Father stood at the gates of our house. Behind him the sun was setting, the light erasing the features on his face, even when I craned my neck I couldn’t see. He was talking to uncle Minho.They looked upset. I remembered because uncle Minho was rubbing his forehead. He always did that when something was wrong. Both of them were clad in brown suits. They were going away. 

“Daddy?” my small voice rang out. They both looked up. Uncle Minho waved at me, a friendly smile on his face before he stepped into the sleek black car parked besides the house. I ran over to him, my head tilted up to see his face, to remember what he looked like. I knew he wouldn’t be back for a long time. 

“Sora,” he chuckled and stooped down to my height. I was a small child, barely reaching his hips. A warm smile lingered on his lips as he took a deep breath. 

“Where are you going Daddy? Are you coming back home soon?” I asked. 

“I’m afraid not too soon this time, but when I come home I promise I won’t be leaving you for quite a while,” he said. A smile broke out onto my face. The thought of having dad home with me was something rare. 

“Really?!?” I asked, my little feet pushing themselves onto my toes. He was always away but I loved it when dad was home. He would teach me magic and let me eat foods mom wouldn’t allow. Dad was fun. 

“Yes,” he promised. Dad never broke his word. The driver honked and dad held up a finger to signal for more time. The excitement I felt faded away. He needed to go. When he looked back down at me the smile he had on was gone. Now he seemed sad and maybe even a little scared. My younger self couldn’t tell. The expression disappeared as soon as it came. “I’ll miss you Sora, promise you’ll help out your mom around the house. And don’t forget to train with your grandfather. Alright? If you don’t I’ll know about it, and there’ll be no present for you when I get back,” he teasingly threatened. 

“No fair dad, you know I practice everyday after school!! I’m the best in my class you know!” I stated proudly with my arms crossed across my chest. He laughed and ruffled my bangs. With that I laughed with him. Dad always had a contagious laugh. 

“I know,” he said. “I’m proud of you Sora, remember that. And I love you, very very much.” I wrapped my little arms around his neck and he enveloped me gently. Before I could reply the driver honked again and the window rolled down, revealing uncle Minho. 

“Sorry to break this up, but we gotta get going,” he said. Dad stood up and with a pat on my head, slipped into the car too. “Your dad’ll be home again Sora. He’s going off to win a very important war. So be sure to think of him everyday.” I nodded. With a smile he rolled up the window and the car drove off. I stood on the side walk watching as the vehicle grew smaller and smaller. 

“I love you too dad,” I said softly. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. Mom was waving at the car. We stood out there until we couldn’t see it anymore. 

“Let’s head inside Sora,” she said and grasped my smaller hand into hers. I remember mom being quiet that night at dinner. She didn't eat that much but she continued to put broccoli into my bowl. I remember complaining about it but eating it anyways. It seemed to put her at ease, that I was doing what she wanted. That was enough to make me content. 

Dad would call sometimes, not very often like he usually would. Mom seemed sad when they talked. I remember her crying when they did. Eventually the phone calls stopped. 

The next call I remember was on a rainy day. Mom picked it up. I was practicing levitation by myself at the time. The glass cup was hovering above the ground, I had only learned how to control it a few days ago and already I was making great progress. That's what grandpa told me. I knew it was good because he usually just yelled at me and told me I needed to stop messing around. 

Then I heard mom scream and I lost my focus. The cup shattered on the ground. No one came to check up on me. So I took the chance to put it back together before anyone saw. I nicked my finger and dabbed a drop of blood on a glass shard just like dad taught me. Then I whispered the words and before I knew it the cup was in one piece again. 

Happy with what I had done I put the cup back on the table and went to the dining room where mom was. She was crying into Ara’s shoulder. The pride I had for my accomplishment was gone, replaced by fear. 

 “Mommy?” Ara looked up but mom didn't seem to hear me. She was crying so hard. Ella came around to whisk me away, both of them had the same expression on their face. “Why is mommy crying?” I asked her when she set me down on my bed. I don't remember her exact answer. The memory is fuzzy from there. I'm not sure I even want to remember it. But of course I do.

He broke his word. He never came home again. 

 

~

 

Sunlight broke through the thick curtains and fell over her cheek. The room was a decent size. She had a queen sized bed that took up little of the room. An armoire stood on the far wall, a small table in the middle of the room with two chairs around it, and a desk on the wall adjacent the door. Besides that there wasn't much else. 

Sora sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Memories of the dream were lingering in her head. Not again. Why does it keep happening? It was the third night in a row the dream had came to her and it wasn't a memory she liked to relive. After sitting in the same place for five minutes, contemplating whether or not to stay in bed, Sora got up to pull aside the curtains and begin her day. 

The the town was a small one, a mundane one, made up of quiet families who were content with their lives. The school reflected this. As far as she knew, there weren't any Others here besides her. A small werewolf pack lived on the outskirts of town but they were harmless. Their pup Chanyeol was as far from evil as could be, he was the oldest of his siblings. 

Sora looked around at the clusters of uniforms and headed in with the stream. Today was the day of Summoning, when all Others will perform a ritual in an attempt to summon a Vassal and be entered in the Two Moons War. Evidently, Sora had no motivation to enter. Her mind wandered to the summoning circle in her basement and frowned. She had been preparing for this ever since she could remember. It was going to be her fate, her destiny. Winning would refurbish their family name. 

