The Year of the Lumin

by Andrew Ryan Henke

  Again Asiada started to interject, but Noir spoke over her. “If there is anything to suspect.”

  That seemed to satisfy what she was going to say. “Can you do that for me? They don’t care if you come and go. I am who they want to keep here.”

  She rolled her eyes, obviously thinking he was full of himself again. “Yeah, I’ll do that. You owe me though, Mister Big Shot.”

  “Make sure you are back tomorrow morning. We need to finish Ratt’s armor before we do anything. And the army is supposedly leaving the day after that.”

  ~~~

  As the girl walked away, Noir was sure that he could trust her to do what he asked. He was also surprised how he had been so confident with her. He never remembered talking to anyone like that in his own world, especially a girl.

  Noir dismissed the idea. Now to find Ratt. Noir had no idea where he had gone. He often liked to wander out on his own in the tower, but Noir never really asked where he went.

  Noir was nervous about seeing any Syeters, but he had to search for Ratt. He headed back toward the main chamber. He worried if there was some sort of unknown sye trick to let the Syeters know if he was trying to leave. If the Syeters really were trying to keep him in the tower, they hadn’t shown any signs of it yet.

  Nor thought, “I’m probably only going to be able to leave once. If I come back, they’ll be more careful about making sure I can’t leave.” As he rounded one of the hall corners, he realized what he had said under his breath and shook his head to himself. “That is, if any of this is true. Osarik could be lying to me to fulfill his own agenda.” But deep down, Noir felt that it was true. Osarik’s explanations seemed to fit into the holes too well. Plus, he had known about the digital camera.

  Thinking about the camera brought Noir’s thoughts to his uncle. He really should tell him at least about the camera. Perhaps it might enlighten him to the possibilities of the other Syeters holding information from him. But Noir’s heart sank when he realized what leaving would mean. He knew Steven would want to stay at the tower. He was far too enveloped in his studies there to leave. Steven might leave with him if he told all that he knew. But he might also go to the other Syeters with the information thus causing Noir to never be able to leave.

  Noir came to the door of his converted closet and went inside. He removed the cloth straps of his Luxin cloak and laid it on his bed. “All of this is so not going the way it was supposed to. I was supposed to find Steven and Aimee and just go home.” He sat on the bed. “Now Talik could possibly be destroyed and I don’t even know where Ratt is or what’s going on with him.” He sighed and started to remove the pieces of armor so he could go to bed. However, he knew his thoughts would keep him up for a long time.

  ~~~

  Noir was awoken as his door flung open. Before his eyes could focus, he immediately embraced lux and put up a light barrier while grabbing the sword that was propped against the headboard of his bed.

  Asiada bounced into the room and closed the door behind her. Noir sighed, released his grip on the sword and his light barrier. He let his now wide-awake head fall back onto the lumpy pillow.

  She came in oblivious to Noir’s reaction and sat on the edge of the bed by Noir’s feet. “Man, Asiada. Can't you knock? I almost attacked you like a stragh.”

  “Oh, you’ll live. Anyway, Osarik wasn’t lying about the attack on Talik.”

  That reminded Noir of the situation that had arisen yesterday. He was now focused and sat up again. “So it’s true,” he said to himself. He pulled his legs up to him and sat cross-legged.

  “And the Chiron force is leaving tomorrow. Some said their numbers were near one thousand.”

  Noir grunted at the bad news. That was a lot of soldiers, obscenely greater than what Talik had.

  Asiada continued, “I moved most of my stuff back to my dad's inn this morning. We should be able to leave today after I collect the rest of my stuff.”

  Noir was confused. “Who said you are going?” It came out unintentionally harsh.

  “Hey. What does that mean?” Asiada looked hurt. “Why wouldn’t I come with you guys?”

  “I’m sorry, I just hadn’t thought about it. I don’t know if you can go. I was planning on joining the ranks of the Chiron forces. They might not let a girl in.”

