Swordborn

Prelude

"Worlds are best created by those who want them." - Gaia

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A full moon rises over the Barrier Mountains, spilling light onto the quiet valley floor, turning the meadows soft silver. The south-facing cliffs are too steep to catch the rays of the moon, walls of darkness stretching leagues into black horizons.

Upon the summit stands a mighty castle, three wings carved into granite peaks, spires, stairways, arches, awnings, all reflecting the moon with different intensities, creating shades of white, gray, and black along looming features.

High above the castle gates hangs a balcony, where a wooden door rests open. Cool air flows through the doorway and into the chamber, where a dresser made of white desert wood glows in the moonlight.

At the dresser's edge sits a fairy, his tiny legs hanging over the engraved top, his tiny eyes gazing longingly in the direction of the rising moon. He senses something, a presence calling from across the sky, a traveler wandering into the land of mortals.

The moonlight ripples like water struck by stone, causing shadows on the granite walls to shiver. The ripples cease, and a figure takes shape in the wake of the shimmer, a woman in white.

She casts her shadow over a bed of furs where lovers sleep. The man is lying on his back, his muscular chest rising and falling to the cadence of his breath. A woman lies on his chest, arm tucked beside his head, her red hair flowing across his shoulders, and down her back, and over pillows of silk.

"Hello!" The fairy squeaks, kicking his legs excitedly.

"Look at them," whispers the woman in white, her face hidden under a low hood. "Sailors adrift in the tides of love."

"They are my favorite humans!" The fairy squeaks.

"Wake," the woman whispers, running her hand through the moonlight. Her fingers create shadows over the bed, which brush across the resting mortals.

Coral lazily opens her eyes and wipes drool from her mouth. She feels stillness in the room, then kisses Grayland's neck and settles back in.

"Wake," the woman says again, her voice strangely enchanting, like the first notes of an ancient ballad. Their eyes open, and they become aware of a presence in the chamber.

Grayland leaps from the bed, draws his sword from its sheath, and turns to confront the intruder. Blue flames burn over the long black blade. Moonlight shines through the flames, causing blue shadows to waver on his face and chest. The sword has many names, Godsword, Angelsword, Shadowsbane.

Coral isn't as quick to react, and finds something about this woman in white to be calming and familiar. The figure pulls her hood back, revealing straight blonde hair and a pale face.

"Erasbin!" Coral gasps. She stands, wraps a fur around her naked body, and kneels. Grayland lowers Shadowsbane, startled by the intense beauty of the goddess, then kneels beside Coral.

"How may we serve you?" Grayland asks.

"For twelve cycles of the Terran moon have we lived in Nithausa," Erasbin replies. "Husband, wife, and child."

"How does your daughter fare?" Coral asks.

"She grows faster than any could expect. She longs for the mortal world, as it longs for her."

Erasbin pulls her cloak aside, revealing a young girl in light blue robes hiding behind her mother's leg. The girl has long black hair and dark skin, each barely reflecting the moonlight. She holds onto her mother's robes with both hands, peering out from behind Erasbin, her large eyes darker than midnight shadows.

"How can this be?" Coral asks. "A year ago she was an infant, and now she appears nine or ten!"

"We do not know," Erasbin replies. "Children of the sky age slow as mountains, but she ages fast as a meadow flower. Soon she'll be fully grown, having little memory of what it was to be a child."

"What can be done?" Grayland asks with concern.

"Take her into your home and hearts, care for her as you would your own. Let her make friends, let her play, let her see the land through a child's eyes. Perhaps here she will learn to age as a human. Do this, I beseech you."

Coral and Grayland gaze into each other's eyes, and know they are of one mind.

"Of course," Coral replies warmly. "Anything you ask, we will do."

"Grayland?" Erasbin inquires, her kind blue eyes reaching deep into his soul.

"I stand with Coral," Grayland replies.

Erasbin nods then kneels before her child. Díaday holds her hands in front of her mouth nervously, her legs locked in childish awkwardness. She rocks sideways then back and forth, then Erasbin embraces her.

"Go with them, my love." Says the goddess. "She is as a sister to me, and he is a great ally to your father. They are your family, as we are your family. They shall love you, as we love you. They shall give you what your father and I cannot.

"In the nights when the sky is clear, step out into the dark and look up, dearest to my heart, look up! And when you see the moon rising, know that I am there, looking down upon you with a love like no other."