Rae couldn’t blame the ragged-looking goblin for shying away from her. From his perspective, she’d come out of nowhere following a blast of light that had annihilated a boar. His hands remained held defensively near his face as he looked back and forth in confusion. He had started a small fire in anticipation of the coming night, and a large cloth bag sat on the ground beside him. Of more interest was his leg injury, which looked recent.

She settled down on the ground–looming over someone rarely helped them relax–and spoke: “What’s your name, friend? Do you live around here? It doesn’t seem safe.”

He lowered his hands slowly and peered at her. No doubt, he’d never seen a person like her before.

“Dwin,” he finally said, “Who you?”

“Rafael, but you can call me Rae. I saw you were in danger and had to help.”

“You defeated the hellboar. Are you a god?”

“I’m a.. servant of heaven sent to make things better. That’s what I do: I fix things.” Technically, Rae was a god, but she’d never encountered an occasion where telling a mortal that directly was worthwhile. “Like your leg,” she gestured towards it, “would you like me to fix that?”

“Heal me?”

She nodded in the affirmative with an easy smile. Dwin seemed unsure, not disbelieving but not familiar with the idea.

“Please heal,” he finally said, shifting slightly to make his leg more available and grimacing in pain.

Rae leaned forward and let the Radiant flow from her core into his flesh. There was a ripple and she could see the misplaced bone pull back from the skin and realign itself. After a few seconds, it was healed, and she leaned back to give him space.

Dwin quickly removed the poorly-made splint and bandage around his leg and then stood, testing his weight on the limb and marveling at what had happened. Rae got a better look at him: the goblin’s skin was a light, ashy green, blending in with his environment. His clothing was handmade and slightly ill-fitting, patched over in half a dozen places, and his dark cloak was recently torn. While Rae had no others of his kind to compare him to, he looked thin and worn.

“It’s healed. It’s really healed,” Dwin repeated to himself in growing amazement. He tapped his foot on the ground and swung his leg back and forth. Rather than boots, the goblin had large, scaled feet with thick talons on the end.

“Thank you, servant of heaven,” Dwin said, remembering himself. He folded his hands before him and gave a low bow at the waist. “Are you here to bring me home?”

“Where is home? I still don’t know what happened to you.”

He blinked in surprise and then pointed toward the tower in the distance. “Santar. There were four of us scavenging for supplies when a sudden storm came upon us and our shelter collapsed. I was the only one to make it out of the rubble.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t arrive earlier,” Rae said, “but yes, I can take you home. Before I do so, I have a question about this area: is there a place nearby, a nest or a pit of sorts, that spews monsters?”

“Oh,” Dwin pointed to the east of their location, “do you mean the dungeon? Where they put the forsaken?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean. Who are the forsaken?” Rae stood and looked toward where he pointed. She didn’t see or sense anything unusual in that direction.

“Criminals. Those who violate the laws of Santar and the Chosen. They are sent there for penance.”

“And they… return?”

Dwin shook his head. “Never in my lifetime.”

That struck Rae as harsh. Cruel even. But it wasn’t her place to question the customs of mortals. “If you don’t mind, I need to carry you.”

A few minutes later Rae bounded through the air, crossing blocks one leap at a time with Dwin in her arms and Dwin clutching his bag. Despite their speed and the force of their landing, Dwin experienced only a faint breeze and Rae’s aura protected him. They crossed the roughly two-mile distance swiftly, and Rae put a breathless Dwin on the ground before the tower’s broken walls after less than three minutes.

“Goodness me,” Dwin said as she put him down. He tottered a bit on his feet and leaned on a large rock. “Forgiveness, my head spins. What a rush. That must be what it is to live as a bird! Did anyone see us? They’ll not believe me otherwise!”

He glanced over his shoulder and indeed four guards peered down at them from the top of the wall. It was a white, perfectly smooth stone structure that stood tall in the devastation around it. The entire massive tower looked whole and indifferent to the state of the world. Such a thing could only be the world of Makers. As Shal was an ancient world, this might have been one of their bases before the Sundering and the War in Heaven.

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Though the wall was strong, it was also broken in places. Someone, or something, had attacked it at points, leaving breaches that had never been repaired.

“We’re coming in!” Dwin called up with a cheerful wave. “I’ve brought a friend.”

The four guards peered down curiously. They wore no armor, only cloth garments that looked nicer than Dwins, but their helmet and spears were a finely molded, shiny black material. Someone had access to a Maker’s foundry.

Dwin grabbed Rae’s hand and brought her through a set of massive double doors left open. The outer courtyard of the tower was packed with ramshackle huts and goblins. People wove together rugs and baskets from grasses, others sat around cooking pots, and some tinkered with bits of metal.

The guards joined them as Dwin pulled her along. Nothing about the quartet seemed threatening or even disciplined; they were simply interested in having a visitor.

