Devereaux/As The Sun Sets - Part One

“-‘Won't let you live? That is me, yes, or maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll pound you into nothing.’ The Sun Lord mocked, staring down at the defeated hero.

“The Chief Luchin was armed with nothing but one last Rune Of Thunder and beaten down into the dust, his pride stamped on and devoured. He was on his knees, and the Sun Lord expected him to give up and utter a plea of mercy to the wind. He wanted Luchin to be destroyed by the screams of his dead husband, and as Luchin’s mind was hastily grabbing for a nonexistent plan of escape, the Sun Lord had already sent a mental message for a pair of guards with reinforced chains.

“There are a few books that say Luchin’s tale ended here, at the hands of his lifelong enemy. But alas, we have known for quite some time those are fake stories. Luchin’s partner, Dachiv, was said to be hiding in wait, scribbling in the dirt the Rune of Light.

“And as Luchin was about to mutter his words of surrender, Dachiv activated the rune - a skill history lost - and stream of light trickled from the ground and hissed, blinding the Sun Lord with his own power. They streaked towards him, and, distraction working, Dachiv grabbed Luchin and pulled him away from the throes of the enemy.

“Luchin and Dachiv came to be the last surviving Chiefs of the luchd-buaidh, their fellow comrades reportedly being slain by the Sun Lord’s soldiers. Among those slain were Luchin’s husband Arwelen and his sister Thalay, who were critical in the discovery of the Rune of Shelter - which, as you know, currently encases our city. Those deaths tore apart Luchin’s soul.

“Some accounts say the devastated man kept fighting to avenge his losses, and won against the Sun Lord after a long campaign. Some say he died of his wounds in Dachiv’s arms (yet the most likely is the opposite). Others argue that Luchin lost his will to fight after losing his loved ones. All are theories that historians seriously take into account, and either of these will be correct answers for your upcoming test.”

-a few groans alit the air-

“Now, it’s easy if you do your homework.”

-muttering-

“The Sun Lord will be worth the most points, so I’d like to talk about him for the remainder of class. Only one account has been found describing his appearance, and in those words the Sun Lord was ‘a legendary being, massive in size, made of the merge of sun and shadows in the loose shape of a dombi - remember kids, dombi were silent assassins akin to coyotes and had dull russet fur - with eyes that sparkled with light and could blind.

“We are not sure exactly how true that is, as the Sun Lord was known to portray himself as a grander figure than he was. That account dated around thirteen hundred years ago, and found in the ruins of Luchin’s hometown.”

The man speaking was a lithe figure, his hands rapidly orchestrating the lesson as he spoke in a light tone. He wore a dark hooded cloak that covered up the majority of his face and skin, making him seem like the echo of a hooded thief hiding among a classy, rich school.

The man’s gaze darted around the room he was in - a rectangular cave in the school, with six desks seating a pair of children ages fourteen-sixteen.

“Wylon, describe to me the Rune of Thunder.” He hissed a boy with a mop of unruly blonde hair.

Wylon had not very much been paying attention, as he was attempting to hide a book underneath his desk. Yet luckily for him he had pre-read this section the night before, so the answer came quick and detailed: “The Rune of Thunder was one of the earliest discovered Runes. It was very popular among rookie Runecasters, however it often would singe them to death. It was activated by tapping twice, and unleashed a spark of lighting towards the intended target.”

The teacher nodded. “Very good. Now-“

He was interrupted by a familiar ringing screech echoing along the cavern walls, its sound reminiscent of ancient “raccoons” or “cats”. The sound causes many sleepy heads to perk up, and was soon followed by a collage of scraping chair noises as they were being pushed in.

“Reminder, your essay on this section is due tomorrow,” he was met with no answer, the sound of shoes heading out the door.

The cloaked man sighed, muttering the words “ungrateful children,” and with a sharp motion whirled around to write something on a chalkboard behind him.

“Enjoy the festival, kids.”

