𝙰 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚃 🇴‌🇫‌ 𝙼𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽𝚂 🇦‌🇳‌🇩‌ 𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙾𝚆𝚂

Prologue

~700 years prior to ACOTAR timeline~

A peel of laughter tinkled through the crisp autumn air. The village children and I danced our way through the flowers in the meadow as the children chased after the butterfly illusions that I had created. I was delighted to say that this, this was what I had yearned for.  For the first time in nearly a millennium, my heart felt full. I adored the sense of fulfillment that came from helping the peaceful village of Qaayport. Qaayport was an oddity, that much I was already sure of. Prythian was a land mass at odds with its own inhabitants. Fae and mortals constantly struggling with their power dynamics. I hated that. I disagreed immensely with the idea that the mortals need be enslaved by the fae. Perhaps that was why I adored Qaayport so. The small village had remained unchanged by the rest of Prythian's ideology. So I had decided to settle there, on the outskirts of the village in a small alcove near the entrance to the forest adjacent to what I liked to call my own personal slice of heaven.

A small tug came from the hem of my gown causing me to snap out of my revere, "Lady Cyri, Lady Cyri, can we come back to play again tomorrow?" The small fae child seemed to be vibrating in front of me at the prospect of getting to be back so soon, the group of children around us quickly picking up his plight as they too began to plead.

I couldn't help but smile at them, the amusement clear in my eyes. "You best ask your parents instead." A collective groan left the group at my statement, though they nodded their heads nonetheless.

Despite their disdain at the concept of needing to ask their parents, the group of children waved towards me. Some even daring to spare my skirts a quick hug before they darted towards the town together. I watched until their figures had all faded away before I let herself fall backwards into the meadow. The flowers seemed to reach up to break my fall, as if worried for their old friend. That was one of my favorite things about my powers. I was titled as the 'Lady of Life' among others. Although that was only half of my power.

Much like my twin Lanthys, I also had the ability to shapeshift. I was known as a goddess able to choose the form of whatever I desired. Yet unlike my twin, I rarely left my physical form. I cared not for the supposed vulnerability that Lanthys had tried to convince me of. In my mind, my twin was not but a pest that was unrelenting. Lanthys believed me to be a waste of power. Despite being titles as the 'Death-lord', Lanthys was not nearly as talented as me when it came to power. Something I always saw as a curse. As a goddess I  was able to meddle with, and bend the whims of life and death to my will. Of nurture and decay. It was as if my soul had been rendered asunder upon entering this plane. But being the 'Lady of Death' was not something I desired.

My stubbornness had been what had caused us to drift apart as twins many a time. Lanthys despised that I insisted upon being a simple-minded being surrounded by what should have been seen as mere ants to us. He never understood why my heart yearned to experience life from a different perspective. Why I was so desperate not to fully embrace my powers as a goddess. It drove him insane. Just as his lack of morals and belief of no mercy drove me insane.

I couldn't help but smile up at the heavens as the wind danced around me, 'perhaps a little rest won't hurt.'

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the overwhelming sense of dread flooded my being. Before I could begin to sit up to investigate what had brought about the sense of doom.  The smell of sulphur and smoke permeated the air. Screams echoing in the distance. The beginnings of goose prickles began down my bare arms as I lurched to my feet. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. The screams got louder the closer I got to the village, before silencing all together. The only sound that came from the village was the crackling of the fires.

As I approached what had once been the peaceful village of Qaayport, glancing around the decay and death, my eyes began to brim with unshed tears. 'Who would do something like this?' No sooner had the thought crossed my mind , did the form of  black mist pass a corner of a building. Entering the town square and answering my question. Lanthys. My vision tinted red as my twin took his corpeal form.

Lanthys had a twisted grin on his face as he spread his arms wide, "Sister! It's been far too long. I hope you don't mind the redecoration. It looked a bit drab for my tastes." The cawing laughter echoed through the sea of destruction, only fueling the feeling of rage beneath my skin.

"What have you done brother," the question was hissed, my tongue kissing the back of my teeth. "They begged the heavens for you, it seems like you made a lasting impression on these peasants." Lanthys continued to taunt, stepping on the corpses that littered the ground before him. "None of this would have happened if you had just listened Cyrilla. We should be doing this together, bringing the world to their knees. We are gods sister. Not peasants. We should not live with mere scum such as these.  They should beg. They should be on their knees before us, worshipping us and our every whim," he was mere meters from me now. The splattered remains of his victims worn proudly as if a badge of honour. Lanthys foot stopped above a familiar head, the head of fae child from before. His cheshire grin turned more animalistic as he gauged my reaction before stepping down with a loud squelch, "you've grown soft."

I wasn't proud of my reaction. As my vision turned red, a ringing took over my  hearing only increasing in pitch as time went on. I could see his lips moving, the taunts continuing from them the closer he got. The conscious side of me blacked out to the feeling of rage within as he kicked the remains off his shoe, swiping it on the ground as if trying to wipe it off. Whatever conscience I had been given gave up at that, the little voice that had been trying to stop me giving in to the feeling of horror. The voice faded to the murderous devil that usually sat unwelcome on my shoulder. The little devil practically cooed in my ear, it's voice encouraging me as it did, 'end him my Lady. Make him regret coming to us.' 

The rage within me bubbled forth with the encouragement, encompassing me with an embrace to rival one you would give an old friend. Tendrils of black and white energy shot out from my body before my mind went blank. The last vision burned to the back of  my retina was the slight gleam of terror that crossed Lanthys eyes. As if he realized the error of his ways. 

A blood red moon pierced through the heavens. That was the first thing I saw when my  conscience came to. It was as if the heavens themselves felt the rage. As if they had anointed me their champion when it came to dealing with the crimes of Lanthys. His body was not visible from the carnage around where we had fought. Craters had been formed along a trail of destruction. The path of carnage had been speared across nearly half the length of Prythian, stopping underneath a new mountain range. 

I had buried him there. Caging him in the roots of the mountain to act as prison to him. I knew that when he came to, the range would not hold him back. Yet knowing that he had been dealt with, even if only temporarily brought a strange sense of relief. I could only hope that it would give him some sense not to toy with my emotions when we met next. That maybe, if the Mother allowed it, it would give him the sense to tread lightly when it came to what I loved.