Circa

Huh?

"I believe you," the old woman gently squeezed Avea's hand. "I believe your son was taken by a dragon at Circa park."  

Avea could not believe it. Everyone had thought she was crazy. The police inspector had even suggested that she see a therapist. The experience of a missing child is tough on any parent he said. And it was important that she remained sane through it all for her's and her other son's sake. Meanwhile, they would keep the hunt for her son. 

But Avea had known why he had been quick to suggest so. Even he didn't believe her. 

A television channel was running her story. The reporter was interviewing guests at the park asking them whether they believed the recent story about the boy who had allegedly been snatched by a dragon there. Many of them laughed it off.

"It's an urban legend," a young man had answered. " Some people cannot differentiate between reality and conspiracy theories." 

Many others shared in the sentiment. They didn't believe the video Avea had posted was real. 

" I give it to her," a content creator had answered. " Clever editing on her part. She should start a course to teach the rest of us how to edit videos on the Circa app to make them look so convincing. She got so many views wow! I checked again today and she is at twelve million followers and counting. She is the boss! I stan!" 

" What about her missing son?" the reporter had asked.

" You've got to be creative to make it in this business. Soon she will call it a prank and move on with all her followers and views. She will just get off with a small fine for involving the police. These things happen all the time..." she shrugged. 

Some respondents were quick to condemn a mother for choosing social media fame over the safety of her own child if at all the child was truly missing.  

Others empathised with her and wished that her son would soon be found. Her crying on television felt very real they said. They weren't so sure about the dragon story though. 

Avea's heart kept breaking. Whichever way she looked at it, people actually thought she was crazy! 

She knew what she had seen. 

While in the middle of filming her youngest son deep in the forest section at Circa park, her other son had tripped on a log he was playing on a few metres away, had screamed out for his mother and she had run out to help him. He kept pointing to a spot on his leg saying he had been bitten by a strange insect.

As she lifted him up, she saw a huge shadow of a winged creature swiftly hover over them. She dismissed it as the magnified shadow of a bird due to the direction of the source of sunlight. They were deep in the man-made forest whose magnificent birds were also a major attraction. And she had been too focused on her hurting son to care what bird it had been. 

It took a while as she consoled and offered him first aid. When she raised her eyes, she couldn't see her other son. Had he gotten bored or distracted and had wandered a little behind the bushes?

In the middle of all these, she had not noticed that the tripod that held her camera had been knocked down. After her eldest son Lope had calmed down a little, she went to look out for her youngest Jace who she was calling out. He didn't answer, and she couldn't find him. Had he gone deeper into the forest and couldn't find his way back? 

That's all she could coherently remember as she had told the police inspector because, after that, she had been screaming for help until other park visitors called security who helped search for the boy. 

They all couldn't find him. 

The fallen camera however she later came to realise, had managed to capture some frames of the little boy dangling his legs and shaking as he was clutched in between what many in the comment section after she had posted the video called large chicken legs with a tail floating on the side. In another frame, over the horizon of the shaky video, it looked like an enormous beast that resembled a dragon. 

The police had cautioned her against posting the video. They had called it unexplainable or edited even. She was after all a content creator. Avea had done it anyway. She felt she needed to do something. She couldn't just sit and wait. 

" Why do you believe me madam Giskes?" Avea asked. "Everyone else doesn't. Is this your way of consoling me? Tell me it's ok to be crazy?" 

The old woman took the remote, switched off the television and leaned closer to Avea. 

" My name is Giskesas, 8th sorcerer of the Order of Illumi. And I know about the altar at Circa."

Avea's teary eyes widened. She was struggling to see. She wished that all this was a bad dream. 

" It is not a coincidence that your son was taken. His father is a descendant of a long line of Ubas." 

"Ubas.... His father... You mean my ex-fiancee... What are you talking about?" 

"Yes. But it seems he is oblivious to the fact. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Lope. But it is better for him. He is much safer with his father. His strong blood will protect him. The Circasis may need the sacrifice of a young Ubas. But their magic is useless in the presence of a mature one. Those chains were broken centuries ago."

" For goodness sake woman!" Avea had snapped. " Can you begin to make sense already! You have babysat my children when I was busy for the past few months since I moved here. And now when hell has already frozen over my life is when you decide to tell me all this? Can you explain everything slowly and clearly to me as though I am a three-year-old! " 

The old woman remained calm. 

