Rising Sun

Chapter 1

He picked his way through the understory, the foliage rough against his fingers. The ethereal gold flame in his bare palm was the only clear light to see by, aided by the slivers of pale moonlight that slipped through the canopy.

There was a dull ache between his eyebrows as he struggled to keep the fire going and move forward at the same time.

Despite his best attempts at avoiding the frigid wind, the next gust blew across his bared chest. The hairs on his arms rose and his teeth chattered. With his focus broken, the flame spluttered before fading away like a leaf in the wind.

The man stared down at a palm and dug his nails into it. He slammed his fist into the flaky bark, sending dust into the air.

He bared his teeth at the dull throbbing in his hand. As he looked down at the beads of blood, he tilted his head and gazed at his other hand.

His breath misted in the night sky as he dropped his fists to his side and shook his head. He hooked a finger into the knot of rough material keeping his pack together and slung it over his shoulder, letting the fabric rub against his skin.

The pack was something that he had made from the remains of the shirt that he had woken up in, and it held some unappealing yet palatable plants and berries of the kind that hadn’t shredded the lining of his stomach yet. His most vivid memory to date was his body purging itself and it wasn’t something he wished to repeat.

As he ducked under a branch that drooped toward the ground, a whisper in the air halted his progress. His lungs stilled, aching with suppressed air as he crept forward, and turned an ear in the direction of the sound.

When nothing leaped at him his lungs drew in new air, and when he exhaled his breath curled in a cloud of wisps. He lowered his body and began to shuffle sideways, taking care not to crunch any of the leaves that littered the forest floor.

Taking cover behind a wall of shrubbery, he heard a consistent gurgling. He brushed a hand along the ground until he found a branch that he could twirl in his fingers.

In a single smooth motion, he flicked the twig through a gap between the leaves and dug the tips of his fingers into the soft earth to stabilize his balance.

There was comfort in the motion and his eyebrows scrunched as a child’s cheers echoed in his mind. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, looking for anything out of place.

He hadn’t survived this long and fought off the predators in the forest by chance. He had ripped out the fur of obsidian wolves that faded into the shadows and observed monkeys that shaped the trees as they leaped.

At this point he wouldn’t be surprised if he ran into some sort of bird that could cause hallucinations.

The real questions were why a child’s laugh would echo in his mind, and what was with the ache in his chest now that he had heard it?

He rubbed the rough stubble on his head and blinked, realizing that he had zoned out and missed any possible movements.

His heart sped up as he debated the pros and cons of moving forward before deciding to go with his gut. He tangled his fingers into the foliage before he had second thoughts.

He pulled apart the shrubbery, which left a green tinge to his fingers. Rubbing his fingers beneath his nose, he took in the musty smell. Behind the foliage ran a stream that splashed against the rocks before moving on, providing the source of the sound of the bubbling.

He eased through the shrubs, careful not to cut himself on their thorns as he slipped into the clearing. After a quick scan, he dropped his sack on the ground with a thump and knelt down on the uneven pebbles to scrub the green from his hands.

His skin was tender and bleeding after he got all the blood and dirt off. He let the water dance between his fingers, taking joy in the way his open flesh stung. The pain let him know he was still alive.

He cupped the cool liquid in his hands and splashed it against his face. His mind cleared as the droplets eased down his skin to fall to the floor.

Filling his hands with liquid once more, he brought them to his lips and guzzled with gusto, letting the chill ease the burning in his throat.

With his thirst quenched, he began to scrub the stubble on his head, thankful that he didn’t have to deal with knotted hair on top of everything else.

Water ran down his neck and chest as his torn pants pooled around his ankles. Kicking them off of his feet, he picked his way into the current and shivered as he submerged up to his waist. He watched a leech become bloated as the rabbit it preyed on became a husk, and he made sure to scrub everywhere.

It wasn’t until his teeth were chattering that he waded out of the water, keeping an eye out for any stray pebbles.

He slid into his pants and noted that they wouldn’t last much longer in the wilderness. He reached down and ripped off one pant leg, leaving his pants lopsided.

He felt the ground rumble and his eyes shot up to scan the area. He edged backwards toward his pack. He flicked his attention to a gray boulder that was uncurling itself. He had just enough time to notice a scarred muzzle and a hazy white eye, and by that point he was already in motion.

His steps were light as he ducked into the shadow of a tree, using its bulk to hide. His fingers dug through the dead leaves that littered the floor.

