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thisnameisnotspokenfor · 6 months ago

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Chapter 30 Rough Chapter Preview

((ooc: here have this entire segment!))

“What....what is this place?" Asha breathed.

“My guess is as good as yours,” came the star’s voice as his eyes settled on a partially collapsed statue behind them. One that if was still whole, would have easily rivaled Rosas’s biggest cathedral in size. “I’m not one to leave loose ends after bad encounters. But I thought it’d be best if we spent some time down here to convince your little ‘acquaintances’ that we hadn’t survived the fall.”

Shivering, she half-heartedly wrapped her wet shawl around herself. “Did you know this was down here?”

“Oh, you mean the city?” He shook his head, “I didn’t. The only reason why I found it was because I felt something coming from here.”

“You felt something?” Her eyes darted from the star to the collection of dilapidated buildings that stood before them.

He nodded “A calling.”

“How exactly does one feel a calling?”

“Same way how one manages to conjure a large air bubble that’s strong enough to keep you alive down here. That’s how.” He gestured to the walls of said air bubble before turning his eyes to the darkness outside. “But I suspect it’s coming from a malfunctioning artifact or a distress beacon of sorts.”

A distress beacon? It had been how the injured Atlantean general had summoned the stone serpentine. So the idea wasn’t too far-fetched. But from here of all places?

“You know it’s funny you say that,” she started as she felt herself slightly shiver. The coldness of her still-wet shawl had done her no favors. “My Saba once told me of a legend from when Rosas was still young, a fisherman used to sail the Salcona river. After narrowly surviving a boat accident he claimed that he’d heard strange voices coming from the bottom of the river.”

“Voices?” His light pierced the darkness as it briefly illuminated the ground below, revealing the bits and pieces of stained glass that had been embedded within what she could only assume was once a beautiful pathway.

“Yeah. Strange ones. They said it drove him so mad that he swore to dive to the bottom of the river…No one ever saw him again,” She whispered, eyeing the sparkling shards of the ground that led towards the heart of the sunken city.

“You don’t think there are survivors here, do you?” Impossibilities of survival aside, How was anyone to be rescued from something like this? She’d tried to not think of the hopelessness of the situation crushing the survivors as they’d desperately searched for any sign of

“I wouldn’t bet on it. But It’s not as outlandish as you think,” He’d shifted closer, holding his hand towards the bubble’s wall. “I’ve heard of astronomers having hidden underground tunnels that allowed them to travel all over the kingdom in dire situations. Factor in their food supply, powers, extended lifespan, and technology, and anything is possible.”

“But that can’t be right- Rosas was founded on a completely new island! This city can’t be a part of its predecessor.”

“And yet it just so happens to be full of those same astronomical symbols,” the star interjected before leaning towards her. “A little too coincidental don’t you think?”

She nodded, her eyes lowering to her feet as she contemplated his words.

If what he said was true then that would mean that Rosas had never left the ashes of its predecessor behind just like the historical records had claimed.

But how could that be? Surely someone would’ve pointed out the error sooner! There was no way the scholars nor her father would’ve allowed such untruths to be propagated to future generations.

“BAAAA” came Valentino from beside her as he gestured for her to look forward.

“What?” She asked. “What is it? Do you see something?”

He shook his head, before pressing it to the walls of the air bubble as if he’d wanted her to follow suit.

Of course, doing something like that initially seemed ridiculous to her under the fear of possibly popping the bubble, but come to think of it, this wasn’t any normal air bubble, right? So maybe she could get away with a few sudden movements…But her reservations had been quickly put to rest when she’d felt the low vibrations of something that she could only deduce was sound coming from the nearby city.

Quickly, she pressed her ears towards the bubble’s side, making out the sounds of Bells and chimes softly ringing in the darkness. But why would they be ringing?

“Asha-,” came the star’s voice as something swam past once more, nearly startling her. “What are you doing?”

“Listening,” she answered, briefly sparing him a glance. “Do you hear that? It’s the sounds of bells and chimes ringing and I think it’s coming from the city!” She exclaimed as he blankly stared at her. “I’ve always known that water isn’t a vacuum, so sound could travel through it. But for the bells and chimes to be ringing so continuously like this…that must mean that something underwater is making it move! But the real question is…what?” She started to pace the bubble, which was frankly, a near-impossible task given the bubble’s rather small size. But that hadn’t stopped her from asking “Is it the current or something else? Maybe it’s connected to the calling you felt! But…why?”

His brows furrowed as his hand pushed his hair back.“You really want to know?”

“Of course I do!” she exclaimed, unable to hide her smile. “Don’t you?”

“Well…” he, the self-admitted reckless and insane star, hesitated. The expression on his face was wavering. “I suppose so…”

“Suppose so? Cepheus we literally just made the greatest archaeological discovery of this century! This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement that could be the answer to all of our questions involving the order and its strange absence!”

“Or, it could be dangerous,” his voice lowered as the light within his hand flickered.” You don’t know what’s down here.”

A part of her couldn’t believe that of all the things they’d done, this was where the star drew the line. He’d been so troubled about the order’s strange absence, yet he seemed reluctant to explore the one place that could give him answers. Granted he did have a point, as up until now, the most she’d ever assumed was down here was nothing more than fish and scattered bones.

But that hadn’t stopped her from being curious, not when the existence of the buildings that challenged Rosas’s history had so proudly touted the symbol she’d seen from the astronomer’s order.“True, I don’t. But I guess it’s a good thing I have you then, don’t I? You’re probably scarier and way stronger than any apex predator that roams the ocean.”

“Apex what?”

“Apex predator,” she repeated. “You know, a carnivorous animal that resides at the top of the food chain!” she explained as a small idea formed within her mind.

“Am I an Apex predator?” he asked, curiously pointing to himself as he leaned towards her.

“You?” she looked around the small bubble thoughtfully. Flattery had always done wonders on nobles, now she wondered how well it would work on a star. “Well, I mean you remorselessly maul people three times your size with sheer brutality, without taking any damage.” she shrugged. “Yes. I think you’d comfortably classify as what they’d call an apex predator.”

The star beamed, “Ha ha! Wait-,” he paused as his smile faltered. “You’re complimenting me-,” His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously, “who are you and what have you done to Asha?!”

She rolled her eyes before pointing to him accusingly. “I mean I could be asking you the same question. You didn’t use any magic whatsoever in that fight for someone who’s so highly pro-magic.”

“Touche,” he conceded. “But don’t think flattery is gonna convince me to take you down there.”

“Well it’s not really flattery if it’s the truth now is it?” she asked smoothly as she leaned towards the star.

“....Fair point,” he shrugged, before clearing his throat. “Alright then, I guess we can look around for a little bit. IF-”

“If?” she repeated.

“-You promise to stay close to me. The pressure at this depth is very unforgiving. So It’s best we stick together for now.”

She nodded, unsure of how she’d be able to do anything else given the limited space the bubble provided.

Nearing the city, Asha’s eyes took in the pieces of columns, buildings, and broken statues that littered the ground, offering a mere glimpse of what she could only assume was once a beautiful courtyard.

“There are so many statues here,” she murmured, briefly pausing to listen in to the sounds of the surrounding bells.

“Of course there are,” he sighed. “To a star, there’s no greater form of praise than a beautiful artistic piece that’s fashioned after them. You should see the palaces that some of the alpha stars live in. It’s full of human art.”

“Do you recognize any of these then?”

He shook his head without hesitation, as they swam past several collapsed statues that could have easily rivaled the castle in size.

“How about these?” she asked, pointing to another.

To her dismay, his voice promptly answered with a somewhat unenthusiastic, yet decisive “No.”

Setting aside her confusion for now, she continued looking around the desecrated town square, not seeing anything particularly noteworthy until her eyes caught sight of something glittering beneath the edge of the star’s light.

“Wait!” she halted him before pointing to where she’d spotted the glittering object beneath them. Obediently the star guided his light towards the direction she’d pointed in, quickly revealing the location of said object to be within the hole of a large building that had partially collapsed.

Excitement once again filled her at the sight of the astronomical symbols etched into the building’s stone roof as she shivered and asked, “D-do you think that’s the order?”

He gently shook his head. “The order was far larger than one building, but from what I’ve heard they did have a location in the heart of the kingdom, which was very close to the castle.”

The castle? She’d looked around for any sighting of said castle but had come up empty. There wasn’t much to go off of whether or not this part of the city had been near the heart of the kingdom nor if this building had been a part of the astronomer’s order, but something in her mind had told her that it was at least worth exploring.

The star nodded to himself as he peered into the dark depths of the building. His mind surprisingly made up as he cracked his knuckles. “Well, I suppose now is a time as ever to make life-altering mistakes while embarking on a pointless albeit fascinating search.”

“Life-altering what?” Asha spat as he smiled at Valentino.

“Go on Valentino we’ll be right behind you!” he gestured towards the dark pit beneath them.

Valentino, understandably bleated in protest as the star frowned. “What? What do you mean by no?” Valentino shivered before bleating once more as the star gasped. “Ah right, I keep on forgetting that you earth creatures are weirdly addicted to oxygen. Me personally? I’ve always been more of a hydrogen and helium guy, not that I need them of course-”

“Wait,” she grabbed his hand, gently pulling him back as she thankfully put a stop to his strange rambling. “Before we enter. Promise me that there will be no more riddles, no more games. I just want transparency.”

“Transparency,” the star repeated, looking genuinely confused.

“Yeah you know, honesty. It’s what friends do. They tell each other things that they need to hear, even when it’s not easy.”

“Friends do that? Does that include constructive criticism on interior decor and capes?” he asked as he glanced at her soaking-wet shawl.

“My friends do, and no it does not include constructive criticism on interior decor or capes,” she retorted before quickly stuffing her shawl into her satchel.

“How many friends do you have beside me?”

“A lot but that’s not the point,” she lied with a huff. “Right now we’re looking at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that I doubt we will see again. So it’s best that we try to answer any questions we have while we’re still down there. Right?”

To her surprise, the star pleasantly answered, as he placed a hand over his heart, “Of course Asha. Let’s get started, shall we?” She nodded as the bubble slowly began to descend the roof’s hole and into the building below.

The room they’d slipped into had been massive, with its downward stairwell structure nearly reminding her of an academic auditorium. Everything in the hall was covered in algae, as objects such as furniture, books, bookshelves, scrolls, and all sorts of instruments lay strewn about as the remains of a once beautiful crystal chandelier lay in the middle of the room. Carved into the surrounding dark-colored stone walls were depictions of strange Creatures and people, all poised towards a chalkboard full of strange letters that stood at the other end of the room. She and the star exchanged glances before nodding, carefully approaching the chalkboard.

“This was written in Asterahi,” he murmured as he tentatively looked over the board.

“Is that another star language?” she asked, noting how different the ‘words’ had looked from the ones he’d shown her yesterday.

“It is. A far more exclusively spoken one though.”

And yet one that he appeared to be capable of reading she’d thought as he’d continue to look over the language’s strange symbols. For a star peasant he was rather well-educated, wasn’t he? “I know you said you could tell which court had spoken Cosmelathian based on the dialect or rather variation you saw it written in… Does the same apply for Asterahi?”

He carefully nodded, “It does…and from the looks of things, this looks like it was written by someone from the,” his eyes widened, as he quickly shook his head. “No….That can’t be right. Not here…Why here?”

“What? What is it?! Cephues what’s wrong?” He failed to answer her as his eyes continued sweeping over the board. His smile was gone now as she felt the water around them begin to move, pushing away some of the debris near the foot of the chalkboard as she gasped.

“Cepheus, look!” she cried, pointing to the large half-destroyed ship that lay in front of the chalkboard. “It’s one of the ships we saw Erlan’s people use!” She could barely think straight as she gently shook the star’s shoulders. “It’s real! It’s really real! And it’s here!” She paused, feeling the weight of reality set in. “Wait so are you telling me that story wasn’t fictional?”

“I don’t ever recall telling you that it was,” he answered with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Oh…” she whispered, releasing his shoulders as she stepped back. “Wait…so do stars actually look like that? A dark cloud with glowing eyes and a multitude of voices or was that a creative liberty you took?”

He grinned rather smugly, “Creative liberty, of course, in reality, we stars usually look far worse.”

“Worse?” she repeated, before pointing to him. “Even you?”

“I’m not sure why I’d be excluded from that, but yes, even me. There’s a reason why we’re so…particular about how we look when we’re around humans…”

“Finally,” she grinned. “A form of you that isn’t ridiculously handsome. Now I actually kind of want to see-”

“Finally a form of me that isn’t ridiculously handsome?” he repeated, staring at her in silence before the true meaning of her words began to sink into both of them. She hadn’t meant it like that! But the grin that slowly spread across the star’s face told her that she was now in for a world of trouble.

“Asha-,” he sang.

“I’ve never been one to ask a building to collapse on me before,” she grumbled as she tried to ignore how her face burned.

“Do you think I’m handsome?” The wicked little star was enjoying this. “It’s okay if you do. I think you’re really pretty too~,”

She shook her head, quickly taking another step back as she cursed the tightness of their air bubble. “Ha, ha, no, no, I never meant that you were handsome, you see what I was trying to say was that-,”

“That?” the star repeated. “Go on Asha, tell me what you were trying to say.” He was really enjoying this, wasn’t he?

“Scratch that, I hope the building collapses on both of us.”

Valentino panickedly pleated as the star’s smile sharpened. Mischief filled his eyes as he leaned towards her, “Is this you showing your strong feelings for my form again? I knew you liked it but to call me ridiculously handsome-,”

“I am politely asking you,” she called while staring at the partially collapsed ceiling. “To please do it. Just make it quick.”

“Ha! Listen to me princess, very few things in this universe could kill you while I'm around, but I'm afraid this building” he pointed upwards towards the ceiling. “Isn't one of them-,” he’d flippantly waved his hand as he leaned away from her.

“Alright, so what could?”

“Nothing that you’d need to worry about,” he replied, his voice a bit more ominous than she liked.

“Well unnerving note aside, this means that Erlan’s kingdom could have been the ancestor or had some sort of ties to Rosas’s predecessor!” She looked over the ship once more. To call it advanced would have been the understatement of the century. No, this wasn’t advancement. It was technological perfection. “Do you think it still works?” she asked the star after she’d finally managed to partially break the trance the ship had, had on her. “We could fix it though, couldn’t we? Just like how you fixed the music box! Imagine if we could get it to fly again! This could be a life-changing thing for the people of Rosas! The king would have to listen to us! He’d have to!”

To her chagrin, he looked away before shaking his head, “I don’t think your king would be very pleased if you made this discovery public Asha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well from what you tell me, I think his abhorrence to technology seems personal, and like you said your people are complacent and dependable on the king, something that may not be as benevolent nor generous as you think it is.”

Not benevolent or generous? She wasn’t certain about that! Yes, it had made everyone a little too safe and lazy, but she had to give credit where it was due. King Magnifico had made them complacent as a consequence of his dedication to serving and protecting them, something that she’d argue was very kind given how most monarchs tended to act.

