"What you've got there, Daia?"

I bent down to a knee in between the strands of rye. I did my best to sneak a peek at what Daia's white snout and salivating tongue were so enamoured with, but her rice white tail was wagging intensely from excitement. All I got was fur stuffing my mouth.

"Hey girl, you need to share the treasures we find!". The dog wasn't listening of course. I crept down on all fours and pushed the rye aside. A whining noise came from what she was crunching on.

"Daia, are you decimating the flute I dropped in the field two days ago?" She looked up at me with droopy eyes. "That's not how you play it!" I took it from the ground and used the frilled arm of my blouse to wipe away the worst of the dust, grime, and dog saliva. Daia looked expectantly at me as I put my mouth to the chewed-up lip plate. As I blew, a dust cloud erupted over the dog's snout and she started sneezing.

"Maybe not right now then." I couldn't keep giggles in as I brushed some of the dust off from her wild face fur. I gave her a pat on her soft head and we continued walking through the field, careful not to trample anything. It was soon time for harvest. My hand flowed over the rye. I used to hide there, when I was younger and didn't want to do chores. The browning dry rye served as great camouflage for me. It could take hours until I was found, asleep among the grain.

We reached the immense oak tree that grew on top of the only hill in the village of Samarasata. It was old. I'm not sure how old. Maybe it was even older than the village's Speaker. I snorted. No, nothing could be older than her.

I plopped down on the yellowed grass, in the shade of the wide arms of the tree. The bark tugged at my back when I reclined against it, but I didn't mind. Daia was scratching herself against it. She had already forgotten the dirt I blew in her face.

It was almost time for service with the Speaker. I looked over the field down to the village I called home. The only place I knew. The sight was familiar to me of course. I had seen nothing else. Most prominent was the crowned temple held up by strong pillars. The afternoon sun caught in the dome on the roof, made entirely out of solid gold. I think that's why the pillars had to be so strong, to keep all that gold up. It made me tired to just think about it.

So I didn't. My eyes wandered away from the village, the place I called home. There was only one road leading into it. I could barely see it. It wasn't more than a streak through the grass and fields. The vegetation had almost reclaimed the ground, as no one ever left the village. Why would they want to? The name was Samarasata, an old word for harmony, after all.

Sometimes, we would get a trader coming through. It was a rare occasion, and I always joined the children in pestering them for stories or news from other places. Last time, Mother said "You're eighteen now; when will you stop dreaming of other places? Come on, take up the sickle and help us with weeding the fields.".

"There you are." I looked to the side of the tree.

"Luludja!" I got up to my feet and embraced her. She swept my braid falling wildly on the right side of my face to the side so that it was not covering my eye, and pushed me away with a laugh.

"Little brother, I've been looking everywhere for you." We sat down together, and Daia put her head in Luludja's lap.

"Are you dreaming up here again, Sein?" She asked me. "I always feel like I'm chasing after your mind. It's never where I am. You're always just beyond where I can find you."

"Like when we were kids and played in the fields?"

"Hah. I never could find you when we played hide and seek. You could hide out there for hours, even when we shouted for you." A shadow flashes over her round cheeks and sharp eyes for a moment. "Sometimes, I'm still afraid you won't come back home."

My eyes drifted down the road again. "Where would I go?"

"There is a whole world out there! You could go anywhere." She looked at me. "That wasn't a suggestion, I hope you know that. Mother and Father would not be happy about me giving you ideas."

"I'm not even sure that I want to go. Here, I have you. And Mother and Father. I've got Daia and the fields, and this tree." I patted it and smiled.

''Well, good. You won't be running away in the middle of the night." We heard a bell ringing from the temple. "That's weird." The notes were different than usual, a song I couldn't place. "We better hurry to see what that is about."

I helped her get the yellow silk scarf over her head before we left, and she helped me with my white one. The moment we were done, we were sprinting over the field. Daia was quicker than both of us, stopping every five seconds to let us catch up. At least I could come second? No, Luludja was faster as well. I gritted my teeth as I pushed my burning legs to the limit. I couldn't help but laugh as I caught up to her speed but… she had a worried look on her face. My laughter died off, suddenly worried myself.

We finally got through to the other side of the field. Mother and Father were there. Father beamed at me, and Mother had her usual bored look.

"Why is the bell tolling so weirdly?" Luludja asked.

Father scooped us forward, one arm on each of our shoulders. It slanted slightly on me, as I was more than a head, almost two, shorter than he was. Luludja had gotten his height, and I our mother's. I looked back towards her. She was following a few steps behind. Where her sullenness had ended up, no one knew.

