The realm of Aeris, land of sky and wind, was known for its quiet villages nestled between floating cliffs and whispering hills.
And at the edge of that realmâright where the forests met the fogâstood a small village called Velmora.
No kings visited there. No legends were born there.
Until her.
It was the night of the Blood Moonâa red sky pulsing with strange heatâand the wind refused to move. Not a single leaf danced. Not a bird called. The whole realm felt like it was holding its breath.
Inside a small cottage on the hill, a young woman was screaming.
Mira, her hands shaking, gripped the sheets as the pain tore through her.
She was alone. No husband. No healer.
Only a few villagers had come to helpâbut even they stood frozen, just outside the doorway, unsure if they should go in.
Because the moment her labor started⦠the world outside changed.
The air grew heavy. The firewood cracked without flame.
And deep within the woods, animals stopped movingâjust turned, as if listening.
And then, it happened.
A final cry, a gasp, and silence.
The baby entered the world without a sound.
No scream. No tears.
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The old midwife stumbled back in shock.
âWhat⦠is she?â
Lying in Miraâs arms was a child wrapped in silver light.
Her skin pale like morning frost, her lips soft and blue-tinted, and her eyesâ
Glowing.
A soft, silver glow like moonlight itself. Wide open. A newborn who didnât cry⦠just watched.
Watched the world like she already knew it.
Her hair was dark as midnight, curls falling over her small shoulders.
Her fingers curled gentlyânot in fists, but like they were holding something invisible.
The villagers standing at the door looked horrified.
Some whispered prayers.
Some ran.
One man dropped to his knees, muttering, âA blessing⦠or a curseâ¦â
Mira didnât care.
She was cryingâbut smiling too. Tired. Weak. But full of something bigger than fear.
âShe looks like the moonâ¦â she whispered. âShe is the moon.â
And thatâs what she named her.
Luna.
---
From that day on, the village was never the same.
Some came to leave flowers by her door, calling her a divine gift.
Others warned their children to stay away.
Some said the elements watched her.
Some said she wasn't human.
But Mira raised her anywayâwith love, stories, and hands that never stopped trembling.
---
Luna grew in secret and sunlight.
Even before she could speak, strange things happened around her.
Grass grew wherever she walked, even in winter.
Birds sat on her window ledge without fear.
Water sometimes shimmered in the air beside her face, like it was listening.
And the wind⦠the wind followed her. Always.
At ten years old, she watched her mother fall asleep and never wake up.
She never told anyone what happened that night.
Only that her fatherâwho had been distant, cold, always watching her with unreadable eyesâdisappeared after that.
He left no note. No goodbye.
Just gone.
Some say he ran in fear of what she was becoming.
Others say⦠he knew too much.
---
Now at seventeen, Luna lives alone in that same cottage at the edge of Velmora.
She doesnât laugh like she used to.
But she doesnât fear either.
She reads old books. She grows herbs.
She talks to the wind when no oneâs around.
She walks barefoot through the woods, and the roots never trip her.
But latelyâ¦
something has changed.
Sheâs been hearing whispers.
Not from villagers.
Not from animals.
From the air itself. From fire. From stone.
At first, it was just a hum.
Now itâs voices.
---
âShe has awakened,â a voice rumbles, echoing like an earthquake beneath the world.
âHer blood calls to us,â says another, light as breath.
âIt is time,â a third murmurs, full of flame.
The Elemental Kings are stirring.
Some still sleep.
But oneâ
One is already watching.
And Luna?
Luna is starting to remember dreamsâ¦
that donât feel like dreams at all.
---
To be continuedâ¦