Legend of Sylphar, The Silver Queen

Episode 1

“Sylphar’s government will spiral into chaos! We must select one of Prince Caelub’s cousins to take the Crown,” said Governor Milam.

 “The Crown is traditionally passed from parent to child,” said Capel, “not from cousin to cousin. Little Ariadne is the last surviving true Sterling heir.”

“But our people can’t just sit around and wait for a child to become a woman,” said the governor. “We must secure our leadership now, for the good of the planet.”

“Your concern is noted, Governor. But I assure you, the Supreme Council is fully capable of faithfully stewarding the world government until my granddaughter comes of age.”

“You know, Chairman,” said the governor with a sideways look, “there were many rumors that the election that raised your daughter, Gaile, to the crown may have been rigged. Some say you have been scheming for power ever since you lost the Crown election forty years ago to espouse Princess Nadeen. Don’t you find it ironic that it was your daughter who ended up winning the following election to wed Prince Caelub? And now you are in the prime position to rule absolutely in your granddaughter’s place. How did you obtain the role as Supreme Chairman anyway?”

Capel chuckled.  “You know, I must say that I do find your little conspiracy theories quite entertaining. As you might recall, I did not lose the election, I withdrew my candidacy for the Crown to accept the call to serve as chairman. And all those claims of fraud over Gaile’s election were utterly disproven during the inquiry. These accusations are old and obsolete. 

“In truth, I hold the laws and traditions of our great planet very dear to my heart. And by those laws and traditions, the Sterling Crown should pass to Caelub’s daughter, Ariadne. And then we will hold the election to select her husband when the time comes. Besides, Ariadne has already lost so much, her parents, her siblings. Would you really take her birthright away from her as well?”

“She’s still too young to even know she has a birthright. Chairman, I implore you, for the good of our people, choose another Sterling to take the Crown and let Sylphar move on from this tragedy,” said Governor Milam.

“I appreciate your suggestion, Governor. I will take your concerns before the Supreme Council for consideration,” Capel said. He opened the door to his office and gestured for him to leave.

“Yes… I’m sure you will do just that,” said the governor sarcastically. 

“You have my word,” said Capel. “Now if you will excuse me, the council is about to be in session.”

***

Legend holds that when the gods made Sylphar, they pulled all their powers together into a sphere of light, a perfect jewel. Then Sanaa, the goddess of water, poured her power over the jewel and formed the oceans. Renae, the god of stone, brought forth land to divide the waters. Freena, the goddess of life, breathed onto the jewel and brought forth the plants and animals to roam the lands. 

Then Magnus, the god of wisdom, took the seeds of a thousand stars and sewed them into the soil. When the seeds sprouted, the people of the new world were born. They were called the Sylphs. They would be the creatures of intelligence who would walk, and learn, and give praise and glory to the gods forever.

Being born of starlight, the Sylph people were bright and beautiful to behold. They had hair of radiant white, eyes of honey-gold, and ears that were pointed to remind them always that their life force came from above. When Magnus looked upon his children, he smiled upon them and gave them the blessing of empathy to help them live in peace and harmony with one another.

As centuries passed, their empathic ability waned as Sylphs became conceited and sought personal gain over caring about others. Their appearance also changed slightly, mainly that their hair color was not pure white like their ancestors. Some were even born reds, blondes, or golden browns. Their eye color retained some of the gold but became mixed with other colors also. Whenever a Sylph child was born with white hair and pure gold eyes, that child was said to have been gifted.

No one was more surprised than Princess Gaile when she gave birth to a baby girl with a shock of jet black hair and eyes of the deepest blue. Not only was it uncommon, it had never been seen before. Some rumors spread that perhaps it was a bad omen or that the child was cursed. But when Prince Caelub took his newborn daughter into his arms for the first time, she smiled up at him with such joy that he knew in his heart there was nothing wrong with his child. And so he announced to the world that his youngest daughter’s dark hair only meant that her soul would shine the brighter.

Thankfully, many of the old faith agreed with her father that she must indeed be blessed. Some even went so far as to declare that she was the child foretold by an ancient prophecy and that her presence meant that the gods would soon walk among them once again. 

But the vast majority of the people of Sylphar did not believe in the old gods at all. Most saw the child’s apparent differences as simply the result of an odd genetic mutation in the same way many other animals were sometimes born with unusual coloring.

When Ariadne was old enough to think for herself, she decided that she didn’t believe in the old gods either. They couldn’t save her family, so even if they were real, they must not be worth her attention. And besides, it was science and technology that had brought the Sylphs into an age of enlightenment, not piety. And so it was in science and technology that she poured her interest. She ascribed to the theory that she was simply the result of a genetic anomaly and no more.

Ariadne was studious and a fast learner. She was skipped ahead in school by two full years. She didn’t mind that so much, but there were times it seemed like all she ever did was study. Sure, she may be the future head of the Sylph government, but that would be years from now. Why did it seem like they were rushing her?

