Invidia: The Goddex of Magic

Chapter 1: Libra the Twentieth

 The last traces of light were gone. A steady rain was falling across western Iceshadow. Stars tried to penetrate the thick storm clouds, to no avail. Three small moons- Ariana, Beatrice, and Cynthia- winked brightly through the clouds.

The Palace of Wind's marble structure glowed with the five colors of Khronoshia: Northern Golden Yellow, Eastern Emerald Green, Southern Cerulean Blue, Western Cherry Red, and the Violet of all. Inside the Palace, in the dining hall, the air was tense, like thunder about to break, though it already had outside. Five beings sat around a large maple dining table.

At the head of the table was a tall man with long storm-cloud-grey robes. Atop his silver hair was a crown made of ever shifting winds. This was Aeolus: the king of the skies and winds; the God of Wind and Chaos. Aeolus sat with his hands folded on the table, his cold, ice blue eyes regarded the four women sitting around him.

Nearest him was his wife, Diana; the Goddess of Wilds and the Charioteer of the moon Beatrice. Diana wore a black gown and a crown of animal pelts on her dark brown hair. Her posture was stiff and rigid, as if she had a pole down her spine.

On Diana's right was Diana and Aeolus' youngest daughter, Iris, who was no older than nine. Her blonde hair fell into her eyes constantly, though this did not deter her from eating. Iris' robes were a bright pink, and the loudest in the room. Iris always ate at mealtime, and often in between, as her hunger was rarely satiated.

Across from Iris sat Eris, the second eldest. Her hair and robes were as black as raven feathers. Eris was slightly slumped in her chair. She used her finger to push the sweet smelling buttered vegetables around her plate, but made no motion to eat them.

Furthest from Aeolus, facing him from the opposite end of the table was a tall girl. She sat as straight as an arrow, like Diana, but held herself with an air of anxiety rather than pompousness. Her hair was a lapis lazuli blue, and tied in a braided crown. Her indigo eyes regarded her lap, avoiding eyes contact with the other four. This was Hecate. She was strange as a child, hardly crying, eating with ease, displaying signs of magic far too early for her parents' liking. Now that she was fifteen, and coming of age, she had decided on the term of goddex, rather than goddess, as she wished to be impartial, to be unlabeled. Similarly to Eris, Hecate left the food on her plate untouched.

Of the five in the dining hall, Iris was the only one eating. The aroma of cheeses, meats, breads, fruits, vegetables, and wine filled the room, but was not enough to entice the others to eat.

Hasty winds blew constantly around the hall, trying to blow out the candles to no avail. The five sat in silence, waiting for something to happen. As time passed, all eyes turned to Hecate. First Aeolus, them Diana, then Iris, and finally Eris.

Just as the silence grew to be unbearable, a great burst of cold wind blew, extinguishing all the candles in the hall. Darkness encircled the table. There were no sounds to be heard, save for the thunder and rain outside. In a flash, Hecate was surrounded in a deep violet glow. She stood. Above her head, golden runes danced playfully, forming words and symbols before returning to gibberish again. About Hecate's middle, five spheres orbited.

The first was made of warm, glowing red fire and smelled of sweet smoke. Another was made of clear, cool water. A third was sandy and muddy, shifting its form as it orbited Hecate. The fourth sphere moved the quickest, and was made of cold harsh winds. The final sphere was an amethyst color and radiated omniscient presence. The five spheres flew around Hecate, just outside of the violet glow that flowed from her, and covered her as a second skin. The golden runes glowed above her head more as they danced. Then, one by one, the spheres floated into Hecate. First went the fiery one, floating into her chest, over where her heart was. The water orb floated through her forehead into her brain. The sandy orb split in half and distributed itself into her arms, and the wind sphere into her hands and feet. Finally, the amethyst sphere expanded and engulfed Hecate. Once this final sphere had been absorbed by Hecate, the violet aura around Hecate winked out of existence. The runes faded. Hecate's hair flashed pale white for a moment before returning to its lapis blue color. Then, it tumbled out of its braid and down Hecate's back.