Morwynn sliced down, the wind from her strike setting the grass rustling. She raised her blade again, and a whoosh heralded another strike. The sky above was dark, with only a faint shine over the buildings to the west lighting her training. Twilight was her favorite time to practice, though she was probably the only one at her level training like this.
Her father had stressed mastery above all else. Levels granted power, true, but mastery was what determined victory. All one needed was to be in the same general level range. Even a ten-level difference could be overcome with sufficient mastery.
“Wynne, come inside soon! Dinner is almost ready!” her mother called from the open window.
Morwynn’s levels were high enough that she had smelled the lamb as soon as her mother began roasting it, so she was already preparing to wrap up. She timed her training by the fading light of the sun, matching her tempo so that it would end just as the last rays vanished. That was the best time to see the Pillar.
A shaft of light far off to the west speared into the sky, so high and bright that it could be seen from any point within the kingdom—any point in all of Vadenlaud. It had been there her whole life, and even longer besides. Everyone knew of it, but few knew what it was—what it meant.
Some thought it was a great monster off in the ocean, attempting to devour the sun’s light. Others suggested it was due to volcanic activity, though most would agree that it looked nothing like any eruption ever described.
Morwynn’s father, however, had told her the truth. This light must originate in Ashreach, the mysterious, dangerous continent across the west sea.
This continent was only vaguely known through oral legends until The Awakening, when a great beast stirred some two hundred years ago, threatening to bring fire and ruin to the entirety of Vadenlaud. The Hero had led the expedition to Ashreach herself to vanquish the beast, and Morwynn’s father speculated that the light was some byproduct of their fight.
Considering the light had been in the sky for nearly two hundred years, which just happened to coincide with the exact year the Hero departed, it made sense. Morwynn was always skeptical, though. Other than the timing, there was scarcely any other information to confirm his theory. Still, she liked to gaze at the light, imagining a time when the Hero might return.
Practicing under the light motivated her and kept her disciplined. If the Hero did return, she had to be ready. Her father played a prominent role in her adventures in Vadenlaud, and she would live up to that legacy no matter what.
“Strange, it should be right over there…” said a voice from the other side of the fence.
“Yeah, I don’t see it. It’s weird. It’s been there my whole life, but now that it’s gone, I wonder if I’m even looking at the right spot, you know?” asked a second.
Morwynn’s ears perked. She did not typically eavesdrop, but when voices drifted over her fence, she could not be blamed for listening, surely.
“Well, it was definitely in the west, and I don’t see it anywhere, even if I don’t remember its exact location,” the first voice responded.
“Maybe it’s an especially bright night? Could be hidden by clouds or…” the second voice reasoned, trailing off as its owner left the vicinity.
Something missing in the West? She thought.
Glancing up at the horizon, Morwynn’s entire body clenched, as if she had been struck by lightning. She knew immediately what was different. She had spent the majority of her life staring at the Pillar.
And now, it was gone.
Staring, mouth agape, Morwynn was frozen in shock longer than she cared to admit. Eventually, her rational faculties returned, and she began swinging her sword in earnest. Now was the time to push, not to take it easy.
“Mom, I’m going to be late for dinner!” she called.
————————————————————
Redra walked as quickly as she could, her long skirt hiked up to avoid tripping. Her etiquette instructors would be aghast, but judging by the frantic scurry all the palace workers were in, that would not be an issue.
She had been in magic practice with her instructor, Esmerelda, one of the kingdom's few Archmages, when Esmerelda was quickly rushed out by what was undoubtedly urgent business. The fact that Esmerelda had been summoned mid-practice, yet Redra had not, was something she noted but ignored.
Redra had just turned eighteen, which meant she was an adult, and as an adult of the royal family, urgent business was her business, too.
She rushed after Esmerelda and the servant who fetched her, following all the way to the door of her father’s study. This was not his office, which was where he preferred to do his routine work. This was a study designed to accommodate multiple people and host long talks, further confirming her theory that something of dire importance was afoot.
