PROLOGUE
The city was encased in silver darkness. As it slept, the sounds of traffic, crickets and a warm howling wind played in unison like a nocturnal orchestra. The sky was equally black, the crescent moon clinging to the stars like a pale wedding band. The moon was forever wed to the earth below it; one heart, one soul. A glimmer erupted from the tail end of the moon's crescent and rapidly began to descend towards the earth. How strange it must have seemed to anyone who was still lingering in the windows of their homes to see a falling star come from the moon.
It was closer now. Behind it, a tail of fire licked at the blanket of stars it was leaving in its wake. It was a bold gold with faint hints of silver and violet. It was truly a stunning sight to behold. And before long, it vanished into the hills just outside of the city.
In an instant it crashed into the small clearing amongst the trees. Dirt, rocks, leaves and other debris scattered out for nearly a mile as the dust of the impact hung heavy in the air. From within the crater emerged a black figure on four legs. It was large, easily six feet in length and, on all fours, three feet tall. Its two ears shook off dark quickly and it's long tail stretched out behind it for nearly another foot and a half.
Golden eyes peered into the new surroundings. This was nothing like home, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The air was warm and rich with the scent of summer. The skies above twinkled like diamonds and seemed to wave back at her. But the golden crescent moon inlaid upon her brow burned with warning. There was evil close by and it was drawing closer to her. They had sensed her arrival and now she had to move fast.
The panther shook off the remaining dirt from her ebony fur and headed into the forest, using the trees and the cloud of dirt for cover. Behind her, she heard the screeching and howling of the demons sent to find the newest invader to have crossed the line between the kingdoms above into the kingdom below. She quickened her pace now as she made her way down the hills, careful to remain hidden in the foliage.
The crescent burned a little less as she neared the city and she was sure now that no one was sent to follow her this far. When she reached the trees that lined the road of the city, she stopped and examined this new world. She was sure that it had been far too long for the humans to see a Queensguard of her size in quite some time. It would probably alert the servants of the darkness to her location and that, simply, would not do. She glanced behind her one last time and snarled as her crescent began to glow faintly in the shadows.
It had been far too long since she had taken a smaller form and it was slightly painful to shrink down from her large size. Within minutes her bones had shrunk in size, her muscles painfully following suit to cling to a smaller and more fragile anatomy. Her tail looked absurdly large before it too became a miniature version of its former glory.
Finally it was over. Luna shook her small shoulders and shuttered internally. She never liked to parade around as a normal house cat. It was never her favorite hobby. But she needed to find the Guardians and she needed to find them before it was too late. But the Queen had given her specific orders and she had also left her with beneficial information. She gave her the name and location of Serena, the first of the scouts needed to defend the earth.
