Lilliana was sweating under the weight of the heavy woolen cloak. Despite the shade of the forest, the summer sun reigned high overhead and made all of the apprentices warm. In three days the equinox would be upon the Mildian village, but before then the apprentices who had come of age needed to be assigned their ranks and roles. 

The ceremonial cloaks were meant to keep the identities of the apprentices unknown as they consulted with the divinations, except that Lilliana stood head and shoulders above everyone in the village. One by one they entered the hollow base of the great dead oak. No one knew what was within the shrine as all memories of it were forgotten. The divinations were instead marked on the skin like a tattoo, defining one’s purpose in the delicate ecosystem of the Mildian’s forest dwelling lifestyle. 

Eventually it was Lilliana’s turn to enter the great oak and consult the divinations about her future. Her tutor, Andol, was the doorman for the ceremony and he gave her a warm smile as he opened the door for her. She bowed her head to enter as the door was shut behind, darkening the room except for a faint glow in the center of the room. 

It was a pool of water. As Lilliana watched, a shape began to rise and form, the faint glowing light growing and filling the blank wooden shape of the room until the whole of the nymph was standing before her. Rosalea smiled and stretched out her arms so that Lilliana could embrace her. 

“It has been so long, child,” the nymph said. “You’ve grown so much my dear.” 

“So you are the one who divines everyone’s fate,” Lilliana asked when they finally held each other at arm’s length. 

“Yes. And your fate is an intricate one.” Rosalea held her palm over her forearm, just below her elbow, and there was a light twinge as she was marked with her fate. 

Lilliana looked at the mark of her fate and recognized the star of a prince, but the rest of it was unfamiliar symbolism. 

“What does it mean?” 

Rosalea pointed to the star, “You know this is the designation of a prince.” Lilliana nodded and she continued to the outline of the crescent, “This is your realm, the moon, because you are born of the Lunae, a child of the moon. The marks beneath that represent the twelve mages of Drear. The point of your star intersects with the seventh mage, who will be…well I’ll let you find that part out on your own.”

When Lilliana emerged from the tree she was whisked off to tell the village council of her divination. She felt dizzy as she tried to recall what she had seen inside the great oak. She felt as if she had spoken with someone, a friend, at length but the memory was dim and fading. The council greeted her with gentle words and had her remove her cloak so that they could see her divination. She looked at her arm and with clarity she said, “I’m the moon prince.”