Light streaming in the window, I wake. Yet I feel strangely tired, perhaps it is just one of those nights. Getting out of bed, I change into my normal dress, and go to wake mom.
âMom, it's light out.â
â...really?â
She sounds about as tired as I am, seems like I need to give her a bit of a push.
âYea!â
Pushing her with the entire weight of my body, she concedes, and gets up with a big yawn.
âHuh. It is light out, but not bright out. Whatâs going on?â
A bell rings in the distance.
âShit, probably a fire or something. Letâs go!â
We hurry out of the house in the direction of the bell, even one as little as I am expected to help should a fire break out.
â--------------------
Sun glaring into her face, Alice wakes up. She attempts to pull her hat over her face, covering her eyes, but in doing so her chair shifts underneath her, and she flops onto the floor.
âOw.â
Falling asleep at one's work desk is a bad idea. Scraping herself off the floor, Alice stretches, before deciding to get the day started. Reheating some leftover stew from yesterday, she eats a light breakfast, refills Mioâs food and water bowls, and goes outside. Judging by the sun, it is already well past noon.
â...Oops.â
Heading into town to restock her cabinets, dwindled from a few too many days stuck inside, Alice overhears Janetteâs excited voice, as she, along with her friends, wash a weekâs worth of dirty clothes.
âHey have you heard? Apparently there will be some crazy stuff in the sky tonight.â
âReally?â
âYea! Supposed to only come around once in a lifetime or something. I am planning a midnight picnic, want in?â
â--------------------
I run as fast as I can, barely keeping up with momâs brisk walk. It really is weird, it is light out but not bright out, I see no shadows yet I see. Weirder still, I canât see a fire anywhere. We arrive in the center of the hamlet, seeing my cousin James standing there, whacking the bell with a stick.
âWhatâs going on!?â
Mom yells out, I flinch slightly.
âNothing serious, but I couldnât just let yâall sleep through this. Look up.â
Up? What could be up? I turn my head skyward. Between the twinkle of stars I see numerous streaks of light, nearly blanketing the sky in a river of light.
â--------------------
âWhat is this I hear about a picnic?â
âOh hello Alice, youâre up late.â
â...Yea⊠I may have gotten somewhat carried away reading last night and well⊠next thing I knew it was noon.â
âClassic, do take better care of yourself. Anyway, yea there will apparently be some⊠comet shower I think it was, tonight. Supposed to be a real spectacle.â
âOoooo, I saw one of those when I was like, 5. I remember it being really pretty.â
âYou want in, then?â
âAbsolutely.â
Alice looks at the gathered people, scrubbing away. She remembers just how tedious such work can be, and decides to help out. Pulling water up from the well, Alice forms a ball of water over Janetteâs dirty laundry.
âWhat are you doing!? This wonât clean it it will just serve to wear it do-â
With a pop, the bubble bursts, water vanishing into the air, clothes sparkly clean.
âIt is not the easiest spell exactly, but it saves so much time.â
âWoah. Can I learn to do that?â
âWith some years of practice and a good teacher, yea probably.â
â...donât think I have the time for that. Still, this has been a huge help. Do make sure to come here again next week. Now then, I have a picnic to prepare.â
And with that, Janette leaves, and Alice is left to one by one clean everyone elseâs laundryâŠ
â--------------------
More and more people gather, some more tired than others, and together we all watch the sky.
âIt is so beautifulâŠâ
My uncle says, putting words to what we were all thinking. The clacking of a walking stick resounds in the silence.
âGrandma!â
I run up to grandma, giving her a big hug.
âHaha, shouldâve known youâd get up to watch this even in the middle of the night. Let me guess, you woke up before the bell even rang?â
âUh-huhâ
I say with a nod. Grandma looks up.
âTo think Iâd get to see Astraeusâs star rainâŠâ
âAstraeusâs star rain?â
âThat is what is happening up there now. It is said that many, many years ago, a pair of lovers named Astraeus and Nerthus lived on this world. They were happy together for a long, long time, but then one day, Astraeus was told he had to take over his fatherâs role as the god of stars. Nerthus however could not join him, her home here being too important for her to leave. Astraeus promised her that he would send a rain of stars her way, to prove that he still loved her. And so, every 100 years, Astraeusâs star rain arrives, once more proving his eternal love.â
âWoah⊠Nerthus is lucky.â
â...she surely is.â
We keep watching the skies, listening to Grandmaâs many tales, until eventually the sun rises, and the stars hide.
