#planetarylegacymarsgen

[thecelestiallegacies]

The end of the school year was coming up fast. Rhea's sophomore finals weighed heavy on her mind, and with her recent demerits, she would be lucky to see her junior year. School had been so busy lately. She stared at the can of cola in front of her and paused, considering if she should give her brain a rest. After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed the can and drank it down in one go. Almost instantly, her brain went into hyperwarp, absorbing information at an incredible speed. Luckily, the sugar and caffeine rush lasted all the way through the test before the inevitable crash hit. Nailed it.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Rose Colored Twilight 2: The Spellcaster's Apprentice [ Prologue ] Read Part 1 Start This Short Start This Gen Simmers for St. Jude

True to form, it was well past midnight before Rhea had her opening.

The campsite had quieted—the low murmur of voices replaced by the gentle crackle of dying embers and the occasional sigh of canvas in the breeze. Cliff’s violin had long since fallen silent. She pulled on her jacket, laced her boots tight, and slipped past the tents like a shadow.

Darkness was no enemy. She was born to the water, and the moonlight was kind to those who knew how to listen.

The forest whispered in hushed tones as she walked—rustling leaves, snapping twigs, and the distant croak of frogs rising in a nighttime symphony. Eventually, she came to a glistening waterfall spilling into a quiet pond, the sound of it steady and soothing. She slipped off her boots and dipped her toes into the water, shivering at the chill.

She thought of what the god Lani had once told her: All bodies of water are connected. Ask the current; it remembers everything.

She pulled out her conch shell and gave it a strong, echoing blow.

The sound rippled across the water, and moments later, the surface broke with movement—shimmering fish swimming in lazy spirals, gathering as if summoned for counsel. Rhea crouched by the shore, speaking softly, asking the way.

The fish answered not in words, but in visions of the deep woods, strange bioluminescent fish with flickering scales, winding trails, and a path veiled by brambles across the pond.

There was danger, they warned. Thicket and thorn. Teeth in the dark.

But wonder, too.

Rhea stood and crossed the pond, clothes damp from the mist. Her legs bore scratches within minutes as she pushed into the underbrush. The brambles tugged at her sleeves and hair like greedy fingers, but she pressed forward, parting the foliage with the determination of someone who couldn’t turn back.

Then—a web. Wide, silver, and strung across her path like a curtain. She hesitated, hoping not to see the spider that built it. Still, she gritted her teeth and ducked through, wiping silken threads from her face.

Something was calling her forward.

Eventually, the oppressive trees began to part. The air shifted. The light, too. She stepped out into a quiet, sacred cove, a hush descending like a blessing.

Nestled at the heart of it was a small house, sunbeams piercing through the trees to wrap the structure in gold.

Rhea blinked. “Someone… lives here?”

The front door creaked open, and a woman stepped out, her long brown ponytail swinging with the motion.

“Come inside,” the woman said. “You’ll catch a draft.”

Her name was Arjuna Corbett. She made tea with leaves Rhea didn’t recognize and asked gentle questions with no expectation of answers. Her home was warm, carved into the land rather than built atop it, and the walls were covered in pressed flowers, dried herbs, and little sketches of animals.

They spoke in murmurs about the legends of the woods, the hidden places only the forest remembers. Arjuna knew things no one should’ve known—like the storm the night Rhea was born, how the lightning split trees in two, and the rain fell in sheets over the pools of Granite Falls.

“Children born in storms are often called to great purpose,” Arjuna had said, eyes distant.

Later, when the day had fully bloomed and the sun sat high and hot above the treetops, they stepped outside. Rhea felt stretched thin, like a string of light humming with energy. The air was clearer here. Sharper.

She pulled out her phone to check the time.

It buzzed immediately—her Aunt Varsana.

Rhea sighed and answered.

Varsana’s voice was strained. “Your dad is very upset. It took a lot of convincing to get him to let me call instead.”

Rhea let the words hang between them, the disappointment like fog in her lungs. She didn’t argue. The message was clear: come back.

But not yet.

