Fractured Stars

ADRIAN

Adrian wiped the sweat from his brow before hefting thelarge basket of produce onto one of his sturdy shoulders. He knelt and pickedup a bucket filled with ripe glistening midnight blue berries. He stood up withhis back to the rickety barn behind him and began his trip to the villagemarket.

Adrian never though of him self as particularly handsome butothers believe otherwise. Though Adrian was of medium height at about 5’ 10” hisbuild was strong and sturdy. With thick muscular arms, thighs, and thick sturdycore Adrian could lift most anything and did so regularly at his parents' farm.Or rather, his farm now.

He would never admit it to the village folk, but theirpassing pained him. The village relied on their produce and animals to feed thepeople with his parents gone the village was in danger of starving. It also didnot help that the villagers were afraid of him. While most people were bornwith magic like his mother Adrian was a Magi. The Magi had dark powers thatbelonged only to the chosen. Those who were born on the change of the seasonunder the fractured stars. Very few Magi existed in the world, but all wore thetell-tale signs.

All Magi were marked with brilliant crimson eyes and hairblack as pitch. The powers of Magi depended on the season they were born into. Adrianwas born on the darkest night of the year the winter solstice. His magic wasbiting cold and dark as night. The embodiment of winter they called him. Ironicfor the son of farmers.

The magic manifests within days of birth while some children’smagic conjured fire, sunlight, or gales, Adrian’s magic blotted out the starsfor 24 hours with a second darkness. The air grew so cold that all of the cropson the farm died, and the villagers left to starve until a spring Magi could bebrought from the capital to revive and grow new crops. Once the child manifests their magic they arebrought to the capital to be branded with their sign, a permanent mark thatsignifies the power of the Magi. Adrian’s mark was the mark of darkness givento the children of winter. A purple crescent, leathery with age marked his brow,burned into his skin by the magic of the capital.

While the spring and fall Magi are revered for their usefulmagic the summer and winter Magi are not. Known as the most powerful Magi thechildren of summer and winter can wreak havoc everywhere they go bringing,draughts, fires, darkness, storms, and the killing cold. For these reasons, thechildren of winter and summer are considered omens of destruction and chaosdespite their best intentions.

As Adrian set his produce down at the stall set aside forhis farm in the village square, he noticed a woman. Tall and lean she stoodbent over slightly looking through the black smith’s wares. When she stood, sherevealed a slender toned back that nipped in at her bare waist. Her cropped furjacket was the new fashion he had heard of in the capital. But it wasn’t thesight of her skin that made him stop and stare but rather her ears. They werepointed and slanted down, but also long and slender. Those were the ears of ademon from the other side of the fracture. Creatures of pure magic that fellfrom the sky 50 years ago. While their kind wasn’t particularly threateningtowards the humans, they made people uncomfortable.

‘No wonder she is wearing mercenary clothing with out thearmor while clearly buying weapons to use,’ Adrian thought, ‘I thought she wasa capital girl buying trinkets at first but that not the case.’ She evaluated aknife with the air of a professional before setting the weapon back down. Demonswere said to be indestructible apart from the magic of a Magi. The only thingstrong enough to pierce a demon’s hide.

Then he started to notice other features, while most demonshad black hair and red eyes like the Magi. This woman had hair white as newfallen snow and luminous opal eyes that seemed to change color as she lookedfrom item to item. She was beautiful in a strange, alien way and Adrian didn’trealize that he had walked up to her gaze found his.

Her lips twitched into a smirk and her eyes glittered withmischief as she mocked him, “You, checking out the farming equipment Magi boy?”

“I uh...” he stammered.

Her smirk widened into a grin and the skin around her eyescrinkled with amusement, “it’s fine to stare boy, I’m sure you’ve never met awoman like me before in this shit hole you call a village.”

“Excuse me!” He said flabbergasted.

She laughed, her voice like deep church bells on the wind.

“A winter Magi like you thinking this town is anything but ashit hole? Come now…”

“I happen to think that this shit hole you speak of has anacquired taste that you’re clearly not accustomed to capital girl.”

Her eyebrows raised in mock surprise, “who says I’m from thecapital, boy? And I am no girl, Magi boy, I am certainly more woman than youcan handle and I’m much older than you. We devils live centuries longer thanyou humans.”

“A devil you say. You look more like an elf goddess of oldwith your white hair and bright eyes. Tell me devil girl, is your tail whitetoo?” Adrian had leaned in closer hovering just over her head with a heatedgaze. He normally wasn’t this much of a flirt, but this woman was tooirresistible. After he got over his initial surprise at her brashness hecouldn’t help leaning into their rapport.

A purple blush bloomed a crossed her pale face and sheblinked once before smirking back at him, “Would you like to find out Magiboy?”

A scream split the air causing the two to whip their headaround. Flames burst forth as another Magi strutted into the square. Hisfingers brushed the building just before the buildings were alight with hisflames. A trail of destruction was at his back. The Magi addressed the villagers trapped inthe square.

