Prologue



There was never a time when there was no world for the Gods to watch over. While there were many different Gods who were guardians over their own lands, the ones who first ruled over it all were Luna and H'tra. Mother Luna who took form as the moon constantly watched over her sister H'tra, both day and night. The land that was theirs was large, diverse and bountiful. In the south were the forests, green and rich, fading into long, grassy plains that rose along the slopes of the mountains that divided the land. Above rested the desert, where great dunes of solid rock surrounded by golden sand blew in whirlwinds across the plains. The jungle cut deeply into the desert, fading into green without warning and housing the most exotic plants and creatures on the continent. In the furthest reaches of the north lay the tundra, pine forests spanning across the western side while the rest was laid bare with only a few short bushes and lakes to cover its surface.

The powerless creatures called the humans had been there since the beginning as well, but even as Mother Luna was pleased with their lives, she couldn't help but want more for this earth. So her two sons, Dragon and Ushin, were born; one the son of a demon while the other hailed from human routs. The two sons were gifted with the powers of the four elements, fire, earth, water and air. From them came two new races: Watiri and Kasuke. And so it came to pass that the children of Ushing and Dragon, the element users, came to cover the area resting in and below the great desert. The desert came to be called Sunder while the land below was named Gnimila.

The jungle, unclaimed by any living thing of intelligence, was named Taqbal and was a resource for all who surrounded it. In the northern lands Orez came to be, housing humans with great power of knowledge of potions and poisons given by H'tra.

Mother Luna looked down on all she had created and was pleased, but H'tra wished for there to be more. Luna listened to her sister's request; H'tra said that there should be some race of the earth that would be there to keep the balance with nature. In this way the Ifla Lukano were created, having the bodies of humans, but the ears and other appendages of animals. From these nomadic people came the Gathela, who traveled from Gnimila over the desert to rest in Orez. These Gathela developed the ability to shape shift, taking the power of the Lukano to a new level.

While there were disagreements and battles between the different peoples, it was a long time before the Watiri and Kasuke began to come apart from each other, the anger between the two races causing many deaths. For when these two races clashed and began to tear each other apart, the world began to fall into disharmony, and it seemed as though there was nothing that could be done to save them and right the balance.

It was then decided by the Gods that it was necessary to choose one of the two people's that would right the wrong that had been done. It was decided to send the phoenix and one of daughters of Dragon and Ushin to watch over this chosen one, to give power as well as council for the hardships that would come. In this way does the true struggle between the Watiri and Kasuke begin.  



***


"The righteous one doth come the hottest flames, for 'tis not light we need; but fire. The strongest and purest lightning bolt doth not come from the cleanest hand; but from the darkest cloud."

The man with the dark brown hair lowered his arms and cradled the babe against his chest.

"A fire in the mind, a fire in the heart and the power to shape your own path, my son," he continued, gently kissing the soft black tussle. "What should his name be, my love?"

In the corner of the dreary room, still heavy with the sounds of laborious cries, a blonde haired child sat. His face was lined, but eyes calm and calculating. He scanned his father, who, holding his new brother to his breast, stepped over to the woman's side. Healers and childbirthers had since left the room at the King's order, and tears ran silently down the man's face as he helped his dying lover's hand to the babe's.  A weak smile played across her lips as she tightened her grip.

"Dagon," she rasped quietly, voice hoarse from rough labour. "Dagon. As homage to Dragon, this boy's ancestor." At this the King's shoulders began to shake, an expression of emotion that the blonde haired boy had never seen on his father before. "I wish I could have lived long enough to see the man you become, my son..." Eyes closing, her chest heaved once – twice. Then fell. After a moment, the Prince in the corner stood and stumbled over to his father, thighs cramped from hours of having them folded underneath him. He took the child from the man's arms before the King collapsed, sobbing onto his love's dead body.

The boy turned his back to his father and let the babe wrap a small hand around his finger – he hadn't cried out once from the moment of his birth. Signs of a true leader.

"I promise I'll always look after you, little brother," the blonde said, speaking beyond his years. "Little Dagon."


***


Two years later, the heat of the pounding desert turned to the brisk cold of night as the woman heaved for the last time. The baby girl cried as she was brought, unwilling, into the moody world. Smiling, the woman's sister sliced the umbilical cord and ran a cloth over the squalling babe, cleaning her thoroughly. She handed the child to her father, and she quieted almost immediately. Gently, the father turned his new child so her back was exposed. Air sucked through his lips as the mark on the back began to fade.

"You'll never believe this, my dear," he whispered quietly, wrapping the babe in swaddling cloth as the sign disappeared completely. "But our child has been blessed by the Gods!" The mother sighed, still smiling weakly, and toke her daughter in her arms.

"As are all our other children, Squal," she intoned, voice sweet despite her hard work of a good day and part of the night.  

"This is different," Squal urged. "She's going too..." Squal's wife shushed him gently, kissing the babe on the nose.

"There will be time for such nonsense later, but now... we have a celebration to attend." Grunting, the woman stood with the help of her older sister, steps away from completing the tradition of the Chybirians. As all mothers who had survived their birthing periods, she stepped gracefully from the tent and stood among her people. Four elements were placed within the circle of the villagers – earth was represented as sand and rock, air was a glass sphere, water was placed within a large bowl, and flames took the form of a large bonfire. Pausing only for a moment to survey her people proudly, the woman strode confidentially towards the fire. With a flourish, she unwrapped the swaddling cloth from her newest child and tossed the girl into the inferno.

"A new daughter of the fire has been born!" she yelled triumphantly, the flames lapping upward to cradle the girl against the glowing coals at its base. "Skylar, be blessed in the flames of life!"

The villager stood and cheered. Celebration continued until the light rays of the sun broke over the earth; the three other elements had been removed, leaving Skylar to play in her gift until her mother and father were the only ones left outside.

"The Gods have truly blessed her," Squal said eventually as his wife took Skylar from the fire.

"But why would the God of the Kasuke take interest in a Watiri child?" she asked her husband, bouncing the babe in her arms. "It doesn't make any sense."

"There's a reason for everything, my dear," Squal consoled, wrapping his arms around his wife and child. "Someday, that reason will be revealed… I look forward to that day."