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FALSE-SUN
The riots had started very soon after the false-sun appeared in the sky, just as Arara had known they would. Just like Elric had ordered. The energy jolt from Sels had awakened her from where she’d fallen asleep with Yegra. Arara’s thrashing had woken Yegra as well, and together the two of them rushed to the window to see the false-sun rising in the east, casting away the night before it had barely started. News of the riots had reached them soon after.
When she’d seen it, everything Ottont had said about the prophecy came rushing back to her. The final night had been literal, not figurative. And she knew that before the ‘night’ was through, that they were going to need Ottont’s knowledge and assistance. She and Yegra took the first available carriage and rushed through the city at dangerous speeds. Arara used her powers to map out the open streets, steering them around the worst of the fighting that had sprung up in the wake of the false-sun's appearance. The gate between the Garden District and the Jegeran District had already been torn down by the time they arrived, the guards fled.
It took very little prodding to convince Ottont to return to the palace. The false-sun was a threat to everyone, Yaka as much as Jegera, and he knew his life would be forfeit if they couldn’t figure out a way to stop it.
They arrived back at the palace just as the guards there were getting ready to bar the gates. Already a huge crowd of Kin and Jegera stood just outside the palace walls, hurling insults, stones, and more, although mostly at each other. The Jegera blamed the Kin and the Kin blamed the Jegera, and they all blamed the Queen and her rule. None of them had yet been brave enough to try to enter the palace themselves through the line of fierce Alpha-Guard blocking the way, but they were working themselves up to it.
Arara, Yegra, and Ottont piled out in the courtyard and raced for the front door as the gate boomed shut behind them. Ottont wore Yegra’s old cloak, and it was long enough to drag on the ground as he walked. It hid his distinctive white fur well enough to get through the palace to present him to the Queen.
During the last months at the palace Arara had thought she’d become familiar with every nook and cranny of the towering palace tree-house. Her faith was shaken when Yegra guided her onto a stairway she’d never seen before. She still had a lot to learn even here.
The ground floor, with its vaulted ceiling, led up to the suite she shared with Sels, along with a few much smaller guest rooms. Above that were Sesay’s rooms, and then the Queen’s. But the sheer size of the tree had tricked her perceptions. Yegra’s stairway let them to a level between the atrium and the Prince’s suite that Arara hadn’t known existed.
The floor here was bustling with activity. Kin sprout pages raced about with bundles of scrolls, trays of drinks, and other items. Knots of elegantly attired Kin and Jegera held hushed conversations in alcoves. Arara’s internal clock put the time as past midnight and it was jarring to see so many Kin up and about. The rising of the night sun had thrown off everyone. Several of them looked curiously at Ottont’s small cloaked figure, but no one tried to stop them.
The hallway curved around and opened up. Long tables grew up from the floor in a wide arch, filling up the end of the room. Open scrolls, books, and papers covered most of the surfaces. The Queen, Sesay, and Sels stood at the epicenter of the mess. Currently their attention was focused on a bookish female Jegera who was talking to them in rapid-fire old Jegeran, alternating between pointing at the open pages of a book spread on the table next to her and gesticulating widely at the bright sun visible through the open windows.
The Jegera finished speaking.
The Queen nodded. "Thank you for those insights, Ihet. You are dimissed."
Ihet bobbed her head and pushed her iron-wood framed glasses back up her muzzle. She scurried away, a determined look on her face and her ears alert. As she passed she slowed for long enough to lean over towards Arara and present her neck for a brief moment before continuing on.
Arara blinked in surprise at the gesture. Despite her status as Sels’s sedyu, very few of the palace guards acknowledged her position. Yegra’s reassuring warmth at her side and Sels’s encouraging thoughts helped, of course, but it was still hard being snubbed all the time. The gesture from Ihet had been a welcome surprise.
“Your Majesty,” Arara said, tilting her head back slightly as she approached. Sels smiled and through the bond he reminded her that she was part of the royal family now, and there was no need to be so formal.
“Arara, my son tells me that the two of you have a confession to make, something that may help to explain this,” the Queen waved her hand at her side, indicating the window at her back. “He refused to talk until you returned from your errand.”
<Pretend that she didn’t know about Ottont,> Sels warned her. <Otherwise the councilors will demand to know why nothing was done sooner.>
“Of course,” Arara answered to the Queen as much as to Sels. She trembled. “Ottont, take off your cloak.”
Ottont pulled back the hood of the cloak and swept it back off one shoulder, revealing his curly tail and white fur. Gasps rose up about the room. The bustle of activity slowed down and then stopped entirely as everyone stopped to stare.
