The Two Worlds by Alisha Howard

ensued. Over
many moons did bloodshed happen, and eventually the Felkne kingdom
was destroyed.
    “ All of the children left
tried to re-build, but could not. Their power had been stripped by
the attackers, and they were left defenseless. The oldest child,
Benads Gen, was devastated. His parents were killed, and many of
his siblings had died as well. Consumed by rage and hatred, Benads
left the destroyed kingdom in search of power. He traveled for many
years, stealing powers from small magical creatures, who were not
strong enough to fight him. One day, however, as he was trying to
steal power off of a local oracle, she offered him a
deal.
    “ Please, spare my life so
that I may tell of your future, ” she begged.
    “ Benads was interested, and
the deal was struck. The oracle closed her eyes and began to tell
his fortune. Benads Gen was to find a secret island off the
mid-eastern shore of the Balbaci Lake. On the island lived an old
creator by the name of Geshi. Geshi was important because she had
created the Death Walkers. She had the ultimate power to control
Death Walkers and Death on Turgor itself.
    “ The oracle continued,
saying that Benads would find this creator and kill her,
successfully transferring the creator’s power to himself. Once
done, he would be unstoppable and would harness the Death walker
power. Because he would be able to cheat death, he would be
immortal. Benads thanked the Oracle and then killed her. After
absorbing her powers, he began his quest to find the mystical
island. Bloodshed followed him. Benads soul was lost, and his
respect for others’ lives was gone. He killed effortlessly and
without a thought. As time passed, he became obsessed with the
island, seeking every oracle he could find to help him get to it.
He was feared throughout eastern Turgor, and his name was whispered
among children who wished to scare their peers.
    “ Eventually, he found the
secret island and confronted the Death Creator. The woman was old
and wise and was not afraid of Benads. He challenged her and they
fought, but he had stolen enough powers over the year to defeat
her. After killing her, the transfer power began. Unfortunately for
Benads, the original oracle, who had told him of this fortune, had
left out an important part. As the power transferred to him, Benads
began to grow frail and his body racked with pain. He gnashed his
teeth until they crumbled to dust and clawed at his skin until huge
wounds formed.
    “ The power ripped through
him, and Benads began to grow mad, wailing every night for a
fortnight. Finally, after the power had transferred, the pain
subsided. Benads went to a nearby well and looked into the water,
horrified by what he saw. The oracle failed to mention that in
order for Benads to cheat death, he would have to become the
ultimate Death Walker. Sentenced by who he now was to an eternity
of walking with Death, Benads was forced to carry out the Death
Walker purpose of ferrying souls who enter Turgor. He was indeed
the most powerful, but not powerful enough to escape his fate.
Benads now only emerges once every thousand years, in hope of
finding power that is strong enough to break him from his curse. So
far, he has been unsuccessful.”
    I looked up from the papers and found
Nia staring at me. For some reason, chills had started running up
and down my spine. I took a shaky breath and laughed. “Grandpa had
quite an imagination, huh?”
    “ Kay, do you honestly think
Grandpa made that up?” Nia pointed out. “He’s an historian on the
planet. I think these stories are real.”
    I shrugged. “Okay, but so what? These
stories are from history. They don’t have anything to do with us
right now.” Nia nodded her heard in agreement, but still looked
troubled. Ignoring her, I stood up and stretched. It had gotten
dark. “We better get a move on. I’ve got more homework to do back
at Dia.” Nia nodded her head again, and we both kissed Grandpa on
the forehead before heading