Prologue
In the time before history, there were 4 races sharing the world.
The 1st – The Angels, a collection of fair peoples, all with large white wings and bright, golden eyes. But they are not as they seem, they are naught but slaves to the 3rd race.
2nd – The Demons, considered wicked, but not inherently so. They take many forms, usually to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, The Angels. Demons claim to serve no-one and insist that the only reason for their attacks on other races was to protect their own borders. But their leader’s hearts are filled malice and greed. Causing the entire race to be seen as nothing more than evil, wicked creatures.
The 3rd Race – Gods, once worshiped by the first two races, they have fallen from grace, taking control of the Angels, making them slaves, and condemning the Demons. As their power grew, so did their greed. And in their folly the brought war upon the one race they should have been weary of.
The 4th and final race – Saints. The saints were a powerful race, their strength easily surpassing that of the gods, physically and magically. While some were stronger than others, most Saints could boast almost infinite power. In addition, they were the only race that was truly immortal. No known weapon or spell could end a saint’s life.
This is what is known.
After eons of living in peace, apart from the other races, the Saints were attacked. The Gods had discovered a means of destroying them, to end the life of an immortal. They sought the power that the Saints held. It is unclear how it was done, but what is, is how the Saints reacted. They brought war upon the Gods. A bloody, violent war that lasted for centuries. Many fell on both sides. But for each Saint that fell, a dozen Gods went with them. After years of this, despite their superior fighting force, The Saints were losing. There were less than a hundred of them left alive, including their military commander, a man by the name of Kaine, his wife Linden, and their three children. A girl, Dana, and two boys, Caer and Rowan.
As the war was coming to an end, the Gods drew closer to the Saints city, and the sanctuary where they resided. And so to protect their children, Kaine and Linden cast their children into the world of man, an enchantment requiring the power of the both of them. When it was complete, they were dazed, and weak. As a result, when the Gods finally found them, they were unable to defend themselves. They died. All of them.
As they grew, a rift began to divide the children of Kaine. Rowan and Dana were content to live among the humans, blending into their society, whereas Caer wanted to rule them. He believed that the saints, and more specifically he, held a divine right to lord over the mortal races. He soon left his kin and sought to gather his power in secret.
The two remaining Saints then lived among the humans the better part of eight thousand years, hiding in the shadows at the edge of civilisation. Or rather, they did, until the second son, Rowan, became unable to cope with the endless years and succumbed to madness. He moved through the world, from each human city to the next slaughtering the occupants. His Sister attempted to reason with him. But to no avail. Dana was desperate, and looking for a solution. And so, unable to kill him, she was forced to use an ancient magic. A spell used in the past to “seal” evil. With this she imprisoned Rowan in an impenetrable crystal, deep within a mountain, where he shall remain for evermore.
And so a legend was born.
Dana, the Light. Caer, the Dark. And Rowan, forever caught between.
Chapter 1 - Awakening
The sound reached Luna’s ears long before the man burst into the throne room. She adjusted her dress and sat up a little straighter in her throne. The guards posted inside the throne room perked up slightly as they heard what their mistress had almost a full minute earlier.
The knocking at the door was frantic, almost panicked. And as the guards moved aside and pulled open the large golden doors. The man who rushed through was stout, with a thin film of dust covering the work clothes he wore.
The Princess of the night stood, and addressed the frantic worker, “Greetings, “she smiled warmly, “how goes the excavation?”
After catching his breath, the workman bowed his head in respect “Your Majesty, it is coming along well, but...”
“Yes?” Luna inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“Hahaha..” the workman laughed nervously and wrung his hands. “We have found something”
“Pray tell, what is it?” Luna quipped, clearly annoyed with how long this was taking.
“I-I can’t say”
“Then show me”
“What?” The look on his face was priceless in Luna’s opinion.
“Show. Me.”
10 minutes later, the lunar princess found herself in the deepest reaches of Canterlot castle. Construction had been in progress here for months, excavating the mountainside in order to expand the keep. The man in front of her, who had introduced himself as Deft Hand, held a small lantern ahead of himself, casting long, foreboding shadows on the surrounding walls. The tunnel was narrow and littered with power-tools and other equipment presumably left behind by the workmen.
Noticing the abandoned gear Luna spoke up, “Is it really so terrible so as to cause your comrades to abandon their posts?”
Deft Hand looked at her, “not so much an it, your majesty, as a he” he grinned nervously, like a child telling a bad joke.
“Oh...” Remarked Luna. Then her mind registered what he had said. He.
“You found a person down here?” She asked, shocked. “Alive?”
“Sort of”
Luna stopped dead. “Sort of, Sort of? What in –“
Deft Hand cut her off with a sheepish grin “We are here your majesty” he finished with a bow.
Luna looked past him and saw that they had indeed reached the end of the ramshackle passage. She stepped past him and out into the cavern hidden beneath the mountain.
Her jaw dropped.
The dome-shaped ceiling was a perfect replica of the night sky, every star represented by a large, glowing diamond, easily several feet across. But all of those were dwarfed by the huge spire in the centre. And more importantly the crystal protruding from it, a huge transparent gem, shining, and yet dull, the edges looked sharp enough to cut a man in half, and yet soft enough to run your hands over. But what took her breath away, what actually shocked the princess of the night, was the man encased within it.
