Prologue
The world was suddenly choked into a single breathless moment of still.
Siedr, potent and powerful, exploded into existence. Leif looked up from the text he'd been staring at blankly since noon, a single bead of cold sweat sliding into the severe wrinkles above his fine and pale brow, tracking down his face like a tear. His heart beat strummed violently from beneath his ribcage, the sound of it just about the only thing besides his labored breath.
"It can't be." He whispered, the deep baritone of his voice turned into a breathless rasp. And just when the thought came to him—
The earth beneath his feet began to tremble violently, throwing him off his seat with its suddenness. He was up a moment later, the acrid smell of his own fear souring the scent of texts and old books that pervaded the room. Gingerly making it to the door with his stomach in his throat and his ears ringing, Lief wrenched it open. One of his bonded's handmaids was leaning on the opposite wall, looking as pale and sickly as he was feeling, and he knew.
He'd only ever seen this thrice in his lifetime, centuries ago and he'd prayed to Mother never to see another day like this, but it was clear She had not heard his prayers. Nnenya had forsaken her children yet again, but now his family more so than everyone else.
"S-she's in labor, Sire."
He could see the truth in her eyes just as much as she could see it in his own. The healers had predicted the birth of his heir on this day. No other child was to be born on such a Holy Day, it was the way.
"Return to her at once. No one is to leave the birth chamber unless I say so."
Not a moment after he finished giving her instructions, a few of the Royal Guards stumbled onto the same corridor.
"Sire." One of them called. "We await your instruction."
Lief took a steadying breathe, stilling his trembling frame with practiced ease. "Have the garrison evacuate everyone to the safe houses. Women and children first. Search for survivors when the trembles subside. Caption Var, call for the council. Tell them to be ready for an emergency meeting."
The men saluted before stumbling out of the corridor.
Lief clenched his fists, biting his bottom lip raw. He took another steadying breath before sprinting down the corridor to the birth chambers.
"Nnenya save us all."
The heat of the red star was borderline unbearable, yet a much better alternative to the unforgiving blaze of the blue sun.
It was a few minutes past noon and yet the day had been dragging since dawn. It felt like uncle and I had been walking for weeks. The trees above us provided much needed shade, but little else when it came to the stifling heat of the sun burning brightly above us. I was sweating through my clothes and my hair had already plastered messily on my forehead and neck.
"Uncle."
"What is it now, boy?" He replied. By the tone of his voice alone I could tell that he was gearing up for another of my whining sessions. My lips curled into an impish smile.
"Why do we have to go Fevlas again?"
"Because you were dropped on your head as an infant." He said. Then added, begrudgingly. "And because you're shit at using your abilities."
"But uncle," I whined, failing to hide my amusement when his shoulders visibly stiffened. "didn't you say it was dangerous going into any of the cities, especially one like Felvas?"
"I said it was dangerous for you." Uncle said, well, more like growled. "Which is why you're going to stay here."
"But it's so hot." I groaned, dialing up the whining.
"I hadn't noticed." Uncle replied dryly.
I snorted. "You can't expect me to spend the whole day here, Uncle. I'd die before your return."
"Not if I kill you first." Uncle groused.
Despite his short fuse, uncle seemed pricklier than normal today. Maybe the trip into Felvas was bothering him more than he wanted to admit.
We'd been traveling shy of Nahas, just north of Telzas. Felvas was one of the Great Cities, but the most furthest from the Capital. It was safely nestled behind a fortified wall of Melhal near the border between Nahas and Telzas. Of course there were easier and safer ways to travel there, but since we were trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, we had to pass through the Wormwoods of Ægna. The only time we could move through the never ending woods was during the day when the red star reached its highest peak in the sky.
"Uncle." I softened my tone. "Everything will be alright. Nnenya smiles upon us."
"If that bitch ever smiled in your direction, we wouldn't be here right now."
"Uncle Yrad!" I exclaimed with laugh.
Of course it was useless reprimanding him, uncle had never hidden his dislike of Celestials, in fact, he went as far as saying they weren't real, despite my very existence being more than enough evidence to null his belief. It was a wonder I hadn't picked any up any of that dislike, considering what I am.
"Look Yuno, I'll have to leave you behind when I go into the city. You are by no means allowed to follow me in there, am I understood?"
