Pinnikle: The Lost Truth

25 :Of the starfall fix brawl

Recorded by Sophia Lionhartt,
Of the events which took place on the 19th day of Radia, still after midnight, year of Pinnikle: 1,229.

Jack called out to Lofi. I swear I could see waves of sound from his shout, it was so loud! What was this!? Had Time summoned Lofi? I held my ears, as a hatless Lofi strode around the corner of the pub. My soul leapt when I saw him!

Not wasting a moment: He walked to the entrance, and pounded his staff powerfully on the ground. Slowly, light came from it, like strands of brilliance. It was not starlight. The light was much more pure and radiant than anything I had ever seen. As whisps of light began to pour from Lofi's staff, the sandman gently guided the hat back to crown its rightful owner.

Lofi shouted, "Be gone, shadow!"

His voice was exactly as I remembered:  like that of an old herald, close to the heart of all. I felt safe, warm, and every good thing, all at once when I heard it. My trio watched as incredulous light poured out from his staff.

Lofi's light became a mighty wolf, and the bright beast tore through the doorway of the pub! It snarled and howled, and then whimpered; only to continue the other sounds. We assumed it fought the darkness inside, which was obvious, but we did not know why it made those sounds, as if it were battling something. We could not see the events inside of starfall fix. But we did see the cloud of darkness, which had begun to spill out from the nix earlier, do something very strange. At the beginning, it seeped through cracks, and windowsills, as if beginning a journey to Fear. The moment Lofi's bright wolf was summoned, it rushed back inside, like it were attempting to defeat the light.

It was at that moment, Jack extended a very peculiar invitation: "The three of you: would you like to see inside, veiled safely, in a stilled moment? Well, it need not be still. It could be slow if you prefer..."

"I think I would," The words escaped my lips, because my curiosity would not be kept in. It's not that I lacked control, but simply that I trusted the safety offered by Jack's countancne.

"Let's do it!" Fin's gravelly voice agreed.

Leon said nothing, and it was safe to say that he was feeling a fair bit overwhelmed by the offer, let alone everything else. From his perspective: He would have to watch darkness be defeated, and face the fact that he, himself, could not defeat it to save his family. Not one week had passed since the loss of his dear ones, and he carried much disqualification along with his grief.

Despite the king's hesitation, a snap was heard; and the sound lingered un-naturally. Lofi still stood powerfully, between us and the tavern. The chord of spirit, connected to the wolf inside, was not absolutely frozen in time. Slowly, waves of light from Lofi's staff continued to give life to the canine. Up-river from us, End's Drop and it's waterfall was nearly frozen. My eyes trailed to the top of it, and there was Tryn - watching us in her beauty. Perhaps it was the distance, but she appeared to twinkle, normal as ever.

Jack must have noticed I was lost in this new world of a stilled moment, because he explained to me: "Stars are not bound by time, dear Sophie. Look up."

And so I did. We all looked up, and we saw many stars above dancing over Plummet Valley. Pinnikle, darkness, and light were all moving very slowly, but the stars were not. Out in the yonder skies: stars vast and so innumerable that they appeared as a thick mist (if you have seen what you call, "the milky way," you understand the description); they all twinkled, and the skies were lit brightly.

"Come now, if you wish to see what bright things do to darkness," Jack said, inviting and confident.

We had not noticed, but his face and body suddenly shown like silver as he stepped past us with glimmering sounds. He gestured with a hand, and we followed: Leon first, then Fin and I together. We came to the opening of the pub, and saw the chord of spirit functioning like a leash around the bright, wondrous wolf. The dog was very bright, with blue eyes, and the texture of its fur was light gray, white, and blue. It was nearly frozen in a rush toward a dark thing that dashed over thin air. The wolf was the first thing to catch my eye, because it was amazingly peculiar. But then, so was everything else.