[Silversky]

Seasons are changing,
and waves are crashing,
and stars are falling
all for us.

Days grow longer
and nights grow shorter;
I can show you
I'll be the one.

A Preitor Kuhna sat very still, unsheltered from the night wind on a beautiful flat plain in Idalani. He hadn't moved for over an hour; he simply was there, staring up at the stars.
Veritas was looking for answers. Alone, he stayed at Idalani because the night sky was so clear. The stars swirled and shined in firey patterns, giving the universe a kind of depth and echo. Everything seemed so close that Veritas felt that he could reach up and touch the stars if he wanted to, or he could fly to a distant galaxy.
The night held a chill in the air, but Veritas barely noticed. The coming of winter didn't bother him; he didn't really mind the cold. His fur fluffed up to keep him warm, and the fire on his tails always seemed to burn inside him and keep him from feeling the chill.
Against the night, the Kuhna almost glowed white, but nothing could outshine the brilliance of the stars.
Something was moving; he could hear that someone else was near. Relectantly turning his gaze from the stars, he looked to the side and realized that someone else had come to this place while he was looking to the sky.
Beside him, a little farther back, stood a Reiz Kuhna.

[Silversky]

Asteri was lost. She didn't know what she was doing here, but she realized that it must have been fate that led her here, so she wasn't too worried. And tonight was so beautiful that she was glad she had been led to this place.
The Reiz Kuhna could see another Kuhna, a Preitor, sitting there in the starlight. Even the grass sparkled, throwing specks of reflected light back at the white Kuhna. Unwilling to disturb him, she simply waited, turning her head to the sky and letting herself be lost in the stars.
A cold draft blew across her fur, making her shiver and wrap her tails around herself to keep warm. The other Kuhna turned his head to stare at her, and under his gaze Asteri felt nervous.
"Hello," she said softly, not wanting to break the spell of the night.
She hoped he would let her stay, even though she was not invited. Her paw reached out to swipe the grass to one side; and dew sparkled on her fur.
The stars are everywhere, here, she realized, looking back at the sky as myriad drops of starlight glittered on her fur and on the grass.

[Silversky]

Veritas was surprised that someone else was here too, but he'd let her stay if she liked to. He didn't really mind what others did, as long as they were good. He smiled hesitantly, and nodded. Turning to look back at the sky, he hoped she knew that this was a signal that she could stay here. The Preitor Kuhna did suppose that maybe he had been to abrupt, or something, but he wasn't too worried. And she did seem nice enough, unlike some pets who would always take things the wrong way.
A lone shooting star blazed, and Veritas almost forgot the other Kuhna in the sight. It was one of the brightest he'd seen, and he wondered if any others were on their way. He'd always wondered what the falling stars were. He wondered about a lot of things, like the moon, and comets, and clouds. He wondered about stuff closer to home, too, like things that happened to him.
He wondered what it was that made him different.
Uneasy, he pulled his gaze away from the sky for a moment.
He was different, he knew that. Things happened around him that he couldn't explain. And now, for the first time, Veritas was scared. Scared of the unknown.

[Silversky]

Asteri was puzzled, as she looked more closely at this strange Kuhna. His aura was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The Reiz Kuhna squinted, turning her head slightly to the right in a practiced movement she had made many times before. Her eyes glowed a little, and she could see who he was, inside.
At first, his aura was a pure, bright gold. Asteri almost put up a paw to shield her eyes, but after a heartbeat the gold sort of flared away and the Reiz Kuhna could try to make sense of it all.
He was a mix of gold, white, and blue, mostly. He glowed with a brightness that surprised her; she didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone who was that dedicated to good. He seemed loyal, brave, trustworthy—
Almost... different, from most people.
At the other Kuhna’s nod, Asteri stepped forward and settled herself on the grass beside him, looking up at the sky. She hoped he wouldn’t mind, and she didn’t think he would. The stars really were beautiful tonight.
“My name’s Asteri,” she said, finally.

