Title: The Starborn ProphecyGenre: Fantasy / Adventure : The Sky That Spoke
1280 Words
Long ago, before time remembered kingdoms and thrones, there was a place known as Elarion—a floating continent that drifted above the clouds, hidden from the eyes of mortal men. In Elarion, magic was not a mystery, but a breath in the wind, a sparkle in the water, a fire in the soul.
In the heart of Elarion lay the city of Astrael, built of glowing crystal and silver stone, where stars were studied not through telescopes, but through conversations. Yes, in Astrael, the sky spoke.
The story begins with a girl named Liora, barely sixteen, with silver hair that shimmered like moonlight and eyes like storm clouds. She lived with her grandfather, Master Calven, a retired Starreader—one of the few left who could decipher the ancient language of the stars.
Liora had always known she was different. Birds would gather when she sang. The moon followed her wherever she walked. And sometimes, late at night, the stars whispered her name.
One evening, as she stood on the crystal balcony of their tower, a falling star streaked across the sky—but instead of vanishing, it stopped mid-air and began to pulse with a rhythm. Liora stared in awe.
And then—it spoke.
> “Liora, daughter of twilight, the time has come. The Forgotten One stirs beneath the Black Mountain. The prophecy awakens. You must find the Three Shards of the Starborn Flame.”
Startled, Liora stepped back. “What prophecy? What shards? What flame?!”
Behind her, Master Calven dropped his crystal mug. “No,” he whispered. “It can’t be.”
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Master Calven sank into his star-etched chair, eyes wide. “Liora… this hasn’t happened in five hundred years.”
“What hasn’t?” she asked, still trembling from the voice in the sky.
“The stars have spoken your name. That means the prophecy is real. And you… you’re the Starborn.”
Liora blinked. “Grandfather, that’s just an old myth.”
Calven stood and walked to a dusty shelf. With shaking hands, he pulled down an ancient scroll bound in dragonhide. “No, child. It was a myth to protect you. To hide you. The Starborn is said to be a child of both Light and Void, born under a sky split in three.”
“I was born during an eclipse,” Liora whispered.
Calven nodded. “And during a meteor storm. I remember. It was the only night the stars turned red.”
He unrolled the scroll, revealing a glowing constellation map. Three stars were circled in gold.
“These are the Shards of the Starborn Flame,” he explained. “Each shard is hidden in a different realm—Air, Fire, and Shadows. Only by gathering all three can the Flame be reborn and the Forgotten One sealed again.”
Liora’s heart pounded. “Who is the Forgotten One?”
“A being of ancient chaos. Older than Elarion itself. Trapped beneath the Black Mountain at the edge of the world. If he rises, the skies will fall, and magic itself will die.”
Lightning cracked across the sky as if confirming his words.
“Then I have to go,” Liora said, her voice steady though her hands shook. “I have to find the shards.”
“You’re not trained. You barely know how to shape light, let alone fight shadowbeasts.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
Calven sighed, then reached behind a secret panel in the wall. He pulled out a crystal dagger with stardust running through its blade. “This belonged to your mother. It’s called Elaris, the Blade of Starlight. It only answers to those born of prophecy.”
He held it out.
Liora touched the dagger—and it lit up with silver fire.
Calven stepped back. “Then it’s true.”
That night, under a full twin moon, Liora left the tower. She wore a cloak woven from phoenix feathers, the blade Elaris strapped to her back, and the constellation scroll tucked safely in a satchel. As she crossed the Skybridge that led out of Astrael, the wind whispered through the clouds.
> “Seek the first shard in the Caverns of Whispers. Beneath the cliffs of the Singing Sea…”
She didn’t look back.
Somewhere, deep beneath the world, something stirred in the shadows—and smiled.
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Liora traveled for three days through the floating wildlands of Elarion, where trees glowed like lanterns and the clouds below shimmered with hidden beasts. Her path led her to the Singing Sea, a place as mysterious as it was deadly.
It wasn’t water in the traditional sense. The sea was made of liquid light, swirling silver and gold, and it hummed with melodies—songs of sorrow, joy, and forgotten wars. It was said that those who listened too long would be pulled into dreams... and never wake again.
On the fourth night, Liora reached the Cliffs of Whisperfall. Towering rock faces dropped into the glowing sea. A lone figure stood waiting—an old woman cloaked in seaweed and mist.
“You seek the first shard,” the woman rasped, eyes shining like pearls.
Liora froze. “How do you know?”
“I was once like you,” she said. “A Starborn guide. The Caverns of Whispers lie below, but beware—only truth will light the path, and only pain will open the door.”
The woman pointed to a narrow staircase carved into the cliffs. Without another word, she vanished into the mist.
Liora descended into the darkness. The stone stairs led to a cavern whose walls pulsed with ancient runes. Her every step echoed, whispering back her thoughts.
I’m not ready… I’m scared…
She tried to silence her mind, but the whispers grew louder. They spoke in many voices: her mother’s, her grandfather’s, even her own.
> “You will fail.”
“You are nothing but a child.”
“He will rise… and you will burn.”
“No!” she shouted, the echoes splitting like glass. “I am the Starborn! I am Liora of Astrael!”
A blinding light exploded from her dagger. The runes calmed. The whispers fell silent.
At the heart of the cavern, a pedestal rose from the ground, holding a crystal shard—glowing blue, humming softly.
“The Shard of Air,” Liora whispered.
She stepped forward, but a gust of wind roared from nowhere, forming a swirling cyclone. Out of it stepped a creature—part hawk, part lightning. Its eyes were orbs of skyfire.
“You must earn it,” the creature boomed. “Face the storm within.”
Liora raised her dagger. The creature attacked—faster than thought, louder than thunder. They battled through the cave, sparks flying, winds tearing at her cloak. Each strike from the beast felt like her own doubts crashing down.
But Liora fought not with anger… but focus. Calm like the eye of a storm. She remembered her grandfather’s words: Magic answers clarity.
With a cry, she leapt and plunged Elaris into the creature’s heart of lightning.
The storm broke.
The creature vanished in a soft breeze, and the shard floated into her hands.
As she touched it, the stars above the cavern pulsed—and the voice returned.
> “One shard found. Two remain. The Flame begins to remember.”
Liora climbed out of the cavern as dawn rose over the Singing Sea. She held the shard close, knowing this was just the beginning.
In the shadows of the Black Mountain, the Forgotten One opened one crimson eye—and grinned.
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- Writer
