--

01

--

The legend of the Arch Mage and Arch Priest began with forbidden love. One of the kings from the most powerful kingdom of Rivedon fell in love with a princess from Armalis. They met in secret at the border between the worlds in the twilight to spend time with each other.

The princess was impregnated, which caused much uproar in the kingdom of Armalis. The king from Rivedon was captured and tortured in front of her eyes until he died protecting her and their children. The princess gave birth to twin girls and died shortly after from the childbirth.

The children were left in the care of the High Priest, who quickly discovered the twins were no ordinary children. One girl, blonde hair with eyes the most beautiful green had the power to heal, to help things grow and flourish. The other girl had hair as dark as night and eyes a deep blue. She had the power to take away life, either all at once or slowly and painfully.

They were the opposite powers the universe had sent to keep the world in balance. The High Priest smiled a wicked smile as the twins slept together in the cradle. He had Rivedon’s Arch Mage. If Rivedon didn’t have her in twenty years’ time, then Armalis would be able to crush Rivedon and take their land for their own.

--

Your room in the castle was the smallest, darkest room that wasn’t a dungeon, and even then, you suspected that the dungeons were larger and perhaps a little bit warmer than the room you currently resided in, but you had no space to complain. At least you had a room to yourself with whatever little belongings you had.

A small lantern glowed on your nightstand as you sat in bed with the covers pulled up around you. You didn’t have a window, and there was no way to tell the time. The only way you knew when darkness fell was when your sister came to visit you, despite the orders from the High Priest. You’re my sister, she always said, of course I’ll come visit you.

The High Priest’s dark face always loomed over her though, scolding her for visiting ‘trash.’ You sighed and pulled your knees up to your chest. You wore a mask over the lower half of your face and gloves. Those things never came off unless you were by yourself.

You had the power to take life away from things, to kill them instantly or drain from them slowly and painfully. Everyone was forbidden to come near you, and you were always afraid you would accidentally kill someone if they brushed against you.

You looked up when you heard a soft knock on your door and smiled behind the mask when you saw soft, golden waves appear in the doorway.

Your sister was your twin. She was always smiling, skin flushed with life. You secretly envied her. She was loved by everyone and could go outside during the day, whereas your skin would burn painfully.

“You look happier than usual,” you said as she hopped onto your bed with a happy sigh.

“Of course! I just came from the ballroom. They’re decorating the castle for our twentieth birthday!” You blinked a few times and sighed, resting your chin on your knees.

“You mean they’re decorating the castle for your birthday. I won’t be allowed to leave my room, as always.” You were forbidden to leave your room during the day, and if you tried, there were harsh punishments.

“But the ball is in the evening, and it’ll be inside. The sun won’t be able to burn you,” she said with a pout.

“What if someone touches me?”

“You’ll be wearing your mask and gloves! No one will be able to recognize you!” You shook your head. It was better to be safe than sorry. Last time you tried to leave your room when it was forbidden, the High Priest had you kneel in the sunlight for two hours. By the time it was over, your skin was burned, and you couldn’t even move because it hurt so much. It was thanks to your sister’s healing powers that you healed up.

“It’s so unfair how you’re only allowed to come out at night when everyone’s asleep. Armalis is such a nice place, especially in the sunlight.”

“I’m sure it is,” you said gloomily. Your sister pursed her lips, eyes darting around the small room as she thought.

“If you don’t want to leave then... I’ll escape the ball for a bit and come down here with a piece of cake and a candle so we can celebrate our birthday together. I’ll even bring you a present! It’s not every day we turn twenty, you know,” your sister said, patting you on the leg.

“You don’t have to do anything for me. I can just spend the day like I normally do-”

“Nope. Don’t say anymore. I’ve already made up my mind, and you can’t change it.” You started to protest, and she covered up her ears and starting to sing loudly and obnoxiously.You rolled your eyes and reached out to punch her, making her laugh.

“I’ve got to go now, before my attendant starts looking for me again. It’s night, and I left some food for you in the kitchen. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She leaned over and hugged you before leaving you all alone again.

--

You peeked out into the dark hallway to make sure no one was wandering around. You had good eyesight in the dark, and when you were satisfied no one was around, you started to make your way to the kitchen to find something to eat.

