“Dear citizens of Kirgivar,

  I stand before you, not as king but as a man like you.

  Our queen goddess, in whom we put all our trust, betrayed it.

  Not content with her dominion over our lands, she stole what was most precious to us: our magic and our sun. She cloaked our sky in darkness and locked herself away in the Great palace.

  The other royal advisors who I once called friends stood at her side and helped her raise an impenetrable barrier around the palace’s walls.

  Shame is gnawing at my heart for, I wasn’t strong enough to go against their vile deed.

  Fear not for there is hope!

  The barrier can be lifted using the palace key, which I now have a fragment of in my possession.

  We must seize the rest of these from the advisors...No these demons of the night and take back what is rightfully ours!

  Let this be known:

  Whoever gathers all the fragments, overcomes the traitorous rulers and restores our blue sky shall have my blessing to rule over it all.

  Not from blood but from exploit as the Solar

  -excerpt from the speech of Saint Urion. 2 PD (year 2 post darkening)

  [363 PD]:

  A small carriage rattled along a dirt trail beneath the lazy gaze of a quarter moon. The merchant at its front seemed to be having troubles with the reign of his donkey; the stubborn animal kept accelerating and slowing down as it pleased.

  This didn’t seem to bother the sole passenger seated between the crates. The young boy thought it was quite funny. Shoku had been traveling for three days now on these bumpy roads. The constant shaking had left his behind stinging.

  He didn’t really understand why his father had suddenly asked him to join him in the faraway town where he works at. He was doing just fine in Ezoul, his old village, where he had 3 old ladies taking care of him while his father was absent.

  He never minded it; he liked hearing them talk about old tales and nearly forgotten stories. His hands clenched around the pommel of the wooden longsword which was given to him by the old ladies as a parting gift.

  Why a sword? Well, why not one.

  “We’re getting closer to Bloux.” The rough voice of the merchant pulled Shoku out of his pensive state.

  He looked up to see a town unlike any he had seen before. Bloux was way bigger than the small village he once inhabited; the houses looked sturdier and actually built to be comfortable. Large open spaces covered with dark wheat surrounded the town. but he didn’t care about any of that. His eyes were locked on a structure towering over all the others. A massive silver colored tower was erected in the middle of the town. At its peak, a mass of blinding light shone brighter than the moon.

  Most of the town was enveloped in this light, making it easy to see even in this unending darkness.

  The boy stood still with his mouth open in awe, something that the merchant quickly took notice of.

  “Never seen a church of light before?” He chuckled.

  “I’ve only heard about them” replied the boy. “I didn’t know they were so big.”

  The churches of light are the iconic edifices of the lightbringers, the so-called saviors of these lands. They wield a unique light magic which they share all around the realm. Most decently populated towns have at least one where the people pray to the lightbringers as thanks. Ezoul was such a small village that no lightbringer had deemed it worth their time. The only thing he knew was the orange light of flames and the dim gaze of the moon.

  The carriage followed its course in the town, first passing by the least lit areas away from the church. The boy could see some sort of lanterns glowing with an intense blue light, dangling from most houses. The people kept giving quick glances toward the carriage. It seemed like they weren’t used to travelers. He couldn’t help but stare back at them, especially the tall and hairy ones who looked way too broad to be normal humans. He knew he had heard of a race like that; big, bulky people which were amazing at physical labor.

  ?Sash...Satch...? he tried to remember the name, but it kept slipping out of his head.

  The carriage finally stopped near the middle of the town where the church of light was standing in all its glory. Hopping out of the carriage, Shoku took a few steps to stretch his legs. The feeling of finally touching the ground never felt so good. He was starting to get sick of staying seated with nothing to do except listening to a middle-aged man arguing with a grumpy donkey.

  “You’re going to be fine all alone?”

  said the merchant as he started to unpack his stuff and set up a small stall to sell his wares.

