I Capture the Sun
My first attempt at Original Slash Fiction. If you don't know what that is, do not read =D
"I Capture the Sun"--pg-13, for language, suggested situations, and minor gore (not so much in the first chapter). The basic story is about a corrupt government made of the Magi, a race of humanoids with the capacity for magic ruling over the 'lower' humans. A Leader of the Magi questions everything he was ever taught, a half-Magi finds out who exactly he is, and a human baby starts the end of an era with a smile.
Go ahead and read!
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I Capture the Sun//Chapter One
Written by: Blushingivory
There was none more dangerous that the Leader of Silver Wing in a bad mood. Thought his height was average and his build slender, a power seemed to radiate from him where he stood in the middle of the crowded room with an absolute composure and presence. His eyes were pure ice. “Let us get to the point,” he said, a dangerous gentleness lacing his voice, “Who was it that let something like this happen?”
Of the Silver Wing troop around him, only a blonde youth at his right dared to meet his eyes. He walked out of the group with caution but no fear. Then he dropped on one knee. “Leader Suren, sir,” he said.
“Wren,” Suren said, a bit of hesitation in his voice; “Do not tell me this was your fault.”
Wren looked up, brushed his long bangs out of his eyes. He looked back at the crowd. A small sigh escaped his lips, too quiet for Suren to pick up. This was going to get messy. He didn’t want to be the one to reveal a troop member in a Rejection, but at the same time he would not lie to Suren.
The others in the room shuddered. A girl with a bright blue crew cut took an involuntary step back. A man with a scar through one eye glanced at her, “Aara,” he warned under his breath, but she ignored him. “Aara, get a hold of yourself!” he hissed.
“Wren, I command you to answer me.”
Aara couldn’t control her desperate whimper. She had been the one. She hadn’t been diligent. Rikou, Aara, and Wren had been assigned to destroy the Family of the Sun. She hadn’t meant to go against Leader Suren’s orders. But how the hell was she supposed to know that damn woman had hidden a baby away? It had been her bad luck that woman was part of her cleaning section, the bitch.
The blond boy bowed his head, “My Leader, the failure lies with--”
“Me. It lies with me.”
Aara’s eyes widened with shock, turning towards her scared companion. “Rikou!”
“Is that so?” The Leader of Silver Wing said. He walked to the man, the others falling out of his way, scampering into the dark shadows and out of his view. Only Rikou, Aara, and Wren were left.
Wren glanced at Rikou. “Sir…” he started.
“No, Wren, I am aware that he lied.”
The blond man tensed at the coldness in their Leader’s voice. Rikou turned pale, and he stepped protectively in front of Aara. Aara herself almost fainted.
“Aara,” Suren said, his voice soft, “I am sorry that it ends this way.”
“No, sir, no! It was me!” Rikou screamed, the scar a vivid purple against the stark white of his skin. His fear was so tangible he could smell it, Wren noticed. This was really, really bad. It looked like Rikou and Aara had been involved, not just the on-and-off lovers that most of Silver Wing had thought they were. And to think today had not meant to end in tragedy; he, Rikou, and Aara had been certain they’d done exactly as they had been ordered. It was only when they’d gotten safely back home that they’d found out one tiny little baby had gotten away. All this over a Sun child… Wren frowned. What was the importance of that family to Suren? Why was he so afraid of the baby? Did the child hold some potential threat for the High Government? ‘Leaving a baby alive’… bullshit, Suren was a kind Leader and unusually forgiving for his station. That was, after all, why his loyal troops were shocked. Calling a Rejection Ceremony was almost alien in Silver Wing though other wings of the High Government went through troop members like they were tissues, as if they looked for reasons to get rid of members.
“Wren?” Suren asked, turning to the youth.
Why did you have to put this on me? Wren wondered. Her death will now be my fault. That’s how the others will view it. But I can only do what you ask. Maybe it will be better this way, maybe I can protect you from any scorn. He nodded and answered.
“It was Aara,” he admitted. As he’d thought, the crowd of them turned to glare at him. He’d not be a popular member of the troop for a while… not like he blamed them.
