Book One – Chapter 9

After the drastic dimming of his second sight, his first sight now faltered as well.

Without the phantom presences of light, all magic woven with light would slip through his grasp. Once his first sight failed him, any Lightshifter magic beyond the most rudimentary of shard formations would be lost to him.

And fail him it did. Now, as the tempestuous shroud lifted, unveiling the sky after months of obscurity, it revealed not the soothing silver glow of the moons and stars, but the horrendous void that had suffocated these celestial lights.

Yves had loved the stars. However harrowing his many journeys had been, he had always found solace in serene nights under the starry sky. During such nights, the heavens unfolded as a boundless canvas of transcendent beauty, a gift so generously bestowed upon the world by 𝞨𝟁𝞬 [Myr], the cosmic artisan. She was revered as the Goddess of Night and the mythological mother of all Lightshifters, though, amongst scholars, commonly diminished as a mere storybook deity. Yves had no proof or reason to argue otherwise. Like many wizards, he did not adhere to conventional beliefs in mythological Gods. He abstained from the prayers and rites exerted by some peoples. Still, sometimes, he liked to imagine the myths surrounding 𝞨𝟁𝞬. Her art resonated with his soul, and when he witnessed the emergence of night with all her mesmerising phantom presences of light that were the stars, he often imagined how 𝞨𝟁𝞬 painted them just there and then with her effulgent palette of starlight. Things did not have to be true to convey true beauty. For an illusionist, imagining and believing often intertwined quite seamlessly.

Midnight shared his affinity for the night, in particular for the moon. The fact that his familiar was a midnight stalker might even be the reason that Yves was especially captivated by celestial lights. Sey bestowed unique energies upon Midnight, and her feelings of deep contentment resonated with Yves. They had spent countless nights immersed in the silvery glow of the full moons. They had witnessed celestial nights where the firmament unfurled an infinite, incomparably beautiful tapestry of light. Yves felt these shared experiences intensely, especially when he and Midnight experienced the same emotions. Because both of them were so drawn and captivated by their night experiences, their feelings mutually intensified through their bond. In a profound way, Yves associated the mother moon and even light in general with Midnight.

But now, 𝞨𝟁𝞬’s celestial canvas lay empty. Yves could not put his sorrow into words. Fuck this, and Curses on all elves was all he got. Three months ago, in a moment unmarked by significance, he had unknowingly beheld the last vestiges of her celestial creations — a fleeting beauty now etched hauntingly in his memories.