Prologue
Prologue
15 years ago
In Nalia
“Ding Dong, Ding Dong.”
The large brass bell rang, chiming with the end of the day. It was midnight in a small village called Nalia. It was a poor and small town, with very few educated people. It was south of the capital city of Terrestria, called Corporus. Dilapidated structures and dirt roads. One story homes and a large green flag billowed, high above the rest. It had a strange symbol, a flower with nine white petals and a spiral in the center.
Nalia, as said before, was quaint and not advanced in the subjects of technology nor education. However, there was one thing that attracted many people’s interest.
Near the village was a very steep mountain- the steepest in all eight Domains. Jagged and quite frightening. Nobody in 20 years had dared traveling into the mountain, for there were rumors. Horrible rumors about mysterious deaths, and shrill screams.
The usually serene village was hectic at this moment, swarming with people who had come looking for shelter in the harsh winter wind. Many people had already been here to sightsee the famous mountain so the small village looked as if it were going to burst with people.
There were legends that this mountain grew more powerful during the winter. How could a mountain have power? Other myths said that this mountain was home to one of the notorious Forebringers. The most powerful people from each Domain in millennials. The Forebringers had died long ago, leaving only a trace of magic behind.
There was a blue-purple escence haloing the peak. It almost seemed as if small stars were fluttering off it. Only the quick thinkers who had brought binoculars had the chance to see the beautiful sight.
The large tower of rocks and solid metals was shadowing the village with its vast height. The wind was harsher near the mountain, as if keeping out the people. The people stupid enough to go near it.
As if ignoring it all, somehow, in a cave, deep inside the base of the mountain, lay a woman with a little girl, still in the young years of a baby but old enough to be called a child. The woman had come from Nalia as the tracks in the snow showed. They were already fading quickly from the downpours of snow. It was as if the woman hadn’t gotten the idea that this mountain held cryptic legends and mysterious myths that caused panic throughout the early years of Terrestria’s reign. It held emperious power, so much that the Emperors of Allura and Empyrea and Terrestria formed a specific and brief peace treaty that stated, “Whenever Domain A wished to see the mountain, they would hold from imminent war.” Although most likely, it wasn’t that brief.
The Emperor and Empress from Hadal and Empyrea and even the Dean from secretive Verdicy went sightseeing at least once in their lives. Only Aterra’s Chancellor wasn’t welcome but everyone knew that. This mountain was the one place the leaders ever saw each other aside from their one time meeting every decade.
Terrestria did not have a current ruler which was disastrous for more than one Domain. There was a rumor that happened very recently that was about the former Empress of Terrestria. She had no husband, which caused the citizens of the Domain to uproar. However, she was a direct heir to the Lifeblood line, straight from the Emperor and Empress before her. Her name was Amara Lifeblood.
She was kind and although she was very fit to lead Terrestria, some people didn’t agree. The rumor said her Royal Guards and even her inner circle all betrayed her when her unborn child died. She was said to be dead- although no one found a body- since the winter of Terrestria had been going on for 3 years now. Nobody could live outside in this weather.
Inside the mountain, the woman in the cave was hidden, hidden from view, hidden from the outside world. Nobody could find them here. Nobody, she thought. She had a raggedy blanket covering her frail body and thin clothes that were very nearly see through. She shivered. The woman was cuddling the child with a tender but firm hug. She murmured loving things in the girl’s ear, but the girl was fast asleep, not caring for the hurtling snowflakes freezing the ground nor the strong cold breeze sweeping through the cavern entrance.
The mother was a young adult herself looking as if she were only nineteen years of age. A young age to birth children. And although the woman held the young girl with as much warmth and love as a real mother would, the woman looked nothing like the child she was holding.
The mother was of the group whose face was as white as snow but as wrinkly and thin as a sheet of paper. As if the skin was stretched out over her face to try to hide the parts that were lacking skin. Whenever she smiled, it looked forced. The muscles in her jaw were clenched from the cold but her eyes were determined.
The mother was attempting to warm up the child with her stick-like arms but was instead getting warmed by the child’s soft and warm skin, still hot with the natural warmth of a baby. The warmth you had when you were always surrounded with profound love, and a thick blanket.
The woman had pale blond hair that was knotted and dry. She had white hairs although more from stress than age. Her lips were dry and crackly from the chilly wind and her fingertips were starting to become a sickly blue, with the start of frostbite. She had a sallow face but her daughter had quite the opposite of all the aforementioned.
The little girl had a faint imprint- what the Aterrians would call- an Asian with her silky black hair and smooth pale skin. Her skin, although pale, was a beautiful pale that made her red cheeks and lips more prominent. She smiled, having a dream much better than reality. She had two dimples and she was unconsciously giggling. She was curled up in a small ragged blue blanket that barely covered even her tiny body and the breeze caused it to billow.
The mother was clutching a leathery brown satchel in the hand that wasn’t petting the toddler. The woman leaned over to lightly kiss the girl goodnight but the child abruptly woke up.
She sat up, pushing herself into a standing position which obviously took effort with her chubby arms and legs. The woman chuckled weakly. The child blinked multiple times a second her eyelashes fluttering in confusion. She had a curious look on her face, bewildered and confounded by their strange choice of location. Her eyes were also full of wonder, the type of wonder that swarmed only inside an innocent child’s eyes. Her eyes never stayed the same color- like a kaleidoscope. They shifted from chocolate brown, meadow green, pure black, and soft blue.
Her rainbow eyes suddenly went wide and deep brown. Then, she cried out and fell backwards, onto her bottom with her legs widespread- although it didn’t make any big difference to her standing. She started crying with a surprising abruptness.
It was a bizarre sound, her cries. Much like a soft gurgling noise made when guzzling on water. It sounded more as if the child was swimming underwater than crying in a cave inside a mountain. Her tears dripped down her face but her eyes were wide open and staring intently at her mother. She hiccuped.
The woman stared, astonished. For even though she had loved and taken care of the girl for most of the child’s life, she had never heard her cry. Even when the baby fell on concrete and ripped through the skin on her knees. She only stared as if curious. Even when she tripped and her little baby foot, twisted in a weird angle. She looked only mildly discomfited. The only sounds she made were random laughs, burps, hiccups, and giggles. She was so unlike other children that the mother became used to it over time.
