Devotion - A Holaresh Story

The bell was tolling, calling Runah’s faithful to mourn.
The deep, clanging ring reverberated through every mourner in the Temple of Runah Ascendant. It was a reminder, almost painful, of the somber darkness about to cover not only the jungles of Izchak but the souls of every one of Runah’s Children.
Anguishing over the imminent disappearance of Run from the sky, Laish Valda was bowed down on the cool temple floor. She had been here, in this exact spot, since daybreak.
A small pool of salty water had formed on the flagstones below her face. It filled, dissipated, and filled again throughout the day.
Now, She could feel the moist trail of a tear as it trickled down her nose. It clung precariously for a few moments before dripping onto the floor. It tickled slightly, but Laish barely noticed. She was consumed by her devotion.
It was Taknoz, the longest night of the year and the second holiest in the Imperial Calendar. Every faithful Traazorite had gathered at the Temple of Runah Ascendant, the largest building in Taklep, to mark the sun's passing and to mourn and pray throughout the longest period of darkness during the year.
The Day before Taknoz, the Temple was packed with the faithful. Since their Sunrise devotions, they had been here, singing hymns and praying to Runah before He disappeared for the long night.
Some believed He battled the powers of the Moons on this darkest night. Others believed Taknoz to be the night where Runah rested, gathering His holy powers to lead His people for the rest of the year. The official stance of High Priest Palzen Hadad leaves no place for rest for their god, so the theme of cosmic battle was strong in the homilies of the Sun Priests that day.
Now, the Time of Darkness was approaching. Laish joined the assembly in singing hymns, each hymn becoming more loud and desperate as sunset approached.
“Why must you leave, Lord? Where must you go? Will you return soon? Please show your glow!
And if you stay gone, Lord, Guard me from afar. Shield me from darkness, From the light of the Stars!”
She looked out the western portico of the temple, open over Taklep’s Rishas. She saw the sun’s light diminishing. The tears came again.
The sun seemed to grow in size as it sank lower in the sky, moving closer and closer to the triple canopy of the dense jungle west beyond the city walls.
Even with a central yellow Sunstone releasing the light of Runah upon the congregation, the darkness of the outside world began to creep around them. Shadows overtook them and converged with the light, growing faint and diffused in the glow of the Sunstone.
Anguish gripped the congregation. Some wailed openly, their cries masking the Sun Priest as he led and admonished his supplicants from the Dais of Light in the middle of the Western Portico.
When the last glimmer of the sun began to disappear behind the high triple canopy of the Izchaki jungle, High Priest Palzen Hadad ascended the Dais of the Sun and led the congregation in the Petitions of Return. Laish joined, her voice utterly drowned out by those around her wailing and beseeching their god.
Thousands of voices droned around her, chanting slowly in a trance-inducing tone, accompanied only by the clear and lifeless peeling of the domed bronze bell atop the temple.
Together, they called to Runah through time and space - fervently praying that he would defeat the long dark of that day and imploring him to return to them in the morning.
Do not Abandon us, Bright King! Do not withdraw your radiance! Do not leave us to the ravages of the moons! Do not make us wander blindly under the stars!
You are the light by which we see! You are the light by which we work! You are the light by which we live! Without your light, we are lost!
Return to us, Runah! Return to us, and we promise our faithfulness! Return to us, and we promise our obedience! Return to us, and we promise to be your soldiers!
Do not forsake us in this shadowy perdition! Return your light and guidance to us! You are the only god we need! Do not leave us without your brilliance!
The final petition had been recited. The final gleam of holy light fell behind the shadowed canopy.
Silence swallowed the congregation. They were still, not daring to look up as their god vanished from sight.
Over them, the loud and ominous clang of the bell sounded.
Again.
And again.
As though the very voice of the ancient stone temple cried out to Runah as He abandoned His people for Toknar.
The bell peeled one final time.
And then there was darkness.
Runah was gone, His dimming light blending dark purple and orange through the sky like the fading pollen of jungle flowers.
The faithful collectively held their breath for a long moment. All things had gone silent. It seemed that even the earth had grown quiet in Runah’s absence.
The moment of silence protracted. The Priests let this moment go on, let the eerie quiet fill each person’s mind with the absence of Runah and the threat that He may not return but for the prayers and admonitions of His people.
The Time of Vigil had come.
For the next eleven hours, the faithful of Runah would stay here, clinging to the lifeless stone floor and lifting their mournful petitions. Well, the men would, anyway.
