Sun Devourer Ch 1. Faithless (by Mythwalker)
Sun Devouer
Chapter One: Faithless
As the first sun of the day of the Awakening Ceremony dawned, countless individuals roused with hopes and dreams for what the future held for them. Sadly, Zaire was of a completely different sentiment.Chapter One: Faithless
He had risen before the break of dawn, went through all the rigorous training his mother demanded, and now, found himself on the receiving end of her ruthless thrashing in the spar.
"Move with purpose," Ella barked, her duelling cane poised for the next strike. "I didn't teach you to be sloppy."
His limbs ached from all the exhaustive exercises, leaving him far from his peak during the spar. Not that it would make a difference—Ella was in a particularly foul mood this morning.
Gritting his teeth, Zaire shifted into a defensive stance, though he didn't see its purpose with Ella being… Ella. With narrowed eyes, he observed her approach. Despite her tall and heavy stature, she was light on her feet. Her training rod, held high, swung mercilessly towards Zaire in a threatening arc. He managed to block the first strike, but struggled to parry the following ones, barely delaying her advances.
There was no room for him to push forward. Zaire found himself constantly on the defensive, forced to withdraw under the unrelenting charge. Each contact between their weapons sent electric spasms through his arms, intensifying the ache.
"No," Ella yelled, her voice piercing through the air. Unsatisfied. "I ain't seeing it yet. You are better than this."
Those words struck his nerve, prompting him to shift his weight onto his front foot and mount a more committed stance. His moves lacked refinement compared to hers, but he put more force behind them, although he knew it would hardly make a difference against a Retired Knight of Four Bindings.
But Ella would be more content seeing him trying to get a hit.
"That's more like it," Ella said, parrying his attack, a hint of satisfaction in her smile.
They continued sparring until the second sun appeared on the horizon, leaving Zaire utterly spent and sprawled on the ground. At that moment, he couldn't help but wish that someone else had adopted him, someone who wouldn't subject him to such gruelling training sessions. But that was every morning.
She seriously needs a man in her life, Zaire thought.
"Clean the tools, and you'll have your day," Ella instructed, placing the duelling cane among the rest of the equipment.
Zaire grunted.
"I'll go check on your sister," Ella continued. "Hopefully, she's finished preparing the meal, and we can leave for the temple for her awakening."
Zaire remained on the ground, still catching his breath, unsure what to feel about the Awakening ceremony.
The Awakening Ceremony was one most important event for those of the age of sixteen. It was where they awakened their Aether and embarked on the path the gods set for them.
A year ago, Ella was adamant about moulding Zaire into a Knight like herself, despite his fervent aspirations to pursue the path of a Mage. While he displayed considerable skill in swordsmanship and other weapons, Zaire's true passion had always been in spellcraft. Who hadn't imagined growing up to become a mage who can command the elements and has a dragon as a companion?
He had tirelessly studied spell models and diagrams, fearing Goddess Solas might mistake his talent for swordsmanship and force him into becoming a Knight Squire, as his mother always desired. Zaire had invested double the effort in meditation and spellcraft than in honing his swordsmanship, but all of that went in vain.
The gods were merciless in their choices.
At his Awakening Ceremony last year, Zaire's dreams of becoming a Mage remained unfulfilled. Matter of fact, he hadn't awakened anything at all. No bindings, no path, and completely no reaction from the Aethers.
Even the most humble and unfledged youths of the village had gained at least the lowest of the bindings, but Zaire was left without any designation.
The gods had deemed him a Faithless cur.
If only they grant me another chance, Zaire thought, clenching his jaw in frustration. He couldn't be certain that it would make any difference. They had attempted various other methods, infusing him with different types of Aether bindings, but most of them only resulted in agonising concussions and rendered him unconscious.
"Stop gazing at nothing with that long face," a feminine voice broke him out of his contemplation.