  “Yes they will. Once they discover how strong of a Luxin you are, they’ll agree to any demands you make. Just say I’m your retainer or something. They’ll let me come.”

  Noir laughed. “You’re my retainer? Somehow I don’t think they’re going to buy that.”

  She didn’t seem to think it was funny. “Well, whatever. I’m sure they will let me come if you demand it.”

  “What about Ratt? Have you seen him?”

  “I came straight here after I arrived, so I haven’t checked.”

  “Well could you go—“

  His words were cut off by a knock at the door. Noir and Asiada exchanged confused glances. “What is it?” Noir called out.

  The door opened and Steven, robed in his usual blue Syeter garb, walked in but stopped when he saw the two. He spoke awkwardly as though he hadn't expected the two of them to be together, “Hey, you two. We have to go work on your friend’s armor again. I think if we work for a few hours today and a few tomorrow, we can complete it.”

  Noir and Asiada exchanged glances. “No,” Noir started. “We should finish it today.” He paused, trying to think of a believable reason. “I want to get it done so I can get back to researching the Lumin shrine.”

  The lie seemed to appease Noir’s uncle. “Well, alright. I guess I can do a long day again.” He grabbed the handle on the door as if he was getting ready to leave. “But I’ll get someone to bring a meal to us this time.”

  Asiada said, “That sounds good.”

  Noir asked Steven, “Hey, have you seen Ratt around today?”

  “Yeah. I saw him earlier and I made sure he would be there to work on the armor. I’ll see you two later then?”

  “Okay. See you later, Uncle.”

  Steven gave one last look back and forth between the two of them then left. After the door closed behind Steven, Asiada made toward the door as well. She said, “So I guess it’s settled? We leave tomorrow.”

  Noir rolled his eyes. She conveniently implied that their earlier discussion about her going had been resolved. He accepted it since Asiada’s stubbornness would probably make it impossible to tell her no, anyway. “Yeah, we leave tomorrow. We just have to make sure Ratt is fine with this also.”

  Asiada opened the door. “You get ready and I’ll go try to find him and let him know what’s happening.” She looked around the room with mild disgust as she stood in the doorway. “I was getting sick of this place anyway.”

  Chapter 39

  Plans

  Noir gave himself a quick wash with the fragrant soap and water that was supplied every morning. He always missed his hot showers back home whenever he washed in this manner. Noir donned his Luxin armor and cloak and proceeded down the large ornate halls toward Godo’s enchant workshop.

  Noir’s unease about seeing Ratt after the night before reminded him of seeing Aimee for the first time in a year last Spring. His father had warned him that she had changed since the accident with his leg. Now, Noir felt like things would somehow be different between Ratt and him. He had realized that he truly did not know Ratt on a deeper level. Now that it was coming out, he was unsure of his friend’s more intimate motives and feelings. He greatly enjoyed Ratt’s company and hoped that things would go back to normal. But somehow, like before with Aimee, he knew they wouldn’t.

  Noir traversed the halls looking at them with a different perspective. He knew that it would be one of the last times that he would see them in a long time, if not forever.

  Noir arrived at Godo’s door and heard Steven’s voice and Godo’s gruff accent. Noir pushed open the door and went to the back room where they had spent the entire day before working on Ratt’s armor. Everyone w
as present. Ratt and Asiada sat on the edge of a cluttered desk talking intently together. Godo and Steven were on the other side of the room oblivious to the other’s conversation. The serious look on Ratt’s face told Noir that Asiada had probably informed him of their plans.

  When Noir walked in, Godo greeted him with a big smile “We were waitin' on ya son. Sleeping in, were ya?”

  Noir responded, “Yeah. I had a lazy morning but I’m here now.” He made direct eye contact with Ratt and shot him an intense look in an effort to convey that what he was about to say was directed at him. “So are we ready to start on this? We ready to go?”

  Ratt nodded knowingly, understanding the dual meaning of Noir's question. Godo answered the other meaning, “Yep, everything’s set to start. Not sure why ya want ta do it all today, but we’ll push through an get it done.”

