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"Everything fell apart the moment I awakened… Why was I the one chosen?"
whispered a girl whose hair glimmered like spun gold and whose eyes held the depth of an endless ocean.
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The night Auretria Lyensdor Valor was born, the twin moons aligned — marking the once-a-century Night of the Oracle, a night when divine blessings descended upon the world.
The child belonged to the Valor Dukedom of the Iskendar Empire, a house famed for producing generals, statesmen… and once, long ago, the feared and revered Sorcerer Queen.
Auretria's golden hair and ocean-blue eyes were more than beauty — they were a prophecy revived. For centuries, golden hair had marked those women capable of bending Aether, the primordial breath of creation itself.
But the Sorcerer Queens had vanished ten years ago, and with them the empire's greatest power.
Auretria, however, was born second.
And because of that, none of it mattered.
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Aether: The Forsaken Power
Aether was not like elemental magic. It was the developer mode of creation, the raw blueprint of existence — able to warp space, shape reality, and bend time. Neutral, unbiased, neither light nor dark, Aether responded only to the will of the chosen.
Aether wielders could create:
armor of living starlight,
blades shaped from pure existence,
spatial portals,
sigils that froze time,
healing currents that rewound matter,
and destructive flares that erased corruption and creation alike.
But the gift was lethal.
Most sorcerers born with Aether died trying to control it.
The Sorcerer Queen had mastered it.
No one else had survived it.
Until Auretria.
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As Auretria grew, she watched her parents' world revolve entirely around her older brother, Keneth Lyensdor Valor.
At five, she was brutally punished (10 whips) for forgetting her etiquette and spilling her tea. Sad and depressed, she ran to the glass palace where she heard a voice, the voice of a women, soft and gentle.
The voice said, " Little one, do you want to punish them for what they did?"
With innocence Auretria replied, "But lady, isn't it bad to punish the elders? And even if I wanted to, I lack the power to do so." Again with a cracking voice she said, "I'm not as good as brother, I deserve the punishment."
The voice fell silent for a moment and replied," You know what little lady, sometimes even elders deserve a good beating. Can you do me a favor, darling?"
"Yeah, why not?" said Auretria, changing her expression a little.
"Umm, how about you sit down? Forget the etiquette, noone's watching you here." said the voice.
Auretria sat down, closed her eyes and did as the voice instructed.
"Auretria, focus on my voice, and you will see a shimmering golden light that will change its shape as you imagine." said the voice with a little determination.
"Yes, I do see." said Auretria.
"Now try forming a ball out of it." the voice instructed and again said, "Imagine there are floweres in the garden."
"But its mid winter." replied Auretria in confusion.
"I said imagine, lady." the voice pressured.
As Auretria imagined the glass palace filled with freshly bloomed flowers, a bright light filed the whole palace.
"Well done, little lady." said the voice in a pleased tone.
"Madam, what do I do next?" said Auretria but no one answered.
"Hello? madam?" said Auretria repeatedly but the room was filled with nothing more than silence.
Auretria opened her eyes slowly and she was fascinated by the sight before her. The palace was filled with blooming flowers. Soon the guards, maids and the whole family gathered attracted by the bright light earlier. Auretria didn't know how that happened but she knew for sure that it was her doing. She was happy and looked at her parents, as if expecting a praise.
But instead, her father scoffed.
"Our nation needs a warrior, not a child playing with useless tricks."
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Auretria was only eight when she joined the Royal Academy.
The place was huge, full of tall buildings and older students who stared at her like she didn't belong there.
People whispered whenever she walked by.
"Is that the Valor girl?"
"She's too young."
"Her Aether feels strange… scary."
She didn't know what to do about it. Her magic always leaked out on its own, no matter how much she tried to hold it back.
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After two years of training, Auretria had gotten stronger — stronger than she even realized.
During the Senior Combat Evaluation, she stepped forward even though she was definitely not supposed to take part.
One instructor tried to stop her, saying, "This exam isn't for children."
Auretria panicked a little and released some Aether.
The ground cracked.
Everyone went silent.
She ended up defeating student after student.
By the end of the day, most of the seniors couldn't beat her.
No one her age had done that in over two hundred years.
The whole academy was talking about her.
She thought her parents would finally be proud.
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But they weren't.
Her parents came the next morning.
They didn't smile.
They didn't congratulate her.
Her mother looked annoyed — even angry.
"Do not overshadow your brother," she told Auretria sharply. "He is the heir. Not you."
Auretria tried to explain, but her mother didn't let her finish.
Her father didn't say a single word.
When they left, she felt like she couldn't breathe.
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Auretria stopped trying to stand out.
She didn't answer questions in class anymore.
She pretended to lose duels.
She held back her magic so much it hurt.
Her mother's voice stayed in her mind:
"Do not overshadow your brother."
So she made herself smaller, quieter, weaker.
But Aether doesn't like being pushed down.
Sometimes it shook inside her at night, like it wanted to break free.
Auretria felt empty — like a hole was growing inside her.
A hole filled with sadness, anger, and loneliness that nothing could fix.
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