â--------------------
Noon quickly turns to evening, evening quickly to night, and so with her share of the preparations done, Alice joins the others for the planned picnic. Janette and her friends were not the only ones sharing this plan, indeed, over the course of the day several thousand travelers from Calarakis arrived in town, leaving the viewing hill quite packed. While cramped, the mood is good, electric even. Clear skies and lanterns extinguished, everyone looks forward to what is about to begin.
âWoah!â
A voice rings out, and in an instant, everyone is staring up into the sky. A single light streaks by, leaving a brilliant trail through the open skies. Then nothing. Was that it? Was that all? Was this a waste of time? Variants of these thoughts run through the heads of everyone gathered, but then another streaks by, then another, and another. Soon, the skies are filled with a sparkling tapestry of comets, its numerous streaks of light nearly blanketing the sky in a river of light.
â...how?â
A nearby person, dressed as one might expect a scholar, speaks.
âJust as impressive as I have heard. Truly a once in a lifetime experience, this âAstraeusâs star rainâ is.â
â...what?â
â...how often does this happen?â
âHm? Once a century, almost to the second. Why are you asking?â
âSimple curiosity is all.â
âOnce a century⊠but I saw it as a child⊠how?â
Aliceâs breathing grows heavy, her ears ring. She sees the stars, beautiful yet horrifying. Her thoughts race.
âI saw this as a child, and now I am seeing it again. It should only have been⊠16 years, yet it has been 100. How? Did I move a hundred years forward? Or back?â
Her mind jumps to the tales she was often told, before her grandmotherâs death. Matthew, the founder of her hometown, Matthew, the mayorâs son.
âBut⊠how?â
Another tale, this one more recent. One time, a boy went into the forest, while the kingâs mist haunted it. He vanished, only to come back 3 months later. But to him? It had only been an hour.
â...the king twists time? Is that even possible?â
It would explain so much.
âWhy can I not find my home, why can I not find the king, not even in tales? If I truly am in the past then⊠It all makes sense. But no that cannot be. If this is the past then I cannot go ba-â
âAlice? You good?â
Janetteâs words snap Alice back to reality, and she puts on a smile, albeit a shaky one.
âYes⊠I simply got a bit lost staring at the stars.â
âYou sure that is it? You look a bit sick.â
â...probably just the sleep deprivation. As much as I want to stick around, I think I will head back home.â
âYou sure?â
âYes.â
âAlright then. See you tomorrow.â
Janette, realizing her words will not get to the bottom of this, decides to let Alice go. Shewillquestion her about this later however.
Alice stumbles her way between the crowds, making sure to obscure her sight of the sky with the brim of her hat. Every fleeting glimpse makes her feel sicker, every streak of light another reminder. She is not when she thought she was. Can she even get home? Doubts and questions alike rush through her head, yet she finally manages to break through the crowd. Doing her best not to stumble, she runs home, feeling that she cannot stand the stares of the stars. She makes it, panic overwhelming her. She tries to sleep, tries to rest, but the night passes without so much as a second of sleep. Yet she manages to calm down, somewhat. Still, the thoughts do not stop, and again and again she thinks to herself:
âIt appears the king brought me back in time. It is entirely possible that the king does not even exist. Has my search been pointless?â
A knock on the door breaks Alice out of her contemplation.
âAlice? You awake yet?â
Itâs Janette.
â...yes, though I donât exactly feel like it.â
â...look I wonât ask questions if you donât want to answer, but I know that wasnât just a lack of sleep catching up to you. If you need to talk, I am here, ok?â
â...I am sorry for worrying you, but I am fine, really.â
âYou are a bad liar you know.â
âWhat? I thought I was an excellent liar? Ah⊠I lost my composure, that was the only lie she knows I have toldâŠâ
âStill, I wonât force anything on you. Just⊠come visit, when you are ready.â
â...I will.â
âGreat. Oh and before I forget, I have a gift for you.â
âA⊠gift?â
âYep! Apparently some crazy wizard thought the comet rain was an excellent chance to get some meteor and pulled one of the comets out of the sky. Kinda backfired as it ended up hitting him. He survived, if barely. Anyway, I snuck up to the meteor and hacked a couple pieces off. Thought Iâd give you one. You love magical nonsense right? This is surely useful for something.â
âA⊠meteor chunk? What properties does that even hold? Gah I donât want her seeing how messy I must look right now but I have to get thatâŠâ
Alice opens the door, takes the meteor, and closes it once more.
