Chapter 2: The Solstice

(Eve Solaris POV)

I awoke the next morning to the sound of potoos chirping outside my window. Yawning groggily, I rubbed my eyes and stared out the window. ‘What time is it?’ I thought to myself as I slowly dragged myself up from the soft embrace of my bed to find a change of clothes for today. After pondering my decision for a while, I decided on something simple and practical before I made my way towards the bathroom to fully wake myself up from my sleep.

…

As I laid there, soaking in the warm, soothing water, I began to feel excited about today. Although to some, the Solstice might be just another day to celebrate the gods, to most, it was also a day of remembrance and release. It was a time where people could relive their past memories, put past regrets to rest and embrace the present. Most of all, however, it was a day of laughter and joy, full of hopes and dreams of the future to come: a day that I would take full advantage of.

“Eve, are you in there?” I heard my mother ask from behind the door, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes mother! What’s wrong?” I responded as I opened my eyes.

“Elder Wolf passed away this morning. Hurry and get dressed so we can go pay our respects before the solstice starts.”

“Elder Wolf?!” I yelled, surprised. ”How? I just saw her yesterday while coming back from hunting with Dad. She was fine!”

“I know, it came as a shock to us all. One minute she was as fit as a fiddle, next minute she started choking and clutching her chest. The clerics say it had something to do with her heart.” My mother replied sadly.

I bit my lip in silent frustration. Elder Owlaph Freda, nicknamed Elder Wolf because of her distinct silvery gray hair and lean figure, was one of the few people to truly ever believe in me, despite everyone calling me a sleeper, a term used to describe people who didn’t awaken by the age of 25. She had shown me that mana wasn’t what made someone who they were, nor was their practical abilities or skills. It was who they were on the inside that mattered. She, herself, was someone who also went through a manaless childhood - 19 years to be exact - and even then, after getting mana, she hardly ever relied on it or showed off like some pricks in the village do.

Despite rarely using mana, however, she remained an integral part of the village community. Her persistence, determination when she set her mind to do something and an unwavering will, unbreakable to the core had earned her the respect of many. Stll, it was hard to see someone like her die so suddenly.

“Ok, I’ll get dressed right now, mom!” I said after a moment of silence..

“Good, I’ll see you downstairs, then” I heard her say as she walked down the stairs.

Her voice had faltered as she spoke. I knew she had tried to be strong as the village chief but mother had been especially close with Elder Wolf. Her death must have affected mother.

Getting out of the bath, I walked over to a small table and picked up a small reflection artifact that activated upon touch. I looked into it as I began to brush my hair and get myself dressed to head downstairs.

I descended down the steps to find both my parents sitting at the kitchen table. “I’m ready if you guys are.” I called as I turned the corner.

“Took you long enough, Little Huntress.” My father responded with a smirk as they both stood up from the table.

“Yeah, yeah let’s go, old man” I teased back as we walked out the door.

Immediately upon walking outside, I could feel a warm breeze whisp past me, slowly tugging at my hair. Beautiful weather for the Solstice later tonight.

Minutes later I found myself walking down the street with my parents in tow, looking around at all the stone, and wooden houses I had grown up around that led to the flower garden where we laid the dead to rest. Already, the scent of fresh flowers filled my nose as we got closer.

I turned the corner five minutes later and there lay a patch of a beautiful assortment of glowing flowers with Elder Wolf laying on top of it. A sight I had seen many times.

While the cause was unknown as to why the glowing flowers, called Menima flowers, would develop upon the death of a person, it was believed the flowers represented them becoming one with Tvorba, or at least that’s what the Cult of Heaven would preach to everyone.

My parents and I slowly knelt down next to the dead elder to give a silent prayer to the gods.

“Hello there Auntie Davina and Uncle Arty! Hey, Eve!” I heard a familiar voice call from behind us as we were standing up.

“You keep showing up so much, I’m beginning to think you’re stalking me, Gabi.” I teased as I hugged my friend.

“Oh please, you aren’t quite that important, Eve. I’m a Nun-in -training, remember? It’s only normal that I show up for something like this.” She said matter-of-factly.

“Well then, Miss Gabi, are you here to take our Little Huntress away again?” My dad joked while nudging my shoulder.

“I actually had a few things to do to get prepared for the festival and was hoping she would join me. Is that alright?” Gabi questioned.

“That should be fine, then we will see you both tonight. Stay out of trouble you two.” My mother said as we started to walk away.

“Well, Gabi. What did you need to do?” I asked as we began to walk back into town.

“First we need to grab some food out of the town's preservation room, second we need to grab some candles for extra lighting tonight, and thirdly there’s some wagons bringing in some goods from the nearby castle. We need to allocate some of those goods to the orphanage.” Gabi responded as we began to walk to the preservation room.

“The life of a nun sure is busy. I guess we should probably hurry up then.” I responded.

Around fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the town's preservation room to grab the food that had been requested.

