Shadows of Light: Season 1 Episode 1 From the Shadows

By Aaron Torrence

The city of Luminous has always been under the protection of three Guardians: the Prophet, the Warrior, and the Ruler. These Guardians are chosen by an all-powerful being called the Light and are each connected to a different celestial body, granting them special powers to help in their assigned task.

However, when the last Ruler died, the Light mysteriously did not choose a successor; and since the Ruler was connected to the sun, the sun itself stopped shining as well, plunging Luminous into a Long Night that has lasted nine years.

During this time, a scientist named Saul Leos took the throne by force and is now leading a campaign to abandon the Light. However, a small group who oppose Saul have formed a rebel organization called Shadows of Light, or S.o.L., to fight against Saul's forces using espionage and guerilla tactics.

One of S.o.L.'s novice agents is a young man named Justin Libra who has a strong desire to fight Saul and protect people, and he is about to learn that the Light has bigger plans for him than he could imagine

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781638442295

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Shadows of Light

Season 1 Episode 1 From the Shadows

Aaron Torrence

ISBN 978-1-63844-228-8 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63844-229-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Aaron Torrence

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

About the Author

Prologue

Ever since the kingdom of Luminous was first founded, it has been under the protection and guidance of the three Guardians chosen by the Light.

Originally, when the Light first created everything, the world had no darkness. Humans introduced it into the world after breaking a promise with the Light. Out of concern for his people, the Light allowed himself to be consumed by darkness for three days. When he returned, he brought with him the sun, moon, and stars as a sign that humanity would no longer have to live in total darkness. He then tied the life-force of these celestial bodies to three individuals he chose himself and told them to take care of the people until he returned to destroy darkness entirely. These three individuals became the three Guardians and were gifted with special powers to help them in the tasks that were given to them.

The first Guardian is the Prophet, who holds the power of the stars. The Prophet's job is to teach the people. They let the people know what is right and what is wrong as well as tell them what the Light's will is. In order to accomplish this, they have been gifted with the ability to dream of future events. These dreams are given to the Prophet by the Light himself and will always come to pass.

The next Guardian is the Warrior, who holds the power of the moon. Their job is to protect the people. They patrol the streets in the dead of night and stop anyone who tries to hurt or threaten another. To give them an edge in battle, they have been gifted with the ability to fuse with any shadow. With this power, not even total darkness can keep evil from being found out.

The last Guardian, but certainly not the least, is the Ruler, who holds the power of the sun. Their job is to lead the people. They are to make laws and pass judgments that support order and righteousness, and they also take steps to help their people survive during difficult times. As a symbol of their authority, they have been gifted with the ability to control natural light. Through their own light, they are meant to remind others of the Light.

Whenever one of these Guardians died or became unable to do their job, the Light simply chose a new Guardian to take their place. Thus, the kingdom of Luminous has always had the three Guardians.

At least, it used to.

When the most recent Ruler died, everyone waited for the Light to choose a new Ruler. However, for some unknown reason, the Light remained silent. No Ruler was chosen; and without a Ruler, the sun itself stopped rising, keeping Luminous plunged in an eternal night.

One year passed and no sign of the sun or the new Ruler. It was at this point that a scientist named Saul Leos led an uprising that ended with him becoming the first Ruler not chosen by the Light. With his newfound authority, Saul led the kingdom in a new direction, one that tried to abandon the Light and make humanity more self-sufficient. With this goal in mind, Saul and his underlings began to develop new technologies that sought to match the powers of the Light and the three Guardians.

Not everyone was happy with this change though. A small number of people still loyal to the old regime formed a rebellion called Shadows of Light, or S.o.L. for short. Using a combination of espionage and guerilla tactics, they try to cripple Saul's army with the ultimate goal of overthrowing him.

Nine years have passed since the previous Ruler died. Many people, even those in S.o.L., have lost hope that the Light will ever choose a new Ruler, but the war between S.o.L. and Saul's empire continues.

Chapter 1

The concert was completely sold out. The largest outdoor auditorium in all of Luminous was now standing-room only. Only one singer/songwriter could have attracted a crowd this large, and that was Sarah Leos. Two years prior, she made a strong first impression with her hit single, Light up Like the Sun, and she has since risen to the top of the charts. Now at eighteen years old, she was planning her biggest concert ever in celebration of her father's eight-year anniversary as king of Luminous.

The crowd cheered as Sarah walked onstage. She was wearing tight jeans, a white long-sleeve shirt, and a gold-colored vest. Her long blond hair flowed freely behind her, and her blue eyes were complemented by a large friendly smile. She gave the crowd an energetic wave hello. As soon as the crowd's cheers died down, she took a microphone from its stand and said, Hello, everyone! Are we ready to have fun tonight?

The crowd cheered once again, and Sarah continued. Today we celebrate a momentous occasion! Eight years ago, on this day, humanity chose a Ruler for us when the Light would not. In those eight years, he has brought many technical marvels that allowed us to survive this Long Night. You know him as our honorable king, but I know him as something better—my dad, Saul Leos!

More cheers were heard from the crowd; but unbeknownst to both the crowd and Sarah, there were other people present who were not as happy about her speech. Hiding on the roof of the auditorium were four shadows—or at least four people dressed like shadows. All of them were dressed head-to-toe in black: shoes, pants, utility belts, long-sleeve shirts, breastplate, gloves, and, to top it all off, a facemask covering the lower half of their faces.

The first of these four had short black hair, dark-blue eyes, a light skin tone, and had a small war-hammer on his belt. The second was the only girl of the group with shoulder-length black hair and similar features to the previous person; she was carrying around a pair of knuckles. The third had a light skin tone, smooth brown hair, brown eyes that were nervously looking around, and had a medium-sized rectangular shield for a weapon. The last of these mysterious figures had dark skin, spiky black hair, and was armed with a pair of tonfa.

Here we are, guys, the one with the shield whispered. Our first mission. You guys remember the plan?

Heck yeah, the hammer-wielding one whispered back. "When Saul comes onstage to make his guest appearance, we short out the