To Fly the Soaring Tides

Night had long since fallen and father was still outside tending the farm. Around this time of year the stew mother cooked was especially meager. They said it was just the season again, but I was old enough to remember last year's crops, and the ones before that. This island used to transform into a verdant forest around this time each year with stalks that rose high above my head and we never ran out.

Sure, I was taller than I used to be, but the plants that managed to sprout were hardly up to my chest and harvest couldn't be more than a month out. Merchants used to fly in regularly to bring us provisions and secure a contract to purchase our corn, but they've become scarce ever since that big storm last winter.

Marie is too little to catch on, but I've heard our parents talking, crying into the night.

My parents were worried the soil's no good. After decades of turning the land, what little nutrients it still held were washed out in the storm. That this was a long time coming and the rains simply turned the clock forward.

My father previously spent a great fortune on imported goods to try and enrich the land, but it was all lost in the storm.

Then they hoped to make enough this year to buy us all a ticket up the Boreal, but it seemed unlikely we would be able to afford a house when we got there.

I have asked them if I can help. If there was anything I could do to help our family get by, I would in a heartbeat, but they said I was too young. They know I'm not. They're just shielding me from the truth, shouldering the burden so us kids don't have to. That, or the situation was so hopeless there was nothing I could do.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Marina held the innocent curiosity a girl her age should, looking up at me without a clue in the world.

"Nothing's wrong." I gave her a smile and some pats on the head. Mother had just stepped out to bring father some watery stew before it got cold. "You should get some sleep. It's late."

She didn't look convinced, so I blew out the candle. In the moonlight that funneled through the window, her gaze looked strangely piercing. I guess she wasn't so young anymore either.

"Don't worry, big brother." The pale white glow from above above revealed a smile full of hope, "Maybe the sky's blessing will fall on us soon."

I always hated this sky. My parents gave everything to it, and all it gave them back was famine and worry after a life of toil. I guess my sister was catching on that not all was well, but if she could keep blindly wishing for a while longer, that was enough to make me happy.

"That's right, Marina." I drew the blanket up and urged her to lay down, "Just believe in the stars and everything will be okay when you wake up."

She let out a giggle before burying herself in blankets, surely recounting the story Mother used to tell us each night before bed. I used to love it too, but I was old enough now to know a fairytale when I heard one.

'The Sunforged Witch of Sea and Sky'. Before she saved everyone by stopping a great calamity where all the islands in the sky would fall, the story goes that she was a frail orphan. Battered down by the world's cruelty, she withered away in the streets of the clearly made-up Kingdom of Yon. But day in and day out, she never gave up hope, falling asleep on the bare cobble with nothing but the moonlight on her back.

But one evening a star fell, right into her lap, as if a blessing had arrived from the heavens. It granted her the power to change the cruel sky she knew, to reach her dreams in the waking world. The moral was, hope always paid off.

I felt differently, but if it brought Marie comfort, I could buy into it for a night.

It felt especially bright out now, and the air was heavy. Walking over to the window, a light sprinkle brushed over me from the breeze. The moon was nearly full, and faint waves of light could be seen in the sparse clouds far above. If there was an aurora, that would explain why the mana felt so thick, but the colors didn't seem right. Just wave after wave of blues and yellows.

Then I watched the sky light up in a burst, painting the night with the color of day while a bright golden flash exploded in countless directions.

Then I saw it. A star twinkling in the sky, larger and brighter than any other. It left a trail of shimmering light as it descended from the above. I spotted another over the horizon, and all of a sudden stars were falling as far as the eye could see. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming, I couldn't believe what I saw. Just like the story, but all over the sky.

"M-Marina!" I had to share this excitement with someone, or maybe I just needed to know someone else could see it too, that it was real, "Wake up, quick!"

She awoke with a start as the entire cabin was illuminated in starlight. She rushed to the window with her jaw dropped, laughing joyously, "See, Brother? I told you!"

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I caught myself thinking, good thing one of us still held out hope.

That was two months ago.

And for weeks now my sister and I were running through the cornfields like a maze, just like we used to do when we were younger. The crops have been growing so well that my father hadn't failed to make it in before sunset ever since that night.

I still don't know if the Sunforged Witch ever lived, but Marina was right all along. It seems our island really was blessed by the stars.

___

For years the people of Dolliver were kept down by Blackwood. They tore our forests down and gave scraps in return. Made us trade our waking lives for these scraps. My parents at first, but eventually even my brother and I had to work the mills. We never had a choice if we wanted to keep food on the table as costs grew to the sky.

Those who became too malnourished to work in the factory would lose the roof over the head, and in laughable compliance to the Gandeux mandate to quell the homeless epidemic, that just meant we would be shipped off to one of Blackwood's low-income production islands.

