[363 PD]:

  The following day started out without much trouble. The only thing that bothered Shoku was having to leave his new bed. He normally doesn’t sleep a lot but this time his father had to wake him up. Apparently, he wanted him to go somewhere and hurried the sleepy boy downstairs for breakfast.

  Shoku couldn’t say if he felt happy or sad when a bowl full of familiar liquid was put in front of him. It was the usual milky stew with cut up brown chunks floating in it: mudshroom stew.

  His favorite dish, well it's not like it had a lot of competition anyway. as he lifted a spoonful of it to his mouth, his taste buds were shocked to feel something sweeter mixed with the bland flavor of mudshroom. stirring his stew, he managed to scoop up a yellowish chunk. Putting it in his mouth, he once again got hit by this sweet flavor.

  His dad smiled, seeing his excitement “People call these mushrooms, Biar’s foolishness,” explained his father. “They grow in the forest surrounding town.”

  The kid just barely listened to his father’s words as he devoured the stew, leaving nothing left.

  As soon as he finished eating, he was dragged outside by his father. He also took his sword with him before he went out.

  Why? Because he liked it.

  The cold morning air pricked at his cheeks as he tried to keep up with the hurried steps of his dad. The man was walking with his head down while purposely walking along the walls. It was as if he tried to make himself as small and invisible as possible.

  ?What are you so ashamed of? ? thought the boy.

  After a little while they reached the center of the town where the church of light was as bright as ever. The town center was much more open than the narrow streets around it. It seemed that it was here that the market took place. Small stalls were starting to open as the moon slowly peeked from behind the houses; the day was starting. Shoku even noticed a certain merchant fighting a donkey a bit further on his right.

  His father turned to him, his eyes awfully intense all of a sudden. “The lightbringer of this church is kind enough to take some of her time to teach children,” he said while pointing at the entrance of the church. “Shoku, I wanted you to come to Bloux so you could get an education.”

  These words made Shoku’s heart tighten with shame. The whole time he was internally cursing his father, thinking he made him come here just to make things easier for his job at the mine. Did he really do all of that for his son?

  His father put a hand on his shoulder and once again forced this awkward smile on his face. “With that you’ll potentially get a better job than me.” Shoku looked up at him without a word, just a shy nod.

  “I must get ready for work, I trust you to handle the rest.” He squeezed his shoulder before letting go to resume his fast-paced strides.

  Shoku was now left alone in front of the church. From up close it truly looked out of place; you have all these modest wooden houses making up the town and then just in the middle stands this towering silver construct. The windows were wide and made of purple glass. The stairs leading up to the massive white and silver doors were of a dull grey color. They were probably immaculate white before, but the constant passage of people had left its mark on them.

  Shoku climbed the stairs and stood in front of the double door which was left open wide enough to let a person in.

  Peeking in, he could make out about 8 rather small figures seated on benches. Their young voices echoed in the church with laughter.

  The sight made his heartbeat go crazy as his brain chained thoughts rapidly.

  ?that's so many kids! ?

  ?How do I go in? Can I go in? ?

  ?How do I make myself look cool in front of them? ?

  ?Do they like swords? ?

  Suddenly, he felt something poke his back. A pathetic squeal escaped his lips as he whirled around to face Solane who looked equally surprised by his reaction.

  “S-sorry,” she could barely hold her laugh in. “I didn’t want to scare you.”

  Seeing the kind girl again didn’t help his heart to calm down, quite the opposite in fact. Today her hair is down, reaching her shoulders. A simplistic but thick dark green dress with long sleeves kept her protected from the cold air.

  “Hello, good morning, it’s cold today,” blurted out Shoku in a choppy voice.

  The brunette kept chuckling “Good morning to you too. It is cold today; I guess the cold season is coming.”

  “Yes!” was the only answer he could muster.

  “So... are you going in?” She asked while peeking over his shoulder at the interior of the church.

  The boy quickly moved out of her way, trying to appear composed.

  “Come quick, Sister Xenevia is about to start her lesson” grabbing the boy’s hand she dragged him inside without giving him a chance to protest.

  If the outside of the church was beautiful, then the inside was magnificent. The ground was covered in grey slabs with intricate symbols looking like hands on them. White pillars framed the main walkway which stretched right to an altar. The altar was sitting on a slightly raised platform. Anyone standing behind it would have an easy time seeing everyone in front of them.

  Benches were spread around the church; the placement doesn’t seem organized, but all of them are facing the altar.

