The sun bathed the city of Tolaris in a golden light.
It was my birthday. Fifteen.
My mother had given me a small cake, decorated with a flaming sugar number 15.
I laughed, embarrassed, as she urged me to blow out the candles.
"Come on, Aegon, make a wish."
I closed my eyes. My wish was always the same:
"I want to become a great Scriptor."
-----
A few hours later, we were walking together in the main square.
Colorful decorations still floated above the streets.
I stopped in the middle of an empty circle to show my mother what I had learned.
"Look, Mom! I'm doing better now!"
I took a deep breath. My spirit brush materialized in my perception, invisible to the others. Slowly, very slowly.
it took several seconds. I wrote the word in the air:
" FIRE "
Each letter traced a glowing rune, suspended for a moment in the void before dissolving into sparks. A small red flame then appeared in the palm of my hand, flickering but very real.
My mother clapped her hands, smiling: "You'll become a great Scriptor one day... I'm sure of it."
And it was at that moment… that the sky tore open.
A shrill cry pierced the air:
" SKREEEEEEEEEEEEE!! "
A sound so high-pitched it chilled me to the bone.
People froze, then started screaming all at once.
---
A black wave swept across the horizon.
Then an inhuman howl made the city tremble.
Scarlet runes appeared at the top of a skyscraper.
A monstrous figure, covered in dark armored plates, leaned over the crowd.
An Scriptorial Entity.
---
People screamed.
The Scriptors drew their invisible brushes, tracing runes of fire and ice to try to contain the creature.
But each attack dissolved against the Entity's carapace.
My mother grabbed me by the arm:
" Don't move, Aegon! "
I was paralyzed.
My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear the cries around me.
I tried to trace a word.
But my hand was trembling too much to form even a single rune.
The Entity raised a massive arm.
Bloody runes began spinning above its claw.
A black wave surged forth, rushing straight at us.
My mother stepped in front of me.
" AEGON, NO! "
" KRRRRSSHHHHH!!!... BOOOOOOM !!!"
The world exploded in a white flash.
When my eyes opened again, everything was dust and flames.
My mother was lying in front of me, her eyes wide open, frozen, trapped between life and death.
" No… no… NO…! "
I shook her shoulder.
She didn't move.
" Mom… wake up… please… "
All around me, the city was burning.
My birthday had just become the day when everything fell apart.