The star looked her over, and as if reading her thoughts, he’d gifted her a smile heavily laced with what she could only recognize as sardonicism. “You know Asha,” he started. “A king’s greatest enemy isn’t those who he faces on the battlefield or those who he strong arms into trade deals or diplomacy. No, it’s the people who he must convince and assure of his divine right to rule with each and every passing day. Because the minute those people think to themselves that there is another, someone better, is the day that everything a king has worked for goes to naught. His kingdom will become nothing more than a gilded cage as those around him fight to secure themselves for power.”

“I…I can’t disagree with what you’re saying….But the people and royal family of Rosas aren’t like that! You’re free to think of the king however you want, but nothing can change the fact that he and so many others worked hard to make Rosas into a place where people who’d suffered could be given a chance! Just like how Erlan used his power as king to help others and establish the Astronomer’s Order!”

He tilted his head, as he thoughtfully stared at the nearby collapsed pillar. “So passionate. You sound as if you speak from experience, or perhaps intimate knowledge of the royal family?”

She shook her head. If the star had thought that he was the only one who could maintain secrecy under this amount of hydrostatic pressure, then he was sorely mistaken “It’s history that we’re all required to learn…”

The star hummed, evidently not sounding too convinced. “History? Alright then…How did you know that Erlan established the astronomer’s order? Surely they couldn’t have had that in your history books.”

“They don’t.”

“So how did you know?”

“I didn’t I-,” her voice trailed off. “I heard it…in a dream.”

“A dream?” Cepheus’s eyes narrowed at her as the cold seemed to seep into her bones. “You’ve been having weird dreams lately?”

“Sometimes,” she confessed. “But everything that’s happened to me has been very strange and a little too coincidental.” It was a shame that the bubble was so small, otherwise, she would’ve started pacing once more as she began to think aloud. “But Maybe you’re right…maybe I shouldn’t show this to the king.”

“Oh? And why do you say that?”

“Well…come to think of it, isn’t it a little odd how those figures not only chose to attack me on the one day I’d have a vacation? There’s no way they could’ve known that unless they had an informant in the castle keeping them updated on my whereabouts. But then there’s the fact that if they truly didn’t care about assassinating other people, then why hadn’t they done it this morning if they’d been stalking me for a while?” She’d asked glancing at Valentino who shivered before looking up at her. “But they only attempted it when I was alone with you….Wanting to discreetly dispose of me is one thing. But doing it when there’s another person around, one completely irrelevant to the situation is irrational…unless, of course, they had their reasons for wanting to kill you as well.”

“You think they knew that I am a star?”

“It’s quite possible, or at least they know now given what you showed them. And they had magic of their own, and-” her voice trailed off as she remembered the red crystal she’d seen on the woman’s neck. Ones that looked nearly identical to the crystals that the Atlanteans and Erlan’s people had worn. Had the people hunting them down been astronomers who’d sworn allegiance to the crimson court? But that didn’t make any sense! If they’d sworn to serve the stars then why were they shattering wishes?

She shook her head as she turned her attention back towards the star in front of her. “But it still doesn’t make sense to me. The language that you heard their leader speaking in, was it close to ours?”

“Close, but not identical. I’d say from its roots that most linguists would probably tell you that it’s a sister language of yours.”

“And then there’s the fact that they didn’t hesitate when nearing the bridge that’s usually guarded. It’s like they knew it would be empty by the time they’d be approaching…and the river” She shook her head. “they knew which path to block. They deliberately tried to send us down Salcona. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I feel as if you’re on the verge of something here,” he started. “You’re formulating some sort of hypothesis aren’t you?”

“Sort of,” she admitted, still thinking about the red crystal and shattered wishes.

“BAAAAAAAA-,” Came Valentino’s voice as he leaped forward, gesturing to the other end of the hall.

“You see something?” Cepheus repeated as he turned around. Valentino reverently nodded before gesturing towards the wall on the other end of the hallway.

“It’s some type of mural I think,” she murmured, examining it as she noticed the bits and pieces of colorful stained glass shining the minute the star’s light landed upon it.

Sirius,” she’d whispered on recognizing the figure depicted by the mural.

He’d looked nearly identical to the picture she’d seen in the journal, only this time he wore a beautiful crown embedded with blue and golden jewels as the words on the mural’s edges read Sirius de Solari-, her eyes squinted trying to make out the rest of the letters that had been lost to time.

But she’d suspected the final words were ‘de Solarius.’ A suspicion that had only been confirmed by the figures of blue and golden that acknowledged him on either side of the mural.

He must have been someone important. Otherwise, she’d have seen no other reason why such a beautiful mural would be dedicated to him if he didn’t at least hold some power in the world of stars and astronomers.

But as she studied his face, she couldn’t help but quietly admire the artistry and dedication that had gone into what could have easily been the most expensive piece of art in Rosas.

“Cepheus?” She looked from him to the mural and then back to him.

“Don’t say it,” he grumbled, but his voice had lacked the venom she’d expected. No, now he just looked tired. Tired and expectant as if the similarities in looks had been brought up multiple times before.

He’d denied being Sirius, but surely they must’ve been closely related… why else would they so strongly resemble one another? But… if they’d been related then why would Cepheus be a mere peasant while Sirius appeared to practically be a prince, or maybe even a king?!

Maybe Cepheus was his illegitimate son. An illegitimate son that he had neglected for whatever reason, hence why the son had resented the very name and resemblance he had to his father.

Hmm, that was plausible.

Cepheus was dangerously close to scowling now as he practically snapped, “Draw a picture of him Asha, it will last longer.”

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“You’ve been staring at that wall for at least five minutes,” he complained with a frown as he crossed his arms.

“Well, I’m an astronomer. It’s sort of my job to examine and study stars for a living Cepheus.”

She hadn’t expected to see a cold fire ignite within the depths of his eyes as he staunchly turned away. She glanced at Valentino who seemed just as confused as she. Had it been something she said?

“Well go on,” he’d said after a moment or so of uncomfortable silence. “Ask your questions. You want answers about him don’t you?”

Goodness. Of course, she wanted answers! It’s why she’d wanted to explore in the first place. But she didn’t want answers at the expense of invading the star’s privacy or boundaries.

She shook her head, “No. I can tell that this is a rather sensitive topic for you, and if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it for whatever reason then I won’t ask about it. But if you ever want to share then I want you to know that I’ll be here, ready to listen.”

“Ready to listen?” he repeated as confusion laced his voice. “But what if I never want to share? What will you do then?”

A challenge. Maybe even a warning. She’d swallowed the unease as she forced herself to shrug, “Then that’s okay too. Look Cepheus. I’m not going to force you into doing something that distresses you, alright? That’s not what friends do, and it’s not what I’m going to do.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She wasn’t sure how many seconds of silence had ticked by before his face slowly softened and he offered her his hand.

His fingers slowly intertwined with hers as she quietly welcomed his warmth.

“C'mon,” he says softly as the bubble begins to move away from the mural. “Let’s go see if there are other ships around.” He must’ve sensed her confusion as he quickly added, “Just because the king can’t appreciate it, doesn’t mean that you can’t use it to further your own studies, right?”

“Right.” She nodded, and a small ghost of a smile teased at his lips as they moved forward, this time through the large hole in the center of the floor.

“Where are we headed to?” Her voice echoed as the star’s light peered through the darkness, revealing the misfortune that had befallen a place of prestige and beauty.

“The panic room,” he’d answered. “I think it’s where the signal is coming from.” He’d only briefly paused once to shine his light on the wall behind them, revealing another mural. This one depicted planets, none of which she recognized. Perhaps they’d been planets from another galaxy? It was a possibility, given how stars had most likely been the ones to divulge such information in the first place. “I have a, no pun intended, sinking suspicion that if the evacuation ships and distress beacons were to be anywhere. They’d be in the bottom of the building near the panic rooms.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery,” he’d half-heartedly gestured to the columns full of strange vein-like carvings. “So there’s probably a good chance that they’d keep their weapons where we would normally keep ours, which is usually near the panic rooms.”

His voice echoed as they finally slipped into the entrance of an expansive hallway filled with murals behind statues that had lined either side of the hallway.

But whatever admiration she’d had for the statues and murals order couldn’t extend to the rest of the hallway. “It looks like a tornado came through here.” She’d commented as she took in the sight of the broken statues, glass, and rubble that littered the hallway. The architecture of the fountain had surprisingly looked quite similar to the one she’d found in her father's library, evoking a sense of disappointment as she realized just how little Rosa’s’ style had changed.

“That probably isn’t too far from the truth,” he’d replied before glancing towards the pile of debris. Then he’d looked behind them. Surprise coloring his eyes as he smiled, speaking in Cosmelathian as he’d turned to fully face the mural.

“Who’s that?” She’d asked, watching as the light finally revealed the mural to be of a red-colored individual, draped in exquisite robes. A crimson star. She’d nearly backed away until she’d taken note of the rather relaxed expression on Cepheu’s face.

“Antares de Luktu Nocturnus, an ancient figurehead of the crimson court,” he’d answered simply. Antares? She’d been certain that that had been one of the names she’d read in both the astronomer’s journal and the cards from the king’s study. But they hadn’t said any more than that as Cepheus quietly took a knee near the foot of the mural. Unfamiliar words left his lips as he bowed his head.

Shock filled her as she watched him pay his respects to none other than a red star. “Did…did you know him personally?”

“He was before my time,” his voice was so painfully quiet that she’d nearly strained to hear him add. “But he helped to pave the way for hybrids like me.”

“I see…I’m sorry for your loss….” she spoke, as a small beat of silence followed, until she asked, “Was he a star hybrid too?”

“No, he wasn’t. But that didn’t stop him from trying to improve things for those like me…” He glanced into his palm now full of blue energy. “Compared to the other members of the crimson royal family, he was quite unorthodox in his methods, so much so, that it allowed those who wouldn’t usually tolerate a crimson star to take a liking to him. But after he…ceased to exist…there was never another docile crimson star.”

Ceased to exist. Antares was dead. But it hadn’t sounded as if he’d died of ‘natural causes.’ “How did he pass, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Frankly, I’m not sure,” he answered as he stood back up. “The elders have never been transparent about it. All they say is that in spite of all of his wisdom, Antares committed the ultimate sin that a wishing star could make.”

“The ultimate sin for a wishing star? “Did he kill the person who wished on him?”

“I…Ha…quite the opposite actually...the ultimate, or rather worse sin a wishing star can make is to fall in love with their wisher ” He abruptly looked away. “It’s strictly forbidden.”

“But star bloods exist-,”

“Yes, but never as the result of a wishing star and the person whose wish they’re granting. It’s serious, Asha. A wisher already has far more power over their star than realize. To fall in love with someone who has that power is the ultimate death sentence, or at least it was for Antaris.”

“I see…was this why you started acting out when Mr. Silver and Mr. Bjorn made those jokes?”

“Ha, I suppose you could say that…”

“You Suppose?”

A mirthless chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “You’re a nice girl Asha, but I don’t want you to get hurt….”

“You think us becoming a couple would hurt me?” she asked, feeling her brows furrow.

But a part of her couldn’t help but wonder. If the stars hadn’t forbidden it, would he have attempted it? He did seem sorta flirty… But would he have bothered with her if the rules hadn’t dictated it? A part of her didn’t think so, not after she’d seen just how closely he resembled a possibly high-ranking star. Then there’d been their back and forth near the port. Yeah. He wasn’t interested in her, rules or no rules, she just couldn’t see them happening.

He nodded, as she mentally noted how quickly the star had averted his eyes as they continued swimming into the partially collapsed hallway. Every now and then he’d muttered something under his breath as his glowing eyes combed the darkness around them. What that something was, she doubted he’d tell her.

Her eyes slowly combed over the passing star murals as the words slowly came into view.

_____‘de Solarius’

_____del Apsuramal’

_____ del Myrkadius

_____ De Nocturne

The first part of the mural had been far too incoherent to translate, but those were the titles of Alpha Stars! And they’d been on every single mural they’d passed.

A hallway full of alpha stars…Figures of scarlet, cerulean, gold, and silver danced across her vision before she spotted the final mural, trapped behind the debris of the partially collapsed hallway. It’d been too dark to make out the figure depicted, as her eyes had managed to make out the words beneath the mural.

Alderamin de ____ the rest of his title was missing as darkness enveloped the mural.

Alderamin was an alpha star? That made sense. From all accounts, he’d sounded powerful…Had he known Sirius? Surely he must’ve maintained some interaction with the order if they’d studied and even fashioned a mural after him… But why had the journal’s author gone to such great lengths to scratch out any details about him? Wait…hadn’t Alderamin been in the play that she’d seen in Banquo? Yes, she was almost certain that he had been the name of the star he’d slain…and yet Cepheus spoke of Alderamin as if he were still alive…

She knew she’d promise to refrain from asking him uncomfortable questions, but in the face of such discovery, it was hard to be content with her decision. All that she’d seen and presented with had only given her more questions, that she needed to answer, if not for her own sake, then for the sake of her father and anyone else who’d been lost.

Unable to maintain the silence any longer, she heard herself say, as she quietly trembled “Did they ever mean anything to your people?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what the star’s perspectives on the astronomers were. It’s not hard to see that the astronomers evidently thought very highly of your kind. But I need to know…was that feeling ever reciprocated? For the astronomer? For my father? Did they ever mean anything to your kind? Or were they seen as nothing more than novel curiosities?”

He fervently shook his head, “Of course, they mattered to us. The astronomers have always been important to us! Having a personal astronomer has always been a sign of honor and prestige for us! They were our bridge to your world Asha.”

“So then why didn’t any of your kind come to earth sooner when you’d lost contact?”

“That’s…” he hesitated, briefly thinking it over before he shook his head. “I’m not sure…but we tried, everyone tried, even the council but no one could break through…all I know is that they think something was purposefully limiting our power on earth, so much so, that we thought you’d cut us off-”

“How could the astronomers cut you off? You’re the source of their power!”

“I know, which would be more than enough motivation for someone who didn’t like the order to go through with it.”

She paused. His words strangely made sense to her as the pieces slowly began to fall into place. “Would there have been anyone on earth motivated or strong enough to pull off such a feat?”

“Possibly, but I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t here.”

Her mind wracked through every possibility and suspect she could think of until she’d remembered them. “How powerful is a starblood?”

. “Most if not all-star bloods who would've been around that time were probably the children of high-ranking stars.”

“Which means they would’ve inherited a good deal of power… more so than any astronomer would have gained from an allegiance.”

The star frowned as his expression darkened. “If you’re trying to say, what I think you are…Don’t.,”

“Why not?”

“The star bloods have always had powerful connections to the courts. Most wouldn’t appreciate you speaking so negatively about them.”

“And yet in tumultuous times, Tau Vitrius and the other astronomers didn’t seem to trust them!”

“Most astronomers didn’t,” he retorted.

“They didn’t?” Silence. “You know something don’t you?” an involuntary shiver slipped down her spine as she watched the star’s eyes narrow.

“Not any more than you do, no. But if I could tell you more, I would…”

“But you can’t?”

