Solarie wiped the sweat from her forehead, glancing up to the skylight above. Orange and yellow ribbons swirled between the clouds, indicating that the sun was beginning to set. She would have to pack up soon. It wasn't safe at night, not with all those creepy shadow monsters looming in the dark. Her sister would be scared. No matter how many times she told Ariana not to be scared, and that as long as she stayed inside with the light she would be safe, she still cried herself to sleep in Solarie's arms every night. Something about finding out the monsters under the bed are real seem to have a large effect on a nine-year old.
"Still here, huh?"
Solarie looked up from the workstation, finding her mentor, Orion Erebus, towering over her like a giant from the stories. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, brushing away her short, untamed hair. "You work too hard. Night will be coming soon. You can't exactly defend yourself. Go home." He nudged her as sternly as he could manage, but anything that came out of his mouth sounded more like a soothing lullaby verse rather than a rigid command.
"The palace isn't that far from my home. Let me finish packing up, at least. I know you hate it when it's messy in the morning." Solarie replied, turning back to the workstation. She snatched a rag from a nearby bucket, and began wiping the table down. The shiny surface reflected her face to her, and she continued rubbing away the dirt and grime that had collected in the corners.
Orion sighed. "There's no budging with you, huh?"
Solarie kept herself focused on tidying, removing the tools from her belt and neatly putting them away in labeled bins. "If I want to keep this metalwork apprenticeship, I need to work twice as hard as others. Variens don't get the same privileges as the Elites."
"You forget you're talking to a disinherited Elite. It's not that much of a glorious life. Half of our house gets deployed every day to either wage the war with Sötèt, or fight those cursed monsters. I lost Arvin last year to those things. I'm not losing you too. Go home."
At that, Solarie whipped her head around. So this was Orion's stern tone. She made a note of it, before turning and continuing to shelve the rest of the materials.
"Don't ignore me, Solarie Lin. Either go home, or lose the apprenticeship." A slight vibrato appeared in his voice.
With a sigh, Solarie unclasped her tool belt, letting it fall to the floor with a clank. Now she could really see it was getting dark- the sky had turned almost completely a dark orange. Orion was right- it was going to be dangerous if she didn't leave now. "Fine. You should go home too. Can't defend yourself if you can't move metal."
He raised a singular eyebrow. "I have a flashlight."
She matched his expression. "And so do I."
They reached an impasse, neither willing to leave first. Stubborn as she was, she would have to leave soon. A shame her pride kept getting in the way of her safety.
Silence. Only the hum of the generator to fill the air, until Orion finally broke. "You're impossible. But don't think I won't be checking up on you. How's Jin?"
Solarie hadn't expected that, but quickly switched over to the new topic, organizing her thoughts. "He's okay. Stressing about the trial, mostly."
Orion made some kind of unreadable expression on his face. "His last Sun Trial, no? Will he join me in disinheritance?" he chuckled. Orion had been one of the few high house scions to be disinherited. His position on the high court was purged as soon as he failed his trial.
"Just because he can't make ice from his fingertips doesn't mean he'll fail tomorrow. Maybe he's an eregana instead of origana. Manipulation over creation, I guess. I highly doubt there's just pieces of ice left around the city." Solarie felt the urge to defend her best friend. Jin Lang had been the kindest to her, even upon first meeting. Even if they were from different social classes, he never made her feel inferior or insecure. They found comfort in laughs and giggles, and playful banter.
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.
Solarie looked further into the distance. The arena was a fair walk away from the workshop, but if she ran fast enough... she could make it. She whispered a prayer to Aurel, and slipped out into the brisk morning cold.
She shivered, drawing a warm breath. She trudged through the snow that had fallen during the night, cursing herself for wearing flats instead of warmer, snuggly boots. At least she had brought her coat- she tightened the fabric around her waist, shuddering all the way to the arena. Finally, the grand stairs began to materialize in front of her, and she huffed a sigh of relief.
The arena was majestic- an open field surrounded by giant pillars and arches, swirled and curved like streams of water, painted in a brilliant gold. It was incredibly large, stretching in one grand oval, decorative paths spiraling out like the beams of the sun. The sky was its own light, sparkling above the open roof. People from all houses of the court, high and low, trekked on the paths, murmuring among themselves about whether their children would finally discover their power.
"Tickets, please! Tickets, tickets!"
Solarie took her eyes off of the grand structure, dragged herself up the stairs, and handed her ticket to the worker.
