The first thing they heard were voices.
They heard voices crying, whispering and talking in a language they could not understand. They were surrounded in a cacophony of sound, rushed footsteps, yelps of surprise and wails that they had no understanding of what the cause was.
After a while, the first thing they saw was the glaring light of a big thing right in their line of sight. They did not know what it was but it shined down on them, bathing them in its warm light as it seemed to greet them with a swirl of bright colors they couldn't name. It felt increasingly uncomfortable to look at it, but they couldn't tear their eyes away, it was so mesmerizingly beautiful.
The first thing they felt was pain. The pain didn't come from the big thing above them or slowly trickle in to warn them of what was to come like they instinctively knew it should. Instead it slammed into them with such speed, such violence, that their small body shook in the arms of a wailing figure. This feeling, the agonizing sting that gripped their entire body was something they should have never known. It was akin to that of all the cells in their body simultaneously exploding. And they knew that was something that they had no right to comprehend nor bear the misfortune of feeling. Their little body twitched and shuddered from the severe pain that they knew not the origin of. Another smaller and weaker voice joined the other sound of crying as they were blindsided by the pain.
Confusion, fear and other emotions they did not yet know appeared in their mind, their body instinctively kicking around, trying to run from the agony they were being subjected to.
“WAAAH!WAAAAH!” The very first sounds they made were cries of pain, they couldn't control the way their body twitched and twisted out of shape. A burning sensation crept into their head coming from a pit inside of their soul. Along with the burning came information that slammed against their skull before metaphysically breaking and shattering and dissipating into nothingness. They could in no way comprehend in any sense of the word what it was they were experiencing. Their baby brain’s neurons all fired at once trying to connect to one another to record the fragmented information and decipher it. All firing at a fraction of a second, it took more than half of the 10 billion neurons they had to try to hold the remainder of the incomplete knowledge in their memory. When the final neurons recording the memory clicked together, time seemed to slow.
They saw clearly the face of a man that leaned over their face, worriedly stroking and rubbing the bottom of their feet. His face was tear-streaked and extremely long ears drooped. Sweat poured down his dark chocolate skin making his burnt orange hair stick to his skin. His eyes were a gorgeous orange that glinted like the big thing in the sky, they now knew that thing was called the sun. The man’s mouth was moving painfully slow and they could not hear what he was saying, the ringing in their ears was the only sound that accompanied them. Suddenly they were moved and the face of a woman now came into view. Tears threatened to spill from her golden-yellow eyes but her face held determination. However, in direct contrast to the man, her mouth moved so fast they created after-images. They watched her mouth move lazily, their mind was not processing what was happening at the speed it probably should. Their eyelids slowly closed and a familiar nothingness they felt was coming a bit too soon came to embrace them. But they welcomed it all the same.
They didn't want to be awake any longer.
⇼
Tan’Ganda Golden-Tongued looked down upon her child whose eyes were glossy and body was still. She pushed back the fear and panic that threatened to overtake her mind. Her companion Kirv Slick-Fingered was already panicking enough for the both of them. His usually optimistic attitude had plummeted to an all time low. He chewed his lips anxiously to the point where they bled, the Sunlight-Molders that surrounded the both of them tried to lead him down the steps and away from the birthing altar but he shook them off and stared down at his second newborn child in worry. Tan’Ganda focused her attention on the child as well. She felt it, Der’Kandr was coming for her child, it had already wrapped its cold fingers around her Sun-Child’s neck. She could see it in her baby boy’s orange-gold eyes. They stared up and through her, not shining with familiarity nor gushing with life, it made her stomach drop to the ground. No. She would not let that happen. Not so soon. Not after she carried this baby and felt him kick in her womb. Not before she saw how he grew and how strong he would become. She would give her baby life, she swore to the Sun God.
Tan’Ganda took a deep breath, saying a quick prayer in her head she started to reach for ‘Turnalgizil The Boon Giver’. The power of the sun tangled with the essence of life around her and drew into her mouth as she called upon the strength of her soul. Only those blessed with the ‘Sight of Exaltation’ could see the strands of light that wrapped around her tongue, lighting it up with a bright golden hue. Looking into her child’s dead eyes she opened her mouth and spoke.
“From me to you,
I give a boon.
Under the gaze of the Sun I speak his name,
Turnalgizil comes forth in all his fame.
I ask he gives this baby boy,
A piece of my very soul.
Sitting, aware of my sacrifice,
I am ready for any price.
I, Tan’Ganda Golden-Tongued,
Beg for the boon of life.”
