What Echoes Below The Library

Chapter 1: Behind The Bookshelf

Once upon a time, in a world of wonderful and terrible creatures, there existed Humans who co-existed with eleven others. The vibrant, small planet known as Crocus was once bountiful with peace and prosperity to all who lived within. Then, the Great War happened.

Growing in power and in numbers, the Humans turned against the other races, spreading outside their borders and driving the Mythos to near extinction. Protected by their determination, the Great War raged on for seven long years. In a last-ditch effort to save their race, the Mythos rallied the other races to help them split their world from the Humans. Agreeing to this solution, the Great Barrier was created with the use of seven keys. Blood was shed to create the permanent seal, forever separating the world into two: Gladiolus for the Humans and Strobilanthe for the rest.

Alas, the damage was done. It took too much of a toll upon those who survived. Several years passed before peace settled back upon Crocus. The wounds of the war scarred over and for a while time, it seemed like the peaceful days would return at last. Little did both sides know, there was a spanner in the works behind the scenes.

This is the tale of a girl who ventured beyond the walls separating Humans from Crocus. Her name is...

~~~

"Hey, wake up sleepy head."

I look up to see Luca looking over me. She stares concerned. I rub my eyes and yawn. She sighs as she steps back.

"Andor, how late did you stay up again last night?" She asks disappointed. I shrug and stretch, getting up from my chair. She rolls her eyes. We walk to our next class, her lecturing me on the way there about my sleeping habits and me reminding her that she stays up later than I do on most occasions.

Once we reach our next class, Ms. Grey is already writing on the board. I read what I can see written, but only catch the date in passing. November first... Since class hasn't officially started yet, Luca gets pulled aside by other classmates who want to chat with her.

I should introduce Luca now that I think about it. Luca is a fairly popular girl in our school. She isn't particularly extroverted, but she's smart and she's good at teaching. She likes wearing this orange zipper jacket with her blue jeans. She's got long blue hair tied back into two pigtails and light orange eyes, an unusual combination in my opinion. Actually, now that I think about it, she's got this whole orange and blue motif to her.

Then again, who am I to question her choices? I have a red and green motif myself. Point in case: I have red hair I tie back into a single high ponytail; I have green eyes; I'm wearing a green jacket with my red shorts. Green and red motif.

I keep to myself most of the time, still adjusting to my new life here, but back at home, everyone knew me better as the personification of fun. I don't know how true that is, but I do like hanging out with people I care about. Though, I know I can be a bit of a ditz and misread what people are trying to tell me.

As the class settles down and the bell rings, Ms. Grey smiles at us warmly. "Good afternoon class! We're going to be doing group projects this month, so everyone needs to make groups. And, you guys are in your senior year of high school now. I trust you can pick your own partners and stay on task at this point. The-"

The door suddenly opens and a blond boy with dark purple eyes walks into the classroom. The door closes quietly behind him as we all stare. The whole class stays silent as he takes a seat in the only open seat left in the classroom, the desk closest to the door. Ms. Grey looks like she's about to scold him for being late, and for creating a dramatically tense atmosphere, but she just sighs in disappointment and uncaps a whiteboard marker. She begins to write on the whiteboard.