6; The Past: Night of the Beguiling Moon I

When Aster finally stumbled his way out of the hidden passageway, his father with a flicker of his finger settled the cabinet of books back into its position. This happened just in time as the marked door burst open and in hurled one of his father's youngest stewards Roan with ruffled hair and wildly panicked eyes.

"My Lord…the front gates…"

Alistair raised himself to his full height, his eyes boring upon the intruder. "Where is your backbone child? We might be besieged but it won't do us any good if we all forgot ourselves at the first sign of danger."

Almost as if his father's commanding voice snapped him out of his clouded haze, the young steward barely collected himself. 

"Forgive me my Lord!" He bowed.

"Now tell me, what is happening at the gates?"

The steward with his shaggy hair and brown eyes could hardly conceal his fear.

"We are under attack my lord; mysterious figures cloaked in black are trying to break through our magical protections."

His father frowned even deeper.

"How did this happen? Where did they come from?"

The steward stammered as he answered.

"I-I have no idea my lord. Both of the guards at the gate are dead. They might have attempted to force themselves in but instead triggered our formation."

Within the household of Arius, it was kind of an open secret that a spell formation circled the whole manor. Constructed all those years ago from when their founder decided to settle into town, the formation was keyed to allow through only those who were touched by the stars along with a few servants needed to make sure the manor was properly stocked and maintained. Arrival of any guest of importance required his father's express permission to enter and so most of the time the spell formation lay dormant but active.

But once it detects any kind of intrusion, it effectively snaps back into the place cocooning the manor in a dome of crystalline blue. Ever since he was born, Aster had only ever seen the might of the formation once, and that was when his father had specially demonstrated for him in his early days. It was clear the tremors and the deafening clashes were the efforts of several people trying to force their way in.

His father took only a second to think before he gave his orders.

"Rouse our guards and command the mages to quickly take a stand. We shall not let any of the trespassers take a step inside. Also take a small part and send them to my wife. I want her brought to the dungeon."

The steward despite his younger years hurriedly bowed again before he made for the door, no doubt about to execute what he was told. But before his figure nearly disappeared, Alistair called out for him.

"Roan…"

The steward paused at the threshold and turned, "Yes, my Lord."

Alistair looked straight into his eyes as he decreed.

"Let everyone know not to hold back. The moment they attacked us, their intentions were made very clear. Order them to protect the manor at all costs…"

The steward's eyes shone with a grim resolve as he nodded. When he finally disappeared, only the two of them were left in the study, with Alistair deep in thought and Aster who was no doubt confused and afraid.

After a short rumination, it didn't take long for Alistair to seemingly come to a decision. He abruptly turned towards his son and knelt on one knee so they could see eye to eye.

Aster tried to form words.

"F-father…what is happening? Are we in danger?"

His father sighed as he answered.

"Son, it looks like your gift is a harbinger of trouble yet to come…but what I want you to do now is to go straight to your room and lock yourself there. I will send someone to fetch for you as soon as possible."

Aster's insides filled with ice as his father's words bounced around his brain.

"B-but if we had enemies, wouldn't you have perceived them father?"

Alistair's face hardened. "That's precisely why I want you to be out of the way. Our enemies have come prepared. Somehow they were able to conceal themselves from my sight but they didn't account for your strange astral gift. If they are who I fear they are then your safety takes the most priority. Your strength would barely be of help son, so I want you to be safe up to until I send for you."

Another crash boomed outside over the cries of panic and guards trying to route themselves. Aster stared into his father's steel gray eyes until he nodded. A tired smile broke through Alistair's face and then he made for the door while holding his hand.

"Leave and do not stop for anything else. I don't how long the protection would hold them so make sure you run straight to your room. Now go!"

With uncertainty and fear, Aster barely mumbled.

"I will do so father"

Taking another look at his son's face, Alistair again nodded with encouragement while gently but urgently pushing Aster into hallway

"Go on then and be quick."