She smoothed her skirt, making sure that everything was in its place before knocking gently with the decorated knocker, shaped like a lion with a chain in its mouth.
The door opened, revealing a serving girl, who was violently shoved aside before she could fully open it. Instead, her brother, Vitrimis, appeared and peered through the crack. He scowled when he saw Redra, closing the door quickly. She jammed a foot into the crack, and as the door slammed against her shoe, her clothing’s ward activated, blocking it like it was a projectile.
“What the—what is the meaning of this?” her father’s voice boomed through the crack in the door, likely surprised by the crack from the ward’s activation.
“Father, I am eighteen, and I believe I have not only a right, but a need, to attend meetings such as—” Redra began, her case already prepared.
“Yes, yes. Come in, quickly,” he interrupted.
Still wearing an unflattering scowl, Vitrimis opened the door fully, and Redra beheld a room filled to bursting. She did not have the leeway to take proper stock of the situation and all the faces present, being a princess that was expected to behave with poise at all times—no gawking allowed—but she spotted Esmerelda, her father, both her brothers, the chancellor, and one of the palace’s diviners, among others.
Redra approached calmly, standing next to Esmerelda, who wore an amused smile, and gently clasped her hands in front of her. The meeting continued as if the interruption had not happened.
“Anything?” her father, the king, asked, the question directed toward the diviner.
“I am afraid not, your majesty,” the diviner said with a tired sigh. Redra recognized the afterglow of powerful magic about him. “I simply cannot see. When I gaze at Ashreach, it is as if I am staring into an unending abyss. The entire region has simply disappeared from my sight—or, perhaps, been swallowed by a void.”
“What’s going on?” Redra whispered, her mouth barely moving.
“The Pillar has disappeared,” Esmerelda whispered back, the amused smile falling.
Redra flinched, her head whipping toward Esmerelda before she could school herself. Surprisingly, Esmerelda did not take the opportunity to chide her breach in etiquette, instead simply returning her gaze with a seriousness Redra rarely witnessed. She turned back toward the meeting with renewed interest.
“Surely the signs must mean something. This—what— ‘void,’ as you call it, what does it tell you?” the chancellor asked, his impatience obvious. The chancellor was not magically inclined and likely did not understand the nuances of such an esoteric art as divination.
“I can only tell you what I witnessed. It is beautiful, and terrifying. Sparks of myriad-colored light shine within the void amid streams and rivers of prismatic energy. It is as if the night sky, in all its splendor and terror, has descended on the land,” the diviner explained, not frustrated by the chancellor’s impatience.
“Forgive me for interrupting, lord diviner, but might I ask what could be terrifying about the night sky?” Redra asked, her manners recovered after her brief slip.
“It is no trouble, princess. I speak of the awe of nature. Have you ever witnessed a tornado or perhaps lightning more commonly? Does it not strike you as both gorgeous and frightening, knowing how small you are beneath nature’s might?” he asked, his eyes glittering.
“Are you suggesting the princess is small and insignificant?” Esmerelda growled from the side.
“Of course not, Archmage. I am merely expressing my own feelings on the matter. That you took what I was feeling and mapped it to our dear princess perhaps speaks more about what you think of her than I,” the diviner snarked, a small smile twitching at the corner of his lips.
Esmerelda harumphed and crossed her arms. Redra had to refrain from chuckling, as she knew that Esmerelda had taken the opportunity to poke fun at her, yet she ended up being dressed down instead.
“So, we have effectively no information, then—no actionable information, at least?” Redra’s older brother asked, ever the straightforward military man.
“We know that something is happening on Ashreach, and we know that we need more information. That is actionable enough,” the king declared.
Nods were exchanged around the table, and the conversation shifted toward the logistics of gathering information on a different continent. Redra paid close attention, but she couldn’t shake a certain jitter that originated deep in her core. Something was happening, and it was something exciting, she was sure.
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