Princess Adanya: A Quest Like No Other!

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a magical kingdom called Svarga, which means paradise and indeed, Svarga was a heavenly kingdom of paradise. Svarga was home to several magical creatures that have never been seen before, creatures that can sing & talk like humans, from the singing birds called Silorica to talking animals like bullmans to beautiful sea creatures like the merpeople, fishes, sharks, etc. Svarga was home to one of the most advanced magical knowledge societies in the world, full of the smartest people in all of existence and there was no one person smarter like Princess Adanya of Svarga.

Princess Adanya, at the young age of 3, is the youngest child of King Obioma and Queen Sunita of Svarga. She was small, timid, and shy with beautiful coffee skin and pure white hair like her father but she had dark violet eyes like her mother. Adanya had her best friend, an owl named Wiser, as her constant and only companion. Her oldest sister, Crown Princess Valyana, was her opposite. A natural born leader, 12 years older than Adanya, Valyana was raised to lead her people. However, Adanya loved to study magic and all other types of knowledge, making her the smartest person in all of Svarga.

One night, after a royal ball, Adanya kissed her parents and sister goodnight and went to bed. As she slept, she dreamed, a dream of what she loved the most: books. She loved her dreams and never wanted to wake up. Suddenly, she heard a scream so loud that she woke up from her dream unable to move. Then she heard another scream, immediately got out of bed and ran towards the screams, which were coming from the ballroom.

As she opened the ballroom door, she saw a frightening sight: a flying evil witch, with pale decaying skin, long wild black hair and black eyes. The witch, which she has never seen before, was torturing her people, including her family. Adanya saw her father lying frozen on top of her equally frozen queen while her sister was falling on her knees, frozen as well. Her parents saw her and screamed saying, “Run, child! RUN!!!” But she couldn’t, paralyzed with fear, unable to move an inch. Then she heard Wiser flying into the room and immediately, her body slowly started coming back to life. Using magical knowledge, she casted a spell and threw the witch away from the ballroom into the sky. With the witch away, she ran to her parents, because she was scared and didn’t know what to do. She begged and pleaded for help but all she heard was silence. They had all fallen silent, still, unmoving like statues. Then she felt a force in the air and looked up to see the witch flying to her.

Adanya used the last of her strength to call upon a shield to protect her and her family, which was powerful enough to weaken the black witch to exhaustion. Then the black witch opened her mouth and said a deadly curse:

“I curse the Kingdom of Svarga to the everlasting darkness,

I curse the creatures of Svarga to the everlasting sleep for which they can never wake from,

I curse the minds and knowledge of Svarga to be wiped from existence so that no one may use it’s power,

As long as evil exists in the land, Svarga is FOREVER TO THE DARKNESS

FOR WITHOUT THE LIGHT OF SVARGA, I, MAELYN THE BLACK, WILL REIGN FOREVER!!!”

Adanya stared at the black witch, completely numb and frozen to the bone, doing nothing as she watched the black witch, smug in her victory, fly off into the darkness. She stared at her family, her people and her kingdom and saw no life, no breath, no sound. She felt despair and defeat for she couldn’t protect her parents and her people. She didn’t know what to do or who could help her. She looked up into the sky and prayed to the gods for help to save her parents and kingdom.

And then when all hope was almost lost, she heard a tiny whisper in the wind, saying “Into the forest, you shall go; To find the Ancient One of Old; Find the lost three stones in time; So that victory will be thine”. She looked up and saw Wiser staring back at her and knew that not all hope is lost. There’s a way to save her family and her kingdom but she must find the ancient one of old for assistance, for only it can help her defeat Maelyn. Adanya has never heard of this ancient one of old before but she did not care what she had to do to save everyone. She knew that she must do anything to save her family, her people and her kingdom so that the world will be safe from the evil witch, Maelyn.

Chapter 2

Adanya was lost in the forest even though she did want to admit it. She doesn’t like getting her clothes and shoes muddy and dirty. She doesn’t like falling down and struggling to get up. She doesn’t like feeling helpless but here she was: Helplessly lost in the forest with dirty and muddy clothes crying for her family to help her but knowing that they can’t because she has to help them.

