CHAPTER 9 - THE ROYAL GUARD OF THE BLUE LIGHTNING

The manor echoes with a silence charged with magic; the still-bare walls vibrate gently, as if awaiting their own birth. In the grand central hall, Saphira, in her adult gothic form, makes a gesture with her hand. Blue lightning bolts escape from her fingers, striking the floor. Wood bursts forth; shapes come to life: ebony chairs, dark velvet armchairs, tables inlaid with blue symbols... everything is forged from the very void, mingled with the sweet and nightmarish memories of their creator. APHIRA (calmly, without raising her voice) "Each piece of furniture is a memory each line, a heart-fracture sewn with magic." The objects settle themselves, naturally finding their place, as if the manor already knew what it was meant to be. The double door opens with a shiver. Elya enters in silence, carrying an enchanted parchment. ELYA "Mother Queen, I have drawn the plans for the upper galleries, as well as the annex rooms. The dolls are ready to decorate." Behind her, the servants of the blue tower silently pour in, all dressed in black. Some have gentle smiles, others veiled faces. Their sharp, hidden teeth remain invisible except to those they wish to frighten. Their gait is synchronized, their love unconditional. One of them, immense and covered in a cloak of reddish mist, stops. His gaze has no end, a cosmic horror enclosed beneath a servant's skin. SAPHIRA (telepathically, to Elya) If I disappear, he will devour the sky itself. ELYA (responding in the silence of thought) He knows it and he accepts it. Saphira settles onto her floating throne, carved from a single curved lightning bolt. It levitates in the center of the hall. She crosses her legs and gives a gentle salute to the two twins who arrive with a steaming blue teapot. "Mother Goddess, we have steeped dream dust tea. It is ready." She observes them. One is a boy with ink-black hair, wearing a cloak sewn with shifting glyphs. He handles the Book of Fate, a living artifact he holds on his chest like a scar. The other, a girl with clock-like eyes, seems to twist time with her simple breath. Her black dress is studded with fragments of impossible schedules. SAPHIRA "You are my first, my foundations." She extends her hands, taking the tea. SAPHIRA "I give you names." She rises slowly, the tea still in hand. "You... bearer of unstable futures... you shall be called Velor, the guardian of the thread." The boy bows his head. "And you... breath that reverses dawn... you shall be Tessia, the lady of the Hours." The girl smiles gently. SAPHIRA "Together, you are my first two knights. The royal guard of the blue lightning begins with you. May the tower recognize you, and may the void bless you." Blue lightning bolts rise to the ceilings. The entire manor shudders, as if applauding.

END OF CHAPTER 9 - THE ROYAL GUARD OF THE BLUE LIGHTNING