Chapter 5

20 Years after the Great Merge, 3 years ago.

Sol sat in a run-down tavern with a tattered cloak pulled over his face, hiding the youthful features of his 16-year-old self. He stood at 6ft tall, but was skinny as he hadn’t eaten properly in months.

A man walked in and gave a nod to the barman before heading over to Sol. The teenager remained still as the man sat beside him.

“I heard you got a lot today,” the man said.

“Find out for yourself,” Sol replied as he passed him a pouch full of jewellery under the table.

He could almost feel the man’s eyes bulge as he stuck his hand in the pouch and felt about. This went on for a few moments as the man judged the pouch.

“11 silvers,” he said.

“I’ll take my business else-”

“12 silvers, and a bottle of whiskey for your troubles,” the man pleaded.

“I don’t drink.”

“13.”

“Deal,” Sol said.

The man laid back in his chair and sighed.

“Always a hard bargain with you,” he said. He counted out 13 silvers and put them in another pouch, before sliding them under the table once again into Sol’s hand. Sol made sure to count them to check.

“Ya really are a stingy bastard aren’t yah?”

“I appreciate doing business with you,” Sol replied as he got up from his seat, ignoring the man's comment. He headed out onto the streets of Bandits Cove, located under the city of New London. It was late at night and two moons shone brilliantly onto the rundown area.

New London was built from the rubble of the old one. During the merge, a mountain grew in the center and the sea cut the huge city in two. Underneath that mountain spawned a city from Lumina; a large cove supported by a huge cylinder of rock, which formed over countless centuries.

It had created a half donut shape underneath the city, with the sea flowing into it. This was known as the slums of New London. The buildings were mostly all made from rotting wood, and every single one of them creaked. There was no internet connection or even electricity. It was truly where the poorest of the poor lived, and home to all of the evil that was forced out from the city above. Gangs collected taxes, drug abusers littered the streets, and feral monster sightings were a common occurrence.

Sol walked down these streets to his house, which was partly built into the stone and hung on the wall of the cove. All the houses were built on top of each other, growing like vines.

He opened the wooden door to his small but cozy home. He tried to keep it as clean as he could for a place in Bandits Cove.

“You’re late,” Summer said, with her usual attitude. She was lying down on the sofa listening to music.

“I finished late,” Sol said.

Summer, his sister, was now eleven and had grown up into a right brat. Her blonde hair had darkened since she was younger, but still held it’s elegance. Red highlights began to coarse through it, a sign of magical maturing.

“Hi Sol,” June said with a warming smile. She was sitting at the small dinner table reading a book.

“How were the classes? Learn anything new?” Sol asked kindly.

“It was history for half the day, and we learnt about how empty magic was before the Great Merge on Earth,” June replied, looking over her thick glasses.

She was always the smart one in the family, despite her young age. She matured much faster than Summer.

“You're not gonna ask me how my classes were?” Summer snapped.

“Did you want me to?” Sol retorted.

Summer rolled her eyes, something she had picked up from school.

Sol had managed to send both his sisters to school, which was difficult considering he had to pay for the small house and food too. They had been in and out of orphanages for 2 years before Sol decided to do something, and that’s when the stealing began in New London. The two areas were not entirely distinct, as the poor lived up there too, so he blended in well when stealing from the rich. It was mainly jewelry, electronics and clothes he stole. They were easy too, from stalls or from a woman walking by. If it shone, Sol was going to try and steal it.

He emptied his coin pouch into different pots on the kitchen counter top, labelled with Summer and June’s names. This was for their tuition fees. He then placed a loaf of hard bread on a cutting board and started slicing into it.

“Where do you get this money?” Summer asked from behind him, scaring Sol and causing him to cut his finger.

Summer had been learning to perform; singing, dancing, acting, the whole triple threat. Something she had learned recently was a skill called quiet step, which softened the sound of footsteps. It had been a real pain ever since.

“Do you want to keep going to school?” Sol asked, diverting the question.

Summer crossed her little arms. “What if the people at school find out about this?” she said.

June looked up from her book. “You shouldn’t ask questions when Sol is trying to help us. If he didn’t do things like this then we couldn’t go to school,” she said.

“Thank you,” he glanced at Summer, “June.”

Summer stormed off and slammed the door to her room. If only she was more like June.

Sol cooked their tea which consisted of lots of bread, fish and carrots. It wasn’t much but it was all they could afford. He placed Summers' food on the floor before her room and knocked. She wouldn’t admit it but she was a huge food lover.

After their meal, Sol went outside onto their tiny balcony and sat down on the old sofa. He began to work out their expenditures for the next month. June came out and joined him.

She leaned into him as they both looked out over Bandits Cove. “You think Mama and Papa would be proud?” she asked.

Sol held back his tears; he had never told them that the bastard Henry murdered their parents. He had covered their eyes as they went outside, and had told them that they died while fighting the wyvern.

“If you two keep going on with school, I think they will be,” Sol said.

June smiled and then leant her head onto her brother's shoulder.

“I don’t know where you get the money brother, but please be safe.”

Sol put his arm around her shoulders but didn’t respond. He was going to make sure his sisters had the best lives possible. They stayed like that for a while and June fell fast asleep, so Sol picked her up and placed her on her bed. He tucked her in and went to check on Summer, who was also completely passed out, with food stains all around her mouth. He took her plate, tucked her in, and then left the house, walking down the creaking steps and into the foundation of it. He took off a wooden board and replaced it as he went under. It was dark, so he placed his hand over a crystal and a portion of the room lit up.