Chapter Text
Prologue Part 1: Hello There
For as long as she could remember Costia has had the dreams.
Dreams of greens and browns mixing with shades of grey blending into red-browns and grey-blacks. Trees growing next to bricks and stones stacked against metal. The landscape never seemed to make sense to Costia.
But then, dreams in the Soul were supposed to reflect the merging point of your soulmates soul and your own.
Soul Dreams. The Soul Realm. Bond Dreams.
The names varied but the message was the same no matter who the young Costia asked. You entered a Bond Dream if both you and your mate were asleep at the same time, otherwise you dreamed normally. There were stories of people being pulled into their Soul Realm by their mate going through some traumatic experience. None of the stories agreed on what happened once pulled in. Some say you could get trapped there, your body remaining comatose till it died, one way or another. Others speculated that you watched helpless as great trauma occurs to your mate, forced to live on having witnessed it all. Most claim that you simply get echoes of their experiences.
No matter the truth, one fact remained.
It had to be something traumatic. Really traumatic.
Dying traumatic usually.
Seven-year-old Costia never liked hearing those stories, but her older siblings insisted she learned early on that the world was a harsh place. With both parents and a fifth sibling already dead - it wasn’t hard for Costia to accept the lesson. She just didn’t have to like it.
At seven she was already swearing to try and do something about all the death that surrounded her daily.
Her Soul Dreams seemed to echo that.
Costia spots a blonde girl first, smaller than her and staring in wonder at all the greenery encroaching upon the metal that surrounds her. When Costia walks over the girl startled, falling backwards in surprise. Costia smiles brightly.
“Heya! Ai laik Costia kom Trigedakru. Yumi keryon?”
And then - because she had just learned how to say it and was so excited that she now knew some - Costia continued without pause into Gonasleng. Later, they would wonder over her decision to do so. For now, they were still overcoming the shock of their first meeting.
“Hi, I’m Costia from the Tree Clan. You my soulmate.”
The blonde blinked at her dumbfounded, jaw moving a handful of times in silence. Tentatively the smaller girl stood up. Holding her hand out the girl spoke.
“Clarke Griffin. Nice to meet you.”
When Costia tilted her head and stared at her hand in confusion Clarke’s brow crinkled as well.
“It’s called a handshake. Mom and Dad do it when they greet other adults. Do you not shake hands?”
Costia could only continue to stare in confusion. Over half the words spoken were foreign to her. But she knew enough to know her soulmate - Clarke - was speaking in Gonasleng. This would be a problem.
“Handshake? What is a handshake? I’ve never shaken hands with someone in greeting before.”
“You don’t speak English? But you introduced yourself with it!”
Clarke’s eyes widened even further. Her body rocked backwards in her surprise. It was clear both of them had realized the problem now. They spoke different languages. But Costia was learning Gonglesng, so surely they could overcome this.
“I learning Gonasleng.”
“Gongle- what? It’s called English.”
“Enga-lessh.” Clarke smiled.
“English. What’s your language called?”
“Trigedasleng. Tree... language?”
Clarke smiled again. This time Costia smiled as well. They stood there smiling for some time, before another voice called out.
“You shouldn’t talk to her. She could be Mounon.”
Both jumped in surprise as another girl jumped down from on top of a small stone wall near them. Clarke’s jaw dropped as a ‘so cool’ escaped her lips. Costia’s brow crinkled in confusion.
“Why not? She’s my soulmate. She can’t be-.” Costia’s eyes widened again. “Are you also our soulmate?”
The third girl scowled, brushing some of her dark brown hair out of her eyes. Green glinted with distrust as they observed the smaller two girls in front of them. Flicking between the two the new comer spoke.
“She speaks Gonasleng. She must be from the Mounon.”
“Hey! I’m right here ya know! Just cuz I don’t know what you’re saying doesn’t mean I can’t guess. So what if I speak English? I didn’t even know another language was even spoken in the Ark anymore.”
As she spoke Clarke had stepped up to the green-eyed girl, attempting to get in her face despite the height difference. Any shyness first displayed had long sense faded away. The green-eyed girl hadn’t so much as flinched at Clarke’s approach. At the word ‘Ark’ the other girl’s attention zeroed in on the blonde’s eyes.
“Ark? What is Ark? Is it part of the Mountain?”
Clarke seemed to hesitate, shrink back as confusion swept the anger from her face. Clearly the second girl knew significantly more English than the first.
“You don’t know what the Ark is? But everyone lives on the Ark. It’s where humanity escaped to after the bombs fell.” Green eyes blinked.
“It is not the Mountain?”
“No! I’ve never seen a mountain in my life! Granted I’m only six, but neither have my parents either. No one has since we left Earth.”
Costia gasped. Emotions flickered across the green-eyed girl’s face - the first since she revealed herself. After a few moments her face returned to its original blank expression. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but Costia beat her to it.
“You not on Earth?”