Heaving, Tan'Ganda caught her breath and braced herself for the backlash she would receive from requesting, ‘Boon of Life’, from Turnalgizil. Kirv’s head snapped up towards her in shock. His mouth was hanging open as he looked at her immediately after she finished. She met his gaze softly and felt her energy slip from her, weakly she lifted the child, “It will be okay…” she said breathlessly. Hands reached from the side to take the child from her shaking arms. Her eldest son Kiiran’Gand, an apprentice Sunlight-Molder at only 30 years of age, held his baby brother close as he looked at her as well. He did not fully understand what she had done as he had not yet been blessed with the ‘Sight of Exaltation’ or ‘Piercing Discernment’. He had no way of knowing what she said or did yet he still recognized that something irreversible had been done.
“Mom…? What happened..?” Kiiran’Gand asked, his voice slow and hesitant. From his brother coming out as a stillborn, waking up screaming in pain before going quiet again, to his Mom speaking rapidly before being drained of all color and looking 20 years older. It all came in quick succession, one right after the other, he was unable to keep up. Before his Mom could answer, Sunlight-Molders quickly crowded around her. The group gently pushed her onto her back, laying her flat onto the metal slab. They all softly whispered in perfect synchronization. Tan’Ganda watched as the golden power of the Sun was gently transferred into her, she sighed in comfort as she felt it flow through her veins. The Sunlight-Molders hummed together with increasing intensity and the power of the Sun swam through the air with extra vigor.
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The humming stopped and the last bit of the Sun’s power rested within her. Tan’Ganda’s eyelids drooped as her body and mind grew sluggish, but before sleep could claim her she felt a sturdy hand fall on her shoulder. A Sunlight-Molder with the marking of the Sun in the center of her forehead looked into her eyes intently. She wore a loose black sheer robe that allowed the sun to caress her skin, enhancing her Sunlight-Molding skills, much like the other Sunlight-Molders. Three small black lines were drawn symmetrically on both of her cheek bones making her stunningly white eyes pop. Multiple rubies and sun-drops that caught the sunlight and absorbed it decorated her hair and clothes. A single black line stretched from the bottom of her chin to her top lip which broke when she opened her mouth and spoke.
“What you did was foolishly selfless, Tan’Ganda.” She scolded her softly even though she made no move to stop her from begging for the ‘Boon of Life’. The elder Sunlight-Molder reached for her lower abdomen and placed her palm on the skin right above her womb. “Turnalgizil has taken from you your ability to conceive.” she stated. Tan’Ganda stared into the sun, her ears drooped slightly. “This child-”, the elder Sunlight-Molder turned towards Kiiran’Gand. The boy was looking over the baby in his arms with concern, his hand resting on the baby’s chest, feeling for his younger brother’s heartbeat. As she reached for the apprentice Sunlight-Molder he looked up at her, his gaze questioning. She gently lifted the newborn Sun-Elf from the arms of his elder brother. The elder Sunlight-Molder’s ears twitched, her eyes scanned the child’s still body. Pupilless eyes bore deep into the child, ‘Piercing Discernment’ allowed her to notice a spark of something that let her know the child was indeed still alive, if only barely.
The little spark flickered and she worried it might go out, apparently it showed on her face as Kirv snapped out of his daze and appeared at her side. “Truth-Seeker.” Kirv said in an urgent but respectful tone. “What is it? Please, tell me what is wrong, what can I do?” Truth-Seeker shook her head solemnly. “I am sorry, Kirv. But if even receiving the Boon of Life from Turnalgizil cannot help this newborn, then the open arms of Der’Kandr has already-”
A shriek interrupted her sentence. Taken aback, Truth-Seeker looked at the child in her arms whose small spark transformed into a raging inferno of Soulfire. The baby's face was contorted into a visage of agony, veins popping out on his skin and said skin turning a raw red, as if he was being cooked from the inside out. Gasping Kirv snatched his son as gently as he could and rocked his arms from side to side. “Sshh, sssshhh my little baby boy. Oh, Sun God above, what is harming my sun-child?” Even with the rocking and cooing from his Father the child screamed and writhed with varying severity. Even choking on his own spit and forgetting how to breathe properly did not stop him from screaming. He would surely screech himself to Der’Kandr if nothing was done. Kiiran’Gand stepped forward but he was cut off by Truth-Seeker who once again picked up the baby. The group of Sunlight-Molders surrounded the elder Sunlight-Molder as she cradled the newborn close to her chest.
The Sunlight-Molders began to hum together but this time out of tune. Some went low while the others high, the power of the sun was gently pushed away from the group; it followed the gentle push willingly. Essence of life came forward instead, a tangled mass of life essence flowed jankily. It constantly twisted and pushed against itself, forming complex shapes that may never bed deciphered. Some Sunlight-Molders picked up the pace of their tune, strands of life essence broke off from the cluster flowing into the baby's twitching form. As the pain he was suffering from eased the child quieted down just a bit. The inferno focused on tearing into the life essence it was just introduced to rather than the child’s body. Truth-Seeker furrowed her brows, perplexed by this issue. In all her 20 decades of life she had never encountered a newborn elf suffering from something that usually a young adult Sun-Elf would suffer from. Hiccups of sadness made Truth-Seeker raise her head and look at Tan’Ganda who tried to get herself off of the birthing pedestal while tears streaked her face. The Sun-Molders hurriedly crowded around her once more. One pushed her down while massaging her shoulders, another massaged her temples to release the tension that was sure to be building there.
