The Paragon Antaris - a secret World of magic #2
Chapter 1

Be different...

I have been different since I was born, and I have felt different since I was a child. I was the son of King Avery and Queen Iris, and that made me different. I was the reason for the great war over 20 years ago, and that made me different. I was the twin who was different. Since I was a child, I tried to fit in, but I always felt...different. This difference between me and my sister Elaria was clearly visible from childhood. While she quickly found her aura and learned all the gifts of the elves, I was partly lost and tried to replace myself. In the first few years, my black hair became paler and paler until at the end I had blonde hair at a young age and still couldn't control my aura.

My mother's red aura was like a gift and a curse, and the more she explained to me, the more lost I seemed. It didn't get better with time, and all the practice and hours of training didn't have as much of an effect as my parents had hoped. I never wanted to live in the shadow of my ancestors and be the boy who didn't belong.

Antaris, our home, has been the only safe place for magical beings for many centuries. And even after many battles and attacks, we held firm. The last great battle was over twenty years ago, right after we were born.

My father had only been king for a short time after the tragic death of grandfather Elior when he was supposed to protect us all. In this battle, we lost many of our warriors and Antaris was weakened. The reconstruction was very difficult, and the pain was still deep years after the return of peace.

Abbadon, the only survivor of the princes of darkness, seemed to have been swallowed up by the earth. Since the loss of his brother and his escape from Antaris, no one has ever seen or heard from him again. But my mother is sure that he will show up again at some point and is preparing us for that day. Especially me, I had to learn and practice twice as much as the others to understand her red aura.

Elaria and I had no grandparents - we never met them - while our brother Noran lost his entire family and found his adoptive family in us when he was three. Noran was an eleven just like Elaria, and I often thought they were twins, and maybe I was the adopted child. Our parents raised us the same, and Noran was my brother ever since, and I loved him dearly.

Jade and Noah lived with us in the big hall, that's what everyone called our mansion. Their daughters Nova and Alya were practically part of the family. Nova was a witch like her mother, and Alya was a wood elf like her father. The quiet Alya had a hard time keeping up with us and was often too shy to play pranks with Nova and me. They both looked very similar to their mother - their red hair and green eyes were a spitting image of her.

The same couldn't be said of Deona and Vaell. Although their mother was a half-angel, they both inherited not only their father's looks but also his abilities. Deona had her father's sense of humor, and Vaell was his father's craftsman.

Devas was proud of his little demonic counterparts. Sometimes between them, I looked more like Evelyn's child with my ash blonde hair, but even though they had everything from Devas, their lovely nature was still like their mother. Evelyn and Devas were not only the oldest beings on Antaris but also father's closest confidants and advisors. Despite the tasks and duties, Devas never wanted to leave his house and continued to insist on living in the Myrren Forest with his family as before.

Uncle Aidan had Baldior before the battle, and Miriel came later. Aunt Inna was a sea princess, and no one was surprised that her daughter received her gift while Baldior was a proud eleven.

After the great battle, the army was still trained by Aidan; he remained commander and lived with his family on the island of Bellatorum.

My favorite aunt, however, was Ava, my father's only sister. She and her husband Bael were relaxed and laughed a lot. Their love for children was huge even though they were never able to have children themselves; they adopted an orphan named Aldaron whom they loved with all their hearts.

Aldaron was an elf, and he idolized Aunt Ava and loved Uncle Bael very much.

Their love for children was so great that they took over the education of the new generation, and having Aunt Ava as a teacher was the best.

The love and deep friendship that all of our parents had for each other also brought a deep friendship between us children that only grew stronger over time.

From an early age, we had a close friendship that continued through school and growing up, right up to the present day.

Mother and father taught us everything that was taught to them. Father had grandfather Elior who taught him about our people, and so he passed his knowledge on to us. My sister was lucky enough to learn all about her elf skills from father and quickly became very adept at using them.

Mother didn't know much about her powers until she united with her amicus Alatus. She was the first of her kind to experience this, and the only one because no one after her had ever seen anything like it. Sometimes Alatus comes out of her, and I see her face covered with small red glittering scales. However, even Alatus has not been able to bring me closer to my gift until now. Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with me.

After Antaris was restored, some people left our home to look for surviving good beings. And after a decade, Mana and Keijou also came back without success. All of my parents' friends played an important part in our community and helped keep Antaris hidden and safe. Leaving Antaris was forbidden for all of our safety. You were only allowed to leave Antaris with permission and with the highest level of security. But why leave Antaris when we had everything here... right?

As the years went by, we children grew up, and the companions amicus came along, and so everyone had their loyal companion... everyone except me.

With the first birthdays of adulthood came the dreams of our soulmates. Now young adults who had their powers completely under control and were looking for their true love. The first lovers soon found each other, and I could only be happy when Noran and Alya and shortly afterwards Miriel and Vaell announced their love.

Noran was 20 when he knew Alya was his mate, but he waited four years until she was 20 and ready. It used to be said that you dream of your soul mate when you're 18... now it's all mixed up, and after the war, it seems to take a little longer with everything.

For Miriel and Vaell, it was when they both turned 20, but they already kind of knew.

Mother always cried tears of joy when lovers found each other because she knew what it felt like. This was unknown for me because I have never had a dream before, even though I am already 21 years old.

"Baldior is engaged to Alea. Did you know that?" Elaria asked as we all sat together in the large garden. She looked so similar to our mother with her long black wavy hair and big eyes. Only the purple glow in her eyes was the small difference.

"It was expected; he waited for her for a long time," Alya replied dreamily.

"Just like I was waiting for you," Noran said, smiling. "Yes... you're 24 now, I hope my future husband doesn't have to wait that long. You've almost become a fossil," Deona added cheekily.

She dramatically tossed her long black hair over her shoulder and pouted. She was already 19, but she still sometimes behaved like an immature child.

We all had to laugh; her attitude is just too funny.

"Well, there are still Aldaron and Elyon left," Nova said, laughing.

"Well, if that's the future of Antaris... then I'll stay forever alone!" Deona replied while laughing at us.

I couldn't be mad at Deona; she was a prankster like her father. But Aldaron didn't seem to like her comment at all. He excused himself briefly and went off to do "something".

He pulled his hand through his messy auburn hair, and his eyes seemed sad.

“Of all the men here in Antaris, there will probably be one for me,” Deona laughed to herself.

Just as Deona leaned over the wall and commented on the elves passing by, she saw her brother and Miriel running in our direction. She waved at them, and shortly afterwards, they also came into the garden of our house, which had been our meeting place since we were children.

"I talked to the witcher, and he's going to look at your weird head; maybe he'll replace your mate there," Vaell said as he plopped down next to Miriel.

Miriel greeted us and sat down while Vaell rested his head in her lap and played with her long blue curls.

"Elyon, you're not really going to do this?" Elaria asked worriedly.

"It can't do any harm if someone looks in there," I replied without having much hope.

"Tonight, we're taking you to him. No one is allowed to know... who knows what he'll replace there," Vaell said, laughing.

And, in fact, who knows what he will replace there...