“No? You can’t live on Earth anymore since the bombs made it inhap- inbaitel- inhabit- not livable. We live in space.”
The other two girls reared in surprise. Costia stumbled back before sitting on the ground. The other girl started at Clarke, the first open expression of shock she’d shown.
“But... we live on Earth.” Costia’s voice was shaky. As soon as the words processed Clarke herself dropped to sit on the ground in her own surprise.
“On Earth? On the ground? You mean... these are real?”
Her hand shook as it reached out towards the trees which sprouted from behind Costia. Wonder and awe gave her face a soft look. Both her companions found themselves staring at her without realizing. After a few moments the green-eyed girl shook her head and began speaking again.
“Yes. They are trees of our home, the Trigedakru or Tree Clan.”
“Trig- Triga-dah-cru.” Clarke mouthed the word with wonder.
“Trigedakru.”
Clarke nodded and repeated the word again. Costia shifted closer to her. The third girl slowly sitting down just outside of their reach. For a while no one spoke, each focusing in processing everything they had learned.
“Wait. What your name?”
The question was asked in English for Clarke’s benefit, but it was clear Costia directed it at the green-eyed girl. Clarke nodded and turned her focus to her as well. The girl shifted slightly but otherwise betrayed nothing of her thoughts. After a drawn-out silence she spoke, voice soft, displaying the first note of hesitance since they met.
“Lexa kom Trigedakru un Polis.”
Costia inhaled slightly. Her gaze immediately flicking to the stone and brick buildings which Lexa had hidden among. Wonder spread over her features as confusion filled Clarke’s.
“Polis?”
“It is our capitol. Where I live with the others.”
“Others?”
“Natblida.”
It was Costia who answered, causing Lexa to turn her gaze to the other Trigedakru, to the only other one who would understand the implications. Clarke was not from their world, and so wouldn’t understand what it meant. To claim two lands as only a nightblood may do.
“Yes.”
Costia paled. Having been raised in their culture she knew immediately what it meant for Lexa to be called that. Clarke did not, and continued to look between the two in confusion.
“What’s a knat-bleed-a?”
“A nightblood. Someone born to become Heda upon the death of the current one.”
Lexa’s voice was neutral, betraying nothing of her personal thoughts on the matter. Costia however, was beginning to get emotional for the first time since meeting.
“You what, eight? You not fight in Conclave yet.”
“No. Age 14 is the earliest one is allowed to fight.”
“After Sekon?”
“Sha.”
Costia nodded. “Good. We make you win. You no die till then.”
Clarke had gotten progressively more confused as the conversation continued. Finally, she’d had enough.
“Excuse me. Fight? Isn’t fighting wrong? Why would Lexa die?”
Costia and Lexa continued to stare at each other in silence. When Clarke huffed out a growl of frustration, Lexa spoke without breaking eye contact.
“There can only be one Heda. I must fight for the right.” Costia scoffed.
“Or die trying.” Lexa nodded but remained otherwise impassive.
“So, Lexa must fight to be this Heda person, but if you lose you die. Why can’t she just not fight?”
“I am nightblood.”
“Because nightblood.”
Lexa and Costia spoke at the same time. While they gave mostly the same answer, Clarke was still confused.
“What makes you a nightblood?”
They paused. Then - before either Costia or Clarke had fully processed what she was doing - Lexa withdrew a knife from somewhere and sliced a thin cut across her palm.
“Lexa!” Two voices cried out in sync.
In moments the younger two girls had scrambled to the unconcerned Lexa. Costia snatched the knife from one hand while Clarke immediately grabbed at the sliced one.
“Why would you-”
Clarke stopped and stared, watching as the blood weld up from the cut. Black blood. Confusion stilled her panic.
“What?”
Lexa sighed. “Natblida. Nightblood.”
“Any black blood is a nightblood. Heda is a nightblood.”
Costia’s voice was controlled, a hard-bitter edge to it. Lexa stared at her in silence. Costia stared at the blood on Lexa's hand. Clarke finally released Lexa’s hand when the bleeding seemed to be stopping on its own.
“So... her blood is black, and that means she's a... natblida? And natblida become Heda or they die.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lexa tilted her head towards Clarke. The other two blinked at her before realizing she was silently asking for clarification.
“Why do they die if they don’t become Heda?”
“Because that is our way.”
“Well it’s stupid.” Clarke crossed her arms and pouted. A sigh came from Costia.
“It is.” Her voice sounded resigned. Sad.
Lexa furrowed her brow. Just as she opened her mouth to speak the ground around them shook once before their surroundings began to fade.
One of them was waking up.
Panic swept across all of their expressions. Looking between them, Lexa began to speak even as their vision blurred. Clarke and Costia automatically reached out in an attempt to remain long enough to hear.
“Tell no one! Not of Ark, not of my blood. No one!”
And they were gone. The Soul Realm returning to the expanse of black as it waited for their return to populate it with a reflection of their souls.