Fantasy Novel [Chiaroscuro of the Dawn] ep.1 Synopsis & Prologue "Rebellion of the Powerless"

[Synopsis]

Chiaro is a 13-year-old boy of the horned Ogre race, living in a remote Ogre village. He possesses the "power of reception," which allows him to read changes in the weather through the horns on his head.
He has no parents and lives a poor life after being taken in by a foster family, but he lives happily with his twin younger brothers, Gigi and Toto.
However, one day after a long cold spell, his foster parents attempt to sell off his brothers. Chiaro steps forward to the officials from the Papal States who had come looking for a "receiver," and heads to the capital, Romlea, with his brothers.
Waiting for them at the capital's temple was a fateful encounter with a lonely boy named Scuro, known as an "artificial god."
At first, Scuro keeps Chiaro at a distance, but behind his stubborn attitude, glimpses of vulnerability and kindness can be seen.
Before long, as the two begin to open their hearts to each other, a massive conspiracy begins to stir within the Papal States—.

Prologue—Rebellion of the Powerless ①

The moment Chiaro placed his shears against a bunch of grapes, he looked up at the clear autumn sky. The wind blew up his blonde hair, and his pale amber eyes shone in the light.

Chiaro wore an expression of anguish unsuited for a boy his age as he quickly put the grapes into a basket. Then, he shouted so it would echo throughout the field.

"Hail! It's going to hail!"

The farmers, who had been searching for bunches that might still be usable among the grapes damaged by the late spring frost, all looked up at once.

No one dared to say it was impossible on such a clear day, and they called out to each other, "Hey, he says it's going to hail!" and "Protect what you've already harvested, let's clear out before we get hurt!"

Amidst the sighs of disappointment, Chiaro gently stroked the single horn rising from the top of his head.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Don't make that face, you've done a great job."

Looking up, he saw Uncle Theo, a village leader, smiling at him. Not only Chiaro, but Uncle Theo with his magnificent beard, and all the other farmers, had horns.
This was because this was an Ogre village, a race of horned people.

Ever since he could remember, Chiaro had been able to sense changes in the weather through those horns.
If it was going to be sunny, a crisp image of the sun would travel through his horns like a sharp static shock; if it was going to rain, an image of countless water droplets would do the same.
He had heard that long ago, the village was full of Ogres who could predict the weather, but now, Chiaro was the only one in the village with this ability.

Both of them carried baskets that were mostly empty on their backs and headed toward the barn at a brisk pace.

"Thank you, Theo. But I wish I had the power to change the weather, not just predict it."

"If you could do that, you'd be a god! You're already plenty useful to everyone. Still..."

Uncle Theo hesitated, then lowered his voice as if to tell a secret.

"When you smile like that, you look just like Bruna. How old are you now?"

Chiaro blinked his eyes and answered, "Thirteen." Bruna was his mother, who had died shortly after giving birth to him.

Chiaro wanted to hear about his mother, whom he had no memory of, but for some reason, the villagers were tight-lipped, and his father, who had died three years ago, had told him almost nothing about her.
So, all Chiaro knew was that she had the same blonde hair as him, amber eyes like hardened honey, and possessed an excellent ability to predict the weather.

Chiaro knew what Uncle Theo would say next as he stared into the distance and muttered, "Has it really been thirteen years already?"
So, he said it in sync with the movement of his lips.

"Sorry about that, forget what I just said."

Their voices overlapped perfectly, and Chiaro laughed loudly. Uncle Theo gave a wry smile as if drawn into it.

"Forget what I said" was like a purification phrase that people always said after touching upon his mother, and to Chiaro, it was a line he could predict with 100% accuracy even without his ability.
He disliked the dark sense of guilt that seeped into it, and before he knew it, he had developed the habit of making a joke out of it like this.

The village's communal barn was already crowded with farmers. As soon as they arrived, black clouds blocked the sunlight, and chunks of ice began to pound the ground.