At long last, in hushed, almost whispered tones, the High Priest on his dais instructed the women and children of the assembly to quietly rise and exit the building. The safety of their homes and children was in their hands, he quietly reminded them.
Laish stood, taking care not to bump into any of the other people around her. Aharza, her husband of ten years, kneeled on the floor next to where she stood, lost in his world of mourning and devotion. He didn’t acknowledge Laish’s movement in any way, staying face down to the floor in silence.
Laish stepped into the empty flagstones between rows of kneeling and prostrated worshippers and quietly walked toward a larger row from which she could exit the western portico of the temple and find her way down to the street.
The other women and children of the congregation followed. Heads hung low, tears streaming from their eyes; they shuffled down the rows toward the portico exits. Occasional sniffles and low whimpering sobs could be heard as they separated from the congregation.
During the Time of Vigil, the men and women of the congregation had very different tasks. The men would stay in the temple all night to sing, pray, and chant. The Sun Priests led them as they spiritually contended for Runah to defeat the forces of starlight and moonlight.
The women, on the other hand, had the important task of securing the household against the powers of darkness. They would return to their homes, put their children to bed, ward them with prayers, and get to work.
Laish and Aharza had no children, so she could get about her real task as soon as she got home. As she headed down the stairs among the throng of women and children, she looked forward to getting home and getting to work.
Stepping through the doors onto the street on the east side of the temple, Laish was surprised by the level of activity. Fires of varying sizes could be seen everywhere. A bright glow illuminated the theatre, and the smoke rising from it glowed orange, reflecting its hazy light off the surrounding buildings.
A small patrol of soldiers dressed in green and red uniforms passed by, their armor clanging as they marched. Similar groups were nearby. Yelled orders and stomping footsteps gave away their positions on nearby streets.
The worshippers exiting the temple kept silent, staying in small groups for protection as they made their way back through town.
Most headed north and east into the upper-class Traazorite and merchant neighborhoods. The rest, Laish included, headed west toward the Risha, the beating heart of the Izchaki community in Taklep.
There was no talking on the way back from Taknoz services. No gossiping, frivolity, or planning as was the case after sunrise services each morning. The night was something every faithful Runah worshipper took seriously. Tonight, among all nights of the year, Laish knew it was to be treated with extra caution.
The twin moons, so recently both full, were up and chasing the dying glow of the setting sun away. They were heavy reminders of the evil the Sun Priests had been warning about all day. It hurried most to their houses, eager to get out of the dark and light candles to ward against its evils.
Laish kept a steady pace, staying with the main group as it headed through the Risha.
Head down and silent, Laish followed a large group of women past the tall, thick walls that separated the Imperial Ring and the Life Ring of the city. They reached the gate, the ancient stone portal to the Risha.
Each Risha was a small farm with a home or homes for a family. Each Risha had a small road around it and ditches that filled with water when it rained or when the river overflowed its banks. These helped water the Risha and drain floodwaters safely through the city.
Izchaki families had been living here and farming the land safe from the jungle's predators for millennia - long before the Traazorites had come. Even before the Krai Jan had oppressed their people. Through it all, the Risha stood as a testament to the will and strength of the Izchaki people.
Stepping through the gate, Laish could see the next phase of Taknoz had begun. In the absence of Runah, fire was used to ward off the moonlight. Runah’s people showed their faithfulness by keeping fires lit throughout the Taknoz of his absence. This was known as The Lighting.
Inside houses, candles were lit and placed in every window. These candles would burn until morning, keeping the darkness from the house and giving Runah a light to come back to. On the Risha of the faithful, large bonfires were often lit as well. In richer neighborhoods, The Lighting had become something of a status symbol, with people building larger and larger bonfires to show both their devotion and their resources.
As Laish walked toward her Risha, she could already see fires being lit all around her. Her Risha was near the back wall in the southwest corner of the city. As she got closer to it, more and more women and children silently split off from the group she traveled with, each hurrying toward their own family’s farm.
Finally, she stood before her own home, a simple stone building that Aharza and her shared. Laisha opened the front door, stepped through, and shut the door behind her.
With no light, the darkness of her home surrounded her.
And she welcomed it.
She sank back against the door, and let out a long, ragged breath that had been building within her since she left that morning for the temple. Her heart was racing so fast and so loudly that she could not believe those around her could not hear it. She breathed heavily, as though she had been running a race.
And in a way, she had.
The pretending was finally over, for today at least. Laish found lying was the hardest part of all of this whole thing. She wasn’t sure she could keep a double life for long.
