Heir of Blood and Moonlight
Prologue
O nce upon a time, back when the gods walked the earth, terrible demons found their way in from the shadow realm. They threatened to cover everything in darkness and despair. But don't worry, my shining girl, for this story has brave heroes too!
Three kind and powerful gods named Selene, Helios, and Eos saw the danger the demons posed. They joined hands and hearts to fight the vile demons. Selene was the gentle goddess of the moon, Helios the warm god of the sun, and Eos the hopeful goddess of the dawn. Together they were strong and wise.
To help them in the battle, each god shared some of their special magic with groups of humans they trusted most. Selene gifted magic to people who became like her, creating the vampires of the House of the Moon. They were fierce and graceful, and they could live forever, drawing power from blood and from moonlight. Helios gave power to warriors who could transform into mighty beasts, forming the House of the Sun. And lovely Eos blessed her chosen with command over nature's elements, and these witches made the House of the Stars.
The three magical houses and the gods fought the demons for a very long time. In the end, with the gods' guidance and their combined powers, they were victorious! The awful demons were pushed back into the shadow realm where they could no longer hurt the earth or its people. Everyone was so relieved. The gods thanked the magical warriors for their courage. Peace and happiness spread through the world again under the watch of the kind gods and the immortal guardians.
As time went on though, the shapeshifting warriors of the House of the Sun began to forget their duty. When in their beast forms, they let the animal instincts take over too much, lashing out and damaging the land and other creatures. This made Selene and Eos very sad. They asked Helios to please help his chosen ones control themselves better. But proud Helios refused, not wanting to admit there was a problem.
With no other choice, Selene and Eos put their magic together and placed a spell on the House of the Sun warriors so they could only become animals under the light of the full moon. At all other times, they would be like normal humans, without special powers and able to get hurt like humans too.
This made Helios and his warriors very angry, because they felt Selene and Eos had betrayed them and taken away their gifts unfairly. Even though the reason was to stop the animal warriors from hurting others, they couldn't see past their wounded pride. So Helios and the House of the Sun pulled away from the other gods and houses, allowing bitterness and resentment to grow in their hearts.
The age of unity and peace had ended, and a new time of distrust between the houses began, with each thinking themselves better than the others. Selene, Eos and the Houses of Moon and Stars hoped Helios and his warriors would see the error of their ways. But the House of the Sun only plotted and dreamed of a day they could strike back against the other houses.
And so, my shining girl, while the demons were defeated and the earth saved, a new danger lurked, not from a distant shadow realm, but from the shadows growing within the hearts of the shifters. And one day, that darkness would gather and lash out, and the greatest battle of all would begin.