Once upon a time, a myth had lived upon many ears across every kingdom and upon every nation. The Blood Red Moon, said to occur once every five centuries, and whosoever is unlucky enough to be born upon that moon will be called "The Cursed Child," whereas the family will be doomed to ruins and the child the sole survivor. Many were frightened about this, yet many had forgotten the main reason: these cursed children had a power, a power so great yet so sad, with no one to help them, no one to show them the way, forced to live with the name they were given. But it is just a myth, is it not?
In the very beginning, the Royal Family of Thalorien was once a well-known kingdom that ruled over many nations for many centuries. One fateful night, the queen gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Elirya. Elirya Thalorien was a beautiful baby girl, but one problem had occurred: an old myth, the blood moon, was at its peak on the night of her birth. The family was devastated but also did not believe in such myths with little to no concrete evidence that this myth was fact. Time had passed; the child, now 6 years of age, had distinguished features that were not of her family's looks. Her family was a family of black hair and dark blue eyes, yet Elirya? Elirya had red hair and dark red eyes, nothing like her family, and mostly like the moon. Her father, King Vaelric Thalorien, showed concern, and her brothers, Kaelen and Aren Thalorien, also showed concern and started believing the myth may be real. Yet Elirya's mother, Lyrielle Thalorien, dismissed this.
On Elirya's 10th birthday, her mother got seriously ill, the beginning of the family's downfall. Aren started to show increasing hate for his young sister, and the people grew agitated; some even went so far as to say, "Down with the princess!" and "The myth is real! She is the cursed child!" Those people met their fate of death. The king tried his best to keep their mouths shut with the punishment of death. Four days later, Elirya had discovered her ability, hemokinesis, the ability to manipulate blood. This frightened her eldest brother, Kaelen, who suggested she keep it a secret. Three more years passed, the queen died, and the two brothers went missing. The king was ill, and the kingdom fell to a great plague.
Elirya was now just thirteen, not knowing why this was happening to her beloved family. She tried to use her ability but remembered her eldest brother's words and obeyed to heed his sayings before his disappearance. The poor girl is in distress and is too young to understand why these things are happening to her family and her kingdom. She then remembered a rumor that she had overheard from her people, the myth. Her father always said, "Do not listen to the words of a fool," mostly implying the negative words of her people about the myth, but she could not not believe it. After all, her entire appearance was not of her family, but whenever she looked up at the moon, it was white with a faded blue aura emanating from it. Elirya always wondered why she was so different, always wondered why she had these abilities that she couldn't even show. She was not proud to be who she was; she did not know what she was. Everything is just a blur for her. As far as she could remember, she had always felt disconnected from the world; every dream she dreamed was always in a red shade, as if to say her world was in red. Elirya did not like this feeling.
Elirya has tried everything to the best of her abilities to help her people from this unknown plague that seems to affect the blood. She was worried about her people and the dangerously high death rate that was occurring from this plague. The people who were lucky enough not to have caught the plague left the kingdom and went to neighboring kingdoms or the countryside, leaving and spreading rumors about the ruined kingdom or the cursed child that dwelled in it.
Two more years passed; the once-powerful kingdom that flourished with wealth and beamed with rich crops had now been reduced to a ruin and dying kingdom. Many of those who had lived in it had already died out from the plague, the two sons are still missing, and the king is on his deathbed. Elirya, now fifteen, believes in the myth and deeply hates herself for being more. "If only it were on another night," she often thinks. "If only I was born before the moon." "If only"—these thoughts eat her up at night, and she even forgets her birthday at times. Not much has been done for the kingdom other than her family slowly being forgotten. Elirya still thinks her missing brothers are still alive out there, in the woods somewhere. Maybe she could look for them after her father had gained health. Suddenly, the butler, Loorick, came to her. "Mi lady, the king has called for you," he said. "Please show the way." She responded as the butler bowed and guided her towards the king's bedchamber and let them be. "Father..." "Elirya, my beautiful daughter, please come closer," he had said in a stern yet caring tone. Elirya stepped closer to his bedside, looking down at his hollow cheek and half-opened eyes looking back at her with pure love. "My daughter," he began to speak again, "I am to leave this world soon; my treasures are yours to hold. I am sorry I could not be a better father." "Do not say that, Father," she interrupted. "Shh, my child, this is but my last request: leave these pitiful ruins, find a better life, and build your nation. You are still the princess of the Tola nation, my beloved daughter." He weakly raised a hand and held it on her left cheek. "I love you, Elirya; never forget that." Those were his last words as he drew his last breath. "Father? Father!" Having lost her family and her people, there was nothing left tying her down to the place. It took three days to pack the things she needed to leave this place; she paid her respects to the graves before leaving her home. Her journey has now begun.