Raven first struck me as abnormally large for a bird, but I didn’t question it as I saw how much he watched me.

Soon enough, I befriended him and decided to name him after his own, Raven.

Where ever I went, he followed in the sky.

I believed it was a gift from nature, a protector. Raven was sent to protect me from the evil shadow wielders from the neighboring kingdom.

“You know Raven,” I said, picking flowers for an arrangement. “My father told me today how I might have an inkling of magic within my veins. He said that his grandmother was a shadow wielder, which scared me, but then he told me his grandfather was a sun wielder, so maybe it balanced out?”

Raven cawed at me in a reply. He tilt his head and narrowed his eyes, as if he wanted more information.

Silly bird.

I continued, “I thought it ridiculous, until I heard how Draven, the infamous shadow wielder, was on a hunt for someone with shared blood, someone who could wield both the sun and shadows.”

I placed a rose beneath my nose, smelling its sweet scent.

“But I surely couldn’t have both powers…” I whispered.

I had to find out.

I grabbed my flowers and headed straight back home, looking for my book of wielders.

There were many kinds of wielders, some could wield the elements, others the weather, but the most powerful were the shadow and sun wielders. They were also the rarest.

Raven perched on my shoulder, as if he was reading with me.

“I can’t find anything about how to find out if you have the gift, Raven?”

Suddenly, Raven flapped through pages with his beck, until I read the title: HOW TO KNOW IF YOU HOLD POWER.

I skimmed through the entry.

“Ok, so basically I need to find a moon pool, which will help amplify my powers, if I have any, and then do the wielding motions.”

I had learned a lot about wielders since I was a kid, but never could I fully commit to discovering if I had any gifts, not after my mother died of a burn out fighting shadow wielders.

I was scared.

Raven swooped around me as I found a moon pool.

The night was quiet and calm. I put my hand into the shimmering water. It was lukewarm.

I got in, and looked to the night sky. The stars were twinkling and winking at me.

I could feel something brewing beneath my skin, some energy that needed out.

Could I be a wielder?

I started going through the motions, raising my hands and focusing on the energy.

Soon I saw a trail of shadow was dancing at my command.

I was a shadow wielder.

I almost threw up my dinner. But I stayed calm. There was still an energy beneath my skin that needed out. I reached for it and light found my eyes. I could wield both shadow and sun.

Raven flew in circles, until he disappeared completely.

I got out of the pool, searching for him.

“Raven?” I called.

“That is not my name…” a low voice responded.

A man, tall, with black hair and perfect features stepped from the shadows, which he was wielding.

“You’re a shapeshifter and a—“

“Shadow wielder, yes. And my name is not Raven, it’s Draven, and I have finally come to take you back to my kingdom, Arya.”

Draven had been watching me the whole time, waiting until I proved I could wield.

“No.” I whispered, but I could do nothing as shadows wrapped around me, taking me away from my home.