The Treads of immortality

Each wave of pain came heavier than the last The pain came in relentless waves, each one heavier than the last, as though her body was being torn open by an unseen force. She gasped for breath, fingers digging into the bed beneath her, her voice breaking into hoarse cries she no longer recognized as her own.She could still hear the midwives urging her to push her husband was still holding her hands softly while crying it seemed like he was in more pain than his beloved Every movement burned, every moment stretched into agony, yet still her body pushed forward, demanding strength she did not know she possessed. Tears streamed down her face, not only from pain, but from the fear that this trial might consume her entirely. And yet, beneath the torment, there was a fierce, instinctive will—an unspoken vow to endure, no matter how brutal the passage.At last when every last bit of hope faded from everyone eyes they heard the cry of a infant,it was a girl she was a rare sight to look upon she had moonlit eyes with a crescent mark on her forehead although the baby features was abnormal no one dared to say a word after all she was the only child of the all powerful duke hastling. After the infant was delivered her mother life hanged on a tread between life and death it was the hardest birth in the whole of valkan empire ,the midwives could only clean her up and apply medicine to her wounds .The birth was grueling for lady hastling though it was her first child it was excruciating she was in labour for eight hours fainting severally at first her husband though it was the fault of the midwives to him the lacked experience so the imperial physicians was called but their efforts seemed futile.The duke resorted to the only thing he could think off he invited priest of the mighty gods to intercede on his wife behalf for the well being of the lives at stake,bull was slaughtered as offering to the gods after doing everything he could think of he could only watch helplessly as his wife endured the arduous experience ever .The birth of his first child was indeed the best feeling his joy was visible as he cradled the infant in his arms she was worth the pain and efforts,he rewarded everyone who contributed to the delivery handsomely they deserved it for the weary and back breaking job. It rained heavily nonstop after the baby opened her eyes it was accompanied with a fierce whirlwind destroying houses and trees alike the unstable weather conditions lasted for five days the result was a disaster half of the empire laid in ruins .No one could comprehend the cause of such a disaster it had been decades since something like this happened the high priest's offered sacrifices for the atonement of their sin they believed only by angering the gods could something like this occur meanwhile lady hastling was still unconscious but in a stable condition.she fully gained consciousness after seven days thank to the deligent work of the imperial physicians though her body was still weak she was out of harm's way it was good news to duke hastling,his wife and child was out of harm's way which was the most important thing"you are awake"said the duke with their child in his arms "let me hold her"said his wife,he gave the child to her but her expression twisted into something unrecognizable (At aetherion (realm of the gods) The Star Goddess felt the stirring deep within her, a life forming with the rhythm of the stars themselves. Pain and power intertwined, and at last, with a quiet exhale that echoed across the heavens, she held her firstborn. Grevena. Her cry was soft, yet it carried through the endless night, rippling across the constellations. The darkness itself seemed to recognize her, bending and bowing to the presence of this new goddess of the night. But even in this moment of joy, the Star Goddess’ gaze drifted beyond the sky she ruled. She thought of the other one—the one who was not here, who slept far below, hidden for reasons the heavens had demanded. It was better this way. The truth of her origin could not yet be revealed, not to the world, not to the gods. And so she was safe, concealed, waiting for the day she would awaken. The Star Goddess traced a finger through the quiet air, feeling the bond between the two twins, unbroken despite distance. One shone openly across the night, her power blazing and unyielding. The other moved silently, like a hidden reflection of light, waiting for the moment she would join her sister in the balance of the heavens. For a heartbeat, the stars themselves seemed to lean closer, as if to witness the promise of what was to come. Gravena’s eyes opened wide, and the night exhaled. The age of twins had begun. She gazed down at the fragile life cradled in her arms—Gravenna, the shadowed one, the night’s own child. A memory stirred within her, a vision of what was foretold. The prophecy of the two-way twins, whispered long before her womb bore them, now unfolded in fragments before her eyes. Even as all the gods would know that her other child, the silvered light of the moon, rested in the mortal realm, she understood: the prophecy was moving, and she held its first thread. A voice, ancient and unyielding, seemed to drift through the hall, though no lips moved: "Born of one womb, yet two shall rise. One shall wander the mortal tides, seeking the pulse of flowing waters. The other, cloaked in night yet kissed by dawn, Shall chase the light and find the fire that completes her. Though distance divides, their fates are twined, Bound in joy and sorrow, in loss and in love. When water greets light, when shadow bends to dawn, The heavens themselves shall tremble in their harmony." Her husband, the god of the sky, knelt before her, eyes alight with reverence."veloria" he whispered, speaking the name he had given her in secret, "you have brought forth the promise of eternity." They celebrated then, as immortals do, with the sealing of the immortal rings. Laughter and light danced in the hall, binding Gravenna to the legacy of the gods—and hinting at the distant twin whose destiny awaited in the mortal world.