She put her hand to her face, covering her dark eyes, and took one more deep, centering breath.
“You have work to do.” She muttered to herself.
She forced herself from the door. Moving to a small table, she grabbed the candles she had purchased yesterday at the Taknoz Market and took them to the fireplace, where embers from her fire this morning lit them. She placed them, without much thought or care, in every window.
With her duties done and her cover in place, she flung her purple and yellow cloak onto the floor. The simple garment of imported Traazorite cloth marked her as a convert to Runah Rusaich - Runah Ascendant. All of the Izchans who converted wore them to the Temple - The Traazorites loved to see the fruits of their evangelistic efforts among her people.
She slowly opened the back door of her house and snuck out onto the flagstone patio that lay behind her home. It was almost completely dark behind her house, and she stood still for a few minutes to let her eyes adjust.
When she did, she walked over to a clay pot with a Rockberry bush growing from it. With both hands, she grasped the large container and rolled it out of the way. She then kicked over a flagstone hidden under the pot. The rock came up with the ease of many uses.
Laish reached into the dark ground. She felt her cloak and the hilt of her sword. She pulled both out as quietly as she could and laid them on the ground next to her. Next, she replaced the rock over her hiding place and gingerly rolled the pot back into its place.
Standing back up, Laish wrapped the cloak around her. It was never cold in Izchak, not even in winter. The cloak wasn’t to keep the chill out - it was to keep the jungle out. A good cloak could take the brunt of a Shudderfern expulsion or just keep the pesky bloodflies away.
Bottom line, it was essential for traveling in the jungle.
Next, she grabbed her sword. She grabbed its belt and sheath, pulling it around her waist and buckling it in a comfortable place. She risked unsheathing the blade for just a moment, savoring the sound of it being pulled from its scabbard.
She looked at it for a moment, admired the way the moonslight played off its blade, and wondered if she would have to use it tonight. She didn’t know, but she was certain she was ready to.
She looked beyond the dark gardens of her Risha to the outer wall beyond it. It was away from the other homes adjacent to hers. She moved quickly toward it, knowing her footfalls would not be heard by noisy, pious neighbors.
Along the wall, Laish followed the shallow trough that usually carried water to and away from the Rishas’ fields. The soft ground squished slightly under her feet until she slowed down. She approached one of the drains in the wall, where the water was diverted through the wall and out of the city.
Laish didn’t see the shadowy figure by the sluice at the base of the wall until she nearly fell over her.
“Ve sha des tentula gihar.” A strong voice spoke from the darkness.
“The sun will rise tomorrow.” From anyone else in Taklep, the phrase was a reassuring reminder that Runah was coming back in the morning. From the shadowy figure by the drain, it was something completely different.
Laish replied swiftly, knowing her life’s remaining time was measured in seconds if she did not answer.
“Gan ve sha doshala rabe ve shilti - But the sun is eclipsed by the moons.”
The Shadowy figure stood quickly, moving in and embracing Laish.
“Welcome, sister.” The voice said warmly. “Are you ready?”
Laish was.
Today had been the biggest act of her life. Anything less would have drawn the kind of attention that could have endangered her and her sisters. Laish had channeled a person she no longer was, a person so blindly devoted to Runah that she could not see the slavery she and those around her were in. It almost scared her that she had pulled it off.
Sure - there were plenty of Izchaki freedom fighters, especially in the tribes in the deep jungles to the south. But in Taklep, there was little resistance. The Traazorites were in charge, but they provided jobs and an economy that kept the Izchaki from starving. For most, life had even improved, especially if you converted.
But, however comfortable it was - it was still oppression. And Laish knew that now.
Hakari Danra had helped her see the truth and had given her the power to do something about it. A power that she and her sisters would exercise tonight.
She could not have gotten through the day pretending had it not been for the promise of tonight.
Traazorites feared the night. They avoided it as much as they could, knowing they were more powerful in the light. Without Runah to illuminate the world for them, without Runah to empower them - the dark scared them.
After tonight, they would be terrified of it.
Tonight, the sisters of the Eclipse, led by Hakari Danra, would strike a blow so hard that the oppressors would talk about it for years to come. They would forever fear the dark and know that they were vulnerable. They would look back on this night as the beginning of their end. Soon they would fear the day as well.
And Laish Valda would help strike that blow.
Through the dark drain was the other side of Taklep’s Outer Wall. There, the rest of Laish’s sisters, and the revolution, awaited.