Long-long ago, there was a small village in the valley of Kashmir. They call it, “Karakoram”. It was full of magical creatures, enchanting flora and fauna and primordial fairies. Their lives many gnomes, fairies, cryptids, mermaids, gambo, sky-fishes, yeti, unicorns, monsters and mythical beasts. Some heard the “Karakoram well” reveals who you truly are. Ancient gods build this place with their exquisite powers for saving fairies and enchanted power matrices from extinction. The village was out of human reach, covered with dark-woods and supernatural entities guarding the entrance. Before the village you will come across the snow-capped White Mountains, Himalayas, extended far and rimless. It all begins with Christmas snow. Shorter days and longer nights. The entrance board says, “The more you seek, the more it gets lost.”
Karakoram addressed to be at Cliffside scene. It’s hub for multi-hybrid creatures, thy hamlet, gathered, dependent, and living at peace. Apposite ambience, fresh water supply, fruits and organic vegetation advanced them all amongst the rest.
One day at Karakoram village.
“Sergeant, Gnome can you please help me finding my crystal-stone?” asked Crystal fairy, Cryzalline.
“Sure. Cryzalline. I need you to fill this form before proceeding to any further investigation.” said, Sergeant Gnome.
Sheriff Ogre, Fredrick was observing it all. Recently, there’s been missing reports from the villagers. The objects that uphold their magical powers, as they say Hoarders went missing. The constant monotonous act of opening shutter doors make the Sheriff, Ogre blows his honk loudly. Within no time all the villagers runs away except Gnomes sergeants and other Ogre officers.
“Can anyone tell me what’s going on?” shouted Fredrik at the top of his lungs.
“Sir, fifty reports filed today, under missing objects. They say they saw some humanoid figure.” replied Sergeant Gnome.
“How’s that possible? Humans never set their feet at Karakoram. Even if they did, where are they now?”
“Agreed. Our Search team searched the whole town but couldn’t pick up a single lead.” said one Ogre officer named Dexter.
“Hmm. I can see that. We need to think out of box. We have to find where all the missing hoarders been captivated before it get into wrong hands.”
Sheriff Fredrick dismissed all the sergeants back to their substituted duties and went on patrolling along with Dexter and other Ogre. He sent Sergeant Gnome to visit the victim’s domicile and find out some evidence.
“Did you report for you missing crystal-stone to the cops?” asked fire fairy, Farina.
“Indeed, what about your fire-stone pendant?”
“They said they will inform me once they found it.”
“All these years we’ve been at peace. Now all of sudden invisible robbery is taking its toll. What if we don’t find our power hoarders?”
“We all will transform into stones.” replied Farina sadistically.
Cryzalline and Farina took a fly-stroll around the town. Far sees their eyes stuck on watching on weeping fairies and angry monsters thumping feast helplessly onto the ground. Almost all the monsters lost their fury-restrainers which intonate into a wrist-band. For the safety of Karakoram villagers they now set into giant police-trucks for miserable journey to “Himalayan Prison”.
Sooner with their finishing pixie dust, Cryzalline and Farina made their way to Horsabethia (Stable for Deer, unicorns, Hippogriffs, Centaur and mostly horses). One can see majestic creatures Unicorns, symbol of purity, neighing along with shining, large, pointed, spiralling horn projecting from its forehead. Some upholds grey horns while others rainbow hue. Another legendary creatures Centaurs, descendants of Ixion on the alongside were savages and brutes. Big hoofs, muscular arms tightly packed in one soul define all their characteristics about bravery and cruelty. White stags and Peryton (Stag with bird parts) are Cryzalline’s favourite rides. She has been collecting enough dry Himalayan hay throughout the summer to convince White stag for one ride.
Later within sands of time they reached to collect pixie dust from the miraculous, giant hour-glass. The dust-keeper, Pooka gives them a wink and they happily set for a flight after Fairytopia.
At the same moment, somewhere else in the middle chaotic bazaar of the village Sergeant Gnome was investigating on the burglary sites. Tiny houses, chawls made the comfortable entry for miniature gnome. After winning queries he found one thing to be common, a similar symbol impression left in every victim’s house. A circle with a big star inside. He note down the symbol and headed back to Central Library to disclose the symbol’s meaning.
On the other hand, Sheriff Fredrick and Dexter patrolled almost all the forest but returned with empty hands. They have been to tropical forest kingdom, “Mangrovian”. The board warns “Easy to get-gone into the jungle but powerless to be found”, quoted on the entrance sign board. At the bottom of the prominence a small creek flowed through a series of moss and lichen covered rocks. The colour of forest green blends enormously with sallow leaves, crimson maples and auburn woods. The Tyndall effect, rainbow spectrum from cascade white fountain attest to be charismatic. Overall, scenery yields purified love with narcissist nature. A finished painting from the goddesses of nature.