The child’s eyes were full of unshed tears and her beautiful face was streaming with a mix of her salty water and snot coming from her now red button shaped nose. Her lips were wet and the voice coming from it was plaintive yet melodic.
The worn mother looked at her with a weary expression that said, “I love you but crying your first tears right now might not be the best thing that has happened.”
She had looked into her daughter’s eyes for the past three years, the three short years of when her arms were always warm with soft baby skin and multicolored eyes always looked up at her intently. The child’s mother drew in a shivering breath, for the frostbite was growing all over her body. She bit her lip, thinking about her life, only 19 years, but full of unexpected surprises and beautiful gifts.
She stroked her daughter’s hair and with her last breaths, she murmured, “Elcatriz has favored me. She let me take care of the most beautiful living creature in Terrestria. Let this stay with you forever.” She muttered incoherent words and her eyes suddenly shifted from the piercing blue that they were originally to a stunningly bright purple. She trembled and her now purple eyes turned unfocused, staring off into space. When she started to speak, her voice was not her own but a deep melodic one. Her voice lyrical and serene:
“Through the beyond shall the authors revive,
Past in your blood and the future in your eyes,
Sing in the murks of the deep,
Traverse through the earth’s deepest sands,
The long winter shall falter with the great sun
and the light will be brighter than an angel’s crown,
Death will bow in great reverence,
the heavens will cry out in agony,
Magic will serve its owner,
Energy shall stop to crown you their ruler.
Destroy the future and its leaders, sit atop it for it shall hold it’s throne.
Fulfill our words or this world shall crumble to emptiness. Blood shall be rivers, cities will become rubble, skies will disappear from sight, air will be unbreathable, and every last creature in the Orbit will perish with everything else. Fulfill our words.”
And before she could breathe in a last breath, the frail woman died. Without a single word and without a single breath she fell backward, eyes wide open, staring into an endless depth of black.
The child was looking at the inanimate woman lying in front of her. . Her eyes, a soft blue and a single tear dripped carefully, slowly.
She had listened intently to every word the woman had said as though she understood what her mother was saying despite the fact that she was a child with no capable abilities to talk. She grew up with no education. As a regular baby from the old village of Nalia should. Most babies barely survived their birth because Nalia was a town of very little wealth. Maidens who married and gave birth tended to die right after they carried their children.
Then the girl thought to herself, What is this word traverse? And what about earth? What were those words that person who was speaking from my mother’s mouth talking about? What was that song like thing she said? Blood rivers? Skies not being able to be seen? She looked up. She liked the sky. Beings perishing? The child didn’t know what perish meant but it didn’t sound good.She knew some basic words but her mother rarely talked much so she never heard much.
The child had an incredible memory and had a brilliant mind. Tentatively, she closed her mother’s eyes and looked away.
Then without warning, she looked up to the sky, her hair flying. Seconds passed with the child looking straight up with no look of expectation. Only patience. Minutes passed and the girl hadn’t moved, she didn’t even blink. Her breaths were even and she didn’t look surprised when the next thing happened.
The sky exploded.
The firmament was a fiery gold. To most people, the harsh light would have blinded them instantly. Strangely enough, the child was not discomfited, on the contrary, she looked at ease, pleased. Her eyes expectant and even a tiny bit irritable.
Within a second, a silhouette of a woman descended from the sky in a pillar of light. She landed gracefully onto the rubble. One knee was on the ground and her hands beside it. She looked like an angel that had fallen. She stood up and looked at the girl.
The mysterious woman had dark, smooth skin, glistening in the light and her hair an inky black that blended well with the shadowy night sky. Perfectly done dreadlocks entwined with dazzling gold strings flowed on her back as if not wanting to stay down. She looked as if she were in her twenties with her flawless brown skin. However, her eyes showed something different. They showed years and years of life. They shined with wisdom and they looked strangely familiar to the child even though she was quite sure they had never met before. Her irises were dark brown and a mix of other pigments that gleamed as if trying to hold back their profusion of color.
She was lean and tall. She and had such a stringent look that many brave men would cower away from. She wore a carless look on her face and had bright red lips that looked like someone had stuck rubys on them. Her hands gently curved her hips. She wore a shimmering gold jumpsuit with a low V- cut and dangling pearl earrings that were connected to a solid gold base.
The fact that she was absolutely lethal-looking, with two daggers sheathed in a belt on her waist, made the child- strangely- adore her. The child had a strong urge to placate this woman whom she had just met. The cryptic woman radiated a type of aura that the still-young baby had no such idea. She settled on the decision that it would simply be magic. Or at least that was her presumption.
The anonymous lady stared at the infant with a kind gaze. It had the appearance of both amusement and sarcasm which covered the hidden looks of curiosity.
She glanced at the unmoving woman on the ground. She shifted her gaze toward the brown satchel and frowned. Then she started speaking to the girl as if she were talking to a normal person her age. “I suppose the council will be looking at you. You look healthy enough. I truly have no idea what they are going to do to such a young child. They say you are important and other things that I dozed off to.” The lady had a slight British accent that interested the child who had never heard an accent other than her mother’s. The woman looked disdainfully at the deceased mother as if she had done something terrible to offend the lady.
“Right, I suppose you don't understand what I am saying, don’t you?" Then, she muttered something about Nalia, babies, and no education.
“Actually I do.” the young girl said. She then continued having an impassive expression.
The woman looked at her. Stunned. “How-w…? You can’t talk. They told me that much. I wonder- no. Perhaps we doubted you too quickly. Anyways, my name is Norma. Our job at Alpha Elevation- the place I live- is to collect Egregarian children such as yourself. We will confirm whether you are an Empyrean, Terranian, Allurian, Hadalian, and…” She trailed off frowning. “Err, other Domains that I may have forgotten. Why those people created so many Domains is not of my immense knowledge. Almost everybody we find is Egregarious because they are more common than the Adequates, but we still get some random Allurians and Empyreans.”
The brilliant 2-year old wondered what all that meant but did not dare question the scary lady with knives.
