The Magic Triptych

Every year on her birthday, the daughter of a mage receives a key that unlocks a different world in her enchanted triptych. Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy Excerpt: When I was born, a clever mage, who was also my mother, made for me a triptych: three panels, attached in a row by hinges, depicting paintings of our home. The middle panel depicted our capital city, where we lived. The left panel depicted my mother, her hands raised as if in the casting of a spell. The right panel depicted the Arx, the great tower of knowledge where mages learned their trade. The flanking panels were each half the width of the middle one, so they could be folded inward, and the image could be hidden. And strangely, my mother had built a lock into the triptych. Once folded, the triptych could be secured. I did not know why it would need to be locked. There were no secret or blasphemous things depicted in the paintings, as far as I knew. What's the Word (that inspired the story)? Triptych: (Fine arts.) A set of three panels or compartments side by side, bearing pictures, carvings, or the like. (source: dictionary.com) Follow my Fictioneering Mischief Sign up to get a monthly round-up of my recent podcast episodes, short stories, trailers, news, recommendations, and more by email in the STORYFEATHER GAZETTE. Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, baby onesies, and more featuring artwork from stories and art challenges STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE CREDITS Story: "The Magic Triptych" Copyright © 2019 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background" by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro) Music by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Dark Fantasy Studio)* "A new day begins" "Peacefull place" "Imagine" "The village" "Oinions" "Into wild lands" "City" "Emblem" "Shadow forest" "Home" "Immortals" "Oinions (second part)" *These tracks were part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market. Music by Nicholas Jeudy is licensed from GameDev Market Sound effects from AudioJungle and GameDevMarket Find more music by Digital_Emotions at audiojungle.net Find more music by Nicholas Jeudy at gamedevmarket.net Find more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com Episode Art Description: Digital drawing. A collage made of three panels, the center one being square and bigger than the two rectangles that flank it, which are of equal size to each other. From left to right, a long stem flower with six petals and two long leaves running alongside the stem; the front half of a turtle swimming at right, and strands of seaweed and fish swimming behind the turtle; and the bright silhouette of a tall tower with several openings and protruding sections, and the silhouettes of trees on either side.