The City of forgotten Ghosts
Beyond the misty mountains of Carpathia, in the unfathomable crook of the Eastern Europe, lay a city forgotten by time and the rest of the world. The city was enveloped in legends and myths which festered in the whispers of dwellers. I, Ian Lochwood, a historian, voyaged out with an avant-garde spirit to uncover the reality hidden behind the folklore.
The city remained unscathed by modernity's brutality and bore a quaint charm of antiquity, its cobblestone streets snaking through ornate townhouses, proud and veiled in secrecy. The first few days of my stay were dedicated to exploring the roads, markets, and culture, but the true allure lay in the ancient castle sitting ominously on a hill, as though it was watching over the city's secrets.
Despite the rusting hinges and decayed walls, the castle boasted a pristine grandeur. As I traversed through its cold, echoing halls adorned with archaic tapestries, the air became heavy with long-lost tales. In the castle's library, I discovered journals by a late historian named Dmitiri detailing the city's history. His ventures into this city's past are unearthing a captivating story, an epic that has unfolded across centuries.
There existed a saga, as old as the city itself. As the accounts suggested, the city was once ruled by a tyrant king. He was renowned for ambitious attempts to bridge the gap between the world of the living and the dead. His weakness was the loss of his wife, Queen Anastasia, consumed by a plague. Strangled in grief, the king became obsessed with reincarnation potency.
The king gathered mages and alchemists across the continental stretches. Concoctions were created, spells established, but nothing worked. The queen's spirit, it was believed, roamed the castle, in search of her beloved. Over generations, many have claimed to have witnessed Anastasia's ghost, a beautiful apparition with a melancholic aura. Dmitiri's last entry ended abruptly in a hurried note – 'They are here...'
Intrigued and apprehensive, that night, I decided to venture into the forbidden castle’s area, a tower overlooking the city, marked with cryptic symbols. Locals called it 'The Spirit's Perch.' Not a soul dared enter, so I had only the dead as company. As I climbed the creaky, winding stairs, my torch flickered. A gust of wind blew, the temperature plummeted, and my senses heightened. An uncanny feeling of being watched crept over me.
Reaching the top, the moonlight illuminated the room, revealing a mirror as old as time, its glass warped and discoloured. The reflection showed something behind me. I turned, heart pounding wildly, but saw nothing. As I turned back to the mirror, I saw her. A monochrome figure of a queenly silhouette, she stood, sorrow and longing imprinted on her face. She pointed towards a chest hidden beneath a loose stone slab. Eyes wide, gasping for courage, I opened this ancient chest only to find a diary... Queen Anastasia’s diary.
The diary detailed the queen's love for her king, her anguish in leaving her kingdom, and her desire to return. Her last wish was to be reunited with her king and end their torment. The king, however, was forever lost in his efforts to revive her, unable to see her signals from the astral plane.
Encumbered by their tale of eternal despair, I devised a plan to bring peace to these restless spirits. Using the queen's diary and the ancient rituals mentioned in Dmitiri's journal, I conducted a séance to connect with the king's spirit. I relayed the queen's message of love, explaining that their souls were forever linked, regardless of the boundaries of life and death.
Silence reigned as the words echoed through the castle. Suddenly, a soft glow radiated from the mirror, growing brighter with each passing moment. The figure of the king and queen materialized, reaching out for each other. Their ghostly hands touched followed by a blinding flash of light. When I opened my eyes, the apparitions were gone, but their unmistakable relief enveloped the room.
In the days that followed, bizarre occurrences in the castle ceased and a newfound sense of tranquillity wafted through the city. While the world remained oblivious to the saga, the city of forgotten ghosts breathed once again, shimmering in the quiet satisfaction of having shared its legend with a curious historian.