  What really intrigued Shoku was the elevated statue at the back. It represented a woman wearing a long robe which pooled at her feet. A hood falls in front of her, hiding most of her face. Her hands were open in front of her with nothing in them. She wasn’t human; that was for sure. The long pointy ears sprouting out from under her hood gave it away.

  The other kids finally noticed the newcomer, and their curious gazes all locked on him. Shoku tried to ignore them, but it was simply impossible for him. They were already whispering between each other while looking at him.

  As he was looking aside, his gaze crossed the one of a particularly tall and bulky kid seated on one of the furthest benches. Shoku heart almost skipped a beat, the kid completely dwarfed the two others which were sitting at his sides. His slicked back dark hair allowed two curved ivory horns to stand proudly at the sides of his head. His deep blue glare felt like an icy blade that Shoku could not defend against even with his longsword.

  Solane didn’t pay any mind to the hulking mass pretending to be a kid. It only meant that he was a common occurrence around here.

  ?What kind of other beings can walk freely in these lands? ? thought the small boy in horror.

  “Come sit here” Solane patted a spot next to her on a bench. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and did as she said. Just as he sat down, a wooden door next to the statue flew open and the person who came out of it completely stunned the boy.

  It was a woman wearing a robe like the one on the statue. This one had a very light violet color, from away it would look white. The robe was held at her waist by a large deep purple belt; either she was suffering, or she was very thin because the belt looked way too tight on her. 3 long pearl necklaces dangled around her slender neck.

  But Shoku wasn’t looking at all of that; his eyes were glued on her face. Her skin was so pale that it slightly reflected the intense light of the church. Her facial features were so sharp it almost looked like she was chiseled from a gem. Her hair color bordered between orange and pink. Said locks didn’t seem to have heard about gravity as they flowed freely behind her as if she was underwater. Two knife-shaped ears poked out of her hair; these ones were smaller than the ones of the statue.

  The woman stepped up to the altar, her eyes which were a hazy white just before suddenly flashed emerald green.

  ?Is that a goddess? ? was the only thought occupying his mind. He had heard about the lightbringers but never imagined that they looked so ethereal.

  Everything from her stance to her gaze screamed dignified elegance.

  As if it wasn’t enough, a white owl came to land silently on her shoulders. The undersides of its wings glowed with a yellow color before the bird folded them, becoming a white mass with two round yellow eyes.

  The lightbringer caressed her bird while she scanned the room in front of her. Her eyes jumped from face to face and landed on Shoku’s. She squinted, looking at his face intensly.

  “Why is there a new brat today? Who popped this one out?” Those were the first words which came out of her, completely throwing Shoku off guard. He had imagined how a lightbringer would talk, and this wasn’t an option.

  “His name is Shoku,” answered Solane. “He got here yesterday”.

  The Lightbringer looked him up and down as she casually leaned against the altar, using it to rest her elbows.

  “What were your parents thinking when they dragged you in this butthole of a town?” musters the lightbringer a bit too loudly.

  The rest of the kids groaned in annoyance at her words but kept themselves from saying anything.

  “Well...” hesitantly started Shoku. “I’m from a small village north of here. My dad thought it would be better if I came here since there was no church of light back there.”

  The whole room gets silent as his revelation. The kids looked at him with wide eyes as if they just discovered that the people not living in the Light weren’t some sort of cavemen.

  ...

  A laugh broke the silence. The heads of the children turned away from Shoku to stare at their dear priestess folded in two behind the altar. At this very moment the boy was so hot and red he started to wonder if humans could melt. To be honest, maybe being a puddle wasn’t as bad as being in this church.

  “Ho wow, and here I thought I was at the end of the world,” the lanky woman finally unfurled. “This shitty town must feel like heaven to you then.” A wide smirk grew on her face.

  “Sister Xenevia, you can’t say that” Solane finally intervened, pointing out her behavior.

  The other kids joined in with loud protests.

  “Hey! I'm the divine one here, I got the highest authority in this town. You bunch of snotty noses should respect me!” replied priestess.

  “You keep saying bad words!” screamed a kid at the front.

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  “You’re bad at your job!” followed another.

  “I’ll shut your traps!” Xenevia stepped down from the altar. Immediately the children spread out in the church, laughing at her as she tried to catch them.

  Shoku was one of the only ones that were not moving. He was stiff on his bench, his eyes staring into the void as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening around him. He never stepped into a church of light, but he just knew that this wasn’t how they worked. He stared at Solane which was still next to him.

