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[the-prince-of-stars]

The Prince of Stars, Chapter 3

“Riyel. My name’s Riyel.” They grabbed a hold of Jadus’s hand and he nearly lifted them entirely off the ground. As they got up, Antares flew down and perched on Riyel’s shoulder. “This is Antares. Thank you for your help Jadus.” Jadus gave a curt nod. 

“Wasn’t about to let you get slaughtered by a bunch of shadowborne. Nasty fuckers they are.” He turned northwards, staring off into the horizon. “Figure anyone they’re trying to kill is a friend of mine. But then, why were they trying to kill you?” The last part was softer, as if Jadus wasn’t expecting an answer or even really talking to Riyel.

“I...don’t know actually. I didn’t even know what they were.” The reality of what had just occurred was beginning to set in. They had almost died. To a strange shadowy monster that had come out of nowhere. After having previously almost died due to falling through the sky. A disturbing few hours to say the least.

“Don’t know the shadowborne? Where are you from Riyel?” There was an edge of suspicion in Jadus’s voice, his hand moving ever so slightly towards the greatsword. 

“That is a fantastic question that I don’t have an answer to.” Jadus stopped, looking back towards Riyel. “I woke up falling through the sky towards a river some ways to the south-east. Antares here helped me survive and since then I’ve been walking. I don’t really know where to or even where I am, but I figured it was better than staying in place.” 

“River...must’ve been the River Acathon. You picked the right side to fall on. Come, follow me. I’ll explain what I can while we walk.” He turned northwards again and began to walk, striding forwards without even seeing if Riyel was following. Not wanting to be alone, Riyel grabbed their walking stick and rushed to keep up. 

“So...where exactly are we going? And where are we now?” 

“Well, to begin, we’re on the continent of Elath. More specifically, the Lunar Dominion in the north of Elath. All of this land around you is the Silver Plains, serves as the border to the Lunar Dominion. We are headed towards the Elder Forest, home of the elves.” Jadus managed an impressive stride even as he explained, forcing Riyel to walk even faster just to hear the answers to their questions. 

“Lunar Dominion? Are we going to the moon eventually then?” Jadus let out a soft rumbling sound that may have been considered a chuckle in some cultures.

“You’re really not from Elath are you? Ideally we will not be headed towards the moon. It’s called the Lunar Dominion because it’s ruled by the Moon Queen. They pay homage to her and in turn she gives them their powers and magic. I’m going to assume you haven’t heard of the Sun King or the Lord of Midnight either then?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“They’re the other two rulers of Elath. The Sun King rules in Solantar to the south-west, and the Lord of Midnight rules the Mountains of Night to the south-east, across that river you fell near.” The Lord of Midnight...for some reason the name felt familiar to Riyel. It was like a memory that was just out of reach. Hopefully it wasn’t too important. If he was as powerful a figure as Jadus said, it’s possible Riyel had heard about him in passing at some point. Though considering they couldn’t remember anything past a day ago, they weren’t sure when that point may have been. 

“So where are you from? You certainly don’t look like a moon or midnight person.”

“A fair guess. I’m from Solantar originally.” Jadus made no move to explain anymore. 

“What brings you up north then?” 

“I have...business with the elves. Regarding those shadowborne beasts from earlier.” Riyel shuddered at the thought of them. 

“Speaking of those, what are they? Why were they attacking me?”

“Creatures from the Mountains of Night. Usually they stay on their side of the river and are satisfied. That is, they did, though more have been crossing in past years. They’re not beasts per se, but they sure aren’t the friendliest sort. But they usually don’t attack without reason. Usually.” There was a grimness in Jadus’s voice. He wasn’t saying something, but Riyel didn’t know him well enough to pry. “As for why they were attacking you, I couldn’t say. That’d be something only you can answer.” If only I could.

[the-prince-of-stars]

The Prince of Stars, Chapter 2

The walking was easy at first. They had quickly used one of the stalks of grass to tie their hair back into a rough braid, keeping it out of their face and relatively off their back. The grass itself didn’t give much resistance, and as far as Riyel could see and hear there was nothing to stop their travel. Not that Riyel had any idea what they were travelling towards. As far as they could see it was just more of this silver grass and the sparse gray trees that grew tall and wide, with canopies that stretched out for many feet in every direction. While it was beautiful to see all of these things reflect the moonlight it did get rather boring after a while. In addition, it didn’t seem as if the moon was moving through the sky at all. While Riyel had been...well they weren’t quite sure where they had been but wherever it was, they hadn’t forgotten that normally the moon was meant to move through the sky, not just sit in place.

