With wide eyes, Kamyri surveyed the Square of the Golden, decorated with flowers and garlands. It was rare for someone like her to have the opportunity to stand at the highest point in Yaradan.

Strictly speaking, the huge rock terrace between the slopes of the surrounding mountains was not really the highest place, because there was still the Palace of Light at the other end of the natural platform. Nestled between steep mountain walls, the huge building made of white marble almost merged with the rocks around it. But since Kamyri would never be allowed access to it anyway, she didn't even take it into account.

The Square of the Golden, which stretched out in front of the magnificent palace, was only made available to the people of Yaradan for special celebrations. As a rule, only the Rulers were allowed to walk around here and enjoy the wonderful view over the city, the Sichel Mountains, the Weaver Wood and the river meadows and expanses in the south.

Eight pillars supported a snow-white roof structure that provided shade for the wide square and those gathered there today. In the middle of the overhang, however, there was a circular recess, which the Sun's Children reverently referred to as the God's Eye. At midday, Tanayar sent his golden rays precisely through there to direct them onto the water surface below. Supposedly the sun god observed exactly what was happening at his sacred spring pond.

In Kamyri's eyes, the much-praised source and focus of today's ceremony was more like a well that was far too wide to easily accommodate a full-grown Grayrapace. However, the lumbering beast of burden probably would not have survived this bath, because the well in the solid rock had no bottom, at least not one that the Sun's Children could have seen. Like an infinitely deep wound, the water column of the holy spring pierced the Ruler's Mountain and continuously bled forth the clearest water.

As if to distract from its mysterious depth, the sunlight shimmered dazzlingly bright on the gently rippling surface and cast the most beautiful patterns on the stone pillars decorated with elaborate reliefs. To the south, the pond opened into a small watercourse, which split the square paved with golden mosaics in front of the Palace of Light.

Kamyri knew that no one was allowed to cross the channel carved into the stone. The small stream meant life and protection for the Sun's Children and should under no circumstances be desecrated by carelessly jumping over it. Two narrow bridges made of light marble slabs were used for crossing, which led like flat footbridges over the draining spring water.

Where the Golden Place ended, the glittering water flowed down the stone edge in a narrow waterfall towards Yaradan. A few lengths further down it hit the first of three rocky terraces, overflowed it and split into two streams. Kahut, the western one, and Una, the eastern one, glided over two more terraces down the steep slopes of the Ruler's mountain to its foot. Each of these natural step formations had been eroded by impinging water over millennia, forming pools or depressions in the stone that could absorb much of the water before it overflowed to the next terrace.

Kamyri had often observed the impressive natural spectacle from the Zenith Peak. The sound of the ever-rushing cascades could be heard almost everywhere in Yaradan and had been with her all her life, sometimes as a roaring thunder, sometimes as a distant whisper, depending on how close she got to the Ruler's Mountain and which direction the wind was blowing.

According to her father's stories, there were several springs in the overflowing rock pools themselves, which fed the cavities with water and helped the two cascades grow to enormous size the further they fell down the Ruler's Mountain.

At the base, the two holy streams flowed east and west and, at the level of the Artists' and Shamans' quarters, began to flow around the city of the Sun's Children like the arms of a protective mother. Far to the south, where the land flattened and was lost in the vastness of the floodplain, Kahut and Una finally reunited, thus surrounding Yaradan and its fields with the floods of the sacred Sunspring.

Looking around now, Kamyri could see the junction of the two rivers in the distance beyond the waist-high balustrades. Unless an important ceremony was taking place, this sight was also one of the privileges of the residents of the Palace of Light. For this reason, Kamyri enjoyed the view even more on this special day.

The scent of wild roses and red flowers floated through the air and despite the dozens of Sun Children present, there was a reverent silence on the Golden Square that was rarely heard in the other districts.

A number of young Shaman candidates had now lined up in front of the holy Sunspring. Kamyri immediately recognized her sister by her beautiful robe made of blue-dyed Drall Sheep's wool, the wide belt that held her loose clothing together, and her mother's silver headdress. With all the crystals, glass beads and golden spindles that surrounded her head, she looked simply magical, mystical and partly from another world, as the Shamans were often said to be.

