The measurement of time in the kingdom of Navalia was the same as that of the ancient human kingdom no non-existent. It was done in days, weeks and months. Each day spanning 24 hours. This was because, despite the very different terrain the demons lived on, the occurrence of the solaroid bore a resemblance to that of an 'eclipse'- the mythical event that only the ancient humans saw.
The demon terrain was perpetually dark despite the presence of two suns, one larger than the other. The larger one glowed orange and the smaller one exuded darkness even blacker than the clouds, outlined by a red ring. The land was black with corrupt mana and the vegetation wilted and bowed from lack of life.
The avid stench of death permeated the air and the only other thing in the atmosphere was the particles of mana that danced and shimmered giving the air an entrancing feel. The clouds were perpetually dark, night time only coming and lasting for as long as they condensed blocking out the larger orange sun.
The solaroid was an occurrence that happened once every eight months. Rather than that, it was a gradual event that concluded after eight months with the overlapping of the two suns. The larger sun, Amon and the lesser sun, Darius, would fuse taking on a larger brighter appearance resembling a large meteor on fire greatly illuminating the entire kingdom. In the eyes of the other races, it would appear as if a pillar of dark fire had surrounded the kingdom leaving no room for entrance or exit.
The state only lasted two hours before the suns no longer aligned perfectly then just resembling two circles overlapping each other.
Whenever the solaroid happened, the susceptibility of all naval creatures would spike, their mana capacity temporarily rising to cope with this heightened sensitivity. During this state, magic spells and methods that were forbidden or ordinarily impossible due to their fatality become easier to do and amongst these spells, the summoning ritual ranked highest.
Aryan closed the book he was reading, 'The Solaroid' printed boldly in black letters across the red hard back. He pushed the book back into its place in the shelf and reached out to grab another book but faced resistance. It was then that he paused and looked round the grand room that was the ground floor of the academy library.
His eyes scanned the polished black-wood desks and velvet cushioned chairs arranged in clusters and booths around the tall shelves, each labelled according to the genre of the books they carried. The room was generally empty and purple silk curtains still draped over the windows assuring him that he had not miscalculated on this particular day.
The regular students of the academy broke out in the 18th hour and before that, enjoyed a 45 minute break between the 12th and 13th hour. He, on the other hand, was free from the 12th hour meaning he had the academy library all to himself from the 13th to 17th hour. The tower were he received tutoring was isolated so it didn't have its own library thereby forcing him to venture into regular student grounds.
At the moment, the library clock had just rung signifying the start of the 14th hour. That meant whoever else was in the room was an anomaly.
Aryan let go of the book suddenly causing the other person to stumble backwards from the force of his/her own pull, eventually falling on the ground with a yelp. Aryan wasted no time moving around the shelf to get a good look at the person and the surprise on his face was very quickly reciprocated when the other person saw him.
"Nice hair" the person's deep masculine voice rang out, a trace of amusement in it. Aryan simply stared at the young demon, his eyes scanning his blue skin.
"Nice skin"
* * * * *
"I'm Water, what's your name?" the young demon asked, a wide smirk on his face as he sat opposite Aryan who couldn't help tilting his head in wonder. "Your name is really Water? as in the liquid?" he asked with another tilt of his head, this time to the other side.
Water chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're one quirky kid ain't ya" he muttered instead of replying Aryan's question earning him a hard stare from the young half-demon. Water let out an exasperated sigh, "Yeah my name's Water. It was what my mom craved for right after giving birth to me so my parents decided to just call me that! Now, will you tell me your name?" he questioned his tone slightly off as he was annoyed that he was forced to spill his embarrassing truth.
Aryan's head bobbed up and down slowly as he nodded with a finger on his chin. "How practical" he muttered startling Water who then opened his mouth to say something, "I'm Aryan." he replied as he stood up from his seat at their window booth cutting Water off before he could voice his thoughts.
"Now goodbye. I have things to research on and I presume you have classes to attend." he said, concluding their conversation very tactfully before walking towards the shelf labeled 'The Suns'. Water was left in his seat, pale hand outstretched and blue eyes wide open as he watched in shock as his new acquaintance walked away from him. His eyes glittered, a faint glow of excitement visible beneath the false naïve exterior.
'So the mixed race still lives'