Beyond The Veil

The Crowning Ceremony

"Vera was possibly the strongest 'Angel' that Inveil has ever seen, her team rose in strength only due to her leadership! One must hope you are similar, Ariya." The soldiers who teach her to battle cry.

"Lady Vera was the most benevolent princess we could ask for, always helping out those below her. Hopefully your kindness is equal to that of hers, Lady Ariya." The servants amongst the castle who tended to her would pray.

"Lady Vera always had a solution to every problem, one that lasted and that pleased all sides of the issue! Perhaps you will learn to do the same, young lady." The hundreds of diplomats from all over the universe would inform.

"Your sister was always a beacon, the pinnacle of a Light Element, she would have become a fine ruler, had Fate not chosen to step in first. We pray that you will become a beacon of hope and light the same as her, Ariya." Her parents would preach, before handing her over to the tutors and caretakers she would see more often than her own blood.

Ariya had never met Vera due to her and her entire team of 'Angels' disappearing soon after the fall of Pandoris at the hands of the Reality Keepers in wake of their disobedience of the God of Reality, some believe that the chaos element who stood among them had something to do with it but their true fate is unknown, she wasn't born early enough to meet the sister that the entirety of Elysium seemed to almost worship as much as their own God, Leiyt, yet despite this, it was as if she had always known her, had always managed to fall short to the shadow of a person. She had heard hundreds of tales about Vera, about the leader of the last generation of 'Angels', an elite force of multiple Elementals that was assembled by either an Element of Dark, or an Element of Light to bring peace to all the Elemental Kingdoms, though the Dark Elements have not given any attention to anyone but themselves in a long time, Nyxus having cut their kingdom and planet off from the others entirely. There are even whispers that Daerk does not show up to the gathering of Gods any longer... not that Ariya indulges in such a thing as gossip, that is so far below her status as a princess!

Anyways, to get back on track. This generation of 'Angels' rely on Ariya's leadership, and well... with the expectations that her elder sister left for her, she's not sure if she'll be able to be the leader they need, but one thing is for sure, she's certainly not going to stop trying.

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"Ariya, dear? You've yet to leave your bedroom and the ceremony is about to begin, your parents are getting a little, ah... agitated." Comes the familiar voice of the caretaker that she has known since she was old enough to retain such memories, Cecilia.

As much as Ariya adores Cecilia, she wishes for her to meet at untimely demise due to the fact that if she were to flee to a distant planet instead of going to her crowning, Cecilia would likely have noticed she was missing before she could even leave the palace, something which her parents probably wouldn't even realise until she had already gotten far, far away. 

She bites back a groan of agony, as it would be improper of her. She glances back at her mirror, distantly hearing the doors to her room open, a soft gasp coming from Cecilia.

"Oh my! Ariya, you look positively gorgeous!" Cecilia exclaims, a fond smile blooming across her face while tears bead in her eyes, a sense of pure pride gracing her expression. Cecilia glides over to her, making a few adjustments to her dress. "Oh and this dress! It's nearly as elegant as its wearer!" She states breathlessly. Ariya can't help the way the corners of her mouth tug down at the sentence, she glances at the mirror again, while she does agree that the dress is gorgeous, its ivory fabric contrasting nicely with her caramel skin and dark grey eyes, but still also matching with her similarly flowing ivory hair, the gold detailing and corset in the dress matching the gold tipped feathers of her wings, she certainly would not describe herself as 'elegant'. She can't help but think back to the paintings and recordings she had seen of her sister during her crowning, the way the dress seemed dull in the face of her confidence and elegance.