Caerae Starsong always looked to the skies to study the stars. Her knowledge of constellations and heavenly bodies couldn’t be matched. Her room, filled with books of her drawings and mapping, was her sanctuary. Her huge bay windows and balcony allowed her clear view of the night skies. It was here she saw something curious. Three falling stars, seemingly the same, but she noted each one had a different color of glow. One pink, one blue and the largest one, purple. This sight was exciting, but it also reminded her of a couple of visions she’d had before this moment. Similar in how everything played out, but always three falling stars.
Scrambling for her notebook, she began to note the direction and the important details so she could save every piece of this for future reference. She had become adept at not having to look at the page as she noted everything she saw. Caerae couldn't risk missing even the smallest detail. As she scribbled furiously, her eyes widened in shock as the comets fell within a distance she knew she could reach. Caerae had even felt a small tremble in the ground from their impact and this sparked a thought.
I could go investigate.
Snagging her satchel and shoving her book in, she called for her owl Celeste, and headed out in the direction she saw the stars fall.
With Celeste’s help, it didn’t take long to find the the falling stars, but it would have been hard to miss. The rocks were huge. So huge, she wondered how most of it didn’t burn away in entry, but also that it didn’t leave a larger crater of destruction. There were skid marks in the ground of all three and they rested in a crescent not far from each other.
Without thinking about it Caerae had grabbed her book and had started sketching. She wasn’t known for her art like she was her singing, but she was able to get the idea of it. She had a friend that she liked to go to to help her out with painting things she saw and she was definitely going to pay her generously to paint this.
As the young elf walked around the rock structures, she noted cracks that seemed to show geode like crystals underneath, and each one still glowed with pink, blue and purple pulses. Curiously, Caerae touched her fingertips to one of the seams of the blue glowing rock and an energy filled her body. Before she could react, she found herself somewhere else.
Opening her blue eyes, Caerae only saw darkness. The more she looked, the more pinpoints of light started to get brighter and brighter. Soon the darkness was filled with stars and she was surrounded by a magical, beautiful palace made of clouds, rock and crystals. Looking around in wonder, Caerae didn’t know where she was, but something in her mind whispered:
“Not where….when.”
Her breath caught in her throat as she noted beings, odd beings, that seemed to hold no real form but definitely moved like they were alive. They had all gathered on the edges of the giant cloud castle. Suddenly they were all still like statues and Caerae wondered if she was going crazy, and in her musings, the sudden explosion scared her into visibly jumping and gasping in horror.
It was gone in mere seconds, leaving a cloud and debris behind while the pieces of castle shot off in several directions. Her heart hurt for the destruction of such a beautiful and glorious structure and people, but something caught her eye. In the debris being flung towards her, were three familiar rocks leading the pack of other debris. Blue, Pink and Purple. She focused in on them and saw the other rocks in that pack fall to other planets, or continue on in other directions, probably to find a landing place of their own.
Then, her world loomed in front of her and these three stars began to descend.
Realization hit her, and tears brimmed in her eyes. They had been stranded and found a new home. Images flitted through her mind and Caerae noted they all had a blue tint to them. They were gentle but full of emotions. The elf soon realized that this was one of those beings within this rock and they were communicating with her.
Right as the thought occurred to her, a figure swirled into form before the elf. It had started as a glowing gas with small stars forming and soon a full elven figure looked back at her. Caerae noted that they were alike in a lot of ways, but another stray thought spoke to her.
“Learned it from watching you.”
Ah, so the being had taken Caerae’s form and used it as a basis for their own.
The blue figure nodded. Caerae walked closer, her hand outstretched. She was enthralled by the figures hair. It flowed and billowed full of stars. The elf was absolutely mesmerized and could have cried with happy tears as the figure bowed their head, eyes closed, allowing the elf to touch the mane of stars.
An energy like nothing she’d ever felt jolted through her body. The energy coursing through her made Caerae truly feel alive. Her heart fluttered with love, and light coursed through her whole being. The tears that had brimmed before, now fell freely down her blue cheeks. This was happiness to her and this being, this Goddess incarnate, had blessed her.
The beings starfield eyes met Caerae's and a small smile tugged at her dark blue lips. The pools of blue reflected nothing but love and it was through all of these thoughts the woman finally spoke.
“Because of your old soul I am able to communicate with you. Your mind has allowed me to learn your language and your world. Thank you for being so welcoming to me and mine.”
The question barely filled her mind before the blue woman spoke again.
“I am Laurial. With me are my brother and other sibling, Jorvus and Craiven.”
As Laurial's soft spoken words filled the space, her hands went out to the left and right as she said each name. To the left was the pink star, or Jorvus. To the right was the purple one, Craiven.
“We represent many things, but are not defined by any one thing. We are a balance. Good, chaos, and that which can not be named. Some might say I represent that which is Good, or love. Jorvus is Chaos in all of its forms, trickster to some, and Craiven is non-binary. Craiven is judgement. They can take any form. Myself and Jorvus, however must be sealed to one form to anchor our powers or we run the risk of burning out of existence.
Nodding her head to Caerae, Laurial whispered.
“Thank you for showing me your world so that I might pick mine.”
Lifting her head, Laurial tilted it, her hair swaying with the movement.
“Though I can read your mind, I do not know what your words might be until you say them. Is there anything you wish to speak?”
Honestly, Caerae was literally starstruck as every wish she’d ever made was currently coming true, but now that the words had sunk in, Caerae knew what she needed to say.
