Sleep of Innocence – Prologue
The lights of Lost Mirage seemed to grow brighter each night as one by one the stars disappeared from the night sky. With the passing days the surrounding desert grew darker and darker, making the city glow like a single flame in a deep and endless cave. But the townspeople remained unafraid so long as the lights of Dai Faalka burned brightly.
The grand palace of Dai Faalka had stood at the heart of the city since before the time of records. Every night, a thousand lights burned from every window, tower, and turret, making the palace sparkle like a ruby in the sun. The lights of Dai Faalka could be seen for miles upon miles, guiding lost travelers to a safe haven and warning against fiends that prowled the night. In times of trouble and conflict, the lights reassured the people of Lost Mirage that they were safe: as long as the lights danced, all was well.
But now, for the first time in its long and glorious history the lights of Dai Faalka were going out.
Bare feet shuffled softy but quickly across the stone floor.
"Another one – in the west tower, my lady!"
"Another?!"
The feet abruptly turned a corner and bounded up the nearest staircase. The stone grew colder as girl ran higher, but she barely noticed. Her only thought was of the flickering torch in her hand.
She knew it was true before she reached the top of the stair – there was no light to guide her to the tower's peak. Sighing, the young woman ran a hand over the metal basin that should have held one of the thousand sacred flames of Dai Faalka. For the thirteenth time that night, she lowered the torch to the basin to reignite a fire that should never have gone out. The flame leapt to life in a bust of yellow; it pitched and flickered in the wind, but did not go out.
Finally taking a minute to catch her breath, the young woman leaned against the tower wall and turned her blue-gray eyes to the ebony sky. As she took a shuddering breath, another star vanished into the darkness. Night by night more stars disappeared, and night by night more palace lights were snuffed out by an unseen force, as if the flames were reflections of the heavenly bodies above.
Unable to bear the sight of the darkening sky, she young woman turned her gaze to the vast city below. A few lights flickered here and there: wives anxiously waiting for their husbands or children too scared to sleep in the dark. Her eyes ran over the streets and alleys that stretched away from Dai Faalka into the darkness, searching the edges of the blackness. The far edges of the city were darker than the blackest night, and those shadows seemed to writhe and breathe, twisting and growing, swallowing the city little by little.
And he was out there fighting it.
She nervously twisted a strand of her long, brown hair around her finger and closed her eyes, as if to make her worries vanish.
"Julian…" she whispered to the desert night.
"Yes, Lady Oriana?" came the sudden reply from behind her. With a start, the girl whirled around as her eyes few open, revealing the figure of a man with sun-darkened skin in a blood-darkened uniform. Seeing the worry flash across her face, the man quickly gave a calming smile. "I'm not hurt," he assured her as he stepped forward to share the girl's view of the city. "Though," his smile faded a bit, "I'll admit that makes me one of the lucky ones."
Oriana sighed with relief and ran a hand through the man's dark, shaggy hair. "I wasn't sure this time…" she whispered shakily, "The palace lights keep going out...I-I've been trying to keep them lit, but…"
"You did well," he assured her. "I could see the lights even from the thick of the shadows." He paused and brushed his hand across her cheek. "They guided me back to you."
The two just stood there, content to simply be together, even if only for a little while. In this time of crisis, fathers were separated from sons, brothers from sisters, and husbands from wives. And Oriana was separated from Julian. It was not unusual for the two to be apart, as Julian was often sent on missions far from Lost Mirage, but now Oriana was more worried about him than ever, even though he and his company did not go beyond the edges of the city.
A faint scream floated up with the night breeze, so faint that before the Shadow Oriana would have dismissed it as an animal or wild imaginings – but she had heard the sound far too many times now to recognize it as anything else. Neither one of them acknowledged the dreadful sound, but Oriana softly asked, "How are the people faring?" Julian stared at the ground. "They are losing hope," he replied quietly. "The Shadow is… pulling them in."
"Has the Shadow broken through our forces that easily?" Oriana gasped. Julian turned from her and glared at his own hand, which gripped the balcony railing with undue tenacity.
"No…no that's not what I meant. Oriana…they are giving themselves to the darkness."
Oriana blinked and cocked her head to the side like a confused bird. Such a thing was -- she must have misheard…"W-what do you…?" she managed.
"They think it's hopeless." Julian explained, trying to keep his voice even. "They think it's better to join this entity than to die fighting it."
Oriana clutched the balcony railing and leaned over, as though to be closer to the city. They are losing hope…how can I…what can I…? She turned to Julian. "There must be something I can do. Anything." she said firmly.
Julian's dark eyes locked with hers. "There is," he answered. "I have a plan to put a stop to this. Our society is poisoned with fear and weakness; I intend to cut out that infection."
"C-cut out?" she asked warily. "Would….would it not be better to find a cure for this poison?"
Julian shook his head. "There's no time," he muttered, "The more people who loose faith and give in, the stronger the Shadow becomes…and the less the chance of survival becomes for us all. We must end this now – no matter the cost." Julian's eyes shown with fierce determination and his face, lit only by the sacred flame pitching in the wind, suddenly looked strange and unfamiliar to Oriana. She took the smallest step back from him.
"Y-you can't be suggesting – the Council would surely never approve -- " she stuttered.
"The Council has done all they can do and it isn't enough," Julian said firmly. He shook his head impatiently. "This is no time for councils and debates, Oriana. This is the time for action."
As he spoke, Oriana felt a chill run up the back of her neck that had nothing to do with the cold night wind. She hesitated, then reached out and grabbed his hand. "Please – don't do anything rash Julian," she pleaded. "If you won't speak with the Council, then at least seek the advice of my father! I – I can arrange a meeting first thing tomorrow!"
For a moment Oriana was certain that Julian would pull his hand away and storm off, but suddenly his expression softened and he grasped her other hand gently.
"All right," he said with a tired smile. "If you think it's that important, I'll meet with him first."
He pulled her close and their lips met.
"As long as there is light in this world, there is hope," he whispered in her ear, "You are my light."
Their time together was always brief and soon Oriana was alone again on the balcony with her thoughts and the desert wind. She took a last look at the night sky before heading inside. There were dark clouds rolling in from the east, blocking out the remaining stars. She sighed. A storm was coming.