Sheriff interviewed white elves, shape-shifter Were-wolves, Leaf men, Bugbear (Celtic), Shug monkey and Were-hyena. Almost everyone. They most of the time hindered beneath the green blanket of tropical forest, live in caves, hunt for Alice’s rabbits and hibernates. Information provided by them was the same, lost of power hoarders.
Aftermath, police went to Aqua-marina. The sea was ornamental blue merging with the silky sky at the horizon. Humid-salty air and splashing waves on endless shore gives soothing sound to the Ogre. No doubt god in-built this place taking every majestic creature into consideration. The buoyant yacht lolling on distant rocks upon azure hue transparent water, air-waves a pallid flag saying, “Dive deeper, pearl’s seekers. But beware of ghost-sailors and shipwrecks, mermaids and treasure chest”. Welsh (water horse) and Selkie (Seal people) on amazed doesn’t report about any lost treasure or pearl-shells. By these statements from aquatic creature quite endowed Ogre with astonishing exclamation mark. However, that gave Fredrick a hint that robber is afraid of water or its magic doesn’t work in Aqua-marina.
The entire Ogres were afraid of one pre-assumption that would come true. They all were heading towards the only dark, shady forest, Screech Forest in the whole kingdom. The bravest creatures had been lost and never found. The only thing pushed the Ogres to risk their lives was villager’s trust and firm pledge to guard them and willingness to die on duty. Finally, they reached to the Screech Forest. It was hair-raising place. The Screech forest was old and otherworldly. The decaying air and muggy atmosphere gives the perfect abode for Satan. Not a single sun ray cross the threshold of dense brushwood roof, just dense shadows and spider’s silver web-strings hung up everywhere.
“Come on boys let’s have a troll around.” said Sheriff Fredrick enthusiastically.
“But nobody ever stepped into these woods. There are rumours and tribal’s warning about this place.” terrified Rodney, another Ogre officer.
“Don’t be such a baby. We are Ogre; we protect, save and kill. Not to get killed. It’s in our blood.” replied Fredrick leading the way.
All the Ogres looked at each other’s face and started creeping into the Screech Forest with residing prayer into their minds. All the elements in the forest give pungent ooze and negative vibes on every step. Sooner they reached to the “Blackgate Castle”. The most eerie, uncanny and haunted castle in this whole town. List of lingering adjectives gets shorter to depict this consign. They foot at main’s door and it’s locked with a seal of Pentagon star, circumscribing the points of Pentagon by a circle. Ogre Fredrick and Dexter looked around. It’s the same black locked gate stood still like hundreds of years. They returned back to Karakoram. It was teeth gritting experience for Ogres.
At the Central library, Sergeant Gnome has been through enormous pages of books to find the meaning of that symbol. He deciphered assorted languages, symbols and signs, interprets ancient books pages and religious manuscripts of bibles and Vedas. Finally, he gives up and leaned back his head up to the ceiling fan. All of sudden a fear crept in his vein with a fearsome idea that it might be in Dark secrets book. Sooner a book lay upon front desk, hardback, covered with dried blood stains and wrapped with metallic wire mesh. Gnome used pliers to get rid of metal wires. The book opened into blood marks, warnings, symbols and encoded symbols. As the Gnome turns the page the complex study engrossed and horrific image content increases. Finally, he reached to the symbol. All he could murmur was, “Witches are here.”
Back in the Screech forest, at the Blackgate Castle, there were two eyes scorching with abhorrence peeping outside the window. Her hands were of olive skin and covered with pockmarks closed the ragged curtain of the windowpane. She walks towards the mirror and took a glimpse. Her skin was like olive coloured, cold and reptile-skin leather. She had facial hairs as tough as boar bristles, lips completely lost its pigment, faded, care-worn and she had a wart on her pointy nose, giving a disturbing view. Her feet were the last things to see, she wore black boots all the time. “Evanora” they say. She found herself in utter disgrace and broke the mirror with the dead rose vase kept nearby. The broken pieces of mirror on the floor re-attach themselves like lost pieces of puzzles and stood back to their respective positions, clenched against the wall. All she had is a three-eyed raven who follows her everywhere. The witch named it, Morfran. Its body is half-skeleton and half-flesh. Spooky enough to make anyone’s heart stop beating.
