Jasminder lived a great young life. She had friends who adored her, a family that loved her, and all was right in the world...until it wasn't. It was at the age of sixteen that Jasminder overheard her parents screaming and yelling at each other. Her mother and father were always so happy together, this was more than uncommon to hear. And so, being the curious teenager she was, she listened. She listened as her mother screamed and cried and begged for forgiveness. She listened as her father smashed things and shouted and cried. Jasminder knew she probably should've crept back into her bed that night and pretended she never heard a thing, but she had. And the last thing she heard before the great boom of their wooden cottage door being slammed, was her father. His voice was barely above a whimper and yet, she heard it clear as day, he said to her mother "You made me love her...and now I don't want either of you".
As Jasminder heard the door close, she immediately ran out of her room and searched her home for her three younger brothers. They were nowhere to be found. Jasminder ran out of the house to stop her father, but she was too late and instead lay knelt on the ground with the pouring rain beating down on her, dirtying her and hiding her tears.
In the few years to follow, Jasminder and her mother lived on their own. Things were tough, especially with the sickness her mother developed. A sickness that, on Jasminder's 18th birthday, would claim her mother's life. Jasminder was alone after that, or so she thought. A man, his skin as blue as the sky and lovely white tattoos decorating his body, approached Jasminder. Mohirr Virmani, The Joyous, was what he introduced himself as. He also introduced himself as a Djinn and her father. Jasminder couldn't believe it, but when he pressed both his thumbs to her forehead and chin and the light took her over, pushing through her eyes and mouth and fingertips, she had no choice. It was a painful, yet delightful experience and when she awoke from it she stood as the spitting image of her "father".
Her hair, like his, mimicked the clouds in the sky. She mirrored his blue skin and white tattoos. Her eyes, once a deep brown, were a light honeyed color. The only difference was their scent. You see, Mohirr carried the wind with him, even standing perfectly still in a windless town, his hair still whipped and the scent of cloves and sunshine still carried with him. While Jasminder carried the strong and beautiful aroma of honey and marigolds. Mohirr took Jasminder under his wing, he taught her how to laugh again, how to fight, he taught her the beauty and danger of magic and how to do both. He became better than the father she once knew and he named her, Aliyya. It was a beautiful name, but one Jasminder could not take.
Mohirr and Jasminder grew more and more fond of each other, and then one day, he vanished. It was all so quick and so sudden. Once again, Jasminder was left on her own, but this time she wasn’t left with nothing. Before Mohirr disappeared, he told her that she was special. That it was told to him by his gods that she would bring light to a darkened world and that she had already done that for him. Now, she must do it for the world. The fighting Mohirr had shown her and the magic he had taught her were his parting gifts. He had given her all she needed to do the gods bidding, and she did. She became a pillar for those who felt they couldn’t stand alone, she became someone people trusted in and left their burdens with, a light that those shrouded in darkness turned to. She became Jasminder Virmani, The Radiant.