“Well, I hope you are powerful. Powerful enough to beat Jackson and Serena. They are quite the brats at how powerful they are. They are only Ceruelians. Not even good ones at that. I beat them multiple times.” She puffed out her chest as if proud and the girl’s lips tugged at the corners seeing a lady, at her age, acting so much like a child. Norma’s lips twitched like they were going to smile. She suppressed them.
“Let us go. We have to travel quite a distance. This is Haven Mountain. We are in Nalia, yes?”
The girl nodded.
“Lord knows how your mother came here. I came by aircraft”, Norma pointed to a jet that the intelligent child predicted made the bright gold light. “Goodness we have been here much longer than I predicted” she said as she looked down at her gold wristwatch.
She looked concerned but tried to look calm in front of the young girl staring intently upon her. “Let us go,” said the young child.
In all honesty, she had surprised herself when she had spoken in the human language so fluently before, however, she had pretended to be calm about it as if she had always had the ability. She was quite content at the results.
“Yes, let us start our journey.” Norma started to walk off and faltered, “My goodness, I forgot a huge part of our conversation. What is your name my shrewd girl?”
“I do not know, for my mother…” She hesitated. “She died.” Obviously, she thought. “Just moments before you came. She took on a different voice and had purple eyes and said something about the Orbit and blood rivers and rulers and, ‘you will bring honor back to her name.”’
“That’s not possible,” Norma started, then stopped and stared at the girl, naive and so, so young, but intelligent and smart. “We will figure it out later. Come, I will bring you to my home. Alpha Elevation.” Then, Norma looked down at the worn-out stachel and seized it. A small bead fell out but the girl thought to herself, it's only a bead and didn’t mention it. With that, Norma walked off toward the beam of light not even checking if the child was following.
The still-growing child waddled as fast as her stubby legs could go and huffed as she stood next to Norma underneath the pillar of light illuminating from the spacecraft hovering hundreds of feet above. Then, both of them flew up into the jet with the pillar of golden light and they disappeared inside. A couple seconds later the aircraft flew into the dark unknown sky.
In Corporus
In the capital of Terrestria, Corporous, there was chaos. It had been a few years since Amara’s death but the Domain still couldn’t decide on who was to rule. Amara’s cousin Duke Arendale was the most popular and although pompous he was fair.
His family lived in the royal castle in Corporous. His son, Anwar was a four year old walking prodigy. He was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, the piano, he was incredibly smart, and his powers were one of the strongest in the Domain. He had control over water and it happened that he was one of the three Terrestrians to ever have control over it. The hardest and rarest power to have and control. Him, including his father, and the infamous Forebringer were the three. The Forebringers had been the strongest people in each Domain and had all power over the kingdom. They were considered higher up than the rulers of the Domains themselves. There was one line of Forebringers but the next and final generation would be called the Everlastings and they would bring destruction over all the Orbit. Of course nobody in history had even recorded the Forebringers and nobody knew of the Everlastings so it had become a child’s nighttime folklore. A myth and unbelieved.
Terrestria’s supposed Forebringer’s name was Elkatriz. All anybody knew about her was her white eyes, black hair, and aura of purple that had surrounded her. Her powers of course were powerful, too powerful. It was said that the destruction that had brought the Forebringer’s death was their own power. It was too strong and their egos had killed each other. The folklore was said in a way that convinced children to stay in their beds or else the Everlastings would come and burn everything to the ashes.
Anwar was playing the piano in the sitting room while his parents were each looking down at their magazines; his mother was looking at one about the most recent scandals and royal dramas. His father’s, one about the most recent fights and rogue Dominions. Suddenly, as if the magazine had summoned him, a servant with pale skin and a black robe; his hood covering most of his face other than a small scar on his lip- came hurrying in yelling, “Evacuation! Evacuation! Leave the building now! Rogue Allurians!” Arendale muttered something quite unroyal and picked small Anwar up swiftly. He shouted at his wife and she looked up at him with determined eyes. She stood confidently. She nodded slightly and Anwar looked confused. His father hurried out the doorway after the servant and Anwar realized too slowly.
His father was a strong Terrestrian but there wasn’t enough water for him to control and too little time. His mother on the other hand was one of the mysterious Realitators, a controller of pure magic.
Anwar had never asked how they had gotten married and he never wanted to know- until now. He knew his mother and father loved him both but they never had a romantic relationship themselves. Theirs was mainly a kiss on the cheek and a goodbye to their separate rooms. He was sure, however, that his father did love her. Just in a Philia way. A deep friendship.
His mother had never used her powers in the castle but Anwar heard the windows suddenly shatter and a man’s scream. He closed his eyes imagining the worst. He whispered in his father’s ear who was running down the corridors muttering curses. “What about mother?”
“She will come down soon”, he says, his voice uneven and raspy. Sweat was already rolling down his forehead. “Just stay quiet. Ok?”
“Ok.”
They ran into the secret trapdoor in the second level of the 7 storied castle. His father put him down and they climbed down the steps. Anwar kept looking back for his mother but she never came.
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream echoed from where they came and his father flinched. He held Anwar’s hand and crouched down to mutter into his ear. “I am going to go help your mother, ok? I will be back in a minute.” He ran up without another word and Anwar started counting. He kept quiet but when he got to sixty seconds he looked up but nobody came down.
It was hours after his father had left him when the same servant who alerted them found him. “My name is Alexander. You can trust me.” He took off his hood and his eyes were green blue. His face was ruggedly good looking and he looked a little over thirty.
Anwar scowled. Even with tears in his eyes he looked frightening. “Where are my parents?”
Alexander looked at him with sad eyes and suddenly Anwar realized with small spears puncturing his heart. Over and over and over again. He knew the answer before Alexander said it.
“I am so sorry. They were found dead in the sitting room. The Rogues were dead too.” He said it in a way that was meant to console the child but Anwar glared. His heart turned into stone.
“I don’t care if the stupid Rogues are dead. My parents died and they are dead because of them. You say they are from Allura. Why do they hate us so much that they would kill the future Emperor?” He said it all in a slow deep voice. He had learned from his father that to show weakness was giving your enemies pleasure. Alexander seemed to be the only person Anwar could talk to so he directed it to him.
Alexander looked impassive as he said, “It is precisely that they were the future rulers that they were killed. The Allurians have hated us for years. As with their allies the Empyreans. We didn’t know they were going to attack today. All the Rogues are either dead or being tortured for information.” He sighed and looked with sudden pity and Anwar’s anger spiked.
