Aeron Chases the Sun

Aeron was born into a very old tribe. Long ago, his ancestors constructed great towers like cliffs to live within, where they were protected from the elements and able to live in comfort and leisure. Over time they became used to the darkness of their caves, and favored it. Even the beams of the sun could not penetrate the towers' shadows. Each morning before sun-up they slept, and for many hours. They did not wake until the sun had dipped beneath the horizon once again. At night they moved about by dim, fabricated light, and dreamt in the half-light that they would live forever.

Now Aeron was no longer a boy, and not yet a man, when there arose a restlessness within him that kept him from sleep. He left his cave, looked up and saw the tips of the towers bathed in early morning light. Determined to look upon its source, Aeron ran to meet the Sun outside the city where it rose. From up on a ridge he saw the world bathed in gold for the first time. He stood before the brilliance of the Sun, and it was painful to him. The rays of light pierced him like a thousand arrows and he had no choice but to retreat down into the valley of his people.

Aeron hid amongst the silent towers, nursing his wounds and thinking only of what he had seen. While the city slept, the Sun crept overhead, its power increasing throughout the day. Only with nightfall fast approaching was his courage regained. Again he ventured forth silently, as a hunter tracks his prey. This time he found the half-sun sinking, it's light quickly fading from the sky. As he stared he saw himself in the Sun, and felt that he too, was slowly sinking beneath the earth. With this feeling came such sorrow that he could not bear to watch any longer. Aeron turned, and in turning, saw for the first time his Spirit, spread out on the ground before him. He ran and his spirit ran ahead, with a stride that always reached just farther than his own. It led him back to the city that evening, and from then on he felt it, even at night, stretched out in front of him, leading him on, yearning for the life which comes with every passing moment.

But from the moment the light pierced him, Aeron was forever changed, for the setting Sun had displayed to him his fate. He remained in the town the rest of his days, telling all who would listen of the Sun and its arrows, of the Spirit that it awakens and the death that it brings.