Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter One: Xanfall

Jay managed to banish all such thoughts as soon as her gaze fell upon what she had come for. There was a square frame within the drawer just as her dream had told her. She blew on the frame from as far away as possible, closing her eyes against the thick layer of dust that was released into the air. She already felt dirty, and she couldn't wait to get out of the castle and scrub herself clean. She vaguely wondered if she would ever be able to escape the endless particles that seemed to live in the atmosphere there. 

Any complaints Jay may have had melted away as soon as she saw the picture in question. She lifted it from where it rested, and a frown appeared on her face. She held the purple orb up to the surface of the glass in an attempt to get a better look at it. A moment later, sunshine began to stream in through the window above the desk. At first, the light nearly blinded Jay, causing her to hiss in pain, but she grew used to it quickly. Jay allowed her purple sphere to die out, and she took in a deep breath before properly examining the contents of the picture. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest. 

The picture was familiar to most in a way. Many of the figures were well-known across all of Hyperion. After all, of the ten figures found within the photo, ten of them were the original Hanilia fighters. Before the war against Loki and his Lakinya soldiers, the ten original Hanilia gained quite a reputation thanks to being selected by Hyperion herself. All ten of them were smiling brightly. In particular, Jay's eyes lingered on Lyloc, who was standing at the center of the madness. It only made sense; Lyloc had been the leader of the Hanilia both before and during the war. She was the only one who could keep the varying personalities under control. 

The only person Jay didn't recognize was standing directly to the right of Lyloc, and the Hanilia leader had an arm slung around her shoulders. The girl had tanned skin and bright green eyes that shone like emeralds in morning light. Her hair was a light brown color and tied into a single ponytail at the top right segment of her head. Her clothing was difficult to make out due to the many people obscuring the rest of her body, but she appeared to be having the time of her life. 

Jay's fingers ran against the back edge of the frame mindlessly as she stared, and she gasped when her pinky pushed up what felt like a layer of paper. She turned over the frame and realized that there was certainly a page taped to the backside of the frame. Jay took in a deep breath before pulling the paper loose. It was folded in half, so she set the frame down in the drawer once again before pulling it open fully. 

"'Lana Tarulum,'" Jay read softly. "'Skylian Mage.'"

Her dream had spoken of the Skylian Mages, albeit not in much detail. Whoever was communicating with her seemed convinced that the Skylian Mages would bring salvation to the planet of Skylia, something that didn't seem too surprising given the name of the group. Still, not much was known about them, and she didn't have the slightest clue as to why she was the one brought to the picture. 

Of all the Hanilia factions, the Skylian Mages were the most mysterious. There wasn't much information about them despite their first member, Lyloc herself, having lived the longest. She was rather secretive when it came to the Skylian Mages, to say the least. In most cases, it was easy to pick out a pattern for how the reincarnation cycles worked. For some, it was a matter of genetics. In other situations, when a member died, another was born to replace them. The Skylian Mages were a mystery on that front, their truth a secret that Lyloc had held to her chest until the day she left behind the land of the living. 

Lana Tarulum's name was certainly not a familiar one to Jay. Certainly a Skylian Mage would have stirred up a few rumors along the way, but Jay had never heard of her. It brought a frown to Jay's face, and she couldn't help but wonder what would make Lana disappear from history seemingly out of nowhere.