01

From the day following my birth to a day three centuries later, I was learning about this realm. Designed by Veilos the Omnipotent, this world was crafted with the promise to protect countless, innocent worlds within a shared universe from unseen evils.

I learned of the first Azcyvian, Altizil, and how his vision of Azcyviel was brought to life by Veilos. I then read about the Azcyvians that came after, born from the glow of the first moon with wings also made of light. As I flipped through many worn pages, I pictured the glorious battles that the first Azcyvian legions fought against the dwellers of darkness. One could say that I lived in the Athenaeum, which accommodated over one millennium's worth of Azcyvian history. I even found my own birth in one of the texts.

Another young Azcyvian, named Lyzziel, also visited the library often. A committed student with glinting green eyes for the art of combat; He taught himself through Altizil's Texts, while the others learned from an experienced warrior. Only twenty-four years apart, and in our years of adolescence, we bonded over a common affinity of learning and living differently from the others. Lyzziel's studying paid off after twenty years, as he was made commander of Azcyviel's forces at fifty and two hundred years old—the first year of his young adult life.

Meanwhile, I stood behind him and supported him. Without wings, an Azcyvian had no uses. I couldn't fight, for Azcyvians were aerial combatants; I couldn't even travel beyond the borders, for Azcyviel was a continental island within a vast, hidden atmosphere. Neither of these facts bothered me though; I enjoyed the time I spent walking Azcyvian streets with Lyzziel, as well as the brief moments that I shared with my busy yet vivacious father.

Benvelor was also bound to Azcyviel, even with the strong wings on his back. Following the fall of Azcyviel's first ruler, my father, the successor, had to vow to never engage in war. Father did his best to lead given his vow. He proposed battle and security strategies and he watched over every Azcyvian with the orphic, golden eclipses encircled by the grey irises of his eyes.

Like my father and Lyzziel, each Azcyvian had a unique ability to him. All able-bodied and born to face perils, Azcyvians travelled in teams before dividing into pairs. They protected lives while gathering information on the worlds they visited and any potential threat therein.

One century before the second millennium, after gaining the ability to recite each text by memory, my father came to me with a smile on his face. Looking into his radiant eyes, I found it arduous to contain my excitement, for my heart was doomed to burst with the attempt to do so.

High above the city, untouched by even Azcyviel's tallest tower, was our destination. I was clinging to my father for dear life as he swiftly travelled through the winds. Then it all ceased and I felt a cold surface beneath me. However, opening my eyes, I saw that I stood on nothing.

I could see all of Azcyviel down below. The far-reaching city with the palace in its centre, the courtyard with the great sun engraved in its stone, and the calm waves of the Origin Fountain glistening like the waters ringing around the entire kingdom. I stood above one point of those waters, watching the waves crash into the shore only to return to the depths.

It was all lovely, but what took my breath away was the sunset. The bright blush to deep blue gradations consuming the thinly-clouded skies as the sun blazed in its final hour. These heights were once a hinterland to me until that day; When this view would become mine for eternity.

"Do you like it?" asked my father. "I wanted to give you an exquisite view."

"I can't look away," I uttered in response. "I don't believe I could ever grow tired of it."

"I listen with great esperance that you speak the truth, " gravely stated the youthful leader.

I tore my gaze away from the sky and to my father, who appeared to be troubled as he also watched the setting sun— His blush complexion tinted even more rubescent in the sun's warmth. Once he noticed my concern, he smiled as he normally did when he tried to console someone. He faced me and took a knee, looking up at me with misty eyes. His waving, brown hair grazed over his shoulders as the wind gently swept into his face.

"This is your new dwelling," he sorrowfully uttered. "I promise to visit whenever I can."

I lowered myself onto one of my knees to meet his gaze, mirroring his posture. He smiled and ruffled his hands through my brown hair. I could tell that his mind had wandered off as he stared a moment before blinking again.

"I must return," he sighed, propping himself to a stand. "Farewell, Xander."

After I hugged and bade him farewell,  Father took off and dived back into the city just as the last drop of light vanished into the horizon. I was alone as glistering stars took their places in the cool shades of night. I then remembered where I stood and I was too frightened to move. A single, unfortunate step would've lead to an unpleasant demise.

Then I heard a gentle, almost whispering voice. "Xander," it Uttered.

I twirled around anxiously, expecting to see the one that addressed me, yet I found no one.

"You tremble," Returned the voice. "But there is nothing to fear, young Azcyvian. I am Veilos."

My heart jumped once the name entered my ears. Even as I lived a life without sleep, I found it difficult to believe that the voice I heard wasn't just an audible apparition within a dream.

"Close your eyes," Veilos gently instructed. "You will soon see where it is you stand."

After following his instruction, I opened my eyes again as a brilliance softened until my vision was clear. There was a vast, transparent floor glowing with the warm, rubicund shades of the sunset. Not surprisingly, these colours ringed around a sun in the floor's centre, with blazing arms stretching towards the eight corners of the floor. I was in awe! From where I stood, this floor appeared to stretch to infinity. I knew better than to be fooled by the illusion though.

After absorbing the sight before me, I noticed a glimmering light descending like a falling star. As it lowered, the light faded until all that remained was a staff made of silver and leather. An extravagant lunette crowned this staff with a white jewel levitating within its arc. The staff continued to lower until it was within my reach.

"This is the key to the Gates," Veilos explained. "You are the only Azcyvian able to wield it."

I took the staff gently into my trembling hands. A sudden burst of energy fled from the lunette's jewel. It surged through my veins and to the edges of the floor, from which something began to rise. Glowing, white threads of light weaved up to the stars above; They eventually solidified and became frames for imposing walls, glowing just like the floor below me. From the floor also ascended a spiralling stairway that ran along the walls. I then realised that these tall, crystalline frames weren't walls at all, but arches that appeared to only lead directly through the building. This was yet another illusion, however! Those arches were doorways— or rather portals.