Realm of the Sun

Part 1: Moonless Voyage (Chapter 1)

Orion only looked disappointed. "Wishful thinking I wish I could have. Best of luck to him tomorrow. Will you be there?"

"Of course," Solarie replied easily. "Why wouldn't I support my best friend?"

"Mm, probably because you can't go unless one of the house members invites you. Luckily for you, your favourite teacher happens to be one."

Solarie narrowed her eyes. "This sounds like a bargain."

Orion nodded his head. "It is. I need you to do something for me. I told Sera that the workshop was open tomorrow."

"But it's not. Because of the Sun Trial."

"And I may have the court breathing down my back if they catch wind that I'm disrespecting their ritual."

"You want me to kill Seraphina? That's a pretty hard task."

"No, I want you to tell her that it's closed, and that her order will be delivered the day after."

Solarie blinked. "You couldn't tell her yourself?" Then, a realization. "Oh. Oh. By Aurel's divine hand, you're i-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. Either deliver the message, or don't watch the trial. Can you do that?" Orion's voice heightened at the end, stretching the sounds so it sounded more like a rhetorical question, rather than a request.

Solarie rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. But you guarantee that I'll have a spot?"

"I'll put in a reservation now, if you want. Deliver the message, and the seat is yours." He gestured to the skylight above.

She looked up, finding that the warm streaks of the sky had disappeared, replaced by dark blues and speckles of white. It had already become night. They'd have to ride out the night together, in a dingy workshop. Lovely. Maybe she would get lucky, and the morning sun would rise soon. It may have been the dead of winter, but it was all she could hope for. Solarie liked Orion enough- he was kind, a good teacher, and empathized with her. But the whole night? Who was going to watch her sister? Her mother would be too worried sick about Solarie, and her father... Well, it was hard to watch over someone while you were six-feet under. And Jin- the Sun Trial could start as early as daybreak, depending on how fast they cleared the arena. How could she make it on time? Perhaps the sun could magically start beaming again. But monsters lived in the dark. There was always a balance.

Darkness was a place. Darkness was a time. Darkness was real. The night consumed- the day engulfed. No matter how hard one would try, light and dark would always coexist.

"Are you done with your sulking yet? I'm here in a dank metal shop with my apprentice, and nothing to sleep on. I can't go home, and I can't go outside. Your input would be nice." Orion said, almost sadly.

Solarie only stuck up a finger in his face in response.

"Here's to spending the night in a metal shop with my teacher."

"I should tell you some kind of morbid legend. You're incredibly pessimistic. Ever heard of the phrase Your heart is a stone, do not break it, shatter it? It literally refers to breaking one's heart in the chase of success and the disregard of soul. I'm pretty sure that phrase was meant for you."

Solarie was already tuning him out.

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As soon as the sun began to rise, Solarie jolted awake, and peeked under the door. Warm rays of sunlight were beginning to appear, and Solarie quietly twisted the knob open. Orion had kept his promise- Somehow, he had gotten a message out, and a shiny golden ticket was attached to the outside of the door. Embroidered in the center, was the symbol of the Sun Trial, Orianna's sunstone. The bright, wavy golden streaks swirling around on the ticket. No doubt that it was crafted by a Xiao from the high court, their strange house blessings proving quite useful in many scenarios, whether it be toys of war or fancy tickets.