The horrors unfolded before me. The Celestial Court had no chance. Their ill-preparedness was born from the naivety of those who had not witnessed such violence before. If this was, indeed, the first attack, the first true violence on Lumnara, then it would have been impossible to foresee such a thing.
The onslaught faded, replaced by a map of the courts once more. In the center, all evidence of where the Celestial Court had been was gone. It wasn’t as though the land had been divided among the remaining courts. No, it was as if it had never existed, like the Mother herself had absorbed the land whole, pulling the surrounding courts in to cover its stain.
“After their victory, the seasonal courts expected their full powers to return—but the opposite happened. Not only did their star-given powers remain absent, but, as if the Mother herself were angry, the courts lost their ability to wield all four of her elements.”
The map faded, and the vision showed someone from the Winter Court trying to summon fire, only to realize they couldn’t. In fact, they could only wield water and air; having lost command over earth as well. It appeared the Mother had fully rooted them in their courtly powers, completely cutting them off from any other source but hers. The same scene played out in every court, each experiencing similar fates. Summer lost their access to water. Spring and Autumn, to fire.
The scene shifted and we were now in the human realm.
“Nobody knows where humans come from. Some believe we are fae that lost their ability entirely, like a form of fallen angels. Others believe the Mother birthed us out of a need for balance.”
I preferred the latter. There was something about being a reject fae that didn’t sit right with me. Not to mention how magic worked differently between us. That, combined with the need for balance, seemed to fit the Mother’s modus operandi.
The scene rewound to the horrors of the Celestial Court, then restarted.
“There is an alternate theory as to how the Celestial Court vanished. More myth and legend than anything. It’s told that before the court could truly be decimated and fall, the high lord of the Celestial Court, combined with his most powerful comrades, sacrificed themselves and their court to protect and preserve their sacred power.”
The vision shifted into a cavern wherefive ancient fae stood in a circle. Starlight that matched that of the gods poured from them into a towering obelisk stone in the center. The obelisk pulled in the light, gathering it into a single sphere that hovered above its apex.
Tears rolled down one of the fae’s cheeks as her body slowly gave way to the light. The single tear that fell to the dirt between her footprints, was now the only evidence of her existence.
Within a blink the other four met the same fate.
The sphere above had too much starlight to hold on to and shattered, spreading light as bright as when Lumnara was born. The force cracked the stone in two and I could feel the same reverberations in my bones.
“This is where the legend of the spark comes from. It’s believed that the spark contains the raw powers of the gods, the stardust magic, and that it would incarnate itself when the time was right. There is only one translated reference that points to the truth of this tale. Some think it merely a poem, others believe it a prophesy—a promise.”
And we shall sleep.
The loss they will mourn.
Greed was the catalyst,
for desperation to be born.
They think we are gone,
but that is not true.
We’ll be reborn.
We’ll wait for you.
Centuries may pass.
Eons, if need be.
Steadfast, we wait,
for the spark, the key.
I chilled and shivers rippled through every cell in my body as some primal part of me stirred, like the words were an awakening. A calling.
My fingers tingled, and as I touched my pointer finger to my thumb…a tiny spark ignited as if in answer.
Chapter 12
A Toast
