The day Solomon had previously been looking forward to arrived fast, starting all too similarly to any other day she would visit The System. She groggily lifted her head from her pillow and was met with Lisa already getting ready to leave for the airport, still in her pyjamas.
“Slept well, luv?” The wolf asked, closing her grey travel bag.
“Could have been better.” She rubbed her eyes and got up. “Just please stay safe, Lisa.”
Lisa chuckled at that, looking more concerned for Solomon than herself.
“Roxy, I basically have a built-in taser with me at all times.” She reassured her, put her bag over her shoulder, and took a step towards the door. “We’re s’posed to be a bit tougher too, yeah?”
“Not by much.” Solomon looked down at her hands, catching Genesis’ attention. “Guns can still do more than enough damage… What if your cabin catches fire?”
Lisa stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow at Solomon. “Oh come on, Rox.” She put the bag down and went to give the feline a hug. “I’ve come back from way worse than a trip. You don’t have to worry.”
But worried, Solomon was. The past couple months have been so sweet and nice together with Lisa, she never wanted it to end, especially not because of a freak accident. There was something more she could do, just to make sure she’s that much safer.
“You know, I learned to do something new...” She took a glance at her markings. Genesis understood. That guilt she felt about not telling Lisa about him was redoubled inside her, but she could at least put his knowledge to good use.
“And that is?” Lisa asked, crossing her arms with a slight smile.
“I can protect things from acid and fire.” She began to explain, then put her hands on Lisa’s shoulders. “But I also know how to protect people.”
“Woah, alright.” The wolf said in a surprised tone. “So you can just infuse, or bless, or whatever people too?”
“Yes, I can.” She put her trust into Genesis and gave him control. “Now… Stay still.”
Lisa didn’t recoil, didn’t even look uncomfortable in the slightest as the markings on the cat’s normally destructive hands lit up, the magic flowing in. Solomon tried to stay calm and watched until that green aura-like glow appeared around Lisa’s body, signalling that it was enough. Genesis powered down the magic, the glow was soon gone.
“We’re done.” Solomon announced.
“I don’t feel too different, to be frank.” Lisa put one arm forward and twisted it, inspecting it. “But we could see…”
Solomon perked her ears as Lisa swiftly retrieved her lighter. She lit it up and put the flame against her fur. Solomon tried to stop her, just in case, but wasn’t fast enough. Much to Solomon’s relief, however, the protection worked without delay. Lisa was officially immune!
“Rash decision there, Lisa…” She remarked.
“It’s good to test it!” Lisa said and resumed getting the bag downstairs.
After another long car ride, Solomon stepped inside The System HQ, trying her best not to show that she’d rather be somewhere else with other people. She noticed nothing different, no big preparations for the so-called important people who she was told would be attending that day. Well, there was one thing: Shaquia didn’t immediately go and find her. Finding that to be somewhat welcome, she went to continue reading the Ledger.
Opting to take the stairs, she ran into Benedict on the way up, who was carrying a few papers on his person.
“Oh hey!” Said the raccoon, stopping in his tracks, much to the displeasure of the person behind him, a deer with curved horns. “I have some good news, Solomon!” He took a look at one of the papers as the deer went to go around him with an annoyed frown.
“Good, I’m in dire need of those today.” Solomon remarked, stepping out of the way. She felt a sense of anticipation from Genesis. “What is it?”
“Our order should arrive later today.” He flipped through the rest of the papers.
Those words were music to Solomon’s ears, as well as Genesis’. That sense of power, she could certainly use it that day especially.
“We’re looking into why it might have the effect that it does on you… But there’s not much progress there.” He admitted.
“We know that it does.” She shrugged. “By the way, do you know when we’ll start with the meeting?”
“Shaqie will tell you.” Benedict replied. “Or at least someone will, you can go do whatever until then.”
“Alright, tell me if anything happens.” She felt her hand tingle and allowed Genesis to take over. She then felt her hand raise in a little wave as Benedict went to leave. She knew Genesis wasn’t fond of anyone with any sort of fire magic, but was glad to see him try to adjust.
“See ya!” The raccoon waved back as he turned left at the bottom of the stairs.
Expecting a call from Shaquia on the radio or her phone at any moment, Solomon went to the well-guarded room where The Ledger was kept. The password that time was “trepidation”. She had a sneaking suspicion that the meeting will at least partially be about the Lightborn, so she thought she would learn a bit more about Bright Ones, skipping over a few pages.
The page she decided to stop at had another illustration: a majestic person coloured white with a circle of what was certainly an aura of light around their head. The title of the section read “True Light”.
