Jodi looked at thirteen women sitting in chairs around a half-moon table.

“Are you the council?” Jodi asked.  

“Yes,” one of the women said. Her voice was soft, and she wore a blue dress made of a fabric that seemed to move like waves of an ocean. Her long black hair floated around her head like it was underwater. 

“Do you know where you are?” A woman with a stern voice spoke. She had dark red hair pulled back into a tight ponytail making her cheekbones stand out like Angelina Jolie’s.

“Yes, Emit told us we were in the Kingdom of Thralia,” Jodi said, gesturing to Emit, who was standing on the table so they could see him.

“Yes, that is correct, but did he inform you about the thirteen regions of Thralia?” The woman asked. 

“No, he didn’t tell us about any regions,” Jodi said, trying not to let her voice shake as she spoke while the woman stared at her. 

“If looks could kill,” Jase whispered. Jodi was sure the woman heard what Jase said, but she continued on. 

“Let me educate you. Long ago Thralia was split up into thirteen different regions. Fairy, Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Dragons, Trolls, Goblins, Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall.” 

“Why did you split up the world?” Amelia asked. 

“Do you know about the Witches and Wizards of the North and South?” Another woman asked. She had dark brown hair and was stroking an animal that looked like a wolf, but had spikes around its neck and down its spine.

“Emit mentioned them,” Jase said. 

“Well, a few thousand years ago when we were just children-” 

“Whoa, whoa whoa,” Jase cut her off, “you’re over a thousand years old?” The council did not look a day over twenty. 

She gave him a glare. “Yes, when we reach a certain age we stop aging. Nobody has died here in a very long time.” Jodi, Jase, and Amelia just stared at them, dumbfounded. 

“So back to my story. When the Wizards of the North ruled over this world it was complete chaos. They could not agree on anything leading to wars. The Witches job was to protect the peace, so they took over as leaders and banished the Wizards. Many years later when all of us were teenagers, they elected us leaders, and split up the world, disappearing with that very book you hold in your hand.” 

“So that’s why there are no men on the council?” Amelia asked.

“Yes, we realized that men can not be good rulers, but they still have a place in our government they just don’t make the final decision.” She gave them a small smile.

“So did the witches assign you all regions or did you pick them?” Jodi asked.

“We picked them ourselves based on a lot of things, what our powers are and where we are from. Many of us were born in the region we rule over. Some of us were born in villages, but were born with a power suited for that region,” a woman with a large pair of wings on her back said. 

“That makes sense,” Jodi said thinking about all the new information she has just learned. It was a lot to take in.

“If this book was lost forever how did it end up in the library at our school?” Amelia asked

“It picked you.” Another one of the counselors said. Her hair was piled high on her head in a ringlet bun. She had flowers all over her and they even grew out of her skin. “It’s all in the prophecy about the original Witches and Wizards of our world traveling to other worlds, Earth being one of them. The witches took the book with them, but the prophecy said it would come back with the final chosen ones.”

A woman wearing a dress of leaves and hair hanging around her waist spoke. “If you’re right Aurora, then we need to test them. Find out if they really are the chosen ones and what powers they have.”