Disclaimer: I do not own SSO. The only thing that is mine is the storyline, and some fictional characters I created for the purpose of telling my story (i.e: Jeremy and a few others you will eventually meet).

Author's Note: It has been a very long time since I have uploaded anything on (possibly 5 years or so). I am still getting used to the new format and I am still getting back into my writing groove, so please bear with me. I wanted to say a very very grateful thank you to those who have followed Life and Death: Yours Everlasting, and those who have reviewed that story. Even after I stopped writing, I still received followers and reviews that gave me a boost of motivation to keep writing, but it never lasted long enough for me to act on it. The latest review I received for Life and Death was from satomika. A special thank you to her because it was after reading her review that I felt inspired enough to go through my old work and start writing again (But of course, everyone helped too!). I am typing it up in Word and just copy-n-pasting it in, so I am hoping that it uploads the way I want it to. I remember from when I used to use that whenever I wanted to type a question that was also an exclamation, it automatically deleted the question mark (So instead of it being ? and ! together, it was just ! on its own. If that makes sense..). Anyway, I hope you will continue to follow my story. Please read and review :)

Prologue

The lake shimmered in the pale moonlight and the ebony sky was littered with twinkling stars, but as beautiful as it was, an ominous chill filled the air that night, and it seemed to touch them to their cores.
"Eran, be reasonable," the dark haired man urged his younger brother.
"I'm being unreasonable?" Eran sneered, and his dark emerald eyes narrowed dangerously, "Is this why you asked me to come here? So you can lecture me some more, brother? I take it that you and Cela have refused my offer to join me. How can you and everyone else in this realm tolerate such a lowly existence? "
"To conquer the Earth and eliminate a race in its entirety is contemptible," a woman stated, her golden tresses blowing in the cold breeze, "Are you ready and willing to face the consequences of such an act?"
"Do you not think you are superior to humans, Cela? Ryn?" Eran questioned the two before him, ignoring the question he was asked.
Cela's golden head tilted to one side in contemplation. "I know that in some ways I am," she admitted in acknowledgement, "But that is because I have powers that most of them do not. You forget that they have knowledge of magic in that world also – they have sorcerers that will not go down without a fight."
"Their parlour tricks are no match for a Heavenly Being," Eran laughed at the notion.
"Enough, both of you," Ryn snapped at them in a hard tone as his dark auburn eyes flashed with near intolerance. "Eran, I have tried to reason with you before," Ryn took a step toward his brother, forcing his sibling to take a step back and continued to do so until Eran was only two feet away from an old weeping willow by the lake, its long tendrils surrounding them like a curtain. Eran noticed that he was being pushed into a corner and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "We had thought that these foolish whims of yours would come to pass, but we were mistaken," Ryn continued gravely, "We have come to realize that you pose a threat to the peace we desire and we cannot let your ideas come to fruition." As he was speaking, Cela had made her way over to the brothers and was now standing at Ryn's right hand.
Eran felt acid rise in his throat when he saw the raw compassion in her cerulean eyes, which he immediately translated into pity. He turned back to face his brother, "What are you going to do? I am your brother and I know you, Ryn, you cannot hurt me."
Ryn's dark eyes softened at this, "You are right."
Eran smirked at this and took a step forward, ready to leave this place.
Cela stepped between the two. "I'm afraid I cannot let you leave, Eran," she closed the gap between them and touched the side of his face gently, her way of saying goodbye to her dear friend.
Eran held the hand at his face, "Come with me Cela."
Cela shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry that it has to be this way."
"As am I," Eran agreed, anger quickly filling his core as he grabbed the hand at his face. Cela did not flinch when he squeezed tightly and placed his other hand above her heart, ready to attack. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. As he faltered, Cela began her incantation.
"By the grace of the Moon," she started in a gentle voice, and the moon seemed to shine just that little bit brighter, as if to say it was lending her its powers.
"By the life of this Tree," Cela continued and the tendrils of the tree quickly came forth in response to her call, wrapping themselves around Eran's wrists, torso and ankles. He made no struggle against them, and this surprised his two captors. "And by the Powers flowing through our veins," she said as Ryn stood beside her, holding Cela's hand gently in his, letting his powers flow through to her. "I bind thee to this Tree for an eternity."
The weeping willow seemed to pulsate at this as it pulled Eran into itself. He glared at the two before him, feeling the powers of the spell encase him, knowing he did not have much time left before the spell was completed.
"Do not think that this tree will hold me forever," he warned them, "I will find a way, and when I do, the destruction I will unleash will be threefold for what you have done this day. You will deeply regret not joining me."
"I am sorry, brother," Ryn replied with a sadness in his voice, "I hereby banish thee to an eternal sleep. May our mercy not be in vain. And may we all, humans and Heavenly Beings alike, live to the end of our existences."
Eran's body had disappeared into the tree and his head was slowly being encased in wood. Cela could not bear to watch it any longer, she looked away as tears sprung into her eyes. She knew this had to be done, but it would not ease the guilt she felt at losing her friend this way.
"So be it," Eran said, and silence followed. A soft breeze swept through their surroundings, which only highlighted the silence until it was deafening.
Ryn placed a hand on her shoulder gently, "It is done."
Cela lifted her fair head and glanced around them. It was as if nothing had happened – the moon and the stars still shone brightly overhead, the lake still glistened in the light and ripples in the water could be seen, the tree still stood mightily in front of them, looking like a guardian of the lake, but at the same time, a safe haven for those sheltered by its many strands of leaves, which faintly rustled in the breeze.
"I'm sorry to ask that of you, Cela," Ryn began slowly and pulled her into a tender embrace, "But without your help, and the added powers of the moon, I could not have contained him on my own."
Cela nodded understandingly into his shoulder. "Do you really think he will find a way to break the spell?" she asked and looked up at her partner.
"Only time will tell," Ryn replied grimly.
The two Heavenly Beings looked to the tree, and they knew that no matter how near or far into the future Eran's return would be, they had to prepare themselves and everyone else for when that time came.