Evmor: The Calling

Prologue

This is the first story I'm actually working on seriously from planning out the plot, thinking of the characters, making edits, and so much more. I'm really thrilled and I hope many of you will enjoy it too. If there are any parts that hit you as odd or if you find any mistakes that I am bound to make please let me know. I'm always open to helpful comments. Thanks and enjoy!

Prologue

The night was silent and the shadows themselves seemed to have eyes that missed nothing.

Coralia stumbled down the empty street in the dead of night, supported by her companion—Killian whose mess of blonde hair was pasted to his forehead with sweat. Coralia's dark cloak made it seem as if she was part of the night; its large hood pulled down to cover her head that only her delicately pointed chin was visible. The street was devoid of life; everyone had already retired to the beds for the night. The two were both covered in grime and soot, fatigue clear in Killian's grim expression and his disheveled looks. He cast his eyes around wildly in desperation, as if searching for the one thing that could solve whatever crisis they were facing.

"Is this it?" he asked Coralia, finally coming to a stop in front of a weathered, insignificant door. It was a suburban house, much like any other house that lined the street. Under the porch light, it could be seen that the smudge mark across Killian's cheek was dark red, small spots of the same color dotting his face. When Coralia nodded to his question, he firmly rapped on the door. After a short pause, soft footfalls could be heard throughout the house, hurriedly approaching the door. Soon, the door creaked open an inch to reveal a man with soft eyes and a kind face. Jared. His amber hair stood up on ends, showing he had just stumbled out of bed. His wife peered over his shoulder with wide cautious eyes.

Although he was annoyed at being awoken at this hour, he suppressed his emotions and asked politely, "Can I help you?" He couldn't help but cast a wary glance at Coralia who seemed to be completely drained of energy, incapable of standing without the help of Killian. Their clothing attracted a fair amount of attention as well; it seemed plucked out of time, as if they had stepped out of a movie set.

"My lady here is gravely injured and we couldn't find shelter. Could you be kind enough to offer us shelter, at least just for one night?" Killian asked, desperation coloring his otherwise unruffled voice. He didn't offer any other explanation, only stared steadily at Jared with his clear green eyes.

Jared's logical side argued that it was foolish to let complete strangers into his house, especially considering the time they decided to appear on his doorstep. Killian spoke with an odd lilt to his words, an accent Jared had never heard before, and Jared didn't miss the smudge of dark red across Killian's cheek. They could be criminals for all he knew, and there would definitely be consequences for housing people who had gone against the law. But the desperation in the green eyes and the way Coralia held herself made it impossible for him to turn them back out into the cold, empty street. With a shake of his head and a disbelieving grunt, he opened the door all the way and gestured for the pair to step inside. Helen-Jared's wife-started to protest but decided against it, instead making way for the pair to enter the house.

Killian practically carried Coralia inside and asked the couple where he could settle her down. Helen pointed to a sofa set in the middle of the living room, full of comfortable looking cushions. With an apologetic grimace at having to ruin the perfectly fine cloth, he gently set Coralia onto the sofa, causing her thick black hair to spill out across it. A soft moan of pain escaped her lips at the small movement.

"What's wrong with her?" Helen asked cautiously. It was obvious she wanted to approach her and observe, but was too afraid to do so.  Killian hesitated, unsure of what to say, but then introduced himself and Coralia, subtly leaving out any more information. He then started to explain the injury Coralia was suffering from and as expected, was met with protests and distrustful glances from Jared and Helen. Most people would visit the hospital to treat a grave injury, not some insignificant suburban house set into the corner of small town outside of Portland. However, when Coralia sounded another moan of pain, Helen immediately sought to treat her wounds. The house was suddenly thrown into chaos; someone bringing a bowl of warm water, another the first-aid kit with extra bandages that seemed highly necessary from the amount of blood that Coralia was losing. A thick towel was placed under Coralia to ensure no blood would stain the sofa and Helen's unsure and timid character was gone in an instant. She set about barking orders at the two men while she settled next to Coralia and started to inspect her wound.

It was a deep cut that ran along the edge of her abdomen, and it was an understatement to say it was bleeding profusely. There was also a faint sheen of purple on the tips of her fingers, and Helen frowned, confused. It definitely wasn't the weather for frostbites yet. Dismissing this for now, Helen firmly pressed a towel to the wound to try and stop its bleeding. Coralia groaned in pain as direct pressure was added to her already throbbing wound. She tried to squirm away from this new source of pain but Helen doggedly continued to press against the source of blood loss. She also noticed small burns on Coralia's arms and cheeks, as well as her legs. A quiet warning whispered through her mind but she pushed it away, determined to take care of her patient.

Coralia and Killian Ryder stayed with the family of four for a little less than a week. It turned out that there was a boy of age six called Nathaniel-more often called Nate- and a baby girl, only a year old, called Aviara. Through their stay at this house, Coralia took a special liking to Aviara and often spent her time sitting and looking after the little girl. She noticed Aviara was a strong spirited girl who was always restless, continuously moving around inside her small crib, and that she possessed a laugh that was highly contagious. Coralia spent the long days always resting and was strictly prohibited from moving too much by Helen. However, she noticed that although her wound was tended, she became weaker each day. The purple had also spread from the tips of her fingers to cover her hands.

Although the two strangers had introduced themselves to the family, there were many secrets they were keeping from them. They did not tell them what exactly had happened, how they had ended up this way, and what was to happen to them after this. Coralia also did not tell that her time alive was rapidly coming to an end and there was something she possessed that must be passed on before her death.

On the day that the two decided to leave the family, Coralia asked for some time alone to spend with Aviara. As she looked lovingly down at the baby settled in a crib, she placed her palm on the baby's forehead and closed her eyes in concentration. The room lit up in brilliant white light, so bright that the entire space seemed to be nothing but pure, empty void of white. This only lasted for mere seconds before the light was gone. If one looked carefully, they would have noticed how the light seemed to withdraw from the room into Aviara.

"I am truly sorry for putting this burden upon you, Aviara Skye. But I know that you will be strong enough to handle the responsibility. I only hope you will be able to succeed with as few obstacles as possible." Coralia whispered, before placing a soft kiss on the baby's forehead.

Coralia and Killian walked out into the night, away from the pool of brightness beckoning them back, and disappeared into the dark embrace of the shadows.

**Made some improvements on grammar with the help of @BenjaminKraft1. Thanks so much for the help!

So how did you like the prologue? If it interested you even a little bit it would be great if you kept reading! And it would be really awesome if you could press that little vote button before moving on ;)