SunRider: Book 1 (The SunRider Saga)

by Hohmann, Rafael

  “We chose the wrong stall!” Finn groaned, untangling his cloak from around his neck. Around him, people were screaming as blue moths led by their matriarch dove and attacked the crowd. Goblin moved to help but the angry blue moth which had tried attacking Finn hit the young man on the ear. Goblin howled, pawing at his face.

  “It-got-at-me! It-got-at-me!”

  Already his ear was swelling to thrice its size.

  “Get honey! Get some honey!” Quinta was screaming, trying to cover his own head. “Matriarch, this wasn't part of the deal!”

  Finn had to throw himself backward into a stall full of felt hats as the vengeful blue moth came at him again. People were running about, ducking and dodging as swarms of moths fluttered against their exposed skin. The blacksmith was wailing and hiding under a cart, half his face looking like the world's biggest pumpkin. Quinta shot past, yelping and holding his butt.

  “How'd you get in mah trousers? No way! No way!”

  The poor vendor's rear was now large enough to stretch out his brown pants to their limit. If there happened to be a moth in there, it was surely squished. Finn didn't know whom to be sorry for. Quinta tripped into a horse's trough and splashed foamy water everywhere, soaking his mustache.

  The tightly packed market turned into a scene of chaos. With only small alleys and stacked layers of catwalks to maneuver through, the citizens of Kazma were finding out the hard way how difficult it was to escape an angry swarm of moths. Stalls were overturned, crates and barrels were tipper, food and goods flew as men and women yelled and fell over. Trapping his attacker with a hat, Finn allowed a quick glance to the second-floor catwalk. The Star-Children were gone. He looked about in a frenzy, spotting them marching down a set of stairs his way, disregarding the moths. They had serious looks to their faces. He couldn't fight two Star-Children at once. He jumped away from the hat stall, grabbing Goblin's arm.

  “Come on! We have to run!” he screamed.

  Goblin nodded, his right ear sagging and flopping like a sheet of parchment. The two of them dodged through crowds of flailing citizens, ducking and weaving as moths buzzed about. Quinta was nowhere to be seen and the market was being commandeered by the bugs as everyone vacated. They smashed through a pile of hay and ran past a whimpering vendor with fingers swollen to the size of sausages. Cutting to the right, they turned down an abandoned alley barely wide enough for one set of shoulders. Grunting, they squeezed their way forward past stacked brick buildings and piles of garbage, feet stomping over centuries of mush. An alley cat yowled and shot between their legs, disturbed from his nap. Finn watched it run toward the market area, get hit by a moth, and immediately spin in place with its tail fat and swollen. It shot past them again, dashing the other way. But catching Finn's eye, more movement entered the alley. It was the two Star-Children. They were giving chase.

  Led by the girl, the two moved forward, eyes narrowed. Finn shoved Goblin ahead and tipped over a box to block the passage. They burst out into yet another alley; one running perpendicular to them. Reaching the opposite end, they found no means to continue. Finn and Goblin smashed their hands against the wall and turned, facing the approaching forms. The girl stopped, folding her arms. Her face was serious and ready for anything. The long-haired boy stepped beside her, flicking his blond locks and bringing up his crossbow.

  Finn didn't know what to say. How were he and Goblin to die? Would they be tossed in the air? Smashed by an invisible force? Would one of the Star-Children freeze them in place?

  “Nice bracer.” the boy commented. His voice was confident and full of mirth, as if he'd cracked the greatest joke ever. The girl didn't speak at all.

  “I—I like yours also.” Finn replied, sweat running down his palms. Goblin, holding his floppy ear, shook in place. Finn was sure his friend was remembering his terrible week spent as Nozgull's prisoner.

  “So, what now?” Finn asked.

  The boy shrugged. “That depends on you. Are you gonna run—or fight?”

  Before Finn could reply, the alley cat with the swollen tail dropped from a catwalk above, landing on the boy. With a yelp, the boy let go of his crossbow and tried to pry the cat free. Instinct took over and Finn darted forward, diving for the weapon. He slid on his belly, grabbed the bow, and aimed it at the girl. She didn't bat an eye.

