As night fell at the edge of the Cinder Vale, Seren realized how little ground he'd covered. Despite his energetic start, he'd spent a long time lost in his thoughts, and the donkey cart was difficult to handle. When the moon began to rise in the darkening sky,  Seren considered his options. He had never slept away from home before, and with the long, lonely road stretching out before him, he felt incredibly small and childlike. Even with the donkey for company, he wasn't sure he was cut out for sleeping under the stars. His father had never liked animals, and certainly never believed in the naming of them. Therobod Straw had bought the donkey cart only because Mr Thatch had offered him a good deal, and he hadn't thought to turn it down. Since leaving home, Seren had only the donkey to talk to; he named him 'Little Brother' and tried to reassure him they were headed in the right direction, that everything would be alright. 

After asking the local farmers, Seren found a shabby looking inn two miles further up the road. He unhitched Little Brother and stabled him, "Don't be afraid" he told him, "I know this place is strange but nothing here will hurt you. We'll be back together in the morning." He stroked Little Brother's ear and took a deep breath, before leaving his side to find the innkeeper. In his rented room, Seren slumped to the floor with his back against the door. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings steeped in shadows, and resisted the urge to cry. There was only one candle to light the darkness, Seren had been too nervous to ask for another. Opening his bag, he was startled by a strange object he didn't recognize, dropping it in surprise and watching as Dal's precious wooden phallus rolled to the ground. Unsure as to how it had made its way into his things, Seren cautiously picked it up and stuffed it to the bottom of the bag.

Taking out his mother's book instead, Seren brought the candle closer and removed his eyepatch, using the dim blue light from his eye to help illuminate the pages. For Seren's seventeenth birthday, his mother had presented him with a gift; she'd written down a story told to her in childhood, and bound the book with an embroidered sun and moon on the cover. The inscription inside read as follows;

'To my dear Seren, 

Many profess to know the story of the 'brothers', Lunis and Solaris. But a chosen few have heard their truth. Today I share this story with you, in honor of your birthday, in hopes that their tale can light your path.

Happy Birthday my precious one,

Mother'

Seren traced his finger over the graceful writing and smiled to himself. He remembered the first time he had read those words, and how grateful he had been to receive them. That night he turned seventeen, he had narrowly avoided Kaio's service, and ended up running away to the stables to hide. Pulling the gift from the inside of his jacket, he'd unwrapped it in secret and marveled at the pretty stitching and the sweet message from Adalina. But it wasn't until he finished the book that he began to understand his mother's love for him.

'-Lunis & Solaris-

In the years when darkness reigned, the world wept, silent and alone. No life walked upon it and no light would shine there. The heavens above were lonely too. Each tear the heavens cried became a glittering star in the vast expanse of the universe. One day, a star fell and landed upon the earth, its light was swallowed by the darkness. The heavens looked down and observed the sadness of the world below. 'Ah,' said the heavens, 'we are alike, you and I, for you are lonely too...' The heavens began to rain down its stars down upon the earth, and yet it could not light the darkness or relieve it of its solitude. In grief, the heavens wept so violently that a piece of its soul was carried on the waves of its tears, and a single shimmering star fell into the earth's vast, black ocean.

As the star reached the ocean's depths, the heart of the earth began to stir. In sensing the call of the heavens, the heart painfully rent the seafloor in twain, emerging from the water in infinite agony. Exerting its greatest effort, the vulnerable heart ascended to the sky, searching in vain for the owner of the awakening star. 'I am here!' cried the heart, 'I heard your call, I am here, but I cannot find you.'

The earth was now bathed in the subtle moonlight of Lunis, the earth's heart, suspended in the sky above. Unexpectedly, Lunis's presence calmed and pacified the earth, his tranquil beams shone a gentle light; and from his breath, a race of peaceful beings came into existence. The commonfolk lived amongst the earth in harmony, unsteady in the dim light, they held on to one another and united in love under the guidance of Lunis, the earth's heart. The earth was happy and content at last. Its light was no longer hidden and could shine freely.

The heavens watched the changes on earth and marvelled at the beauty of Lunis. The earth's heart was gentle and strong. The heavens empathy had changed to admiration. 'If I reveal my heart, will I find happiness too?' it pondered. The heavens' heart was not elegant like that of the earth, it was fiery and passionate, with unceasing energy that could threaten to overpower Lunis. Still, the heavens were desperate, and as the thought grew, so did its inability to contain such a wild and raging heart.

Bursting forth from the heavens, the bright light of Solaris near blinded the peaceful earth and all who dwelt upon it. The heavens' heart shined with all its might, wanting to show Lunis the power of its love. The sparks of Solaris birthed children of almighty energy, made in the image of the commonfolk. The nobles were born from a love that could protect the commonfolk and light their way in the shadows. As the power of the nobles grew, Solaris was worried his intensity would scare the soft and sensitive Lunis. Every night, Solaris would cast his light aside and let the beauty of Lunis shine. As the commonfolk and nobles grew in number, Lunis and Solaris would watch their children in turn. 