“Able to regenerate the self and others alike, True Light is the single most sought-after type of magic. Its light causes near-instantaneous healing to the injured and pure joy for the healthy. Some believe that the light induces unnatural trust towards the wielder of the power.
However, there is no creation without destruction. Accordingly, the simplest and most preferred technique of True Light is concentrated rays of light, able to cut through lighter materials and flesh.” That sent a chill down Solomon’s spine; Luxor may not have been True Light, but his powers sure were a lot like what the book described.
“Additionally, True Light comes with an exceptional power: to revive the dead.” Solomon nearly fell out of her seat, Genesis understood her concerns.
“Luxor can’t do that, right? Right?” She asked as took out her notebook, thoroughly shook.
“You would think that I would remember such a detail.” Solomon was sure she was about to have a heart attack, but then Genesis went on. “Fortunately, he is not able to do that, I am sure.”
“Next time, say the good part first…” She complained, going back to reading.
“Certain conditions need to be met for this: the subject must not have died of natural causes, the Sun must be visible, and darkness must not have fallen since the death occurred. If all apply to the subject, they can come back to life. The person’s condition after depends on how much time had passed, some subjects reported a great aversion to sleeping. True Light can even revive Mystic Ones if they can make contact with the body before the magic consumes it.”
“Well that’s… Charming.” Solomon remarked, suddenly experiencing a slight bout of existential dread. The fact that Genesis tried to comfort her with his emotions didn’t exactly help with that. At the very least, she was grateful that the white fox couldn’t quite play god to the extent that he probably would have wanted.
“Dark Ones cannot be revived and under no circumstances must it be attempted. See: Asuut’s End.” Her curiosity thoroughly piqued, she noted the page she was on and went to check the table of contents to find it. In the meantime, Genesis wrote down something.
“I have no recollection of such an incident.” Solomon didn’t quite like the sound of that.
“Asuut’s End” read the title of the section. “Asuut “The Dark Sun” was considered to be controversial among the people, surrounding himself with Mystic Ones for protection and show of power. He even had the city where he resided renamed after himself. He was given “The Dark Sun” nickname after darkness manifested in him in his 4th year of reign. Some thought of him as a stubborn tyrant, official records say that the people prospered due to his questionable decisions, having established some of the harshest laws.” Solomon knew exactly what she thought of him: she wasn’t really a fan.
“In the 24th year of his reign, he fell gravely ill. Refusing to give up his dark magic, on what would become his deathbed, he ordered that True Light be brought to him. Declining any negotiations, his servants obliged and the finest of healing magic was delivered. Unable to do anything about the king’s condition, an attempt was made to revive him once the darkness started taking over Asuut’s body. Rather than help, his body disintegrated.” Genesis wasn’t impressed in the slightest.
“While the city of Asuut mourned the loss of the ruler, an envoy was sent to the closest city, Seeis, to spread the word of his passing. That envoy would come to be known as the “luckiest canine alive”. The next day, he went back to the city of Asuut, only to return to Seeis the same day. He was labelled a madman at first, but after Seeis’ governor sent a group of soldiers to check Asuut for any threats, what the envoy had said had been confirmed. The entire population of Asuut, nearly two thousand people, had vanished overnight.” The information left Solomon with a mild sense of discomfort. She felt her hands tingle, feeling that Genesis really wanted to tell something, but ignored it. “Not now…”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Slaves, citizens, around twenty Mystic Ones, including True Light, all disappeared. There were hardly signs of a fight, what little had been found was deemed to be results of everyday arguments. The envoy was pardoned and new laws were made about the use of magic accordingly, specifically about the healing of Dark Ones. The city was left alone after the incident, no one dared to even approach it, lest they suffer “Asuut’s curse”. With time, nature slowly reclaimed the city, leaving nothing but ruins.”
“Who could have added this?” Solomon asked as she let Genesis write.
“Seeis! I remember that!” The words hit the feline like a ton of bricks.
“Tell me more! What do you remember?” Solomon implored, tail wagging.
“I know I was there once. It was an unremarkable city, but that is where I conducted my first experiments. As for Asuut… I still have no recollection of that. It must have happened after my time.”
Solomon went to check her phone with the hopes that she would find out anything about the city. To her great anger and disappointment, there was no mention of it anywhere that she could find.
“Putain!” She yelled, slamming the table, which Genesis didn’t like. “Sorry… I thought we could find out more about your past with this Seeis.” She apologised, ears drooping.
“As I said, it was unremarkable. If I wasn’t there for a few years, I would not have remembered it.” Solomon found that to be kind of egotistical, but in a way, she understood.
