Aren felt tired, not because he had done anything strenuous with his magic, but because climbing to the top of the tall temple was wearing him out.

  While the mess at the plaza was being cleaned up, Crina’s tears moistened his shoulder as he tried to reassure her by patting her head. He barely noticed when Marie walked over to revert his black band to its inert state.

  Yet, despite her tears, the young woman ordered the exemplar to prepare for a move on. She wanted to avoid even the unlikely chance that the assassin would continue their attack.

  Marie agreed and held a discussion with the governor. Throughout, Crina continued to calm herself by embracing him. Even now, as the four of them climbed the steps, she held his sleeve with a trembling hand, yet her grip demanded they go on.

  The entrance to the roof was blocked by a heavy metal gate. Marie touched the central Sun engraving, her hand engulfed in a blinding glow. The pure worship flowed from her hand into the alloy. Where the light touched, the metal turned into golden liquid, and a circular entrance opened for them.

  Stepping onto the revealed staircase, Aren was surprised at how hot its surface felt. Then, when he stepped onto the metallic roof, his feet started to feel as if he were stepping on hot coals, and he struggled to remain in place. Even with the sun shortly past its peak, it seemed unnatural.

  For the first time, he wasn’t the only one suffering from the heat. Crina fidgeted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable, yet that did not make him feel any better. He looked at Marie but she was already kneeling on the hot floor near the center.

  “May the light carry my words,” Marie prayed surrounded by circular engraving. “An emergency most urgent has occurred. I call for the Exemplars’ Synod.”

  For a while, nothing happened. Then a pillar of golden light descended onto the center of the roof. The brightness was staggering, and Aren was forced to cover his eyes. It was as if the light itself had turned its attention on him, and for a moment he felt naked. At the same time Crina let go of his sleeve.

  Then the light subsided, leaving a golden sphere in the center of the room. He lowered his fingers, black spots covering his vision. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that both Governor Bar and Crina were now kneeling. He stayed standing.

  “What happened, my loyal light?” a warm male voice resounded from the sphere.

  “Our Radiant Light, thank you for answering my call,” Marie bowed deeply. “There has been a major change in the situation. The assassins attacked in the middle of the sunlit festival’s closing ceremony. Not only were they able to subvert our magic detection, but their attack, if not contained, would have resulted in a major loss of civilian life.”

  “Those are grave news,” the voice said with concern. “Very well. I call upon all available exemplars for the emergency synod.”

  A few seconds of silence followed before two smaller spheres of light fell from the sky, settling on both sides of the golden sphere. The first was pure white, the second glowing with silver.

  Soon more light fell, one after another, encircling the center of the roof. Purple, emerald, teal, amber, and bright yellow spheres lit the floor. All stayed in silence, waiting to see if more light would announce other exemplars joining the meeting.

  Aren wondered how this method of communication worked. Did all the other speakers have to climb their own towers? That would be cumbersome, and would make such a fast response unlikely. Perhaps only the exemplar initiating the ritual needed to do it. Either way, it certainly fit the theme of their religion.

  “We greet our Guiding Light. May the One Sun’s radiance burn eternally,” all the exemplars spoke at once.

  Then the emerald light spoke first, her voice clearly female and gentle. “I also greet the second chosen of the Sun. It is unusual that the Luminous One would join us as well.”

  “In light of current events, the Luminous One's safety is paramount. As such, I am unable to leave her presence anymore,” Marie said sternly.

  Marie honestly recounted the surprise assassin attack in the plaza to the other Exemplars. They listened without interrupting her, though even as spheres of light, some visibly shook when she described the undetectable magic.

  “You did not sense anything, second light?” the purple light asked Marie. Despite being phrased as a question, its male voice sounded accusatory.

  “I did not, third light,” Marie answered, her own eyes hard, but he saw her hand twitch.

  “The assassins’ organisation must go deeper than we thought if they can subvert our methods,” a male voice from the silver light interjected. “It is good your mage was able to act quickly.”

  Aren wanted to bristle at the possessive determiner but restrained himself. Still, that did not prevent the attention of the conversation from shifting to him.

  “I understand the mage proved useful, but he once again broke our law,” the white light spoke with constrained outrage. Her voice carried the weight of age. “I cannot approve of this. Now that the assassins have played their hand, we can prepare countermeasures. I propose we vote for his dismissal.”

  The emerald light jumped in. “First light, you are letting your feelings affect your judgment. We should be grateful that he saved our citizens and the Luminous One.”

