Chapter 8

They crossed over the valley using an old viaduct that danced as they walked by, Lord Parafon riding on a horse while Malin trudged along from behind. It was with great persuasion that Parafon managed to convince Malin to abandon chasing after Revina and spend a little more time to learn about his mission that had seen him travel across the dimensions. However, it was with trepidation that he accepted to follow the Lord to his cottage that was built on the edge of a valley, just a few miles from Medan Forest, facing the forest from the East side. The walk to the cottage was long and tiring and it wore both of them out. However, Malin had his mind and thoughts fixed on getting Revina back, so much so that he hadn't noticed how tired he was untill he walked into the wide cottage of the high priest.

"I call it the Holly palace of Dalawa empire while others call it The Holly Shrine," Parafon started as he offered Malin a seat by the fireplace in the cottage. "It's little from the outside but as you can see, wide and big from the inside. I'm sure you'll find it quite snug."

"That depends on how soon you start talking and tell me why it's more important to be here than rescuing Revina." Malin said, lacing his voice with great impatience. Parafon handed him a warm black trench coat like that of Mamadu but smaller and snug. He then offered him a cup of black tea and bread. The tea mellowed Malin as he rested his head gently on the pillow of his chair.

"Like I said, your reasons for being here transcends everything else son." Parafon said. "You are the..."

"A point of correction Lord Parafon," Malin interrupted, "saving Revina transcends everything else Lord, everything."

"That's what you think because you do not know what really lies ahead of you young prince."

"I'm not a prince Lord Parafon. Revina on the other hand, is the true princess of Palawa and she has been kidnapped by your crazy prince Mamadu. I don't care what differences you two have, all I need is to get Revina back...."

"Silence Malin. I've heard enough of your whining. You have to understand that going to the Prime City to challenge Mamadu without knowing who you are is not only dangerous to you but also to the entire empire. Your death, though it may not be the case, is tantamount to a disastrous catastrophe to the entire empire and my job is to prevent that from happening."

"How so? I'm not a resident of Dalawa, not even from this dimension."

"It's more complicated than it seems. How do you think you were capable of crossing the portal to this dimension? There are so many things about you that you don't know about."

"And how do you know that? Have we met before? Are you also from the upper dimension like us?"

"I'm your keeper. I've been your keeper from the beginning. But I'm not from the upper dimension. I'm a Dalawan."

"How then are you my keeper? How is my death connected to this empire?"

"You are the prince with a light dragon on his chest. The direct descendant of the throne. Prince Mamadu may not know that already but if you head to Prime City and challenge him, your identity may be revealed and you won't last a day."

"I know I'm the son of Nicadeaus. I already told everyone in the royal court but no one could believe me. So how will my identity be revealed when no one can believe anything I say?"

"You are a prince yes, but you are not that man's son," Parafon said, following his words with a pregnant pause. He looked at the surprised expression on Malin's face but decided against revealing the entire truth to him. As long as Revina was still out there in the hands of Mamadu, Malin couldn't be entirely ready to handle the entire truth. But time was too short, he had to tell him despite his misgivings.

★★★ ★★★

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Several years ago in Dalawa empire, a sibling rivalry turned catastrophic and plunged the entire empire into total chaos. It was a rivalry that was sparked by betrayals and hunger for power. Greed beyond recognition of family or anything. It was a rivalry that changed Dalawa empire for the worst. The ones great Dalawa crumbled before other kingdoms and cowed from wars and battles.

The then crown prince and the eldest son to Emperor Micaleaon Ochondrion, Nicadeaus Ochondrion, felt betrayed and cheated when his younger brother prince Medan fell in love with his betrothed, princess Malia from Mukuro kingdom. Nicadeaus knew nothing of this relationship for a long time and his relationship with Malia had worsened during that period. At first he thought it was natural for couples to go through a rough time and that with time, things would get better between them. It never did. It worsened.

Nicadeaus was handsome and charming. Being the crown prince and considering his handsomeness and ability to charm women's hearts, he was a darling of many, both men and women. He had been engaged to a young princess from the neighboring kingdom named Malia, who loved him with her entire being. However, her love for the prince started waning when she moved to Dalawa empire and started staying in the palace. According to her, Nicadeaus wasn't all that he seemed to be.

Nicadeaus was a womaniser who exchanged women like clothes. It was difficult to find him with one woman twice. His engagement to Malia was not done according to his wish but the Emperor's. He had thought that the engagement will narrow down his adventures and tie him to one woman and he didn't like that idea. So even after engaging, he continued with his pursuit for women, making Malia look worthless and lonely. She didn't like the idea of having to share the Prince with other women and she complained about it to the Emperor. Nicadeaus would however not change despite numerous attempts. He grew to love Malia too but his predilection for other women never faded, however hard he tried.

