After waiting in an air of fear she watched intently as Hirow emerged from the shadows.

Talia stood up delighted, “Did you find a light.”

“Yes I did,” he said, setting a candle down and pulling out a box of matches. “Thankfully they were where I remember them to be.”

Hirow struck a match and held the flame to the wick cradling it with his hand until it caught fire. Then he blew the dwindling match out.

Holding the candle up he turned to Talia, “I need your help to get some stuff.”

Talia got up and followed. The light illuminated the room ahead casting large shadows that stretched and pulled at each other in the flickering light. The room they entered was large and open with mats among other possessions littering the floor. Several large wooden crates that looked as if they hadn’t been moved in a long time sat in the back collecting dust. Above the crates hung a few worn shelves holding well-used wooden bowls and plates.

Talia ran her fingers against the wall and examined the dust on them. Then after blowing on her fingers, she released a cloud of dust, and turned to Hirow, “Where are we?”

“It’s the Orphanage I used to live in.”

“An Orphanage,” Talia said, confused.

“It’s a place where children go when they don’t have parents.” Hirow knelt and opened one of the crates and started rummaging through its contents. “I was sent here after my parents died in a famine about ten years ago. What little food we had they gave to me. They say my father collapsed in the field and my mother,” Hirow stopped his searching, “I found her dead the next morning.”

He stood up and moved to the next crate and continued looking. He pulled out a thin white shirt, brown pants, and worn leather boots. They were old but it would work.

Hirow threw the clothes and boots over to Talia, “Here put these on.”

Tali stumbled as she caught them, “What about the cloak?”

“You can keep it.”

She went to the far end of the room and started to change as Hirow moved on to the final crate. The entire thing was filled with toys and books the Orphanage had collected over the years through donations or the possessions the children came with. He carefully took out each item and placed it gently on the ground. Without the children themselves to tell him, there was no way to know which of them were highly valued so he took great care of each one. Once the entire box was almost empty he saw it. A book lay at the bottom, thick and tattered. The spine was broken with small lines weaving their way from top to bottom like ancient mountains and canyons. The front was a faded red with a soft bronze title that barely stood out. It read The History of Gladia. Even though he had left a year ago to start working in the fields they had still kept the book. Indicated by its location in the crate it seemed not many others had enjoyed it since. After admiring the book he set it aside and kept looking. After scouring the rest of the crate he took the things that were set aside and put them back in with the same care he had taken them out with. At this point, Talia finished changing and came back over. Hirow was so concentrated on making sure he had put everything back that he didn’t notice Talia come up behind him and grab the book.

“What is this,” she said, flipping through the pages in curiosity.

Hirow turned around quickly and swiped the book from her hands, “It's a book, it's delicate, and it's not yours. Do you even know how to read?”

“Next, ask me before ripping something out of my hands, and to answer your question, yes I think I know how.”

The answer surprised him, “ Really, prove it to me.” He flipped to a random page and pointed at a paragraph near the top, “Try reading this.”

“Why is this book so important to you?”

“It's the only thing my parents left me, so when you read be careful.”

“Ok.” Talia sat down and pressed her fingers against the page and started, “The forest of Ori lies just past the . . . Saddle of the Sun is a portion of the Kings mountains. This portion of the king's mountains is called such since from most areas during dawn or twilight, it appears that the sun rests on it as a man would rest on a saddle. To enter the eastern side of the forest you must pass through this section of the mountains. The forest is home to a race of people called the Luminaries. Not much is known about them due to their isolationist nature. Ever since 525 AAT the Luminaries have shut themselves off from the world, seldom letting others pass through their lands. What is known currently is just a rumor but it is believed that they live long lives and have an ancient ability to control starlight. This power has attracted many humans seeking it. The most famous of these examples happened in 543 AAT when an expedition of 300 men invaded the forest. Their leader was named . . .”

Talia paused trying to pronounce the name but Hirow told her to stop. She closed it and laid it down softly. ‘What is this book?”