“Morfran, do you think we collect enough power hoarders to gain power?”
“Kra-kra.” Morfran response with deep, throaty calls.
“I take no pleasure in taking life, it’s just poor creatures doesn’t care about it. Now, with these power hoarders I would be able to make evil potions that would create havoc, turn everything into ruins, a complete devastation of Karakoram. Now, everyone will be cast out like I was back then in the cold war of religions.”
The disambiguated witch’s evil laughter echoes around the whole castle giving shrieks to the wild Bombay cats. The evil lust breeds beneath the black cloak of dreaded witch. She mixed the stolen fire-stones and fury-strainers into a blackmagic boiling caldron and murmured some unheard malevolent spells. Then she took out a glass flask from the shelves and pour potion into it with a ladle. It reflects ruby glow around the room, the dark serene hideous smile of wicked witch made the scenario more horror-dramatic.
Later then, her holocaust purple old-ragged cloak sweeps the floor as she walks down the maroon carpeted staircase and headed towards the Left-wing tower. Morfran follow her lead. She took out stolen tiny crystal ball and incarnates it on the tower key. Her impiety deeds posed with proud chest-front as she makes her entrance into the tower. Her demonic glittery eyes were the open windows to her evil spirit, focused on one thing she ever desired of. The flying broomstick.
All these years the catholic spiders weave their web around smudgy witch’s broomstick. It clearly identifies its long waited call for its rider.
“Look Morfran, where our diabolical prayers lead us. Now, where are we? Ah, yes- dismal mortification of magical powers.”
She continued.
“Tonight is the night when all satanic powers will be at its peak. For the first time I won’t be sitting in unknown, empty darkness, I’ll consume the moon’s energy and will fly with Adder’s fork and howlet’s wing. I would be the youngest witch to burn down the village by herself.”
She poured the black magic mixture on the broomstick. After an hour or two. The wicked witch anxiously waited for tower clock to strike the midnight’s dong. But remembering the dead battery she chuckled and return back to her evil laughter and thrust a big push on the ground for high lift-ups of broomstick.
“Marfron, The season of witches is back. I feel like a little witch again. Let’s go for blood and flesh.”
She sings her self-generated song, “The moon has been awaken, the sleeping sun’s light has been broken, and now the time has come for the wicked spell to begun.”
She bents and gripped broomstick tightly and pace forth. Her laughing eyes lurked for a living soul around. Her broom flies over the Aqua-marina regime. A Selkie (half-seal and half-man) was resting on the shore rock. She cursed giant’s spell on Marfron, which grants it a larger size of ferocious Vulture. Marfron’s eyes were now especially remarkable, spotting targets as small as hare prancing a mile away. Marfron profound a tight grip on the Selkie and dumped it down in the midst of Fairytopia. All the sleeping pixies woke up from their sweet dreams and started flittering around. The witch laughed mischievously.
“What just happened?” asked Cryzalline.
“We are under attack.” replied Farina.
“By whom?”
“Witches are back.”
“It was just one witch-mischief.” slowly yowled Selkie in deep penetration.
“What should we do now?”
“Fly, fly away to Karakoram district and send message to Ogres that Blackgate castle Witch is back.” said Selkie before exhaling his last breathe.
All the fairies together fly towards the Karakoram upon which Marfron smiled and followed them gruesomely. On the other hand, Evanora landed on the farm at Horsabethia. Unnumbered Centaurs with their greatest speed marched towards Witch, encircling her with angry eyebrows and pumping muscles for oxygen.
“Evanora, leave our holy ground, Horsabethia before we crush you under our hoofs.”
“Your holy ground! The ground you are calling holy runs under the Karakoram, beneath the Ogre and magical miniatures. Have you forgotten our ancestors fought side by side in the cold war of religion? If you really want to reinforce your brutal power back? Join me.”
Centaurs hesitate for a moment until a released poisoned arrow hits one of the white stag. The majestic creature wriggle, flounder around due to toxin bleeds and died weltering on the ground. Evanora sets a foot upon dead-stone stag and roar,
“Never trust anything that bleeds. Hail to Stone-age!”
“Evanora. Evanora….Evanora.” raised the assemblage voice from the Centaurs.
“Lock all the horses in the stables and sealed it.” commanded Evanora.
Blood stains poured onto the Horsabethia’s soil for the first time. The flying particles from the haystack and dirt flew around. Sooner, her ambiguous lust to kill magical creatures, tour her to next kingdom, Mangrovian.