The kitchen was always empty whenever you came at night. You didn’t have any attendants, so you were forced to learn to cook for yourself, using whatever you could find in the kitchen. You had to leave things as you found them though, or else you would get punished again.

Your sister left you some pastries and fruit. You smiled and pulled your mask down, taking big bites out of the fruit before you could drain the life out of them, and they became rotten. After you finished with the fruit, you started on the pastries and ate slowly, savoring the taste.

You were sure that you were treated worse than the servants in the castle with no idea why. The High Priest always tried to separate you and your sister, treating your sister like she was a princess, and you were nothing more than dirt to him. A waste of space, he said once.

You wondered if it was because of your power. It was a bit scary to have the power to kill something just by touch, but you were careful. You could only remember one incident from your childhood, and you shuddered at the memory. It wasn’t your fault, but you were blamed and punished harshly, standing in the sun until your skin started to blister. You were stuck in your bed for weeks as your sister tried hard to heal you.

There wasn’t much for you to do at night. No one was around, so you took to reading in the library or wandering around the castle grounds until the sun started to come up.

Today, you decided to spend some time in the library and read up on legends. You were tracing something called The Prophecy through a string of books, putting more and more of it together like a puzzle. It was a literary scavenger hunt and passed the time well for you.

You entered the library quietly and searched for your notebook you kept hidden behind a few large books on a shelf in the corner. Sometimes the High Priest checked your room for anything that didn’t belong, and if he found something like this...

You shuddered at the thought before settling down at the large desk at the end of the shelves and reading over your notes.

So far, The Prophecy predicted the birth of two opposite powers, the Arch Mage and the Arch Priest to lead the kingdoms of darkness and light, respectively. Their powers were unparalleled, and, if used and cultured appropriately, would bring peace to the world.

However, if their powers were used for personal gain, then the universe would be thrown off balance, and the world as they knew it would start to fall apart.

That was as far as you’d managed to find. There were no details on who the Arch Mage and Arch Priest were, and how they could be found. You secretly wished they would show up already so you could get a bit of peace of mind.

The books you’d read through so far talked about the inhabitants of the lands. You’d never seen others outside of the castle, so you found it all fascinating. The creatures in the kingdom of Armalis, and the monsters in the kingdom of Rivedon.

You frowned. It wasn’t fair that the inhabitants of the kingdom of Rivedon were called monsters. You could think of a few people in Armalis that would easily fit that description and sighed.

--

You could hear the laughter and excitement outside of your bedroom door. You were sure that your sister was all dressed up in a beautiful dress, hair perfectly done. She was probably out in the foyer greeting guests as they arrived until the High Priest called her away to do a dramatic introduction to formally start the ball.

No doubt many people would start courting your sister now that she was of age. Hopefully, she’d still have time for you in between juggling her new duties and men. She was your only contact with the outside world.

Everything suddenly got quiet, then suddenly there were cheers. They just formally introduced her, you thought, not like there’s anyone in the kingdom that doesn’t know who she is.

--

Hours passed, and since you weren’t allowed out of your room that night, you contemplated on going back to sleep. That’s a whole day and a half of sleep. You frowned and rolled over onto your bed.

You were hoping that your sister would be able to escape with that piece of cake and candle she promised, but as the night wore on, you suspected she was having a hard time escaping all of the attention.

Which was why you were surprised to hear the a soft knock on the door and saw your sister poke her head in, struggling to squeeze into your room with her big dress.

“This dress is so ridiculous,” she said as she finally managed to get inside and close the door behind her. She was holding a small plate with a piece of cake with a candle sticking out of it. It was falling over, but it was more than you could ever ask for.

“How did you manage to escape the party?” you asked, scooting over on your bed to make room for her. She sat down on the bed and huffed, handing you the plate to hold. You placed the plate down on your nightstand as your sister turned around. You undid the laces of her dress and helped her take it off.

She kicked it away from her, grabbing one of your simple dresses and putting it on with a sigh of relief. “I thought I’d never be able to get out of that thing. There was a much simpler, prettier dress that I wanted to wear, but the High Priest insisted I wear that gigantic old thing.” she said, fanning herself. “I managed to escape by saying I needed to go to the bathroom. My attendant probably knows where I’ve gone, but she probably felt bad that I had to suffer in that horrendous thing. It’s so heavy and hot, I wanted to die.”

