Xenotopia

Xenotopia By Susannah Halliburton

Chapter One: The Narcissistic River

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. Chaos quickly swept over the small fishing village as the Quaqtl River suddenly and dramatically changed its course.

No one knew what was happening. No one knew what was going on… Per walking by the river stopped in their tracks. Two Elvan boys fishing from the bridge looked on in horror as the water did a complete reversal, taking everything with it, including their fishing poles.

A Dwarvian fisherman was scooping out river herring from his nets when, suddenly, a great swell of water dumped over starboard. The tiny but stocky bearded Per dropped his catch immediately. Water crashed over the deck of his barge-like river boat and he ran to the helm, shouting in alarm, “Varsaling! Achtung!”

Two smaller Dwarvish folk emerged from the helm after stumbling about from the shifting of the bow. “Was is das?” asked one who was dressed all in green with a black helmet. Holding onto the sides of the flat boat for dear life, they helped their elder, Drakeegalind, inside. “Drake, was is das?” The green-dressed one asked again, his thick, stiff blond hair protruding from under his hard hat.

Drake bellowed back, “Das ist Har Miggido!!”

“Armageddon?!” Responded the other Dwarf, with alacrity. He was dressed in blue coveralls and trying to hold onto the doorway to keep himself upright.

The three dwarves ran about the boat as well as they could, battening hatches, tying things down and holding on as the river continued to run backward with great force, pulling every boat in its wake. Fishing boats, the barge and smaller sail and rowboats were pitched one way and another, heading back toward the village port from whence they had come.

Closer to the village but well below the castle, Per were yelling “Achtung!” “Arete!” “Nyet!” and various forms of “Stop! You are going too fast” :”Be careful, Oh no!” and the like. And then…., “The Drain! The Royal Drain! You will be sucked in!”

Hearing the screams, Drake and his crew looked around, realizing that they were in deep trouble. The speed at which the river was driving them was too fast. They were heading right to the Royal Drain that led to the castle moat and its underground aqueduct system. They had to stop the boat or somehow get off before it was too late.

“Lover ze anchor!” shouted Drake, while the two crewmen did as they were told. Once the hulking chunk of metal was over the side and into the water, the boat slowed a bit and stopped, held in place by the heavy iron hook. But the force of the river kept the boat straining until it became too much to bear. If they jumped ship now, they would get pulled under. Drake knew with certainty, their only hope to survive was the anchor. If it didn’t hold, they would need to wait until they were pushed close enough to try and jump for land.

Looking out from his tower in the castle above, Hippostragus, the Queen’s Head Royal Wizard, took in the chaotic disaster occurring below. Without hesitation, he wrinkled his nose and nodded his head several times, muttering something only he could hear. People were surely going to blame him for the Queen’s disappearance. That was bad enough. He was not going to have the deaths of another 50 Per on his hands by letting that nasty River have its way. “There,” he said to himself.

Instantly, the river stopped moving. Every Per was relieved and the three dwarves were finally able to breathe again. Things started to settle back into their old rhythm as the boats found their balance and slowly resumed their original course.

This temperamental body of water had been named after a spurious and selfish Wizard, Ransom Quaqtl, who had been imprisoned in shapeshift form in answer to his many crimes. He had been uncontainable within the castle dungeon, so the Royal Wizard Cohort had to deal with him in another way. After consulting the Queen, Hippotragus and the RWC got her approval to move forward and rushed upstairs to the Royal Magic Emporium.

Once it was decided that he would be shapeshifted for his crimes, it was up to the RWC to design the right spell to do the trick. After a day-long wizard think tank with every available spell book spread across the Emporium tables, Diophanus was the Wizard who came up with the winning spell – a Water Transform.

When the RWC finally retrieved Quaqtl from the seven Wizard Guards, who had been keeping him spellbound until the final sentencing, they were just in time. The team of wizards was nearly out of commission, spent from the incredible effort they were putting forth in maintaining the spell. Each held a crystal of a different color, but judging by the faded hues, Hippostragus knew that many had already been drained of their energy. Several of the Guards were sitting on the floor looking bedraggled while still keeping the spell going. Others looked like they would soon feint.

Hippostragus and the RWC immediately took over, having the fresh energy needed to sustain the spell. Finally, upon the gathering of the circle and the uttering of the new spell, a beautiful river was created, from a villainous, no-good wizard. The River Quaqtl soon became the center of town. A village sprouted up nearby and many Dwarvian and Elfish folk were drawn to the it due to the lure of fishing there.

Hippostragus had never trusted “that oaf,” Quaqtl, when they were in school together. And he was proven right again and again as the deceitful Wizard undermined the former Queen Ezelda at every possible turn. But when the old queen died and her daughter, Isladora, took the throne, it seemed the dubious Quaqtl had turned over a new leaf.