Medan, the second in line to the throne, was a simple man with lots of respect to people and women in particular. He hadn't stayed in the palace long enough, choosing to stay with his grandfather, former emperor Dulatap in the country side. Not so many people except for the royal family, knew he was a prince. When he returned to the city, he restricted his movement in the palace, choosing to stay with the palace servants, against his parents' protestation. His elder brother Nicadeaus didn't like that idea and forbade anyone from telling Malia that Medan was his brother. He felt embarrassed by Medan's actions. No one told Medan that Nicadeaus was engaged either since the engagement had been done in his absence.

Medan liked spending most of his time in the fields, tending to horses and riding them. Malia grew impatient with Nicadeaus and started to spend her times alone, walking through the open fields. It was there where she met Medan, unaware that he was a prince. None of them knew how it happened or how fast it happened. But before long, they fell madly in love with each other, Malia completely forgetting Nicadeaus as if he never really existed in her heart.

Malia told Medan of her engagement to a man she didn't love but thought she loved. She, however, failed to mention that the man was the crown prince Nicadeaus, fearing Medan may get intimidated and break up with her. She promised to break the engagement so that they could be together with Medan without any fears or regret. Malia left Dalawa for her kingdom to inform her father King Orinda of her decision to disengage Nicadeaus.

Orinda returned to Dalawa with Malia days later to try and resolve the differences between her and Nicadeaus. Their alliance carried great political importance to the two realms and breaking the alliance was unthinkable for king Orinda. Malia had failed to inform her father that she had fallen in love with a servant in Dalawa empire. She feared that her father could tell the Emperor and the Emperor could harm the love of her life. She wanted to protect him from the powers, for now, until it was safe to introduce him to her father, king Orinda.

On the day Malia and her father came back to Dalawa, prince Medan had been called to the palace by the Emperor to appear and be introduced to King Orinda. He had declined to honour the summon but when he saw Malia walking into the palace in the company of king Orinda, he decided to honour the summon and attend the meeting. He was, however, late and didn't hear much of the conversations since he was busy tending to a sick horse in the fields. When he entered the courtroom, the meeting had ended, apparently in a stalemate for Malia had refused to rescind her decision to disengage the crown prince. Nicadeaus had himself suggested that princess Malia be given time to reconsider her decision and that he was going to take it upon himself to woo her again.

When Medan entered the courtroom, the Emperor rose and welcomed him, introducing him to both king Orinda and Malia as prince Medan, the second in line to the Dalawa throne and Nicadeaus' younger brother. The Emperor also introduced Malia to Medan as Nicadeaus' fiance. Both Malia and Medan were surprised and shocked with the informations they had learnt about each other. Malia never expected Medan to be a prince, leave alone being Nicadeaus brother. He was too simple to be a prince. Medan on the other hand wasn't aware that Malia was king Orinda's daughter and that the man she was engaged to was actually Nicadeaus, the crown prince and his elder brother.

When they met later that day, they confessed having concealed vital informations about themselves from each other and resolved to end the relationship. But their hearts and souls and bodies didn't concur with their minds, for on that very day, Medan made Malia his woman and Malia made Medan her man. And with the vow of a kiss, they promised to wade through the storms of life together. Whatever it was, however difficult it might be, they were going to face it hand in hand, soul to soul and heart to heart. Their forever had begun. And with the promise of forever, Malia confessed her great love for Medan to her father, king Orinda who, surprisingly, supported her decision. According to Orinda, such an alliance would still unite the two realms since her daughter would still be married within the Dalawan Royal line.

Medan, however, didn't have as much luck as Malia for Nicadeaus condemned him, calling him a traitor who had no respect for family or the throne for betraying his brother and the future Emperor. The Emperor ordered Medan to forget committing such a treasonous act for taking Malia from Nicadeaus amounted to challenging the royal line and as such a treason punishable by banishment from the empire. As a prince, Medan couldn't be punished by death.

When Medan refused to heed his father, the Emperor called in the Oracle to proffer him advice on how to deal with Medan for the empress loved Medan too much to see him banished from the empire. However, the Oracle's decision tilted the royal line and instead of finding Medan culpable of treason, she made Medan the crown prince, the first in line to the Dalawan Royal throne, a decision that would later be ratified by the High Priest, Lord Parafon. Lord Parafon was the only person who had the authority to overturn the Oracle's decision. But he confirmed her decision. The decision sent the palace into immediate chaos as Nicadeaus rejected the arrangement that had relegated him to the second in line to the throne.

