Prologue

The sun is associated with a radiant beam of light and the creator of life. But it was in the sunshine that Nikolai Sabatini faced his death.

The sun cast down on the mountains where he had fallen off a cliff, breaking his bones. He lay helplessly amongst the sunflowers, facing the sun like some cruel twist of irony. He was a young man with a light tan complexion and deep, cerulean eyes that rivaled the sky. He wore his dark hair swooped over and was dressed in a grey suit.

He heard bare footsteps approaching him as a hooded woman in white stood before him, looming over him with a warm smile. Her face was obscured by her cloak, which bore sun markings.

Nikolai: “A-are you an angel?”

He stammered with a thick Italian accent.

Woman in white: “An angel?”

She answered with a soft, feathery voice.

Nikolai: “Am I dead?”

He reiterated in a pained strain.

Woman in white: “Not at all, you're a living being! Why would you say that?”

She tilted her head.

Nikolai: “I don't know if you noticed, but I'm dying…”

He panted with shortened breaths and desperation in his tone.

Woman in white: “Oh, don't worry about that! I can take your pain away.”

She clutched the crystal vial necklace around her neck and gently placed her hand on his. She had a marking on the top of her hand resembling the sun, with eight points surrounding a circle with a dot at its centre. Nikolai’s eyes widened with curiosity and confusion.

She administered a liquid onto his bare skin and held the crystal up into the sunlight. Beams of light reflected through the crystal and down onto him as his wound began to close up. Nikolai couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw and felt as the pain disappeared from his body.

Nikolai: “...W-What did you do to me?! Who are you? …What are you?!”

He patted himself down and sat up, gaping at her, awestruck.

Woman in white: “Oh, my stars! My apologies! Allow me to introduce myself!”

The woman unveiled her hood to reveal her full face. Her eyes were the first thing he noticed. They looked like golden pools of sunlight against her olive-tan complexion and had wing-tips resembling a cat’s eyes. Her long, platinum hair cascaded down her curvaceous figure with tufts of feathered pieces.

Eleanora: “I am Eleanora Solegatti. The Sole-Wielder of light.”

She beamed under the sun.