“I’m taking you to the temple,” Dwin said, apparently remembering that she was a stranger here. “He’ll want to speak with you.”

“Lead on,” Rae replied. “Why do you live out here and not in the tower? Have monsters made a liar in it?”

“Um… no, no. The tower isn’t for the unclean.”

Unclean?

“Nald, come quick,” Dwin said as he waved over a younger fellow. “Come look at the star that fell from the sky. It saved me from a hellboar!”

She was a fallen star now? From Dwin’s perspective, there would have been a blast of light and then Rae would simply be standing there. And ‘heaven’ was often a synonym for ‘sky’ among mortals. It made sense.

The boy who scurried over wasn’t a goblin but a small, red-skinned lizardfolk with a stub of a tail. His ungainly movements suggested he was still a child. He went straight for her and touched the silk of her paints, smearing dirt on them. A fair number of eyes had turned Rae’s direction by now, but there was a wariness in every gaze. The unknown was a source of fear, not wonder, on Shal. Except if you were a child.

“Hello, friend,” she said, offering her hand to the boy.

He grabbed it, tugging at her fingers. “Star?”

“That’s me.” It was close enough that she wasn’t lying. “What a strong grip you have.”

People eased closer to her in groups of two or three, made slightly less fearful at her not devouring a small child, no doubt. Mostly goblins, a handful of lizardfolk, and some rodent-looking people–not one tall enough to reach her shoulder. All looked malnourished and many suffered from injuries but none looked to have Infernal taint or signs of parasitism. Something must protect them.

“Where do you get your food?” she asked Dwin.

“We have gardens. And the people of the tower give us bread sometimes,” Dwin said, “but it’s not enough.”

“I’d like to see your gardens.”

“What about the temple?”

Rae had less interest in the temple. It could be a source of information but holy men tended to be elaborate and ritualistic in their customs.

“Who’s in charge here?” she asked.

Dwin hesitated, unsure of how to answer. “We obey the warriors of the tower in all things. For the courtyard, there is the prophet and the elders.”

It sounded complicated. Rae understood that ‘Who is the boss?’ could be a complicated question.

“Lead on to the temple,” she said. Better to placate the powers that be before she started investigating matters.

A small train of curious folk had joined the four guards and followed behind them. Nald had run off to join his mother. The temple was easy to spot as it was a large building that might fit a hundred people. Unlike the tower, it wasn’t made of sky-cobalt, and its design was a simple rectangle with a dome atop it. Rae had to bow her head to enter.

The interior was lit by candles and smelled of old incense. Those inside were covered from head to toe in simple green robes with only their eyes peering out. Some had red felt hats in the shape of circles and crescents with golden tassels hanging from the edges.

“A star fell from the sky,” Dwin enthusiastically explained to a robed figure. “She struck down a hellboar, healed my injury, and leaps further than a stone is thrown. I’ve come to bring her to the prophet!”

Rae shifted on her feet and sat down on a small, cloth-covered bench. It was made for a smaller body than hers and she had to be careful as she settled down. Wouldn’t want to break it and make a poor impression. After a few hushed back and forth between the robed figures, one with a red felt circle on their hat shuffled toward her. Rae thought it must be hot in those robes.

“This one greets the star-maiden,” the robed figure, a woman, said with a bow. “Brother Dwin tells me you helped him out in the wastes.”

“It’s kind of what I do,” Rae said in what she hoped was a modest tone. It was important to be on your best behavior around these religious types. Wouldn’t want to make the Celestial Hierarchy look uncouth.

“It is your wish to speak to Prophet Araadin?”

“If he’s unoccupied. I am sure that he’s busy with his priestly duties.”

The devotee bowed again. “Forgiveness, star-maiden, but Prophet Araadin has disappeared. We cannot summon him for you.”

“Ah, that’s fine. Not a problem,” Rae rose to her feet. “I had planned on examining your grounds and garden, would you permit that?”

“I…?” the robed woman sounded surprised at the question. “Of course, star-maiden. Whatever you wish. I had hoped… Do you happen to know where Prophet Araadin is?”

“I do not.”

“Has he fallen outside of the eye of heaven?” she asked, fearfully.

Rae suppressed a sigh. She had so much that needed doing and explaining how the heavens worked was not on her list.

“My name is Rafael,” she replied. “Heaven has seen the devastation of your world and sent me to correct matters. It will take time but I will try to make whole what had been broken here. To cleanse it of the infestation and raise you out of the Hadean realm. I am not here for mortal concerns or menial tasks. Now, if the Prophet is not available, I’ll take my leave of you.”

The robbed woman bowed again. “Forgive me, star-maiden, I did not wish to be a bother. We are so grateful for bringing Dwin back to us and for any help you might give.”

“Good day then,” Rae said and then exited. Dwin followed after her, a concerned look on his face. “Take me to the gardens.”