The Obsidian Void

Prologue: Days in the Sun

The peaceful kingdom of Tuviera basked in the golden midday sun. It was a wonderful sunny Wednesday- a market day. The first day of the month, when all the tradespeople would set up little stalls along the cobbled streets and show off their wares. Succulent fruit and veg, homemade bread, bouquets of freshly picked flowers. The local alchemist was selling all manner of potions, and the clockmaker had been working on a variety of mechanical toys, much to the delight of the children. Each and every house had been decorated, along with the lampposts and the fountain in the square, which were covered in flowers. There were musicians, and dancers, and even an apprentice wizard performing simple spells for passers-by. Market day in Tuviera was truly a delightful experience, one that people would travel from quite a way to see first hand.

There were fewer outside visitors than usual however. In fact, there had been for a few years now. Ever since the world had been overtaken by the Somnii- cruel shapeshifting creatures that were terrorising all they encountered. The ever dwindling number of surviving kingdoms had closed their gates to all from outside in an attempt to quell the incoming invasion, and Tuviera was no exception. However, as their queen had declared, the state of the world outside was no reason to halt their day-to-day joys. If anything, it was all the more important for them to continue loving life to fight the looming terror beyond the walls.

Tuviera's current ruler, Queen Celeste, would usually be out on the streets on market day, greeting and talking to each of her subjects in turn. However this month her daughter had come down with a fever, and though the illness was in no way extreme, she was insistent upon staying home to keep an eye on her. She was presently enjoying a cup of tea with a close friend of hers whose daughter had caught a similar illness while the two children enjoyed the delightful weather in the confines of the palace gardens.

At that moment, the two of them came rushing in from outside, covered in mud and grinning broadly.

"Mummy?" Asked one, her blonde pigtails coming loose from what Celeste presumed to be excessive racing around, "Can we borrow something?"

"That depends, Artemis." Celeste said, "What is it you want to borrow?"

Artemis giggled sheepishly and turned to her best friend and apparent co conspirator Violet, urging her to respond on her behalf.

"We were wondering if we could borrow a cooking pot please..."

Celeste raised an eyebrow while Violet's father chuckled to himself.

"And why would you need one of those?"

"Well..." Violet started, eyeing Artemis to signal that it was her turn to continue explaining.

"We need to make a potion!"

"A potion!" Celeste smiled.

"Yeah!" Artemis continued, her voice brimming with excitement, "We need an invisible potion to sneak past the Manticore King's evil guards so we can rescue the prince!"

"Ah, a very important mission then." Celeste said, trying her best to treat the children's imagination games the same she would any other royal business. "Well, make sure you carry it carefully- both hands- and don't take any 'ingredients' you're not supposed to, alright?"

The pair thanked her and immediately began racing away. Celeste called after them, reminding them to take it easy and they slowed down straight away.

"Wish I'd had an imagination like that as a kid..." Violet's father laughed.

"She gets it from her Dad..." Celeste replied solemnly, taking a long sip of tea as she watched her little girl drag the pot to the garden outside.

***