![Oh gosh I totally forgot to brush my chest fur before going out.](/images/panel-1-colored-fixed-lighting-background.png "Oh gosh I totally forgot to brush my chest fur before going out.")

My name is Scarlet Trails. Today I finally got to hear the myth of how the Kyrin people came to be.

![The local pub, Bressol de Gat, is usually a little empty at this time, but it still has enough going on that it's a good place to write.](/images/panel-2-colored-no-character-shading.png "The local pub, Bressol de Gat, is usually a little empty at this time, but it still has enough going on that it's a good place to write.")

"Hark, children of the claw, and learn thy inheritance. The story of Somnos Syrvasyr, the Lord of Dreams, our Father Perpetual. Once he, the greatest of us all, was just as you. Born in times prehistory, his reign was not of destiny, but of choice and sacrifice. Listen to the First Story, and be changed."

My dad told me not to listen to the old myths. So of course, I was ecstatic to have a chance to hear it.

![So strange to think the Rivas and Holith were once our predators.](/images/panel-3-colored.png "So strange to think the Rivas and Holith were once our predators.")

I was surprised to find a performance of The Myth at all, let alone for free, and far less performed by a fellow young adult like me. Her voice was confident and powerful as she recited the lines, and I found myself enthralled.

"Before the time of the first awareness, Kyrin-kind was shattered across the deserts of Kyra, living in ignorance of the destiny that awaited them - in packs, like animals, they roved, calling no place their home. They followed the flood-winds and the prey that chased the blooms of opportunity, family fighting family for a mouthful of food. They cowered when shadows flew above or lurked behind, afraid of becoming prey themselves."

![](/images/panel-4-colored.png)

They were times of ignorance. Ignorance that was soon shattered, our innocence no longer tolerated.

![](/images/panel-5-colored-brown-background.png)

Hatred and animosity for our kin fled in the terror of the blinding light of understanding, and the monsters that brought it.

![](/images/panel-05-colored-scaled.png)

The sun set on a day like any other, full of concerns about territory and food and bravado.

![](/images/panel-06-colored-scaled.png)

And then, there it was. The end.

![](/images/panel-07-colored-scaled.png)

They began devouring everything. The permanence of a mountain, laid bare in a minute. It was unimaginable, it was beyond horror. It was knowledge - knowledge that we were nothing, and that we had no power to stop it.

![](/images/panel-08-colored-scaled.png)

And so in foolishness, we turned to each other, desperate for proof of purpose, howling for a sense of control, seeking comfort in the only way we knew how, in the subjugation of the weak, in the selfish acquisition of meager scraps at the cost of lives and futures, all while territory, prey, and hope diminished.

![](/images/storybook-page-5-2.png)

Hope was lost. For all but one.

![](/images/tippytap-2.png)

He was a nobody. Once a slave, rescued, and freed once more; he was reviled in his tribe because he refused to fight the other tribe that had enslaved him before. He was not against fighting - he was against fighting the wrong enemy. So he left, or was exiled, and faced down the threat that all others ran from. It could not be a victory of flesh - it would have to be a victory of mind.

![](/images/storybook-page-7.png)

Against all odds, against all logic, he challenged the world eaters and found within him a power sufficient to fight, and more importantly, to win. Within him burned a fire that could not be quenched, and from this fire he started a blaze that consumed his enemies, and finally put an end to the thre-"

![](/images/post-slap.png)

"I will *NOT* have lies about *our* history be spread at MY pub - you are permitted to perform to entertain the other guests and to practice your craft, not to spread old-world propaganda."

![](/images/panel-14.png)

"There's a sign and everything! Didn't you see it coming in? Shining as the sun - no politics!"

![](/images/panel-16-final.png)

"Are you sure?"

![](/images/panel-17-final.png)

"Rules are rules - if you want to talk politics, go outside. This is a place of relaxation. You're welcome back when you're done."

![](/images/panel-18-with-stairs-revealed-and-revised-door.png)

"Poor kid, but that's old Grey for you."

"Mom, why is the owner upset?"

> "Us adults don't like stories about the old world, dear - it's best you remember that. She saw the sign and she ignored it, it's her own fault."