" My name is Giskesas. I am a sorcerer. I work with an order that monitors and fights the evil magic of dark wizards called the Circasis. 

They are a legion of dark witches and warlocks from all realms and civilisations who commune together. 

It is true that Circa park is not what it is. Every one of those ancient attractions in there is a seat to these warlocks. Their dwellings in the modern world. And at the turn of the third moon, one of them is required to make a sacrifice at the Septa stones in the park to help strengthen their collective power. 

The statues in the park are cocoons. Shells for each of their servants that rise when summoned to attract and ferry the snatched boys to the altar for sacrifices.

That is why little boys are said to disappear from the park all the time. 

Usually, they disappear for a few hours and are later found stranded in the park discarded after the ceremony has been completed. But it has been three weeks and your son has not yet been returned. 

The order fears that the Circasis might have moved on to the next stage of their agenda," the old woman concluded. 

" Waaaaaaaaat!" You mean it's true. All this time! I knew it the minute my baby was snatched! I just couldn't…" 

Avea could not fully wrap her head around what she had just heard. Even though she believed it to her core. 

"What do they want with these boys? What do they do to them? What do they want with my son!?" she asked rubbing her now aching and swollen eyes. She had been crying for weeks. 

" They have been attempting to raise an army using the boys as soldiers. They intend to take over the world and rule it with their combined magic and return it to their eras. The young boys' souls are hollowed during the sacrifice. Leaving a space for the evil magic to penetrate on the day they shall be summoned to war." 

Avea was silent. She didn't know what to say. She imagined her son going through that horror and her body shook. 

" We have always checked the boys even using modern medicine and none of them has come back harmed physically. Most of them don't even remember disappearing. And those that do cannot explain what happens after. The Circasis needs their bodies as shells for their magic and so will not harm them."

" Annnnd…annnd..." Avea kept losing her train of thought. "And are you the good guys? The Order thingy… or whatever you called it. What have you been doing about it if you have known of the existence of these thingies all along!?" Avea asked anger ringing in her voice.

" We operate secretly as we do not wish to alert the Circasis of our presence in this realm and era. Our Order has been fighting them for centuries," the old woman now starting to look more straight than she actually was told Avea, her voice getting softer. 

Avea looked at her keenly as though trying to decipher the truth from her. Her eyes were shining. Yet were dull like those of an old woman almost going blind. 

" We track the missing boys after they are found and protect them with charms. We hope that once summoned to war for the Circasis, their hollowed hearts will not be filled with their dark evil and the plan will fail." 

" Why can't you stop it from happening instead? Why wait until the children are hurt!?" Avea shouted now angry.

"My darling. We cannot go near Circa. The warlocks will detect us and the war could begin sooner. We cannot risk that as we have not managed to unravel their entire plan. Our mission is to protect humans. We do use other channels though. Channels where we feel that humans of this era might see our message and refrain from going to that park, especially with young boys." 

" Are you behind that conspiracy channel on Grapevine?

" Yes, and many others. We run blogs and forums too. Seperun the voice in the channel is one of us." 

" My son... Why has it taken so long for them to return him? How can I find him?"

" We suspect that the Circasis have found a key to their mission. Your son we also suspect is the general they have been searching for all this time. His blood is the fire they need." 

"My son... Jace… What do you mean." Avea stuttered. 

" The Ubas are an ancient tribe that provided loyal servitude to the Circasis for centuries. During the Flame Wars when their masters were defeated, the Ubas were released from their curse and went on to live as free men. Your son's father is a descendant of the Ubas. And so are your sons. They are the few of the bloodlines that have remained in modern times. We believe that the Circasis intend to use their connection with the Ubas to bring their era back. And your son is key." 

" Is that why you moved to this apartment? I always wondered what an old posh woman like yourself was doing in this run-down part of town anyway. Is that why you offered to babysit my children?" 

" Yes. I had been tasked by the Order to confirm whether our suspicions were true."

"And why did you let me go to the park with them then if you knew all this! I had been telling you over and over about how much fun we were going to have there!" 

" I did try to stop you. How do you think their father found out about the trip? Why were your sons sleepy and gloomy that morning? Why did your car refuse to start? How do you think you had locked your keys inside the house that morning? I even specifically asked you not to go there! How do you think you stumbled on the truth channel on Grapevine even!? Did I not offer to babysit them while you went there?"