Rhea returned attention to the pond, calling the fish once more. Arjuna joined her, lines cast out into the quiet, letting the silence do the talking.

A rainbow arched over the waterfall, refracted through the mist and morning light. Rhea laughed aloud when she reeled in a rare blue crawdad—its shimmering shell reminding her of her father Zachary and his sparkling cerulean fish tail.

She didn’t know what was happening back at camp. But for the first time in a while, she trusted that it would be okay.

The forest had calmed her. Focused her.

“I think you’re ready,” Arjuna said softly as they stood side by side. “You’ve come a long way for such a young heart.”

They spoke again, this time of fate—of a prophecy Rhea hadn’t heard until now. It shook something loose inside her. Something dormant and waiting.

The sun dipped lower. The stars pricked the sky.

Rhea looked up, breath caught in her throat. Anything felt possible.

Still no sign of the rainbow fireflies. She let out a sigh, accepting their absence.

“It’s time,” she said quietly.

She turned to say goodbye—only to find the cove empty. The house. Arjuna. Gone.

No footprints. No doors.

The clearing was still beautiful, but the dream had slipped between the trees.

Rhea stood there a moment longer before retracing her steps. The brambles parted easier now, the way out somehow gentler than the way in.

She didn’t understand everything that had just happened.

But she was changed by it.

[thecelestiallegacies]

Rose Colored Twilight 2: The Spellcaster's Apprentice [ Prologue ] Read Part 1 Start This Short Start This Gen Simmers for St. Jude

The plan was simple.

Wait until the fire settled into a soft glow of embers, wait until the last zip of a tent signaled the adults had finally called it a night. Then, she'd slip away into the hush of the trees and chase the whisper of the Deep Woods.

She crouched near the fire pit, poking the last stubborn flame with a stick. Peter was sprawled nearby on the picnic table bench, the magazine he'd brought earlier now lying face down on his chest. She nudged his boot with hers.

“Last chance to join me,” Rhea said, voice low. “If you’re not too scared.”

Peter didn’t even blink. “I don’t have to prove anything to you,” he replied, yawning through his smirk. “Besides, someone’s on a roll with that violin.”

He nodded toward the cluster of tents, where Cliff stood a little apart, bathed in the dimming starlight. His violin tucked under his chin, he played softly to no one in particular—just a quiet melody twisting into the night like smoke, melancholy and a bit indulgent. The kind of music that made you think he was remembering something no one else could see.

“It’ll be way past my bedtime by the time you actually sneak off,” Peter added, stretching.

Rhea rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue. Cliff’s playing carried a strange weight tonight, drawing out shadows from between the trees. He swayed slightly with the notes, eyes half-closed, lips parted as if he were about to say something—only to let the bow answer instead.

Peter wasn’t entirely wrong.

[thecelestiallegacies]

Rhea and Nyon won for the Pranksters at the Humor and Hijinks Festival, but the victory felt small compared to the rain-soaked moment between them. Nyon tilted his head, watching her. "I don't think you're really mean," he said, his voice quiet over the laughter and fireworks. "Your eyes are too sad." Rhea didn't know how to respond to that, so she pulled him closer to her and kissed him again to get him to stop talking.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Back to School pt 3 - A Prank Gone Wrong The last class of the day dragged. By the time the bell rang, Rhea was ready to shake off the weight of the afternoon. That was, until she ran headfirst into the worst luck a prankster could have. A mad dash to the bathroom, not paying attention to which stall she used—and she set off someone’s prank. A scream. A horrible feeling. Absolute disgust. She had never felt so violated by a school toilet in her entire life.

By the time she stormed out of the stall, the day was practically over, and at least she had time to clean herself up. But one thing was certain—whoever set that trap was going to pay.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

A quiet evening. Cliff cooks on the grill.

Elijah plays next to the front porch.