  “Don’t worry, it always starts like that,” she explained. “Things will settle down after a while.”

  ?What do you mean, always? ? was the first thing that crossed his mind.

  .

  .

  .

  Just like what Solane said: things eventually settled down in the church and now the kids had formed a circle using the benches with Sister Xenevia in the middle. Shoku still hadn’t moved a muscle since the sudden outburst between the children and the divine woman. To make things worse, he was facing the hulking kid. His cold glare didn’t let him breath for a second.

  Xenevia was flipping through the pages of a thick book with a leather cover. She grumbled some more obscene words to herself as she seemed lost in the chapters.

  “What were we doing again?” She looked up toward Solane.

  “We were about to start geography, Sister,” answered the brunette. “But since Shoku is new he won’t understand everything.”

  Sister Xenevia let out a long, exaggerated sigh as she looked at the boy. “Do I really have to explain everything?”.

  “Sister, a lightbringer's mission is to educate everyone in the light,” firmly replied Solane.

  The Sister walked up to Shoku with a face that couldn’t be more exited, ho yes, there was no trace of eagerness at all. “Tell me you at least know about the basic stuff like the origin of the night,” her voice was almost pleading.

  Shoku nodded “I know that the first Queen Goddess betrayed the whole realm with the help of her advisors. She seized all magical artifacts and animals to power a spell which covered everything in darkness.”

  “So, there’s still hope for you.” She exhaled in relief.

  “This event called the darkening is used as the year 0 of this realm since society had a complete reset. Apparently, the years after were complete and utter chaos. The notion of good and bad ceased to exist and violence became the only way of life.” She pointed at the statue at the back of the church.

  “The only thing you need to know as of now is that in year 267 my people came from beyond the sea with light magic. We were led by Mother Sallith the current Queen Goddess ruling over the realm.”

  Sister Xenevia smiled proudly “And now everyone worships us and follow our religion of the new Hope.” She looks at him as if a sudden thought had crossed her mind.

  “Well mostly everyone, if you’re from a place without any church of light you must be one of these moon people.”

  “You know about the Pale gazer?” said Shoku in surprise. He was sure that this legend was unique to the village of Ezoul.

  “it’s-”

  “I don’t care,” the Sister cut him off. “I want to be done with this damn geography stuff, or the parents will bother me.”

  She stepped away from him and got back in the middle of the circles. She slowly turned, making sure everyone was listening to her. She cleared her throat and spoke in a loud voice.

  “Our realm is divided into 5 regions, but you only need to care about the 3 ones which are under the lightbringer’s protection. Out of these 3 we are in the worst one: Utopia.”

  Once again, the kids around her started to groan at what she was saying. The priestess promptly ignored them and continued:

  “Right next to Utopia, there’s the Middle. The center of our realm, the city of Kirgivar, is its capital.”

  “Kirgivar is where Mother Sallith lives and where all lightbringers are born.” She sighed heavily while looking up. “I should have stayed there, at least I was deeply respected...”

  Solane smiled “But without you, we would all be dumb kids. You are a present to all the townsfolks.”

  As she heard the words, Sister Xenevia immediately started smirking. Her expression looked extremely pleased.

  “You’re really smart you know that? Solane?” she chuckled while rubbing her nose, her mood just did a complete 180° which confused Shoku even more. What was wrong with these lightbringers?

  “Finally there’s Anva, the oasis mega city in the middle of the pastel desert. It's the last truly warm region where fruits can grow without problem.”

  She looked around at the kids, a grin on her face

  “Not like you guys will ever have the chance to set out and taste any of them”

  .

  .

  .

  Xenevia kept sharing her knowledge, but the boy’s brain had stopped working a while back. The rest of the lesson felt like a blur and before he knew it, he was standing at the church entrance as the other kids passed him to get back home.

  His feet dragged as he walked forward. Instead of gaining more intellect, he felt as if he had lost some. His head just felt so light now.

  ?Dad, the mines might not be that bad. ?

  He snapped out of his thoughts as he collided into something hard. Was he so drained that he walked straight into a wall? He knew himself more attentive to his surroundings.

  Looking up, he may have preferred it to be a wall. Right in his way stood the tall horned kid. From up close, he looked even more terrifying. He had a good extra head above him in height while his frame would put most doors to shame.

  “Come.” was the only thing he said in a rough voice.

  Shoku felt like going against him wasn’t a good idea, so he followed behind him. His grip on his sword tightened as he was led to a small alleyway between two houses.