He could hear a wet snuffling, and he picked up a smooth pebble, flicking it into the brush behind the beast.

As it turned and plodded over to check the source of the noise, the man took his chance and dashed away, crashing through the foliage, all thoughts of stealth gone from his mind.

As he sprinted through the trees, he could hear the lumbering steps behind him and a scratching of wood on metal loomed ever closer.

He could feel a shiver of energy. His foot caught on something and he tumbled to the ground. Bile burned in his throat and his hands dug into the dirt. He scrambled backwards.

Taking shelter in the crook of a towering tree on the cliffside, his chest shuddered as the bear’s claws dug into the wood. It failed to get its prey.

The bear’s chest heaved and the puff of its breath made his skin clammy. His stomach clenched as the bear managed to ease one claw into the roots, but it had no leverage to swipe at him.

His relief when the bear retreated was short-lived. A low hum filled his ears as silver energy swirled through the strands of its fur. Dust covered his head as it used its bulk to lever the tree out of the ground.

He heard a crack from the ground as the one thing that held most of the cliff together was removed. With one final heave, the tree fell over the cliff and brought them with it.

The wind whistled past his ears as he plunged toward the water below. His eyes watered against the wind and the only piece of good luck was the fact that the tree hit the surface first.

While his impact wasn’t at terminal speed, the length of his fall and his tilted position drove the air out of his lungs as his body crashed into the water.

With aching lungs and heavy limbs, all he could do was watch the blurred moon that hung overhead as bubbles rose from his mouth.

His vision began to fade. Something latched on to the waistband of his pants and tugged.

He tried to struggle, but whatever it was had a tight grip on him. It moved like it was on land and it smacked him on the arm.

They breached the surface and he could feel the gentle caress of the wind on his face. His legs left trails in the coarse sand as the figure pulled him out of the water. He could feel his lungs burning. He coughed and vomited up the water he had swallowed.

The figure, a woman, shouted into the trees with enough force that it pierced the water clogging his ears.

It felt like he was hacking up a lung. Gentle hands turned him over until his cheek was pressed against the sand. There were a pair of twin women and a man next him now, and they were exchanging sharp gestures. The man rubbed circles into his back with calloused hands.

They finished their argument, and one of the bronze-skinned women knelt down next to him and rolled him onto his back. She trailed her fingers from his stomach to his chin, and they left blue lines in their wake.

Something in his body began to shift and water eased itself out of his lungs. The moment she lifted her fingers he found it easier to breathe.

Taking in deep breaths through his nose, he motioned for one of her hands and he squeezed it in thanks.

She smiled as she rubbed circles into the short strands of his hair. There was something familiar about the motion, something that made his chest ache. He covered his eyes with his arm and was startled to feel moisture on his skin. When he pulled his arm away he could see small pearls of liquid on his skin.

From the water’s edge, bubbles rose to the surface as the bear poked its black nose out into the air. The rest of its bulk followed, water dripping from its fur.

The other pair exchanged glances, and the man nodded and placed a hand that lingered on her shoulder.

The man had gravity-defying hair that shone white in the moonlight. He drew a pair of twin blades from their sheaths at his waist.

As their friend dealt with the bear, the two women rested glowing hands on his chest. His body lost its tension as they sped his recovery.

The ground shook as the bear tipped over and crashed to the ground. The man wiped his blades on its fur.

The silver-haired man moved to stand guard over the other three. At the moment they came into contact with one another, time froze.

He tried to sit up and noticed a bird above them frozen in mid-flap, but there was a weight pressing him into the ground.

Two hooded figures appeared and stared down at him. All he could see were shadows that hid their features. Their muted voices danced back and forth. There was something transcendent in the way they spoke, like they were pushing their words into his soul rather than his ears.

This is the point where everything begins, one figure said. They pulled back their hoods to reveal emerald hair streaked with gray strands. It was an older woman who had spoken, and wrinkles lined the corners of her eyes.

I don’t know how long this will take, but do you understand your duty?

Yes, master, the other figure said, pulling back her hood to reveal snow-white hair. She dropped to her knees. Thank you for everything.

Good luck, my apprentice. This is all we can do to repay him, the older woman said as she pressed a kiss to the young man’s forehead. He will need your help and experience in time, so have faith, and worry not for the timeline. Any issues will fix themselves.