“Do not look at me with pity in your eyes. I am not pitiful nor do I need your sympathy”, he spat. Alexander looked stunned but the sorrow in his eyes do not leave. Anwar could tell he was trying to be kind but Anwar hated it. He hated everything. He would kill them. The people who killed his parents. He would kill them all.
In Empyrea
Laya was a pretty girl. She was a pretty girl but strange looking to the eyes of many. She had dark chocolate brown skin and straight black hair and sharp blue violet eyes. She had been spoiled for most of her life for her beauty and smarts and her future role as the Empress of Empyrea. So when she was instructed to keep quiet as her mother hustled down the dark corridor of one of the Empyrean’s ostentatious fourteen floored castle in the middle of the night, she was quite disgruntled. Her mother muttered gravely under her breath. She looked around and grasped her daughter’s hand tighter.
Empress Ena suddenly stopped and looked around again. Suddenly, a light patter of footsteps came toward them. Ena and Laya merged into the shadows and waited quietly until the footsteps left. Ena began to walk a little more quicker as she dragged along her confused daughter. As they walked near the exit of the castle, Laya became more curious and confused as to what they were doing at 2 am in the night. She silently watched as her mother’s black silky hair pendulated side to side in a hypnotizing motion. Her mother was where Laya had gotten her beauty. She was a tall muscular woman with caramel skin. She was from looks a stunning but regular woman. However, she had glowing purple veins in the dark. Her powers, the ability to control oxygen.
Ena had been thinking about how dangerous this was while her daughter was thinking about all the dreams and sleep she could have gotten in at this time. They stepped outside and suddenly someone came out of nowhere. Laya's heart leaped but Ena had looked solemn. The form took place and Laya could see the figure more clearly.
“Grandpa?” She asked in a quiet voice.
Her grandfather’s charming smile and tall figure came into view and she ran up to him with her arms open. With a whispered shout of glee she was picked up in his arms and could see the twinkle in her grandfather’s eyes. His silver hair and shoulder length beard trimmed and elegant looking. The old man looked at Ena with wondering eyes. He too did not know why she had called him. Especially not this late and with his overprotected granddaughter.
Ena looked at him with her infamous cold eyes. “This is going to be hard to listen to but you must listen. You will be leaving this Domain-”
He looked at her with shocked eyes and began speaking, “What are you talkin-”
She started speaking again with resoluteness. “You will be leaving this Domain and you will not be coming back. You will take my granddaughter somewhere safe and hidden. If I ever see any one of you in this Domain you will be executed on sight.” She walked toward her father and leaned toward him whispering into his ear. He looked terrified. Horrified even. Young Laya looked at her mother with dread.
“But Mama why don’t you want me to stay with you?” Her mother’s frozen eyes glinted and it almost looked as if she were about to cry but a second later she looked the same. It must have been the shine of the moon.
“You are dangerous. Everybody in this Domain wants you dead and if you really are one of those people, you cannot be alive. However, I am your mother and no mother should want their child dead. You shall live, but your life will be kept a secret and your powers subdued. Your grandfather will take care of you. You will not live in Adequate Domains. Run away into the Egregarious Domains or even Aterra if you choose to do so. They are the safest place to be for now as no one knows your identity.” Then she placed a large sack onto Laya’s hand and turned around as if to leave but Laya suddenly grabbed onto her black cloak. Her mother stared at her with those cold blue eyes and Laya let go reluctantly but still looking at her mother. Ena walked quickly away without looking back.
Arion stared for a second longer and shook his head as if wondering whether it was all a dream. Acknowledging that it wasn’t he grabbed his granddaughter’s hand and they started running. They ran out of the gardens and the castle’s lands. They soon found someone who would drive them for a couple shackles- the small gold coins used throughout the Orbit except for Aterra. Arion had a couple in his pocket As the cart went along, Laya had cried most of her tears and had moved past all the nightmarish things that had happened in the last couple hours. Dawn came and they had gotten to the edge of Empyrean lands. The Domains were separate throughout the Orbit with bright jagged lines. The Domains were like small planets but a private portal traveled throughout all of them. It was meant for the rulers of the Domains for their once-a-decade meeting. Their meeting location changed every decade so they needed a way to travel and the gate was usually guarded 24/7. However, Ena had planned everything carefully.
On the night before, she had gotten the night guards to leave with some difficulty. They were surprisingly loyal which in other cases would have pleased her but she had been quite irritated that day. It was only when she reminded them that she was the reason they had a job that the captain said, “We were planning on taking a round of the castle grounds anyway.”
A gate was the doorway through the portal and a big one at that. The gate itself was endlessly tall and traveled up, up and into the unknown. It was pure white and glowed a dim light. There was a doorway one regular sized doorway which was big enough for a tall man like Laya’s grandfather. The only way to get through was to have royal blood and think clearly of where they wanted to go. Arion whispered in Laya’s ear and she looked at him with shock. Then, her face became resolute and they thought of where they wanted to go.
It was an uncomfortable feeling going through the portal. Laya’s stomach felt like it was floating into her brain. It lasted only a second but the dizziness had started. Arion looked pale but he looked stable. He stared at Laya and chuckled with a stiff smile. “You get used to it.” Although he wasn’t sure whether there would be a next time. They were in Aterra, the only place the grandfather could think of that no Domain could have control over. It looked quite normal. Arion had only been to Allura, and Cerualia. He had been Emperor for nearly forty years until his daughter, Ena, claimed the throne when she was eighteen. Ena, now in her mid thirties had been a better person than me was what Arion had thought before everything had happened and his daughter gave his granddaughter to him because she may or may not be a murderous psychotic destroyer of the Orbit when she got older.
Laya was still clutching her stomach as they continued to walk. Her grandfather’s hand in one, the sack her mother gave in the other. She hadn’t looked through it yet, it reminded her too harshly of what had happened. Thinking of it gave her whiplash. One part of her spoiled old self wanted to scream and kick but she knew she shouldn’t. In a matter of a couple hours her whole life changed and she had to change with it. No satin robes or baths with 5 different bubbles and soaps. No feasts and Domain wide celebrations for her birthday. Oh dear, she thought, this was going to be very different.