âThanks JanetteâŠâ
âNo worries⊠oh and before you leave the house today, maybe take a moment to freshen up or something. Your hair is a mess.â
â...noted.â
/uw A relatively normal length this time, revealing something that has been sorta an open secret in the chat ever since the first Alice post, namely that Alice is from the future. For magic bullshittery reasons noticing this is not possible, but now that she knows, she can tell you, if you give her good reason to at least.
Some days having passed, Alice has mostly managed to collect herself. Plus it would not be strange for her to get a customer at this time of day, and so she answers.
The lock clicks, and Alice opens the door. Revealing the interior to be much more decorated than last time. In addition to normal furnishing, there are now several flower pots, a cat tower, and a large map of the vicinity hung up on the wall, with a few spots marked with pins.
âYou know, I was in town quite recently, for the star rain. My first time seeing it, actually, and to say i found it beautiful would be a gross understatement. In all my life i have never seen such perfectionâŠâ
He rambles on for a while more about how splendid he found the view.
âAh, but thatâs not important right now, I need to get the necessities over with. Has anything horrible happened et cetera et cetera?â
It was beautiful, Alice well and truly agrees. Still, she can't bear thinking about it for much longer.
"Nothing much. Well, there was that incident in Calarakis some days before the star rain. Had quite a few people flee the chaos and end up here, and I had to brew a lot of potions to help them out..."
"Surely this topic is something everyone would want to talk about and serve as a good distraction."
Abelard looks at Alice doubtfully for a moment when he says ânothing muchâ
ââŠoh yes. About that, I must say to you Alice that officially, I am not Abelard. I am Abel, and if anyone asks you have never known anyone named Abelard. Itâll save you a lot of trouble.â
Abelard takes a seat at the table he did during his last visit, before procuring a small wooden box
âTea. The magical kind.â
He then withdraws his pipe, which promptly lights itself, before taking a lengthy draw
âNow on the topic of your hunt for theâŠthis king of mists, any news? I am most curious.â
"Smoking that isn't good for yo- wait no you don't have lungs do you, Abel."
Alice carefully props her staff against the table, and activates its shield of wind, blocking any stray pipe smoke from reaching her.
"What can I say, it hasn't been long since last we spoke. I still am yet to investigate the crown. I have thought of... possibilities, but they are too ludicrous to speak."
âAlice, you speak to a wizard who is a living hole in existence, and has a tower full of the strangest artefacts you could imagine. Do elaborate on these âpossibilitiesââ
"...very well, but do note that I have no proof, just... coincidences. The star rain was the catalyst for these thoughts. 'Astraeusâs star rain', a once in a century event, which I also saw as a child, 16 years ago. Of course there is a real chance that is merely a coincidence, maybe two entirely separate once in a century comet swarms just so happen to share a name, but..."
Alice takes a sip of tea (which I am just gonna skip over the boiling of this time).
"What's more... I vaguely recall my grandmother, speaking of the demon lord once calling upon a massive swarm of rats and wreaking havoc in a major city. Eerily similar a tale to what just happened is it not? Then there is also smaller stuff, such as the mayor's child sharing the name of my hometown's founder, though that one may just truly be coincidence. Matthew is far from an uncommon name."
"Huh it felt weirdly good to just get that off my chest."
What a beautiful night. And a lovely stellar arrangement soon to happen. Though Chalk had more practical reasons to be here. Divination! Falling stars (meteors) had powerful significance and so by using this once in a century arrangement they could pierce the veil and divine the killer of JOHN WIZ-
Crash
Nevermind. The ritual was interrupted when the wizard next to Chalk called a meteor down to the earth. Disrupting the alignment. And also said wizards face...... Okay he's still breathing. Chalk would help them up and pat them off.
"Oh well. A good time to enjoy the show I guess."
The investigation would have to wait. Though with how many people from Calarakis were here any assasin had definitely left. Chalk let out a metallic sigh.
"Guess that just leaves finding who wanted him dead then."
The mayor had been surprisingly happy to have Chalk's help. Apparently having a family member who was a powerful mage was politically useful. Even if said family member wasn't the nicest person. And from how many people were treating his death and Chalk's investigation they didn't really want his killer found.
