I'm not old enough to remember a time when my people looked to the stars to guide them. Ships depended on that peculiar pattern they composed upon the heavens. Medicine men trusted their input when determining what methods and prayers to use in healing. Mothers would cradle their children's tiny hands, tracing the celestial patterns and whispering the ancient tales the stars had once told us, when time was just beginning and the world was new. How lovely it must have been, to hear the creation myths of a world still fresh and full of wonder. How beautiful it must have been to be alive then, with the universe itself honoring your history and protecting your future.
My mother never bothered to tell me those tales. Neither did Arnaq's mother, nor did Siuppuk's. Even Petuwaq's ma neglected ancient tradition, and his Gran was crier of our village, keeper of our history. It was Gran's responsibility to pass down the stories, so they would not be forgotten by her children and their children and our children after us. She reveled in her role, proudly recounting every name and event as if she were guardian of our past, for she was. Our mothers would lean in, eager to catch her every word, impatiently waiting for their turn to pass them down.
Nobody cares for fairy tales anymore. They are angry. I am angry. We look up at the night sky, praying to find, in its unforgiving darkness, reassurance. The stars made us a promise. But now there is war. And the stars are silent.
In our darkest hour, they have abandoned us.
Even the Zodiac have left us. My mother was a dreamer—or perhaps she really was just crazy. I can't tell which is less painful to accept. She truly believed the stars would return for us, just as old Gran promised. She named me Pisces, for the icy waters that cradle our village and the constellation above, our once-great patron protector.
If only her beloved Pisces had been enough to save her.
YOU ARE READING
The Twelve - A Zodiac Story
FantasyFor decades, a world engulfed in brutal wars and relentless bloodshed teeters on the brink of total destruction. In a desperate race against time, the twelve Zodiac must forge a tentative alliance to reclaim their homelands-before shadowy enemies hu...