Chapter Text
It all started when a star fell from the sky. At first, it appeared to be a meteor entering the atmosphere. One that humans might incorrectly call a “shooting star” and foolishly grant wishes upon. This, however, was just an ordinary star. One that burned brightly in the deep of space for everyone on Earth to see. It was ordinary, at least, until it had landed.
When it collided with the Earth’s surface, a huge crater was formed, as most things that crash into the Earth’s surface tend to do. Had it not been for where it landed however, there would have been a much larger crater where it was. When the star crashed, it would have exploded, destroying everything around it, had there not been a special kind of magic in the area. One specifically made to protect the environment and those living in it.
Instead of destroying all the trees and wildlife, the star imploded in on itself in a small supernova. The end result was a crystal no bigger than a watermelon. Perfectly spherical and glistening in the moonlight, it sparkled with the remnants of stardust that it had come from.
The magic that it had gathered was very strong and had peculiar powers, indeed. Its main task was to protect the village of Elves hidden in the forest. A human walking past their village would easily miss it since their human eyes are easily fooled by simple magic tricks. The Elves weren’t afraid of the humans, but humans were quite stupid and violent and it was much easier to have humans believe Elves didn’t exist rather than have a human stumble upon them and try to start a war with them for some reason that only humans could justify.
However, now that some of this magic was inside a star, there was no telling what it could do. Well, not until one of the Elves had stumbled upon the star. They had come to see the supposed meteor crash but were very surprised to see a crystal in the middle of the large crater where they had expected a large space rock to be. It made them very curious.
Curious enough to climb down into said crater and touch it.
A bright white bolt of lightning shot through their arm and spread through their body, sending them backwards onto their back. Their vision blurred for a few minutes while the ringing in their ears died down. The only thing more shocking than what had just happened was what they saw when their vision had cleared. On the ground beside the Star Crystal was a small baby with hair as white as stardust and a bright pink scar on their chest in the shape of a ‘1’. Beside them was a tiny shard from the Star Crystal that had fallen off. It was glowing red.
The first Hero.
Some of the Elves’ magic that had been used to protect their village had been concentrated in this small infant. There was a strong aura about this child that could not be ignored. Its white hair and piercing silver eyes seemed to be even more supernatural than the star. All of the other Elves could sense its enchantment and knew that the strange baby was destined for greatness. It already had the magic of a protection spell flowing through it, guaranteeing a safe life.
But one Elf had a different train of thought.
If this baby was as magical and powerful as everyone was making it out to be, who was to say it wouldn’t be a danger?
No one really liked him that much.
The protection magic refused to bring harm to anyone.
His protest had , however sparked a tradition.
The child was taken from their “parent” and raised by a council of Elves to better understand their magic and abilities. They grew up strong and became a hero to the world.
As for the star, it had been carefully stored in a chest for fear of what destroying it might do, gathering dust there for years until it would be needed again. The task of saving the entire world had become so harsh in the oncoming years, that seven more Heroes had been made. Now there were eight of them. Seven to protect the continents and one to travel the seas, protecting the islands and waters in between.
The crystal shards, as they had discovered, were linked to the Heroes' life forces. Coming close to death would cause the crystal to glow red, once a Hero’s energy was restored, it would flash a bright white, and when a Hero’s life ended, the crystal would shatter.
All was well for centuries, until another sought the Star for their own evil uses. It was of no surprise that one with a cruel heart would try to abuse the magic that it possessed. An Elf with hair green like seaweed and a heart as black as coal had earned his way onto the council sworn to protect the star. Unfortunately for him, so had another Elf, who saw through his friendly guise and never left him by himself. Even when he thought he was.
The corrupt Elf had opened the Star Crystal's chest one day when he thought he was alone. Though it was missing some pieces, it still sparkled just as it had done the first night it fell. Raising a child for a few hundred years wouldn’t be so bad if the end result was having the ultimate life form at your command, he supposed. The Elf watching him, however, had jumped out of her hiding place in a panic.
Their hands had both touched the star at the same time and two similar bolts of lightning channeled through them. They both fell to the ground, unable to move. The commotion had alerted other Elves and nearly half the village had come to see what had happened. No one had been prepared for what they saw; two Elves lying on the ground with two small babies with colored lines running through their bodies. A boy with green hair and a girl with cerulean and mahogany-colored hair. Both covered in freckles and sharing the same number on their chest. A number ‘9’.
The lights in the babies had faded and the star had developed a crack. The extra amount of unexpected magic being used had nearly destroyed it, as well as nearly killing the two Elves who had been incapacitated by the lightning. Their life was nearly drained from their bodies and they were unconscious, though their hearts still beat.
Once it had been explained what had happened, the green-haired Elf had been dealt with properly. Isolated in a room with all brain functions eradicated, he would spend the rest of his days only lying in bed, breathing and staring at a wall. As for the woman, she was denied any contact with the children, as the council feared they would be dangerous, given the circumstances of their births.
And the children? Unsure of what their hearts would be like, they had been paired off separate from the rest of the others for safety. Locked away in an airship stocked with everything needed to survive, they had been shut away from the world. They would be raised by the AI in the ship. If they proved themselves worthy of the title, they would be made Heroes. If their hearts were as dark as everyone had feared, they would share the fate of the seaweed-haired Elf.
Taking pity on the babies, the council had allowed their “mother Elf” to integrate herself into the AI, letting them grow up with a mother’s voice guiding them. Having sacrificed her ability to speak, she watched them, hoping that their hearts would glow brighter than the star they came from.
The boy, Graenaalfurinn, had grown up with a charming smile and a prideful attitude. His sister, Hetjanaalfurinn, was as sweet as honey with the temper of a hornet. While they both had proven thus far to be worthy of the title “Hero”, they still had plenty to learn before they earned it.
That is where this story begins.