~ by Amanda Pizzolatto (Aurora Mandeville)
Long ago, when Alixandria was new and cultures young, the genies mingled freely among the races, and helped bring peace and prosperity to them. Many genies sought interracial marriages, but the children of the genies and humans were the only ones capable of controlling their powers. All of the others destroyed themselves because from the lack of that ability, except for two; but even they feared following the path of the others before them.
The genies rushed to find an answer to save them, for they also had unique powers. The boy, being half wisp, could glow brighter than all the rest and whatever he wrote came to be. The girl, being half irshi, could change anyone’s clothes with a snap of her fingers and know everything about a person by simply reading their name. They both could see right to the core of each person, so lying to them was impossible, they could foresee the future, they could freeze time, and they could travel through stories. Though he looked like a regular wisp, with brown curls and golden-brown skin, and she like a regular irshi, with dark hair and pale skin, he had the cream orbs, marigold irises, and dark gold pupils common to yellow genies while she just had white, glowing orbs. Of the two, her eyes were the most unsettling and she was often asked to keep her eyes closed in the presence of others.
As the years rolled by and the deadly age of thirteen drew nigh for them, more powers manifested that held a clue for the genies. He could not be harmed by fire or anything hot, she could not be harmed by anything cold, both could see for miles and miles, even the tiniest print. They could learn any language with just a few words. One genie had an idea to build him a home on the sun, and one for her on the moon, noting their betterment in extreme temperatures. And so, they did – a house made of gold and bronze on the sun and a house of silver and platinum on the moon. The children were moved into their new homes on the eves of their thirteenth year, and the world waited breathlessly to see if the same fate would befall them.
The years passed, the children lived and grew into adulthood with his firefly wings and her silkworm wings, while the world forgot their names, referring to him simply as ‘The Writer’ and her as ‘The Reader.’ They still communicated with the world, but mainly through stories and prophecies. It wasn’t long after that that only the genies remembered that they were real. There were people and animals who encountered them from time to time, but those are stories for another time. Just know this, they are connected to the prophecy of four, and when it is fulfilled, they will be known as the people they are, not the legends they were made into.
The Artist & the Singer
Not long after the Writer and the Reader had been saved, two more were found. The boy, being part fofi, a narac to be exact, could conjure up images and travel through any kind of art. The girl, being part buggane, could sing any song and her webs could play as any instrument. Both could sense and influence feelings; travel through, influence, and interpret dreams; freeze time, and both could create stairs using their webs and light. The genies kept a close eye on them, waiting breathlessly for the signs indicating the best way to save them. It didn’t take long for the genies to find what they were looking for. The boy was immune to heat while the girl was immune to the cold. Many were curious about that, though, for many reasons.
The boy had light brown hair and light skin, like any other narac, though his irises shimmered between blue and green and he had shown some signs of being immune to the cold. The girl had blonde hair and tan skin, like regular bugganes, but with pale grey, sparkling irises and she had demonstrated an affinity to warmth. But the genies took the signs they had been given and sent him to the sun to live with the Writer and her to live with the Reader on the moon. The two showed their full potential not long after reaching their new homes. They made ladders from their webs and light, the Artist using light from the lia and the Singer using light from the stars, enabling the four to return to Alixandria at any time. And one day they will step on Alixandrian soil again, together, but until that day, they will watch, and wait.