  There, the two kids who were seated next to the big one at the church were waiting.

  One was scrawny with messy blonde hair while the other looked slightly more built with short black hair.

  The big guy grabbed Shoku before he could do anything and pushed him between himself and the two other kids. His body was now blocking the exit of the alleyway, completely trapping the smaller boy.

  “You’re new here so I won’t hold it against you,” started the Titan. “But here you don’t approach Solane without my permission.”

  ...

  Is this what all of that was about? Was he jealous of him or something like that?

  It wasn’t even Shoku’s fault, the girl was always the first one to talk to him, he couldn’t control that!

  “But-”

  “No but, I just want a yes” cut him off the big guy.

  The two kids behind him snickered like two scavengers. The scrawny one walked up to Shoku and put an arm over his shoulder. He whispered into Shoku’s ear:

  “You should listen to him. In this town he’s the king of the children.”

  Shoku looked back at the so-called king. His cold expression and unmoving body made him feel like he had a wall of ice in front of him.

  “What happens if I say no?” He hesitantly said.

  The king lifted an eyebrow at the question “That would be a pretty dumb answer considering your current situation.” His speech was slow and articulate. It didn’t feel like a threat, more so an observation.

  The short-haired kid came up to Shoku and tried to take his sword away.

  “That’s a nice toy you got there. I want it,” he smirked.

  Shoku tried to resist, but the scrawny kid tightened his hold on him, making him unable to pull away. His grip was beginning to slip on his precious sword.

  “It’s a gift!” He pleaded.

  “For me? You didn’t have to,” replied the short-haired kid.

  In a desperate attempt at freeing himself, Shoku, pushed himself against the wall of the alleyway, crushing the scrawny kid at the same time which allowed him to slip out of his grasp.

  He yanked his sword from the short-haired kid and backed away from them.

  He had never fought before, nor did he know how to use a sword, but he couldn’t let them steal the last remains of his old village.

  The scrawny kid rubbed his head as he pushed himself off the wall. He grimaced as he felt a bump on the side of his head

  “What’s wrong with you!” He screamed.

  The short-haired kid stomped toward Shoku, looking pissed. Panicking, Shoku tried to swing his sword at him. The wooden blade was simply too long and got stuck on the walls of the narrow alleyway.

  This hiccup allowed the short-haired kid to kick him in the stomach.

  The blow wasn’t particularly powerful, but it was enough to send shoku stumbling right into the big guy blocking the exit.

  The king didn’t even move. He kept his arms crossed, waiting. He didn’t seem interested in joining the fight to help his friends.

  He simply pushed the small boy off of him.

  Shoku barely had the time to feel relieved that this beast wasn’t against him before the short-haired kid started to close the distance between them. In an attempt to keep him away, Shoku lifted his sword and thrust forward. In a miraculous succession of actions, the thrust met the guy’s knee, causing him to yelp in pain and fall flat on his face.

  Without a single thought for honor, Shoku started smacking his sword on the collapsed form of his foe. The fallen balled up with his head tucked in, trying to protect it.

  “Stop it, I got it. Stop!” His plea was met with more smacking.

  Shoku looked up just in time to see the scrawny kid pouncing on him like a wild animal. Shoku was almost impressed by the distance he closed in a singular jump.

  The two collided and Shoku was violently thrown to the ground, dropping his sword in the process. They grappled for a while, but the scrawny kid ended up on top allowing him to land a good blow on shoku’s face.

  Shoku felt his hair being pulled as he tried to resist. His face was hurting like never before. Something like that would have never happened in his old village. Why was it happening to him?

  He could feel tears welling up in his eyes which seemed to encourage the kid on top of him to be even more rough.

  “Yeah, learn your place, savage,” said the blond.

  ?Savage!? Between you and me, I'm the savage? ?

  In a fit of anger, shoku raised his knee, perfectly hitting the scrawny kid in the crotch. The kid immediately stopped all movements. His eyes looked like they were about to burst out of their sockets.

  With a pathetic whining sound, he slid off Shoku. He held his crotch as he curled up like a wilting flower.

  Shoku wasn’t thinking, he was too angry. He grabbed his sword and faced the king still blocking the alleyway. He rushed at him and thrust forward while screaming.

  “I’ll beat you up!”

  All his bravado was instantly extinguished as the giant simply caught his sword in a firm grip.

  Shoku was completely stuck on the spot. His sword didn’t budge an inch no matter how much he tried to take it back.

