The Second Sun.
'How could I forget that?'
'HOW COULD ANYONE FORGET ABOUT IT?'
It should have become the scar of one too many. But not everyone remembered it.
In fact, it seemed like nobody in the whole Republic knew what happened that day.
He'd gone to report the matter to the police, but they called him crazy.
He'd gone to the local parish of the Divine… they drove him off like a madman.
He'd cried in the streets at the top of his lungs.
They said he had lost his reasoning.
What everyone remembered was an explosion at Hogwash Avenue, which spread and became a wildfire.
No one believed him.
How can there be two suns?
He was advised to visit a Shrink to check up on his mental health.
'Grief could make one mad' they said to him as they looked at him with sorrowful eyes. But he knew, he wasn't crazy.
He knew what he saw. That blue Sun that rose that morning. The cold that followed, the rapid spread of flames that ignited both people and buildings in the Eastern Borough all the way to the City centre and Kings Road.
"Abel, wake up!" A calming voice soothed his abrasive nerves, bringing his mind back. He felt his mind shudder and stabilize.
Then, he opened his eyes.
Currently, he was strapped to a chair. His body was held together by a tightened straitjacket.
He looked around, finding himself in a dark but familiar room.
This was his ward in the Lorigan Hospice for the mentally unstable.
Well, more of a holding cell than a ward.
He sighed, remembering that he was being held in solitary confinement.
And he remembered why.
His constant ravings about the Blue Sun on the day of the disaster had led to a minor 'scuffle'.
Well, he did break a man's jaw in the process, but he had it coming.
"Abel Michaelson? How was your sleep?" A calming voice spoke from right in front of him, bringing his mind back to focus again. He looked forward, attentive to the figure right in front of him.
He knew this man, he was called Captain Rathcliffe. The only man who actually agreed with him for once.
"Uneventful, boring, I don't know" Abel muttered, shifting his bound body on his chair to look up more.
He was just as he was in his dreams, but the mysterious and transcendental air about him was gone.
His eyes though, were like smooth silvery blue mirrors.
Currently, he was dressed in a police uniform with a long coat over his shoulder. He had a police badge pinned to his jacket, showing his rank as Unit Commander.
"Mhmm! So. What did you think about my offer?"
Abel thought silently for a moment, then he looked at Rathcliffe again.
This man had come to his room, and not only did he not call him crazy, but also agreed to help him get his vengeance on the anomaly he called the 'The Fallen Eye'
Even Abel was contemplating if he was actually the crazy one here.
Rathcliffe had told him that this was a supernatural occurrence that couldn't be observed by the natural eye. Only those who are talented enough, or blessed by the gods or other deities could see the causes of the great disaster of Belmont.
Everyone else would just see flames with no cause.
He had come with an offer. He would work for his secret organization to stop more incidents from occurring again, and he would give him access to information on the incident.
Abel hummed, the clock in the room ticking as he rode on his thoughts.
One thing was certain; this man before him was anything but ordinary.
He just remembered that his thoughts had always been scattered since he came to this hospital, his mind like a paper boat in a storm.
But after he started speaking to Rathcliffe, it had stabilized significantly.
His nightmares had slowly begun to recede, visions of the 'Fallen Eye' began to fade, his mental state coming to a calming state.
He felt liberated somewhat.
He even saw this man in his dreams, there was no way he was a normal person.
"I'll do it. As long as I get what I want"
Rathcliffe smiled at Abel's reply, grabbing a file from under his armpit in his jacket. He tossed it across the table, letting it slide till it reached Abel. Then he placed a pen before him and walked to his back.
Abel felt the straitjacket loosen a bit, causing him to be stunned
"You… you do know that was put there for visitors protection. What if I…"
"If! And even If anything happened, there is nothing you would be able to do to me" Rathcliffe replied too calmly. His calm voice sent shivers down Abel's spine.
He knew for one that this man wasn't bluffing.
