Arabor had been a mighty country, the home of the Enderborn, descendants of the elders of the end. They were a mighty race, the strongest spell casters and great thinkers, builders and blacksmiths. At first they paid no attention to the humans who had landed of their land from a distant, unknown planet because they saw nothing special in them that would allow them to last in the climate and eco system. The humans blundered a lot before settlements were made between them. Years passed and yet still no threat came from them. The Ender council was scorning Dauthdarte for allowing them to live at all on their land but he passed them off without thought of the consequences.
He had bigger fish to fry after all; his mortal daughter was proving to be far more skilled, even at the age of only 11, than many of the master mages and was beginning to extend her magic to places none had ventured before. Mass space transport and transformation on a large scale being some of the examples. She seemed to have a fascination with the human technology, despite trivial. It gave her ideas to form a special blade, one that would influence the energy around it and concentrate it to point were it could dispense energy at will or in one large burst. Rythian was absolutely peeved and time after time would attempt to outdo her magic but despite being the immortal on of the pair, he was unable to control the precision and state of mind needed for perfect magic. He got close, but nothing to compare to his younger sister.
In the meantime however, the humans were planning assassination attempts and out right wars to gain the wealth and power of the Enderborns. One day they sent a messenger toward the main city, Irignum, to give a letter to the king. After a day's walk/ run he reached the city but collapsed upon entering it. A ward surrounding the city, designed to protect it had come into action after nearly 10,000 years. No one knew exactly what the ward protected against and so the letter was delivered to the king regardless and the human was treated and nursed back to health by one of the guards and sent back home.
The letter was an invitation for the king and his daughter and son to come to one of the main Human cities (MistralCity) and talk to their human leader. At the time the name of their leader was not specified but the King took up the invitation regardless. None of the three strong party suspected there would be violence, as nothing had knowingly done anything to enrage the humans. They passed through the great gates of Mistral and a young boy came running up to the King, "Sir! Are you here to see King Israphel?" He asked, in a young cheery voice. He looked around twelve, about the same age as Cynda and his brown short hair cut grew messy in the wind. He had a formal burgundy suit and grey trousers on and a diamond Short sword was strapped to his back by a thick leather strap, obviously the finest as Cynda admired the complex patterns sewn into it. She wondered if she could do such a thing with her magic and resolved to try it when she got home.
"As it happens, I am here to see your King." Dauthdarte replied softly.
Cynda continued to admire the boy in a mix of confusion and delight. Looking back on it, she would've considered him incredibly handsome, but her mind was not of the age to worry about such things.
"Oh no Sir! He is my father." He said, a glimpse of worry in his voice.
Dauthdarte smiled and asked him to lead the way to the castle. It soon became clear where it was so the boy retreated behind Dauthdarte and next to Cynda.
"I'm Xephos by the way, most call me Lewis though." He whispered.
Cynda laughed, "I'm Kai, but everyone calls me Cynda." She replied and offered her hand in friendship. Xephos looked her in the eye and shook, a sign of respect from Minecraftians.
"Wait, aren't nicknames supposed to be shorter than your full name?" He asked inquisitively.
"Yes but mine is not a nickname." She said, rather matter-of-factly which seemed to surprise Xephos.
"Well then." He paused for a second to pick the right words, "What kind of name is it?" He finished.
Cynda just smiled and caught a falling leaf in her palm as they were walking and transformed it into humming bird that just looked at her on her hand, "Fly away little one." She sung to it lightly. The bird instantly took flight, flying straight upwards and joining a flock of various birds passing through. She then looked at Xephos, who was now transfixed on the little bird.
"It means great mage of the feathered variety." She whispered mysteriously. She knew the question that would bubble next but was startled by a response from her brother who had been silent for the whole journey, looking at the structures the humans built.
"That's debatable." He shot at her.
Cynda just responded with a spark of purple lightning that shocked him. "Ouch!" He shouted, shooting a glare at her and shutting up . After Rythian's short burst out Xephos was able to say the inevitable question, "Feathered variety?"
Cynda just smiled and looked down. Xephos met no response for a minute, then a short answer passed her lips, "I will show you later."
They had reached the great gates of the Castle keep; they passed through uneventfully and met the doors to the castle. Xephos bravely strode up to it a knocked hard on the door, "Father! Are you there? The King is here!" He shouted. It was clear his knock was sufficient when Israphel opened the doors just as Xephos finished his sentence. He looked at Dauthdarte, then at the two kids and then his own and smiled, "Come in, the feast is being prepared." He said.
The castle was grand, purple and read carpets, patterned ceilings and bookshelves as well as statues and servants were dotted around the place as they were lead upstairs. Xephos immediately frowned as the reached supposed dining hall, a beautiful room with a massive mahogany table set in the middle. Silver Tupperware and crystal glasses were set in perfect rows and a chandelier hung from the ceiling. To a young child who had never seen one before, it seemed as though the lights and crystal were floating. "Wow," Was her only response to all of this.