"Ah, you were still only a baby last time this song was filling our village." Father said to Luludja, and then grimaced at me. "And you not even a thought in your mother's and mine head."

We joined the others of the village. It seemed we were streaming towards the centre. The temple was there, as was the well. I stepped over one of the dozens of thick tubes coming from the contraption that gathered the water from underground and led it to our houses. It was fairly new to this place, only a few years. They had these… I wasn't even sure what the name was, in the big cities for a long time. Things always took ages to arrive here in Samarasata, on the far side of The Sacred Grove.

"Well, what is it for then?" Luludja asked, impatient for an answer.

"And spoil the surprise?"

"Ugh."

We arrived outside the temple, the gathering being on two different sides of the small road. I leaned forward to try and get a peek, but Mother pulled me back . "Child, why are you so… dirty?" She went to wipe her hand off on the pleated red vest, but stopped herself. It hid behind her back instead.

I could see a cloud of dust from above the peoples' heads, coming closer and closer with the sound of hooves accompanying it. I winced as cheers and shouting kicked off around me. I didn't even know what we were cheering for. Instead, I looked at the people that were on the… those weren't horses? It looked more like a deer, but larger, and so were the antlers. Their hides were grey and white, different from the brown deer I had seen sometimes running outside our house in the night. On them rode people dressed in golden armour, brighter than the temple dome even. Each and every one held a weapon. Most were swords, but there were some spears as well. Seeing them made me cringe deeper into Father's side. I had never seen a weapon larger than a kitchen knife before.

Despite the splendour of the warriors, one person stood out even more. He rode the largest of the weird deer, with the largest antlers. His jacket was a dark blue colour, and the collar was vivid sporting bright red, yellow, and green. Despite the oppressive heat of late summer, the man wore a thick pelt mantle over his shoulders. There wasn't a speck of sweat on his brow.

That made me study his face. It was so different from mine. For one, his colour was almost pink, the sharp cheeks especially. And if my skin was brown like rye ready for harvest, his hair was yellow like when it was newly sprouted.

He must be from The Suit of Swords. I had never met anyone from there. They didn't have much reason to come to the outskirts of The Suit of Wands. They mostly traded in different meats, pelts, and timber. We did not have much use for any of them here. This land was hot almost all year round, giving us plenty of opportunity to grow crops instead of sustaining ourselves on animals. So it wasn't worth the hassle, as it was already difficult to travel here. The Sacred Grove separated us from the rest of the Suit. The only people who did were the traders going to and from The Rainbow Cove at the very edge of it. It was the source of paint and pigment for the rest of The World. That was probably what the man had used to paint those symbols over the exposed parts of his body. They must be of an old script, as I couldn't read them. To me, they mostly seemed to be circles and other geometrical shapes. Painted over the rose-hued lips was what looked to be a sun.

Luludja tilted herself over Father's chest to whisper to me with a smirk. "Sein."

I tilted over Father as well. "What?"

"Stop drooling over him."

"I- I'm not!" I exclaim-whispered, wiping the corner of my mouth. She giggled, but retracted when she saw Mother giving her a warning Look.

For a moment, I'm sure that my eyes met his. Unlike many of the people in his tow, they were yellow. No, golden, boring into mine as if the sun itself was burning them into vapour. My head started to pulse, like when one was out in the sun for too long in the midst of summer. I gripped my aching temple and averted my gaze so I wasn't staring straight at him.

"Friends!" The man said. He wasn't shouting, but I could hear him as clearly as if he was a mere hand's breadth away from me. "Rejoice, for you are in mine empyrean presence. Feel my light!"

I could feel his light, actually. He started to glow subtly, and there was a… it wasn't heat, it was more like a presence emanating from him. I could feel it on my face, like the skin had been scrubbed and it was especially clean. As long as I didn't look directly into those eyes, it was a pleasant warmth.

The man let his words sink in for a moment before he continued. I primed my ears for him to speak again, desperate to hear that voice again. Everything about him felt like it was more than what it was, like he extended further than the constricting form of his body.

"I have heard of this village, Samarasata." The way he said it was a bit different than I had ever heard it before. "Once the home of the Eight of Wands, known to most as the travelling Harmonizers. Their blood lives on in you, and for that you should feel pride. Perhaps, with me as The Sun, the rays of your own light may once again reach the corners of every Suit, throughout The World entire!"

He smiled at all of us. Or maybe… maybe it was at me?

