"Come on, Shuhua. We're going there together and we'll be home before the sun sets!" Soojin insisted.

They were sitting down their kitchen, drinking some tea after eating lunch. Soojin has been telling her about the magicians selling some rare and beautiful things at Levan--one of the towns outside the capital. She had been outside of the capital a few times but she hadn't gone there without her parents' approval.

Shuhua sipped her tea and glanced at her eager friend without saying anything.

"It's not as if we're going out of the kingdom. Although the capital is surely the safest place, that does not mean the other towns are dangerous. They are just nearer the border," Soojin continued. "Besides, your parents always allow you. They never stopped you from going out right?"

Shuhua tilted her head. Soojin is right. Although her parents are really protective, she could not remember any instance wherein one of them did not allow her to go anywhere.

Shuhua sighed in defeat. "Alright."

After finishing their tea, Soojin waited for Shuhua to dress up. After cleaning up the kitchen, they headed out.

It did not take an hour for them to reach the river that runs between the capital and the towns. Shuhua could not deny the excitement she has as she felt the atmosphere change. The calm and peaceful atmosphere suddenly changed into one full of some kind of subtle buzzing energy.

"Magic," she whispered.

Since the towns surrounding the capital were nearer the kingdom's magical border, the residual charge of magic could be felt. For normal people like Shuhua, it is not visible but according to the magicians, it looked just like mist with varying colors.

The two of them continued walking until they reached the south town Levan. Unlike the capital, everything in this place looks humble. The houses were meters away from each other and they were all bungalows. There were also some bakeries and restaurants but they all look small and more homelike compared to those in the capital. The pathway was simply made of level ground and not cobblestones like the capital. There are also a lot of plants, trees and flowers along the way which Shuhua loved the most.

Soojin and Shuhua walked past more homes and commercial establishments until they reached the marketplace flooded with people. It was the place most similar to the capital. In the open space, there are a lot of booths and tents arranged to form a semicircle. The left side, just like in the capital, sells food. The right side sells some other necessities. And in the middle, where the two of them are headed, sells rare items inside tents.

"Oh! Look at those threads!" Shuhua exclaimed and dragged a chuckling Soojin towards the small booth with sewing materials.

The vendor gave them a warm smile. Her golden hair is in a braid, making her look neat and elegant. "Welcome!"

Shuhua stared at the threads in awe. She has never seen threads of those colors. She held a spool with the color of the night sky. It was dark in color but as she moved it around, some small dots sparkled looking like the stars.

"What is that made of?" Soojin asked while pointing at the one Shuhua's holding.

"It's technically from wool but it's made of magic," the vendor smiled. "My grandmother cannot help maintain the magical border anymore so she does that. I also help sometimes when I'm not in the border."

Not all people in the kingdom can wield magic. In fact, most of the people can't. But most those who can maintain the magical border.

"Is she the one who made that?"

Shuhua looked up and saw the wall decoration Soojin was pointing at. It was like a flag that was made of the same material as the thread she was holding. And in the middle was silvery white circle.

"Oh! Yes yes!" The vendor happily took it showed it to them. "This one's a picture of the full moon."

"Full moon?!" Shuhua and Soojin exclaimed.

The vendor shared their excitement and told them more about that work.

All her life, Shuhua never saw a full moon. It was always crescent. She always thought that it's what it is because they live in Crescent Kingdom. But apparently, it was the other way around. Their kingdom was named like that because of the crescent moon.

Some ages ago, the moon had phases. It could be in full circle, in half, in crescent, and sometimes, it's almost invisible. But because of some dark magic, dark shadows started taking away its light, along with the world.

According to history books, there was a magician who took away all magic and tried to dominate the whole world. Kingdoms fell, shadows dominated the world, and a lot of lives were gone. To save what's left, the people who retained their magic created a border to protect them from the shadows that are more powerful during the night.

It was almost too late, they said, because the moon was left only crescent. But the shadows weren't able to take more light than it had. It stayed that way for ages. And it will stay that way.

"Let's go home?" Shuhua fixed her bag full of the random things she bought. She had threads, hairpins, and some packs of tea.

Soojin checked her own bag and smiled in satisfaction. "Yeah. I'm good."

The sun will set in about an hour. The people selling food and necessities were starting to close but those in the middle seemed to be staying for a few more hours. A lot of people are still flocking the place but some were also going home.

Shuhua was following Soojin's lead until she saw something familiar in a shop they haven't visited. She stopped Soojin and pulled her there.

It was a simple bookshop. Unlike the usual ones, they are selling books that looked really old. Scholars, distinguished by the badge they have on their upper left chest, were flocking the place. There were also some curious civilians looking through the books.

"I never knew you like to read," Soojin commented.

"No, I don't like books," Shuhua said while staring at the open book with some drawings on one side and text on the other.

"What are we doing here, then?" Soojin asked, confused.

Shuhua did not answer. She just kept on staring at the drawing. There was a large circle in the middle with some drawings of the moon. Around it are six smaller circles, one she recognized as the kingdom's seal. Everything in it feels familiar but she cannot remember why.

"Welcome."

Shuhua looked up and saw an old woman smiling at her. She bowed down and stared back the book.

"You're... You're glowing." The woman muttered.

Not sure if she heard her correctly, Shuhua looked back. "Uh... what?"

The woman stared at her. Shuhua saw how some emotions played in her eyes before they harden, as if a decision was made.

The woman grabbed her hand, surprising her.

"I'm sorry."

Before she could even ask why, the woman sliced her palm with a small knife.