Just as the kings and Rythian sat down, Xephos pulled Cynda back by the hand. The two Kings were mindlessly chatting away and Rythian was doing his usual blank glare at the floor.
"What is it?" Cynda asked. He didn't expect he would prove to resist her taking a seat, as everyone else was. Was there something she had to do? Perhaps females were not thought highly enough to be given a seat in this majestic place as her father had told her that women were thought as lesser being by the Humans. But Xephos' response was odd.
"I want to show you something." He said, obviously lying, there was clear worry and panic in his voice. A loud crack and bang emitted from downstairs.
"What was that?" Everyone in the room questioned at once. Israphel stood up, "It was probably just the kitchen servants and I shall go downstairs and check on them."
This pulled Xephos' last string. With everyone's attention on the door he dragged Cynda into another room and down a stone cold flight of steps with surprising power.
"What th-" Cynda shouted but was cut off by Lewis.
"Shut up!" He snapped.
So she shut up. She looked at Xephos with a confused face and then heard shouting and crashing from the room they had just come from.
"Where's the girl?" A deep, frightening voice peeled through the castle. Cynda's heart beat so hard it was audible by Lewis who was pressed against her at the bottom of the stair way as the reality set in. Her father and possibly brother, had just been murdered in cold blood. She looked at Lewis who seemed to be reading her mind. He nodded slowly.
Xephos counted exactly two seconds before her eyes burned with rage. Her blood had seemingly turned to ice and her hands were glowing with a slight purple, the same kind she had emitted when she creates the humming birds. She turned towards him, "Do you like your father?" She asked. Her voice was completely different. She was no longer the nervous kid, the beautiful young girl she was minutes ago. Her voice was filled with pure hatred and venom that seemed to pierce every living thing around her. Cockroaches scuttled into cracks in the wall, bats screeched and flew out of their hidey hole and he was glued to the spot in fear, "N-no, No." He finalised, "He is evil."
"Good." She hissed. Once again terror flooded through him and faded, but quicker this time.
She slipped off her jacket and unfurled two huge black, feathered wings and pulled Xephos up and onto her back painlessly. Her eyes glowed as she used her magic to support the weight of the boy on her back and to find out who exactly was upstairs. Rythian was still alive but her dad was definitely dead. She flew up the stairwell and kicked at two soldiers standing next to it sending them flying to the other side of the room. She let Xephos to the ground and ran into the dining room, followed by Xephos now wielding his short sword. She saw Israphel laughing and cackling manically, upon seeing his 'son' enter the room he smiled even wider and lifted the kings head to face the boy, "See? Now this, this was a plan. Thank you for going along with it son. I hope you don't mind, but we're going to kill these two little runts now." He said, gesturing to Rythian, who was being held a couple of inches from the ground by two soldiers. He just looked down and muttered a nonsensical phrase under his breath. Israphel looked at Rythian with a scowl, "Its rude to mutter y'know boy. You should be lucky you're alive after that. No what did you say?" He said to Rythian, towering above him.
"I SAID!" He shouted right at him, "That my sister is gonna kick your butt in about 3 seconds. Right Sis?"
"Oh is that so? Guards, seize her." He commanded loosely.
Cynda just smiled, staring into the ceiling as the guards came at her. She took something out of her pocket when they were almost on top her and threw it.
The dagger sliced through the three soldiers' hearts without a problem then lodged itself deep into the wall. They fell in sync, purple-black blood seeping into their armour. She looked at Israphel, her eyes like daggers themselves and strode toward him. He pulled out a diamond long sword but was disarmed by Lewis who stood beside her. He was shocked by the Enderborn's power but played along like he knew all along. Cynda raised her hand against Israphel's stone cold heart and growled in an inhuman way.
"Never. Kill the father of the most powerful mage in Arabor." She hissed.
The same cold chill fell upon the castle. But not just the castle, everyone who had ever known her felt it. Signifying she was about to do something so dark and painful that being near her would be painful. Israphel just looked in pure shock as she literally froze his body, starting with just his fingers, the cold seeping through his veins until it touched his heart, at which point he was screaming so loud everyone in the city could hear him. The ice spread like the morning frost, slowly, painfully penetrating his already cold heart.
Rythian touched her on the shoulder, "Leave him. He has suffered enough."
She pulled her hand away and Israphel collapsed to the floor, dead.
Xephos looked at Rythian. "He has one more son. But I will not permit another death today." He said to him. Rythian tapped Cynda who looked up from her hands,
"I would not think of it. I- unghhh." She stopped and let out a sigh before collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. Rythian picked her up and held her bridal style in his hands, he seemed impossibly strong.
"Do you with to back with us, to Irignum?" He asked, his voice powerful and solitary.
"Yes." Xephos replied. He wanted nothing more to do with his father. He wanted nothing more to do with his civilisation, not after he saw what pure greed could do, turn and innocent child into a murderer, turn two kings to corpses and two, before peaceful beings, to breaking point.
