The Firmament Saga: Book I: The Rains of Sorrow

Chapter 20: With People and Darkness

Chapter 20: With People and Darkness (Kane)

Around 30 days after entering the tunnel

Once more, the familiar ache of long walking in Kane's thighs flared up as he trekked down the tunnel. He could see over Eri and Lou's heads, and there was nothing but tunnel as far as his eye could see. There weren't even any oddities to this tunnel - it was just monotonous tunnel for breakfast, tunnel for lunch, tunnel-fried tunnel with a side of tunneld tunnel for dinner with tunnel to drink and for dessert.

"Where do you suppose we are?" Lou asked. "It's been days since we started walking."
"Probably near the Are district," Thyrian said. "Maybe even under it. We're certainly under land by now, possibly the Garoe district."

"Well, this tunnel won't last forever," Eri sighed.

"But what if there aren't any exits in the forest?" Kane asked. "Ours and yours were the only entrances to the tunnels until we came across that junction station."

"I'm sure there are," Thyrian said. "We might need to backtrack across land, but we'll be facing wild animals at worst."

"What about Lux-users?" Lou asked. "Can't they get to us?"

"No, they can't," Thyrian answered. "Apparently, Lux only works for a short distance outside the borders of the Holy Kingdom. If they go more than a few miles away from the border, they're sitting turtles."

"That's good to hear," Kane said. Then, he had a realization. "That might be why they have the Sun Caste. Obviously, the main purpose is to punish us for our crimes, but maybe we're used as bait! Then, when us weak-ass targets draw the heathens out of the forest, the Wind Caste crushes them."

"You might be on to something," Thyrian said. "When I had to fight in the Sun Caste, we marched for several miles before encountering the enemy. As they routed us, they got closer and closer to the border, and then the Wind Caste fried them when we were all dead."

"That's a good idea!" Lou exclaimed. "Maybe we can bait them and fight them on the ground!"

"That probably won't work," Thyrian said. "They're clearly smart enough to avoid such a risky move. And they rely on their Lux to do literally everything - combat, domestic chores, transportation. If they were to lose access to Lux, it would be like a fish without gills. They won't fall for this trick."

"You're right," Kane said. "But that means we have a slight advantage against the enemy. We can fight without Lux; they can't. If we can cut off their access to Lux..."

"Then they're sitting ducks!" exclaimed Lou. "That's the key to beating them!"

"But how would we go about doing that?" said Eri.

"I don't know," Thyrian said. "Let's focus on getting to survival and safety."

The group walked for several more hours, the monotony of the tunnel grating on Kane's mind.

Eventually, Lou snapped. "Sun, I'm bored," he complained.

"How 'bout we sing a marching song?" Thyrian asked.

"A marching song?" Eri asked. "Do you know any?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Thyrian said. "The heathens had an ancient song they passed down from generation to generation. It's apparently about ships on the ocean, but they used it to time work while farming."

"Let's hear it," Kane said.

"Ahem," Thyrian said, clearing his throat. "Sing along with me on the chorus." He then broke into song, a rousing melody that inspired determination in the party. They quickly took to the beautiful yet alien piece like a fish to water.