They were taking everything from us, but that all changed today.

I was thankful to the Eternal Empire for stepping in and ousting the Blackwood Family. They even regrew our forests to their former glory after destroying the sawmills. Our mayor was happy to see the end of corporate reign, but that didn't mean I could trust everything would be okay in the future. For one, we were likely to be branded enemies of the Gandeux after today. There was no guarantee this 'Eternal Empire' would or could protect us from the Boreal's wrath.

Moreover, the so-called Empress was only the latest pirate to attempt a land grab in these skies. I couldn't just roll every and hope for everything to be alright if we follow orders. Who knows what those orders might even be.

No, I needed to claw out a future for my family with my own two hands. Hope wouldn't get us anywhere. Tonight we were told to rest as much as we like, but I couldn't help being restless. My parents and brother were all asleep in their beds, recovering from years of moving timber around for some wealthy man in the sky.

I was exhausted too, but for some reason I just couldn't sleep. The burden of tomorrow weighed down on me as I stared into the regrown forest. Our house was at the edge of town, and I remembered sneaking off into the woods at night to gaze at the stars before they cut it all down. There was a clearing a few minutes away where I could climb the rocks and get the best view on the island.

After a while I felt myself nodding off, but a bright light in my eyelids stirred me from sleep. A brilliant flash of gold lit the world for a brief moment, and I watched a star become unstuck from the expanse of night. Then as if the sky were falling, they dropped one after the other. The stars twinkled as they fell, in a trail of shimmering dust.

One of them looked closer than the others and I blinked in shock. It almost looked like it was falling on Dolliver.

Whether it was a meteor or a stray shot from some great battle above, there was something about the light that felt inviting. I could feel the warmth of its mana against my face, and it filled me with hope. I didn't even think twice.

I hopped out the window like I was a kid again and ran through the forest. If I could just see where it landed… I don't know, maybe something would change. Either way, I knew just where I could get the best look.

Minutes later I was climbing those old rocks, and the star had only gotten closer. Soon the whole forest lit up and it looked like it was directly above me. All I could do was stare straight up with wide eyes as it fell. Not like a stone, but like a feather. Or a speck of dust upon the vast world.

I waited atop the rock as it gently fell closer, only for the star to stop directly in front of my face. It looked golden as it fell, but up close this definitely wasn't holy magic. The color and glow was just a little off. It certainly wasn't a star. That much was clear at this point.

And inside… An ominous dark smoke seemed to swirl around like tar, I could feel its weight. While it filled me with worry, somehow, I knew my life would never be the same if I reached out now. I don't know what shape the future I wanted would take, but I knew it would be forever closed off if I didn't reach out my hand.

I placed a timid finger on it. The false star was warm like a pleasant sunny day, and that's when I knew. I had to.

As if sensing my desire and acceptance, the false star floated closer still before disappearing into my chest. I felt warm, then scathingly hot. My aura, pitiful from birth, felt like it was exploding with more mana than I could ever have dreamed of. They say it's supposed to break when this happens, but it just got hotter.

My vision started to fade as pain overwhelmed me, and I collapsed right there on the rock.

___

Old Renley is off his rocker. When I joined a pirate crew, I thought it was for personal glory, riches and women, all the ale I could drink. But this man is a joke of a captain. He actually helps the islands we stop at rather than pillaging them as we were meant to do.

Everyone else has been with him for years, and they seem completely brainwashed. The others are polite to the locals, kind to the elderly. Hell, we don't even steal. Just how are we even pirates?

The island we landed on tonight's main export was precious gems. If there was any time we absolutely needed to pillage, it was tonight. So why? Why the hell don't we kill everyone and make off with a fortune big enough for every man to buy his own ship and a lifetime supply of booze? We could even take over the island and those mines would be ours!

Because of our argument tonight, they had me stay with the ship while the town threw them a banquet. Told me I need to give a long hard think as to whether I wanted to actually be a pirate at all.

Captain Renley had to go, or maybe I did. All I knew was things weren't right around here. As I gazed into the distant sky from up on deck, bright lights began to fall all the way to the horizon. The sight was mesmerizing. I had never seen anything like it or heard of any such weather phenomenon.

The closest thing I could think of was a meteor shower, and I found myself lost in it, staring at the bright lights and thinking about my life.

That's when I decided. It wouldn't really sit right with me if I left Renley's crew as it was. Everyone else needed to learn some sense.

The display of lights had me in a trance until the whole ship lit up, bathed in a not-quite-golden light. When I looked to its source, I saw a shimmering ball of something that felt like more than mana than anything. If I didn't know any better, I would think it was coming right for me.