Author’s Note:
Greetings! I am so happy to share this story with you all! This story was an idea that came into my head one night and I decided to write it down. I hope you enjoy reading it! Have fun!
Chapter 1:
From the deeps of Kluruk. A sound faint as the wind and as foreboding as death. A voice. A multitude of voices all shouting, “From Kluruk he comes swift and vicious. He comes in the night to reap the souls of many. Give up High Dawn and you will be spared. If you refuse you’re as good as dead.” Darak from Kluruk was building an army. An army of unstoppable Glenn.
Walking down the street on an errand for Aunt Paulina, Jupiter carried with him two objects. The first was a slip of paper containing a few words that would in short “pay” for the Lindentubers he was picking up from the market. The latter was a small pouch slung around his neck. Inside was a little square shaped locket that held two pictures, one of his father and one of his mother. Jupiter’s father had dark hair with white tips and a splatter of freckles on his face. Jupiter’s mother had honey blonde hair and incredibly purple eyes. They were deep violet. Both of the parents were very regal looking and it was hard to believe that one of them (he didn’t know which) was related to Uncle Draden. Uncle was thin and stick-like, had gray eyes which gave the impression of unending exhaustion, and burgundy-ish colored hair which had recently sprouted some gray bits making him look that much more tired. He didn’t look anything like either of Jupiter’s parents although the pictures had been taken long ago. There was another picture in the pouch too. A little boy with dark hair plus some white tips and a little girl. She had golden hair the color of sunshine, piercing blue eyes, and wings (Yes. I know. Wings). She was only a small child so her wings were very small but wings they were and nothing else. These two children, in the picture, were sitting together playing with a butterbee and a dragonbee. Jupiter smiled, he knew that he was the little boy but who the girl was he had no idea.
He was nearing “Patty-Peer’s Marketplace”. He went right up to an old lady who was sitting at a table surrounded by stacks of coins.
“Mrs. Peer?” The old lady looked up.
“Why, by the flame! You’ve grown so tall I hardly recognized you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Peer. I like growing and getting taller.” He had been getting a lot of comments on his height recently, “Aunt Paulina sent me over to buy some Lindentubers. She gave me this.” He held out the little scrap of paper. Mrs. Patty Peer peered at the paper.
“Go. The Lindentubers are right over there. Grab as many as you can fit in this bag.” She held out a large brown paper bag. Jupiter gratefully accepted it since he had not brought a bag of his own. He began filling it with large, bright crimson-colored tubers. Lindentubers were, as said before, bright red and they had the texture of plums and the flavor of cranberry sauce. It was, coincidentally, one of his favorite foods and it was very rare for Aunt Paulina to buy them because they were very expensive.
“I wonder if Mrs. Peer owes something to Aunt.” He mused.
On his way back from the market he had an odd tingling sensation on the back of his neck as if he was being followed by someone. He kept seeing flashes of gold out of the corner of his eye. At one point he turned sharply and looked behind him, another quick golden flash and something like falling glitter or a beautiful gossamer wing of a butterfly also swept past his line of vision. He saw something shimmering on the ground. He picked it up. It was like a piece of thread but pure gold. Now, this is something special. He pocketed it, turned away, and kept walking. Unfortunately, after a few minutes the tingling was back and it followed him all the way to his home where he promptly shut the door and locked it.
“Aunt Paulina!” Jupiter called. A middle aged lady with a dubious amount of silky hair rushed toward him.
“Oh thank you, Jupiter. I’ve been so busy trying to take care of Teddy and also trying to brush my hair that I really wouldn’t have been able to run out and get them myself.” Jupiter wondered why the Lindentubers were so important but everything was very important when it came to Aunt Paulina (especially hair). In Paulina’s hand was a massive hairbrush and in the other was a handful of long and full blue-black hair. Aunt Paulina’s hair was renowned in all the village as the finest. She was always well dressed no matter the occasion, whether it be a wealthy merchant visiting or a frumpy peasant boy. She was prim and proper. She was also a lovely house-maker and the home in which she lived was always regularly scrubbed and adorned with fresh flowers.
