There was a faint purplish tinge to the night sky. A small boat was being rowed out into the centre of a large lake. The bright moon reflected onto the water, illuminating everything enough to be seen. Ancient willow trees overhung, their branches stretching into the water. A tiger crept to the water’s edge, sipping at the cool liquid. She watched the boat intensely.
Upon the boat there were a man and a woman. He was dressed in smart trousers, although they were scuffed and scratched. He wore a linen shirt, open at the front. His boots were discarded on shore and his hair was short and scruffy. She was dressed in a dress made entirely of flowers. There was no thread to hold it together but it stayed exact. She had long flowing brown hair and green eyes.
Eyes so green that they could make of emeralds, so green that you could look into them and suddenly find yourself in the middle of a lush meadow, or a tropical jungle, or at the ocean floor, swimming with the fish amongst towering seaweed plants, dodging and diving under rocks.
They were angelic.
The man was rowing hard: beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He reached the middle of the lake and dropped a makeshift anchor (rope with a large rock tied to one end). The boat wobbled slightly as the weight fell, and the lady fell on top of the scruffily dressed man.
“Why hello there.” He said seductively, “Fancy seeing you here.”
“I could say the same to you Captain. I come with a proposition.” She smiled back.
He was Captain Adams, Commander of the Parthillian army. Skillful with a Long sword and accurate with a crossbow; he is a master on all things to do with weaponry…exactly what she needed.
“Then I am afraid we came tonight for different reasons: I had more some things more personal on this evening’s agenda.”
She raised an eyebrow, moving closer towards the General, his head resting just above her shoulder, his arms clasped around her.
“I come with a message from the Magisterium. War is coming to the heavens, and he asks for your alliance.”
The Captain is shocked.
“War? Against the Magisterium? But who?”
She pulled away, breaking the bond.
“He is not from this world, nor any other we have experienced before. He goes by the name of Carius. He is gathering an army, he is ready to fight. But we must stop him!”
She paused. The Captain was hung on her every word, lapping it up like a parched dog. He was in the palm of her hand.
“He is hiding in the hills of a world not far from here. Come with me now to see the Magisterium and you shall lead the armies of Heaven into war.” She said softly.
“Come with me. Let us go…together.”
The General was transfixed. He knew her spell, he knew who she was, but he did not fight it.
“I will come.” He said definitively, “We will together.”
With that the woman laughed gaily, leaped into the General’s arms, kissing him full on the mouth. He clamped his arms around her, holding tight with no intentions of letting go.
“Now you’ve got what you want, give me what I want.” He said slyly, and she was to drunk with happiness to refuse.
The tiger was still standing there, looking out towards the boat. She heard a great crash and into the air flew a beam of light; split into white and dark strands revolving around one another. The beam burst into the clouds above and was out of sight. The tiger looked at the lake once more before padding away, back into the forest. A cloud of petals were drifting slowly onto the water, causing gentle ripples as they touched the surface.
And in the night sky the Aurora burnt bright.
