Elshana ignored the throbbing pain in her side and followed Isidro to the archive room at his estate. She’d been laid up in a hospital bed for a week, and she wasn’t about to let her injury get in the way of discovering the truth. Isidro led her down an empty corridor that led into a room full of old books. Elshana read some of the spines and realized most of the books were about the history of the world. There were tomes about creation myths, great mages throughout history, even books about how the kingdoms formed.

“I never used to think much of this place,” Isidro said. “I thought I learned everything I needed to know in school. But a few years ago, I decided to go digging through this room and I found this.”

He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked a box that contained a single book titled: The Seal of 1000 Years. Before handing it to Elshana, he said, “It’s not a normal book. Once you open it, you’ll be in the story until you close it.”

“Duh. Books are supposed to be immersive.”

“I’m serious,” Isidro said. “I’ve never experienced anything like this book. Ever.”

After a moment of hesitation, Elshana opened the book. The archive room swirled all around her until it appeared she was standing in a lush forest. Isidro was nowhere to be found. She yelled when she saw a man and a woman on horses riding straight toward her, but they and their steeds passed right through her as if she were a ghost.

“Ah Lipora, how I wish every day could be this grand,” the man said. He squeezed the reigns of his horse and looked out over a cliff at the fledgling Kingdom of Vekoba. “What do you say we head back into town and grab some supper before sundown?”

Lipora laughed. “If we do that, people will be suspicious.”

“I suppose you’re right,” the man replied. He was still smiling, but the happiness in his voice had faded a bit. “It’s wrong of them to try to keep us apart. I say we stand in the middle of the town square and shock them with the sloppiest kiss they’ve ever seen.”

“I’d prefer to stay out of prison,” Lipora replied. She placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “You know I love you more than anything in the world, but the law is the law. If they find out a mage and a non-mage are in love, we’ll be put to death.”

The man dismounted his horse and tied it to a nearby tree. “Then let’s move deep into the forest where no one will ever find us,” he said. “As long as we’re together, we’ll be happy.”

Lipora hopped off her horse and pulled the man into a hug. “You’re so idealistic,” she whispered as she placed her lips on his mouth. “But that’s why I love you, Kerrim.”

Elshana sucked in a breath. Kerrim. It was the man who’d just attacked her, the man who’d stolen Caldor’s body. It was strange to see such a vile creature young and in love. When the happy couple began to make out, Elshana decided it was time to turn the page.

The forest shifted into a meeting room filled with dozens of mages. It seemed that shonjans were a thing even back then. The sky mages wore white, aqua mages blue, light mages orange, and, to Elshana’s surprise, the shadow mages wore red. She’d been expecting their Shonjans to be black or grey, but even the shadow mages needed a little color in their lives. Kerrim sat between a man and a woman that appeared to be his parents. They looked pissed, but Elshana couldn’t figure out why.

“We’ve gathered the council here today to discuss the issue of intermarriage among mages and non-mages,” a light mage said as she glared at Kerrim. “As many of you know, there was a recent incident of a shadow mage and a non-mage attempting to wed each other in secret. This simply cannot be allowed. If mages breed with non-mages, magic will disappear within a few hundred years.”

Kerrim slouched down in his seat and his father squeezed his shoulder. “Apologize to the council,” his father muttered. “Consider yourself lucky that a simple “I’m sorry’ may be enough to wipe away this little mistake of yours.”

“But I’m not sorry and it’s not a mistake,” Kerrim replied.

“Insolent boy,” his mother said. “We gave you everything in the world and now you betray us by running off with that—that blot.”

Elshana shuddered at the use of that word. It surprised her that the word was at least 1000 years old. Then she remembered that bullies were bullies no matter what time period it was.

“Say the words or you’ll be shunned from mage society,” his father said. “Not to mention you’ll ruin your parent’s careers.”

Feeling the pressure of his parents and the council, young Kerrim stood up and said, “I formally apologize for involving myself with Lipora Hemsen. It was a lack of judgement and I promise not to repeat my mistake.”

Fortunately for Kerrim, he was a boy from a respected family. The council accepted his apology and he was released with a warning. But later that night, when the world was fast asleep, he snuck out of his house to go visit his love.

He knocked on Lipora’s window and she let him into her tiny bedroom. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said. “What if they find out we were together? What if—?”

“I don’t care,” Kerrim cut in. He pressed his lips against hers. “We can still run away together. Magic is supposed to be a gift. It shouldn’t’ keep us apart.”

“But it does,” Lipora said. “We can’t change the way the world is.” She cupped Kerrim’s face in her hand. “You need to go. Forget about me and become the great mage you’re meant to be.”

“It doesn’t matter if I become the most powerful mage to have ever lived. Without you, it will be for naught.” Kerrim bit his lower lip. “My life is nothing without you in it.”