Aster despite the apparent fear crossed the threshold before he made his way back through the hallway, unaware of the grey eyes escorting him on his way out. A major part of Alistair's heart felt guilty leaving his only son unattended especially at times like this but he knew his responsibilities lay elsewhere. If the ones who dared attacked his manor were they who he thought they were then he would make sure they woe the day they decided to betray them. After making sure his son had safely disappeared, his grey eyes twinkled with a hint of madness as he made his way to a place no member of the House of Arius had ever stepped inside, not even his own son.

** ** **

Aster almost felt like he was invisible as he hurried through several corridors all in the midst of guards and stewards and mages hurrying to and fro in an air of frenzy and fear. The atmosphere was the very opposite of what he had woken up to earlier this afternoon, with people all around him on the edge, trying to make sense of what was happening. When he finally reached the last stretch of corridor that would take him back to his room, another tremor rumbled throughout the manor accompanied by a sound of breaking glass, loud enough that he was sure every person inside the large house had heard it.

With his heart dropping, Aster quickly made for the nearby window, this one staring over the whole courtyard from the east side on the upper floor. Just as he feared he saw their magical defenses shattering into motes of cerulean blue, the once beautiful lattices of wonderful spell work and marks all vanishing into the clear night. A full moon was on the dark sky and it was all Aster saw when another explosion rocked through the compound and this time, his eyes fell on the major crack through the spherical walls that made their property.

Though there was barely any light and a cloud of billowing dust hovered around the area itself, Aster saw a streaming throng of the said figures in cloaks of black spilling through the gap like a dark wave. A bout of vertigo coursed through him as his vision was suddenly replaced by a vicious tide rising against the manor, about to swallow them whole. He hurriedly shook his head as he held on to the railing, struggling to center himself even as a feeling of dread settled into his guts with a brutal certainty that the dark wave he saw, the cruel river that threatened to consume everything in its path wasn't just a sign of trouble to come in the near future.

No, it was already here.

Looking down below, the front doors of the manor burst open letting out a cascade of guards and mages who clashed against the dark tide of cloaked men in an explosion of magic. Wails and cries of roars sundered the air, the dark night lit up by flying spells, bellowing rage of screaming weapons, and death throes of those unfortunate enough to be on their path. Aster could only stand there, frozen as madness tore through the front of their manor in rivulets of glistening blood, death staring right into to his face as the people he once knew as family, people he once were close to died mercilessly to the razor-sharp blades of their enemies and the guttural sounds of incanted spells. His whole body started shivering, his breath in short gasps with tears streaming down his face but he still couldn't tear himself away. Their enemies had come prepared and they were tearing through their hastily prepared defense like a knife through butter.

But it was not all hopeless. Aster could now see a few of their household mages wise-up, using one of their most basic spells with brutal efficiency. From his vantage point, he witnessed one of the star-touched mages cloaked with the darkness of the night, ferociously tearing through the unsuspecting caster from the opposite side with a sharp dagger. The Night Grasp spell, a spell he once barely thought of more than a cantrip almost shifted the tide as the mages from the house of Arius sneaked through the chaos and settling dust ruthlessly cutting down anyone who dared leave their back open to their enemies.

At first this sowed chaos upon the cloaked figures who from what Aster could tell didn't possess the same cooperation the mages from house of Arius had. But soon enough they quickly collected themselves and the astrologists found themselves in trouble as the cloaked figures quickly grouped up, using their field of sight to defend each other's back. That didn't stop the harsh retaliation though, still as soon as it was clear the trained mages from the House of Arius would be able to turn the tables; another element was added into the chaos, this one inform of a strange thrum of ethereal voices rising against the racket.

It was then Aster felt his astral gift flaring wildly which forced him to look around in dread, searching for the new source of danger. Widening his vision, he could see now that not all who streamed from the crack of the wall were fighting. Amidst the carnage and the blood and the flying limbs, a small contingent of figures cloaked in silver robes were further back, each standing uniformly from each other and each holding something small in their hands, objects Aster could barely see due to the distance but none the less rose a bad feeling in his chest.

