The path of destruction they followed became increasingly clear over the past week. The soldiers of Obsidius left little behind. Scorched villages, hungry families, and rotting bodies were all signs they had passed through. It all began to make sense why they could stay so far ahead. As Asahi had told him a few days ago, “A fast-moving army isn’t held back by their supply chains they make do with the land ahead of them.”

Today, they had found themselves passing through another village that had witnessed the effects of the Obsidius marauding firsthand. Rubble littered both sides of the main road, bisecting the village. It seemed as if one in three houses had collapsed from sporadic burning. The burning had no apparent pattern, and even if there was some method, Hirow was sure it wouldn’t be pleasant to find out. Men, women, and children dug through the charred planks of wood. A group of men had gathered around a larger house and hoisted large support beams off of the wreckage.

A boy not much younger than Hirow, with sunken eyes and a slouched back, crossed the street leading a pair of cattle. He gripped onto a harness around both the animal’s snouts and held on as if they would be stolen any second. The morning sun highlighted the ash and dust still in the air. A woman coughed as she threw aside debris. Similar sounds echoed through the village as Hirow kept his head down. It was all too similar to Celestate. Even though he never saw the entire aftermath, he could imagine it painfully clear.

Asahi gazed at the desolation with a fury in his eyes. Talia had pulled her hood nearly over her entire face. You can’t do anything for them, Hirow chided himself. Whether he was talking about the people here, in Celestate, or just Asahi and Talia, he didn’t know. He made sure his footsteps were quiet as they trekked down the road. There was no need to attract any attention. They would leave this place behind soon.

“Young man,” an aged and rough voice called. Hirow, let the voice slip into the background until it called again.

He glanced up and saw an old man hobbling towards them. He wore a loose shirt and brown pants that were beginning to fray at the edges. He smiled in a jovial fashion and leaned on a cane in his right hand. “I don’t want to be much of a bother, but may I have your assistance?” Before Hirow could respond, the man pointed to the remains of a house behind him. “My belongings, they’re buried underneath what's left of my home, and I’ve had trouble getting them out myself.” He placed a hand on Hirow's shoulder. “You see, my old bones aren’t what they used to be. So what say you? Will you and your companions lend me a hand?”

The request seemed so earnest that Hirow couldn’t reason a way out of it before the words, “Of course we will,” slipped out of his mouth.

They made introductions as they walked over to the house. The old man introduced himself as Grim. As Asahi began to climb the rubble, he asked, “Anything in particular you're looking for.”

“There’s a blue quilt my late wife made. If you could, at the very least, find that I would be elated.” A smile wavered on his lips, and with an unsteady gait, he followed Asahi. He took a seat on a large beam that had fallen from the front face of the building.

Talia took wide strides toward the building. As she passed, Hirow could have sworn he saw a brief grin flash across her face. He accepted the words had already exited his mouth and went to help the pair. Asahi waved him over to lift one of the larger beams of the house. Hirow grunted under its weight. He liked to think of himself as relatively fit, but Asahi seemed to hold the beam like it had the weight of sheared wool. They threw it to the side, and it cracked against the hard dirt with a puff of dust. Talia meticulously picked through smaller pieces of wood and neatly laid them in a pile on the other side of the house. It wasn’t long before they began finding various items. A silver spoon there, a few beat-up pans here, and the back of a chair separated from the rest of itself.

All basic items but still no blue quilt. It was likely such an item burned up in the fire, but Hirow wanted to have faith they could find it. Scanning the debris, he looked for any sign of color out of the mass of black and gray. A faint blue light flickered near the center of the pile. Watching his step, Hirow proceeded towards the hint of color. As he got closer, he noticed something was truly glowing. He snapped charred pieces of wood from the structure and created a hole towards the light source. What was making the light was still unclear, but he reached down and grasped a smooth object. He pulled it up and gasped at what he held in his hands.

It looked exactly like the orb of light his parents had given him all those years ago. The orb he had lost two days before the Star Festival. Turquoise liquid swirled around and moved the soft light emanating from the orb with it. He carefully raised himself from the ruins, one knee at a time, and balanced the orb in both hands.

Nearly tripping several times, Hirow stumbled out of the pile of splintered wood. The old man glanced up as Hirow approached. “Do you know what this is,” Hirow asked as he held out the orb.

“I do,” Grim groaned as he held his knee in pain. “It’s something I should have thrown out years ago. You can keep it.” He pointed to the pile of things they had retrieved from his home. “Grab me those bandages, would you.”

