Enter Our Protagonist

Prologue

"-And you're sure this will be a just decision? The last time a member of the House of the Stars was selected as Guardian we had a near city-wide revolution." A powerfully deadpan and thin voice chimed out from a box overlooking a dusty arena.

The voice came from a particularly bored man, one of five seasoned folks sitting in this spectator's box. He had his head propped up in his palm, elbow rested on the arm of his lavish seat.

"You speak as if we had not had a member of the House of the Moon near execute many of our own a time after that." Another chimed in matter-of-factly, his tone laced with judgement, "Nor the murders and heresy amongst all Houses. With that merit none of our legacies are clean of past sins, and we would have to resort to mere commoners for our choices, and I for one would prefer to avoid that."

"Alas, it is not our decision to make." The eldest of them spoke, his tone remaining somber, "It is between the Foreseers and their shared connection with Master Igni, so we mustn't be too hasty with our judgements."

"Agreed." A warm voice responded before the owner leaned over the edge of the spectating window to look down to a few gathered below, "Reese, my dear, please continue. I must know the details!"

One at the front of the small gathering of people pulled her staff close as she leaned against it, tilting her head up to address those above, "Of course, Elder... Our joint vision of the future was vague, however we did clearly witness stars. Three of them, to be exact, however we have no clear purpose to those stars yet."

The bored man scoffed, "Truly you know nothing about counting if you think you see three."

"That, or Master Igni has finally sent a sign of a coming miracle. A unison with her vessels." A softer voice added, "The third star could be her finally bringing this cycle to a close."

The one below did not reply, instead shifting uncomfortably.

"Or..." The owner of the warm voice clasped her hands together, a pleasant smile on her face, "I am having three grandchildren quite soon!"

"Three chosen grandchildren?" The bored man chortled, "Ivanka, you are dreaming beyond what is possible!"

"No, no, it is possible! Rare, but possible." The softer voice spoke up again, "This is the first time in decades, if that is the case!"

"I would rather interpret it as Master Igni's selection, a very simple understanding of it." The second critical man muttered aloud, "It is merely some stars, it may mean nothing more than the symbols we were given to answer our burning question. Regardless, the House of the Stars has been granted their place in the cycle once more, so we must prepare for the eventual arrival of the newest Guardian."

"We can discuss theories more at a later time, as we have plenty of time before we must truly be ready." The one named Ivanka continued speaking, "Was that all?"

Reese gave a subtle nod, not enough for those above to truly see, "Yes, that is all. We will bring more to you once we receive clearer visions of what is to come for your family. For now, we will begin cleansing the heart, but we request that we keep this announcement amongst us. We trust this new Guardian will bring... nothing but good to us all, but we mustn't be too hasty in informing the public before we are certain."

The critical man smirked, "Some good our Guardians have ever done. Truly, we need to speed up our efforts to find a real vessel for Master Igni's grand return."

"In due time." The eldest spoke once more, bitterness tainting his voice as he rose from his seat, "For now we must be patient and proceed as usual. I do hope this time we can prevent disaster, now that we have a better understanding of what is to come."