Foretold (Intro + Chapter 1)

The old seer woman looked at the man sitting across from her with curiosity. Her eyes were a light blue color, shrouded in a clouded mist which seemed to reach across her orbs and dim the bright blue which was once her eyes. She was blind, though the man felt as if her eyes could see him better than any of the seeing in the physical world and they seemed to watch him like a vulture watched its prey. 1

Slowly she eased herself from the mahogany chair of which she had perched upon and turned away from the young man, looking towards the only window which was in the small room. Old bones creaked and groaned with her weight as she took a few short steps towards the sill and leaned against the wall, speaking softly with a voice full of much wisdom. 2

"On the first night of K'rahar, The Festival of the Moon, a child of great power will be born. This child will have hair not of human coloring, but the silver of the great orb. Her eyes shall not be of mother's nor father's but that of the glowing moonlight and her pupils not round, but small crescent moons. 3

Her skin shall be the purest of ivory and upon her shoulder shall lay a crescent moon shaped mark. She shall be your only hope for the future of your home. She will have the strength and loyalty matched by none. 4

Seek the mark of the crescent moon and do not wait to take the child as your own, for seventeen years from the birth of this baby girl, a great battle between life and death shall commence between your kingdom and the others. Teach her everything there is to know--if you do not you shall find your fate is sealed to doom. This is what I see, and what I know shall happen." 5

The old woman turned her blind eyes upon the finely dressed young man and smiled a small smile, the few teeth she had left a sickly yellow pigmentation. Dirty tresses of white fell freely down her shoulders, making it seem as if her already wrinkled skin was sinking lower into itself and shadows danced across her features as the fire across the room crackled from the cold. 6

Lord Carsian stared at her, unable to look away from those dull blue eyes for a good moment before shaking his head and looking towards the door. This woman could turn a man to stone if they stared long enough. One of his hands slowly moved to the pouch hanging from his belt and carefully untied the tassels holding it together. "How much do I owe you, seer?" He spoke, turning his head to look back at the woman, but she was no longer there, and there was nothing to prove that she had been there. Carsian shook his head, lifting his hand to rub his eyes before blinking and standing up, walking confused out of the small hut; the words "Seek the mark of the crescent moon" still ringing inside his mind and those eyes still haunting his thoughts. 7

~:-:Year One:-:~ 8

Carsian paced back and forth in the elaborate hall of his palace quietly, wringing his hands back and forth. It had been a year since the old Seer woman had told him of the Moon Child which would be the savior of their world and he had yet to see a child of the markings she had described. His black hair which was normally neatly combed was a mess of tresses falling over his tanned skin. His light green eyes were clouded in anticipation. Sixteens years were left before the battle would come and he still hadn't found the child. 9

A knock at the door signaled that his men had returned with either the child or more bad news, and Lord Carsian hoped that it was the child. Stopping his pacing he walked to the large door and reaching out a hand, grasped the cool brass knob and turned it, the blockage swinging inside to reveal his two best men. The men were dressed in fine black uniforms of black slacks and a jacket with silver buttons, and a black hats atop their heads. Both faces looked grim and hopeless and when he looked at them with expectancy, all either of them could do was shake their heads and sigh. Carsian turned away from them and paced to the window out looking his kingdom where the sun was setting and casting beautiful orange and pink shadows across the country side. 10

"Time is running out, our kingdom has fifteen years left to find and train a child who may not even exist before we are ruined. Our legacy shall go down with the sun." He turned to his men once more, sorrow in his green eyes. He had great pride and love for his homeland and people and could not imagine it disappearing forever. He came from a long line of rulers, he was the 75^th male in his family to take over. How could he put his kingdom’s fate in the hands of one little girl? Woman warriors had never been heard of in his homeland–in others, yes, but not in Lodkir. His people would never trust that the child could save them and there would be countless rebellions and protests. Carsian could imagine it now, but he must listen to the seer as she had never been wrong before. 11

"There is nothing we can do, M’lord. . ." The man on the right, Trenril, spoke softly, looking up at his Lord with bright blue eyes which were brightened by the sandy blonde of his hair. "We have all the best men out there looking, and we have a bulletin out that if anyone should find or have a child with a crescent moon birthmark, to tell us and they would be handsomely rewarded. Unfortunately, many frauds have come in and some of the children’s marks have either been a small circle or something painted on with dye." He looked disgusted at the lies and deceit, but said nothing of what he felt. Carsian looked away, clenching his fists. 12

"It’s not good enough then! We should be able to find a single little girl! This kingdom isn’t THAT big!" He snarled and turned back to them, green eyes ablaze. The men knew that he wasn’t upset with them, so they had nothing to fear. They understood how much importance his kingdom held with their Lord, and knew he was frightened to see it fall. Both though, understood that their Lord would never voice his fears to anyone and keep it in an internal battle. Quietly, the bowed their heads and turned, walking from the main hall to continue the search which they had been assigned to. Both men had begun to wonder if there were such a child--or if the efforts were just a wild goose chase. 13

As the doors of the main hall fell into place with a resounding click, Carsian sank to the floor. Running his calloused fingers through his black hair to calm himself,  he stopped when it reached the knots that carelessness had created atop his normally groomed head. A sigh escaped chapped lips and Carsian closed his brilliant green eyes which were murky with the intense frustration he felt. Never had the Lord felt so helpless in his life and he had a feeling that Jerad would laugh at him if he could see the normally calm and collected young ruler the way he was now. He had always said that he would lose it one of these days and it seemed as though he would have been right. Faced with the task of saving his kingdom from a force that only a small girl barely of age could destroy, when it seemed as though no such girl existed was enough to make even the great Jerad break, and Carsian knew it. 14

A knock at the door signalled yet another interruption, and he growled low, pushing himself up to a standing position before striding in a few stiff steps towards the hall doors. He wrapped his fingers around the cool brass handles and pushed in the latch, a small click being heard before pulling the doors in towards him. He blinked, seeing the old seer woman standing there for just a moment before she disappeared again. Carsian shook his head, closing the doors slowly with another resounding click. He was definitely losing it. 15