The forests of Svarga have always been bigger than the eye could see. She has always found it beautiful to see in the daylight with its beautiful greenery but it was nighttime. It was dark, scary and frightening. Every tree looked the same in either direction and she kept losing her way. After hours of walking, she stopped to rest for a while before continuing her journey. Wiser’s hooting and stares watched her while she slept. She wasn’t sure how long she slept but suddenly she felt the urge to wake up as quickly as possible. The first thing she saw was a sight truly to behold: A giant, golden muscular creature with a massive wingspan and a tail as thick as the strongest tree in the world, standing on three thick feet with massive claws. Adanya could not believe it! A dragon! THE ANCIENT ONE OF OLD IS A DRAGON!!!

She waited for the fear and terror to overcome her but it never came. Frozen and scared, she got on her feet and, slowly but cautiously, walked to the dragon, whose unblinking golden eyes were still on her. She got as close as she could, knelt and bowed to the dragon, and said: “Good evening, Ancient One”. She stayed bowed towards the dragon, unmoving and cautious. It could eat her if it wanted to and no one would be able to save her or her family or kingdom. It could– “Greetings be upon you, Princess Adanya of Svarga”, said the dragon in a loud growling voice. Adanya was shocked. The dragon could speak!

Adanya rose up and found that she could not look at the dragon in the eyes. It was too powerful, too ancient, too aware, too vast. Adanya would have been lost in the power and allure of the dragon if Wiser hadn’t hooted into the silence. Silently thanking her companion, she told the dragon of what happened to her family, her people and her kingdom. She told him about the evil witch Maelyn, the prayers to the gods and the whisper in the wind about the anicent one of old and the three stones needed to defeat Maelyn.

The dragon watched her until she stopped speaking. It kept looking at her and finally said “I will help you find the lost three stones. However, you must fight the evil witch, Maelyn. To find the lost three stones, you must face three separate tests for each stone and when you have passed the tests, each stone will be summoned to you. You must be truthful and honest in your quest. You must be strong, brave with a courageous heart. You must be prepared to face danger to find the stones. Are you ready to begin your quest?”

Adanya looked at the dragon and finally felt the fear and hopelessness of its words. She knew she wasn’t strong enough. Of course she wasn’t strong enough, she was only three years old! A child! A helpless child so scared and terrified that she wanted to bury herself in her books and never come out. If she can’t do what needs to be done, then who can? Not her brave and strong sister, Valyana who would surely protect or her wise parents. No one can fight for her. Only she can finish this quest to save them all.

With newfound determination and fearlessness, she looked the dragon in the eye and said “Yes, Ancient One, I am ready to begin my quest.” The dragon looked at her & smiled with indifference, revealing several razor sharp teeth that leaves nothing to the imagination. It lowered its head near Adanya and at first, she was shocked, thinking that the dragon has decided to eat her but she realized that it wanted her to climb aboard its neck. With the last strength she had, she climbed abroad with great difficulty unto the dragon’s neck. Once she was secured, it lifted up its head and with a shocking burst of wind beneath its wings, lifted up into the air and flew north towards the first stone.

Chapter 3

Off they flew for the first stone. The dragon silently flew north as fas as it could. Adanya, holding onto some of its scales, looked down to the earth to see the passing forests, lakes, springs, mountains, cliffs. She felt determined for this quest, especially with her owl, Wiser. She felt the dragon slow down and looked to see the ground rushing towards her. She held on until the dragon touched the ground and she climbed down. She looked around and saw a giant cave, with rocks lining the path into it. She looked at the dragon and it looked back at her. Getting the sense that the first stone was in there and gathering her strength, she bowed to the dragon and walked towards the mouth of the cave with Wiser trailing behind her.

She passed through the mouth of the cave into darkness. She kept walking, with all of her emotions trying to make her to turn and walk back out of the cave. She was only grateful that Wiser was on her shoulder comforting her but even she could tell that he was scared too. Suddenly, she saw a light and as she walked towards it, the light got bigger. She didn’t know how cold she was till she could feel the warmth of the light. Then, she turned into a section of the cave and saw the light fully. The light came from a fireplace in the cave and she was able to see her surroundings. She saw bones of all shapes and sizes, from humans to animals of all kinds everywhere.