“I see,” Suren turned towards the two partners. He looked tired for a small moment, trapped. But the lines on his brow smoothed and his eyes turned cold to hide whatever he was feeling. He raised his hand.
The woman shuddered but walked to him. This time Rikou did nothing but close his eyes as Aara joined their Leader and Wren in the center of the circle. The youth put his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady-and Suren put his hand on Aara’s brow, where the wing tattoo had been put when she joined. It glowed faintly as his fingers touched her skin and for a moment it looked like Aara was lifted to float a little above the floor... then she collapsed. Wren caught her before she could hit her head on the floor, Not that it matters now. She was gone, eyes open and glassy. It had been a quick death that only someone as strong in focus and mind could magic for her, a tribute to both Suren’s power and his kindness.
Wren lifted her up in his arms and turned to carry her out, but Rikou had finally snapped upon seeing his partner’s death. He rushed forward, fist glowing as he gathered his power in what looked like a mortal blow-that is, if Wren couldn’t block it in time. The blond cursed. He couldn’t protect himself unless he could find a way to put down Aara’s body and gather a shield of power before Rikou got to him-even he wasn’t that fast, protégée or no.
But he need not have worried. Suren got between the enraged Rikou and Wren, catching the man’s fist and stopping it. His dark purple magic rushed out and pushed back the red-orange magic of the attacker, blotting it out and then disappearing into Rikou’s skin. The man gasped and went tense, then fell backward in a faint. Suren frowned and reached out, managing to catch him. Then his eyes went to the rest of the room, to the crowd of troops that had been watching-with that one look, they snapped to attention and Rikou’s friends stepped forward to take the unconscious man back to his room.
The Rejection was over.
The blond youth watched silently as the rest of the Silver Wing cleared out. Only then did his Leader drop his calm composure. Suren’s shoulders fell and he shuddered, turning to look at Wren. The magic he’d cast had affected his power source greatly-it was hard to create a death spell that caused no suffering to the one it killed. On top of that, he’d protected Wren right afterwards, without letting his energies gather. His second in command could see that had taken much more out of him than he’d let his troops know.
The younger man sighed. “Please rest Suren. I will take care of her,” Wren said. He could drop the idiotic formalities with the rest of the troops gone from the room. He’d never enjoyed saying ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ or anything like that… he would have done it if Suren had commanded, but Suren had told him it was nice to have someone around who would treat him as a human being. So Wren did, when he could.
Suren shook his head, and smiled. “I’m afraid it’s required for me to take her,” he said, “Though I appreciate your concern.” As the Leader of the Silver Wing, he was required to bring those he banished forward to the council before they buried them. It was more a formality than anything, the council always knew ahead of time about any Banishing Ceremonies.
Wren scowled. “I vowed to protect you. It’s a little more than concern!”
But the man just laughed and ruffled the youth's hair. Wren’s scowl grew.
“I’ll just go with you then,” he snapped.
Suren laughed again.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Suren said, eyes sparkling with mirth, “You’re just a very predictable person, Wren.”
He didn’t try to order him to go back with the others, though. The youth frowned. That meant that the Leader was more tired than he let on… usually he tried to keep his troops, especially Wren, away from the old council. He didn’t trust the council. If he was letting him come with him, he must have used up more energy than Wren had guessed.
Not that the youth was complaining. He had made a vow as soon as he met Suren that he would protect him from anything-and, though he couldn’t force his Leader back to bed to rest, he could at least come with him. The old grannies at the council probably wouldn’t be much of a threat but one never knew. There must be a reason that Suren disliked them?
They walked in quiet down the hall. Wren would never get over how the High Government building looked; top quality of everything, and always so polished and clean. He could see his own face reflected back at him in the wooden floors they walked on. He shifted poor Aara’s body in his hands as they walked, frowning. Nothing could hurt the High Government, least of all a mere babe of a human family. They were too powerful, too well protected. Then… then what had this all been about? He trusted Suren more than anybody in the world, but he still could not understand what had made their leader act so out of character.
“… Suren,” He said.
“Yes?”
Wren sighed. This was not a question he was allowed to ask, but he couldn’t help it.
“Why did we… what did she do?” He said, looking up at his Leader.