“Antares...Do you know where we’re going?” No response, just continued flying. Typical Owl. “Just keep going then? I suppose it’s a plan. Not very original though.” And so they kept walking through this endless landscape. There was no reason to stop, no, but there also seemed very little reason to keep going. If this is what Antares saved me for, I think I may have preferred splatting against the shore. At least that would have been quick. Before the thought was even over, Riyel felt a wing whack them in the back of the head. “OW! Now what was that for?” Antares cocked his head and stared at Riyel as if to say, you know damn well what it’s for. Be grateful that I saved your life and don’t go thinking of wasting it. “Fine, fine, I’m glad I’m alive. Are you happy now?” 

“Hooo” It was a rich, magnificent hoo to be sure. It was also the most annoying sound Riyel could have heard at that moment.

“Of course you are. Come on, let’s keep going.” Even if we have no goal whatsoever. They continued walking for another hour. And then another after that. And then one more. By this point, Riyel’s feet were aching and their legs were crying out for rest. “Well, with literally nothing having changed in the landscape, I’m saying we sit and rest here awhile Antares. I hope you agree.” While he said nothing, Antares came down from flight and perched on Riyel’s shoulder. Or rather, placed on of his rather large talons on Riyel’s shoulder and the other on his upper arm, as it is relatively hard to perch when one is an exceptionally large owl. Riyel made their way over to the nearest of the large gray trees and collapsed underneath it, letting their eyes close and feeling the warm embrace of slumber. 

HISSSSSSS Riyel’s eyes jolted open just as Antares sprang up to one of the branches of the tree. They weren’t sure what the sound was, only that it was not something they had heard in their long walk beforehand. In the barest whisper they could manage they muttered “Antares...what are we dealing with here?” Before Antares could respond, or at least before Riyel could imagine his response, a terrifying black shadow raced towards them, claws outstretched. Riyel let out a cry and ducked to the ground, feeling the beast narrowly pass over them. They turned around to face this assailant and do something brave, maybe fight them off, only to feel all of their intentions fade away in favor of blank fear.

It was a truly horrifying creature, spindly and crooked, the entire thing made of pure shadow. It’s figure was hunched over, with a set of four jointed legs that scurried over the ground and two huge claws that emerged from what Riyel guessed may have been their arms. Oh shit Oh shit Oh shit Oh shit. It let out another hiss before leaping at Riyel again, this time just barely catching the edge of their arm as they rolled out of the way. Where they hit, there was no blood but instead they saw their pitch black skin turn a horrible dark grey, as if it was fading somehow. Probably best not to let that happen again. Above them Riyel heard distressed and angry hooting from Antares, who looked to be fighting a flying form of these strange shadow creatures. As Riyel glanced back again he saw that there was not one but two of these beasts now, both glaring angrily at him. Or at least, they assumed glaring. Hard to say when you can’t see eyes. Well, I suppose I had a nice run for a few hours. Shame it had to end this way though. They braced themselves for the inevitable charge, not even knowing if fists would be able to do anything to these beings. 

“HYAAAAAAAAAAAAH” A loud, gruff battlecry broke through the hissing as a radiant golden light suddenly burst behind the creatures. One skittered away as Riyel saw a gleaming bronze-colored sword slice through the other, bisecting it and leaving it’s shadowy body to wither away and fade. The figure within the golden light turned to face the creature that had started to move away before unleashing a blindingly fast series of sword strokes against it, battering away at it’s shadowy claws as it struggled to defend itself. Suddenly, from out of the golden light came a hard, metal clad boot that knocked the creature off balance, just in time for a diagonal sword slash to cut straight through its body. 

Looking back up at Antares, the owl had been able to take advantage of the distraction provided by this light-clad warrior, and had raked the beast he was fighting with his claws repeatedly, leaving it shredded and dying on a tree branch. The glowing light began to subside and Riyel could start to make out the full appearance of their savior. He was tall, nearly a foot taller than Riyel, and muscular, cutting an imposing figure against the black sky. On his chest he wore a bronze colored breastplate, with matching bracers and greaves, and around his waist a plateskirt of the same material. In his hands he held a mighty greatsword, three feet in length and now, with a better look at it, Riyel could see that it was burnished gold in color, with a large yellow gem set into the hilt. The warriors skin was a dull reddish brown, with jet black hair done in dreads down the back. Most striking though were his eyes, two pools of molten gold that held a great intensity and pain behind them. He looked back at Riyel, sheathing his greatsword and extending a hand to help Riyel up, speaking as he did so with a deep, rough, and powerful voice.

“Looks like you could use some help wanderer. My name is Jadus. Who are you?”