[Silversky]

Asteri. A fitting name, for one he met on a night with such bright stars.
“I’m Veritas,” said the Preitor Kuhna. He was glad she had come to join him.
More pets should see these stars, he thought. Too many people lose sight of things like this.
He smiled hesitantly. “Why are you out here at Idalani?” he asked. “If you don’t mind me wondering.”
Ooh, there went another shooting star! And right behind it, another! The brightest he had ever seen, like the first. As it grew darker, he even thought he could see the rising mist of the galaxy behind the dark sky, glowing with promises of wonders and sights no creature on Evelon had ever seen before.
Veritas turned his thoughts to why he was out here. Yes, to look at the stars, but beyond that- how did he know to go here? Now?
Looking up at what was above him, Veritas realized there were forces working here that he could never even imagine.

[Silversky]

“I’m not sure,” she answered. Asteri didn’t really see how ‘why’ mattered. She was, and that was the important part. Something was going to happen here tonight; she was sure of it. “I suppose I got lost,” she explained finally. “I was looking... for something. I don’t know what. And then I walked through the trees and saw this place and came to gaze at the stars.”
The Reiz Kuhna had never seen a shooting star before. She had never had time to look at the stars, or dream about the sky. She was rarely let outside, before she ran away. Curious, she asked, “What are they? The streaks of light in the sky?”
Veritas’s aura glowed comfortingly, a clear and welcome change from the people she had grown up with. Their auras were usually streaked with black, or they pulsed erratically. This smooth gold glow was so much better.

[Silversky]

Veritas was surprised that Asteri hadn't seen shooting stars before. She looked liked she loved the night sky as much as him, or maybe even more.
"They're falling stars," he explained. "Stars that have lost their place in the sky and have come to join us."
"So even stars die," said Asteri.
Veritas narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the shooting stars, unsettled. He had never really thought about it that way. Everything died, he knew. It just seemed like the stars were timeless, immortal. But maybe the Reiz Kuhna was right. Maybe the falling stars were dieing stars.
If so, tonight was something hurting, something bad. There were even more falling stars now, at least one or two every few minutes. but if something was so beautiful, how could it be bad?
"I don't think so," he said. "I think that the spirits of the stars are coming to earth. I think they are being reborn, not dieing."

[Silversky]

"Everything and everyone dies, Veritas," said Asteri bluntly. "It's just a matter of how and when."
She had seen enough death herself, these past few months. It started when They came, and destroyed everything. It had made her free, and she felt somehow responsible for all those deaths.
She had prayed to anyone and anything she could think of, begging to be set free, begging for the Imperials to let her go. The war was over; there was no reason for this.
And then the others had come, and she felt like her prayers had been answered. But she hadn't wanted all the death that had come with it.
She looked over at Veritas and realized that he was staring at the ground, his head on his paws.
Asteri sighed.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
"It's alright," he said softly. "Taken what out on me?"
She was about to tell him, for she knew instinctivly that he wasn't like any of the others. He could be trusted. But then a shadow fell on the grass, and both Kuhnas looked in astonishment toward the sky.

[Silversky]

The moon was dissappearing.
Veritas had never seen anything like it before. It was as if the normal phases of the moon were accelerating; taking place in a night instead of a month. What had been a full moon was now a half, then a crecent, then nothing, with only a dim orange glow to show it had ever been there.
"What's happening?" he whispered to the sky. Something was eclipsing the moon, and he didn't know if the moon would ever come back.
Slowly but surely, though, the darkness fell away, as whatever had passed in front of the moon slowly relinquished its hold on the light.
Veritas looked to the side, and saw Asteri looking up at the sky with round, bright eyes, like she had just seen a ghost.

