Waxday, Week 99, Month Decimus, Year of God 488

  Eri was awoken from a deep sleep by the sound of loud chatter. As she gradually gained consciousness, she turned onto her side and covered her ears with her elbows. The chatter grew louder, and she grew more and more annoyed.

  “It’s the middle o’ the night,” Eri slurred. She cleared her throat and continued louder. “Can you guys shut up?”

  “Oh, Eri!” Sye called. “I was just about to get you up!”

  “Excuse me?” Eri asked. “It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Yeah, but it’s New Year’s!” Sye responded enthusiastically.

  It hit Eri like a flood - at midnight, when the year turned from 488 to 489, Dale would have the farmers assemble and deliver them a speech. She groaned.

  “Why? Why can’t Dale let us sleep like decent people?” she said.

  “Don’t question the Rain Caste,” her mother said nonchalantly. “He clearly didn’t party as hard as we did this afternoon.” Eri laughed a bit at the memory of the day’s festivities. There had been singing, dancing and feasting to celebrate the end of the year and to usher in the new. Eri had feasted upon clam meat and bread until her innards had felt like bursting, then chugged two tankards of mossbeer, which she was beginning to regret. Mossbeer rarely gave one a hangover like stronger drink did, but too much was too much. She then had entered the dancing area, and had danced and conversed with various people, which wasn’t an activity she normally enjoyed. She had had an overall fun time, and getting a good night of sleep would have been icing on the cake.

  “I suppose so,” she said. “Is the rest of the family up?”

  “Yeah,” her father said. “Let’s go.”

  As the inhabitants of Eri’s sleeping chamber began to file out, she donned a pair of boots and pulled on her coat. She groggily rubbed at her eyes as she stumbled out into the hall. The entire village was up, shambling towards the meeting chamber. The sounds of low chattering and grumbling echoed across the enclosed space as Eri picked her way through the crowd. She eventually spotted Kane, who was wearing only his shirt and pants. He looked to be especially tired and grumbly.

  “Kane!” Eri called, moving towards him in the throng of people like a turtle through molasses.

  “Hey, Eri!” Kane responded. He clutched his forehead, running his fingers through his long hair. “Man, I have a bad hangover.”

  “Drunk a lot?” Eri quipped.

  “Like a clam,” Kane responded, suddenly giggling in a high pitch. “Barely gonna be able to pay attention to the meeting or whatever the sun it is.”

  “Oh well,” Eri sighed. “Let’s go.”

  The duo arrived at the meeting hall a few minutes later, towards the back of the loose line. The people began to move to the sides once they passed through the thick stone doorway, standing in rows against the walls. Eri and Kane stood next to each other, and Eri’s family filed in to her left. Once everyone was still, Dale showed up.

  A small door in the far side of the chamber opened up, and the robe-clad man strutted through. As always, he had short hair and was cleanshaven, but he had an extra-sinister look in his eyes. He stepped onto the small podium at the front of the room, cleared his throat, and began to speak in a loud, firm voice.

  “Greetings, peasants!” he cried. A halfhearted, unenthusiastic cheer of, “Greetings,” from the assembled crowd answered him.

  “It is, of course, the New Year,” he continued. “Year of God 489.” He paused for dramatic effect, but nobody was really paying attention.

  “This will be a very special year,” he said. “As you all know, we have been searching for the Blade of Rain for the past couple of centuries.”

  The Blade of Rain! Eri thought. Isn’t that guy supposed to be some sort of savior? But I thought it was just part of scripture.

  Dale continued to speak. “We have found him.” He paused, but nobody gasped or otherwise answered.

  “So what?” asked a middle-aged man Eri wasn’t familiar with. “Will he stop us from farming clams?”

  “Of course not!” Dale said. “If you are good, loyal peasants, you will be brought to the next realm when the Blade gains salvation and floods the world. I suppose you can farm in heaven, if that is your desire.”