  Shoku pulled out a small, folded piece of paper from his back pocket.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “I got the address right here. I should be able to find the house.”

  After a quick word of gratitude, he parted ways with the merchant. He couldn’t stop looking around himself. He never saw things so clearly, even the dull color of brown wood felt so vibrant to his eyes. As a matter of fact, his eyes were even hurting from this increase in brightness, forcing him to walk around with squinted eyes.

  He put a hand over his hand to look at the paper. He had only learned to read numbers so he could only make out “17” from what was written. The rest of the words were just confusing gibberish to him.

  ?As always dad didn’t think of the details. ? He couldn’t help but let a long sigh escape his lips.

  He tried to look around for help, but most people looked at him weird and seemed to purposely avoid him. Was it so weird to see a kid stumbling around with squinted eyes while dragging a sword about the size of their body?

  Yes, probably yes.

  Just as he was about to turn back to find the merchant a voice called out to him:

  “You, there!” Said a soft voice “you’re new around here, aren’t you?”

  Looking back, he could make out the shape of a person the same size as him through his teary eyes.

  From the voice he could tell it was a young girl.

  He put his hand above his eyes to try to get a better look at her. His heart almost skipped a bit when he was met with round, curious hazel eyes a bit too close to his own face.

  “Wow, your eyes look like warm embers, and your hair is just like fresh dough” added the brunette. I’ve definitely never seen you before.”

  Shoku could feel an unknown heat rising to his face. He was used to the old folks of his hometown but never truly interacted with kids his age, let alone a girl.

  He kept looking her up and down with round eyes as if she was some kind of creature of myth.

  “Hello, can you talk?” She cocked her head to the side while still smiling at his odd antics.

  “Yeah, I learned that at a young age and I'm a boy” he just spilled some random nonsense at her.

  She kept her smile but even he could see a flicker of confusion in her eyes. She was definitely wondering what kind of primitive individual she had stumbled upon.

  “Good to hear! I'm Solane and I'm a girl. Nice to meet you.” She replied while extending a hand.

  He hesitated for a while before finally accepting her hand in an awkward handshake which lasted perhaps a bit too long for comfort.

  ?Her hands are rough but super warm ? thought the flustered boy.

  “I'm Shoku...nice to meet you too?” He said hesitantly

  “That’s a very interesting name you got there. So, what are you doing here?” She finally pulled her hand away from the handshake.

  He could still feel the warmth in his hand which made him feel weird.

  “My father works here” he answered. “He said he now has enough money to buy us a house.”

  Solane’s face lit up in excitement, and she leaned closer, prompting the boy to step back instinctively.

  “So, you’re staying here! That's amazing, there are so few kids here and a good half of them are, well...let’s say unique, yes, unique.”

  Shoku fiddled with the paper in his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed to ask her for directions. What if it made him look even more like an idiot?

  “What’s this? you’ve been looking at since I spotted you” she gently took the paper from his hand and read it. “House 17 of the mining sector. Is that where you’re headed to?

  Shoku nodded without a word.

  “well, it’s easy” she continued. “You just have to follow the east street from here, turn left at the second crossroad, then take another left and-”

  She stopped herself when she noticed the helpless gaze of shoku. Instead, she smiled.

  “I'll guide you there.”

  Shoku followed right behind her as she walked through the busy streets. Many burly men with pickaxes slung over their shoulders walked in the opposite directions as them. Most greeted Solane warmly as they went past them. On the contrary, their gazes lingered a bit too long on the small frame of the boy next to her. They did not say anything, but he knew he was being judged.

  “Don’t mind them” reassured Solane. “We are not used to new faces here. This town is kind of secluded from the rest of the Realm.”

  ?Secluded!? Then in what kind of hole was Ezoul ?? couldn't help but think Shoku.

  As he kept following her, he noticed that they were getting further and further away from the church of light. Could it be that even after moving out of his dark village he would still not be able to enjoy the glory of white light?