In front of the fireplace was a golden chest, marked with ancient words and figures that she has never seen before. She could see that the chest was locked. She looked around around for a key but nowhere was it to be found. Just when she was starting to lose hope, she looked at the fire and saw a faint shape in it: a small, golden key. She knew that that was the key but it looked like she would have to reach into the fire to get it. Looking at the glowing fiery key, she felt a wave of emotions over her and as she felt it, she saw her right hand stretch out in front of her, moving towards the fire. She saw her hand pass through the fire and felt a pain so extraordinary that she wanted to scream. She saw her hand grab the key and pulling it out of the fire. With pain in her mind, body and soul, she put the key into the lock and opened the chest. Inside, she saw a white stone, its size was that of her own fist, glowing with power. She gazed at it and closed her hand around it. She turned around and started to walk out of the section of the cave. She didn’t know how long it took her to walk out of the cave but eventually, she saw the opening of the cave and walked out of it.

She walked towards the dragon and opened her hand to show it the white stone. The dragon looked at her and the stone and cracked a small smile. It opened its mouth and said “Well done, Princess. You have found the stone of courage. Thanks to your courage, we are one step closer to saving your kingdom”. Adanya looked at the stone, still feeling the waves and waves of pain but couldn’t speak. She put the stone in her bag and climbed back onto the dragon. With a burst of wind, the dragon flew upwards and turned towards the west to find the second stone.

Chapter 4

With the first stone found, the hunt for the second stone has begun. The dragon flew west towards towards the ocean. Adanya could smell and feel the ocean breeze, its brisk strength so strong that she had to keep her head down just to see what’s in front of her. As she looked down at the ocean, she saw a tiny island off the coast, a small dot in the middle of the endless sea. As the dragon flew her closer to the island, she saw her owl, Wiser flying towards her and the island and for a second, she opened her mouth and laughed out a sound so beautiful it startled her. It surprised her but she could not stop. She was so happy to see him because it was another sign of hope, that she can beat this curse and save her people and kingdom.

As she landed on the island, Wiser flew towards the only tree on the island and rested on a branch. She looked around her, excited to find the second stone. She knew that the dragon will not tell her what to do, so as she looked around, she saw a small pit of water on the ground. She walked towards it and looked at the dragon. It looked back at her with its unblinking eyes. She looked back at the pit and jumped into it. As she opened her eyes while in the pit, she saw that she was in an endless ocean inside the pit! She moved her arms around to see her surroundings, trying to find the next point in her journey. Then, as she looked down, she saw a light, so faint that she had to squirt her eyes to make sense of it. She started to swim towards it, ignoring everything and every animal around her. She noticed that the light was getting bigger and bigger so she was getting closer and then suddenly, she swam towards the light and broke through the water to breathe.

She took a big gulp of air and wiped the water off her eyes, trying to see the light. She noticed that she was in a cave again, but this time, she saw something that she has never seen before: A giant ogre with a golden key on its neck, swinging an equally giant club at her, while guarding a golden chest. She got out of the pool of water as quickly as she could, dodging the club and looked at the ogre, trying to figure out how she was supposed to fight an ogre and open the chest. She dodged the ogre’s attacks at every single turn, trying to use her magic to help but it was not working for her. “If only I could make the ogre sleep so that I can open the chest” Adanya thought. Suddenly, she remembered that she had a bottle of sleeping dust in her bag but as she reached for it, she realized that the bag was across the cave in the opposite direction.

As she formed a plan, she saw the club coming towards her and, without thinking, she acted. She jumped to the bag, opened up her bag, took out the bottle and opened the bottle. As she turned around, she saw that the ogre was almost near her and she threw the bottle of sleeping dust into it’s face. As the dust touched the ogre’s face, it stumbled and fell down on its face, asleep. She grabbed the golden key from its neck and ran to the golden chest. She opened the chest and took out the glowing white stone, feeling a elevated sense of accomplishment for defeating the ogre. She put the stone in her bag and jumped into the pool of water. As she swam out of the cave and into the endless ocean, she looked up and saw the opening of the pit. She swam into it, got out and walked towards the dragon.

She opened her bag and took out the glowing white stone and looked at the dragon, who rose up from its afternoon sleep, while watching her walk towards it. The dragon looked at the stone and smiled saying, “Congratulations, Princess! You have succeeded once again and have found the stone of bravery. Thanks to your bravery, we are another step closer to saving your home”. Adanya smiled at the dragon and looked at Wiser, who hooted in joy at her for succeeding again. As she climbed abroad the dragon with the both stones touching each other, the dragon rose up and flew south towards the last and final stone.

Chapter 5

The quest for the stones was almost over and Adanya just had one more stone to find in order to save her kingdom. She looked up to see their next destination for the last stone. The dragon seems to be slowing down in the southern mountains. As she climbed down from the dragon, she saw Wiser resting on a tree branch, having just landed from their long journey from the ocean. Adanya was grateful that her friend was with her once again and looked around to find the next clue to the final location of the last stone.