On the watch tower of Mangrovian, there sits an Abarimon named Augustus (A man having backwards feet). Despite having backwards feet he was the fastest runner of all. No doubt the sight was fearful; watching numerous angry Centaurs marching forward, but Abarimon gathered his courage and warned other Mangrovian creatures. Within no spare time on their hand the shape-shifters, Leaf men, were-wolves and were-hyenas alongside Bugbear (Celtic) decided to buy some time for saving Karakoram creatures. While the white elves and shug monkey runs hoarding back of the Abarimons.
The clash of two kingdoms was traumatizing warfare, killing brothers, uprooting prosperous Mother Nature, a cavalry bombshell attack in the presence of full moon sweet light beams. Only one creature, the bizarre, emotionless Witch gained the power from the debris of pure hearted souls. Evanora with the help of her black magic wand, poisoned potions and cursed spells destroys the tropical forest. She sets Mangrovian kingdom on fire. The last Leaf man sits at front of giant rock holding a little leaf girl.
“Please have mercy. Just let the little leaf-girl go.”
“Mercy hasn’t heard of it. I was a little witch too when the cold war of religion took place. Your leafmen burnt all the wizards, mothers and sisters of Screech Forest. Everywhere I look, I see the repulsive sight of revolting children of forest. Now, I am every nightmare you’ve ever heard, everything you ever were afraid of.”
“Don’t you have a heart?”
“Oh dear, don’t you know? I am rotten to the hearts now.”
She spells the curse and transforms them into stones. They froze immortal till the time would come. She did to almost all the Leaf men.
At the Karakoram village.
“…That’s what all happened. She is after us.” Shug-monkey recited the whole story to the villagers.
“We are not safe until the witch is dead.” said Ogre.
“Now what we will do? Set to sacrifice our children to a Witch’s appetite.” said monster-mother.
“No, we will fight.” roared Ogre Fredrick.
“Fight against whom? Centaurs and black magic? It’s worthless to forfeit our lives. Let’s surrender.” said one Anjora rabbit from the mob.
“If we capitulate to the dark world our precious, pure magic will be utilized by the tainted devil in the complete destruction of this wholesome heaven. They will use it against the humans in numerous ways. We need to kill the witch. Our ancestors did back then, so why can’t we?” urged Ogre Fredrick.
“He is right. We need to gather courage. Come on people, grab your swords, your pitchforks, ploughing shovels. It’s our time. Burn your torches, aim-ready bows and mount on horses. We will fight and defeat them. After all, we are Karakorams.” said Dexter enthusiastically.
Sergent Gnome interrupts in the middle of chaos.
“I read a book on witches. To defeat the Witch we need follow some techniques. Apollo’s kourous you need to collect brass bells and Anemoi (God of wind) be ready with your team to ring it. Hung it everywhere around, it will prevent us falling to the evil. Phoenix burns the holy candles. Speak magical phrases more than often with recitation of one creed, five Aves and five Paternosters. Priapus (dwarfish-man, God of vegetable garden) hung garlic everywhere, it’s equivalent to warding off witches. At last, Anjora rabbits draw the boundary of the village with salt. Puff-it-all.”
The ignition speech of Ogres and methods by Sergeant Gnome made the villagers runs on motivation wheel. But deep inside Ogre Fredrick knew that it won’t be enough to win the battle. He ordered,
“Dexter, listen. Go to the Himalayan Prison and bring the restrain-free monsters.”
“Are you sure Sheriff? They are uncontrollable freaks.”
“That’s what we need at the moment. It’s the only way to win this battle.”
Nevertheless with fuming rage, the witch entered to Karakoram village. She lands her feet onto the ground from the flying broomstick. Her war locked garment flashes as black as pitch. Her shrivelled hand’s skin rose up into the air and erases all the salted boundaries and damages garlic hangings. Poor villager’s motivated spirit crippled within a moment by dark magic.
Sheriff Ogre Fredrick walks up at front face-to-face to wicked witch.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I am Evanora. The last witch alive. I came here for my vengeance.”
“Vengeance. What made you after us? We never try to provoke you nor entered into Blackgate Castle. We never did anything wrong.”
“You didn’t but your ancestors did. I possessed all the characteristics of a majestic creature, blood, flesh, skin, hair but not a single identifiable emotion. That cast me out of the Karakoram society and I lived unaccompanied in solitary confinement, slowly degrading into evil witch. Now I have returned on this very blue-moon light to curse this village and feed upon revenge’s feast toasting my victory. alas!”
“It will never happen Evanora. Keep dreaming. You have to go through me before my people.”
“Believe me. You’re worth more dead than alive.”
