It happened when she was thirteen, a surprise visit to the capital city. Duke Garrod was summoned to the capital for the annual Founder's Day ball. She'd been sick a few days prior, so the worried duke didn't feel right leaving her in the castle several miles away. As a sheltered little dark elf this would be her first trip outside of the dutchy. Ariellia was excited by everything she saw along the way. David had to remind her several times not to stick her head out of the carriage.
It's said the founding King loved the color red very much, paving the streets with special red bricks, and planting red maple trees around the city. There's just so much to see in the large capital, her eyes dart from one thing to the next. From the gold streetlamps to the gigantic statue of the founding King Zaruth Dorian Bastion, proudly displayed in the center of the capital at the city plaza. The entire city seemed to glimmer in red and gold, casting a brilliant glow against the setting sun like a blazing Dragon's breath.
As a child yet to debut, she could not go into the castle with her father, so David left her in Miranda's care at his manor. She could hardly wait to tour the red city, pulling Miranda into another carriage branded with the family crest the moment the duke left. They had no particular destination in mind, ordering the driver to take a scenic route. They passed through the central market street bustling with life as hawkers and shopkeepers advertised their wares. She remembers watching citizens of all races harmoniously mingling and walking through the crowded city streets.
"My lady the prosperity you see today is all thanks to the leadership of our current ruler, Daymon the wise."
"Hmm."
The young Ariellia couldn't help but marvel at the clean city streets and aesthetically pleasing extensive waterways running throughout the entire city. It was a vibrant rare sight of light and dark elves, beastmen, giants, and dwarfs interacting with humans peacefully. It almost gave her the feeling of being spirited away to a magical land of fantasy.
"I want to go there!" She excitedly pointed at the lone towering building above the hill. Surely, looking down at the capital from that height would be a breathtaking sight.
"My lady that's…" Miranda seemed hesitant to take her. She looks nervous, unable to put to words why it would be a bad idea to head there.
"What's wrong Miranda?" To everyone else Arie isn't afraid to rebuke them on the spot with her sharp tongue, but Miranda's different. She's the closest thing to a mother Arie's ever had, raising her since she was just a little sapling. It's a rare sight as she patiently waits for her nervous maid to explain.
"That is the old oracle's building my lady, no one goes there."
"Why, I thought we need the oracles to divine our strength levels?"
"Yes, normally such places would be filled with people, but this temple is different. The oracle that lives here doesn't foretell your strength but rather your future."
"My future?" Arie's amethyst eyes grow wide in awe. Her little mind already dreaming about all the possibilities, could she be destined to be a queen? Or maybe a pirate sailing the seas?
Miranda can see her eyes shining with wonder, it hurts her heart to caution her sweet young mistress. "It is not as nice as it sounds my lady. Of all the people that have had their future foretold, nine out of ten of them were plagued with misfortune. In order to avoid the oracle's prophecy, they would end up bringing about their own destruction."
"How can that be? Why would the oracle do something so horrible?"
It might be too big of a concept for a child to understand. "It's not the oracle's intention to bring harm my lady. He speaks of the future he sees, however if you don't like what he has foretold you might try to avoid it. While trying to avoid it you may do even more terrible things with even worse outcomes, or your actions might be the very thing that makes the prophecy happen in the end."
"…that sounds complicated." Arie looks momentarily putout, but as they say, youth makes one fearless. The next instant she's already bouncing on her seat. "Can't we go, I promise not to get my future foretold. I just want to see the city from that height!"
"…" Miranda looks conflicted. The duke said to make sure Ariellia enjoys her first trip to the capital. If she refuses this request her mistress is likely to sulk for quite some time, spoiling her wonderful mood. The head maid lets out a sigh of resignation, finally coming to a decision. "Alright my lady we can go there, but you must promise me not to go into the temple."
"Yay!" Arie's back to full spirit, throwing her hands up in joy. Miranda smiles softly at the adorable sight, knocking on the carriage door to instruct their driver on the change. This seemingly innocent decision would change her lady's fate a few years later.
As expected, the view from over the hill was glorious, Arie couldn't get enough of the stunning city below.
"Look Miranda, isn't it lovely!" in her reverie she turned back to address her maid, only to notice something was wrong. The carriage was still there but the coachman, Miranda, and even the horse seemed to be frozen. They were all staring ahead into the horizon like zombies, their eyes glazed over. Scared, Arie ran over to Miranda, trying to shake her awake.
"Miranda what's wrong? I don't like this, say something!" She began to panic with tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Don't worry young lady, your maid will return to normal soon. I only wished to have a private chat with you."
"Huh?" Arie turned around to see a strange man standing behind her, looking quite miserable.
His appearance was odd and hard to describe, with conflicting features that seem to be at odds with each other. He appeared tall yet by his slouched posture it's hard to tell. He looks young with a firm muscular chest exposed by his loose black and gold robes, yet his bronze skin appears to be shriveled like an old man in places. The top half of his face is hidden by the deep hood of his robes bearing the mark of the maker.
"You're the one I've been waiting for, the half soul that might save the young hatchling from the jaws of his father."
"What do you mean, what have you done to Miranda!" Arie didn't care to make sense of his riddles. She just wants everything to go back to the way it was. Miranda was right, she shouldn't have come here.
"Rei, he is your precious friend is he not?"
"What about Rei?" she stops trying to shake Miranda, startled by his question. How does he know the name of her friend back in the dutchy?
"He is your soulmate, only you can save him. If he falls for the traps of others he will fail and perish."
"What do you mean? Is something bad going to happen to Rei!" She tries to get him to say more, to explain, but the stagnant time begins to move again. She feels her silver locks flutter in the wind as the odd man disappears before her very eyes.
"What did you say my lady, is something wrong?" Miranda innocently blinks, unaware of her stolen time. "What do you have there?"
Arie looks perplexed by her question, slowly glancing down at her little hands. She didn't even know when it appeared, a single sheet of paper inscribed with a magical formula softly resting in her palms.
'The soulmate calling spell' inscribed at the top in ancient elvish.