She envied Aesuna a little, Kamyri had to admit that to herself today. The sunlight flattered her fair skin and made the golden pigments on her face shine, as if the god of the sun were sending her a very special greeting from heaven today.

All Sun's Children had the characteristic gold pattern on their skin, but where fate had given her older sister two beautifully curved arches that fit perfectly into her high cheekbones, Kamyri only had two downward lines that flowed from her eyes to her chin gave her already angular face an even more severe shape.

When she was little, she had once asked her mother why she and her sister looked so different and she had told her about the Shamans, the Rulers, the Artists and the Workers:

Each Sun's Child was born into one of these four castes. However, contrary to what some parents believed, the child's caste could not be influenced by silly rituals during pregnancy. The gods and the child's potential alone determined belonging.

Shamans like Kamyri's sister and her parents were light-skinned, delicately built, and had an intense sense for energy lines and other things that were hidden from most Sun's Children. They cared for the sick or injured, made herbal tinctures and protective amulets, or used the Shadow Oracle to send prayers to the gods, depending on which guild they belonged to.

Kamyri had heard from many mouths that some Shamans could even hear the voices of spirits. They were generally well respected among the Sun's Children and some were even invited to the Palace of Light to support the Rulers.

Where the Shamans had an ear for the spirit world, the Artists were said to have an eye for beauty. They could see the grace in all things, create the most delicate glass bodies and the most fragile pottery, but also construct sturdy bridges and create all sorts of things with their hands. Artists were born with four arms, which they urgently needed for their creative urge.

Their skin did not shine as brightly as the of the Shamans and their golden pigments, instead of the arches on her cheekbones, formed a V on her forehead, between the tips of which a teardrop-shaped mark glowed like a third eye.

They liked to dress in red or yellow linen because these were the colors of clay and wood that they loved to work with, or so Uncle Sesep had told her, who today, in honor of his niece, wore his most beautiful robe in crimson and sand tones.

Then there were the Workers, and they did exactly what the name suggested. In addition to their innate physical strength and robustness, they had another special feature that, like the Artists, distinguished them from a distance as members of their caste: two winding horns, similar to those of a ram, which sprouted from the sides of their heads and curved in a gentle curve around her ears.

Kamyri belonged to this caste and for as long as she could remember she had lived in the shadow of her older sister, who had been lucky enough to have been born as a Shaman.

Had Kamyri been allowed to choose, she would have liked to have been born an Artist like her uncle or a Shaman like her parents, but the gods decided as what the Sun's Children would see Tanayar's light as. And no one could change this decision.

Although their father had always assured them that each Sun's Child's qualities were equally valuable to Yaradan, instead of equality, reality had shown Kamyri some significant differences between the castes:

Since a Worker's body grew quickly and strong, and they did not have to undergo complicated training for their jobs, they joined their innate caste earlier than other Sun's children. With the Ritual of the Ordination five years ago, Kamyri had had to leave her parents' house much earlier than her older sister and had moved with dozens of other young workers into the plain Workers' barracks near the southern fields. From that day on, she was only allowed to visit the neighborhood where she had spent her childhood at night, when Tanayar was sleeping.

Whenever the sun shone, Kamyri had to stay with the other Horned and work with them in the fields, in the quarry, in the nearby Weaver Wood or on the banks of the holy streams, cultivating fields, breaking stones, felling trees or catching fish. Only when night fell did the Sun' Children, who had been raised into their castes, be allowed to enter another district and thus visit their families or friends.

During the first few shifts of the day on the edge of the Weaver Wood, beyond the protective Una, Kamyri had felt very lost without her older sister. But after sunset, paralyzing fatigue usually gripped her so tightly that she rarely made it to the Shaman district. It had been more comfortable to stay in the barracks and complain about the guards over a cup of wine with the other Workers.

