The Book of Elora

: Prologue :

In a space flooded with light that went as far as the eye could see, I felt a powerful presence near me. Mist seeped into the air from soft clouds that drifted about. While I was unaware of my location, I felt safe here; it was as if I was being cradled by condensation. One of the clouds began to swirl before me, twisting and taking shape with every passing second. The moment a woman materialized from the mist, an unsettling feeling washed over me.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice strong and familiar. The woman's blank white orbs leered in my direction as if there were something to behold. The longer I observed her, the more the chilling sensation seeped into my bones.

Waves of energy rippled from the mystifying being's translucent frame, every inch of her shimmering with each movement. Golden silk clung to her shapely physique, and she bore a head full of curls and skin the color of bronze. It terrified me to be looking myself in the eyes, staring at the very body I had housed during my life as Sabina. I tore my gaze away, and looked down to find that I had no body for my voice to have emerged from. This unclear situation was too familiar for comfort.

"I am what you know as Fate," the being spoke, her voice gentle unlike the potent aura she radiated. My grandmother never got the chance to elaborate on her belief in Fate, as opposed to God or any other deity. If Fate had once appeared before my grandmother in this manner, there was no questioning why she believed in Destiny rather than Christianity. I couldn't deny the ethereal existence that hovered before me.

"Am I dead, or alive?" I inquired, as my last moment of consciousness flashed back to me. My battle against Grim ended in a beam of light. I recall the shrill sound of my wail and the searing heat that overtook my entire body.

"You are dead, my child. It has been a long time since you last crossed into the Realm of the Dead, but you are soon to rejoin the living. You still have a destiny to fulfill."

"I'm sure I've overstayed my welcome among the living," I grumble, wincing as I recall that I'm in the presence of Fate herself. "Not to seem ungrateful, but I've lived one too many lives."

Fate chuckled, a smirk tugging on her full lips. "I can understand why you'd feel that way. With the knowledge you currently have, there's no questioning your doubts. You will soon discern the reason for everything. Your destiny is important to the balance of the Elora Dimension."

"Fulfilling it would be a lot easier if I knew what it was." Sarcasm is helping me deal with the fact that Fate clearly has a lot more in store for me. As if everything I'd gone through up until now wasn't enough.

"Find the Book of Elora," Fate said simply. "All the answers you seek lie within it." While this sounded like an easy task, I was sure I was going to end up risking my life trying to accomplish it.

"There's one question I need an answer to before you send me back. Am I still bound to Grim Reaper by a continuum?" 

Fate lifted an arm, small specks of magical energy lifting from her lithe fingers. "That is something you will have to find out upon your return." I wasn't allowed another word, for the being I had been conversing with dispersed back into the clouds, and the light grew so bright it drowned out everything around me.

                        ⌛⌛⌛

I wake up from a searing heat in my chest, jolting upright with a piercing scream. The sound is foreign to me, and the way the high pitched shrill echoes through the domed space runs a shiver through me. My eyes dart around, taking in the blank white walls of the hemispherical room. The hastened pace of my heartbeat has my limbs trembling with unease, and the hair on my skin standing up.

When a door slides open directly in front of me, my aura surges defensively. It lashes out against the dome containing me, the walls trembling from the strain. A man steps across the threshold, his broad frame towering as he approaches me. His white tunic hugs his muscles in all the right places, causing me to swoon. My eyes trail up the full lips that rest beneath a wide nose and piercing emerald eyes.

"You're safe, Silbhan. You have nothing to be afraid of." Milo approaches me slowly, holding his arms up to show me that he means no harm. The trembling of my limbs slows to a stop as it dawns on me who's in my presence. I'm unsure of what's going on. I was just with Fate in the Realm of the Dead, so being alive again means I've been reborn into a new life. I've done this more times than I can count, but never have I returned to life fully grown, and with my memories of my previous lives intact.

"What's going on, Milo?" My voice is no longer the sonorous tone I'm used to hearing. It's instead a softer, higher pitched melody. I look down at myself to find that I am indeed inhabiting a new body.

I'm seated on a long white slab, hovering a few feet above the white tiles on the floor. A thin sheet of fabric is draped over my lower half while my torso remains bare. I lift my arms into view and peer at them, noting that my flawless bronze skin is a few shades darker than my previous body's. My eyes move to my hands, each phalange perfectly matches its opposing counterpart. I bring them up to my face, palming my cheeks and caressing the lines of my jaw and nose, wondering what I look like now. Once my fingers get lost in the coils of my gravity defying mane, I'm soothed by the familiar softness of it.

"I picked out a synth that looked similar to your previous body, so it wouldn't be too big of an adjustment." Milo closes the distance between us, manifesting a robe from thin air and draping it over my shoulders. My brows draw together after digesting what he's insinuating. "Welcome to the Eloran Utopia. This is your first life as an angel."

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7/1/2020

a/n: Hey readers! Decided to drop this prologue to warm you up for what's to come. I've plotted out Arc One, and should be posting updates soon. I'm still editing the first book, so my focus is mainly on that, but I'm so eager to start writing book two >.< Follow me (if you don't already) for news on how frequent my updates will be.