Prologue
Prologue
Where were you, on that day?
Anyone who knew anything of worth, knew what you were talking about. Anyone who didn't, wasn't worth talking to.
That day. The moment that changed everything.
On that day, young Pacifica Davis was at home. Her mother were not yet back from her jobs, with her working at a corner store downtown. They were not wealthy and struggled to pay for rent and utilities. Her mother having impressed upon her the importance of saving money, and the fact that the utility company has cut the supply, Pacifica shivered in the cold night air, bundled up in old clothing picked up from various points, including the dumpster. The heater was out, and even if they did, there wasn't money to pay for the heating bills. At her side, was a wind-up torch they had found, several days ago. It was mostly a child's toy, but to Pacifica, who wasn't even able to turn on the lights, it was a godsend.
In front of her, was a book. A book on medicine. A study on the various surgeries for dealing with burns. Already in her hand was a piece of paper and a pencil, and the silent night of the flat was filled with her scratchings as she read and made notes. She smiled.
There, the 2nd to last chapter. Soon, she'll be finished. It was hard, borrowing this book and taking it from the library. But good thing that they trusted her by now and let her use it. And she'll have to thank Aunt Bethanie for recommending it to her. It was so interesting….
40 minutes passed.
She finished the last of her notes. The bookstore was having a sale, and so she had taken an entire stack of A4 white paper, using it for writing and drawing. Already, she had copied several anatomical diagrams. She would have taken a laptop and searched the internet, but unable to afford even lighting and the bills for internet, such a thing was a long distant dream for young Pacifica. She slammed the book shut, and placed it within a pile, and began to keep her papers. Studying medicine on your own was hard work, but it was to improve her own life, and to chase her own dream… in a way.
She didn't do this simply because it was fun. Doctors are paid well. She didn't want to stay like this. She didn't want to stay half-freezing in a flat, unable to pay for heating and light, clad in clothing dug out from a dumpster. She didn't want to have her mother stay up all night, obsessively calculating how to get more money and weeping when she thought Pacifica didn't hear her. She wanted a better life for her younger sibling, so that she would be able to live a childhood where she could get the toys and food she wanted.
This was the first part to solving all that.
She smiled and began to prepare to turn around and go to bed. And in her elation, she did not notice the change. First, she realized that the area outside of her torchlight was getting brighter and brighter. Then, she realized that no, the window blinds were not open. And then, she realized from the position of the shadows, that the light was coming from her.
Pacifica's mind blanked, as the light from her skin began to first light up the pages on the paper she was holding. Then, it it began to burn bright enough to light up the entire room.
By the time the light managed to penetrate the walls, she had begun screaming.
~
The place where Pacifica lived had a name, once. But it was now called by all 'The projects'. A government attempt to provide cheap housing to the poor. Ill managed, ill-funded, and an embezzlement scandal later, the project was disbanded. Ill-maintained and situated far from the city centre, the place was for the destitute and the desperate. None who lived here could be called well-off, and consequently they had to work hard day and night to survive.
Which was why on this night, the couple which lived above Pacifica was fast asleep in their beds, with only the sounds beneath them causing them to roll around. Only their pet dog was awake, a labrador named Fiodor. It awoke, startled by the lights that were penetrating the floor beneath it and some animal instinct that screamed to it that an immense predator was near. It began barking as the light began to penetrate the cracks on the floor, and as the light began to build, it began to whine in terror, and pushed itself into the corner in fear....
~
On January 25th, 2015, at the site of the Calabri-Orange Housing Project onlookers reported seeing an immense pillar of light erupting from the ground, entering the sky. Residents from miles around were startled as night turned into day, and a massive glow erupted from the location of the housing. Drunks and various lowlifes shouted and pointed, fleeing the scene as the sudden sensation of terror took their minds. Men and women, coming back late at night, stopped their cars and looked out, eyes wide open at the sight showing above the horizon. Cellphones and cameras clicked and flashed. Some thought this was a wonderful light show. Some, just talked what kind of special effects this was. Witnesses that included a squad car on patrol claimed that the light had a pattern to it, a massive mandala of poppy leaves and twisting spiral helixes.
And as the divine light poured into the night sky to turn dusk to dawn, and the city was taken with terror and wonder. Mortals scurried away in terror, and beneath this complete suspension of natural law, the world's first Solar Exalted began to take the Second Breath...
