Caden was huddled over a desk that was littered with piles of books and scrolls, the oil lantern the only form of light illuminating the cream marbled room; the smell of jasmine incense lingered throughout the temple.

A light knock at the door snapped him out of his intense studying and a middle-aged woman clad in pale blue and silver robes entered. Staying by the door way, she slightly inclined her head in a respectful bow and spoke in a gentle tone "Blessed be, your highness. I hope I'm not interrupting you, but the High Priestess wishes to speak to you in the Goddess Garden."

Caden peered over his shoulder and gave the woman a small smile as he slowly rose from his chair. "Blessed be, sister. Thank you for informing me, I will leave in a moment." He inclined his head in return as the Priestess left, softly closing the door behind her.

Caden glanced at the mess on the desk and ran a hand through his jaw length midnight black hair. Grabbing at the scroll he was previously reading, he moved to leave. Before closing the door, he glanced back at the candle, and with a flick of his wrist, whisps of shadow encase the flame untill it hissed out. Once it died, Caden walked out onto the cool marble corridor, closing the door with a careless slam by mistake. Wincing at himself, he continued down the hall.

The Goddess temple was covered in cream and beige marble, and smooth stone pillars that towered high overhead. Intricate art and delicate engravings depicted the story of the first Goddess. Further down the hallways the images changed to tell the story of her reborn children through the millennia along the echoing halls.

The legends suggest that at the beginning of Annale, gods roamed the world and fought one another for power and pride. Challiea, the goddess of the elements took particular interest in the mortal creatures that walked the planet. She named these beings the Elves and bestowed them with different gifts and magic due to their devotion to her.

She held one group of Elves slightly closer to her heart, giving them her most treasured gift; power over the earth. They lived with her on the island of Chantia and lived in peace for many decades with their Goddess.

But over time, the war of gods was raged on. Many members of the devine perished and others fled to other worlds while Challiea lived in peace with her people. The few gods that remained became jealous of the people's devotion towards Challiea and sought ways to be rid of her.

Atlos, the god of decay, who was the father of the dark beasts throughout the land decided to curse her precious home with a blight that would slowly destroy the land of Chantia.

Originally Challiea was a peaceful god, who agreed to stay out of the wars as long as her and her people were left alone. In her rage at the betrayal and grief over her dying land she killed the remaining gods, including Atlos.

This was a grave mistake. Without Atlos, she was not able to remove the blight that was now poisoning her lands and harming her people. She could bless the land for periods of time to prevent the decay of Chantia, but she knew that over the millennia her powers would eventually fade along with her physical body.

So, Challiea decided to shed her divinity in exchange for an everlasting soul, one which every thousand years would be reborn into the bloodline of those she most treasures; the Whiteleighs. Whoever is reborn with the Goddess's soul will also have enough of her power to bless the land while she lives until the next mortal goddess is reborn.

Challiea sacrificed herself just over ten thousand years ago now and the curse within the lands of Chantia still remained. Most other races of Elves have forgotten her sacrifice, or the fact that their powers came from the Goddess herself. But the people of Chantia still remembered her and honored her to this day.

The Whiteleighs have been the royalty amongst this kingdom ever since her physical body left this realm to allow one of their princesses to inherit her divine powers once every thousand years to bless the land. A princess who is revered above all others.

Caden hurried through the labyrinth of halls, eventually finding the open arched doorway that led onto a small courtyard. Vibrant splashes of greenery and vivid flowers crawled along the grey brick, surrounded by a large water fountain in the center. A statue of Challiea with her palms faced out in offering stood in the middle of the fountain, with stone benches facing towards her. An elderly lady with the same pale blue and silver robes sat at one of the benches, her white hair shining in the candle light that dotted the courtyard.

Caden approached the woman and bowed his head before sitting next to her. "Blessed be, High Priestess. I heard you wished to see me." Caden spoke with respect laced into his velvet voice. As the second heir to the Valfallow throne he did not need to bow to anyone other than his father, but over the past five years living amongst the people of the temple, he had grown fond of them; especially the High Priestess who regularly assisted him with his research.

"Thank you for coming, your Highness. As you are aware, time is running out." She spoke gravely, her voice thick with wisdom and age and an almost timeless aura surrounded her. "The earth is crying to me; the land is dying. Each year the princess does not bless the land the harvests yield less. The air becomes more polluted with Atlos' monsters and beasts. My fellow sisters have to perform funeral rights for stillborn babes more often than blessing them into the world. If she is not found soon, this land will become uninhabitable."

"How long do we have?" He spoke in a low voice, worry clear in his tone.

"She must completely bless the lands in the next two years I estimate, but the training normally takes a decade for her to be able to use the divine power, and that's only small-scale blessings. The scale she would need to bless Chantia..."

"Would take her much longer to master." Caden finished grimly, he looked to the Goddess statue, praying for more time.

"She was born late as it was, her birth pushing the time before the last blessing. Twenty years now the land has wept for her, ten years now since the land started bleeding for her..." The High Priestess trailed off. Her tone voiced the unheard statement five years since the land started killing the young and starving the sick because she's not here. She cleared her throat and looked towards the statue "I feel it in my bones, she still lives, and I believe with all my heart she still lives within these lands somewhere.

"But why can no one find her? We are so attuned to her divine power that we would be able to sense it. Without training with the sisters of the temple there is no way for her to control her divine powers, especially if she lives here. The Goddess' divine power only works within Chantia, as it's tied with these lands; even as a child her powers would be strong, we would've sensed the smallest temper tantrum gone too far if she does, in fact, live within these lands." The High Priestess concluded.

Caden pursed his lips, a pale callused hand moving through his dark hair in frustration, and scratched at the razor short undercut hidden behind sheets of long fine hair. He gazed down to the trickling water and watched as his reflection swayed with the ripple effect; his dark ebony and red rimmed irises sucked in all the light around him and his sharp facial structure became softer in the reflection. "It's a mystery indeed."