Belford's Heart

Chapter 1: A Forest Bathed in White

Prologue

Seventeen years ago.

Golden was her hair above the bright green of her mother's eyes. One year had yet to pass since she arrived, and she was a gift as bright as the dawn of the world. Her mother slept beside her slumped in a chair beside her bassinet. Her mother had never been further than an arm's reach. Their breaths sang together in the night as the light of the twin moons shone faintly through the windows. The sky was clear surrounding the full moons as summer began to fade.

The light of the moons was overtaken. Something from the West carried a foul darkness over their home. Something golden appeared beyond their window like the eyes of a serpent. Teeth like a shattered mirror emerged beneath them, and a glow of violet illuminated the room. Before the mother could wake, the child had been swept into the long-fingered hands of the violet figure. Just as the breeze would cool the room, all those who came had gone again, and the mother was left in the same peaceful sleep atop an empty bassinet.

The violet woman held the child close to her as her eyes began to glow. Before the sun would rise to welcome the day they stood atop a mountain. The sky was black apart from the peak. It was as though men had carved a circle from the clouds to reveal the twin moons and the stars above them. The child lay silent in the arms of the violet woman. Joy, even in the darkness surrounding her, was all to see on her chubby face. The green of her mother's eyes were the last to leave as the violet glow of the woman engulfed her.

"Claim!" The violet woman's voice was a tower of its own. The sound shook the mountain beneath them as a blue light began glowing at its center. Those gathered to bear witness fell to their knees, the gold in their eyes shining back at the woman and the child. "I lay claim over the gifts of my father! Gifts stolen from my people and given to a world undeserving of his grace!"

The violet glow of the woman's eyes found its way into the child. Something beyond the world around them was channeling its way into their bodies, and their minds became as one as all of the world stood beneath them. The violet woman smiled, her eyes gleaming at the full moons above her took on the same color as her powerful glow. The child's chest began to glow with her, and the sky's opening began to turn like they were at the center of a powerful storm. She had demanded a return of something stolen from her people, and against all creation she had claimed it for herself. She turned to look upon the child in her arms only to find the charcoal skin of her arm against her jeweled gown.

She smiled, her eyes returning to the sky that had welcomed her into ascension, and turned to those gathered at her feet. "From this day to the last, this world shall remember the truth of its creation. The blessings of my father are my own, and I shall be his vessel."

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Wind cut into Belford's stone-like skin as he forced the morning to welcome him. His village was gone now in the distance, as were his duties to the Aukan tribe. A goliath such as him needed to contribute, and he had finally earned the markings to prove his worth. Black ink coursed its way around his hairless head and neck. Beneath his coat it continued. His were the markings of strength and courage, though the markings given were not chosen by his chieftain. The sky had called these markings to Belford's skin as though he were meant to be a warrior in the lands below. He thought it strange that he would be given such markings, even worrying. He had always contributed to the tribe, but he was certainly no warrior. What use would the Aukan have for a warrior? His chief, the All-Knower Fulgrem, had kept his tribe isolated for generations. Men from below seldom made the journey to their village, and none would make the effort to challenge well over one-hundred goliaths with force. He accepted his marking as the sky had called them, but he knew in his heart those that he truly deserved. The spirit of the mountain must have been looking the other way each morning as he walked further down the snow-covered trail. Warrior as ordained by the sky, but wanderer as he felt in his heart.