Hirow took the book and put it with the rest of the things he had and then answered, “It's a history book. The legends and chronicles of our world are all in here. It describes all the places of the world, the people, and the mysteries that have yet to be solved. I’ve read it from cover to cover many times hoping I could be there myself. Yet I never got the courage to leave. Always being held back by something, family, friends, responsibilities.” He sighed and stood up, “but now it seems I have no choice. The whole village has rejected me and you still owe me for last night.”

Talia sat there confused then she remembered, “But how are you going to do that?”

“We’ll go wherever this book directs us. Who knows, someone might help us along the way, but one thing is for sure we are not going to find anything if we’re still in Celestate. I promise I won’t stop until you know who you are.”

“This all seems so sudden. Why would you leave everything behind for a girl you just met yesterday?”

“Because you’ve finally given me purpose, something meaningful to go after. This village never had a purpose for me. Ever since my childhood, I knew that my goal in life must lie beyond here. I may have friends and familiarity but if I stay, my life will spin into nothingness. That is why I’ll follow you."

This was a new side of Hirow she hadn’t seen yet. He seemed excited for the first time. She watched as he busied himself wrapping up the things that were laid out. She was glad this was the first person she had met. His excitement enthralled her and gave her hope to leave the worries she had.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She got up and asked with a smile, “Can I help?”

Hirow paused, considering what was left to do, “No, as long as you're ready to go.”

Talia went back to the door they had entered and waited. The crowd outside had grown louder since a few minutes ago. What were they doing, she wondered to herself. Soon Hirow came wearing a ragged cloak with all his things gathered in a worn sack. He placed the sack down and turned to take one last look, gazing across the barren room. Talia watched wondering what he was doing as she grew impatient.

“Let's go,” he said, grabbing the sack.

With those last words, Hirow left another remnant of his past behind as he continued on out the door.

The air was filled with tension as they got outside. The streets lay barren and once colorful decorations now hung tattered and depressed. Above, the sky was still dark except for a few rays of sunlight that escaped through the cloak of smoke. The sad sight made Hirow sigh as he repositioned the sack on his right shoulder.

He pulled the hood of his cloak up and whispered to Taila, “We shouldn’t stay out in the open.”

She nodded in response and they slinked back into the shadows. They made their way deeper into the heart of the village drawing closer to the crowd of people. Talia had no idea where they were going but followed Hirow nonetheless. They rounded corners and ducked under the occasional loose board through the maze of houses until the noise of the crowd grew closer and Hirow slowed down. As they moved past they listened but all that could be heard in the incoherent sea of voices was panic. Hirow leaned up against a wall trying to remain in the shadows. He edged in closer attempting to make out what was being said but there were just too many people. As he leaned in further, someone passing hit him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw recognizable messy brown hair.

As soon as Hirow realized who it was his hand shot out and grabbed the person by the back of his shirt. The boy whipped around ready to fight with anger in his eyes but when he saw Hirow his face became soft and a huge smile appeared.

“Hirow it’s you! I can’t believe it's really you,” Clement cried out in joy.

Hirow hushed him and covered his mouth, “Be quiet I don’t need people to know I’m here. You could get in trouble for speaking to me.”

“I thought you were dead,” Clement said, quieting down. “Your house was completely scorched. You disappeared after the Ethereal Gathering so I assumed you had just gone home. So when I woke up the next morning and the Southern half of the village was engulfed in flames I thought you were gone for good. I thought I had lost my best friend without even saying goodbye.” He stopped his rapid speech and embraced Hirow, “But you're here now, and thank the Gods you are.”

Clement kept hugging Hirow until he saw Talia behind him. Then he let go and smiled, switching moods as rapidly as he had appeared, “Is there something you need to tell me?”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed behind Hirow, “So are you going to introduce me.”

“Oh yeah,” Hirow said startled, having forgotten she was behind him, “This is Talia I just met her last night.”

“My name is Clement,” he said sticking out his hand, “nice to meet you.”

Talia stared at his hand confused until Clement took hers and enthusiastically shook it.

He leaned over to Hirow, “So did you finally decide to join in the festivities last night and find someone you liked.”

“No.”

“Well, then how did you meet her?”

“It's a little complicated,” Hirow responded, fumbling to find the right words.

“What do you mean it's complicated? It's just a girl, how complicated can it be.”