Adanya saw that she had landed at the edge of a glen, with green grass leading down to the middle of the valley, under a beautiful blue sky. As she looked over the edge, she saw a board game that was at the bottom of the valley: a chess game, with each black & white squares and pieces being half the size of the dragon. The chessboard was surrounded by discarded chess pieces almost as if there were removed by giant hands. As Adanya slid down the valley towards the chessboard, she could tell that the chess game was still in play between both sides but who the players were, she had no clue.

Suddenly, as she stepped into the board, the remaining chess pieces still in play came to life! The chess pieces started screaming and shouting at each other as if they were all fighting a war, trying to outwit their opponents to win the game. Each side had about 6 pieces remaining at different sections of the game: a King, a Queen, a Bishop, and three pawns. She could hear them and see them but, for some reason, they could not see her. As she looked around, she noticed that she had a earlier error: While the white side had 6 pieces, the black side only had 5 pieces and the missing piece was the black queen. She looked at the discarded pieces, trying to find the black queen piece but she couldn’t find it. With that conclusion, she realized that she had to step into the game as the black queen to win the game.

As she moved into positon, besides the black king, all the pieces stopped talking and Adanya got the sense that they were watching her, waiting for her to move. As a white pawn moved to a new position by an invisible hand, Adanya made her move, continuing the game. She was not sure how many hours had passed her by but the chess game was the most difficult game she had ever participated in. After a very excruciating, intense, and exhausting game, Adanya finally moved herself to capture the white king, winning the game. She fell onto her knees in exhaustion after the checkmate, trying to catch her breath. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a small golden key near the base of the white queen. As she grabbed the key, a golden chest appeared at the base of the defeated white king. She put the key into the lock and opened the chest, revealing the last glowing stone she had gained.

She grabbed the glowing white stone and crawled off the big chessboard. She took several gulps of air to steady herself and climbed back up to the edge of the glen. As she reached over the edge, she saw her companions and started to get up, walking towards them. She didn’t realize that she was smiling until she took the glowing white stone and displayed it to the dragon. The dragon returned her smile with his own saying, “Congratulations! You have found the stone of intelligence. Now, we shall return back to Svarga to defeat Maelyn and save your home”. Adanya silently thanked the dragon and climbed on its back to fly back home. As the dragon jumped into the sky, she wondered about the identity of the god she had defeated at chess but she stopped herself from wondering about that. She finally had the three ancient stones and she will use them to defeat the evil witch Maelyn and save her kingdom. “Hang on Father, everyone!” Adanya thought, “I’m on my way home to save you all”.

Chapter 6

The dragon flew towards Svarga as swiftly as it could. As the dragon flew, Adanya thought about all that she had been through, physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. She was tired, exhausted and again, all she wanted to do was lay in the arms of her family and sleep because she was scared. However, she was different now. She has been through a lot to get to where she is now. She’s not sure how much time has passed but it didn’t matter anymore. The quest was over. She found the ancient dragon of old. She has the three ancient stones. It was time to end this once and for all.

Suddenly, she saw a familiar sight: her family castle, its once bright and shining walls now darkened with evil covering its walls. She could see several of her people laying on the castle grounds, trapped trying to run from the fire and curse, now they are asleep in a comatose sleep like her family. She felt the evil and darkness in the air over the castle, trying to choke out every expression of light and hope that was still fighting for Svarga. As the dragon flew her closer to the ballroom, she could clearly see her family in a coma: her tall father lying on the ground trying to protect her mother, also in a coma while her sister lay at the base of their feet as well. The dragon landed on the uneven, broken ballroom floor and Adanya climbed down, running towards her family. She knelt and touched their cold, frozen cheeks trying to feel any sign of warmth, of life. It was faint, so faint that she could barely hold onto it but she could sense that they were still hanging onto life. She closed her eyes and thanked the gods, for their help and pleaded to them to guide her one last time.

