It was a bright sunny morning, and Alana had just left her house. She was walking down the street in the suburbs of one of the cities of the Druritis' Nation of Moon Cross. Heading straight toward the city to start another day of work. As she went down the sidewalk, she saw all kinds of houses, each owned by a different being or person. That was the best about this magical place; it housed all the creatures.
Alana was a store owner. Her shop was the only place where you could find all the different, magical, and powerful objects of the distinct species of Druritis. She started her business after finding a glass tiara that used to belong to one of the witches of Oak Spirit, and it was considered one of the most powerful objects in all the land. Alana took it to the witch council, and they wanted to buy it from her as a way of saying thank you for all her hard work in bringing it back to where it belonged. But she declined the offer, so instead, they gave her a few objects to sell. And just like that, her shop La tiare de verre, named after the powerful artifact that started it all, opened.
The first few months were slow. But after the people of Druritis discovered it, it became full of customers. Alana even hired a part-timer to help her out. The store got supplies from different cities. Some people donated stuff for her to sell; others sold it to her so she could resell. The shop had an array of things, from the most simple ones to the most powerful. Alana made sure that they all had magic. That was what her store was known for—magical objects from everywhere.
Ding.
The bell on top of the door sounded when Alana entered her shop. She went past the balcony with the cash register on the right. On her left, there were cabinets with glass doors filled with different potions. There were a few tables in front of them that were still empty. So Alana went directly to the backroom to change her clothes. Then she went to the storage room door located next to the balcony.
The store owner brought a box filled with magical equipment to display on the empty tables, and just like that, another day of work started. Alana was finishing the last details before customers arrived.
Ding.
The part-timer arrived right on time.
"Morning, Boss."
"Hello there, Merida. How are you today?"
"Good, I guess," Merida answered halfway to the back room to change into her uniform.
"Today is a lovely day," Alana said with her sweet, calm voice.
"Yeah, it's nice. The weather is good, the sky is clear, and the sun is up. Many people might be stopping by today," said Merida. At the same time, she left the little corridor that had the back room, past the storage door and right behind the balcony. The first thing to be done before work: was to write down the amount of money inside the cash register in the financial records notebook. Then she had to check all the cabinets behind and inside the balcony. To make sure the amounts they had written down were correct and to adjust any object for display since everything was made of glass to facilitate the customer's shopping.
Ding.
"Hey, mister Dubois, what do you bring us today?" Merida welcomed one of the shop's suppliers.
"Hello Merida, hello Alana. I brought a few swords made by the famous Aphid Foxhorn and some fae armor that were discarded at the end of the big battle of red waters over in Oberon."
"The battle is over. Thank God, Rosa," Alana said happily.
"Bloody thing, eh? God had mercy on them, and the royal court survived the whole thing," added Dubois.
"Wow. That's impressive, and they fared much better than the witch council and the serpent slayer conflict over in Oak Spirit," Merida commented.
"Oh, I heard about that one. The lost daughter of Callista saved the witches, but the council ended up dead," added Dubois.
"Is the lost daughter with the council now?" inquired Merida while inspecting the swords and armor to jot down in the inventory notebook before taking them to the storage.
"Last I heard, the lost daughter had accepted she was a witch, and she was going to start magic lessons. I find it odd that we still don't know her name," shared Dubois while he leaned on the balcony.
"Charlotte, that's the girl's name. But she likes to be called Lottie," said Alana, finishing up the table display and heading to the balcony to help Merida.
Merida and Mister Dubois were looking at Alana in surprise. How did the older woman know this information? She was not one for gossip. The part-timer went to open her mouth to ask the owner when the shop door opened.
Ding.
An elf came barging into the store.
"I need all your magic potions!"
"Rude!" said Merida, which earned her Alana's glare.
"An evil entity showed up from thin air and is set to destroy Gilre. We are running out of time," explained the elf.
"Wait. I was just over there. How are we out of time?" asked Dubois.
"It showed up 15 minutes ago, and half of the nation is already under attack. The elf lord is demanding potions. Since this is a magical store, we figured you would have some to sell," added the elf.
"Yes, we do. But I'm afraid that it might not be enough to battle the evil entity if half of Gilre is already under attack," said Alana. While picking the potions from the cabinet behind the balcony and setting them down near the cash register. She then headed to the other side of the store to pick up the rest.
"These will have to help. Thank you," said the elf while taking the supplies and paying Merida. He left just as fast as he came in.
"A war in Gilre?" said the store supplier thinking out loud.
"What kind of being is that powerful to attack half a nation in 15 minutes? It's not like Gilre is small," blabbered Merida while looking at the door.
Ding.
A vampire entered the store. He was wearing a general's military uniform from the onyx guard.
"I'm in desperate need of blood."
"How much blood do you need?" asked Alana
"Everything you got," said the general. The three people in the shop opened their eyes wide.