Feeling utterly betrayed by both his parents and the Oracle, accusing Medan of conspiring with the Oracle and Lord Parafon to tilt the scales of power, Nicadeaus consulted the Great Wizard, a powerful magician who had been banished from the palace several years ago for performing dark magic. He wanted to kill Medan since that could have been the only way to return to his position as the first in line to the throne. Medan's death could also mean that Malia would return to him and become her future empress. He may had taken her for granted when she was still with him, but now that she was in another man's arms, he realized how much he really loved her. He couldn't let Medan take her away from him, never. The Great Wizard gave him an arrow laced with mirima, the dark rage, that could kill any member of the immortal royal family.

Coincidentally, a girl named Cinderella who had dated Medan back in the countryside got wind of the shift in the scales of power from Medan's grandfather and sort the help of the Great Wizard to help her get Medan back and become the future empress of Dalawa. Cinderella was given only one option in order to ascend to the position she wanted. The option wasn't easy but at last, she agreed to go through with it. She was told to kill the future empress, princess Malia, for as long as she was alive, Medan would forever belong to her. She accepted the arrow, the same kind of an arrow given to Nicadeaus, and agreed to eliminate Malia in order to become the future empress, wife to Emperor Medan Ochondrion. Both Cinderella and Nicadeaus were told to strike at the same time, at noon. However, they didn't know each other neither did they know that their evil plans coincided with each other's.

The current Medan Forest was formerly Medan town, the headquarters of Prince Medan. On that fateful day, Medan had taken Malia out. When they entered the town a few moments before noon, Cinderella and Nicadeaus were already set on the roofs of opposing storey buildings. Seeing them together, Nicadeaus' heart ached and he forgot about the Wizard's time and shot Medan from behind, piercing through Medan's chest with the arrow. Cinderella and Nicadeaus shot at the same time, catching both Medan and Malia at equidistance as the arrows collided head on from their respective bodies, causing a blanket of darkness over the town.

The dark rage consumed both Nicadeaus and Cinderella as they looked at each other immediately, each one of them surprised by each other and a pang of fury filled them with profound hatred towards each other, causing an eternal enmity between them.

Medan and Malia struggled but they could not pull out the arrows, neither could they fight the pain. Unknown to everyone, Malia was already one month pregnant with Medan's child. In order to save the child, Medan had to break the dark rage. However, in his attempt to break the dark rage in the arrows, he created a portal that leads to another dimension, the upper dimension. The portal mirror was however, too hard and unbreakable while they were too weak to break through. They concentrated all their energies that were left into sending the unborn baby through the mirror, breaking the mirror. The town immediately transformed into a huge dark forest while the Royal guards who had been with Medan and Malia became wolves that roamed the forest, protecting it from any intruders. The forest would later be named Medan Forest by the Emperor to keep the memory of prince Medan alive.

Using the dark rage, Cinderella and Nicadeaus were guided through the portal, fighting and spitting fire at each other. From that day up-to-date, no one has ever been able to cross the portal into either dimensions apart from the two. Nobody else apart from them knew the existence of the portal, nobody expect for the High Priest, Lord Parafon.

★★★ ★★★

"Now young man, do you understand the reason why you are here?" Parafon asked Malin who looked dazed, shocked by the tragedy of Prince Medan and Princess Malia. "You are the hope of the empire. You have to awaken the sleeping prince and stop prince Mamadu from taking over the empire. If that happens, Dalawa empire will be lost. It will be history, destroyed by war."

"But I still don't understand Lord Parafon, how I am the one who is supposed to do that. Why me?" Malin asked innocently.

"Because, Malin, you are the broken mirror, the dragon prince with a blinding light on his chest. Until you fit into the other piece, there will be no births, no peace. The empire will not be whole and Nicadeaus and Cinderella will not stop until the entire empire is destroyed."

"What do you mean, how am I the broken mirror?"

"I'm sorry son, I can't give you more details beyond what I have already told you. You will have to find the rest out by yourself. For now, just know that if prince Medan is not awake in seven days time, the empire will be dead."

The Dalawa empire had strict guidelines on when and how an Emperor was to take power and relinquish power. The rules were hard and fast, not changeable or bendable. Emperor Micaleon's reign was to end in seven days time and his heir needed to take over from him in his last day on the throne. However, his crown prince, prince Medan had been declared dead, never to return. Prince Nicadeaus was a fugitive who if caught would spend an eternity in solitude prison for killing the crown prince using dark magic. In short, Micaleaon had no heir.

