Solo Star Child

[Ruvya]

73 FALL 518AV
On the Lakeshore

As the season of Fall descends upon Mizahar and as Syna relinquishes her station in the sky to Leth as light gives way to darkness, a wondrous sight befalls the land. In the night skies, throughout the season, a shower of lights can be seen in the sky.

　　　　 ruvya edged closer to the crater, crouched, so that she was hidden from whatever might have nested in it. The scent of freshly churned earth, crushed ferns and scoured fir mingled in a heady concoction that flooded her senses. Crickets and owls filled the stillness of the night with their comforting cadence, letting the drykas know that predators, at least, weren't a-prowl in the vicinity.

　　　　The crater was big—broad as she was tall, and deep enough that if she stepped down into it, she thought it might reach her mid-thigh, even at her height. Though she listened to the owls hoot and the crickets sing, and even in the knowledge that she was nowhere near the grasslands she once called home, the drykas couldn't help but have fears of glass-beaks creep up her spine and put her on edge. The crater reminded her of a birds nest—who knew if those feathered beasts roamed this far north. The archer, novice she may be, was glad to have her short-bow in her hands, an arrow already nocked and ready.

　　　　Don't be silly, glass-beaks didn't live this far north. What, then, had made this nest? Inch-by-inch, she nudged closer, staying low, and rolling her booted feet heel to toe to cushion any rustle her presence might make. Her breaths came ragged, yet hushed, while sweat licked at her back despite the cool Fall night air. Every sinew of her being was taut and quivering, her bow raised and pulled in trembling fingers, ready to fight whatever it was that had scarred Semele so.

　　　　As the drykas crested the edge of the crater, her wild imagination was settled—it was a rock. A meteor rock.

　　　　The drykas felt all of the tightness of her limbs unravel all at once and she let out a groan, half in exasperation, half in relief. Phew! No deadly poisonous serpents, or monstrous birds of prey, or terrifyingly gigantic carnivorous forest wyrms! She let her arrow slack and her grip loosen on the arrow and the string. The night air cooled her nerves and sunk into her lungs as she took a few steadying deep breaths.

　　　　Where her fear waned, laughter ebbed in. Embarassment curved her shoulders, and the drykas glanced around self-consciously. Luckily only the owls were awake to bear witness.

　　　　Gathering herself, Ruvya couldn't shake the anxious excitment that still rippled in her limbs as she returned a dark and curious gaze to the unusual stone. The drykas hunkered down and studied it. It was a silvery colour, shimmering gently like a roughly hewn pearl. The archer's inked brows furrowed lightly then. The way the stone glowed softly silver, as if a firelight was lit within, gave the drykas an odd sense of déjà vu.

　　　　When Ruvya glanced up, past the gently rustling trees, to the inky blanket of the night, she saw the stars, which, usually so still and sentinel save for their soft twinkle, had become nomads. They glided across the heavens, they left trails of silver dust in their streaking paths. Such had been the image of the night-sky all season. Ruvya felt as if the whole woods had gone quiet as she contemplated the stone. She didn't know why she wanted to. Something was drawing her to it—some unbidden urge deeper than mere fancy. There was a hum in the air about the crater, an imperceptible tremble in her bones. The drykas wasn't sure if it was just her imagination—she swore that thrumming in the air was emanating from the stone itself.

　　　　Before she could reign in her urges, the drykas had lowered herself three-feet down into the crater, she left her bow on the scarred edge, and was crouched, almost crawling, towards the strange, twinkling rock. The closer she inched, a flicker of excitement flurried in her chest, making her grin like a bobcat. The stone shimmered invitingly, reflected in her eyes, as she reached out tentative fingertips and brushed the rough surface, when the drykas was tangled up in a sudden, intense surge of nostalgia...
　
　

:: 673

[Ruvya]

13 years ago...