  It was a selfish desire, but he simply couldn’t help but feel disappointed when his kind guide finally stopped in front of a house barely in the radius of light. There could definitely be worse just like there could absolutely be better.

  “That should be it” let him know Solane.” I'm sorry but I need to get back to help my parents. See you again!”

  With one last smile the brunette turned around and hurried in the opposite direction. His gaze lingered on her form until she was out of sight.

  Turning back to the house, he could at least appreciate that it was completely made of wood and even had 2 stories unlike the glorified stone hut he once called home. Hesitantly, he walked to the door and knocked two times on it.

  ...

  First, complete silence. Then there was some rummaging and finally the doors open wide on the stressed-out face of a man. The man was neither tall nor short; his dark brown hair was cut short just like the shy beard on his chin. Tired eyes paired with hollow cheeks made him look older than 32 years old.

  Judging from his blackened clothes he had just gotten out of the mines. The man put his hands on his son’s shoulder as a weak smile eased his tense face.

  “You made it,” he whispered in a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the village and accompany you here. I just had so much work to take care of and...”

  Once again, his father was getting lost in excuses and apologies. It was the usual for Shoku, every time his father was in Ezoul he would spend more time apologizing to him instead of doing anything productive with the little time they had together.

  After a while his brain just started filtering out these long interactions automatically. Honestly, he could barely register what kind of explanation his father was giving this time.

  Noticing the impassive expression of his listener, his father cleared his throat, perhaps self-conscious of how sorry he sounded right now.

  “Right, you must be tired after this long trip,” he forced an awkward laugh. “Come on in.”

  Stepping in Shoku could see that it really wasn’t that bad. The bolder ones would even say that it had a cozy vibe to it.

  On the left of the entrance was a kitchen with a round table in the middle. There was enough space for 4 people to sit comfortably without bothering their neighbors too much. On the side, a singular pot hung above a fireplace. Remnants of stew stained the sides of it.

  On the right of the entrance, another door was left ajar, from the discarded piles of dirty clothes he could make up it must have been where his father slept.

  “Come, I have something just for you” said his father as he put his hand on his back, guiding him toward the stairs facing the entrance. Going up, there was a single door.

  “Go on, open it,” encouraged his father. “It's all yours”

  Pushing the door, Shoku revealed a rather wide room with a wooden beam standing tall right in the middle. On the left side sat a bed with a long pelt of dark fur serving as a blanket. At the end of it, two heavy wooden shutters were on the wall.

  Slowly walking to them the boy couldn’t resist opening them. The heavy shutters groaned loudly as he pulled them apart to uncover a stunning view on...the wall of the neighboring house. Who would have thought.

  ...

  “R-Rest well,” stuttered his father. “You'll need it for tomorrow.” He did everything in his power to avoid looking at the dejected face of his son as he exited the room.

  Shoku dragged his feet to the bed and let himself fall on it. His body sunk into the softness which took him off guard. Never before had he felt a bed like that.

  He was used to the harsh and prickly ones which would leave you aching all day if you dared to sleep slightly too comfortably in them.

  He pushed the fur blanket and lifted the sheets to reveal an unfamiliar light brown mass. It was soft and spongy to the touch, leaning closer an earthy scent filled his nose.

  ?It smells like a mushroom! ?

  Judging from the sheer size of it, it must be one of those great caps. These ginormous fungi towered over most trees in the forests. He never knew they could be used in such a way.

  Comfortably, he settled in his mushroom bed and pulled the cover over him.

  The bestial scent of dwarf deer lingered on the fur, a scent familiar to him which helped him calm down after this day full of novelty.

  He couldn’t resist smiling as his body relaxed in the embrace of his new bed. If the beds were already so good here, then he couldn’t wait to see the rest.

  ?Maybe, life here won’t be that bad.?

  With that thought, the boy finally let go and drifted off in a dreamless sleep.