My lips involuntarily twitched into a grin. "What if I get scared and want to hide behind my mountain of an uncle?"
"Yuno."
"What if I really am dying from thirst?"
"Yuno" uncle said, temper rising. ", there's a river nearby if you need water. And you can protect yourself from anything dangerous by hiding like I've told you a thousand times."
"But what if—"
"That's enough." Uncle growled. "Swear it, on your word. Now."
"I swear it."
Uncle raised his brow at me. "Go on."
I groaned. "I swear not to follow you into the city. There, happy?" I said, flailing my arms.
Uncle gave me a long-suffering look before roughly ruffling my hair.
"Argh, uncle, it's going to take forever to get it back in order! And there's no need to do it so roughly, you brute! I'm delicate."
Uncle Yrad chuckled lightly, perhaps for the first time in weeks, and even though I was a little miserable about having to fix my hair, I couldn't help the swell of fondness inside me.
It got harder and harder to make him smile as the years flew by and the King grew desperate in his search for my whereabouts. Traveling was getting harder and harder the more distinct my features grew.
"There's no need to go any further, just settle down here."
I relieved myself of my luggage, and plopped onto the ground with a groan of satisfaction. I knew he was relenting the brutal pace we'd set upon for my sake.
"It'll take me at least three hours to get to the Nahasi border, then I'll get transport from there to Flevas. I'm sure I'll be back before the end of the day."
"If sunset finds you in Flevas, stay there. I'll be fine by myself."
"No, I'll travel back."
"Uncle," I started. "you can't risk your life just to get back to me, I'll be fine by myself for a night."
"Yuno—"
"I sincerely promise you that I won't get into trouble. I'll sit my arse right on this ground and lean on this er...comfy but hard tree with the ward stones that you watched me etch, and I'll mind my own business until you come back, whether that's today or tomorrow."
Uncle gave me a long searching look before nodding. "If you die, I'll bring you back from the otherside, break your legs and rip your spine out through your nose."
"I love you too, uncle." I said, holding back a round of chuckles. I stretched my hand out and slide back one of his pale locks behind his ear. I'd have to make him another hair band, he always kept losing them.
Uncle gave one last slightly annoyed, slightly exasperated but marginally fond look before he set off. As I watched him disappear behind the thickness of the woods, my mood soured.
It was easy keeping up the cheer when uncle was around, but I was getting weary of hiding just much as he was. My whole life I'd been on the run, unable to settle anywhere, make friends or connections beside the one I shared with uncle, I couldn't even tell anyone my name. Not without risking everything, not without invalidating uncle's sacrifices.
Before my thoughts could spiral into another bout of guilt, I dragged my satchel bag closer, dug through it, grabbed a bar of soap and got out the ward stones before dropping them around me in a circle. They were simple stones, made of granite and inscribed with runes that made anyone overlook a presence. Uncle and I often used them to keep our campsites hidden, but their effect was even greater if they only had to cover a smaller area, which was why I put them around myself.
I didn't know much about Rune Inscription and I wasn't much interested in what it pertained, but uncle was very well informed on the subject and he'd made sure I could at least do the basics. I could very easily conceal my presence, create warmth without fire, purify dirty water, erase my scent and keep anyone with malicious intent from getting too close to me. Uncle had also taught me how to use runes to identify poisonous plants. It was very useful considering we spent most of our time in places like this.
With a simple flick of my wrist, the ward stones around me started hovering, and as I stood they rose with me. One of the stones detached from the ring and settled on my satchel, concealing its presence. I could feel where it was even though I couldn't see it since it was humming with my energy.
Then after listening carefully, I walked to where I could hear the sound of the river. Uncle and I had stuck close to it so we had a place to collect water and hunt for a meal incase our rations ran out. It was also the most convenient way to lose the occupants of the forest. Ogres didn't much like large bodies of water. Uncle said it was because they were shit at swimming. I thought they probably just didn't like the Nymphs. No one liked the bloody Nymphs.
I got to river before I could start sweating again and decided I'd have a short swim before going back to where uncle left me. He'd be gone for a while so I definitely needed to be right where he last saw me when he returned, otherwise he'd be beside himself with worry. I knew he wasn't going to spend the night in Felvas, the big sap was as attached to me as I was him.