The tired, old quality suddenly was back in Suren’s eyes. He did not answer, and the silence became heavy and miserable between them. Wren looked back down at Aara and bit his lip. Shit. That had been the wrong thing to ask, and he’d known so before he’d even opened his stupid mouth. He hadn’t wanted him to get angry at him… the sad, tired slope of his shoulders was worse though. Wren wished vehemently that he could take back what he’d asked.
The rest of the walk was tense. When they arrived at the huge doors that opened to the Council Chamber, however, Suren broke the silence. He put a hand on Wren’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. The youth’s quick eyes picked up the tiny bit of magic… a truth spell. A spike of fear went through him; Suren surely was not that upset that he had thought Wren had lied to him durning the Rejection?
“Do you trust me?” Suren asked.
Wren glanced up, startled. Was he forgiven then? “Of course,” he said.
The man’s smile grew.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, “And you mustn’t get angry at me.” His grin got wider.
The youth took a step back. “Eh? What are you going to do?”
Suren laughed, but he didn’t answer. He put a hand on the door and power flashed out, a deep rumbling noise sounding out through the hall. When he drew back there was a purple handprint where he’d laid his hand-it wavered, than vanished as the door opened to allow him in.
“Come, Wren.”
The blonde youth hurried after him as Suren entered the dark chamber, glancing around. He couldn’t tell how wide the chamber was with all this darkness. How did a council work in the shadows like this? It seemed a bit unlikely they could get anything done. Wren shuddered, pulling his arms close to him; he’d never liked the dark. But he did trust his Leader and followed steadily behind.
“It has been a while Leader of the Silver Wing, Suren. And… how delightful, you’ve brought along your little pet.” Someone chuckled in the darkness.
Wren glared in the vague direction from where the voice had come, but his Leader put a calming hand on his shoulder. Biting his tongue, the youth turned his attention to the ground. He could feel that there was something beneath his feet even if he could not see it. But the darkness was doing funny things to his brain-he almost thought for a minute like he was floating in space, on some dark corner of the universe where stars had forgotten how to shine. He shuddered.
“Greetings council,” His Leader’s voice snapped him out of that train of thought. “We are honored that you have let us join you.”
“Of course, of course,” The voice said.
“Unfortunately it is not all good news.”
There was a sound like someone had licked their lips, a sickening slurp, and an eager “Ah?”
Wren tensed. The council already knew what had happened, it was nothing to be pleased about. What twisted creatures they were…
Suren did not sound surprised, only resigned. “Yes. I held a Rejection Ceremony,” he announced, “I have brought Aara of Silver Wing rejected before your council. I beg your approval of this most difficult decision.”
They laughed at his eloquent speech; the words were traditional but not necessary. It was getting harder for the youth to hold his tongue instead of defending his Leader as he wanted to, but he pressed his nails into the palms of his hands and managed somehow.
“Very well. We were wondering when you’d grow balls, Suren.”
“Yes, we are pleased that you’ve tossed that soft heart of yours and dedicated yourself more fully to the Government,” A new voice cackled.
Someone snorted, “Shall we see you here more often, then? We’ve missed you.”
Wren focused on Aara’s body in his hands and glared at the invisible floor. He wanted to do nothing more in his life right now, than he wanted to bash the old batty council's heads in. How dare they!
Suren ignored the comments. He said, “Aara failed in her mission. A child of the House of Sun was left breathing in the human world.”
The council’s laughter abruptly ceased. The temperature in the room fell into ice, and no one spoke for a moment. They knew of this as well… Wren started to think that if the council was this upset over that kid then it was a worse mess than he had thought. Only potential danger to the council got that bunch upset. He gulped. The whole lot that’d been commanded to kill the House of Sun and failed could have been rejected… including him, he realized; they would have been under any other Leader, but Suren was merciful and understanding. He glanced up to try and see what his Leader was doing, but everything was covered in shadow and he didn’t even know where the man was.
“I see. What do you plan to do about this, Leader of the Silver Wing?”
There was a pause. Then, “I will send Wren of Silver Wing to the human world to finish the job. He is my most trusted follower, and my powerful protégé. He will get the job done.”
Wren gasped. Wait… what?