"It's over. With this much falling, not just the vegetables, but even the chickpeas won't make it. How are we supposed to survive the winter?"

The owner of the exhausted voice was Peppino, a father of a large family. He looked back with bloodshot eyes and shook Chiaro's shoulder.

"Chiaro, your mother was amazing. She would predict natural disasters and such months in advance, and thanks to that, we were able to prepare fully."
"Can't you do it, huh? Even our family has given you orphans plenty of charity when we had enough to spare. Couldn't you return the favor now?"

Uncle Theo's voice calling out "Peppino!" was followed by a scolding of "You fool!"
Peppino's wife whispered, "I'm sorry, Chiaro. It's not your fault," as she dragged her husband away to the back.

The "you" that Peppino referred to meant Chiaro and his two younger brothers.
They were twins named Gigi and Toto. Since they were only five, they rarely went out to work in the fields, and today they were waiting for Chiaro's return while helping out at their foster home.

As Uncle Theo peered into his face, Chiaro smiled to keep him from worrying.

"I have to get back to Gigi and Toto quickly. I hope they haven't been hit by the hail."

His uncle placed his large palm on Chiaro's head and muttered low, "I've made you grow up so fast."

When the hail stopped, Chiaro and the others walked along the road paved with ice and came out to the church in the center of the village.
Looking, he saw Father Marco talking to some well-dressed men. None of the men had horns. They were humans.

Since there were almost no visitors to the Ogre village, everyone was watching them from a distance with curiosity.
The man talking to Father Marco was wearing a cloak trimmed with fur at the hem, and the other two were armed like guards.

"Officials from the Papal States," Uncle Theo frowned, and the cloaked man turned around to face the villagers.

"Sinful Ogres! We have been commissioned by His Holiness the Pope for a noble task and sent to this frontier land. Is there anyone among you who can predict the weather? If so, step forward!"

Uncle Theo stepped half a step forward, hiding Chiaro from view. The other villagers also deliberately looked away from Chiaro.
The cloaked man, whose voice was thick with fat, let out a contemptuous click of his tongue.

"Don't be so timid, your servility makes me sick. Listen! Those who have the ability will be granted the honor of accompanying us to the Papal States. His Holiness has graciously said that those with ability will be treated well."

In the dead silence, Father Marco, who had been flustered, said,

"As I said, there are no receivers in our village. You must be tired from your long journey, so please stay at the church's lodging for today. We will treat you with our best wine."

The cloaked man nodded as if he didn't mind, spat out, "If you're going to step forward, do it soon!" and was led away by the priest.

Chiaro watched the whole sequence of events with a pounding heart.

Here, in the Os Sacrum Theocracy, Ogres are managed by the Papal States, and leaving their own village without special permission is out of the question.
Even so, Chiaro had always wanted to see the outside world.

Stone cities filled with singing, cathedrals inlaid with colorful glass, and unknown foods lined up at stalls.
Stories of human cities from war veterans and Father Marco helped Chiaro briefly forget the loneliness of having no parents.

"Chiaro,"

Uncle Theo called out, his expression like a father's—kind but stern.

"Don't you ever step forward. I heard at a meeting a while ago that the Papal States were looking for Ogres who could predict the weather."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Chiaro intended to ask as calmly as possible, but his voice was tinged with dissatisfaction.

"You know, don't you? The Os Sacrum religion teaches that Ogres are unclean beings. There's no way it's a good story. Don't be taken in by their smooth talk; we've survived by enduring."

Uncle Theo's black eyes were serious and filled with parental love for Chiaro. Chiaro swallowed his frustration and nodded.

"Yeah, I won't do anything dangerous. I have Gigi and Toto, after all."

"As long as you understand. Obedience is the wisdom of those who have been stripped of their power. Don't be ashamed."

Chiaro was taught the meaning of "obedience" and headed home.

List of links for episode 2 and beyond