Moonborn (Mirai's Tears I), MxM. SAMPLE

1. Brotherhood (1)

CN: This chapter contains the murder of an infant, which can be especially triggering to parents. Proceed at your own discretion.

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Harw's righteous Flames burned the village to the ground as the faithless cried out in gratitude and surrendered themselves to the cleansing fire.

The scriptures taught this. The Highpriest taught this. His brethren of the Peacebringers taught this.

As Sinaru plowed through rubble and coughing villagers, he could not deny the evidence to the contrary. He had killed targets before, but this was different. Through stinging eyes, he still saw clearly. Those men wielding pitchforks against highly skilled Peacebringer warriors surely did not hiss curses out of gratitude to the sungod Harw, nor did their wives and husbands try to flee with their children because their belief in being saved from a cold death under moonlight compelled them to their desperate dashes.

And the flames...

Sinaru ducked under the pitchfork of a straggler and shoved him against a low brick wall, from where the villager stumbled back and crashed into a burning house. The scream was drowned out by raging fire all around—and the high—pitched whistling in Sinaru's ears.

He had to escape the Flames.

Despite a hooded cloak, his hair-ends' singed smell mixed with the biting smoke as he half rushed, half stumbled over dusty paths, the fires whipping at him, hungry, gleeful. His breath caught as the whistle in his ears intensified and his vision blurred. Red on red, fire on blood. Only his bandaged hand that he held up to stabilize himself shone white and unbloodied amidst the massacre.

This was supposed to be his first mission as newly appointed Peacebringer, but Sinaru could only seek refuge in a dark patch among the hot reds: a thatched hut far from the village's center. It nestled into the shadow and the sound of the sea lapping against the shore. Supporting himself against the clay wall, he fumbled with the one trinket he allowed himself, pulling it free from under the bandages that snaked all around his upper body. The crystal tear was cool to the touch despite his own body heat. He moved his thumb over the rough surface as it lit up in twinkling blue, with a violet shimmer mixed into its core. Already his breathing calmed down, and he drank deep of the nook of fresh air until his heartbeat stopped crushing his chest from within.

As his ears grew accustomed to the relative quiet, their whistling subsided as well—instead catching a whimper from within the clay walls. Movement, the scraping of furniture.

He had to follow his orders.

After all, his understanding of the Peacebringers' main objective was to. Well. Maintain peace. The little voice inside sounded like a child, and the Peacebringers spared children. Took them in, made sure any violent or insurgent tendencies dissolved in the embrace of the brotherhood and its Highpriest.

He could do that much today, surely.

With a deep breath, Sinaru shoved the crystal back under his coat and pushed himself off the wall, determined to block out the slaughter behind him, then rushed into the hut. Inside, he heard nothing at first save for an odd sucking sound. His Mirwen eyes thankfully grew accustomed to the dark in a matter of a few blinks—the one benefit to his heritage—so it didn't take long until he could slide past overturned chests of drawers, through the gap between the wooden wall and a wardrobe...

As he emerged in a stuffy bedroom, Sinaru saw the nursing mother. Leaning against the footboard, she cradled her suckling infant. She hadn't noticed him yet, shushing her child and placing desperate kisses on the little one's head.