——

It was a sunny day outside.

Vin didn’t know that, of course. How could anyone know that, with looming cave walls and the shadows crawling down from the roof to curl up besides the small amounts of plant life. Light came from little flickering torches with only a small berth to illuminate, so one down here would have to see well in the dark (and everyone did see well in the dark).

The village, Trelinia had been founded an unknown number of years ago, when Rune Magic started to truly take hold of the realm and twist it into a new version. The founders could either be seen as cowards or geniuses; they ran from the change and were smart enough to build a city perfectly safe from the above world. Deep in the ground, where they were forgotten.

They were safe as well. Vin, the ordinary mary-sue, was walking home steadily from school, her soft boots delicately thumping on the stone ground and matching the rhythm of a song she was singing. Vin had light skin, with her hair pulled back into two dark ponytails. She normally wore pale clothes (right now, she had a lavender tunic and tan shorts), and she always had a faded maroon cloak that her mama gave to her for her 12th birthday. She wore the attitude of a rich kid, yet not entirely; she was more modest than one stereotypically would expect from the Consul’s daughter.

She didn’t live in a world where anything or everything could kill her. She didn’t live in a world where anything and everything was a dream. Trelinia only had contact with other underground villages, nothing with the outside world. Vin in particular liked to dream about what magic up there was like. Not the magic from her history books, but modern magic.

However a glimpse outside could either kill her or fulfill her wishes. Point is: they don’t know magic, or anything about the outside world. Would be quite inconvenient if they all were thrown outside, huh? I put their survival rate at less than 10% if that happens.

Vin, currently, was absorbed sketching a diagram on a notepad. A diagram of the upcoming festival; she had chosen the theme this year (luchd-buaidh / Runecasters) and although she was too young to be apart of the committee, she was drawing a few changes she’d like to make. Her moms might implant the changes if they liked them.

Her house wasn’t that far away. It wasn’t that big from the outside, but every outside of a house was basically a door and a miniature patio. Vin had a large door, fancy steps, and flowerbeds. Not that bad, I think.

Vin is entering her house now. I’m going to leave you now, and let you have a taste of our protagonist. The action will start at the festival tonight, so we will start our story there.

You might not have noticed me in this style of writing; you might have. Whatever; I don’t care. Go see Vin. You aren’t getting much of her.

Before you go…readers…would you like a clue? Of what isn’t hidden in the synopsis? Here you go: Vin, despite being the better character, is not the center of this tale. And in her absence, she will stay the same (yet change) and the real protagonist will evolve into a new person (yet stay the same).

Or am I just sputtering nonsense?

——

The annual festival had ties back to when the village Trelinia had been founded. It was currently the only lax event that Trelinia had. No one truly knew when or how the event actually started, as people tossed that aside to simply play and relax during the two-day celebration of something.

Vin was a child who could pour over history scripts all day to just let the knowledge caress her mind. She was one of the few who was bothered that the festival’s original use was unknown, but not that bothered that she couldn’t enjoy it (unlike a few elders).

She was walking down the path to where the festival was held. The festival was held in the main square, which was the largest, most open part of the cave system. Shops and lights normally filled the place, but stalls of food and activities, a stage, and other junk filled it now. The lanterns were colored red and blue, the colors of Trelinia's flag - which was, if you want to know, was red, split horizontally by a black stripes, and blue star in the middle.

“Are you excited?” A steady voice reached her ears, and Vin smiled at the figure on the left, her mama, who was holding a jumble of papers and supplies. A warm hand was placed on Vin’s shoulder.

“Very much so,” Vin replied. “Ley and I have the whole thing planned out, we know exactly what we’d like to do together.”

“That’s good,” Her mom, who was on the right of her, said. “Will you be spending more time with us for tomorrow?" Her voice had a tight strain; preparation stress.

Vin clasped her parents’ hands, casting her gaze to the thin pillars that marked the Main Square. “Of course!”