Startled, Zaire found himself face to face with Faye, clad in a simple white gown, ready for the Awakening Ceremony. The siblings were strikingly diverse in appearance. While Zaire was tall, dark, and rough-looking, Faye stood a full head shorter than him, her features delicate and young. She had Ella's blond hair, cascading over her shoulders, though the resemblance between them ended there.
Had it not been for Ella's integrity, Zaire would have suspected that the retired knight had stolen Faye from a noble house. Her pearl eyes gave the impression of that.
"If I'm not mistaken, Mum asked you to hone all the tools and clean everything else," Faye reminded, breaking the silence. "You're going to get an earful for that."
Zaire grunted as he rose and made his way to the toolbox. Another year was coming to an end, but his life remained the same old. He wasn't even sure why Ella trained him so hard every day even after he awakened nothing. No ascendant would even bother to take him as an apprentice, nor he needed most of the training to take care of the farm. Then why?
His fingers deftly grazed a knife against the grinding stone, the metallic scraping sound filling the air. Faye lingered in the yard.
"Aren't you missing something?" she asked, eyebrows raised.
Pausing his grinding, Zaire lifted his gaze to meet hers. Clueless.
"Aren't you supposed to wish me luck for the ceremony?"
"As if you need it," he replied with a sigh. "But for what it's worth, I wish you good fortune, Pumpkin. Hopefully, you'll awaken your Aether with a high-class binding, so that Mum will stop nagging me about training."
Faye arched an eyebrow, her lips crooked up in a faint smile. "You like the training though."
"I used to." Zaire got back to work. In no time, he had all the items scattered around him. All this could take over an hour to finish honing.
"You'll be there during the ceremony, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Zaire responded, his smile beaming brightly. "There's no way I will miss this occasion."
He made sure his words carried genuine excitement and support, assuring her.
Faye beamed as she excitedly returned to the house to prepare for the ceremony. Zaire couldn't help but release a sigh and refocused his attention on sharpening.
A few minutes later, Faye emerged from the house along with their mother. She informed Zaire that they expected him to join them in the temple. Knowing that the ceremony would last for hours, Zaire was confident he would be able to complete his work and catch up with them in due time.
Still, he hastened his grinding, swiftly honing the blades one after another. The constant motions began to take its toll on his fingers and throbbing his arms. But that was better than wallowing in negative thoughts and self-pity. Perhaps the adventurous life wasn't for him. Perhaps—
"Gah!" The sharp edge of the blade he was grinding sliced Zaire's index finger, causing him to groan in pain.
"Damnation," Zaire cursed, jolting his finger, causing crimson blood to splatter across all weapons and tools.
It had already been over half an hour since Faye departed for the ceremony, and he still had a few daggers left to sharpen. If he were to tend to the cut properly, he definitely would be delayed. Exhaling, Zaire gave a couple of minutes for the blood to stop flowing out and clutched the next weapon in line—a worn-out dagger with a hilt that had seen better days.
Prepared to resume his grinding, Zaire steadied the dagger against the sharpening stone, this time putting pressure with his palm instead of fingers.
To his astonishment, the moment his fingers made contact, the blade began disintegrating into a swirling cloud of black smoke.
"What in the world!" Zaire broke into a fit of uncontrollable coughs as the thick smoke enveloped him, obscuring his vision. Within moments, the smoke dissipated, leaving behind nothing but empty air.
The dagger had vanished, dissipating into thin air as if it had never existed.
Zaire stood up, frozen in disbelief, his gaze fixated on his empty hands where the weapon should have been. He blinked repeatedly, hoping to get a hint to explain the inexplicable turn of events. He had cleaned and sharpened tools countless times since Ella thought he could be trusted with sharp objects, but he had never encountered anything remotely similar to this phenomenon.
"I hope Mum will understand," Zaire muttered to himself, a sense of relief washing over him, realising the vanished dagger was not one of her cherished weapons.
After completing his errands, Zaire swiftly refreshed himself and changed into a more presentable tunic, eager to make his way towards the temple.
