The Prophecy

Prologue

It is said that after night comes day and after day, night comes dark and frightening. This is the routine of the Universe and no one has ever questioned it, or at least, has never questioned it until today.

As it is with life: no one questions it. Perhaps because of the laziness of the people who live it, or perhaps as a precaution. But in the midst of so much monotony, there is always something different going on. Something no one can explain. As the most basic decisions to be made on a day-to-day basis. No one can explain why they decide to turn left or right while walking through the city streets when there is no defined destination, these are unquestionable actions, built into people from birth and there is no need to question them.

Routine is another story and it couldn't be more tedious on the streets of Runna. Everyone is walking around, running to their homes, others are just sitting on a corner here or there, waiting for someone to have compassion for them and give them bread or money. Sweet roasted chestnuts are denounced by their sweet smell, so characteristic, that comes from inside the bakery.

"Fresh. The freshest in this land!", says the owner.

In the distance, the bell on the tallest tower chirps merrily, alerting the citizens to the arrival of six-thirty in the afternoon. It's about five and a half hours to midnight and the first day of autumn begins. With the change of season, the rain is expected to return, which until today has been scarce and has affected the harvests and business of many stallholders in the village.

It's a bittersweet feeling, this one, of leaving summer for autumn to follow the usual cycle of every year. A feeling that no one can explain, another routine we've always been used to, something we don't need to question ourselves about.

Kianna wanders through the village, in no hurry to get home. She just walks calmly as she watches the sun in front of her disappear across the valley and dark clouds begin to cover the sky. The wind glides slightly, making some trees sway their leaves. Meanwhile, children run happily ahead of their parents, enjoying every second. Others cry in the laps of their caregivers, fearing the black sky that begins to cover them.

Finally, Kianna reaches the end of the village. Realizing that it's going to rain soon, she puts on the hood of the dark burel cape she's slung over her shoulders and walks through the trees of the expanding forest in front of her, never looking back.

As there are still some rays of sun, the girl took the opportunity to pick flowers along the way, since, although rare, there were still some in the bushes and kept them in the bag on her back. As she suspected, the rain began to fall very thin and sneaky, as if it didn't even want to be noticed. But that didn't stop her from following her path calmly.

As she made her way through the forest, the trees swayed in the wind, however, something was wrong. Kianna felt someone's presence, she knew she was being followed and watched. But as soon as she stopped and looked around, all she saw was a deer feeding on the herbs.

Relieved but still scared, she moved on. By her reckoning, it's a little after seven in the afternoon. If she is not at the castle before eight, the gates will close and she will have to sleep outside. So the girl just drinks a little of the water from the canteen she carries around her waist and continues calmly.

The pine trees that surround her let some pine cones fall due to the wind that accelerates more and more and the rain makes the smell of the earth intensify, however, she doesn't care, because she loves it. Birds, on the other hand, chirp to summon families to the nest as quickly as possible as a storm approaches.

In the forest clearing, Kianna notices a figure in the bushes. Frightened again, the girl stops in the middle of the clearing in an attempt to face whoever was following her. In the shadows of the forest, a silhouette becomes visible. Crows approach croaking, the wind growing stronger, almost as if a tornado has formed around them.

"Who's there?" she asked terrified. When she got no answer, she considered ignoring it, but something was holding her back. Ropes bound her where she was. Kianna didn't see them, but she could feel them wrapped around her ankles, sprain, and hands, as if they were actually real. And they were, she just didn't have the magical abilities to see them, as she was still only a second-level sorceress. Seconds later, when she realized that as she struggled she was going to remain trapped, the ropes that held her slowly released. But Kianna wasn't the only one to feel that presence. Four more people, in other distant realms, felt it as they ate, cooked, slept, or rode.

Hands free, Kianna drew her bow. An old weapon inherited from her grandfather that she always has with her. The girl looked at the silhouette in front of her, but she could barely see it due to the intensity of the wind that made her hair cover her face. It was then that she saw a pair of glowing eyes, a golden hue like the sun. She knew exactly who she was dealing with, and that made her unable to shoot her arrow. In this awkward act, voices began to whisper in her ear from all sides. Spirits. And they all spoke at the same time, on top of each other. However, one voice stood out among them all.

"The time has come to wake up the realm long in hibernation. It's time to wake up the Seekers of Light."

Darkness. Fear. It was all Kianna saw at the end of that day, exactly two days before everything changed in her life.