The Lunar Blessing

= The Lunar Blessing =

An Upcoming Fantasy Novel by Kylie Marcella.

## Synopsis

### Part One

One late summer morning Echo Brimson and Quil Vanyard are out on their commute from Vinder Valley. Their hometown, a small farming town called Gillstrum, is overtaken by a mysterious group of people and Echo's family is murdered. The two of them flee town together and spend four long days in a cave nearby - for those four days Echo is paralyzed by grief and is completely dysfunctional and uncommunicative. When the two began to talk again they bicker and argue about where to go next and even consider splitting up, but after a close call with the enemies they decide it's better to travel together,

They find a journal entry from Echo's late father that mentions his brother who lives in Ravenyen and ultimately that becomes their destination. However, over the course of a couple of days they keep getting lost and turned around until they accidentally run into an acquaintance from Vinder Valley, an Elf named Angel Lordeon with an excellent inner-compass. Longing for a life outside of their town, they decide to join Echo and Quil. They stay in an Inn nearby the docks and the next morning board the ship to Ravenyen. The first night they stop in the city of Hoffee, and while on the beach Echo tells Quil that they should part ways in Ravenyen, however Quil is insistent on sticking together. When they arrive in the capital Echo is set on finding her uncle and while Quil and Angel spend some time in a local casino she slips away and starts heading to that side of the city. Things take a turn from the worst when she is surrounded by street beasts after being pointed in the opposite direction. The fight is a close call until a mysterious woman named Layona Hevensare shows up and saves her, taking her to safety.

Echo is instantly infatuated with Layona and learns, as she is bandaging her wound, that she is a member of a group called the Raven Cleansers and tries to make the city safer for civilians. When Quil and Angel run into trouble, while secretly following Echo, the two women help them fight and Layona offers to aid them to central Ravenyen, where she is headed. They spend the night in her hotel and spend the next day traveling together, witnessing the horrors of Ravenyen firsthand. They run into Ash & Deelo who claim to be part of Operation Soares. After the fight, the twins flee. When the group reaches central Ravenyen they meet Layona's friend Valten Vorsmal who lives in one of the richest buildings in the city. He agrees to let them stay and invites them to a fighting match in a coliseum owned by The Raven Cleansers Corp. It is there that Echo learns that a member of the Corp had gone missing. The next morning however, they receive reports that he was spotted in the North, near the neighborhood Echo is trying to reach. The five of them end up going together and traveling for a day and a half to their destination.

While in her uncle's abandoned home with Layona, Echo learns that he was running from something called Operation Soares and was desperate to tell her father about it. As they are gathering evidence they are interrupted by load gunshots nearby. Valten and Layona are quick to respond to the commotion, locating it a block away with the other three behind. It is there that they watch their missing friend be slaughtered by Ash and Deelo in front of a group of scared citizens. After a failed attempt to kill them and save their friend's life the group flee and hide in an abandoned apartment nearby where they spend three strange days trying to figure out where to go next. All of them want to continue to learn about the deadly Operation and avenge their loved ones.

### Part Two

While in hiding, Valten receives a call from his brother informing him that an ex-Corp member may have more information about the Operation, claiming she told him during their time of dating, before she became a traitor and an outlaw. He gives the group a lead on her location and Valten contacts a friend to get them to a different continent via helicopter. While escaping Ravenyen the group is attacked by members of the Operation but manage to all escape safely, flying East, leaving Malidia territory. Once they land they look to Angel to guide them to the town where Skyelar Van Deen is believed to be hiding. On their way they come to a cliff that overlooks a large group of soldiers heading into a gated city. Because of their equipment the group believes them to be part of Operation Soares and decide to take the long route to not get caught. They set up camp for the night and continue to travel to Loreian in the morning where they search for clues on Skyelar's current whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Skyelar overhears them talking about her and calls to them from atop the roof of a small house. She jumps down and begins to battle them with a mega-hammer. Once she is defeated she questions whether or not they are taking her into custody. When they tell her what is going on she admits she does have information on Operation Soares and will help them out in exchange for her freedom to return to Ravenyen after all is said and done. The group agrees and Skyelar tells them that the Operation is a religious group who is out to terrorize non-believers, that is stationed in Hellaband. Believing the leader, Father Mathahard, is in Ravenyen taking care of business, the group decides to break into Hellaband, which they learn is the heavily guarded city they went around earlier to search for clues on why they would be trying to terrorize and takeover small towns.

