Chapter 1 - The Serene Light Shrine

A soft glow radiated from the large white gemin in the center of the shine, casting a serene, ethereal light. This is what gave the Serene Light Shrine its name. A young priestess knelt with her hand resting on the cool, smooth surface of the massive gemstone. It was the first day of the Fasta, a time of quiet contemplation and renewal for those of the Daynist faith. The atmosphere, which was usually alive with a gentile murmur of daily life, was somber and hushed. It was instead filled with the sweet scent of burning incense and the melodic tinging of the shrine's chimes.

Jesine took a deep breath, letting the tranquil environment seep into her. That was the state in which she was most comfortable. This sanctuary of light and healing was on a quiet skyland of Daynova, far removed from the dense urbanization of the Hub. It was here where the Source's gaze felt particularly close, with its light freely flowing into the shine's heart. She had spent her entire life within these walls learning ancient customs and tending to the sacred gemin. She was tasked with nurturing the life that thrived under its influence.

Her duties were executed with a rhythm that matched the gem's natural pace. Each morning, before brightset bathed the skyland, she would visit the shrine's large central gemstone. A magnificent white crystal that stood taller than any person, hovering just above the ground. It illuminated the entire shrine, and was a conduit for the sanctuary's access to a vast unseen network of the Source's energy. It existed to restore those who came to harm.

She spent a few beats in quiet communion seeking to feel the subtle shifts in its pulse, and ensured that its light remained pure. With a small basket woven from reeds growing down the path that led up to the shrine, she would venture into its gardens. This vibrant tapestry of flora flourished under the gemstone's radiant light. On these days, she would utilize her healing touch. A fledgling bird thrown from its nest with a broken wing, a patch of wilting moss, a cat with a thorn in its paw, a tree with a dying branch; each received her gentle attention.

Jesine would speak whispered hallowed words that themselves lacked real power. Yet, the invigorating flow of the white gemin's energy streamed from her hands. It was a simple life, but profoundly fulfilling for her. Every healed creature and revived plant was evidence of the Source's boundless love. With such a direct connection to its power, she would never be convinced otherwise.

Today held a different significance. The Fasta Ge Blashen was a time for introspection and for reaffirming devotion to the tenets of Dayna. It was also a time when the shrine, normally a haven of quiet and solitude, prepared for the arrival of a gradly supply ship. The thought of this clamor brought her to unease. She had always been under the protection of the shrine. Yet, these supplies were necessary to connect the isolated skyland to the wider archipelago. This place would starve otherwise, and they needed to prepare for the Festi. She pushed the thought aside and focused on the warmth that emanated from the shrine's crystalline cosmic anchor.

A woman in a High Priestess's robes stepped onto the grounds of the garden. Her footsteps remained light despite her advanced age. Her silver hair was meticulously braided and framed her stern face, which implied wisdom and modest strength. The High Priestesses were mentors. Jesine, who had never known her birth mother, knew of the High Priestesses as her mothers.

"Jesine, my child." The mature woman's voice was soft and melodic. "The gem feels particularly vibrant today. Its light shines through you."

Jesine rose, bowing respectfully. "High Priestess Cinel. The Source's blessings are abundant. I feel it, stronger than ever." She nearly whispered.

Cinel smiled with a rare, gentle curve of her lips. "Indeed. The Fasta amplifies our connection to it. It brings us sustenance when we have none. Have you completed your morning rounds?"

"Yes, High Priestess. I found the temple cat with a thorned paw, and the moss on the walls is already regaining its color. A few more days and it will be as if it never withered." Jesine's voice held a quiet pride, a feeling she wasn't meant to hold. Though her connection to the shrine stone was innate, a gift she had always possessed. While other acolytes struggled for years to heal minor scrapes, Jesine found the flow of energy almost effortless. It was a talent Cinel had carefully nurtured, guiding her through the intricate instruction of the Moro Salan, the sacred scriptures of Dayna.

"Excellent, my dear. Your gift is a true blessing to this shrine and to the Source itself." Cinel's gaze drifted to the large arched window of the Shrine's altar. Beyond the building was the gemstone and an endless expanse of clouds that stretched to the horizon. "Kae's crew should be arriving soon with the supplies. Have we prepared for their arrival?"

"The Source is a blessing to me, and yes, High Priestess. The storage hold has been cleared. The acolytes are ready to assist with unloading. We have enough fresh water and jarred pokopomme to last them for their journey back." Jesine's tone remained respectful, although there was some tension in her shoulders. The arrival of the ship always brought disruption. She knew it was necessary, but didn't like the vulnerability it invited.

