Moonveil Academy: Trapped With The Five Kings

Elara:

Professor Fenrith had been explaining elemental circulation for nearly half an hour when I finally decided I couldn’t keep the question trapped inside my head any longer.

The special classes had become considerably easier since our little disagreement, mostly because I’d stopped trying to fight every piece of information he gave me and he’d stopped treating me like I was a walking interruption.

Today, I was standing in the center of the classroom with my palm held above a shallow silver bowl filled with water while he explained how elemental energy moved through the body before being released.

Since my own powers were still sealed, I couldn’t actually manipulate the water, but I could sense something whenever I tried. A faint warmth would appear somewhere beneath my ribs before fading again, almost like my magic was listening from behind a locked door.

I had been concentrating so hard that I nearly missed the question I had been carrying around for weeks.

”Professor?” I lowered my hand. ”Can I ask you something that isn’t related to what we are doing?”

Fenrith glanced at me before nodding. ”You usually do.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. ”I’m beginning to think you don’t like me.”

”That would be inaccurate, Miss Argentis.”

”That’s not very reassuring.” I couldn’t help but voice it out. The faintest hint of amusement appeared in his eyes before he gestured for me to continue. I took a breath before asking, ”What exactly is a Moon Child?”

The change in his expression was subtle, but I noticed it immediately. His eyebrows drew together slightly, and for a moment he simply studied me. ”Where did you hear that term?”

”The first night I came here. The warriors used it. Ms. Noctis mentioned it. And...” I hesitated. During my first encounter with Reign that night, he also said things that made me question certain things. ”... Headmaster Moonveil mentioned it too.”

Fenrith’s expression became thoughtful before he asked, ”You have been wondering about it ever since?”

”Yes.” I glanced toward the shelves lining the classroom walls. ”I have looked through the books I have been studying. I even searched the library, but I don’t even know where to start looking. And nobody seems to use the term anymore. Everyone calls me Princess Argentis. But Moon Child...” I shook my head. ”It’s such a strange name that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

He was quiet for another few seconds before finally walking toward his desk. Instead of dismissing my question, he pulled out a chair and sat down. ”Then perhaps you should know the story.”

I immediately took the chair opposite him. ”I’m listening.”

”The history of the Moon Child begins nearly seven centuries ago,” he said. ”At that time, Starfall was very different from what you see today. The realm was dominated by werewolves, and unlike the werewolves you know now, they possessed a far deeper connection to the Moon Goddess.”

I stared at him, trying to process what he’s revealing.

He continued, ”The moon was considered sacred to them. Their wolves were not simply another form they could take. They were believed to be gifts from the Goddess herself, spiritual extensions of their souls. The strength of their wolves determined much of their status, and the strongest among them were considered blessed.”

He paused before continuing. ”But power has always tempted those who already possess it.” I listened as his voice became quieter. ”The werewolves wanted more. Their natural abilities weren’t enough for them. They wanted elemental magic. They wanted powers beyond what the Moon Goddess had given them. So they began experimenting with dark rituals.”

I couldn’t help frowning. ”Dark rituals?”

”Forbidden prcatices, sacrifices, blood rituals, ancient spells that were never meant to be used by them.” His gaze hardened. ”Eventually, they succeeded. They gained magical abilities that went beyond their natural gifts. But there was a price.”

I already knew there was going to be one.

”Their wolves began weakening.” Fenrith’s words came slowly. ”The dark magic they forced into their bodies was incompatible with the blessing of the Moon Goddess. Their wolves became sick. Some became violent. Others lost their ability to communicate with their human halves. Yet even as their wolves suffered, the werewolves refused to stop.”

”Because they wanted the magic.” I said.

”Because they wanted more power.” He nodded. ”According to the oldest records, the Moon Goddess eventually appeared before the leaders of the werewolf clans. She warned them to abandon the rituals and return to the old ways. She offered them a chance to save their wolves.”

I leaned forward. ”And they refused?”

