Chapter 1 - The Mark

A blood-curdling scream came from the waters.

"Help! Oceania! Aella!" My head instantly turned at the source of the yelling - A figure flailing in the water helplessly.

A wave of dread crept over me and sent chills to my spine. It was Ashely.

Without thinking for even a second, I immediately rushed to the water, jumping in.

It had been a good thing that I had noticed Ashely - she couldn't swim, and the strong currents didn't help either. I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I dragged a sputtering Ashely onto the shore.

Today had seemed like the perfect birthday - I was hanging out with my best friend, Aella, and her little sister Ashley at the beach. But this was un-

"Wait, what's that?" My train of thought was interrupted by Aella's sudden question.

"Huh?" I replied.

"That mark," Aella said, holding my hand and pointing to my wrist, "You didn't have that before, didn't you?"

I followed her gaze and looked down, instantly gaping at the imprint on my wrist, far too stunned to think of any words. It was, in no doubt, gorgeous - colored in a beautiful shade of blue, the design was simple, but if you looked a bit closer, you would see the intricate details of the mark.

"I'd say that you haven't from your reaction," Aella said as Ashley giggled, who, having finally caught her breath, is now propped up against the trunk of the palm tree we were under.

"No point hiding it anymore, I guess. Here's the thing. Earth, or this universe, in general, is not the only one. There's another. It's called Dawn, and in there, there's a war going on." Aella paused, giving me some time so I could process the information - not that it helped, I was still as confused as ever.

"There are six elements - Nature, Fire, Water, Wind, Fire, Light, and at last Darkness. And judging from your mark, you're definitely a water elemental. Each elemental tribe has their leader, or royalty, which is usually the offspring of the last queen or king. However, this time, the light tribe... has gotten triplets."

Aella paused to take a breath before she continued.

"As traditions state, if there is more than one heir for the crown, the heirs would be required to kill each other. The survivor becomes queen, having shown that she was the strongest. Ever since they've learned how to walk and talk, the triplets- Shine, Spark, and Star, had been training, persuading the tribes to support them. Ever since their 16th birthday, they have been trying to kill each other, and the war has been happening ever since."

My brain was trying to process the information, yet it seemed to be uncooperative, overwhelmed by this sudden influx of things.

Everything was not making any sense, and it seemed like everything I had learned from my science lessons were thrown into the bin.

I felt light-headed.