A Stellar Journey

"Mount Targon is more beautiful than I could've imagined," Estella wrote in her journal, looking out into the sea of clouds beneath her. "I just hope mama and papa aren't too mad at me for leaving without a goodbye," she pauses for a second in her writing, "but I know they would've never let me come here. For some reason, they reacted very negatively when I mentioned I plan to come study the stars of this mountain. But why? Could it be my theories are correct? Could the dreams I've had since I was a child truly be memories? They've followed me since I can remember, but even now as I sit on this rock on the highest mountain on Runeterra, I cannot find the stars of my dreams. I must venture further up the mountain if I'm to find why this dream will never leave me."

Estella kept climbing and hiking up the beautiful peak, mesmerized by the golden aurora borealis up above as the cold winds of the fluffy clouds beneath gently breezed by. On her venture, she found many old ruins of the people of these mountains, the Solari and Lunari, recording what she could of what she found. She was very thankful she had not run into any of the two, afraid of what judgment she might receive from either of the warring tribes. She couldn't help but wonder if it was luck or fate helping her along the way. But part of her wanted to partake in that risk and danger, to personally meet one would be a dream come true, to learn of their religion and history in person, to see where they live, to learn of their culture and beliefs.

As she kept walking on, she would pause often to write about the thousands of constellations on her path, to figure out their figures and meanings. At times she even felt as if some eye in the sky followed her every step. She even squealed with joy as she could spot a distant planet, far far away through the shimmering blue veil of the night sky. It was amazing how she didn't even need a telescope to see everything clearly. On this mountain, everything felt so close, just barely out of reach. As if all it took was a simple step, a leap, to reach your hand out and you could feel it all.

As Estella kept going on and writing in her journal, her multitasking recklessness would eventually come with a cost, not realizing a large and unstable crack on the path she had taken, causing her to tumble down into darkness.

Her eyes opened up again after a few minutes and as she looked up above and through the hole she had just fallen through, the view felt familiar. It was the very thing she had been seeing her whole life, every night. The stars of her dreams. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was finally right where she was meant to be. Little did she know where she truly was, what she was meant for.

Estella glanced around her dim surroundings, her eyes slowly adapting to the dark space as the starlight filling up the room helped, while the murky clouds of rock and dust of her tumble dissipated. She focused on her surroundings and was quick to realize where she truly was. An abandoned temple. The ruins looked unfamiliar, however. She witnessed what few abandoned Solari and Lunari temples she could on her journey, and even in her books back at the academy, but the structure of this one was unique. As if a mixture of the two. Could it be this was made back before the tribes split apart? Before the war between them came crashing down? All these thoughts rushed through Estella's mind and she could not believe what she was seeing. But another detail felt out of place. The symbol on the wall in front of her was neither a moon nor a sun. It was two four-pointed stars together, both out of silver and gold, the two main colors of the split tribes, in unison.

As she turned around in search of a way out, instead she spot the only other part of the room beaconed by the starlight above. It was a white rock pedestal and on it sat a gorgeously crafted box. Estella felt strangely connected to the box and walked up to it, examining its design of black marble with silver and golden lines swirling around its sides and small stars of the same colors with little diamonds covering the top, as one big blue gem in the shape of a four-pointed star sat on the very middle, reflecting brightly from the lights above. Estella could have sworn she heard a voice whispering to her to open the box as the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight, but as she quickly looked around the temple, she could not spot another soul within alongside her.

After a moment of hesitance and a deep breath, Estella opened the box slowly and carefully. Nonetheless, the moment she did, the box snatched itself wide open, as a bright, blinding light gleamed out and a strong wind swirled around the room. Estella knew what she was witnessing was magical. From within the box a gorgeous artifact in the shape of the symbol on the wall before, forged from beautiful blue gems with gold and silver.

Suddenly, a voice filled the temple walls, echoing out, "You, Estella of the Lunari, have been chosen since birth to wield the power of the stars and fate, as the new Aspect of the Stars. With this gift, it is your duty to change the fate of the war between the Solari and Lunari and reunite them onto the rightful path. Do you accept this destiny?"

Estella couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was part of the Lunari? Destined to be an aspect? Why did her parents never tell her of this? While hundreds of questions circled her mind, she knew she had to answer. Her eyes glimmered up at the artifact, seemingly beaming with life.

"Yes."