Revamped the chapters a little. Enjoy.

-NinjaBurrito

Chapter 1

Deep in the forest of the Clover Kingdom was a small town called Clear Water, a town named for the clean crisp river that ran through the center of the Common Realm. The day was hot, and the air was thick with humidity which quickened the temper of the residence. Despite the heat the town was busy as many people tried to get errands ran and shopping done before the day grew any hotter.

Cyan Conway sat at the register of the only general store in town, sweat soaking the simple cotton shirt as she watched people bustling about looking for ingredients for tonight's dinner. Two older women picked through a pile of tomatoes; voices pitched low as they gossiped about their neighbors.

Two reasons prompted Cyan to go to work every day to work in the stuffy shop; one, because she needed money for food and two, so she could listen to the town gossip. Marylyn and Maryann loved to peruse the shelves every day and spill all the towns secrets where the easily forgotten Cyan could hear them.

"Did you hear, the Milton boy tried to join the Magic Knights a couple of months ago and choked! He wasn't picked by any of the squads. I mean some magic-less boy got on a team and he couldn't!" One of the women hissed to the other, flicking mud off the tomato she held.

"A magic-less boy made it on a squad. Impossible?" The other replied. Cyan knew their names but couldn't tell them apart. For women who weren't related they looked the exact same and even had similar names.

"Apparently. How embarrassing for the Milton's, that should shut Eliza up for a bit. I'm sick of her bragging about her halfwit son and his sub-par wind magic." The first one sneered as she smiled menacingly.

"Its like when Everett couldn't make it into the first round. He still walks around like he owns this town. I mean his dad does… I should have him over for tea. Formally introduce him to my daughter." The second replied.

Man, these small-town women were vicious but if it wasn't aimed at her then she didn't really mind. If that woman was smart, she'd keep her daughter away from him, she had firsthand experience what kind of a 'man' he was.

The two women turned to the register, each with only a few items they probably didn't need and paused at seeing Cyan. "Oh, you're working today."

They both looked at the young women, their gazes instantly flashing to her left eye. The milky color of her eye was always the first thing people noticed and never seemed to look past the oddity. Generally Cyan wore an eye patch, not because the eye was damaged but to keep people from staring at her mismatched eyes. One eye was black as midnight, the other completely white, a gift from her father.

But wearing the eye patch didn't keep people from talking about her, the thick streak of white among her dark black hair also caused murmuring wherever she went. If people weren't talking about her odd looks them, they were whispering about her traitor father who originally came from the Diamond Kingdom.

"Yeah, I'm working here today." She replied blandly and took the waiting basket to ring up the total. "Just like I am every day. Surprise."

"Why you little- "

"Shh. Don't waste your breath on foreign trash, Marylyn." Maryann hissed and threw some money on the counter, not bothering to wait for the total. The two women turned their noses up and walked out of the store in a huff.

"You could try to be less blunt." Temlar, the large owner of the store growled, walking behind the counter with an arm load of boxes.

Cyan shrugged and helped him shelve items from the boxes, hoping if she restocked fast enough that he would let her leave early.

"Sheen, have you tried to be a Magic Knight?" A young voice asked near her knees, startling her. She looked down at the blond headed boy that was Temlar's son, his trusting open face fixed on her.

She smiled and crouched down to his level and poked his dirty nose. "Still having troubles with your "c's" Kenny?" The boy had never been able to say her name right and she dreaded the day he finally did, for that would be the day his innocence's was at an end.

He frowned and tried to smack her hand away. "Stop poking me and answer my question!" He whined.

Cyan smiled as she used the sleeve of her shirt to rub the dirt from his face and nose. "No, I have never tested and never will."

"Why?" He asked, squirming under her assault on his face. "Doesn't everyone want to be a Knight?"

"I guess but I don't think my magic would come in handy for any of the squads so there's no point in traveling all the way to the capital to embarrass myself." She stated and looked at her handy work.

"Well, I'm going to be a Magic Knight and I'm going to join the Crimson Lion Kings, like my dad did!" He shouted jumping excitedly.

The women winked at him. "You'll make a really cute lion, that's for sure."

