Novalis, the Genius Magineer

I left the spa feeling clean, refreshed, and younger. I hadn't realized how much that tension in my body had been holding me down. I felt like I could win a fight with an professional bodybuilder... not that I was going to test that anytime soon.

I looked down at my map and noticed that Dusk was currently being followed by a Celestial named Demura. Hmm, so she's making friends too, is she?

Sitting down on a nearby bench, I contemplated what I wanted to do for the evening. I wasn't scheduled to go back to Soluna until after the parade, which was seemingly doing fine. Oh wait, I have to get my suitcase! Princess Lunara did mention a message for me, and I would think that being asked about it would imply importance...

I made my way back to the library, humming a tune under my breath. Maybe it was an order to return tonight to my studies. Maybe it was... no... not that. Hmm...

Lost in my own thoughts, I almost bumped into Dusk, who was carrying Fangsly on her back and looking extremely frustrated. Following close behind her was a pink Celestial girl with cyan eyes and a blonde mane. She was talking adamantly to Fangsly, who was apparently regaling her with his life story. With the level of interest between the two, I'd say he found a girlfriend. Way to go, buddy! Wait, actually, could a dragon actually have a mate from another race?

"Ahem, excuse me Miss Etherea, I just need to slip by."

At my voice, the yellow haired girl instantly stopped speaking and, with a frightened squeak, vanished into a bush. Umm, okay?

Dusk rolled her eyes, stepping out of my way with a look of annoyance.

I sidled past her, shooting a questioning look at the baby dragon. He simply shrugged his shoulders, holding his claws in the air, showing his lack of understanding as well.

I made my way into the library, which was completely darkened. Before I could even find the light switch, I heard Dusk and the Celestial outside, arguing about putting Fangsly to bed. Not even thirty seconds later, the door burst open and Dusk rushed inside, chasing the shy girl carrying the baby dragon. He looked dizzy, at least from what I could see before the door shut again.

Shortly after the door closed, the room brightened up as the lights were turned on, and a lot of people, about half humans and half Celestials, appeared.

"SURPRISE!"

I damn near had a heart attack!

I recognized the pink haired human, Saturnalia I believe, from earlier, who looked ecstatic in this environment. Alongside her were a cyan colored Celestial with a flamboyantly multicolored hairdo (putting my eyes to shame), a very tanned and well built country girl with a hat and ponytails, and the sparkling white lady from the spa earlier, Fantasia. Discretely looking at my map, I put the missing names of Tempest and Paige to the two I didn't see before.

Looking around more, I noticed a punch table, along with a sheet of cupcakes. There were also games set up, and a music booth. After the initial coronary crisis, I noticed people immediately getting to the partying. I even recognized my new companions. Avec was revving the music up, while Paloma kept the punch bowl refilled. Aloe and Lotus were set aside from the party, with a booth advertising free massages, if you could correctly guess which one you saw the eyes of under a sheet. So unfair. It's hard enough to tell them apart.

Miss Etherea, with an obviously irritated expression, was making her way to the punch table while being followed by the pink chick who seemed to be in charge of everything. She was bouncing around exuberantly, beaming and chattering, completely oblivious to Dusk's obvious annoyance. Suddenly, in the middle of a sentence it looked like, the the vibrant girl let out a loud gasp, much like she had earlier today. After the gasp, she resumed speaking normally. Was that a strange medical condition?

I watched them for a few more moments, until Dusk picked up a bottle to pour in her drink. I noticed it was hot sauce, but before I could warn her she had already taken a drink. She seemed to be set alight from it, and without much ado, ran upstairs. That had to burn. Shortly after, the party thrower picked up the hot sauce and slathered it on a cupcake... And ate the cupcake... Eww...

I trotted over to Avec's booth, chatting with her about the selection of music she was giving us tonight. Apparently, this music was her normal fare, and was far more upbeat and hectic. She had a couple switches on her board that controlled strobe lights, even changing their colors. Without even seeming to try, she had the party in her hands, almost scaring me with how easily she controlled their dancing. She even managed to get a couple pairs eying each other across the room to be pushed together in order to meet and dance. Damn... Scary.

I finished chatting with Miss Cappricio and was about to head downstairs to get my bag when I was stopped by a slightly inebriated Paloma Vesper. Heh, bartender's been snitching some of the stock, it appears. She simply wanted to thank me for giving her a good conversation earlier. She wasn't used to anyone actually communicating with her as an equal. Seeing how good her drinks were, I found it rather sad that no one saw her as anything but a drunkard.

I bid her farewell, and finally made it downstairs. The noise of the party drifted away, but my heart was pounding loudly. The time had finally come to see what message the object of my adoration had left me. Fumbling with my magic, I shakily opened my bag and rummaged through in search of her letter. I finally found it in my notebook, bookmarking the page that was reserved for the next lesson. I opened it hastily and read over her neat writing. Scanning the letter twice, I could not believe the words that were on the page. I put the letter down, catching my breath as I looked around the basement. The shadowed corners gave the room an eerie feel to my panicked mind. I recalled the letter perfectly, burned into my mind.

