3rd Vhalar, 721
Location: Home
Once upon a time. That is often a good opening to a children's story. she mused as she wrote.
The words seemed to flow out of her head, and onto the page freely. And before long, she was lost in them. In her mind's eye, she could clearly see the world that she was creating within the pages of her story come to life all around her. The stars were peaceful beings. They were an ancient people who had learned that avoiding conflict was the best thing for them. They were an intellectual people. They loved a good debate, but they never fought among themselves. And they did not wish to get involved in the battles and the discord of the people living below them on Idalos. So they observed. They recorded what they saw in countless books. But they did not allow themselves to interfere. They did not get involved.
But Riku was different. She was young, and like many young creatures, she was very curious. She wanted to know more about Idalos and the peoples who lived there. Riku also wanted to help the people that she saw struggling below her each night. She wanted to bring hope to them, and to do that, she needed to get involved.
So when she saw that all of her elders were caught up in an intense debate over past events, she took the opportunity to sneak away. Riku fell to Idalos and took the form of one of the peoples who lived there so that she could walk among them without being seen as different. She chose the form of a creature called a human since they seemed to be the most common in the place where she found herself.
Riku was noticed though. She had never been to Idalos before. She knew nothing of the ways of the people who lived there aside from what she could observe from high above. Fortunately, she met a young girl who looked to be about the same age that she was shortly after she landed in Idalos. The girl was standing beneath a tree crying. When Riku asked what was wrong, the girl told her that her cat was stuck in the tree. Riku looked up and saw the cat. She was excited because this was the first chance she had to help the people of Idalos. She quickly floated up to the branch where the cat was stuck, and gently picked it up. Then she floated back down, and offered the cat to the girl.
At first, the girl just stared at her with wide eyes. Riku realized that she had done something wrong, and when she asked, the girl told her that she had never seen anyone float up into the air like that before. Not wanting to be seen as different from the people she was trying to help, she asked the girl not to tell anyone. After a while, the girl agreed. Sharing secrets is often a way to make friends, and so Riku and the girl, who introduced herself as Serin became friends.
Rei'sari paused and reread everything she had just written. She made a few corrections here and there, but she was mostly pleased with the story so far. Once she had made the corrections that were needed, she went back to her writing. But this time, she did not allow herself to become quite as absorbed in the story as she had been before.
When she came to the end of the story, she reread everything she had wrote and made some more corrections. Then she set the story aside and got some more blank paper so that she could copy the story. Rei'sari loved the idea of sharing the worlds she created within her stories with anyone who wanted to read them, but she also wanted a copy of them for herself. That way she could read them whenever she wanted to. Sometimes that would be just for the sake of being able to read something that she had written. But there was another reason as well. Some of the stories she wanted to write would be series of books. By having copies of all of the stories that came before, she wouldn't run the risk of writing a story that didn't make any sense within the world that she had created.
Once she was finished making a copy of her story, Rei'sari set them both aside. She wanted to find a place where she could get both of them bound. So far she hadn't found a place in Egilrun that bound books, but that didn't mean that there wasn't one. Perhaps she could ask around and see what she could learn. And if there wasn't a place here in Egilrun that would serve her needs, perhaps someone would know of a place that would. For now though, she needed a break. She would eat a quick meal and treat herself to a glass of fruit juice before going out to look for a place where she could get her stories bound.
A Star's Journey
Once upon a time there was a star named Riku. She lived with all of the other stars high up above Idalos. Living in the sky as they did, the stars saw many things that happened in the world below them. And they took it upon themselves to observe the world below them and record everything that happened. But they had learned much from their own history. They were a peaceful people who wanted nothing to do with conflict or war. So even though they observed and recorded the history of the world below them, they never got involved.
Riku wasn't like all of the other stars. She was a young star, and like most children, she was very curious. She was happy living with the other stars, but she wasn't content just to observe as they were. Riku wanted to know more about the strange and fascinating beings that lived in the world below her. When they were happy, she celebrated with them. When they were angry, she wished that she could share the peace that she knew with them. And when they were sad or afraid, she wanted to help them.
One trial when the older stars were all busy talking about one of the events they had seen in the world below them, Riku sneaked away and fell to Idalos. She looked around and saw many different creatures. Some walked on two legs while others walked on four. Still others had wings and could fly through the sky. After a while, she noticed that the beings that called themselves humans were the most common in the area she found herself in. So she took the form of a human in the hopes of blending in and being seen as one of them.
So when she saw that all of her elders were caught up in an intense debate over past events, she took the opportunity to sneak away. Riku fell to Idalos and took the form of one of the peoples who lived there so that she could walk among them without being seen as different. She chose the form of a creature called a human since they seemed to be the most common in the place where she found herself.