" You said the park was too commercial for little children! How's that saying there is an evil that wants your son there!?" Avea screamed not bothering to wipe the saliva escaping her mouth. 

The old woman sighed in defeat. 

" You should have done more!" Avea screamed again banging her hands on the kitchen table. 

" I had done all I could. In the Order, we try not to interfere. We stay hidden in plain sight. And my magic leans more on healing and creating remedies I am afraid. We also thought he would be released after a few hours and we could use our protection charms on him. As I said, we have not fully unravelled their entire plans yet." 

Avea was sweating. All this was too much to take. She knew it was true because she had seen the clip her camera had recorded at Circa. Yet it all seemed like one bad dream. 

" I'm sorry darling. Ever since he was taken and wasn't returned as we had anticipated we have been chasing time to figure out our next steps." 

"And how can I get Jace back?" Avea asked again. 

" We need the help of his father. And his brother who shares the same Uba blood as bait." 

" No…. No! Not my other son!" Avea protested in defeat. "I won't just hand him to them!"

"We also believe that Lope as the eldest was their initial target. When he fell, his emotions might have attracted the creature, but your love and consoling protected him. The creature must have been shielded away. And on its way back to its cocoon, must have stumbled on the lost Jace in the forest," the sorcerer added. 

#Goalto1M

The park was massive. It was an influencer's paradise! 

You could create anything in it.

A war scene in Normandy. A red cabin scene in the north of Sweden, a medieval castle in 16th century France with gargoyles hanging in its walls, a Maasai manyatta, a temple in Japan, a hike in the Himalayas, a native Indian village, a spaceship mission on Mars, a monastery in Tibet, a temple in Bali, an English manor…

Any ancient and imagined civilisation had an attraction at Circa!

Spread all over the massive park, were statues of thousands of creatures taken from mythologies all over history and the world. Ogres, trolls, mermaids, djinnis, aliens, elves, humanoids, werewolves, giants, droids, merhawks, dragons…

Avea had been saving for months to afford the entrance and activity fees. It was not cheap to get into Circa. If you got in, you really did want to get in. This would be her #roadto1M as she had been posting to her followers for those past few weeks. 

She would save reels that she would pull out from time to time to create more content. Besides, Circa was a whole enterprise. They had apps and AI that helped edit content for creators to create the specific setting and aesthetic one needed. And if you used #Circa on your posts, you got discounts on app updates and on their Circa merchandise. 

Avea planned to take her two sons with her. Jace almost three and Lope eight. She wanted to work, but also wanted to create memories, especially with the two as she did not know when else she could afford to treat them to such a fun activity. 

She intended to use much of the money she would get from product endorsements moving forward for a down payment on a house. 

A few months earlier, her fiancee Kriru had called off their engagement. This is not what he had signed up for. Avea had had a good job at the ad agency. Then suddenly one day without giving much thought to it she had come home and announced she had quit. And to make some income she was now going to be an influencer. A disagreement at work where she had been accused of taking a kickback from an associate of Circa Inc had failed to be resolved. 

Kriru would hear none of it! "Why didn't you consult me before making such a foolish decision?" he barked at her. 

"It's my life," she had answered

" Our life Avea! We have kids! Two kids!"

Through the months, things had gone from sour to bitter to fire! 

The two could not see eye to eye. Bills were piling, and Avea's influencer career was failing to shoot as quickly as she had anticipated. And Kriru was feeling the weight of having to singlehandedly support the young family. He tried to convince her to at least find a part-time real-life job that could help pay some of the bills, but Avea couldn't find the motivation. Besides she needed to focus on her social media pages to get to where she wanted to be. 

"It doesn't happen overnight. It takes time," she told him. " I have been in advertising remember…!?" 

One weekend, Kriru had packed his bags and moved in with a colleague. She was more the woman he needed at this point. Unable to afford the rent for their apartment alone, Avea had downgraded and moved to the run-down part of town she now lived. But not for long, she kept telling herself. 

The kids had taken the breakup of their family hard. And that's core to why Avea after she could afford to go shoot at Circa had decided to take them along so that they too could enjoy the experience and be distracted from their sorrow. 

Their father had initially refused to chip in citing having heard it from other sources that were not Avea. But had changed his mind at the last minute. 

Sometimes when she had to work, her new neighbour an old woman madam Giskes would offer to babysit. The boys spent a lot of time in her apartment. And always returned with the great stories she had told them and the wonderful herbal tea she usually made. They also took long naps while there. 