But today it wasn't about Kamyri or their caste, today the Sun's Children who had successfully completed their shaman training were consecrated. It was the fourth and final Ordination ceremony this summer. The first full moon after the summer solstice traditionally marked the elevation of Rulers each year. This was followed by festivities for Workers, Artists and Shamans every ten days.

Aesuna was one of them this year, and on this special occasion her relatives were allowed to mingle with each other for the duration of the ceremony in the Square of the Golden and celebrate her elevation to the shaman caste together.

A quiet murmur suddenly went through the colorful gathering. Some Sun's Children in the front rows turned their heads and Kamyri also curiously followed the crowd's gaze. She had experienced this ceremony before, when she herself had been elevated to her own caste. At that time, Malog, the strongest among the Workers, led the ritual. Using a goblet made of the finest rock crystal, he had drawn the holy water from the Sunspring and given it to Kamyri, along with twenty-one other young Workers. But for her sister, Liresa, the wisest of the Shamans, would take on this role. At that moment she and the Supreme Ruler walked along the path from the Palace of Light to the Square of the Golden, lined with shoulder-high rock crystals. They were flanked by six members of the Ruler's Guard, who wore the typical guardsman's uniform: riding coats made of light-colored material, slit lengthways between the navel and ankle, which they held together with gold belts around the waist, and underneath, gray trousers and knee-high boots made of sturdy leather. To protect the Supreme Ruler, each guardsman carried a lance that glittered in the sunlight.

Kamyri had seen these weapons a few times before. Their blades were shaped like the embroidered rays of the stylized sun, the outline of which the guardsmen proudly wore on the fabric stretched across their shoulder blades.

Like the other Sun's Children, all members of the ruling caste shared a characteristic pigment pattern. Their shimmering golden marks adorned the right and left sides of her jaw and the middle of her chin. The tips of the three triangular surfaces each pointed towards the middle of the face and thus framed the lower half of the head.

However, Kamyri found their most striking feature to be their pale, almost translucent skin, which revealed the blood vessels in their gaunt bodies and, in addition to the golden facial markings, painted an intricate pattern of blue veins on their skin.

It was said that the Rulers were born to lead the Sun's Children because they had a good sense of right and wrong, politics and science. Their chief was called Lumondis, the Enlightened One, by all the Sun's Children. And at that moment he walked towards the bottomless spring pond alongside the wisest Shaman Liresa.

Lumondis Ryumal dressed like the Scribes, those Rulers who were not members of his Guard or the Enforcers, in a flowing toga of white silk. From his shoulders also flowed a long cape interwoven with gold threads, on which the sun sign spread out in an engaging manner. Unlike his guard, the Lumondis' sun shone through and through in gold, and, along with his topaz and ruby ​​crown, set him apart from the other Sun's Children who resided in the Palace of Light.

The tall Ruler led the elderly Liresa on his left arm towards the Place of the Golden. In contrast to her companion, who approached with her back arched proudly, the Sun's Daughter in the wide shaman's costume looked like a fragile autumn leaf. But the gold pattern on her face, furrowed by deep wrinkles, shines brightly.

Kamyri had once heard that a Sun's child's life force could be measured by its glowing pattern. In a sick or weakened person it initially became pale, but in a dying person it eventually faded completely.

However, she couldn't see how powerful the Lumondis' glow was because it covered most of his face under a thick, blonde beard. He had tied his golden hair back with a ribbon and let the braid dance down his back like a mile-long tail.

By now the crowd had taken a kneeling position to pay respects to their Lumondis. Kamyri had also knelt down in the third row behind her parents and kept her eyes down, as was expected of her.

Her sister Aesuna, however, stood straight in the line of other shaman candidates. Today was her big day, today there would be no need for her to kneel.

When Lumondis Ryumal, his entourage and old Liresa reached the spring pond, they separated from each other. While the armed Ruler's Guard moved to the sides and the Shaman took the place next to the holy spring, the Supreme Ruler walked between the line of candidates and the carefully listening relatives.

