Lecana literally blew into her aunt’s tent. The cool wind that was her swirled tighter, leaves and dust coming together to form her body. As soon as she could, in a panicked voice she addressed her aunt, who seemed entirely unaffected by the surprise visitor.
“My lady, you must run.” She stood panting before Autumn.
“From whom, dear?” Autumn, still as ever, did not seem to grasp her urgency.
“Summer, my lady, you must flee!”
Autumn was puzzled. “Summer? Lecana, darling, in less than an hour’s time I’m going to walk into Summer’s throne room, and kill them, as I always do.”
“You don’t understand! Sander, my father’s equinox, he’s heard horrific things from one of Summer’s men. They have found something, a power of some sort that they will use to defeat you.”
“Listen to me, child, for four thousand years I have defeated that foul thing, and for thousands more I will continue to do so. There is no force in this world powerful enough to-“ She was cut off by the sounds of screaming outside. She immediately burst out of the tent, just in time to see Summer pull their knife out of the belly of an equinox. Anguir, an old friend. She stood silently as his body fell to the ground.
“Hello, sister.” Summer chimed in a sinister singsong. “I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans”
Autumn was realizing what had happened. As she looked around she saw dozens of corpses, all her followers had been slaughtered and many of their tents were still burning. Summer had with them their daughter, the golden Serotina, and another figure, a high pillar of smoke.
“Polari? I always knew you were a treacherous worm. And as for you,” She turned towards Summer. “I had not planned to gut you just yet, but there’s been a change of plans.”
She struck like lightning, sharp stone dagger leveled at Summer’s throat, but not fast enough. Summer waved, and screamed something. Lecana could not comprehend it, it sounded like pain. Like a great sundering of the air. As soon as the last syllable echoed past Summer’s mask, Autumn was gone. Barred from the world.
Lecana watched as her aunt vanished before her, and saw her mask fall to the ground. The simple red wooden façade was Autumn’s defining trait, and Lecana did not know that such a separation was even possible.
“Now,” Summer said, turning his attention towards her, “What to do with you?”
Lecana would not linger to find out. In an instant she had transmuted back into the wind, and raced away, sweeping the mask of the ground as she went.
“Should I chase her?” Serotina asked.
“No, let her run. The only threat to my sovereignty is gone. We should prepare a statement, no? After all, this is just the beginning of a long and glorious summer.”
-Excerpt from Mónos’s 'Chronicle of The Last Summer'