Date: 5th Axthél, 5th year after Domino's restoration.
Altalune is born as, according to the Domini royals, heiress presumptive to Domino's Crown due to Queen Daphne Oðrsson's apparent sterility. The seers discover that she will not follow in her mother's footsteps. Six months later, Bloom and Sky go to investigate a devastating attack on one of Eraklyon's cities. Suddenly, Bloom disappears in a flash of light and finds herself in Azeroth, where she's eventually led to Sylvanas by Iladris Windrunner. Queen Daphne and Sky wrongly suspect Yoshinoya of being the culprit.
Tropes:
- Alternative Calendar: The diegetic calendar is counted in years after or before Domino's restoration. This means that dates are only mentioned when the characters are in the Magix dimension, never while in Azeroth. Dominis have also their own names for each month. This chapter is the first in which this is done; by contrast, the prologue noticeably lacks it because it's meant to be a mysterious In Medias Res.
- Epigraph: The chapter's introductory quote lampshades that it's indeed Bloom's encounter with Galadwen that sets the events of the plot—they are two who were fated to meet. It makes Galadwen aware of Eudora already making moves on the Magix dimension and makes her realize the true Aspect of Fire is not a bonafide elf but a fairy carrying a Titan-like deity's power.Pero todo tiene un punto de partida. Un punto que mueve todo el engranaje, un eje. El encuentro era inevitable, las manecillas del reloj empiezan a moverse.Translation
- Foreshadowing:
- Bloom is led to the point where she gets forcibly teleported to Outland by a quickly moving shadow.
- Domino's Elder stating that newborn Altalune is not fated to become Domino's future queen indicates that this role will be filled by her younger sister Trisha, whose conception we learn of in the next chapter.
- Framing the Guilty Party: Bloom's sudden disappearance sends both Domino and Eraklyon into a tizzy. Due to Eraklyon's civil war against warlord Yoshinoya, he's their main and only suspect, which leads to his execution at Queen Daphne's hands. Unfortunately for him, while he's guilty of terrorism and kidnapping, he's got nothing to do with Bloom's situation; that's Eudora Budhartil's fault.
- A Hero Is Born: The chapter's opening scene is that of Daphne, Marion, Sky, and Thore in a waiting room while Bloom gives birth to Altalune, one of the heroines of the story and Domino's heir presumptive. As it's customary for Domino in this fic, as soon as she's born, the princess' runes are read by one of the realm's elders—they conclude that her path will diverge from that of her mother and that the one who'd inherit the crown hasn't been born yet. The trope is Played With as this is not the actual beginning of the fic, although it's one of the plot-relevant, chronologically earliest events.
- How We Got Here: The first four chapters are devoted to partially explaining why Altalune and Trisha have arrived at the conclusion that taking drastic measures is the only way to prevent Altalune's nightmare in the prologue from happening. This one details how Bloom is made aware of Azeroth's existence and, (implied) through her, the rest of Magix. It's also confirmed that Magix has already attracted the Burning Legion's attention, with three Erakli cities having already been attacked with extreme prejudice.
- Re Watch Bonus: The epigraph foreshadows that, more important than Bloom's meeting with Galadwen is her sister Daphne doing so too and unlocking her memories in the process. The two women, along with a third party, will manipulate all events from here onward to prevent this timeline from the absolute catastrophe that was the previous one.
- Role-Playing Game 'Verse: As Bloom is traveling through the Eastern Kingdoms, she notices several people approaching her asking for favors, i.e., the In-Universe equivalent of quests. She ignores them in favor of focusing on returning home and is puzzled by this behavior.
