Testimonium Noctem | TBATE

Prologue

"Tag, you're it!"

Mernir sighed, a sigh he was much too young to emit just yet, as he was pushed to the ground by the black-haired boy above him. While they tried to play it off as a game of tag, even Mernir, being only a 6 year old, could easily tell they were just doing it to be cruel.

"I told you already, I don't want to play..." Mernir muttered, looking down on the ground. The other boy - Charles, if Mernir was correct - happened to stumble upon Mernir sitting alone like he usually did, and, again, like usual, the boy came up to torment Mernir for his own satisfaction.

"Hmph, fine!" Charles turned around, his ragtag group of followers close behind him. While turning around, he made sure to put a little bit more force then needed on his foot, splashing dirt on Mernir's pure white hair. Luckily for Mernir, Charles turned around, so he didn't witness Mernir turning his head so the dirt wouldn't splash on his face or hair.

He cringed, remembering the time he came home after Charles splashed dirt on his hair for the first time. His mom, who he got his hair from, fussed over him and quickly washed his hair, then took his father so they could go and talk to Charles' parents. Mernir tried to stop them from going, knowing it would mean worse for him, but he wasn't the most convincing 6 year old there.

And, guess what, it did get worse for him. Mernir tried to fight back against Charles a few times, but each time Charles would cry to his parents and that would lead to Mernir getting in trouble because everyone around collectively decided Charles was the king of the playground, and therefore just lied about their testimony, all while Charles was grinning smugly at him from behind the legs of his parents.

Mernir, wisely, decided that the punishments weren't worth it, and just sucked it up.

Patting the stray dirt that got on his shirt, Mernir looked down on his drawing. It was actually pretty nice compared to his other drawings, but considering Charles stomped on it while pushing Mernir over, it was ruined. Mernir would have to re-draw the flower bouquet his father got for his mother on their anniversary, then.

Huffing, Mernir got up and raced towards the highest spot in the rural town of Elestor. It was a simple hill that overlooked most of the village, and had a tree to shade yourself on the particularly hot days of the scorching summer. If he could get there in time, he could watch the sunset like he did most days, and potentially try and capture the moment using his paper and pencil.

There wasn't much to do in Mernir's small town. The children would be educated by their parents or other close relatives of the family, and they would go to a formal school once they turned 8 years old. Living here was quiet, like an escape from the kind of city life you would find in Xyrus City, which Mernir only heard tales about from the few merchants who passed by.

He started lightly panting as he climbed up the hill, almost reaching the top, clutching his leather-bound notebook and pencil tightly in his hands. It was a birthday gift from his parents, the last thing he wanted was to lose it. He rather not make them replace it.

Finally reaching the top, Mernir slumped against the thick trunk of the tree, opening his notebook to capture the image in front of him. Hopefully, his mother wouldn't notice the late hour, and he would have a little more time to divulge into his hobby.

The sunset looked almost... ethereal? That sounded correct to Mernir's mind. He only recently learned the word, courtesy of his neighbor, but he felt it described the view in front of him perfectly. The sun was giving off an orange glow that shone on the forest that was behind Erestol, giving it an heavenly look.

Erestol truly is a beauty, Mernir thought. Down below, the guards were finishing their shift and the next ones - who, considering their slightly sweating appearance, probably just finished training - came over, having a light chat before they replaced the other. One of them smirked, holding up his finger and conjuring a small flame. 

The others whistled, and one punched the conjurer on the shoulder playfully - it was rare for someone to have an elemental affinity, simply because most people here don't reach orange core in their lifetime, which is the limited requirement to achieve an elemental affinity. This specific guard was older then the rest, so it made sense that he would eventually reach said stage, but that doesn't make it any less rarer. Only the village elder managed to reach above that to Dark Yellow core - and he was reaching the end of his days soon.

Mernir greedily took in every detail he could, his brain running on automatic as his pencil ran across the slightly dirtied paper, like he was trying to use an image recording artifact on the sunset using only his hands. It was slowly turning from something crude, vaguely recognized as a sunset and forest, to something much more beautiful, almost comparable to the artists hired by the nobles of the Kingdom of Sapin to take their portrait.

Erestol truly was a beauty in Mernir's mind. Situated in the middle of Xyrus City and Marlow, it was simply a small rural town that didn't have much trade in it - despite being surrounded by luxurious areas like Blackbend and Xyrus City. Behind Erestol was a big forest, and in front of it were the grand mountains that separated the three kingdoms of Dicathen - Elenoir, Sapin and Darv.

Dicathen was the continent, and so far the only known continent on this planet they were living in. He thought it was absurd - very rarely, retired sailors-turned-merchants passed through his small town, and they always talked about how broad and big the sea was - the vast expanse it had to offer to those who had the courage to wield a boat and sail. If it was so big, why was Dicathen the only continent?

Abruptly, his pencil was taken from his hands by a small - at least in relativeness to most other adults - hand, and then used to to prick his nose in a playfull gesture. He sighed and turned around, seeing the sunsets glow shine on pure white hair like his and gentle sky blue eyes, ones which he hadn't inherited, but instead he borrowed his fathers dark purple ones. 

In Mernir's mind, this scene was more beautiful then the sunset could ever be.

Mernir's mother looked down on his not yet complete drawing, then at the sunset, then back to Mernir's drawing. She shook her head, but the smile on her lips was unmistakable. Hoisting Mernir up to her arms - making sure he doesn't drop his notebook or pencil on the way - she turned to make way to her house, her strides much longer then Mernir's.

"Mernir, you know it's too late for you to be out here..." She said, shaking her head at Mernir. Mernir simply pouted up at her, but she only giggled at his expression and continued her walk to their house. Knowing he wouldn't win this, Mernir simply sighed and laid his head down on her shoulder.

Fine. He'll finish his drawing tomorrow.

[Authors Note]

https://www.reddit.com/r/tbatenovel/comments/y437cx/finally_a_good_quality_map_of_dicathen/ - Erestol is located in the middle of Xyrus City and Marlow, for context, although more on the mountains.

This was just a prologue to introduce the scenery and location, of-course. Next chapter will have a little more information and finally a major event happening in Mernir's storyline.

This is me after writing 13 chapters more. The writing gets better, and so does the storyline. You'll like it, I think. Just keep reading. Chapters every 3 days!