The City of Shadows

The Study

Every year, during "The Shifting" as they called it, the people of Aneron had a festival to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. These celebrations would only last a few hours, and started with dusk and ended when the light went away. On years when the light came back, the celebration started with the dawn and ended when the sun was complete. For the people, the ideas of night and day were sacred to them, and the festival was just one way they showed their respect. Nothing was more important than the balance between the light and the dark.

Three days. In three days' time, the sun would set, and the city would be plunged into perpetual darkness for another year. Looking out over the balcony, she could see the preparations being made for the festival. Children were playing as space pirates and traders, while the adults were busy re-painting their homes and changing decorations. A knock on her door now captured her attention.

Solar: "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a young Dawn Guard solider. He was obviously winded from his journey but composed himself well.

Solider: "You sent for me, your Lightness?"

Solar: "Yes. I need someone to go out to the Observatory and check on the priest. He hasn't updated me on the star patterns since last week."

Soldier: "At once, your Lightness."

And with a bow the soldier turned and left, closing the door behind him. Now that her attention was away from the commotion outside, she gazed at the mess her study was currently in. Documents were scattered about her round table in the center of her study, ranging from last quarter's production in the fields to debriefs from governing meetings she had missed. The round room had walls of bookshelves, only interrupted by a door on one end and the balcony on the other. Books were lying about aimlessly on the floor and on the shelves, as if a maniac had ravaged through them looking for something. There were no lights in the room - at least at the current moment - as the sun pierced through everything. There was not a room, cave or space that wasn't filled with its warm rays. The constant light from the sun illuminated everything for a full year every other year, leaving no room for shadows.

Pacing around her study, she ignored all the paperwork that needed attending to and instead focused on what plagued her mind. Something wasn't right. She knew something wasn't right, even if she didn't know where the feeling came from. She had lied to the Dawn Guard, she had last week's report sitting with the rest of the mess. What she needed was a discrete way of getting the priest's attention. As a priest, he could read the stars, and she needed him to be ready. As much as she wished otherwise, she was almost never wrong when it came to her gut feelings. But if her theory was true, and the priest could validate it – then things were drastically about to change.