Dawn of Night Chapter One: Return of the Prodigal

Click here to read the Prologue

Ten Years Later

Around Kylor, the village hustled with life. As he walked through it, he took it all in. His village was a small cozy village, one that wasn't small, but wasn't large either. It resided in a medium clearing within a birch forest. As Kylor walked, he could feel the path block underneath him crunch with each step. Around him he could see the vibrant, colorful vendors around him, each one staffed by a foreign trader. All around, people bustled around carrying their purchases or going to make them. Since today was a major holiday, there were more traders than usual and all the lines were packed around the corner. Kylor simply passed by the lines.

He continued out towards the center, where a well with a golden bell stood on top of it. Across the well was the home of Akatie Mendoris. When Kylor had run from his old village, he had eventually come across this one. *I was weakened from running. I was terrified after running for days. She brought me in.* Akatie had taken him into her home and allowed Kylor to stay. She even trained him on his song. *Which is what I should be doing now before I have to go to my night patrol!* Quickly, Kylor reached her house and knocked on her door. Opening it, Akatie let him in. With a mock scowl, she scolded him. "You were supposed to be here five minutes age!" Kylor chuckled and looked around her house. It was a comfy house. In the center, where he currently was, was a huge room with a massive table in the center. Behind it a staircase led to the second floor. To the left a door led to the kitchen, and to the right another door led to another porch. The walls were made of cobble stone, and at regular intervals there were door sized windows looking out to the village. The birch plank floor was covered completely by velvet carpet, and from the walls hung chained lanterns that crackled while they emitted light in the house.

Kylor followed his teacher out the right door, down the porch, and into her lawn. It was a decent sized lawn filled with grass as well as many flowers such as lilacs, sunflowers, roses, tulips, and many others. Around the perimeter of her lawn two block tall azalea leaves acted as hedged fences. Around the yard, hanging from stained glass of all colors, more lanterns hung suspended in midair. Following Akatie, Kylor went to the middle of the yard. Since they had done this many times, Kylor knew what to do already. All he needed was the nod from his master and then he closed his eyes.

With his eyes closed, he cleared his mind of distractions, turning his mindscape into a void that absorbed all thoughts. Instead, he imagined flashes of light taking over his mindscape. With each flash, he could feel pulses of power leaving him as his song, Protepulse, activated. With each pulse, his mindscape changed from a void to a dreamscape of phantom images and memories. His mother's face as she sent him away. His father's face as he sent them away. The face of the Ardoni responsible. And slowly his hate took over. His power pulsed faster and faster as his thoughts whirled. Kylor grew more and more tired as the song cried out his anger as energy. Desperate to take back control, he attempted to calm his mind, but nothing worked.

Just then, his eyes opened as the last of his strength left him. His body shook as he swayed, and then the darkness took over as he collapsed. Only a few moments later, though it felt like an eternity to Kylor, his eyes opened. As usual, when he could no longer use his song, Akatie used her song, Protevigorate, to get him on his feet. Though his body was sore, Kylor felt much better and ready for patrol. But before he left to join the other militia volunteers, he turned to his teacher. "How many pulses in a row did I get that time." When he heard the answer, he was shocked. "This time," Akatie smiled, "You managed 100 pulses before you collapsed. Ten years of constant training this way has built up your endurance to songs. So much so that you may now be the strongest song-wielder I have ever met."

As Kylor walked to the outskirts of the village and put on his iron breastplate, he shook his head in wonder. *Everyday for the last decade I have trained with my song,* he mused. *But I never thought I would ever reach this state of endurance!* In no time, he was at the edge of the village. In front of him lay a small clearing overrun with grass overrunning the area. Behind the clearing stood tall, pale birch trees. Their lush leaves quivered in the woods and seemed to whisper in the wind. In the distance birds could be heard singing, and all seemed tranquil. Until the bell began to ring.

In alarm, Kylor raced to the center of the village with his glaive out, expecting an attack to be happening. However, it was just Captain Kamari and the rest of the militia. The Felina captain seemed to be addressing the entire militia. "Recruits, a disturbance has been found down the river in an abandoned village nearby." Her strong voice carried over to the soldiers. "We have charged with the job of figuring out what this disturbance is. Move out!" Quickly, Kylor fell in line with the other militiamen. Together, the militia marched out into the woods.

As the militia went through the forest, tension was thick in the air. The dark made things hard to see, and the terrain was hilly in these woods. Even with their lanterns out, militiamen kept tripping and cursing. Now, no birds were chirping and it seemed as though the entire forest was holding its breath with anxiety. Even the trees had stopped whispering with the wind. As the militia came to the creek, they crossed the small birch bridge to the other side. But it seemed that even the water was silent. There weren't even fish, which was unusual for this creek.