So, the two stood mourning at their fathers grave. A soulless grievance left Cynda with a blank look throughout the whole sombre day and tears often speckled Rythian's face, of which he didn't want to show. The sun set and the advisors of the recently passed king came to look for the girl, the one who was to take his place as an immortal could not rule. But they searched in vain for the three had made plans the day previous to leave as soon as the occasion would permit, which was mere minutes before they'd have been found.
They had left on foot, toward the oldest human settlement. Where Xephos' predecessors had landed from Earth many years ago. An Enderborn's lifetime is limitless, even for the mortal ones, the only difference being that the mortal ones were susceptible to illness, pain and wounding which was what killed them more often than death itself. A direct spell to kill used on a mortal Enderborn would not work, but one to poison or lethally harm would. The two Enderborn's could run all the way but Xephos' stamina would not permit that. So an arrangement was made wherein Cynda carried Xephos' on her back and they would stop every twenty minutes or so to recover her strength. Normally she would be able to run and carry him the whole way but she was still recovering from the least few weeks' exertion.
Upon entering the tiny camp, they found what they were looking for, an old, disused star ship. The Enterpriseto be exact. Xephos looked at the ship in awe, he recognised it, not from his memories but from the stories Israphel used to tell him about the ship. This was thought to be lost since none of the humans had been able to return to the cold settlement. They entered the place and found it even bigger on the inside. Lights still flashed ritually which signified to Cynda that the ship was supposed to continue its travels for even longer than it took them to reach Arabor. This was obviously not the place they had intended to land.
Lewis took up the controls immediately and taught the two the basics of the craft. To Cynda it all seemed in line with what she knew of Human technology. Rythian however was completely confused and snapped at Xephos whenever he said something that didn't make sense. His ideas of magic were very rigid, unlike Cynda's, everything revolved around the power of the End and the Elders themselves, not this strange thing Xephos kept referring to as 'Electricity'. Not just this but many other things, like how the controls of the massive ship were on a tiny hind sized joystick. It took him a day to get used to it and soon they had powered up, getting enough food for Xephos for the whole trip together (as neither Cynda nor Rythian needed to eat, they did anyway because it was considered respectful to have a meal cooked for you or to cook something for someone.) and getting water and air supplies should the oxygen levels drop too much. Xephos asked why Cynda needed water but not sustenance and why Rythian needed nothing at all, not even air, which would prove useful later on. There was a brief and awkward conversation about the different definitions of energy and power and then they started the engine.
It left of a surprising lack of noise but still enough to attract attention from Arabor so they had to be up and out of the atmosphere as quickly as they could. Xephos set coordinates for Earth, ones he had known off by heart ever since his 'father' had told him it a couple of years ago.
Looking back on it, seeing a seven year old and eight year old and a nine year old expertly run a spaceship would have been an odd sight to see. This was probably what confused the Enders as the saw the ship slowly, but surely lifted from the ground, sending old rubble and heat to the ground. The ship nearly as large as the great city itself, no one believed that it would be possible but Xephos had it in his genes.
Prologue chapter 2 - Captain Xephos of the Enterprise -
It had been 3 weeks on the enterprise and as expected nothing went to plan. They were running low on fuel and water but the main problem was that good conversation was getting few and far between, a thoughtful comment or valid argument were hard to find for the three because they shared nothing, So conversation was usually limited by the other's understanding of said conversation topic. This made Cynda the very often conversation starter, usually with question to Xephos about how particular objects in the enterprise worked and no exception was the holograms.
(A very long and (for Rythian) boring conversation about the projection of light and atoms later…)
"Ah I see!" Cynda finally exclaimed after about an hour of Lewis explaining it.
"Thank Notch! My voice is getting hoarse." Xephos replied, relieved and pleased about his lesson.
"Thank Notch?" Rythian asked sceptically.
Xephos coughed and told him to ask about it later, he needed a drink before even trying to talk to Rythian. He never seemed to understand even the basics of technology, he was a complete Noob, not to mention highly irritating, once he had a question it HAD to be answered, no matter the cost.
Over the next couple of days Rythian, Cynda and Xephos played many games of Hide and Seek in order to pass time but mainly to remember exactly where everything was on the ship. Xephos was ever scared of leaving the ship to run itself but permitted to after Cynda promised to let him know if anything out of the ordinary happened. Due to the vast size of the ship it would take them anywhere between five minutes and six hours to find each other. They discovered many rooms full of food and water in dehydrated packets and Xephos commented on how useful it was they found them. Many rooms seemed useless, pure white walls and a useless hologram emitter at the top of each.
Meanwhile the ship was rapidly running out of fuel and several alarms blared in the ship to signify so. Xephos silenced the alarms, inputting many codes and tapping many buttons repeatedly to do so and was stressing endlessly over the situation. He set landing coordinates for the Enterprise at the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere, which happened to be a mere hour or so of travel away. Having calmed down in the slightest, Xephos fell back into a chair and sighed exhaustedly. Cynda watched dazedly at the approaching planet; no greenery or visible form of life but very intricate stone, house like structures which signified life despite the arid atmosphere.