“This is Ottont. Sels and I organized his escape from the dungeon.”
“I see,” the Queen’s eyes bored into her. “Ottont, what can you tell us about this false-sun?”
“The night becomes the day and the end of all unless the flames of night cleanse the sins of the father. The final night is nigh when the city of the sun bathes in flames and the day becomes the night.” Ottont quoted. “That is part of the prophecy told to the Yaka soldiers before we came to Sebaine. The prophecy is the whole reason why we came. To prevent the end of all, but we failed. Until the eclipse, you still have a chance.”
“And after?” the Queen asked quietly. Her low whisper carried about the room as everyone held their breath in anticipation.
“It is too late. The world is doomed.”
*****
SELS LEANED OVER THE spire’s railing, gazing down at the city spread out below him. From here everything looked tiny and it was impossible to make out individuals. Stone towers poked out of the trees in the northeast, the halls of Sunspire University hidden behind the trees and the smoke. Half of the dormitory trees there were on fire, yet Sels couldn’t see any coordinated effort being made to put it out. Even from this lofty perch, Sels could make out several obvious battles being fought.
A large wall demarcated the northern edges of the Jegeran District from the University. The market was a patchwork of dyed fabric tents and stalls that lent a splash of color amidst the mud-daub dens. Narrow streets twisted this way and that, with no rhyme or reason in their turnings. Behind him to the south was where the rest of the Kin and Jegeran of the city lived.
His attention was focused to the west, where the false-sun was beginning its descent behind the horizon, outlining the Garden District in brilliant pinks and yellows. In a few places there was obvious destruction, but it was minimal compared to the rest of the city. This was where the Kin nobles lived and they had been the most successful at keeping peace there by using their magic on the Jegera who had earlier stormed through the area towards the palace gates.
Tukura and Recka had been coordinating the guard around the city, to try and quell the worst of the fighting. But the guard were too few and they had been reluctant to use force against civilians. Their toothless response had done little to quiet the rising tide of violence. Arara was downstairs with Ottont, using her mind reading powers to try and glean more information from him that might help them, leaving just him, Sesay, and the Queen to stand the vigil for sunrise.
The last bit of false-sun slipped below the horizon and twilight enveloped the land. A stray breeze peppered Sels’s fine robes with ash and carried with it the acrid smell of smoke. Next to him, Sesay squeezed his hand as the sky continued to darken. The Queen moved away, going over to the eastern side of the sky-deck. Sels and Sesay moved to join her. The mood was tense and quiet while they waited.
Just as the first stars began to twinkle overhead the light brightened again, and the stars vanished once more from sight. The sky continued to lighten, until the sun peaked up right on schedule. The true Sun.
Sels tasted the light on his skin, closing his eyes and trying to compare it to the light of the false-sun. He couldn’t detect any noticeable difference.
The Queen sighed. “I think we could all do with a few claw-markss of sleep.”
“Yes,” Sels yawned and they made their way below to their respective quarters.
A page woke him a scant claw-mark later. “Your Highness, the Queen has requested the presence of you and your sedyu in the Throne Room. Speaker Elric, with a large group of Kin nobles, have entered the palace and are demanding an audience with the Royal Family.”
Sels nudged Arara through their bond and she agreed to meet him there. He arrived at the Throne room to find the Queen and Sesay already in place, Tukura and Recka standing at their sides. A third chair had been placed on the dais next to Sesay’s throne. Sels sunk into it. Arara entered the room a few moments later and took her place next to him.
The Queen nodded to a guard at the door. “Let him in.”
Elric limped in alone, leaning heavily on his cane. The cane tapped oddly on the wood of the floor when it landed, a hollow ringing sound.
A shiver ran down Sels’s arms, a surge of power like he only had felt from the star-metal. He did his best to discreetly look around, but he couldn’t locate a source.
“Your Majesty, Your Highnesses” Elric said with a smirk, although he neglected to include the appropriate spreading of his arms to them.
“Speaker Elric, bright day to you. What brings you before the Royal Family today?” The Queen spoke without inflection, her voice as formal as Sels had ever heard it.
“Bright days indeed.” Elric’s smirk widened. “I came to offer you the chance to surrender, to turn over your crown to me.”
The Queen straightened, gripping the arms of her throne. “You are mad.”
“No, visionary. You can’t have missed my little display last night. Can you really hope to stop me, when I can command the very power of sunlight itself?”
