Fallen Star

The first day of class

Uriel walked through the grand wooden doors into the vast library of the chateau. It was early morning and Uriel was told to meet up with Ethena for his first lesson on the history of their constellation.

Uriel stood in aw at the million of books that lined the walls and selves of this room. It would take several generations just to go through half of the books that was stored in this room. The room theme was that of the cosmos with elaborate murals of star consultation on the roof and several globs depicting this solar system's planets lined the hallway. There were several levels of books all arranged in an ordering system that Uriel didn't understand. Everything looked old, like several hundred years old. Uriel was afraid to touch anything in fear of just breathing on anything would turn the books into dust.

It wasn't long after Uriel entered the library doors opened up and Ethena walked in. She walked with a slight swagger, swaying her wide hips as her thick legs prevented her from walking normally. She wore a white button down frilly long sleeved shirt with a puff collar and a long black skirt that hugged tight to her expansive hips. She looked prim and proper and ready to teach, all except her hair. Her fiery red hair was done in a messy bun, like she woke up just mear minutes ago. 

"Oh, you're here on time, wonderful," she said with a slight disappointment emphasized in her last word. Straightening her outfit, she strutted to a table right next to what looked like this planet's globe and placed her pile of books down. Uriel just stared at her as she took a seat and opened an old book at a loud creak.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to sit by me," she said with a bit of sass. Uriel walked over and took a seat right next to her. 

"Good, since you are new to, well, everything I'll start at the beginning, I am Ethena Starline, astrologist and scientist, I belong to species Lydiya, the dominant animal on this planet." Ethena stated proudly, placing a hand on her chest. Uriel just looked at her blankly, not knowing what to do with that information. Ethena rolled her eye before flicking her other hand to encourage Uriel to speak up.

"Um, I'm Uriel and… I don't know what species I am," he said uncertainly, looking at the tall wolf feeling a bit inadequate. 

"Well, it's a start," Ethena huffed, her shoulders slumping before turning back to the book. "Now let's begin the session. We'll begin with the consultation of Tra, the first hero." Ethena points to the ceiling next to the entrance. There was a cluster of stylized stars arranged into the image of a wolf woman holding a bow.

"In the age of the first stones of civilization it was said the Tra used the bark of the rock tree and the string that held up the stars and crafted her mighty bow, The Lazuring," Ethena began sounding a bit disinterested as if this is not what she wanted to do but was forced to. "With her mighty bow she fought the darkness of the great beast of the seas, the shadows retreating and revealing the surface of the world."

"And with his staff the light bore through the last of the old generation, and thus a new era was born," Uriel said as if he was reciting from a scripture. 

Ethena's eyes widened upon hearing Uriel speak. "Oh my Sur! Is that a war story or a story of something you did or maybe a holy scripture?" Ethena began to ask with amazing speed, her eyes sparkling in intrigue, life and wonder.

"I… don't know, it just came out," Uriel said unsure of himself. 

Ethena became deflated, her shoulders slumped. "You don't remember?"

"I think it was a bedtime story from a long time ago," Uriel said as he looked down and began to ponder. 

Ethena slumped into her chair as she groaned in defeat. For a moment she thought this alien had regained his memories. Oh the scientific papers she could write, the fame of being the first to learn about an alien civilization and its secrets and gone in a puff of smoke!

"I guess your story was similar to mine and it triggered a memory."

Ethena perked up as a spark of hope entered her eyes. Immediately she opened a different book and flipped to a specific chapter. She stood up and walked down the library until she reached a constellation on the ceiling in the shape of a three prong weapon and began to read from the book.

"Alla, the queen of the Serrins, took her trident and pierced into the warlady Mallina, ripping out the dark heart, its black blood bumping still." Ethena turned to Uriel with a toothy smile, waiting for a response.

"Um, nothing?" Uriel said disappointed, a little sadness in his eyes.

She lost her smile and frowned. Of course this wouldn't be easy. She took a deep sigh and closed the book. All she really wanted to do is study the alien, not try to figure out what his culture is from scratch. She looked over the vast library thinking. Maybe she needs to approach this from a different angle. 

"Stand still and stretch out your arms," she asked as she stood right next to him. Being so close to him it was a stark contrast to see him so small. Her hips alone were over half as wide as he was tall. She estimated he was just under three stonefalls (aka 175 cm or 5' 9(nice)) while she was around 5 stonefalls (305 cm or 10').

Uriel looked confused but did as he was told. Gently she moved her paws over his arms then to his body. She had read his medical records but examining in person was another thing. 

"No claws, no highly developed muscles, short stature, yet strong enough to fight several of our kind, hmm," she said out loud. She took a step back, thinking hard, trying to reverse engineer this alien culture from just his body. She sniffed his hair and pondered. Something about his musk was odd, she'll need to go back to his records. He didn't seem like a fighting species, maybe something more softer will trigger his memories. 

She steps away from Uriel and goes to another bookshelf and scans over the old books. She then makes a cute 'aha' and pulls out a book that hasn't been touched in a long time. With a crack from its spine she opened the book. With a light cough she began to read.

"As the sun set, the sky was awash with the colors of the Setram Reef, it clouds like the hills of Fassa. At afar was my love, the Great Allana of Storrka. Her armor shined like the twin moons, painted in scarlet blood and icy arctic blue." After finishing the passage Ethena turned to Uriel to see if there was a reaction. 

"Um, I remember a Sunset," he said, sounding like he disappointed Ethena. She sighs but gives him a light smile. 

"It's a start."

~

The rest of the day the two went through several books, covering several different subjects in hopes that something triggered Uriel's lost memories. Sadly no other members were awakened that day.