"Why?" Merida blurred out.
"There is a war happening in Onyx, and the Darkness showed up around 20 minutes ago. We need food to be able to fight."
Alana ran to the storage room with Merida and left Mister Dubois looking at the vampire in confusion.
"Do you happen to know if it's the same thing that attacked Gilre?" asked Dubois to the general.
"Gilre is under attack? Don't have any information on that."
Alana and Merida brought all the bags of blood they had. It might not be enough for the onyx guard, and they would probably need to ask someone for a blood spell to help them.
The vampire thanked them, paid, and left.
"I have a feeling it's the same thing that attacked Gilre. The vampire didn't know much. But if my hunch is correct, it might start attacking other nations as well."
Ding.
Entered an angel, then a shifter, and suddenly the tiny shop was in chaos with people and beings from everywhere. As if Dubois' prediction had come true, all the nations of Druritis were being attacked by this evil entity. Everyone described it differently. But one thing was always the same; it caused harm hard and fast. Mister Dubois started helping Merida and Alana with all the orders.
It was the end of the day, and the store was almost empty when a small fairy showed up.
"Good evening, I can see you all are tired, but I was looking for a magical emerald pendant."
"To fight the evil entity, I'm assuming," said Merida while she got up from where she was sitting.
"Yes. My queen believes it's our God's enemy, and that is why it surprised everyone. We cannot believe our God would harm us in such a cruel way," said the fairy in an astonishing calm voice for the day they had.
"How would our God have an enemy?" said Dubois.
"We do not know. But it probably involves magic, and it's the only solution we can think of," said the fairy.
Merida brought the pendant wrapped in a cloth. The fairy paid for it and left the three of them wondering what was going on.
"So let's recap. This darkness entity attacks the elves in Gilre and at the same time the vampires in Onyx, the witches in Oak Spirit, the faes in Oberon, the angels in Bliss Isle, the shifters in Termuse, the little fairies in Calm Wood, the mermaids in Mansdare and us here in Moon Cross. And destroys half of every nation in 15 minutes? How in the name of God Rosa are we still alive at the end of the day?" vocalized mister Dubois incredulous.
"I'm suspecting that everyone is fighting back. Probably a lot of magic spells and a bit of help from our God." Merida's voice was tired, and they all were.
"I'm going to find out more information. You two stay at the shop until I get back. We don't know where it is safe." Alana was already out the door before they could have a chance to dissuade her.
***
Months passed quickly and slowly since that chaotic day in the shop; the war was in full swing. Some days the blight got worse; some days, it stayed the same. Alana had made sure that Merida stayed with her in the shop, but Mister Dubois had left to help the others. The ladies were working every day. Selling everything they had faster than they could restock.
"We are going to have to close," Alana spoke while looking at their last customer leaving the store.
"So what now? How do we fight?"
"We help those in need." Alana sighed and sat down. The women looked through the glass storefront and watched the city beyond it. There nobody walked by. It was a dark, gloomy day, just like the last few weeks.
Druritis had suffered incredible loss, and the Darkness didn't back down. They powered through the entity with brutal strength. It took a toll on the people and the beings, but they didn't back down. All of them fought in the name of their God. After years they finally won. Nobody knew how they did it, if it was by pure will, with their God's help or the magic they used. They did not care. Druritis was saved at last. The day after the evil entity was defeated, Alana reopened her store.
***
Ding.
"Morning, Boss," said Merida with the biggest smile on her face.
"Hello there, Merida."
The day went quite calmly. They had a few beings show up and bring them objects to sell. And when they were about to close, Dubois showed up.
"Hello, ladies."
"Mister Dubois!" Merida exclaimed and hugged the man. "You are alive."
"Indeed I am. I came to bring some news," said Dubois
"Good news, please!" said Merida
"Yes! Very good. All the dead are coming back to life!" said mister Dubois
"What?" yelled both ladies.
"I know! The fairies said that God Rosa has probably brought them back as a thank you for helping her," said Dubois.
"This was not what I expected at all," said Merida.
The three of them talked for a couple of hours before they all left happily for the first time in years.
***
Andreas walked into the studio and sat down in his presenter's seat. The news show producer was starting to count from 5. When she got to 1, she pointed to Andreas, and he started.
The show was going as planned, and they were at the end when he got a message through the ear comms. Before signing off, Andreas delivered:
"This is just in. Author Rosa Damasceno has just tweeted that she has started her new book. She had been battling an undisclosed disease for the last few years and was unable to write. Let's read her message:
Dear fans,
I'm happy to announce that I have battled my disease fiercely and am now cured.
I have also started writing a new book. It is inspired by this challenging time, but don't worry, all your favorite characters will be in it. I hope to bring more updates in the future.
Thank you for all the well wishes.
Rosa Damasceno is known for writing several books, including the famous Battle of Red Waters and Witches of Oak Spirit. Both from the Druritis universe."
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