Before there was anything, there was "the Maternal One".
That very "Maternal One" was the reason humans existed in the first place. How she came to be? No one knew. Perhaps divine beings are born of thin air.
The "Maternal One" was said to have created the planets- no, the whole universe out of her mind. How could such a powerful being exist?
She had created humans of her flesh, clouds of her hair, and water from her blood, which was said to be as pure as a good man's soul.
After the 12 Days of Creation, she had disappeared into thin air, as if she had never existed, leaving only her offspring to carry on her story.
Each of her thirteen children went on to found one of the large cities each- except for the Seventh Son, who had instead founded a band of rogues still rumored to exist today.
Several strange cases had been arising in Favillia as of late.
One such case was a person dying of an unknown cause. When the examination of the corpse was completed, the people of Favillia were shocked to discover that something had burned him from the inside.
This case clearly was referencing the story of the First Son, who was the founder of Favillia. After Favillia (which was nameless at the time- simply known as "The Capital City") was founded, the Seventh Son had fed the First a poison that had made him spontaneously combust (normally, as in "on fire", you freaks.). The reason for such a betrayal was unknown.
After the murder of the First Son, the other eleven Sons and Daughters had banished the Seventh Son from any of their settlements.
"You. It's your fault! You brought my brother's death upon all of us!! May you burn in the fires of Aspharad!" the Seventh Son had screamed to the heavens. Believing he was mad, the Children had banished him to the barren outlands of civilization.
Alone and friendless, the Seventh Son disappeared from any records of history.
Briar Edison wasn't much of a talkative person. People often described her as "too soft", but she didn't mind that. She was essentially a goody-two shoes. Briar did not have her own sense of justice. She didn't like conflict either. If someone had business with her, she would do her best to talk it out with that person. If things got physical, she would ask her assistant, Nero, to take care of them for her.
As a resident of Cogito, Briar was quite intelligent. And today was her entrance ceremony to the prestigious Cogito National Academy. Briar had passed the entrance exam very well, after all.
The CNA was something like a college, so the entrance ceremony lasted from 22:00 all the way to the next morning. The actual school year wouldn't start for another moon.
There were several hundred people joining the school some years, so they were sorted into different groups (or covens?) for their level of intellect.
There was the Tiefstand Coven, for the lowest level. There was the Centrale Coven for those in the middle. There was the Haut Rang Coven for the people with high intelligence. And last but the farthest from least was the Scions of the Blue Moon, which was reserved only for the geniuses.
Briar was hoping to get into that one. She needed- no, had to prove herself to that person, even if she had to claw her way up there.
It was finally time for the ceremony, and Briar was sitting around with Nero and staring at random people. She saw a young woman (maybe around Briar's age) sitting alone and tracing her finger on the table.
The lights went out. Briar straightened up, still staring at the person tracing her finger on her table. Either this was a power failure or the Headmaster being dramatic.
All of a sudden, a spotlight pointed towards the entrance. A masked individual was standing there. When did he get there…? The masked individual bowed.
"Hello, students of Cogito! I am known as Recto, and I am a member of Ladro de Espectáculos!" The other woman paused, her finger freezing. Something wasn't right. "Ladro de Espectáculos"? Why was he a member of something called "Show Stealers"?
"Tonight, Recto of the Ladro de Espectáculos shall do the grand deed of making the public debut of my dear troupe! If everyone could please direct their eyes to the stage!"
Briar whipped her head, and was shocked by what she saw- The director of their academy on a bloodstained deathbed. It was a gory sight- I would probably get reported if I described it, and the story would be labelled as NSFW. A few girls screamed. The men ran towards the person calling himself "Recto", who made no attempt to run. Anemone dashed towards them.
"Don't let him escape!" Briar yelled at the same time as the young woman from earlier. Briar briefly glanced at her. She really was quite… strange, with her bluish-purple hair and startlingly blue eyes.
"Recto" simply bowed and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Anemone paused. How had he done that…? Well, no time for worrying. The entire hall was in a state of absolute chaos.
Briar was used to seeing panicking people, but this was a whole new world. It was chaotic. She couldn't hear the screams. But worse…. the feeling of dread that crossed her mind. What if her future was ruined, and she became an outcast? What if people worried about Briar because of her father's status as a Chasseur?
"What are you worried about, mon Chaton?" It felt like someone was whispering into her ear, from the depths of her memory… It was disturbing. "That Person" had left long ago. Disappeared into seemingly nothing.
They were supposed to be a figment of the past by now.
Come morning, the authorities had arrived. They had questioned everyone in the hall, but no one was able to tell them the suspect's face or what he looked like. All of them had said the same thing- "The man with the mask did all of this."
When it was Briar's turn to be questioned, she was dazed. She blindly answered all their questions, thinking "My life is ruined now" over and over again.
She could imagine the rumors now- "That young lady with the high-ranking father was involved in the CNA Director's weird case? How has the Bureau allowed this? She should be treated like herself!"
After the questioning was over, Briar returned home and basically just collapsed on her bed. Her cat, Miao, jumped off the bed in shock.
"Please don't look at me like that…. I wish I could give you back to Miss Calliope already," Anemone grumbled. "She's always going off on trips to other cities and provinces…. I wish she could stay in one place for once."
Miao meowed at Briar.
"You're so annoying, Miss Calliope…"
Miao looked at Anemone, slightly offended.
"I wasn't talking to you, Miao."
Miao pawed Briar.
"Please. Stop."
Miao huffed and went to his own bed. Briar was actually allergic to cats, but they weren't… too severe? Either way, Briar wasn't the biggest fan of Miao. He was a stuck-up, entitled furry thing. Even worse, he belonged to Calliope Canterbury, who was Briar's father's friend's daughter. Rumors were that she had an adoptive sister who was a legendary detective by the name of Anemone Canterbury.