  “I know that, fourth light,” the white sphere answered. “Still, we cannot treat violation of holy laws lightly just because we deemed the situation an emergency. Our Prophet-King has not graced us with wisdom to deem this an exception.”

  “The One Sun has not granted me a vision regarding this matter. As such, I leave the decision to you, my lights,” the golden sphere spoke. It seemed to Aren that the current Prophet-King had a hands-off approach to ruling.

  “Second light, why did you bring the mage here? Its presence is insulting to our Radiant Light. This disbeliever should not be here,” the white light said accusatorily.

  “First light, don’t presume what is an insult to me,” this time the golden sphere’s voice was devoid of emotion.

  The white light nearly fell to the ground, as if the person on the other end were prostrating itself. “Forgive me, Your Holiness. I would not dare presume your will. I have spoken in blindness.”

  Marie used the opening to interject. “I brought Ren here to provide his insights into the red mist. To me, the spell was invisible until the first victim exploded, and even then I could not discern its workings. I believe his knowledge carries necessary insights.”

  She then looked at Aren expectantly. Had they discussed this beforehand? He had only been paying half attention to the discussion on the ground, his mind busy analyzing the pseudo-magic he had seen, and a small part of him had been wondering how to reassure Crina. Still, he had been put on the spot more than once. He knew how to act.

  He stepped forward beside Marie and bowed deeply. “It is an honor beyond words to stand in your luminous presence, Prophet-King.”

  With all the attention on him, he decided not to wait before continuing. “As of right now, I can say with certainty the terrorists do not use magic alone. Their pseudo-spells could not function without another form of energy. The red mist pseudo-spell…”

  He was interrupted by the purple light. “What do you mean by pseudo-spell? What other form of energy?”

  “I was about to explain that,” Aren responded calmly. “I call them pseudo-spells because the formations that support them are fundamentally wrong. If someone used them, they would get an uncontrollable result that would never act according to its caster’s intentions.

  “The red mist was designed to consume ambient mana and life energy to propagate itself. Still, its core spell was lacking anything but the propagation framework. I believe its true functionality was provided by the unknown energy that I was unable to classify. It was also used to hide the mana.

  “It is possible it was a very unique form of prana, but that is only a guess, since it did not give any signature of being holy power. At the very least, it was certainly not magic.”

  “How did you stop the mist?” the Exemplar behind the silver light asked.

  “I starved it, cut its access to more mana,” Aren explained.

  “I see,” the silver light said, as if nodding. “In that case, we should be able to develop our own countermeasures.”

  “In that light, we should hold a vote regarding his dismissal,” the white light said again.

  “We vote for the dismissal,” the teal and amber lights said simultaneously. Their flat male and female voices intermixed, and Aren had no idea which was which.

  “I vote against this. We still have no method of detecting this pseudo-magic. This would leave us able only to respond after the fact,” the emerald light spoke.

  The bright yellow light spoke with an energetic female voice. “I’m also against dismissing him. His diligence in protecting the Luminous One should not be for naught.”

  The purple light pulsed fiercely, his attention directed at Marie, “I vote for the dismissal.”

  With four votes already in favor of the dismissal and two against it, three with Marie, the silver light was the deciding voice if it would end in a tie.

  “I—” the silver light started, but he was interrupted.

  “I chose Ren as my Sunbearer!” Crina’s voice broke through the Exemplars’ discussion, stunning the roof into silence. Aren turned his head to the young woman with a confused tilt of his head.

  “That’s outrageous!” the white light said first, before falling silent, clearly embarrassed by the outburst toward the Luminous One.

  “It’s within the Luminous One’s right,” the Prophet-King declared. “The Sunbearer Ren will stay.”

  Aren understood that his dismissal was prevented, even if he was confused about what the new title meant. Marie looked at him for a while, then motioned for him to stand back before returning her attention to the meeting.

  Walking over to Crina, he stopped next to her kneeling form. Her face was flushed, but so was his own. The heat of the roof was getting to him, and his feet stung.

  “In light of this new situation,” Marie said, straightening up, “I believe we need to again hold a discussion about assigning additional aid to this mission.”

  “I wish I could help, second light,” the emerald light spoke. “But until I hunt down the queen scylla, I will be unable to leave the west coast.”

  Aren’s eyes widened. He knew that scylla were a serious issue. His country had a recurring hunting season designed to curb their population in summer. In the warm waters down here, they were a constant threat. But a queen was a danger comparable to a mature dragon-class worm. They rarely left their territory in the far ocean, but when they did, they would breed thousands of bipedal aquatic monsters that would invade, destroy the land, and bring back anything edible to their queen, humans included.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I understand, fourth light, all our duties are of equal importance,” Marie said. “Yet, I believe my strength alone may prove insufficient. From my single exchange with the beastkin, I can tell she is at least a seventh-stage life practitioner. The catfolk’s speed also trumped anything I have seen before, and I doubt she showed everything she was capable of.”