”They believed they had already surpassed the Goddess’s gifts. They thought they had discovered a greater source of power.” Fenrith’s expression turned grim. ”Their greed blinded them.”

The next part sounded so unbelievable that I almost expected him to tell me it was nothing more than a children’s fairy tale.

”The Goddess became furious,” he continued. ”She cursed the entire race. She didn’t simply take away their magical abilities. She took away the very thing that made them werewolves - their wolves.”

My mouth fell open slightly. ”She just... took them? All of them?”

”Not immediately.” He shook his head. ”The curse wasn’t instantaneous. Their wolves began disappearing from one generation to the next. The older werewolves died, and when their children were born, they were born without wolves. Until eventually, there were none left. It took a little over two centuries.”

I sat back slowly. ”Two hundred years...”

”By the end of those two centuries, the last werewolf died.” He paused. ”The race was gone. What remained was the magical power they had gained through their dark rituals, but without their wolves, they were no longer werewolves.”

The room suddenly felt strangely quiet. ”They must have regretted it.”

Fenrith gave me a faint look. ”Eventually. They begged the Moon Goddess for forgiveness. They built temples. They offered sacrifices. They abandoned the forbidden rituals and returned to worshipping her. But divine forgiveness wasn’t something they could demand.”

I already knew there answer but still asked it anyway. ”So she didn’t forgive them?”

”Not immediately.” He looked toward the window, almost as though he were looking at a history that existed beyond the classroom walls. ”It took another century. Then, according to the oldest prophecy, the Moon Goddess finally answered them.”

My heartbeat quickened. ”What did she say?” I was way too invested in this story.

Fenrith looked directly at me. ”She promised that one day, her child would be born into their world.”

I blinked. ”Her child?”

”The Moon Child.” The words settled heavily between us. ”The child would be born beneath the blessing of the moon and would possess the power to return what had been taken. The wolves would return to Starfall through her.”

I stared at him. ”You are telling me the Moon Goddess is going to bring the werewolves back through... me?”

”That is what the prophecy says.”

For several seconds, I couldn’t speak. This sounded like something I’d have laughed at a month ago. A goddess. A curse. A vanished race. A child destined to restore an entire species. If someone had told me this story while I was working at the diner in Florida, I would have assumed they were trying to sell me some fantasy novel.

Yet I was sitting inside an academy where a man could manipulate time, another could control beasts, and my own cat could speak. Somehow, the impossible had become my daily reality.

”But why does everyone believe I’m that child?” I finally asked.

”Because the last Oracle of Starfall predicted your birth.” He answered simply.

I blinked. ”An old lady predicted it?” The moment the words escaped, I realized my mistake. ”Sorry. I mean... an oracle.”

Fenrith’s mouth twitched. ”I believe we can forgive your choice of description.”

I relaxed slightly. ”So she predicted me?”

”She predicted the birth of the Moon Child when your biological mother became pregnant with you.”

”And everyone simply believed her?” I couldn’t hide the disbelief in my voice. ”Based on the words of one old-” I stopped myself. ”One oracle?”

Fenrith nodded. ”An oracle’s words aren’t treated as ordinary predictions. In Starfall, the words of a true oracle are considered divine messages. Their ability is believed to come directly from the Moon Goddess.”

I frowned. ”But what if she was wrong?”

”Then Starfall would have spent twenty years searching for the wrong child.” His expression was completely serious. ”But they didn’t.”

I was silent.

”Besides,” Professor Fenrith continued, ”there was another reason everyone knew the prophecy referred to you.”

My fingers tightened around the edge of my chair. ”What reason?”

”The other reason,” Professor Fenrith continued, ”was the description the Moon Goddess herself left behind.”

I slowly lifted my gaze.

”According to the prophecy, the Moon Child wouldn’t be recognized merely by the circumstances of her birth. The Goddess gave Starfall a way to identify her when she eventually appeared.” He paused, letting the words settle before continuing. ”The Moon Child would possess silver eyes and silver hair. The silver would represent the Goddess’s power flowing through her blood.”