The man still hadn’t answered his question, but Hirow obeyed his request. Rummaging through the pile, he pulled out folded bandages that were dirtied by ash. Talia leaned over the old man as he whispered something into her ear. After a moment, she went running off down the street.

Hirow tossed the bandages into Grim’s lap. “Where did you send her?”

“Bout time I replaced my wrappings, and you can’t do that with dirty ones.” He blew off a bit of ash from the cloth, yet it was still stained with gray. “So I sent her to draw some water and ask around for soap. That is unless you’ve found some among my possessions.”

“We have not,” he said slowly as he did a mental inventory of the items they had recovered. Hirow examined the man’s leg. “What happened to it? Your leg, I mean.”

The old man chuckled. “You’re a curious one, aren’t you? Haven’t even answered your first question, and you're already asking more.”He let out a deep sigh. “I suppose the questions are related.” He pointed to the orb in Hirow’s hands. “That orb is a gift from the Luminaries. It was a gift they hoped would sway me from my foolish ambitions.”

“So you’ve actually been in the Forest of Ori?” Hirow leaned in, his eyes widening in amazement.

“I never entered the forest, but I saw it with my own eyes. It is a rare sight for most people. I went there seeking information on artificial light.”

“I think I can guess how the rest of the story goes,” Hirow said, the disappointment apparent in his voice.

“You can?” Grim raised his eyebrow. “I take it you're familiar with artificial light.”

“I once knew a man like you. He was injured due to his father’s experiments with artificial light.” His last memory of Haddrung flashed through his mind, only to be marred with the image of the old man lying still on the floor of his hut. “His arm was just like your leg.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It seems curiosity continues to create unfortunate circumstances.” Grim leaned against his knees as if he was drained of energy.

Knowing the orb was associated with artificial light, Hirow felt the urge to throw it back into the rubble. Yet he paused once the old man spoke again. “That orb was not a cause of any of my woes. It was simply a gift. One that I was too naive to be satisfied with. What you hold in your hands is the essence of Ori.”

“One of the three titans,” Hirow exclaimed. “The luminaries gave you the essence of their titan?” It seemed impossible. Everything he read told him the Luminaries had cut themselves off from the world nearly 400 years ago.

“They share a part in the history of artificial light. In a way, they felt responsible when I came to them with my inquiries. I should have been satisfied with such a gracious gift.”

Hirow stared at the glowing glass ball in his hands. It was like a star plucked from the sky. How did my father obtain something like this, he wondered. The thought dissipated as Grim continued speaking.

“They did tell me one thing that gave me hope. Now that I think back, it was likely the reason I insisted on still pursuing my research. They told me artificial light was not always cursed. They used to be able to control it. Even harness it’s power.”

So many questions swirled through his head. Haddrung’s story was only the beginning. Could this artificial light perhaps unlock the mystery of the stars? The thought excited him as he remembered the night in the observatory. Why had he started this journey in the first place? He had seen a star disappear and had followed another. The stars had guided him from the beginning, and Talia was a manifestation of that. His goal for the future had become hidden behind so many obstacles that he had forgotten his original fascination. “Did they tell you anything else?”

Grim widened his eyes at Hirow’s enthusiasm. “They had a research center in the Cearn’tder Desert hundreds of years ago. They refused to tell me the exact location.” He chewed on his upper lip before adding. “Likely a good thing too. So don’t go looking for it. Never should have brought it up, to begin with.” Grim waved his hands to shoo Hirow away and grumbled another retort. “You haven’t found the quilt yet, so keep looking. The sun isn’t going to be up forever.”

Hirow slid the orb into his pocket as he went back to the charred remains. “The Cearn’tder Desert,” he muttered to himself in awe. That’s where we’ll go after the Kings’ Mountains. The image of his journey continued to form in his head as he dug through the various pieces of wood.

Footsteps pounded down the street as Talia tediously held a bucket of water by its handle. Her fingers were beginning to turn red from the bucket’s weight. She set it down with a thud and repeatedly grasped at the air to return circulation to her fingers.

Asahi passed by Hirow and chucked another item into the pile of Grim’s possessions. “I’m going to get some water.”

As Asahi left, Hirow moved to the opposite corner. Piece after piece of splintered wood and cracked stone were beginning to blend. Asahi, Talia, and Grim were engaged in a muffled conversation, but Hirow was too focused to listen in. He was ready to move on from this endeavor. For the first time in a while, he was excited to continue his journey.