15 years ago
In Nalia
“Ding Dong, Ding Dong.”
The large brass bell rang, chiming with the end of the day. It was midnight in a small village called Nalia. It was a poor and small town, with very few educated people. It was south of the capital city of Terrestria, called Corporus. Dilapidated structures and dirt roads. One story homes and a large green flag billowed, high above the rest. It had a strange symbol, a flower with nine white petals and a spiral in the center.
Nalia, as said before, was quaint and not advanced in the subjects of technology nor education. However, there was one thing that attracted many people’s interest.
Near the village was a very steep mountain- the steepest in all eight Domains. Jagged and quite frightening. Nobody in 20 years had dared traveling into the mountain, for there were rumors. Horrible rumors about mysterious deaths, and shrill screams.
The usually serene village was hectic at this moment, swarming with people who had come looking for shelter in the harsh winter wind. Many people had already been here to sightsee the famous mountain so the small village looked as if it were going to burst with people.
There were legends that this mountain grew more powerful during the winter. How could a mountain have power? Other myths said that this mountain was home to one of the notorious Forebringers. The most powerful people from each Domain in millennials. The Forebringers had died long ago, leaving only a trace of magic behind.
There was a blue-purple escence haloing the peak. It almost seemed as if small stars were fluttering off it. Only the quick thinkers who had brought binoculars had the chance to see the beautiful sight.
The large tower of rocks and solid metals was shadowing the village with its vast height. The wind was harsher near the mountain, as if keeping out the people. The people stupid enough to go near it.
As if ignoring it all, somehow, in a cave, deep inside the base of the mountain, lay a woman with a little girl, still in the young years of a baby but old enough to be called a child. The woman had come from Nalia as the tracks in the snow showed. They were already fading quickly from the downpours of snow. It was as if the woman hadn’t gotten the idea that this mountain held cryptic legends and mysterious myths that caused panic throughout the early years of Terrestria’s reign. It held emperious power, so much that the Emperors of Allura and Empyrea and Terrestria formed a specific and brief peace treaty that stated, “Whenever Domain A wished to see the mountain, they would hold from imminent war.” Although most likely, it wasn’t that brief.
The Emperor and Empress from Hadal and Empyrea and even the Dean from secretive Verdicy went sightseeing at least once in their lives. Only Aterra’s Chancellor wasn’t welcome but everyone knew that. This mountain was the one place the leaders ever saw each other aside from their one time meeting every decade.
Terrestria did not have a current ruler which was disastrous for more than one Domain. There was a rumor that happened very recently that was about the former Empress of Terrestria. She had no husband, which caused the citizens of the Domain to uproar. However, she was a direct heir to the Lifeblood line, straight from the Emperor and Empress before her. Her name was Amara Lifeblood.
She was kind and although she was very fit to lead Terrestria, some people didn’t agree. The rumor said her Royal Guards and even her inner circle all betrayed her when her unborn child died. She was said to be dead- although no one found a body- since the winter of Terrestria had been going on for 3 years now. Nobody could live outside in this weather.
Inside the mountain, the woman in the cave was hidden, hidden from view, hidden from the outside world. Nobody could find them here. Nobody, she thought. She had a raggedy blanket covering her frail body and thin clothes that were very nearly see through. She shivered. The woman was cuddling the child with a tender but firm hug. She murmured loving things in the girl’s ear, but the girl was fast asleep, not caring for the hurtling snowflakes freezing the ground nor the strong cold breeze sweeping through the cavern entrance.
The mother was a young adult herself looking as if she were only nineteen years of age. A young age to birth children. And although the woman held the young girl with as much warmth and love as a real mother would, the woman looked nothing like the child she was holding.
The mother was of the group whose face was as white as snow but as wrinkly and thin as a sheet of paper. As if the skin was stretched out over her face to try to hide the parts that were lacking skin. Whenever she smiled, it looked forced. The muscles in her jaw were clenched from the cold but her eyes were determined.
The mother was attempting to warm up the child with her stick-like arms but was instead getting warmed by the child’s soft and warm skin, still hot with the natural warmth of a baby. The warmth you had when you were always surrounded with profound love, and a thick blanket.
The woman had pale blond hair that was knotted and dry. She had white hairs although more from stress than age. Her lips were dry and crackly from the chilly wind and her fingertips were starting to become a sickly blue, with the start of frostbite. She had a sallow face but her daughter had quite the opposite of all the aforementioned.
The little girl had a faint imprint- what the Aterrians would call- an Asian with her silky black hair and smooth pale skin. Her skin, although pale, was a beautiful pale that made her red cheeks and lips more prominent. She smiled, having a dream much better than reality. She had two dimples and she was unconsciously giggling. She was curled up in a small ragged blue blanket that barely covered even her tiny body and the breeze caused it to billow.
The mother was clutching a leathery brown satchel in the hand that wasn’t petting the toddler. The woman leaned over to lightly kiss the girl goodnight but the child abruptly woke up.
She sat up, pushing herself into a standing position which obviously took effort with her chubby arms and legs. The woman chuckled weakly. The child blinked multiple times a second her eyelashes fluttering in confusion. She had a curious look on her face, bewildered and confounded by their strange choice of location. Her eyes were also full of wonder, the type of wonder that swarmed only inside an innocent child’s eyes. Her eyes never stayed the same color- like a kaleidoscope. They shifted from chocolate brown, meadow green, pure black, and soft blue.
Her rainbow eyes suddenly went wide and deep brown. Then, she cried out and fell backwards, onto her bottom with her legs widespread- although it didn’t make any big difference to her standing. She started crying with a surprising abruptness.
It was a bizarre sound, her cries. Much like a soft gurgling noise made when guzzling on water. It sounded more as if the child was swimming underwater than crying in a cave inside a mountain. Her tears dripped down her face but her eyes were wide open and staring intently at her mother. She hiccuped.
The woman stared, astonished. For even though she had loved and taken care of the girl for most of the child’s life, she had never heard her cry. Even when the baby fell on concrete and ripped through the skin on her knees. She only stared as if curious. Even when she tripped and her little baby foot, twisted in a weird angle. She looked only mildly discomfited. The only sounds she made were random laughs, burps, hiccups, and giggles. She was so unlike other children that the mother became used to it over time.