Briar was sure she had met Canterbury once, but she couldn't remember what she had looked like. Canterbury had been missing for quite a while now. But right now, Briar was tired from the events of the previous evening. Before she knew it, she was asleep. Briar was in a deep sleep, so she wouldn't remember any of what followed.
"Briar Edison," a woman's voice said.
"My child, you have been through many worries tonight.
"However, worry not.
"You will soon be able to restart all over again, from scratch.
"Just like you've always wanted to."
"Your mission is to prevent the tragedy and to hear both sides out. Prevent the death of the flower..."
Briar woke up the next morning, feeling very tired.
"Wake up, Miss Edison!" a voice shouted. Briar was startled awake by the noise. She looked around, and sighed. She knew this place. She knew it too well. This was the place she was born- The Cogito Hospital. Briar had spent the first six years of her life here, since she was frail since birth. Then, when she was seven, she had gone home as she was supposed to. Briar had had a friend at the hospital, but she didn't remember who it was.
"You're finally awake. I was starting to get worried," said the nurse. Briar smiled at him. Even if she couldn't remember who her friend had been, she remembered the nurse. He was nice to her, but she still never liked him very much. He was kind of scary.
Briar hated how her life had started. She was born from an arranged marriage. Like she was a mistake that never should have existed… Her father had status, but he lacked the ability to show that he cared. She just never had enough of what she needed.. The name "Edison" was from a famous scientist who had discovered how to use Favillite for energy.
Briar had to physically shake her head to fend off those thoughts. No use worrying about that right now. She thought about where she was. If she was still in the hospital, she had to be 7 or younger. So then… where was her father? Turns out, Briar didn't need to worry about that. As soon as it had crossed her mind, her father came into her room, menacing presence and all.
"Briar. We are going to go visit the House of Canterbury," her father said. "Get ready quickly. We leave in one-half Chronus*. You have never met them before, but I expect you to show all due respect and courtesy. Do not embarass the Edisons." (*about half an hour)
"…Yes, Father." So this was when Briar was indeed seven years old. The first time she had met the House of Canterbury, she had accidentally broken a vase at their household while playing with Anemone. The Head of House thought it was amusing, but Briar's father didn't think nearly as such. He had been so furious at Briar that he had kept her up in her room for a week.
After getting dressed, Briar was ready to go to the House of Canterbury. She wore a hat with a red ribbon, a light dress, and a red bow. Her father took her to the House of Canterbury, where Briar greeted the Head of House and introduced herself.
"Hello, I'm Briar Edison. I am pleased to make your acquaintance," Briar said, curtsying. "I will be on my best behavior while visiting."
"Pleased to meet you as well. And no need for too many formalities, then it gets boring," Inspector Canterbury said dismissively. "Now, Anemone, Calliope, introduce yourselves…"
"No," said the first one. Briar had to hold back a gasp. This girl was at the entrance ceremony! Briar couldn't ever forget the striking, bluish-purple hair that she saw that day. So Anemone Canterbury had been in the same room the whole time, and Briar of Year 1864 hadn't realized?!
"I don't wanna talk to her." Anemone finished. Calliope sighed and turned to Briar (ahhh! Baby Calliope was too cute!!). "My apologies, Edison. She's normally like this." Under her breath, Briar heard Calliope mutter, "This is why we can't adopt bastard children in the House of Canterbury". Briar pretended not to hear that and stepped into the Canterbury Manor.
Briar's father cleared his throat. "Briar. I will be having an important discussion with Inspector Canterbury. Be careful not to cause trouble." Briar nodded. Her father and Canterbury stepped into the drawing room, leaving her and the two girls alone in that large hall.
Briar couldn't think of anything to say, so she fiddled nervously with her bag's strap. Calliope Canterbury seemed like a harsh person. Perhaps that was what happened if you grew up in a family with such high standards for their children. Briar had heard stories that the House of Canterbury had begun as mere commoners over 200 years ago.
The story was that a commoner, the first Canterbury (at the time), had been a street rat- stealing money for food and valuables for trade. Apparently, the first Edison had met said street rat and helped him to change his ways. However, Edison had unintentionally turned Canterbury into a scheming little piece of shit.
Canterbury had literally clawed his way up the social hierarchy through his hard work. He was famous and renowned for his efforts, and many called him "the Genius Master", due to his book-like life story. And even now, the House of Canterbury was still one of the most powerful in the history of Magnazione, the Nation.
After a few painfully awkward hours with the two Canterburys, Briar's father finally exited the room. He looked at Briar and the two girls with an unreadable expression.
"Come, Briar," her father said, already walking towards the main doors. "We're going to the Capital City."
"Favillia?" Briar asked, following suit. "Why the Capital City, Father? Are we to relocate to the Favillia Residence?"
"An urgent case has come up for Inspector Canterbury, and he wishes us to provide him with the House of Edison's resources," her father finished shortly. Briar knew better than to ask for more information or elaboration.
However, the Edisons had quite the amount of resources- ranging from social connections to high-grade weapons. Why do they have this connection? It was partially because of the story of Edison and Canterbury.
Briar followed her father out of the house as Anemone and Calliope stared at them. Anemone's expression was unreadable, while Calliope's was quite obviously pissed off.
"Let's meet later, Edison." Canterbury called. "I'll take my daughters too, so you go on ahead." And that was exactly what happened.
Briar wished she had known, from the very beginning, that this simple journey would lead from one tragedy to another. That she and Anemone would never fully understand each other. And that Anemone should never have been left alone with that person on the rooftop that day…