Prologue
Prologue
They said the world was ending and the people went crazy. Fear spread across the country as vines wrapping, choking. Despair swallowed neighborhoods invoking madness in the few sane minds that prevailed.
Lifeless bodies piled at the bottom of buildings as masses jumped to their death. Drowned corpses littered the riverbanks. Governments collapsed; kingdoms fell leaving leaders of the world helpless. Some raided and pilfered, others scrambled to make their peace with God. A few chose to spend their last moments surrounded by family or in the arms of a lover. A desperate people who had no time and no hope left. An asteroid the size of a house was falling straight for earth and life as humans knew it was about to end.
The sky burned red then exploded into a ball of fire that rained for days. A giant shock wave thundered from the heavens wiping trees, buildings, life from the face of the earth. As the earth cooled black ash covered the world choking out the air.
The few that did survive struggled to find refuge, food, and water. They managed to burrow into underground caves and scrounge enough food to live.
Over time fresh air returned, the water flowed clean, and trees grew abundant. The world didn’t end. It was the dawn of a new age…the beginning of something mystical and wonderful. It became known as the days of Edite—the Star Goddess. Where the creatures of the world flourished in the darkness.
When the sky opened, and the sun shone once more new cities rose from the rubble. A new breed of people emerged as children of the Gods—Starbloods channeled by their birth star and birthed under the stars. They ruled with magic in the Kingdom of Valstella; a land of tribes teeming with wildlife, fertile soil and rolling hills.
Houses of the gifts became established, and a King and Queen were appointed. Starbloods spent their time strengthening their skills and mastering their powers. They challenged each other to determine the strongest fit for their stations.
For centuries Starbloods and humans lived together in harmony. Until the Muries—half human half Starblood—lifted from the shadows and moved from beyond the wall.
Being consumed with hatred and spite, a dark force drove the Muries as they invaded the serene life of the Starbloods in the darkness of night. They jeopardized their very existence, injecting a new fear into the land of Valstella.
Edite appointed Drarena, the Star Mother to be the guardian to all life on earth, to defend all creatures of the world. But some feared Drarena’s powers would not be enough and prayed for a savior. The Muries became outraged as whispers spread throughout the underground of the promise of a defender of life and death coming in a new world of change.
But the seasons passed and the stories of the ancestors fighting Radite—the shadow monster— became legends.
Today, all Starbloods spend their years growing up training for the summer games. The games would determine who was the strongest, the fiercest, the cleverest of them all and their gifts would be brought to light.
Every morning they gathered in the colosseum, along with Eason and Nina, the King and Queens only children which only made their task more difficult. The people expected more, and their father expected perfection. After all, only the best could be a Star Royal.