One day, as Solaris blazed brightly in the heavens, he longed for the light of his lover, and dared to embrace Lunis in the daylight. The world descended into darkness at their touch, and the children were afraid. Solaris knew how much Lunis adored his children and couldn't bear to upset him. He promised restraint, ruling the day as his lover ruled the night. From time to time his longing will rage beyond his control, and even Solaris cannot help but pull Lunis into his dazzling embrace as day turns to night. The eclipse that follows is the emblem of their love, with nobles and commonfolk alike bearing witness to it.

It was for the love of Lunis that Solaris thought to shine at all. He did not wish to outshine him, it's just that his love was too great and all-powerful. As we walk this earth in their light, remember, the happiness of their existence came from courage. The courage to love, and the courage to reveal their hearts to one another. Do not hide yourself, alone in the darkness. Let your heart be free, and let your light shine, so that another lonely soul can find the strength to shine alongside you.'                                                                 

Seren closed the book and lay on the floor, clutching it to his chest. He missed his mother. What was he now if not alone in the darkness? He stared at his fingertips and tried for the first time in his memory to conjure his noble spark, but nothing happened. Perhaps it was depleted as Kaio had said? He didn't even know of its existence before today. How could it be that he held the power to kill a person? How could it be that he had  killed a person? His father, no less. It's as Dal said, he hadn't known that he could hurt someone like that. That at least gave him the comfort to continue on; now he knew what he was capable of he would know to live with caution. But surely, his existence was unprecedented. What other half-breed noble existed in the world? He had so many questions for his mother. The day will come when I can ask her, he thought to himself, we will meet each other again.

Seren ran his fingers through his hair, it was starting to get a little long and he would have been due another mandated haircut under order of his father. Adalina would get emotional sometimes as she was forced to chop away at his golden locks, Don't worry, mother, I'll let it grow this time... Seren declared in his heart. The fatigue of the day washing over him, Seren undressed and got into the unfamiliar bed. He closed his eyes and stroked his hair until his hand lost its strength. In the night, Seren dreamed of his parents; they were smiling and happy together in a way that he had never seen. In the morning his pillow was wet with tears, it was as though he had cried every teardrop to the last. Perhaps a piece of his soul had been cried out with them. As he made his way back to the donkey cart, he realized that something inside him had changed. "Were you afraid Little Brother?" he asked the donkey in the stable, "There's nothing left to be afraid of anymore."

Seren continued toward the sunrise, his hardened heart spurring him onwards without fear. When he reached the Base Stone, a large boulder sticking out from the vast, flat landscape, he did as Kaio had instructed and took the lefthand path going north, towards the Drybrush Plain. Seren had lived his life as the commonfolk, and had never left the dust and dirt of their central homeland. As he passed the stone, he glanced over at the path to the right, the path to the Electrum capital. How many nobles would there be in the Electrum City? Seren had never seen one before, except, he now supposed, for his mother and himself? But the light of a noble had long since extinguished from Adalina's eyes, they didn't burn brightly like his own did. Do all nobles have eyes like mine?  he wondered. When he really thought about it, the commonfolk and nobles were not that different at all. With their eyes closed, you couldn't even tell them apart.

A glance was all Seren needed before continuing his journey to Ruel Moss's farm; news of Adalina would only have a chance of reaching him there. "We still have a way to go, Little Brother" he said. The road to the Drybrush Plain was hard-going, over rough and dry terrain and often called 'The Road to Famine'. Compared to the Cinder Vale, this stretch of land was devoid of life, and seemed never-ending for the weary traveller. There was no food or water to be had for fifty miles, and so Seren's cart had been packed with provisions for himself and Little Brother. After several hours on the dusty road, Seren spotted a traveler staggering toward him from the opposite direction.

As young as he was, Seren was not naive. He kept his guard up when the man waved his arms and flagged him down. "Boy!" he shouted, "Boy you must get out of here! There are bandits ahead, they took my horse, they took everything! Quickly, turn your cart around, let's go together!" The man seemed genuine, and really was walking along the Road to Famine without supplies. Seren threw him a loaf of bread and a flagon of his father's ale. "I'm going that way" he said without question, pointing towards the direction from which the man had come. Despite the man's warnings and cries for salvation, Seren continued on until he could no longer hear him. "Little Brother," he said, "Which is scarier do you think, a bandit or a noble..?"

Seren untied his eyepatch, his blue spark blazing in the sunlight for the first time. No, he thought, it would probably be both eyes for a noble... Taking the fabric in his hand, he tied it instead on the opposite side, hiding his calm and clear hazel eye from view. The concealment of his commonfolk heritage in place, Seren prepared to face the dangers ahead with the appearance of a noble. Hopefully the bandits would never need to find out that his energy spark had not yet returned.

[Author’s Note:] Thank you for reading! 💙 The ML is about to make his entrance... 👀