Blue_the_Bard
🥇 1st Place - Best Prologue (Whispers Beneath the Ice mini-awards, 2025)
🥈 2nd Place - Best Writing Style (Enchanted Grave Awards, 2025)
🥈 2nd Place - Best Villain (Starfish Awards, 2025)
⸻ ✧ ⸻
Beneath the earth, the sun is only a memory - and its light is no longer free.
The powerful have bottled it, priced it, and called it holy. Every flicker, every breath, must be paid for in Lumen.
Lucy Farrow was born in the Gloom, where the air tastes of rust and hope is a dangerous thing. Her mother taught her to keep her glow low - to survive unseen. But when the light inside her begins to stir, Lucy's secret could unravel the order that keeps their divided city alive.
High above, in the marble halls of the Halo, Prince Cassian Soleyne uncovers a secret among ink and dust - a forbidden lineage that could unmake the civilization he was born to protect. His duty is to snuff it out: his heart tells him to save it.
As rebellion brews in the dark and doubt kindles in the light, their paths will cross - and together they will awaken a fire long thought dead.
A Radiant who could bring back the dawn, and set the Light free.
⸻ ✧ ⸻
Her gloved hand rested in his as the orchestra swelled. They orbited each other like the sun and moon, with hundreds of stars all around watching their every step. Ariana could feel Cassian's firm hand on her back; but now she had no fan to cool herself off.
"You look wonderful tonight, lady Delmaris", Cassian spoke from underneath a silver mask fashioned after his father's own. Ariana glanced away, lest she'd be swept up by her quickening pulse.
"You are too kind, my prince", she murmured as the dance continued. "You look quite... handsome tonight yourself", Ariana managed after a moment.
A thousand eyes, maybe more, rested upon them. But one look at Ariana made all the rumours infinitely worth it.
Maybe the promise they had once made as children wouldn't be a silly game after all. Only the Light knows, Cassian thought.