Carmel Village, situated on the very fringe of the empire, could easily be labelled as a backwater village. However, despite its remote location, it was the only village in the surrounding areas that possessed an old temple, where the Awakening Ceremony could be held.
The temple was devoted to Goddess Solas, one of the prominent deities of the Skysea, the Mistress of Union and Harmony. The folks of Carmel and nearby villages were pretty diverse in their faith, but it didn't stop them from crowding over the old temple on occasions such as this.
Unsurprisingly, scattered groups of minor nobles in lavish clothing camped outside the temple, eagerly waiting to buy any and all bindings at a lower price from the newly awakened youths. They come every year from the nearest towns and smaller cities, as their business of bindings flourished during the time of the Awakening Ceremony.
It seemed this year they weren't allowed inside the temple, though nobody would stop them from profiting from the goddess' gift.
Nestled amidst a serene expanse of wheat fields, the temple stood as a weathered and unpretentious chapel that seemed to have withstood the test of time. Clearly failing to reflect the true grandeur and influence associated with the primordial goddess.
The stonewalls bore marks of weathering long ago as similar, if not more, withered stone arches led his path to the sanctuary where people crowded over, clamouring. A modest statue at the heart of the plaza came into his sight when he crossed the arches. One simply couldn't assume that to be a statue of the goddess without context, considering it was challenging to determine whether the statue depicted a male or female figure.
Zaire ventured inside, only to be met with a sea of people obstructing his path. The number of adults in attendance far surpassed the youths present for the ceremony. Zaire's eyes swiftly located the two women with their distinct blonde hair on one side of the gathering. To his surprise, it seemed that they had also noticed him, as Ella pointed him out to the young girl and waved her hand in his direction.
After a couple of good minutes of shoving and wrestling with the people, Zaire managed to reach them. It appeared that Faye was patiently awaiting her turn, as the guest priest called individuals forward one by one to the Ascendant Pool in the other chamber.
Fortunately, the priest conducting the ceremony was not the same one who liked to blabber too much during Zaire's previous visit. Nevertheless, a disturbing restlessness settled in his stomach as he regarded others.
"Are you alright?" Ella asked.
"I'm fine," he replied, "just a bit breathless from the sprint."
"It's good that you came," his foster mother said. "I understand this isn't easy for you, but you must realise there are other paths beyond what the gods set for us."
Zaire clenched and unclenched his jaw, choosing to remain silent as he settled himself in a corner, leaning against the wall. He had heard the same talk dozens of times. Indeed, there are other paths, ones that diverged from paths the pantheons picked for them, but none had brought about any meaningful change within him, except subjecting him to excruciating agony.
Regardless, he couldn't get started on that now. Taking a deep breath, he adopted a carefree expression and engaged in conversation with his family.
The newly appointed guest priest for the ceremony appeared to be a stern man. Observing the chaotic gathering in the hall—which was no better than a bustling fish market—he dismissed the families who had already completed their ceremonies. Even among those still present, he allowed only two relatives to accompany the youths of appropriate age.
In a matter of seconds, the hall grew more spacious as more than half the attendees dispersed.
"Now we'll have fewer people bothering Faye once she completes her ceremony," Zaire joked, playfully nudging the would-be maiden on the shoulder.
Faye snorted in response. "What, you think I'd enjoy the boys pestering me until Mum has to brandish her sword to scare them away?"
She glowered at him, but upon seeing his laughter, she couldn't help but burst into giggles herself. Her nervousness about the ceremony subsided significantly.
Zaire scoffed, exclaiming, "What are you even worried about? You got this."
"It's just that. . ." Faye's voice trailed off. She didn't need to finish her sentence because Zaire understood her fears all too well. She dreaded the possibility of her ceremony turning out exactly like his. Her unique traits made her more apprehensive than confident.
"You'll be fine, Pumpkin" Zaire reassured her, gently patting her head. Being a head taller than her, it was effortless for him to make her feel small and comforted. But that'll end soon. . .