Within a heartbeat, a chorus of ethereal voices engulfed the din of horrible shrieks and death defying screams. As one, each of the silver robed figures made a strange sequence of hand gestures that Aster couldn't make head or tails off until their silvery mana visibly manifested in the cold air, spreading and vibrating in unison like ripples on a still lake. Most of his family, cousins, guards and stewards were just starting to collect themselves and prepare a proper defense when the chanting mages let out an impossible cadence that pulsated across courtyard ultimately ending in words Aster could finally understand.

"Night of the Beguiling Moon."

From their bodies their strange silvery mana rose and met the sky. The night above was crystalline clear, a dark canvass dotted with a few lonely stars and a full moon shining in all its glory. Each celestial body took their turn to glimmer and so, on that night of the cloudless skies, the silvery mana seemed to reach the very heavens and then pull at the pale full moon with its first child in full brilliance, heightening its size and grandeur on the scales Aster has never seen before.

Completely taken away, Aster could only admire the feat of unheard-off magic happening right in from of him. His mind could not help but be snared by the impossible-to-be-ignored craters on the moon's surface and the silverish halo of light it shed upon him, warming his insides in a soft caress, almost whispering into his troubled heart that everything will ultimately all be at peace.

Reveling in rising waves of strange comfort, a jarring feeling kept bothering him from somewhere. Thoughts popped up in his mind unbidden, most he did not want to acknowledge but few never less forcing themselves to the surface until he suddenly realized without a shadow of doubt that their enemies, their invaders were none other than the Noble House of Lunar. Only they could possess and cast a powerful spell using the moon as the base. Like the astrologists who pulled their power from the celestial bodies up in the skies, the lunar mages drew their strength and spells from the very moon itself. He had no idea how and why it was happening but he knew their presumed neighbors had just launched a deadly attack on their manor, and his family was dying because of it. That also made something very clear.

They have been betrayed.

Such insight was enough to shatter the spell cast upon him. Heaving deep breaths, Aster leaned on to the railing, a cold sweat trailing behind his back. The spell he was just 'admiring' was nothing more than a trap meant to mesmerize their minds and hold their attention. When he finally got the courage to look down below, he saw the crested dark wave of cloaked figures flitting through the battlefield unhindered, killing almost every guard and mage taken by the devious spell.

With spirit he didn't even know he possessed, Aster was just about to shout or scream or do anything in his power to warn them but it looked like there was no need to. He saw a few of the star touched mages snapping out of the haze, their focus returning only to be abruptly focused by several invaders. When he saw a few of the silver robed figures dropping to the ground, a part of Aster's mind immediately understood. Such a powerful spell could not be easily cast without a price. It seemed the more members of the household of Arius snapped out of enthralling spell holding them, the more backlash the silver robes figures suffered in their midst.

But it wasn't enough. More astrologists lost their lives quicker than they could defend themselves. Aster was just about to despair when a loud chiming resounded throughout of the manor along with a crystalline wave that manifested, spreading out like a ripple and effortlessly shattering the silvery mana that had swallowed the property in a dome. Several cries of pain echoed among the silver robed figures with the few remaining members of the House of Arius finally waking up from their stupor. Though by now it was too late and it seemed the dark cloaked figures realized it also as they confidently advanced against the defending mages, their sneers and jeers clearly heard in the night.

But that wasn't the end of it. In a clear deep sound, a strong voice echoed across the compound, its will and intent manifesting into the very air. 

"The Cosmos Array; A Call Beyond."

That was all Aster heard before a massive wave of star light mana suddenly surged, congregating towards the manor until it reached a certain threshold and exploded into a burst of brilliance leaving behind a large cluster of twinkling stars, the flickering motes hovering in the air above the manor like a crown.