***

Luna was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of gentle things. Excited for tomorrow, the day she’ll get her Blade. Even in her dreams, she couldn’t believe she’d get something so cool after nearly getting trampled by a horse just a day prior.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, jolting Luna awake.

“Wake up!” Raiza’s voice shot into the room.

Luna barely had time to ready herself when suddenly Raiza grasped Luna by the cheeks.

“Why did you tell Father you never called me Elder sister!?” Raiza whined.

Luna began rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, “W-What are you talking about, Miss Raiza? I never called you that.”

Raiza pushed Luna’s cheeks together even harder, “Yes, you did! Right before you passed out! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”

“Ow! Ow! Ow! I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Raiza. I passed out right after meeting you.”

Raiza let go of Luna and sighed loudly. “Aw man, and here I thought that father of mine went and found love again after mother’s death. I wanted a little sister too. Maybe I just misheard?”

Luna rubbed her throbbing cheeks.

Raiza began walking out the door and waved the back of her hand at Luna, “Hurry up and get dressed! Father Augustus will be here soon to find out if you really are a Solei.”

Luna did as she was told and quickly got dressed. Shortly after, Luna was escorted into the large dining room as a bunch of maids came out of the kitchen and presented everyone with extravagant breakfast dishes. Luna happily munched on her pancakes smothered in honey and gulped down the tall glass of milk sweetened with nectar.

After breakfast, a carriage arrived at the mansion’s front gate and was swiftly granted access to the inner courtyard. After stopping in front of the mansion’s doors, two figures stepped out of the carriage. One of them, Father Augustus, was a wrinkled balding man with a mustache that covered his whole mouth. Luna wasn’t quite sure how he ate without getting his mustache all messy. The other figure was a kind-looking woman wearing a white and blue robe outfit laced with gold. Her glasses perched on her nose softly. The holy double cross symbol of Allora adorned the metal crest plate atop the nun’s coif. 

Luna excitedly greeted the priest and priestess alongside the others.

The priest looked down at Luna gently and smiled. “Well, hello, there, little one. I hear you’re looking to make a contract with a Greater Spirit. You must be pretty brave. How old are you?”

Luna looked at the man and answered obediently, wanting to hurry up with the ritual to get her Blade. “I’m five or six.”

The priest hummed for a second and scratched the side of his head, 

“That’s a little young. Normally, contracts are made at the age of ten.”

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ll cast a protection spell and pull her from the contract if anything goes wrong.” The priestess piped up.

“I see...” The priest muttered in thought, “very well then.” The priest, priestess, and the others began walking towards a large room. The room had its furniture moved around to create enough space for everyone to stand inside comfortably. 

The priest smiled gently and looked down at Luna. “Let’s start preparations for the ceremony. This may take some time, so Luna, why don’t you go ahead and play for a bit.”

The Duke motioned for a maid and asked her to escort Luna to the garden. 

Luna waited in the garden while the priest set up the ceremony. One of the maids placed warm tea in front of Luna. Luna sipped on the tea and thought to herself. I can’t wait to get my Blade. Something about this place feels so comforting. I can’t believe I’m going to live here with everyone.

“What kind of Blade do you think you’re going to get?”

Luna looked up and saw Raiza sitting across from her, holding her cup of tea, smiling excitedly.

Luna thought and then shrugged. “I dunno. A fire one, I guess?”

Raiza laughed, “Well, duh! Of course, if you’re a Solei, it’ll be a fire one.” 

Raiza put down her cup and gestured with her hands. 

“What I mean is, what shape do you think your Blade will be?”

“Shape?” Luna questioned. “You mean they can look different?”

“That’s right!” Raiza beamed. “Every Blade user’s Blade looks different. The shape varies depending on its user’s soul.”

“That’s so cool!” Luna jumped at the thought as her tea wobbled in place. Luna noticed the maid behind her jump in preparation to clean up the potential spill but settled back down.

The maid sighed as she relaxed. 

“Can I see your Blade, Raiza?” Luna asked, trying her best to contain her excitement more. 

If only to help keep the maid calm. 

“My Blade?” Raiza questioned. “I’d show it to you, but I just got mine a couple of months ago, so I can’t control it yet.”

Raiza rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, “I’m really only supposed to use it in emergencies.”

“Aw,” Luna whined. “I bet yours looks really cool.”

Raiza smiled wide, “It sure does!” 

Raiza then placed her two hands behind her head, leaned her chair back, and continued.

“Don’t worry. Once you’re recognized as my little sister, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to see it at the Knight Academy in Quero.”

