The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star

A week had gone by.

They had explained in detail what had happened, and as they told their tale, it was clear for the Elder man that he should be ashamed of his own importance in this journey. Many times had he told them that what they did was considered to be the work that the Elders should have done—it was what they were destined and bound to do.

He had sent out messages to the rest of the Elders, but there came no response. With the betrayal of Errai, he feared that others might have been compromised as well.

Garnet was walking in the Temple garden—one of his favorite pastimes. But his mind was troubled and clouded with worry. The intoxicating beauty of the flora around him did nothing to ease his mind. The additional information that kept occurring at random was too hard for him to embrace. He looked at the sky, and wondered when he had let himself rot away to this. His beautiful country was in danger, and his task was to prevent that darned thing.

Only the fact that he had acted correctly all those years ago helped him to keep going on.

“Sir, can I ask you a question?” a small female voice asked behind him as he stared at the night sky. He recognized the voice.

“Of course you can, Vega,” he said, his voice tired.

“Did you honestly believe that I was bad?” she asked. Garnet could sense that this had been bothering the dear girl for quite some time.

“When one is used to making decisions based on a different point of view, one wrong can taint the rest,” he explained, and continued to stare at the night sky.

“The sky is beautiful, sir,” Vega said and sat down on the stone bench. She padded the space beside her, for Garnet to sit.

“It is, it really is,” he agreed.

“Sir, we have been searching for so long now, do you have any idea where I can find the black holes now?” she asked, another issue that had been bothering her, but this one he knew. They had tried for hours each day and night to figure out where the black holes could be hiding.

“There is a large possibility that you will have to look towards the tales of Europa,” he answered. He had read the stars, and this continent was the only one that kept coming back. It was a shadowed message though, and they had yet to get a proper reading.

He stood up, “I bid you good night, dear. You should rest too. It won’t be long until you have a big journey and purpose to fulfill.”

Joshua walked down the stairs as Garnet reached the white stone.

“Evening, sir,” Joshua said politely and bowed his head.

“Good evening, Joshua,” he said and stopped. The boy stopped too. Garnet studied him and found his eyes glued to the girl sitting on the stone bench.

“Joshua,” he said and got the boys attention. Then he pointed towards the sky, “I’ve been researching these past nights and right up there—a star is missing.”

Joshua followed the direction of his hand.

“What star is missing, sir?” he asked.

Garnet sighed, and turned to leave.

“The stars name is Vega, boy,” he said in a low voice, but he knew the boy could hear.

When he reached the doors, he turned and looked back. On the stone bench, sat a boy and a girl, both of them with pertinent destinies, but for the time being, they sat together and enjoyed the stars. Just like normal teenagers should do.

With a sigh, Garnet wished upon the stars, to have mercy on the souls of the two of them. Already this early in their life, they had already done so much more than many others. When he saw the young people intertwine their fingers and together look to the phenomenal sky, he smiled a sad smile. A shooting star passed by, and Garnet’s heart was weighed down by guilt.

Solem, help us.