The Unseen World (Preview)

Prologue: How It Began

Stars. Stars, the full moon, and a midnight blue sky that was almost black. Midna didn't see them. Not really. She just didn't care. Three weeks ago, she would've cared, but not now. Not anymore.

As Midna sat by her window and stared out at the night sky, she listened to the far-off noise of shrieking, battle cries, the clash of metal against metal, shouts of pain, and feet pounding against the ground.

As Midna sat by her bedroom window in her deep blue nightgown, she didn't care that her home was under attack, or that the attacker was more than likely after her. However, that didn't really matter to Midna. She might have only been eight years old, but her father had taught her how to fight and how to defend herself. Not one of Shadowlight's guards had been able to defeat her in a duel.

At the sound of footsteps in the hallway, Midna turned her head. Her ash-blue eyes stared with a broken look at her bedroom door. As she listened to the commotion, the footsteps came closer until they stopped outside her room. Her door opened. Two figures entered, closing and locking the door behind them.

The first figure to enter was Midna's mother, Lyra, who had long, light-brown hair, and peridot green eyes. She was wearing an outfit that consisted of two pieces; a top that exposed her stomach with decorative laces up the front with loose, short sleeves, that rested on her shoulders, and laces up the back that kept the top together. She also had a long skirt that stopped just above her ankles with a lace in the waistband that tied up in the front. Both the top and the skirt were peridot green to match her mother's eyes.

The second figure was Midna's father, Lune, who had shaggy, black hair that went just below his ears, and the same ash-blue eyes as Midna. He wore black jeans with a black leather belt and silver buckle, a white, short-sleeved dress shirt that hadn't been tucked into his jeans, and a black vest that looked as though Lune had been too rushed to button it up properly.

Midna had also noticed that, as usual, both of her parents weren't wearing shoes or socks of any kind. Midna found that strange, mostly because their home was under attack and they would normally have footwear on when there was fighting.

As Lyra approached her daughter, Lune barricaded the door.

"Midna,I wish I didn't have to do this," said Lyra. "I just hope that one day you willunderstand."

Midna just stared at her mother with a somber look on her face. She was unsure what her mother was talking about, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know either.

Lyra frowned, "Midna, I have to cast the spell 'Lunar Prison' on you. You'll be turned into a human, but I don't know how long this spell will last on a hybrid."

Lune, after moving Midna's wardrobe, couch, and her dresser in front of the door, moved to stand beside his wife and said, "It's time."

Lyra grabbed Midna's hand and led her to the middle of the room. Using her magic, Lyra drew a circle around Midna and then a larger circle. The circle that Midna stood in had a full moon within it. In the space between the circle with Midna, the moon, and the large circle, were a series of symbols each representing a different element of nature.

Once the ritual circle was complete, Lyra held her hand out to Lune who gave her a dagger. Midna hadn't noticed it was tucked into the waistband of the back of her father's jeans.

Lyra began to chant and using the dagger, cut her palm. Holding her palm out, her blood dripped into the circle, and the circle began to glow.

As the glowing intensified, Midna felt whispers of a hard substance ghost across her legs, waist, chest, arms, and neck. But just as quickly as the odd sensations came, they vanished, along with the circle. Midna forgot about the eerie feather light feelings.

Just as the spell was completed, the end of what looked like a katana, punctured a hole in the door. The attacker removed the weapon and continued the barrage of attacks on the door in their attempt to get inside. Lyra, in a panicked voice, said to Midna, "This spell won't take effect right away, so while you can still remember, run as far and as fast as you can the first chance you get."

Taking a defensive stance towards the barricaded door, Lune looked over his shoulder at his wife and daughter and said, "Get ready. That door and barricade will give way any minute."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, the barricade was forced out of the way and the door opened.

As Lune, Lyra, and Midna moved out of the way of the barricade, which had been pushed toward them, two more figures entered the room.

The first figure to enter was a nine-year-old boy who Midna recognized immediately as Claude Redfang. Claude had short burgundy hair and maroon eyes. He was wearing black light armour and had a sword strapped to the right side of his waist; the only indication that he was left-handed. A scowl marred his face.

The second figure that entered was what looked like a cross between a man and a fox. He had long orange hair that reached his waist, and the last inch of his hair was black. He had the ears of a fox that were the same colour as his hair, and the tips of his ears were white. He also had two tails. Both were orange but the ends were different. The left tail's end was white while the right tail's end was black. The sheath for his katana was held on the left side of his waist while the katana itself was held in front of him. It was pointed at Lune. The creature wore what looked like a Japanese kimono and was obviously Claude's familiar.

Claude motioned to his familiar. "Belva, keep Lune busy."

Belva nodded at Claude and returned his attention to Lune.

Out of nowhere, a sword appeared in Lune's hand. It was black and looked as though it had been made from shadow. Belva attacked. Lune's and Belva's swords clashed, wielded by the skills of master swordsmen.

Lyra screamed at Midna to run and then used her earth magic. Vines began to grow from the stone floor. They reached for Claude, but before they could ensnare him, Claude had drawn his sword and began hacking at the vines.

Seeing her chance to escape, Midna sidestepped the clashing swords of Lune and Belva. As Midna made her way closer to the doorway, Claude reached for her, but Midna dodged his outstretched hand. Once she got to the doorway, Midna ran and didn't look back.