Sels surged to his feet, eyes flashing. “You're the one responsible for that and the chaos in the city? What were you thinking!”
“I was thinking that Kin have been debased by their association with the Jegera. Weak, complacent. Left helpless at night with the absence of the Sun God’s life giving magic, we are forced to rely on the help of such savages. Well no more!”
Elric punctuated this last statement with a thrust of his cane into the floor. The wood floor splintered and cracked where the staff hit, shaking the floor with such force that Sels fell back into his chair with a startled cry. Moon magic permeated the air despite the full morning sun streaming in through the windows.
“This Empire could not have come about without full cooperation between Kin and Jegera-” The Queen said.
“Silence!” Elric yelled, spittle flying from his lips. “I will not be swayed. Surrender the Crown to me by the day of the eclipse.”
“Elric,” the Queen’s voice softened and she leaned forward, meeting Elric’s gaze for the first time since he’d entered the hall. “Ricard, beloved. Meet with me in private. We can discuss this like reasonable people and come to some kind of a compromise.”
“Never. I’ve given you all the warning you will get. After you turn over your Crown and Throne to me, perhaps I will take you up on your offer. But if you don’t, I will be forced to take drastic measures against you and yours.”
“Against me?” The Queen leaned back, her words quiet. “Against your own son?”
At this Elric’s facade cracked the tiniest bit. His smirk tilted down at the edges and his eyes softened. “Yes. You have three days. I will return for your surrender the morning of the eclipse.”
Elric turned to leave. The scrabble of claws on hardwood was all the warning Elric had as Arara, Recka, and Tukura all charged at his exposed back. At the same time, Sesay and Seuan began chanting.
Tukura reached Elric first, her jaws spread wide as she leapt at the back of his neck. Elric lifted his staff with a cry and a shimmering barrier flared into life around him. Tukura’s snout hit it hard, and staggered back, bowling over Arara who had been bringing up the rear of the pack. Recka took advantage of Elric’s distraction, coming at him from the other side. Elric chanted something and swung his cane. It connected with the side of Recka’s head with a resounding crack and Recka dropped senseless to the floor.
Sesay screamed and crumpled, her half-cast spell cutting off with a sizzle. Sels pushed his chair away and dropped to his knees by her throne, grabbing her. His mother finished her chant and a man-sized tornado sprang from her hands and rushed toward Elric as Arara and Tukura scrambled out of its path.
Elric finished his chant and spun back towards them, pointing his cane at the oncoming wind. The gale whipped at his robe and vines but he held fast, gripping the end with both hands. As the edge of the spinning funnel-cloud hit the cane’s tip it shrank, the wind swirling into the cane. The wind died as the last of it disappeared inside.
Sels stared in astonishment at the sharp, twinkling tip of the cane. How had he never felt before the center of Elric’s cane was metal? Then it hit him. The wooden box that protected the star-metal, prevented it from being detected, hid its power. The outside wood of the cane had concealed the metal core. Elric had removed the tip, like opening the lid of a box, and unleashed the power of the metal.
This was his arena now. Sels gently laid Sesay out on the floor and stood, gathering power into himself, just like Elric had taught him. He threw a bolt of fire out, straight at Elric’s chest. The shot flew true, striking hard enough to punch a hole through the magical barrier around him to send Elric stumbling back a few steps.
With a wave of Sels hand, the flames raged over Elric’s body, consuming him head to toe in a blazing inferno. But to his surprise Elric didn’t make a sound, didn’t fall over. He stayed standing, even lifted out a hand palm up. The flames wavered and ran, streaming together to gather in the palm of Elric’s hand.
The Queen gasped in surprise and Sels’s mouth fell open.
“Didn’t you wonder where you got your power from, boy?” Elric grinned up at Sels. He tossed the fire over his shoulder - straight at Tukura and Arara, who had been stalking predator slow towards Elric’s back.
Arara jumped in front of Tukura, throwing her paws up. The flames parted around them, Arara straining with the effort of holding them at bay. Tukura yelped and huddled behind her.
Elric turned and waved a hand at Recka’s limp body. Recka lifted into the air, his arms and legs dragging on the floor as he floated out of the throne room after Elric. Arara and Tukura were helpless to stop him, still trapped in the inferno.
Sels pointed the guard at the door as he jumped off the stage. He had to stop the fire, but he couldn’t let Elric leave with Recka. “Stop him!”
The guards ears went back and he raced out. A moment later there was a yelp and he flew back through the door, his fur singed and his head twisted at an unnatural angle. His glassy eyes seemed to stare accusingly at Sels.
