prologue

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2000 Years Ago*

A lion roared in the distance, breaking the din of birdsong of early morning.

The sun rose high above the plains of the Kilimanjaro, the artificial Savannah created by Merlin. The landscape came alive. The lions had brought the only good tidings since the death of the wizard. In life, Merlin had been the king of the animals. As the light one, that was his role. While his darker counterpart ruled over darkness and death and represented the moon and the goddess, Merlin's role was over life on earth. He represented the sun and the horned god. His death, having been transformed into The Tree of Life, had changed the land, and not for the better. The balance between predator and prey was broken as crops whithered. Disease had descended upon the human kingdom. The rains stopped and winters froze the very creatures who lived upon the earth. Mass extinction loomed over the horizon. All that however was about to change. The birds carried the news spread by the lions to the gazelles and the cheetahs who ran to the border of the dark castle. Word spread the the animals living throughout the enchanted forest.

The living dark one who was responsible for Merlin's death had been tasked with finding the next light one to carry on his burden forever. The one chosen would not even be chosen but was said to be born with the destiny. The lions had always been messengers of the dark one who shared their feline nature and for others who would come after the sun set on her time. A new light one had been born in a village below the dark castle. To their surprise, the new king wasn't a new king at all…but a queen. Like the living dark one, the new light one was female. The animals however cared not. Though the newborn human girls family detested the sight of her for her gender and for her sickly appearance, the animals didn't share this sentiment. From village to farm, from den to grassland, from the artificial regions created in the animal kingdom to stray cats living on the streets, the happy hoots, howls, mewls and roars and bleats resounded through the forest.

But one wasn't celebrating.

The blue fairy sat in the fairy hollow with a scowl on her face, her hand slamming down the magic mirror through which she watched the new light one, crying for a mother that would never love her and a father who shouted angrily about being denied a male child. This was the new light one? How pathetic. In her opinion, the fairies should have been given control over Excalibur and the light a long time ago. Rheul Ghorm herself was the most experienced magick user in all the realms. Under her leadership, the animals could finally be under control for the good of mankind and not themselves. Especially those arrogant lions and cats. The dark one would be under their command and control. Nimue had been allowed to roam free for far too long. And now her chance to weild the power of light and life was gone because of that pathetic useless child writhing and screaming for her angry father and uncaring mother. Excalibur still lay in the stone in the fairy hollow. That little scrap would have it over her dead body.

"Life's not fair." The blue fairy sighed. "Is it my little friend? You see, I shall never be queen. And I wish you would never see the light of day."

A birds voice broke the silence. "Admiring ourselves again?" She rolled her eyes at the sarcastic owl who spoke as Merlin had once enchanted him to. "What do you want?" The little owl, named Archimedes who had been Merlin's familiar during his life puffed out his chest in annoyance. He also went by the name of Zasu in the animal kingdom. Now he traveled around with Nimue. "It's my displeasure to inform you that The Dark One is coming to see you, so you'd better have a good excuse for handing over the sword. She's as mad as a hippo with a hernia…" he commented with a hoot. "Oh. I quiver with fear." The fairy said sarcastically before turning towards the owl with a bag of fairy dust in her hand designed to stun those with powers. "You wouldn't dare! Now see here! Don't look at me that way….HELP!" He hooted out in alarm and flew to the side in avoidance, his feathers puffed.

The dark one herself came out of the shadows, her golden mask coming down off her face and revealing an angry glare from her amber eyes, her scowl crossing her greenish golden face. She was a willowy woman with darker golden skin. She carried herself with dignity in every movement. Her eyes were shadowed with grief. "Rheul. Back off him." "Impeccable timing, my lady." The owl spoke, ruffling his feathers and preening them as if to groom himself of the blue fairy's presence. "I didn't see you at the announcement of the new light one." The dark one spoke, her Scottish accent ringing with anger and grief. "That was today?" Blue waved her hand in annoyance. "It must have slipped my mind." The owl had nerve enough to speak again, squaking. "Well as slippery as your mind is, as the dark one's sister you should have been first in line!" Blues usually cheerful demeanor she used around humans she deemed worthy now cooled to ice. "I was first in line. Until the little hairball was born." Nimue's fists clenched and her eyes turned black as coal. Thunder rumbled outside. "That hairball will one day be my own. And the future light one and queen of the animal kingdom. And you." Nimue spoke in a deadly tone, tapping her claw into her sisters shoulder. "Will help her get away from that family in any way possible." Blue pushed the she imps hand away. "I shall practice my curtsy."

The fairy began to fly away, her wings flapping defiantly. Nimue's hands clenched further, so much that her claws dug into her own glittering skin. "Don't turn your back on your sister, Rheul Ghorm!" She snapped. The blue fairy's tone was cold, threatening, far from the blue fairy that the the land had used as a basic established measurement of good. "Oh no, evil one. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me." The dark one's minor grasp on her emotions slipped. Lightning crashed outside. The fires in the dwarf mine below sprang up and exploded, the sound reverberating through the hollow like a lionesses roar. "IS THAT A CHALLENGE!?" She screamed in fury, bottles of fairy dust flying off the walls of the stone hollow and crashing against the opposite side. "Temper temper, dark one." She smirked at the sister she had long ago disowned. "I wouldn't dream of challenging you." "Pity" the owl on Nimue's shoulder hooted. "Why not." "Well as far as morality is concerned I've got the lions share. But pure raw power. I'm afraid I'm willing to be on the shallow end to be away from dark magick. Good day sister." As the fairy flew away, without a second word. The owl preened Nimue's braided hair gently. "There's one in every family my lady. Two in mine." "What am I going to do with her." The dark one sighed as she grabbed her staff and began to walk into the night. "She'd make a very handsome nightlight." The dark one laughed as she went into the shadows. "Arch…" she chided him playfully. "And whenever she gets dull you can put her out." The owl added with an amused hoot.

That night in the animal kingdom, a wise old baboon began to paint the image of a lion cub on the tree of life to signify the birth of a new light one. Unlike Merlin who had been connected to deer because of his mantle, he had an inkling that this new queen was a lion in her soul, a feline in her heart. She may be human now, but one day he knew she'd be the queen of the beasts. The girls human parents had given her begrudgingly a Christian name but the baboon who Nimue had given access to human magic foresaw what her name would be one day to the animals. "Goldenstar…" he laughed as he spread a line of blue dye across the cubs forehead to symbolize a crown.

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