She supposed that she might try to convince her grandfather to let her relax a little over the summer instead of having to go to the tutors every day. A vacation would be nice. But where might she go? Skiing down the snowy slopes of north Aura? Laying on the beach somewhere in the Sheen islands? Or perhaps she could go camping in the woods just outside of her own city of Shinar. Then she would still be close by if anyone needed her. She honestly didn’t care where she ended up if she could just take a break. 

Such thoughts consumed her mind as she sat at her school desk with her final exam in front of her. She knew the material of the test backwards and forwards, but today of all days, her thoughts were wandering and she couldn’t focus.

 A strange tugging sensation in her mind told her that someone near her wanted her attention. She never spoke of it, but Ariadne could often sense the minds of others around her. She couldn’t read their thoughts exactly, she could just sort of feel them in a way she didn’t know how to explain. As a child, she used to think everyone was like her, but one time when she mentioned it to her grandfather, he got really excited and started asking her a lot of questions that she didn’t know how to answer. His extreme intrigue made her anxious, so she lied and said she was only playing and never mentioned it again.

Ariadne tried to ignore the sensation in her mind, but it persisted. She could feel the boy behind her was staring at her and wanting her attention.

No. Bother someone else… she silently pleaded. I have to finish this exam or I’ll never hear the end of it at home.

“Psst,” said the boy.

She made no response and moved her stylus to mark another answer on the tablet screen. Ignore him… ignore him… she told herself.

 “Hey,” he whispered insistently and kicked her chair with his foot.

“Not now, Leon!” she snapped in a loud whisper.

Their instructor, Mrs. Bower, cleared her throat and glared down at Ariadne from her desk. Her lips puckered and her thin eyebrows arched in disapproval and warning.

Ariadne dipped her head in embarrassment and refocused her attention back to her exam. After keying in a few more answers, she felt like she was finally making some good progress. But then her tablet buzzed with a new message. She sighed with the annoyance of yet another distraction, but she had a bad habit of having to open all her messages right away, even if she was in the middle of something else. She tapped her stylus on the notification to open the message. 

“Bunch of us are having a cookout at Palmer’s house by the lake tonight after class. You in?

 –Leon.”

In? Oh yes, she was definitely IN. An evening with her friends sounded amazing. It had been so long since she had had any real fun. And it was the last day of school. Surely her grandfather would let her enjoy one night off.

Ariadne turned her head to glance at Leon. She smiled and gave a quick nod. Leon winked back at her. That boy... he could be a brat, but he was rather charming too. She had liked him ever since they were little.

Mrs. Bower cleared her throat to show her irritation. “Would you two care to share your conversation with the rest of the class?” The middle-aged woman stood from her desk. Her high heels clacked when she crossed the floor to stand in front of Ariadne. She peered at her over her wide frame glasses, waiting for an answer.

Ariadne’s face turned bright red and she was about to apologize but Leon stood up and spoke first.

“Oh, I’d be happy to, Mrs. Bower!” he said with a grin.

All eyes in the room were now staring at the three of them. Ariadne covered her face with her hand to hide both her embarrassment and her amusement. ...this had to be good.

Mrs. Bower crossed her arms.  “Ok Leon,” she said, “let’s have it.”

Leon turned and made sweeping gestures as he addressed the class. “So my buddy Palmer and I are throwing a cookout later this evening down by the lake. Everyone’s invited! Our future princess has even said she would be in attendance too, right Ariadne?”

“That’s enough, Leon!” snapped the instructor.

 “Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Bower. Of course, you’re invited too!” he said. “It just wouldn’t be a party without you.”

The whole class erupted with laughter. Ariadne chuckled too but she was blushing profusely. Mrs. Bower almost smirked, but it quickly faded back to her usual cold expression. 

“Sit down, Mr. Brightling! If I catch you disrupting my class again, you will be spending your evening with me in detention instead of going to any cookout. Is that clear?” 

“Yes ma’am, perfectly clear. Not another word, I promise,” said Leon, returning to his seat. 

Mrs. Bower gave Leon a long angry stare before settling back into her own desk. But she didn’t fool Ariadne. Everyone liked Leon, even the meanest of their instructors. He could get away with anything. If Leon had any bad qualities, it was that he was a convincing liar and an expert manipulator.

Leon was charming to be sure, but Ariadne supposed his popularity was also because his grandfather, Ezra, had been such an esteemed genetic research scientist back in his day. His son Elias was all set to follow in his father’s prestigious footsteps until he died in the same fire that killed Ariadne’s parents. 

Leon’s mother was gone too. The wreckage of her science ship was found on a nearby asteroid after she had been declared missing. Leon and Ariadne were both orphans. It was part of how they became friends in the first place.

Despite all the interruptions, Ariadne managed to finish her exam within the allotted time. But did she answer everything correctly? She scanned through the questions several more times to be sure. She nervously pressed the “submit” icon on her tablet screen. Well, there it goes, she thought.