Shadowcatcher

The Shadowcatcher Coven was one of four under the Blue Moon Coventry. Older than the World Tree, this Coven had carved its way through society by hunting and exorcising the ghouls and shades that started to take over Eonid with no soul system in place. When an elf died, their soul had nowhere to go, thus they wandered. Some wandered aimlessly, others became angry and malevolent, and it was those ghouls and shades that the Shadowcatchers had to cull, lest they take over the land of the living completely.

Most Elves on Eonid were born with an innate ability to commune with nature and one of those aspects of nature had been the light of the noon day sun. This type of elemental shift on Eonid was rare, which is why the Shadowcatcher Coven was considered royalty for that alone. The Blue Moon Coventry, and the other covens it houses, were also known for heightened affinities with other elements that still embodied nature. For instance, the Moonshine Coven specialized in Moon Water and Blessed Salts. The Crescent Coven was known for working with the tools needed for rituals and practices.

All of these things were well sought after by other Elves who could only commune with nature in order to farm or set up animal husbandry.

However, when the Starlings came and up ended their whole world, everyone seemed to move right along with them. Everyone except the Shadowcatchers. Steeped in family history and traditions, the Shadowcatchers remained in their old ways, even snubbing the Starling society that had washed over Eonid.

There was, as there always seems to be, a flaw in this mindset. While they insisted on their traditions and methods, the Starling influence had shifted much more than society as a structure, but also the inhabitants on Eonid as well.

Starfallen Elves were being born to the Primordial Elves of Eonid. Sanctioned by a falling star at birth, these elves would be born with stars in their hair, their eyes, and for some, their souls. These Starfallen would be primed and perfect for recruitment as a Starling, but that would require their Starcharts being available to the N-Class Starlings, the Nightgazers.

A few babies were born before it was made known, but once the phenomenon had reached the Pillars (Starlings who had been put into place to uphold the new magic and soul system), they then created a new order that had  Nightgazer Starlings dispatched to new births to look for a falling star. If they observed one, then the child would be a Starfallen and the Nightgazer would mark down the Constellation the star fell in, as well as the element, and then determine the birthstone. In most cases the Nightgazer could even determine the Pleiades sister blessing for that child.

This new system both in elven births and magic, meant that more elements were introduced to society. With new constellations, new ways of living, The Pillars, the Pleiades influences, and Eonid’s wild and chaotic magic made even more so with the Starshards that fell when Aurora crashed through the moon called Minastra, the elements would be reorganized and influenced by the new Starling way of life.  Starfallen Elves would automatically find themselves in line with this, so when Raylor Shadowcatcher received his first child, he was disgusted and ashamed by her star-strewn hair. He would be further infuriated when she developed an affinity for the Water element, and not the Light. It is here that our story begins in earnest with the journey of that daughter, Mythral Shadowcatcher.

Chapter 1

The coastal regions of the Westwing this time of year weren’t as cold, and the Lighthouse at Veilwatch was the perfect hiding place for Mythral.

The Harpies who roosted at the top had helped feed her, and the Starling who had been here, had left. The Starfallen elf somehow managed to convince the young Academy student that she was their replacement. Hopefully they wouldn’t get in trouble for it, but Mythral had been desperate. She’d been locked in her room for almost a week, and after finally being let out for food, Mythral had slipped out unnoticed. Her family somehow cared enough to lock her away, but cared so little about where she was outside of that room, it had been too easy to slip away when no one was watching her.

Now, at the lighthouse, she had made her own nest with her grimoire and quill and had been content with sketching some of the harpies, the sea, and all the things around her that she’d never seen before due to being confined to her room most of her life. The harpies sympathized and vowed to protect her should anyone come knocking, except the next person to come knocking was someone they wouldn’t want to fight.

Mythral was sitting at one of the windows and sketching the beach across from her vantage point when the squeaky, unoiled, door of the lighthouse screamed a warning to all as it was slowly pushed open.

“Merril?” A voice called from below. Mythral froze in place at the door squeak and then the voice, but a couple of seconds of processing both, she realized she didn’t recognize the voice. Probably wasn’t one of her family considering the name they called out..which…. she sighed and rubbed her forehead. Merril had been the Starling who was stationed here. That meant whoever was at the door, was probably a Starling too, and she was caught.

“Well, “Mythral said to herself as she put her quill away and closed her book, “I knew it couldn’t last forever.”

The Starfallen elf began packing up her things as she heard the footsteps twist and turn up the lighthouse stairs. Eventually they stopped and she looked up and was met with a Starling for sure. Her wings were teal and blue, speckled with stars, they had the iconic white underside that mirrored the white of her short hair. The top of her hair was also the same color as her wings and speckled with stars. Her aqua eyes glowing brightly in the darkened tower of the light house. The Westwing was perpetually in darkness somehow. It was never truly day or dawn, but always dusk and midnight for its “days”. This made the stars on this Starling sparkle even more.

“Merril?” She asked again, putting her hands on her hips.

Mythral shook her head and gave a small sad smile, “Nope. Mythral.”

The Starling looked confused, crossing her arms and pinching her chin in thought, “Huh. Maybe I read it wrong?” She looked up smiling, “Well, hi Mythral, I’m Raendryst. I’ll be relieving you of duty and stationing someone else here.”

Mythral walked over to her and put a hand on Raendryst’s shoulder, “It’s nice to meet you, but, I’m not a Starling.”

