Chapter Text
It was the first night of the winter solstice, and the coldest night of the year so far in the village of the dark elves and nymphs.
Aethra, the only daughter of a dark elf and nymph and training to be a sorceress of the night. Despite the cold and harsh weather, she sat on her balcony drawing runes in the snow as it fluttered down from the roof.
She was about to head inside for some rest when her best friend Talia, a cloud nymph, walked out from her own balcony and flew over to the one Talia was on. She flew down with a bright smile on her face and wearing gray cargo pants and a white turtleneck with short sleeves and it was cropped, and her white fluffy hair was at her shoulders.
Talia's outfit, however, was the opposite to Aethra. She had black dress pants, a black poet's shirt with a cloak at the back that hid her waist-length deep brown hair.
She looked at Aethra's bright cheerful smile and remembered life before she was locked in the mountainous cave they now had to call home after being shunned by the rest of the world. The village they called Faebryar where she and hundreds of other villagers grew up, burned to the ground before they were chased to a cave to escape the flames, where they were tricked and trapped into the once empty cave now full of civilization, but the runes still had them trapped.
That's why she wanted to be a sorceress of the night, to protect the villagers. Aethra waved a hand in front of her face. "Uhh Talia are you okay?" She just nodded in response, not really replying verbally because she didn't trust her voice.
She suddenly remembered Claudia, her younger sister who was lost in the flames of the fire. She was quickly brought back to the present and smiled. Aethra quickly explained, "Come on Talia, it's the feast of the winter solstice!"
Talia let Aethra fly her to the grassed floors, where the nymphs lived, where they also held special feasts. Talia had just sat down when her mentor, Malachai, came up to her. "Talia, I and the other sorceresses sensed that the rune magic was weakened and so, we shall launch an attack.”
Malachai had also removed her hood. She shook her short dark gray hair. She also wearing a long black skirt and frilly top, then told Aethra that she would be back soon and left with Malachai.
They arrived at the wall with the runes and met up with the others. She didn't bother remembering the names of them because they always tried to disable the runes by themselves and die.
They now gathered everyone to do the spell. Vortamere, the spell of unlocking, and hopefully the amount of magic from 21 people would overload the magic runes that sealed them away. Malachai gathered all the girls around and started drawing the runes on the ground.
All the girls also started putting the runes down. Talia was doing the same when she heard a cry coming from the door that sealed them away. She walked towards the door and put her hands on the rune of night they called it.
Malachai called out “Talia don’t!”
She wrapped her hands around something and pulled it out. It was a baby wrapped in a purple and gold blanket with the rune of night on the back. Aethra thought she heard something, so she walked towards the front of the cave and saw the same way she did with the other runes and pulled out a little boy in a chiton, which was blue and green, with the rune of light on his back.
He held onto her arm, that was not holding the little girl, Malachai ran forward trying to stop another girl called Delyn. However, Delyn got passed and pulled the little boy away and grabbed the girl. She shoved the boy to the ground and tried to do the same to the girl, but she stumbled back when the little baby girl just started glowing in the air not touching the ground.
She quickly got over her shock and tried to use a spell on the Delyn, but the little boy raised a hand in front of himself and turned her to stone. Malinchai and Talia quickly ran to the children, and Talia picked up the girl and held her to her chest as she started crying.
Malinchai spoke, "Talia, these children are clearly gifts from Selene, the night goddess, and Caelum, the life and earth god. We must protect them." Later that night, they decided that the children would stay with Talia, just after Talia got the children to sleep she got a knock on her door. She opened the door to see Aethra.
"Hi Talia, I'm sorry to barge in like this but I heard about what happened." Talia was about to interrupt her when Aethra pushed her way into the house. She walked into the space from the kids were staying in and sat next to them. The little boy woke up.
"Lady Aethra!" Talia was about to interrupt on how he knew her name when he spoke up. "That's right, Aspen, you and your little sister Calla causef quite a ruckus." Talia interrupted, "Aethra, how do you know these kids and their names?"
She was about to answer when ear piercing shrieks interrupted them. Aethra picked up Calla while Talia held Aspen's hand while they ran outside. One of the houses were burning down and the three flags of the other villages that trapped them were there. Pirisurter, Bokstu and etierfav.
She saw the rune door closing as they rode out. Malachai ran over to them, flicking her wrist to put out the fire. "Both of you, come with me. I think I know how to escape." They followed her to the rune door. "Aethra, please put your hand on the air rune, when I say."
"So, um, I don't know your name, little boy, but please put your hand on the life rune and I'll hold the little girl onto the night rune." Aethra then spoke up, "I do you know what that would do?”
“Yes, I do if you’re okay with it, it’s our only hope.”
“What happening, Aethra?”
Neither Malachai or Aethra told her Malachai just counted down from three. Taila didn’t speak as she watched her best friend and the children she was taking care of turn to ash.
A heart broken sob came from her chest as she realised what had happened but before she could say anything the door opened and Malachai shoved her out to escape.
“GO TAILA, FIND A WAY TO FREE US!”
She fell to her knees and sobbed as the door closed but she quickly got up and started sprinting to her old village hoping some ruins would be there and the situation dawned on her.