Chapter 2 The Unknown lands

"Yes, I remember now. I was to head to Sumatra"

"To meet the Mage I believe. Yes she is waiting for you"

" And how do you know that?"

"You barely remember anything. No wonder you have forgotten your powers"

"Yes, can you tell me about me?"

"Well, not until we reach Sumatra. The air here is our enemies."

"Last I heard it was till only the start of the tunnel?"

"Yes, but you were supposed to reach Sumatra from the west. But you headed east."

"East"

"Yes, lady Evalina. It will take 3 years now till the tunnel redevelops to take you back to Sumatra."

"3 years what will I do then?"

"You need to find your memory or your powers lady"

"But the lion said I will find my memory in Sumatra"

" Well, you can find it in the unknown lands. But only one of them has the secrets of the hidden powers. You might not find your full memory but maybe one of your 32 powers will be found"

"32. How am I powerful"

"Yes, lady. You are the baroness of one of the lands in Gairad. The King of Gairad, King Doherty is an evil king who rules the 9 lands in Gairad. He had killed the three good barons and thus started the ultimate monarchy. You being the baroness of one of these lands must oppose him. But to defeat him you must regain your powers. Some of your powers must be hidden in one of the 7 unknown lands."

"Unknown lands? So I am a baroness. Thank god for that. Anything else about me?"

"That's all I can say, my lady"

" A wise monkey who knows me"

" Yes, my lady, and I will give you a ride. My friend the horse Ghoda will take you to one of those lands. He has a sword in his saddle and a shield just in case. Though the lion will be there in your trouble"

She disappears as a brown horse walks towards me. There was a sword and a shield. I was wearing a gown. She gave me weapons but no armor. I ride the horse towards the unknown lands. The land was mountainous, unlike the green ones at the tunnel. Thunder sounds and storms made me fearful of the evil that was to come.

An eagle screeches through the air. " Lady Evalina she is here Mistress she has come to regain her powers," says the eagle as he flies away.

The horse runs towards the direction of the eagle.

"Why are we following him?"

"He is the eagle of the Lady Bara." Says the horse.

"You talk too?"

"Yes everyone talks here. This is the magiclands. The Count and the Mage Gabrielle cast a spell in these lands some thousand years ago that made the animals talk."

"The Count. Yes, I heard he is after me and the Mage Grielle is where I should be?"

"Yes, my lady. Only the Mage Grielle's powers can match the Dracula."

"Dracula?"

"Yes, he is a 1000-year-old Dracula as I have heard. He died at his birth but evil spirits found his dead body as his soul was captured and hidden in a coffin. A month later a bat appeared from the coffin. They say his real form is a bat. But due to the continuous sucking of more than 900 humans' blood for 1000 years, he has turned into a human form"

" So he has become vulnerable then?"

"No my lady his powers have increased since then. You were the powerful of the lords of this land. He defeated you "

"Me?"

"Yes my lady, he defeated you and I am sorry to say he threw you into Palestine. You were in chains for 5 years my lady. But how did you escape the witch?"

"I barely remember but I owe some man who talked from the sky a lot"

"You mean the skymaster. Yes, he appears at a time like the lion to aid the innocents. He is one of the few who doesn't fear the Count."

"Yes I do Horse Ghoda," says the voice.

"It's the Skymaster. You heard us"

"Yes, Ghoda. You need to take her to Parag, the first lands of the unknown. The holy mages gave the land the name Parag as the smell resembles the flower's beautiful smell. Out of the 7 unknowns, this is the only land where vegetation persists. The other 6 have evil powers in them. The Count had cast his spells on them. Make sure the baroness reaches Parag. The Clouds can blur your visions beware"

The voice faded away.

"So we need to reach Parag. Then "

"Yes, my lady. But pray to use the shield as spells are within the air of these lands. The count might scent you from this air"

I shielded myself. But the gown could merely stop a wood let alone a sharp sword. The shield would stop the sword but still, I lacked armour. The horse stops at one of the volcanos ahead.

"Why did we stop?"

" Lady look the volcano is erupting. It will take half a day to cool down its effect. The lava itself will take half a day to cool down. We must stay here for the time being."

"What it's nearly dusk and you know harmful beings might be near."

"As long as we are alive we can fight them. But even your powers can't match a lava, my lady"

I dozed up in the horse for the time being. I woke up some hours later with the horse nowhere to be found. Only the sword and shield remained.

" Ghoda left me? I will complain to the monkey and the lion and the Sumatra mage" I yelled as I saw some dozen villagers come towards me.

"Who are you, knight lady?" An old man asked me.

"I am a wanderer "

"Well, you should come to share my hut as it's 11:00 am. You shouldn't be here alone"

I walked with them as I reached their huts. The old man's eyes were red like a dragon. His minions were also like him. I was feeling insecure but the sword in my hand gave me confidence to be fearful.

" You want some ale?" asks the old man.

"Yes". I drank almost three glasses of ale because of the thirst. I dozed off from the drink. I found myself in one of the beds of the man.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"My lady you shouldn't be feeling unsecured. You dozed off on the ground. You needed a bed for sleep. Anything else nothing happened"

I checked myself. But to my surprise, my sword had blood on its tip. I searched here and there.

"Catch her. She has killed Evan". I rushed outside to see a dead body and three men catching me.

"What?"

"You have killed a man. Your sword and the blood are the proof"

" But I!"

"I am sorry my lady. The evidence proves you are guilty. You must be taken in front of the sheriff"

"The sheriff?"

"Yes, he is the one who does the justice around the unknown lands?"

"Can you at least tell me where is Parag"

"Parag why do you wanna go there"

"I just want to know?"

"Well, you are a prisoner. Only the sheriff can allow that now"

"Well the sheriff will have to answer this then"

They take me to a man with a pistol in his hands.

"You killed a man as I heard lady"

"I believe I did. Maybe because he was about to do something evil"

"No one commits a crime in front of Sheriff Jack. "

"Well, I did". I punched one of the men as I tried to flee but the sheriff shot a bullet near my leg which made me fearful. The men tied me to a pole.

"You evil woman. I know you, you are the one the count defiled"

" So what was the thing about killing another one?"

" I am a pure woman. Set me free and we will see who is better" I said as I was angry at his words.

" Ok, woman. You should know a woman should know her place as you are a.........................girl" he says as he pushes the pistol towards my breasts. I take the sword out of the sheath and the shield in my left hand. I run towards the man but he dodges me and laughs. " You have forgotten to fight baroness. Maybe the count hammered you so much you forgot yourself haha". He dodges again. I was angry as I threw my sword at him. He dodges as he looks at the sword. At that very moment I threw my shield at him " Bullseye" I said I saw the sheriff fall to the ground. " He is an unconscious lady. You should kill him or else he will hunt you, He is like a wolf"

"Let him," I said as I took his pistol and my sword and headed looking for directions to Paraag.

(Thunder Sound)

"You have done well my lady. But you need to find Parag. To reach Paraag you must meet the dwarfs at the 3rd unknown land of the seven. Only those little creatures know the way to the land named Paraag" says the Skymaster.

I run towards the 3rd land. It took me nearly an hour to reach the third land. I was full of sweat and tiredness to meet the dwarfs.

The dwarfs were 12 little beasts waiting for me.

"Wait. Why have you come back, lady? You bring danger with you"

" I was sent here by the lion and the sky."

"The lion. Sky master, they sent you. You know you can't defeat the vampire. He is strong. He has won over 20 lands. He will shortly come here too."

As I try to calm them down, I see a pack of jackals and vultures heading towards me and the dwarfs.

One of them says " finally she is there. Looks like we will drink her blood first"