The straitjacket fell off, the restraints that held him bound, now lay on the floor.
Abel slowly took the pen, not too sure about what he was getting himself into.
But now, that didn't matter.
All that mattered was that his sister was avenged. That Sun must fall.
***
Tuesday, August 19th, 1649 of the fourth Era.
Abel was free.
He walked with Rathcliffe out of the Mental 'Prison'. The dark halls echoed with their footsteps as they maneuvered out to the main door.
The door spilled a little bit of golden sunlight, a revelation that it was still day. A woman in a nurse's uniform walked towards Rathcliffe and handed him a clipboard for him to sign.
Rathcliffe scribbled a few times, before nodding towards her. The nurse walked away, back to the dark abyss they called a Hospital.
Abel shuddered as he remembered the loneliness of darkness, the terrible food and the medications.
'Good thing he was living it behind' he thought to himself, as Rathcliffe opened the door. The light rushed in like a flood, stunning Abel for a breath.
His eyes weren't accustomed to light as much anymore. He hadn't seen the sun in over six months since his mental Exile.
His eyes adjusted slightly, before he got the full picture of what was before him.
The front of the hospice was beautiful as it was cold and quiet.
The silence, loud enough to go unnoticed, echoed their steps.
A carriage was parked just outside, drawn by a brown speckled horse. A young man dressed with a shirt and brown coat with shorts and a cap sat on the reins, keeping the horse calm.
"Benjamin, off we go then" Rathcliffe ordered as he opened the door of the carriage and mounted. Abel followed behind, sitting on the opposite seat.
The carriage slowly began to move, taking them out of the vicinity of the hospital, before taking a turn to the right.
The Hospital was outside of town in the suburbs, traffic and pedestrians at a minimum.
Soon, they got into town with its hustle and bustle.
Abel saw scenes he hadn't seen in months. The market was bustling with traders and customers, children gathered at a spot, running around while tossing a ball to each other.
'Fresh Fish! Get your fresh fish'
'The finest Jewels for the finest lady'
'A crutch, we sell crutches for the unable'
Abel chuckled slightly. This was the life he had missed for so long.
"If only they knew… is that what you're thinking?" Rathcliffe's voice chimed in. Abel turned to look at him, amazed.
"So you can read thoughts too?"
Rathcliffe chuckled, giving off a toothy grin whilst he put his hand into his coat's inner pocket.
He took out a cigar, and grabbed a light with it. He clicked the lighter lid, placing the flame on the cigar and taking a smoke.
He blew smoke just outside the carriage before answering.
"No… I can deduce the thoughts, but reading them is different"
Abel gulped, a question ringing in his head.
"The dreams, was that you're doing, or was it the drugs?" He asked.
"Now that is an interesting question" the man answered, he looked outside and then spoke coolly.
"You'll find out in time"
What followed was silence. It was as if the world had been compelled to be quiet.
Abel looked out the window and noticed they had left the market and had gone through a quiet street.
Soon, they reached a dead end, a massive wall stood before them.
Abel was scared, afraid that Captain Rathcliffe had something untowards planned for him.
Rathcliffe, who had finished half his cigar, tossed it out the window. Then he fetched a golden coin with silver accents on it with the face of King Albernion the Third.
These coins were the currency of Inguld before it became a Republic in the year 1309.
The coin was tossed outside, flipping through the air before it was caught by a hand.
It was a beggar who seemed to have slumped near the trash heap near the wall.
The beggar, who seemed to be an old man, pushed a block amongst the many behind him. He then knocked twice before inserting the coin into a slot that came out of the depression.
The wall shook and creaked, before it suddenly vanished.
Instead what was there seemed to be a large door that a carriage could pass through.
Abel was stunned. This was… impossible. This was borderline magic at this point.
The door opened from the inside and the carriage marched inside.
"How… by the divines, what is this?"
Rathcliffe just sat up as he looked straight into Abel's eyes and said.
"The Supernatural!"