Note- the first two chapters are quite short and boring, but they are also
essential, so READ THEM. The rest of the story is brilliant though, if I do
say so myself.
Prologue:
12:00, New Years Eve, 1984, London
As the fireworks lit up the night skies you could faintly hear the cries of humans celebrating the start of a new year. TV's were screening the celebrations taking place around the world, and no doubt the humans felt that they were celebrating New Year with everyone in the universe, not just their family or friends. However, there were a few things that they didn't know about.
Unknown to the human world, or Day World, as it was commonly referred to by Others, there were actually five worlds, or realms currently in existence, all running simultaneously alongside one another.
There was the Day World, for those that didn't know of, or believe in, magic, where humans resided and magic was only a folklore visited by children in fairytales. Then there was the Night world, the world of predators, of Vampires, Witches and Werewolves, and their families. Next came the Mage World, which was a land of magic in a different form- the Gift. Like the magic of witches, but more common, it could be used for powerful workings and simple things, like healing and fire, and could be seen visibly as a sort of sparkling glow. In the Mage World, there were not only mages, those with the Gift, but also people who were Giftless, but it remained to stay in what the modern realms would call the sixth or seventeenth century, when all boys became knights or sorcerers, girls became ladies in waiting and the realms were ruled by a king and queen. Another world commonly associated with this one was the Divine Realms, the realms of the Gods, generally the ones worshipped by those in the Mage World. The Gods there were able to interact with those in the Mage World, but only one mortal had been able to cross between the realms before, so they generally stayed separate. The fifth and final world that ran parallel to the others was the Enchantment Realm. This worked alongside the Day World, though it was hidden to what they called "muggles", non-magic folk. Only witches and Wizards could cross through, and there were a fair few of them around.
However, despite the fact that there were a few people who could cross between certain realms, (those mainly being the witches and Wizards of the Enchantment Realm and Daine Sarrasri of the Mage World), practically no one was aware of the other worlds running alongside their own. This was mainly because so few people were actually able to cross into another world, so few knew of their existence. In fact, most people only belonged to one world. It was incredibly rare to find someone who belonged to two different non-adjoining worlds, and rarer still to find someone who belonged to three or four. But all Five? Impossible. Even though all the Prophecies of the Magic Worlds had predicted one such child, people had given up hope of one ever being born. Rialle Hath was one of those people. She had given up searching for this child and helping her fulfill her destiny years ago. But tonight... something was different tonight. Something was in the air, she could feel it. Rialle stepped out of her home, deciding to sit and watch for strange happenings amidst the fireworks, and shifted.
And so it was, unnoticed by all, the snowy while owl soared through the air, landed on the tallest fir tree in the area, and settled to watch the clear night sky. And that's how, hours after the fireworks had ended, and everyone had gone home, the owl looked to the skies and was the only person in the whole of the universe to see a single star be born in the clear sky. A star, small for now, though it would grow as time passed, that burned brighter than the waning moon, and that lit up all the worlds with its steady glow...
Prologue:
12:00, New Years Eve, 1984, London
As the fireworks lit up the night skies you could faintly hear the cries of humans celebrating the start of a new year. TV's were screening the celebrations taking place around the world, and no doubt the humans felt that they were celebrating New Year with everyone in the universe, not just their family or friends. However, there were a few things that they didn't know about.
Unknown to the human world, or Day World, as it was commonly referred to by Others, there were actually five worlds, or realms currently in existence, all running simultaneously alongside one another.
There was the Day World, for those that didn't know of, or believe in, magic, where humans resided and magic was only a folklore visited by children in fairytales. Then there was the Night world, the world of predators, of Vampires, Witches and Werewolves, and their families. Next came the Mage World, which was a land of magic in a different form- the Gift. Like the magic of witches, but more common, it could be used for powerful workings and simple things, like healing and fire, and could be seen visibly as a sort of sparkling glow. In the Mage World, there were not only mages, those with the Gift, but also people who were Giftless, but it remained to stay in what the modern realms would call the sixth or seventeenth century, when all boys became knights or sorcerers, girls became ladies in waiting and the realms were ruled by a king and queen. Another world commonly associated with this one was the Divine Realms, the realms of the Gods, generally the ones worshipped by those in the Mage World. The Gods there were able to interact with those in the Mage World, but only one mortal had been able to cross between the realms before, so they generally stayed separate. The fifth and final world that ran parallel to the others was the Enchantment Realm. This worked alongside the Day World, though it was hidden to what they called "muggles", non-magic folk. Only witches and Wizards could cross through, and there were a fair few of them around.
However, despite the fact that there were a few people who could cross between certain realms, (those mainly being the witches and Wizards of the Enchantment Realm and Daine Sarrasri of the Mage World), practically no one was aware of the other worlds running alongside their own. This was mainly because so few people were actually able to cross into another world, so few knew of their existence. In fact, most people only belonged to one world. It was incredibly rare to find someone who belonged to two different non-adjoining worlds, and rarer still to find someone who belonged to three or four. But all Five? Impossible. Even though all the Prophecies of the Magic Worlds had predicted one such child, people had given up hope of one ever being born. Rialle Hath was one of those people. She had given up searching for this child and helping her fulfill her destiny years ago. But tonight... something was different tonight. Something was in the air, she could feel it. Rialle stepped out of her home, deciding to sit and watch for strange happenings amidst the fireworks, and shifted.
And so it was, unnoticed by all, the snowy while owl soared through the air, landed on the tallest fir tree in the area, and settled to watch the clear night sky. And that's how, hours after the fireworks had ended, and everyone had gone home, the owl looked to the skies and was the only person in the whole of the universe to see a single star be born in the clear sky. A star, small for now, though it would grow as time passed, that burned brighter than the waning moon, and that lit up all the worlds with its steady glow...