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Please, reviews would make my day! But be easy on me... this is my first attempt.
"I Capture the Sun"--pg-13, for language, suggested situations, and minor gore (not so much in the first chapter). The basic story is about a corrupt government made of the Magi, a race of humanoids with the capacity for magic ruling over the 'lower' humans. A Leader of the Magi questions everything he was ever taught, a half-Magi finds out who exactly he is, and a human baby starts the end of an era with a smile.
Go ahead and read!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I Capture the Sun//Chapter One
Written by: Blushingivory
There was none more dangerous that the Leader of Silver Wing in a bad mood. Thought his height was average and his build slender, a power seemed to radiate from him where he stood in the middle of the crowded room with an absolute composure and presence. His eyes were pure ice. “Let us get to the point,” he said, a dangerous gentleness lacing his voice, “Who was it that let something like this happen?”
Of the Silver Wing troop around him, only a blonde youth at his right dared to meet his eyes. He walked out of the group with caution but no fear. Then he dropped on one knee. “Leader Suren, sir,” he said.
“Wren,” Suren said, a bit of hesitation in his voice; “Do not tell me this was your fault.”
Wren looked up, brushed his long bangs out of his eyes. He looked back at the crowd. A small sigh escaped his lips, too quiet for Suren to pick up. This was going to get messy. He didn’t want to be the one to reveal a troop member in a Rejection, but at the same time he would not lie to Suren.
The others in the room shuddered. A girl with a bright blue crew cut took an involuntary step back. A man with a scar through one eye glanced at her, “Aara,” he warned under his breath, but she ignored him. “Aara, get a hold of yourself!” he hissed.
“Wren, I command you to answer me.”
Aara couldn’t control her desperate whimper. She had been the one. She hadn’t been diligent. Rikou, Aara, and Wren had been assigned to destroy the Family of the Sun. She hadn’t meant to go against Leader Suren’s orders. But how the hell was she supposed to know that damn woman had hidden a baby away? It had been her bad luck that woman was part of her cleaning section, the bitch.
The blond boy bowed his head, “My Leader, the failure lies with--”
“Me. It lies with me.”
Aara’s eyes widened with shock, turning towards her scared companion. “Rikou!”
“Is that so?” The Leader of Silver Wing said. He walked to the man, the others falling out of his way, scampering into the dark shadows and out of his view. Only Rikou, Aara, and Wren were left.
Wren glanced at Rikou. “Sir…” he started.
“No, Wren, I am aware that he lied.”
The blond man tensed at the coldness in their Leader’s voice. Rikou turned pale, and he stepped protectively in front of Aara. Aara herself almost fainted.
“Aara,” Suren said, his voice soft, “I am sorry that it ends this way.”
“No, sir, no! It was me!” Rikou screamed, the scar a vivid purple against the stark white of his skin. His fear was so tangible he could smell it, Wren noticed. This was really, really bad. It looked like Rikou and Aara had been involved, not just the on-and-off lovers that most of Silver Wing had thought they were. And to think today had not meant to end in tragedy; he, Rikou, and Aara had been certain they’d done exactly as they had been ordered. It was only when they’d gotten safely back home that they’d found out one tiny little baby had gotten away. All this over a Sun child… Wren frowned. What was the importance of that family to Suren? Why was he so afraid of the baby? Did the child hold some potential threat for the High Government? ‘Leaving a baby alive’… bullshit, Suren was a kind Leader and unusually forgiving for his station. That was, after all, why his loyal troops were shocked. Calling a Rejection Ceremony was almost alien in Silver Wing though other wings of the High Government went through troop members like they were tissues, as if they looked for reasons to get rid of members.
“Wren?” Suren asked, turning to the youth.
Why did you have to put this on me? Wren wondered. Her death will now be my fault. That’s how the others will view it. But I can only do what you ask. Maybe it will be better this way, maybe I can protect you from any scorn. He nodded and answered.
“It was Aara,” he admitted. As he’d thought, the crowd of them turned to glare at him. He’d not be a popular member of the troop for a while… not like he blamed them.
“I see,” Suren turned towards the two partners. He looked tired for a small moment, trapped. But the lines on his brow smoothed and his eyes turned cold to hide whatever he was feeling. He raised his hand.