Talia watched them argue back and forth until she saw a troop of armored men march up onto the wooden podium. The argument drifted into the background as the drumming sound of boots hitting the floor filled the air. As the last few men got to the platform she interrupted, “Hirow are those the soldiers you were talking about?”

Both of them went silent as they turned towards the crowd and saw the men on the platform. Clement groaned in disgust, “Ugh they’re back and there’s more of them.”

“You've seen them before?” Hirow asked, pulling up his hood again.

“Yeah, I saw them this morning when I went searching for you. They were the first to arrive at the Southern side. I can tell you for sure the fire wasn’t an accident, they were the ones who started it. I would kill those evil men myself if given the chance.”

A man clad in blackened armor stepped forward. He wore a strange helmet that was different from the others. It had a small slit in the front for visibility and a grate around the mouth that pointed down to the chin. The metal bent backward into a triangle with the wider end at the back. Several thicker parts of metal lined the helmet until they streaked to the back all ending in sharp twisting points that looked like the gnarled roots of trees.

Once the man got to the front of the podium he took his helmet off revealing a grizzled face with matted black hair. He had a neatly groomed beard that reached to each of his ears. His sunken eyes which looked tired from years of service scanned the crowd waiting for them to quiet down. The crowd did so quickly.

Hirow stared in disbelief as the soldier stood tall. He recognized him from somewhere. He concentrated on trying to figure out who it was. Then he remembered. On the night of the Star Festival, there was a strange traveling merchant. He had left without saying much but there was something off about him. That same man was standing in front of him now having attacked the village he seemed to be passing by last night.

The soldier started speaking in a sharp tone making sure all heard, “We soldiers of the great King Ekburt the Fourth have come from a land far east to retrieve something of great importance. This village will hand over the Stellapuer in their possession. Most of you may not know what I refer to. In legend, these creatures are also known by another more common name, children of light. We have come to take this creature away for your safety as they are very deceptive and dangerous. The burning of your village was necessary, as a warning. Those old men you call the Holy Order of Lumen turned our request down and lied to our faces prompting this attack.”

Worried whisperings started among the crowd as they questioned the statements that were made of the Order. Hirow stood silent in the back pondering whether he hated more the men who had welcomed calamity or the men who had brought it. His eyes remained fixed watching closely for the merchant’s next move. The man on the podium paused letting the truth sink in then he motioned towards someone behind him.

One of the soldiers in the rear stepped forwards and barked out, “Silence.”

Then the crowd ceased their noise and the silent tenseness resumed. He nodded at the soldier who stepped back into his previous position.

He continued with the same confidence in his voice, “There are several notable traits of a Stellapuer. The first one is that they seem to appear suddenly without explanation. The second is their tough skin. The third is white hair despite their young age.

Talia pulled her hood tighter around her head as Hirow glanced over.

“And the fourth, although harder to spot than the rest, because of their tough skin, is golden blood. When we told this to the priests they said we were blasphemous and that Lumen would never create such a creature but I can assure you this creature does exist and will bring you further harm if not handed over. I hope the rest of you will be more supportive than your fallen saviors. If the Stellapuer is not handed over by tomorrow then we will kill every one of you until it is found. Those foolish men will be your downfall unless you take action into your own hands.” The volume of his voice increased booming across the plaza, “So I leave you with this simple message. Your fate is up to you, choose wisely. Choose for yourself and not for your false Gods.”

The man slid his helmet back on and motioned for his soldiers to march as the audience stood in disbelief. The harsh pounding of boots cracking on the wood left an uneasy feeling in Hirow’s stomach. As soon as the soldiers had made it out of sight the audience erupted into a chorus of chaos. Each person was asking their neighbor whether they had seen the creature mentioned. Far in the front, Hirow saw the chieftain talking with his counselors. They were probably discussing what to do regarding the Priests. The people were scared yet no one stood to help or calm them down.

“Let's go. There’s one more place I have to visit,” Hirow said, dragging his feet. He went back into the shadows carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders. It was a weight he couldn’t share but one that would crush him if he didn’t remain strong. I can’t bear to be here much longer, he thought.

Clement looked back and forth unsure whether to stay. Then he took off after his friend.