“Good morning, Gabi, Eve, excited for the festival tonight?” A man dressed in a full suit of armor with a long sword asked.

“That’s correct, Oliver.” Gabi replied.

“Mind if I see your papers just to make sure?”

“Of course not! Here they are.” Gabi said as she pulled out the papers.

“Everything looks official.” He said as he handed back the papers. “If you need anything just call for me.” He added.

“Thank you, Oliver. Come on Eve let's go.” Gabi said, beckoning me to come down the stairs.

We slowly walked down the small set of stone stairs that led to the wooden door of the preservation room, slowly feeling the air get colder the closer we drew.

“I forgot how cold it is down here.” I said through chattering teeth.

“It’s usually not quite this cold, but one of the mages must have just been down here to replace some of the ice.” Gabi responded as she opened the door.

“Let's hurry up, and get what we need so we can get out of here before I freeze to death.” I responded, shivering at the new wave of cold air.

“You’re still a cry baby when it comes to the cold, I guess some things never change.” Gabi teased.

“Ok, Ms. Sunshine!” I retorted back.

Gabi and I hurriedly walked through to grab the food needed on the report. Which included things like pork slices, chicken, steaks, and much more. After around ten minutes, we had everything we came for packed into a bag. We began heading back out through the wooden door and up the stairs.

“Feeling better now that we are back outside, little one?” Gabi mocked.

“Well I no longer feel like I’m freezing to death, so yes, I do.” I responded.

“Well now we need to buy some candles, tell me Little Huntress do you still remember the currency system?” Gabi questioned.

“I know the names of the coins. There are Leptons for Bronze coins, Denaris for Silver, and Darics for gold. What I don’t remember are the conversions for how much each coin is worth.” I stammered out a little embarrassed.

“Well, seeing as how you really only hunt, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Anyway, eight hundred Leptons are equal to one Daric, twenty Leptons are equal to one Denaris, and forty Denaris equals one Daric.” Gabi finished her explanation.

“I see all that nun training is actually good for something.” I joked.

“It atleast makes me smarter than you.” Gabi teased as she winked back at me.

“Yeah whatever, let's get these candles already.” I said, rolling my eyes.

We arrived at a local antiquities and miscellaneous appliance stall shortly after leaving the preservations building. “Hello, we’d like to buy thirty candles from you Ms. Amira.”

“Oh, Miss Gabi and Eve, good to see you both. Thirty candles you say? That will be thirty Leptons.” Ms. Amira replied.

“Here’s two Denaris, keep the change.” Gabi responded by handing her the coins.

“Oh my, thank you, have a good day both of you!” Ms. Amira called out as we walked away.

“So now we just need to go to the trade center and grab the things being dropped off, correct?” I asked

“That’s correct, it should be arriving soon, so we should hurry over there.” Gabi answered.

We walked for around twenty minutes before arriving in front of a large stone building in the heart of town with carriages, and horses leaving and coming in at a rapid pace.

As we sat waiting, we saw a carriage arrive carrying goods for the party such as plates, silverware, and various fruits we’d surely be able to indulge in..

We opened the big, double wooden doors of the trading center and walked towards the receptionists booth to hand over our order.

“Good afternoon, Gabi, Eve. What may I do for you two today?”

“We need to pick up some of the goods that arrived today for the Solstice. Three crates of each of the goods are to be delivered to the orphanage for the children to enjoy” Gabi said, handing over the order request.

“Hmmm, ok. I will let the delivery men know so that they can have them over shortly. Is that all you two need?”

“Yes, that’ll be all. Thank you.”

We both made our way back through the doors and out onto the street.

“Well, that was easy” I said, relieved that I didn’t have to carry it all over.

“It definitely wasn’t anything hard, thankfully.”

After about 25 minutes of walking, we arrived back at my house.

“Well, I wish I could have stayed with you a bit longer, but I have to go and make sure those goods arrive at the orphanage and that the kids don’t get too impatient and eat all the fruits.”

“It’s ok, I’m sure we’ll be able to spend a lot of time during the Solstice, as long as you keep your promise, that is.”

“Yes yes, little huntress, I won’t back down on our promise. I know how much you miss me and all” she said in a teasing sort of way.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say. I’ll see you later” I said, walking through the door and then up the stairs to my room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, I found myself walking with Gabi to the solstice event. Upon arriving, I could feel the wave of liveliness engulf me.

Everywhere I looked people were talking, enjoying the many foods, listening to the music being played, and over indulging in the various alcohols that had been supplied. Everything needed for a truly great party.

However this was just the start as many events were to follow such as an Archery Competition, sword fighting competition, mage competition, fireworks, and much more.

The first event was the Archery event which I’d be competing in.

I sat watching the various different archers, admiring their different techniques they had honed over years of strenuous practice with the bow.

Eventually came my turn, and I felt an overwhelming aura of confidence, as I always did whenever I drew my bow back.

