The Tribe of Shadows

An Explanation…Sort Of

(Dilath POV)

Ranger appeared, calmly sitting on a tree branch. ‘Took you long enough,’ he said. I looked at him, annoyed. ‘You’re a pain.’ I said. The Author simply rose an eyebrow, pulled out a book, and looked at me. ‘If you’re going to just insult me, you may as well leave,’ he said in a dry tone. ‘If you control this world, why did you kill Joseph?’ I asked. Ranger sighed and dropped down from the tree, his cloak flaring upward from the wind. It went back once he landed. ‘I don’t really ‘control’ this world,’ he replied. ‘You literally call yourself the “author’. It doesn’t make sense that you-‘ I said. ‘I know it makes no sense, but I’m simply the actual Author’s form in this universe. In another, he is Edmund. In another, he is Pyro. To put it simply, I am one of three ‘Authorn’. The Authorn work as the Author’s system of messengers. In Pyro’s world, the Authorn are called the Scrymblo. In Edmund’s, we are called the Dorban. I built the city that you and Quint live in. I named it after the Dorban because of a rune I carved into the Tree.’ Ranger explained. I was tired of his riddles. I was mad that he had allowed my village to be destroyed. So much was my rage, I threw a dagger at him. In an instant, the Authorn of Pyrrhia pulled out a massive longbow, nocked an arrow, and sent it flying a quarter of an inch above my head. ‘Calm, Dilath.’ Ranger said. The Authorn let out a hiss of pain, as if he had a bad headache. ‘Ruddy timeline messes,’ he muttered. ‘Explain. Why did essentially everyone I knew at Reagath die two years ago?’ I questioned. Ranger looked at me, a devilish grin one his face.

‘It’s called plot, kid.’

Ranger disappeared, leaving me both confused and angered.

-The Author Called Ranger, Not The Authorn In My Book.