In love with the new Queen, Quaqtl began courting her through his charm and wizardry and finally stepped-up within the Queendom. People said that he might become the Head Royal Wizard, if he kept up the good work. And for a time, it looked promising. ‘But then’, thought Hippostragus, ‘he couldn’t keep in his own lane.’

Quaqtl began taking advantage of the Queen’s natural generosity, greedily skimming geld as he pleased and hording his favorite items from the Queendom. He filled his rooms with treasures as the Queendom lost hers.

Then the Queen fell in love with another: Princess Vindoloo from the southern regions. She was a beautiful, brown-skinned girl with obsidian black eyes and a throaty laugh. She was visiting Xegledia with her father, Gindalay, the spice trader, when Quaqtl discovered them kissing and laughing behind a hallway pillar, entangled in eachother’s arms. Enraged, he unleashed a Banishing Spell on the poor girl, which sent her away from Xegledi to an unknown land. To this day, her father searches all of Xenotopia for his lovely daughter.

After her lover had been spirited away, the Queen became ill. “Lovesick”, people called it, though Scarlet Fever also burned within her breast. Quaqtl had been banished for his crimes and Hippostragus was finally able to receive his due and become Head of the Royal Wizards. He cared for the ailing Isladora like a daughter and was pleased when, due to his healing spells, her fever finally broke.

Soon after, Isladora married her longtime friend and ally, Prince Equedor. From a neighboring land, he and Isladora had spent many a day as children roaming her royal lands and his. They had confided secrets in each other for years and she was his go to person whenever he was sad or troubled about his father. He came to visit throughout her ailment and stayed around after. Another fortnight did he come and the marriage was then declared. Barely a nachten after, she bore a son. He was named Rubicon after Equedor’s deceased father.

The well-loved, and now missing, sovereign of Xegledia, Queen Isladora, had now ruled the Xelgledian Monarchy for the past seven annum. However, since the birth of her son, Prince Rubicon, it had been a rocky reign. Three Wintering Wiccas and one unknown assassin had attempted to kill or kidnap the young prince, causing Hippostragus many sleepless nights and the Queen to triple her Guard, not letting the boy out of sight.

Evenso, three year old Rubicon begged her to take him to town to visit the Royal Bakery -- his favorite place in all of Xenotopia. There were rows and rows of pastries piled high under glass for him to longingly peruse. He loved looking at the different colors, shapes, and sizes; some with candies, others with frosting flowers or sugar sprinkles. And the incredible smell!!

Isladora had finally agreed to take him but only under the condition of having heavy cover from the Wizard Guards. When they arrived that day, they sniffed the air together outside, giggling, as they emerged from the carriage. Both mother and son smiled and stored the memory away for later. After 20 rotations of perusal by the little prince, he settled on his favorite – sugar plum pastries. His mother coveted them too so they decided to each get one.

As they were sitting down to eat the delicate pastries, the Guards relaxed a bit. Looking around at the beautiful shop, sniffing the aromatic breads and eyeing the delicious-looking pastries, they were wishing that they too could partake in the culinary exploration. However, when they each brought their attentions back to the Queen and her son, they were shocked to see the royal pair were gone! Panic quickly ensued.

The boy’s pastry was in pieces on the floor next to his pushed back chair. The Queen’s was still on her plate, with just one bite gone. Her chair was unmoved and no one had seen what had happened. All three Guards who had been in the room felt bamboozled. One minute, all was well and the next, they were in total crisis mode with no Queen to take home to the castle. They tried Visibility Spells, Reversals and Location Spells to no avail. She and her son had simply vanished!

The Queen’s Guard sent a messenger on foot back to the castle to inform them of the disaster. After spewing out the disastrous message to Hippostragus, the Head Wizard, as fast as he could, the Messenger collapsed with fatigue and was taken to the infirmary. Hippostragus immediately set off on his horse to encant a Tracer Spell at the site of the disappearance. It would be most effective if he was sitting in the spot from where the Queen had vanished. So that’s what he did. He sat looking at her uneaten pastry wondering how someone could have smuggled her out without anyone seeing. And the boy too. It was confounding!

The Head Wizard’s spell was helpful but not entirely effective. It led him to the back alley behind the Royal Bakery where he detected some large pointy-toed boot prints. Then, it led him through the village and into the forest. However, after that, it faded and generated no further clues.

From the boot prints, Hippostragus suspected the Wintering Wiccas who were always coming up with new ways to kidnap people. They always worked in groups and had tried to grab the Prince previously.

Either way, Hippostragus headed back to the castle to develop a formal strategy to search for the Queen. He assembled a team of Wizards who were waiting in the Great Wizard Alcove for his instruction, when he looked out the window and saw it. The river was running backward!!

‘Of course,’ thought Hippostragus, ‘the Queen vanishes and Old Quaqtl has to get emotional and lose control. He makes everything about himself somehow,’ the old Wizard thought. “The Narcissist!”