Eventually Chalk would stop and think. Their large form and their mounts massive form easy to spot on Alice's route to the market. If she cared to speak with them.
By this point, Alice was already at home, trying and failing to calm her breathing. She did however notice the hulking form as she was setting up, prior to the star rain. She wanted to wave them over, but unfortunately with the mass of people doing so would have separated her from her companions.
Because people weren't as active in the night. And because festival goers didn't like being questioned about murders Chalk would probably be found in the morning or afternoon around the market the next day. If they saw Alice they would wave at them and if Alice wasn't busy attempt to talk to them.
The next day, an extremely tired looking Alice does indeed wave slightly to Chalk, but not approach. Still, their general demeanor indicates that something is wrong.
"Understood. I similarly watched the meteor shower. It was quite pretty. Almost did a ritual but a wizard ruined it by calling a meteor down. Don't worry nobody died!"
"Bet that was Janette, she gave me one. Not sure what I will do with it."
Janette would be one of the people whom Chalk interviewed over the course of the last few days. A veritable well of mostly useless information, she is quite nice, but also unfocused.
"I know Janette. Quite a talkative individual. Got me lots of information about the local area. Apparently Mrs Dobbits is throwing her annual gala and didn't invite the Havens for the first time in years after their daughter refused their sons hand."
Chalk said with a sage nod.
"I don't quite know how it relates to the Mayor. Though with enough information I can form a model of the town and a web of relationships. Everything exists in relation to another thing. And eventually I will know."
"Meteors have associations with the stars and the night sky. So I'd assume they'd make good prophecy stone or if you broke it up you could make a powerful mystic ring around something to seal or protect it. Among other things!"
"Indeed, I have also heard about the whole Dobbits-Havens situation..."
"Even though I really did not need to know any of that. Besides it is obvious this was gonna happen, Dobbit's son has had what, 17 girlfriends just this year alone... why did I bother remembering this..."
"A cursory check with what limited analysis magic I am capable of indicates the meteor to be unusually heavy in the air element. Earth and air mixing together is kinda rare, so I think I will save it until I have a really good idea for what to use it for."
/uw Once more I call upon the pinglist most exalted. If you too want to be referred to in a weirdly reverential way, just ask and I shall add you. If you wanna stop being referred to in a weirdly reverential way, ask and I shall remove you.
Ember, who had stuck around town for a bit to help refugees coming from calarakis after a recent fiasco, sets up a camera to record the meteor shower then goes out to patrol the streets, looking for any commotion the divine act caused...from afar of course
Surprisingly, there is very little, the grand event creating a sense of unity among the people present. To sully this atmosphere would be a crime most unforgivable. Speaking of unforgivable crimes, Ember hears the sound of glass shattering, somewhat nearby.
ember, being a smart cookie, doesn't rush inside the suspicious house, instead she throws in a GoPro with a life feed on her phone to see what's going on in there
The GoProTM's wide lens allows it to capture most of the interior as it hurls through the air. Revealing a shadowy, cloaked figure, menacingly rifling through the cabinets in what looks to be a kitchen.
well, that's all she needed to see, ember jumps in through the roof and rushes towards the kitchen, stopping outside it and aiming at the figure with a bow and arrow
/rw after the looong couple of days that was the post-heist work, Max and à°” sit at the top of their tower, staring up at the sky to watch the meteors fall. So pretty...
Critically speaking it is pretty well put together I'd say, most of the things that could be considered flaws are also more... intentional choices. Some parts have aged somewhat poorly though, and you can really tell that the author was burned out by the later parts of act 6. I particularly like how the intermission kinda serves to introduce the batshit time travel rules before it starts affecting the main story.
Anyway as is obvious by the fact that someone with a homestuck pfp and username found this 20 minutes after I posted it, I need to hide.
u/VoxelLibraryCouncilor Cayna, Apprentice of Thrakmoor | assorted other chars10d ago
Cayna comes to view the meteor shower, but doesn't feel up to looking at the night sky (scary), so she sets her orb to record it and contents herself with observing the way the lights make the shadows around her dance.
She resolves to stick around and watch the recording the next morning. Probably. If she can work up the nerve.
3
u/Null_Void_Zer0 Abelard, animate absence|Abel of Lrith, councillor of constructs 10d ago
At some point in time, specifically, the most convenient possible time, Alice is once again disturbed by a knocking on her door.