Chapter 1:Return of the curce
🜃 Chapter One: Return of the curce
They say that when time is afraid... it hides.
And they say that when the sea is angry... it gives birth.
The story was born before time itself, when the sun was merely a thought, and the earth was nothing but a sleeping body yet to be named. From the womb of that body, four elements took shape: water, fire, earth, and air. Each element formed a kingdom and crowned a ruler from its chosen—those they called: The Pureborn.
They were not like humans, though their faces resembled ours.
Their blood carried pure magic, enough to make the earth tremble, raise the sea, and whisper into the storm’s ear until it obeyed.
It was said... that every kingdom held a main magic, and a hidden one—unleashed only when necessary.
Each element had its story, each kingdom its secret, and behind every secret... a curse.
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The Four Elemental Kingdoms
In the northeastern silence of the unnamed world, lies Urkalin, the Kingdom of Water. Its water is not drunk—but revered. Its seas breathe, and its whales store secrets in songs. The mages of Urkalin didn’t just command water—they listened to the tides whisper news and push danger away.
Their hidden magic was foresight: the ability to see what cannot be seen and know what has not yet happened.
But foresight is no gift—it is a burden few can bear.
Then came Ilzar, the Kingdom of Flame and the Temple of Ash. The land there breathes fire, and its mountains are home to spirits that do not leave the living in peace. The fire mages speak to sparks and summon storms from beneath their feet. Their hidden magic? Summoning the dead.
To the west, where the forest is larger than any city and the scent of earth hangs in the air, lies Valduar, the Kingdom of Earth. There, life grows in stone, and sleep takes root with roots. Their secret? Speaking with animals. Not taming—but agreement, pact, and partnership.
Finally, above the clouds, in peaks untouched by foot, rests Serinal, the Kingdom of Air. Its people are unseen unless they wish to be, their voices heard only in anger. The winds serve them, and the clouds are tools. Their secret magic? Weather control—they awaken rain, silence snow, and reverse the seasons at will.
Each kingdom had a king, each king an heir, and each heir... a tale.
But none of them were like the one we are about to tell.
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Urkalin... and the First Cry
On the final night of the great winter, when the moon fell silent, and the sea echoed like the breath of a creature preparing to be born... Liavshka de Lian came into the world.
She was born in the glass tower above Nirvaris Palace, directly over the sea—where no one enters without the queen’s command. For nine months, Queen Silaria was unseen. No sages were allowed near. No sound came from her chambers. Curtains stayed closed. All that was known was that the queen was waiting... for something.
No one knew whether it was a child or a prophecy.
And when the night split, and her final cry rang out, the sea changed color.
The waters turned silver—pure, still, as if all its creatures paused to listen. Then came a sound—not from a woman, but from the earth itself. In an instant, the waves stilled. The storm that had raged for seven days... died.
And then came the first cry.
But it wasn’t just a cry—it was a song. Sad, elegant... and terrifying.
---
Later, they whispered that the child's eyes were the color of the sea at sunset... but one of the old sages, a blind man, said:
> “Her eyes had no color...
They had time in them.”
No one understood what he meant. But he didn’t live past that day.
It was said he smiled... and died.
She was named: Liavshka.
The princess whose body would not get wet, even if submerged.
The one who made the whales sing her name from the cradle.
The one written of in pages not read for centuries, under a single name:
The Second.
But who was The First?
No one wanted to answer that... not yet.
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A Child Unlike Any Other
Liavshka was raised in a chamber that never opened.
Her room was protected by spells of time and forgetting.
Each morning, she woke to find the sea beneath her a different color—
as if its moods flowed from her heartbeat.
She was never allowed outside.
She was taught only what she was meant to know.
But on the night of her seventh birthday, everything changed.
The High Priest Armaril brought the Crystal of Foresight—
an ancient ritual used to test the blood of the Pureborn.
No one expected what came next.
Liavshka touched the crystal... and it didn’t glow.
It cracked.
No—it screamed.
A pale grey light emerged—not the grey of death, but the grey of something cold, unknown. It spread across the walls, and then the visions began:
A sun moving backward.
Men falling from the sky.
Women giving birth twice.
Kingdoms rising, collapsing, rising again...
It all flashed before them in a heartbeat.
And then the child spoke, her voice calm—
like the silence before a storm:
> “I don’t see the future, Father...
I see it coming back.”
King Kassar said nothing. He held the queen’s hand, sweat gathering at his brow.
But Queen Silaria...
She knew.
She had always known that history repeats itself.
And that the curse of The First Princess...
had returned.
But that’s a story for another time.
As for Liavshka, she drifted into a quiet sleep,
dreaming of a woman who looked just like her...
trying to scream from behind glass that would never break.
