Chapter One · The Ceremony of Stars
The night was so still it seemed the entire kingdom had forgotten to breathe.Beneath the endless canopy of stars, the towers of Eldra—capital of the realm—rose like silver spears aimed at heaven. The wind murmured through the domes, carrying with it a whisper that felt half-like prayer, half-like spell.
In the great square below, ringed by thousands of flickering candles, hundreds of young candidates stood shoulder to shoulder. Each wore over their heart a small, gleaming emblem: the Starcrest, the symbol of destiny itself.
They waited.Waited for the light that would decide their fate.
At the edge of the gathering stood a black-haired boy, his fingers clenched tightly around his badge. Sweat beaded in his palm.His name was Aiden Locke.
He was no nobleman—merely the son of a fisherman from a nameless village in the far north. By every rule of the realm, someone like him should never have stood among the chosen. Yet every thirteen years, the Council of Stars summoned every child of age for what was called the Ceremony of Stars—a sacred rite in which the heavens themselves selected those who would bear the mark of starlight.
Those chosen would enter the Seven Academies, to study magic, star-lore, and the lost language of the ancients.It was the one and only road to glory.
At the center dais stood the High Priestess herself. Her voice cut through the night, sonorous and absolute:
"Light of the stars, shine upon the loyal and the pure.Children of destiny, let your names be seen beneath Heaven's eye."
A soft gasp rippled through the crowd as silver fire began to fall—starlight raining like molten glass. It gathered upon the crystal spire in the middle of the square until the tower blazed like a second moon.
One by one, the children stepped forward to touch the beam.Blue light flared for wind, gold for light, crimson for flame…Each glow was met with cheers, laughter, and tears of relief.
Then came Aiden's turn.
He drew a breath to steady himself and mounted the steps.When his hand touched the light, a chill rippled outward. The starfire flowed over his palm—but it was empty, colorless.
The beam flickered once. Then it went dark.
A hush fell over the square.
Someone snickered. "Even the stars won't look at him."The High Priestess frowned, tracing a sign of power to summon a response, but the light refused to answer—as though devoured by something unseen.
She inhaled to pronounce the words that would end his dream—Unchosen—and the heavens exploded.
A thunderclap split the sky.From the northern horizon a black meteor arced downward, tearing through the firmament in a trail of shadow. Every other star dimmed as the thing fell, swallowing their light until the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
Aiden looked up—and saw the falling star aimed straight for him.
BOOM.
The impact threw him backward. Screams filled the night; bodies scattered.Black fire surged around him, twisting and roaring, yet it did not burn. Instead, it etched something upon his chest—a black star, dark and living.
The wind died.
The High Priestess sank to her knees, white as bone."The Black Star…" she whispered. "The one that was banished."
Magisters rushed forward to rip the crest from his chest, but the mark had already fused with his flesh.
Aiden's eyes opened.For a heartbeat, black light shimmered in his pupils.
The ceremony ended in chaos.People shrank from him as though he carried a plague.Messengers of the Council conferred in fearful tones before delivering the verdict:
"This boy shall be sent to the Academy of Shadows,to live under containment and strict supervision.If his power cannot be controlled—he is to be executed."
And with that single decree, Aiden's fate was sealed.
That night, long after the square had emptied, he sat alone among the scattered candles and shattered glass.The wind from the north carried the smell of ash and dusted his hair with starlight.He raised his eyes.Every star shone bright—except the north, where a patch of darkness yawned, devouring the sky.
He whispered to the silence:
"Why me?"
No one answered.Only the black star pulsed against his chest, steady as a heartbeat.
Far to the north, beyond mountain and mist, a forgotten academy stirred awake.Blue fire crept along its stone walls, illuminating runes long dead.A great iron gate creaked open, and upon the ramparts stood an old man with silver hair, gazing into the heavens.
"The Black Star has fallen again," he murmured."The cycle begins anew."
Epilogue
Before dawn, Aiden was placed in a black carriage bound for the Shadow Mountains.The hooves of the horses rang against the ancient road, a slow, mournful rhythm like a funeral dirge.Outside, the trees cast moving silhouettes that looked less like branches and more like restless spirits.He pressed a trembling hand to his chest—the dark sigil throbbed beneath his touch, alive, beckoning.
He could not yet know—that from this moment on, the path of destiny had already shifted,and that the history of the entire continent of Eldrawas about to be rewritten under the light of the Black Star.