  “Yet this mage… the sunbearer saw through her stealth and reacted in time,” the silver light said curiously.

  “He made sure to check for hidden assassins when he began his containment of the mist,” Marie explained for him. “Next time we may not get this lucky.”

  “Still, nothing has changed,” the purple light said. “None of us are free to help you. All our tasks are crucial to the survival of the Sands, and I would recommend not speaking of them in front of the outsider.

  “It’s unlikely that they have another assassin of this level. If they did, they would have used them in this attack. What is a beast doing on our continent anyway? Their racism toward humans keeps them in a state of constant war with the Khazand Empire.”

  “Their culture is largely unknown to us,” the bright yellow light said. “The beastkin homeland is far to the east, deep within the continent of Therionia. The presence of a single beastkin could mean anything.”

  “We should investigate then, make sure it’s not part of an invasion plan,” Marie said with slight desperation. “What if they plan to start chaos on our continent by making the Luminous One fail her task, then use it to begin their own invasion?”

  “We ourselves are not sure what would happen exactly if the Luminous One were to fail her task. How would the beastkin know?” the white light interjected. “The Year of Darkness could mean anything. The mentions of it are vague and don’t suggest mass destruction. On the contrary, if any of us were to fail our tasks, the ramifications would be calculably devastating.”

  Aren knew where this was going and by the look on Marie’s face she did too.

  “I believe that since the other exemplars remained silent, the discussion is at its end,” the silver light spoke. “I wish to inform you, second light, that my investigation is nearing its end, and I swear to start looking into the force behind the assassins as soon as I’m done. We cannot let such corruption fester, and that beastkin should be looked into. Please send me a detailed description of the catkin later.”

  “Cannot you join me in protecting the Luminous One?” Marie asked instead.

  “I know you are worried, second light, but you know my forte doesn’t lie in combat. As soon as I discover something of use, I will inform you.”

  “I understand, sixth light, and thank you,” Marie said. “In that case, my final point is to ask for reinforcement for Balthen. Governor Bar offered two of his fifth-stage warriors to accompany me, but it leaves the city ill-prepared for the Rain Season.”

  It was the golden light that finally spoke. “I shall order one of the reinforcement squads to head to Balthen. While individually they may not compare, they should be enough to help the city withstand the threat. I will also allow the temporary use of the core, the Luminous One and my Second Ray recovered, to bolster Balthen’s defenses. Finally, I assign one of the Sun Watchers to you, second light.”

  Marie’s eyes widened and she bowed deeply, “My greatest thanks, our Radiant Light.”

  “No gratitude is necessary. This is the least I can do to assist you in the difficult task I assigned to you,” the Prophet-King said.

  “I will strive to not disappoint you,” Marie said with determination.

  “I adjourn this emergency synod,” the Prophet-King proclaimed. “Walk in the Sun’s luminous glory and spread its holy law to all of the Sands.”

  “May our light shine bright in your radiant wisdom,” all the exemplars spoke in unison, and at once their light dissipated.

  The golden light remained. When it spoke, its tone was warm again. “I know this was not what you wanted, my loyal light. Yet this result allowed me to grant you one of the Sun Watchers without any repercussions. It will reach you within this week. I hope it will be enough.”

  “I understand, your holiness,” Marie said without any bitterness in her reverent tone.

  Then the light shifted, and, like golden liquid, it formed into the shape of a person. It was still featureless beyond a bright smile on its head. The person of pure light walked toward Marie and stopped directly in front of her.

  “Governor Bar,” the Prophet-King called. “I thank you for your pious service. You are an example all other governors should follow. I wish to speak with my daughter, and the Luminous One and her Sunbearer.”

  The governor prostrated himself further, then picked himself up and, still keeping his head low, tried to speak but failed and left without a word. The words meant so much to him that they left him speechless.

  Aren looked at Marie with a confused look, he did not know she was of high birth. That made him wonder what Donnavan had meant when he spoke of her last time.

  “I see you are still embarrassed about being my adoptive daughter,” the golden figure chuckled upon seeing Aren’s considering expression.

  “I’m simply not worthy of that position,” Marie said, her head low.

  “I always worry for you,” the man said heartfully. “We became family before I was chosen by the Sun, yet it placed a heavy burden on your shoulders nonetheless. I do not say this to remind you of it, I simply hope you will return safe from this duty. I… never expected this to be so dangerous.”

