Akiyo's War on the Moon

There are too many skies.

Akiyo looks up and sees the thing that has been bothering him since he was a child, when the stars came out. The Moon is now a crescent, but there is no light where it should be, though it is as clear as day.

Akiyo knows of only one place that can block out the light of the Moon; he has been to the Selenoryst before. It's dark. A cold, silent void in the surface of the Moon, only accessible through a hole in the side of one of the more habitable buildings. Akiyo has always wondered why his people live in such precarious buildings on the Moon. He doubts any of them have ever wondered about what lives beneath them.

There are many things that live beneath them.

They are called Vailah (VA-yah) by Akiyo's people. They were given this name because they did not speak at first. They do not like to be seen or heard, lest they must fight to defend themselves against their enemies.

Stories exist about a time when the Vailah and humans lived together peacefully on the Moon, but Akiyo does not know if these stories are true or not. Today, nearly all Vailah live in the Selenoryst, and their enemies are their own kind and humanity alike.

The Selenoryst itself is divided into three regions: Wado (WAD-oh), which is closest to Earth and therefore receives most of the sunlight; Kado (kah-DOH), which is situated between Wado and Selsa (sell-SAH), which receives almost none; and Selsa itself, which is entirely devoid of light except for a small artificial sun that lights an area directly beneath it, inside its walls.

Akiyo never liked being in Selsa much; it made him nervous - even more than he usually was - but now he can't help but feel regret at having missed out on seeing it while it was still lit up by that unnatural sun. He thinks back to his youth on Earth some hundred years ago, when he was one among many who lived in Wado with his family and friends: he had been so happy then...so naive...he had probably never even heard of Selsa then...but even then he had known something was wrong with Earth's suns...and then there had been that day, when everything changed...and soon after his father led him into a tunnel, down into Wado....and then all was dark....darker than anything he had ever known....until now...Selsa all over again...except with no stars...."No stars." Akiyo repeats this phrase to himself over and over again, until suddenly he notices something strange: above him there are stars everywhere! Everywhere! Clouds? No...it's not clouds... "Stars..." Akiyo whispers as he stares in disbelief at what has appeared above him: all of his tribe's homes have collapsed on top of each other! His own home included! " Stars!" He shouts again at last understanding what has happened: Selsa has fallen! And so has his entire tribe! He runs over to see if anyone else survived...but just as he feared, no one did. All dead...all because I knew something was wrong but did nothing about it! "Stars!" He screams again as he desperately tries to dig through the rubble with his bare hands to reach what used to be his family…but he cannot find them anywhere…and finally…finally…he stops looking….and begins sobbing…because now he knows what must be done…what must be done for all of humanity…for everyone who died today…for everyone who will die tomorrow…and for everyone who will live on after those who perished today…for everyone who will need to learn from their mistakes…for those who must listen carefully now….because from this day forward…someone will watch over us all….someone who can see things we cannot see….someone who can hear us when we need help….someone who can tell us when we've made a mistake….someone who will protect us from our greatest enemy …ourselves…