Then, she heard an evil cackle, menancing & rotten in nature, coming from above. She opened her eyes and looked up and saw the evil witch, Maelyn, descending from the sky. Maelyn, with her black eyes shooting lightning, her wild black hair moving like snakes, her decaying skin releasing puffs of disease into the air, gazed at Adanya with pure, unfiltered hatred. “My My, our sweet little princess has returned from her journey! Come to save mommy, daddy, have you? Took you long enough!”, sneered Maelyn. Adanya waited for the fear and hopelessness to overtake but she felt none of that. She waited for the anger and hatred for this evil witch to overcome her and speak through her mouth but she felt none of that. Instead, all she felt was that her final battle was about to begin, a battle for justice for all of Svarga.

Adanya got up and, for the first time since the start of her quest, used her magic to rise up into the air to meet Maelyn face-to-face. Maelyn arched an eyebrow at her in disgust, only to watch with increasing hatred & fear as Adanya took out the three ancient stones from her bag. “Nooooooooo!!!!!!”, Maelyn shrieked, “That’s impossible! The stones are a myth! You will not stop me! YOU WILL NOT STOP MY REIGN!!!” Maelyn threw an unbelievable wave of evil magic towards Adanya but she, serene and bathed with her magic and the stones’s, casted the evil magic aside. Maelyn opened her mouth in shock for a second but she rebounded quickly, casting multiple spells & enchantments to overwhelm Adanya. Adanya, with the stones in front of her, opened her hands towards the coming evil and casted a mighty adavanced spell of reflection back to Maelyn. Maelyn raised her arms to defend herself but couldn’t as her evil spells and enchantments struck her thrice as powerful and deadly. Maelyn could only scream in pain, horror and disbelief as her own magic attacked her body, mind and soul with an unmatched and deadly ferocity.

As Adanya looked at the nearly defeated witch, she knew now was the time to end the curse. The witch and the curse were connected so to end one will end the other. As she struggled to come up with the words to end the witch and her curse, she looked at the stones and ask them for guidance, to show her how best to use them for good. The stones grew brighter and brighter, with Adanya unable to look away. Then suddenly, she knew the words to end the curse. As she watched Maelyn trying to grasp the last of her power, Adanya flaunted her hands into the air, the stones of old right above her and spoke the words to end the curse:

“With these stones of old, I bless the Kingdom of Svarga and welcome it into the light,

With these stones of old, I awaken the creatures of Svarga from the everlasting sleep to one blessed and held by the gods,

With these stones of old, I heal the minds and knowledge of all of Svarga,

As long as peace exists, Svarga is FOREVER BOUND TO THE LIGHT,

BY THE POWER OF THESE STONES, MAY THE LIGHT OF SVARGA SHINE NOW AND FOREVER MORE!!!”

Maelyn watched in defeated horror as the breaking of the curse healed all of Svarga, its people and the kingdom. Everything was returning to the way it was before the curse. The people started to rise from their death sleep, shocked and confused as to how and why they were hurt. The castle, especially the ballroom, repaired itself looking bright as usual, if not brighter, and the grounds looked so beautiful as if handpainted by the gods. The creatures and people of Svarga, having woken up, gave a cheerful and mighty roar for their princess. Adanya heard familiar voices, looked down with tears of happiness and saw her parents and sister waving and cheering at her. As Maelyn tried to rise, the stones turned its power on Maelyn, bounding her powers permanently and casting her to the brightest spot in the light of the sun for light was her weakness and in light, she will never have any power.

With Maelyn gone, Princess Adanya descended to the ballroom floor and ran to her family, screaming with joy and laughter. As she got lost in the arms of her family, the three stones of old disappeared back to whence they came for their power was not meant to be held by one but for all who can pass their tests to possess and use their powers. Princess Adanya looked at her parents and sister, who worried and apologized for not being there to support her on her incredible difficult quest. Adanya smiled and told them they did not have to worry for she had Wiser and the ancient dragon. As soon as she thought of the dragon, she looked at the dragon and realized that it was watching her through the entire battle. She walked to the dragon, as dignified as a princess who just defeated an evil witch can be, bowed to him and thanked him for her help and guidance. The dragon gave a deep and dignified bow as well to Adanya, acknowledging her mastery and completion of her quest and battle. As the dragon rose into the air to disappear, she had one last question fot it. She asked, “My lord dragon, Pray tell me, what is your name, ancient one?” The dragon flew into the air without a word to the princess. As Adanya watched it fly away, she heard a whisper on the wind, a whisper that sounded like the ancient dragon, saying “I have had many names over countles of your lifetimes, millennias and before time existed but you may call me Friend”. Princess Adanya looked up at the sightless dragon in the sky and smiled, saying “Goodbye, Friend”.