Prologue
In the middle of the scattered ruins of an ancient war, she stood, towering over the dead who earned her wrath.
She commanded reverence and devotion.
They said she was carved by a master under the Goddess's guidance. Others claimed that it was the last gift made by the Goddess herself.
The star-lines on her body wavered ever so slightly. They began as an intricate web of star-lines from the back of her left hand before crawling across the rest of her body.
At first glance, she was a perfect statue with huge almond eyes and long hair shimmering under the sky. However, nothing was ever perfect. Reminding them of their ancestors' sins, she had a big gaping hole in her chest.
In front of the statue, a fallen heart pulsed, an angry red, a constant reminder of what had passed and what was to come.
The calm night was accompanied by the five grayish moons high in the sky. It seemed like another night that would pass, as many others did.
It took only a second.
The calm stare from the empty almond eyes turned red. A cry echoed through the surrounding mountains. It was a premonition of what was to come.
The once very serene five moons suddenly turned blood red. A few hundred stars descended from the sky, betraying the untrained eyes as simple flickering lights.
The stars formed a huge crown above the statue. Then the largest star landed upon the intricate web of star-lines on the back of her left hand. The star-lines pulsed.
Still, neither the statue nor the surrounding ruins moved. Yet, everything was about to change. The Goddess's voice was about to descend upon the elder council.
Then the altar, which had looked like a ruin a moment ago, became surrounded with flames.
The blue flames of a prophecy.
For thousands of years, their race was only graced by these blue flames. The Goddess no longer favored them with anything else. No matter how much repentance or prayer was done, this was all that was bestowed upon them. If their sins were considered, they should be grateful that any flames descended upon them.
Everything was already set in stone.
From the sky, five figures descended. The moment they were in front of her, they knelt. They put their left hands on their chests and started singing a hymn to praise and thank the Goddess for gracing them with her mercy and guidance.
They all sang except for one. He still followed protocol except for singing. The other elders wanted to look at him and knock some sense into him. However, he was the oldest, and whatever was going on with him, they thought the Goddess herself would judge.
"Rise," an ethereal voice echoed from very far away.
They started to rise, but with the presence of the Goddess, their knees kept buckling, except for him, the one who never sang.
"Zale, as stubborn as ever," the sound echoed again.
They wanted to look at him, the one who never sang, but they never did.
He didn't answer.
"Child, this stubbornness of yours will cost you." The voice came back, reprimanding.
This time she didn't wait and went on.
"A portal will lead you far from here, yet to find your new homes and your star bond mates."
The elders started to breathe more calmly.
"Beyond the portal, human lives intertwine. Yet they can't carry on their bloodlines. You are to find your mates and save their fates. I owed their God a long time ago, and you shall repay by saving them from fading away."
None dared to move. But they all had the same question: What does it mean to save their fates? This had never happened before.
The one who never sang, who was calm till that point, just knelt again, accepting the Goddess' command. The other elders followed suit.
They didn't even get to blink. The flames disappeared, the stars faded, and the red eyes were lifeless again. There she was again, calm and solemn in the middle of the scattered ruins of an ancient battlefield.
The youngest one then burst out with a question,
"What does that even mean?"
"We are still in the Goddess's presence; speak respectfully, Draco," the second elder chided while looking at the statue.
The one who never sang just exhaled while looking at the five greyish moons above.
He wasn't interested anymore. He would go with the motions to send the unpaired from his race to find their soulmates wherever the portal leads to. Anything else was definitely none of his business. He would leave the matter of solving the Goddess puzzle to the other elders who were younger and more energetic. He would sign the papers. The eldest elder was allowed to slack off.
"Elder Zale, will you be going this time?" he was surprised; for a whole century, no one dared ask him that question.
It was almost a taboo by now. The other elders looked at Draco while shaking their heads. This one didn't know what questions shouldn't be asked.
"I will leave the fun for you, younger people," he answered and started to leave.
Draco's very pale skin turned a very deep shade of pink. He realized too late that he shouldn't have asked such a question. He was just excited after attending his first prophecy hearing.
They all started to leave one by one. None of them looked back; after all, they had a lot of work to do. They had to announce the prophecy and find the portal that led to that new race.
It was terrifyingly calm again.
For a fleeting moment, those great almond eyes seemed to flicker.
"Stubborn child, may you find peace this time." The voice echoed once more.
A promise to someone and no one at all.
The moons finally disappeared into the night.
And in the middle of the scattered ruins of an ancient war, she stood.
