Shadow Slave

Using a wooden cane, Sunny walked out of his hut and breathed in the clear, sweet air of the Sacred Grove.

The ancient trees rustled gently, as if greeting him. The forest was slowly waking up, emerald leaves longing to be bathed in the warmth of the sun once more. A chilly fog was flowing between the mighty trunks, suffused with the vibrant lilac light of the early dawn. The nightingales sang cheerfully, jumping from branch to branch… the sight of it was familiar, beautiful, and calming.

Truly, the grove of Heart God was the jewel of the Kingdom of Hope. How lucky he was to have been born and spend most of his life here!

These trees had stood upon the ancient land before it had been shattered, weathered the terrible cataclysm of Desire's imprisonment, and were going to remain standing here long after he was dead and forgotten, his bones buried at their roots. Now that Sunny was old and didn't have a lot of time left to live, that thought was very comforting.

A human's life might be fleeting, but the beautiful grove was eternal.

He patted one of the ancient oaks as an old friend, sighed, and limped toward the water spring to fill his jug.

Since Sunny's hut stood at the outskirts of the grove, he could see the edge of the island through the spaces between the tree trunks. As always, it rose and fell slowly, the heavenly chains rattling from time to time. Everything was just as usual… which was the very best thing in the world.

Sunny had lived a long life. Some of it was peaceful, and some of it was turbulent… but luckily, the turbulent times had not visited this quiet forest for a long, long time. And that was the only thing that he had always wanted — to live a quiet and tranquil life, far away from all the strife and misfortune of the everchanging world.

Change… change always brought ruin on its wings. Sunny wanted no part of it.

However, today, his desires were not meant to come true. Something unexpected did happen, disturbing the familiar routine of his day…

At the very edge of the island, a mighty black steed suddenly appeared, as if jumping from below, where a giant chain connected to the soil of the Sacred Grove. He walked forward at a steady pace, approaching the line of ancient trees.

The steed had no saddle, but there was a rider on his back. A pretty young woman in a simple red tunic sat there, her ivory legs svelte and bare. She had a graceful figure, a face so lovely that it simply demanded to be gazed upon, and chestnut hair that fell down like a silken waterfall.

Sunny stared at the young woman, mesmerized by her beauty. Then, he scoffed, and shook his head.

"What are you even doing, old fool… your days of ogling pretty girls are long over! This beauty is young enough to be your granddaughter. Have some shame, you vile lecher!"

He chuckled wryly, and then changed his course to greet the unexpected guest.

A dozen meters or so away from the line of trees, the young beauty stopped her horse, jumped down with breathtaking grace, and knelt in the soft grass, looking down as other pilgrims would usually do.

Sunny made his way toward the girl, panting a little from the strain, and tried to put on a smile worthy of an enlightened elder. For some reason, the closer he got to the beauty, the worse his heart ached.

'Ah, what's wrong with this frail body of mine today?'

"Greetings, young lady! Uh... welcome. What brings you to the Heart Grove? Tell this old man your worries… maybe I'll be able to help."

The beauty did not raise her head, still looking down, as if to show her respect and reverence. Her voice, when she spoke, was melodious and calm… however, Sunny had been meeting pilgrims like her for many decades. All of them came here overwhelmed by sorrows and regret… that was why they sought out a passage to the Sacred Grove. This was a place of solace.

He could sense a deep ocean of darkness hiding behind the facade of calmness the young woman had put on, too.

She said:

"...I seek audience with the Lady of the Grove."

Sunny lingered for a bit, then sighed.

'So young, and yet so troubled… how sad…'

Then, he leaned on his cane and smiled.

"Well… she ought to be up and about, by now. How about that? I'll wait with you until the Lady arrives."

The young beauty didn't answer, and simply continued to stare down, still like a statue. Her breathing was deep and steady. Even her scary black horse seemed patient and indifferent.

Suddenly, Sunny felt a strange unease. He took a closer look at the girl, and frowned.

'Do I have dementia now? What, in the name of Hope, is that?'

His eyes seemed to be playing tricks on him. Sunny could swear that he saw a radiant sphere of light burning inside the young beauty's chest… not that he was looking in that direction…

Without any reason, his hand suddenly stretched sideways, his palm opening, as if waiting to grasp something out of the air.

Sunny stared at it in confusion.

'...Weird. What are you doing, stupid hand?'

He awkwardly hid the willful hand behind his back and cleared his throat. Maybe he didn't quite recover from that terrible nightmare yet…

As he did so, the young woman suddenly spoke, her head still bowed.

"Tell me… have you ever seen the Ivory Tower?"

'What an unexpected question...'

Sunny grinned.

"Oh… sure. When I was a senseless youth, not much older than you. He-he. It might not look like it, but this elder was quite a wastrel once! I ran away from home and went on an adventure. That was when I saw the Ivory City, and many other things. But eventually, I came back to this grove… there is nowhere better than home, I believe."

He thought for a few moments, and then said:

"Why do you ask?"

The young woman remained silent for a while.

"...I heard that there's an evil demon locked inside the Tower. That the gods put her there as a punishment for her malevolence, corruption, and pride. Do you think it's true?"

Sunny chuckled.

"Ah, that. Sometimes I forget how much knowledge has been lost by us, the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hope. Yes, young lady, there is indeed a daemon imprisoned within the Ivory Tower… however, she was never evil, malevolent, or corrupt. In fact, Hope was very kind and generous to us, humans."

The beauty shifted slightly.

"Oh? Why did the gods punish her, then?"

Sunny sighed dejectedly.

"That is the question, isn't it? Why destroy this land and put its kind Lady in shackles? Who knows... if mortals like us could know the will of gods, then, maybe, we'd be gods instead…"

There it was again! The radiant flame in the young woman's chest… he wasn't imagining things, it was really there!

Sunny was about to try and get a better look, uncaring of how improper such an attempt would seem, but at that moment, a dearly familiar voice came from behind him.

…However, he had never heard that voice sound so somber and grave.

The Lady of the Grove said:

"...Why are you here, Solvane?"