"Merlon?" a young girl with flowing white hair asked, knocking on the door to a small, humble home located in the center of a small, humble village. She was no older than twelve, her hair decorated with a beautiful blue ribbon.

A man who had been hard at work, sitting at his desk and writing, quickly turned to face her, his golden eyes soft as he smiled. His blue hood cast a shadow over his face, as this was a common practice amongst ancients like himself.

"Timpani," he smiled. "Come in, come in!"

The timid girl slowly stepped inside, hugging one of her arms across her chest. The sky was dark, as it always turned when night fell. She was never a fan of darkness.

"You've been working much more than usual," she breathed. "We don't see you out anymore."

"I know, my child. I know," Merlon sighed. "But I wouldn't be working this much if this wasn't of utmost importance."

"Do you still think it can happen?" Timpani questioned. "Peace, I mean?"

Merlon let out a joyful chuckle as he nodded.

"Why, of course," he smiled. "Light and dark... they're not as opposed as you may think. In the end, they're actually quite similar. Just... different colors. Different shades of the same spectrum. Without light, there can't be darkness. And without darkness, there cannot be light."

He turned away and picked up a feathered quill, continuing to write on a piece of thin paper.

"What's that?" the young girl asked. "Another letter?"

Merlon hummed and nodded, signing it at the bottom.

"Does anyone in the Tribe of Darkness actually respond to your letters?" Timpani asked. "You've been sending them for months, and we've received nothing—"

"Not nothing," Merlon grinned, grasping a darker piece of paper with words written in ink that glowed like moonlight. "I finally got one back!"

"Really?!" Timpani asked, her eyes widening. "From who?! Their town's leader?!"

"No, not yet," Merlon chuckled. "From the executioner!"

"They have an executioner?!" the girl gasped, covering her mouth as she paled in the face.

"We have a hangman," Merlon shrugged.

"Yeah... I guess... but why are you excited to be getting a response from a murderer?!"

"Not a murderer. An executioner. And because we have to start somewhere," Merlon pointed out. "He seems willing to meet. He's obtained permission from his superiors, so I'm writing back to suggest sometime tomorrow when the sun rises. That way, the world is between the night's darkness and the morning's light."

"Okay, but what if he executes you?!" Timpani asked. "We're not supposed to mingle with people from their tribe! It's like, one of our biggest rules."

"And one of their biggest rules, I am aware," Merlon nodded. "But... we've been at war for far too long with no end in sight. We're not so different, we both just wish to protect the world from imbalance. I truly believe that if we unite, we can all become stronger. Is it risky? Yes. But it's worth it. Because, if I succeed, children like you will finally be able to live in a world filled with both light and dark. You won't be forced to stand on one side for the rest of your days."

Timpani nodded. She hated to admit that sounded enticing. But... she didn't want Merlon going and ruining the peace their village already had by reaching for something potentially unachievable. The Tribe of Darkness was dangerous. According to practically everyone else, they under no circumstances could be trusted. On top of that, Merlon was communicating with an executioner of all people. She didn't want her peaceful life to be put in danger. She didn't want to risk losing everything she had just because Merlon wanted more.

. . .

Timpani wore her best dress as she followed behind Merlon, walking deep into the meadow where Merlon planned to meet the executioner from the Tribe of Darkness. Her dress was a light blue color, covered in ruffles and ribbons. She didn't have to come with Merlon, but she wanted to make sure his head wasn't chopped off or anything. Yes, Merlon was one of the most powerful ancients in the village, but he wasn't exactly the best at using his magic to defend himself. He used his powers to keep tabs on everything in his mind and memorize prophecies.

The further from their village they walked, the more clear the sky started to look. The twinkling stars Timpani loved so much vanished, as did the moon. Everything seemed to grow darker and darker. The sun was supposed to rise in a few moments, but she could hardly even tell.

"We'll be okay, Timpani," Merlon breathed once they made their way to the center of the large meadow. Merlon was usually good at reading her emotions, even without looking at her.

"I know..." she muttered, reaching up and grasping his hand. His skin was always warm and smooth, so holding his hand almost had a calming effect.

The pair waited in silence until two figures appeared on the horizon. Shivers ran down Timpani's spine as soon as the two of them appeared, but Merlon didn't seem to notice the cold shift in the air.

"Hey! Over here!" Merlon called out, standing on his tip-toes and waving excitedly. 

The taller figure seemed to spot him, then hesitantly waved their hand. There was a quiet chime as the two figures suddenly appeared just a few feet in front of Timpani and Merlon.

The two people looked to be related. Both had a rich blue skin color. Brothers, maybe?

"Hi sir!" the smaller one chimed, waving politely. 

Unlike the ancients, people from the Tribe of Darkness didn't cover their faces or wear cloaks. The smaller boy wore a white button-up shirt and black pants. The taller man's clothes were much darker, with a less formal black top tucked into slightly worn black bottoms. Timpani assumed he was the executioner. There were bags under his tired eyes and a few scrapes littering his face. Still, he didn't look the way she expected an executioner to look.

"Um... this is my son, Blumiere," the executioner breathed, reaching down and taking his child's hand. His voice was softer than Merlon's. More strained and quiet. He looked even more afraid than Timpani felt.

"I'm moral support!" Blumiere chimed while grinning. He looked to be about Timpani's age. Maybe a year younger than her, if she had to guess.

"Well," Merlon smiled, kneeling down to be at eye level with the boy. "You're doing a wonderful job."

The ancient then turned his gaze to the taller man. "I take it you're the executioner?"

The executioner nodded, turning his gaze downward as if actively avoiding eye contact. 