“No, I don’t know half of it, and even if I did, where would I start? When I came to earth, I expected to see an order thriving and full of life, not, this!” he’d exclaimed as he gestured to their surroundings, and for a brief second, she could hear it. The fleeting note of panic and perhaps even anger in his voice as he’d stressed the word ‘this’. But he’d quickly recovered, shaking his head as he looked away from her, “I can tell that this whole ordeal is distressing to you too. But if I could fix it, I would. I’d do everything in my power to.”

“You’d bring back the order?”

“If I were powerful enough, then yes. I’d make it possible. But we’d have to get the council involved.”

“I’m sorry we?” she frowned before gesturing to him and then herself.

“Yes, we. You can’t make an Astronomer’s order without stars nor can we make it without humans. There’s a common ground here Asha. You wished for more for yourself, your country, and your people, and nothing could bring you greater prestige, honor, advancement, and wealth than an order like that.”

“Okay,” she conceded with a reluctant nod. "you bring up some solid points but what is this council you speak of?”

“Ah well, the council is a group of elderly alpha stars that after abdicating their thrones in this part of the galaxy or universe move on to other ones. The current ruling alpha stars have to answer to them since they have the final say in a lot of things. But I don’t think it would matter,” he started as they moved forward, and quickly slipped through another hole in the ground... “If they could’ve brought the order back then they probably would’ve done so already.”

With each and every passing room, the piles of debris had seemingly grown smaller and smaller, something that felt odd to Asha as she began to hear the faint sound of chimes and bells once more, soothingly filling the darkness that surrounded them as they descended deeper and deeper. Had it not been for the star’s light, Asha wasn’t sure that she’d be able to maintain her calm. Or at least she was calm until the star had come to an abrupt halt when they’d been swimming down a stairwell.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Have we reached the panic rooms yet?”

“Yes, but I think you might want to see this.” He pointed towards one of the distant yet intact hallways connected to the stairwell. “It was Tau Vitrius, right? The astronomer’s writings who you and your father studied?”

She nodded, looking in the direction of his light as she saw a barricaded hallway, near the end of it was an open room filled to the brims of maps, telescopes, scrolls, equipment, and journals. But near the center of the room, pinned to the wall was a metal slate that had read TAU VITRIUS.

Had it been a classroom? Or maybe some sort of office! She’d desperately tried to take in the figures that had been drawn onto the maps in hopes of possibly cross-examining them with the manuscripts later, but at this distance, it had been nearly impossible to see anything, anything except for another metal slate that hung near one of the maps.

“Tomas,” she whispered as she read the name on the metal slate over and over again. “That’s my Dad! My Dad’s things are in there!”

“Hold on!” Cepheus exclaimed, holding her back as she struggled against him.

“Let me go!” she protested. “I need to get to that office! That map!” she groaned. “If only I could get to it! It might be the key to translating his manuscripts!”

“No. Asha, it’s too dangerous…” he whispered as he looked her over with concern. He shook his head, “we’ve been down here long enough. If we stay down here any longer then you might become hypothermic. You’re already shivering enough as is.”

“What? But we haven’t gotten either of the things we’ve come for! Weren’t we supposed to make it to the panic rooms?”

“Asha,” he adjusted his grip on her. “We are in the panic rooms.”

“What?” Her breath hitched at the sight of the destroyed panic rooms. Her fears were only confirmed when she’d caught sight of bones scattered around the tattered remains of clothing, pinned beneath a fallen column. She’d fought to keep the bile down, as the darkness quickly swallowed the remains of the unfortunate person.

There were so many skeletons of different sizes lying around the hallway, some posed as if they were still about to ascend the stairwell, while others sat in their chairs or on the floor, surrounded by objects like clothes, jewelry, and toys. All of the colorful crystals around their neck were dull and broken as if the power of the stars had no longer persisted in them.

But it had been the final skeleton that had been the worse, the one slumped over in the furthest corner, holding a flashing crystal in one hand and a small toy in the other. They’d been inches away from a partially destroyed ship that no doubt could’ve saved the lives of everyone who had perished in this room.

It was like Atlantis again, wasn’t it? A powerful empire that at its pinnacle had found itself on the bottom of the ocean, forgotten. But someone, no, something had killed these people. Her father’s mentors, his colleagues, his friends. However, none of their poses had looked combative or panicked, but whether or not that could’ve been attributed to the elements' toll or the strange circumstances of their death, she couldn’t know. She nearly didn’t want to know.

If it had been this bad now, then what had it looked like the day it had happened? She didn’t want to think about it, not after she’d seen how haunted her Saba had looked at the very thought of said day.

Tears prickled at her eyes as she tried not to imagine their final moments, and the dread they must’ve felt knowing that they’d never see their loved ones again. Whatever they’d faced, she could only pray that it had been swift and merciful as she’d covered her face. But it had all been in vain as her shaky hands could only do so much to shield her from the world of violence she’d been immersed into as the tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry Asha,” the star had whispered as he held her.

“Take me back,” she’d pleaded, unable to stop how badly she now trembled. Guilt flooded her as she began to realize that despite her curiosities, she was standing in a graveyard, one that deserved more respect than her partially selfish intentions. “Please. I don’t want to see anymore.”

“Alright,” he’d nodded, holding her close as they slowly began their ascent.

They were nearly halfway towards the surface when she’d briefly looked back at the shrinking city below. Up here the city’s shape looked…off, as if it had been carved or rather broken off where the furthermost edges of the most dilapidated buildings sat.

“Asha?” came the star’s voice as he let go of her. “Stay here” he’d told her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait,” she started, tugging at his sleeve before she’d even realized it. “You’re going back down there? Alone?”

He nodded, his eyes searching her face before he cracked a lopsided grin. “Why? Are you worried something will happen to me now?”

“Who said I was worried?” she scoffed, before crossing her arms. “I just don’t want you getting false hopes that I’ll be the one to come and save you when you find trouble down there.”

“Noted. If I’m not back in five minutes, send Valentino,” he grinned as the goat barely bleated in protest. “I’ll see you soon.” he smiled. His hands gently gripped her forearms for a moment as he stepped back, gently slipping out of the bubble’s confinements.

His hands were still holding her arms as he drew a deep breath and closed his eyes as his body began to glow a bright cerulean, one that had nearly been identical to the Atlantean’s crystal.

Her jaw dropped as she felt his hold disappear, his eyes meeting hers briefly as he began to sink, slowly settling himself into the ruined remains of the city’s square. He burned brightly as the same blue light from his body began to engulf the city beneath him, spreading through the building’s strange carvings as the chimes and bells began to ring louder, the choir of their voices nearly overwhelming as he looked around the city.

Then as if deciding on something, he’d flickered out, leaving them all in complete darkness and Asha to her thoughts.

She’d hardly believed what she’d just heard, much less seen. It had felt as if the lost city had come to life one last time to sing to the star through a chorus of bells and chimes, one of which had suspiciously sounded like the chimes her father had placed on the porch, that had been silent until the day the star had come….

Her eyes widened in realization, as silence seemed to greet her ears. A silence was promptly broken by the sound of something large moving through the water below.

#the kingdom of the stars #wish au #writers on tumblr #kingdom of the stars #asha #cepheus #rough draft #chapter preview

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bipolarman2022 · 5 months ago

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On the coast of Rabat, Morocco, stands an imposing lighthouse that has guided ships to safe harbor for decades. Its light is a constant beacon in the darkness of the Atlantic, a symbol of hope for those venturing into deep waters. But this lighthouse, like so many others, is also a silent witness to a tragic love story, marked by the ocean and the secrets it holds.

### The Encounter

Amar, the lighthouse keeper, had lived his entire life in the tower, having inherited the position from his father, who had inherited it from his father before him. He was a middle-aged man, solitary, whose only companions were the light of the lighthouse and the constant roar of the sea. His routine was methodical: turning on the light at dusk, ensuring everything was working properly, and turning it off at dawn. His life was simple, but it was also imbued with a profound sadness that even he couldn't explain.

One day, amidst a particularly fierce storm, Amar saw from the tower a small boat struggling against the waves. Without a second thought, he ran down the stone stairs and rushed to the shore. There, he found Said, a young fisherman, exhausted but alive, who had managed to reach the beach with great difficulty.

Amar helped him to his feet and took him to the lighthouse. That night, as the storm raged outside, the two men talked for hours by the fire. Said was cheerful, with an energy that contrasted with Amar's calm demeanor. He had jet-black hair and eyes that shone with a vitality that seemed capable of illuminating even the darkest nights.

### The Love Born in the Storm

As days passed, Said began to visit the lighthouse more often. He did so under the pretext of thanking Amar for saving his life, but both knew there was something more. Slowly, their friendship turned into something deeper. The two men, so different, found themselves in a shared solitude, in a connection that needed no words.

Love blossomed between them in the tranquility of the lighthouse, away from the curious eyes of the outside world. Amar, who had spent most of his life in solitude, discovered in Said a reason to live beyond his duty. Said, in turn, found in Amar a peace that the sea had never offered him.

For months, their love remained hidden, a secret shared by the waves crashing against the coast. But like all beautiful and fragile things, their relationship was destined to face the harsh blows of reality.

### The Tragedy

One night, in the depths of winter, Amar noticed that the lighthouse's light was flickering unusually. Something was wrong with the mechanism. Worried about the ships that might be in danger, he went out to check the lamp. While he was working on the repair, a huge wave struck the tower, shaking it with unexpected violence.

Amar managed to stabilize the light just in time, but upon returning, he found Said waiting for him at the base of the tower. The young fisherman, drenched by the rain, had a look of terror on his face.

"Said, what's wrong?" Amar asked, though in his heart, he already knew the answer.

Said, his voice trembling, confessed that his boat was missing. In a desperate attempt to save what little he had, Said had gone out that night to secure it, but the sea had swallowed it. Without his boat, Said would lose everything: his livelihood, his future.

Amar tried to console him, but Said, consumed by despair, ran towards the shore, where the waves were crashing furiously. Amar followed, shouting his name, but the wind drowned out his words.

Said, in a final act of desperation, waded into the raging sea, as if the ocean could return what he had lost. Amar ran after him, but the waves were relentless. Despite all his efforts, he could not reach him. Said was swallowed by the waters, and his body never resurfaced.

### The Lighthouse and the Fisherman

Amar could never recover from the loss of Said. The light he had found in that young fisherman was extinguished along with him. From then on, he continued his work at the lighthouse, but the sparkle in his eyes had faded. The people of Rabat noticed the change in him, how his figure became more hunched, his face darker.

The lighthouse continued to light the coast as it always had, but for Amar, its light had become a constant reminder of what he had lost. He spent sleepless nights staring at the horizon, hoping to see Said's return, even knowing it was impossible.

Over time, the fishermen began to tell a legend. They said that on the darkest nights, when the sea is calm, one can see the figure of a young fisherman walking along the shore, looking for someone. And at the top of the lighthouse, a solitary figure watches, waiting for a return that will never come.

Amar, the lighthouse keeper, lived the rest of his days in the lighthouse, clinging to the hope that one day the sea would return Said. But the ocean keeps its secrets, and he never saw the man who had filled his life with love again, even if only for a brief and tragic time.

Thus, the light of the Rabat lighthouse continues to guide ships, but within its walls lies the story of a love that, like the waves of the sea, was born in the storm and was swept away by the tide.

#arabophile #arabophilia #arabization #male transformation #islamization

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earring-stede · 1 year ago

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Updated predictions for OFMD season 2 episode 8: Finale

These are my updated predictions based on episodes 6 & 7, the trailer for episode 8, and all the BTS from the previous weeks

I knew that Izzy was gonna be caught, but now I know the whole crew of the Revenge will also be captured, along with Spanish Jackie and most of the Republic of Pirates. In fact the only people not caught during the raid, are Zheng and Stede who escaped to the forest, and Ed who completely missed the Raid after he left Stede.

As I previously predicted, Stede and Zheng will be hiding out together under the bridge from episode 1. Stede will comfort Zheng since Ricky wiped out most of her fleet. The English, however are hot on their heels, and their chase leads them to the beach.

Meanwhile… Ed has been living his regular life as a fisherman. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes across one of Stede’s letters in a bottle while fishing. This prompts him to find Stede and return to the Republic of Pirates, which he finds in ashes. He will then fish out his leathers and reunite with Stede on the beach, which will mirror Stede’s dream sequence from episode 1.

Zheng, Ed and Stede will then liberate the crew from the English, and then use the uniforms of the slain soldiers to infiltrate the Navy. I don’t know what their goal is, perhaps revenge, perhaps to take back the republic, or stop Ricky once and for all. Let me know your theories.

The mission is a success, and they escape on the Revenge, however Izzy is badly hurt, and Wee John is missing from the rest of the promotional material. I now think the funeral scene I discussed in a previous post could come after their escape. Which raises the possibility that Izzy could die. I don’t know for sure - it could go either way. On one hand, I think it makes more sense for Wee John to die and Izzy to live, as discussed in my previous prediction posts. However, most non-spoiler reviews of episode 8 emphasise Con’s performance, and Wee John isn’t mentioned. This could indicate a dramatic death scene for Izzy, and that Wee John just might be absent from the second half of this episode like he was in episode 5. I am on the fence over who will die. Let me know your theories and I will place my bets with my episode 8 bingo sheet next week.

As for how the episode ends, we can see in the trailer that most of the crew will continue to sail on the Revenge, with Zheng as its new crew member. Although we don’t see Ed or Stede. This could mean that they have chosen to retire together, but my prediction is that they choose to continue to live at sea as pirates, BUT, under their own terms. The antagonist of this series is normality, and Stede from the beginning has asked what if we did things differently? I think the show is setting up this new form of piracy that would work for both Stede and Ed. What if instead of raiding and pillaging, they act as a beacon of light and a safe space for other pirates wishing to change. By saving these lost souls at sea, the crew sound less like pirates, and more like… mermen?

#ofmd #ofmd predictions #ofmd spoilers #ofmd speculation #ofmd season 2 #gentlebeard #blackbeard #stede bonnet #ofmd speculations #izzy hands #ofmd finale #episode 8

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rocketboots564 · 5 months ago

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OC Info and Mood Board

Here’s a Mood Board and OC Info for a Teen Wolf OC of mine: Enrico Mahealani

Enrico Mahealani: Enrico is a curious, clever, and sophisticated kid, and is a close relative of Danny Mahealani. He moves in with Danny after he decides to move back to Beacon Hills (this is during/after the Teen Wolf Movie). With an obsession for criminology and incredible psychic powers to boot, he excels in criminal investigation and forensic analysis. Despite being an awkward teenager haunted by dead, he strives to use his gifts and skills to become a detective…. even if that means occasionally getting in the way of police work, and dragging Eli Hale into his investigations with or without his permission…. May god rest Sheriff Stilinski’s stressed out soul.

Appearance: Enrico has tanned, moderately brown skin with short, wavy yet slightly spiky black hair. Paired with his dark brown eyes and semi-formal style, he often exudes the look of a private academy student mixed with a scraggly noir detective, even sporting his own overcoat (but no fedora. He’s more of a fisherman’s cap guy anyway)

Gender: Male (he/him)

Age: 15-16

Height & Weight: 5’10ft / 177lb

Nationality: Hawaiian/Cuban-American

Species: Human Psychic

Powers: communication with the dead, astral projection, semi-clairvoyance, slight magic prowess

Personality: Enrico has a sophisticated yet casual way of presenting himself. Sure, he talks like a debate team mixed with a poetry teacher, but he’s not very outspoken and rather quiet at times. However, he is exceptionally blunt and straightforward, oftentimes getting straight to the point when talking.