Where were you, on that day?
Anyone who knew anything of worth, knew what you were talking about. Anyone who didn't, wasn't worth talking to.
That day. The moment that changed everything.
On that day, young Pacifica Davis was at home. Her mother were not yet back from her jobs, with her working at a corner store downtown. They were not wealthy and struggled to pay for rent and utilities. Her mother having impressed upon her the importance of saving money, and the fact that the utility company has cut the supply, Pacifica shivered in the cold night air, bundled up in old clothing picked up from various points, including the dumpster. The heater was out, and even if they did, there wasn't money to pay for the heating bills. At her side, was a wind-up torch they had found, several days ago. It was mostly a child's toy, but to Pacifica, who wasn't even able to turn on the lights, it was a godsend.
In front of her, was a book. A book on medicine. A study on the various surgeries for dealing with burns. Already in her hand was a piece of paper and a pencil, and the silent night of the flat was filled with her scratchings as she read and made notes. She smiled.
There, the 2nd to last chapter. Soon, she'll be finished. It was hard, borrowing this book and taking it from the library. But good thing that they trusted her by now and let her use it. And she'll have to thank Aunt Bethanie for recommending it to her. It was so interesting….
40 minutes passed.
She finished the last of her notes. The bookstore was having a sale, and so she had taken an entire stack of A4 white paper, using it for writing and drawing. Already, she had copied several anatomical diagrams. She would have taken a laptop and searched the internet, but unable to afford even lighting and the bills for internet, such a thing was a long distant dream for young Pacifica. She slammed the book shut, and placed it within a pile, and began to keep her papers. Studying medicine on your own was hard work, but it was to improve her own life, and to chase her own dream… in a way.
She didn't do this simply because it was fun. Doctors are paid well. She didn't want to stay like this. She didn't want to stay half-freezing in a flat, unable to pay for heating and light, clad in clothing dug out from a dumpster. She didn't want to have her mother stay up all night, obsessively calculating how to get more money and weeping when she thought Pacifica didn't hear her. She wanted a better life for her younger sibling, so that she would be able to live a childhood where she could get the toys and food she wanted.
This was the first part to solving all that.
She smiled and began to prepare to turn around and go to bed. And in her elation, she did not notice the change. First, she realized that the area outside of her torchlight was getting brighter and brighter. Then, she realized that no, the window blinds were not open. And then, she realized from the position of the shadows, that the light was coming from her.
Pacifica's mind blanked, as the light from her skin began to first light up the pages on the paper she was holding. Then, it it began to burn bright enough to light up the entire room.
By the time the light managed to penetrate the walls, she had begun screaming.
~
The place where Pacifica lived had a name, once. But it was now called by all 'The projects'. A government attempt to provide cheap housing to the poor. Ill managed, ill-funded, and an embezzlement scandal later, the project was disbanded. Ill-maintained and situated far from the city centre, the place was for the destitute and the desperate. None who lived here could be called well-off, and consequently they had to work hard day and night to survive.
Which was why on this night, the couple which lived above Pacifica was fast asleep in their beds, with only the sounds beneath them causing them to roll around. Only their pet dog was awake, a labrador named Fiodor. It awoke, startled by the lights that were penetrating the floor beneath it and some animal instinct that screamed to it that an immense predator was near. It began barking as the light began to penetrate the cracks on the floor, and as the light began to build, it began to whine in terror, and pushed itself into the corner in fear....
~
On January 25th, 2015, at the site of the Calabri-Orange Housing Project onlookers reported seeing an immense pillar of light erupting from the ground, entering the sky. Residents from miles around were startled as night turned into day, and a massive glow erupted from the location of the housing. Drunks and various lowlifes shouted and pointed, fleeing the scene as the sudden sensation of terror took their minds. Men and women, coming back late at night, stopped their cars and looked out, eyes wide open at the sight showing above the horizon. Cellphones and cameras clicked and flashed. Some thought this was a wonderful light show. Some, just talked what kind of special effects this was. Witnesses that included a squad car on patrol claimed that the light had a pattern to it, a massive mandala of poppy leaves and twisting spiral helixes.
And as the divine light poured into the night sky to turn dusk to dawn, and the city was taken with terror and wonder. Mortals scurried away in terror, and beneath this complete suspension of natural law, the world's first Solar Exalted began to take the Second Breath...