Snippet of the black book of Eldorado.
One thousand years ago, a unique world called Eldorado, blessed with five different races united by the starlight sword; a large hunk of crystallized magic - center of magical flow planted on the heart of the statue of Eldorado in a significant spot where all other races across its world and beyond could access. However, being a crucial element of unity and strength, the starlight sword was heavily guarded by a dragon, puzzles, riddles, and magical warding.
Everyone in the entire universe has always known that, since the sword is a crystalline magic; the heart of all the magical races. It definitely had to be the biggest source of magic, so humans had always attempted to steal it for the longest time. For decades now, no one has been successful with this mission until Achilles stole it after critical research and a few unending dream sequences, a sorcerer with a great interest in tourism and adventure. One thing that remained shocking was how this sorcerer could pull this off without being caught, its answers hidden, a secret to be revealed at the very right time.
This very act led to the fall of Eldorado, making all races extremely furious with each other, leading to an instant disunity and discord as they parted ways never to cross again. Till date, many still long to get a hold of the sword.
On that same fateful day, the unique five were conceived. The first was Alexander, who is a vampire. Oscar, who was a Magician, Cyan was next - she was a human ghost, Trickytee, a handsome shapeshifter, then Marina, a mermaid, came out last.
Being a witness to this great disruption, they are equally scattered into different parts of the world as they navigate life alone. The breakthrough of Eldorado rests on their shoulders; each sibling has a vital role to play.
The story kicks off with Alexander, the representative of the Vampire race.
At school, Vikings Academy.
In a dimly lit lecture hall of Vikings College Alexandra, a three-decade-old vampire trapped in the appearance of a twenty-four-year-old boy sat alone at the back gazing out through the window. His classmates were human, vibrant and clueless about his nature-hidden inside. The lecture was an ordinary scene for them, but for Alexander, it was a constant daily struggle.
"Vikings college. I wanted more."
He grumbled silently. Different aromas of foods from the class crept into his nostrils. He shot his eyes, allowing its taste to wash over him.
"What the heck is this?"
For how long would I continue with this stench?" anger bubbling deep in his heart.
"These guys are just so annoying."
He stiffened, forming a tight clenched fist.
Alone at the back, seclusion edged around him as he stood up, his gaze shifting to an open plate of food with fresh chicken and fried fish.
He paused, took a step backwards, narrowing his eyelids.
Hmm! I can smell the blood from here, its fresh gory red blood…such a masterpiece I missed. Just then, the eater took a bite.
Damn it, he kicked over a black bag.
"Out of my way." The bitter scent of disappointment hit him, realizing that the chicken and the fish had been separated from its blood, which for him at the time was the bone of contention.
His senses heightened even more than he prowled through the school corridor. He's breathing -rough and haggard. His eyes darted around, then finally found focus on a small chick who scampered carelessly from the school farm.
Alexandra smiled.
"Perfect timing!
His hands set in place. Scanning through both sides of the corridor, he grabbed it by the throat, snatching its voice before he dashed into the boys' toilets.
A razor-sharp claw, with elongated canines and incisors, it's more than human teeth with a biting edge capable of digging deep into the skin.
His transformation was foreboding as he lowered himself onto the toilet seat, ready to feast.
"So refreshing! He licked his lips."
"At least no more pretending to be happy with the foodstuffs my school mom sent to me."
He grabbed the neck of his prey, twisting it to the left, his bare hands soaked with blood.
"First thing tomorrow I'm selling off all the foodstuff. Hmm! hold on a second, I need to clear this mess before I get caught." He stood up and frantically cleaned up the mess.
Afterward, he sat alone in the restroom drowning in a pool of thought. His face down - blood still trickling down his mouth.
"If only I had a chance to be loved and accepted by humans, if only the perception they would have of me was wrong, never would I let any of them know my real identity, including my school mother. She's great, but I don't trust anyone. I don't eat vegetables, I don't eat eggs, I'm just confused about how I would cope."
He swallowed hard, his chest beating at an inconsistent pace.
"Rumors have it that there could be some human vampires around, but I haven't spotted any... can't wait for the prep bell to ring, so I could explore the outskirts of Vikings. Hopefully, I will see a friendly companion of my kind."
He held his chest, shutting his eyes; his razor-sharp teeth returning to normal as he slowly transformed, adjusting his uniform to prevent traces of blood spilling.
One faithful day, during leisure time, Alexandra set out to go see things around the school environment. He noticed something; the cage of the chickens and all the other animals were heavily guarded right there on the school farm, so he went out to fetch himself a live animal to feast on. A few meters away from school, he finds a chicken scampering through a particular house. He prowled closer to it just as he was about to grab it. The owner shouted from behind;his name was Marcus.
"Thief! That's mine. What do you want from it?
Alexander falls to the ground.