Other Info: Enrico is the son of one of Danny’s Cousin. Technically first cousin once removed, which I simplify to just “relative”

He’s known about his abilities from a very young age, but doesn’t mention them due to being sent to several doctors and therapists, all trying to diagnose him. In his words, “Concern arises when you tell people you can see the dead”

Enrico was orphaned, moving in with Danny after loosing his father due to disease. He lost his mother years before in a car wreck.

He occasionally enjoys botany, and likes growing scorpion grasses, as well as tomato plants

Out of all the dead people who communicate with him in Beacon Hills, the ones he connects with the most is Erica, Boyd, and occasionally Derek, who he often sees in small flashes watching over Eli. He wishes to know why they’re so important, and why they continue to show up.

Music: a list of songs that give off Enrico’s vibe

Pursing My True Self - Persona 4

Space Cowboy - Jamiroquai

Heaven - Persona 4

Duvet - Bôa

Qué Será - Willie Colon

Memories of You - Persona 3

Face Claim

Model - Jose Oliva

Source - Ron Reyes on Twitter (fair warning, their photography is rather provocative, but good!)

@fionajames thank you so much for the kind words I’d be glad to tag you in any other posts I make about him.

Some of this stuff you’ve seen already, but I hope you enjoy what’s new

#teen wolf #teen wolf mtv #eli hale #teen wolf oc #oc #ocs #ocappreciation #my ocs #oc info #oc intro #fyeahteenwolfocs #I LOVE this guy #he’s so much fun to talk about I could do it all day

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the-chosen-fanfiction · 1 year ago

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Big James | Hold On Tight | Romantic

Dialogue prompt: “Hey, just look at me, breathe.”

Requested: Yes

Out on open water, you realise how vulnerable you are. Luckily, James is a beacon of strength.

You should have known better.

You should have known better than to marry a fisherman of all possible trades that were out there. You could have known that it would come to this.

And it did.

With knees weaker than you’d ever admit, you stand on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, watching how your husband gathers his nets into his boat and tucks them in such a way that there is as much space as possible. A gust of wind disturbs the rope that hangs on the mast and James grabs the end of it to secure it, giving you a small smile.

You reciprocate it, but not with the same energy as he is giving you. Your expression is forced. Ingenuine. All you can think about is how long – or how short - it would take for this boat to sink.

Crossing your arms over your chest to shield yourself from the wind, you cast an anxious look over your shoulder, back at the village, hoping for Salome to show up in need of your assistance, or either Simon or Andrew asking to join your husband instead. Alas, you only see a few rats scurry away in between a few decrepit barrels, one of them dragging along the remains of a rotten fish.

“Darling?” James’ voice rings clear as he looks at you expectantly. He has moved further your way and holds out his hand. “Are you ready?”

You take a sharp breath and nod, perhaps in an attempt to even convince yourself that you are, and you grab the basket with food you had placed on the ground to take it on board. James helps you into the vessel and you feel immediately wobbly, rather ungracefully taking a seat where you think it would be appropriate to sit.

“Thank you again for joining me today, my love.” James tells you whilst pushing the boat away from the shore by using an oar. Your fingers immediately tighten on the small plank you’re sitting on. “That nasty cold has really gotten John under the weather. Now, I won’t be so lonely tonight. Actually, this is the first time you’re coming with me on my boat, so I suppose that it was long overdue anyway! It’s nice to be here together, don’t you think?”

“Yes.” you squeak, swallowing the lump in your throat as you barely dare to let your gaze leave your husband. “It’s nice.”

“You may just be a natural at this, I’m almost certain of it.”

Resisting the urge to shake your head immediately, you inhale through your nose, attempting to compose yourself. Your heartbeat rises as the vessel drifts further and further away from land, rocking from one way to the other as it glides through the water. The sound of waves licking the sides of the boat makes your gut drop unpleasantly.

Your mind races as James gives you the kindest of smiles. As you try your very best to appear content and at rest, you wonder how you ever could have neglected to tell the man you were marrying that you were deadly afraid of water.

Some distressing moments experienced during childhood never heal.

“Sweetheart,” James draws you from your thoughts, “Can you please pass me the waterskin?”

With trembling hands, you take it from the basket that is resting against your ankle and reach out to him, only to find out that there is no way you can give it to him without standing up and walking over to give it to him. Your heart stutters and for a moment, you try to think of any excuse that you aren’t able to stand and give it to him, but when he raises an expectant eyebrow, you gather the courage to scoot closer to him, and the boat jerks slightly at the movement of your body shifting inside of it. Rushing over, you hand your husband the waterskin.

“Thank you.”

James momentarily puts down the oar he is using to take a few drinks of water, and you watch him in the hopes of calming yourself. After all, you feel your neck heat up with every passing second inside this boat, and it is only a matter of time before he will ask you why you’re sweating so heavily, and you will not be able to blame it on the heat of the lowering sun anymore. Well, if he notices anything at all, of course.

The fabric of your dress is a shade that does not show stains easily, but you feel that at this point, you might as well just take it off with how drenched it is. However, the idea of falling into the water fully unclothed makes you even more anxious than the idea of falling in whilst wearing your tunic. Then, the darkness of night will soon show up as well, so James will perhaps not even be able to see your current state anymore. It fills you with both dread and relief that he won’t.

You run your hands down your veil as a gust of wind sweeps across the waters, more forceful than anticipated, and your breath hitches inside your throat whilst James casts his gaze up to the heavens. “Hm, there might be some light rain coming our way, but nothing to worry about, dearest.”

Nothing to worry about, you have the urge to counter, there is plenty to worry about. Once the wind is calm enough for you to release your veil, you place your hands on the boat firmly, squeezing it, almost. As it teeters through the water, it convulses to the point that the waves are audibly gushing against the sides, and you’re almost afraid that it will spill over the edge.

“James,” you mutter, “Is-Is-Is this safe?”

Your husband chuckles a little, giving you a reassuring smile. It is obvious that he isn’t aware of the panic growing inside your chest, and he takes another sip of water before he nods. “Perfectly fine, (Y/n),” he muses, “Nothing to worry about. This happens all the time, especially when there is a storm coming.”

“A storm?” you whimper, and James shrugs.

“Ah, no, not a storm. Just a light drizzle, as I just mentioned.”

Your nerves aren’t calmed. “Shoul–Shouldn’t we go back to the sh-shore?”

“No need to,” James clarifies, “John and I never head back just because of some light rain. Things are fine, you’ll only get a bit damp is all.”

Gulping, you inhale through your nose as the wind picks up even more. The waves are higher and panic causes you to whip your head towards the water for the first time during this fishing trip, out of pure instinct.

Wrong move.

All sense leaves you upon seeing the vast expanse of the disturbed waves of the Sea of Galilee. A few fishermen are gathering their nets a little away, their distance far enough to have you realise how large this lake is.

With widening eyes and a paling face, you feel your mind go blank.

Your chest tightens as your lungs fail to draw air properly, your head spinning as the boat sways from right to left.

James frowns at your strained expression, leaning closer to you.

“(Y/n), are you alright?” You nod absentmindedly and gulp back the nausea that threatens its way up your oesophagus, planting your hands against the wood of the vessel. Upon noticing the way your nails dig into the chipped cedar, James drops the oar into the boat before scooting closer.

“Hey, now. What’s the matter?”

You open your mouth in an attempt to explain, but no words come out. Instead, a sorrowful cry tumbles from your lips. Hot tears suddenly streak down your cheeks.

James doesn’t hesitate a second to take you into his arms, holding you near. “Come here,” he whispers, “You’re alright, (Y/n).”

Attempting to shake your head, you claw into the rough material of his tunic, struggling for air. The water surrounds you as far as you can look, but squeezing shut your eyes only enhances the sound of the waves hitting the sides of the vessel, giving you a stifling feeling of being trapped.

Your heart hammers inside your chest and you feel light-headed. When you tighten your grip on James, sobbing into his chest, he gently slides a hand up and down your back, gently caressing you through it. When your fingers suddenly feel less forceful, concern swells inside his chest. James pulls away from the embrace that is nothing short of desperate, only to find you blankly staring at him, mouth agape.

“(Y/n)...? (Y/n)! Hey, just look at me, breathe.” He cups your face into his hands and slightly pats your cheek in the hopes of triggering your breathing reflex. A pained gasp leaves you and you collapse into his arms once again, soaking through his tunic with your tears. He doesn’t seem to care about it at all, instead holds you firmly in the hopes of calming you down.

Quivering, you try to find comfort in the familiar scent of your husband’s tunic, but to barely any avail. “J-James,” you shiver, “Please, please, make it stop! I-I want to go to land! P-Please! Please!”

The older son on of Zebedee frowns worriedly, trying to pull away so that he can look at your tear-stained face. He cradles it and attempts to find your eyes, but yours flit away in constant panic. “M-Make it stop! Make it stop!” The rocking of the boat does not cease, but James starts to get an inkling of what is bothering you.

“Easy, love, I’ve got you, okay?”

You tremble uncontrollably and James gulps, uncertain of how to handle the situation. “Right, come here, come sit in my lap whilst I bring the boat back to the shore.”

It takes a lot of willpower to be guided to the other side of the vessel to crawl into your husband’s arms, but you manage to scurry your way into the safety of his person. With one arm around you, he starts to steer the swaying boat back to the shore with practised ease, although the sweeping wind makes the ordeal a bit more challenging.

A thousand thoughts run through your mind as every second on the boat feels like an hour, wondering how you are ever going to explain yourself to your husband. Peeking up at his face, you see his determined expression still laced with slight puzzlement, and you do not blame him for it. After all, you have just broken down in front of him without any apparent explanation. How could he know that you were so fearful of the darkness of the lake around you?

Every so often, a strong hand cradles itself against the back of your veil as James steadily heads for the harbour. He asks no questions other than occasionally checking up on you, if you’re already feeling better, for your breathing has calmed significantly. Still, your body feels weak, and you meekly nod instead of verbally responding to his questions. After a few long, endless minutes, he finally guides the boat up to the shore, and you jolt at the sudden feeling of hitting sand.

“There we go.” James murmurs, putting down the oar and having you look up at him. He thumbs away the streaks of your tears, smiling kindly. “We’re here. Come on, let’s get you some of that wine you brought.”

Although your first instinct is to protest, you are suddenly convinced that it might help you open up more and feel somewhat less embarrassed about your outburst. You truly hope that his perception of you will not change if you were to explain the reasoning behind your behaviour.

With your husband’s assistance, you take a seat on a small patch of sand, and James takes the basket of supplies you had brought along to take out the small wineskin that had been picked for the occasion. You are almost greedy when you take a few gulps, not minding the bitter taste that tightens your throat. In spite of your nausea and how much you hate its tang right now, you swallow it down. It takes you a minute to fully settle down, the colour coming back to your face in addition to a pleasant tinge of warmth.

“Now, darling, what happened to you out there?” James is curious, playing with a stray lock of hair that falls in front of your face. “You don’t need to tell me if you’re not ready yet, but know that I’m here for you.”

You squint at the horizon in thought for a moment and sigh, averting your gaze to your lap to try and go over the right words to say, when you realise that straight up telling him would be the best approach. “When I was little, my little sister fell into the water.”

“Ruth?”

You nod and look at James with teary eyes. “We were playing together at the shore. I turned around for just a few seconds and when I looked back, she was just gone. I… I couldn’t swim, neither could she, and I praise Adonai for the teenagers who saw it unfold right in time in order to save her. If they had passed us by a minute later, Ruth would have…” Your words trail off and you force back your tears. James understands what you were getting at and clicks his tongue in worry, running a warm hand over your back to calm you.

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry, I never knew that.”

You let out a shaky breath and pinch the bridge of your nose. “Ever since then, I’ve hated water, sworn to myself to never even consider getting out on the lake. And then…” A genuine laugh escapes you, “Then I married a fisherman.”

James smiles. “That you did.”

Humming, you take another drink and offer your husband the wineskin, but he declines politely.

“Thank you for trusting me with this.”

You sigh, nuzzling into James a bit more. His warmth comforts you.

“Oh, James, I feel so silly.” you whisper, taking a large sip of wine. Your husband shakes his head, smiling kindly as he puts a hand on your thigh. “I should have told you sooner, love, and that way I could maybe have helped you out more—”

“There is no harm done, darling.” he tells you, “I promise that I’m not upset with you for not revealing this earlier.”

You swallow thickly. “But the fishing business is so important to you! It is my task as a wife to support you in your work, and now I’m falling short!”

“Nonsense.” James reassures you, taking your chin between his thumb and index finger before pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. “You support me in many other ways already. The last thing I want is for you to feel unsafe because I’m forcing you to come with me to work. I’m only very glad that I was here to witness it, so that I can make sure to avoid putting you in such situations in the future. I’m really sorry for asking this of you, my love. It was not my intention to bring you into a position like this.”

You give him a watery smile and put down the waterskin. “James, you couldn’t have known. There is no way that you could have foreseen this. If anything, I am the one owing you an apology. I should not have kept this from you and have now put you into this–”

“No, no love.” he interrupts, “Do not apologise for what you are afraid of.”

A brief silence falls over you two, only broken by a beaming smile that you crack at one another. “Neither of us should be apologising.” you conclude, relieved, “Okay?”

James smiles and pulls you closer against him, kissing the side of your head. “Okay.” he breathes, “I’m sorry for apologising.” There is humour in his voice and you cannot help but chuckle.

“I love you.” you tell him.

“I love you more,” he retorts, “Way more.”

You flush and playfully bump his arm with yours. “Love is not a competition, you know.”

James hums and gives you a thoughtful look, at which you giggle. “I know,” he laughs, “But still, I love you way more, because it is physically impossible to love someone way more than that I love you.”

“That does not make any sense.” you murmur against his cheek, kissing it.

The older son of Zebedee tucks some (h/c) hair behind your ear and hums. “Well, you better believe it, my love.”

Looking out over the water, that is disturbed by the wind, you feel way more at ease than before. From a distance, it is better to digest, and you know that it cannot harm you this way. You lean against James’ shoulder, closing your eyes, listening to the sound of the wind and his steady breathing against the shell of your ear as he softly watches you, and you sit like that until the first drops of rain fall from the sky.

#the chosen #reader insert #the chosen x reader #x reader #chosen x reader #angel studios #big james x reader #big james x you #the chosen big james

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soulkillerfm · 4 months ago

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【 #### 𝚐𝚘𝚍𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍_𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚎 ~~~𝟺𝟺𝟾𝟿𝟶 】

Identity: UTP. Role: The Second Disciple; The Fisherman.