They break into town and split up into two separate groups. Echo, Quil and Skyelar easily locate the Father's house. While they explore the other group notices that the leaders of Operation Soares have returned dragging an unidentified woman with them. They attempt to warn the others but it is too late - the group run into Father Mathahard and his crew and fight him off until the other three come to help them. Eventually, he leads himsef and his son and wife into an underground bunker and instructs Ash and Deelo to, once again, fight the party. Valten badly injures Deelo and the group escapes with the captured woman they later know as Lani. She stays in an Inn with them in a nearby town and takes interest in Quil's magic skills, offering to help him put on a show in a local Cavern. The next day Layona asks Echo to come with her and the two go into the nearby forest to enjoy a waterfall and talk. Layona senses Echo is tense and begins to play around in the water to get her to lighten up. They spend the day in which Echo clarifies as "the best day since she lost her mother" wandering the forest and town. Layona offers Echo to stay in her room that night and though she is nervous, Echo agrees and this starts a time period where the two frequently spend the night together.

For about a week, the group station at the town and frequently train in the woods nearby while Quil and Lani are practicing for his magic show. Echo feels herself growing close to Layona too quickly for her liking, and even begins to recognize deeper feelings brewing out of her control. On the night of the show Layona claims that it's a "date" between them and Echo stresses over what to wear until Angel finds her an outfit and does her hair. During the show, Quil's magic is more realistic than ever and he finds himself infatuated with his assistant Lani. During a levitation trick however, Lani falls to the ground and the fire alarm goes off, sending the cavern up in flames. It is revealed that Skyelar did this out of jealousy of Lani and Quil's relationship and accused Lani of using magic to manipulate Quil's performance. Valten decides that the group will leave town the next day and offers his labor to fix the cavern later down the line. That night, however, the inn the group are staying in is raided by soldiers of Operation Soares and Quil, in a state of panic, screams at Echo to run. She escapes through the backdoor and is followed by Solstice, damaging her leg in the process. She comes to a clearing where a huge temple ruin stands and while there she sees a mysterious woman who she recalled seeing once before in Gillstrum and Ravenyen. She begs her for help but the woman simply walks into the temple with Echo chasing her.

In the temple she is lead into a large room with pillars and thrones. The woman smiles at her and takes her hand, not answering any questions. She takes her to an obviously ethereal woman with long curly hair known as Taneada. The woman that lead her there reveals herself as Daniella and they introduce themselves as the Gods of The Planet, Echo, in awe, has no choice but to believe them and is stunned when she is introduced to the third; a woman named Nicolette who turns out to be the God version of Echo's mother who she previously thought was dead. Nicolette reveals to Echo that she missed her and one day they can be together for eternity. Echo tells her that their entire family is dead and Nicolette, in shock, cries and holds her and tells her to please meet her at The Temple of Taneada in East Malidia and she will explain more. Echo then wakes up on the ground in front of the Temple where she had followed the woman, in a state of hurt and shock. Solstice finds her and rather than killing her tells her that she reminds her of him "when he was more human" and encourages her to stay alive because there are "important matters at hand." Meanwhile, the other members of the group are searching for Echo and become worried when she doesn't show up. After searching for a while they come across the Temple but Echo has gone.

They enter a nearby dungeon where they find a lot of beasts that none of them really know how to fight. They began to learn swiftly and after fighting and searching for a while Angel becomes sacred, sensing something big nearby and tries to convince them to leave. However, before they can a huge snakely beast comes out of the ground and tries to kill them. The fight is hard and a close call and when Layona is moments away from getting bit, Echo jumps from the ceiling and pierces the snake's head, passing out shortly after.

The group takes a boat back to Ravenyen to return Lani home. When Echo wakes up on the boat she confesses to Layona and Angel that she needs to go to East Malidia and she can't explain why. They convince the group to go that way after a quick visit to Ravenyen. They go to a Raven Cleansers Corp event while there to "loosen up and have fun" minus Skyelar who is still considered a "traitor." Echo finds herself jealous when men make advances on Layona at the party. Skyelar finds herself in a predicament when members of the Corp find her on the rooftop and confront her. She battles it out with the help of Quil and Angel. Afterwards the group stays in Valten's apartment, other than Echo and Layona who spend the night in Layona's newly renovated apartment.

Layona begins to worry for Echo as her behavior seems to change drastically in the following days. The group leaves Ravenyen and heads East from the city until they reach an old temple built into the mountains. They go inside with her in case of danger and when they arrive to the throne room Father Mathahard and Solstice are there in the middle of a meeting. They leave shortly after and the Gods converse with Echo and her friends about the prophecy and Echo's destiny as the Lunar God who is to save the world from the ultimate evil, The Adversary who is destroying pieces of land in an attempt to corrupt the wold and it's inhabitants. Nicolette tells Echo that she exchanged her humanity in order to keep her husband alive and that she hopes Echo accepts her fate and joins her forever in the Celestial Realm. They then reveal that Solstice is in the transformation stages of becoming the Solar God and he is more of a friend than a foe. Though Echo doesn't deny her fate she refuses to trust a movement that terrorized her hometown and murdered her father and sisters. Nicolette asks Echo's friends if they can aid her in her journey. They are to go to specific locations and receive The Lunar Blessing in order to fully awaken her powers and welcome her into the Celestial Realm.

