Chapter One: The Carnival

No one is sure when the carnival arrived. Nor how long it has existed. It consisted of a lone red and black tent that sat upon a hill. The tent itself was fairly ordinary, if not a bit run down. It was lit up with strings of spherical lights that hang around the perimeter of the tent. The entrance was marked with two rectangles of heavy black cloth. It was the middle of the night and the usual crowds had dispersed for the evening. However, in front of the tent stood a person dressed in a simple tee shirt and jeans and some leather fingerless gloves. They had dark brown hair and pale skin and they stood staring at the old circus tent. 

This is where Mahogany Grey found himself. He was unsure what to do now that he was actually here. He had been told stories of the carnival his whole life, but now that he was here it seemed different. It was no longer a myth. He reached out and cautiously peeled back the black cloth at the entrance to reveal the inside of the tent.  

Mahogany wasn’t sure what he expected to see upon entering. Everyone who spoke of the carnival spoke with reverence in their voice. Their eyes would cloud over with mysticism as they recalled what could only be described as magic. The last thing that Mahogany expected was the disarray that greeted him. Performers were running by with the flash of dark red and black clothes. Everyone in sight seemed to be hectic, as if some sort of emergency was occurring. While trying to piece together the chaotic scene, a hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped as a white mask with an unsettlingly large smile greeted him. Before him was someone bigger in presence than they were in stature. They were wearing a comically large jester hat with bells attached to the two points that flopped over on each side. Despite the bells they managed to move silently. Their sleeves were impractically long, completely enveloping their hands and ending in large bell shapes. Over top of a dark red shirt sat a black corseted vest. 

“Hi!” came a high energetic voice, “sorry the carnival is currently closed. Feel free to come back when we have shows running!”

“I know, well, I assumed it would be closed, I’m not here for the show, rather I’d like to talk to the person who runs everything if that would be possible.” Mahogany responded, fidgeting with his gloves while debating to himself if coming here was the best idea. 

“I see,” the jester said, tilting their head with curiosity. Before she had the chance to say anymore a woman appeared at her side. In contrast to the reds and blacks of the performers, this person wore a plain black turtleneck and long brown pants. The dress was starkly plain compared to the jester standing next to them. More notably though, she had pale pink skin and six black eyes with white pupils. She reached out for a handshake.

“Hello, I’m Yoka, the carnival’s proprietor,” She threw her hands wide at this as if trying to encompass the chaos in a single gesture. “What can I do for you?”

Mahogany returned her handshake and responded, “I’d like to join the carnival,” firmly as if trying to convince himself.

While Yoka paused, blinking at Mahogany in confusion the jester responded, “Excellent! We’re short on staff and could use some more hands, what can you do? Do you perform or are you more of a backstage type of person? We could always use another set of hands around here.”

Yoka quickly cut into their rambling “Jester, why don’t you slow down for a second, we don’t even know his name. What is it that brings you to us?”

“Right, sorry, my name is Mahogany, and well, I came here because I wasn’t sure where else to go. Everyone says this place is like magic and I think I maybe need a little magic.” 

Before Yoka was able to get out her next sentence a different performer with dark brown skin and seaweed green hair appeared at her shoulder and pulled her attention away. 

“Jester, can you bring Mahogany to my office? I’ll meet you there once I’ve sorted this out,” Yoka asked while already following the performer away from them.

“Yes ma’am,” Jester said, saluting at her back as she walked away, “Alright Mahogany, follow me!” 

Jester began to walk further into the tent not checking behind to see if he was following. Mahogany found himself trailing after them through the carnival As he walked he started to take in the various people surrounding him. Despite the fact that everyone was wearing the same dark red and black colors, each person distinctly stood out. He picked out Yoka next to a large tank of water, but didn’t see the performer from earlier until he realized that inside the tank was unmistakably the same person, but this time they had a long shark-like green tail that matched their hair. Standing next to them was another man who had light blue skin and dark blue hair. 

Mahogany continued to follow Jester as she deftly wove her way through the various structures and people that filled up the tent. As they walked, Mahogany began to realize the tent was much larger than he initially thought. The people and various exhibits made the room feel crowded and confined, but as he continued on it almost seemed as if it never ended. The inside of the tent was divided up into the different attractions and performances the carnival offered. 

