Faith: Introduction

This is the introduction to Faith, a novella I wrote in sixth grade. It was edited last year. Anyway, I'm posting it to see if anyone's interested in reading more. Please respond. Thanks a bunch!

(Oh, by the way, the intro isn't supposed to be mind-blowing literature; it's just needed to get the story rolling.)

Moon Children are ethereal, angel-like beings. They have no vital organs, symbolizing their semi-invincibility. Human weapons and disease may inflict mild injuries on them, but never death. The only thing that can kill a Moon Child is a stronger magic (of which there are very, very few) or if the Moon Child willingly sacrifices herself.

In appearance, they resemble a cross between a rabbit and a dog that walks on two legs. Their fur is vividly colored and their eyes are like faceted gemstones.

There were originally ten Moon Children. Each one was born from the Moon. The birthing process is unique to anything seen on earth. Like dormant seedlings, the Moon Children lay curled inside the hollow Moon until they are needed on Earth. Each Moon Child possesses certain magical qualities. For example, Truth can read minds, Protection can shield someone from harm, etc.

The first Moon Child to be born was Courage, a noble creature with navy blue eyes and crimson fur. Her job was to see the world through its unstable early stages, when it was still forming. Following her, at intervals of a thousand or so years, came the other nine Moon Children. Together, they maintained peace and balance on Earth.

Each Moon Child possessed a magic item. Together, they were known as the Paws items; each one was emblazoned with two paws, one black, one white, representing balance in nature. Every item had its unique qualities. For example, Courage’s sword could drive through any substance, Freedom’s boots could help her travel at unearthly speeds, and Lyrical’s flute could shapeshift whoever played it.

When brought together, the Paws items would form a single sword that possessed the qualities of all the items combined. However, only an extremely powerful individual could wield it; alone, no single Moon Child could.

Only Moon Children can wield the items of Paws. But if there are no living Moon Children, someone else may do so.

This is where the Skeletal Hand comes into perspective. No one knows exactly where it came from. Some say it was born from the ignorance, hatred, and fear of the human race. In any case, its only purpose was to throw off the balance the Moon Children worked so hard to achieve, and to plunge the world into utter darkness. Researchers speculate the Skeletal Hand takes the form of a hand for several reasons. Hands are the instruments of creation and destruction. Also, a hand is not a complete being, therefore not having the balance of Moon Children.

The Skeletal Hand sat in darkness for hundreds of years until it was strong enough to conquer the Moon Children. It hit full force. In one night, all the Moon Children were gone. However, the Moon had been expecting this. So she conceived another Moon Child, her eleventh daughter, and named her Faith. Courage was the last Moon Child to fall. She had just enough time to bring Faith to safety before she died.

During the raid, the Skeletal Hand had stolen the Paws items from the Moon Children. Courage managed to keep two of them. One, the Shield, she hid in the Fall of Paws, the sacred waters of the Moon Children, where the Skeletal Hand could not penetrate. Two, the flute, she gave to a kindly human friend of hers, the Maid. Faith, also, was passed into the care of the Maid. There she grew up, sheltered from the outside world by great stone walls.

For as long as one Moon Child still lived, the Skeletal Hand could not wield the Paws items.

As long as one Moon Child lived, there was still Faith.