He spread his arms decorated with golden rings as if he wanted to embrace all the Sun's Children at the same time and formed his lips into a welcoming smile. This noble sight made Kamyri feel strangely shabby in her simple green-brown worker's clothes. Still, she was glad not to have to wrap her shoulders and arms in layers of cloth in the heat of the summer, as her sister was expected to do.

Workers did not place much value on beautiful flowing fabrics, as Shamans and Rulers did. Sturdy goatskin trousers and a tight, sleeveless shirt that couldn't possibly get caught on anything were sufficient for her tasks.

"Sun's Children!" Lumondis Ryumal raised his voice and his words blew across the square in a warm summer gust. "A very special occasion takes us to our holy source today. Liresa, the Blue Swallow, wisest among the Shamans, will today lift seventeen young Shamans into their native caste before the eyes of the sun god."

Kamyri raised her eyes furtively and looked over at her sister. As she had expected, she beamed from ear to ear and listened reverently to the words of the Lumondis, who had now turned his back to them and was speaking to the people. Even though she often envied her sister, Kamyri couldn't help but smile. She was happy for Aesuna.

The relaxed life that now awaited her in the temple complexes and spruced up shaman quarters would be so much more pleasant than their own. She would be allowed to spend it near her parents' home. Aesuna wasn't in for a big change.

"Seventeen daughters and sons of the sun will today receive the sacred spring water that has always protected, kept and nourished us. Here, where it emerges from infinite depths from the rocks of the Ruler's Mountain, it should flow into the bodies of our children and bless them so that they can accept their place in the order."

Although Lumondis Ryumal put a lot of power and majestic conviction into his words, Kamyri could not take them entirely seriously. Here on the Ruler's Mountain there was a lot of fuss about the sanctity of the spring. Further down, in the less refined districts of Yaradan, there was no longer anything dignified about using the water of the two rivers or washing one's feet in them.

The further the streams moved from the source, the more they lost their sacred character, the more they became contaminated by the world. Nevertheless, every Sun's Child loved the twin cascades and the watery borders of the city that flowed from them, for no one could deny what the Lumondis said of them: as long as they flowed, no harm could come to Yaradan, Tanayar protected his children from all evil.

Finally, when the Supreme Ruler had finished his exuberant speech of praise to the source and the sun god, he let Liresa go first with a sweeping hand gesture and retreated between his guards to watch the ritual that followed and to witness it as Tanayar's representative.

Meanwhile, the little Shaman limped towards the source, muttered a few incomprehensible words to the spirits and shadow beings and finally let out her scratchy voice:

"Whether Artist, Shaman, Worker or Ruler, we are all children of the sun. And we all drink from the sacred spring to strengthen our inner power to see, hear, feel and know who we are. We drink to fit into our caste and to become one with all the Sun's Children." Liresa took a long pause to let her words sink in.

A shaman took advantage of this brief interruption, emerging from the circle of bystanders and handing Liresa a goblet made of rock crystal. She gratefully accepted the delicately crafted vessel and carefully knelt on the bank of the spring pond. She dipped her hand into the cool water and, chanting a quiet prayer, drew up the holy water.

Not all eyes were on the wisest of the Shamans at that moment. Kamyri saw her mother exchange a look with her father. They both smiled contentedly. It promised happiness for the family if the children were born into the same caste as their parents. Watching her eldest daughter perform the Ordination Ritual must have filled them with great pride. But it also gave Kamyri a dull stab in the chest.

If the old one were to drop the cup with her trembling fingers, it would take away the grace of the whole ritual.

The thought both amused and embarrassed Kamyri. She really didn't wish Aesuna any harm, but she wasn't much for puffy words and devout ceremonies either.

Old Liresa finally lifted the drinking vessel, filled to the brim with spring water, into the sunlight, where it sparkled as if it were made of the purest diamond. Kamyri averted her eyes from the blinding light and watched silently as Aesuna nervously clenched and unclenched her hands. Her sister was first in line, waiting to step forward.

"Aesuna, daughter of the shamans Zalina and Iubat," the voice of old Liresa rang across the Golden Square. "Come forward and drink from our sacred spring so that your ears may open to the voices of the spirits!"