The High Priestess sensed her charge's unease. "Calm like the still air, Jesine. Kae is pragmatic, gruff for sure." She delivered underbreath gutturally. "He knows the sanctity of this place, and his crewmen are well-behaved." She turned around, loosely examined the garden, and then back to Jesine, softening her expression. "The Source's light above shines beyond this place. It embraces all of Una. Including those who walk not on our path. Its light here is but a beacon, attracting others to it like moths. Who seek warmth, seek healing... seek comfort. We care for those moths, wherever they may come from."

Jesine absorbed the words, taking them as wisdom, and nodded in agreement. The philosophy was broad and central to their faith. Caring for anyone who arrived seeking help for any reason. Criminals, soldiers, traders, and wild animals. They took to hearing stories of the war and horrible tales of piracy from the pirates themselves. Every harsh reality that existed beyond their tranquil shine. It took a toll on Jesine and gnawed at her; it was mentally unhealthy.

The Moro Salan, which she referred to every day, told tales of ancient conflict, often brutally. The narratives referenced the light and shadow, but all of them remained distant and mythical. Every story she received from others: confessions, dark thoughts, hallucinations, and psychotic premonitions; eroded her calm. This relief of others was instructed by the Moro Salan. The large, pure white gemstone beyond the altar, floating above a cliff's edge, in its own way, cured even mental afflictions.

Pulsed waves of trembling air split her train of thought, probably for the better. It was the unmistakable sound of a low approaching aeroship. Jesine quickly repositioned to one of the windows to look out of it from the safety of the shine. The schooner's sails furled and flapped, casting whipping shadows across the ground below it. The low hum of its engines was a familiar sound. Its rear and cloud sides were painted with the word "Vagrante", the ship's registered name. It was thick-bodied and functional, and bore a few scars. Although, they had been plastered and painted sky blue. Pits and dips in the plaster made these repairs obvious.

The ship settled its deck elevation to loosely match the flat of the pier facing the cliff's edge. The whole shrine was set up there. The engines were disabled and sighed into silence, as the sheet metal that housed the arrangement popped from being cooled by the upper atmosphere air. The gangplank was extended and was rested onto the protruding stone pierwork. Descending it was a broad-shouldered young man of average height and source-tanned skin. Dark circles around his eyes hinted he might have had a few sleepless nights recently. A long coat of well-worn leather was dyed a dry leaf brown and rested across his shoulders. He put it on during the very step he took exiting the plank.

Spotting the two women by the window of the sanctum, one inside, one out, he gave them a curtly nod. Devoid of any warmth, he bellowed "Priestess!" as his voice rolled and rumbled across the garden like distant thunder. "Supplies are ready for unloading. We're on a tight schedule." His words snipped as a businessman's should. He didn't wait for a response and turned to projecting orders toward his small crew, who were beginning to hoist crates and barrels up from the ship's cargo hold.

Jesine watched him with a strange fascination, as apprehensive as always. Kae navigated all of Una with ruthless efficacy. Completely unburdened by philosophy or idealism, he only delivered their supplies. In his own way, he still respected the sanctuary of the shrine, but didn't show much reverence.

The unloading of the Vagrante was an expedient process handled by the crew and some reluctant, strong young men from the shrine's boarding house down the hill. Crates of dried flyfish, lantern oil, bundles of herbs, spices, fruit, and stines, among many other consumables for the Festi, were swiftly transferred to the shrine's much larger underground storage hold.

Jesine, along with a few other acolytes, assisted with dollying the floatskids down the storage ramp and its single right-hand corner turn. She found herself observing Kae more closely, noting a subtle flick of his wrist as he directed a heavy crate. She assumed it might have been due to an injury. His eyes constantly scanned the sky when he was above ground and remained vigilant of potential danger. Which, to her, made no sense here.

Night had arrived by the time the last of the supplies were stowed beneath the shrine. Kae, not long after, approached Cinel with a clipboard in hand, a verification checklist. "Priestess." He began with his voice rasping with a subtle current of concern. "I've been seeing more activity out there. Black sails mostly. Umborn pirates or worse." He gestured toward the clouds that were storming, in a direction outways toward the nation of Umborn. "They're getting bolder. They're quiet and fast. You don't have much up here to protect yourselves."