　　　　" what are they?" A small girl with sleek hair and deep eyes breathed as she gazed into the vast and inky night sky above the cluster of pavilion tents and campfires.
"Mh?" Came the grunt of Father, who was scraping leather in his folded lap by the Nighthoof hearth. When he peered out from under a deep brow to glimpse the falling stars streaking across the night sky, he paused a moment and sighed. Ruvya looked at her father and saw a smile had snuck into his stern features. It made his dark eyes twinkle and Ruvya smiled at that.
"They are falling stars." Her father said, and Ruvya wondered at the wistful tinge his voice held.
"Oh." She marvelled, and after a thought, "What do they mean?" For there was always a meaning—a purpose, a story, a message—to everything in the great Sea of Grass, she'd learned anytime she asked Father a question about anything. Something that would help her remember how to survive—thrive—amid the wilderness they roamed.
"Well..." Her father seemed pleased by her question, so much so he even laid down his hides to crouch down with her on the edge of the firelight and look up. "I don't know, daughter." His hands waved something—in grass-sign—but Ruvya wasn't paying attention. Her gaze traced the glistening pathway of one star as it speared across the blackness.
"They are so pretty." She murmured, delighted.
Father chuckled. "I suppose they should be beautiful, they come from Zintila's cloak."
Ruvya, startled lightly, shook her hands excitedly for Father to speak more, her little heart fluttering at the chance of a bed-time tale. Father's eyes creased as his smile deepened and he scooped her up in his lap and settled himself comfortably in the dry dirt with his arms wrapped around her.
"Zintila is the goddess of Stars. She once lived on top of the highest peak, among the clouds with Makutsi, Goddess of rain, and Zulrav, Our father of Wind."
Ruvya's little hands clasped her father's forearms while her fingers played idly with his thick arm hair as she listened in hushed excitement. Her brow furrowed lightly as she commited these gods to memory—Zintila, Goddess of stars, Makutsi, Goddess of rain, Zulrav, God of Storms.
"They lived happily in the sky, until Ivak The World Destroyer shook the Heavens."
Ruvya gasped quietly, fearfully, "The Valterrian."
"Yes, daughter. The Valterrian Storm raged across the whole of Mizahar—the sky too—and Zintila fell."
"Oh no." Ruvya frowned sadly as she looked all around at the falling stars.
"Zintila gave her power to heal Semele from the deep wounds Ivak had wrought on her." Father sliced a finger across Ruvya's chest as if severing her with a dagger.
Ruvya squeaked.
"Zintila sacrificed her seat in the sky to save our Earth Mother."
"Semele." Ruvya queired, gaining a nod of approval. A tick of quiet passed between drykas ankal and his youngest daughter though the silence was filled with thought. Ruvya thought about Zintila having to leave her lovely pavilion in the sky, leaving Zulrav and Makutsi, and it made her feel sad for the goddess.
"Poor Zintila." She whimpered.
Father nuzzled her cheek with his own and Ruvya felt the soft brush of his long black hair, just like hers, and the squeeze of his arms around her. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside her chest, which eased her sadness. "I guess Zintila's stars must miss her terribly and that is why they fall too."

▿

　　　　 ruvya wanted to draw her fingertips back from the stone but she couldn't. The drykas smiled softly as she remembered the things her father had told her when she was small. "I wonder if you are a fallen star? A gift, from Zintila? Maybe you will bring me good luck..."

　　　　With that excited thought, the nineteen year old grasped the stone with both hands. Its surface felt rough and uneven, and cool to touch. When she lifted it, it was surprisingly light. The stone glowed with a soft, shimmering light, like Leth's light reflected in a rippling pool. A glow that filled the drykas' gaze and illuminated her copper skin as she drew it up to her face. A strange, consuming feeling of harmony and timelessness filled her suddenly and the drykas found she could not break her gaze with the stone. Somewhere in the back of her mind flickered a spark of panic. Put the star down! It whispered urgently, but the drykas couldn't, she was transfixed.

　　　　A chime later, the feelings of harmony ebbed, the night air gushed in and woke her from the trance. Ruvya sucked in a breath, startled. The stone let her go and it rolled onto the dirt with a soft thud. The drykas staggered back, falling onto her bum. Her heart raced and she felt wobbly and disorientated. "What was that?!" She gasped.

　　　　When her senses slowly regained themselves, the drykas realised with a cry that her clothes were suddenly many sizes too large for her! "What the-!" Ruvya hissed, clambering clumsily to her feet, which clunked around in her now very roomy boots. Her trousers nearly fell down and she hastily grasped at them to keep them up. Her linen blouse drowned her, the sleeves spilling over her hands, which, by-the-by, looked different. The drykas couldn't tell how. her tattoos were still etched into her skin, but they looked different, somehow.

　　　　The drykas' eyes widened as she was looking down, she noticed suddenly something else looked changed too. Her breasts! Her linen breast wrap was loose, sliding down to her waist without the ample flesh to keep it up. The drykas' heart was pounding, her mouth agape, dark eyes widening into little black moons as sharp realisation struck her cold with panic.

　　　　I'm a child!!?

　　　　She　s c r e a m e d.
　

:: 981

[Ruvya]

Observation +2
Stealth +1
Investigation +1
Philosophy +1

Stealth: Roll your feet from heel to toe
Cyphrus Fauna: Glassbeaks
Father: Full of stories & wisdom
Zintila: Goddess of the Stars
Makutsi: Goddess of water
The tale of The Valtarrian Storm
Ivak: The World Destroyer
Zintila's fall
Semele: Mother earth
Ruvya is turned into a child by meteorite!