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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.”
