Prologue

Anei Kirameku bathed in the darkness. Her golden, malice-infested eyes were closed lightly. Figures lazily writhed around in the room, their emotionless voices whispering, reporting. Anei was a tall woman, standing at least six feet tall, and was quite thin for a twenty-one year-old. Or at least, that was what many estimated her age to be. No living soul knew what the darkness could do to a human being.

A devious smile played across her angelic features as she received the news from her loyal informants, and she opened those piercing eyes.

“So, it seems matters may get interesting after all…” she whispered in a hiss, revealing canines so extended that they looked more like small fangs.

The woman tossed her raven black hair arrogantly as she looked up, weaving a portal as clear as glass in the dark. In an instant, the image of a young girl with long, light brown hair and wearing a black kimono showed itself to her. The teen was tied up and surrounded by half a dozen of cloaked mages, their hoods obscuring their faces. None of them took notice of Anei’s mental presence.

The golden-eyed woman shook her head in amusement as the mages began to weave their own spell, their ethereal energies carving a large circle filled with patterns under the helpless girl.

“Fools they are.” she said to herself through a chuckle. “None of this will matter. Why do they struggle against the inevitable?” The portal closed, and a sharp cackle reverberated throughout the area.

The girl’s eyes were as large as dinner plates as the process continued to near completion. Looking down, she recognized the patterns of shadows among the many symbols in the circle, and she gasped in horror. They were sending her to the Abyss! In pure desperation the teen fought against the ropes tied around her wrists and ankles, to no avail. The chanting of the rebel mages surrounding her grew stronger and louder, subtly blocking out the other sounds belonging to the area.

She gulped. Already she could feel her own magic surging through her veins, anticipating the perfect moment. She shook her head, trying to get a grip on her powers, but it was no use. At the moment the final word was spoken and her world went white, her magical energies seeped out and mixed with the mages’.

That day, a flash of colours erupted from the heart of a remote forest, bathing both Lunaris and Solaris in its bright radiance, and tipping the scales in an unknown favour.