A Dark and Beautiful Realm...

It is a seemingly forgotten place, a ruin somewhere in the middle of nothingness. But it very much thrives, and it is very much alive.
Ruled by a species of humanoid beings, it has survived for centuries despite countless plagues and violence that spread in the peak of radical periods. It is a realm where beauty blends with the darkness, wonder with the strange.
But what is a realm such as this without a ruling deity? The deity is said to have created this world after their creature-esque ancestors living on Earth nearly became extinct due to the wrath of their coexisting neighbor: humans. A human maiden is rumored to have wandered in a creature-inhabited village, met and fell in love with a being ranked similarly to a king, and bore the child that would become the realm's goddess.
The deity is said to look completely human, taking the appearance of a young woman with hair the color of the highest mountains and eyes the color of the deepest depths of the Earth. But the deity also carries creature-esque traits, such as immortality and the gift of flight derived from her father. So yes, just like the realm, the goddess is very much alive.
Yet it seems not one being has seen her with their own eyes. The deity is said to only appear sparingly, yet no one knows what “sparingly” means. No sightings of her have ever been reported. Only rumors and myths by word of mouth.
Spurring from the humanistic side of these beings, they decided to build a grand cathedral where they can collectively worship the deity. Perhaps one night it will appear before everyone. Or the deity will continue protecting the realm due to collective praying. But that is the limitation of the beings' proposals.
The humanoid beings base their infrastructure off of humans, their society off of creatures. They have created cities and towns, five-hundred of them, across this realm. Each have roads, shops, homes, schools, churches, just how humans do. Society is class-ranked, which derived from creatures who have derived it from humans. So, essentially, every aspect of life in this realm is influenced by humans in some shape or form. Yet, despite the amount of luxury varying from citizen to citizen, they do not treat one another any different. There is little corruptness with the wealthiest of citizens. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is just one of the many beauties of this world.
From the only natural resource that is useful in this realm, they built every building, every home, and every piece of furniture out of it. The resource is similar to a tree on Earth, as they grow from the ground to giant stalks of wood-like material. Unlike the trees on Earth, they do not produce vegetation of any kind. Vegetation in this realm is virtually nonexistent.
But what makes this resource valuable is their durability. After centuries, they grow into towering stalks of dark, almost black, colored bark. This bark feels smooth to the touch, and is relatively easy to cut and mold into various designs. Murgs is the name given to these tree-like things. Even after being cut down, Murgs can last in new-like condition for hundreds, and even thousands, of years. Little to no deterioration would show for a very long time.
This realm is in a world within a world. A small sphere of life within another small-ish sphere of life. It has been speculated by humans to be some form of a middle Earth, that there could be life thriving in the center of the planet. However, that remains a myth, as humans have not been able to travel too far down. Is it hoped to remain this way.
While there is one main entrance in the form of a cave, it is impossible to destroy the barrier in front of it by humanistic means. Essentially, it is impossible for humans to ever enter the realm, or world, of Malune.
But these humanoid beings, Malunians, are able to travel to Earth and back.
There is another entrance that has been discovered, but only a few use it. Only a few brave Malunians are designated to take the duty of a food smuggler. Their objective is to venture to Earth, buy or steal as much food as possible, and bring it back to Malune without humans detecting or harming them in any way. This duty holds many risks, but thus far nothing terrible has occurred.
Food is scarce in Malune without Earth's aid. Unlike the fertile soils of Earth, Malune has only a semi-solid mud terrain, and it is only useful for murgs. The sun, which nourishes life on Earth, lacks a presence in Malune. Although the city of Selgus contains so much gold it makes the entire world vibrant for half the day, it does not reflect the sun's other capabilities. Water is present, though, plenty of it. However, no other resource that can be consumed as food is naturally grown in Malune.
Fresh produce on Earth tends to last about a week, or so Malunians have been told. But there is something about Malune's atmosphere that retains freshness or liveliness to everything. Malunians live longer compared to humans, murgs are much more durable than tree bark, water remains clear and pristine despite the impurities of the life in it. And, as such, food remains fresh longer compared to food on Earth.  
I could go on forever about this world, because it's pretty damn interesting, right? But, I want to tell the story of a Malunian in particular. Her name is Haru, and she holds quite a bit of a title in Malune.
The spirit of the king, the goddess' father, lives on eternally. His soul is continuously being born from the ashes and dying in flames, as he is a phoenix. And those who are chosen bear it are essentially the “king” of Malune, but Malunians refer to him or her as a guardian instead. It is more suited for this world.
An interesting aspect is that, surprise! There are two!
What do you mean there are two?
Well, Haru has a twin brother. His name is Hideo. Both bear the phoenix's soul, and it remains a mystery as to how two rose in the burning of one. Nonetheless, Malunians consider the both of them as guardians.
Because those who rise from the ashes do not have biological parents, they are taken under the care of whomever the pastor deems to be best suited. For the twins, he picked a young woman named Ami Fujian, the prosecution administrator for the Winged-sec of the G.P military. She was a disciplined woman yet was soft-spoken and had the tenderest of hearts.
Did she expect to raise twins at this age? No. But look at them, they were adorable! They had the most beautiful hair color in the world, a silver-white that shined like silk. And it spiked from their heads like little tufts of fluff"ah"the cutest thing Ami had ever seen! Moreover, Ami was ecstatic to take them under her wing.
We'll start...hm...around their sixtieth birthday, the equivalent of twelve years in human time. This is the age when guardians begin their official training at a school-like system. There are two kinds of schooling in Malune: one for general studies and one for those who wish to join one of the G.P's secs. The twins will attend both schools, as it is their obligation as guardians of Malune.
Anyway, onward with the story.

Author's Note

This is basically a rewrite of The Black Phoenix. While it still has same character names and world, the plot is slightly different as well as the writing style. I hope you give it a chance and enjoy. Also, the title will probably change. Sorry it's so basic, I can't come up with a better title at the moment.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good opening chapter. Create some history and I like the characters. Please send read requests when you write some more. Thank you Yurie for sharing the excellent opening chapter.
Coyote