Prologue
Anna closed her book with a sigh, she felt trapped. Her parents have gone to Zeria on government business the day before, and probably will stay there for the next week or so. She could hear the robots downstairs hurrying about doing their chores. They seemed so involved in their own business that Anna, with nothing to do, felt like an outsider.
It was raining outside, though Anna couldn't hear it-the house she lived in, like many others, was soundproof. It seemed strange that the wind should blow and make the trees quiver, the rain should clash against the windows, and she could feel nothing of the great force and power. It was all very much like watching a horror movie with the volume on mute. Anna shivered and curled up on her bed; the bed sheets felt soft and warm. She watched as the rain tired itself out, and a wavering rainbow appeared across the gray sky. Slowly the rain dissolved before her eyes, she was somewhere else, in a difefrent world.
Anna was in a clearing in the woods, there were benches made out of tree trunks, and pine needles covered the ground. On the benches sat hundreds of creatures. There were animals Anna recognized, and there were those that Anna has never seen the like before. In the middle of the clearing stood an old but strikingly majestic lady. She had soft brown eyes, and was wearing a crown of roses in her white hair. She was speaking in a clear and silvery voice, and the creatures seemed to be listening very carefully.
"My friends," the old lady said, "Today I have gathered you all together for a very important reason. You may or may not have heard the rumors regarding the Dark Witch. I am here, to tell you the truth. As you all know, Klacialand has been fighting the dark powers for many years, thus we have made many enemies there. Among them is Setira the Dark Serpent, one of the wickedest, darkest, and most powerful witches. I have sent spies into her colony, and the day before yesterday, I received a simple but shocking message. Setira is in Klacialand to destroy!"
There were a few screams, and a murmur rose up immediately all around Anna. But the lady held up a hand, and the noise died down.
"My fellow Klacialanders," the stately lady continued, "As Queen Nastatia of Klacialand, I declare that this is a council of war. If you have any suggestions or comments, please speak up."
There was silence, and then, to Anna's surprise, she felt her own hand rise up. She tried to put it down before it attracted much attention, but found she could not do it. Horrified, Anna tried each muscle in turn, and realized that she could no longer control her own body. She watched with terror as the Queen turned to her. "Yes, my dear Mr. Hubhub?"
Huh? Anna thought blankly, did the queen just called me Mr.Hubhub? But before she could do anything to save herself from an embarrassment, she felt her mouth move, and out came a voice quite different from her own. It was deeper and the voice of an old man.
"It is of my opinion," Said the unknown voice, "That we should find the people with The Power."
"Go on," The queen raised an eyebrow.
"So, I think we should try to find the last descendents of the Starways."
A sentence totally meaningless to Anna, it caused quite a stir in the crowd. Most animals were nodding their approvals, but there were some who grew impatient and shouted out their disagreements. Once again, the queen raised her hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Hubhub, I will consider your idea carefully. It's quite late now; we'll discuss this some more some other time. Good-bye, my friends, and thank you for coming. But please remember."
Anna didn't get to hear what the animals had to remember, someone was standing over her, and music was everywhere. The master robot had pulled the alarm clock to wake Anna. The first thing Anna did was to lift her arms, just to test if they were working again. She lifted them quite easily, and as she stood up, the robot flashed to her on the mind screen: dinner in 5 minutes. Anna got up clumsily and followed the robot down to the dining room. The dream was forgotten.
Anna closed her book with a sigh, she felt trapped. Her parents have gone to Zeria on government business the day before, and probably will stay there for the next week or so. She could hear the robots downstairs hurrying about doing their chores. They seemed so involved in their own business that Anna, with nothing to do, felt like an outsider.
It was raining outside, though Anna couldn't hear it-the house she lived in, like many others, was soundproof. It seemed strange that the wind should blow and make the trees quiver, the rain should clash against the windows, and she could feel nothing of the great force and power. It was all very much like watching a horror movie with the volume on mute. Anna shivered and curled up on her bed; the bed sheets felt soft and warm. She watched as the rain tired itself out, and a wavering rainbow appeared across the gray sky. Slowly the rain dissolved before her eyes, she was somewhere else, in a difefrent world.
Anna was in a clearing in the woods, there were benches made out of tree trunks, and pine needles covered the ground. On the benches sat hundreds of creatures. There were animals Anna recognized, and there were those that Anna has never seen the like before. In the middle of the clearing stood an old but strikingly majestic lady. She had soft brown eyes, and was wearing a crown of roses in her white hair. She was speaking in a clear and silvery voice, and the creatures seemed to be listening very carefully.
"My friends," the old lady said, "Today I have gathered you all together for a very important reason. You may or may not have heard the rumors regarding the Dark Witch. I am here, to tell you the truth. As you all know, Klacialand has been fighting the dark powers for many years, thus we have made many enemies there. Among them is Setira the Dark Serpent, one of the wickedest, darkest, and most powerful witches. I have sent spies into her colony, and the day before yesterday, I received a simple but shocking message. Setira is in Klacialand to destroy!"
There were a few screams, and a murmur rose up immediately all around Anna. But the lady held up a hand, and the noise died down.
"My fellow Klacialanders," the stately lady continued, "As Queen Nastatia of Klacialand, I declare that this is a council of war. If you have any suggestions or comments, please speak up."
There was silence, and then, to Anna's surprise, she felt her own hand rise up. She tried to put it down before it attracted much attention, but found she could not do it. Horrified, Anna tried each muscle in turn, and realized that she could no longer control her own body. She watched with terror as the Queen turned to her. "Yes, my dear Mr. Hubhub?"
Huh? Anna thought blankly, did the queen just called me Mr.Hubhub? But before she could do anything to save herself from an embarrassment, she felt her mouth move, and out came a voice quite different from her own. It was deeper and the voice of an old man.
"It is of my opinion," Said the unknown voice, "That we should find the people with The Power."
"Go on," The queen raised an eyebrow.
"So, I think we should try to find the last descendents of the Starways."
A sentence totally meaningless to Anna, it caused quite a stir in the crowd. Most animals were nodding their approvals, but there were some who grew impatient and shouted out their disagreements. Once again, the queen raised her hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Hubhub, I will consider your idea carefully. It's quite late now; we'll discuss this some more some other time. Good-bye, my friends, and thank you for coming. But please remember."
Anna didn't get to hear what the animals had to remember, someone was standing over her, and music was everywhere. The master robot had pulled the alarm clock to wake Anna. The first thing Anna did was to lift her arms, just to test if they were working again. She lifted them quite easily, and as she stood up, the robot flashed to her on the mind screen: dinner in 5 minutes. Anna got up clumsily and followed the robot down to the dining room. The dream was forgotten.