“Good,” her mamma said, placing the last few papers in her handbag. “I can’t wait, and I hope we can have lots of fun together.” Her gray eyes sparkled delicately, and Vin gave a soft smile.

“Oh, we will. I know it.” Vin said. *Unless you get caught up with some work or again turn tomorrow into a collage of* *small talk.* Trickles of annoyance sped through her, but they were barely noticed by Vin, replaced by beams of anticipation.

“I see Leyla over there - go have fun, sweets,” her mom said, pointing to a shape huddling to the side at the end of the road.

Giving her parents’ hands one last squeeze, Vin took off running to the person.

The path she ran down was narrow and consisted of cobblestone that she kicked up with her feet, leaving soft trails of dust clouds. The few torches lining the wall were outshone by large lit pillars at the entrance to the square. A person, around the same age as Vin, was hiding behind one of those pillars, resting against its marble shape and sketching in a pocket notebook.

Vin slowed down as she neared the person: a girl her age, dark-skinned, with dull brown eyes that seemed to absorb every notion of her surroundings, more acute that anyone else. The girl was shivering lightly in a patched gray-and-green jacket, and apart from that she was wearing a patterned gray dress. Her hair was cut short, like a boy's, and had a few soft curls.

“Leyla!.” Vin said, high-fiving the girl. “Hello.”

Leyla grinned. “Hey Vin. Have a nice history essay?” the small taunt swung past Vin, who rolled her eyes. Leyla had managed to get out of that homework, like she for had every major assignment, and she always like to tease Vin about these assignments.

Vin laughed. “There’s never a ‘nice essay’”. Leyla chuckled, and placed her sketchbook in the folds of her jacket. Vin eyed it but made no measure to ask about whatever she had been drawing, although it had been Vin’s birthday present to Leyla and she wanted to see how it was used.

Leyla and Vin started walking into the festival, basking the pale warmth seeping from the torches. Leyla - she had a soft, joyous, step, and she started illustrating a story with her hands as she ignited a conversation.

“-You know how I don’t like Poschta, with that smirkity-smirk on her dumb little face, but she had the nerve to taunt all those kids who failed the math test, all because she got the only dumb A -"

"She cheated,” Vin lightly interjected. “Everyone knows that.”

”I‘m apart of everyone. I’m also apart of the small one percent of this village that likes to handle the little red roaches, and Poschta isn’t. So she had a pleasant surprise in her bag today. It's become my tradition after tests.”

”Dang, you’re devious-“

“I’ve always been, and I hope we can meet her at the festival because I want to ask her about her roach. Thisin told me that that Poschta thinks it’s Ophalie, not me, and even if she does-“

”I won’t let her mess with you, promise.”

”You have 'heir armor', we all know it, but I’m hoping I can practice subterly and taunts for her,-“

”For the last time, Ley, you can’t go devious on *everyone-“*

”I can go devious on cheaters, right?”

”Don’t ask me, Ley, ask school administration, and they will not be kind to you after last time when you-“

”I don’t care if I leave school bounds! It was my notes! If it flies past the gate, I am going to run after it. They should know that-“

”Whatever, let’s just go, Ley.”

”Alright.” Leyla rolled her eyes and grabbed Vin's hand, leading her forward.

--

“Thank you, sir,” Vin said as the man at a small, pink stand handed her two cones of chocolate custard. She dropped a few tickets into his hand, and turned around to where Leyla was counting a roll of blue tickets.

“Fourteen,” Her friend said, taking one of the cones. “Your welcome, Vin."

"Excuse me Ley, I was the one who gave you the custard," Vin said, elbowing Leyla, who rolled her eyes and chuckled slightly.

"*Thank you* - and would you like to go to the ring toss or puppet show next?”

“The puppet show’s your favorite, so that one. And then the ring toss next? That good, Ley?” Vin responded, letting the chocolate flavor seep into her taste buds gently as she licked the custard. Her hands caught a few drops falling, and she wiped them on her tunic.

