The Veil of Night and Starlight

A soft warm wind blew in through the window at my bedside, billowing the sheer fabric covering it and startling Solaryn on his roost. He made a soft chattering chirp, causing me to slowly open my eyes. The sunlight was already beaming through my small room, illuminating it entirely. Solaryn cooed for me to open his aviary while he stretched this amber colored wings. “Sorry Sol, I didn’t mean to sleep in so late, hold on.” I tugged an unruly lock of hair from my mouth as I sat up a little disoriented. I had another dream last night that my foggy brain was trying to remember. Vague images of unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar places attempted to scroll through my mind. Useless. I interlock my fingers and snap my knuckles before unlatching Solaryn’s door allowing him to hop onto my arm. One year ago, the day before my 18th year, my guardian Aeryn and I had been gathering the live stock into the barn before an impending storm. Without warning an enormous bolt of lightning illuminated the sky with a thundering blast causing a few skittish sheep to scatter towards the woods. While Aeryn tended to the rest, I took to the woods to find them. That’s where I found him covered in ash under a fallen tree. A helpless baby phoenix with a visibly injured wing. I unwound the scarf from my head and scooped him into it cradling him in one arm while ushering the sheep back to our cottage with the other. Every attempt to release him since has been futile. He has never left my side since that night. Sol has grown quite significantly in these past few months and it was getting hard to keep my arm up without help from the other. “Great Goddess, you’re getting big Sol. If you keep this up you’ll be the one carrying me!” Solaryn clapped his beak and threw his head back in what looked like laughter. I pulled back the curtain and allowed him to steady himself on the window sill before taking his usual morning flight over the valley. Our valley is quietly nestled inside a ring of impassable snow-capped mountains. I’ve walked along its winding river and slept in the sprawling field of wildflowers under the enormous lush trees stretching toward the sky. Graceful unicorns gather to drink in the crystal clear lake nearby while dragonflies the size of hawks drift lazily through the warm air. It is the most pure definition of magic. It is home. My first clear memory is of me clinging to Aeryn’s hem as he pointed to and named every creature and plant along our walk from our cottage to the lake. While we aren’t related by blood, Aeryn is the closest I’ll ever have to a father. I have no memory of my parents, just blurry images of what I believe is them in my dreams. The Sundering happened before I reached my first year. My entire village was completely wiped out by the darkness. Aeryn was part of a group of Elvish healers searching for survivors when he found me abandoned in the forest covered by a pile of leaves. Without hesitation, he brought me to his cottage and raised me as his own. Without him, I’d surely have met the same fate as my parents. He has done his best to teach me everything he knows about all the living creatures in the realm and how important each one is to the balance of life. Lately our walks have become shorter. The chores have fallen solely to me as he has a hard time getting around these days. I don’t mind. The least I can do is care for him now the way he cared for me all this time. After Sol’s departure, I rummaged through my wooden dresser for my favorite dress. There wasn’t much to it but it was my favorite shade of chartreuse green and it fit me perfectly. Two deep pockets on each side made it easy to gather eggs without having to lug around a basket. I used my fingers to brush my brown curls into a low bun and secured it with a velvet purple ribbon from my bedside table where I’d left it the night before. I treasured every trinket and piece of cloth Aeryn brought me from his monthly trips to the elvish market. I wasn’t able to travel through the realms without his help and the older he got the harder it was to take me with him. I could tell this was beginning to worry him. I found him in the kitchen slicing a loaf of bread fresh from the wood burning stove. “Ahh there she is..” Aeryn called out before even turning to look at me. “Sorry, seems I got stuck in my own dream realm last night.” I smiled while buttering a hot slice of bread and plopping it into my mouth. “I’m heading to the barn now, are you off to the market today?” I crammed the remaining bread in my mouth and chewed loudly waiting for his response. “Lyra, there’s an entire loaf there’s no need to act uncivilized.” He chuckled while sliding the loaf my direction. The warm steam filled my nostrils as I instinctively buttered another slice before handing it to him. “I couldn’t help it, I’m starving..” I feigned dramatically while clutching my stomach before buttering myself another slice. Aeryn smiled shook his head with a low snort. “I’m having a raven bring our delivery this month, I figured it might be the best way to revive our provisions moving forward.” His smile faded. “Are you feeling ok? I swallowed, putting the knife on the edge of the bread plate. Aeryn reached across the small island and stroked my cheek softly, “I’m fine little deer, but there has been word it may not be safe to travel alone through the realms right now.” He turned to the sink where the bread pan was soaking in water and began washing it. “What do you mean?” I grabbed a clean dish towel and waited for him to finish before handing it to me to dry. “There’s rumors of.. a darkness..” His face fell as both hands clutched the edge of the sink. “But.. the humans.. they’re gone.. how?..” It has long been told that the last known human kingdom was full of savages. They treated the land as if owned it as greed corrupted their souls. They were led by a horrible king who used dark human magic to spread the darkness in retaliation against his rival kingdoms prosperity. The Sundering as it was called today spread a suffocating darkness that drained the life and magic from everything it touched. Aeryn has said this is the reason my magic has never surfaced. The time I spent in The Sundering nearly killed me while completely suffocating my inner light. Aeryn looked up from the sink and plastered a forced smile on his face he was desperately trying to paint as sincere. “Not to worry.. it’s just a rumor.. I’m just being precautious.” He kissed my forehead as he passed before heading out the open door towards the carriage. I followed and helped him hook up my favorite mule to our small wagon. “I can come with you to help you carry everything, I can just walk beside the cart?” Aeryn shook his head while gathering up the reigns. “Thank you Lyra I can handle it, besides you still have your chores to do young lady.” He jokingly wagged his finger at me then shook the reigns lurching the wagon forward. I watched until he vanished into the tree line before turning back towards the cottage. I shook the darkness from my mind and began my day as usual.