  “I did not strive to become an exemplar to be coddled,” Marie spoke with outrage. Then she clamped her mouth and bowed deeper, “I apologize our Radiance, I should have not spoken to you like this.”

  Instead of speaking, the golden man patted her head, “I embrace my duty but I wish we could share your underseasoned fish soup again.”

  Then the featureless head turned to Aren. “Young Archmage, I thank you for everything you have done for our people and the Luminous One. I know it is selfish of me, but please continue assisting my daughter.”

  Aren was not surprised that the man knew of his identity. It was unlikely that Marie would not report the truth to the Prophet-King himself. He was already surprised that the other exemplars seemed to be unaware of his true identity.

  “With all due respect, I plan to see our deal through. For that I need her alive,” Aren said, then he decided to be bold. “You could show me gratitude by exempting me from the city's ban on magic.”

  Marie looked at him with visible outrage and Crina with worry, but the golden man laughed. For a second, a normal, unburdened man flashed through him. “This is refreshing. Let’s speak plainly then. If I could, I would, but that law has been passed by the Sun’s vision. I will not change it without the One Sun’s permission.”

  “Even if I were the kind of man willing to abuse the position he was chosen for by their God, there are forces that would censor me, even if it meant they then had to face the Sunblaze Judgment alongside me.”

  When Aren did not respond, the Prophet-King turned toward Crina. “Luminous One, you have been going well above what is required of you. For that, you have my utmost respect, and if anyone thinks differently, they are a fool.”

  He then looked down at the temple as if seeing through the stone and metal. “Many changes have occurred in our society over the last few decades. It was inevitable that some would oppose this, but I never considered it would culminate in the current situation. The Sun’s visions have been guiding us toward a kinder, gentler world, and I trust it to be possible.”

  As he looked up his tone changed. It became deeper, tinged with weight. “Yet I would recommend changing your course. The situation has become truly dangerous. There is nothing in the Holy Law that requires the Luminous One to visit every region of the Sands. You could head now to the veil, and I will not allow anyone to criticize you. I plan to embrace the Luminous Light movement that was created through your efforts. Your hard work won’t be in vain.”

  “Of course, the final decision belongs to you,” the man finished, his voice returning to its warm tone.

  Crina looked at the holy man with wide eyes, her own watering at the praise. Still, she did not instantly agree with the Prophet-King’s words. Instead, she bit her lip and, maintaining her respect, turned to Marie and Aren.

  “Marie, are you willing to continue?” the young woman asked, her eyes betrayed her determination to go on.

  Marie simply smiled, “We will need to tighten our security, you will not be allowed to sneak off again.”

  “I won’t,” Crina smiled back, then she asked a little weakly, “Aren?”

  “My goal lies at the end of this journey, so it’s to my benefit if we speed it up,” Aren said truthfully. “Still, it’s not my position to decide your course, that would make me a hypocrite. I won’t abandon you either.”

  Crina raised an eyebrow, but her smile brightened. Then she turned to the Prophet-King. “I thank you, Holy Radiance, for your kindness. I will continue on my path. I will limit my visit to each city to a day, and we will change our route. There is also nothing in the Holy Law saying I need to sleep in the city. Outside of the walls, Aren won’t need to hesitate with his magic.”

  “I see,” the golden man looked at them. “Then go, step with care and stay warm. I will pray for your safety and wisdom.”

  With that, and a final nod to Marie, the man vanished into flakes of light. Aren breathed out a sigh of relief and once again felt his feet hurt, he was sure he had second-degree burns on them. He would need to ask for healing, preferably from someone other than the exemplar who was staring daggers at him.

  “His Holiness is too forgiving,” Marie said, huffing at him and turning away. A hint of a smile appeared in the corner of her mouth, and her fist tightened.

  “So, I have a question regarding what the whole Sunbearer thing is about,” Aren said. “But I would prefer to get off this roof first.”

  “We should head out,” Marie confirmed. “The faster we move, the less time we will give the assassins to plan.”

  Their preparations didn’t take much time, as Marie had ensured everything was ready for a quick departure by the second day of their stay. Just before they left, Crina called for an assembly in front of the temple. Aren wondered if she planned to give a motivational speech, but the thought somehow clashed with the image he held of her in his mind.

  “Thank you for coming,” she started, her voice steady despite her inexperience. Marie stood stalwart behind her, a rock of support reinforcing her resolve. “I want each of you to consider my words carefully. That includes you, Protector Rati, and Kron. I do not say those words to insult or degrade any of you, but I need to ask if you truly wish to continue, despite knowing that the road ahead will be laid with dangers, most likely worse than what occurred today.”