A small tuft of blue yarn drifted off a gray board and into the afternoon wind. Hirow scrambled towards its last location. Timber cracked underneath him until he settled at the other edge of the house. He shoved a larger piece of wood out of the way and tossed a few slabs of stone to the side. The woven cloth was incredibly vibrant among the debris. Deep azure strands clung onto the sharp edges of the collapsed structure. Despite being damaged at the border, it was still whole.

Hirow pulled the blanket up, taking care to detach its many fibers from the surrounding wood. “I found it,” he exclaimed. As he raised the blanket, he began to notice a small group of people gathering in the streets.

Talia had her hood down and was sitting opposite Grim. She smiled as she washed the bandages in the bucket of water. Uneasy looks settled on her while she conversed with the old man. Whispers were starting to spread as Hirow stepped away from the rubble.

Hirow threw the blanket at Grim as he tapped Talia’s shoulder. “We should go,” he whispered. “Now.”

Grim took a moment to recompose himself as he realized what he held in his hands. “You found it,” he said in shock. He hugged the quilt tightly as he rolled it up in his arms. “Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

“You're welcome,” Hirow hurriedly spoke. He shot a sharp look at Asahi, who immediately understood the message. The words, Stellapuer, and white hair were beginning to circulate the crowd until they made it to Hirow ears’s. He yanked at Talia’s cloak. “Hood up. Now.”

Another whisper passed through the air. “That's what they were looking for. Someone like her.”

A young, dirty blond man approached them. He was decently built but certainly not the most intimidating among the crowd. “That girl,” he spoke smoothly. “She’s one of them Stellapuer.”

Talia dropped the rest of the bandages into the bucket as she yanked her hood up. She stood up, and Hirow pushed her behind him. “And what of it,” Hirow responded, trying to suppress his fear.

“Those soldiers yesterday said they were looking for people with white hair. And when we told them we hadn’t seen any, the truth, mind you, they got violent. It was real bad.” The young man took a step forward. “And if they come back and we tell’em the same thing it's not going to be good.” He reached out his hand as a nervous smile spread across his face. “People are real worried. So please give us the girl. We don’t want things to get violent.”

Hirow frowned as he saw more people gathering in the streets. His mind told him no, but he forced his fingers into a fist. Before he could think, he slammed his hand into the young man’s jaw. The blond boy stumbled across the dirt road until he fell from the impact.

Talia placed her hands over her mouth, and her eyes widened in shock. Asahi suppressed a laugh. Hirow was surprised the warrior even had a sense of humor. Asahi stepped up next to him and hovered his hand over the hilt at his waist. It seemed he was ready for a fight, but Hirow certainly was not. His knuckles stung, but excitement was still pulsing through his veins. Excited about what, he wondered. I just hit a man.

“Run!”

As soon as he spoke, he snatched his backpack and darted through the crowd. Asahi was a few steps ahead and barreled through the wall of people. With the force of his shoulder, Asahi lifted one man off his feet. Only once they left the crowd did Hirow look behind him. Upon seeing Talia still following, he breathed a sigh of relief.

They kept running until Hirow was sure no one was following. Even after that, he couldn’t stop his legs for a few more paces until he felt his lungs burning. Bent over and steadying himself on his knees, he gasped for air.

“Why,” Talia took in several more deep breaths before she could finally fit words in between each huff and puff. “Why did you do that?”

“Consider it an apology for what an idiot I’ve been.”

She stared at him breathlessly, wondering if those words had really come from him or if it was just hallucinations induced by the lack of air.

“What else do you want me to say?”

“Noth . . . Nothing,” she stammered. “That’s fine.”

“You really whacked him hard,” Asahi interrupted, as he grinned at his breathless companions. “Didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I didn’t think I did either.” Hirow’s breathing had begun to return to normal. He rubbed his knuckles and recoiled from the pain. He jerked his hand to his pocket and relaxed once he found a spherical lump. Pulling it out, he examined it for cracks.

“You didn’t steal that from him,” Talia recoiled in disbelief.

Hirow quickly corrected the accusation. “No, no. He said I could keep it.”

“What even is that.” Asahi reached for the orb, but Hirow quickly pulled it away.

“A gift from the Luminaries and likely our way into the Forest of Ori.”

He held the glowing ball of starlight above his head. This small trinket had finally helped him see past the present. The sunlight tried to washout the faint turquoise glow, but Hirow’s gaze remained fixed. Just like the stars above, this would be his compass to the future.