  The five worked together for a few long hours before their lunch was brought to them by one of the tower slaves. The sight of the collared woman’s blank, mindless eyes bothered Noir as it always did.

  Godo asked Ratt many questions about how he wanted the armor crafted. Depending on his answers, Godo would instruct the three to bend and contort the flows of their respective vigors. Like the day before, Asiada was visibly fatigued by the extended use of her chakra. She could not contain a sigh of relief when the meal arrived.

  Ratt was in a serious mood, but he seemed mostly back to his old self. He did not bring up or seem to acknowledge the argument that he and Noir had shared the night before. Also, unlike the day before, he seemed confident and resolute about the armor construction.

  The last piece of armor that needed to be constructed was the helmet. The design was much more open than the full helm of the Azurite Knights. Supposedly Ratt had requested this in the design. It looked like a heavy circlet with two wing-like protrusions on the sides that went down behind the ears.

  The helm was a much more complicated and involved item than the other pieces had been. First, Steven weaved sye in and around the helm. The purpose of this was to block all sye attacks, though Godo said it was impossible to make it perfectly foolproof. The second purpose was to connect the wearer’s mind to the other pieces of armor. Each piece’s vigor function could be activated by thought, though the pieces could be activated by hand if necessary.

  Connecting the pieces took a great amount of patience from all involved. They had to balance and weave in harmony to incorporate all of the different functions of each piece of armor. They developed a system where Noir and Steven would get theirs in place first before adding in Asiada’s weavings of din. This allowed for the girl to utilize her chakra for the least amount of time possible.

  The last piece that they connected to the helm was the leg armor, called greaves. This piece’s purpose was to balance the extreme power and speed that the other pieces enabled.

  Late in the evening the helm seemed to be complete, thus connecting and finishing the entire set of armor. By the end of the process, Noir had begun to understand how the enchants worked. He could tell how the lux that he bound to the armor intertwined with the other two vigors, even though they were invisible to him. If he had more time to spend in the tower, he would have wanted to study more with Godo about making enchants.

  The three let out a collective sigh as they each released their vigor, the intricate weavings set in place. Godo grumbled as his eyes went down a scrawled list. When his eyes got to the bottom, he tapped his finger for punctuation as he said, “Alright. That's jus 'bout everything. Last thing's the test run.”

  As Godo turned to Ratt, Ratt quietly said, “I don't want to test it.”

  Godo spoke as though he had not heard. “Now remember son, this thing is got quite a kick. Start off slow then build up. Now first let's put on the--”

  Ratt interrupted, this time a bit louder, “Godo, I don't want to test it now.”

  Godo's face scrunched into a mask of confusion. “Why not, son?”

  Silence fell and all looked at Ratt. He looked through the others as if he could see outside into the evening sky. “Not now. Not yet.” He refocused on his friends in the room. “Just hold the armor here for now, okay?”

  Godo responded hesitantly, “Well alright, if you want. We should test it now to make sure everything was done correctly, but it's prob'ly fine.”

  “Thank you, Godo.” Ratt turned to the others. “Well, that's it, I guess.”

  Asiada gave a sarcastic sigh. Steven said, “Just use it responsibly, Ratt. Guard Noir with it while he searches for my daughter.”

  Ratt looked away and said, “Yeah, protect Noir. Got it.”

  Steven turned and said to Noir and Asiada, “Well, I have been gone from the sye circle for long enough. Should we call it a night?”

  Asiada and Noir stepped away from the table and looked at Ratt. “Yeah, we have some things to discuss before it gets too late.”

  They all moved to the door. Steven opened it, said goodbye to Godo, and they all stepped out. Before Ratt could leave, Godo stopped him. He grabbed Ratt's hand and squeezed it firmly. Ratt looked confused as Godo said, “Good luck, son. That armor'll serve ya well. Use it wisely.” For the first time since Ratt had known the small round man, his words sounded serious.