The tips of his ears turned red as he blushed at the compliment. "Whatever." He murmured and ran to the back of the store. The door at the back opened and slammed shut as Kenny ran back outside.

"You should try, it couldn't hurt and there's nothing for you around here." Temlar wasn't a cruel man, he was a man who said what was on his mind and was rarely wrong.

"What good would Nightmares and shadows do in a Magic Knight squad? Plus, I'm almost twenty years old. Kind of old to try now don't you think?" She asked as she finished stocking the shelves.

"Just because you don't see where your type of magic would fit in doesn't mean it has no place. Besides there's some moron on the Purple Orca's that uses something called 'Chain Magic'." He handed her some bottles and motion for her to put them on the display case. "If something that stupid has a place then I'm sure Nightmares and Shadows would have a place."

Cyan gritted her teeth and refused to meet her boss's gaze. "I'm sure that's true but I doubt this person is afraid of their own magic."

Temlar paused, quiet as he finished unpacking the last box. They worked in silence for a few minutes the only sounds were people on the street and children yelling at each other. After a while he cleared his throat. "I can watch the store for the rest of the day, how about you go home early."

"Okay, if you insist." Cyan replied hurriedly and all but ran to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Once on the street, the black- and white-haired women melted into the flow of pedestrian traffic along the street and headed towards the end of town and her home. She lived away from everyone else in the house her father built when he defected from the Diamond Kingdom, the house was small and in despite need of repair, but it was the only home she knew. Though after his death it didn't feel like much of a home anymore.

She kept her head down and lazily walked along the street, listening to snippets of random conversation. People didn't like to talk to her, in fact they straight up ignored her, so she liked to eavesdrop as much as possible. If it weren't for her job at the store and Temlar's kind soul, then she wouldn't have any interaction with the people in her town. She could listen to people while using her magic to move through their shadows, but that seemed way more intrusive then eavesdropping the old fashion way.

Not hearing anything interesting or noteworthy, Cyan picked up her pace and headed home to the mounds of books waiting for her. She might not have much, but she did have the treasure trove of books left behind by her father and the wealth of information they contained. She hoped somewhere in those volumes there would be more information about the magic she inherited from her absent mother, so far, she hadn't found much.

She walked in the quiet house and kicked off her boots, noting the humidity in the air. "I'm home." She said to no one.

Walking to work the next morning, eyes tired and blurry from reading all night, she could immediately feel the tension in the air of the people she walked past. Had something bad happened last night? Did someone die?

She wanted to ask someone but knew she would only be met with distain and sharp words, instead she headed quickly to the store. She passed large groups of people huddled around newspapers, whispering in shocked voices at whatever news they read.

Ignoring the groups, she ran to the shop and flung open the door to find Temlar and his wife leaned over the counter, looking down at newspaper. "What going on?" Cyan asked, trying to catch her breath.

Sheila's grey eyes flashed up; terror engraved on her beautiful face. "The capital was attacked yesterday. Tons of people died!"

"What?" Cyan walked over to them and looked down at the headline, 'The Eye of the Midnight Sun attacks Capital, Magic Knights fight back.' Not a clever headline but it spoke of the urgency of the situation.

"What the hell is The Eye of the Midnight Sun? I've never heard of them." The two women looked over at the man who was once a Magic Knight and therefore should have all the information.

Temlar shook his head and shrugged. "Never heard of them before now."

Sheila sighed and looked back at the article. "A Magic Knight captain was hurt really bad during the battle. I never thought that was possible." She shook her head in disbelief.

"A captain? Who was it?" Cyan scanned the article looking for a name or squad.

Temlar flipped to the next page where the article continued, and black and white picture of a familiar face stared back from amongst the words. "The Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings, Fuegoleon Vermillion. His arm was torn off and he's now in a coma." Temlar replied sadly, looking at the photo of a man he once fought beside.

The blood drained from Cyan's face, and a pit grew in her stomach as she looked at the photo. "Fuego lost an arm. He's in a coma?"

Both Sheila and Temlar's eyes snapped to her familiar use of his nickname. "You know him?" Sheila asked in disbelief.

Cyan ran a shaky finger down the picture, the smell of ink filling her nostrils as memories invaded her mind. "We met once long ago. He even saved my life."