"I don't think I've seen you before. What house are you from?" the worker eyed her suspiciously.
"I'm not from a house. I have Orion Erebus' blessing to attend, in support of the scions." Solarie clarified.
A familiar voice came from behind her. "Solar! You made it!"
She turned around, finding Jin waving to her excitedly. She smiled. "I'd never miss it."
Jin Lang bounced up the stairs, embracing Solarie in a tight hug, before turning to the worker. "This fellow isn't giving you too much trouble with your ticket, are they?"
"O-of course not, Sir Jin. I was just appalled that she was able to obtain the blessing of Sir Orion..." the worker stuttered.
Jin waved his hand in dismissal. "She works for him. If you don't believe her, consider her to have my blessing too." He turned back to his best friend. "Come on! I'll show you the good seats. Wouldn't want to miss my stellar performance." He winked and grinned, and ushered her inside, leaving the disgruntled employee behind.
"How're the nerves?" Solarie asked, once they were inside the arena.
"Moderate, but I told myself that it was just because it's my last trial." Jin replied easily.
Solarie laughed. "Orion thinks you'll join his club, but I know you can do it." she patted him on the back.
He nodded. "No matter the outcome of the trial, you'll always be here with me, right?" He lowered his voice so only Solarie could hear.
She smiled. "I know this doom talk. You got this, alright? And if you fail, you'll always have a place in the workshop, even if you relentlessly make comments on the smell. The disinherited club isn't that bad. Plus, I heard a rumour that Orion has eyes for Seraphina from House Sato. Get disinherited, and you get to listen to all these fun details." Solarie poked at Jin's shoulder.
"Alright, fine. Wish me luck?" Jin asked hopefully.
Out of sight from the audience, they both gave their secret hand sign for good luck- two fingers held up, quickly bending them up and down twice, like the ears of a snow hare. One last smile, and then they parted.
Solarie sauntered over to the row of seats closest to the edge of the arena.
"What's a varien girl doing here?"
She turned to find a woman towering over her. Solarie recognized her as Roza Zhelvakova, one of the heirs of the highest houses in the high court. She stood to her full height, and with the sun beaming behind her, she might as well have been her house goddess, Corinne of Storms, herself. Her rumoured beauty was incredible and intoxicating. From her dark brown curls, silver eyes, and pale skin, to her rather scandalous choice of a v-neck blue gown, she was stunning. Perhaps she had not only been blessed by Corinne's hand, but also whatever divine entities the people of Nebesa believed in. Solarie quickly shook herself in order.
"I was invited to attend by Orion Erebus and Jin Lang to watch the trial." Solarie replied as calmly as possible. Deep down, she was trembling. Roza Zhelvakova was one of the most powerful Elite's the court had seen in years. The people called her the Storm Witch for a reason. She was the queen of storms, and could probably kill Solarie with the snap of her fingers. A dangerous nightmare, dressed like a daydream.
Roza scoffed. "Invited by one of the competitors? That's new."
Solarie gulped. "Jin is a good friend of mine. He offered to let me watch. Is that so hard to believe?" she asked.
"I have no reason to interact with the lower houses. I'm only wondering why you're sitting in the front row."
Solarie swallowed her retort, and instead opted for a more polite, yet passive-aggressive response. "I'm sorry my lady, I didn't realize that there were rules pertaining to who could and couldn't sit in the front."
Roza bit her lip. "My family has been situated in the front row for years. I'm not going to argue with a varien girl about my rights here." she turned to leave.
Solarie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she turned back to the arena, looking down into the field. While she had never attended a Sun Trial before, she knew the basics of how they worked- the previous nights, they would round up monsters and keep them in the dark until the trial began. Then, they would be unleashed on all the participants, and the goal was to trigger their natural response to danger, and hopefully force the power out of them somehow.
As if by thought, the light in the arena began to dim, not enough to warrant the thriving of monsters, but enough to grab the attention of the people waiting.
A tall boy stepped into the center of the arena. Nicholas Yan, the only heir to the house of Yan. The prince of the holy light empire. He was probably the one that had dimmed the light.
"Welcome," the prince began. "To the annual Sun Trial. As many of you know, the Sun Trial was created to not only honour our divine ancestors- it is also to find the power within our children.
"The great Orianna of the Sun blessed our empire with the gift of light. For our future, we pledge and worship our saint and goddess."
Prayers and wishes among the crowd. The prince smiled.
"Let the trial commence!"
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