Jester led them to a wall of the tent that had more heavy black curtains similar to the entrance of the tent, they pushed it aside to reveal a small room. The room was warmly lit by lanterns set on various different sleeves and tables. Every surface of the office was covered in various items. There were papers and books scattered everywhere, as well as trinkets on every shelf. In the middle of the room was a small rectangular desk made of cherry wood, with matching chairs sitting around it. More things were stacked upon each of the chairs, except for the one on the opposite side of the table which had a very worn red upholstery. Mahogany assumed this was probably the only chair in this office that actually got used for its intended purpose.

“Here, take a seat” Jester said as she began to shove all of the stuff off of one of the other chairs. 

Mahogany sat in the now cleared off chair and Jester perched themself on the table in the middle of the room. 

Once seated Jester began rambling excitedly, “We haven’t had a new performer in quite a while! It’s nice having you here, you’ll love the carnival, I’ve never been to a more magical place…” she continued on as Mahogany took in more of the room. He noticed a small hourglass on one shelf and a large globe in the corner of the room. There were books, scrolls, and every form of writing in existence. Jester’s speech was eventually interrupted by the arrival of Yoka.

She pushed open the black sheet covering the entrance to the small room with a small sigh before looking up and warmly smiling at Mahogany. 

“So, what is this about wanting to join the carnival?”

“This is the only place I could find where magic isn’t curated. It is so free here, and, well, I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is I don’t think it’s legal.” With that Mahogany took the glove off his left hand to reveal a dark pulsing infection. Some sort of magic seemed to have managed to writhe its way under his skin and start creeping along his wrist and fingers. He expected some sort of reaction to the dark magic living under his skin, but instead of flinching away, Yoka reached out to grab his hand and began to inspect it. 

“Hmmm, what exactly do you want to happen in regards to this?” Yoka asked Mahogany after examining his hand for a long time.

“I’d like to get rid of it! I don’t want a curse or dark magic or whatever it is infecting me!” 

“Well, unfortunately I can’t get rid of it for you, it seems to be tied to your being in some capacity, I can maybe help you reign it in though. There is however a catch, I can only help you if you join and stay with the carnival.”  Yoka responded. 

“I’ll do it,” Mahogany said.

“That was quick,” Jester commented.

“If you leave the carnival at any point, I can’t guarantee what will happen to you,” Yoka cautioned.

“I won’t leave then” Mahogany responded.

“Jester will show you to your quarters, and I’d recommend considering figuring out how you are going to help out with the carnival, everyone who stays here plays a part.” Yoka said as she stood up to leave.

“Wait, that's it, aren’t you going to help with this!” He said, holding out his left hand.

“I need time, and you probably need rest given you showed up here in the middle of the night. We’ll officially sort everything out tomorrow.”

Jester hopped down from their perch on the desk and waved for Mahogany to follow her, “This way! I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” 

Mahogany followed Jester out of Yoka’s office and back into the mayhem of the main circus tent. As she led them around the perimeter of the tent he began to take in his new place of residence and company. The people surrounding him could only be described as colorful. He spotted the merfolk that Yoka had been talking to previously, except they once again donned legs. There was someone with olive green skin and contrasting bright red hair who had a singular horn sprouting from their head. Many more magical persons roamed around. It was the most plentiful display of magic Mahogany had seen in his entire life. 

Magical persons were known to exist but rarely seen in most places. In the case of Mirrim, the town in which Mahogany grew up, there hadn’t been someone with magic in several decades. Until about a week ago, he had never even encountered magic before. Now he found himself surrounded by it. 

“It’s quite the sight isn’t it?” Jester asked, taking in the awe on his face.

“It is,” Mahogany agreed, “but isn’t it dangerous to have magic like this roaming free?”

“There are some risks, but I’d say the benefits outweigh the costs,” Jester responded and he could hear the smile in their voice.

Jester brought them to another set of black curtains that acted as doors within the carnival. Upon going through them, Mahogany found himself in some sort of hallway that contained a long row of black curtains. They walked into the hallway and Jester led him to a room a few doors down on the left side. 

“Here you go! Your new home! I’ll let you settle in, you can take some time to adjust and get some rest, we’ll see you in the morning,” they said as they took off, leaving Mahogany by himself outside of the black curtains leading to his new room. 

He found himself in a modest room, the walls were made of the same red and black canvas as the rest of the tent. A simple bed sat on a wooden frame that curiously looked as if it was made of mahogany. It also had a small wardrobe and nightstand that matched the bed. The room was utterly unremarkable, it was perfect. As he explored the room, he found that the wardrobe contained several red and black circus costumes each more ostentatious than the next. He sat down on the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable, and started to feel the exhaustion that he had been keeping at bay creeping in. It didn’t take long before Mahogany was fast asleep.