Chapter 18 – Shadows Beneath the Light
The night, after Laura and her husband vanished, Madam Page, the midwife went inside her house and came out soon after holding a small bundle and wrapped in a cloak.
"She held Joshua carefully, the small bundle swaying by her waist. Then, she left the village."
She didn't look back.
The child in her arms — tiny, warm, impossibly calm — was the only thing that mattered now.
He didn't cry. Nor did he wake up
He had remained unconscious since the light disappeared.
The road ahead was endless.
Madam Page walked through the night, her old legs aching, her cloak torn by branches and thorns.
She crossed forests blanketed in mist, rivers that shimmered beneath moonlight, and valleys filled with whispering wind.
Sometimes, she thought she heard footsteps behind her — but when she turned, there was nothing.
Only shadows that fled from the faint glow that seemed to radiate from the baby's small body.
When dawn came, she saw the walls of a distant city rising against the horizon — smoke spiraling above rooftops, the faint glimmer of metal and stone.
Her knees nearly buckled.
A place to start again.
A place to hide him from the world.
---
Black Rock City — Ten Years Later
Time had softened her wrinkles and turned her black hair silver .
The world had changed, but she remained: strong, steady, and protective of the boy fate had entrusted to her.
Black Rock City stood as a Tier Three City — bustling, crowded, and alive.
In the world's hierarchy, cities were divided into five tiers:
Tier Five – small rural towns, often overlooked, governed by local heads. Like the village near the forest.
Tier Four – trade villages and border cities, simple yet self-sufficient.
Tier Three – structured towns like Black Rock, connected by trade routes and watchtowers, a blend of order and chaos.
Tier Two – major territories, home to academies, guilds, and fortified walls of silverstone.
Tier One – grand cities where nobles ruled, their banners reaching the skies.
And above them all,
the Capital, a city said to touch the heavens themselves — seat of the High Council and the divine rulers.
Home of the king and his royal court.
For most, Black Rock was simply a middle-ground — peaceful, far from war, rich enough to live, poor enough to be ignored.
Which was exactly why Madam Page chose it.
---
Black Rock City — Ten Years Later
Time had softened her wrinkles and turned her black hair silver .
The world had changed, but she remained: strong, steady, and protective of the boy fate had entrusted to her.
Black Rock City stood as a Tier Three City — bustling, crowded, and alive.
In the world's hierarchy, cities were divided into five tiers:
Tier Five – small rural towns, often overlooked, governed by local heads. Like the village near the forest.
Tier Four – trade villages and border cities, simple yet self-sufficient.
Tier Three – structured towns like Black Rock, connected by trade routes and watchtowers, a blend of order and chaos.
Tier Two – major territories, home to academies, guilds, and fortified walls of silverstone.
Tier One – grand cities where nobles ruled, their banners reaching the skies.
And above them all,
the Capital, a city said to touch the heavens themselves — seat of the High Council and the divine rulers.
Home of the king and his royal court.
For most, Black Rock was simply a middle-ground — peaceful, far from war, rich enough to live, poor enough to be ignored.
Which was exactly why Madam Page chose it.