Chapter One (Full)

The Sun- and Moon Kingdoms have been separated for 18 years. Today, the eldest princess of the Moon Kingdom, Lycoris, deals with her growing power, along with her growing curiosity for the barrier.

"18 years ago, The Barrier was created by the queen of the Sun Kingdom, Queen Kyra. You may ask 'why?'

Well, Queen Kyra thought our former king, King Helmer II. was about to start a war. At the time, it was unknown if he had such plans.  Before she completely sealed off our land, she cursed the then-crown-prince-now-king, for the rest of his time, to roam the sealed-off Moon Kingdom as a werewolf. The trait would later be passed on to his eldest daughter and his youngest son.”

Mr. Lurel lectured the class on the kingdom’s most recent history, Lycoris took the time to look around the room. They were 15 students in total, as she concluded this, she also noticed almost half of the class shared her werewolf trait. She had never seen that many in one class before. Then again, she never really took the time to examine her classmates.

She once again turned her attention to the lecturing teacher.  Mr. Lurel was one of the younger teachers at the school. He had only been there for about year or so.

One student raised his hand. He had short, dark yellow, messy hair, which might be the closest one could come to a truly blonde hair color in the Moon Kingdom Lycoris noted to herself. Her mind wondered to her cousin, Zaira. Her hair was platinum blond due to the blessing her great-grandmother received many years prior.

“Yes, Henry?” Mr. Lurel said in his calm collected voice. 

“Well Mr. Lurel, why did Kyra curse our King?” Everyone else murmured as if they had been wondering the same thing. 

“I don’t think the reason is known, at least to the public” Mr. Lurel answered. “My guess would be to punish former King Helmer II. For conspiring against her kingdom.”

“Why not curse King Helmer then?” Another student argued.

“The King was nearing the end of his life, maybe Queen Kyra was aware…” Mr. Lurel paused. “Keep in mind, these are my theories. Don’t go around claiming this as fact.”

He stopped with a meaningful expression on his face.

“Maybe…” he said quietly to himself. “Lycoris.”

The class collectively turned their attention towards her.

At that moment she regretted choosing the second row over the back.

“Yes?” she responded.

“Do you know why Queen Kyra cursed your father?” Mr. Lurel asked.

“I… don’t think even he knows.” She paused for a moment. “He never talks about it, that’s for sure.” 

A murmur echoed through the room. Lycoris had been bored before Mr. Lurel had asked his question, and now she just wanted to get away. She turned her attention back to the lesson, only to be caught off guard by a girl with mousy hair.

“Lycoris… um, uh. What’s your power level?” As soon as she asked that question, everyone swiftly turned their attention towards them. Lycoris stared at the girl for a moment.

“18” Lycoris answered shortly as she sat at her desk in a relaxed manner. Almost all people in the room gasped and a quiet murmur, yet again, filled the room. She was tired of that reaction. Yes, it was unusual, however, it was a well known the royal family possessed levels in that range. Her father, grandfather, great-grandmother etc. were born with the same level, why would it be a shock the did as well?

Losing her train of thought, Lycoris’ eyes fell on a werewolf boy with black hair and dark red eyes. His ears and tail were visible they were the same dark red color of his eyes at the tips, the color slowly faded to the same black color as his hair. Even when he was sitting down, it was clear that he was tall.

His name was Fortis. She had known him for a long time. Whenever there were meetings between the King and the leaders of the guard groups, the Archers, the Swordsmen, and the Mages, they would always drop their children off in Lycoris- or her brother’s room, so they could play together. 

Fortis’ father was the leader of the Swordsmen. In other words, his father was the second in command over the whole guard.

“Fortis, you seem like you have something on your mind as well.”

She could tell just from the look in his eyes and his stance, that he would not stutter like the girl before him had.

“How about Dash’s?” he asked casually. Lycoris stiffened, Dash had always been secretive about his power level ever since they found out when they were five. She contemplated how to answer that question the best way possible.

“My brother prefers to keep his level to himself.”

“But you’re twins. Shouldn’t you have the same level?” Fortis asked again. She was silent for a moment.  

“Step down. Fortis,” she said, with a stern tone, as she glared at him. Fortis visibly tensed up as the words left her mouth.

“I said that he prefers to keep it to himself,” she repeated, her voice slowly returned to its normal calm state.

“Yes… of course,” Fortis replied, reluctantly.

Just as he finished his sentence, two equally tall, armored men barged into the classroom. Some let out a yelp, most of the werewolves adopted a defensive stance, while the others just reacted by looking at the door.

Their armor was nothing to gawk at. The only metal parts were the helmets, and a few plates on the arms. The rest of the body was covered in normal, slightly structured cloth. The footguard’s uniform had never been that impressive to begin with. However, the armor was adorned with some decoration. A piece of quality fabric was draped over their bodies the only hole being for the head. The fabric was white with deep cyan edges and embroidered on top were a simple silver zig-zag pattern. In the center of both the back -and front side, were The Moon Symbol, on full display. 

“Lycoris Sillem?” said the guard the most to the right.

“Yes?” she answered calmy.

“The King has asked to see you” said the other guard.

