Does the moon long for morning

The letter, the rocks, and the compound

My bright eyed Varian,

I fear without immediate intervention that the black rocks will destroy everything and I can't stay and watch them corrupt corona just like they did the dark kingdom. I am so sorry but I have left to find a cure, and if there is anywhere with answers I know it to be the eternal library.

I am taking a trip that I should have gone on years ago. The black rocks have finally caught up to us and I fear if I don't act now it will be too late.

This will probably be the longest that I am away from you, and while I am not sure how long it will take me to find the library but I am confident I will be home in time for your birthday.

I trust you to stay safe and out of trouble. You have always been so smart and capable and I am so very proud of you.

Maybe after all of this we can return to the library together.

With lots of love,
Mom

———

Varian stared at the letter in his hand, his fingers tightening and crumpling the paper slightly as he read his mother's familiar, scratchy handwriting.

His birthday was in November. When the days grew short, the wind sharp, and the world softened into deep browns and yellows.

His birthday was also more than five months away.

Something curdles in his stomach and he can't stop himself from clenching his jaw as he carefully folds the letter and places it back on the table.

It was going to be fine. He'd gotten good at taking care of himself. Five months alone wouldn't be so different.

Just five months, and then his mom would be back. They'd slip back into their familiar routine until she inevitably left again.

He'd be fine.

———

The rocks keep spreading, creeping into the heart of the village, taking root in roads, fields, and even people's homes.

Varian overhears villagers talking about them whenever he goes to buy groceries. He hears people mourning their ruined crops and homes. One boy even shows off a bandaged ankle from getting sliced by a rock when he couldn't move away quickly enough.

Talk of leaving to go stay with relatives who live closer to the capital spreads like a wildfire as more and more structural damage is done to people's homes, causing a few of them to collapse.

When a jagged rock cuts through a wall in his own home, he finds himself thankful, at least, for the warm summer weather to keep him from freezing.

He knows his mother is out there, doing what she can to stop this. But every day that he spends watching his village fall apart fills him with guilt and frustration. The weight of it is almost choking—he can't just sit back and wait.

So, He counts down the days and spends his time doing his own research on how to get rid of them.

Varian spends days in his lab, mixing and heating different substances, pushing for anything that might be strong enough to destroy the rocks. Eventually, he creates Quirinium.

(He's been thinking about his dad a lot more recently, he wonders what he was like, if he would be proud of everything varian was doing to try and get rid of the same things that destroyed his fathers home.)

Quirinium is a sickly green, casting an unnatural glow across the room. Its heat is intense, almost unbearable, drenching Varian in sweat as he stares into its neon depths. But this was what he'd been aiming for: the compounds reacting, generating enough energy to reach a blistering, nearly untouchable heat.

It is so hot melts through his equipment, the table, the basement floor, and sinks nine inches into the stone of the tunnels underneath. It continues smoking for a full week, and even then, it still manages to melts his gloves to the tips of his fingers when he attempts to touch it.

The heat it generates is beyond anything he's ever seen before —and maybe, just maybe, it's enough to destroy the rocks.

He quickly shifts focus, now working on a way to neutralize the Quirinium. He relocates his experiments to the growing hole in the tunnels, attempting to contain the volatile substance. Neutralizing it is complex; he can't just use a base, as Quirinium isn't an acid. Instead, he has to break it down piece by piece, ensuring each compound won't create an even worse reaction. It takes days, but finally, he produces a murky brown paste he uses to coat his test tubes, keeping them from shattering under the heat.

He can't keep from smiling as he is finally able to hold the thing he's been working so hard on in his hands.

Now he just has to test it.

———

It doesn't work.

It doesn't work and he was an idiot for ever thinking it would.

He smashes the now empty vile on the floor and groans in frustration.

How could he have thought it would be easy? That he would somehow be able to break magical rocks that have been plaguing the world for centuries  with a single experiment? He pulls at his hair, angry at himself for even daring to hope—

A soft chitter from the doorway interrupts his spiral, pulling him back. He turns to find Ruddinger, watching him with a mixture of concern and judgment.

Varian sighs, rubbing his eyes. Getting angry wasn't going to fix anything. He was a scientist—setbacks were normal, part of the process. He just had to try again.

And, really, Quirinium wasn't useless. Just because it couldn't melt the cursed rocks didn't mean it was a failure. It was unique, something entirely new, and he'd created it. Who knew when it might come in handy?

He slips a spare vial of it into his apron pocket, determined not to let his hard work go to waste. After sweeping up the shattered glass and offering a large apple to Ruddinger as an apology, Varian stretches and gets ready to try again.