeller hat and a shirt with a smiley face and blue-and-yellow-striped sleeves. Peter also wears a heavy backpack, filled with a ton of schoolwork, his lunch, a bunch of colorful yo-yos, some robot parts from the robotics club, and a huge album of trading cards. His eyes are simple, yet optimistic and determined. Peter likes geeky things like robots and trading cards. He always has the coolest toys. His favorite food is ground beef and rice with ketchup that his mom makes for him. During lunch, he also likes to have a grilled cheese and pizza bagels alongside the beef to share with friends. Peter and his friends love to trade and share their lunches. Peter is outgoing and friendly but sometimes is too distracted with building robots to talk. During an everyday conversation, Peter is cool with listening to others talk, but he can easily carry a conversation if needed. People like talking to him because conversations with him are never boring.

The students continue to talk incessantly. Not everyone who talks with friends is a gossip. Sadly, many girls tend to be labeled as gossips just for being outgoing. The saying, “It takes one to know one,” definitely rings true here.

“Peter’s kind of cute. He looks really cool with his gadgets and toys!”

“Are you kidding me? Peter’s a DWEEB!”

“Geez, shut up! Takes one to know one, dweeb.”

Lunch continues on. The coordinated girl and one of her friends decide to do their friend’s hair in wacky hairstyles. A cooler girl sits with the snarky girl that looks like Susan and chat about other people. The bratty kid gets into an argument with some other students. But none of them are our main characters.

A girl named Lisa, the fourth friend, sits at the lunch table. She wears a large tie-dye shirt and worn bell-bottoms. Lisa wears way too many bracelets and keeps her curly dyed hair up in two large pigtails with scrunchies. Her eyes have more makeup than her friends’, which makes them look more flashy. Lisa likes doing fun things like having parties and playing dolls. She likes playing dress-up and usually likes having sleepovers with Peter. Sometimes, Peter and Lisa would play shovelware games and laugh at them during their sleepovers.

Lisa always likes to sneak candy into her lunch, which usually has fun, bizarre food. She always trades food with Peter. Lisa is chatty but very kind, even to people who don’t like her. During an everyday conversation, Lisa is usually the one to start it. She always talks about the latest trends, but Lisa always gets bored from running out of things that she wants to talk about. Lisa knows that people think she’s a girly gossip, but she really wants to get rid of that view people have on her so that she can live a more free life.

The chatter continues. Some people don’t really care about gossip. They’re the smart ones, ignoring others’ opinions and focusing on being themselves. Like a stone wall, harsh words don’t get through to them. But even a stone wall wears down over time.

“You know Lisa right? That weird girl with the flashy accessories?”

“Yeah, what’s her deal anyway? Who’s she tryin’ to impress?”

“I heard that it’s Peter, they always hang out together. What losers!”

Lunch continues, but there are still some students waiting in line for their food. The sister of the girl with the wacky hairstyle writes in her journal while listening to emotional music. While the girl who looks like Susan continues to gossip, the true leader of her friend group sits quietly. She writes poetry and hums a familiar song. The girl with the tablet continues to sit alone and draw in peace. But none of these students are our main characters.

A fifth student sits with Maddie, Susan, Peter, and Lisa. She is carrying a tray piled with food along with her lunch box. Her name is Annie, and she’s wearing a faux raccoon tail hat and a worn plaid shirt with worn jeans. Annie’s eyes are stern but friendly. She’s a tough girl who loves camping and tasty food. Her dad has taken her out hiking and fishing countless times. She’ll eat anything for lunch. She loves meat, and is always down for eating out. Annie’s eyes are much larger than her stomach. This always results in Annie leaving lunch too full and having lots of leftovers to give to her friends. But she doesn’t really mind. Annie volunteers at the local food bank every day, which gives her the opportunity to donate any extra food that she’s gathered during lunch. From time to time, Annie’s friends also volunteer at the food bank. Annie is strong and motivating, but can be insensitive at times. During an everyday conversation, Annie always finds a way to brighten someone’s day. She tends to rush through life, but her friends help her to slow down and appreciate the world around her more.

Almost everyone has settled down to eat. Many students have already finished their lunch. But the chatter is louder than ever. In the end, others’ opinions don’t matter. But even still, when a person spends too much time taunting people and belittling friendship, they get annoying. People start ignoring them and getting bored of them. Sometimes, one has to wonder if that person turned out well.

“Do you know Annie?”

“Yeah, she’s that tomboy. What’s her deal?”

“She can be so insensitive, giving false motivation. What a hypocrite.”

Lunch begins to close. Students are finishing their food and packing up. The coordinated girls reunite and begin heading back to class. The strange friends of the regular guy begin finishing up, but still chatter. Everyone else, including the bratty kid and the artistic girl, throw out their trash and begin to leave. But none of them are our main characters.

Before lunch begins to end, one last person sits with his friends. He arrives at the table with Annie. His name was Chris. Chris is considered a nerd. He wears large glasses, a bowtie with a school uniform, and has his hair slicked back. Chris is shorter than his friends. He’s a studious kid who loves reading and math. Chris was the last to join his friend group. When he first joined, he was apprehensive. He was too scared to ask them to let him join their group. But what he wanted more than anything else was to have a group of friends he could be a part of. He simply needed to build up his courage. His lunch normally consists of hard boiled eggs, tuna, and salty crackers. Chris is kind, but is also shy and awkward. During an everyday conversation, Chris is the type of person who listens, but really wants to speak. He may be shy, but he has his friends to take care of him and help him become more social.

The cafeteria is almost empty, but the chatter still lingers. The students walk back to class, yet our six main characters still remain, being the last ones to pack up and leave. In the end, gossip doesn't matter. Only your own actions matter. In the future, things may get better. Sometimes, it doesn't get better. The best we can do is make the best of it. But we must also strive to improve our lives for the better.

“You know Chris, right?”

“Who?”

“The kid who always follows Annie around. He's like her minion or something.”

“Oh yeah, the egghead! He just, like, doesn't stand out to me a lot.”

Finally, everyone leaves, heading back to class and taking their noisy chatter with them. The garbled gossip fades away, leaving the cafeteria empty. But just because lunch is over doesn’t mean that the story is. A show always begins on an empty stage. Just like a play, the story is only just beginning...

[fishy12233]

Talk about a chaotic party..

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Sleepover at Peter's house!

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Here's an old drawing of Smefanye at a candy store! I don't think she would like sweets(unless they're fruity of course) but it just seemed right to draw her here with her amazing retro outfit!

Inspired by @pudgemouthjin's let's play of America's Next Top Model

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Here's my social media banner! My main ocs eating at a retro diner!

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Here's Smefanye at a business meeting!

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Sailing towards the city on Lake Korbin...

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Inktober Day 18: Bottles

I've always liked seeing those pictures where characters are in bottles of some sort.

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"Trouble at the Manor"