Though Taneada does give Echo the choice to become God or stay human she urges her to choose soon because The Adversary is only growing stronger. Echo is in a state of shock and is unable to decide but agrees to go on the journey to welcome her potential transformation. Layona is also in a state of shock and avoids Echo for next couple of days as the group travels to West Malidia in search of the first sacred location. A sacred stone hidden deep within a forest is found. While Echo is receiving the blessing Angel and Valten wander away to a cave guarded by a riddle. Angel solves it despite Valten discouraging them to even try and is awarded a firey arrow that can only be used once.

After the first blessing, when they get back to camp and after everyone is asleep, Layona pulls Echo out of her tent and urges her to follow her. Echo is confused and worried but shortly after they wander away from the camp Layona asks if she can kiss her. After they kiss Layona admits that she really likes her and they walk hand in hand back to the camp.

They are all traveling North together to reach the next destination. Valten questions his spirituality and confesses this to Angel. Quil and Skyelar began to develop light crushes on each other and Echo and Layona began to fall in love without ever making things official. They head into a town during a celebration and as they are leaving Solstice finds them and began to talk to them, which is only followed by confrontation and fighting. Solstice prompts Echo by saying "how is Quil so different than me?" Echo questions to her friend until he admits that his family knew about the Gillstrum attacks. In a fit of rage she attempts to kill him until Valten knocks her out cold.

### Part Three

Echo wakes up in an Inn a few days later. To her dismay, everyone seems a bit wary of her. She is still angry and hurt by Quil and decides to avoid him as much as possible. Disheartened by Layona seeming to avoid her, she tries to focus only on the goal at hand and continues to head North. Angel is the first to soften to her, lightly comforting her here and there. They are staying at a town in the North preparing for a ascencion up the mountain when Echo starts to lose it and screams at the whole group for messing with her or not taking anything seriously. The next day, Layona seems to fall ill. Angel is approached by a mysterious man who tells them to go to a specific location up the mountain. Angel convinces the rest of the group to go there and Echo agrees while taking on a leadership role.

As they travel up the mountain Layona's condition becomes worse in the cold. Echo wants to comfort her but because of the ice between them lately she doesn't know how. Finally, when they stop in a cave and try to warm her by a fire, Valten tells her to do something about it and even threatens to hurt her if she doesn't. Echo asks Angel and Skyelar to try to warm her with magic while she also tries to warm her with her body. During the night, they are approached by Solstice. He tells them that he doesn't agree with his Father's way of doing things and wishes to join them on their journey in exchange for Layona's health. The group have no choice but to agree.

The next day, Layona is in good health, and the group travel up to the place Angel wishes to visit. They are met with the destroyed ruins of a hidden town. The man that approached Angel is there and they learn he is named Kore Lensdar and was a friend of Angel's birth parents who died long ago when Angel was small. Angel learns about the past of their parents and explores their old home. They learn they died in a town massacre. Angel agrees to keep in touch with Kore, who is the closes thing to their family they have left.

The group reaches the top of the mountain where Echo receives the blessing. Afterwards, they are confronted by a powerful Mountain Beast. Solstice shows off his powers in the light of this and Echo begins to wonder if him joining wasn't a bad idea after all. He refers to Echo as his celestial sister for the remainder of the journey. While they are on the mountain top Valten calls his friend from the Raven Cleansers who comes and picks up the group in a helicopter saying that their assistance is needed in the capital. They fly to the Raven Cleansers Corp building where Lani, among others greet them. They explain that there have been massive disaster and explosions in certain parts of the city that they suspect are being caused by Ash and Deelo. That night Layona asks Echo if she can spend the night with her and they partially confess their love for each other. Both of them dreading the obvious life-altering fate of Echo's that will soon tear them apart.

Remi Vorsmal bypasses Skyelar's exclusion of the Corp and orders them to leave her be. He, along with his former lover, anaylze the city's strange attacks from afar. That night, Skyelar sneaks into Lani's room and threatens to throw her from the window, telling her that she knows she is causing the problems, rather than Ash and Deelo. Lani admits this, confessing she is the spawn of The Adversary but insisting nobody will believe Skyelar. The next day Lani flirts with Quil before heading out of her "daily tasks."