The child’s eyes were full of unshed tears and her beautiful face was streaming with a mix of her salty water and snot coming from her now red button shaped nose. Her lips were wet and the voice coming from it was plaintive yet melodic.
The worn mother looked at her with a weary expression that said, “I love you but crying your first tears right now might not be the best thing that has happened.”
She had looked into her daughter’s eyes for the past three years, the three short years of when her arms were always warm with soft baby skin and multicolored eyes always looked up at her intently. The child’s mother drew in a shivering breath, for the frostbite was growing all over her body. She bit her lip, thinking about her life, only 19 years, but full of unexpected surprises and beautiful gifts.
She stroked her daughter’s hair and with her last breaths, she murmured, “Elcatriz has favored me. She let me take care of the most beautiful living creature in Terrestria. Let this stay with you forever.” She muttered incoherent words and her eyes suddenly shifted from the piercing blue that they were originally to a stunningly bright purple. She trembled and her now purple eyes turned unfocused, staring off into space. When she started to speak, her voice was not her own but a deep melodic one. Her voice lyrical and serene:
“Through the beyond shall the authors revive,
Past in your blood and the future in your eyes,
Sing in the murks of the deep,
Traverse through the earth’s deepest sands,
The long winter shall falter with the great sun
and the light will be brighter than an angel’s crown,
Death will bow in great reverence,
the heavens will cry out in agony,
Magic will serve its owner,
Energy shall stop to crown you their ruler.
Destroy the future and its leaders, sit atop it for it shall hold it’s throne.
Fulfill our words or this world shall crumble to emptiness. Blood shall be rivers, cities will become rubble, skies will disappear from sight, air will be unbreathable, and every last creature in the Orbit will perish with everything else. Fulfill our words.”
And before she could breathe in a last breath, the frail woman died. Without a single word and without a single breath she fell backward, eyes wide open, staring into an endless depth of black.
The child was looking at the inanimate woman lying in front of her. . Her eyes, a soft blue and a single tear dripped carefully, slowly.
She had listened intently to every word the woman had said as though she understood what her mother was saying despite the fact that she was a child with no capable abilities to talk. She grew up with no education. As a regular baby from the old village of Nalia should. Most babies barely survived their birth because Nalia was a town of very little wealth. Maidens who married and gave birth tended to die right after they carried their children.
Then the girl thought to herself, What is this word traverse? And what about earth? What were those words that person who was speaking from my mother’s mouth talking about? What was that song like thing she said? Blood rivers? Skies not being able to be seen? She looked up. She liked the sky. Beings perishing? The child didn’t know what perish meant but it didn’t sound good.She knew some basic words but her mother rarely talked much so she never heard much.
The child had an incredible memory and had a brilliant mind. Tentatively, she closed her mother’s eyes and looked away.
Then without warning, she looked up to the sky, her hair flying. Seconds passed with the child looking straight up with no look of expectation. Only patience. Minutes passed and the girl hadn’t moved, she didn’t even blink. Her breaths were even and she didn’t look surprised when the next thing happened.
The sky exploded.
The firmament was a fiery gold. To most people, the harsh light would have blinded them instantly. Strangely enough, the child was not discomfited, on the contrary, she looked at ease, pleased. Her eyes expectant and even a tiny bit irritable.
Within a second, a silhouette of a woman descended from the sky in a pillar of light. She landed gracefully onto the rubble. One knee was on the ground and her hands beside it. She looked like an angel that had fallen. She stood up and looked at the girl.
The mysterious woman had dark, smooth skin, glistening in the light and her hair an inky black that blended well with the shadowy night sky. Perfectly done dreadlocks entwined with dazzling gold strings flowed on her back as if not wanting to stay down. She looked as if she were in her twenties with her flawless brown skin. However, her eyes showed something different. They showed years and years of life. They shined with wisdom and they looked strangely familiar to the child even though she was quite sure they had never met before. Her irises were dark brown and a mix of other pigments that gleamed as if trying to hold back their profusion of color.
She was lean and tall. She and had such a stringent look that many brave men would cower away from. She wore a carless look on her face and had bright red lips that looked like someone had stuck rubys on them. Her hands gently curved her hips. She wore a shimmering gold jumpsuit with a low V- cut and dangling pearl earrings that were connected to a solid gold base.
The fact that she was absolutely lethal-looking, with two daggers sheathed in a belt on her waist, made the child- strangely- adore her. The child had a strong urge to placate this woman whom she had just met. The cryptic woman radiated a type of aura that the still-young baby had no such idea. She settled on the decision that it would simply be magic. Or at least that was her presumption.
The anonymous lady stared at the infant with a kind gaze. It had the appearance of both amusement and sarcasm which covered the hidden looks of curiosity.
She glanced at the unmoving woman on the ground. She shifted her gaze toward the brown satchel and frowned. Then she started speaking to the girl as if she were talking to a normal person her age. “I suppose the council will be looking at you. You look healthy enough. I truly have no idea what they are going to do to such a young child. They say you are important and other things that I dozed off to.” The lady had a slight British accent that interested the child who had never heard an accent other than her mother’s. The woman looked disdainfully at the deceased mother as if she had done something terrible to offend the lady.
“Right, I suppose you don't understand what I am saying, don’t you?" Then, she muttered something about Nalia, babies, and no education.
“Actually I do.” the young girl said. She then continued having an impassive expression.
The woman looked at her. Stunned. “How-w…? You can’t talk. They told me that much. I wonder- no. Perhaps we doubted you too quickly. Anyways, my name is Norma. Our job at Alpha Elevation- the place I live- is to collect Egregarian children such as yourself. We will confirm whether you are an Empyrean, Terranian, Allurian, Hadalian, and…” She trailed off frowning. “Err, other Domains that I may have forgotten. Why those people created so many Domains is not of my immense knowledge. Almost everybody we find is Egregarious because they are more common than the Adequates, but we still get some random Allurians and Empyreans.”
The brilliant 2-year old wondered what all that meant but did not dare question the scary lady with knives.
“Well, I hope you are powerful. Powerful enough to beat Jackson and Serena. They are quite the brats at how powerful they are. They are only Ceruelians. Not even good ones at that. I beat them multiple times.” She puffed out her chest as if proud and the girl’s lips tugged at the corners seeing a lady, at her age, acting so much like a child. Norma’s lips twitched like they were going to smile. She suppressed them.
