Eclipse: the Beginning
Darkness

“Not like this!” Bog wheezed as he ran for his life. “I cannot die like this!” Suddenly, he collided with something and fell sideways.

“Ow! What’s your hurry?” Samuel groaned from where Bog had knocked him into a wall. His bound hands made bracing himself near impossible. He got them in front of him, at the price of a dislocated shoulder, to make his escape. It still hurt though. “Aren’t you Bog?”

“Stay away from me!”

Samuel felt fear explode in his chest. Great … he linked up to Bog of all people now. The youth had an overwhelming desire to run and hide. Things must have gone as he had hoped with the Wingies. He knew Celestial would loathe him for not telling her or Seraph the whole plan, but Alma had agreed that secrecy was best to attain their goal.

Bog ran behind a pillar to stare at him, and Samuel shuffled behind the viceroy’s chair. The empty room echoed with their scurries for a moment. They turned their backs to one another, trying to collect themselves. Bog noticed something move in the shadows. Flinching, he ran for the center of the room, whimpering. Samuel stole a glance around the chair to see what was happening. He quickly wished he had not.

A figure walked out of the shadow of a pillar. It wore a black cloak that covered its tall form. A hood left the face shadowed so much that it seemed there was nothing beneath it. It was walking up to Bog, slow and steady. The frail Light was so terrified that he froze himself and Samuel in place. The figure reached forward with a sleeve that covered the arm and hand.

“No … No … Stay away … Stay away from me!” Bog’s voice was beyond cracked. Tears were falling from his eyes as the limb reached for his face. It made contact, latching on with such strength that the Light fell to his knees, crying out for help.

“Though dim, your light is still obtrusive.”

Samuel gaped in horror as tears fell from his own eyes, one by one. That voice … it sounded just like the voice from his nightmare. The echo of a boiling tar pit forming words almost made the young man want to reflexively scream. He tried to look away as Bog wailed. What was happening to him? He had never seen a death happen in front of him, but Bog’s link grounded him from helping. The draining sensation in his chest as Bog slowly slipped away was worse the Namas’ emotional backlash. After a few moments, Bog stopped screaming. The figure released his face, letting him fall to the side. Before his body hit the floor, he whispered one word that shook Samuel to his core as the link died.

“Dark … ness ….”

The figure turned its head to survey the room. Samuel flattened against the back of the solid chair. He could not breathe. He somehow knew the thing was looking for witnesses. His gaping eyes stared outside of the window before him. He saw the Sun in the sky. Something told him he would be safe in the direct light, so he coiled silently to remain illuminated, hoping the figure would just go away. The being glanced about the room a moment more before grasping its head. The sound of people approaching reached them. Backing up to the darkest shadows in the room, it vanished.

The Wingies entered a heartbeat afterward. They froze at the viceroy’s body, limp and grayed. His eyes were wide, showing the terror he had been in at his end.

“Lady Alma,” Bazak asked, standing beside her, “What does this mean?”

“I know not. How could this be?”

“Samuel!” Seraph’s voice called from an opposing hallway. “Samuel, where are you?!”

When Celestial and he entered the room, they halted, seeing the Wingies. They glanced at Bog’s body. It was clear everyone was at a loss for answers, but no one knew what to say, either. Seraph glanced toward the viceroy’s chair, hearing a breath ever so subtle. He made his way toward it. The pain was creeping back on him, but he gripped Cherub in his hands, forcing himself to keep going.

“Samuel … are you all right?” he asked once he reached the young man, slumping to the floor. The Nomad looked petrified. Seraph could only guess he had seen the end of Bog. Reaching out to pull him close, he held him fast. “You’re safe now.”

“What happened, Samuel? Did you see it?” Celestial was standing behind the god. Her treasured blade was at her side once again, and she was feeling back to her old self. They needed to snap him out of the shock. She just hoped he had not done the Light in.

“It … was … Dark … ness ….”

“What?! That’s impossible!” Celestial ran to check the body. Seraph held Samuel even closer, knowing the soldier’s outburst would not calm him.

“It can’t be!” She froze her hands just above the discolored skin. “The Sun is in the sky … we should be safe.”

“It was … in a … cloak … all black,” Samuel stammered. He could not move, frozen by his fear. “It just … grabbed his face …. It … sounded … like the thing … in my … night … mare …. It was … pure … Dark … ness ….”

“What’s the matter, Celestial? You sound like you found something.” Seraph glanced at her as he asked. She looked afraid to touch the body. “Celestial?”

“He feels empty ….”

“He is dead,” Bazak spoke up.

“No … even the dead have something left behind. All the light within him has been stripped away. I’ve seen nothing like this. Samuel must be right – Bog’s light was completely smothered out.”

All fell silent. There was little they could say. This was nothing anyone had ever seen in Aurora before. There were many abnormalities going on over the past month. When would things start to make sense? Had Samuel brought this on Aurora? All this time, he had set out to leave no casualties in his wake, and now, a man lay dead. Had he brought hope to this world or more despair?

“I beg your pardon,” a voice spoke up from the entry to the hallway, “but before the alarms sounded, I was looking for the young man named Samuel. Would he be in this room now?”

“Warden Caleb?” Alma looked back to see who had just spoken. She motioned for the Wingies, who had come inside with her, to step back for the soldier. “Why do you seek the sage?”

“There was a Wingie among my reserves who has been tending to the elderly Wingie Bog had assaulted. She spoke a short while ago, calling to one named Samuel to not come to the capitol. However, I now see he came for her despite her pleas. If he wishes to see her, we should be quick.” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Mother!” the Head Wingie covered her lips at the news. All those years, she had prayed for her mother’s safety. Now, she was reaching her end. She wanted so badly to see her, but how could she ask the Spirit Sage to give up the little time left?

“Lady Alma,” Samuel spoke up softly. He was still unnerved by witnessing and sharing Bog’s death, but he slowly rose from the floor, where Seraph sat watching him closely. “Come with us … won’t you? Seraph … Celestial … and I … wish to say goodbye, but you deserve that … chance as well … I am certain. She will be proud of you.”

“Young sage,” the Wingie felt tears roll down her cheeks. “Thank you so much.”

“We must hurry,” Caleb said, motioning down the way he had come. “I’m uncertain how much longer she will last.”

Seraph stood up with Cherub’s help to approach Celestial. As he placed a hand on her shoulder, the Light looked away from the body at last. She stood up, silently walking toward the Wind soldier. Samuel and Seraph followed her, and the five made their way to the holding cells. The remaining debated what to do with Bog’s corpse.

Lost in thought, the group walked in silence. Caleb’s mind was on the state of the capitol after this. Alma thought about what to say to her mother in her final moments. Celestial could not forget the phenomena that had just shattered her sense of security in the world. Seraph contemplated whether Grandmother Wingie had known he was a god all along, and if so, did she know of his father? Samuel trailed back into the same fears he had upon arriving to this crazy world. Did he really possess the power to set things right, or was this the fool’s errand he had thought it was? Their musings carried them all the way to the cell. The unguarded, open door left pits in their stomachs. Were they too late?

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