Comet's Fall 1: Ostancine

Chapter 1.1

Many times in my life I came to feel that my destiny was bound for the dust. During my time in the city-states across the coast I came to know dust well, especially here in the city of Ostancine, where it seems like the dust from the plains is determined to seep its way through every nook and cranny it can be blown through, only to settle in every nook and cranny that it can settle in. I thought I had escaped dust when I came out of the college of astronomy and took my place at Dr. Khalis's observatory, yet there I was nose to nose with what seemed to be the greater meaning of my life; dust. It was caked on every surface within the observatory, and it seemed like no matter how hard I scrubbed I just kicked it up into the air only to find another cranny to settle in.
"Dr. Khalis, I am an astronomer and I deserve more than this," I rehearsed, dusting a thin layer of film off of a halberd above the mantle. I sneezed as my rag waving threw clump of dust up my nose. A growl escaped my mouth as I rushed to get it out, feeding my determination to face the doctor this day.

The observatory was a big place. It took up what some people within the overcrowded city would have called a mansion, and with its square footage it certainly rivaled the size of some of the city's more modestly sized tenement blocks. However the whole building, unlike other buildings of its size, was hollow and supported a large glass dome at the peak of its third story. The only rooms that the dome didn't cover were the living room which the guests entered into, my living quarters on the first floor adjoining the kitchen and lavatory, and the doctor's quarters on the second floor, which adjoined his office.

As I cleared out my sinuses again I took to beating the dust off of the sofas with my rag. I felt a frown drag down the corners of my mouth as I noticed the film I'd just rubbed off of the mantle adhere itself to the upholstery. A fire burned in the back of my mind and I hit it again, flinging more dust into the air. With a sigh I made my way across the observation room's floor to fetch yet another rag. I had lost count of how many times had sulked to the kitchen to grab new cleaning materials this day.
" Dr. Khalis. I, Malia Prachet,am a trained astronomer, and I deserve more than this." Yes,that one sounded better. I had to remind him who I am. I cleared my throat and rehearsed again as I made my way through the observatory's main room.

Despite all the times I had cleaned this mammoth space, I still felt a sense of awe as I entered the observation room. The whole place was shaped like two amphitheaters facing each other, each level separated by a sharp, meters-high drop and a steep stairwell. A ground level walkway was there to lead one through the space to the stairs which led to the doctor's office, and to the cubby that led to the kitchen and my room. All design elements aside, the main focus of the room was obvious. The circular, terraced levels that made their way to the top of the dome were dotted with at work stations, each with telescope and small desk or two. It was one part classroom and one part performance space, and I smiled as I day dreamed of having class in that space.

  I remembered fondly how one of the professor's from the astronomy academy had brought us here to listen to Dr. Khalis speak. The insights delivered that day were fascinating, and from my first visit to this observatory I knew I needed to work here. In the last two years, however, he had become sullen and quiet. His doors had been closed to students and he had even gone so far as to fire his whole staff. Some said the old man's days of climbing around were over, and the astronomical community would just have to wait until the Khalis Observatory fell into the hands of the state. Having heard his fiery teaching style, I wasn't so easily convinced that he was retiring though. After all, his opening motto for all of his seminars was "Man is destined to explore the stars until he returns to them."Those are not the words of a man who would give way to old age. No,those are words of inspiration, which brought me to the exploration of the stars and even made me dare to dream of opening my own school some day.