The woman shuddered but walked to him. This time Rikou did nothing but close his eyes as Aara joined their Leader and Wren in the center of the circle. The youth put his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady-and Suren put his hand on Aara’s brow, where the wing tattoo had been put when she joined. It glowed faintly as his fingers touched her skin and for a moment it looked like Aara was lifted to float a little above the floor... then she collapsed. Wren caught her before she could hit her head on the floor, Not that it matters now. She was gone, eyes open and glassy. It had been a quick death that only someone as strong in focus and mind could magic for her, a tribute to both Suren’s power and his kindness.
Wren lifted her up in his arms and turned to carry her out, but Rikou had finally snapped upon seeing his partner’s death. He rushed forward, fist glowing as he gathered his power in what looked like a mortal blow-that is, if Wren couldn’t block it in time. The blond cursed. He couldn’t protect himself unless he could find a way to put down Aara’s body and gather a shield of power before Rikou got to him-even he wasn’t that fast, protégée or no.
But he need not have worried. Suren got between the enraged Rikou and Wren, catching the man’s fist and stopping it. His dark purple magic rushed out and pushed back the red-orange magic of the attacker, blotting it out and then disappearing into Rikou’s skin. The man gasped and went tense, then fell backward in a faint. Suren frowned and reached out, managing to catch him. Then his eyes went to the rest of the room, to the crowd of troops that had been watching-with that one look, they snapped to attention and Rikou’s friends stepped forward to take the unconscious man back to his room.
The Rejection was over.
The blond youth watched silently as the rest of the Silver Wing cleared out. Only then did his Leader drop his calm composure. Suren’s shoulders fell and he shuddered, turning to look at Wren. The magic he’d cast had affected his power source greatly-it was hard to create a death spell that caused no suffering to the one it killed. On top of that, he’d protected Wren right afterwards, without letting his energies gather. His second in command could see that had taken much more out of him than he’d let his troops know.
The younger man sighed. “Please rest Suren. I will take care of her,” Wren said. He could drop the idiotic formalities with the rest of the troops gone from the room. He’d never enjoyed saying ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ or anything like that… he would have done it if Suren had commanded, but Suren had told him it was nice to have someone around who would treat him as a human being. So Wren did, when he could.
Suren shook his head, and smiled. “I’m afraid it’s required for me to take her,” he said, “Though I appreciate your concern.” As the Leader of the Silver Wing, he was required to bring those he banished forward to the council before they buried them. It was more a formality than anything, the council always knew ahead of time about any Banishing Ceremonies.
Wren scowled. “I vowed to protect you. It’s a little more than concern!”
But the man just laughed and ruffled the youth's hair. Wren’s scowl grew.
“I’ll just go with you then,” he snapped.
Suren laughed again.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Suren said, eyes sparkling with mirth, “You’re just a very predictable person, Wren.”
He didn’t try to order him to go back with the others, though. The youth frowned. That meant that the Leader was more tired than he let on… usually he tried to keep his troops, especially Wren, away from the old council. He didn’t trust the council. If he was letting him come with him, he must have used up more energy than Wren had guessed.
Not that the youth was complaining. He had made a vow as soon as he met Suren that he would protect him from anything-and, though he couldn’t force his Leader back to bed to rest, he could at least come with him. The old grannies at the council probably wouldn’t be much of a threat but one never knew. There must be a reason that Suren disliked them?
They walked in quiet down the hall. Wren would never get over how the High Government building looked; top quality of everything, and always so polished and clean. He could see his own face reflected back at him in the wooden floors they walked on. He shifted poor Aara’s body in his hands as they walked, frowning. Nothing could hurt the High Government, least of all a mere babe of a human family. They were too powerful, too well protected. Then… then what had this all been about? He trusted Suren more than anybody in the world, but he still could not understand what had made their leader act so out of character.
“… Suren,” He said.
“Yes?”
Wren sighed. This was not a question he was allowed to ask, but he couldn’t help it.
“Why did we… what did she do?” He said, looking up at his Leader.