"They don't want this meeting taking too long," he quickly stated. "My job is to hear you out and report back to them. Nothing more."

"That's all I ask of you," Merlon smiled. He placed a hand on Timpani's shoulder, then gently nudged her forward. "Timpani, why don't you go get to know Blumiere while me and his father talk things out? Would that be okay, sir?"

Blumiere's father stilled, his hand still gripping his child's.

"That sounds good to me!" Blumiere answered for him, pulling away slightly. He turned to face his father, giving a big smile. "Don't worry, I won't get hurt. And neither will you."

"Don't go far," the executioner stated, bringing both his hands together. He nervously fidgeted with a small black ring that sat on his finger. "That's an order."

"Yes, sir!" Blumiere said with a quick salute.

Timpani remained frozen in place. She didn't want to leave Merlon's side. If something went wrong, Merlon was the only one she trusted to save her. Was he really going to make her hang out with this random child born of darkness? People like him couldn't be trusted.

"Hey, don't worry," Blumiere smiled, holding his arm out to her. "I don't bite. Mostly."

That wasn't very comforting...

"Go on," Merlon said, nudging Timpani further forward. Despite all her instincts telling her to just turn and run home, Timpani took the boy's hand. If she didn't, it would probably make Merlon look bad, and that was the last thing she needed to be doing in front of two people from the Tribe of Darkness.

"Look, there's a tree up there!" Blumiere gasped, turning and pulling her up a small hill. "Let's climb it!"

"Don't you dare fall and get hurt," the executioner warned.

"I'll be okay, dad!" Blumiere called back, practically dragging Timpani to the tree. The girl remained silent, unsure what to even say.

The tree was close enough to the executioner and Merlon that Timpani could still see them clearly, but she couldn't hear a word they were saying. She tried to keep her focus on them as Blumiere started climbing around, just in case something were to go wrong. Not that she'd be able to do anything about it. Maybe Merlon should have brought the village hangman instead of her, just to even out the playing field.

"It's pretty!" Blumiere chimed, hanging upside down from one of the branches.

"Huh?" Timpani asked, briefly turning her attention to him.

"Your hair ribbon! It's pretty," he repeated. "You have it tied to look like a butterfly!"

"Wh... um, yeah, I guess..." she muttered awkwardly, brushing some of her long hair aside.

"Do you like butterflies?" Blumiere questioned with wide eyes.

"Yeah," she breathed.

"Cool!!! I really like flowers," the boy laughed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a deep purple lily. "I brought this from home. To give to Merlon! But... I think I'm going to give it to you instead. It would look pretty with your ribbon."

Timpani stared at the flower for a second. She didn't know plants could grow over in the Tribe of Darkness. She thought they were just one big, scary cult that hated everything that lived, including plants. That's how almost everyone but Merlon described them...

"Um... thank you," Timpani breathed, gently taking the flower and holding it close. The petals were soft but delicate. She didn't want to accidentally break them.

"You're welcome!" Blumiere smiled, still hanging upside down from the tree branches. His hair stuck up in a way that made him look silly.

"How are you so relaxed?" she asked. "I'm a human. We're not even supposed to interact. Aren't you freaked out?"

"Are you freaked out?"

"Yeah, a bit," she admitted.

"Weird. So is my dad..." Blumiere trailed off. "You guys are wackos. It's been, like, centuries since our two tribes have interacted. Sometimes, I think we're all hurting ourselves by not getting over the past. Besides, if you think about it, this is really cool! We're making history!"

"History?" Timpani asked.

"Yeah! We're going to be the first friendship between the Tribe of Darkness and the Tribe of Ancients!" Blumiere beamed. "I mean, only if you want, though. Are we friends?"

Friends? He was already jumping to friendship? But they just met! Timpani didn't know the first thing about him other than his name and the fact that he liked flowers. For all she knew, this boy could be an executioner in training. Did she really want to befriend someone so closely related to a person whose literal job was to chop people's heads off or whatever? What if they got in a fight or something, as friends often do? Would his dad come and murder her?!

"Oh no, I stepped too far!" Blumiere gasped. He quickly scrambled down from the tree and held his hands out in front of himself. "You don't need to be my friend if you don't want to! Sorry, I get overexcited a lot. It's usually just me and my dad, so I guess I was just super thrilled to be meeting other people. You don't need to be my friend, though! I'll settle for being a close acquaintance!"

"No, no, don't apologize," Timpani breathed, grasping a loose strand of hair. "I just... I'm not used to having friends either, I guess. I usually just hang around Merlon..."

"Is he your dad?" Blumiere asked.

"No... but he's the closest thing I have to a parent," she breathed. "I'm not magical like him. I'm just a regular human. But... he kinda took me in."

"Oh, cool!" Blumiere chuckled. "See, I could tell he was pretty nice from all the letters he's been sending. Most of them just go to the trash, but I dug them out and handed them all to my dad! Merlon has such pretty handwriting!"

"The trash?"

"Yeah," Blumiere nodded. "Our leaders are... really cautious of you guys. But, my dad and I are hoping that this meeting will change that. My father has wanted to come for a while, but he gets scared a lot. It took a while, but I finally convinced him to do it!"

Timpani nodded to herself.

"It's weird... I've always thought that people from the Tribe of Darkness were monsters," she muttered.

She winced, then covered her mouth. She didn't mean for that to come out so harshly.

Blumiere didn't seem to mind, though.

"Well, do you think I'm a monster?" he asked with a kind voice.

Timpani stilled, silently staring at the young boy. His expression was soft and gentle, as was his voice.

That was the day their paths first crossed. The day this entire tragedy was set in motion.