  The boy tossed the cat away and wiped at the scratches on his face. He was irate and bedraggled. “Well great, my looks are ruined! If I find that cat, I swear I'm gonna make it eat its own insides!” He didn't seem to care that Finn held his weapon. Instead, he turned to the girl. “I'm still handsome, right? I still look attractive?”

  The girl, even more beautiful up close, gave him a dry look. “Shut up, Altin.”

  The boy faked injury and grabbed at his heart. “You kill me Leeya! I need your approval!” She ignored him and instead pointed to Finn's arm. “When were you chosen?”

  Finn bit his cheek and his finger nearly squeezed the trigger. Would the bolt hurt her? Would she dodge it?

  “I wasn't chosen. I found it.”

  “Ha! Found it?” the boy—Altin—spit. “You were walking the street and stumbled across it? Hey Leeya, remember when we tripped over our bracers while grabbing a bite to eat? How convenient.”

  “I really did.” Finn mumbled. “It's a long story.”

  “Leave him be Altin.” the girl sighed. “He's not a bad one.” She turned and faced Finn. Her face was perfect. And her eyes... they were strong—full of courage. “What's your name?”

  “Finn.” he stated, lost in the girl's gaze. “What do you mean I'm not a bad one?”

  The girl—Leeya—pointed to Goblin. “You walk with equals, not subordinates. You haven't killed anyone, nor attacked us.”

  The boy snorted. “Bet he doesn't even know his own ability.”

  The insult hit close, making Finn's hands clench tight around the crossbow. The boy was right; he couldn't even activate his bracer. Heck, he wasn't even officially a Star-Child. He pointed the weapon at Altin. “What are your powers?” he asked.

  “Oh, he's got some fight, thank goodness for that!” the boy teased. There was a metallic snick and before Finn knew it, Altin's bracer activated, separating into four segments. They slid along his skin and wrapped around both ankles and wrists. The movement was smooth—the boy was experienced. The bands were plain metal, a carved feather on each one. Before Finn could fire the bolt, Altin was in the sky, soaring twenty feet above him. He was a bird taking flight, flipping backwards with ease. The trigger was pressed and the crossbow hissed to life. The bolt bit through the air where Altin once stood. Twisting in a loop, Altin curved around them and dove behind Finn, tackling him. Finn went down hard, dropping the weapon and losing his breath. His arms were pinned behind his back.

  “Run Goblin! They'll kill you!” Finn shouted.

  His head was smacked. “We're not going to kill you, stupid. You're not even worth our time.”

  Altin stood, allowing Finn to get to his feet and spin to face the Star-Child. He raised his fists. “What did you do? How did you do that?”

  Altin laughed. His teeth were straight and white. “It's my power. When it’s hot I can fly, when it's cold the suit grows dense. Bet you're scared senseless now, huh? Haven't met anyone like me, have you?”

  The girl pushed Altin away with a sigh. She motioned a finger toward Goblin, who was half-in and half-out of the alley, his eyes panicked. “Come here boy, we won't hurt you. Altin,” she stated, looking to her companion, “you're only an Accessory. Don't go boasting your power when you couldn't even face a Half-suit.”

  “Half-suit? Accessory?” Finn asked.

  “You’re fresh Chosen, aren't you?” Altin remarked, walking over to pick up his crossbow.

  “I told you,” Finn said in annoyance, “I found the bracer.”

  “Accessories and Half-suits are terms used by the Star-Children as names for how strong we are.” Leeya explained. “The more a bracer wraps around you—the more there
is of it on you—the more powerful you are. Accessories like Altin only have small segments of their body covered by their bracer. They’re the most common. Half-suits are rarer and more dangerous. But the deadliest are Full-suits. I don't know how many of those there are—not many, maybe one or two. No one's encountered one and lived.”

  “They’re practically legend.” Altin added. “I doubt they even exist.”

  “W—what are you?” Finn asked Leeya.

  “She's an Exception.” Altin interrupted, wiping dust from his weapon. “A unique case.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  Altin scoffed. “Exceptions—very rare. Only seen her power once. I tried to boast about it and she punched me so hard in the face I awoke hours later. If you wanna talk about her power, don't do it with me.”

