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At an ever-burning bonfire, Lih questioned the legitimacy of the eccentric god Gefrol, his supposed all-knowing Patron Deity.

A girl with the likeness of Canthi, the girl that killed the Shade, called out to Lih, causing him to pass out from the discovery that what he experienced, as Sulumim in the past, was real.

Gefrol introduced himself to the Canthi lookalike, and asks for a place to stay, while Lih recovers.

“I apologize, young lady, what would your name be?” I ask, wrapping the cold and unprotected Lih in his habit. His bag isn’t big enough to hold weapons, but his knife and sickle fit snugly in their sheaths. I secure them with their respective straps, sling his bag around my shoulder, and begin to follow the girl with purple eyes down the mossy gravel path. 

“My name is Tev.” She stops speaking for a while, eyebrows scrunched up, considering. I glance around the surrounding nature, and while the stars guide our path to wherever she calls home, I cannot help but wish to indulge in the splendor of the forest. It is alive! I hear chirps and buzzes! Cries of beasts deep in the woods and plinks of fish off in the water fill me with hope. 

You did this, you gave this place a Vessel of Warmth. I look down at Lih, his face perspiring, shifting and grunting in his fitful sleep. With my guidance, I will make you and this world whole again. We walk over roots and uneven ground. Paths start to split off from the road we travel, but we continue walking straight. 

“Are we almost there, my lady?” I ask as the ground becomes less entangled with dirt as smooth stones overtake the walking path. Tev looks up at the sky. It has been slowly lighting up with an arrangement of stars, like needles pricking through a blanket. A bell begins to go off in the distance as the forest thins out.

“We are not far now.” Tev says, pointing to the incoming opening of light between the trees. The city … is unwalled. I suppose it would only be necessary if you were trying to protect against something … I look back at Tev as she puts up her hood and tucks in her sleeves. Her earthly habit differs from Lih’s deep blue not just in color, but craftsmanship. There are deep red threads snaking around Tev’s seemingly multilayered sleeves, and brown splotches of an oaklike shade appear randomly across the body of the cloak. On the top of her hood there is an almost invisible crescent insignia, outlined in a thin black thread. Those are where her alignments fall.

“But I must ask something of you,” she says as she stops walking, just as a tower begins to rise in the distance. I walk a few more paces, standing by her side. “And, you must promise me that when the time comes, you will come to our aid.” She turns to look at me. Her voice is hard and determined, but her eyes no longer seem afflicted with suspicion. “Gefrol, God of the Winds of Change.”

Oh, of course! I smirk to myself. Even now, this world is full of catches.

I burst out laughing, but Tev keeps her gaze steady. Wildlife and vegetation squirm under the spotlight of the innumerable stars coming out at the call of this twisted cycle. “The moment I return from my slumber, your group wants me to fight their battles.” I look down at Lih, a smile creeping up behind my masked demeanor. “This is my master now. I serve one man, one ambition.” As long as he can serve mine. 

Her purple eyes glow in the darkness as they stare daggers into me. How adorable, I think as she begins to speak again, agitated. “The prophecy stated that ‘man and god will lay by the eternal bonfire—’”

A low thunder from the way we came shakes the ground with a light rumble. We pick up the pace as the clouds catch up to us as well. “Now is not the time to chat idly,” I say. Her face retreats into the shadow of her hood, but her frustration would be visible to not just those who can see through the dark. Oh, to have so many questions only to get stuck in the pouring rain of fate. I pity her, I really do. 

Exiting the forest puts us at the top of a curving stone path that leads down to an aboveground town, unlike the usual human homes found in caves and mountains made to escape the blight of the Shades’ effect on the land. Houses are humble in height, yet finely crafted from the surrounding woods. Roofs are patched hatches of multiple colors, seemingly painted from the flowers that spread across the edge of the forest. The road flattens out for walking, but it rises here and there as the land requires it to. A brook comes in from the far west, snaking through divisions of divided farmland. A stone building, taller than the usual homes, sits at the bottom of the village, farthest from the town’s entrance. It is still the largest structure in sight, what with its twisted spires and imposing bell in its belfry.

Tev continues to walk down the stairs, and I follow suit, absorbing this feeling of … comfort? People are leaving their homes to begin the long day ahead of them. It seems like a routine. There’s life here. They go about their day, with worries and fears, but alive. 

“How precious.” 

“Y … yeah.” Tev says, appearing unnerved by my sincerity. “Anyways, we’ve arrived.” She says, standing in front of a wider-than-average house. The windows have latches, and the floors rise up above most of the neighboring homes. A swinging sign saying “INN” at the front entrance drifts in the incoming stormy breeze. She goes to unlock the door, taking a moment as the air starts to smell of rain more and more. She lets out a breath and opens the door. “Come on in.” 

“With pleasure.” I step into her family’s domain—

The door closes as soon as we enter, and locks with a CLINK. 

… I should find a place to let Lih rest.

End of Chapter 6

Author’s Note: Sunblighted would not be where it is today without the work of my personal editor (Not a brandeisan).  He takes time out of his day to help edit and brainstorm ideas with me. He makes me feel like a real author ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡. The previous chapters are available on the “Tales from the Empty Notebook” page at brandeishoot.com/author/mgmail-com/.

See you next time!

-T.E.N.