"The sun is what makes life possible, and I wish to be that for every soul I encounter. Some before me decided that coming all the way here after their coronation as The Sun was not worth the effort, but who are we to decide you are not deserving of the light? Nay, I care for you all equally. I will make it known to all, common people and Arcana both. This I swear."

 The village erupts into applause as the man and his warriors start their galloping again. I am surprised to discover my own hands to be joined in it. It keeps going until The Sun has passed the last of the houses in the village, going down beyond the western horizon.

Even Mother had a smile on her face.

The visit from The Sun had been the most interesting thing happening in forever, and there was an air of excitement in the temple. Mother had given me a Look when I tried to scoop Daia up to bring her inside. I brought Daia to the ancient caravans, relics from a time my people's nomadic past. Now they only stood there as a reminder and a place for children to take summer naps in.

I told the dog that she should wait here and that I would be back soon. She stared silently after me all the way to the doors, like I was abandoning her forever. Luludja took my hand and pulled me inside before I either started to cry, or skipped out to cuddle with the dog instead.

We were sitting in the front row of flattened pillows. Even though we were the last ones in due to my insistence to say goodbye to Daia, they were empty. Mother did her best to get my face clean from my adventures, but it wasn't much use. She stopped trying just as the Speaker entered the room. Everyone fell silent.

The Speaker was an old woman. Her skin looked like the couch in our living room. It was an antique by now, and the leather had shrivelled from lack of upkeep. And some generations of children climbing all over it (Luludja in particular was guilty of shaving off decades from its lifetime. And mother's.).

We all clasped our hands together and started off the starting prayer.

"We have gathered in this knot of The World." The Speaker started, and we all echoed her. The afternoon sun shone through innumerable small holes in the ceiling. I shut my eyes to not get blinded. "We take respite in the eye of the storm, the eye of The World. We raise our hands-" Everyone did so. "-to placate ourselves before our great guides, the Major Arcana, the wills of The World. We, as mortals, embrace their great power, so that they might enrich our lives." This is when the Speaker always lowered her hands, but of course, I couldn't see that with my eyes closed.

"Love to you all." everyone said in unison.

I jumped in my chair when a loud thump came from the altar. My eyes flew open to see the Speaker with her fist in the marble table. "I have in my hands a report from The Hierophant and The Emperor, all the way from The Shuffle. It is concerning the taxes of Samarasata- '' Of course, the report had not been written by The Hierophant or The Emperor in person. They were both two of the Major Arcana. I wondered what it was like to have been blessed by The World, to be given powers far beyond us normal people. To have all of us as their responsibility. Either way, they were too grand to warrant a personal letter to a little village like Samarasata. The Sun must be truly special and kind, even compared to all the others like him, to have come all this way only to see us. I have a vague memory of the village having a party for The Star when they became exalted, but they hadn't actually been here.

"Maggots!" My grin from thinking of parties faltered as the Speaker accused us with a long wiry finger. "Our great Arcana live and breathe for our sake, and you fail to deliver your appreciation for their sacrifice. Lazy and entitled, the lot of you."

"Speaker!" My father rose, hands wringing nervously. "Of course we wish to honour our Arcana, but we barely have enough-"

"Excuses!" Father sat down again as if struck. "I have been in the next village over, Kukrikonh, and there the children help in the fields instead of running around in them ruining the crops." Her eyes stopped at me for just a moment, but I could feel the judgement in just that. Luludja's hand was grasping mine. I felt like I had eaten dirt.

The Speaker's face softened. "Oh, but you do not know better. I, in the will of The Hierophant and The World, will help you become worthy subjects of our guides. I will teach you all the meaning of hard work. We must always strive to be the best we can be in the eyes of The Arcana, always following in their footsteps. Put the splendour of The Sun you all were blessed to witness today in your heart, and your body and mind will follow."

The air in the room still felt heavy after the Speaker's outburst for the rest of the sermons and prayers. I tried to shut the words out and think of happier things. I wish I actually had stayed out there with Daia. Perhaps mother would let us go to the tree again to watch the sunset? Perhaps if I said "oh mother, I just wish to meditate up there, in the splendour of The Sun. Just as the Speaker told us!".

My family was silent as we walked back home. Daia must have felt that we were all in a weird mood. She walked in rhythm to my feet without me even having to coax it out of her. I kept a hand on her head all the way back to the house. When we were all home, Luludja and I played a game of tarot without uttering a word, while Mother and Father prepared a dinner of rye bread, goat cheese, and rice soup.

"I think-" Father broke the silence when we were all at the table. "- that the Speaker is much too harsh."