  Finn’s head spun. Accessories, Half-suits, Full-suits, and Exceptions. So many terms. So much he didn't know yet. “You won't hurt me or my friend?” he muttered.

  “We're not one of those wild Star-Children wandering around killing and taking over places.” Altin scoffed. “What, you think Kazma would let us in here without a fight if we did something like that?”

  “I apologize.” Finn bowed his head. “The only other Star-Child we've met was one of those wild ones. He destroyed our home and killed everyone.”

  Altin's eyebrows went up. “Had a little Star-Child battle, did you? How'd you beat him? Was he able to use his bracer? Bet you stabbed him while he was drunk.”

  Again, Finn grew angry at the cocky older boy. What did he know about what Finn had been through?

  “He must have been a Half-suit. Killed a thousand men right in front of my eyes. I ran away but came back later and... well he died.”

  Altin laughed but Leeya kept a straight face. She watched him as if she was studying a book.

  “He just... died?” Altin chuckled. “Gosh, what a power you have there, mister Star-Child! Will you be so kind as to show it to us?”

  Finn bit his lip, ignoring the jibe. The girl came forward and Finn stepped back. She was by far more intimidating than her partner. If he were to battle Altin, he would hold his own for a while—but this girl... there was something about her that emanated fierceness. She could fight.

  “Come,” she said, “bring your friend also. We have much to converse about. Perhaps you’ll join us for lunch?”

  The beautiful girl stood so close to him, he could smell her hair. It was the strong scent of cinnamon and another spice... something sweet. Was he being invited to talk with two Star-Children? He felt something strange in his gut: a sense of destiny he hadn't felt since talking to Lady Tuliah. Here he was, facing two powerful humans who weren't about to kill him. He hoped it stayed that way.

  Far above them on a catwalk, Quinta rolled a large barrel of honey. The man popped the lid and grabbed at his swollen rear, stepping back as swarms of moths dove down and feasted, finally leaving the citizens alone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:

  Class Distinctions

  —Within Castle Allÿn lies a secret hall of past Kings, where their likeness is carved from a special soft marble and set within niches against the walls. Kings who lived through times of war hold the very-real weapon that they once took to various battles: the GoreBirther, Izmianduur, the Deliverance, and so on. Rumor abounds that there is another hall for the kings too infamous and unworthy to stand next to their ancestors. King Tipidus the Second has sworn to those closest to him that on stormy nights, pale forms fade in and out of existence within the two dark passages.—

  Receiving a tour by two Star-Children was a strange phenomenon. Finn felt he should be fighting, running, shouting; yet they walked like four relaxed companions. Although intimidating at first, Altin and Leeya were innocent—Finn couldn’t sense any foul intentions within them.

  Like Finn, Altin was new to Kazma as well, having merely arrived five days before. Leeya, who’d been born and raised in the Upper-District, the local name for the floating city above them, pointed out places of interest and led them about. As they passed a half-cobbled street, Finn overhead a drunkard yell out, “The Upper and Lower Districts are the Head and the Ass. You guess which one yer standin’ in!” Finn, Goblin, and Altin all laughed, although Leeya stayed solemn.

  The city was under the loose control of House Crookshanks, whose House Lord lived far away in another land. Either by laziness or lack of care, he saw fit for local smaller noble families without legalized houses to run the city and maintain it. The fact Leeya was a part of a ‘noble’ family by Kazman definition was made more interesting as she seemed to be the only member of the Upper District who was content with being on the ground, rubbing shoulders with ‘commoners’. It could have been Finn’s imagination, but Leeya seemed to despise the haughty attitude her fellow classmen displayed.

  Lucky for Goblin, Leeya knew a practitioner who had a quick-cure for swelling. She took them to a small white shack where a line of weary moth-stung citizens already waited. When it was their turn, a calloused woman rubbed thick ointment onto Goblin's ear and bandaged it, telling him by late evening, it would be healed. As they left the shack, the line of victims had doubled and despite having been told to leave it alone, Goblin pawed at his bandages like a cat with its head stuck in a shirt.

