Page 1 of The Starlight Savior

Chapter 1

Ten years had passed since Saige last saw her parents’ executioner. Even when he lingered in her nightmares, she never imagined confronting him again. Yet there he was. Standing tall on the village square’s wooden platform, his loathsome face looking out at the crowd.

Fear splintered her heart, sending beads of sweat down her neck.

His hair, once black, was streaked with gray. Wrinkles framed his dark eyes. Adorned across his chest, pins and medals sparkled against his olive green uniform. Saige couldn’t help but wonder if they were awarded upon slaughtering the only family she had known. The man who had taken everything from her wore his reward proudly beneath the rising sun.

This man was no longer the violent soldier, pressing a blade against her mother and father’s throats. He was the General of the Brevillian army. His authority loomed over every soldier, calling upon the citizens of Denholm to gather. For what, Saige didn’t know. She assumed the worst given the legion’s presence with soldiers lining the edges of the square.

Tightness formed in her chest, subtle and familiar. Her onyx locks were sticky against her reddening cheeks. There was no escape from the square as more and more people crammed in. Saige tried to grasp her mother’s instructions on calming her quickening heart, but it was nearly impossible to distract herself.

Turning her attention away from the general’s scowl, Saige attempted to latch onto the life around her. The square was the heart of Denholm, nestled deep in the valley of the Redolf Mountains. As sunlight ascended from the horizon, a soft glow emanated across the cobblestone streets. Flowers sprouted from wooden boxes adorning vegetable stands and storefronts. Behind the general, the stone temple’s wooden doors were wide open. She spotted the open hands of Terrus, the Earth God, carved from marble.

But no amount of distraction could stop the flood of troubling thoughts. Her gaze was pulled back to the foreboding man before her. Would he recognize her? Glimpse his victims in her sorrowful face? When her parents were killed, she fled, hoping to start a new life towns away. But that didn’t mean she was free from danger.

“Saige?”

She turned to find Althea, her first friend in Denholm, staring at her with a deep frown.

“Hm?” Saige blinked slowly.

Althea let out a slow exhale. “I asked if you knew why we were summoned. My patient list has doubled in the last week, and I don’t know how I’ll get it all done. You’d be surprised at how many children have fallen ill this spring.” She shook her head, her brown ringlets bouncing against her shoulders.

“I know as much as you do.” Saige sighed. “Though you could have skipped today.” Denholm often held meetings, addressing citizen complaints and fluctuations in trade. But they’d never been led by someone as pressing as a general.

“Not everyone can be as unconcerned as you, Saige,” Althea muttered, rolling her eyes.

She shrugged, tapping her foot against the stone. Althea’s words rang true. It was rare for her to attend such gatherings. Most of her time was spent tending her caregiver’s bursting gardens or earning coin as a handmaid. Both left her in solitude, bringing a necessary sense of quiet and safety. As she stood before the platform though, packed in like rats, it was the opposite.

Priestess Norma cleared her throat as she stepped onto the wooden platform. Dark green robes hung around the priestess’s small frame. A circlet with glittering emeralds rested on her unbound hair.

“Thank you everyone for taking the time to gather.” Her voice was gentle and sweet, almost too soft for the crowd to hear. “Denholm welcomes Zyler Kadence, the General of the Eastern Army. He has traveled from the capital to report on recent discoveries regarding the war beyond.” Priestess Norma stepped aside, looking over her shoulder. “Your Grace?”

A shaking hand rose to Saige’s throat. “Zyler Kadence,” she whispered.

All these years, she had never known his name. She hadn’t wanted to. It was better to have him as simply a face, floating in and out of her nightmares, tainting her memories. Monsters were often nameless, made up of bodies and the darkness inside them. But names? Names were personal. Vulnerable. Real.

General Kadence stepped forward, face impassive. Saige’s palms tickled as she fought the urge to push through the suffocating crowd and flee. Yet every time she turned, there was no exit. Taking in a deep breath, she imagined air traveling from her lungs, down her arms, and into her hands. The unease subsided a bit, enough for her to remain in place. But her heart wouldn’t rest.

“For eighty years, the three kingdoms of magic-bearing savages have been immersed in a gruesome war. The mist is a consequence of their sins with no cure in sight. Barbaric battles break out for resources and territories as Queen Anya, the water witch, demands more land. We must suffer the brunt of the wielders’ conflicts and only rely on our own goods. But we send thanks to Terrus, Guardian of Brevil, that we’ve always remained safe.” General Kadence paused as he looked forward, voice coated in venom.

Saige had heard the rehearsed speech uttered before history lessons or prayers more times than she could count. As the mist raged on, Brevillians believed it only impacted land that used magic. But considering magic lived all around them, how could that be? It was the pure power of the elements. Growing food, rain descending from the sky, lighting fires. Yet the witches and warlocks beyond were feared. Magic living inside of another, blazing through veins, was unnatural. Too much power for one to wield. The clergy and soldiers loved to remind everyone how grateful they should be that Terrus continued to protect them. Continued to keep them powerless.

“Most recently,” General Kadence continued, voice sharpening with every word, “a soldier in the north found evidence of land decaying. Farms by the river have begun to drain of life in the same manner as the storm and water lands. But do not fret, the mist has not and will not infiltrate our kingdom.”

A hushed murmur spread across the crowd as they shifted in disarray. The heels of Saige’s feet dug into the ground, anchoring her in the sea of swaying bodies.

Before she was born, the mist had emerged from the sea without reason or cause. One moment, the kingdoms of Opela were protected by ancient wards, harmony flowing throughout. Then suddenly, the wards fell. A mist rose from the east, seeping across the land year after year. Death followed wherever it touched.

Witches and warlocks naturally fled, seeking land, power, and safety. Somehow the well-guarded borders of the mortal territory always remained sturdy, separate from the ongoing conflicts beyond. More and more soldiers joined Brevil’s forces, determined to protect the Earth God’s kingdom. As long as they did, Terrus kept his land bountiful, and farming and resources steady.

“There is no need to worry. Terrus gave his power to the earth when he shaped this land and breathed life into mortals. That is why little magic flows in our blood, and why his steady protection shields us.” General Kadence held his palms up, his mouth frowning into a thin line at the building commotion. “But we must increase our defenses, which is why I’m here today.”

The crowd subsided as all attention returned to the general. His heavy words silenced the village, tension curling in the air.

“Beginning at sunrise, Brevil will be enforcing rations. The temple will be converted into a mess hall and provide two meals a day. Portions will be carefully divided to minimize overconsumption. If you’re working or providing for our kingdom, you’ll be taken care of. Anyone without a role will be assigned one or suffer the consequences.”

Shocked voices and panicked whispers erupted all around. The mass of people closed in once again. Saige squeezed her eyes shut as a burning sensation built in her palm, heating up the sleeves of her cloak. The feeling of unrest was rising, something she was able to manage privately since she was a child. She would not slip today.