Patchy plays a haunting melody on the violin in the living room.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Elijah comes to Rhea for solid advice while she's building something. Elijah: “It feels like the world is happening in a room I can’t enter. Love is happening at a gathering I am not invited to. I don't think anyone wants me around.” Rhea: "Listen, I know you're dead and all, but Minerva is basically my mom, and that makes you my brother, and I'll have no brother who doesn't walk into every room like the gods sent him there... You're here because you were wished for, and I say this with the most love possible, fucking act like it once in a while. You're dead, you've got all the time in the world to figure out how you feel about that, literally. It's okay to take the time to be a kid." Elijah: "I don't even know who I was as a kid. It feels locked away from me." Rhea: "All the more reason to be the kid you choose to be now, unrelated to who you were when you were alive."

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[thecelestiallegacies]

"She doesn't look like she's having any fun." "Oh no, she's fine, that's just how her face looks. See?"

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Rhea was outside in front of the house, loving the golden hour lighting and snapping some cute selfies. She was soaked into the next filter when Peter's mischievous face snapped her back to reality. Peter, his voice cracking a bit.: "Hey guppy."

Peter: "Those were some cute selfies, who are you sending them to??" Rhea, feeling herself sweat: "Why do I have to send them to anyone? They could just be for me. I like the way I look... What are you doing out here anyway?" Peter laughs sarcastically: "Come to the park with me. I need to escape Mercedes' dumpster fire." Rhea's eyebrows furrowed when he referred to his mother by her first name. This was par for the course, considering Peter's relationship with his mother after his father's passing.

Rhea: "She's on a rampage again?" Peter, distantly: "Yeah, it's a mess."

Rhea's phone bleeps its notification and Peter's ears perked up. Quickly, he grabbed her phone. Rhea's reflexes were quick from playing this keep-away game, between Peter and Spectre, she had loads of practice. She slid the phone coyly into her back pocket, certain that Peter would never grab for it there. Rhea: "Yes, we can go to the park. Some college guys moved a couch and a bonfire pile out on the northeast corner. We should check it out." Peter smiled with his fangs out devilishly: "Definitely."

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Moses came out of the gym in his athletic wear and saw Rhea on the monkey bars. Moses: "Why don't you join a team? You're working out anyway?" Rhea: "What about me makes you think I want to involve authority figures in my workout?" Moses, tilting his head slightly: "I'm not going to humor that. You have yet to prove to me that you're some type of villain." Rhea, chuckled as she came down from the bars to meet him halfway on his path to her: "I just prefer to be... independently owned and operated. I won't like doing it if people are telling me I have to do it." Moses: "How contrarian." Rhea took the tiny remote from her pocket and pushed the button, turning on the spherical radio behind her: "So if you don't think I'm a villain, what do you think I am?" Moses' nose wrinkled at her: "An edge lord."

Rhea: "Wow..." Moses, smiling confidently and holding his hand out to her: "Yeah, so whaddya say? You shake, I'll bake?.. Or, I can shake." Rhea, her shoulders relaxing: "Show me what you've got then."

Rhea took his hand and led him through the steps, he surprised her with his skill and before she knew it, she was loosening up herself, laughing as the radio echoed through the quad.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Spring Spice Festival Rhea proved herself to be a teenager who was hard to contain, breaking her grounding to visit the city and go to the Spice Festival. It had just barely started to snow when she arrived and the thick grey clouds above her made it nearly impossible to tell the time anyway. She enjoyed the food and the vibes, but the festival grounds were ripe with adults she could joyously torment.

After the festival ended, she still had extra energy and threw a few hoops in the nearby court. A few strangers came to enjoy the game, and though it seemed they were having fun regardless, she was a sore loser and went home fuming.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Exam day. The first trimester of Freshman year was completed and Rhea had spent the morning trapped in a test needing to pee, totally exhausted and riding a caffeine buzz. And despite the agony, she aced her test.

Moses Vatore, a football player in a dark jacket approached her at one of the wooden tables out in the quad behind the school. Moses: "Hey, you aced the math test?"

Rhea lifted her head to face him, already annoyed. Moses closed the distance between them quickly and placed his hand on top of the table. Rhea: "Yeah, what of it?" Moses: "You're Rhea Nebula, right? I need you to tutor me."