The current score for the archery competition was 3 bullseyes and 2 single bulls, totaling to a staggering 400 points.

I slowly pulled the string back, feeling the tension grow tighter until I found the perfect spot. I felt the wind dance past my fingertips as I adjusted the aim of my bow to hit my desired target, letting it release right after.

My first show was a bullseye straight down the middle.

I repeated these steps once more, again hitting the bullseye, followed by one more. This put me at 300 points with two more arrows to go. If I got one more bullseye, I could tie the game and have one more arrow to shoot off and potentially win it.

I once again nocked an arrow on my bow and slid my fingers in between the fletchings. I pulled back once again, these movements a form of second nature to me now. I released the arrow and immediately could tell that the shot was off as the arrow seemed to warp after its release from my hands in the air.

To my dismay, however, I landed a single line, only scoring me 30 points for a total of 330. This meant that a tie was off the table. The only possible outcomes were a win or a lose, with a win being a bullseye for me.

I took a deep breath and once again repeated my motions. I dialed in fully, almost animalistic and primal as I lost sense of any emotions or sight around me, fully focused on the target with one goal in mind: to hit a bullseye. I released the arrow, but, in that moment I had already known it was going to hit its mark.

A massive roar erupted from the crowd, as the arrow sunk perfectly into the middle of the bullseye,

“Winner: Eve Solaris with a staggering total of 430 points! Congratulations!” was the last thing I heard before more roars of excitement and cheers ensued.

Next was the sword fighting competition in which my friend Cenric would be competing in.

Cenric was… an interesting individual. He always tried to do what was right, driven by his self-stated sense of justice and righteousness. I never fully understood his reasoning for it, but admittedly found it quite noble and kind of him.

He would always talk about his big dreams to leave this place and join the Cult of Heaven as one of the seven Paladins in the sect of the ‘Hands of God’, saying he would one day protect everyone from the horrors and atrocities of the world.

It was a big dream to have, not only considering attempting to join the Cult of Heaven, but to be a Paladin for them no less; the highest rank in the hierarchy, only under the high priest and priestess of the ‘Mouth of God’ sect. A feat unobtainable and only achieved by some and more so by most in dreams, but oddly enough, I felt like he could pull it off.

This was only supported further with his skills in the way of the sword. I had to admit I had always admired his skill with the sword, and it was in no way inferior to mine with the bow. The way he swung his blade with elegance and purpose, his footwork, and his movements; it was truly a spectacle to behold.

I watched the man I had grown up with breeze through the other competitors barely breaking a sweat as he won round after round, in an increasingly amazing fashion.

After most of the main attractions had finished, my group of friends, Zilpa Tahmuras, Phelix Zenaida, Cenric, Gabi, and I spent a couple of hours chatting about our current lives. We spoke about everything and nothing, mainly just catching up as we ate some of the best food I’d had in what felt like ages.

As night began to fall, it was time to begin the firework show which was produced by mages firing different colored spells into the sky.

I had sat down on a patch of grass with the other villagers, as we watched the fireworks go off.

A display of many different shapes, figures, and symbols painted the sky. From random animals to some more famous figures such as the gods that roamed this continent; anything and everything that could’ve been displayed, was displayed. A truly vibrant and beautiful showing, fitting of this year's Solstice.

Midway through, I started to hear someone approaching me.

“Hey Eve! if you weren’t too busy, would you mind if we went somewhere to talk, alone?” Cenric asked, slightly blushing on both of his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. .

I had a feeling I already knew what this was about and was dreading what I was going to say, but relented and went with him.

We walked to a secluded area of grass, absent of other groups.

“Hey, so uh, Eve I know we haven’t spent much time together recently with your hunting training reaching an all time high and my aspirations getting the better of me and all, but, this Solstice has confirmed something for me. Something I never thought I’d ever experience or something that would ever happen.” He said, shifting a bit and avoiding making eye contact with me.

“Spit it out, Cen, or we’ll miss the rest of the fireworks.” I said, a bit too roughly. Cenric jumped slightly, before saying,

“I like you, Eve. I mean, more than a friend. I think you’re amazing- And I know what you might be thinking and I know I’ve probably lost my mind even thinking of telling you this, but we’re both getting older and soon enough we’ll be making decisions that might change how our lives look. If I don’t act on my feelings now, I might never get that chance to.”

“What I mean to say is, do you want to maybe go out som-”

Before he could finish his sentence, I closed the distance between us, kissing him on the cheek.

I pulled away only to see him starstruck and speechless.

“After my birthday, I’ll let you take me out, I promise. Now shut up so we can watch the rest of the fireworks.” I said, grinning before lying back down on the grass, pretending as if nothing had just happened.

He did the same shortly after coming out of his trance-like state.

He inched his hand towards mine, taking it almost as easily as anything. As we silently enjoyed the explosions of color in the dark night sky, I noticed the colors seemed brighter than ever before.