Cinel remained serene and merely inclined her head. "The world outside of this place..." She outstretched. "...is turbulent. Captain, I realize. The war has stirred many in the shadows, and we trust in the Source's protection here." Her words were obviously dismissive to Kae, whose face displayed irritation. Jesine, standing a respectful distance away, took the warning with better understanding.

Kae passed air through his nose. "Faith won't stop a ship... Priestess, nor black gemin. These people are not the usual flying vermin." He rubbed his left hand. A faint bruise was visible on his knuckles. "Had a run-in with them near Mythstrand. They were after something specific, not just our cargo. They didn't even take the alcohol."

Jesine's proclivity to heal overrode the antisocial part of her, and she stepped forward. "Captain Kae, your hand. May I...?" She extended her hand as a soft white glow began to radiate from her fingertips. Naturally, a direct application of the white gemin energy that flowed through her would fix this problem. As it did with the broken bones of many animals and the aches of the elderly. Minor injuries suffered by the acolytes were always fixed this way.

Kae recoiled, snapping back as if struck. His eyes narrowed. "No! Keep your... magic... to yourself, Priestess." His voice was disdainful and bitter. Something she had never seen from him before. "I won't hold with that, a bruise will heal itself. If it doesn't... I still don't have any need for something that takes away part of who I am."

Jesine's hand dropped, and the glow faded. A flushness crept up her neck. She was accustomed to the gratitude she received in the acceptance of others and of her gift. His refusal and disdain were a new response. "Why would someone slap away a lifeline?" Her conscious mind knew a rejection of help wasn't a rejection of her personally. Though it didn't feel that way.

The High Priestess put a hand on Jesine's shoulder. "The Captain has his own path to fly. The Source's light still shines around those who hide in shadows."

Kae was oblivious to the stress he had created and turned to Cinel again. "Just a warning, Priestess. Keep your eyes open. The war is getting closer than you might realize." He stood up, strode back toward the ship, and turned around after another nod.

Jesine watched as the crewmen, with some smoking and others drinking, as they walked back up the plank and pulled it up on deck. She watched them move, and a knot formed in her stomach. The rejection left her adrift, and his warning concerned her. Anything that threatened the peace here felt real and dangerous. She acknowledged that she was sheltered, but still enjoyed that shelter.

The Vagrante rose up as its engines lit and propellers turned. It droned, thrashing the air, pushing the now much lighter ship to high speed. As it pulled away, Jesine ran out toward the edge of the landing pier. Watching Kae as he leaned over the cabin deck. He raised a single resting hand up at her, his left, stood up fully, and relayed orders to his crew at high volume. The dim sourcelight was barely enough to illuminate his face.

The Fasta was a period of time intended to help strengthen her inner peace. The events today were testing that, at least for her. Jesine clutched her necklace. Hanging from its chain was a thick gold wire trapping within it a perfectly spherical white gemin, polished as if a white glass marble. This stone was completely opaque and radiated so much white light that it was difficult to look at directly. It illumined everything in her immediate surroundings that was not blocked by her shadow. Because she wanted to see something far away, it was currently so bright she couldn't look down at her own chest.

She turned away from the edge, and the gemstone dimmed. The sounds of the propellers of the aeroship faded into the distance, leaving behind heavy silence. The sanctuary was frequently populated by many birds, but they were scared away by the ship's departure. Jesine walked in silence back toward the large shine's central hallway. She did so up to and past the altar to the large stone walkway that led up to the gemstone.

Its light pulsed as it hung in the air, and she trusted it implicitly. She sat directly underneath it, something she had been told many times not to do. She gave prayers of healing for Kae, for strength and guidance in this trying time, for courage to face the shadows if they should come, and for braving the storm that gathered on the far horizon.

Sitting underneath the stone had an effect Jesine found particularly comforting. As she sat with her eyes open, looking out into the clouds. This view, augmented by the stone, was indistinguishable from daylight. It could be day, at any time that she wanted it to be. This allowed her to see the ship much farther than she could before, and she could still barely spot it. The gemin floated a little higher at night, but she could still reach up to it standing. She rested her trembling hands on its cool, crystalline surface.

The Source, usually a comforting presence, at night felt to her like an indifferent observer. Almost none of the acolytes roamed the temple at nighttime, as their religion taught them to fear the dark. She was truly alone here during the only time in her life she could be. At least until the High Priestess sent her back to her dorm. The Fasta Ge Blashen was a day of spiritual renewal, and her spirit today certainly felt renewed. Maybe that was intended by the forces that governed her life. Right now, she was filled only with the beating of her anxious heart.