With the triumph of battle screech, a conflict rose between the brawny Centaurs and mighty Karakoram creatures. Spears, pitchforks, bunny-claws, hot rods, gulfing phoenix fire and Ogre’s antagonism clashed onto the battlefield. The long awaited fear overcome the heart’s threshold and with thousand porcupine’s pins heavy heart drowsed into complete state of hopelessness. Fredrick fell onto the ground with bloody face and broken bones. All he could see his brothers Ogre’s bloodshed around and speaking wounds. Screams and evil laughter filled the atmosphere. He fainted and his eyes flickered into darkness.
“Monsters are here.” A ray of hope bellow from the distinct woods. Fredrick smiled and tried to get up with the support of his elbow.
The fuming, enraged, uncontrolled monsters throw everything that comes on their way. Half of the Centaurs laid down to death-bed, by humping and pounding monsters. The colossal monsters crushed some of the Centaurs under their feet in-building their graveyards while roguish monsters bite and eat their hands and bows. In the middle of battle the witch fly at the centre and spell curse upon monsters by possessing dark magic on fury-restrainers of monsters. They all become slaves with blink of eyes.
“Morfran, how does it feel?” laughed the witch. The deafening laughter of evil witch echoes around the valley.
“Kra-kra” as usual replied the enormous vulture-raven.
“This feeling is so relishing. I won the battle by myself, all alone. I don’t have to hide behind the castle walls anymore. I am witch and I will wear it proudly on my snake-skinned soul. My ugly ragged uncombed hairs, mischief powers constitute me. I will let my power go, no more hiding.”
Evanora with stone-hedge black poise power turns every mortal into stone including Centaurs. The greenery turned into grey algae and black moss. The tree’s trunk magically carved demonic arts and secret memorandum. The miniature anthropods (like spiders) creeps and weaves around the statues. The dark forest mist from the Screech forest entered into all the kingdoms uniting it to one murky wood. Shadowy branches extend their claws, hiding the stardust sky and moon. Darkest clouds reappeared into the sky. Birth of dark sprits once again prevails into the world of Korakaram.
Evanora holds the goblet of blood, drinking it lustfully downhill to her throat. She sings and laughs.
“I am the wicked witch of everything.
Born from shadows of thousand years stored cries,
They call me Evanora who never dies.
My tears once were like quiet drifts.
And now all my grief flows from the rift.
Upon me death shall have no dominion,
Enchanting Life-slaves asks my opinion.
Here goes my late night spell,
I got an evil story to tell.”
This continued for a few periods, by the time clouds covered moon a number of occasions, resulting into complete blackout. Somehow in the midst of cheerful contentment and merriment, the black witch removed her boots. Her bent ten fingers follow the lead of her dark heart. She dance and dance, around the fountain, around the stable, throughout the market and merry-go-round the well. She was the only one unstoned. She was as free as blind bat. It was once again a complete blackout. But unfortunate or rather say fortunately, Evanora’s feet slips and she fell into the divulging well of Karakoram.
The camp of vampire-bats flew away and peters out into the blue-moon night. Slowly the curse of evil witch lifts up from the Karakoram, things started to regain its originality. The Beasts, Monsters, Gnomes, Ogre, Leaf man, Anjora rabbit and rest of villagers once again come back to life. Happy scare-crows, untithered stallions and unicorns, charming miniature cryptids, the leaf men reverting their motions and fairies regain their respective stones and now the whole place filled with ecstasy. The lost and stolen powers have been found. Monsters wore their fury-strainers and group-hugged with their families.
Sergeant Gnome, Sheriff Fredrick and Officer Dexter shook each other’s hand. Once again, Victory over evil sustains. It was when token of happiness was being shared among the villagers that a bright light appeared from the well. All stood still with frozen heartbeat.
A beautiful humanoid figure appeared a nymph, who malleably opened her white-feathered gossamer wings. She fluttered her wings once or twice. Truly captivating the sight of village dwellers. They never saw anything like that before. So, enchanting and beautiful. Her heart shimmer brightly and an encircled golden-yellow floating tiara appeared over her head. Her eyes opened into crystal clear sight into Karakoram village. Everyone stood motionless without uttering a word. Suddenly, a baby monster having fuzzy furs stepped forward and ask,
“Who are you?”
“I am Hekate, the goddess of magic.”
All the creatures kneel down on their knees to hail Angel Hekate. The truth well reveals who you really are. The evil witch, Evanora was not evil after all. Now she lives at peace with power over heaven, earth and sea all together. Every magical creature lived happily under her reign supreme.