In quick succession, people gradually cleared out, and within half an hour, the hall was nearly empty, with only three more families remaining for the ceremony.
"Oh, crap! I need to go," Zaire exclaimed abruptly, startling both Faye and their foster mother. "Nature call," He explained his sudden departure and hastily rushed out of the temple.
Zaire swiftly made his way out of the hall, the sparse number of people remaining making his way out easier. However, in his haste, he failed to consider the possibility of encountering folks just outside the door.
Zaire caught sight of blonde locks of hair just before colliding with someone the moment he emerged from the door. It was a young girl who had just undergone her ceremony and ended up falling alone from the impact.
Zaire stumbled, barely regaining his balance and scattered attention until he could finally discern whom he had collided with.
"Diana," Zaire instinctively called out, stooping down to extend a helping hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."
"You shouldn't be running inside the temple," Diana said, raising her right arm to inspect the bruise on her elbow. Her eyes were almost teary.
"I'm really sorry," Zaire repeated, more genuinely.
"It's alright," Diana sighed, accepting his arm and allowing him to help her up. Her expression showed she was bothered by something else entirely other than the little bruise she got from the collision. Perhaps not satisfied with the result of her awakening.
If it weren't for the urgency, Zaire would have stayed there for a few minutes to listen to her and reassure her. But the growing pressure in his bladder made it harder for him to be considerate.
Regardless, the situation didn't conclude there as Zaire hoped, as he found a group of youths led by Alex blocking his path.
There was no way in hell they could resist the urge to aid a damsel in distress. Granted, in this particular instance, the damsel was only mildly bruised, but you try to explain that to them.
"I wondered who else would have the audacity to act so impudently within the sacred temple," Alex interjected. The blond youth had undergone his ceremony last year, along with Zaire. "Of course, it had to be you, Zaire. Why are you even here? Hoping to partake in the awakening ceremony once again?"
Alex didn't miss the chance to strike where it hurt the most. However, his counterparts were one level above him.
"Fat chance of that," Kash, a short and skinny black-haired boy of their age, chimed in. "Ignoring everything, his flagrant behaviour in the temple alone shows that he's unsuited for the path."
"Kash, we're all aware of your lack of intelligence," Zaire retorted, more irritated than angry. "No need to open your mouth and prove it to us again."
Kash glared at Zaire before turning his attention to the others. "Did I say something wrong?" he barked. "You have no fibre of reverence for the goddess. Why do you think you're still—"
Zaire stifled a yawn. "I have more important matters to attend to than engaging in a pointless argument with you lots,"
The persistent pressure in his bladder reminded him of the true urgency at hand. With an apologetic smile directed at the blonde maiden, he hurried away.
Now, Zaire faced another predicament he had no time to dwell upon. While the temple may have been humble and worn out, it still resided within the holy embrace of the goddess. How could he commit sacrilege by pissing in its vicinity?
However, the pressure continued to mount, leaving Zaire with no other option but to retreat to the rear of the sacred grounds. Discreetly, he found a secluded spot merely a few blocks away from the hallowed area.
To an outsider, it might still appear blasphemous, but he clung to hope that the goddess would be more understanding than her devotees.
Zaire let out a deep exhale, a mixture of relief and frustration intertwining within him. His shoulders slumped as he directed his gaze towards the imposing statue of the goddess and a dragon perched atop the temple's peak.
Zaire gritted his teeth. Why was it only him? What had he ever done? He wanted to ask her, but he had asked such questions countless times already. The goddess, to her credit, remained silent all this time.
Abruptly, he found his attention shifted to a small window high on the stone wall as Alex's words resurfaced in his mind.
Without any conscious thought, Zaire found himself scaling the walls, driven by an inexplicable force. He climbed towards the window that led to the ceremonial chamber.
Zaire wasn't even sure what he was trying to prove or if he even thought of the consequences when he latched himself on the window ledge. It was simply on impulse.
