The Beginning

By Aradia

Jinian had always been different. She knew that, even though her mother tried to disguise the truth. She had always known that, unlike all of the other trueline Queens, she would not be a powerful mage. Unlike the other trueline Queens, though, Jinian Starwatcher was a scholar.

She studied all day, forsaking all of the other activities that other nymphs engaged in, activities that would prove them to be warriors and mages. She learned all of the arcane arts, and soon had a vast knowledge of the magicks. But she knew she would never be strong enough to wield the magicks she had spent her entire life studying.

Jinian was brilliant, though, and clever as well. She added other studies to her self made curriculum, learning about history, mathematics, and languages. She was an expert among her people about geography and geology. She learned the arts of the other races. She studied as much about the Four Wars as she was able to, and when she had exhausted all of her textbooks, she began to search for other scholars who knew about the Four Wars.

She finally made contact with one scholar, a man named Aramel Desertwind, from the desert country of Salioh. After studying together for several years, they were married in a quiet ceremony, presided over by her mother, Caryntrel. Shortly after their marriage, however, Caryntrel stepped down as Queen and allowed her daughter to assume rule of the islands. No one knew where Caryntrel went, not even her only daughter.

Several years passed in quiet bliss before Aramel disappeared as well. The nymph nation was in an uproar, but settled when Jinian forbade her people from investigating his disappearance. She knew that he had had several enemies, and she suspected that his past had finally caught up with him. By this time, she also knew that she was with child. And as time passed and none of her consort’s enemies came to destroy her child, she relaxed slowly.

Jinian had known the day would arrive. She hadn’t been sure when Ath-g Desertwind would appear, but she wasn’t surprised when he did.

"Lady," he said cordially, with none of the arrogance she expected. "I understand you’ve been blessed with a daughter."

"Yes," she said simply and calmly. "Your son, Aramel, has sired a beautiful girl."

Ath-g’s eyes alighted on the young girl as she tried to fly, her gossamer wings beating frantically. "What is her name, Lady Jinian?"

Jinian didn’t answer right away, but instead scooped the princess into her arms, presenting her to Ath-g. "Her name is Melisarra, my Lord. Melisarra Windrider."

Melisarra stared at Ath-g, taking in his ebony skin and muscular physique. Ath-g returned her scrutiny, then shifted his gaze to Jinian. "She does not have your colouring, Lady." It was an idle statement, but Jinian knew she was being tested.

"Aramel’s legacy, my Lord. He gave her the golden skin and black hair. Had he been anyone else, she would have inherited my ivory skin and brown hair." She gave him a frank look. "You did not come here to make small talk about your granddaughter, Ath-g."

His laughter filled the air. "I like you, Jinian. I can see why Aramel did, too." He waved his arm expansively. "You don’t leave your isles. Why not?"

"Where would I go, Ath-g? Aramel had few friends and many enemies. So do you. And now that I have Meli, I won’t leave her by herself."

"So bring her with you. Travel around Taundra, see the world. Learn more about the Four Wars."

Jinian raised a brow. "And risk walking into the middle of a war? I think not."

"Then I’ll prohibit wars while you travel, if you feel your magicks are insufficient."

"There is always the dire chance that some young and foolhardy adventurer will attempt to destroy Meli if he cannot destroy you." Jinian shook her head. "I will not leave my home, Ath-g. I cannot guarantee my daughter’s safety."

"You’re afraid," he challenged.

"For Aramel’s daughter, yes," she replied bluntly. "I did not become the Queen by sheer power as you became the Emperor of Salioh. My people have learned to respect tradition and heritage - I am the only daughter of Caryntrel."

"I created your race from dust, Jinian. I know your views and traditions."

A fleeting smile lit the dryad’s features. "Our calendar predates Salioh’s. You didn’t create us. We crossed over."

Ath-g felt a flicker of grudging admiration for this woman who wasn’t afraid of him - this woman who was his son’s consort. "I have a proposition for you, Jinian. You know that Melisarra will be a powerful mage, even for your people. I want to train her properly."

Jinian raised a brow. "Why?"

"Why not? You have a great deal of knowledge about magick, but you do not have the power to control Melisarra’s growth as a mage. I do, as I am the High Mage."

"And you do not have enough students already?"

"No. My students are nothing compared to this young girl." He fixed an obsidian gaze on mother and daughter. "This is not an offer I make lightly, Jinian."

She studied him for a long time. "Return in three turns of the sun, Ath-g. I shall have your answer."

He nodded and strode off, leaving her in deep contemplation.

"Bye bye," Melisarra called after Ath-g, waving a chubby fist.

Three days later, Ath-g Desertwind returned to the home of Jinian Starwatcher. He didn’t announce himself, but strode into her private library, gazing at her steadily. "Do you have your answer, Jinian of the nymphs?"

"I had a dream the other night, Ath-g," she answered, her voice distant, her eyes on her sleeping daughter. "I dreamt that I stood at the bottom of a rock pit. All above and around me stood all of the Queens before me, as well as Aramel and you. On a ledge above this pit stood Melisarra. She was full grown, and well into her power. With her stood a man that I did not recognise, but knew to be her consort. A bit above them stood a young man that I knew to be their son. And on a distant mountaintop stood four young women, whom I knew to be Melisarra’s daughters, but not her consort’s." She fell silent, then looked at him. "A strange ray of light shone from the sky, bathing these four women within its glow. And from their hands shone colours of the elements - green for the earth, white for the air, blue for the waters, and red for the fires. Those four colours spread through the sky, distorting it. Then I rose from the bottom of my pit as a bird, and I clearly saw the magickal aethers that had been severed and reshaped."

Ath-g snorted in disbelief. "You are saying that these four women remade the laws of magick? That’s impossible, and would destroy any mage’s abilities born before then. You know that, and so do I."

"Mayhap, Ath-g. But this dream told me that Melisarra should remain with me. I saw you lying at the bottom of the pit, crumpled and aged, no longer the High Mage of Taundra. Melisarra’s daughters had stripped you of your power, and they had stripped Melisarra of her power, and their own powers were waning drastically. And then I saw great tears falling from the skies and the mountains, and I saw four shimmering Gates rise to the north, to the east, to the south, to the west. And then the Gates were gone, and the tears no longer fell." Jinian shook her head. "I cannot allow Melisarra to go with you for training. I fear that she would destroy you before you could control her powers."

Ath-g narrowed his eyes, obviously unhappy at having his will thwarted. "And if I should take her by force?"

"Then you would doom yourself before you knew it. I know that, with proper training, she could be the next High Mage. But she will not. She will be a Queen here, and we respect tradition."

He studied her for a long time, then nodded slowly. "Yes, I sensed you would say as much. Aramel would want her to stay as well, so I will respect your wishes. But I will protect her life, and her children’s lives."

"That is all I ask." With that, Jinian strode from her library, leaving the High Mage with his granddaughter. He studied the sleeping girl for a long time, then turned and left as well, in search of the four Gatekeepers.

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