[the-prince-of-stars]

The Prince of Stars, Part 1

Author’s Note: Hi! I’m @ich-bin-khzar and I made this blog to serve as one of several homes to a writing project I want to start! It is, as you can tell, titled The Prince of Stars, and I’d really love it if you could give it a read. I plan to update weekly on Saturdays. It’s a fantasy work and I’ll let you figure out the rest on your own. Here’s part 1!

Riyel. There was nothing but that word ringing in their head. There was nothing to see, hear, or smell, only endless nothingness, a void that they could not find the end of. They didn’t know how long they had been there, only that they could not remember anything other than this eternal, crushing darkness. To be frank, they weren’t sure they were actually alive. In fact everything suggested the opposite. And yet, they could not accept that fact. Surely death would have felt more final. Surely they would remember their life if they were dead, and been able to recall how they had died. They couldn’t be dead. They would not let themselves be dead. 

A sound grew in the distance. Faint yet growing, it was a roaring sound, as if somewhere far below water was rushing along, a rapid, deadly river. The sound grew and grew, becoming more intense as they heard the crashing of the water against the surrounding ground and the singing of the current as it flowed. They slowly became aware of the feeling of air whipping by them as if they were falling quickly. They could feel their hair flying behind them, and their skin stung with the bite of the wind. Eventually, painfully, after what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, they forced their eyes open and looked out, seeing beyond the darkness. 

Looking down, they could see a landscape bathed in a pale white light. There was the edge of a rushing river, a vast expanse of pitch black water, a constantly moving sheet of black glass that roared with with a furious joy, free of any limitation or weakness. Beyond it, they saw a rolling field of silvery grass and gray trees, undulating metallic plains that glimmered with light and beauty. It was breathtaking, though that may have just been the air being stolen out of their lungs as they plummeted towards the shore of the river. Right. That was happening. Maybe they should do something about that. 

Ok, ok, think, think, think. You were just able to open your eyes, it would be rather unfortunate if they closed permanently almost immediately after. They tried to reach for anything on them but they could barely move their arms, between the wind and the stiffness that their strange stasis had left them in. Ok, can’t reach for anything. Who even knows if I’d even have something useful...do I have anything? I can’t remember anything. There was nothing to be done apparently. It was their fate to awaken only to die. Felt like bullshit. Yet, apparently, it’s what they had been dealt. 

Or at least, they thought that was it. The world, it seemed, had something else in mind. They suddenly felt a sharp tug at their back, something yanking them upwards. They heard a beating of wings and suddenly they knew. Antares had come. They weren’t sure who Antares was or where they had come from, only that they were there. Their fall slowed and it no longer seemed that their story was already at its end. While they were still going quickly, it no longer felt lethal, and soon enough they found themselves impacting on the ground, lying flat and surprisingly unsplattered. The shore was rough, like ground up glass, scratching and crunching against their skin, not entirely awful, but certainly not pleasant either. Turning around and looking up at the sky they saw Antares.

He was an owl, almost pure white with dark black eyes. Exceedingly large, larger than they thought an owl really should be, his wings reached out nearly two feet on both sides, with his body built just as large. Yet, it was not his size that distinguished Antares but the aura he had, an air of nobility and pride that few humanoids could even match. It was almost as if he was surrounded by a faint glow, a shimmering red and orange light, barely perceptible, yet always felt.

“So, you’re Antares then.” The sound of their voice was surprising. It hadn’t occurred to them that they hadn’t actually heard themselves speak. It was lighter than they thought it would be, with a slight musicality to it, like they were listening to a song no one else could hear. But then, this was them judging it. They supposed they couldn’t be totally unbiased. “But then, if you’re Antares, who am I?” Once again, they heard that word: Riyel

“Riyel...yes, that sounds about right. Riyel.” Antares cocked his head and it felt as if he was agreeing with them. Yes, you are Riyel, and I can’t imagine why this was confusing to begin with. “Well, fair enough then Antares. Let's take a look at myself then? I certainly hope I can recognize my own face if you can.” Crawling over to the edge of the water, Riyel looked in and beheld a face that certainly felt familiar. A long, aquiline nose that jutted ever so slightly outwards, a sharp, angled jaw, jet black skin that they could barely make out in the pale light, eyes that glowed silver, and pearly, iridescent hair that fell down past their shoulders. “I suppose that looks as it should. Then again, would I even know if it didn’t? I suppose not.” 

Looking down at themselves, they saw leather armor, boots, and a pair of rings on their fingers, the left hand platinum with a blue gemstone, the right gold with a red gemstone. On their belt hung a flute, made of a pale gray material, possibly wooden? “Well Antares. I don’t quite know where we are or why I look like this but uh...here we are. Shall we get moving?” The owl said nothing. Riyel faced the fields and began walking out into the silver grass, gazing up at the pitch black sky, with nothing but a pale moon for light.