“The sun is gone. The stars shine bright. I seek revenge.”
Through the monster infested wastelands above the ever expanding caves of humanity, Lih alone searches for the Sunblighted. He is a false savior in Lih’s eyes, letting those who could actually bring change stay underground and refuse to take charge.
But as fate would have it, Lih finds himself carrying a greater burden: to save the world. He will trek across dangerous territories, travel through time and space, and fight those who have been deemed unkillable for a world that has never been by his side.
Will Lih stay true to his ideals? Or will he succumb to those who have destroyed the world?
SNAP
In a heartbeat, Gefrol appeared next to the unmoving Sil like he had always been there. The frozen waves of fountain water flared to life, reflecting Gefrol’s own golden eyes. They glowed like an eruption of sparks flying through the air.
“What did I say about getting involved?!” he growled, pointing accusingly at Sil. “You are not supposed to get attached!” He began to walk towards me, but as I braced myself for conflict, his eye color began to fade, and his feet glided across the ground. I looked down and realized he was floating. I stood there in total fear, paralyzed. The golden hue had left his eyes to be a pure piercing white, while the rest of his body became enveloped in the same golden aura. Sweat dripped down my neck as an extreme heat seemed to take over the cold air of the night. I shuddered under his blank emotionless gaze. This is who he really is. The being before me is who Tev and the legends always spoke of:
This is Gefrol, the God of the Winds of Change.
I stood on the balls of my feet, ready for any sudden movements, knowing that I would be lucky to survive with my life. I need to calm him down before I come close to losing my life.
“You have accepted your responsibility as the Sunblighted! So, why do you make me wait?” Gefrol spoke with the wind as his voice, angrily launching gales in my direction, knocking me against the nearest stairway, keeping me down. I reached for my sickle, grabbed it tightly, then struck into the ground, breaking the stone as I held my own against the winds. He scoffed. “Do you want to live in a world where only you are safe? A puddle of time where no one else will find you? Where you can hide from responsibility?”
His words embedded into my skin, the winds slashing against my bare arms. My clothes started to stick onto my skin, yet I pressed on. “Gefrol.” I pulled myself closer to him with my left hand clinging onto the shallow cobblestone path, embedding my sickle between stone after stone, like the street itself became a vertical wall. “I refuse to be pushed around by anyone without reason.” I forced my head up to stare at him, floating above me, sackcloth clothes rippling in waves. “And this man is someone who I think will help us.”
His expression did not change, but the strength of the winds began to abate. “Explain.” he commanded.
I had no time to think of what to say, so I responded instinctually: “I need to prove something to him.” I thought back to Sulumim, and his lack of confidence, but his immense willpower when all was lost. “And he needs to learn something about himself.”
“Why does that matter?” Gefrol raised an eyebrow, the winds weakening further. I rose from the ground and got to my knees, sitting firmly in place in front of this chaotic deity. “That is not your responsibility.”
“I think …” I hesitated, the words sounding wrong. But they were the only words I had. “I think he can help me. Us.” The god slowly blinked, his golden aura fading. I pressed on. “He has a strong pillar. A silver beacon, whatever it is. And when he spoke of me,” I tried to swallow, but my throat had gone dry. “I felt stronger. Somehow.” I cannot prove that now, but even after we exchanged words, something about his demeanor made me feel stronger, but also somehow more scared of my new duty.
The wind completely died down as Gefrol’s eyes returned to their usual golden rings. Standing on the pavilion, staring down at me, I felt like an important decision was being made behind those shifty eyes. He suddenly stopped and stared at me intensely. With a slight smile, he raised his left hand up in a familiar pose. “Well, why did you not say so sooner?”
SNAP
Like nothing ever happened, I return to my original standing position as time falls back into place. My sickle is in its proper hook, my clothes are no longer drenched in sweat, and the fountain water returns to its original color. But there is a soreness in my arms where his winds cut at me—
Pivoting on my left, I draw my sickle to face the shifting presence behind me, only to see Gefrol, smiling like nothing just happened. Well, I suppose nothing really did.
“So, this is the Troupe of Tomorrow’s lead performer!” Gefrol walks around me and extends his hand to Sil, who still tries to wear a strong face. “My partner told me you were looking to get stronger? My name is Gef. What might yours be?”
“Yes sir!” Sil exclaims suddenly. His eyes glow with so much excitement that his voice takes on a new level of confidence. It is as if this was the opportunity he was waiting for. “I am Sil, of the Troupe of Tomorrow. But to be honest,” he says slowly in spite of his newfound confidence, lowering his head. “I am not strong in the slightest.” But just as fast as it fell, his face went back up to smiling. “If I was actually strong, I would be a better actor, and I could eventually lead my own troupe! So!” He suddenly takes a step back, sits next to the fountain, and bows with his head directly on the ground. “Please take me as part of your band!”
While Gefrol puts on a pondering face clearly enjoying the attention, a familiar tapping rhythm becomes audible in the stone. I see just as he enters the pavilion, Vys, walking up from the descending steps, his blue robes gently swaying in the breeze. He seems to appear exactly where and when he is needed. He is carrying in his left hand a bag similar to my own, maybe also full of supplies. And he always knows what is needed.
“Finally, someone is taking this lad off our hands, ho ho!” I cannot tell, but it sounds like he is smiling under that white beard of his. “Every year, he tries to find a band of adventurers to take him away on some sort of quest.” Vys shakes his head and turns to me. “You do not need to look so shocked! All he wishes to do is join for a little bit before returning to his troupe. It is not uncommon for those who travel in groups to switch parties …” Vys coughs, and a glare appears under his bushy brows. He turns his attention to Sil, who seems to be hanging onto each breath Gefrol takes.
