Alyss had no trouble believing any of what they said. Somehow, to her it all just felt like truth and agreed with her gut instincts. There was still something that confused her though. "Wait," Alyss said. "What you just said about this crazy place we're in. How do you know any of that? You guys are normal humans just like me," Alyss said.
Jackie blushed. "Well, I might have sort of, kind of implied that. Truth is that both of us are magical weirdos like everyone else here. Maybe you are, too," Jackie added.
"Well, that's an interesting theory. Enough of magic powers and stuff though," Alyss said uncomfortably. She was obviously rattled as much by Jackie's confession of her heritage as by her far-too-probing question, but bringing the attention away from that was more important than thinking it over for now. Alyss quickly shook the matter off in pursuit of her questions. "How can you destroy a divide, a planet, without everyone being aware of it anyways?" she asked.
"It's not a planet!" Jackie exclaimed.
"How can a thing be a planet, but not at all?" Alyss asked confusedly.
"It was never a planet," Priscilla said, calmly sipping some tea. "It is, in fact, a magical construct meant to mirror the Original World, but is merely a shadow of the original shaped and solidified through the Great Wizard`s power," she continued. The chance to share everything she knew had overshadowed her shyness in dealing with a stranger. She continued to explain the formation of their world to her new friend in learning. Priscilla said that The Great Wizard and his retinue of apprentices and underlings replicated the Original Earth, then severed them. They separated the two with The Great Barrier, then left loose spots in the weave of the spell that allowed for travel, creating the portals.
"Why did they go to all of that effort?" Alyss asked curiously.
"Safety," Jackie replied.
The other nymph nodded. "During the terrible witch hunts, all beings of magic were hunted like mere animals, caged and killed for pleasure and amusement," Priscilla said. "Though not all of our races went over initially, over time they came to see the benefits in living in a world where you know you can sleep safely at night." Their planet did have a past marked by war and unrest, but still to most inhabitants, politics and the mess it caused was infinitely better than being killed just for the crime of existing.
"Then the Mundanes, or non-magic-wielding humans, spread their territories. They took up more and more of our land."
"Land is the source of our power. It makes us free," Priscilla said.
Something at that tugged at the back of Alyss's mind. Freedom. Fleeing your land and your home and everything you know for the good of everyone else, and how doing that just led to misery for everyone. But of course Alyss knew those thoughts had nothing to do with her and were just random ideas distracting her from the conversation. She tried to think back and remember what the kid had said while she was zoned out. "Wait a second, who was this important wizard? You never said his name. If you're going to do a history lesson for this crazy place, you should cover all the most important facts," Alyss said. The question snapped them all out of their ramblings and focused back on their main conversation.
Jackie shrugged. Who really knows anyways," she said. "I wasn't alive back then," Jackie said.
Priscilla piped up. "Aariz. The Great Wizard's name was Aariz Kadar. It means leader with power, and he was a great power. My history books say they used to name someone only once they were known for something," she said.
Jackie slowly nodded. "Yes, I-- I feel like I remember something about that being the way of the old days. And that name sounds a little familiar. How do you even know these things," she asked.
"I listen. I read. I learn. All kinds of smart people things," Priscilla smiled gently. "And I read it in that famous history book, The Origin of Us. It said 'Aariz was The Great Leader who created a copy of The Original that was fully functional and livable like the Original had been though it was haunted still by the shade of our pasts," she said. She pursed her lips. "The other books said he was wrong on that and the name had nothing to do with his reason, but I think he was more sharing his opinion on the newly-created world than trying to actually explain it," Priscilla said.
The older girls' eyes were spinning at so much new information, but they went along with her and nodded in the right places. "That being said, what are you guys doing in my room anyways?" Alyss asked once the young nymph stopped. She spread her arms to gesture at the space. "Not that I'm ungrateful. I'm honestly very happy to see some familiar faces around me, but, you know, I wasn't expecting it. I thought you were back in my planet, you know?"
Jackie grinned and hugged her. "We're here to keep you company," she chirped. Finally, she shut the door behind them and got the other girls to sit down on the bed. It might have been so they could talk more comfortably, or to reduce the chance of Alyss running through an open door to freedom, but she kept her reasons to herself.
Whatever the reason, Alyss willingly sat. "Well, I seriously appreciate the visit, but, well. What on earth can we talk about?" Alyss asked.
