Ephemeral Twilight || Cynonari

Chapter 1: Day and Night

"General," the guards saluted before his throne, hauling two bodies tied in thick ropes. They crashed at foot of the elevation, grunting as they heavily lifted their heads right before their king—their deity, their law. "They were found near the edges of the desert, instigating a fire at the border of the forest."

The armrest under Cyno's grip cracked, earning terrified faces from the offenders and petrified bystanders. Even the one holding the fan quivered. He could see the long feather fan shaking from his peripheral view.

The matra held stoned faces on the other hand, awaiting his next command. They were no strangers to the wrath of the general. They were the ones held strictly at spearpoint by the neck, having to be his elite personal command.

And now, to pass on judgement...

The perpetrators released a shriek as he cowered back with his wrists tied while the other was knocked unconscious and was bleeding from the impact when he hit his head by the sharp corner. Maybe it was mercy that he did, unlike the other who had to face a far worse fate.

At the sight of their deity, one should marvel and kiss at their feet. But no- he believes those are meant for the faery in the forest while he—the deity of the desert—Cyno invokes fear.

And fear turns one into madness when driven to a corner. Or perhaps it was desperation.

" The desert- " the man stumbled over his words; throat hoarse from the evident deprivation of water. " The desert is superior! Those pompous forest shanks are to be swallowed by the desert's almighty!"

But such acts were futile for once judgement is handed, it shall be delivered. No matter how loyal one's patriotism, by the faces of the law, it spared no care to those who wield no reverence to its form.

"The desert! For the desert!" The man continued to hail, glorifying the general, who slowly descended down his throne, each step heavier than the last.

His black and violet garbs swayed, empowering each and every movement. The heat in the room melted their skins. The blazing sun fit the eye-shaped hole behind the large throne, enveloping his form in a dark silhouette with a brilliant halo. Such overwhelming magnificence one possesses, only befits the king of the desert. The man marveled at his omnipotence.

When his shadow loomed over the doomed man, that was when the perpetrator read the fate he held in those blood slit eyes. The toothed smile he had faded, pupils shrinking as it reflected the flash of crackling purple.

~

"First sacred rule: never crossed the ten-meter expanse from the border. Your judgement has been decided."

~

The moon eternally rests in the sky above the forest, streaming silver hues through Pardis Dhyai's crystal walls. It did more than just illuminate the structure but it accentuated the beauty of the luminescent flora catered by the royal gardeners, as well as the forest faery's personal strolling ground.

They would usher out when they caught whiff of his tall ears poking above the other side of the plants. At first, it was out of fear and pressure of possibly being watched and scrutinized by their deity but after that one day when he tended the plants with the dumbfounded gardeners, they realized that their fears were unfounded. Although they were sometimes scolded for wrongfully tending to the plants--the first time it happened, they were stricken with panic, fearing they thinned his patience after growing too comfortable and thinking that they'll be thrown to the desert to die as punishment but, instead only got an earful of how to take care of it properly. Soon, they've come to marvel him whenever he departs them his knowledge, growing comfortable under his guidance after realizing his scoldings were graces of his benevolence.