[Silversky]

The eclipse was terrifying for the Reiz Kuhna. She had no idea that anything could do that, and for a moment she wondered if the light would leave forever, or if the stars would be next. But as she was staring at the moon, something whispered in her ear.
"When the stars have fallen and the light is eclipsed, the savior of the truth will be revealed."
The savior of the truth? Who was-
She tried to look around to see who had spoken, but she found to her surprise that her head couldn't move. It was like she was locked in place, gazing at the darkness untill the light returned.
As the shadow slid away from the moon, the stiffness evaporated, until she crouched, scared, on the grass. Something had whispered to her the words of a prophecy, and she had no idea what to do with these words that she knew were going to change the destinies of both her and her new companion.

[Silversky]

"What is it?" asked Veritas. Something had happened, something he couldn't understand and wasn't even sure he wanted to understand.
"I heard something," said Asteri. "Something spoke to me."
Veritas narrowed his eyes, puzzled. "What did it say?" he asked.
"I- I think it was talking about you."
"Me?"
"It said, 'when the stars have fallen and the light is eclipsed, the savior of the truth will be revealed.'"
"Wait," said the Preitor Kuhna. "And you think... it means me?"
Veritas stared at his paws, his fur prickling as he tried to proccess this latest information. Him, the subject of a prophecy?
But deep inside, it kind of made sense. He had always felt that there was something different about him...

[Silversky]

Asteri was scared. Why had the prophecy come to her? She wasn't anyone special. She'd never even been out in the world until now. Why her?
She relaxed a little when Veritas said, "At least it sounds like a good thing. It's not like it can be bad or dangerous if it says what it says."
Asteri smiled tentitavely. "I hope you're right," she said finally. Looking at the sky again, the moon glowed reassuringly bright overhead. More shooting stars appeared, until the sky was full of them. Asteri's eyes widened. "Look!" she said, and raised her paw to point at the sky.
A lone streak of light flared brighter than the others, arcing down across the sky to dissappear below the horizon. Without knowing why, Asteri leaped up and ran toward where the star had fallen, tails streaming out behind her, not stopping to see if the Preitor Kuhna was following.

[Silversky]

Veritas followed, doing his best to keep up with the faster Reiz Kuhna. He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but he supposed he'd better follow. "Asteri!" he called. "Wait up!"
She didn't slow down, so Veritas was taken by surprise a few seconds later when she skidded to a halt. Veritas trotted up to join her, and looked down in amazement.
Now he knew why Idalani was famous for its waterfalls. They stood on a high, flat cliff, looking down into a valley. Across from them were the majestic falls, with lush plants growing in the valley below and streams flowing away from the towers of water. It was beautiful, but Veritas didn't exactly know why they were here...
Then Asteri looked at him, and said, "The star fell here."
Veritas knew what they were goign to do. THey were going to find the fallen star.

[Silversky]

The problem was, realized Asteri, that she could not see any way to get down into the valley. She was positive that the fallen star was here, but she had no idea how to go about finding it. Cautiously, she padded along the cliff top, looking for any paths orr trais or other ways down. To the right, part of the rock wall had crumbled away, leaving jagged stones and boulders strewn above the cliff and down on the valley below.
"Veritas!" she called. "Over here!"
She trotted over to the landslide. This was their way down, it had to be. Not worrying about the danger, Asteri stepped onto the first rock, which wobbled precariously, and thn she stretched her paws down to find a ledge, eneding up just below the cliff top.
"This is our way down!"

[Silversky]

Okay. This does not look safe.
Veritas approached the edge of the rocks, trembling slightly.
"Asteri?" he called down the the Reiz Kuhna. "Are you sure there isn't another way?"
She didn't answer, so Veritas sighed and went to put his paws on the first rock. It slipped out from under him, tumbling down the slope, and for a heart-stopping moment Veritas though he was going to go with it. He ended up sprawled on the ledge just below.
Oh no. Asteri. Had the rock hit her? Veritas peered down anxiously only to find her staring up at him indignantly. "You have to put your paws on the rock only after you've tested to see if your weight will hold. Haven't you ever climbed before?"
"Uh, no. And you have?"