Alone in the Dark

Dark Skies

...there is beauty in the dark skies, don't get me wrong.

A sort of silent, cold peace that allows you to stare up into an oblivion we don't understand, it is magical and endless and brings you back to the realization just how small you are. But that beauty is far easier to appreciate when you're standing with a loved one or group of friends, appreciating the quiet of the moment and the majesty of where you are and who you are with.

To one person, alone and lost, the darkness amplifies their instability, claws through their carefully constructed confidence and leaves you gasping at every sound unknown.

There are several types of darkness, both physical and mental, emotional and personal. A person could be standing in the bright, warm light of day and be lost within the deep, dark depths of their mind.

The shadows of our past haunt us and drag us down, replaying our failures and losses if we fail to guard against them. A fighter can be launched, alone and away from their party, striving against things of nightmares with a dying, flickering torch. You can be fighting illness that has trapped you helplessly away from any aid than your own.

It is not that there are good and evil people in the world, but that people are born with both of those forces within them and through their life choices and circumstances, their lessons and personalities, they foster different sets of values.

Unfortunately, when push comes to shove, some people will act for their own best interests, pursuing a path that will destroy everything around them in the hopes that they can achieve some long-sought goal.

It is only together that we can bolster one another against these weaknesses and temptations, only together can humanity move forward.

But be cautious, sometimes it is easier to do wrong as part of a group than it is when one is alone. There is a balance to what we fight for.

And this is all just considering humanity.

There are other things out there, waiting for a lost traveller on the road or a pained soul looking for release. The shadows that shift through the darkness and form into our deepest desires, that claw and howl as our worst nightmares. We do not understand nearly as much as we assume we do.

So, children, keep the fire burning bright and your friend's close, for your darkest hours are still coming.

Unknown author,

** Translation note: Recovered pages from Chronicle of Aupana, top half of the work was destroyed and unrecoverable.

Written in the time of the second Regent.