“That was the beginning of the schism in the church, beginning of the war in the name of The Sun, for Sun. It is the start of a bloody affair that won’t be forgotten by time, or by places it visited and consumed.

The classroom of kids paid attention to what was said, it was not everyday that a priest of Dawn taught them the history of a Fallen Sun Church.

“At that moment there were no more Church Of Sun, now it was fractured and broken. But, it still fought to the last man, woman and a child. Not wanting to give, not wanting to surrender. Not willing to accept defeat.”

This is someone who knows it.

“Because defeat means being branded heretic. Because defeat means death. Because defeat means betraying your faith and the Sun. And that last thing, that last thing above all else they couldn’t allow. That’s the reason they couldn’t find peace.”

The detail, the realism of it.

“That leaves only blood. Blood and death.”

The terror.

“Both sides fought, burned on pyre, killed and slaughtered, set churches and towns aflame. The war makes monsters of men and walking disasters of heroes. And church had plenty of heroes. In the end neither side won, neither side rose above the other; they both fought with everything they had and blinked at nothing to do what they thought was right and just, what they thought was the will of Sun. In the end the only thing left was Ash.

Crunched down, I could look straight into their eyes.

“Ash and cloudy skies.”

I could peer into their souls, see their pathways of power..

“And so the sun set and night came. One force broken in two who acted and many more who did and didn’t throw a bone into their conflict. They didn’t find peace and so they brought the very thing they fought against.”

“Twilight of the World”

I held their very souls in the palm of my hand, hidden though they from sight I had them. It is time to show them the truth of the world, the reality -Twilight. And so when I took a deep breath and looked up they followed my gaze. For the first time they didn’t see the ashy clouds that cover everything, but what lies behind them.

They saw the truth and I continued on. Letting them stare up.

“The border between real and unreal thinned, other realms invaded ours. Visitors came from different places and time, elementals made home for themselves on our soil and chaos reigned. Void came to devoevor the very essence of our world, while body snatchers and soul eaters stole our young ones. The Sun was being eaten, consumed by a Comic Horror.”

I sighed looking down, they were still staring upwards, captivated.

“What differences does it matter now? What god you worship, what nation you swear too, whether you are living or dead. It matters not on which side you were, not anymore. We are all the same right now, fighting for our world with everything we have.The world is in chaos and invaders are on our shore, anomalies take over the people we care about and the mantle of the Sun is lost.”

“Are .. are we going to die?” One of the kids asked. I raised my head to see them all looking at me. I didn’t even notice when they stopped looking up with how quiet they were.

“Take heart, children, for the world is not ending yet. The Sun will rise again, a new Dawn will shine and our world will know order and peace again. Take heart, children for Warriors of Dawn take ground , take heart for Churches of Dawn hold the ground. We shall see the first sunrise, and if not we will make things easier for those who follow us..”

I rose up, spread out my hands and smiled looking at them

“You.”

There is nothing wrong with learning in a classroom, but I like to offer the kids a different experience, something that would make a lesson unique compared to so many others. So for this lesson I took them outside, we walked the streets and I treated them with a snack. We found a tall tree and rested beneath it.

They are a curious bunch, like all kids are. Full of wonder and energy, naive in the ways of life.

Now, as they look at me mixed with horror and wonder I know I stroked their fire. They will not lose their will and fail to despair, they will not give up so easily. They will fight and win. They will live.

The world is broken and in pieces, but the kids are our future. The kids are out hope in this dark world. And we will protect them, guide them and help them rise.

We are the priest of Dawn