They tell you to blend in, to conform, or on other days, they urge you to stand out, to be exceptional. As a child, it’s a paradox, impossible to understand who you should be in each fleeting moment, and more so, who they want you to become. But the truth, buried deep, was that they never truly wanted you at all. And so, in time, you grew weary of serving anyone, refusing to play their games, rejecting the very idea of bending to their will. At the Orphanage, they whispered your name with fear — you were the one who would fight the world. And so you did. A warrior, shaped not by their hands, but perhaps by forces unseen. You found purpose in the role you carved out of your own rebellion. Or perhaps, in darker moments, you wonder if it was a role they forced upon you from the start. Survival is a burden no child should carry, nor should the cold hands of cruelty, fear or hunger. Yet you learned to navigate it all, to rise above each challenge. You adapted, you endured, and you climbed, inch by inch, through the ranks. Giving when needed, but always taking more than what was offered. When the God Hand comes to you, it feels like fate. They named you the Second Disciple: The Fisherman, a title laced with irony, a mockery of the very faith so many clung to. But you did what you had always done — drawing in the "catch," the people you’d taken from time and again. Offering them deals they could never refuse. But this time, you weren’t alone. Now, there was power. And with it, finally, safety — a path you could carve in this heinous world. You would make them all pay.

𝙿𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚜 & 𝚂𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 【 ᴅᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ᴏᴘᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ 】

1. This position is yours by right, for you are truly the finest for the role. You will give everything, placing your very life on the line for the woman who saved you. When the day dawns and the conflict threatens her doorstep, you will rise as the soldier you’ve always aspired to be. Until then, you will remain ever at her side, steadfast and undistracted, a silent guardian in her unwavering light.

2. It’s hard to hold a heart when they’ve bruised it black and blue. Though there are glimmers of light, kind souls who wish for good, there are also those whose shadows swallow all in their path. They take the fragile — the children — and mold them into hollow shells, into creatures of fear and silence. But you, you are different. You stand as a beacon, determined to keep the light alive. To shield the innocent, to spare them from the crushing weight of the world’s darkness, and in doing so, to cast out even a small piece of that endless night.

3. You are more than mere might and terror; you possess a hunger for the divine, for moments of sanctity and ethereal grace. When you choose to guard such rare and precious things, it’s not your fault if men become daring and provoke your wrath. From your new perch, you provide for the hands that feed is your sole duty. Still you devour from those you find unworthy, your presence is felt, always aligned with your own personal sense of righteousness. You like the benefits that come with being deemed a monster, another whisper in single digit, something that isn't quite tangible.

𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

THE FIRST DISCIPLE The mother you never had, a testament to those rare lights that pierce even the darkest moments. Finding each other was nothing short of a miracle, and at times, you question if you deserve someone so good, so unshakably loyal. Your affection is never simple, often unspoken, felt deeply but rarely expressed. The Tax Collector is the one who found you, who gave you a new life — but back then, she wore a different face. Older. Still beautiful. More refined. You miss the person she once was, but even in this new form, she remains. And that, you realize, is all that truly matters.

THE THIRD DISCIPLE You hold a deep-seated resentment toward both church and state. Religion never shielded you from the horrors of your childhood. Yet, you understand the role of The Preacher, even if your exchanges with him are laced with what you call "play." But beneath the surface of those words, everyone knows there’s a lingering spite. It’s a game, perhaps, but one woven with the threads of bitterness and unresolved scars.

THE FOURTH DISCIPLE Once, you thought yourself in love — if that’s even the right word. You’re not sure it fits, not sure it ever did. Perhaps in the moment, it felt clearer, but now, it’s a distant memory, like a ghost you no longer fear. Whether you still feel that love is less important than the lingering question: have you forgiven them for pulling you close? For everyone knows, love isn’t made for the powerful. When you stand at the top, it’s all too easy to reach for things you know are within your grasp — yet love, true love, slips through your fingers like sand. But more than anything, it makes you weak. When they were "killed", the pain felt like too much. You know The Thief will be brought back into someone new. The feelings that linger in you make you feel disgusted with yourself. It cannot be your problem any longer.

THE FIFTH DISCIPLE There’s a certain lightness in The Lamb, a carefree joy that tugs a smile from you, even as it burrows under your skin. You, who have never known the comfort of being "at ease," who’ve survived by moving moment to moment, day by day — it stirs something like envy within you. And yet, despite that small flicker of green, you find yourself captivated, unable to look away from the ease with which they navigate a world that never let you rest.

Suggested FC: Claudia Doumit Alternate Suggestions: None Former Appearance: N/A Current Status: Open

THESE SPECIFIC ROLES WILL HAVE A MORE IN DEPTH APPLICATION PROCESS !

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ophierian-vp · 1 year ago

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#acodyssey #assassin's creed #assassin's creed odyssey #fisherman's beacon #messara #octopus bay #ubisoft #photomode #gamingedit #virtual photography #gaming photography #in game photography #camera tools

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aigeneratedfun · 6 months ago

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The Ocean’s Embrace

In the tranquil embrace of the ocean, Seraphina lay amidst the gentle waves, her eyes closed in silent prayer. Her emerald gown shimmered with the reflection of the sea, adorned with pearls and delicate seaweed, as if nature itself consoled her. The storm had passed, leaving behind a serene yet haunting calm.

Seraphina’s heart ached with longing for her beloved, Eamon, a brave fisherman who ventured into the tempestuous waters to provide for their future. Every ripple in the water carried her thoughts and prayers for his safe return. She could almost feel his presence, the warmth of his embrace, the whisper of his promises.

As the sun began to set, casting a golden hue over the water, Seraphina remained steadfast, a beacon of hope and love. She knew that their bond was stronger than any storm, and in the quiet stillness, she awaited the moment when Eamon would return, and the ocean would once again bring them together.

🌊✨ She awaits her fisherman husband to return after the storm, surrounded by the beauty of the sea and the hope of his safe arrival. 💕🦪💫

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feastonkings · 10 days ago

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paul mescal / he/him——— no way is that QUINLAN DOYLE.. they’re a 28-year-old HUMAN notoriously known for being QUIET & MELANCHOLIC but there are some people who have seen them being SIMPLE & ADAPTABLE. if you ask me, they remind me a lot of a soft yet commanding voice, hard work with little repayment, always offering a helping hand, unafraid to cry when warranted, keeping the cool, and strong but delicate, but that could just be because they’re considered the THE MCCOY around town. just keep an eye on them & see if their true colors shine through..

GENERAL.

full name: quinlan niall doyle nicknames: quin classification: human gender / pronouns: cis man, he/him age / birthday: 28, february 2nd orientations: bisexual, biromantic occupation: emt / paramedic at station 19 location: lower status: closed family: kieran doyle (brother), cousins with the o’connors strengths: simple, adaptable, diplomatic, kind, hard-working weaknesses: quiet, melancholic, withdrawn, shy, superstitious

BIOGRAPHY.

tw: parental death

born and raised in cork, ireland, quinlan is the oldest of two.

his father was a fisherman who had some shady family ties but tried to keep himself and family out of it, he was a hardheaded man but not cruel.

his mother was a seamstress who worked part-time and spent the rest of the time chasing after her two boys

he did alright in school, enough to get passing marks and played gaelic football up until he graduated.

when he wasn’t in school he was helping his dad on the boat, it was expected but he never felt like it was. quin was more than happy to help out his dad and anyone else in the community it was just who he was and raised to be

all at once it seemed like things went wrong for the family. first it was their mother getting sick, it was a manageable illness but doctors said it would be terminal and then their father went out one morning and never came back, his boat would be found later but there was no trace of him.

by the time he graduated his mother had begged the boys to move to america where they could hopefully have a fulfilling life and look out for one another

when kieran graduated he did just that, moved to texas and trained to be a paramedic.

while he knows he has cousins in town he doesn’t like to associate himself with the ones involved in crime. he did make a few close friends however and they’ve really been a beacon of light while he adapted to life in america.

for the most part he’s always trying to keep the peace where there’s conflict, lend a helping hand wherever he can, and enjoys being with good hearted people.

he can often be found watching gaelic football, rugby, and soccer matches at a sports pub and still has kieran’s back just like he knows he has his.

while he is more on the timid side and misses home, he is kind and welcomes new experiences and meeting new people, it can just take a little while to get him out of his shell

HEADCANONS.

coming soon...

#quinlan doyle.intro #cyberplexintro #parental death tw

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jgmartin · 2 years ago

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THE LEGEND OF COLD ROCK KEEP

The island was nothing without the lighthouse.

It was the defining feature. A stone monolith, rising out of the earth like a haunted spire, sweeping its glowing gaze out across the rage of the Atlantic ocean. Cold Rock Keep was different from other lighthouses, though. Cold Rock Keep had a bodycount.

Ever since anybody could remember, the island had been a haunted affair. A cursed place where ships went to die. The legend went that once upon a time, way back when the town was first erected in god-knows-when, there lived a coven of witches upon Cold Rock. They practiced their craft there because they thought the ocean would keep them safe.

And it did. For a time.

But like any old story, the players eventually disappear, and so too was the case with the witches. They died off, or were killed. Who could say? History has a funny way of forgetting itself. Whatever the case was, the shipwrecks didn’t let up, and so a lighthouse was built on the island to warn ship’s away from its serrated shores.

That lighthouse, though, didn’t seem to help matters one bit. In fact, after it was built the deaths just went up and up, and soon the jagged coastline of Cold Rock was filled with the corpses of shattered vessels. It didn’t take long for the townsfolk to come to an agreement that the island was cursed, and the lighthouse had somehow become a conduit for evil.

After that, folks started avoiding Cold Rock. Local folks, at least. They knew better, because our mothers and fathers knew better, and their mothers and fathers had known better before them. They passed down the warnings in bedtime stories, or cautionary tales before trips to the sea.

“Don’t drift too close to the lighthouse,” they’d say, “unless you want the ocean to gobble you up.”

My brother often told me the same.

A fisherman by trade, George was the captain of a small ship called the Trout’s Kiss. It didn’t belong to him, it belonged to the company he worked for, but it really should have— he could sail that boat through a hurricane and make it out the other side. Everybody knew it. He wasn’t afraid of anything in all the ocean, save for that damn lighthouse, and he’d tell you the same.

That was then, though. He died three days after my ninth birthday.

Capsized.

His boat tossed him and his first-mate overboard and the Trout’s Kiss smashed into a thousand pieces against the Cold Rock coast.

I went to bed and my brother was alive. When I woke up, he was dead. No goodbyes. No last words. Just gone. It was the moment I realized the legend of Cold Rock Keep wasn’t just a myth. It was the moment I realized it was the truest story ever spoken.

My brother was a superstitious man. A good sailor. There was no way he’d find himself near those rocks if not for some darkness pulling him there, and maybe that same darkness had then begun pulling me, or maybe it was just my childhood grief, but not a week after his funeral I went down to the docks and untied his skiff. Then I rowed it out into the harbour.

I rowed it out toward Cold Rock Keep.

Too long, I decided, had that towering mausoleum lorded itself over our gentle town. Too long had it stolen our loved ones and filled them with the sea. It was time somebody did something about it and in that moment, on that brisk summer night, I decided that somebody would be me.

So I set off toward the sweeping beacon that haunted the ocean like a ghost in the dark. I rowed and rowed until I got close enough that rowing didn’t do much anymore, because the ocean became all rolling waves and riptide currents. I remember feeling panicked. Like I’d made a grave mistake, an impulsive decision that I was now going to sorely regret, as I tossed and churned in the soup of the sea. First I lost one oar, then the other.

Then the boat tipped over like a rubber duck in the bath, and the looming figure of the lighthouse vanished. Darkness took me. Frigid, wet darkness.

When I came to, I spat out a river of seawater. Trembling and disoriented, I gathered my bearings. Surrounding me was a mess of wood— the remnants of my little skiff, or some other sorry vessel. Not ten feet away, great waves thundered against razor-blade rocks, jutting out of the coastline like the jaws of a shark while their sea-spray washed over me, reminding me where I was, and what I was doing.

I rolled onto my back. There, towering above like a titan of myth, loomed Cold Rock Keep. Its spiral architecture reached up into the moonlit clouds while its yellow light swept in a hypnotizing circle, humming an electric tune. It felt like it was calling to me. Beckoning me toward its heavy doors.

I pulled myself to my feet and realized I’d come all this way without much of a plan. In retrospect, I wondered if I ever truly meant to make it there at all. Perhaps I had been so sick with grief that I was hoping that the ocean would simply swallow me up the same place it’d swallowed George, and then it would let us be together again. Perhaps I just wanted an end to my misery.

Whatever the case, I didn’t have anywhere to go but forward now, and so I walked toward the lighthouse. As I did, I passed stone columns. Gravestones, I realized, carved with effigies for men whose stories I knew better than any nursery rhyme.

Rupert Dougee, 1892.

“Fell from the lighthouse while effecting repairs to the roof.”

Body inexplicably found thirty feet from the structure, torso split in half on the rocks, seagulls nesting in his ribcage.

Howard Newton, 1903

“Died peacefully in his slumber.”

Haunted by vicious voices. Took a liter of whisky just to get himself to sleep every night. Found dead in his bed, partially decomposed, with his open journal in his hands. His last entry?

I fear the ocean not half as much as I fear the malice in these walls.

The lighthouse had always been monstrous, that much wasn’t up for debate. Whether it smashed you on the rocks or drove you mad once you washed ashore, Cold Rock Keep would take what it wanted and leave the world more miserable for it.

Now, I meant to change that. Little nine year-old me, with nothing to defend himself but a sturdy rock and his brother’s hand-me-down pocket knife. What choice did I have? At that moment, none. I was there, and there was no going back. Only forward.

So I ascended the steps to Cold Rock Keep.

When I opened the doors, I found old beer cans and nudie mags. The walls inside were dressed in graffiti and the tables and chairs were chipped and carved with names and memories. A steel, spiral staircase wound upwards, clutching the narrowing walls of the lighthouse. At the very top sat a hatch leading into the uppermost room.

Something tugged at me then. Something pulled me toward it, and I knew then that it was the room the light spun in lazy circles, tempting souls to their deaths. It was the source of all this misery.

Heart thrumming, I took the stairs two at a time.

When I reached the top, I found the hatch sealed shut. An old padlock hung off of it that read Maintenance Key # 1. While I didn’t have the maintenance key, I did have a rock, and so I bashed the padlock clean off the hatch and pulled it open.

Light blinded me. Vicious, vibrant light spilled out like an uncorked supernova. My ears filled with the whirring drone of whatever mechanism drove the artificial sun. Shielding my eyes, I clambered up the ladder leading into the hatch, one step, two step, until I was in the room proper.

And then something strange happened.

Things became dim. I opened my eyes and found the blistering light gone. In its place was a faint glow, and even that was quickly fading, receding back into some great void until it was only a firefly speck in the distance.

Then, that too vanished.

Darkness enveloped me. Not turn-off-the-lights-it's-bedtime darkness, but true darkness. The sort of darkness you find yourself in when you're six feet under, buried beneath the worms and the dirt. The sort of darkness that’s so thick the pressure of it is almost suffocating.

My hands scrambled across the surface, looking for the hatch I’d come through, but it was nowhere. Gone. I shouted and I hollered, cursing the lighthouse, cursing myself for being foolish enough to stroll onto Satan’s doorstep with nothing but a rock and an old pocket knife, but predictably that didn’t solve my problem either.

