Before
In a long-forgotten dungeon, a creature gave up hope of earning its freedom.
It remembered songs from their past, sung over a thousand years ago, with premonitions of yanantin, the balance of opposing sides.
The creature sighed and closed its eyes; there would be no balance.
The gods were now forgotten, their savior nowhere to be found, the scales now tipped too heavily on one side.
Darkness filled the room, and its heart turned to stone.
Now
Humanity wears its armor with a dome,
since the gods left them to die.
Now the monsters roam,
and the shadowed mask… has a watchful eye.
Part One
THE CITY OF JORO
Chapter 1
Seda
Today was the first day of the sixth month, and the Wyrd alarms hadn’t gone off yet. Seda’s heart fluttered as if it were a trapped moth, its pattering wings thrashing against the confines of her chest.
As the soft hum of the computer vibrated beneath her fingers, she stared at the screen with trembling hands. The words in front of her blurred together as she read.
She anxiously checked the clock and saw it was noon. The alarms could go off at any moment, and she needed to be ready. Her gaze shifted from the clock to Cahir, noticing he had fallen asleep.
He was constantly nodding off at work, and sheusuallyfought the urge to throw something at him, but this time she relented. She threw her last mandarin, which hit his forehead, then ricochetedacross the empty room before finally landing with a slight thud in the far corner.
Cahir stirred and looked up at her with a lazy, dimpled smile, his lips and sleepy eyes curling upward. “You actually got me this time.”
“Wake up! You’re going to get us into trouble!” she snapped, jumping up from her uncomfortable seat and giving him a sharp glare.
Cahir chuckled and rubbed his forehead as he looked up at the harsh fluorescent lights, letting out an annoyed groan. He looked back at Seda, and his smile returned.
“Not if I’m caught up,” he replied, his emerald eyes sparkling with mischief.
She sat back down and tapped a random key on her keyboard, the letter multiplying across the screen. “What if we get selected today?”
“I won’t let that happen,” Cahir stated.
She bit her nail. That sounded reassuring, but what could he do? Their names were now in the selection queue.
As Cahir stood up and walked around their shared desk, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them. She closed her eyes, feeling her tension ease as she sank into his warmth, exhaling slowly through her nose.
“Thanks,” she said. Cahir was her best friend and always there to help calm her frayed nerves.
She smiled at herself as she thought about how the mandarin struck his forehead. Usually, he caught the objects she threw before they made contact with him. She really did get him good that time.
They remained in silence as they listened to the subtle ticking of the clock.