“It was no problem at all.” He handed her the bag of tubers and then added as an afterthought, “Does Mrs. Peer owe you anything?” But Paulina was so busy trying to put away the tubers and hold her gigantic hairbrush that she totally ignored Jupiter.
Eh, whatever. It doesn’t matter. He walked over to his little room which was actually an old pantry that had been fixed up to supply him with a room. It was really cramped. The bed he slept on was a thin mattress and the blanket he used had many patches. The pillow had gotten so flat that they recycled the fabric to make a stuffed animal and the flattened cotton was thrown away. The mattress and blanket were very flexible and in the morning he would roll the whole thing up and stuff it into one of the many shelves on the wall. Since it was a walk-in pantry there was a lot of storage space but the floor space was limited. All of Jupiter’s precious belongings were stashed up in the shelves. However, his “belongings” were scarce. He had the pouch which he always wore around his neck, an old knapsack, a sketchbook he had been given as a gift, some pencils that were worn down to stubs, a little box of treasures (in which he deposited the golden string), and one book. It was very dear to him. It was a book called “The Castle of Elrim” in which a peasant boy becomes the prince and rides a white horse into battle. It was filled with tragedy, hope, and beauty. In the end the boy finds his true family and is forever happy. Jupiter treasured this book and he had re-read it so many times that he knew the whole thing by heart.
“Jupiter!” Reth called, “Come and have supper!”
Aunt and Uncle had six kids. Reth was the eldest. He was a sweet, pleasant sort of child and was very dutiful. His mother relied on him to watch the others. The next was Wickham. He was full of mischief and loved to scare Dromy. Dromy, short for Andromeda, was adopted. Her father had died of linginosis before she was born, a very unfortunate case (said the doctor). Her mother had died in childbirth. Aunt Paulina was a good friend of Dromy’s mother, Betty, and when Betty died Paulina took Dromy home. Dibby, short for Dibbiara, was small and 100% Aunt and Uncle blood. She had the long blue-black hair and the tired gray eyes. Tediurso, nicknamed Teddy, had been found by Uncle on the side of the road. Aunt and Uncle called themselves the Kilabridges although everyone knew that was not their real last name.
“Coming, Reth!” Jupiter shouted back. He sprang through the pantry doorway and walked into the dinning room where most of the family were already gathered. He sat down in his chair to the right hand of his uncle’s. Reth was on the left of Uncle and Paulina sat across the table. Dibby and Dromy sat to the left on Paulina. Teddy and Wickham were on her right. This is how the family sat for every meal.
“Where’s Father?” Reth asked.
“Yes, mamma. Where is he?” Dromy was bringing a platter of Lushrooms to the table,”Where would you like these to go?”
“Right over there.” Paulina pointed to an empty spot on the table. Uncle Draden had come into the dining room and was sitting down in his chair. He looked depressed. Well, he always looked that way but today he was even grimmer. All throughout the meal he stared at his food with a look that meant his mind was far away.
“Uncle, are you ok?” Draden’s head shot up and he looked momentarily confused but him quickly gathered his wits and said,
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” He did look extremely tired. Jupiter was satisfied with the answer and kept eating but Draden and Paulina exchanged a look.
“What is she thinking? We promised to keep him safe and she just comes to us out of the blue and says she needs him!” Paulina and Draden were in their room.
“Paulina, she was sent by Dalinar. Dalinar! This must be important. He wouldn’t have sent for him unless it was important.”
“Still. She could be working for Darak for all we know!” Paulina was suspicious.
“But, if Dalinar did send for him there must be something seriously wrong.”
“Go, talk to her. See if she’s not working for Darak!” Paulina turned away.
Jupiter had heard the whole conversation. His “room” was located on the other side of the storage closet. The storage closet had a large vent that was connected to another vent located in Uncle Draden and Aunt Paulina’s room. Their voices carried through the vent and then resounded in the storage closet which then echoed eerily into the pantry.
Jupiter didn’t know who “she” nor “him” was. The name “Dalinar” sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it. The one name he did know was “Darak”. The killer of the weak. The scourge of the night. The destroyer of peace. The unstoppable Darak.