Eventually, out of options, I sat down in the void and cried.

I cried for my mother, who would wake up tomorrow worried sick, wondering where I was, calling me in as missing to the sheriff. They’d search and search and never find me and she’d just tell them to search some more because there would be no way, no possible way, that she could go on living if she knew both of her babies were gone.

I cried for my father, who was out of town on business and would no doubt blame himself for him always being away or abroad, and then maybe one day he’d get so fed up with all the guilt that he’d turn it around on my mother and tell her she should have been watching me better.

Most of all though, I cried for my brother. I cried for George because he had always told me to steer clear of Cold Rock Keep, and even though he died to teach me that lesson, I still stuck my nose up at him. I decided I knew better than he did, even though he was the fisherman and I was the stupid little brother, and I came out here looking for revenge and all I managed to do was make things so much worse.

“Look at this one,” a nasally voice said. “He hasn’t any light.”

I wheeled around, terror jolting through me. “Who’s there?”

“He will join the others.”

“The others?” I shouted. “You mean my brother?”

“Give him time, Agatha,” came another voice, this one more shrill.

“Time?” the first voice snapped. “He is here for violence! He is angry, desperate and murderous and would see us killed and our home burned to ashes. Don’t you see? He has no light, Beatrice, and therefore the cretin has no time.”

I scrambled backwards on instinct. It was difficult to pinpoint which direction the voices were coming from, but I was certain there were two of them.

“Don’t be so overdramatic, Aggie,” the second voice said. “Can’t you see the source of that anger? It’s his brother. He’s been hollowed out by grief and filled up with pain, poor thing.”

“You’re them—” I stammered, my mouth too dry to properly speak. “You’re the witches, aren’t you?”

Agatha’s nasally voice snickered. “Oh, look how perceptive the child is, sister. I hardly think the world will miss a lightless dunce she as he. Let me do it now. I’ll be quick about it.”

“Hush, Beatrice. Child, I sense a haunting in your soul, a longing for your brother. Do you miss him?”

The question made me furious. It was proof, I realized, that the witches knew about the murders they were committing, knew about the pain they were causing, and yet still chose to reap our community again and again. Tears welled in my eyes.

“Yes,” I said, lips trembling. “Yes of course I miss him! Do you have any idea how many innocent folks you’ve gone and killed?”

“Do you have any idea how many we’ve saved?”

Agatha’s words caught me off-guard. I tried to voice a response to her then, something well thought-out and appropriately accusatory, but all I managed to do was stand there slack-jawed.

“See, Agatha? Look there— near his chest.”

“Please, that’s hardly anything. Still well-worth a purge.”

“It’s proof the child’s got some light in him, that's what it is.”

“Just about anybody’s got some light in them, you bleeding heart!”

The situation was the most bizarre and unsettling thing I’d ever encountered. “What do you mean ‘people you’ve saved?’ ”

“What we mean,” Agatha began, somewhat impatiently, “is that Beatrice and I lived peacefully on Cold Rock island for many, many years. We practiced the magic of the land. Grew our crops. Caught our fish. We didn’t hurt anybody, but one night a vessel goes and lands on our shores, ties us up in the middle of the night and burns our bodies in a pit. A pit! They drink for hours and hours after that, a real revel, exchanging high-fives and how-do-ya-dos—”

Beatrice sighed. “They slept in our ashes.”

“Not terribly hygienic, were they?” Agatha said. “Course, we had seen their ship on the horizon already. Saw it getting loaded on the docks for some time, and so we knew what was coming our way. Took precautions.”

“I took precautions,” Beatrice said. “You tried to beat them with a club.”

“Must you always interrupt? I’m being kind enough to give this little cretin some context before we Snip him. The least you could do is pipe down for his bedtime story.”

Agatha took a moment, and I could sense the two witches glaring at one another in the darkness. “Anyway, dunce boy, where was I? Ah yes, we made damn sure our murderers met an end that suited them. Sent them all into a rage, didn’t we? Made em’ chop each other up. Ha! Poetic justice, you might say. Beattie and I figured we’d just go ahead and get rid of that bad lot before they infected anybody else with all that hatred.

“Then, wouldn't you know it? We found out that once you’re dead you’re much more in tune with the spirits of folks! Learned we could measure the worth of a man from a thousand yards based on the size of his glow. And often we did. Not a lot to do when you’re dead you see, and my sister and I do like to keep busy, so we set to work doing the town a favor. We used our magic to lure the worst souls into the rocks. Mangled em’ up good, and saved folks the grief of dealin’ with ‘em.”

I shook my head, stunned. “So many ships crashed on those rocks. So many. You’re telling me that everybody, all those sailors were evil?”

“Not in the least, sweet little fool,” Agatha said. “We only killed the bad eggs. The rest of the folks washed up on shore and somebody came around for them… eventually. Same goes for those lighthouse keepers— most of ‘em, anyhow. There was that one doing work on the roof before a storm. Poor sod got blown halfway across the island before making a mess on the rocks.”

“Oh,” Beatrice added. “And there was Howie. The sweet man who liked to journal— I did so like him. Awfully handsome.”

“Howie… you mean Howard?” Agatha let loose a snort of laughter. “Poor lad was a smidge clairvoyant and never knew it. Said he heard voices, and I suspect he did! Overheard me and Aggie arguing til’ the break of dawn like a couple of braying donkeys. It’s no wonder he drank himself to death.”

“A shame!”

“Yes, a shame. The man had a great taste in whisky.”

The void, once pitch-black, grew brighter. It became bright enough that I could make out shapes flitting around me, formless, like laundry in the wind.

“Oh,” Agatha said, somewhat shocked. “He can see us now, can he?”

“Course he can, look at him. He’s glowing, isn’t he?”

A question lingered in my mind. “Why is it that your magic became more powerful after the lighthouse was built?”

“More powerful?” Beatrice said, confusion lacing her words. “Whatever do you mean?”

“It’s just that the folks back in town always said there were more deaths after the lighthouse was built. Did it… did it help you kill folks?”

“Ha!” Agatha laughed. “The child’s stupidity is beginning to grow on me, Beattie. I’ll give you that. No, you toad-brained fool, the lighthouse didn’t make us any stronger or smarter or more devilishly beautiful than we already were. All it did was convince folks to come sailing into the harbor, since they figured what could it hurt with the lighthouse guiding them away from all that ails ‘em? More sinners, more shipwrecks. Easy as that.”

“Oh,” I said, and another thought crossed my mind. As it did, the shapes slowly faded from view. My glow, I realized, was dimming and the void was beginning to grow suffocating all over again. “And my brother? Why did you kill him?”

“Oh,” Beatrice said, pausing. “Well, we didn’t kill your brother.”

“This is awkward.”

“Hush now, Aggie. Have a heart.”

Tears formed in my eyes, and I quickly dabbed them with my sleeve. “What do you mean you didn’t kill him? He died out there on those rocks! His boat capsized not a hundred yards away.”

“Well,” Beatrice said, slowly. “We had only ever intended for… Oh, heavens. Who was it?”

“Reed Vallas,” Agatha offered.

“Reed Vallas, of course. Yes. We had only intended for that fellow— he was the first-mate on the boat your brother captained. That man was an urchin. A rapist. A murderer. He was a stain on this town, and frankly the world is much better off without him.”

I sucked in a breath. A sort of weepy, deep breath, the kind you take when you’re beginning to calm down, but you’re not quite ready to be done with being upset. “Then why did you kill George?”

“Dunce, child!” Agatha said. “Weren't you even listening? We just told you that we didn’t—”

“Aggie!” Beatrice snapped. “Look at him. The boy is glowing again! Faint as it is, we should really be nurturing that light.”

Agatha mumbled something, sounding equal parts impatient and frustrated.

“Your brother was meant to wash safely ashore, child. Honest. Reed panicked after the Trout’s Kiss capsized, and not wearing a life vest, grabbed onto your brother to save his own skin, and ended up drowning the both of them.”

The words washed over me like a winter tide. Cold. Painful. “And you let Reed pull him down? You didn’t try to help?”

“How to explain this,” Agatha said with a sigh. “Our magic is less of a scalpel and more of a sledgehammer. Small incisions in destiny like pulling your brother free from Reed proved impossible for us. It was an unforeseen outcome.”

“Then can you bring him back?” I said, desperate and heartbroken. “Since he wasn’t meant to die? I never even got a chance to say goodbye and—”

“No,” Agatha said. “We can’t.”

It was exactly what I expected to hear, and yet it still hurt like the day he died.

“Are there many moments like that?” I muttered quietly, the light radiating from me flickering in the dark. Off and on. Off and on. It was as though it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to stay or go. “Do many innocent people die because of the things you do?”

Silence filled the void. If the darkness had been thick and suffocating, then this silence was like the bottom of the ocean. It felt heavy. Crushing.

“Sometimes,” Beatrice said. “Sometimes I suppose that innocent folks do get washed away.”

“Is that okay?” I asked, my tiny voice cracking under the weight of the question. It didn’t feel okay to me. Why did innocent folks have to die so bad people could be punished? “Should you really be doing that?”

“I…” Beatrice began. “I’m not sure.”

“Beattie,” Agatha said, and her voice was hushed. “You’re glowing.”

“Oh,” Beatrice said, and the formless shape of windy laundry sort of bent down, as though examining itself. “It appears that I am. I’d almost forgotten what that felt like… Why! Look at you, too Aggie! I can almost see your icy heart with all that light.”

True to Beatrice’s words, the both of them were beginning to radiate a faint glow. The shapes danced upward, bickering to one another in words I couldn’t quite understand. They swirled and snapped and whipped above my head, until eventually they stopped and floated back down, now bright things.

“We’ve had it out, Aggie and I, and we’ve decided you’re right.”

“I am?” I said.

“Course you are, dunce boy,” Agatha said. “We got so wrapped up in keeping busy and trying to do good, that we forgot to nurture the most important light of all— our own.”

Beatrice snickered. “Oh, look at you, Aggie. First you wanted to purge the poor child and now you’re doting on him.”

“Well that was before he started glowing like a candlestick, wasn’t it?”

“She’s right, child. And so are you. It’s become clear to us that we can’t rightly keep helping other people if we’re out of sorts. So we’re going to focus on us. Get back our light."

"You are? That’s good!” I said, feeling joy for the first time since George had died. The light surged inside of me. “That means you won’t hurt anybody else?”

“Mhmm,” Beatrice said.

“We’ll leave the hurting to the folks still living and breathing,” Agatha added. “Which reminds me, we’ve done some hurting ourselves.”

“ 'Fraid that we have,” Beatrice agreed.

Just then, the two formless shapes began to materialize into something tangible. Human. A pair of glowing corpses appeared before me with flesh sloughing off their frames, and boiling wounds upon their faces.

One smiling, the other scowling.

“We know you didn’t get to say goodbye. Which is partly our fault.”

“It's all our fault, Agatha. And it’s true that we can’t bring George back, or take back what we took from you.”

“So,” Agatha says, rubbing her mangled hands together with a sigh. “We’ve decided to do one last bit of magic, you know, before we leave for good. Consider it a parting gift.”

Beatrice pulled me into a tight hug. “It isn’t much, child, but it’s the best we can do.”

________________

That was my last memory of the witches of Cold Rock Keep.

I woke up in my bed, with salt in my hair and seaweed down my shirt. My mother shrieked for joy when I did, and another man— a man I didn’t recognize, but would later learn was a doctor, told me I had been asleep for some fourteen hours. The police, he explained, found me washed up on the shore. They thought I’d suffered a serious concussion. Perhaps fallen into a coma.

“You slept like the dead,” he told me.

I told him that I felt fine, and that I was sorry for causing such a stir, but that right now more than anything I needed a little space to get my head in order. Just five minutes, I said. My mother and the doctor voiced their concerns, but ultimately respected my wishes. They left the room.

Alone, I went to my window. My house sat at the top of a hill and had a nice view of the town. From my perch, I looked out over a hundred sleepy houses. I looked out over a silent schoolyard, a run-down movie theater, and twenty or so boats bobbing at the dock.

Then I looked past that.

I looked out to the sea, to a little island with a stone spire. I looked out to Cold Rock Keep, and quiet as a breath, I said thank you. Thank you for everything.

You see, dreams are strange things. Sometimes a dream is merely a vignette, a slice of time so infinitesimally small that you wonder if it was ever there at all. Other times dreams are sweeping, so long and so vast that you live a second life inside of them.

That night, my dream had been longer and more real than any dream I’ve ever had. It spanned years. Decades. In that dream I played catch, traveled the world, shared pints of beer, and did lots and lots of fishing.

In that dream, I said goodbye to my brother.

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thisnameisnotspokenfor · 6 months ago

Text

Kingdom of the Stars: Chapter 31: The Date Part 2

Previous: Chapter 30

Next: Chapter 32

I actually made art for this chapter! See?

Anyway- please enjoy!

“ What....what is this place?" Asha breathed.

Shivering, she half-heartedly wrapped her wet shawl around herself. “Did you know this was down here?”

“Oh, you mean the city?” He shook his head, “I didn’t. The only reason why I found it was because I felt something coming from here.”

“You felt something?” Her eyes darted from the star to the collection of dilapidated buildings that stood before them.

He nodded “A calling.”

“How exactly does one feel a calling?”

A distress beacon? It had been how the injured Atlantean general had summoned the stone serpentine. So the idea wasn’t too far-fetched. But from here of all places?

“But that can’t be right- Rosas was founded on a completely new island! This city can’t be a part of its predecessor.”

“And yet it just so happens to be full of those same astronomical symbols,” the star interjected before leaning towards her. “A little too coincidental don’t you think?”

She nodded, her eyes lowering to her feet as she contemplated his words.

If what he said was true then that would mean that Rosas had never left the ashes of its predecessor behind just like the historical records had claimed.

But how could that be? Surely someone would’ve pointed out the error sooner! There was no way the scholars nor her father would’ve allowed such untruths to be propagated to future generations.

“BAAAA” came Valentino from beside her as he gestured for her to look forward.

“What?” She asked. “What is it? Do you see something?”

He shook his head, before pressing it to the walls of the air bubble as if he’d wanted her to follow suit.

Quickly, she pressed her ears towards the bubble’s side, making out the sounds of Bells and chimes softly ringing in the darkness. But why would they be ringing?

“Asha-,” came the star’s voice as something swam past once more, nearly startling her. “What are you doing?”

His brows furrowed as his hand pushed his hair back. “You really want to know?”

“Of course I do!” she exclaimed, unable to hide her smile. “Don’t you?”

“Well…” he, the self-admitted reckless and insane star, hesitated . The expression on his face was wavering. “I suppose so…”

“Or, it could be dangerous,” his voice lowered as the light within his hand flickered.” You don’t know what’s down here.”

But that hadn’t stopped her from being curious, not when the existence of the buildings that challenged Rosas’s history had so proudly touted the symbol she’d seen from the astronomer’s order. “True, I don’t. But I guess it’s a good thing I have you then, don’t I? You’re probably scarier and way stronger than any apex predator that roams the ocean.”