“As grateful as I am of your presence and allowing me this beautiful experience, if you are to make a home here, one thing you must know is that entering one's mind without consent will not gain you any favors. I would happily allow you whatever access you want, you need but ask.”
The blue Goddess was hauntingly still and Caerae suddenly regretted speaking. A cold fear crept through her body, and it was this intense reaction that made the Goddess smile with that same love as before, embracing Caerae suddenly.
“I am so grateful it was you who found us. We need you. I...need you. We come in perfect love and perfect trust and want to give the power of the stars to your people, if they would have us. Our gift for allowing us to call this world our home.”
The young elf was stunned by the words. Laurial pulled back, her hands grasping Caerae’s shoulders lovingly, like a mother who was taking in the site of a child who had been gone for so long.
“We have much to offer, and much we can do, but there are limits. We are not all knowing, but we can learn easily and all three of us agree that you are the key to a peaceful existence here.”
Laurial paused and then smiled, “Will you please help us?”
Caerae let out a huge choking sob and flung herself into the arms of the Goddess. Her heart was full and this was the happiest moment of her life and truly a defining moment for her. Her whole life she'd loved the stars, could name all the constellations and planets. It was meant to be.
“Yes, I will lay the foundation and we will make this world your home.”
It was a whirlwind after that. Caerae met both Jorvus and Craiven. Jorvus, the pink star, sifted through Caerae’s knowledge of the people of the world and chose a shorter male form with an ornate beard. His hair, like Laurial’s, was also billowing and made of stars.
Craiven was a whole nother experience. More like an eternal flame and resembling the beings Caerae had witnessed in her initial vision. Their purple hue was calming, where Jorvus was jovial and Laurial was love. Craiven imparted to her that they could take whatever form they wished but would not go into details as to why the other two had to have anchors, but they didn't. Caerae respectfully left it at that since it harmed no one.
In the years after her discovery, Caerae became the first Scribe and the first Starfallen. Laurial had revealed to Caerae that every old soul belonged to starstuff and that every constellation ruled over that beings life. However, because the elves of her world were not attuned with the stars, they had no idea. This was the first duty Caerae had; come up with a system to find out which constellations the old souls belonged to. Laurial informed Caerae that her constellation was the World Tree and that if she could find others willing to aid the Pillars, the name Caerae gave the three, then any elf that Caerae vetted, would be given a blessing by the Pillars and given their constellation.
It didn’t take long for Caerae to find more Scribes to help her. Soon, there was a small town built up around the rocks the Pillars had landed in, and one of the priests started carving the rocks to be small temples for each. All of these elves had been gifted star strewn hair as a sign of their service, and once Caerae had more trusted elves within her ranks, she went on to her next tasks.
Eventually babies would be born to these new Starfallen and there was no way of knowing how these blessings would evolve, but Caerae knew she needed a way to discover their constellation without always having to rely on the Pillars as each blessing they bestowed dimmed their light a little. The light would eventually come back, but since none of them knew the affects this world would have on the Pillars, Caerae didn't want to risk it.
Having tinkered with a gemstone in an attempt to use it for stargazing, Caerae revisited the idea with her new radiant powers. The clear blue gem, now infused with the stars, could reflect the sky as the elf wanted, showing constellations and stars of their night sky. But that wasn’t the best part. This Starstone could see vast leagues away and into constellations well past their worlds horizon. Even hundreds of years later, new constellations were still being discovered by the Nightgazers (a specialized order among the Scribes). This stone could also be used to project the constellation in a 3D pace for presentation, which would be implemented in the birth of new children.
Caerae had one more task. Thanks to a ceremony between herself and her love, Tandrel, where they exchanged special flowers, she immediately knew what she wanted to do with the myth of the World Tree. She would create s custom for her people to pass down from generation to generation.
The myth was that every one-hundred years, the World Tree would bloom and those petals would fall. The tree was so high up, that as the petals fell, it looked like a meteor shower across the sky. This story helped her, and her love Tandrel, to craft a new flower created similarly as she the Starstone. This was technically her last wish to spend as the Pillars had each bestowed her with exactly one. Laurial had given her star strewn hair. Jorvus gave her one wish and Craiven had given her a second.
Having spent the first one on her Starstone, Caerae couldn’t help but spend her second one on her people and their new way of life.
The flowers, now called Astralius, were a vined flower that bloomed like silky trumpets. They came in all colors, but the most prominent aspect of them was the stars that sparkled on their petals.
When the first baby was born, Caerae watched the sky intently as she was also the first Nightgazer. The other Scribe, Tori, was inside with the proud parents and aiding in the delivery of the new baby. Once Caerae heard the cries of the newborn, it wasn’t long before a shooting star streaked across the sky and at the end of its trail, bursted with color, and slowly faded away. The Pillars had told her what to look for and where to look and that the color burst was a sure sign, but Caerae’s starstone was also the key to this. Holding up her right arm, Caerae scanned the sky as there was no known constellation where the starburst had faded. There, within her creation, was a new constellation that had not previously been known. It was further away and no one would have been able to see it with the naked eye, but her Starstone could find it.
Recording this and informing the new parents, Caerae went home to her Astralius garden that Tandrel now tended to, and found the perfect flower. Using her Starstone to emblazon the constellation onto its petals, Caerae would then give it to the new parents. The new elf would keep it through out their life as a birth token. This practice became common with the Nightgazers, and eventually the flower would be apart of a marriage ceremony where the elves would exchange their birth flowers.
It has been many years, with many discoveries, and more to surely come.