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Raven is a Flywardian from Flywardia, a planet located in the Frontier Systems. She grew up living in the planet's capital of Skystone City, a sprawling metropolis cut out of the rock of a floating island, the largest in Flywardia. Raven and her family (mother, father, and two brothers) lived together in one of the stone-cut apartment buildings near the center marketplace. She still has vivid memories of looking across the bustling market, a sea of multi-colored tents, to see a towering dome structure, sat atop smooth cut pillars, piercing through the fog of morning. It had once been the building that housed the High Council, the central seat of power on Flywardia, before the United Republic came and everything changed.
A gentle and simple creature, Raven spent most of her time as a child in her family's rooftop garden, playing amongst the trees or nestling in the grass to read one of her favorite books. Her Father was always fond of telling the story of the first time Raven experienced the Fall season outside of their den. When the leaves started to change from bright shades of emerald green to the rustic yellows, browns and reds of the colder months Raven was exuberant, excited by the kaleidoscope of color, but then the strong winds blew and the leaves fell, one by one, leaving the trees bare. It was then that she took to crying, worried that the trees were dying. Her Father found her one morning, out by the trees in a wind storm, doing her best to tie the leaves back onto the bare branches.
"They are dying Papa," she had said.
"No, no, my dear. The old leaves have to fall away before new life can come, but it will. Come Spring it will be just as bright and green as before. You will see. It is the same with you and me."
Raven carried this truth with her as she grew. It was a comfort as her world began to crumble around her. It started with the coming of the United Republic, who discovered and colonized Flywardia when Raven was approaching adulthood. She came to witness the deaths of her father, mother, and younger brother when United Republic cruisers attacked Skystone City. With the help of her eldest brother Raveem, Raven was able to escape the city and flee to the Fygon Forest on the planet's surface. It was there, hidden from the United Republic in the sanctuary of Fygon City, that Raven and her brother became part of a rebel force of Flywardians who sought to overthrow the colonizers and retake their homeworld.
Raven devoted years of her life to fighting the United Republic and eventually became a spy, spending time in her childhood haunts of Skystone City obtaining information to exploit the weaknesses of her enemies or steal weapons and technology to use against them in battle. Her active part in the rebellion came to an end when she was caught by the United Republic while on a mission in Skystone City. After hours of torture, they clipped her wings and let her go, her wingless shame acting as a continual reminder to the locals of the futility of rebellion.
Her career as a spy ending in shame, Raven took up more menial tasks to support the life of the Flywardians hiding in Fygon Forest. Over time she grew more interested in the stories of her people's past, studying The Book with the scribes who protected the ancient texts of her people in Fygon City's library. Her hopes gradually changed as her imagination was captured by the prophecies of The Book, prophecies that foretold of a Tarak who would come to defeat evil and bring peace. She looked forward to this day, hoping that the Tarak would do what no rebellion or war or violence could: to make the dead leaves live again.
Photo Cred: @bunbunpaaa
If you want to find out more about Raven and the other characters in the Bright Abyss Series be sure to pick up a copy of the first book in the series The Bright Abyss. You can find it by following the link here: The Bright Abyss. You can also get a free download of my short story The First Encounter, a Bright Abyss story, by signing up for my email list below!