"I raised mine alone too. So I understand," the woman would reassure Avea. 

She never asked for a cent! And whenever Avea offered she would politely decline. Avea was very much taken by the kindness of a complete stranger. There were still good people in this world she thought. 

While researching her upcoming trip, Avea was attracted to a few channels. If she created such content she had the potential for going viral. She just needed an angle. And she would cross her one million subscribers goal.

Another channel on the Grapevine run by a guy calling themselves @thetruthtoday had these videos about the statues of the creatures in Circa being real.

"These creatures, the gargoyles, trolls, elves, dragons, werewolves, pythons…you name them scattered in that park are not just carvings. They are living breathing creatures controlled by the dark magic that runs that place.

Going to that park is to sell your soul to them. And taking your children there is sealing their fate. These creatures thrive on your emotions. The joy, fear, excitement and frustration you feel. All of it! That's what keeps them alive…"

There were several other videos creating parodies of the insinuations of @thetruthtoday under the hashtag #CircaCreatures.

One creator had animated the Circa python to swallow him whole. Another was flying on the dragon. Others showed the gargoyles flying. These videos had millions of views. Avea just needed to find one on the Circa hashtag that had not been done yet, and she would be good. For this reason, she kept watching the channel keenly. 

" Circa is built on an ancient pagan shrine. The seven Septa stones in the middle of its forest are not just an attraction. It is an altar used to venerate ancient dark magic that feeds the evil creatures there…"

Another of the channel's videos went. 

Avea laughed out loud. This channel was really ridiculous. 

The rescue mission 

"I did tell you I didn't want my children to go to that hell hole!" Kriru barked after being told the truth. " Now listen to all this madness!"

If it were entirely up to him, he wouldn't have chosen to participate. He felt like he had been stuck on a rollercoaster when the sorcerer was explaining it all to him. But he had no choice. He was a father responsible for his son's well-being. And had been torn to shreds during the three weeks he had been missing. 

The sorcerer had cautioned Kriru not to breathe a word to a soul. And so he had moved in with Avea. He told his girlfriend that it was best for Lope as the whole ordeal had been very hard on him. 

"You know she is faking it right? Why can't you see that she is doing this to get you back? Are you sleeping in the same bed? Do you want her back?" She has millions of followers now and you go back running! Did you even care about me!? Answer me! 

His girlfriend had been sending endless messages. Kriru had been ignoring them. 

He didn't have the emotional energy to deal with her jealousy. His son was missing. That was more important at the moment. Besides, only Avea could fully understand what he was feeling. And their shared grief had rekindled a light he had been trying to dim especially now that he was constantly in her presence. 

" You know I always cared about you and our sons. We were going to get married… You were going to be my wife," he had told her one evening as they waited for the sorcerer to return with updated information on the rescue plan.

"But you left… You left us! Vulnerable…" Avea had shouted hitting him on his chest. 

Kriru had understood. He also had so much anger pent up, but was fighting to maintain inner calm. It was the only way. He held her. Tight. They had hugged. Even made love. They needed the healing. And they could help each other heal. At least physically for the moment. 

The lovemaking was helpful. For a few minutes while awake, they could forget the reality of the ordeal they were currently living and breathing. 

"I will never leave you. I will never leave you and our sons again... I missed you so much Ave," he had told her as they danced in between the sheets locked together bathing in each other's ecstasy. "I will never leave this sweetness." 

Avea had looked into his eyes. She hoped he meant every word as she had missed him so much too. If they had been together, Jace would still be with them. 

"So this is the plan," the sorcerer announced upon her return as she explained it to them slowly. "And you go tomorrow!" 

The couple listened keenly and asked questions. They were to be very careful though as the Circasis were keen to maintain their hidden presence in the modern world and were also known to be ruthless in their methods when crossed. 

The parents then also explained the plan as slowly as they could to Lope who was reluctant to go back to Circa. He was key to the mission as he and his emotions were to be used as bait to attract the attention of a creature at the park. The boy was scared. But like his father, understood that his help was needed. 

Avea's heart would break into a thousand pieces at the thought of what she was putting him through. She wished there was another way. 

Tomorrow came and the plan was in motion. 

At the park, the boy summoned immense sorrow. It wasn't hard for him as he had been accumulating it ever since his parents had split piling up with the recent happenings of his missing little brother. The huge emotion attracted a Circa creature. 