“Alright, let’s go back to True Light.” She suggested, turning the pages back to the section in question.
“There has been no recorded case of True Light meeting with True Darkness.” Genesis once again wanted to have a word about that.
“So that has not changed since I was alive? Interesting.”
“That’s one way to put it…” Solomon said, turning her attention back to the book. She read a small section describing True Magic incompatibility.
“Category: greatly beneficial - highly dangerous, even catastrophic if allowed to attempt reviving a Dark One.”
“I think we can agree on that.” She remarked, sharing the sentiment with Genesis. “So many people… An entire city, gone like that. How?”
Their reading session was interrupted by the sound of a crackle on her radio. She lifted it up and had a listen.
“Solomon, you are requested at the main entrance ASAP.” Said the voice of Shaquia. “Catherine will arrive soon.”
“Alright, be right there.” The feline responded and closed The Ledger.
“Requesting a new plate.” Said one of the guards as she walked out from the room. Eager to possibly find out more about Asuut’s End later, she set her mind on the matters at hand and went straight to the entrance of the facility where Shaquia awaited her along with Sheila and Andreas.
“Remember the plan, everyone.” Sheila began to say in an authoritative tone. “Sheila, you take care of the newcomers. Andreas, you’ll escort Catherine to her room. And you…” She then glanced from them to Solomon. “You just do as we say for now.”
The feline put on a pouty face and crossed her arms, feeling rather patronised. Genesis shared her sentiment, but at the same time, found it entertaining. “Oh, really?”
Before they could continue, the entrance doors swung open and the French branch representatives practically poured into the main area, led by an opossum clad in a gaudy, white suit.
“Ah, bonjour!” She said as she went to shake hands with Shaquia.
“Welcome, Catherine.” The lynx replied, Solomon could have guessed that she didn’t like the opossum even without Shaquia telling before. Catherine looked past her and straight at the cat.
“You must be that new one everyone keeps mentioning all the time.” She smiled as she said that with an accent that sounded very forced. And the tone… If words could cut, Solomon would have needed bandages. She then tapped her chin, as if thinking deeply. “What was your name again…”
Genesis immediately disliked Catherine. “Oh come on, give her a chance. Or if not, at least put up with her.”
“Roxa-” Was all she could manage to say before Catherine brushed it off and went on to Sheila. Solomon tried her best to hide her being insulted. In the meantime, the rest of the people came in, 15 in total.
“Anyway, let me introduce the replacements you so desperately needed.” Catherine said to Shaquia, then went to stand next to a lizard with mostly green scales. Above the collar of his comparatively casual sweater, orange markings covered his neck. “Jules Abadie, nicknamed ‘Dragon’.”
Solomon may have started to agree with Genesis’ dislike of the opossum, but that… Nicknames? She found that kind of charming.
“For your second Blazing One…” She went to stand next to a gruff-looking lion with markings of fire on his hands, wearing a suit. “Noah Duclos, nicknamed ‘General’.” The lion’s gaze was fixed on Sheila, who in turn had hers fixed on him. Genesis didn’t like that they got two new Blazing Ones.
“And don’t think I forgot about your Frost Ones either!” She went past a fennec fox, shorter than Solomon even with his ears taken into account, who just looked up with an innocent smile. “A real professional, Jean-Pierre Andre, nicknamed ‘Rime’.” He closed his eyes and waved at them in that small, yet still slightly oversized all black suit of his.
“And lastly…” Catherine smirked as she stood next to an almost sickly pale-looking snake with a hoodie on, hands in pockets, tail kept out of sight. She removed the hood, revealing his true colours: pale blue.
“Is that…” Shocked, Shaquia began to say.
“Oh, it is!” Catherine patted the snake’s neck. “Ludwig may have wanted him hidden, but after five years, here he is now! True Frost, ‘Ice Age!’” She announced, looking immensely proud, even Genesis was in awe. Proud, however, said snake certainly wasn’t. He couldn’t have been more than 20, looked terribly uncomfortable and dejected.
Solomon recognised that look. She was taking more of a guess, really, but she was certain the snake wasn’t too happy about having that power.
“That’s amazing!” Happy with the discovery, the lynx reached out a hand, which he reluctantly shook. “But… Why would Ludwig want such a power hidden?”
The snake rolled his eyes.
“Who knows! Maybe he wanted it for himself once properly trained.” Catherine shrugged.
“How come we don’t do nicknames?” Solomon interjected, earning a displeased look from Shaquia and a particularly devious grin from Catherine.
“Because Ludwig was no fun!” The opossum complained, walking over to her with a strut. “There are so many great options too!” She glanced at Shaquia. “You could be ‘Industry’! Oh, or ‘Vapour!’”