I was all the family he had left. I had family but... well, another thought to avoid. I disrobed in record time, and quickly walked into the water with a satisfied groan. "I could cry right now."
I quickly lathered my hair with the scentless soap and got into washing and detangling it as much as I could without a comb. Then after rinsing it I moved on to the rest of my body. And when I was finally done, I leaned back into the water and stared at the purple sky above. The colour was a bit worrying. Uncle and I probably had a few days before the blue sun rose and it wouldn't be safe for us to be outside. It wouldn't be safe for anyone during the Blue Glaze, except for the hardier folk. I wasn't really sure how most of the inhabitants of Audhild managed to survive the worst of it, but the Audhala, the first descendants of the Celestials and consequently mine and uncle's people, usually burrowed behind Melhal. The science behind its creation was a secret to all sans the Royal Family but it was generally known that Melhal had incredibly versatile protection qualities. It's why the Great Cities were often nestled behind them.
Uncle and I always went to elf colonies. Darker shades of skin were common amongst their people, so they never asked much about my origins when we went to their settlements for protection. If we cut through the woods south of the Wormwoods we'd reach the nearest elf glade, Kharvos, and spend the duration of the Blue Glaze there.
My neck started tingling and with an annoyed huff my eyes slid open. I hadn't even realized I'd slipped into a light doze. I didn't feel like I'd been napping long, but it seemed like a good idea to go back now and start camp, especially since I'd garnered someone's attention. I quickly swam the river bank, but before I could completely get out of the water, a pebble struck me at the base of my neck.
It stung.
Bloody Water Nymphs.
I had to take deep breathes to choke down the icy bout of anger from consuming my common sense. I wasn't allowed to use my abilities, not anything beyond Runes Inscription and I was only allowed that because they required a small sacrifice of blood. I turned around and she was staring me down unblinkingly a few feet away from where I was floating. There was nothing threatening about her face, that is, if you ignored the razor sharp fangs peaking from behind her dark blue tinged lips and violence in her stare.
This was an ongoing problem, Nymphs and their hatred for me. I wasn't sure if they taught their young to hate me too, but every single one of them had a problem with me. Uncle thought it had something to do with me being who I am, but that didn't make sense to me. Hardier folk were of Nnenya, as was I. "Can I help you?" I said, as politely as I could manage.
"You best leave, little godling." She said. "My kin and I want no trouble."
I took another deep breath. "Of course." I gritted out.
I wanted to say more than that, seeing as I was doing as she just asked before she even attacked me, but I knew better than to start something. I was already at a disadvantage being in her territory. And there was no need to start something huge over being hit with a pebble. It didn't even hurt that much, I thought, mulishly.
She gave me a parody of a smile, but the shifting of the blue-green scales trailing down the sides of her face like sideburns and near imperceptible flapping of her webbed ears were all I needed to know that if I didn't pick up the pace, she'd attack.
I quickly got back into my clothes and made my way back to camp.
I decided that I wouldn't tell uncle anything, because he'd use the opportunity to lecture me for not listening. "You promised you'd sit your arse down here, Yuno." I whispered under my breathe in approximation of the tone he'd take when he started a lecture about safety.
The sun was starting to set so I widened the circle of rune stones, just so that uncle and I would have a comfortable enough space for the night. I knew he was coming back; he'd be besides himself with worry if he didn't go to sleep without making sure I was safe first. Uncle took his duty as my protector very seriously. I set up my sleeping bag before lying on top of it. It was starting to get a bit chilly, so I set one of the heating stones near me to keep me warm. It didn't seem like it was going to be a cold night, so I didn't bother getting into my covers. After lying down for a while lost in inane thoughts about descaling water Nymphs I noticed that the sun had set. I sat up, a little bit nervous.
I'd honestly thought uncle would be back by now. I hope he wasn't in the forest, it was incredibly dangerous to wander around unnoticed, especially for our kind. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. I was starting to get a little frustrated, I really hoped he wasn't out there.
I wasn't sure how much time passed with me staring worriedly in the direction he'd left when the ground started rumbling very gently. I felt an icy chill slide down the small of my back, and I was sure my eyes were wide open. The forest was eerily silent and I knew.
I knew it was an Ogre hunting party.