Good morning, world!
It's my birthday!
Thirteen! Finally grown up!
Today, for the first time in my life… I can go to my little willow house all by myself!
I can have my afternoon snack alone!
I can play with the clouds—alone!
That's what I was thinking this morning.
Now I wish I'd never said it. Never wished for it. Never hoped.
Now that I truly am alone, I wish none of this had ever happened.
It was early afternoon.
My heart still light, my mouth sweet with cake, I ran to my favorite place in the world.
Better than my bedroom.
Better than anywhere else.
My father, King Eadwig, had it built just for me.
A small, bright house, wrapped in a living hedge of shimmering, colorful clouds.
A door I adore— heart-shaped, carved from Moonstone.
My mother helped me decorate it.
We filled it with cushions and playful clouds shaped by thought alone.
From up there, I can see all of my kingdom: Cloudland.
They say it's the largest of the Seven Kingdoms.
I don't know if that's true.
I only know it's unlike anything else.
Dense, fragrant vegetation.
Thousands of iridescent homes made of Moonstone and Sunrays.
And above all— the clouds.
Always colorful.
Always alive.
They are linked to us Clouders through the mind.
We speak to them without words.
We shape them with a thought.
They play with us.
Help us study.
Guide us through daily life.
They guard our dreams— and even our deepest, most secret wishes.
I was nibbling my favorite snack, shaping clouds just for fun, when—
darkness fell.
Sudden. Absolute.
I rushed to the edge to see what was happening—
and fear slammed into my chest.
A black cloud.
Enormous.
Hovering above the kingdom.
Racing toward the castle.
Growing larger with every heartbeat.
I ran.
"Willow, take me down!" I commanded.
Two branches curved into a swing and lowered me to the ground.
Then I ran again.
I had to reach Mom and Dad.
As fast as I could.
-----
A black cloud to announce my power.
They will soon understand—
there is no salvation from me.
The Sigillum Maximum will be mine.
I will destroy it.
The Clouders will never rule this world again.
So this must be the Throne Room.
"W-who… who are you, appearing out of nowhere?"
Tiny as a finger.
Dry as a twig.
Long nose, pointed ears, cone hat, shrill voice.
A fairy.
Obviously.
How tedious.
I don't waste time speaking.
I spear him and hurl his body against the wall.
Still.
Dead.
One less.
"Helbert!"
"Not… one step… further."
The King glares at me—angry, shaken, still worried for his servant.
He hasn't realized it yet.
The fool is already dead.
Sentimental Clouders!
"What do you want?"
A pointless question.
"The Golden Scroll. The Sigillum Maximum."
"You cannot have it."
Oh, but I can.
And where do you think you're going?
I spin around.
The Queen is running.
Unacceptable.
I turn my horse and chase her through the corridors.
Does she have the scroll?
Behind me, the King's voice erupts.
"Eloria! No! Guards! Quickly—guards!"
Armor clashing.
Rushed footsteps.
"Defend the castle! Drive that Knight away!"
Naive creatures.
They will never stop me.
Where did that whore run off to?
I gallop through the halls.
A door—slightly ajar.
I enter.
Empty.
King, your end is inevitable.
-----
The park had never felt so vast.
I thought I would never reach the end.
Then I saw my mother running toward me.
Pale.
Breathless.
Eyes frantic, cheeks flushed from effort.
"Thank the clouds—there you are, my love. Come. Quickly."
She grabbed my arm as if I'd vanished for hours and started running, pulling me along.
"Mom, slow down—I'm coming! What's happening?"
I'd never seen her like this.
She released my arm but didn't stop.
"I'll explain later. Just follow me."
So I did.
I stopped asking questions.
I just ran.
-----
After stretching my limbs, I followed the great King Eadwig like a silent shadow.
He moves through the corridors, disoriented, glancing around in panic.
Then he turns—
and sees me.
His gaze flickers past my shoulder.
He stumbles, bracing himself against the wall.
The carpet of lifeless guards must have finally registered.
His expression hardens.
Pure rage.
He lunges for a ceremonial armor, draws the sword, and charges at me, screaming.
"Muffled darkness…"
I whisper it.
Fog coils around him.
His body locks in place.
The sword slips from his hand.
I raise one finger.
He lifts into the air—arms and legs spread, frozen by my magic.
He screams.
Struggles.
Useless.
I'm about to strike when footsteps echo again.
More guards.
Many.
Perhaps all of them.
No matter.
The King can wait a little longer to die.
I want him to watch.
Every eye torn out.
Every throat slit.
Every limb severed.
I want him to savor it.
To suffer with every scream.
I raise my arm and twist my wrist.
A massive sphere of black energy envelops me and my horse.
Protected.
Ready.
One guard.
Two.
Ten.
A hundred.
When the last one falls, I listen.
Silence.
No footsteps.
No breathing.
None remain alive.
I return to the King.
Furious.
Tears glistening in his eyes.
I step closer and press my blade to his throat.
A thin line of blood trails down his neck.
I inhale.
Smile.
The scent of blood never disappoints.
Then I refocus.
Time is short.
"The Scroll, King. Show me the way."
He refuses.
So I throw him onto the horse and gesture.
His hand moves against his will.
At last, he points the path to the Hall of the Sigillum Maximum.
-----
Mom stopped before the rocky wall on the northern side of the castle.
She closed her eyes and pressed her palms against the stone.
"Reveal yourself, ancient rock, and protect my most precious gift."
The ground trembled.
I was frozen in shock.
The rock split open, revealing an enormous cavern.
"Mom, what—"
She shoved me inside.
"This is the gateway to the Elven Realm. If anything happens to me, seek Aeltiàfisar."
"What could happen? Who is Ael—"
"The Knight of the Golden Light. A powerful elf. He will help you."
"Help me do what?"
Her urgency wrapped around my heart.
I didn't understand.
I still don't.
"My love, I can't explain now. Stay here. Hide well. Do not come out—no matter what."
She kissed my forehead, hurried and desperate, then turned away.
She froze.
Completely still.
Then that sound—
sharp, cracking, wrong.
I leaned toward the sliver of sky visible from the cave.
The black cloud loomed over the land like a beast ready to devour it.
Animals fled.
Birds screamed.
The clouds scattered in madness across the park.
People were screaming too— from everywhere.
From nowhere.
Terrified, I called her name.
"Mom!"
Before my eyes, her body was coated in a glossy black layer of stone.
Silence fell.
Deep.
Crushing.
No birds.
No water murmuring nearby.
No wind.
Nothing.
The same black stone spread over everything.
Moonstone vanished.
Light vanished.
The clouds dissolved.
I broke her rule.
I ran to her.
"Mom, please—Mom, answer me!"
No response.
My hand trembled as I touched her hair.
Only then did it truly sink in.
She was stone.
Everything was stone.
Panic consumed me.
I thought of only one thing.
Dad.
"Dad… Dad!"
I ran toward the castle, shaking with terror.