Stars & Night

[Power]

Heavy snowflakes drifted down from the sky, piling on to the thin layer of ice that coated the castle grounds. My breath fogged the glass, the opaque fog pulsating with each exhale I made, as I stared out the window of the infirmary.

I nervously tapped the satchel at my side, the books shifting within. Even though I kept them at my side at all times, I only dared to open them after dark, when the castle had quieted and the healers made their way back to their rooms.

The last of the light disappeared from the horizon. The land became blanketed in a soft blue tint, as the first of the stars peeked through clouds, granting me a glimpse of the dark night sky.

I rummaged through the satchel, seeking one book in particular. It hummed beneath the others, calling to my fingers with its gentle vibrations.

I placed it on my desk, my hand smoothing over the surface. It hummed even louder now, with a satisfied serenade. "The History of Sahnad", was etched in letters of gold, worn over the pale white cover. The only book that wasn't black as night.

I must have read through this book twenty times already. The rest of the books the professor had given me were helpful, but  this one spoke to me, as if it recognized me as one of its own.

I wanted to read it again. To be sure that I knew everything, that I missed nothing.

I cracked it open once more, and was met by the familiar sweet, stale scent of the pages. My eyes devoured the drawings, committing them to memory, as I maniacally consumed them once more.

  Two benders, one light and one dark, holding hands, crowns atop their heads.

  The light bender, reaching out to a wildling, while the shadow bender stayed in the shadows.

  The shadow bender plunging a sword into the light bender's back.

  Bodies, upon bodies of light benders piled, the shadow bender standing atop them.

  Wildlings corralled and driven from their land by the shadow benders.

  Only a single shadow bender standing with the crown.

I slammed the book shut.

I had another piece of the puzzle. The history, the real history, my mother had told me to find.

"The history of this world is the key to its salvation."

Her words echoed in my mind.

The books the Tactics professor had given me had gone into so much detail that it had made my head spin. I'd promptly vomited up my dinner after reading of the atrocities the shadow benders had committed. Information they'd so conveniently left out of the history books found in the library.

But still, something scratched at the back of my mind.

If this was their history, why was I here? Why had I come to save a group of people that had viciously murdered thousands of my kind?

I jumped as the loud alarm blared through the room, echoing throughout the castle. When my eyes darted to the window, the distinct glow of flames flickered in the distance.

We were being called to battle once again. 

But this time, I was prepared.

...

I huddled with the rest of the recruits, as the snow pelted us from every which way, each gust like a lash to the face. We could hardly see anything in front of us, the land one big expanse of white in every direction.