My hardworking protege, Novalis,

You have progressed finely through your studies, and have shown that you have a keen and quick mind, even if you can get distracted easily. You will need your wits in the upcoming days. My sister and I have discerned that an ancient prophecy will be fulfilled, a prophecy that is hidden within a book Celestina gave her own student. While Dusk Etherea has a knack for deciphering prophecy, I can tell that you would be rather skeptical of them. Be warned, the ancient Rathmaro will awaken in two days time, and there is nothing my sister nor I can do to prevent this. Nor can we stop his subsequent rampage. The only way we can stop him is for the Sigils of the Starfall to be recreated. I pray that you will be successful, for all Order now rests with you and your friends. Goodbye, Novalis. I know you will all succeed, and free me and my sister.

Sincerely,

Royal Princess of Night and Darkness

and Holder of Providence

of All That Lies Within:

Lunara ex Somnus et Astra

Dusk was right! This ancient enemy of the two Sisters, the one who tried to gain the heart of and rejected by the Solar Queen, would return. I could only imagine the horrible destruction he would cause. Images of blackened towns, ruined castles, and everyone in agony sped through my mind. But the worst image of them all was of Princess Lunara in his clutches. The cruelest ministrations he could perform on them. I felt my head becoming light, and my senses grew fuzzy. My vision clouded, blinked, and faded as I fell to the floor.

Dusk Etherea's POV:

I finally got some peace and quiet. I could feel the party still thumping downstairs, but the thick wood that made up the tree building easily muffled most of it. I put Fangsly to bed first, surrounding his bed with a flame resistant rune. Wouldn't do well for his small fiery outbursts while asleep to set this wooden building alight. 

Next I opened up my book I was reading on the way here. The Sigils of the Starfall. It went through major events in history leading up to the creation, use, and dissolution of the powerful artefacts. Most people didn't know the two Celestial sisters had created them after finding the ancient Orbs of Prayer and offering their own prayers to the Spirits of Order. Willingly bound into the Sigils, their power was used to imprison Rathmaro so long ago, but unknown to most, he had left a prophecy of his own.

"And now I tell you true, Bright and Dark Celestials, I shall return upon the coming of Chaos' Advent. When the war torn world breaches the protective shield on this galaxy, the Chaos they harbor will return me to right. And you two, will be mine."

I perused this passage repeatedly, hoping to find a way to dismiss the theory, but Novalis had confirmed my suspicions and fears earlier. He had mentioned that the star charts I found were accurate. Helios, or more specifically, the planet with the offshoot humans, would fly through our space briefly tomorrow. And from what Queen Celestina had told me, they were very barbaric. War was constant on that planet, for without magic to aid them, resources were limited. Peace was tenuous at best, broken at a whim. If that chaos reached our world, it would be easy for Rathmaro to return. I only hoped that Queen Celestina's words to me weren't going to come true. I could never imagine my mentor incapable of winning.

"My dear student, you will be the one who fulfils our own prophecy of Rathmaro's demise. We will be unable to stop him, as the Spirits of Order gave their all in our last fight with him. Your bonds you will forge in the future will be what reignites the spark, and they will come to your aid. But we will not be able to help."

Rathmaro's POV:

I can feel it, hahaha. Soon. The energy of Chaos I left on that broken world so long ago. It will revive my stolen power here in this accursed ice. I will make the whole universe pay when I break free. Soon...

Queen Celestina's POV:

I looked to my sister. We both could feel it. The Chaos was permeating through our very air. We could feel the rumbling of power nearby, where Rathmaro was entombed. We could feel as the bonds upon him broke. Lunara shivered as the pure malice that came from within him engulfed the whole castle. I felt him come closer, and I prepared to fight with everything I had, though I knew it was futile.

"Hello, my lovelies. I'm back!"

I turned to face him. He was as unsettling as ever. He looked like a Celestial, but he was twisted and grotesque. One wing was skeletal, bones with dripping darkness falling from the ends. Where the darkness touched the ground, strange shapes wormed up from the floor as he passed. The other wing, pure black, feathered with blood red tips, gently flapped as he came closer, driving eddies of magical power that made small portals open and close randomly. His two horns, marking him as an Ancient Celestial, older than even we are, were glowing yet with strange magic. The left one, which looked like a twisted and broken deer's, was creating different weather phenomena within the large Royal Hall. One moment it was snowing fiery embers that were cold as ice, the next it was raining acidic liquid that looked like and smelled like strawberry jam. The other horn, long, straight, silvery blue, kept creating tiny volcanoes and castle shaking earthquakes as he floated closer.

But his eyes were the most unsettling of all. One was reptilian, slitted, deep golden and stared directly at us. The other shifted wildly through every color in existence, leaking tears of pure energy that floated into the air, tearing cracks in reality. This eye focused on nothing, ever darting around. But I knew it saw everything. Time and Space had no secrets before this erratic aberration in his face.

"We will not allow you to do as you please, Uncle Rathmaro. You know we will fight you every bit of the way."

"Oh please... I'm counting on it..." He giggled maliciously.

I charged magic into my horn, ready to release the most powerful spell I knew, focusing the immense power of the Sun into a magnified beam at him, but... Nothing happened. He laughed, opening a portal to show me my Sun, where a strange darkness enveloped it, preventing any light from escaping.

Lunara tried to fight as well, throwing a quick blast of massive icy shards at him, but he merely chuckled as the ice turned into small feathers and fell to the floor in front of him. 

"Now... My turn, ladies."

I never even saw what happened. All I felt was a cold I've never experienced, and darkness.