Welcome to Gaia! ::

Keionx had been enjoying the activity of the festival, but now it was time to sit and think and rest her weary body on a blanket in the rolling plains. The festivities continued nearby, loud and merry, but as she looked up at the star-filled sky, it was as if she was back in Busthind. There were places in the mountains that were so remote from any of the trappings of civilization that it felt as though you were all alone in the world, amidst the rocky crags.

Keionx knew them well – Beastdad had often taken her to those places for training, camping, and other adventures in rustic sopor tents. From these places, on clear nights, Keionx had been able to see the stars spilling forth across the sky. They had never been just stars, or even distant suns to her. They had had meaning, gleaned from Beastdad's stories. Beastdad, after all, had no real understanding of outer space, Keionx had learned all that later on and, somehow, the concept of intergalactic warfare and empire was more fantastical to her than any of her fantasies.

Keionx lay back against the blanket and traced the constellations in the sky with an outstretched finger. It had been a long time since she had watched the stars from the mountaintops, but she remembered quite a few of them, still, and the stories that went along with them. She only had to squint, and to remember, and the characters of the stories she had loved so much as a wiggler would emerge from the clutter of lights. That there could be so many stories crowded into the sky at once... that, she felt, was special.

Ah – there... her finger traced a particularly special constellation in the sky. It was a musclebeast rearing victoriously over a a three headed swan-monster... That was Cheiron and Kairn. Keionx smiled as she remembered their story, told to her with pride by her lusus long ago...

Cheiron, as her father had told her, had been a massive and powerful musclebeast, galloping around the land and heroically rescuing troll, lusus, and wild beast alike from the myriad dangers of Alternia. He was a selfless hero-beast, proud of what he did. Beastdad had told her many stories about him, tales of glory and pride and adventure that had inspired her adventures. The one that put him in the sky was a particularly great tale of heroics and valor... and sacrifice.

Kairn was a monster, a once-friend of Chieron, a screaming semiaquatic creature with three heads that had, despite its association with the heroic beast, decided to turn to evil and rampage through troll villages. They ate troll and lusus alike, and Cheiron could not stand for such acts. So, he galloped in to save the day.

Cheiron had only been intending to wrestle and subdue the monster, out of respect for their friendship, but Kairn had killed the lusus that Cheiron was wooing, and it enraged the hero greatly. So, he fought Kairn on the plains, nearly until the break of day. Finally Cheiron bested them. But, even as it neared defeat in the powerful arms of Cheiron, Kairn revealed that the spurs on their webbed feet were poisoned, and would kill Chieron. He may have bested them, but he would not win without dying.

Cheiron was dismayed: He wanted to win, but he did not want to die, and most of all, he did not want to kill his once friend in the first place. So, like the hero he was, he made a new option for himself: With his incredible strength, he hurled the surprised Kairn into the sky and leapt after them. His might was so great, that they took their place among the stars.

As a collection of stars, he does not die. Forever in the sky, he looks out over the world he loved and protected for so long in a position of great victory. And yet, he has also trapped Kairn in such a way that his once friend does not die either. From the sky, he has achieved his desires. And, in doing so, inspires young heros to achieve their own.

Keionx had always liked that story, especially when Beastdad had claimed that Cheiron was his ancestor. Though a lusus's ancestor wasn't her own ancestor, she accepted the stories of Cheiron as her own, and strove to be like the fabled hero.

She wondered, suddenly, if Zariah had ever heard these same stories from his lusus – she'd never asked him about his lusus, but Beastdad had told her (with manly tears in his eyes) that he had known Zariah's lusus, and that he had been a musclebeast as well. Beastdad would tell her nothing more, and Zariah was so quiet about it.

She had certainly told Zariah some of Cheiron's stories anyway, to inspire him and entertain him. She added a few things to the stories of course – embellishments to make them more interesting – but she felt, deep in her torso, that Cheiron had been real.

If he was real, Keionx wondered how the heroic musclebeast would feel about her and her deeds thus far. He'd probably be proud, too... she thought, smiling at the thought. She had done the Right Thing all along, had followed it to where it led. Even when the choice seemed to have been taken from her, she had continued to do it. She was still doing it. He'd probably be very proud...

There wasn't much in the river of trash in the end, after all. Just a lot of mold and terribly decayed things that possibly could have been treasures once but had been left to soak for entirely too long. By the time Etsali made her escape from the waterway, she'd found only one can with any potential, and with all the mold on it she'd been left with no choice really but to trade it in for a mushroom once she got back. It was probably a good deal, the shopkeeper wouldn't mind.

In the meantime, she continued her wandering in search of mushrooms. Instead, she found a lumberjack, one who didn't seem entirely happy to see her until they found out she had some beetles to spend. She spent some time poring over the things he offered, considering. A sandwich would have been a nice snack. Shovels were ever useful. But a medkit...She thought back to the many times she'd wished for something like that during all the horrible things that had happened, and well. It was hard to beat that line of reasoning.

Buying a kit and thanking the lumberjack, she turned to consider the terrain left to cover. Looked like she had two choices...Well, hiking really would have cut down on some of the relaxing bits of the game, wouldn't it? She took a good long look over the foothills instead, preparing to set out.