“Apex what?”

“Apex predator,” she repeated. “You know, a carnivorous animal that resides at the top of the food chain!” she explained as a small idea formed within her mind.

“Am I an Apex predator?” he asked, curiously pointing to himself as he leaned towards her.

The star beamed, “Ha ha! Wait-,” he paused as his smile faltered. “You’re complimenting me-,” His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously, “who are you and what have you done to Asha?!”

“Touché,” he conceded. “But don’t think flattery is gonna convince me to take you down there.”

“Well it’s not really flattery if it’s the truth now is it?” she asked smoothly as she leaned towards the star.

“....Fair point,” he shrugged, before clearing his throat. “Alright then, I guess we can look around for a little bit. IF-”

“If?” she repeated.

“-You promise to stay close to me. The pressure at this depth is very unforgiving. So It’s best we stick together for now.”

She nodded, unsure of how she’d be able to do anything else given the limited space the bubble provided.

“There are so many statues here,” she murmured, briefly pausing to listen in to the sounds of the surrounding bells.

“Do you recognize any of these then?”

He shook his head without hesitation, as they swam past several collapsed statues that could have easily rivaled the castle in size.

“How about these?” she asked, pointing to another.

To her dismay, his voice promptly answered with a somewhat unenthusiastic, yet decisive “No.”

Excitement once again filled her at the sight of the astronomical symbols etched into the building’s stone roof as she shivered and asked, “D-do you think that’s the order?”

He gently shook his head. “The order was far larger than one building, but from what I’ve heard they did have a location in the heart of the kingdom, which was very close to the castle.”

“Life-altering what ?” Asha spat as he smiled at Valentino.

“Go on Valentino we’ll be right behind you!” he gestured towards the dark pit beneath them.

“Transparency,” the star repeated, looking genuinely confused.

“Yeah you know, honesty. It’s what friends do. They tell each other things that they need to hear, even when it’s not easy.”

“Friends do that? Does that include constructive criticism on interior décor and capes?” he asked as he glanced at her soaking-wet shawl.

“My friends do, and no it does not include constructive criticism on interior décor or capes,” she retorted before quickly stuffing her shawl into her satchel.

“How many friends do you have beside me?”

“This was written in Asterahi,” he murmured as he tentatively looked over the board.

“Is that another star language?” she asked, noting how different the ‘words’ had looked from the ones he’d shown her yesterday.

“It is. A far more exclusively spoken one though.”

“What? What is it?! Cepheus what’s wrong?” He failed to answer her as his eyes continued sweeping over the board. His smile was gone now as she felt the water around them begin to move, pushing away some of the debris near the foot of the chalkboard as she gasped.

“I don’t ever recall telling you that it was,” he answered with a slightly furrowed brow.

He grinned rather smugly, “Creative liberty, of course, in reality, we stars usually look far worse.”

“Worse?” she repeated, before pointing to him. “Even you?”

“I’m not sure why I’d be excluded from that, but yes, even me. There’s a reason why we’re so…particular about how we look when we’re around humans…”

“Finally,” she grinned. “A form of you that isn’t ridiculously handsome. Now I actually kind of want to see-”

“Asha-,” he sang.

“I’ve never been one to ask a building to collapse on me before,” she grumbled as she tried to ignore how her face burned.

“Do you think I’m handsome?” The wicked little star was enjoying this. “It’s okay if you do. I think you’re really pretty too~,”

“That?” the star repeated. “Go on Asha, tell me what you were trying to say.” He was really enjoying this, wasn’t he?

“Scratch that, I hope the building collapses on both of us.”

Valentino panickily pleated as the star’s smile sharpened. Mischief filled his eyes as he leaned towards her, “Is this you showing your strong feelings for my form again? I knew you liked it but to call me ridiculously handsome-,”

“I am politely asking you,” she called while staring at the partially collapsed ceiling. “To please do it. Just make it quick.”

“Ha! Listen to me princess, very few things in this universe could kill you while I'm around, but I'm afraid this building” he pointed upwards towards the ceiling. “Isn't one of them -,” he’d flippantly waved his hand as he leaned away from her.

“Alright, so what could?”

“Nothing that you’d need to worry about,” he replied, his voice a bit more ominous than she liked.

“Well unnerving note aside, this means that Erlan’s kingdom could have been the ancestor or had some sort of ties to Rosas’s predecessor!” She looked over the ship once more. To call it advanced would have been the understatement of the century. No, this wasn’t advancement. It was technological perfection . “Do you think it still works?” she asked the star after she’d finally managed to partially break the trance the ship had, had on her. “We could fix it though, couldn’t we? Just like how you fixed the music box! Imagine if we could get it to fly again! This could be a life-changing thing for the people of Rosas! The king would have to listen to us! He’d have to!”

To her chagrin, he looked away before shaking his head, “I don’t think your king would be very pleased if you made this discovery public Asha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well from what you tell me, I think his abhorrence to technology seems personal , and like you said your people are complacent and dependable on the king, something that may not be as benevolent nor generous as you think it is.”

He tilted his head, as he thoughtfully stared at the nearby collapsed pillar. “So passionate. You sound as if you speak from experience, or perhaps intimate knowledge of the royal family?”

“They don’t.”

“So how did you know?”

“I didn’t I-,” her voice trailed off. “I heard it…in a dream.”

“A dream?” Cepheus’s eyes narrowed at her as the cold seemed to seep into her bones. “You’ve been having weird dreams lately?”

“Oh? And why do you say that?”

“You think they knew that I am a star?”

“Close, but not identical. I’d say from its roots that most linguists would probably tell you that it’s a sister language of yours.”

“I feel as if you’re on the verge of something here,” he started. “You’re formulating some sort of hypothesis aren’t you?”

“Sort of,” she admitted, still thinking about the red crystal and shattered wishes.

“BAAAAAAAA-,” Came Valentino’s voice as he leaped forward, gesturing to the other end of the hall.

“You see something?” Cepheus repeated as he turned around. Valentino reverently nodded before gesturing towards the wall on the other end of the hallway.

“It’s some type of mural I think,” she murmured, examining it as she noticed the bits and pieces of colorful stained glass shining the minute the star’s light landed upon it.

Sirius,” she’d whispered on recognizing the figure depicted by the mural.

He’d looked nearly identical to the picture she’d seen in the journal, only this time he wore a beautiful crown embedded with blue and golden jewels as the words on the mural’s edges read Sirius de Solari -, her eyes squinted trying to make out the rest of the letters that had been lost to time.

But she’d suspected the final words were ‘de Solarius.’ A suspicion that had only been confirmed by the figures of blue and golden that acknowledged him on either side of the mural.

But as she studied his face, she couldn’t help but quietly admire the artistry and dedication that had gone into what could have easily been the most expensive piece of art in Rosas.

“Cepheus?” She looked from him to the mural and then back to him.

Maybe Cepheus was his illegitimate son. An illegitimate son that he had neglected for whatever reason, hence why the son had resented the very name and resemblance he had to his father.

Hmm, that was plausible.

Cepheus was dangerously close to scowling now as he practically snapped, “Draw a picture of him Asha, it will last longer.”

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“You’ve been staring at that wall for at least five minutes,” he complained with a frown as he crossed his arms.

“Well, I’m an astronomer. It’s sort of my job to examine and study stars for a living Cepheus.”

She hadn’t expected to see a cold fire ignite within the depths of his eyes as he staunchly turned away. She glanced at Valentino who seemed just as confused as she. Had it been something she said?

“Well go on,” he’d said after a moment or so of uncomfortable silence. “Ask your questions. You want answers about him don’t you?”

Goodness. Of course, she wanted answers! It’s why she’d wanted to explore in the first place. But she didn’t want answers at the expense of invading the star’s privacy or boundaries.

“Ready to listen?” he repeated as confusion laced his voice. “But what if I never want to share? What will you do then?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She wasn’t sure how many seconds of silence had ticked by before his face slowly softened and he offered her his hand.

His fingers slowly intertwined with hers as she quietly welcomed his warmth.

“Right.” She nodded, and a small ghost of a smile teased at his lips as they moved forward, this time through the large hole in the center of the floor.

“Where are we headed to?” Her voice echoed as the star’s light peered through the darkness, revealing the misfortune that had befallen a place of prestige and beauty.

“Why do you say that?”

His voice echoed as they finally slipped into the entrance of an expansive hallway filled with murals behind statues that had lined either side of the hallway.

Shock filled her as she watched him pay his respects to none other than a red star. “Did…did you know him personally?”

“He was before my time,” his voice was so painfully quiet that she’d nearly strained to hear him add. “But he helped to pave the way for hybrids like me.”

“I see…I’m sorry for your loss….” she spoke, as a small beat of silence followed, until she asked, “Was he a star hybrid too?”

Ceased to exist. Antares was dead. But it hadn’t sounded as if he’d died of ‘natural causes.’ “How did he pass, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“The ultimate sin for a wishing star? “Did he kill the person who wished on him?”

“I…Ha…quite the opposite actually...the ultimate, or rather worse sin a wishing star can make is to fall in love with their wisher ” He abruptly looked away. “It’s strictly forbidden.”

“But star bloods exist-,”

“I see…was this why you started acting out when Mr. Silver and Mr. Bjorn made those jokes?”

“Ha, I suppose you could say that…”

“You Suppose?”

A mirthless chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “You’re a nice girl Asha, but I don’t want you to get hurt….”

“You think us becoming a couple would hurt me?” she asked, feeling her brows furrow.

Her eyes slowly combed over the passing star murals as the words slowly came into view.

_____‘de Solarius’

_____del Apsuramal’

_____ del Myrkadius

_____ De Nocturne

The first part of the mural had been far too incoherent to translate, but those were the titles of Alpha Stars! And they’d been on every single mural they’d passed.

Alderamin de ____ the rest of his title was missing as darkness enveloped the mural.

Unable to maintain the silence any longer, she heard herself say, as she quietly trembled “Did they ever mean anything to your people?”

“Pardon?”

“So then why didn’t any of your kind come to earth sooner when you’d lost contact?”

“How could the astronomers cut you off? You’re the source of their power!”

“I know, which would be more than enough motivation for someone who didn’t like the order to go through with it.”

She paused. His words strangely made sense to her as the pieces slowly began to fall into place. “Would there have been anyone on earth motivated or strong enough to pull off such a feat?”

“Possibly, but I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t here.”

Her mind wracked through every possibility and suspect she could think of until she’d remembered them. “How powerful is a starblood?”

. “Most if not all-star bloods who would've been around that time were probably the children of high-ranking stars.”

“Which means they would’ve inherited a good deal of power… more so than any astronomer would have gained from an allegiance.”

The star frowned as his expression darkened. “If you’re trying to say, what I think you are…Don’t.,”

“Why not?”

“The star bloods have always had powerful connections to the courts. Most wouldn’t appreciate you speaking so negatively about them.”

“And yet in tumultuous times, Tau Vitrius and the other astronomers didn’t seem to trust them!”

“Most astronomers didn’t,” he retorted.

“They didn’t?” Silence. “You know something don’t you?” an involuntary shiver slipped down her spine as she watched the star’s eyes narrow.

“Not any more than you do, no. But if I could tell you more, I would…”

“But you can’t?”

“You’d bring back the order?”

“If I were powerful enough, then yes. I’d make it possible. But we’d have to get the council involved.”

“I’m sorry we?” she frowned before gesturing to him and then herself.

“Yes, we . You can’t make an Astronomer’s order without stars nor can we make it without humans. There’s a common ground here Asha. You wished for more for yourself, your country, and your people, and nothing could bring you greater prestige, honor, advancement, and wealth than an order like that.”

“Okay,” she conceded with a reluctant nod. "you bring up some solid points but what is this council you speak of?”

“What is it? What’s wrong? Have we reached the panic rooms yet?”

“Tomas,” she whispered as she read the name on the metal slate over and over again. “That’s my Dad! My Dad’s things are in there!”

“Hold on!” Cepheus exclaimed, holding her back as she struggled against him.

“Let me go!” she protested. “I need to get to that office! That map!” she groaned. “If only I could get to it! It might be the key to translating his manuscripts!”

“What? But we haven’t gotten either of the things we’ve come for! Weren’t we supposed to make it to the panic rooms?”

“Asha,” he adjusted his grip on her. “We are in the panic rooms.”

“I’m sorry Asha,” the star had whispered as he held her.

“Alright,” he’d nodded, holding her close as they slowly began their ascent.

“Asha?” came the star’s voice as he let go of her. “Stay here” he’d told her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait,” she started, tugging at his sleeve before she’d even realized it. “You’re going back down there? Alone?”

He nodded, his eyes searching her face before he cracked a lopsided grin. “Why? Are you worried something will happen to me now?”

“Who said I was worried?” she scoffed, before crossing her arms. “I just don’t want you getting false hopes that I’ll be the one to come and save you when you find trouble down there.”

His hands were still holding her arms as he drew a deep breath and closed his eyes as his body began to glow a bright cerulean, one that had nearly been identical to the Atlantean’s crystal.

Then as if deciding on something, he’d flickered out, leaving them all in complete darkness and Asha to her thoughts.

Her eyes widened in realization, as silence seemed to greet her ears. A silence was promptly broken by the sound of something large moving through the water.

“Valentino,” she whispered. “Did you hear that?”

The goat nodded, looking just as frightened as she had before she’d glanced toward the surface. “How good is your doggy pattle?” she’d asked him as he pleated again, before offering her a brief demonstration.

Okay, so his doggy paddle was definitely not passable.

Cepheus had told them to stay put, but she didn’t want to risk dealing with whatever was swimming down there. She’d briefly contemplated making it a run for it, until she’d realized that she had no idea how to make the bubble move on her own. If anything they were stuck, waiting and watching the darkness of the graveyard below them.

Hopefully whatever it was that she’d just seen hadn’t come across Cepheus, either. Not that she worried for the star’s wellbeing, but she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to save him if he got hurt, or worse. She shook her head, as she tried to ease her mind of all of the terrible scenarios it had conjured.

Cepheus was strong, and much to her chagrin, rather smart when he wanted to be. If anything she should be feeling more worried for the creature than for the star!

But her thoughts had quickly come to an end as she’d felt the water beneath them move once more, as if something was coming towards them. “Cepheus?!” she shrieked.

No answer.

“Cepheus I swear this better-,” she screamed , feeling herself being skyrocketed upwards as the thing, no person held her carefully. The surrounding world passing by in a strange mixture of bubbles and rushing water as she looked down, meeting the star’s eyes, moments before they’d broken the surface of the water.

She gasped, taking in a mouthful of air before sinking down into the water once more. The star’s laughter filling her ears as Valentino pleated.

The coldness of the dark depths shrinking as she’d felt the sun beat down upon her, easing some of the pain she’d been feeling as she took in one breath after another. At first it had been out of instinct, then it had been out of assurance. Assurance to know that they were still alive.

“Asha,” started the star as he held up his hands, revealing the small collection of scrolls, maps and books that he’d retrieved. “I got these for you.”

Her eyes widened as she spotted both Tau and her father’s familiar handwriting decorating the well preserved pages and sketches of the journals. Tears blurred her vision as she took in the enthusiastic notes of her father’s work. She couldn’t believe it. “You…you went back down there to get these for me?”