As quickly as she was graceful, the candidate who had just been called up stepped out of the line and walked towards the spring pond. Before the wisest Shaman, Aesuna knelt, bowed her head and humbly stretched out her hands to receive the sun god's gift. With a solemn gesture, Liresa handed the cup over to her.

"Drink, my child," she said, giving Aesuna a warm and kind smile. She replied and said the words she had memorized for that day:

"I drink from the fountain of life, the gift of Tanayar, our great sun god. May he guide my life and lead me to my destiny." Kamyri saw her sister lift the glittering chalice to her lips and drink, not a drop was missed. When she had completely emptied it, she reverently returned the vessel to the wisest Shaman.

"Be welcome among the shamans, child of the sun," she congratulated her and held out a hand to symbolically raise her new sister to the shaman caste. But Aesuna didn't lift a finger. Her gaze, just full of confidence and hope for the promising future, disappeared into the distance. Her satisfied smile suddenly broke on her lips. Liresa noticed that something was wrong and gently touched Aesuna's shoulder, but she didn't react.

What's wrong with her?

A few seconds later, Kamyri heard a terrible sound coming from the candidate's throat: a hoarse gurgling, a desperate gasp for air. The corners of Aesuna's eyes filled with blood, which streamed down her cheeks like red tears. Once again she screamed silently for air, rolled her eyes uncontrollably, clutched at her pale throat... Then her trembling body suddenly went limp and she hit the golden mosaics head first.

Her mother's delicate headdress shattered on the stones and her hair came loose, draping her delicate upper body like a shroud of golden silk. A small trickle of blood dripped from her lips and she stopped moving, her blue eyes wide with horror.

What ...?

A gasp went through the crowd, a quiet murmur, then a scream. It took Kamyri a few breaths to realize it was her mother screaming. She wanted to run to her daughter, but her husband stopped her.

Every Sun's Child knew that no one was allowed to disturb the Ritual of Ordination. Whatever happened, it was the will of the sun god. Full of uncertainty, doubt and fear of the gods, the bystanders clawed their fingers into the screaming mother's blue cloth garment and dragged her back to her knees.

Aesuna... I had to get to her, have to help her!

Kamyri didn't remember getting up, but suddenly she felt herself tearing herself from the crowd's grip and fighting her way out.

The Lumondis' guard attempted to confront her, but she quickly ducked under the lances raised in defense, jumped over the sacred watercourse and thus evaded the hands of the Ruler's Guard reaching for her.

With her heart pounding, after a few quick steps she reached the spring pond and with it her sister, who had fallen to the ground.

This can't be true! What is happening here?

At the feet of the stunned Liresa, Kamyri fell to her knees next to Aesuna's body, brushed her hair out of her face with trembling fingers and gently whispered her name.

At the same moment, a storm broke out behind the Worker. The remaining shaman candidates clapped their hands over their mouths, panting, averted their gaze in confusion, some even sobbed or pointed in her direction with trembling hands. Liresa spoke urgently to Kamyri, uttering unintelligible words from her mouth, but the Worker only heard her mother's desperate wailing cries ringing in her ears.

"Aesuna, come to yourself!" She shook the lifeless Shaman by the shoulders, not seeing how the Lumondis guards quickly circled the spring pond in order to catch her. Kamyri could only stare into her sister's wide eyes and hope that she would soon wake up from this nightmare.

She felt someone grab her shoulders sternly, but she defiantly pulled away from the grip. For the first time in her life, she saw an advantage in being part of the worker caste. Thanks to her innate physical strength, she managed to push the Ruler away without much effort.

"Aesuna, what's wrong with you?" Kamyri didn't want to leave her sister alone, wanted to help her up, stroke her silky hair and promise her that everything would be okay, but a second and third guardsman rushed over and roughly pulled her off the lifeless body.

The distraught Sun's Daughter barely noticed how tightly the Rulers dug their fingers into her shoulders and arms; she only saw Aesuna in front of her, whose luminescent pigments were now increasingly losing their golden shimmer.

And only then did Kamyri realize that she was crying in pain.