GayaGaya was located close to a universe’s core. The core was the place where the energies of creation spilled over into the void chasm and breathed life into an otherwise dark and static place. The closer a planet was located to a universe’s core, the more abundant life could exist. The immense influx of power allowed diverse species to flourish.Gaya was an old planet. Her face changed quite a bit over the course of several billions of years. Right then she featured two continents, split by an endless sea that was inhabited by gargantuan monsters of the depths, growing to several kilometres in length. The seas were always in turmoil, be it from the clashes of gargantuan sea-dragons under the surface or from the mating dances of enormous whales that were large enough to swallow an island whole. The waters had an alluring shine to them, oscillating between emerald green, azure blue and pitch black at the deepest points, but wherever one would watch the waves, iridescent light would s

Cassandra PendragonAfter mum had finished playing dress up doll with me, she gave me a critical once-over: “Oh my, Cassy, I swear you are getting cuter by the day! You look just like a little angel…” Right, how come I feel like a clown who is suffocating under frilly satin? I swear those ribbons made my head twice as heavy. Well at least I could enjoy mum brushing my tails. That felt nice. While she finished with the brush, my mum kept on chattering: “Today is your second birthday, all your relatives will come by. Some of them you haven’t even met yet. Are you excited my little darling?” Oh, I had pretty much forgotten about the birthday thingy. I vaguely remembered my parents and brothers singing while Ahri cut and served cake, but that was pretty much it for my first birthday. If my assumption that I had been born into aristocracy was correct, shouldn’t there be a presentation of the new heiress of sorts? My confusion didn’t last long: “Before the festivities we will have to presen

Cassandra Pendragon5 days laterA small procession passed through a hidden gate in Boseiju’s trunk. My father carried me delicately in his arms. Behind us, my mother, Ahri and the two personal guards of my father followed along. When we passed through the gate and left the moon-lit, starry night, a new world awaited. We entered a winding tunnel, leading downwards in gentle swoops. The walls consisted of wood, glowing lightly with translucent sap that flowed within. The air was warm and moist. It smelled of earth, cherries and age. My eyes pierced the gloom and I could make out a myriad of tiny insects, shuffling away from the giant intruders who invaded their kingdom. My skin tingled from the sheer amount of energy present. Our path through that living realm continued on. We had traveled for a good 10 minutes, descending deeper beneath Boseiju’s roots, when I could make out the faint gurgling of water, sloshing somewhere in front of us. After a final turn, the walls of the tunnel re

Cassandra PendragonNearly 5 years laterMy stomach ached, sweat dripped into my eyes and I was pretty sure I could smell the tips of my hair burning. Wheezing I laid on the ground, huffing for air after that last burning discus had missed me by no more than an inch. It hadn’t missed my hair though. The lower third of my black plate was smouldering. Huh, how I loved the smell of burnt hair in the morning. For a blind woman Greta’s aim was astonishingly good. It was still fairly decent for a person with eyesight and that was more than enough to put a 7-year old through her paces. We were currently in her cave, the place Greta had picked to torture … train me 5 times a week. As usual, I spent most of the time running away from or dodging one thing or another. My “teacher” had realised pretty fast that most forms of energy wouldn’t touch me, so instead of hurling fireballs, she threw stuff. Heavy, burning stuff. I had to question her methods, but the results were amazing. From a chubby

Cassandra PendragonCould he do that? Judging from the frozen expressions all around, he probably could. Oh oh… What should I do? I wasn’t trained in any form of combat yet, let alone fencing or what ever the hell I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t even have a weapon for crying out loud! If I had anything on me I might have been able to finish this whole thing before it started and sort out the mess afterwards. Or was it some form of magical duel? That would have been even worse, I couldn’t channel any energies yet. Slightly panicked I looked around, searching for help. My parents were frozen mid-step, which would have been hilarious under different circumstances, and simply stared at Eddie, completely baffled. Mordred, who had been dancing with a pretty kitsune from the water palace seemed shocked but was already moving closer, trying to reach me. I heard the buzzing of the crowd: “Murdered….thought it was an accident….never properly investigated….protecting their child….” and re