Lycoris looked over at Mr. Lurel. “May I go?” 

Mr. Lurel seemed to still be calming down after the sudden entrance. He cleared his throat.

“Yes, of course, you may.”

 

***

As Lycoris walked through the front doors of the main building of Duke Njohuri High School, with the two Foot Guards following close behind her, she looked back, and thought about how much she loved and hated this school. It was where she had learned everything she knew. Well, except for absolutely all the royal history, her more special, and complicated spells and potion recipes, and how to fight, among other things.

She reasoned with herself that maybe not everything was due to the school. But there had been quite a few incidents, mostly during her childhood, of other girls ganging up on her because they knew she would not fight back. However, when her father taught her a spell that could temporarily remove the mouths of those girls, they swiftly started leaving her alone. There were also all those weird stares and glances she always got in the halls from both new and old students.

Lycoris and the guards walked from Njohuri High and through a small part of town consisting of many smaller houses. The pale-yellow brick of the houses radiated the same empowering energy as the ones the central tower was made of. Though maybe not quite as strongly. The pale-yellow brick was moonstone, it served as a power amplifier the residents of the Moon Kingdom, given their power level was high enough. Moonstone was a heavily regulated and rare material; it could only be gathered from sights where a meteor had fallen. The Mages would control to see how much magical energy was contained within, usually the amount was high. In some cases, they would have to reduce it if the material was intended for use outside the palace grounds.

Lycoris took the time to examine the faces of her escorts. One of them she recognized as one of her older friends, Kristian.

He had graduated three years prior. Though, despite his mother’s position in the guard, he was still just a footguard, he seemed to like it that way. Lycoris knew him the same way she knew Fortis, though he acted more like a babysitter than a playmate. When she grew older, the two of them had found a mutual interest in books and learning. From there a friendship had started to bloom.

“I didn’t realize you were still in the footguard,” she started as they continued walking. The other guard seemed surprised, but quickly acknowledged she was not speaking to him. Kristian let out a small chuckle.

“Being honest, I’m not eager to rise up the ranks,” he touched his neck with his unoccupied hand.

“And why is that?”

“Being in charge of others isn’t really my thing. I’m only in the footguard to begin with to appease my mother. She believes people would gossip if I didn’t pursue a military career” he paused “However, beyond that she doesn’t care where I rank.”

They continued into a less populated part of the village.

“I see. At least you won’t be pressured to proceed, should you not want to” she observed him for second “Do you even like being part of the military?”

“I do. I’m content, being a footguard is easy but mindless work, it provides me enough time to seek intellectual challenge elsewhere.” There was no trace of hesitation in his voice. They had now reached the entrance to the palace grounds.

“I’d be happy to have my study buddy back,” she nudged him lightly with her elbow as the other footguard spoke to the gate keeper.

“Yes, though it seems you have surpassed my level when it comes to magic studies.” Kristian chuckled.

“That doesn’t matter, we don’t have to be doing the same things, we don’t even have to study magic.” She light-heartedly argued back, they continued into the courtyard.

“What about your siblings? Surely they’d be interested.”

“I’d think again. As you know Dash’s interest in learning magic is non-existent to say the least. Nihara is too young, her interest don’t currently lie in studies.”

“What about Dosa?”

Lycoris sighed.

“He’s just… too secretive? He seems like he wants to keep his studies to himself. He definitely has no interest in sharing them with me of all people.” As she finished, she spotted Dosa sitting on a secluded bench with a heavy looking book. They made eye contact for a few seconds; she felt his bright yellow eyes pierce hers. She broke eye contact as they reached the Central Tower.

“That’s right! The two of you always had a sort of rivalry.”

They went inside heading for the central staircase.

“Yeah… I feel he sees me as someone to beat rather than work with.”

As the three of them ascended the central spiral staircase, she noticed her younger sister running around playing tag with some of the other children. Lycoris caught herself envying Nihara, at that moment she was carefree. What she would give to have that kind of innocence.

“Are you okay, Lycoris?” Kristian asked as she snaped out of her thoughts.

“Yes,” she paused, “Why?”

“You just suddenly got this sad look on your face.” He said with concern in his voice.

“I-“

“We’re here,” the other guard interrupted.

“Remind me again why the King’s office is on the second highest floor,” Kristian commented. He was not out of breath, rather Lycoris suspected it might have been out of laziness.

“It’s a strategic position I believe,” she answered almost forgetting about her previous thoughts.

“That is correct,” a new voice added. Both guards immediately bowed and Lycoris turned towards the now open door where her father was standing. She took notice of his graying hair and could not help but imagine him with the same vibrant dark blue color as she and her siblings had. It seemed to be a dominant trait, even trumping the black color their mother had.

“As you have hopefully figured out, I wish to speak with you Lycoris,” he said in his usual regal tone.

“Yes father,” she said as she stepped inside the office and managed a quick wave goodbye to Kristian before her father closed the door. After he closed the door, he walked over to his office chair. Lycoris took this moment to look around the room. First thing she noticed was the presence of her aunt, Rena. Next were the extravagantly decorated bookshelves, they were made from a rare cyan wood which could be found all over the castle. Her father’s desk was also made with quite impressive woodwork, though this time of black ebony wood. Of course, the Moon Symbol was all over, just like everywhere else. She turned her attention back to her father as he sat down.