Mother glared at him disapprovingly. "I was so embarrassed when you spoke in the temple. She is right, we have not done our duty right."

"But the taxes have shot up during the last two decades! In my days of youth, our tribute was fair, and everyone had enough to live off."

"Are you suggesting that our Great Arcana, in their infinite wisdom, are wrong?"

I looked down into my bowl. I didn't know much about the infinite wisdom of the Arcana, but even I had noticed our meals growing smaller and smaller. Maybe it would be better after this harvest.

"And Sein." I looked up at my mother. "You're not even a child anymore, and still you just sit up by the tree every day instead of working."

"He shouldn't have to." Father protested. I didn't know what to say, but appreciated him trying to help me.

"Ach. He should work just like everyone else. And what would The Lovers say? We really should start looking for a nice person for him to marry, so he can start a family of his own. Luludja is already planning her marriage to Miri. It is an important step on our Journey through life to know the love of family."

Mother had been going on and on about marriage recently, always having seen The Lovers as the closest guide in her life after having met one of them as a teenager. She had seen me hold hands with Raveen one day as we went to the temple, just like we had always done since we were five, and started making comments about how we would be a wonderful couple. "But I have a family." I interjected. "I've got you."

"And you always will, but life isn't just floating through with the mind of a child. It's hard work and new experiences. The World wills it so."

"Then maybe I should go out and see it." Everyone's cutlery smattered to the table. Mother gasped, Father looked mortified, and Luludja laughed.

"So this isn't enough for you? We're not enough for you?" Mother's voice was metallic. I realized saying it had been a mistake. I just didn't see what was so bad about it. "I think you ought to go and see the inside of your room."

"But I haven't-" I gestured to the food that was barely touched.

"You haven't worked for it. Give it to Daia."

I held her eyes for a moment, pleadingly. She didn't give way, so I got up. I kept my burning eyes in contact with hers while I held out my bowl for Daia to lick clean. Then I picked the dog up and rushed to my room. I slammed it shut hard.

I hugged my pillow, discoloured from Daia's roughhousing, to my body. Daia licked at my face to try and get the tears to stop running.

It was so unfair! My mother, the Speaker, the Arcana. The World! It gave us so many gifts of beauty and fun, and then we weren't supposed to appreciate it? Slave away in the fields our whole lives, with the occasional glance at the tree to remind us of easier, of better times? If one of the tenets of The World was to grow and see new things, like Mother and the Speaker always said, then why should I stay here, in Samarasata, the only home I've ever known?

Because it was the only home I've ever known. Maybe mother was right. How would I make it out there? Before I went out and did something crazy, perhaps I should learn the meaning of that hard work thing. Marry a nice person. Start a family. Be stuck here forever.

I was shaken awake by a tentative hand on my shoulder. I struggled with opening my eyes. They had clogged up. I must have fallen asleep still crying.

"Are you okay, Sein?" Luludja kept her hand on my shoulder. She was sitting on the edge of my bed. On the floor, she had put a plate of tadgola. I ignored the fruit for now, carefully shuffling my head to lie in her lap. I managed to not stir Daia awake where she had fallen asleep next to me. I looked up into Luludja's face. She was trying to keep a smile on her face, but her face was furrowed with lines of worry.

"I don't know." I lied. There was utter silence for a moment "Luludja, what should I do?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but stopped herself. "I... don't think that's for me to say. You have to decide your life for yourself."

"That's not what Mother thinks."

"Mother has listened too much to the Speaker. I think Father is right. Things have changed. I don't know much about how things are out there, but Samarasata used to be… harmonious. The temple used to be filled with words about love, but now it's the weekly scolding and insults. It used to be about choosing our own lives, but now it's about musts and responsibility."

"So I don't have a responsibility to work in the fields, marry, and always wonder what might be out there for me?"

"Not if you ask me. Do you think that, if you ask yourself? Would staying here make you happy?"

"I'll never know what I want unless I do it. Unless I go out there and see what The World has to offer." My heart felt like it had grown three sizes and came up to be stuck in my throat.

"So…" She hesitated but for one moment. "So go. I know I seemed against it up by the tree, but you can always come back here. Samarasata won't go away. I'll always be here for you. Mother will freak out, but in the end, she'll always be here for you as well."

"But what will you do?" I grabbed her face with my hands. Losing Luludja was more than I could handle. "Do you want to stay here? You can come with me."

