growth
Depths of Night Tess Boegel Lyra descended to the Depths of Night, bringing with her a faint red glow. She had left the diffused sunlight of the Twilight layers long ago, passed through Midnight and entered the Abyss. Beyond that was the Trench. Before her lay nothingness. A darkness so deep and intense and still, unshaken by currents, more suffocating than the pressure of the waters above. No kraken nor toothed whale that made the Midnight zone its hunting-ground dared to swim this low. According to the legends of her people, even the gods feared this place. So, why was Lyra so drawn to it?
“
“
even the gods feared this place.
Ever since she was a little pup, she had loved exploring. Her mother had called it stupidity; her father simply shook his head. They were hardly surprised when she first became curious about the Trench. Still, they had hoped she would eventually give up on the foolish idea to explore there. She never did and promised herself she never would. Only her little brother, Lepus, seemed to understand. When she was
little, he had followed her on many a make-believe adventure. As she grew older, he had always encouraged her curiosity about the world; together, they learned how to navigate by the stars, record the different animals and plants they saw, and, most importantly, how to fight with a spear. When she had returned from trying to explore the Trench the last time, their parents had been livid. Lepus came to her after their scolding, bringing with him a welcome silence. After a long while he simply said, “You’re going to try again, aren’t you?” He spoke calmly, with no accusation in his voice. She could tell he already knew the answer. “Yes. And no, you can’t come, it’s...” “Why not!” he cried suddenly. “Why could you possibly not want me! You need some help, Lyra, some backup! Be sensible!” As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed shocked by his own outburst. She just swam away from him. The two of them didn’t talk for a long time after that. Lyra found him again when she had an answer. “I need to do this, Lepus. I can feel it in my soul that I’m meant to go down there. It’s like it’s written in the stars, my destiny ever since I was small to discover something new and amazing. This is my fight, and I have to win it alone.” He didn’t look at her as she spoke.
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