Starborn Legacy (A Starborn Series prequel)

Chapter four

"I just love when the Starborn visit, don't you?" asked Phoebe's neighbor as the two of them worked to clear the space where their visitors would set up camp.

It had been a couple of days since they received word that the Starborn were on their way, and Phoebe's father had kept her and everyone else busy with preparations. That morning, she and her neighbor had spent hours raking out overgrowth and leaves from the clearing, and Phoebe's brow was beaded with sweat from the effort. She paused to straighten her back and stretch.

"Yeah, it's exciting," Phoebe said. She gazed around the clearing and imagined how it would look once it was filled with tents. "I like when we have visitors."

When she was little, Phoebe didn't realize the commune had a name. The only thing she had ever called it was 'home'. It wasn't until Connor came to live there with Phoebe and her parents that she learned what the rest of the world called them: Ardent.

Phoebe hadn't even known that places could have real, proper names until Connor came along. From him, Phoebe learned about things like cities and towns, each with their own names and absolutely teeming with people. She was only six at the time, and so that little bit of knowledge had blown her mind. Connor had told her a lot about the world since then, and though he never made her feel bad about it, Phoebe was still embarrassed by how little she knew about life on the other side of the trees.

Of course, she hadn't been completely ignorant. She knew that there were other people out there; some of whom were good, Star-following people, and the rest of which were shameful dissenters. She also knew that it was because of those wayward heathens that the commune existed in the first place. There, tucked away in the safety of the ancient forest, Phoebe's people could practice their devotion to the Stars without distraction. There they were safe from those who strayed from the Starlight, as well as those who tried to control it. The people of Ardent kept to themselves, and in exchange for minding their own peaceful business, the rest of the world left them alone.

Those who lived in Ardent were distrustful of outsiders. Every now and then, someone showed up in their little haven with their sights set on joining the commune. These people were required to go to great lengths to prove their devotion to the Stars in order to be accepted, and very few of them made the cut. For reasons Phoebe still didn't really understand, Connor had been excused from this test of faith, and though it certainly hadn't been his decision to come in the first place, many in the community considered this unearned privilege to be just one more strike against him.

Beyond the Starlight seekers, anyone else who happened upon the commune in the woods was swiftly turned away. It didn't matter who they were or why they were there — the people of Ardent didn't tolerate strangers in their midst.

But there was one exception to that rule; for as long as Phoebe could remember, the nomadic astromantic druids known as the Starborn had always been welcome in the commune.

Her neighbor dumped an armful of weeds and twigs into the old green wheelbarrow Phoebe had brought from home. "I don't care about having company. I just want to know what messages the Stars have for us." Though her neighbor was being reverent, Phoebe didn't miss the note of envy in her words.

The relationship between the Starborn and the people of Ardent was a strange one. As the closest decedents to the ancient Starborn people, the astromantic druids were the only beings on the planet capable of communicating with the Stars. And so, to Phoebe's people, who lived their lives as the Stars commanded, this skillset was extremely valuable. As the story went, it was the Starborn who first named the faithful little commune 'Ardent' in the first place. Many years ago, the people of Ardent had invited—even begged—the Starborn to stay in the forest and share their gift with them. But the druids refused, choosing to roam the world instead. As a compromise, they promised to visit Ardent whenever from time to time, bringing messages from the Stars when they did.