Up until she was seven, winning was all she wanted. It would make her parents proud. Now, it was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. 

“Hey Sora, how's it going?” asked Kyungsoo as he jogged to catch up with her. Sora offered a light smile. Although she was quite fond of him, she knew that in her world he would only get hurt. But she didn't have the heart to outright reject him. He was one of the sweetest people she knew. So here they were. 

“I'm alright, is everything ok with you?” she asked eyeing the bruise he sported on his forearm. 

“Oh this?” He raised his arm to inspect the purple mess and shrugged. “I got a little too rough in lessons yesterday.” She couldn't tell if he was trying to impress her. Either way, it was endearing. His presence had a way of making her feel lighter. It was hard pinpoint exactly what about him made that true. 

“Well, be careful next time ok? I'll see you later,” she said and headed into the classroom. 

“Bye!” he called after her.  

As the class settled in, Sora took her seat by the window and rested her chin in her hand. Although she didn't hate it, school was rather boring in her opinion. She was never a shining star in terms of academics but she stayed on top of her work and flew under the radar. Never the best but always in the mix. Maybe if her parents were still around things would be different. But they weren't, and it's much safer to keep a low profile when you're alone as an Other. 

Werewolves had packs, and Witches had covens. It was better to cluster together than be alone. But after her parents died Sora never felt the urge to go find more of her kind. There weren’t that many of them left now and the only Others of her kind she new of lived in the far west. There was too much history here to leave. Home was here and that was where she intended on staying. 

The teacher began the lecture, droning on about conflicts in history. Her eyes wandered out the window and before she could prepare herself the clock struck 8:00 and a red beam shot into the sky, originating from their Capitol. She looked around at her classmates, no one else noticed. Of course they couldn't see it, but she always double checked. 

The beam began gathering into a pool in the sky like mercury before it exploded. As it did, the beginning of the war was marked. Sprinkles of red rained down, disappearing before they hit the ground. There would be 24 hours to perform a summoning ritual. By tomorrow, the seven would be chosen. 

 

~

 

 The walk home was interesting, sparkling red crystals rained from the sky. Once they stopped falling, the time would be up. It was almost amusing seeing others walking without knowing they were being rained on. Some of the red bounce off the tops of people's heads before vanishing. A faint memory surfaced of dry crimson rain hitting the windows of the house. 

Across the street a boy was walking his dog who panted up at the sky. Tail wagging and tongue sticking out, he at the red pellets. Rare, but some animals were able to see their world and the magic all around them. Some humans too, but even more rare. Those who could were usually hunted down and killed. There’s no documentation of why some could see their world and other can’t. Some say it was a blessing and some say it was the result of interbreeding from hundreds of years ago. This was never something Sora studied in detail. Only briefly brushed upon. These days she focused mainly on human studies. 

The door creaked shut behind her. All was quiet as she made her way to her room. Although she didn't need to, Sora got started on her school work right away. Nothing major was due but the thought of summoning a Vassal was tiring. She could wait. 

Hours later, when every other possible thing was done and the sun was setting, Sora headed to the basement. She stood above the stairs wringing her hand in and out of fists. Magic was thick in the air tonight. It prickled against her skin, and in return her body soaked it up, gathering more and more mana instinctively. Without realizing what was happening, Sora stepped into the dank shadows. 

Although she came here often to practice, the rooms still creeped her out. Boxes were stacked along side the walls, old items belonging to her father stuffed into the corners. Spell books and grimoires were spread over the tables, other magical items littered the room. Gems and talismans, a little bit of everything. Sora began shifting things around so the summoning circle would be revealed fully. It was a small a narrow space she created but it would do. She hoped she wouldn't be be chosen. Though her father and grandfather had other plans. 

The ritual would be different for each family, as each one had their own styles and magic. Sora reached for a small box of gems reserved for this and poured them into her palm. They were light in her hands, cold and smooth. Standing before the circle, Sora fisted the stones tightly in her hand and held it out over the marks. Heat began radiating from her palm and slowly, silver liquid dripped through the space of her fingers into the edges of the circle. The silver traveled along the path, filling up the design until the entirety of it was glowing. 

Under her breath, Sora began whispering incantations. The silver glowed brighter and wind came rushing into the room from an unknown source. Her eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed. 

 

   Anfang, heed my words

My will creates your body and 

Your sword creates my destiny.

If you heed the Moon’s call and

Obey my will and reason,

Then answer me.

I hear by swear 

That I shall be all the good in the world.

That I shall defeat all the evil in this world.

Thou Seventh Heaven

Clad in the three great words of power,

Come forth from the circle of binding

Guardian of the Scales!

 

With the last word blue crackles of electricity gathered overhead the circle and blew apart. Outside, the lights had gone out. Power from the summoning had interrupted the flow of electricity. Blinding light came from the circle, forcing her to look away before it dimmed and traces of her summoning disappeared. Smoke lingered in the room and Sora collapsed to her knees in dizziness. The room spun. She struggled to catch her breath. More mana had been drained from her than she thought. 

When she looked up again, a boy around her age stood before her in the middle of the circle. A sigh left her lips, grandfather would be pleased. He watched carefully as she stood, barely reaching the height of his shoulder. 

“Are you my master?” he asked. Sora looked down at her left hand where command seals were inked and closed her eyes in defeat. 

“I guess I am.” 

 

 

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Author's Note: First chapter ever posted!! Hope you enjoyed!!