He looked to be in his early twenties, with short black hair and handsome features. The large, midnight black wings extended behind his back identified him as an Avian, or at least he looked to be. Luna herself had wings but was not classified as such. The figure wore a black coat, matching his wings, and a grey, buttoned up shirt beneath it simple black pants made of an unknown material, and leather shoes, black like the rest of his clothing.
Luna turned to Deft Hand, “fetch our sister immediately”
He looked surprised “but she still slumbers”
Luna glared at the workman, “Then rouse her.”
“At once, your majesty”
And he was gone, running back up the passage they had entered though.
Now alone, Luna turned back to the imprisoned man, placing her hand on the crystal that held him.
“Who are you?.....”
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The air rippled and glowed a bright gold as the princess of the day teleported into the underground chamber. Luna looked up as her sister joined her. Celestia herself was a taller Luna, the only difference being her bright magenta eyes, where’s Luna’s were a deep blue, her alabaster white wings, a contrast to Luna’s cobalt ones, and her flowing, sparkling hair, striped with pinks and greens, while Luna’s own was a solid blue, and shimmered like the stars.
“I came as soon as I heard” The princess of the day said as she walked toward her sister.
“Thankyou” Luna smiled warmly. “What, however, should we do with this?” she asked, gesturing to the gem.
“We have to get him out of there, obviously” Celestia stated matter-of-factly.
“But how? We have already tried to, sister. The gem is impervious to our magic”
“Then we will try together” the solar monarch said with a smug grin.
“Very well”
=========================================================================
So, two hours and 4 releasing spell variants later, the two sisters stood, exhausted, over the fine dust which all that was left of the gems front face. As they watched, the previously trapped man groaned and let his arms drop to his sides. His eyes fluttered open, revealing deep, mesmerizing crimson irises. He looked at the women before him with a perplexed expression.
“Who....” he never finished the sentence, as his eyes rolled back and he promptly dropped to the cave floor, his wings draping over him and obscuring his form.
Later, in the infirmary...
Celestia watched as once again, the mans eyes slowly drew open. As he noticed her, his face became wary.
“Do not fear me” She said with a smile. “I only wish to know what happened to you”
“Who are you” He replied, “Where am I?”
“You didn’t answer the question”
“I know”
Seeing that he was adamant, the princess decided to tell him what he wanted to know.
“You are in the land of Equestria, as for me, I am Princess Celestia, this” she gestured to Luna, who until now had been standing behind the stranger, “is my sister, Princess Luna”
Luna smiled, and extended her hand.
The stranger ignored it, “Princess?”
“Yes” replied Celestia
“Where is your king?”
“We have none”
“Queen?”
“We have none of those either”
The newcomer looked confused.
“Then who leads this nation?”
“We do” Luna cut in, “Now answer our sisters question, who are you?”
“Relax your highness” The man replied, “My name is Rowan.”
Celestia looked at him, “Who put you in that cavern? How long were you there for?”
Rowan looked at the floor, “Someone who had no other choice.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
He stood up quickly, moving so fast he was barely seen. “I mean, that there was no other way to stop me”
Celestia was taken aback by his dark statement, not to mention his unnatural speed.
“Stop you?” she asked quietly
“If you don’t know, count yourself lucky” He said, his eyes still downcast.
The silence was palpable. Celestia stared at Rowan, and Rowan kept looking at the ground.
Luna broke the silence, “How long were you down there?”
Rowan looked up at her, “How do you measure time?”
“Days, months, years” Luna answered, looking quizzical.
“At least that hasn’t changed,” he muttered “I have been under ground for 16,472 years.” He said, casting his eyes downward again.
Both princesses were stunned into silenced, not only was he much older than he looked, by a long shot, but he was older than the both of them combined. Rowan moved back to the bed he had been lying on, and sat on the edge, his wings draping down his back and onto the silken sheets.
“How old am I?” he asked. Noticing their surprised faces.
They said nothing.
“Haha,” he chuckled, a haunting sound, “You should see the look on your face.”
He stood up from the bed and rose to his full height, an inch or two taller than Celestia.
“My name is Rowan, son of Kaine and Linden, I am 24,000 years old, and I am a Saint.” He finished with a bow.
Apparently something he had said sparked some old memory, because both princesses once again looked at him with disbelief.
“A Saint?” Luna asked her eyes wide.
“Yes, I am” Rowan replied, nodding his head.
Celestia turned to Rowan with an apologetic look, “Forgive us, it’s just that we were under the impression that the Saints were a myth, you were a bedtime story when we were children” she said.
Rowan raised an eyebrow, “And how long ago was that?”
“Almost 4,000 years.” Luna replied with a sly grin.
“Really?” Rowan asked, raising his hand. And he did, a dim glow slowly came into existence in his palm. He lifted his hand toward Celestia, then Luna, and dropped his hand back to his side, the light fading quickly.
“Amazing,” he said, a look of wonder upon his face, “You are human, and yet immortal.”
Luna giggled, “Yes I suppose we are.”
Rowan blinked several times, very slowly, and composed himself. Turning to Celestia, “You mentioned a land beyond the keep?”
Celestia was once again taken aback, “How did you know we were in a keep?”
Rowan simply smiled, “Magic” he said with a wink.
Author's Note
Horay! first actual chapter is up!
My first attempt at a fic so constructive criticism is more that welcome.
Ive had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while so I figured id upload it, see what you all think!
