Serena Restinia

Year 885 ( Dastune Royal Capital of Azrestria)

6th day of the seventh month

"My mother was a compulsive liar… that's why she died that day"

The sky was tainted with blood. Red clouds hung in the air like vaporized blood. The blinding light of the sun disappeared as despair and terror took over the once lively streets of the Royal Capital of Azrestria.

It was Chaos; warning bells chiming filling the hearts of innocent men, women, and children in anguish. They were under attack.

The pathways were filled with the inhabitants of the city, but their freedom was snatched away from them by the Dragunov, the Royal Army whose first priority was saving the Royal family instead of the common people.

They had received those orders from King Madreth Azrestria XVI, a ruthless dictator who did not care about his subjects and only loved his position as the king because of the lavish lifestyle. The man was the most worthless King Azrestria ever had. Under his reign, the kingdom had plummeted down on every front. The war with the Western Kingdom of Zertera, the alliance with the Eastern kingdom of Jajung, all was lost due to his pride and foolishness and now this.

In a situation of crisis, the ideal king would try to save his people, but not him. He was simply running away with whatever was left of his inherited wealth.

“Let us through.”

“I have a baby, at least save him.”

People’s screams filled the streets. Everyone was begging for mercy, if not for them, then for their kids.

But none of their cries reached the corrupted Royal Army who was only loyal to one thing- money.

"You should be thankful that the King didn't order us to kill you," commander of the Dragunov, Raios Granbun, declared, "all of you better stay quiet or else it won't take us long to eradicate all of you.

The crowd went silent. But not because of the sudden declaration of Granbun, but because of a deafening roar that tore through the Capital. Everyone was stupefied, their heart was in their throat hammering loudly. No one dared to glance towards the sky.

And then it descended.

The Annihilator, destroyer, born of all destruction and also, one of the many Creations of Chaos, 'The Behemoth'

The silence broke and it was chaos. Everyone was running, trying to force their way out of the city.

Amidst this stampede, a young girl of around eight years old, with flaming red hair, the rarest hair color in the entire kingdom.

She was trying to evacuate the city with her parents but was separated amidst this total chaotic condition.

"Mother!" She screamed. "The voices won't stop." 'Save us.'

The voices of the scared crowd were thrumming in her head. "Please stop it!"

'We will be murdered by the beasts.’ Once again the voices crept into her head.

The girl screamed in pain, fresh tears springing up in her eyes. Her pain was reaching its limit. She was going to release all the Mana that was accumulating inside her.

Suddenly, she was enveloped in a tight embrace. All the voices inside her head went silent and her body relaxed.

She clutched her tightly.

"Don't worry Serena," her mother whispered. "They will save us." "Who will?"

"The Orions."

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Eight years later

Serena Restinia woke up with a start. Her eyes wide open as a single tear rolled down both her cheeks. Her hands clasped as she rested her head on it.

The same damn dream again!

She took a deep breath trying to calm down, her eyes were closed as the words of her mother ran through her mind. The words she told her on that fateful day eight years ago.

Orions will save us.

Her eyes widened as her mother's voice echoed through her mind, her shocked and saddened face was soon replaced by that of anger and resentment as a single word escaped her fully and rosy lips.

"Liar"

She took a deep breath before fully opening her eyes. Her pair of soft Sapphire blue eyes were tinged with a blurry red; side effects of crying. She brought her right arm towards her eyes to wipe away the residue tears. Her scarlet red hairs framed her cheeks and blended with the darkness of her room.

She averted her gaze towards the clock to look at the time. Serena had never been a fan of working in cold afternoons but as much as she wanted to take her beauty naps she couldn't, as her team had been given a job to do. She dragged her legs out of her warm blanket and towards the cold floor of her room.

She slowly pressed her feet on the floor trying to save herself from the ice-cold sensation but in the end, it always sent a shockwave through her body. She hated it more than her Academy assignments.

Slowly she walked towards her dressing table; her hairs were a mess and there was no way she was going to go outside with her hairs looking like a bird's nest. Her fingers grasped the wooden handle of her brush and brought it up to her messed-up hairs.

Serena stood Infront of her mirror, faint light streaming through her window and illuminating her reflection. She stared blankly at herself, her eyes squinting as she saw how imperfect she was.

She was pale, just like her mother; alabaster with a tinge of pink. Her eyes were the same sapphire blue as the clear Ocean on sunny days. She had a pretty face according to others but to herself, she was just plain looking. Her slender body was delicate, but it gave no impression of being fragile.

The only thing marring her was a faded, angry pink scar that ran from her left shoulder blade to the base of her neck. Her fingers traced the scar as she trimmed her hair into a ponytail.

Serena always felt her long hairs were a hassle, always coming in her way but nevertheless she couldn't bring herself to cut hers. So the easier option was to just tie it. She slowly tucked her loose strand behind her ears.

“Time to move out!” She sighed.

The air was crisp and cold for an afternoon at this time of the year. But winter had arrived early. A blessing from the goddess, they said. Not that it really mattered to her. She appreciated herself for surviving on this small island, which was approximately 800 miles from mainland Azrestria.

As she was born and raised in the capital, it was very hard for her to live here for the first few years, living on an island where everyone knew everyone and with the rations arriving only once a month from the mainland.

She was wearing the usual black robes like every other Mage. There was nothing terribly ornate about them but on another hand, the simplicity emphasized her presence. The one thing that stood out was the red cloak she was wearing. It was emblazoned with the embroidery of a phoenix; the symbol of her clan.

A sudden chill went down her spine as she heard the sound of something crashing down on the harbor. She turned her head towards the sea to see smoke rising from there.

Her eyes widened as she saw the entire shipping district decorated in the fire as more projectile rained from the sky.