Varik rolled off his furs and stretched blearily in the darkness. Another lightless and hungry day in the caves lay ahead. Or whatever time it was. He didn’t struggle with the boredom as much as others but the dark and cold drove him crazy. They couldn’t risk spending time outside the cave gathering wood for any fire unless it was for cooking, so fire was as rare as food. A great pity, since Varik loved staring into the dancing flames when they did cook. They seemed wild and free, the opposite of his miserable existence. Most of the others were just grateful for the massive cavern their tribe occupied and for continued survival. On mornings like this though, Varik longed for the light and beauty of the outside world.

He wandered over to the water puddle in the corner. He walked slowly in order to preserve calories, then drank. The decision to leave the cave was exclusively made when they had no other choice, so they made every effort to make all supplies, even energy, stretch as long as possible. The stalactite dripped on him as he was bent over the pool. The water tasted of minerals and was the only thing he liked about this cave. Well, that and the fact that it kept him and his tribe alive.

He made his slow way along the walls, passing his hands along them to keep himself oriented. He walked into his family’s main cavern where he heard someone working. He slapped his hand against the wall to show he was there as he entered.

“That you Varik? I’m sharpening some sticks for one of your deadfall traps. A big one again, we need the meat.” His mother, Salyn, spoke softly.

A life spent hiding in darkness made them a quiet and solemn people. Their small family, just them and his brother Dack, mostly survived off of the meat from traps Varik had designed. They had to be basic as experimentation was virtually impossible in the darkness. Unfortunately the monsters tended to be durable, and every day it seemed their traps yielded less. He knew he could make better ones if he could actually see what he was doing but every minute outside the cave was a risk.

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As always they were faced with the choice of death by starvation or death by monster. He felt so trapped he wanted to punch something, except that expenditure of energy would only increase his need for food. Instead he sat down next to his mother and began helping her after feeling for the sticks and stone knives. All they could do was hope for some luck.

“Mom, why didn't the Makers give us magic like they gave the monsters? Do you think they enjoy watching us hide like rats? Watch us waste away to nothing?” Varik’s father had starved to death while giving his food to Salyn during her pregnancy. In the darkness, no one noticed as he wasted away until they noticed he was missing and stumbled across his bony corpse. Since his mother had stayed in the cave during the latter stages of her pregnancy, she never saw him before he died. In spite of the risk, they had buried him outside. It was the least they could do in the face of such a sacrifice. One of the few memories Varik had of his father's face was when they buried him.

“I don’t think they did. You don’t see monsters making any traps or knives do you?” his mother joked gently. “They gave us our own gifts, and we couldn’t survive without them. I think with a little time and some more work us humans will be able to live in the sun without fear.”

“What a beautiful dream.” Varik replied softly. After that they worked in silence, and Varik tried to trust in his mother’s optimism. Although he was 16 winters old and a man by anyone's reckoning, sometimes he still needed some reassurance. He thought about the world outside their cave, imagining what it would be like to be able to feel the sun whenever he wanted, for longer than stolen moments spent rushing in fear.

If they did have the light he longed for, he would’ve seen the content smile on Salyn’s face. Though her son didn't say anything else, she could tell she had turned his sour mood a little sweeter. Some might say she was simpler than her son, but to her these small joys were all the light she needed.