Prince Mamadu had conspired with the Great Wizard and kidnapped the oracle. The great Wizard had then impersonated the oracle and declared prince Mamadu the heir and the Emperor in line. However, Lord Parafon overruled the oracle, since he believed Medan still had a chance to awaken and reign and also because he didn't trust the Oracle's decision was based on the wishes of the gods but selfish political reasons. Prince Mamadu had in the meantime, caused chaos in the major cities of Dalawa, trying to stir an uprising against the Emperor, blaming his resistance to relinquish power as the reason why the population couldn't grow.

When Medan and Malia tried to cross the portal and failed, breaking the mirror caused a magical pause on all women in Dalawa, delaying all pregnancies and making the rest barren. As such, those who had been pregnant thirty years ago before the dark rage still remained pregnant. Prince Mamadu had always blamed the curse on the Emperor Micaleaon, trying to cause the people to rebel against the Emperor and make him, Mamadu, the new Emperor. Surprisingly, the dark rage had been so immense that the entire population forgot about Medan and the incident that transformed an entire town into a forest.

In the beginning, several people tried to gain access to the forest. Most of them were killed by dangerous wolves that guarded the forest. The situation forced the Emperor to outlaw entering the forest, forbidding all the populace against entering the forest. Anybody who was found trying to enter the forest was sentenced to a lifetime of slavery or death depending on whether or not they knew magic. The Dalawans had therefore feared the forest, obeying the Emperor's decree and in the process forgetting everything about the crown prince and the young princess.

According to the dark rage spell, if Medan didn't wake up and reclaim the throne, the entire empire would be enveloped by the dark rage, causing a magical rupture that would then burry the entire empire, turning it into a sea of angry and unfulfilled souls. But had somebody taken over power, the population would exist in perpetual rivalries and war, killing each other like animals and leading to permanent depopulation of the empire since no births had been recorded in thirty years.

Malin's responsibility was to awaken the sleeping prince and break the curse, stop Mamadu from taking over the throne and prevent the tragedy of Dalawa that was only seven days away. However, his identity was to remain concealed even from the Emperor. If the royal family knew his true identity, the dark rage would consume him and turn him against his mission. This would make him take over the empire and perpetuate the curse or make him vulnerable to Prince Mamadu who would not hesitate to kill him. All these instructions were written on the portal mirror and could only be read by Lord Parafon. Not even Nicadeaus or Cinderella knew about their existence.

In order to fulfill his mission, Malin needed a companion who could keep him going. He needed Revina. He had, without knowing it, fallen in love so madly with the princess. He couldn't fulfill his mission when Revina was still in harm's way. He had to save her. It wouldn't matter to rescue the empire if it meant losing the one person he loved the most. He may have been the broken mirror, or whatever that meant, but she was the one whom he could feel genuine concern towards, genuine care and genuine love. Despite hearing the tragedy that befell Medan and Malia, the only thing he could feel towards them was pity and sympathy but not empathy. He didn't know them.

"Ok Lord Parafon, I have heard what you have had to say. But I would want to tell you that my first priority is to rescue Revina." Malin said.

"What are you saying Malin?" Parafon asked, surprised and getting angry. "After all I have told you, you still want to waste time chasing after that girl?"

"Yes," he answered flatly, "how was Revina able to cross the portal if she has no use in this mission? Don't you think that maybe somehow she is intertwined in this mission just as much as I am?"

Lord Parafon pondered over the question posted by Malin for a while, trying to remember anywhere or anything about the mirror where a woman had been mentioned. The only thing he could remember was that there were writings he couldn't read or understand. Maybe they carried the message about the girl. He had seen Revina through the mirror while they were still in Palawa Kingdom but even then he couldn't understand her role. But if she was able to cross through the portal then maybe Malin was right. If Malin was right then he would not be able to fulfill his destiny without her. Maybe she was the message Lord Parafon could not fathom or read.

"You maybe right, Malin, but I still have my doubts. However, if she was able to cross the portal then she must be having a role in the mission and as such needs to be rescued from Mamadu as soon as possible."

"I'm glad we are finally on the same page. Now just tell me how to reach the Prime City and where in the city to find Mamadu's villa."

"Before I do that young Prince, there are things you need to know." Parafon said as he motioned Malin to stand. "You have unique powers that no one in the empire has. But if you don't use them properly, they will lead to your downfall."