  “If any of you wish to leave today, I will not allow anyone to stop you. And you, Louis, along with your men. If any of you ever wish to be freed from the geas, Marie will see to it without question,” she said toward the grizzled veteran. “You do not need to risk your lives for mine. Each and every one of you is more valuable than I can put into words.”

  When, after a long period of silence, no one so much as spoke or moved, she continued, “I see. Thank you, but know you can make the decision any time you wish. It does not need to be done today, or in public. I swear I will do everything in my power to make your choice worth it.”

  “We will depart now,” she finished, and the whole crowd saluted her. Crina was stunned for a moment, her eyes watering. When people began moving toward their tasks, she turned to Aren. In a softer voice, yet still audible, she said, “Ren, as my sunbearer, you can ride with me. We should probably discuss our future path as well.”

  The crowd froze. Aren felt nearly every gaze in the camp fall on him. Wes and Lan’s eyes, in particular, seemed to pop from their sockets. He could only shrug, he knew the title had been given to him to prevent his dismissal. He didn’t know what it truly meant yet, but the way Louis looked at him, then Mar’tei, and finally Crina, before returning to him with judging ferocity, made him feel that his life ahead might be filled with nothing but more troubles.

  He quickly slipped behind a white curtain before someone bore holes through his head, likely literally. Inside, Marie looked at him with her irritated gaze and right now, it felt comfortable in comparison. Sitting down on the only free cushion, he saw that a blush crept across Crina’s face, likely a combination of speaking publicly and the scrutiny she had just received.

  “So, can we start with the sunbearer thing? Since it has just now become public knowledge, I should probably know what this is about,” Aren broke the silence.

  Marie looked at Crina, who, realizing she was meant to speak, began nervously twisting a strand of her long chestnut hair and looking around the room.

  “I… well… I only meant it so you could stay with us. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you as my sunbearer, of course! But you see, there are so many traditions around this, and it probably seemed hasty to everyone. I’m sorry if anyone bothers you about it. If they do, you can tell us, and I’ll find a way to deal with it. You’re already doing more than enough for us. It feels wrong that you should have to deceive others…”

  “Luminous One,” Marie coughed. “With all due respect, you are rambling.”

  Crina twitched and fell silent. Aren waited patiently for her to continue, but when she didn’t, and Marie seemed content to remain seated, he decided to break the tension with a joke.

  “So… are we engaged now or something?” he said amused.

  “Eh!? What? No!” Crina quickly protested, her blush deepening. “Some might expect it to happen, but that’s not what this is!”

  Aren raised an eyebrow. “So… what does it mean, then?”

  “The sunbearer is a chosen companion,” Crina finally said, her voice small. “They accompany the Luminous Ones on their journey and are allowed to stay with them in the Dark Sanctuary after the pilgrimage is over. Usually, they are a family member… or a significant other.”

  “I understand,” Aren said. “Are you sure, then, that you’re using this privilege on me?”

  “The sunbearer can be chosen only once and cannot be changed,” Marie said at last. “Especially when the choice has been declared in front of the Exemplar’s Synod and the Prophet-King.”

  “This journey needs you,” Crina said honestly. “Without you, we would have been caught completely unaware by the attack. I would have been dead without your first intervention. And… well, I would never ask any of my fathers to join me on such a dangerous journey, and there was no one else I could consider.”

  “Still,” Aren said, “you could have waited for the actual decision to be made. It could have ended in a tie.”

  “If I had, it would have meant denying the exemplar’s choice. Some of them probably felt insulted anyway. It isn’t the Luminous One’s duty to make decisions like that…” Crina said, her voice heavy with trepidation, followed by a tired sigh.

  She returned to playing with her hair. “Do you hate it?”

  Aren studied the young woman for a moment. She wouldn’t meet his gaze. After a while, she closed her ashen eyes, and he remembered a thought he’d had before. He needed to know what she felt, and this seemed like the right moment to ask.

  Aren tilted his head, serious as ever. “Are we friends?”

  She opened her ashen eyes. A glint of emotion shone within them as she spoke, her voice trembling. “I would like that… very much.”

  Aren closed his eyes. “It won’t be easy, considering our respective positions. But I’m willing to accept this… I just hope you won’t come to re—”

  He didn’t get to finish his monologue on the serious responsibility of friendship and the analysis of the situation.

  Crina hugged him again, this time with tears of joy. “The first friend I’ve made,” she whispered into his ear.