“Let us go. We have to travel quite a distance. This is Haven Mountain. We are in Nalia, yes?”
The girl nodded.
“Lord knows how your mother came here. I came by aircraft”, Norma pointed to a jet that the intelligent child predicted made the bright gold light. “Goodness we have been here much longer than I predicted” she said as she looked down at her gold wristwatch.
She looked concerned but tried to look calm in front of the young girl staring intently upon her. “Let us go,” said the young child.
In all honesty, she had surprised herself when she had spoken in the human language so fluently before, however, she had pretended to be calm about it as if she had always had the ability. She was quite content at the results.
“Yes, let us start our journey.” Norma started to walk off and faltered, “My goodness, I forgot a huge part of our conversation. What is your name my shrewd girl?”
“I do not know, for my mother…” She hesitated. “She died.” Obviously, she thought. “Just moments before you came. She took on a different voice and had purple eyes and said something about the Orbit and blood rivers and rulers and, ‘you will bring honor back to her name.”’
“That’s not possible,” Norma started, then stopped and stared at the girl, naive and so, so young, but intelligent and smart. “We will figure it out later. Come, I will bring you to my home. Alpha Elevation.” Then, Norma looked down at the worn-out stachel and seized it. A small bead fell out but the girl thought to herself, it's only a bead and didn’t mention it. With that, Norma walked off toward the beam of light not even checking if the child was following.
The still-growing child waddled as fast as her stubby legs could go and huffed as she stood next to Norma underneath the pillar of light illuminating from the spacecraft hovering hundreds of feet above. Then, both of them flew up into the jet with the pillar of golden light and they disappeared inside. A couple seconds later the aircraft flew into the dark unknown sky.
In Corporus
In the capital of Terrestria, Corporous, there was chaos. It had been a few years since Amara’s death but the Domain still couldn’t decide on who was to rule. Amara’s cousin Duke Arendale was the most popular and although pompous he was fair.
His family lived in the royal castle in Corporous. His son, Anwar was a four year old walking prodigy. He was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, the piano, he was incredibly smart, and his powers were one of the strongest in the Domain. He had control over water and it happened that he was one of the three Terrestrians to ever have control over it. The hardest and rarest power to have and control. Him, including his father, and the infamous Forebringer were the three. The Forebringers had been the strongest people in each Domain and had all power over the kingdom. They were considered higher up than the rulers of the Domains themselves. There was one line of Forebringers but the next and final generation would be called the Everlastings and they would bring destruction over all the Orbit. Of course nobody in history had even recorded the Forebringers and nobody knew of the Everlastings so it had become a child’s nighttime folklore. A myth and unbelieved.
Terrestria’s supposed Forebringer’s name was Elkatriz. All anybody knew about her was her white eyes, black hair, and aura of purple that had surrounded her. Her powers of course were powerful, too powerful. It was said that the destruction that had brought the Forebringer’s death was their own power. It was too strong and their egos had killed each other. The folklore was said in a way that convinced children to stay in their beds or else the Everlastings would come and burn everything to the ashes.
Anwar was playing the piano in the sitting room while his parents were each looking down at their magazines; his mother was looking at one about the most recent scandals and royal dramas. His father’s, one about the most recent fights and rogue Dominions. Suddenly, as if the magazine had summoned him, a servant with pale skin and a black robe; his hood covering most of his face other than a small scar on his lip- came hurrying in yelling, “Evacuation! Evacuation! Leave the building now! Rogue Allurians!” Arendale muttered something quite unroyal and picked small Anwar up swiftly. He shouted at his wife and she looked up at him with determined eyes. She stood confidently. She nodded slightly and Anwar looked confused. His father hurried out the doorway after the servant and Anwar realized too slowly.
His father was a strong Terrestrian but there wasn’t enough water for him to control and too little time. His mother on the other hand was one of the mysterious Realitators, a controller of pure magic.
Anwar had never asked how they had gotten married and he never wanted to know- until now. He knew his mother and father loved him both but they never had a romantic relationship themselves. Theirs was mainly a kiss on the cheek and a goodbye to their separate rooms. He was sure, however, that his father did love her. Just in a Philia way. A deep friendship.
His mother had never used her powers in the castle but Anwar heard the windows suddenly shatter and a man’s scream. He closed his eyes imagining the worst. He whispered in his father’s ear who was running down the corridors muttering curses. “What about mother?”
“She will come down soon”, he says, his voice uneven and raspy. Sweat was already rolling down his forehead. “Just stay quiet. Ok?”
“Ok.”
They ran into the secret trapdoor in the second level of the 7 storied castle. His father put him down and they climbed down the steps. Anwar kept looking back for his mother but she never came.
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream echoed from where they came and his father flinched. He held Anwar’s hand and crouched down to mutter into his ear. “I am going to go help your mother, ok? I will be back in a minute.” He ran up without another word and Anwar started counting. He kept quiet but when he got to sixty seconds he looked up but nobody came down.
It was hours after his father had left him when the same servant who alerted them found him. “My name is Alexander. You can trust me.” He took off his hood and his eyes were green blue. His face was ruggedly good looking and he looked a little over thirty.
Anwar scowled. Even with tears in his eyes he looked frightening. “Where are my parents?”
Alexander looked at him with sad eyes and suddenly Anwar realized with small spears puncturing his heart. Over and over and over again. He knew the answer before Alexander said it.
“I am so sorry. They were found dead in the sitting room. The Rogues were dead too.” He said it in a way that was meant to console the child but Anwar glared. His heart turned into stone.
“I don’t care if the stupid Rogues are dead. My parents died and they are dead because of them. You say they are from Allura. Why do they hate us so much that they would kill the future Emperor?” He said it all in a slow deep voice. He had learned from his father that to show weakness was giving your enemies pleasure. Alexander seemed to be the only person Anwar could talk to so he directed it to him.
Alexander looked impassive as he said, “It is precisely that they were the future rulers that they were killed. The Allurians have hated us for years. As with their allies the Empyreans. We didn’t know they were going to attack today. All the Rogues are either dead or being tortured for information.” He sighed and looked with sudden pity and Anwar’s anger spiked.