“Truth-Seeker… why?” Tan’Ganda’s voice threatened to crack. “The Boon of Life is supposed to save my baby. Why does he still scream like this?!” She could not stop her outburst of emotion. Truth-Seeker looked at her in silence for a long while, Tan’Ganda’s emotions settled at once when she met the elder Sunlight-Molders gaze.
“I understand your frustration Tan’Ganda, but you should know that requesting a Boon from the Boon Giver is what the Red-Bloods call a ‘gamble’.” Kirv held Tan’Ganda’s hand and wiped away her tears. Truth-Seeker continued, “You have sacrificed something equal to what you received, Turnalgizil has indeed given you life, but the boon this child needed was something much greater than you could provide.” Tan’Ganda looked at her baby boy whose face was still red and scrunched with a look of defeat. Kirv turned to face Truth-Seeker defiantly, “There must be something.” He tightened his grip on his companion's hand, “There must be something we could do for him.” He looked into the elder Sunlight-Molder’s white eyes with his own teary-eyed ones. Truth–Seeker set a finger on the restless baby’s forehead, Kirv watched as the child’s features smoothed out as he went deeper into sleep.
“There is a way.” Kirv sighed as he leaned onto the birthing pedestal for support. “I never said there was not one, but you must know that the price for saving a life that should have been lost is something that may scar you deeper than even the sharpest arrow.” Truth-Seeker lightly pushed Kiiran’Gand towards Kirv and Tan’Ganda, he shuffled along anxiously. “We are more than ready for anyth-” Truth-Seeker interrupted Kirv, the Sunlight-Molders by his side backed away as she got closer. “You do not fully understand young Sun-Elf.” Kiiran’Gand stepped away from Truth-Seeker and next to his Father and Mother who waited warily for her next words. “You will not be required to sacrifice your flesh or your organs, nor your Soulfire.” Kiiran’Gand’s ears perked up, pleasantly surprised. “Then what-?” Kirran’Gand’s sentence died as his Mom sent him a look.
Lifting the child she held close to her bosom Truth-Seeker presented him in front of his family. “This child will hate you.” She said it as a fact. “This boy will look at his brother who runs and leaps and wonder why he can't do the same with even a fraction of the ease or grace, and he will hate. This child will look upon his Mother and not see her sacrifice, but the fact that she let him live with such pain, and he will hate. This little Sun-Child will peer at his Father with a burning anger and ask, ‘Why do you look at me like I am a burden?’, ‘Why do you treat me with such demeaning care?’, and he will hate. No, you will not need to ask for any more boons and no your body and soul are not what I ask of you. But I sincerely warn you, for the trials you may face will surely crack and break you mentally. I have seen it before, believe me, a child who was raised by parents that gave everything for them to breathe under the Sun’s rays had grown crooked and twisted. He was spiteful and lonely, no one wanted to associate with this child who should have not even been able to live. Suffering through years of scorn and whispers before he asked a simple but deafening question to the people who nurtured and fed him with all their heart, ‘Why didn't you let me die?’”
Silence hung thickly in the air as the family of three took in this information. “I ask you to give me your unfaltering resolve. Speak to me under the gaze of the Sun on this day and say you will do everything in your power to raise this child. That you will not waver no matter how harshly he may look at you, that you will not scorn him because of his behavior no matter how uncouth it may be. I ask you to raise him like you did your first born, I ask you to speak to him as you would to any other child you may have had. I ask you not to be too overbearing nor too lenient. Speak your promise to me under the Sun and I promise as well to give you all the resources you may need.” Truth-Seeker closed her mouth and looked at them, her eyes taking on a hazy red color. Kiiran’Gand gulped the spit that had built in his mouth to moisturize his throat. Being a relatively young elf, no older than a young teen, he wasn’t fully in the know of much of anything that happened today. The Birthing Ritual was supposed to be a joyous and light-hearted occasion with all worries for the companions being swept away with the birth of their child and celebration of life at the afterparty. From what he had heard the birth of his brother was anything but ordinary. Looking at the baby who was held out in front of him he considered the words of the elder Sun-Molder. His brother would probably hate him but how could he know for sure? Maybe his little brother would be sensible and despite the setbacks he may have he would be understanding of the decision that his parents had come to.
“Tan’Ganda Golden-Tongued swears to you.” came his Mom’s tired voice.
“Kirv Slick-Fingered swears to you.” said his Dad.
All eyes turned to Kiiran’Gand as he deliberated.
“...Kiiran’Gand swears to you.” Surely his little brother would understand.