![<BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ>](/images/panel-19-updated-texture-and-bag.png "<BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ>")

![The gentle wind blows through the summer grass.](/images/panel-20-with-tears.png)

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine... I guess. Just shaken."

 "Grey's a bit severe, and he's a jerk for kicking you out, but your story was really interesting! You're a great Speaker, and I'd love to hear the rest of it."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it - that's all I can ask for, really. I'd love to tell you how it ends, but I'd have trouble giving it the gravity the next part deserves in my current state."

"Well, you could come visit my house if you'd like, Dad made some cricket bread and tea if you'd like to settle a little."

"Thank you for the offer, really, but that performance was just practice for the main event - are you attending the Festival of Future Faces in the Capitol?"

"Oh! Are you performing there?"

"In one of the smaller venues, not the main stage. But I'll be telling the same story there - with a bit more flair. I'd prefer you see it in its intended spectacle."

"Sure! I'd be happy to attend. You bet I'll be there. I'm going to be writing on the Festival."

"An author?"

"A newspaper editor. I run the Scratching Post."

"The Scratching Post? Local?"

"Yeah, I'm the only employee. Writer, printer, distributor, all of it."

"Then both you and I are one-Wylyr bands, are we? What about your Kelothyn?"

"He's in the Guards. And your Kel-brother?"

"I'm actually an Enyetawyal- I have a birth-sister, not a brother."

"Oh! Some say that's bad luck, but I think you're lucky. Then what does she do? Is she a performer?"

"Hardly, she hates the arts. Thinks I'm wasting my time. She's a researcher in the Capitol - some secret project they have, refuses to share any of it with me. She said she's not allowed to share, but I feel she's simply doesn't trust me with it."

"Aw, sorry. Well, I like you - and if you like me, I'd be happy to be your supportive sister. I'll come to your shows."

"And I'll read your newspaper! I never did catch your name, you are...?"

"Scarlet! Scarlet Trails. Daughter to Silent Stream and Sweet Bramble, father and mother. And you?"

![The mask covers what tears betray.](/images/panel-21-with-tears-and-insignia.png)

"﻿Lilian Frost, Aulosian heritage, and amicably estranged from my family, for the moment. I like you, Scarlet Trails - though our paths have to go their separate ways for now, I earnestly look forward to meeting again when I have a little more time to properly get to know you. Please bring a copy of your newspaper to the festival - I'll happily pay for it. I want to see if your charming character is apparent in your written word as well. 

"﻿Uh, yeah, of course! Listen, Lilian, I mean it - you're a good performer, you have worth, don't leave here feeling like you've failed."

"﻿I shant, because I met you. We'll finish the story of the hero Somnos at the festival - then we'll go for dinner, my treat."

"﻿It's a date!"

"﻿Hah, indeed."

![](/images/panel-22.gif)

S﻿o she left. I wanted to tell her to stay, to insist that she spend the evening at my house, meet my dad, eat a meal away from judgment, but she'd been clear that she wanted some space. I knew that look I could sense underneath her mask; she was alone. Perhaps I was too.

I'd only just met her, but she felt like a kindred spirit, a fellow creative on the cusp of adulthood. Watching her walk away felt like I was watching a sadder version of myself.

I resolved to have a front row seat at her performance in the capitol.

"See you soon, Lilian Frost."

![](/images/panel-23.png)

\|||.﻿..I became your ruler not because I was called, but because I reached out in faith when others had given up on hope. Watch for those who reach out, and grasp on...|||

"﻿See you soon, Scarlet Trails."

![The sun begins to set - the Tree prepares to sleep.](/images/panel-24-alt.png)

"﻿The world seems a little brighter with you around."

![River spray. A quiet breeze. The hum of The Clock.](/images/panel-25.png)

I﻿ was pulled from my thoughts by a shape I spied out of the corner of my eye - in the canal that meandered through the farmland I spotted what appeared to be an abandoned raft - especially curious because it was against The Founding Covenant to litter public water, and if it was meant to be secret, it was not particularly well hidden; just off the beaten path, like it had crashed in place, adrift with no pilot. I smelled a story, or at least, something to make the walk home more interesting.