Soft rays of sunlight filtered through stained-glass windows, casting a gentle glow upon the worn stone floors of the ceremonial chamber as Zaire cast his sight inside. Amidst the hallowed walls, tapestries, and murals that tell stories of the goddess, Zaire found the small pool next to the altar where another Goddess's statue stood, in far better shape than the one outside.
A young boy, now an adult, just completed his ceremony and departed. Within a minute, Zaire caught sight of the blond priest ushering Faye into the room. Instinctively, Zaire lowered his head, ensuring to directly not stare at the priest of the goddess. Most priests who were capable of performing awakening rituals were Ascendant as well. Who knew what kind of arcane arts they were capable of?
The priest focused solely on his sister, guiding her towards the pool. Faye approached the small pool with a reserved expression, her gaze fixed upon the clear and dense water that seemed to possess an otherworldly quality. The surface of the water reflected light differently from ordinary water, as thin misty smoke puffed out.
Faye hesitated for a moment, her mind filled in a flurry of unknown thoughts.
"Do not resist the Aether, Daughter," the priest advised, his voice carrying a tone of solemnity. "Embrace its essence, open your heart to the Goddess and let her lead you to your designated path."
Gathering her wits, Faye stepped into the pool, allowing herself to be completely submerged in the hallowed water. Zaire, observing from above, couldn't help but feel a tinge of anxiety.
However, any doubts he harboured dissipated as he witnessed a radiant white glow emanating from the Ascendant pool. Faye emerged from the water soon, her figure outlined by a blinding light that enveloped her form completely.
"Blessed! Solus!" exclaimed the priest, his voice filled with astonishment. "The Dream Aether, I knew it."
The intense white light faded as swiftly as it materialised, leaving Faye slightly disoriented. Her eyes shimmered with an ethereal glow, reminiscent of light dancing through her pearl eyes. A moment later, everything returned to normal, save for a circular binding glowing in silver in between Faye's brows.
Dream Aether, Zaire thought, that has to be one of the rarest forms of Aether under ordinary circumstances.
Zaire had his suspicions for years. This changed everything.
The priest knew it too. If the priest had previously held a mild interest in his sister, now he was entirely captivated, granting her his undivided attention.
"Come on," the priest ushered her out. "I'll explain things more clearly to you. I shall need to have a conversation with your mother. You have a bright future ahead of you, Fair Lady."
With them gone, Zaire had the room all to himself for whatever he wanted to try. Still, he waited for a couple of minutes, even though the priest had shut the door behind him, signalling the end of the ceremony.
The latch of the stained-glass window opened effortlessly as if it were a sign from the goddess to guide him into the ceremonial chamber. The opening was spacious enough for him to slide in without any trouble. The landing posed a challenge, considering he was still about three and a half metres above the ground.
Zaire couldn't afford to cause any disturbance, so he held onto the window ledge and dangled his legs downward. Preparing himself, he leapt like a house cat, albeit only on his feet.
His landing was nearly perfect, causing minimal disturbance. But that didn't give him an advantage; he had to finish this quickly and make his exit before anyone noticed.
Zaire cast one last glance at the statue of the goddess on the altar, his right palm clasped over his heart in prayer. Give me a chance. Please. I'm not worthless!
Then he dipped into the cold water. Instantly, a chill rushed through his spine. Unlike what happened to Faye, nothing developed in his case as he remained underwater, controlling his breathing.
The priests had instructed them to be open to the Aether and not resist it. However, how could Zaire resist anything when there was no reaction from the water, except for the uncomfortable shivers coursing through his body?
It was exactly like the previous time, no reaction, and… His thought process abruptly halted as he noticed the water starting to swirl around him in a terrifying surge. His right arm jolted with a piercing pain as icy coldness stabbed into it.
Zaire couldn't even comprehend what was happening to him as the chill spread through his body and mind, completely stunning him. The priest had advised not to resist, but he wasn't sure if he could, even if he tried.
A blackness enveloped him soon. And before long, he lost consciousness, his mind fading into the realm of no sun.
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