Sinister Secrets

Welcome to The Wall

Chapter One

Late Spring always brought something beautiful into the Land of the Lords. The winter gave way to the cusp of warmth, finally letting go of its hold on it, the green returned, and the sun beamed brightly along a beautiful sky. The magic that surrounded us was always odd to me. I could be on the tops of The Wall, staring out at the land beneath in the middle of the night and it would be sunny and bright just a hop, skip, and a jump away. The Wall experienced both night and day, but the Land of the Light only experienced light and, naturally that meant, the Land of the Dark only experienced dark. The mountain that ran through both was the only dividing barrier between a near constant night and day. The slight dawn in the caverns between and along the ridges of the mountain gave way to the small parts of our world that were neutral, ungoverned, and ruthless. Even so, their constant state of dawn was the only similarity we shared with the world outside of our wall, we both could experience light and dark no matter how small it was for them. But, after the stories that have been told, life with the Dawners and little to no law was almost as bad as being a victim to a creature of the Dark. - Almost.

From where I sat on the caps of The Wall, I could see the Land of the Light perfectly, the way the wind carried through the trees ruffling the leaves growing upon them and moving along the cascades of beautiful waterfalls. The Land of the Light gleamed. It was enticing, beckoning even. But as my eyes traveled North along the plains of the Land of the Light, the mountain provided a screen for the near constant dark, the only visible part of the Land of the Dark was the night sky that fell over half the mountain range. What happened in the Dark were only stories told to us by the ones who were lucky enough to experience it. I'd never been outside The Wall, though my role as a Defender inside The Wall did give me clearance to leave, I, of course, was never given an order that would take me past the gates of our solitude.

I hated The Wall. I hated living in a place that controlled everything we did, said, and thought. I felt like a lone wolf in a sea of mindless minions. I couldn't conform to their ways like everyone else did. I never thought like they did. Growing up, I wondered if I was broken. I watched the other children move through their roles in this world like it was second nature, but I questioned every single thing and I couldn't help myself. My parents never knew what to do with me, mostly they forced me to stay quiet. Silenced me and when I questioned things making them nervous, I was disciplined. Eventually, I learned to stay quiet all together.

I often wondered about the Land of the Lords. I recalled the stories, the legends, and the history of our war against them and wondered where the truth actually lies. The Land of the Light, as enticing as it may be, still had secrets. It had to, otherwise we would have conformed with the Lord of the Light. There was something keeping us separate still. Something that was keeping our gates locked and guarded. I couldn't help but wonder though, if what the Elders of The Wall were trying to keep out was something they were actually trying to keep in. The Lord of the Light had some disagreements with the Elders, but what if it was that the Elders really liked their way of life within The Wall. They liked control and the Lord of the Light didn't govern his lands the same way that the Elders governed The Wall.

The wind slipped through the space around me, ruffling my long wheat colored waves until they were raptured up together on the back of my left shoulder blade. I closed my eyes and lifted my face to the direction of the wind, letting the breeze that wanted to be summer and was so close to it run along my skin. Welcoming its calm caress.

"Auden," it was a familiar male voice calling my name, "I've been looking for you."

I lowered my head again, letting my eyes slowly flutter open at the sound of the familiar voice. I slowly licked my lips, stared down at my hands for a moment to gather myself and then even slower, turned to glance over my shoulder to where Relm stood just a few feet shy. I couldn't ignore the bristle of hair standing up on the back of my neck whenever he was around.