“I love you,” Lipora replied. “And sometimes love means letting someone go.”

Elshana squinted as the room was bathed in light. Seven mages poured through the bedroom window and pinned Lipora to the ground. Kerrim tried to fight back, but he too was subdued by two mages. Engrossed in the story, Elshana turned the page to see what happened next.

It was a courtroom. Lipora was tied up on the left side or the room, Kerrim on the right. A judge sat between them. He cleared his throat and said, “For dissuading a bright young mage away from his ancestry and craft, I banish Lipora Hemsen to the shadow realm.”

“No!” Kerrim yelled. “Please, send me there instead. It wasn’t her fault! I went to visit her that night, not the other way around! She’s innocent!”

The judge paid no attention his pleas. “And for Kerrim Kastwell, I sentence you to six months in a local prison.”

“How is that fair?” Kerrim seethed. “I get a slap on the wrist and Lipora gets eternal anguish?”

Lipora couldn’t hold back her tears. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she whimpered. “My only crime was being born without magic.”

“I’ll rescue you!” Kerrim yelled as Lipora was waken from the courtroom. “Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I’ll pull you out of the shadow realm.”

Kerrim’s comment earned a decent number of chuckles from the jury. Everyone knew that there was no way out of the shadow realm. Many had tried to build a bridge between the shadow realm and the human realm, but all of them had failed. There was no way some lovestruck teenager would be able to accomplish the impossible.

But Kerrim was determined. As he sat in his prison cell, he meditated and tried to reach the shadow realm with his mind. It was a well-known fact that shadow mages were naturally connected to the shadow realm, and if he could tap into that part of himself, he may be able to save Lipora.

Three months into his prison sentence, he found the answer he desired through his meditation. A bridge could be built between the realms under one stipulation: shadow magic and all that came with it would vanish from the human realm. Kerrim didn’t care if he lost his magic, nor did he care if he stole magic from millions of shadow mages. All that mattered was Lipora.

Kerrim put his plan into place. He accessed the shadow realm and began to build a bridge bit by bit. As he did so, he heard reports of shadow magic disappearing all over the place. The bridge appeared beneath the prison Kerrim resided in, and no attempts to squash it from existence or end its construction worked.

By the time the bridge was completed, Kerrim had succumbed to the side effects of the bridge and had lost the majority of his magic. He didn’t care. As he crossed the bridge, he began to cry out for Lipora. But she was nowhere to be found.

As it turns out, a bridge between the two realms had never existed for a very good reason. As Kerrim searched for Lipora, shadow beasts leaked into the human realm and wreaked havoc. Since shadow mages were powerless, there was no defense against the awful creatures.

Six months passed. Kerrim spent the entire time in the shadow realm on an endless search for Lipora as the human realm suffered. The Mage Council finally came up with a way to destroy the bridge. Through a precise combination of their magic, they were able to create a seal that would keep the shadow realm at bay for exactly 1000 years. A group of powerful mages went to the bridge to enact the seal.

Meanwhile, Kerrim found what he’d been looking for. Hidden beneath a wilted petal was none other than Lipora. She was waifish and pale, but Kerrim still thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He picked up Lipora in her arms, awakening her from her long slumber.

“Kerrim?” She asked, her voice weak. “How did you get here?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said as he ran toward the bridge. “What matters is that I’m getting you out of here and taking you somewhere where we can be together forever.”

Lipora smiled. “I’d like that.”

Kerrim encountered trouble when he reached the bridge. He saw the mages doing something at the other side of the bridge. The mages noticed him and one of them said, “You’re just in time to watch the show, Kerrim. Have fun being stuck in the shadow realm for 1000 years.”

As the bridge began to disappear, Kerrim made a last-ditch effort to save Lipora by tossing her into the human realm. But he didn’t throw her far enough, and she was caught in the void between the two realms. Unable to move, she looked up at Kerrim with fear in her eyes. “Help me!”

Kerrim tried to reach her, but it was no use. The void was only accessible during the fusing or demolishing of the two realms. As the last bits of the bridge collapsed, he yelled out to Lipora last time. “I’ll get you out of there, even if it takes me 1000 years. I’ll cleanse the world of all it’s filth, and when the time comes for me to fuse the realms together, we will be reunited.” He reached for Lipora one last time before they became separated and managed to touch the tips of her fingers. “Until we meet again, my love.”

Elshana slammed the book shut and was instantly taken out of the story and back into Isidro’s archive room. She stared at him for a long time before saying, “Woah.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Isidro said, taking the book from her and locking it back up. “The 1000 years are ending in three months, and Kerrim is hellbent on fusing the realms and regaining access to Lipora. Unfortunately, that could very well usher in the end of the world.”

Elshana blinked. “So what do we do?”

Isidro turned his chair so he was facing away from Elshana. “As much as it pains me to say it, I have no choice but to ask my father for assistance.”