Shadow To The Stars

Prologue

The city of Notreous stood poised on the eve of the next solar eclipse. A large city with a strong religious presence. Nestled in the bosom of the Twine valleys in the world known as Angsyn. Almost everybody in Notreus swore fealty to the Green Angel. The guardian protector of Notreus known as Varon who is believed to be one of several other guardian deities existing in other cities.

An icy breeze dances its way through the cramped and cracked alleyway. The ancient buildings, and well-travelled ground, sparkling with the frost left behind in its wake. After a particularly cold winter day accompanied by the full moon blocking the glow of the sun's rays, bathing the city in twilight for but a brief moment. The streets were filled with bystanders gazing up at the silhouette hanging in the sky. The glaring rays of the sun peaking around the edges and banishing the shadows which swallowed it moments before. Two figures stood half shrouded in the darkness of the alleyway, untouched by the sun. Lunyasch Ebonair leaned against the wall wearing a threadbare jacket, face half hidden by wild unkempt hair and a thick beard. Opposite him, Viktor Crow sat on a pile of blocks wearing as little as a dirty vest and trousers resembling khakis. The clamouring of hooves rang out into the near silence as horse-drawn hackney carriages thundered across the cobbles. A stark comparison to the gentle crackle of logs in the well-worn barrels used to heat the homeless within the alleyway.

Both Lunyasch and Viktor kept their distance from the other homeless, hidden by darkness in the alley. Sipping whatever meagre amounts of water and alcohol they had left after the previous day of begging, Lunyasch sloshed his bottle around in small circles, checking how much liquid he had left. "I'm getting a bit dry here. This'll last me a few hours at best".
Viktor watched as Lunyasch paused and took another small sip of his drink and gives a small smile.
"Hey, don't the priests from the temple do their public sermons today? Might be a good chance to get a few bits of coin from the devotees. They always preach about compassion, don't they?" Viktor said with a slight flicker of excitement.
Lunyasch lowered his bottle and looked up at Viktor before peering out into the street entrance, watching the growing crowd of civilians as they marched up and down the street.
"What are you suggesting? That we go along to the Sermon?" Lunyasch asks.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." replied Viktor. "We turn up. Take part in the service and wait for the donation plate to make its rounds. If we sit right at the back, the plate gets to us last and we can skim a little off the top, a little donation for our pockets if you would."
Lunyasch' brow furrows, and he turns back to look at Viktor with a disapproving glare.
"Viktor. Do you really want to risk the wrath of the Holy See? I know we need the money but that is not worth the risk."
Viktor gives a little chuckle and stares with a wry smile. "Can you not see Lunyasch? If we pull this off and only take a little, we'll be able to eat for a few days, and maybe even get a single night in an inn if the donations are plentiful."
"I don't like your idea..." Lunyasch scoffed. "...but someone has to keep an eye on you if anything goes wrong..."
"So you're joining me then?" Viktor asked, sounding smug.
Lunyasch furrows his brow again and glances out at the street for a few seconds, contemplating whether he should bother going along with this scheme.
If this works, I won't be hungry, tonight at least. But what happens if anything goes wrong? What if Viktor is caught? What if I'm caught? What then? Is this really worth the risk just for a little extra coin?"

Lunyasch finally turned back to look at Viktor. Disapproval painted clearly across his face, he opened his mouth a little as if to speak and froze for a few seconds.
"Alright fine, we do this; once, and only once. Deal?"

Viktor's face brightens with childish excitement and began patting down his vest and straightening it out, attempting to remove the years of grime from his well-worn attire.
"Got to try and look presentable, right?" Viktor asked.
Lunyasch stared and said nothing. He motioned to Viktor to lead the way as he combs his fingers through the thick beard coating his face. Upon re-entering the street, Lunyasch stows his bottle in his inner pocket and buttons up his jacket as much as he can.