“It’s good.” Leyla said, and grabbed her friend’s hand. “The next show should start in eleven minutes.”

“Okay,” Vin said, and started walking to the direction of the puppet stand. She cast her eyes onto the ground, feeling the warmth of Leyla’s hand as they walked; their shoes symmetrically hitting the floor as they looked up at the fluffy balloons gliding in the air. Leyla jumped up to catch one (and missed).

“Tragic,” Vin mocked as Leyla jumped and missed for the fourth time. Leyla playfully shoved her back, and Vin pushed her friend back, laughing.

“Hey, race ya!” Leyla called, and took off into the west, her red scarf fluttering gently behind her.

“NOT FAIR, LEY!” Vin yelled, and sprinted after her, struggling to make out her best friend in the crowds. “LEY!”

“You’re so slow, huh?” Leyla yelled back, laughing slightly. Vin growled playfully. She was, however, catching up.

Vin was about to grab Leyla’s scarf when a panicked scream shook the air and tore at her ears. She whipped her head around, scanning to see where it came from.

Another scream (different person). Then another, and the air was soon shaking with anxious chatters. Vin breathed heavily and pushed past the people, trying to see what was going on.

A twitch of movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and Vin glanced to her right. There was a ledge, standing a good ten feet tall over the people. It was on the other side of the square, and the voices of the people speaking on it could barely register anything to VIn.

But there were people standing on it. Non-Trelinians; they wore sleek clothing that shined (armor?) and held bows with arrows. Bows and arrows as in the weapon; but why would they have weapons? Ever since Trelinia was founded there was no violence or conflict.

What could they want? Vin thought anxiously.

What evoked the most curiosity to her was how they got in. The rock behind the ledge was gone.

There was light streaming through - bright light that wounded Vin’s eyes. She had never seen such brightness beyond the torches. The light glistening was more yellowish-white than orangish, and it didn’t seem to come from anything visible.

And it was way too bright for Vin, who was squinting to where she could barely see.

She didn’t know how many people were on the ledge, she only could make out the shimmer from what they were wearing.

Between Vin and the strangers, the form of her mom stood out from the crowd, possibly because she was standing on a lectern. The surrounding noise blocked out anything of what her mother was saying, but from her occasional curt hand gestures VIn could see her mom was angry.

Seconds passed. There was no change from the seconds before, as the five people conversed back and forth.

Vin watched, her hand rooted in her pockets, her eyes now delicately scanning the newcomers (or, more accurately, the light). It burned her, staring, but this was the first time true light dazzled in front of her, and her hunger for it seeped through her.

She missed one of the strangers raising his bow and positioning an arrow; yet in her defense they were positioned behind their friends and unseen to everyone.The irony, as his target was staring right at him. But fate calls for strange ways.

Fate also calls for the control of life. Particularly our heroes and villains, and fate will control everything and everyone around them to push them into a plethora of desires. Oh, the ways the worlds spins.

Alas, Vin didn’t see her mom get shot.

But when the first response was a scream dazzling around the air, she looked up to see a body fall down. She knew who it was.

And the world shattered into a million jewels, dancing and spinning, rendering her vision as useless waste. Screams, shouts, the noise around her - now something gone yet hanging by threads to her.

Those jewels were chaos, grief, and surpise; the three emotions dulling themselves and everything she felt. Was there a tear, was there not? Was..what was?

She felt herself fall, and let herself fall, it was like watching herself outside of herself. That mind - whatever it was thinking of matters to her and her alone.

Citizens were running past Vin. What, what were they yelling? Vin asked herself. No answer from her mind.

She turned around, her movements slow and unpurposed, her hands searching for a way to pull herself up and meld herself into a running sheep, but there was nothing to hold except a clear vision of her mom dying laughing at her.

All she wanted was to wake up and find this world a nightmare she could shake. But she got dust instead. What the world will do to her...

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