The sky...so beautiful...so mysterious. Each day greeted us with the suns warm embrace. Each night a million lights calling out like new friends waiting to be made. At least...it used to. Now the the sky is a black tapestry, a portrait robbed of its paint. We still have light thanks to fires and artificial light, but its not the same.
We never went completely without light. Even gone from the skies light was a central part of life on Mobius. Our kind had developed a symbiotic relationship with a type of crystal that grew all over the planet. When a Mobian is born a "crystal seed" is grafted to their chest and grows throughout their life. The oldest of our kind are little more than living statues, unable to even move due to the size of their Crystal.
Hmmm. My right hand absently touched the crystal on my chest as my thoughts wandered. Though still small my crystal produced power like any other. It is said that before the darkness came the crystals grew wild and provided us with near endless power. Old records backed up this claim. There where images of vast cities and craft capable of roaming the Stars... but that was another time.
The elders (including my father) said we were being punished for our wickedness but others claimed ot was the Shadows, faceless creatures with the power to drain the stars of their light. An outcast group that opposed the old beliefs had stumbled upon a damaged vessel, a "Satellite" they called it. Though barely more than scrap the thing had snuffed out the portable lights that were brought near it.
It drew the light towards it like it was a physical substance. The power cells were unaffected. The illuminators simply refused to activate. The crafts pilot was was equally strange. Seamless black armor covered what was once its body, a holster on its hip contained a handle with a triangular blade on either side that faced forward when held and as for the body itself... rather than being preserved, jad decomposed into a strange pale liquid.
It was clear that whatever this creature was it did not originate from Mobius. This invader had stolen the very light from our skies and armed with this new knowledge they confronted the elders. It went as well as you expect. Centuries of dogma clouded their judgment and even when confronted with the wreckage itself they stood by their words. The wreck was instead labeled as a Divine Vehicle and the group as meddlesome Outsiders.
The evidence was seized and most likely destroyed. That was four years ago and little has changed. I never gave much thought to either side. I simply missed that which had been. I stretched my right hand up toward the sky as I did every night. A silly childhood ritual, one that my father had taught me. "Its time to come inside." A voice called out from below. I let out an exasperated sigh in response.
"I I heard that. You know very well it is past your time for rest. Do not darken your Crystal with disrespect." My father huffed. "Ill be rig..." my words were cut short as a bright flash streaked across the sky. [What?! A star?! It can't be! Can it!?] my mind raced as I dropped down from the roof of our dwelling and started moving toward the light.
"NO! That is no star! It is another Divine Vehicle. You mustn't disturb it!" My father shouted as he moved to block my path. I glanced back at him, tears beginning to stream down my face. "I don't care what it is. I have to see!" Without another word I raced off into the darkness, chasing that light.