Unfortunately, Riku was noticed despite her efforts to blend in. She had never been to Idalos before so she knew nothing of the ways of the people who lived there aside from what she could observe from high above. She didn't know the rules that they lived by or how to act like a human. Fortunately, she met a young girl who looked to be about the same age that she was shortly after she landed in Idalos. The girl was standing beneath a tree crying. When Riku asked what was wrong, the girl told her that her cat was stuck in the tree. Riku looked up and saw the cat. She was excited because this was the first chance she had to help the people of Idalos. She quickly floated up to the branch where the cat was stuck, and gently picked it up. Then she floated back down, and offered the cat to the girl.
At first, the girl just stared at her with wide eyes. Riku realized that she had done something wrong, and when she asked, the girl told her that she had never seen anyone float up into the air like that before. Not wanting to be seen as different from the people she was trying to help, she asked the girl not to tell anyone. After a while, the girl agreed. Sharing secrets is often a way to make friends, and so Riku and the girl, who introduced herself as Serin became friends.
Serin brought Riku home with her to meet her family. Her parents owned a bookstore that had a cafe in it. The shop was a very popular location in the town that Serin lived in because the food and beverages offered at the cafe were among the best that the town had to offer, and the shop itself had a warm, inviting environment that drew people in easily. There was a wide variety of books available; both stories, and non fiction books. And Serin's parents had a system where people could bring in books that they no longer wanted and get credit towards buying a new book. The people who worked at the bookstore knew everything there was to know about the books that they sold, so they were able to help their customers find exactly what they were looking for.
Riku fell in love with the shop immediately. It reminded her of home in some ways because of all of the information that could be found within the pages of the books that were for sale. But unlike the other stars, there were books about far more things than just history. Riku thought that she could spend an eon or two just reading all of the books found in the shop that Serin's family owned.
When Serin and her family learned that Riku had no place to stay, they insisted that she live with them. Their kindness touched Riku, and she quickly came to see them as family every bit as much as the older stars were to her. Riku learned a lot about the world she found herself in, and the peoples that lived there from Serin and her family. And she wanted to share what she had learned with the other stars when she eventually went home.
Most of the people that came to the bookstore were nice, friendly people. But there was one who never seemed to have anything nice to say. He came to the shop quite often, but he always complained about it. Sometimes he claimed that he couldn't find what he needed. Other times, he insisted that one of the staff had insulted him. Still others, he said that the food was horrible. Riku couldn't understand why the man kept coming back if he hated the shop as much as he seemed to. She asked Serin if she could explain it, but Serin didn't know either. Riku decided to keep an eye on the man whenever she could.
One trial, as Riku was watching the strange man, Riku saw him browsing the books on one of the shelves in the back corner of the shop. After a while, he looked around to see if anyone was around. Riku quickly use one of her abilities to blend into the background so that he wouldn't see her. Once the man believed that no one was watching him, he took one of the books off of the shelf and put it in his bag. Then he looked around once more before leaving the store.
Riku was confused by what she had just seen. Since coming to live with Serin and her family, she had learned that when people wanted to buy a book, they took it to the front desk and gave the clerk money for it; either coins, or a credit chip they had earned by bringing a book to the shop to trade. It was one of many strange customs she had learned about since coming to Idalos. Back home, none of the stars had any use for money, but it seemed to be very important to the people of Idalos, so Riku told Serin and her parents what she had seen later that night when they all sat down to eat their evening meal.
Serin and her family were very upset at what Riku told them. They explained that taking something that didn't belong to you without paying for it was called stealing, and it was a very bad thing to do. Riku wanted to help her friends, so she promised herself that she would watch for the man even more than she had been before, and if she ever caught him stealing again, she would stop him.
Several trials later, Riku did see the man come into the book shop, and she quickly ran to get her friend and tell her that he was there. Serin and Riku found a place to hide and watched him very carefully. When they saw the man steal another book, Serin ran to get her parents while Riku ran to stop the man from leaving.
She told him that she saw him put a book in the bag, and when he denied it, she insisted that she had seen him do it. Riku asked the man to either put the book back or go pay for it, but he kept insisting that he didn't take any books. Other customers heard them and turned to see what was going on. Some of them simply watched, but some moved to help Riku stop the man from leaving.
Serin and her parents came running, and when they searched the man's bag, they found the book that he had tried to steal. Someone went to get the Elements, and Serin told Riku that the Elements were the people who protected the people from bad people like thieves. The Elements arrived quickly, and arrested the man who had tried to take the book. Someone told them that Riku had been the one to see him do it, and they thanked her for trying to help. Riku told them that Serin had seen him too and that she had helped by getting her parents. The Elements thanked Serin too, and told them that they had done the right thing by getting help rather than trying to take the book back themselves. Then they took the bad man away.
Serin's parents hugged the two young girls and thanked them for stopping the thief. They were so happy that the thief had been caught that they promised Riku and Serin a special treat the next time that they went to the market. Riku was happy about the treat, but she was even happier about the fact that she had helped her friends.