“How are you today Corie?” her aunt asked, making her presence known for the first time. It had been a little while since Lycoris had spent time with her aunt.

“I’m feeling great! Lately, I’ve been advancing my spell levels. I find the number of spells and their uses fascinating.” Lycoris felt a sense of pride over her accomplishments blooming in her chest.

“That’s actually what we wanted to discuss with you today,” her father joined in.

“We’re here to talk about your power level, Lycoris,” Rena clarified.

“Is something the matter?”

Lycoris was confused, why was talking about her power level so urgent they had to pull her out of class?

“We want to discuss your aura” Magnar paused. “It has become quite unstable recently.”

Lycoris remembered her early teenage years. She had been growing into her powers, along the way her aura had become unstable, and she became prone to random and destructive magical outburst.

“As you know, at the age of five most children’s power levels are checked by either your father or me,” Rena began. “The thing is, we are only able to sense the potential a child has; we’ve learned to identify their power level based on said potential.”

“Most of the time we are correct in our assumptions. We found great potential in you, and none in your brother,” Magnar seemed to examine her. “That statement still holds true. However, it seems you’ve surpassed what we thought would be your max.”

That statement somewhat surprised Lycoris; her potential had always been beyond her years. Everyone, including herself, had thought she was simply an early sprout in that department.

“What does that mean exactly?” She asked worriedly. Her mind wondered to the last time her aura had been unstable. Sometimes, objects around her would randomly burst into flame or they would float and break when she realized it was her doing. Strong emotions would cause the same effects.

“We can’t say what your exact level would be at this moment, but it surpasses 18, though doesn’t reach 19.” Rena explained.

“You will have to focus on learning to stabilize your aura,” Magnar added, “Therefore, Rena will stand in as your private tutor in control, as she did when you were younger.”

“It takes different techniques to control a larger amount of power, and it’s important you learn as fast as you can,” Rena said as she held eye contact with her niece.

“So, there’s no way of knowing how much damage I could cause if I were to have outburst?” Lycoris’ voice was trembling from the fear of hurting anyone unintentionally.

“Please don’t be scared Corie.” Magnar reached out and held her hand as he spoke. “Whatever happens all of us will get through it just fine, okay?”

She simply nodded her head in response.

“It’s settled then, we’ll pull you out of school for now. You can continue following the syllabus privately with Mr. Lurel if you wish.”

“I’d like that.”

 

***

 

Dash had seen Lycoris enter her room in a distressed state. Their father had told him what they were going to discuss. He understood how much anxiety she had had when she first had an unstable aura. She had been afraid of hurting him and others around with her magical outbursts, which was frankly only fuel to the emotional fire. He wondered what exactly their father and aunt had said to her.

“You know…” said a female voice from behind him, he immediately knew who it was. He turned around.

“What do you want?” He said in a tired voice. It was then he noticed her attire which was virtually identical to his. She wore a deep cyan open-edged jacket-like garment reaching as far as her shins, the dark blue detailing at the edge of the short sleeves was identical too. It seemed she had raided his closet, only modifying the shirt to be cropped.

“It’s quite rude to speculate about what happened, you should just ask her” she said as she wore the smug smile Dash had become so familiar with over the years. He closed his eyes as he squeezed the bridge of his nose.

“Did you raid my closet Trixie?” he asked as he looked her up and down disapprovingly.

“Why, yes. I am becoming a part of you more and more every day, it’s only natural to share your style.” She took lightly off from the floor, floating in mid-air, it seemed to be her preferred position to be in.

“I do relish in the love you have for you sister, it’s much stronger than what you feel for the rest of your family.” Her eyes glowed the same vibrant purple as his sister- and father’s, his own were a much duller dusty purple color, though he had noticed they had begun to become greyer still.

“You know…” He said mimicking her voice. “I find this relationship to be more take that give from your side,” he said ominously.

“So?” she laughed “I mean it’s true, but you can’t blame all your problems on me. It’s not my fault you gave all your magic to your si-“ Trixie stopped mid-sentence, she was knocked out of the air. Dash had swiftly pined her to the ground with one hand.

“So? I don’t need magic to be powerful,” he said as his eyes were open yet saw nothing.

“I see.” Trixie said as she licked her fangs. Dash roughly got up, rixie rose to her elbows and began floating in that same position.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go comfort my sister.”

Author's Note

Anything contructive is welcome :)

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very entertaining story. I liked the story line and the characters. You are making every situation come alive. I would recommend a 1000 words limit and chapters. Most people won't stop and read a long piece. I liked the use of the sun and the moon. Thank you for sharing the well-written story.
Coyote

[LauraEmilie]

Thank you for your feedback, Coyote. I will take the length of the chapters into account in the future :) I appreciate your thoughts and hope to see you back for other chapters.

[Coyote Poetry]

Please send read requests. I will read ASAP. Few people read long tales and story. You are welcome.