Silverclaw

Opening The Portal

 Anya stood in the centre of the Portal Gateway, the others stood well back on the edges. She raised her belt knife over the palm of her left hand, and slowly, carefully, cut into the flesh with the blade.

 She flexed her hand, causing more blood to fall onto the Gateway, even as the drops that had already fallen began to spread rapidly. Anya started to walk around the Gateway in a large spiral, moving with her blood as it spread rapidly outwards from where she had been standing.

 Coming to where her friends were standing, she stopped and turned towards the centre once more, raising her hands up as she did. The wound on her hand glowed Silver a moment, and then disappeared, leaving only a thin scar across her palm. She took a deep breath, and began to speak.

 'Light of the world, hear my call.

 'Dark of the world, hear my call.

 'Air and Earth, Fire and Water,

 'Hear my call, heed my plea,

 'Open the Portal, free my people,

 'Let us roam this world once more,

 'To fight and love together!'

 The blood that had filled the grooves of the Gateway shone brightly, turning the colour of each of the elements as she named and called on them before finally turning a Silver colour that shone brightly, despite the fact that it was the middle of a sunny day. The glow grew to blinding proportions, forcing Dievra and the others to look away until it had dimmed.

 When it did, they opened their eyes to find Anya bathed in the bright silver light that was still emanating from the now-active Portal. Dievra and Okril looked at each other wide-eyed. 'Silverlight...' They whispered together, shocked. Darian frowned at them, confused, but was prevented from asking what they meant by their words when a figure appeared from the Portal's Gateway.

 The elf was tall, with long blond hair a little darker than Anya's, but with skin a shade of colour that none of them had ever seen before. It was a deep, rich brown, contrasting with the yellow of his hair and the lavender shade of his eyes. His clothes were typical of an elf's, a deep green that merged with his skin nicely. Darian knew instantly that in a forest full of trees, this male elf would be one of the hardest to find, especially if he covered his hair. A sword hung at his hip, a quiver on his back with a bow slotted into it, and a spear in his hand also left Darian without any doubt that he was a warrior of high calibre.

 The elf strode up to Anya, staring down at her for a moment, and then sank down onto one knee. 'Majesty.'

 'Arkeus.' Anya smiled happily. 'Welcome to the human world.'

 'It is as beautiful as I remember, Majesty.'

 'You do not need to tell me that, Arkeus. Stand, please, and call through our troops. It is time for the elves to fight!'

 Arkeus inclined his head briefly and then stood. Striding back to the Portal, he disappeared into it. When he returned, he was followed by many elves, the appearance of each new row of troops continuing for a long time after the first appeared.

 Anya stood on the edge of the Portal, staring out at the mountain vista before her. Dievra and Okril watched her quietly, and glanced at each other when she spoke.

 'Did you need something, Dievra, Okril?' She turned to look at them, and Okril swallowed slightly.

 'Not I, in this case, Majesty. This is best heard from Dievra.' He bowed, and withdrew as Dievra stepped up next to Anya.

 'Many centuries ago, our Seers saw the figure of a girl surrounded by silver light. They couldn't see her clearly, but they could tell that she was neither full elf or full human, but a mix of the two. They named her Silverlight, and watched her future carefully. She united the two races, and then went even further, uniting the two worlds as well. Her reign was one filled with peace and prosperity, but there was a problem.'

 Anya tilted her head slightly at her. 'A problem? Dievra, I hate to say this, but I fail to see how this has any bearing on us now.'

 'It has a bearing, Majesty. The problem was that despite her prosperity, she had many enemies, and one of them was the highest enemy she could possibly have. The Black God, the Silver Lady's evil twin, or, as the humans call him-'

 'The Star Father. But why are you telling me this, Dievra?'

 'You are that girl, Majesty. Just as your strength, and therefore that of the Silver Lady, grows, so does his. The Silver Lady is perfectly balanced, neither good nor bad, but the Black God is pure evil and nothing else.'

 Anya turned back to the mountain vista. 'I knew already that I would have to face him, unfortunately. Did the Seers see what happened to me?'

 Dievra shook her head. 'They were unable to see past your meeting with the Black God, Majesty.'

 'I see...' Anya tilted her head back, her blue gaze seeking the clouds above. 'Why is it always me, Dievra...?'

 'Majesty?'

 'Why was I the one born to my parents, taken as a child, and then as a slave? Why did that prophecy have to be about me...? Why is it always me that has to smile and say that everything will be fine...?' Anya kept her head tilted back as she stared upward, but Dievra still saw the tear that slid down her cheek. 'Why can't I have a normal life...?'

 Dievra stared at her in shock. This was the last reaction that she had expected from Anya, and she looked down at the ground as she felt the enormity of Anya's sadness resound within her.

 'I do not know, Majesty. All I do know, is up until your meeting with Him, you will lead both humans and elves fairly and kindly.' She gripped her right arm with her left hand for a moment, and then sighed. 'That is what the Seers told me. But this is what I know, from watching you this past year.'

 She faced Anya, who blinked at her. 'You can make the cloudiest of days light up simply by smiling. You make friends easily and well. You trust, but not to the point of foolishness. You are fair and just in all things. You are loved by your friends and your family, to the point where they would do almost anything for you. You are skilled with the sword, bow, and hand-to-hand fighting. Your cooking is truly awful.'

 They both smiled at that before Dievra continued. 'You were named Silverfur, Silverclaw, Silverheart and Silversong. But there is more to you, more to be seen, more names to discover, and I believe that the discovery of your fifth name, Silverlight, is only the beginning.'

 Anya stayed quiet a moment, thinking about what Dievra had said. 'I don't know what I'm doing, Dievra. You know that. But... I think that, with friends like you, I might be able to see my way through all of this.' She turned, gesturing at the large army behind them with a small smile. Arkeus was directing each of the battalions into a new area, where they were quickly setting up tents and other things ready for the night.

 Her gaze travelled over it all, assessing everything she saw. 'I still find it hard to believe that all of this could happen to a simple farm girl, but at the same time...' She smiled properly as she found and met the gazes of her friends. 'I got to meet new people and learn new things, things that I never thought could be.'

 Dievra smiled at her. 'I find it is always a good idea to think along those lines, Majesty. That way, you won't forget what you have gained, despite what you might have lost.'

 Anya nodded as she knelt to accept Princess's greeting, the young Snow Leopard jumping up at her eagerly. 'I agree, Dievra. It is always best to think like that!'