“I had to,” he answered. “They’re your father’s right? So it’s only right that you have them if you wish to continue his work.”

Words had failed her as she’d felt herself embrace the star. “Thank you,” she’d whispered, as she shook. The star relaxed, slowly returning the embrace as she felt his hand gently hold the back of her head. Neither of them had said a word, as she’d felt them float there, but perhaps they hadn’t needed to.

The young man gritted his teeth as he watched his stone finally sink beneath the dark waves, unable to finish its venture toward the other side.

He groaned as he slumped near the bank's edges, and roughly hauled up the sides of his hood before sharply inhaling the cool afternoon air.

Pulling the hood up any higher than the mouth was strictly forbidden, but given how tedious the heat of Rosas’s autumn could be, he was half tempted to risk it.

But there were worse ways to die. Seven of his companions could attest to that as he’d seen their bodies sink below the tumultuous river earlier.

Seven lives taken.

Seven lives lost.

Seven that he suspected were just the beginning.

The dark water churned and bubbled below as his eyes searched them for any signs of life.

“I still don’t understand why we’re still here,” he spoke to his companions who lingered beneath the tree’s shade.

“Whether you understand or not, Castor. She's made her orders very clear,” came the gentle yet reprimanding voice beside him as he glanced at the hooded woman whose eyes were focused on the crow that had perched itself on her lap. “We are not to leave this post until we see any signs of life.”

“Signs of life? Are you kidding me? If she’s lucky that girl’s probably got a full-blown residency in Atlantis right now!” Castor sneered before looking wearily at his third companion, Vraden, a large man who leaned against the nearby tree. Between the three of them, he’d been the only one strong and brave enough to retrieve any sort of debris from the river’s currents, hence the pile of broken wood and torn fabric that now lay at his feet.

Castor had nearly entertained the idea of striking up a conversation with him, but he could tell from how the man had kept his eyes plastered on the now-cloudy sky above, that he was in no mood for talking.

Thunder rolled overhead as Castor felt his nose wrinkle at the distinct scent of rain.

“Never say never, isn’t that right Corvias?” the hooded woman hummed, breaking the silence as the crow thoughtfully watched her.

“How can you be so confident in her chances, Cladestonia? For all we know She could be a pile of bones on the river floor.”

“In any other case you’d be correct in such an assumption, but not this time…we all know that The forces that be will not let her die so easily. Not in a river that is as special as this one.”

Castor scowled, before tossing another rock into the river. “Fine. Be that as it may…but what exactly are we supposed to do about it? If we stick around to see them resurface then we’ll be as dead as-,!”

“Patience my friend,” her voice smoothly cut him off as she held her hand in front of him. The crow, Corvias, adjusted itself on her knee once more. “The pieces have already begun to fall into place, and with them, we are nearing the final chapter of the prophecy…,” she promised as His eyes lowered to her neck where her fingers lingered around the red crystal that hung there.

Thunder rolled overhead once more as he silently nodded. Gently pulling his hood back over his head, he turned his eyes back to the river just in time to see its surface breaking.

“Cladestonia!” Castor called, drawing his companion's attention back towards the water. Pulling his binoculars from his side he gazed at the water, still in disbelief. A curse slipped from his lips as his eyes narrowed. “They’re alive.”

“As expected,” she replied, her voice quietening as her crystal began to glow. At the feel of a small tug around his neck, Castor’s eyes lowered, taking note of his own crystal that also glowed.

He gulped, briefly watching as Vraden nodded.

A summoning.

Vraden silently heaved the pieces of debris into a large sack as Castor stood.

“Farewell Corvias,” Cladestonia smiled as she glanced at the crow. “Until we might again,”

The crow slipped from her grasp before taking flight, leaving behind a small trail of feathers as the figures entered the forest once more. Castor had been the last to follow, briefly sparing a glance toward the floating forms that had now begun to retreat toward the ocean.

Pity was an odd way of describing it, as he shook his head, following after his companions as they ventured deeper into the darker parts of the forest.

It hadn’t taken them long to reach the agreed meeting spot, which had consisted of a small clearing full of their armed companions.

The three figures had come to an uneasy halt as they stood in front of their leader, seated on a tree stump.

“Your ladyship,” they said in unison.

She’d made no move to acknowledge them, not that it was needed either. Experience had taught them well enough to know that when an unsuccessful mission had persisted this long, pleasantries were usually the first casualties.

All eyes turned to Vraden as he withdrew a piece of wood from his sack that floated forward into the woman’s grasp. Her head never quite turned in the direction of the object she held as she spoke. “Is this all?”

Her voice was cold as the darkness seemed to envelop the inside of her hood. “I presume you found no bodies.”

Cladestonia shook her head. “No your ladyship. Unfortunately, none have resurfaced.”

Castor’s eyes flickered over to Vraden who’d lowered his eyes towards the ground, knowing better than to make eye contact when you were not being the one interrogated.

A string of disjointed words left the woman’s lips, as the piece of wood she held splintered.

“Let us hope you will all have more success in finding mercy than you’ve had in finding those who have taken refuge in Salcona’s kingdom,” she spoke as nearly all the figures tensed.

Castor fought the urge to tremble as he looked towards Cladestonia who firmly stood as still as a statue, edging towards what some would call danger.

A danger that the headmistress was all too comfortable punishing. She looked away, her gaze cutting towards one of the edges of the clearing as they all quickly began to register the sound of rapid footsteps.

“Your ladyship!” Came a voice as a few hooded figures came into view. She waved her hands as the guards lowered their weapons, relief nearly consuming them as the breathless figures stumbled forward.

“Speak,” she commanded to the spies. Her eyes were nearly visible through the darkness of her hood.

“We found it!” The first figure gasped, as he knelt over, gulping down mouthfuls of air. “…Near Hamlet….the path had been disfigured….but we could tell…someone had been there…recently”

“No doubt in an attempt to hide it,” she spat, swiftly standing up as all the figures bowed in unison. “Take care of the river,” she commanded a few figures who nodded, promptly taking off before she turned her attention to those still around her. “Come, we move before nightfall.”

“Yes, mistress,” all replied as their voices were quickly swallowed by the shadows of the forest.

Music filled the air as she felt her fingers gently glide against the warm surface of the now-glowing water.

To say that the whole ordeal had left her in disbelief would be an understatement, but for now, she was alive and that was all that mattered.

A sudden movement from beside her caught her attention as she watched fish of all shapes happily swim by them. A few even leaped into the air as the drops of shimmering water cascaded behind them. She chuckled, shielding her eyes from the water as Valentino pleated, gesturing his hoof down towards the side where a whale arose.

“Whoa,” she whispered, catching sight of her reflection in his eyes before he sprayed water into the air and promptly disappeared into the sea’s depths once more.

“Valentino did you see that?!” she excitedly called as the goat nodded. “That was a Fin Whale! I didn’t know they swam by here this time of year! I never realized how big they were in person. Did you see how he looked at us? It was like we were ants!!” Valentino pleated, nodding in agreement with her as the castle and several ships came into view.

She could recognize one of the nearer ones as Silver’s ship and judging from the sounds of music and chatter that emerged, she was willing to bet that she’d been right.

“We’re here,” she told the dolphin-shaped star beneath her, feeling as he obediently began to slow, allowing her to take in the view once more.

Against the sparkling sea and golden warm hues of the midday sky, there was no denying how beautiful the scene before her was. A beauty that she’d admitted had been hard to spot in the official’s meeting rooms or the dreary stone walls of her study.

The star beneath her slipped from her grasp, nearly plunging her into the sea once more, before she’d felt hands hold her up, and the star’s smiling face greet her once more.

“Whoa!” she called, surprise filling her as he easily lifted most of her body out of the water. It was so easy to forget how strong he truly was when he wasn’t that much taller than her.

He chuckled, gently releasing his hold on her, before reaching to pull off a piece of seaweed that had comfortably settled itself across the bridge of his nose. “Ugh,” he groaned, his face twisting in disgust as Asha laughed, taking his hand as he pulled her towards himself. “It seems as if I’m never safe from seaweed, regardless of where I go!”

“You’ve had previous encounters with it?” she teased, trying to ignore how warm he had felt and how close they were to each other.

“Far more than I care to remember,” he sighed, his upper half sinking beneath the water as his hair covered his eyes. But that didn’t stop him from turning towards her as he smiled and began, “So-,”

“So?” she repeated, unsure as to why she’d felt her heart skip a beat as she felt his hand wrap around her waist.

He grinned rather smugly. “Aren’t you going to admit that I was right? I told you that spending the day with me wouldn’t be so bad!”

She frowned, quietly cursing how a strange heat had spread across her face. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Between the discovery of the city and her father’s journals, there was no way she could truthfully say that she was having anything close to what she’d consider a bad day. But that hadn’t meant that she was going to give the already smug-looking star the benefit of knowing he’d been right all along.

So she’d decided to pull a page from the star’s playbook and quickly change the subject. “Hey Cepheus, you know how you said those buildings in the city were all inspired by star architecture right?”

He nodded, watching as she pointed towards the castle.

“What about the castle? Does it look like it took any inspiration from star architecture?”

Much to her expectations, the star had shaken his head. “No, no that building is far too young and small for that.”

“Small? I’m sorry-,” she squinted at him in disbelief. “The castle is small to you?”

“In comparison to a star’s castle? Yes. Of course, we have to have different-sized castles to accommodate our true forms, Asha. I doubt a low-ranking member of the court could fit into that castle, much less an alpha star,” he shuddered. “so the ones we have exclusively for stars are far bigger than the ones we build for human visitation and viewing.”

“You guys let humans visit your palaces?”

He nodded, rising and falling with the tide as he held her. “Yeah. The astronomers who served closely under the alpha stars would frequent there when needed…”

“Were they beautiful?” she implored, looking from him to the sky. “The castles I mean.”

“Very,” he breathed. “And they still are. The alpha stars own several palaces across their domains, but they’re all beautiful.”

“Have you seen them all?”

“I’ve visited most on occasion,” he confessed with a simple shrug.

The alpha stars let star peasants visit their castles on occasion? Hmm, maybe the stars were more progressive than she thought. But then again, she wouldn’t be shocked if the term ‘peasant’ was another thing she could add to her list of interstellar cultural differences.

“Do you have a favorite castle?” she inquired if only to distract herself from her impending questions.

Cepheus hummed thoughtfully as the pinkish-golden hues of his eyes met hers. “Hmm, they’re all beautiful in their own ways, but if I had to pick one, I think I’d give it to the Cerulean court’s castles, or more specifically- the Cygnus castle..”

“The Cygnus castle? Is that in the Cygnus constellation?”

He nodded, a pleasant smile making its way onto his face. “It is. My favorite castle there is the one that sits on the very edge of the domain,” he lifted a hand from the water and pointed to the sky. “You can see the waves from what we call the ocean, gather there. It was a gift from the stars of the sea constellations a few eons back that’s quite sentimental to us,” he sighed, the very edges of his lips quirking upwards in nostalgia. “But It’s always been a very beautiful place to go. Both for its history and its myths.”

“Oh? Like what kind of myths?”

“Well…” he started carefully, as he brushed his hair from his eyes. “There’s one that says that if a star wishes to change their fate, they should go and visit those waters…It’s how they believe Deneb, one of the older alpha stars ended up unexpectedly meeting her soul mate when she was promised to another…Personally, I never saw much weight to it…until recently…”

“Really?” she swam forward, too curious to feel embarrassed as she closed the distance between them even more. “I thought you said you never desired or wanted for anything more.”

“And I don’t-,” he retorted, evidently not really appreciating her question. “I was there for other reasons…sentimental ones if you will, it had nothing to do with what the glowing waters could or couldn’t do for me.”

“Hmm…Sure so, what made you change your mind?”

His voice trailed off as he turned his gaze upwards into the sky. “Well…I was there right before you wished on me.”

She blinked in surprise. “You were?”

He nodded, this time facing her. “I was.”

“So you think that me wishing on you is an act of fate itself? Really?”

He shrugged, “maybe? But who knows, I didn’t expect anyone to wish on me.” She was silent, as he thoughtfully continued, “One second I was with the others, talking to them, and then the next thing I know, all I can hear is your voice, and it was all that mattered to me in that moment.”

‘Was it?’ she wanted to ask.

Of course, it was.

He was a wishing star, granting wishes was the sole purpose of his existence , and as soon as he granted her wish he would disappear just as quickly as he came. That was what she wanted, right? So why had the thought left her with an emotion she couldn’t quite identify?

She sighed, closing her eyes as she tried to reason with herself. They were from two different worlds. Worlds that by all means were no longer connected. The best they could be was friends. The best she could be to him was a friend, one that she wasn’t sure he’d remember in a few more years, regardless of- “BAAAAA-,’ screeched Valentino as he leaped into her armsr.

“Valentino?!” she exclaimed as the star let her go. “What’s gotten into you?!”

The goat pleated before gesturing towards the fin of the last fish anyone had ever wanted to see in the ocean.

“Shark,” Asha said, her brain barely comprehending what she’d seen until it neared. “SHARK!?” she screamed, swimming backward as she ripped herself out of the star’s grasp.

“Where?” Cepheus curiously asked, turning towards the direction of the incoming shark as it lifted its head out of the water. One glance in the star’s direction was all the shark needed to quickly begin swimming away and back into the depths that it had appeared.

Had he-...A shark?!

She exchanged glances with Valentino, who was just as stunned as she was before the star turned back to her, smiling innocently as he’d proudly declared, “ Apex Predator. ”

“Hahahahahaha!” she erupted into laughter, feeling her stomach hurt as the star neared her, joining in her laughter as well.

In all her years at sea, she’d never seen a shark swim so fast, not even from whales or dolphins that had threatened to kill it. But one look from the star had apparently been enough to make the shark re-think its place in the food chain!

The absurdity of it all was too much as she felt tears begin to well in her eyes.

“I don’t get it, what’s so funny?” Cepheus had asked in between laughs as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Had she not been laughing so hard, perhaps she would’ve noticed that the trio was no longer alone. But unfortunately for her, her discovery would come in the form of a familiar voice that cut through the echoes of her laughter, “Asha-,”

Wait.

She spun around, facing the familiar sight of Silver’s ship mere yards behind them. The captain stood overhead with the eyes of his prying crew, friends, and passengers all looking down to observe the trio as she saw her grandfather frown.

“Asha,” he spoke again.

“Saba?!” she screeched, shoving herself off of Cepheus. How had she not noticed the ship approaching?! Had she been so distracted by the star that-

No. What was she saying?! She couldn’t be distracted by Cepheus he wasn’t even in his star form! It had been the stupid shark that had set her up!

“Saba I can explain, I swear-,” she cried as the sailor’s laughter filled her ears. Oh God, how was she going to explain this?!

Her grandfather shook his head, sighing, as Capella pleated from his side, “Yep…my bloodline is doomed….”

#the kingdom of the stars #wish au #writers on tumblr #digital art #a03 fanfic #writers on ao3 #cepheus #asha #starboy #artists on tumblr

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