“The Spring Devil! Where is she? She is wanted for treasonto the kingdom!” He boomed.

Just like Adrian the Magi had crimson eyes and pitch-blackhair, though that’s were the similarities ended. This man was older than Adrianfrown lines creased his forehead and between his eyes which were blazing withanger. A red sun defaced his brow as if the flames destroying the village werenot enough to know that a Summer Magi was sent to collect a woman called ‘TheSpring Devil’.

A light breeze alerted Adrian to the woman behind him. Shehad thrown her hood over her white hair. Worry lined her face for a briefmoment before it hardened as it disappeared under the hood. She grippedAdrian’s arm and slowly backed away from the stall.

“Where is she?! She may look like an innocent girl, but sheis an old and powerful demon she will kill those who get in her way. She can beidentified by her white hair and light eyes. Unusual for a demon you see.” The blacksmith’s eyes widened. He went to open his mouth to call out to the Magi, but thewoman beat him to it. One of his own blades appeared as if by magic embedded inhis throat. He made a choking noise before the dagger was removed and twirledin the air twice before settling itself in the woman’s belt.

Her skirts flaredwide, and Adrian got a glimpse of her pearly white devil's tail before she tookoff down an alleyway. Adrian had little opportunity to figure out if he wantedto follow her as her grip tightened on his arm and he was pulled along with herinto the night.

***

“Stop!” He shouted ripping his arm from her grip. She wasmuch stronger than she looked. They were well outside the village now and aboutto enter the forest east of the village.

“We have to go back and help! The people in the village willdie in those fires if I’m not there to put them out!”

“What does it matter? I’ve heard what they say about ‘thewinter Magi’. They are waiting for the right moment to kill you so that theycan steal your farm! The only reason they hadn’t before is because theyrespected your parents. Now, they don’t have any issues with killing you!”

“I don’t care they still need my help,” Adrian growled.

“Screw your hero complex,” she hissed fangs on show, “theywill be fine!” She wiped her hand up in what looked like a wild gesture rightbefore dark clouds appeared in the sky above the village. With a snap of herfingers rain cascaded down from the clouds drenching the village in a soft butthorough rain that snuffed out the fires.

“Happy now! Let’s go,” she said.

“No! I don’t even know who you are! And I live in thatvillage!”

“Fine! I’m the royal librarian.”

“What?”

“A royal scholar! Whatever you want to call it, it doesn’tmatter, I research the history of my world and yours.”

“Then why the hell were you in my village, and why are youwanted for treason?”

“I’m here for you. You’re the only living winter Magi. Thelast one was just executed by the king for treason. He was my mentor, and wediscovered that the winter Magi is the key to discovering why the sky fracturedand opened a rift between your world and mine. And I’m not sure yet but I thinkbased on what I found recently, a winter Magi is the only one who can close thefracture.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, come with me to the dark lands. We can find out whathappened and why the human and demon Magi like us even exist! We canimmortalize the history of both our worlds for generations to come!”

A spark of adventure and passion flared to life in her eyeswith her words. She held out a slender hand, palm up.

“I suppose it’s your choice. You can go back if you want.Tell them I kidnapped you,” she suggested.

I must have looked apprehensive but as I thought about thestories my parents told me of the wild magic that ruled our land before thefracture I grinned. The stories of all the beauty that brought prosperity tothe humans of this world and the sun shining bright, bringing a new day everyday instead of this endless night could be possible. I just had to make achoice. I grasped her hand.

“Lead on devil girl.”

***

She stopped suddenly in a clearing. The grass was wispy andgreen. The air darker than what surrounds the village, but strangely lighter.As if a weight he didn’t know he had was lifted off his shoulders.

Birds chirped and hooted in the trees, disturbed by theirpresence. But, before Adrian could ask what she was planning a soft green lightemanated from her slender frame. It illuminated the surrounding area, and shebegan to sing. It was so soft that Adrian barely picked up the words but theirintention was clear.

Oh tree, oh grass where have you gone?

Come find me in the dark,

To bring me salvation

And so, I may rest my weary bones.

Oh tree, oh grass!

Come find me in the dark,

So, I may find the respite I seek.

Bring your comforts for a weary traveler,

And I shall bring you light.

When she spoke the last words here spell was complete. Magichummed in the air and bled into the ground. Slowly the grass wove mats andblankets for us to sleep. Trees sprouted from the ground and enclosed thebedding in a canopy of leaves and bark. White light danced around usilluminating the small den she had created. They fluttered like fireflies pastmy nose. The last to sprout were three trees that took the form of two benchesand a cooking tripod. Finally, the grass under the tripod withered and died ina circular shape fit for a fire.

"Sit," she said, "We need to talk."

Adrian raised an eyebrow before taking a seat on one of thelogs facing her. She was about to speak, but he cut her off, "Hell yes, wehave to talk. You still haven't told me why your wanted for treason, and younever mentioned your name."

She took a deep breath before saying, "My name is NaomiDarkborn, and I may have accidentally killed the King of Astros and stollen themap to the Dark Lands on my way out of the castle.'"