The tired, old quality suddenly was back in Suren’s eyes. He did not answer, and the silence became heavy and miserable between them. Wren looked back down at Aara and bit his lip. Shit. That had been the wrong thing to ask, and he’d known so before he’d even opened his stupid mouth. He hadn’t wanted him to get angry at him… the sad, tired slope of his shoulders was worse though. Wren wished vehemently that he could take back what he’d asked.
The rest of the walk was tense. When they arrived at the huge doors that opened to the Council Chamber, however, Suren broke the silence. He put a hand on Wren’s shoulder and gave him a small smile. The youth’s quick eyes picked up the tiny bit of magic… a truth spell. A spike of fear went through him; Suren surely was not that upset that he had thought Wren had lied to him durning the Rejection?
“Do you trust me?” Suren asked.
Wren glanced up, startled. Was he forgiven then? “Of course,” he said.
The man’s smile grew.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, “And you mustn’t get angry at me.” His grin got wider.
The youth took a step back. “Eh? What are you going to do?”
Suren laughed, but he didn’t answer. He put a hand on the door and power flashed out, a deep rumbling noise sounding out through the hall. When he drew back there was a purple handprint where he’d laid his hand-it wavered, than vanished as the door opened to allow him in.
“Come, Wren.”
The blonde youth hurried after him as Suren entered the dark chamber, glancing around. He couldn’t tell how wide the chamber was with all this darkness. How did a council work in the shadows like this? It seemed a bit unlikely they could get anything done. Wren shuddered, pulling his arms close to him; he’d never liked the dark. But he did trust his Leader and followed steadily behind.
“It has been a while Leader of the Silver Wing, Suren. And… how delightful, you’ve brought along your little pet.” Someone chuckled in the darkness.
Wren glared in the vague direction from where the voice had come, but his Leader put a calming hand on his shoulder. Biting his tongue, the youth turned his attention to the ground. He could feel that there was something beneath his feet even if he could not see it. But the darkness was doing funny things to his brain-he almost thought for a minute like he was floating in space, on some dark corner of the universe where stars had forgotten how to shine. He shuddered.
“Greetings council,” His Leader’s voice snapped him out of that train of thought. “We are honored that you have let us join you.”
“Of course, of course,” The voice said.
“Unfortunately it is not all good news.”
There was a sound like someone had licked their lips, a sickening slurp, and an eager “Ah?”
Wren tensed. The council already knew what had happened, it was nothing to be pleased about. What twisted creatures they were…
Suren did not sound surprised, only resigned. “Yes. I held a Rejection Ceremony,” he announced, “I have brought Aara of Silver Wing rejected before your council. I beg your approval of this most difficult decision.”
They laughed at his eloquent speech; the words were traditional but not necessary. It was getting harder for the youth to hold his tongue instead of defending his Leader as he wanted to, but he pressed his nails into the palms of his hands and managed somehow.
“Very well. We were wondering when you’d grow balls, Suren.”
“Yes, we are pleased that you’ve tossed that soft heart of yours and dedicated yourself more fully to the Government,” A new voice cackled.
Someone snorted, “Shall we see you here more often, then? We’ve missed you.”
Wren focused on Aara’s body in his hands and glared at the invisible floor. He wanted to do nothing more in his life right now, than he wanted to bash the old batty council's heads in. How dare they!
Suren ignored the comments. He said, “Aara failed in her mission. A child of the House of Sun was left breathing in the human world.”
The council’s laughter abruptly ceased. The temperature in the room fell into ice, and no one spoke for a moment. They knew of this as well… Wren started to think that if the council was this upset over that kid then it was a worse mess than he had thought. Only potential danger to the council got that bunch upset. He gulped. The whole lot that’d been commanded to kill the House of Sun and failed could have been rejected… including him, he realized; they would have been under any other Leader, but Suren was merciful and understanding. He glanced up to try and see what his Leader was doing, but everything was covered in shadow and he didn’t even know where the man was.
“I see. What do you plan to do about this, Leader of the Silver Wing?”
There was a pause. Then, “I will send Wren of Silver Wing to the human world to finish the job. He is my most trusted follower, and my powerful protégé. He will get the job done.”
Wren gasped. Wait… what?
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Please, reviews would make my day! But be easy on me... this is my first attempt.