The birds resumed their flapping. His eyes met the older woman’s. He watched them widen, and a small smile graced her lips before she disappeared, and the trio’s conversation became white noise.

His body surrendered and his mind floated off to sleep. He did not feel the movement when they brought him to their camp and put him down next to the fire as they conversed with their master.

Chapter 2

He opened his eyes to a blur of white on white. As his mind started up, his vision cleared until he was staring at smooth tiles and artificial lighting. The first thing that told him something had changed was the smooth warmth that pressed down on him. The second was that there was no frigid wind or shadowed canopy, but the most reassuring thing was that he didn’t feel the spike of panic that came every time he fell asleep.

When his muscles protested at the slightest movement, he resigned himself to staying in bed and waiting for the ache to fade.

There was an assortment of gems wedged into the headboard, and he noted all the different colors that sparkled in the light. One of the gems began to pulse.

A raven-haired woman poked her head through the opening. Her eyes widened and she held up a finger as she pulled her head back.

He could hear her move back and forth. She reappeared with a pitcher of clear liquid with yellow slices floating in it in one hand and a cup with a straw in the other.

The woman was light on her feet, and she placed the jug on the table next to him. She reached down to tap something he couldn’t see.

There was a whirl underneath him and the upper half of his body was raised along with the mattress.

Once she was satisfied with his height, the woman poured some of the liquid into the cup and placed the tip of the straw into his mouth.

It wasn’t until the liquid hit his tongue that he noticed the burn in his throat, and he drained the cup.

Pleased that he was drinking, she rested two fingers on the inside of his wrist and closed her eyes. Whatever she counted seemed to satisfy her. She removed her hand and rubbed his head.

She moved to a cupboard and called out as she dug into it. A reply echoed back. The man she was talking to entered the room. He had blond hair that reflected the light, and it was slicked back to rest behind his ears. The warmth in his green eyes contrasted with the faded scar that ran down his eye and cheek.

The duo had an animated discussion at the end of his bed. He pointed things out on a chart attached to a clipboard and the woman recited information.

Satisfied with their discussion, the blond man placed the clipboard back into a rack at the foot of the bed and looked up to see if his patient had anything to add.

The only thing he could offer was wide eyes.

The man’s eyes narrowed as he flipped through the pages attached to the clipboard again and began to utter an onslaught of sounds. His tone shifted each time he started again.

He tried to ignore the man and he accepted a second glass. A string of sounds made him tilt his head. He was trying to figure out why those sounds were familiar, but he couldn’t quite place them. There was something there, something familiar that eased the dull weight in his chest.

Something must have shown on his face, as the woman lost most of her smile. The man was a blank slate.

The man reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed for a moment. He removed his hand, dumped the clipboard in its place, and stormed from the room.

To avoid the woman’s gaze he turned his head to stare out the window, the second glass of water forgotten.

The night was clear and points of light shone against the darkness. There was something about the sight that worked wonders on his mood. He burrowed into the blankets and watched the lights dance in the sky.

A soft creak made him turn his head. The nurse ran her hand over the purple strands on his scalp and the soft rasp of stubble dragged a memory into his mind.

A woman with flowing purple hair and speckled eyes moved through an identical motion as he leaned against her legs.

The nurse must have seen something in his eyes, because she slid off the bed and padded to the window.

Sol, she said. She pointed at the different points of light then to her eyes.

He tilted his head, trying to figure out what the woman was doing. The man reentered with a stack of books in his arms, and judging by his expression he had no idea either.

The woman noticed the man and rushed over to him, gesturing to his eyes as she rushed through her words.

The man placed the books on a table and shook his head, thinking that she was imagining things, but when the man looked into his eyes he blanched.

The man’s eyes were glazed as he stared into the distance. When he refocused, he collapsed into a chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering under his breath.

Undeterred, the woman rushed out of the room and began to dig through cupboards. Clanking floated through the door.

There was a cry of victory as she found what she was looking for. She skipped back into the room and handed him an oval mirror.

He peered into the mirror and noticed that there were golden pinpricks in his irises. The woman flipped through one of the books until she found what she was looking for.

Forgetting that he was injured, the woman dropped a book in his lap with a picture of a constellation spread out across both pages.

Sol, the nurse repeated as she tapped the page and then his chest. A pained noise came from the chair next to them, but it was ignored as understanding dawned on him.

Sol? he said and pointed to himself. Something settled inside of him, deeper than his chest.

