The Hundred Year Star was shining brightly tonight, its golden hue shining through all of Anok. Now it was the final moment, when the black foal was supposed to inherit the starfire. The problem was… there was no black foal. None had been born last year, dead or alive. Some theorized that the Hundred Year Star would simply explode. Others claimed that after Star had died, all the starfire had gone with him. But the truth was more complicated than that…
A loud bang split through the herds, echoing through the valleys and peaks. The yearlings cowered behind their dams, even though they were grown. The Hundred Year Star was gone, or so it seemed.
In the middle of the Vein, in a spot between Snow, Mountain, and Sun Herd, a small vortex was forming in the sky. It grew larger and larger, color filling inside of it. Another world, with so many different periods in history. The vortex stabilized, becoming a portal. And from that portal strangers would come…
(Paragraphs courtesy of @Morningmist )
Cover courtesy of @Embermoon !
(Hey guys! Part 2 is up!
Leroy: He sized up the room. After Aiden was sated, who would eat next?
Uriah: He grimaced. "Yeah. I haven't eaten anything since I got here." he muttered cagily. Was Forest going to offer something? Could he even accept it, if he was? Sharing food meant sharing communion.
forets: "any way are you hungry?"
Aiden:
He nodded his head in thanks and took a small sip of it, feeling the warm broth hit his stomach.
Simona:
She handed the bowl to Aiden first, if being cool enough to sip from now.
Leroy: He realized the very obvious problem that there was only one bowl and no spoons. "Pass it around, then?"
Aiden:
He didn't want to be a burden or have them pity him so he kept a brave face. The only one he felt semi comfortable talking to about it was Leroy. He felt that on some level, he understood, and he trusted him to tell him the full and honest truth, even if it was going to hurt.
Leroy: He felt awkward; a little song wouldn't make death feel better. He didn't want Aiden to think it would. "We should eat, then."
Aiden:
He smiled at them in a sort of thanks. "I would like that very much."
Victoria:
She glanced at Leroy and nodded. "Ya. I can do that."
Uriah: "Yeah." he murmured, looking at Forest. He was handsome and masculine, there was no external signs that he was gay.
Leroy: He frowned. Soldiers did not have such entertaining, pleasing talents. That was the women's sphere. But he would do his best.
(Both characters have antiquated notions of homosexuality and femininity.)
Simona:
She bit her lip. She hadn’t known that Aiden was going to die. She took the bowl off the fire and let it cool a bit. “Then we should make use of the time you have left. We can have a feast of our delectable soup, I could perform one of the ensemble dances…maybe Victoria could recite a few poems?”
Aiden;
He looked at him. "Leroy. It's fine. I can take it. I just know that there is nothing I can do to stop it. There is no medical help here to even hope to correct it and we are stranded in less than comfortable conditions. There are things I wanted to do that I'll never get to...but it's ok. I'll be ok."
Forest:
"yes i know. and i understand but that's just me"
Uriah: "I'm not like that. I can't trust people so different from me hours after I first met them." He tapped the dark skin of his arm. "That could get me killed."
And yet he was already acting as if he trusted Forest by opening up to him in this way.
Leroy: He gasped gently. "Oh, Aiden, I did not mean it like that..." He was not sure what to say anymore. The man, boy really, needed comforting that Leroy could not give. There was no comfort that was not a lie. No chances of survival, no heavenly kingdom above, certainly no deeper meaning to a enlisted man's life.
Aiden;
"True." he looked at his legs. "But it doesn't mean it doesn't suck when it's going to kill you."
forest:
"i know when i can trust people, and i can trust you."
Uriah: He smiled and looked down, running a hand through his dark hair. "I don't really understand that... all I've done is run away from you. You literally come from centuries before me and you live as a man who is constantly villainized."
Leroy: He felt a brief flash of disgust, but didn't say anything. How selfish, to exaggerate injury for pity... Some men died from spinal injuries, like Aiden would be soon here!
"Well, a wound is a wound when sustained defending one's country." he said after a pause.
Aiden:
"Well...He say's it's the waist down, but I think it is more like one leg, or part of both. he can still go to the bathroom and move around a bit even without a wheelchair. I think he does it to say he got some big battle wound, because he doesn't use the chair as much behind closed doors as he does with his buddies, unless he is trying to get out of work."
Forest:
'thank you, and i want to tell you that i trust you even if you don't trust me"
Leroy: "Surely not from the waist down?" he asked. Perhaps there had been medical advances in the century after his time, but he doubted that they were that advanced.