Blood&Bone: The Red Court

CHAPTER 1

In the beginning, there was nothing but an empty, hollow void. No life and no light, just emptiness.

And in that moment, they arose, His name not known, but many call Him, The True Divine One. With His power, He created the vast night skies, the worlds many desired to reach, the realms that others coveted to traverse, and the sun. He made the first creature, its feathers engulfed in His sacred and divine flame. It soared through the sky as the primitive life forms marveled at its pure sight. But from the shadow of the True Divine emerged the seed of evil, the birth of the darkness that split apart His domain. It threatened to turn the Vireth against Him.

It was from this that the first fallen one was born, threatening to swallow the world of Aldoria. The Phoenix took its last flight serving the True One. It covered the Fallen One with its flames, devouring both of them before they crashed onto the Earth, creating the power of the seven legendary beasts. The True Divine honored His creation by creating the Phoenix Cradle and imprisoning the Fallen One at the ends of the world. Before He took to His rest, He created the Akeshe and new Gods, thus creating the world of Aldoria, our home.

The lore of our kind, the True Divine, is what keeps the hope in our hearts burning, hoping for His return and the day we shall dance underneath His glory. Although new evil roams the Earth with the faces of monsters and Gods, we can only count on the good ones left to protect us. We can depend on our Conduits, the practitioners of magic—those who hold the elements over the Earth. I am Aelena, the Goddess of Eternity, the keeper of the Book of Fate. The Teller of Tales that have been, that are, and that are to come. The one who sees all...

* * *

The one who sees all, and I shall tell the tale of how the same Conduits turned against their own people.

Elara was the most powerful Conduit to ever be born. She harnessed the aura particles of the flame like no other, but her power quickly went to her head. She proclaimed herself the Phoenix reborn, seizing control of the Kingdom of Falcrest. She turned their lives into misery, many feeling as though we had abandoned them. The gods didn't care. Her cruelty burned hotter than her flames. To stay young and strong, she used the Blood Chalice to feast on the blood of the young and made pacts with the Unspoken Ones.

* * *

The Kingdom of Falcrest was vast and large, situated in the Crest Mountains, surrounded by thick, dense woods. But since Elara took over, half of the forest had been chopped down to make way for her expansion, as she sought to take control of the outer villages. The kingdom bore a large, dark palace that looked down on the capital, Nytheia. Wooden cabins with thatch roofing lined the streets, crowded with red banners that fluttered in the wind.

The people were suffering. A mother held her child, who was coughing violently, as all the healers and medicine people had left the city to avoid her wrath. Despite it being  decades since she took control, the kingdom had grown worse, but Elara cared nothing for the people. She loved how they feared her. Their fear made her feel like a god, and she reveled in it. She would force them to bring her offerings if they desired her help. The rich gave her all their gold and precious stones, while the poor perished, as they had nothing to offer.

The streets were muddy, and a foul stench lingered in the air. Perhaps it was the decaying flesh of small livestock or the poorly disposed sewage, but it was hard to tell, as the residents had grown used to the putrid odor. Inside the palace, however, it was majestic. The sweet scent of apple and jasmine filled the air, and the large walls were adorned with red banners and portraits of Elara. A bath of warm salt water was filled to the brim with jasmine petals.

She held out her arms as the young maids removed her silk red robe before she soaked in the water. Elara had beautiful, flowing ebony hair that cascaded down her back, and her enchanting olive skin glowed from the rigors of her fiery training. Her cruel yet passionate blue eyes, like a savage wildfire, gleamed with power. The maids carefully and gently scrubbed her skin, but one of the young girls accidentally slipped, causing Elara to wince in discomfort.