Evening's Morn, Vol. 1
by Forrest Wineburn
The afternoon was hot, stifling. There was a heavy summer wind, ripping at the clothes of the audience. In the square, a wooden chopping block had been erected, and a woman with wild hair threw curses across the court. Her eyes were mad, her face twisted.
"On this day," began a well-dressed man standing beside the block, "Eve Rain shall be extinguished from the light of this world. She has committed acts which show her to be shadow-touched, and for this the answer is death."
Lauridsen Rain stood in the square, hidden by a black hat and a long, black coat. A tear fell down his cheek, and as the execution was completed, he turned on his boot and walked briskly away from the square.
Strange things dangled from his mind. Eve had begun acting strangely ever since she came back from the Mikin Arts Faire. She could not stay focused, talked to herself in her sleep, and spoke to her husband, when Lauridsen was not in the room. It was the evening a few weeks later, when she threw a man across the entire courtyard of their village, when she was found to be touched. Lauridsen didn't know, and now, sitting on his empty bed, still didn't understand.
He visited the library often, searching for clues. Very little remained, only brief accounts of people with strange powers, as if they could not control themselves. Then one day, he found himself sobbing in the Church of True Light, telling the priest in agony that he only wished the shadow would touch him and take him away. The priest was not amused, and Lauridsen remained the night at the local constabulatory, to be later questioned. When he was released, Lauridsen noticed he had gained many shadows, but he chose to ignore them, although word got around and people began to avoid him, casting unwary glances at him as he passed.