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Long before the epic of Sainte Ciel and Princess Rosamund, the world was wild with magic. Under the reign of the dark ylves, a permanent twilight settled over the land for generations, and the kingdom lay out of reach of the sun's warm arms.

The king and queen's first child was a baby girl, and the court sorcerer named her after the thorny velvet flowers that grew along the castle walls - Briar. But like all royal children, Briar was born under a dark star. She would grow up in the lap of luxury, under the silver light of the moon, but she would never be permitted to venture beyond the castle walls. Nor was she allowed to learn the secret of her family's lineage, magically sealed in a black book, hidden from the light deep within the castle's shadows...

The first occasion Briar was permitted contact with outsiders was the princess’ sixteenth birthday. Ambassadors from distant ylven kingdoms were invited to a lavish ball in the land of twilight, including the heir to the throne of Aurelian, the sun-soaked coast of the amber ylves. In an unusual gesture of diplomacy, the Aureli heir had sent a gift ahead of the birthday masque.

“The finest leather slippers, gilt with Aureli gold, and papillon silk stockings,” said Briar’s attendant, presenting the gift in its ornate box. Gold. A rare material in the twilight kingdom, nowhere to be found within its moonlit borders. It was a precious gift indeed. “With warmest regards, signed their grace Saffron, crown of Aurelian.”

Briar’s heart quickened as she slipped the shoes on to her small feet. A perfect fit… But why send this gift so early? She would wear them to the masque and meet Saffron face to face, protocol be damned...

“You may attend the masquerade, but you may not speak to the guests,” the court sorcerer said gravely. “It is forbidden.”

“The ball is in my honor,” Briar replied.

“This has always been custom. The king and queen forbid it. The law forbids it. End of discussion.”

Briar sulked in her chambers, gazing out the casement at the endless night. It wasn’t fair; it was her birthday, her masque. Was she to sit like a pretty, brainless doll while all her glittering guests danced the night away?

The full moon cast a silver glow over the castle grounds. Guests had already begun arriving for the next evening’s festivities, yvlen royalty from the deep forests, from the icy north… and then, shining like a golden star, the court of the Amber Coast. Briar watched eagerly as the procession approached the gates. One stood out among the riders.

They rode a black horse: a person like a gilded rose, with warm brown skin, hair like a sunset, and eyes that glimmered like gold. Saffron, Crown of Aurelian. They were so beautiful, Briar thought. So beautiful…

The court was busy with party preparations, and for a night Briar went unnoticed, even as she snuck into the great underground treasury. Generations of jeweled crowns, silk robes, and gilded weapons glittered in the dim light of Briar’s single flickering candle. She was certain she would find something to impress the beautiful Saffron…

Without warning, a cold wind swept through the chamber, snuffing out the candle’s flame. As Briar’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that it was not entirely black. An eerie glow emanated from an old dusty book, pulsing subtly as if with a dark heartbeat. Briar traced its cover with her finger - a moon’s silver face, with one blinded eye. She heard it speak.

~Claim your birthright… It is already yours…~

Suddenly the book disintegrated under Briar’s touch, its pages crumbling to dust and its words lost. The silver mask remained, cold and beautiful in the princess’ small hands…

Many generations ago, an ylven queen, mad with the fear of usurpation, made a dark pact to ensure her bloodline reigned forever.

The demon appeared to her in the dead of night, perched at the foot of her bed. Was it a man? Was it a crow? One eye glowed red and its voice raked over her mind like a claw gloved in silk.

~What would you give to wear your crown forever?~

“Anything,” she breathed.

~Then I will replace your heart with cold silver. You will want nothing else. You will love nothing else. The moment your heart warms, it is mine to consume…~

And for generations the royal bloodline was preserved with cold, loveless unions. The kingdom slept in endless twilight while the demon’s curse waited in their blood like a disease of inheritance. Empty hearts were joined in political marriage, one after another, and all was safe until the princess Briar laid eyes on Saffron, in all their warm golden splendor. Her blood warmed, and the disease spread.

In the ballroom, the crown of Aurelian approached the throne…

"My lady," Saffron said, their voice rich and warm. "I have heard rumors that the princess of the dark ylves is beautiful, though seldom seen. I am honored to confirm it with my own eyes. My heart is glad."

Briar stood speechless, her eyes alight but strangely empty. Protocol dictated that she nod respectfully and not respond, but all those cold traditions had been discarded. In its place, consuming desire remained. Saffron was beautiful. Saffron belonged to her. They all belonged to her.

Briar stepped forward and spoke, but her voice was not her own.

~"Your heart..."~

A shadow seemed to spread over Briar's face, the curse dripping from her fingertips like blood. A terrified murmur spread through the court, and the attending guards, confused, drew their blades. "Princess...?" Saffron whispered.

~"We are Mephiste. We have waited. We will have our birthright..."~

It happened so quickly that at first it seemed the court had fainted all at once. Every last dark ylf sank to the floor, and as their lifeblood spread in pools over the ground, their fates became clear. Saffron looked at the thing that had been the princess with absolute horror. Her body hovered in the air, surrounded by countless shadow hands, each gripping a still-beating ylven heart in their claws. Blood ran down her body in rivers.

~"Join us for the feast..."~ Mephiste hissed, its shadows reaching toward Saffron.

The Crown of Aurelian held out their graceful hands, and for a moment it seemed they would touch... but a sudden, blinding burst of light erupted from Saffron's body into the chamber. Every corner filled with the sun's burning blaze. Mephiste uttered a furious, unearthly shriek as the light scorched its shadowy flesh. Split into a thousand screaming pieces, the demon fled from the light to the world's most secret shadows. Hidden, at least for the moment.

The dark ylves had perished with the breaking of their unholy bargain, but for the first time in centuries, the sun rose over the castle walls...