Sol, she said with a grin. She wrote something on a badge and handed it to him. His eyes brightened the room as he accepted the name, and warmth coiled inside him.

Caught up in her joy, the nurse grabbed the topmost book, settled down next to him and began to read. From the sounds that she was making it seemed to be a beginner’s language tome.

Lost in their enthusiasm, neither of them noticed the doctor muttering under his breath as he got up and left the room, shaking his head at her enthusiasm.

The longer she read, the more the pieces inside his head began to reassemble and slot into place.

As she read aloud, Sol rebuilt the scattered bricks of his knowledge. Together, the pair tore through tome after tome.

They were halfway through the third book when his eyes dimmed and a spike of pain drove itself into his head. Sol squeezed his eyes and gripped the blanket as the pain began to pulse with a steady beat.

The woman shrieked at his expression, grabbed an amulet from a hook next to his bed and pressed it against his forehead. There was a chill that eased the pain and Sol moaned in relief as it began to fade.

The man rushed back into the room with a white coat thrown on and a bleary look in his eyes.

He sat near Sol’s knees and placed glowing fingers on his temples. Sol could feel the man’s presence tapping against his mind as it poked and prodded but didn’t seek entry.

When he was done the man removed his fingers and flicked the woman on the head.

Idiot, the man said to Sol as he gestured toward the woman. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

Her eyes widened and her eyes flickered between the two. The man nodded in confirmation, rose from the bed and tapped the same place the woman had earlier.

Sleep, he said to Sol. He pulled the woman from the room and closed the door. The bed lowered until he was parallel to the ground once more.

Sol tried to make a noise but his eyelids were growing heavy and his body sagged into the mattress. It wasn’t until he was drifting off that he realized what the man had said.

With the only light coming from the stars in the sky, Sol’s room fell silent. The only sound in the room was the smooth draw of air into his lungs.

Chapter 3

Sol’s breath hitched when the door slammed into the wall. His eyes were glazed as he pivoted his head to stare at the intruder.

Good morning. The woman’s voice was like a morning bird as she took his pulse.

Morning, Sol said as he rubbed away the gunk that had built up in the corners of his eyes. It took him a moment to realize that the pain he had felt the night before had vanished.

You seem to be improving very fast, the woman said as she checked his chart. How do you feel? Do you feel dizzy or nauseous? What about the pain from last night?

It’s a surprise for me as well, Sol said as he inched his legs toward the floor. There’s no pain or dizziness.

What about nausea? the woman asked, blocking his feet with the clipboard. You aren’t getting out of bed just yet.

Nausea? Sol asked. He didn’t recognize the word.

Do you feel sick?

Oh, no, I feel fine.

That’s good. My name is Rusi from the Sedima Clan and I’ll be your nurse until you’ve healed up. Rusi flicked his feet when he didn’t put them back under the blanket. I said no, mister, not until Master Sedima confirms you can get out.

A pleasure to meet you, Sol said. He bowed his head instinctively. Her teeth gleamed in the light. Who is Master Sedima?

He’s the old man who had a breakdown last night, Rusi said, not surprised at the lack of recognition. He should be here soon, so it’s only a little while to go. I think you know enough to read the books on your own.

All right, thank you, Sol said as he reached over for a book with a strip of paper sticking out. It’s more like I’m putting the pieces back together rather than learning something new, or at least that’s what it feels like.

Rusi’s lips pulled back into a smile as she handed the book over.

Fluva will be here soon; he just left to get food for the three of us.

How many times have I told you to call me master, you brat, Fluva said with a huff as he sidled into the room with three trays stacked in his arms.

I do, you just aren’t around to hear it, Rusi said. She danced away from the half-hearted kick he directed her way.

Such a child, the man said under his breath. He placed a tray on Sol’s lap before settling into a chair against the wall with his own tray in his lap. If you didn’t have the potential to surpass me I’d drop you like a cracked gemstone.

You adore me, Master Sedima, Rusi said as she crouched on a chair near the window.

Like a chaotic feline, Fluva said, tapping the gemstone on the tray. You see the gem on the edge of the tray? You face it toward you and tap it to get it open. It keeps the food warm and in place even if you drop it.

Sol followed the instructions and got a burst of aroma released into his face. There was a bowl of noodles in broth, with meat and vegetables floating on the surface.

Eat up, kid. The sooner you’re done, the sooner we can check on you and get you out of bed.

Thank you, Sol said. He picked up the