  “Hey, didn’t you say that us commoners are gonna die when he shows up?” asked a young woman’s voice, again one that Eri didn’t recognize. There were almost 2,000 people in Mossflower Hold; Eri didn’t know everyone.

  Dale sputtered. “Well, of course I only meant the ones who are sinful and disobedient. That’s what all of the clergy mean. Are you a devout worshipper of the God of Rain?”

  “Of course I am, my lord!” the voice called. “I love God with all my heart!”

  “Good to hear,” Dale said drily. “I hope you all love God with that same vigor, because if you don’t, you’ll get a one-way ticket to eternal torture.”

  Eri shuddered. She didn’t want to experience eternal torture, but she had a sickening feeling she might do so very soon because Dale droned on and on during his speeches.

  “Now, my audience, as per usual, I shall quote scripture to begin this year. I’ll start with the story of…”

  Dale prattled on and on and on for what felt like hours. Finally, he stopped speaking and said, “Dismissed.” The crowd let out a collective sigh of relief, and began to quickly move back to their bedrooms.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Eri sighed. Finally, she could sleep. She rolled her shoulders, then slipped into the crowd.

  “Turtleshit,” she heard Kane say.

  “What was that?” Eri asked him, turning her head as she moved.

  “The priest’s speech. Turtleshit - the whole thing,” Kane replied nonchalantly.

  “What do you mean?” Eri asked, a tinge of anxiety entering her voice.

  “That’s not the same version of scripture they read to us when I was a Rain Casteman,” Kane said.

  “Oh yeah,” Eri mused. “I forgot that nobles and commoners read different things.” She suddenly remembered her conversation she had with Kane from last Septimus.

  “Do you remember?” Kane asked. “They told us that they were going to sacrifice the entirety of the commoners. Not just the sinners, every last one of them.”

  “Damn,” Eri said. Her mind was consumed with a rising tide of anxiety. “But what can we do about it?”

  “No sundamn clue,” Kane responded. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see how much air was behind the Rain Caste’s words.”

  “Why?” Eri asked. “Why can’t we avert our fate?”

  “Maybe they were exaggerating,” Kane offered. “My father always said he was gonna, and I quote, ‘kill the sundamn Firemen one of these days, all of them!’, but he never killed anyone that I know of. Also, the Rain Caste needs you to survive - you grow all their food, and without food, they can’t live.”

  “But they won’t be living in this world any longer,” Eri replied. “They’ll get their food directly from the God.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Kane said confidently. “I’ve never actually seen God with my own eyes, heard Him with my own ears. I don’t know where the Lux powers come from, but I have no reason to believe they come from a God of any sort.”

  “But the constant rain,” Eri moaned. “It’s just like scripture.”

  “Or maybe,” Kane countered, brightness entering his voice, “Scripture echoes reality. Just like every animal, plant and rock, the eternal rain is just a natural occurrence. Also, what about the heathens? They clearly don’t believe in our God, but survive just fine.”

  “Keep your voice down,” Eri said halfheartedly. “Someone might hear us.” Clearly, that wasn’t the case. Everyone was too drunk, stuffed, tired or all of the above to care about the conversation of two young adults. Nonetheless, Kane slightly lowered his voice. He stroked his long beard and hummed.

  “I don’t know about that,” Eri said, thinking of her deceased grandparents. “People might believe anything, even if it’s a blatant lie. Even if their God obviously won’t take them up to salvation, they still might kill us all. If we tell them that their God isn’t real, they’ll just kill us and have their beliefs reaffirmed.”

  “True, true,” Kane said. “So, what do you think is the truth of the world? If not God, than what exists?”

  Eri sighed. “I had a strange dream a long time ago.”

  “We all have strange dreams,” Kane said. “How is that relevant to my question?”

  “It wasn’t just a dream,” Eri replied. “It felt… real. Like how you and I know in our souls that we exist.”

  “Yeah,” Kane responded, understanding dawning upon him. “So, what was this dream?”

