Mage/Prologue

It was bedtime. The sky outside of her window was dark, though not yet pitch-black; a brilliant few sparkling lights shone in from above: the stars, bringing in their peaceful music of night. Starlight fell asleep on her bed, cuddled in her warm blanket, waiting for the onset of the dreams that she loved. Sleep dulled her senses quickly, before she even knew that it had happened, and suddenly, she was reeling away from the real world, losing contact, faster and faster, dizzy with the excitement of exploring another figment of her dreamscape, falling helplessly into the twilight realm of dreams...

Dawn rose. It creeped up, a bit at a time, and light streaked in from far away toward the horizon. A thin streak of crisp, golden light shone in through the window and formed a growing line of light on the opposite wall. Brightness began to effuse throughout the room, and night, tired of its hours of dominion over the sleepy home, began losing its cosmic battle against the day. Gradually, it dispersed, giving ground, unwillingly, knowing that as she left, as Night left, and Day took over, the people in this cozy home would be awakened, against their will, to rise up and do the chores of living that they would have to do. Yet she could not turn the tide; in time, as time continued to turn its inevitable cycles, Day became stronger and Night became weaker. She did not abandon the ground to him immediately; yet it was inevitable, it would soon end, and nearby Starlight was still dreaming in her world as her body felt around, eager for more rest, despising the dawn of another day, yet her spirit groaned the opposite; it wanted to become active, to do something meaningful, some action, no matter how tiny, that, with its completion, would signify her manifestation in the world.

She opened her eyes. With that one action, the last vestiges of hope and reason for continued existence of Night dissipated, as she realized that Starlight was awake, and could not fall asleep again; the battle was over, and lost. She departed peacefully, and as Day remained victor in the battlefield, all was silent. Starlight remained in her bed, tranquil and blinking her eyes to adjust to the brightness, which was with every passing second growing brighter and brighter. The moments of idleness passed, dropping away into the past slowly, slowly... Her mind cleared. This home looked different from what it was last night--could it be the play of the lights? The place seemed changed, yet she knew where she was, and how she had gotten here; she was familiar to this place, if no one else was. Realizing, at a final moment, that so much time had elapsed and no one had awaken her from her false slumber, Starlight aroused herself yet once more, and pulled herself from her comfort in her bed. Twirling around, she stood up, lazily pushing her long hair aside as if it didn't matter; she was, in a way, still dreamy, not knowing what exactly she was doing; the action came naturally, as it had for the thousandth time. Life was going on. She was awake; she would now participate fully in this greatest endeavor.

Time was dripping on. Starlight changed her clothing, then walked from the bedroom to the hallway, and looked to both sides, half expecting something to happen. Dressed, as usual, in her bed robes, she treaded softly to the bathroom, attempting not to disturb anyone in the house who may be sleeping, and went there to comb her hair. It took here a mere few strokes to get it just right; the mirror reflected her face, but she barely paid any attention to that; she went through her daily ablution and then returned to her room, enjoying the serene tranquil of the home, still and silent. It would not last long.