“Do not look at me with pity in your eyes. I am not pitiful nor do I need your sympathy”, he spat. Alexander looked stunned but the sorrow in his eyes do not leave. Anwar could tell he was trying to be kind but Anwar hated it. He hated everything. He would kill them. The people who killed his parents. He would kill them all.
In Empyrea
Laya was a pretty girl. She was a pretty girl but strange looking to the eyes of many. She had dark chocolate brown skin and straight black hair and sharp blue violet eyes. She had been spoiled for most of her life for her beauty and smarts and her future role as the Empress of Empyrea. So when she was instructed to keep quiet as her mother hustled down the dark corridor of one of the Empyrean’s ostentatious fourteen floored castle in the middle of the night, she was quite disgruntled. Her mother muttered gravely under her breath. She looked around and grasped her daughter’s hand tighter.
Empress Ena suddenly stopped and looked around again. Suddenly, a light patter of footsteps came toward them. Ena and Laya merged into the shadows and waited quietly until the footsteps left. Ena began to walk a little more quicker as she dragged along her confused daughter. As they walked near the exit of the castle, Laya became more curious and confused as to what they were doing at 2 am in the night. She silently watched as her mother’s black silky hair pendulated side to side in a hypnotizing motion. Her mother was where Laya had gotten her beauty. She was a tall muscular woman with caramel skin. She was from looks a stunning but regular woman. However, she had glowing purple veins in the dark. Her powers, the ability to control oxygen.
Ena had been thinking about how dangerous this was while her daughter was thinking about all the dreams and sleep she could have gotten in at this time. They stepped outside and suddenly someone came out of nowhere. Laya's heart leaped but Ena had looked solemn. The form took place and Laya could see the figure more clearly.
“Grandpa?” She asked in a quiet voice.
Her grandfather’s charming smile and tall figure came into view and she ran up to him with her arms open. With a whispered shout of glee she was picked up in his arms and could see the twinkle in her grandfather’s eyes. His silver hair and shoulder length beard trimmed and elegant looking. The old man looked at Ena with wondering eyes. He too did not know why she had called him. Especially not this late and with his overprotected granddaughter.
Ena looked at him with her infamous cold eyes. “This is going to be hard to listen to but you must listen. You will be leaving this Domain-”
He looked at her with shocked eyes and began speaking, “What are you talkin-”
She started speaking again with resoluteness. “You will be leaving this Domain and you will not be coming back. You will take my granddaughter somewhere safe and hidden. If I ever see any one of you in this Domain you will be executed on sight.” She walked toward her father and leaned toward him whispering into his ear. He looked terrified. Horrified even. Young Laya looked at her mother with dread.
“But Mama why don’t you want me to stay with you?” Her mother’s frozen eyes glinted and it almost looked as if she were about to cry but a second later she looked the same. It must have been the shine of the moon.
“You are dangerous. Everybody in this Domain wants you dead and if you really are one of those people, you cannot be alive. However, I am your mother and no mother should want their child dead. You shall live, but your life will be kept a secret and your powers subdued. Your grandfather will take care of you. You will not live in Adequate Domains. Run away into the Egregarious Domains or even Aterra if you choose to do so. They are the safest place to be for now as no one knows your identity.” Then she placed a large sack onto Laya’s hand and turned around as if to leave but Laya suddenly grabbed onto her black cloak. Her mother stared at her with those cold blue eyes and Laya let go reluctantly but still looking at her mother. Ena walked quickly away without looking back.
Arion stared for a second longer and shook his head as if wondering whether it was all a dream. Acknowledging that it wasn’t he grabbed his granddaughter’s hand and they started running. They ran out of the gardens and the castle’s lands. They soon found someone who would drive them for a couple shackles- the small gold coins used throughout the Orbit except for Aterra. Arion had a couple in his pocket As the cart went along, Laya had cried most of her tears and had moved past all the nightmarish things that had happened in the last couple hours. Dawn came and they had gotten to the edge of Empyrean lands. The Domains were separate throughout the Orbit with bright jagged lines. The Domains were like small planets but a private portal traveled throughout all of them. It was meant for the rulers of the Domains for their once-a-decade meeting. Their meeting location changed every decade so they needed a way to travel and the gate was usually guarded 24/7. However, Ena had planned everything carefully.
On the night before, she had gotten the night guards to leave with some difficulty. They were surprisingly loyal which in other cases would have pleased her but she had been quite irritated that day. It was only when she reminded them that she was the reason they had a job that the captain said, “We were planning on taking a round of the castle grounds anyway.”
A gate was the doorway through the portal and a big one at that. The gate itself was endlessly tall and traveled up, up and into the unknown. It was pure white and glowed a dim light. There was a doorway one regular sized doorway which was big enough for a tall man like Laya’s grandfather. The only way to get through was to have royal blood and think clearly of where they wanted to go. Arion whispered in Laya’s ear and she looked at him with shock. Then, her face became resolute and they thought of where they wanted to go.
It was an uncomfortable feeling going through the portal. Laya’s stomach felt like it was floating into her brain. It lasted only a second but the dizziness had started. Arion looked pale but he looked stable. He stared at Laya and chuckled with a stiff smile. “You get used to it.” Although he wasn’t sure whether there would be a next time. They were in Aterra, the only place the grandfather could think of that no Domain could have control over. It looked quite normal. Arion had only been to Allura, and Cerualia. He had been Emperor for nearly forty years until his daughter, Ena, claimed the throne when she was eighteen. Ena, now in her mid thirties had been a better person than me was what Arion had thought before everything had happened and his daughter gave his granddaughter to him because she may or may not be a murderous psychotic destroyer of the Orbit when she got older.
Laya was still clutching her stomach as they continued to walk. Her grandfather’s hand in one, the sack her mother gave in the other. She hadn’t looked through it yet, it reminded her too harshly of what had happened. Thinking of it gave her whiplash. One part of her spoiled old self wanted to scream and kick but she knew she shouldn’t. In a matter of a couple hours her whole life changed and she had to change with it. No satin robes or baths with 5 different bubbles and soaps. No feasts and Domain wide celebrations for her birthday. Oh dear, she thought, this was going to be very different.
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