![](/images/panel-26.png)

A﻿ box! Somebody had been transporting something - but it was like no box I'd ever seen before. The edges were metal! This was suddenly *very very* interesting. So they had been smuggling something! Maybe just the box itself; it was worth enough. And obviously they'd had to abandon it in a rush; there was clearly nobody around - a perfect opportunity to do some investigative journalism. If it was a big enough find, the story would be enough to make a splash, maybe a dent in the loan I'd taken for the printer. There might even be a reward for turning in the contraband!



M﻿y mind was racing with ideas and opportunities and a healthy dose of apprehension. I would have to jump - probably into the water, and into the current. It wasn't *too* fast. I hoped.

![The spray feels refreshing, at least.](/images/panel-27-final-adjusted-timing.gif)

O﻿kay, it looks a lot faster up close. Dry so far.

![](/images/panel-28-with-sigil.png)

L﻿ooking at it much closer, I was amazed. The box's craftsmanship was incredible, unlike anything I'd seen on The Clock - the edges were precise, clean, almost perfect, like it was pulled from the very idea of mathematical beauty. The soft wooden panels were smooth like chiseled stone, and felt just as strong. And most shockingly, the trims were made of metal. Metal! I'd hardly ever seen it, certainly not as much in the same place, spent on something as trivial as a container. This was the find of my young life; this could make my little newspaper actually something worth talking about! Definitely something worth sharing with Lilian next time I saw her.

Only problem was I couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing open...but it gave me time to think. Who had left this? Would I be stealing it if I took it away? No, of course not; they'd abandoned it. Legally I was fine. Though, wait - there was a bounty on metal. If I showed anybody carelessly, it might be taken away from me. If dad found I had it, he'd probably make me turn it in before I could unlock its secrets.

The symbol on the front was particularly interesting - I felt like I'd seen it before, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where. You'd think something so distinct would be pretty easy to remember, but it felt like it was just on the edge of my consciousness. It was alluring...almost like it wanted me to...

![](/images/panel-29-finished-i-think.gif)

.﻿..touch it. Oh!

**\*C﻿LICK\***

![](/images/panel-30.gif)

W﻿oah, uh... Wow. A lot happening here. A gun? Strange plaque. "Firstlight, lastshadow?" Obviously the glowy crystal - it looks like it's been growing towards... Are those *metal coins?* The whole thing on a *yellow* cloth, whoever owned this must've been **really** rich. A cloth scarf that looks similar to the one Lilian wears...And some religious old-world book.

Y﻿eah, uh, dad can't find out about this.

![](/images/panel-31.png)

T﻿his crystal, though - I'd never seen anything like it. The glow was intense, even in the rising daylight, it shone. Touching it felt... immensely empowering, but the crystal itself felt fragile, like glass. It clearly grew from this fancy but otherwise typical pen; what kind of fluid would possibly do this? I pulled on the end of the growth a little, and -

![](/images/panel-32.gif)

*crack*

***O﻿h.***

![](/images/panel-33-resized.gif)

**\*﻿THA-WHOOM\***

![](/images/panel-34.gif)

## *vfwooooooooooooooooooooooo*

*\~tsew\~*

"Wha-"


*thump*

![](/images/panel-36-2.png)

<﻿Flee, before your presence here is discovered and your story ended prematurely. Seek my name, Scarlet Trails. Seek your heritage. Seek the world below.>

![](/images/panel-38.png)

Well, dear Arith, my sweet sister, my Kelothyn; I hate to say I told you, but there's the confirmation of the smuggling you wanted.

It just *had* to be the day before The Feast of Future Faces, didn't it? You're giving the speech now — *I* need to snuff this mess before it gets attention from the world below. The Clock is already out of time, we can't afford a collapse. If any outsider noticed this, it's over.

![](/images/panel-39.png)

"Then all the more important I move quickly. Whoever caused that explosion awoke - you felt it, I felt it. Which means the other factions are on their way. We can't stop a God-killer."

> *T﻿hey fear me, Cricket. They fear what comes after me. They fear that the child may forge a new path, a path of blood.*
>
> *They are right.*

[S] Her name is Scarlet Trails. She'll come to us. My dear, estranged friend ensures it.

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<p class="spoiler">Audio source: the now deleted http://youtube.com/@RV42069/ I'm invoking Tomska's law and hoping that this somehow gets back to the user so I can get in contact - will gladly remove audio if requested by the original creator.</p>

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