Fade

Prologue: Eleven Years Ago

I lay on my back on the cool grassy ground. The Nightrealm stretched above me, the deep, dark blue sky a canvas for the twinkling stars. The air was still, and the only sounds were the soft rustling of leaves in the trees and the distant hoot of an owl. I looked up, and my breath caught in my throat.

The bright, glowing orb of the moon hung low in the sky, casting a magical glow over the landscape. I felt drawn to it like it was pulling me closer with an invisible thread. My heart raced with excitement, and I knew that the Moon Goddess was near, watching over me.

I closed my eyes and felt the energy of the Nightrealm around me. It was like an electric charge that flowed through every inch of my body, making me feel alive and invigorated. I slowly opened my eyes to see the Moon Goddess' divine gift that illuminated the surroundings with its radiant glow, as the moonlight unveiled itself upon us.

I felt a connection to her, my mother had always told me to keep quiet about it. That others wouldn't understand. Each realm had numerous cathedrals that were dedicated to them, where we spent our time worshipping the Goddesses for all they had done for us. But I've always been drawn to the nightly power, to the moon and stars. More than that, I swear the visions I would paint were from the Moon goddess herself. I would get sent scenes or snippets of what was about to come, and I had never been able to avoid the visions. When I had shared it with others, they had all believed I just had an active imagination until my mother told me to never breathe a word of it again.

As princess of the Firerealm, I did hold some say, and perhaps I could force the tens of thousands to believe me in this realm. I smiled at the thought – to finally get the chance to be completely honest with who I was and what I could do.

"Do you see that one?" I asked, squeezing Kyan's hand with my small fingers and using my other hand to point into the sky.

"Pointing doesn't help, princess." I could hear the smile in his voice. Giggles erupted from my lips as we laughed together.

He seemed to know all the names of them, better than I ever could, and kept pointing out new ones that I had never seen before. Suddenly, Kyan's finger shot up into the air, pointing directly at a group of stars in the shape of a triangle.

"Aurora, look! That's the Sun Goddess' Staff constellation!" he exclaimed; his voice brimming with excitement.

I followed the line of his finger. At the top, a radiant star shone brightly and following were two long and slender lines extended downward in perfect symmetry, creating the shaft of the staff. On each end of the staff, there were smaller stars that formed intricate spirals, symbolizing the inner power and energy harnessed by the Sun Goddess.

"Wow, that's amazing!" I replied, my eyes fixated on the constellation.

Kyan then proceeded to explain to me all about Orion, the hunter, and how the Belt marked his location in the sky. He told me about the different stars that make up the constellation and how to identify them in the future. I smiled at him, not seeming to comprehend his words, but seeing his excitement was all that mattered to me.

My smile began to dip as dread built up in my stomach. I could feel something was wrong, deep in my soul. "Kyan?" I cut him off, my voice sounding small.

A sudden and loud ringing sound echoed through the air. It was a deep, and ominous, signaling danger in our realms. We stood on the border of the Nightrealm and Firerealm, and it was coming from both of us. "We need to get back," I urged. As the princess of the Firerealm, my mother would be worried sick to come looking for me and not be able to find me. Although, I was sure this was the first place she would look. I was sure the guards weren't far off, anyway.