like the legends said it would be,” she explained to the Barnes siblings.
“What other signs were there?” Luke asked.
Cadmus sat across from Lucy, Mack sat to her left, and Luke was next to him, nearest the fire. Pip and Olivia huddled at their parents’ feet sharing a fleece blanket. Helda and Quinn were nestled on a stuffed loveseat, and the king and queen reclined in cushioned, high-backed wooden rocking chairs.
“Oh, all kinds of things,” the queen replied. “Quakes rattled the earth for minutes on end, many storms with powerful lightning and thunder came, bringing sheets of rain and hail stones as big as your head! Vast storms churned the Dark Sea, and of course, as you know now, volcanic activity. The extent of some of the disasters is lost to time, as is to be expected, so no one quite knows what we may be up against.” The fire crackled as she hesitated. Lucy glanced at the solemn faces around the circle. “Up until now, no one was even sure if any of it was real,” the queen continued. “For years, man and creature worked together hunting for the volcano without success. They explored the Dour Mountains high and low, including the miles of maze-like caves where the trolls live.”
There was a brief pause, and Mack broke the silence. “What happened after all those disasters occurred?”
The king sighed and let his shoulders droop. He opened his mouth to reply, but Cadmus interjected.
“Your majesty, if I may, I can explain,” he offered. King Muttongale eased back in his chair and smiled his thanks, gliding back and forth in his rocking chair.
Cadmus’ electric blue eyes shone as he spoke. “Legend has it that over a thousand years ago in Praxis, one by one, these natural disasters began to occur. Each one was worse than the last, but the people tried to weather the storm. They hoped that if they waited long enough, whatever was causing the disasters would subside.
“Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the people, a dark magic was growing in power. The stronger this dark magic grew, the more powerful the disasters became. At last, it was discovered that a group of wizards known as the Wardens were manipulating the dark power, but by then it was too late. They had awakened three terrible beasts that devastated Praxis almost to complete destruction. If it weren’t for the Mapkeeper, Praxis and all the creatures within it would have been destroyed.”
The fire popped with such ferocity that Lucy jumped. She looked away from Cadmus and the others. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Only Luke and Mack spared her their scrutiny. They understood her fear and lack of preparation for this enormous responsibility.
Cadmus continued, “The Mapkeeper was able to manipulate the map and defeat the three beasts and for that reason, the Mapkeeper is revered as a position of great heroism. Since then, there has been a Ceremony of Light for each new one. Many Mapkeepers have come and gone over the centuries. Some had very little responsibility during their tenure, while others achieved small acts of heroism, settling disputes and maintaining order among the clans. Our ancestors always said that each Mapkeeper is chosen for a reason. While some were more loved by the people and creatures of Praxis than others, all seemed to have particular characteristics that suited whatever problems arose during their tenure.”
“Like Edmund Burrow, the nineteenth Mapkeeper, who realigned the foothills of the Dour Mountains to settle a territorial dispute among the trolls and the goblins,” Olivia recited.
“Good memory, Olivia!” Helda rubbed her daughter’s shoulder.
“The trolls live in caves high in the mountains, and the goblins live underground in the foothills,” Pip chimed in.
“Then there was Maximus Krieger, the twenty-fifth, who was able to negotiate peace between the Glacial Lake mermaids and the Bellaux, who live in the Tree of Virtue on the lake’s eastern shore,” Queen Oleksandra added. “That
“What other signs were there?” Luke asked.
Cadmus sat across from Lucy, Mack sat to her left, and Luke was next to him, nearest the fire. Pip and Olivia huddled at their parents’ feet sharing a fleece blanket. Helda and Quinn were nestled on a stuffed loveseat, and the king and queen reclined in cushioned, high-backed wooden rocking chairs.
“Oh, all kinds of things,” the queen replied. “Quakes rattled the earth for minutes on end, many storms with powerful lightning and thunder came, bringing sheets of rain and hail stones as big as your head! Vast storms churned the Dark Sea, and of course, as you know now, volcanic activity. The extent of some of the disasters is lost to time, as is to be expected, so no one quite knows what we may be up against.” The fire crackled as she hesitated. Lucy glanced at the solemn faces around the circle. “Up until now, no one was even sure if any of it was real,” the queen continued. “For years, man and creature worked together hunting for the volcano without success. They explored the Dour Mountains high and low, including the miles of maze-like caves where the trolls live.”
There was a brief pause, and Mack broke the silence. “What happened after all those disasters occurred?”
The king sighed and let his shoulders droop. He opened his mouth to reply, but Cadmus interjected.
“Your majesty, if I may, I can explain,” he offered. King Muttongale eased back in his chair and smiled his thanks, gliding back and forth in his rocking chair.
Cadmus’ electric blue eyes shone as he spoke. “Legend has it that over a thousand years ago in Praxis, one by one, these natural disasters began to occur. Each one was worse than the last, but the people tried to weather the storm. They hoped that if they waited long enough, whatever was causing the disasters would subside.
“Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the people, a dark magic was growing in power. The stronger this dark magic grew, the more powerful the disasters became. At last, it was discovered that a group of wizards known as the Wardens were manipulating the dark power, but by then it was too late. They had awakened three terrible beasts that devastated Praxis almost to complete destruction. If it weren’t for the Mapkeeper, Praxis and all the creatures within it would have been destroyed.”
The fire popped with such ferocity that Lucy jumped. She looked away from Cadmus and the others. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Only Luke and Mack spared her their scrutiny. They understood her fear and lack of preparation for this enormous responsibility.
Cadmus continued, “The Mapkeeper was able to manipulate the map and defeat the three beasts and for that reason, the Mapkeeper is revered as a position of great heroism. Since then, there has been a Ceremony of Light for each new one. Many Mapkeepers have come and gone over the centuries. Some had very little responsibility during their tenure, while others achieved small acts of heroism, settling disputes and maintaining order among the clans. Our ancestors always said that each Mapkeeper is chosen for a reason. While some were more loved by the people and creatures of Praxis than others, all seemed to have particular characteristics that suited whatever problems arose during their tenure.”
“Like Edmund Burrow, the nineteenth Mapkeeper, who realigned the foothills of the Dour Mountains to settle a territorial dispute among the trolls and the goblins,” Olivia recited.
“Good memory, Olivia!” Helda rubbed her daughter’s shoulder.
“The trolls live in caves high in the mountains, and the goblins live underground in the foothills,” Pip chimed in.
“Then there was Maximus Krieger, the twenty-fifth, who was able to negotiate peace between the Glacial Lake mermaids and the Bellaux, who live in the Tree of Virtue on the lake’s eastern shore,” Queen Oleksandra added. “That
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