Each of the five hosts selected by the star through Ystriel's spell casting bore a portion of the star's power. Superstition held that each star lived and breathed its own life, casting its light as evidence of the life it lived. The brighter the star the stronger the life within. When a star fell to the earth it was not merely an act of accident but more one of fate, of destiny. A light did not fall without a purpose.
Like most purposes, it was not one that granted initial explanation. The five chosen had no way of knowing why they were chosen or even that they were chosen. Their lives could not be easy - though no life worth living is a simple one. Heroes are those that are tempered and tried. Like the blades they wield they must be put through the fire and beat to shape, then polished and sharpened in order to finally have their worth tested and proven true.
These five - even had the star not chosen them - are tested time and time again, tempered by life's transgressions, and still face the greatest test - the one that will determine the fate of the world as much as their own. More than just a life of normalcy and the desired life of peace without resistance is at stake.
The five points
Ailen and Brenna - The Dark Stars
The Shadow and The Raven. Ailen is the son of a baker. Brenna is the daughter of a queen. Ailen and Brenna are the first that Ystriel searches when he initially plans to bring the power of the star onto himself. Both children were taken from their parents by the wizard at the age of 5. When the two children touch their worlds as well as the wizard's are changed. Ystriel is crippled and scarred in the explosion caused by the touch. He is not the only one. Ailen, too, is scarred from top to toe. Though, he has the fortune of falling under Cuinn - one of the greatest healers in all the land - and Martha - also a talented healer. Cuinn and Martha live in what's known as the Fox's Den, a magically hidden village filled with society's less than acceptibles. Brenna also falls into the care of those who dwell in the Fox's Den and becomes squire to the Fox himself - Cathal. Brenna and Ailen, as fates played their part, do not run into each other - despite that they are both under the same cloak of the Den. Fate brings them face to face in their late teens when they both fall into the service of Jirair - a mercenary General who leads the largest free minded army in the nation. It is there the two discover their strengths together as well as the weaknesses that come from their touch. Ailen - the Shadow - can part from his shadow, becoming two swords instead of one. Brenna's body is adorned with jewels, she swears she was born with. Through the jewels she can form a shield to protect her and a handful of others. She only wishes she learned of that trick sooner.
Ardor - The Star of the Ocean
Ardor's father is admiral of the Nine Fleets. His entire adult life has been dedicated to keeping the waters safe. He and his fleet secured the waters, bringing to justice more pirates than any other fleet in history. His successes, however, lead also to his being targeted by those pirates he has destroyed. It is the pirates his men blame for his death the night his mansion is destroyed. Little did he know the target was Ardor, and it was not in the killing but in the taking. The attempt to capture the girl fell astray and both her mother and father are killed. Captain James Blackgut, his first mate Sydney, and the crew of the Conspiracy become the guardians of Ardor. To protect her they keep her at sea, teaching her the ways of the ocean. Her name is changed to Caite - though in private she will always be their Ardor - to protect her from those that slayed her parents. Their profession, they also changed, shifting the flags to that of the pirate - though honest and God fearing pirates is how they play their cards. If they could keep Caite at sea her entire life they would have, but as every man one of them knew - a girl has to grow up into the woman she's meant to be. Even on land, though, her internal compass always points her in the right direction. She's never gets lost - though that doesn't mean she doesn't get into plenty of trouble along the way.
Orrin - Earth's Star
Orrin is the only one of the five to keep his parents longer than his childhood. In fact, Orrin's father divides up the farm and grants Orrin half of it the day he marries his childhood sweetheart, Telatha. It's not until then, his life is turned upside down. Tel's beauty always inspired awe from the men. Orrin, himself, never spent a day without counting his fortune she'd accepted his proposal over all the others. When this host is sought out, a miscommunication among the dark wizard's slaves has Telatha taken instead of Orrin, and the farm destroyed in the process. Orrin's family is slain and only by a stroke of luck is he spared. When the mistake is realized she is sold to one of her former suitors - a dark prince - and her memory removed to keep the anonymity of the mistake. Orrin leaves his ruined farm and family's graves in search of his lost love only to discover her memories of him gone when he finds her. He discovers, too, when he finds her Tel's list of enemies grew by the dozens. Beside her he stands, fighting along side her rather than protecting her, until he can at long last prove he is the man she's been dreaming of - literally dreaming of. Along his journey he learns his skill with the blade matched his skill with the plow. Just as he was as a farmer he is the same as a hired sword - that is to say, he's one step ahead of the storm.
Aislin - Sword's Star
Aislin and her brother, Samuel, are thrown from their house when lies come between her parents. In a fit of anger her father gives them to a band of traveling gypsies. Aislin never speaks and Samuel rarely remains silent. Everyone that comes into contact with Aislin doesn't live long. This was even prophesied by the gypsy fortune teller, Nala. The gypsies are slayed in a midnight raid, saving Aislin and Samuel but at the cost of their lives. They are discovered by a traveling friar who takes them to his temple for food, water, and a place of sanctuary from the dark he feels around Aislin. In another midnight raid, the sanctuary is destroyed and all within it are slain. After fleeing from the scene, Samuel and Aislin come into a town and run into a handful of knights. In a daring move, Samuel chops his sister's hair and together they fall into the service of Feich - High Knight of Branwen. The two children serve as squires and later serve as Knights becoming one of the Seven. It is after they are knighted, Aislin's femininity is discovered but her knighthood is not revoked. Instead her courage and skill with a blade is rewarded - and the skill is far surpassing that of her peers. She's blessed with seeing her adversary's move before he makes it and is thus countering it even as he's making the move. Rewards are not without consequence, however, and thus once again all that she loves is destroyed.
While each of the star's points grow and develop in their powers, the one that brought the star to them also grows. His bitterness blooms as quickly as does his skill with the dark arts and his manipulation skills over others. He plots and plans and sticks the thorns to these hosts, driving them ultimately to the place he knows will be the best place to harvest their powers for his whole world dominating scheme. As he grows in power so does his army of darkness, driving and devouring the hosts when he can not. He discovers early in his plot that watching others do his dirty work is much more gratifying than doing it himself. In other words he learns the value of free labor and the pleasure of watching his slaves writhe in pain when he is finished with them.
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