“But maybe not during a performance this time, Sil?” Vys walks over and smacks him on the head with his staff. Hard. “What does Pik think about this?!” he shouts into Sil’s ear, causing Sil to trip backwards over his feet and fall into the fountain, soaking his clothes. Gefrol doubles over with laughter, Vys shakes his head again, and I just stand there, unsure of my next move.
Should I be sad? Happy? Angry? What else is there? That tightness returns to latch around my stomach as Sil begins to defend himself, so I push off my own thoughts to listen to his excuses.
“We had an … argument, before I left.” Sil says sheepishly, pulling himself up out of the water. “I would rather not return to him until next year’s festival, when I can prove my mettle with results instead of empty words now.”
“Next year?!” Vys smacks him over the head again. “One year! Young man, you have no time to grovel and dawdle.” Vys pulls Sil off the fountain’s ledge and pushes him between me and Gefrol. I stop his stumble, but Gefrol just eyes us both. I think of his harsh behavior towards Sil, and almost threatening my—
“Lih.” Gefrol grabs my shoulder as Sil takes the bag from Vys. “Do not think that this action does not have consequences.” He wears a friendly smile, but all I can think of is his white eyes and overwhelming golden aura. He needs me. He cannot kill me. Or … I shudder and step away from his touch. Will I just come back to life after he snaps his fingers, following his beck and call till the end of time?
“I am not a child, Gef. I am your partner.” I turn away from him and start off to the inn, but someone tugs at my sleeve. I turn around to see Vys pulling me closer. “You two go on ahead!” Vys calls out to Gefrol and Sil. Just then, I hear a loud rumble of people coming from far away. I turn to see a mass of villagers filling the cobbled streets. We stand there silent as the crowd comes closer in from one end and Gefrol and Sil go further up.
“You hear that?” Vys says.
I hesitate. Is he asking me? “Noise.” I say. “It is the noise of the people.” So many people, it is overwhelming to think about.
“Mhm, of course you would say that.” Vys says, beginning his path towards the stairs. “Overwhelming, is it not? Walk with me.”
I stare at his back for a moment, uneasy with his judgment, but fearing the encroaching crowd, I catch up to his surprisingly speedy pace.
“Is it not noise?” I say as we make our way up the long path of stairs. “And how is that wrong? That is what it is—”
CRACK
Vys smacks me on the head with his staff. “No! You are just as naive as Sil.” He sighs. “Perhaps this time the stars should stay hidden from the moon …”
Moon? “What do you mean?” I ask, but I realize just as we approach the inn we started at, that someone is missing. “Where is Tev?” I look to Vys for an answer, but stop in my tracks. His grey eyes begin to water, and his beard starts to tremble. What … what did I do?
“She,” Vys starts, then stops, breathing in and out, then starts again. “She is too young. She deserves to live here.” he blinks the tears from his cloudy eyes and strokes his beard slowly. “She is so dedicated. Too dedicated. She loves this life. She will do anything to protect it.” Vys turns back to the village and its people retiring to their homes, ready to start another day when the stars next rise. “That is what you heard. Not ugly noise.” I open my mouth to protest the description, but close it as soon as I begin. He seems to know me better than I do. “It is the sound of life. And you cannot truly see the stars unless you can appreciate it.” Vys gently taps his staff against my chest, and smiles. “Trust me this time, please. It is for the best. Goodbye.”
As he walks slowly towards the inn, leaning on his staff, the string tightens against my gut, sharp and painful, imparts a feeling of … of …
I will never see this man again.
“Vys!” He stops before entering the inn, turning around at the sound of my cry as I rush forward and trap him in my arms, embracing him in a hug. “Thank you.”
He feels colder in my arms than I expected, and before I can release him, he speaks up. “For what?”
I let him go, feeling my face go red with embarrassment. “I … I do not know.” He looks back up at me, and begins to laugh.
“Ho ho ho! Ho! You are welcome, young Lih.” He again wipes tears from his eyes, but now smiles instead of trembles. “You are a kind man. Good luck out there. I believe you will find what you are looking for.” And with that, he opens the entrance to the inn, enters the room I first awoke in, and closes the door.
Alone, I step hesitantly onto the path back through the woods. Without a memory of the way I was brought from the bonfire to this nameless town, I feel a tethered sadness. A tension. That tight string around my stomach, that skyward strand that connected me from the heavens to the earth, and—
Make sure she stays here.
I jolt and turn around once more, expecting to see Tev right behind me. But all I see is the mass of people again. Even as I turn back towards the path and begin my journey again, I feel her gaze; her purple eyes, tethering my soul to this hidden haven.
End of Chapter 13
End of Part Three:
Those Who Have Fear and Those Who Have Hope
Author’s Note: Wow! End of Part Three! Bet you didn’t expect that to happen! Anyways, thanks to my editor for getting through this even though it was really difficult (as in me, I was really difficult). Making decisions is hard, especially for your own characters. You can catch up on previous chapters, all available on the “Tales from the Empty Notebook” page at brandeishoot.com/author/mgmail-com/ … if the website is up … T_T … If you want to ask any questions, please use the QR code or the link here to submit to the Q&A, then (if there are enough questions to answer) I’ll go through and answer them here! Thanks again to my friend @mo_sketchesstuff on Instagram who made the baller piece of art used online, and to all of you for sticking around, if you’re still out there. See you next time!
-T.E.N