  As he walked out, Ratt tried but could not dismiss the odd feeling that Godo somehow knew that they were leaving very soon and knew more about his intentions than anyone else.

  Steven had already walked far down the hall when Ratt exited the workshop. After the door closed, Asiada said, “So what's the plan for tomorrow, boys?”

  Noir looked up and down the hall for listeners. A few slaves carrying food and sheets were shambling down its length. “We should find somewhere quiet.”

  Ratt nodded in agreement. He looked around the hall and took a couple steps forward. “Follow me.”

  He led them down a few doors from the workshop and pulled open a wooden door. Inside was a dark room that smelled dry and dusty.

  “How do you know about this, Ratt?” Noir asked.

  “I'm a snoop; I admit it.” He smiled and walked into the room. It was a small room like the ones that had been converted to their living quarters upstairs. The area was stuffed with wood parts of larger structures, trinkets, and cast-aside pieces of cloth. Ratt reached up and touched the glow sphere hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

  Asiada closed the door behind them and said, “Now, are we set for tomorrow?”

  Ratt put up his hand to stop her. “Wait, how are we suddenly so sure Osarik is telling the truth about everything?”

  “Well, we confirmed the attack on Talik,” Noir said.

  Asiada agreed. “Right. I even went out and asked around. The whole city is talking about it.”

  Ratt sighed. “No, not that. I'm talking about all the other stuff. You know, the whole Syeter conspiracy theory stuff.”

  Noir argued, “But he knew about the camera.”

  “He also tried to attack one of his own men,” Ratt interjected. “Is that someone you trust easily?”

  Noir held out his hands to both sides. “Ratt, it just fits too well.” He held up fingers counting the examples. “The camera, the attack on Talik, the fact that no one around us is talking about the attack on Talik, and the fact that he probably could have killed me right then and there if he had wanted to wear his armor.”

  “It doesn’t fit that well if you ask me.” Noir and Asiada’s defiant looks pressed him on. “What about Steven? Your uncle’s a good guy. He would only want good to come to you.”

  Noir responded, “He’s being held in the dark too.”

  Ratt sighed. “What about this? Remember back when Jotunar said that you have to go search for Aimee and that I should go with you? The Syeters didn’t object.”

  Noir was stumped by that, but Asiada filled in the unanswered question for him. “Well, of course they wouldn’t show their intentions in front of Jotunar and us.”

  Ratt shook his head. “That’s true, but I’m still unsure about it
all.”

  Noir comforted him. “Neither am I. But I am sure about one thing. We have to go help Talik.”

  Ratt looked at the ground in thought. “You’re right about that. Well, for you at least. You’re the dumb one who swore that oath to Grandel that you would return and help the town some day.”

  Asiada announced happily, “So it’s settled. We leave tomorrow.”

  Noir turned to her and said, “Why are you so eager, anyway?”

  Ratt rolled his eyes. “Explain to me why you even agreed to let her come, Noir.”

  Noir looked accusingly at Asiada, “I'm not exactly sure how we agreed on that either.”

  Asiada joked, “It’s because you louts wouldn’t survive a minute without me. And don’t you deny it.”

  Noir cautioned, “No, seriously though, Asiada. This isn’t going to be like taking a picnic. We’re traveling with a Chiron army. This will lead to a real battle. Men will die, Asiada.”

  Ratt leaned against one of the dusty bookshelves and said, “He’s pretty much right.”

  Asiada looked at both of the guys in turn with a pleading look on her face. Then she looked at the ground sadly. She spoke quietly, “You don’t understand. I’ve done nothing in my life so far. Nothing. Now I feel like I am a part of something. I want to come with you, and I can help, too. Plus I feel an odd connection with you two.” She paused, searching for the right words. “It's like I'm supposed to be with you two.”

  Noir said, “But Asiada, if we let just anyone who wanted to come with us do so….” He trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

  Asiada looked up at Noir with a hurt defiance. “Hopefully I am more than just anyone to you by now.”