She shook her head slowly. "I want to stay. I've got Miri here, and I think I really love her. I want to get married, and have two children with her. I hope they're like you." Tears started to flow freely from her eyes. "But that life isn't for you, Sein. I think everyone has always known that. Most of all, you've known it. When you sit by the tree, you're not just sitting by the tree. You're everywhere but by the tree. You're out there!" She gestured towards nowhere in particular. Towards everything.

I could barely see her through eyes blurred by wet tears. To hear her say these words, I knew they were true. "At least… At least go with me a little bit. Just beyond the fields. I don't want to step outside my world all by myself."

"You will never be alone." She smiled at Daia, who had woken up. She looked excited, ready for adventure. I wish I had her confidence. "But of course I'll go with you."

We snuck around the house, gathering some bread and goat cheese for my first few days. We didn't have any bags. Why would we, when nowhere was far enough to go without keeping whatever you were carrying in your hands? So we took the cloth from the table, a beautiful thing my great grandfather had made. There were some stains of food over the fine symmetrical floral designs. I felt bad about taking it, but Luludja put the food in there and tied it around the end of my walking stick. I had made that myself as a child. The cuts in the oak wood were rough. There was an engraving of a dog at the top. Daia came with my flute in her mouth, and I pushed it into the little bag.

The night still had a tight grip on the quiet village. The houses were nothing but blocks of bricks, their brightly coloured paint washed away in the monochrome shine of the new moon. The tree on the hill was but a shadow, paling in comparison to its daylight majesty. It already felt far away, and we weren't even at the end of the first field. I tightened the long scarf around my neck and clasped the moss green cape over my chest. My father, so delicate with his hands, had embroidered flowers in a metallic thread all over, so wherever you looked, you always looked at a work of art. It had been his so long ago, when he too had gone out in the world for a while before settling done with Mother. But I had not inherited his broad shoulders. It hung loosely around me.

Daia nibbled on the red bandana around her neck. She kept warm with just her fur, but I wanted us to both match with scarves. It would also make it easier to pick her out in a crowd. A crowd! We were only fifty or so people even when gathered in the temple. Just imagine what it would be like in a real city?

"This is as far as we've ever been." Luludja stopped. "This is where the fields end." She was right. The tall crops ended abruptly, to give way for dry earth and sun soaked grass. The river was still to our right. I would follow it, because Luludja had said that there were always people around water.

"So this is it?" I had to take support against the wand not to fall over my shaking legs.

"This is it. If you choose to take the step."

I looked back at the village, at Samarasata. At my home. Mother and Father were sleeping in their bed, under covers to stave off the chill of the night. When they woke up, they would wonder where I was. First, they would look to the tree. But I wouldn't be there. Perhaps they would look in the fields, or they would just ask Luludja. She would have to tell them. Try to convince them that I would be ok.

I hoped I would be ok. I had Daia with me. She was strong and brave. Whatever happened, she would protect me. And there were people out there. Strangers perhaps. But I had read in an adventure book that strangers were just friends I hadn't met yet. I would be ok.

I dropped the wand to the ground and embraced my sister. I held her so tight she had to gasp for air at first, but she was soon hugging me back just as tightly.

"I'll miss you, little brother. I hope you'll be back for the wedding."

"I'd never miss it." I let go of her, but still held onto her hand. "I love you, big sister. Thank you." The last word came out as a frog's wet croak.

"I love you too." Her voice broke as well. "Now go, before I tie you to your bed so you can never leave."

I picked the bindle bag up, and slung it over my shoulder. I stood before the invisible border to the rest of The World. I looked back at Luludja, at her soft encouraging smile. Took a step. And just like that, it was like my lungs were filling up with air for the first time. With that step, I left the womb of Samarasata, the only home I had ever known, the place where I grew into the person I was today. I had outgrown the safe confines of Mother's care, too large to continue existing therein without suffocating. With this one step, I got a glimpse of how big the world was, of all the roads I could take.

A laughter erupted from deep inside me, and I ran a few meters. Daia was jumping up and down alongside me, her panting mouth spewing saliva over the grass and flowers in the vicinity. I spun around and waved at Luludja. She was smiling, sadly at first, but then started laughing too. She waved at me, and I started to back away, still smiling, still waving. Soon, she was nothing but a speck on the horizon. Even the tree was now not bigger than the white carnations blooming at the sides of the road. I stooped down to grip one in my hand and inhaled its fragrance. It reminded me of the tea mother brewed on cloves when we were sick. I carefully picked one and put it behind my ear. Daia buried her nose in the flowers. I picked one for her as well and put it in her scarf.

Then, we were off. Away from Samarasata, away from the only home I had ever known. But towards something new. To new homes, to new people. To a new World.