Moses readily sat down on the bench across from her. Rhea, just as readily: "No." Moses: "You haven't even heard what's in it for you." Rhea: "I can't imagine you having anything I would want." Moses: "Well, that's on you for a lack of imagination." Rhea, her expression flat and unimpressed: "And you're creative enough to know just what I need, right?"

Moses tilted his head curiously at her, a corner of his lip curling upward mischievously. Moses: "Well, I'm not special, but I know you like college parties, and you walk through the halls like you're looking for a fight and you may or may not need a dance partner for the biggest spellcaster wedding in 100 years." Rhea's features narrowed on him like a cat looking at its prey. Rhea: "What makes you think I need a dance partner? I've had a dance partner since I was a toddler." Moses: "Because I played a football game at Atlas Academy in Moonwood Mill and saw your werewolf bestie is stuck there for the holiday." Rhea's lips pursed and her brows narrowed tightly at his words. Rhea: "You can dance?" Moses, smiling: "Since I was a toddler." Rhea took a breath through her nose. Rhea: "And in return for this you get..." Moses: "A math and science tutor. I have to keep my grades up to stay on the team and my dad's a jerk about the whole thing."

Moses brought his palms together across the top of the table. Moses: "Please Rhea, I need your help." Rhea, rubbing her chin deviously: "It's just higher grades you need, I can just get you the answers to the tests. I don't think Professor Haines even pays attention to the homework, it's just there to keep us busy." She placed her hands down on the table: "You got a deal, we're swing dancing at the wedding. Catch me outside any day after school and we'll practice the dance." A wave of relief washed over Moses and he nodded his head to meet with her to learn the dance.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

The evening came on faster than Rhea would have liked, and she realized she was out past curfew again. She was struck with a looming tension and instead of going home, opted to hang out with Peter at Trotter Park because she wasn't going to be in any less trouble if she stayed out later. Despite the trouble she often found, Rhea had one undeniable friend in Peter Rodancik, who had also started high school. However, his mother had him enrolled in a boarding school for young werewolves in Moonwood called the Atlas Academy Thankfully, there were a few days a week he was able to come back to Copperdale, and like Rhea, he had no interest in going home anytime soon.

To Rhea, that limited time was worth the extra days added to her grounding that was inevitably waiting for her at home. Peter: "You think he's sneaking to look for you?" Rhea reached up the branches of the old, sturdy tree and pulled herself further up into the tree. Peter was close behind her. Rhea: "Not him personally, no. Can't be too careful though, he's always talking about hiring secret agents. He could have eyes everywhere."

Rhea found a comfortable spot in the tree and leaned back into it, looking out towards the amusement park in the distance. Rhea: "What if neither of them noticed we were gone." Peter, meeting her gaze: "Would you run away and live in a treehouse with me?" Rhea, touching his lips with her index finger: "Stop there, you smell like a wet dog." Peter, giving her a mock form of offense: "It's better than whatever pier you rolled out from under, Guppy."

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Spectre's 9 PM zoomies became Rhea's hall pass to get out of the house. Cliff had seemed to develop an affinity for grounding her for longer durations and she had to come up with ways she could leave without adding more to her sentencing. Jogging at night with her dog became equal to freedom. It left Cliff assuring Minerva "She's safer with the dog than without."

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[thecelestiallegacies]

Rhea stays after school as late as she can get away with to practice gymnastics and also not have to go home.

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[thecelestiallegacies]

The First Day of High School

Cliff: "Rhea! You have to catch the bus! What are you doing?!" Rhea: "Shit." She snapped, scooping up her book bag and hugging down the stairs toward the door. Minerva: "What about breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day!" Rhea: "I'll grab something when I get there. I can't be late for orientation. Love you!"

In fact, Rhea did not make it in time for breakfast. The first day of school seemed like a hurried blur. The teacher introduced himself as Mr. Haines, and she found herself being directed down long hallways by the pack of teenagers who all seemed to know where to go.

The lunch bell rang and she managed the cafeteria system, buying a tortilla dog and a lime soda from the machine. The cold drink made her realize how cold the school building was.

When her afternoon class came around, she was tired, cold, and jittery.

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