  The king put his second hand on the blade and started lifting the sword, Shoku watched in horror as his feet left the ground for a few seconds. The king looked him dead in the eyes

  “Are you sure?”

  Shoku immediately let go of the sword, landing back on his feet. He took a few steps back; he had to get away from this...monster. He gulped nervously as his sword was thrown back at his feet. He knew it was better not to pick it up.

  “I’m still waiting for your answer,” followed the giant.

  Shoku looked back at the two kids still writhing on the ground behind him. He just barely managed to defeat them; what chance would he realistically have against this moving wall?

  Just as he was about to open his mouth a voice rang from behind the horned kid.

  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

  The two turned to look at the angry form of Solane. Shoku had just met her yesterday and yet he could tell that she wasn’t the kind to show such a face.

  She stomped toward the hulking kid who, to the surprise of the smaller boy, stepped aside to let her pass.

  Solane grabbed Shoku’s arms and pulled him behind her. The horned kids didn’t try to stop her. He coldly stared at them as they got away.

  Solane stepped back into the main street and stopped to stare at Shoku. Her eyes lingered on the side of his face, which started to get swollen.

  “I am so sorry I should have guessed he would do that” she sighed.

  She looked back toward the church of light.

  “Sister Xenevia is the most knowledgeable when it comes to healing. but she’s probably busy now,” she smiled at him. “Don’t worry I have some bandages at home, I'm sure I can at least cover that.”

  Her grip on him softened, and she walked alongside him. Shoku could smell her scent from that close; it was something sweet and toasty.

  Both walked in silence until they reached a house unlike the others. The door was wide open with a sign on top of it which he couldn’t read.

  The windows were also opened with round, freshly baked buns resting on them.

  As they entered, the scent of bread was all over the place. A long counter divided the room into two. Buns of all sizes, shapes and colors were decorating it.

  Just behind the counter, 2 large ovens made of grey stone were embedded in the wall. A few embers were left to die in them; it hadn’t been long since they were used.

  Shoku’s eyes were as round as a full moon as he looked all around. The bread looked so different from the one he was used to. He didn’t know bread could look so bloated and light. This town just kept surprising him and this time it was a good surprise.

  Solane pulled him to the back where she rummaged into a drawer for a while before pulling out a bundle of dark colored leaves. She got a small bowl of water and let a square piece of leaf soak in it.

  “Sit down,” she said as she pulled a stool from the side.

  Shoku did as she said and sat. He saw her grab a small pot filled with pale yellow cream.

  “it’s gonna sting a bit,” she warned before putting two fingers in the pot and applying the cream on his bruised cheek.

  Shoku did everything he could to not react to the prickly sensation of the cream. He already felt embarrassed enough as of now.

  He cleared his throat and asked her “So, who was this guy?”

  “He’s the son of the noble who owns the mine here.” Solane kept her gaze on his cheek, applying the cream with as much care as possible. “All other children simply call him King.”

  “King...” muttered Shoku. It wasn’t a name, just a title.

  “He’s not the type to go out of his way to start a fight. If you do not bother him, he should leave you alone...90% of the time at least.” She added the last part quickly.

  When she finished with the cream, she took the wet leaf and gently placed it on Shoku’s cheek. The bandage immediately started sticking to his skin. Shoku really hated these slimy leaves and their scent of old murky water. It was one of the reasons why he hated getting injured. Aside from the pain, of course.

  “Thank you” he said just loud enough for her to hear. He got up from the stool while trying to avoid her gaze. He really felt too ashamed of his current state.

  “I should head back home.”

  Just before he could cross the door, she held his hand. “Wait a little bit.”

  Solane went behind the counter and grabbed a small golden bun with grains on it. She came back to give it to him. The bun was still slightly warm and felt extremely soft in the hands of the boy.

  “I saw how much you were staring,” she says with a cheeky smile.

  “Thanks, again” said Shoku before hurrying out to hide his flustered face. Heat was rising to his face as he held the bun close to his chest.

  Once far enough he looked down at the bread and hesitantly took a bite.

  It was crunchy on the outside yet soft on the insides. The taste was similar to the dry bread of Ezoul, yet was lighter and sweeter. The little seeds added a sour after taste which didn't displease him.

  For some reason tears started to roll down his face. The young kid didn’t know if it was the stress of the battle catching up to him or if the bread was really that good. Maybe these were tears of happiness...

  Maybe he was happy.