Raen looked down at the elf and tilted her head, “….why are you here and where is Merril?”

Mythral held her bag in a comforting manner. She bowed her head and kicked a rock on the floor as she replied, “I ran away from home and convinced Merril I was a Starling and was taking over for her.” Mythral could not lie. Something her father had done when she was a child had scared her into obedience. When met with authority, she could only speak the truth. Much as she hated it right now, the guilt of lying would eat her up until she spoke the truth anyway.

The Starlings’ eyebrows furrowed in a bit of anger, “You look a little old to be running away from home. I don’t think you’re telling me the whole truth.”

Mythral looked up embarrassed, “I truly do not know how old I am, but I am usually locked in my room by my father. I had to get away.” There was a fear there, but not of Raen, but the father Mythral spoke of.

Raendryst sighed this time and nodded her head over her shoulder, “Alright, you’re coming with me.”

The young elf was used to following directions without question, so she slowly started to shuffle behind Raendryst, and went down the stairs towards the door. “What are you going to do to me?”

Raendryst didn’t bother to look back. Instead, she looked up at the sky and noted the position of the stars and the moons before replying.

“I’m taking you home.” Now she turned and asked, “Mythral? What’s your last name?”

Mythral hesitated.

Raendryst walked up to her and crossed her arms. It was eerily similar to how her father looked down on her. Compelled to speak, she squeaked out, “Shadowcatcher.”

The Starlings eyes widened as the name was definitely recognized.

“Stars, I really stepped in some shit, didn’t I?”

Mythral flinched and chewed on her lip. She clung to her travel bag, and something in Raen felt a twinge of doubt at her own actions, but she needed to return the girl to her family.

“Listen, doing what you did could get you in real trouble with the Cavaliers. You could have ended up in a jail cell if it wasn’t me who found you. I am at least going to send you home to avoid harsher consequences.”

Raen watched the Starfallens expression closely.

Mythral seemed to lose what little light was left in her eyes as she stared off and past Raendryst. It was almost spooky as Mythral replied, “Yeah. Sure.”

Raen shook her head as the doubt crawled back again.

Nope. No. I gotta take her back. I’m a Stargeant, there’s higher standards for me.

“Come on. Let’s get you home. It’s a long walk and I can’t carry you while I fly.”

----

The walk through the woods was quiet and uneventful. Mythral shuffled her feet a bit, but if what she said was true, Raen could kind of understand. However, the doubts creeped in both good and bad. Raendryst wasn’t able to detect falsehoods like some Starlings, and she wasn’t about to use her Siren abilities to Command her, but the whole situation was weird.

It only took about a candlemark or so to reach the Shadowcatcher Coven province. Their estate was easy to find and Raendryst walked up to the gate where two C-Class Starlings stood guard. They nodded at her but gave a worried look at Mythral. Their eyes told a story Raendryst had been dreading the closer they got to the manor.

“Ladies. I have here a ward of the Shadowcatcher Coven. Mythral. Seems she got…lost..and I am here to bring her home.”

The two Cavalier Starlings side eyed each other before one replied, “Many thanks Stargeant. Apologies for her diverting your path. We can—” The words were cut off by Raylor Shadowcatcher thundering out of the main door. He slammed it closed and burned a murderous path towards the four. His eyes blazed and Raen’s heart fell into her stomach at that alone. His next words, however, would make her regret her choices thus far.

“Mythral Lynnae Shadowcatcher! How DARE you?!?!”

His hand wrapped around her upper arm and the girl whimpered a bit, “Father, I’m so sorry, I –”

“Shut your fucking mouth you TWAT. You run away and then EMBARRASS this house by getting a STARGEANT involved?!?”

As if the title “Stargeant” reminded him of her presence, Raylor looked to Raendryst. He didn’t smile or look any less dangerous, but he had a semblance of respect in his tone when speaking to her, “My deepest apologies for my ward. She is a bastard child I adopted out of kindness, and she has shown me nothing but disrespect her whole life. I will deal with this. Thank you for returning her. Good evening.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. Raylor turned, his light blue hair swooping behind him. Some would have called him beautiful from a distance, but up close and personal, he made Raendryst sick. His piercing blue eyes seemed to glow despite being a Primordial elf. The Light he wielded leaking out in his anger.

The three Starlings watched the two leave. Watched the door open violently and slam closed behind them.

The two Cavaliers looked to Raen and one of them whispered, “You might want to come back later…to check on her.”

The other took up her place again, “But we didn’t tell you that. You’re just doing your duty. Right, Stargeant?”

Raendryst looked distressed. Her face painted with a pain she had not known until now. Majority of her tenure as a Starling, and a Stargeant, had been mapping constellations and performing duties here on Eonid regarding Starlings and their roles here. Mostly the Lighthouse keepers. On top of those duties, as a Stargeant, she commanded the Starlings whose stars were held in her Constellation. She would brief them and go over where they needed to go for new Constellations and map making. They would report back to her with their maps for archival purposes and to check their work.

Now, however, she felt like her duty had led her astray and she’d made the wrong choice. Mythral was obviously an adult, even if she appeared younger than Raendryst might have thought. She’d never been good with ages and elves. It was so hard to tell who was 100 years old and who was 300 years old. Starlings being immortal was even more difficult, but Raendryst herself was only 200 years old compared to, say, the Pillars.

“Fuck.” She cursed and turned around away from them, “I’ll be back.”