"Please, I'm really sorry."
"Come here silly boy, I'm reporting you to your school authorities. You attempted to steal my chicken."
"No sir, please I didn't." He tried to defend himself.
His jaw bone widened, two sharp teeth were revealed."
Leaves falling like snow, the power within was uncontrollable like a cold clammy hand brushing through the bush.
"Wait a second, you're a vampire?.
His eyes glazed.
Alexander nodded "Yes."
"So sorry, please come inside. You could get caught out there."
Here, you can have the chicken. We need to talk. Please shut the door behind you."
"Seat! Now I get it, I'm so sorry, I'm equally a human vampire surviving at the mercy of my chickens and other animals around me. I feel your pain, and you're welcome to my abode, anything, any day."
A raised brow from Alex, surprise edged at the line of his expression.
"Thank you so much. This is my identity. Can I confide in you?" He asked.
"Sure, here!."
Marcus instantly changed into a vampire.
"Happy!" Marcus smiled.
"Sure, "Alex replied."
"You see, we are even, and we must look back at each other."
"I'm so happy to meet you. I never knew I would meet anyone like me, so I'm not alone."
"Yes of us, you're not. You're free to come see me. I will always be open to receive you." Both hugged tightly before departing for their various engagements.
The next day, they were both seated on a log of wood having a conversation.
"Marcus honestly, I have lost it at the Vikings' college already. They have a ton of rules, and I'm sick and tired of them all." He yelled, standing up with his hands on his head.
"Just imagine…they don't eat fresh blood or fresh food, they cook the hell out of every damn creature, like its so disappointing and to think that it seems like I'm the only vampire in that school just places me in a world of extreme seclusion.
Marcus coughed, tapping him on the back.
"It's fine Alexandra, take my word for a fact. Everything would be fine.
"I live at the mercy of these bushes, just as I told you yesterday. It's never been that easy. Even though, most of the time, my preys come in handy, I still put in the work to get them."
"To be candid, Marcus, I can't wait to join you here."
"Sure, you're always welcome. What's stopping you?
"It's my school mom. She adopted me and, according to her, got me enrolled in a boarding house. I only have three times to come out of school during school hours, probably after lectures or in between prep time."
He sobbed, his face beneath his lap.
"Oh, no! You're grounded! You need to get out of there. Remember, you're a vampire, a different person entirely. Do you think they will accept you once they find out your real identity?"
"You will be ridiculed, kept as an exhibition, or think about it…. Anything could happen, so I beg you to come stay with me," Marcus pleaded with wet eyes and lowered height.
Alexander remained silent. The surrounding pressure was palpable.
"If only there were a place for only vampires where love and unity could travel." He let out, his eyelids wet with tears as he let them fall.
Marcus cuts in.
"Sure there is, my friend. I also want the same thing, so we could venture together.
"I have a friend who's a powerful magician. His school is at the popular, renowned black magic school - Mage Academy. He would probably have a solution for us."
"Hmm! Really, hope it works?"
"It is, I can guarantee you, so first thing tomorrow we will travel to his place.
"Hmm!.. Alexander let out a loud gasp.
The light fades.
The next day, Marcus and Alexander set out to go see a friend, the one Marcus spoke about the previous day. Deep in the bush path, the roads narrow and strange, the air thick with the scent of myrrh and sandalwood. The sky, a deep, foreboding crimson. The stars were twinkling like diamonds surrounded by the velvet expanse.
An old magician's tower stands tall, its twisted spire almost reaching towards the heavens like a dark, skeletal finger.
The walls are beautified with cryptic symbols that pulse with a malevolent glow, casting eerie shadows on the ground below.
As they approach the tower, the wind whispers, carrying the whispers of the ancients and the whispers of the damned. The ground beneath their feet is dry and cracked, and the plants that grow here are thorny and twisted, as if sustained by dark magic.
Inside the tower, the air is heavy and putrid with the scent of old books and burning incense. Shelves upon shelves of ancient tomes stretch towards the ceiling, their leather-bound covers adorned with strange symbols. The magician's workbench is a cluttered mess of strange artifacts, glowing orbs, and mysterious devices that seem to defy explanation.
In the inner chamber of the tower, Oscar, the strange magician weaves his spells, surrounded by a halo of candlelight and the whispers of the unknown. Their eyes gleam with an otherworldly intensity, and their hands move with a precision that is both terrifying and mesmerizing.
Alexandra whispered to Marcus.
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
Footsteps trailing behind, eyes; darting around the surroundings.
"Yes, he's the one."
Pointing to Oscar, in a minute he will face in front, so stay calm so we won't distract him."
"Okay, hmm!, quite ancient."
Alexander crept forward, muttering.
"I might just die here, I can't even smell the blood of anything. Pathetic!" He snapped.
