Prologue

Isolation is comfort. At least, to some. Those who are isolated from others might not exactly be fond of it, but hey. At least you don't have to deal with the pressures of society and the burden of having to keep up with a social life. At least, that's what Ona liked in her lifestyle. The only company she really had was her neighbor, Celebrian. The thought of her neighbor made her shiver in hatred, but the desire for her was overwhelming. Alas, Celebrian was disgusted at the thought of Ona. Oh well, it is what it is, I suppose. Ona could guard her family's treasures in solemnity and be left with her own little kingdom in her mind, filled with strange creatures, sadly which none would ever come to exist… or so she thought. In the mountains, people only believed what they were taught and were often quite xenophobic. She was no exception, sadly. Ignorance is such a sad thing.

For Celebrian, however, it was the opposite. The isolation of the mountain, the so-called 'protective' cloak it offered from the real world, was just a load of bullshit. At least she had freedom in the mountains that she wouldn't have in the kingdom, the freedom to learn what she wanted… but she wanted to interact and trudge beyond the mountain, to see the rest of the kingdom that she and Ona watched over with disgust and hatred. The feeling was equal in the both of them, but for good reason—the place was a total disaster. So much crime and destruction in there… Celebrian hated, but loved the mountain. It was her home. A place where she could relax and be left alone with no regret for anything, and be just left to do whatever she wanted. The only thing she ever regret about well, anything really, was not telling her parents not to go into the kingdom below.

But the feeling the both of them shared, as well as the extreme hatred, was for curiosity. What was it called? Why is there so much destruction? What really goes on in the minds of the villagers that they always seemed to loom over? And really, what were they so skeptical about and afraid of? They would ponder over them briefly, but then continue on with their daily lives. The xenophobia was really just another tradition of that goddamned mountain. But neither of them really wanted it. Xenophobia was a stupid thing- maybe they could learn something in the kingdom. However, both of them would have to team up in order to get down there. Reluctant, they both agreed to go and see the imbeciles who nested there. And so they went.

A child's playful voice echoed through the streets. Most of the children were supposed to be home at the time, but this child, she wasn't one to be controlled. She was a little orphan girl, having no comfort but that of just a friend- a rabbit boy named Peter. Peter was an orphan too. That was the case for a lot of kids in Illesarkia, unfortunately. Grew up as orphans and then lived pathetic lives as adults. Most adults were too busy to care for them. That was the case for this girl, as well.

The child kept skipping onwards, not caring how unusually empty the streets were. A loud clatter made her stop dead in her tracks, making her scream a bit.

"Who's there?!" She shouted, pulling her ears to her face.

"Oh, you heard me..?" A small voice said. The girl heard shuffling and another of her kind, a Cliene who was her age but slightly smaller than her, crawled out from behind some rubbish.

"Yes, I heard you! What are you doing out here so late?"

"Well what are YOU doing, hm? I'm out here because daddy said I needed to come out here and look for some kids to play with." The other girl snapped.

"I'm trying to get to my friend! He lives around here." The first girl sneered. "But what's a daddy…?"

"You don't know what a daddy is? You're pathetic. But I'll show you, um…"

"I'm Salus! My friend is Peter. I can get him for you if you want." Salus said, clapping her hands gleefully.

"No, that's okay. I'm Mirable," Mirable muttered, taking Salus by the hand and deep into a wooded area.

Salus was scared, clinging to Mirable every time she heard a noise. Mirable kept having to push her off every time she did that, until they got to a special hiding place in the ground. Mirable, once uncovering it, motioned for Salus to go into it. Salus was reluctant, but eventually went in. Mirable went in afterwards, slowly shutting the lid.

When Salus touched the ground the lights of the den flickered on. Salus was awed, looking around and carefully examining things in the room. Mirable crawled downwards and smirked a bit at Salus.

"Nice place, huh?" Mirable said.

"Yeah! Totally! I wish Peter were here to see this…" Salus muttered.

"Well, if you want, you can go get him…" Mirable muttered. "I don't think daddy would really like the prospect of me having a boy in the house… but he's not around, so I guess it's okay!"

"Alright then!" Salus shouted cheerfully. And off she went to get her friend.