  Kazma was by all definition, Lenova’s hub of business. Everywhere Finn looked, documents and contracts were being signed, properties were bought or sold, and companies were created or shut down—either legally or by force. Prolific men and women with silk robes and jewels on their fingers sat and talked, discussing stratagems and industry. Threats and arguments broke out, all in level tones and with half-lidded eyes. Like too many predators stuffed into a small space, businessmen paced around each other, as if sniffing out for weakness. Those who could be taken advantage of—were.

  There was a distinct difference in attitude between the local workers who lived in the Lower-District versus the rich business owners of the Upper-District. While the simple humble folk laughed, yelled in anger, or complained in frustration, the upper-class showed little-to-no emotion at all. In fact, many had mastered a stone-faced look so well, they were unreadable. Leeya was a daughter of two business owners who'd decided it would be beneficial to partner up both as companies and in a relationship. She held the stoniest face of all. Finn was certain a man on fire could run around a corner screaming and Leeya wouldn't even bat an eye. It made her both intimidating and mysterious.

  “So, is there love between couples in Kazma?” Finn asked. “I mean, if relationships are only forged because they help two companies grow...”

  “Is marriage not a business deal?” Leeya responded. “For example, if you and I were to marry, would that not be the conjoining of our ideas, our abilities, and our potential growth?”

  “Uh...” was Finn's reply, no longer focusing on the question he'd asked but instead turning away to hide his red face. Goblin passed by and poked Finn's side with a wink, whispering, “Looks-like-you-want-to-start-your-own-business-right-now.”

  They squeezed and wove through narrow spaces between buildings. Each time Finn looked up, vertigo hit him. Houses and shops were stacked upon each other, sometimes lining up, other times overlapping and forming tunnels. They leaned over him, appearing as if about to tip over. Finn imagined some giant child playing with blocks, and without care, building his own chaotic city.

  Adding to the claustrophobia was how packed the Lower District was. Thousands of voices intermixed and became a single hum. Foot-traffic clogged every path and alley. Finn finally understood the purpose for the thousands of catwalks crisscrossing above him. He knew without Leeya they would have been lost within seconds. They climbed a set of stairs, walked through a stone tunnel to a tower, and reappeared out in the open, four stories higher. Even at that height, buildings towered about them. Finn counted at least nine layers of catwalks above him.

  Deeper in the city, luminescent crystal lampposts were spaced between every five stores—Finn found that Ka
zma measured distance by shops instead of meters. Three stores left and five stalls up was a horse stable, while six shacks below and one shop to the right was an accounting firm.

  The Upper-District was smaller in circumference than the Lower-District. Hanging far above them, it cast a circular shadow across the dense heart of Kazma, leaving only its edges bathed in sunlight. The torches and crystal light-posts stayed lit day and night, a permanent blue and orange glow across the expanse.

  “How-do-people-live-in-these-conditions?” Goblin asked out. “Condensed-and-poor-and-with-no-light?”

  Leeya shrugged. “Such is the way of the world. They do what they can to survive.”

  Altin gave Goblin a strange look and Finn was sure the golden-haired Star-Child was wondering why Goblin spoke in such a funny way.

  The deeper they traveled, the closer they got to the central tower connecting the two districts. The structure was huge, possibly the thickness of an entire city block. Finn frowned, a question coming to mind. “Leeya, how does Kazma work? How does the Upper-District float above us? Surely that singular tower can’t support it all by itself?”

  “No, it cannot.” Leeya concurred. “The Neck only houses elevators. Did you perhaps notice the many runes carved into the outside walls of the Upper-District as you approached the city?”

  “The huge symbols each the size of ten houses?”

  “Yes. There’s a magic flowing through them, keeping the Upper-District floating. They’re powered by the DozDum Organ, three hollow pipes running at angles down the center of the Neck. Buried in the ground far below the Lower-District—the Ass, as so eloquently put—” Goblin snorted and Altin let out a giggle. “lays an ancient power source. That power source vibrates the DozDum Organ, which sends out a signal bringing energy to the runes. We don’t know how such feats exist. Kazma’s an ancient place and has been around far longer than us. After we eat, we’ll go through the Neck to my family home. You’ll see the DozDum Organ then.”