Eventually, the militia made it out of the woods to another clearing. Kylor sucked in his breath in surprise as he saw where he was. Before him stood an entire village. However, this village was old. The stone walls were cracked and mossed over. Vines had overrun everything and the only wood present was burnt. There were explosion craters everywhere, and the buildings had lost chunks of themselves and arrows could be seen in the walls. In the center though, there was one sign that seemed to have survived. It read, "Welcome to Dryvandale." Kylor gasped at this. *This place.* His mind was shocked and numb. *This is my old village, the one that was destroyed!* Without a second thought, Kylor sprinted into the village.

The rest of the militia followed Kylor, but he ignored them as he raced through. Then he saw it. *My home!* Kylor raced into the house. There wasn't much left. The door was missing, and the carpet was torn. The floor had holes in it and the walls were cracked. Moss and vines were everywhere and the building was crumbling. The house was even missing many of its lanterns, making it harder to see. As Kylor looked around, a shred of memory ignited inside him. *When I ran, mother told me to come back when it was safe,* he thought as he trailed his hand over the walls where the family paintings used to be. *She told me to find father's book. That would be in his study.* When Kylor was young, he used to sneak around the house. During those trips, he had found a trapdoor underneath his father's study. Now, he used that knowledge. Kylor went to his father's study. There ways nothing left except...the trapdoor. It, besides the broken down wall and floor, were all that had survived. Quietly, Kylor opened it and traveled down the ladder.

When he finished climbing, Kylor walked through his father's secret room. It was the same as it had been, with its cracked walls and mossy floors. *The Voltaris didn't find it.* In several places the carpet was missing, and what was there had molded till it was green. In the back of it, a cauldron and brewing stand stood beside a smithing table and chest. A crafting table also resided there. Kylor opened the chest after looking around the room without seeing the book. Sure enough, inside the chest was a book. He opened the book and began to read the letter inside.

**Dear Son,**

**If you are reading this, this means that I have died at the hands of my enemy. Victor Voltaris is an Ardoni who was trained by Ingressus during the Second Great War. Enraged at how it ended, Victor vowed to finish what Ingressus had started. He was determined to find the prime songs and claim them for his clan, then use them for revenge against all of Ardonia. He wanted to rule. I had been a close friend of his as I was born Voltaris. After the war I had managed to survive and gained sanctuary among the Kaltaris. However, Victor approached me for his plan. He knew that I was the only one with a way to the prime songs. However, I refused and we fought. Over the years, he tried to find a way to the Primes himself. He allied with the Unyielding Legion and other Voltaris. I stopped him at every turn. Once I married, however, I ran away. I could not endanger my darling by letting Victor know where she was. While chaos ensued elsewhere due to Nitrus, I escaped. In truth, I thought Victor had given up on the primes. He could never have beaten Nitrus and he knew it, which is probably why he never tried to take them from Nitrus. Nitrus is dead now though, and Victor is still alive and ambitous. However, Nitrus was revived and gave the primes to the Flamesinger, who then broke them. Soon after, Nitrus came back for the primes, wanting to keep their power safe from being vested into one being. Flamesinger fixed the songs and gave them to Nitrus, who gave them to me. Together we hid them to keep them safe. Victor could not threaten Nitrus because Nitrus was too powerful. But he could come after me since I was the only other being alive who knew where the prime songs were. So I ran away, hoping that hiding would fix the issue. But the Nightsinger has found me as I knew he would. Whatever you do, do not let him get you or the prime songs. My son, it is now up to you to stop him. Avenge us all and protect Ardonia. If he is not stopped, he will take over and bring this land to a nightmare. He plans to create a new dawn, one that will lead to eternal night. Until he is dead, he will not stop his quest. You must end him. Akatie Mendoris from Torville can help you as she helped me. I love you son and I am proud of what you will do. You are my legacy.**

After reading the letter, Kylor stared at it in shock as tears flowed from eyes. Then, suddenly, he heard a scream that was abruptly cut off in a second. Kylor tensed in alarm and clambered clumsily up the ladder. When he got through the ladder, he raced out of his house. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. Before him, in the center of the town, stood the most beautiful Ardoni he had ever seen. She was slim and in truth, a bit small for a Ardoni. Her features were perfect and her hair was golden, flowing down to her knees in silken waves. She had a smirk on her face and her posture showed a cocky attitude. Around her stood a man, a women, and other Voltaris. All except her had their weapons out and ready as they loomed over the bodies of the dead militia members. "So, we meet Tysoar's son," She smirked, "Time to get rid of you before you stop my father's plans." With a scowl, Kylor crouched. With a spinning flourish, he pulled his glaive off his back and prepared to fight to the death.

Next Chapter