Shaquia nodded along with the least genuine smile Solomon had ever seen, her hands behind her back.
“What about the rest of your entourage?” Solomon asked, taking a brief look in the direction of the other ten people.
“Oh, you silly kitty.” Catherine said in a tone so condescending that it rivalled Ludwig’s. “I’m too important not to have enough bodyguards with me.”
Solomon was sure Genesis really wanted to show how little ten bodyguards can mean for certain people.
“Noted.” The cat replied and found herself agreeing with her companion more and more.
“Speaking of, someone escort me to my abode, please.” She requested and Andreas stepped forward.
“I will do that, sire.” He said with a stone-cold expression. Solomon was envious of how little he could let the opossum get to him.
“Shouldn’t it be ‘dame’?” She made an attempt to correct him as they began to walk away.
“I call everyone that, sire.” He replied, the ten bodyguards went to follow after them.
Shaquia brought her hands forward, and they were shaking. Solomon was about to ask if she was okay when she clenched them into fists. Steam rose up from her entire upper body.
“Solomon…” She said with a slight glare. “I swear, if she calls me ‘Vapour’ from now on…”
“Sorry…” Solomon responded, feeling guilty. Genesis apparently found it amusing. “Oh, REALLY?”
“Anyway…” Shaquia sighed and turned towards the snake. “Come with me, please. We have a lot to take care of.”
The snake nodded, disinterested, and followed the lynx after putting his hoodie back on, dragging his long tail behind him.
“Okay… That didn’t go too well. Let’s go meet the rest then.”
Solomon walked up to the lizard, putting on the friendliest face she could manage.
“Hey, I’m Roxa-” She began to introduce herself, only for the lizard to step to the side and go past her. She turned around, her gaze following the lizard as he completely disregarded her and went after Shaquia and the snake.
“Well call me ‘Spiral Stairs’ the way he stepped over me!” She said to the lion he had been standing next to, catching his attention. Genesis didn’t seem to like her attempt at humour.
“Don’t blame him too much, he’s allergic to cats.” The lion’s words practically sent Solomon to the floor.
“...what?” She questioned. “I thought you could only be allergic to wild cats!”
“Apparently not.” He lifted his head from her to Sheila, who was now in front of him, the two looking into each other’s eyes with great disapproval.
“General.” Said the lioness.
“Sarge.” Said the lion. He then put forward a fist, which Sheila bumped with hers. They then smiled and put an arm around each other’s shoulders, laughing.
“It’s been too long!” General released Sheila and crossed his arms.
“Indeed it has, pal.” Sheila grinned widely. “How can you even put up with her?”
“I could ask you the same.” He remarked, causing both to chuckle. “The old man finally kicks the bucket and you don’t get to the top?”
Genesis’ dislike towards the replacement newcomers only seemed to grow. “Don’t worry, we won’t have to meet them often.”
“Oh you know.” Sheila waved dismissively. “I see how much it stresses Shaqie out, thought it was better to be the second-best.”
“Fair.” He stroked his mane. “You’d have even more of a resting bitch face then, if that’s even possible.”
“It will be, if you keep this up.” Sheila patted him on the back and started to walk down the main hall and in the direction of the training area. “Come meet the other Blazing Ones, that’ll show ‘em what they’ll become eventually!”
“I can’t say I like them too much so far. Well maybe-”
Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of snapping fingers from behind her. “Rude.” Frustrated that she can’t get a proper conversation with any of the new people, she turned around and was surprised to see a three-letter word made of ice written on Rime’s suit: “Hey”.
“Oh… Hey there.” She said, her and Genesis both taken a little aback.
“I’m sorry.” The icy words shifted on his chest. “It’s how I get people’s attention.” Due to his small build, he could hardly fit more than a few words on him at once in a “font” big enough to comfortably read. Solomon was left amazed at his ability.
“Wow! That’s incredible, Jean-Pierre!” She exclaimed and walked closer to him.
“Just call me Rime.” The words formed on him with a humble look. “People call me that all the time.”
“That’s such perfect control!” She said with admiration in her voice.
“Thanks!” He rubbed the back of his head. “That’s what I’m here for. To teach people control over magic! It gave me a voice, so I try to give back to the world.”
“That’s great!” She said, having a hard time putting her thoughts into words. “Come to think of it… How come they don’t just heal him?”
“It isn’t for combat, but that doesn’t matter to me.” The ice changed form. “Can you show me to that training area of yours?”
“Oh, sure!” Solomon nodded gleefully. “Follow me.”