The darkness still ruled the skies when a lone woman entered the temple ground, effortlessly piercing through the defensive barrier. It was a cold night, the coldest Winterspring had seen in months. Still, the snowing did not cease; surprisingly, it intensified. The wind carried tiny snowflakes that felt like a razor against exposed skin. Nonetheless, the cloaked woman slowly pushed forward, disregarding the harsh conditions. With her face covered by a wooden mask of ashen colour, she looked terrifying.
Beside an arch, a purple-haired woman clothed in loose robes stood, spectating the stranger's approach with mixed feelings. Like many times before, she took a vigil over the temple ground, patiently marching back and forth the line the second barrier drew. Thalyssae Stillbloom had seen countless people arriving at the sanctuary over the years. A single glance was enough to narrow down the priestess's speculation. It was safe to say that the stranger did not seek shelter. Hence, she started walking towards the cloaked woman, wanting the intent of the intrusion to be revealed.
"May the Goddess be with you, stranger," Stillbloom said, halting.
"May the Goddess be with you too, priestess," the cloaked woman replied, stopping as well.
"What do you seek here?"
"I'm but a messenger, priestess," the stranger said, unbuttoning her heavy fur coat. "I'm merely here to ask for a favour."
"What kind of a favour?"
"I'm humbly asking the Wintersping Elune's temple to take care of this child."
The cloaked woman gently pulled back the thick fabric to reveal what was contained within. Stillbloom leaned forward, her eyes practically sparkling with curiosity, and found her gaze returned. Within the blanket was wrapped a child with a pinkish complexion and snow-white hair. The girl quietly stared back at Stillbloom with eyes matching her own curiosity. They seemed unnaturally focused for a child so young and small she could not have been older than a few months, after all.
"What's her name?" Thalyssae asked, adoring the tiny one already.
"Fyrerenna," the stranger's response was but a whisper, but the priestess heeded it.
"Is she yours?"
"No," a hesitant reply came a moment later. "I'm merely a messenger asked to deliver her here," she added rather quickly.
"Who are her parents, then?"
"As of now, it matters not," the cloaked woman sternly said. "Though, I have an envelope for you. It'll unseal itself once Fyrerenna's twenty," she added, gently rocking the child.
Afterwards, a moment of silence fell upon them. The priestess was unsure what to think about the whole situation. But… she would accept the child, as she has already started falling in love with the tiny girl. Then, a strand of snow-white hair surfaced from the cloak. The minor detail spawned another question that would inevitably remain unanswered.
"What about her eyes?" Stillbloom inquired.
"Oh," a soft gasp escaped the white-haired woman's slightly parted lips. "Aren't they precious? So rare and intense; she's inevitably destined for greatness," she added fondly.
Indeed, in Night Elven society, golden eyes were scarce and widely believed to be reserved for the chosen ones, destined to shake the world's foundation.
"Who are her parents?" the priestess repeated her earlier question.
"I'll not tell you," the masked woman said harshly. "Take her and raise amongst the others," she added, giving the purple-haired woman the child.
The gold's glitter was undeniable, intense, fascinating, and tantalising. Within these orbs of molten amber, the priestess lost herself, not even registering when she took Fyrerenna into her arms. Then, the girl's tiny hand emerged from underneath the blanket, eagerly trying to reach her purple strands. Stillbloom gladly leaned in, allowing the tiny one to play as much as she wanted. Still, she was surprised when the white-haired girl did not pull the strands, going gently through them with her fragile fingers instead.
"She likes you already," the white-haired woman commented.
"She melts my heart," Thalyssae unwittingly confessed.
"Oh, she has such an effort on people," the cloaked woman agreed. "I'm leaving. Please, take good care of her," she added, then turned around and started walking away, not waiting for any response.
With nothing to add, the purple-haired priestess observed the masked woman hastily walking off towards the horizon. The stranger was a soldier of sorts, Stillbloom concluded. Her pacing was quick, metrical, and trained, yet, Stillbloom could have sworn that her body convulsed as if she cried. Many questions lingered unanswered, bothering the priestess. However, they seemingly vanished when she noticed the Sun reborn and her little girl's reaction. The same tiny hand that stroked her hair a moment ago was reaching towards the red orb. It was an impossible feat to accomplish, but the child tried anyway. With a broad smile, Thalyssae waited till the start regained its throne before turning around and heading to the temple.
Author's notes section:
[2023-07-30]: Hey, here is a preview of the story's next chapter. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release. I will try to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I would like to clean up some of the tasks in my schedule, and right now, there are many chapters queued there.
A word of explanation: I was convinced that the story needed some sort of a prologue, so here it is.
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2023-07-30]: A preview has been released.
Info: I have included more stories in the schedule as I'm not 100% certain what I want to write next. Please, keep in mind that I might add or remove positions from the list. I might rewrite some of the older stories or extract some of the longer stories from `The story of one lost soul`.
Schedule:
- Exiled you say? (finish the WIP)
- The shadows can be deceiving (new chapter)
- Until my last breath (new chapter)
- Hidden in the mountain's shadow (new chapter)
- The war call (new chapter)
- The rise of the Blood Moons' servants (new chapter)
- Black Diamond (new chapter)
- When the clock is ticking (Warhammer 40k new story)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (rewrite chapter 4)
- The heart not so cold (rewrite chapter 2)
- The family tree (revisit the previous chapters and apply adjustments)
- Will you look past my mistakes? (new chapter)
- The silence of the shackles (new chapter)
- The broken heart (new chapter)
- The Prisoner of Your Eyes (new chapter)
- Lifetime of war (new chapter)
- Hope is the last one to die (new story in SW universe)
- See the world through my eyes (new chapter)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (finish rewriting the second chapter)
- Life is full of surprises (new chapter)
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even two stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
Bleach story. (Byakuya x Yoruichi / ?)
Naruto story. (Neji x Hinata / Neji x TenTen / Nagato x Konan)
Fairy Tail story. (most likely Erza x Mira)
Maybe some Star Wars?
References:
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.