“I can arrange for that,” you said with light amusement. Your sister rolled her eyes before reaching for the plate on your nightstand. You grabbed the lantern and opened it as she plucked the candle from the piece of cake and lit it, slowly sticking it back into the cake.

“It’s our twentieth birthday. Make a wish,” your sister said with a smile on her face. You pulled the mask down from your face and stared at the small flickering flame. What did you have to wish for? No more beatings? No more punishment from the High Priest?

“You have one yet?” You thought for another minute or two before nodding.

“Yeah, I have a wish.” The two of you started to sing the birthday song, giggling as you said each other’s name when it came to that part.

“Happy birthday to you!” The two of you blew out your candle and clapped. You took of your glove and picked up a piece of the cake with your fingers and ate it, enjoying the rare treat.

“You can have the whole thing. I think I’ve eaten so many, I’m about to turn into a cake.” Your sister groaned and fell back on your bed. You laughed and placed the plate on your nightstand again to enjoy later.

“Oh right! Your present!” Your sister sat back up and picked up her dress, shaking it all over the place until something fell with a soft thud onto the stone floor. She picked it up and handed it over to you happily.

You stared at the small box in her hands and sighed. “You didn’t have to get me anything. This is more than enough for me,” you said, looking over to the piece of cake then back over to your sister.

“Nonsense. Open it, open it, open it!” she said, bouncing up and down on your bed. You shook your head, but opened up the small box anyway and gasped.

It was a necklace.

“It’s a locket! I have a matching one. The jewel on the outside is an emerald on yours, and a sapphire on mine so we’ll always have a piece of each other with us. Open it up.” You stared at the piece of jewelry in your hand for a moment before opening it up to see pictures of you and your sister across from each other on the inside.

“What? But how did you get a picture of...” Your sister smiled fondly at you and opened up her own locket.

“I told the artist to draw me, except a little paler, a little bit more pensive with black hair, and blue eyes. He asked me if I was going to try out a new look.” You stared at the locket in your hands and tried not to cry. Not once in twenty years had you ever celebrated your birthday like this before, much less received a gift.

“Do you like it? My attendant said she thought it was a little bit cheesy and that you would probably hate it. She likes you, she thinks you’re a sweet girl from what she’s managed to see of you. She’s the one that leaves you stuff in the kitchen to make food with whenever you come out at night.” You blinked a few times before looking up at your sister with a soft smile.

“It’s beautiful. I love it.” Your sister’s face lit up as she clapped her hands excitedly.

“Here, let me put it on for you!” You turned around and held your hair up as your sister took great care not to touch your skin. You felt the cool metal of the chain touch your neck, and you let your hair down, turning around to admire the locket around your neck.

“We’ve only got each other,” she said, reaching out to hold your gloved hand.

“You’ve got the whole kingdom and the High Priest at your beck and call,” you said, still admiring your locket.

“Well, that’s different. I don’t really like the High Priest. There’s something funny about him. He’s been grinning like a mad man all day long.” You looked up to see your sister pursing her lips.

“Any suitors proposing to you yet?” She turned to look at you with wide eyes and let out a breath of exasperation.

“Like you have no idea! It’s so awkward, because I have to turn them all down, because I hardly know any of them! Some of them were old men, like the High Priest’s age!” Both of you stuck out your tongues in disgust at the same time and dissolved into giggles.

Suddenly, your ears picked up a crashing noise followed by screams. There was a yell, and then you heard everyone screaming and starting to panic.

“What? Is something wrong?” your sister asked. You shushed her and stood up from your bed, pulling your mask back on over your face.

“... Search every room until you find her! We’re not leaving without her!” you heard someone shout on the other side of your door. Your eyes widened.

“We’re being attacked!” you whispered to your sister. Her eyes went wide as she looked around the room frantically.

“What do we do?” You didn’t have time to answer her when the door to your room burst open, and a man in black armor with a large black cape filled the doorway. You stepped in front of your sister as she gasped, shielding her from view.

“I’ve found her!” the man yelled, taking a step forward into the small room.

“You’re not leaving with her!” you shouted as your sister held onto your shoulders. The man stopped and chuckled.

“Her? What makes you think we want her? We, want you.” You saw him reach for you with an armored hand. You felt something wrap itself around your mind, and the last thing you heard was your sister screaming your name before everything went silent.