A complicated rebirth

Within a seemingly endless chain of mountain ranges and a boundless forest, stood the city Melekar, at the most westerly point of the Eastern Continent on Planet Gaia.

Standing on the banks of the great River Migotir, the city had withstood the test of time as the administrative capital of a small chiefdom also named Melekar for the past millennium.

The main features of this city were the four dome-shaped mountains arranged in a square formation. The mountains were over a thousand feet tall and twenty kilometers apart as they towered under the vast ocean of clouds.

If one was to observe the city from above, one would realize that these four mountains formed the vertices of a perfect-square joined by equidistant-lines of stone walls.

The hilly slopes of the terrain gradually flattened out, and a large variety of human activities could be found within the high walls of this city.

A population of about fifty thousand people resided within the city walls, the majority living simple lives as fishermen and hunters in the Eastern Ocean and the Savage Forest respectively. 

In some parts of the city, you could also find the shops of weapon-smiths, herbalists, alchemists, and tailors, but they were few and far between.

Four families ruled Melekar Chiefdom in the shadows. They were like puppeteers hovering above the ancient royal family that had been ruling the chiefdom for the past thousand years. They were the Du Pont, Monroe, Rafaela, and Rothschild families each with an ancient-medieval styled castle at the top of the four dome-shaped mountains.

On one particular day, the blue sky over Melekar City was dotted with fluffy white clouds that were drifting languidly in the gentle breeze.

The last rays of the evening sun were blazing a majestic castle casting a gigantic shadow on the surrounding land. This castle was the residence of the Rafaela family nicknamed the 'Red Ghost Castle'. The majestic Red Ghost Castle, built with a panoramic view of the surrounding land, stood upon the dome-shaped mountain towering above the eastern outskirts of Melekar city.

In one of the rooms on the second floor of the castle, a child was being born.

"Vivian… Push harder! … Only a little bit more and you will greet your child." A short lady dressed in a black religious-habit, with a shawl, draped over her head implored in a gentle voice.

The young woman lying on the bed nodded while sobbing.

"Ah… Ah…" Giving a painful cry, she took a deep breath and pushed down with all the strength she could muster. … Before long, the baby came sliding out of her. She took a few more breaths of air, her expression slowly relaxing.

The short lady dressed as a nun in a religious-habit quickly took the baby into her arms even before cutting the umbilical cord. You could see the unconcealed joy on her face.

However, after not hearing a baby's cry in the seconds that followed, she could not help but frown as sadness was beginning to engulf her entire being.

****

Tracy had come to Melekar City disguised as a nun of the 'Dark Church' to find out the whereabouts of the young princess of the Medici family who was last sighted by hunters near Dandarah - a small town in the southeastern part of Melekar Chiefdom.

She passed by Melekar City's hunter's guild to restock her supplies before heading to Dandarah when she got wind of the news that a young pregnant lady was arrested by the people of the ancient Manroe family.

From the casual conversations of the mystics at the guild, she was able to deduce that the lady in question had traits very similar to the young Medici princess.

She immediately requested assistance from one of the Medici spies stationed in Melekar City.

With the help of Jonas Lombardi - a mystic under the emblem of the Medici family, she quickly got a solid confirmation. The young lady imprisoned in the Manroe family's 'Black Ghost Castle' was Vivian - the young Medici princess that had been missing for the past three years.

It had taken Tracy a great deal of restraint and persuasion from Jonas, to stop herself from storming the Black Ghost Castle there and then. Despite her usual calm demeanor and patience, she could not control her emotions when she learned about the Manroe family's actions.

Vivian's rescue was successful, but she was in a bad place psychologically. When Tracy met her close friend for the first time in three years, the reunion was anything but jubilant. Vivian had burn marks across her arms, face, and legs. She seemed to have been through hell and back.

And that was not the worst of it. Vivian had lost her memories three months prior. She'd treated them both as strangers when they met two days ago. And worse… she seemed not to care about anything anymore.

Tracy had noticed that Vivian looked detached and distant from everyone else around her, a listless expression ever-present on her once vibrant and youthful face. That was before today. Tracy saw Vivian smiling for the first time since they were reunited because of the birth of her child.

[I need to save this child by all means possible.] Tracy deliberated after thinking of how the newborn child was the only pillar supporting Vivian's will to live. She began to wipe the child's light-brown skin with a warm towel. And this disguised her casting of a diagnostic spell on the child. 

Tracy quickly detected brimming dark energy in the child's diaphragm; the primary muscle used in respiration. The dark energy had a malevolent aura that was a common signature of curses passed on to unborn children through their mothers.

After Tracy traced the source of the dark energy to be the now cut umbilical-cord of the child, she instantly confirmed that the Manroes were the source of the malevolent curse.

The Manroes were one of the ancient families that practiced dark-voodoo mystic arts. They occasionally prayed and performed human sacrifices to feed and beckon the spirits of the underworld. Then they would dance until the spirit took over their bodies to advance their mystic powers.

[An infant with an inborn mystical talent would be the best sacrifice to attract the attention of the dark evil spirit - Moloch.] Tracy sighed. Her hands never stopped as she kept on thinking about what led to the current predicament.

[Moloch should be the evil spirit most interested in newborn child sacrifices.] Tracy was angry but kept her emotions in check knowing that the most important task at the moment was saving Vivian's Child.

Soon a clean frail child was presented in her arms. His eyes were closed tightly and his face devoid of any expressions.

If it wasn't for her earlier diagnostic spells, Tracy would have thought the child was lifeless. But on listening closely with a sound amplification spell, Tracy could make out the infant's extremely weak and slow heartbeat.

This gave her the clarity required for the next steps...