Prologue

Zora shivered in the chilling winds as she looked out across the city of Flaregate. The great marble walls, as always, were lit by brilliant braziers, the sacred fires infusing all the guards with strength.

Flaregate was the farthest south of all the cities in the White Kingdom, and perhaps the most strategically valuable. It guarded the only pass into the mountains, and anyone who wanted to invade the White Kingdom would have to force their way through it.

Zora could see an army approaching to try that right now.

As she sat on the balcony watching the red armor slowly draw closer, she could sense a peculiar energy in the air. Something big was coming.

But what, she did not know.

As she sat there, a small white-and-red fox wrapped up in a green cape and wearing a silver tiara, she spotted a certain someone coming out to join her.

This was Queen Riselda, a tall, somewhat old Gothitelle wearing a similar elegant cape and the tall, brilliant white crown of the White Kingdom. Her eyes looked out towards the army, seemingly seeing something that wasn’t there.

“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?”, Riselda said quietly.

Zora shrugged. “I guess…when there isn’t a giant army marching across it.”

Riselda nodded slightly. “Of course.”

She sighed. “My visions have grown clouded lately. It feels as if some malevolent force is blocking them. That army…I fear it is only the beginning. Darkness is coming.”

Zora shivered. She couldn’t imagine anything that could block images of the future. It seemed like something impossible, especially when it came to a queen as powerful as Riselda.

If something really was doing that…Zora felt afraid of the possibilities.

Riselda rested her hands against the balcony, her eyes not leaving the approaching army. “I can still see something, dim as it is.”, she whispered, “I see seven stars falling from the sky. I see them lighting the way through eternal night. These stars will fall from the heavens, and join up with the people of the earth. Only united will we survive the night.”

Zora shivered again. That sounded worrying.

Riselda turned towards her, and Zora could see just how ancient and tired she looked.

“My time is almost gone.”, she stated, “My work will not be finished by my hands.”

Zora asked, “What…what do you mean?”Riselda closed her eyes.

“I did not come here for a temporary rest like you imagined.”, the queen whispered, “This is where my story ends, where it must end. Githra will rule the north. And you, you shall help the stars find their way. You will make sure that the world is saved.”

“Me!?”, cried Zora, “But, but I’m not ready! I’ve barely trained at all. I don’t even know what to look for!”

Riselda brushed her fingers through Zora’s hair. “You know far more than you think you do. I have the utmost faith in you.”

Just then there was shouting from within the building they were standing on, and the sounds of fighting. Riselda stood tall, taking a deep breath.

“Prepare yourself.”, she warned.

Suddenly the doors to the balcony blasted open, a fearsome metal four-wheeled Pokemon looming behind them. Besides it stood a tall blue duck in a cloak, his feathers festooned with bright colors. His feet tapped against the ground, dancing to an unheard tune. A Quaquaval.

“William.”, Riselda growled, “So this is what became of you.”

William chuckled darkly. “How wonderful to see you again, Riselda. How has monarchy been treating you? Dreadful work, isn’t it?”

He walked slowly towards her, swaying and skipping his feet. “Well, I am here to help free you of that. Permanently.”

Riselda glared at him, blazing white magic flaring up around her. “Not today, William. I was always your better at magic.”

“Perhaps once.”, William replied, “Not now.”

Suddenly shadowy magic rose out of the darkness around him, a boiling mass of tentacles and rage. Zora trembled in the presence of its aura. It felt so twisted and wrong.

“Let us dance, shall we?”, said William, and then he dashed in, a pair of knives materializing in his hands.

Riselda dashed away, shooting at him with bolts of white fire. William raced effortlessly after her, flicking daggers at her with every opening he spotted.

Meanwhile, the Revavroom fired up, its single eye narrowing at Zora. It roared towards her, and Zora yelped, leaping aside as it smashed into the place she’d been standing just seconds before. The car Pokemon roared angrily, whirling around and smashing more of the railing. Zora squeaked in terror as it hurtled towards her again, and she only narrowly dodged, with even less time than before.

