With her father's memory failing and her mother gone, Soraya Thenayu enrolls in distant Darkwood Academy and immediately becomes enemies with the richest kid at school. Between hiding her father's gift of illegally harvested magic, befriending socia...
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As the duo exited the grove of trees, Soraya spotted the front gate. It was a bright red brick wall with three arched entrances, the center being the tallest and widest. Above the central archway was the word Rivinsdeep carved into a porcelain plaque and painted in golden letters.
Sitting before the entryway was a golden statue of a tiger, sitting on its hind legs with two paws resting atop a blue ball with white wavy clouds curling around it. The statue's head faced outward; its open half-grinning, half-growling mouth and staring dark golden eyes gave it an eerie quality. It was as if it were assessing them for signs of hostility.
"Zodia Tigris," Tishva observed. He stopped and bowed respectfully to the statue. Soraya copied her father.
"One of the twelve animals given speech by the Gods to prophecy to men during the The Age of Darkness," he continued, his voice solemn. "Their message was for us to repent of our wickedness so we could be saved."
Soraya already knew the historical event, which was recorded in every religion and culture from around the world, but listened anyway.
"When Etherians refused to listen to their message and instead murdered each Zodia one by one, plagues ensued, each more devastating than the last," he looked down at his daughter, his grayish blue eyes cloudy like a fog covering the sea. "The death of the last Zodia, Dragonai, resulted in a plague that wiped out one third of the world's population. Nothing so devastating has ever occurred in the history of Etheria since then."
It had always been difficult for Soraya to imagine such wickedness on a global magnitude. From the perspective of their religion's writings, The Path, made it sound as if all Etherians had lost their reasoning and compassion. The Gods were forced to use animals as vessels for turning Etherians back to loving and serving them and each other.
"Legend has it that the souls of all twelve Zodia are tied with different gems," her father mused. "These gems go by two names: Zodia Relics and Spirit Stones. Supposedly, they choose an Etherian to wield their power, which allows them access to an infinite amount of magic."
Tishva turned and looked down at his daughter with excitement in his eyes. "Imagine never running out of magic, never again having to search in nature for the power to fuse with the elements."
"That would be really amazing," Soraya agreed. Although different countries around their world acknowledged the existence of the Zodia Relics, no one truly knew where they were located. "Do you know where they are?"
Tishva shook his head. "No, though some royal families and religious figures claim to have them."
"Do you think they do?"
"Definitely not."
Soraya's smile faded. "Why would anyone lie about something like that?"
