Radiance

Radiant Night

Fires burned through the city, trapping anyone who had a chance at escaping. The moon's light vanished entirely behind the thick smoke tendrils rising from the destroyed buildings. The only light seen was a  bright, massive lunar moth pulling an antique wooden carriage as quickly as it could.

Weaving between the burnt ruins of homes and suppressing every urge within her to stop for survivors, Luna kept one of her pale blue eyes focused on the bundle across from her in the carriage and the other peeking through the hole of the curtain to block out the harsh scene playing on the other side. The bundle remained quiet as the chaos raged on the other side of the carriage door. If she had knonw this carriage was the only way to escape, she would've planned better on securing what they needed.

Burnt wood lingered in the air as the moth drawn carriage crossed beyond the edge of town and into the countryside. The light from the moth died down, helping them blend into their surroundings. She'd decide where to hide once her mind cleared. Right now, she was not in a clear frame of mine. Everything had happened so quickly.

The attack started at night, a time in which the majority of the populace was asleep. Luna had been awake, like always, walking through the metallic and and stained glass building she had called home for a few years now. Sconces illumined the walls and cast colors in every direction depending on what the Duke felt should be the mood of the modern castle. Right now, it was blues and purples, colors to drift into sleep.

A guard stationed near the entrance of the royal chambers greeted her as she walked past. "Lady Luna, pleased to see you up and about." He nodded his head slightly.

She smiled politely at him. "And why is that?"

"You know the saying. When a moonlight fae walks at night, the sun will shine to your delight."

She laughed and nodded once more. "I believe I've heard that a few times." Almost always in conjunction with someone winning a lottery or gaining a tremendous amount of luck. There was no basis to it. Still, people liked to believe in such things.

His face paled for a moment. "I...I'm sorry if I said something wrong. Still new, working on learning my position." His hand shook slightly out of nervousnes.

She knew most of her kind was regarded either with trepidation or utter fear. Whatever abilities they had, that was always prone to change based on who was telling of the encounter. She reached her hand out, laying it lightly upon his shoulder, and emitted a pale light from her fingers. The light traveled along his body, filling him with warmth. "Don't believe everything you hear."

He nodded. "Yes."

She removed her hand and the light vanished from her. "I'll leave you to it. I'm just walking around to check out everything. No need to bother with me."

Before he could register a reply, she walked away through the pale light being emitted in the hallway. She felt peaceful as she moved through the corridor. Outside she saw a raccoon family move around. No doubt they were looking for something to eat. A little further and they should be around the hydroponic gardens. There would be enough food for them to eat for days.

She, like most of the people living on Earth, had found themselves in a peaceful situation lately. The use of radiant energy had made it to where great advancements were happening in record time. No one needed to worry about electricity,  food, even medicine. It was all taken care of within hours if the need arose.

Yet like most supernatural creatures that made themselves known, she had her doubts about how long this would last.

She crossed into another room and noticed all the screens lining the wall were turned on. She paused at one and saw the peaceful streets of the town. This was part of command central, an area very few people were privy to even know existed. All of the homes buzzed slightly, the frequencies picked up by the surveillance, and people slept while being cured of anything that could harm them. Another screen showed the powerful pyramid built in the center of town. Almost every city, town, neighborhood now had at least one erected in a central location. It protected them, boosted crops, and in general released a warm feeling.