“Lady Raiza, that is not the proper sitting position for someone of your esteem.” The maid spoke up in a harsh tone. “Don’t make me get your father.”

Raiza panicked and sat back correctly. “R-right, sorry.”

Luna giggled internally. Raiza was a bit of a tomboy, she thought. Luna then questioned out loud, “Knight Academy? What’s that?” 

“The Knight Academy in Quero is where all the Magic Knights go for their formal training.” 

Raiza settled in her seat, trying her best to be as proper as possible.

Raiza continued, “Quero is also known as the Academy city and is the second largest city next to the Capital of the Empire, Edronta.” 

Luna watched Raiza speak with intense fascination, “all Blade users have to attend the Knight Academy after receiving their Blades.”

“Amazing,” Luna muttered. “Absolutely amazing! I want to go. I want to go.”

No longer able to contain herself, Luna jumped up in the excitement and was now shouting. The tea wobbled and spilled, pouring onto the floor.

The maid sighed audibly and rubbed her forehead before scooting Luna out of the way and wiping up the mess. 

“Sorry…” Luna whined, embarrassed. 

I can’t wait to be a Solei and do all these fantastic things, Luna thought. Her life was beginning to open up. 

The preparations for the contract ceremony had been set up in a matter of hours. Luna lay on a silk mat adorned in gold, her hands clasped together in prayer. All around her sat seven unlit candles. The Duke, Raiza, the maid, and many other workers in the mansion came to watch the ceremony. Though, occasionally, the head maid would bark orders at the others.

As Luna lay on the silk mat, her hands clasped together, she could hear the priest begin to chant.

“Oh, Allora and thy bountiful grace. Oh, goddess of light, Queen of the Spirits! Please come to me, your humble servant, and guide your will into this child’s blood! Bring forth the essence you laid unto us! Bring forth the patron Spirit of this child so that she may be blessed eternally in your joyous light!”

All around them, a soft golden glow began to overtake the room. The priest’s holy book shined brightly and hovered in place as scripture wrapped around the ceremony in heavenly light. Luna’s body glowed softly as the priest’s scripture ended.

“Now then! Allora, show us, your faithful servants. Present to us the color of her patron Spirit in the flames of these candles!” The priest yelled as the soft glow shone into a brilliant golden light.

The priest smiled at the others, “we’re nearing the end of the ceremony. Her candles should be lit soon. It seems the ceremony was success-”

The priest suddenly blasted back a few feet, knocking into the priestess as she tumbled onto the ground, her glasses falling to the floor, shattering. The golden glow of the scripture began to turn into a sickly black and green before shifting and taking the shape of black and green butterflies that fluttered past them all in a monstrous swarm. The holy book continued to hover in place, but its once divine light, now black, slushed out of it like thick slime.

“Priest! What is the meaning of this!?” The Duke yelled in shock.

“I- I don’t know! I’ve never seen anything like this before!” The priest stammered as he helped the priestess back up to her feet. “Abigail, do you know anything about this?” 

The priestess named Abigail looked up in disbelief, “It… It can’t be…. This is…”

“Miasma.” The Duke finished Abigail’s words.

“M-miasma!?” The priest looked around him fearfully, “How is this possible?”

The priest gulped before continuing, his eyes wide with horror.

“How are we not dead?”

“I… don’t know,” muttered Abigail in shock.

***

Luna drifted peacefully as the priest’s scripture slowly faded out into the distance. When Luna opened her eyes, she was in an empty white space.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Luna called out loudly. Her voice echoed but was met with only silence.

Luna wandered around for a bit before realizing she truly was going nowhere.

“Hello?” Luna called out again, her voice carrying on, but no reply came.

Luna was about to call it quits when she caught it. Ever so slightly, she saw a faint orange glow drift past her in the non-existent wind. She almost missed it. A tiny, insignificant little ember. After moving her hand up to grasp it, the ember floated lightly in her hand. Without stopping to think even for a second, Luna ripped a piece of her dress off and fed it to the ember.

Immediately, the dress strip caught flame. The flame grew in Luna’s hand, more extensive and enormous until it was too big to carry. The flaming torrent floated away from Luna, settling in front of her. Suddenly, the flames burst away, revealing a fire-haired warrior with four arms. Fire flowed out wildly from each of his wrists like a raging inferno.

“I am Pyroth, the Greater Fire Spirit. You have nurtured my flame, child of Solei.”

Pyroth then stretched out all four arms as a ball of fire hotter than the sun erupted in the center of Pyroth’s four hands. The ball shifted and morphed into the shape of a long thin blade.

