Seco
rating: +4+x

“They’re here, your grace” The solstice whispered.

“Excellent, send them in” Summer replied quietly. “Everyone!” They addressed the crowded throne room. “Out.”

Without a thought, everyone quickly filed out the door, walking past them were two figures, each almost as radiant as their sire, but all three shone in very different ways. The woman was tall, with dark brown skin and amber hair, and a harsh nature not unlike the desert. As always, she wore hardy leather armor, completed by a dagger at her side. The man was smaller, but by no means slight. Red skin contrasted against his black hair, and an extravagant orange robe trailed behind him.

And of course, there was Summer, an imposing figure, bedecked in their standard garish yellow and purple silks, wearing their ever present mask, a cruel smiling sun. “Children, you’re looking well.”


After the formalities the three had retired to Summer’s residential wing, accompanied by the High Solstice. When they had settled, Summer addressed their offspring.

“As you may have gathered, I have summoned you here with a purpose. You are my blood, and as such there is much you needs learn. There are big things in your futures.

They addressed the woman, “Serotina, as you know, I have long sought a way to… extend my reign”.

Then turning to the man, “And Seco, as I’m sure you’ve heard, I have recently sent an envoy of sorts searching for information”

Seco responded “I had heard rumors. One of Autumn’s pet philosophers has been asking around. But I had dismissed them as unfounded, there are very few who could even survive such a journey like he was talking about”

Summer chuckled. “My boy, founded they were. And my agent was most successful.”

“Who did you send?” Serotina asked

Summer laughed again, and then clapped twice. The children turned suddenly as they heard the chamber door open behind them. Both were shocked to the being gliding through the threshold. It stood over nine feet tall, a swirling column of black smoke, pulling itself along smoothly with sinister tendrils. They both leapt to their feet, Serotina’s dagger drawn, and Seco’s hands igniting with a dark red flame.

“Come now children, is that any way to greet your cousin”

“What is it doing here” Serotina spat.”

“Why darling, Polari was my agent. And it has done very well. It has searched the far reaches of many worlds to bring me the knowledge I required.”

“And what would that be?” Sero said, eyes still trained on the dark pillar, “And why is it working with you.”

“With us, child. The why is simple: I promised it that I would kill its brother and deliver it his head. When I take power it will be a simple matter to slaughter him. As for the what, now that is much more interesting indeed. Polari, care to fill them in?”

The thing let out what might have been an impossibly deep breath. “A power to banish a god”. Its voice was entirely unpleasant, like the cracking of a great tree under an unimaginable weight of snow and ice.

“Does it mean…” Serotina started.

“It does” Summer replied. “With the information it has provided me, I will be able to force my dear sister Autumn out of this world. Permanently.”

For a moment, they were silent. Seco was the first to speak up.

“This is madness.” He turned towards Summer, “You cannot possibly expect to get away with this”

“My dear boy. I already have. There is no force in this world that can stop me now. Don’t look so grave, you two! Don’t you see? You will be royalty forever, reigning at my side.”

Seco continued his protest “The others will never allow this. Autumn will-“

“Autumn will be gone. Winter will be sleeping as it does every summer, and it will never wake. Spring is a spineless coward who has never put up a fight in four thousand years. I will sit the throne, and no one will ever supplant me.”

Seco stood silently for a breath, and then rapidly turned to Polari, launching a projectile of flame that blew the beast apart. He ran past out the door, and started sprinting down the corridor.

Summer sighed, and calmly walked after him, with Serotina at heel and Polari coalescing back together behind them. Once in the hallway, they half-heartedly gestured down the hall at their son and spoke a single word. An alien word, made of syllables and sounds entirely abhorrent to anything Serotina could recognize as speech.

And just like that, Seco was gone. No pop, no flash, no puff of smoke, just gone.

Summer seemed unphased. “Hm. Glad to see it works. Come you two, there is yet much to be done. Garyl!” They called to the solstice. “Send for Autumn. Tell her I require her presence urgently”

Sovereign Summer set off down the hall.

-Excerpt from Mónos’s 'Chronicle of The Last Summer'

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License