Prologue
Carnaxa
My fingers gently glide across the brittle pages of my mother’s journal. The scent of old paper fills my nostrils, a musty fragrance that evokes a sense of history. My history.
Since I brought about the fall of Antalis, life has been different. upon the fall of Antalis, life has been different. We are learning our new bodies and adapting to our home beneath the sea.
While I still don’t understand everything that happened before and why it was I that had to bring about the prophecy, I know the tome in my hands holds many of the answers. The weight of the book between my palms grounds me, connecting me to the past, the present, and the future all at once.
I open to the first page, and the intricate script of the Antihana language comes alive before my eyes. I no longer ask why I can read Antihana, assuming that it is yet another gift from my mother.
The precise strokes of my mother’s quill fills the pages as I read.
From the never-ending darkness came The Creator. The Creator existed for millennia by themselves. They were content within the darkness for a time, but then they began to create. They spent their time creating the stars through the darkness and balls of cosmic fire.
Crafted from stardust and matter, The Creator created a world of their own.
Mohasha. A world of perfect silence and darkness.
For a time, they walked across the perfect land, until The Creator still wanted more, something that would create a new experience into their unending lives. Thus their children were born.
The first was born of fire to brighten the darkness — Khaysus.
The next was wind to sweep light across the lands — Nuasis.
The third was water to cool the flames and give them a drink — Drāhēn?.
And finally, earth to help ground them all — Wodthos.
My name is Drāhēn?, Queen of Antalis, Mother to Carnaxa, and it is time to write my tale of tears.