Prologue

1457 AoH

Black and white. Light and darBlack and white. Light and dark. Mortal and immortal. Two sides of the same coin; one cannot exist without the other. This, Ryenna knew. Yet, she also knew life was not so simple. Between mortality and immortality, there was life. Between light and dark, there was dusk and dawn. Between black and white, there were colors. Colors of varying shades and vivid hues. Colors that made up the entirety of the world in a way that none could describe. It was something that could only be witnessed; experienced. And from that, one could learn and grow. From those colors, one could define their opinions and choices, their ideas and values. One could shape their life. Fate was theirs to chase, to hold on to, to mold. Their story was their own.

This was a truth. This was a truth despite all Ryenna had been told. It was a truth only her ancestors had known. A truth that was lost on most of humankind over the last thousand years. Ryenna carried this truth with her. Truths that had only turned to legends before soon being forgotten completely.

But her vision of the future became more and more clouded, tainted by the darkness that threatened the world of Praecanto. It came to Ryenna as a relief when Arandel finally approached her, her own vision just clear enough to warn Ryenna of the destruction that was about to unfold.

Arandel bowed her head low to her queen. The tall, pale skinned witch queen with the white-blonde hair smiled down at her advisor, speaking in a warm, comforting voice.

“Arandel, what has you so tense?”

“Your Grace,” Arandel started. “The time has come. The Aethereya have risen.”

Ryenna narrowed her eyes on her advisor, her breath caught in her throat for a moment. She pulled her shoulders back slightly and raised her chin as she spoke. “And what of the Aethereya?”

“The prophecies seem to hold true,” Arandel continued. “I have seen it myself. It will only be a matter of time before the two Aethereya reveal themselves. The Golden Aethereya will take the form of a young witch.”

“A witch,” Ryenna whispered. “That cannot be.”

“I cannot see how it is so,” Arandel said. “Which can only mean that a dark power is involved.”

“And what of the other?”

Arandel hesitated. “I have suspicions that the Silver Aethereya has already manifested itself, but I cannot be sure where it is.”

Dark magic always clouded her vision of the future, and the future had been clouded for some time. It only made sense that a dark magic was involved, but Ryenna could not explain how the darkness came to be in the first place. “Is there a break in the Inbetween?”

Arandel shook her head. “No, Your Grace. The seal remains intact. I can only assume a witch has escaped your ancestor’s curse and remains hidden in the world.” She paused a moment, then met the queen’s gaze. “They will try to kill the Golden Aethereya,” she continued. “Without her, the world you’ve built will fall. She must be protected.”

Ryenna hesitated. A vision of the two Aethereya; neither of them were as clear as they should have been. But for their vision of the Silver Aethereya to be so clouded… it could only mean that it was tainted by a dark power. Two sides of the same coin. Light and dark. Good and evil. Ryenna knew that the split of the spirit would only mean a great war between them. “When will the Golden Aethereya manifest?”

“Soon,” Arandel said. “Allies will be broken. Kingdoms will fall. The world of Praecanto will crumble.”

“This war is between the Aethereya,” Queen Ryenna said, a fierce edge in her voice. “I will not see the kingdoms destroy themselves over the Aethereya, or this world will already be lost before the real war can even begin.”

“I cannot see the future of our world,” Arandel continued softly. “The dark powers at hand continue to cloud my vision.”

Queen Ryenna turned her back to her advisor, her gaze on the long banners that draped the throne room walls. Each banner bore the mark of her ancestors, the creators of the world of Praecanto. She could not see that world fall after all her ancestors had done to keep it safe.

“I will do the only thing that can be done,” she said softly. “I will be sure that the Golden Aethereya will live to protect this world.”