  “I was a soldier,” Eri said. “I was wearing green armor and wielding a strange weapon. I can’t really describe it, it was so alien.”

  “Who were you fighting?” Kane asked.

  “I wasn’t fighting, but I saw a similarly clad person in the dream. They were located on an enormous raised dome in the middle of the ocean, fighting a man made out of golden crystal and a beastman with bloodshot eyes. During this, I heard a calm, authoritative feminine voice who called me her ‘daughter’.”

  Kane’s eyes opened wide. “I had a similar dream, over a year ago. I heard that voice call me, ‘son’. I got a glimpse of her. She was wearing a dress of living plants and looked like someone’s mother or grandmother. She told me to ‘survive’.”

  Eri scrunched up her face. That was exactly who she perceived whenever she thought of the voice. “What does it mean?” she said. “Who is this figure?”

  “I don’t know,” Kane said, “But she certainly has some sort of meaning.”

  At this point, they had arrived at Kane’s sleeping chambers. He had them all to himself, after the debacle with Kalevena and Mardinios several weeks ago.

  “Guess I should get to sleep,” Kane said. “See you tomorrow.” He began to turn away.

  “Aren’t you lonely?” Eri asked. “Do you want to sleep with my family?”

  Kane snickered. “No, not like that!” responded Eri, blushing. “Do you want to move into my family’s sleeping chambers? That’s how I should have phrased it.”

  Kane was silent for a long moment. “I have horrible dreams,” he finally said. “I remember the battle I had to fight to earn my survival. That eats at me, and I feel guilt for everything that transpired.”

  Eri felt sad for the poor man. “I’m sorry.”

  “No,’ Kane said. “It’s not your fault. You happened to be born in the Fire Caste. I happened to be born in the Rain, and look where that got me.” He let out a sharp gasp. “But it would be nice to awaken surrounded by others when I have these dreams. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  “Good,” Eri said. She started to feel guilt at not offering this before. “I’m sorry I didn’t offer this to you earlier.”

  “No problem,” Kane answered. “I didn’t think of it either. Let me get my stuff.” He entered his chamber, and was back in a jiffy with his mattress, blanket and bag of extra clothes.

  “Let me help carry that,” Eri said, grabbing one end of the mattress.

  “Thanks,” Kane replied. The two began to amble awkwardly down the hall, taking care to ensure that the reed mattress didn’t fall and break. Eventually, they got to Eri’s room. The door was ajar, and candlelight emanated from the room along with soft voices. They stopped once Eri and Kane entered.

  “Hey folks,” Eri asked, “can Kane sleep here from now on?”

  “Sure,” her mother responded, raising her eyebrows. “Why?”

  Eri picked up on what her mother was insinuating. “We’re just friends. He gets lonely at night, and would feel more comfortable surrounded by others.”

  “I see,” her father said. “Are you good with this, Kane?”

  “Yes, sir,” Kane responded. “I’m good friends with your daughter, and I would be grateful if you accepted me as part of this family.”

  “Indeed,” her father said. “You’re a nice young man and a valuable asset to our community. You can share in our resources anytime you want to.”

  “Thanks,” Kane said, plunking his mattress down in an unoccupied space. He dumped his blanket onto his bed, then slumped down. “Good night,” he said.

  “Good night,” Eri replied. She laid down on her own mattress and finally started to get a good night of sleep.

  A minute later, she flinched when someone tapped her on the shoulder. “Wha’ is it?” she sighed. “Can’t you let me sleep?”

  “I’m scared,” came Sye’s voice. “Are we going to be all right?”

  “You’re my big sister,” Eri sighed. “You’re supposed to be the mature one. We’ll be all right. It’s not like anyone wants to hurt us.”

  “Really?” Sye asked. “Okay… I guess that’s fine.” She turned away and went back to breathing.

  “Sun dammit,” Eri muttered, burying her face in her pillow. Only now did she truly start to rest.