Illiana: Magic of Consequence Prequels, #1

By Jessica Burgess

Introducing "Illiana", a Fantasy Short Story written by Jessica Burgess.

"Illiana" is the first book in the "Magic of Consequence" prequel series

Step into a fantasy world where we follow the stories of how different people deal with magic in their own unique ways.

Many centuries ago, for reasons unknown, Humans were stripped of their magic, but there is a select eight that still hold it. Illiana is one of those eight. Not only is she a young adult that is still trying to figure out the "real world", but when magic is thrown into the mix, things can get messy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica Burgess
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393372202

Book preview

Welcome to the World of Terreth!

You are now visiting Humania.

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST time, you may want to know that this world is not like our own. There are certain natural rules and cultural customs that are different. To help keep the flow of the story, some phrases and rules are not explained in this short story. This Topical Guide is provided to give a brief definition of those phrases and rules, so you’re not completely lost.

If this isn’t your first time, or you’d like to jump straight to the story, please feel free to start at ~ 1 ~ and enjoy!

The World:

Geography

THE WORLD OF TERRETH is much smaller than our own. It consists of only one continent. When the world was first created, there were no mountains, but one day The Great Divine (the gods who created the world) split the continent using a mountain range. This day is known as The Divide. Now there is the land of Humania where the Humans live and the land of Mysteria where the magical beings live.

Time

THE WORLD OF TERRETH doesn’t rotate nor does it have a sun, moon, or stars that travel across the sky. Instead, there is a Central Sphere that stays in the same spot in the sky. This Central Sphere is called the Sun during the day and the Moon during the night. The Central Sphere changes colors, progressing through the six colors of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple) once as the Sun and again as the Moon (with the colors looking dimmer). Progressing from one color to the next is known as an Hour, with twelve hours through an entire day.

Circling around the Central Sphere is a single star. It takes the star one-hundred days to finish a full cycle, indicating a new year. To help keep track of the days, the one-hundred days are broken up into twenty-five-day increments, called Quarters. While at the top, the star turns red to indicate Red Star Day. This is the day when new life is born (Red Star Dawn), birthdays are celebrated (Red Star Celebration), and the decision to bring new life the following year is made (Red Star Creation).

Before The Divide, the star did not turn red. So, a new year system was introduced at that time. Before Red (B.R.) indicates the years before the star turned red. Since then, the years have been tracked by the number of the Red Star cycles.

Humania:

Names

THE FULL NAME OF A human will go through several stages throughout their life. As a child, the full name consists of their First Name and then the name of their Father and his profession. Example: Illiana of Architect Basir. Upon becoming old enough to begin a profession, that will be included at the beginning of the name. Example: Innovator Illiana of Architect Basir. Later in life, the lineage is dropped, and they are identified by their partial name, which is simply their own profession and their first name. This moment is triggered by various events (the birth of a child, a promotion to leadership, the death of a parent, etc.) when they feel as though they are old enough to be their own person, rather than identified by their lineage.

A human will address themselves by either their full name, their partial name, or just their first name, depending on the relationship with whom they are speaking. When giving introductions to someone for the first time or when in the presence of someone of importance, they provide their full name. After the first introduction, they provide their partial name until they feel they have come to familiar terms and then they simply use their first name. For those that are particularly close, nicknames are occasionally created.

Relationships

MUCH LIKE OUR WORLD, Humania goes through various stages of a romantic relationship to indicate how serious they are with someone.

Court is the earliest stage. This has the least expectation as the couple are simply exploring their compatibility. Occasionally, a couple will Court when they are not romantically interested, but they want to spend time together. Men can often be seen wearing a necklace during this stage (further described in Commitment) to portray that they are seriously Courting with the intent for romance.

Inquiry is the first step toward being exclusive. Though it’s still easy to severe the relationship at this point, the couple will reach this status when they are interested in each other enough to start pursuing something long term. It’s highly frowned upon to have multiple Inquiries, though there are still some that will practice this.

Commitment is a proclamation to the world that the couple is in love and they would like to spend the rest of their lives together. The man initiates the proposal to Commitment by providing a necklace. This necklace is usually handed down from his mother as an heirloom. In the instance that there are multiple male children in the family, the necklace will be given to the oldest and the other boys will usually receive a different necklace from the parents. In the instance there are only female children, the parents will usually not hand down the necklace.

Joined is the last, wonderful stage. At this point, the couple address themselves as Eternals for they will be together for the rest of eternity. At this point, two pearls are added to the woman’s necklace that she was given during Commitment. This stage is not reached lightly as it cannot be severed unless by direct ruling from the King or death. It’s also common for a woman, if her husband dies, she may choose to wear black pearls on her necklace to indicate that she has already been Joined and does not wish to find another Eternal, or she may remove the necklace to indicate she’s ready to look for another. 

~ 1 ~

Red Star 2976

A LINE OF BLACK TRAVELS across the stark white canvas, leaving a bold contrast to the blank emptiness. The many hairs of the brush are manipulated to bend, sway, and leave their intricate marks behind. The dry strands of the brush pull at the wet paint, causing the aesthetic unison between the opposite colors. There is a brief moment of stillness before a splash of green erupts upon the white surface. So saturated is this color of nature, that the timid white can only barely peek through the occasional speck; but the bold black stands as a triumphant line, keeping the green