Prologue
Sheets of rain fell on the small village of Aridale. Celest watched from her parents' window as lightning lit up the heavens and thunder raged across the mountains. She loved storms, the way they lashed at the world with all their fury, as if trying to tear the very fabric of being asunder.
But tonight the storm was different. Tonight, it came with a shadow that the lightning could not touch. A shadow that spread like a cancer through the village, turning neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend.
Celest's parents had sensed it too. They were always attuned to the ebb and flow of the world's energies, and they felt something was coming. Something terrible.
Celest remembered the way they had pulled her and her little brother, Isaac, into the center of the cottage and created a shield of energy around them using their ideas of space and sound. They had been ready to fight, ready to protect their children with everything they had.
But it had not been enough. The Blackwood family, the nation's second most powerful noble family, had descended upon them. Celest had watched in helplessness and terror as her parents had battled tooth and nail for the safety of their children.
They had lost in the end. Celest had lived, thanks to her parents' But Isaac. Isaac hadn't been so lucky.
Now, looking out at the storm, anger ran through her veins. Anger that she would be carrying with her for the rest of her life.
She knew what she had to do. She had to find a way to make the Valor family pay for what they had done. And she would do it, no matter what it cost her.
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Raindrops poured down over the city, casting the streets into a surreal, misty glow. Celest was running as fast as she could through the winding alleys, panting brokenly for air. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to escape the men behind her.
A few minutes ago.
"Dad!" she cried as she fell into his arms.
"Shh, you're okay," he whispered, holding her close. "You're safe now."
Celest looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "What's happening, Dad? What are those men?"
Her father's expression hardened. "They're part of the Valor family. They're after us because they want our concepts."
Celest's heart racing in her chest as she took in the gravity of the situation. She understood that her parents had strong convictions, but she never realized just how lethal that made them.
"We must go to war with them," her father informed her, his eyes burning with determination.
"But Dad, they're too strong," Celest protested. "We can't beat them!!! let's ruuuuunn!!"
Celest was sobbing, pleading tugging on her father's arm with all the strength little arms could manage.
Her dad smiled reassuringly at her. "We don't have to hurt them. We just have to keep them occupied long enough for you to get away."
Celest frowned, not liking the sound of that thought. "But I. But I don't want to leave you behind."
Her father's expression softened. "I know, Celest. But you are most precious to us to me. You must live."
Celest's eyes welled up with tears as she hugged her father. "I don't want to leave you, Dad. I can't lose you too."
"Don't worry it's not like I'm going to lose and if I do I'll always be with you, Celest," her father said, his tone full of love. "In your heart, in your memories, and in your ideas. Now go. Get out of here. Hide somewhere and don't come out until it's safe."
Celest nodded, seeing that her father was right. She turned to run, but glancing back, she saw her father drawing his sword and charging after the approaching men.
As she ran along the rain-drenched streets, Celest could hear the clang of metal and the shouts of battle behind her. She knew that her father was protecting them by fighting, and that she couldn't possibly abandon him behind.
But she had to survive. She had to keep living, for her parents and for herself. She had to keep running, hiding, and keeping her thoughts hidden. She had to become strong enough to seek revenge on her parents' killers and eradicate the Valor family for good.
But she couldn't let up. She had to keep going, keep running, no matter how exhausted she was or how frightened. She had to find sanctuary, to rest, to reorient.
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she realized just how desperate her situation was. She was frightened, hungry, and alone, with no one to confide in and no place to go.
But she couldn't give up. She had to struggle, persevere, no matter how hopeless the situation was. She had to keep hoping that one day she would be strong enough to annihilate the Blackwood clan and avenge her parents.
Breathing deeply, Celest hid her hunger, her depression, and her fear and kept running, her gaze fixed on the horizon, her heart filled with determination.
Even though she was bound and determined to have her revenge, some part of her didn't quite accept what had happened. She couldn't help but to wonder, "Why did they have to die just because some noble decreed it so? Why did she have to have this pain and loss? It wasn't fair."
She felt such a deep sense of hopelessness and desperation that it threatened to consume her. But she couldn't let that happen. She had to fight on, had to keep going. For her parents, for Isaac, and for herself.
"I can't give up now," she whispered to herself, trying to find some shred of strength to cling to. "I have to keep going. I have to figure out a way to survive."
She took a deep breath, trying to clear the racing thoughts in her mind. She had to think. She had to think tactically and rationally if she was to escape this alive.
"Okay," she said now, her voice steady. "First things first. I need to find a place to hide. A secure location where the Valor family cannot find me."
She glanced about, expecting to see some indication of a place to seek refuge. The alleys were dark and thin, with nary a good spot to hide in them.
But then she saw it. A small door, half-concealed behind a pile of crates. It was a storage house, but better than nothing in her current situation.
She approached it, her chest pounding. She tried to turn the handle, and breathed a sigh of relief to find that the door was open. She moved in, closing the door softly behind her.
It was small and dusty, filled with old machinery and bales of grain. It was arid, and it would be a hideout for the time being.
Celest sat down on a bag of grain, the fatigue sweeping over her like a ton of bricks. She was exhausted, not just physically. But she could not afford to give up.
"I have to go on," she said under her breath, wiping away the tears that kept streaming down her face. "I have to be stronger. For my family. For myself."
She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes and trying to quash the despair and terror that welled up to overwhelm her. She knew she had a distance yet to run, but she was determined to make it through.
She had no idea what the future held, but she knew she could not stop moving. She could not stop resisting, even when the odds were impossible. She could not be weak, even when every fibre in her screamed at her to give up.
"I can do this," she whispered. "I can survive. I will survive." re kept on repeating that to herself, trying to reassure herself.
She sat there for what seemed like forever. Hours, days ,she didn't know, her mind wasn't in the right frame of mind, what brought her back was the unrelenting hunger she had, that seemed to be devouring her.
*GRRRRR* her stomach growled.
"Ahh i'm still alive, why did i have to be the only survivor. What am i even supposed to do." She determined she would go pay a visit to her old house.
Celest stumbled down the dark alleyways, her heart pounding in her chest. The rain continued to fall in sheets, drenching her completely.
"I don't know what happened. Maybe they won, maybe my dad really did it" She was attempting to be persuaded as she walked out of the shed. "Yeah my dad is strongest he'd never lose .yeah."