It wasn't long before they saw a shadow coming in their direction. Father and son were holding hands. On their wrists were the protection charms the Order had given them. 

Avea disguised in a hoodie and a cap and keen to prove what she had been saying all along had already set up multiple cameras to record it. She kept looking at her son trying hard to be brave for all of them. 

"You will be safe," she kept telling him. "You will be safe. Hold on to daddy…He will protect you." 

The shadow swooped over the two Ubas. As though from thin air, a huge two-headed snake seemed to emerge and swallowed them whole. Avea let out a scream. In a flicker, the two had vanished together with the creature.

Avea's eyes had not seen the creature. Only the shadow. But her camera which she had also been looking at had recorded it. 

The evil magic of Circa had one weakness the incident had revealed to her. Even though the naked human eye could not see, cameras could capture it. But how much of it and when? She wondered. How did it remain hidden? Did the Circa apps filter it?

Avea paced around shaking. She was sweating. She would then sit on the grass and roll over unable to contain all she was feeling and thinking. Sometimes she placed her hands on her head. Other times she would pull her hair hard enough to feel immense pain. She was trying to remain calm even though she still wanted to scream out loud. 

If the plan did not work, she would lose all her family. If it worked… she didn't even want to imagine it that far. She was between the biggest rock and the hardest place. 

She was now waiting for Kriru to return with both her sons. It would take no less than a few hours. Minutes even if the dark warlocks took the bait. She wished for a time machine. 

The order had sent Kriru with the tau an ancient coral. Inside the coral was the ghau rock. The rock, they had been told was stolen by an Uba from his master, a powerful Circasis warlock during the Flame Wars centuries before. The Order had been holding on to it.  

The rock in the right power would bring about the ghau moon, the night when the moon would turn sapphire and bathing in this dancing energy would renew a wizard's strength whether good or evil. 

Kriru was to offer it to the warlocks in exchange for his sons. He was to claim he had been holding it and the secret passed down through generations of his Uba bloodline. 

"They will take the bait," the sorcerer had assured him as she explained it all. " No wizard can resist the sapphire moon. Even I would want to dance in its light. It feels like being lifted on a light feather." 

There was only one thing. 

The coral holding the rock could only be opened by an incantation only the Uba knew. If and only when his sons were safe, could Kriru open the coral for the Circasis. The sorcerer had taught it to Kriru. 

Grrrr grrrr... Avea's phone vibrated in the side pocket of her cargo pants. She picked it. 

"Avea, this is Inspector Harper. I am at Circa park's security office. We have your two sons. Can you come down here immediately!" 

"Yes! Yes!" Avea shouted holding her heart. " Are they ok? Is their father with them? Is Kriru with them?" she asked somewhat confused as she lifted her backpack that contained her equipment which she had already packed. 

" No. But the boys say they won't leave the park until they speak to you. They keep saying they have a message from daddy. They say you are at the park…" 

"Mummy! Mummy!" she could hear the boys shouting in anticipation in the background. 

She clutched her backpack and ran in the direction of the Park's administration building. She was overwhelmed with the feeling of seeing her sons again. Especially Jace. She wanted to make sure they were well and couldn't wait to have it told to her on the phone. She needed, wanted to hug them badly. To have them under her protection. 

But what had happened? Why wasn't Kriru with them? Had the bait worked as planned? 

Avea was scared but she ran fast. As fast as she could. From a few metres, she could see the confused police inspector standing behind the boys who had run outside and were looking around for their mother. 

It's as though she could fly. Before long she was hugging them. They were all crying. 

"They took daddy mommy! They took daddy!"

"What!" Avea asked confused too overwhelmed with emotion to comprehend it all. A tear trickled down her face. 

Kriru's words kept ringing in her ears. 

"I will never leave you and our sons again…" 

Grrrr grrrr... Her phone vibrated interrupting her thoughts. 

She looked at the screen. It was a strange number! Her heart was pounding hard. Who could it be? Maybe a member of the Order… She picked it.

She couldn't believe it! It was Kriru! 

"Avea! Avea!" he was shouting. "Where are you? Did you get Jace and Lope!?" 

"Kriru! Kriru! Where are you? I have Jace and Lope. Where are you?" 

"Listen to me Avea," Kriru shot. "Take the boys and leave the park now! Hurry! Leave this forsaken place now! It's not over yet! Run! "

The boys were calling out loud, "Daddy! Daddy!" 

The line got disconnected.

To be continued…