Pyroth continued. “With my power and your soul, I will forge for you your Blade. It is a part of me, just as it is a part of you. You must nurture it, and it will grow alongside you. I trust that it will serve you well. Its name shall be-”

The Greater Spirit, known as Pyroth, froze in gray as a swarm of black and green butterflies fluttered around Luna.

“What is this?” Luna shouted.

Suddenly, a soft voice called out from behind Luna. “I’m sorry, Luna, but I must stop you here.”

Luna spun around and watched as a figure she couldn’t quite make out approached her. The figure looked like a girl, but her existence morphed and changed with the swarm of butterflies. When the butterflies broke apart, the girl broke up with them. When they were together, the girl flowed back together as if she was always there. As the girl quickly stepped past Luna and approached the Spirit, Luna felt in the deepest depths of her core that there was nothing she could do to stop this. The thing before her was an unstoppable force barreling toward its destiny. The being was simply a force of nature.

The butterfly girl reached out toward the Spirit, then balled her hand into a fist. Pyroth shattered into an infinite number of pieces, reducing it to nothing as if it was never even there, to begin with. The girl spun around, having completed her objective, and smiled at Luna.

“Now, now. Luna. There’s no need to look so sad. I am only completing your end of the contract. It was truly delicious. I must thank you.”

Luna watched as she began to approach her. The cold wind of dread filled her heart’s inner depths. She was sure the butterfly girl was going to shatter her next. 

Luna stumbled backward, pushing herself away from her. “S-stay away from me!”

It was useless, of course. She was upon Luna in seconds. She grasped the back of Luna’s head and pulled her in for a tight hug. Luna felt like she couldn’t breathe as the girl began to hum gently into her ear.

Finally, she pulled away from Luna. “It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you. You’ve given me quite the treat, after all. Now, it’s time that I uphold my end of the contract.”

The butterfly girl then gently caressed Luna’s cheek, butterflies landing softly on Luna and fluttering all around her. She then leaned in and kissed Luna’s forehead.

***

Flames shot everywhere, but it was pointless. No matter how many butterflies they cut down, thousands more simply replaced them. Raiza and the Duke huffed with exhaustion. Suddenly though, just as it had begun, the butterflies vanished into nothingness as Luna laid gently on silk cloth.

As the group sorted themselves out, the priest handed Abigail her now-broken glasses.

“It doesn’t seem like anyone got hurt,” the Duke huffed.

Luna began to stir and slowly sat up. “What happened? Did I get my Blade?”

As Luna looked around, she noticed the severe atmosphere around her, “Um... Is everything okay?”

“Luna, do you remember anything since we started the ritual?” Raiza asked, her voice shaking.

Luna paused for a moment, thinking, “Not really. I remember lying down and drifting off to sleep.”

Luna squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think.

“But nothing after that.”

Luna looked around and began to grow even more nervous. A ball of iron fear sat at the bottom of her gut. 

“Why? Did something happen?” 

Luna whined nervously, “Am I not getting a Blade?”

Raiza opened her mouth to respond, but the Duke cut her off. “No, you didn’t.”

The Duke’s fist clenched in anger. “The Blade ceremony was a failure.”

The Duke shouted at Luna before spinning around, 

“You are no Solei, and I want you out of this mansion by sunset!”

Raiza looked up at her father angrily and shouted. “Father! You can’t do that!”

The Duke looked over his shoulder at Raiza. His eyes burned with a flaming rage. 

“Do not overstep and follow me, Raiza.”

Raiza yelped and stepped back in response. Finally, Raiza looked back at Luna and gave a sad look before following behind the Duke obediently. 

“I see...” Luna looked down, and empty sadness began to burn her eyes. Tears dripped onto her lap.

Luna sniffled, “So, what happens to me next?”

Father Augustus shuffled up next to Luna and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, there’s a local orphanage nearby, and I’m sure you’ll-”

“Absolutely not.” Father Augustus and Luna both looked at the priestess clutching her glasses.

Father Augustus raised an eyebrow, “Abigail, if this is about your glasses, I can get you a new pair.” The priest pleaded with his eyes. 

“There’s no reason to abandon a child, even if she can….” 

Father Augustus looked at Luna and then looked back at Abigail. 

“Produce, you-know-what.”

Suddenly, Abigail dropped the glasses and crushed them with her heel. “No. We aren’t taking her to an orphanage. We’re taking her to HighFather Jedri in Edronta. This isn’t about the stupid glasses.” 

Abigail waved her hand in front of her face. 

“Father, I don’t need them anymore. I can see again.”