Nyx

She nods her head and says, "Very well. What is your name child?" I take a sip of the glowing water and say, "My name is Lyra, and you?" The old woman says, "Lyra, what a beautiful name. It means harp and it also means brave. I am Aluma, the one who cares for the fallen stars."

Fallen stars?

She waves her hand over the table, bringing it to life. Stars in a galaxy swirl around on the table as she says, "Nyx is the Greek Goddess of the night and the daughter of CHAOS. She was told to be very beautiful. Her birthplace was not on Earth but in Gaia. She is Primordial God. It is said that she was created near the beginning of time."

"Her home is in the depths of Hades' underworld. Nyx has a shadowy figure, which makes her the perfect personification of the night. In ancient art, Nyx was drawn in three different ways. She was either winged, charioteer, or crowned with an aureole of dark mists. Did you know this?"

I nod my head and say, "Yes, I was taught about her back in my world." She nods and continues, "Nyx is a very unique goddess. She can impact mankind in a good or bad way. Her ability to bring sleep or death to the human race. She is not the goddess to mess with though. Zeus even feared Nyx because she was older and stronger than him."

"She is the only goddess he's ever feared. That speaks volumes of her power. The Moonstone is used to honor her to this day. Nyx lived in Tartarus, a place of torment, suffering, and darkness. Funnily enough, however, she is not exactly the personification of evil in Greek mythology. She's never spoken of having done anything more 'evil' than Zeus himself does in any mythology."

"Yet, because of her mysterious and dark nature, many see her as more of a villain figure than she ever appears to be. Surprisingly, Nyx was never the figurehead of any cult or group but was worshipped as a background deity in many of the ones for other gods and goddesses."

"Nyx married Erebus, the God of darkness. Nyx and EREBUS produced HEMERA (Day) and AETHER (Light). Hemera is Nyx's opposite. Nyx brought the dark veil over the night, while Hemera chased the dark mists away each morning. Interestingly so, Nyx was able to create her own dark spirits including Fates, Sleep, Death, Strife, and Pain. More of Nyx's children include GERAS, MOROS, NEMESIS, KERES, and ONEIROI."

She flicks her wrist, causing the stars to leap from the table and float around us as she continues, "Nyx appears in many important greek poems. In the fragments of poetry she inhabits, Nyx is the first of all creations. Before there was anything, there was darkness or 'night' and it was there that Nyx came to be, according to the ancient Greek mythos. She is often portrayed in symbolism as a moon or stars, in accordance with her ending the daytime and bringing the night."

I watch the old woman as the stars float around us and say, "While this is all interesting, I don't understand what any of this has to do with me." Silence hangs between us as she softly says, "She came here, not too long ago with a baby. That baby was wrapped in a blanket of stars. She handed her to me and asked for me to send her away."

My heart thumps hard against my chest but I don't say a word. I suddenly have a bad feeling growing within me. I swallow hard as I softly ask, "What did you do with the baby?" She gives me a knowing smile and says, "I found a world for her and a family with close ties with Nyx herself."

I'm finding it harder and harder to breathe as I struggle to keep my calm. Instead of tiptoeing around it any longer, I struggle to ask, "Are you saying that... that I'm that baby?" The old woman gives me a gentle smile as she asks, "Your last name is Alarie, am I right?"

My hands tremble as I slowly start shaking my head and saying, "Impossible. I have a mother, a father, and a grandfather who loved me." Her smile turns a bit sad as she says, "Loved... I'm sorry they're no longer here."

I clench my fists as she says, "I looked everywhere for the right family and finally found them. They couldn't have children of their own and they were the last of their bloodline. I felt like it was only right to place the child of Nyx in a family that actually carries her bloodline. Just because they weren't your real parents doesn't mean they didn't love you as their own."

I remain frozen in my seat, unable to move as my whole world comes crashing down around me. This old woman is telling me that Nyx is my mother? Impossible. I force my words to come out as I ask, "How are you certain I'm her child and not a child she picked up and took pity on?"

The old woman says, "She called you hers. She said you were her little surprise, but she had to hide you away. She asked me to keep you safe and to find you a family to hide you in. One that would shower you with love and affection. She asked me that with tears in her eyes. Tell me, does that sound like someone who just picked up a random baby? No, it sounds like a mother trying to protect her child the best she can in a grave situation." If she were so powerful, why would she need to hide me away?

I lean forward, bracing my head with my hands as I question my entire existence. Was that why magic came to me so effortlessly? Why I didn't need spells and circles? Suddenly, I think back to the black flames.

Abell said that they weren't hers. That they belonged to the first witch... Was that Nyx? But then what about the tree with the golden energy? I suddenly feel as if I opened up pandora's box! I quickly stand up, trying to loosen my dress a bit as I lift my other hand to my head and mumble, "Impossible, none of this makes sense. If that's true... my whole life has been a lie..."

I try to take a step and feel my whole world tilt. The old woman calls out, "Lyra, calm down child. It's not the end of the world. Calm yourself before you pass out." I ignore the woman as I stumble out of her house, gasping for air.

It literally felt like I couldn't breathe. I walk over to the water fountain and fall to my knees. My knees sink into the soft black sand with ease as I struggle to gasp my new reality. Nyx was my mother? She left me here, to be placed with another family to protect me...

Tears blur my vision as I struggle to swallow. Does that mean I still have a mother and... a father? Does that mean the legends I heard about her other children are my siblings? I reach up, grabbing my dress at my chest as my tears fall.

If that were true, why do I feel so incredibly lonely?