She knew she had to do something, and fast.

The Revavroom rumbled threateningly, backing up and preparing to crush her again. Zora backed away, and found herself against the wall. She shivered, praying to Reshiram that she could survive this.

The Revavroom roared, and hurtled towards her. Zora squeezed her eyes tight, expecting intense bone-crushing pain.

Except…the Revavroom passed right through her and hit the wall instead.

Zora rolled aside, astonished. There was no way she had survived that…Unless…

Zora looked at her white fur. Was this a part of why she had survived? She still did not know the full limits of her power.

Maybe she was like a Ghost-type? Somehow immune to certain attacks?

The Revavroom bellowed again, and she was snapped from her thoughts. It whirled towards her, steam pouring out of its body as its engine went into a furious overdrive. Its rocky tires shrieked as it raced towards her, and Zora tried to vanish again.

And much to her surprise, she succeeded. The Revavroom passed through her again, smashing through the railing and this time failing to stop. It wailed as it fell off the ledge, falling towards a painful landing below.

Zora panted heavily, but she knew things weren’t over yet. She looked up, where she saw William and Riselda fighting in the air, their magical auras holding them above the ground as they dueled.

Sparks flew as Riselda swung a sword of light, clashing against the dark cold steel of William’s daggers. Jets of fire and tentacles of shadow struck against each other, neither giving ground to the other.

Looking beyond them, Zora could see fighting at the wall. The army had made a sudden attack, moving astonishingly fast and striking against the wall. The soldiers there were struggling to fend them off – several braziers had already been broken in the fight, and it was clear those were the invaders’ primary targets.

Zora looked up towards the great brazier on top of the tower she was standing on. It was burning dimly – which meant any power it had was growing weak.

Zora was small and not very strong, but perhaps she could do this one thing.

Nimbly she leaped onto the roof, desperately scrabbling her way up the shingles. The tower shuddered beneath her, weakened by that Revavroom. Zora felt terrified, but she kept climbing, until she was nearly at the top of the brazier.

Then she heard Riselda cry out, and a deep chill sank into her.

Zora turned to see Riselda crash back onto the balcony, a dagger sticking out of her side. William glided down towards her, smirking. Riselda struggled to get back up, a hand turning red pressed against her side.

“Every queen must fall.”, William commented, “Every light must go out. The age of darkness is coming, my old friend. It cannot be stopped. It MUST not be stopped.”

Zora wanted to run down there, to protect her queen. But she knew she couldn’t possibly win against William. She was too weak and powerless.

Zora looked back towards the brazier, which was smoldering down into coals. This was her only chance, to reinvigorate the city and perhaps save Riselda by doing so. Zora focused, tugging on what little power she could access and hoping that it would work. She fed it to the brazier, realizing with a sinking feeling that it wouldn’t be enough, couldn’t be enough.But then – a flash in the sky. A rumble of thunder. And seven stars fell from the sky, illuminating the land below and filling with Zora with awe and hope.

And with her worries temporarily burned away, her magic flared like it never had before.

Immense power flooded into the brazier, far more power than Zora had believed she could contain. The fire flared tall and bright, chasing away the shadows and infusing everyone in the city with a portion of its strength. William hissed and staggered back, his feathers smoking, and then shadowy magic started surging around him again.

But as he summoned his spell, Riselda tackled him, throwing both of them off the tower.

Zora yelped in alarm, and leaped down towards them. Looking off the balcony she could see them falling, struggling against each other, before they fell into a large shadow and vanished.

Zora stared at it for a long time, her mind racing to make sense of it. Her queen and mentor, gone. Just like that.

Her mind recalled what Riselda had said. Her queen had known she wouldn’t survive the night. Her story had ended.

And yet…another story had begun.

Zora looked up at the sky, watching the falling stars blink out of sight across the continent.

‘You shall help the stars find their way.’, Riselda had told her.

Zora set her face in determination. She would not let her queen’s sacrifice go to waste. She would find those stars.

She would save this world. (-o-)