The night wind was bitterly cold as she leaned into the railing and looked out over Citadel Angeles, watching the snow gather on the nooks and crannies of the intricate stonework. They would come for her soon. Merlan pulled her red hood up, retreating into its warmth, as she heard the sound of hooves against the hard winter turf. It was distant, perhaps on the bridge, but they were coming. The third moon, Illios, sat forefront in the sky, full and golden, bright in all her majesty, leaving Baas and Lynor washed out in a distant haze. Illios. She’d been born under its fullness and its portent--and it was that portent that commanded her destiny.
"May the Goddess protect me on the hour of my birth," she murmured, stepping back into the comfort of her father’s mansion where the fireplace was lit. The heat of it warmed her frozen cheeks as she studied her hands. Both were pale ivory like the rest of her, with the faintest golden undertone, the brand of those born under Illois. Be they any color at all, Illois touched them with a glimmer of gold if She commanded their destinies. Her thumb traced the center of her palm where the lines of Power were just beginning to come in--three small perfect circles in each palm, like tattoos done by a fine craftsman--her left, gold, her right blue. When they had finished, they would tell the Elders a great deal about her forte as a mage--if she survived. If she did, her lines would grow, radiating from the center circles, which would fill in and change to accept power crystals, down her arms to her shoulders and up the middle of each finger and thumb. She was to become a living conduit of energy, one out of one thousand people Chosen by the Three Sister Moons.
She had a full eight hours until her birth hour and most of that would be spent riding. Merlan, already dressed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice, settled her hands on her sword-belt and traced the intricate pommel with absent fingers as the study door crashed open. All thoughts fled as she locked eyes with her younger sister, who stood, her blue eyes wide, still clutching the door handle.
"Mer, I can hear them coming," she said. "You should be out front. I had them prep Moonshadow for you since he’s your favorite--he’s been geared up for the ride with the Mage tack that Da sent last year. He said he’d be here, but he’s not." Merlan’s eyes studied her sister’s face for a long moment, long enough to fix it in her mind and keep the image there.
"May the Goddess protect me on the hour of my birth," she murmured, stepping back into the comfort of her father’s mansion where the fireplace was lit. The heat of it warmed her frozen cheeks as she studied her hands. Both were pale ivory like the rest of her, with the faintest golden undertone, the brand of those born under Illois. Be they any color at all, Illois touched them with a glimmer of gold if She commanded their destinies. Her thumb traced the center of her palm where the lines of Power were just beginning to come in--three small perfect circles in each palm, like tattoos done by a fine craftsman--her left, gold, her right blue. When they had finished, they would tell the Elders a great deal about her forte as a mage--if she survived. If she did, her lines would grow, radiating from the center circles, which would fill in and change to accept power crystals, down her arms to her shoulders and up the middle of each finger and thumb. She was to become a living conduit of energy, one out of one thousand people Chosen by the Three Sister Moons.
She had a full eight hours until her birth hour and most of that would be spent riding. Merlan, already dressed and ready to leave at a moment’s notice, settled her hands on her sword-belt and traced the intricate pommel with absent fingers as the study door crashed open. All thoughts fled as she locked eyes with her younger sister, who stood, her blue eyes wide, still clutching the door handle.
"Mer, I can hear them coming," she said. "You should be out front. I had them prep Moonshadow for you since he’s your favorite--he’s been geared up for the ride with the Mage tack that Da sent last year. He said he’d be here, but he’s not." Merlan’s eyes studied her sister’s face for a long moment, long enough to fix it in her mind and keep the image there.