He trailed a little, something catching his attention from behind. Alexander's eyes widen in a mix of fascination and unease-the weight of dark magic permeating in the air, like a thick mist that clings to his skin. His senses are heightened, and he can smell the scent of old books, incense, and something metallic, like blood, drawing him closer and closer.
As he sprawled forward, his gaze around the cluttered room, his eyes landing on a frame hung on the wall with a glowing aura. The frame seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, drawing him deeper. He approached it cautiously, almost tiptoeing, his heart beating slightly faster in his chest.
Within the frame, he sees a depiction of the magician's goal, a dark, twisted portrait of a being with eyes that seem to burn with inner fire. The being is shrouded in shadows, its features indistinct, yet radiating an aura of power. The magician's huge goal is boldly written below the frame, which reads"a hunger to win the world's best magician in the universe". The steps involved are stated next even if the remaining three steps are blotted out from the viewer's consumption. But one was vivid; get into Mage Academy.
"Now it makes more sense, so even magicians have goals? Alexander asked himself.
"This is mind-blowing. I thought only humans did. I thought magicians were created to help others solve their problems through black magic, so how come they too have goals and objectives to achieve? Wow! Interesting."
Alexander raised his brows; a combination of revulsion and curiosity.
He tried to read through even more, a sense of the darkness emanating from the frame, a darkness that resonated with his own vampire system.
He's drawn to it, like a fly to a flame. He reaches out to get it, hesitating for a moment before tracing the symbols etched in the frame.
As he touches the frame, he feels a jolt of energy, like a tiny spark of electricity coursing through his veins. The symbols shifted, rearranging in a pattern that only he could see. Suddenly, the light in the room flickered off and on, an eerie glow filling the atmosphere.
"You don't touch that."
Oscar, the Magician, reprimanded his voice; cold and husky form in his inner chamber which creaked open on its own, his air filled with the scent of damp earth and flickering lantern light. His inner chamber is an ivy-covered house nestled between towering oak trees. The door, carved with intricate runes, hummed with a faint glow.
Turning towards them, candles floated in midair. Oscar, their magician's friend, who was a tall man with silver-streaked hair and a cloak that seemed to shimmer with every movement.
He paused, his sharp eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Marcus," he greeted, his voice a low, melodic drawl. "What brings you to my lair today? Could this be another quest? Or perhaps... a problem only my dark magic can solve?"
Alexander gave a crooked grin, whispering to Marcus."He must be so proud."
Marcus stepped forward, his brow furrowed. "We need your help with something… actually my friend here, Alexander, needs help."
The magician raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Come, tell me more. I always enjoy a good mystery, I know it's going to be a small thing to handle." Oscar bragged as he gestured to a table cluttered with odd objects, inviting them to sit.
"I really desire to get into a vampire school, find love among my kind, but I can't because I'm too scared; no one, including my school mom, must find out my true identity."
Alex continued.
"Hmm, I feel so different from the rest of my course-mates. There is no money or avenue to make this come through. I can't fend for myself even if I decide to go without my school mother's concept." Please, I would be glad if you could do something."
Oscar withdrew a little.
"Hmm!, there's something about you," Oscar's eyes widened, facing Alexander.
"The feeling is still yet to click but…. Never-mind, let's get into the fact you're here."
"To be honest, I'm curious to know because I also had that same feeling, until I was able to get into Mage Academy… And now you also want the same thing, to be in a world of your kind. Hmm, I see."
As they spoke, the air seemed to thicken with enchantment; as Oscar's fingers traced unseen patterns in the air.
"I will help you get into Vipers Academy, one of the best vampire schools. I know the shortest way you can get it without being caught." The Magician announced.
"Oh, my goodness! Thank you so much. I'm elevated by this, Marcus... Thank you so much for bringing me to your friend. Finally, my dreams are slowly going through." He hugged Marcus tightly.
"Don't celebrate yet! You haven't come here to play!." Oscar snapped, his voice cold and foreboding.
"Be careful who you fall in love with when you finally succeed in getting into Vipers Academy, because not everyone is actually what they claim to be, so be wise!."
"Alright, Alex nodded."
One last thing, you owe me and at the right time you will pay!"
Alex's jaw dropped as he stared at Marcus.
"What is he saying?"
"Relax, he doesn't bite."
Alexander swallowed hard.
"When I need your vampire system, make sure you come through, because no one dares to compete with the one and only magician in town. I see you as a great asset to my journey to the Mage Academy black magic competition. Tell your friend, he pointed to Marcus, no one goes against me, not after my help, don't try to be the first."
Both nodded simultaneously.
"Marcus, let's go, I'm… not comfortable here."
"Chill, he's not done yet."
"We start tomorrow. By 12 in the afternoon, you both should meet me at the junction leading to the Vipers Academy."
Oscar announced, no lateness
Light fades.