1 Then the Stars Fell

Trembling like a small leaf in the wind, Tulip held her younger brother in her arms. Vesmis, the little boy, lay weakly in her embrace. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest slowed as his breathing was increasingly more laboured.

The bitter smell of rusted iron tickled her nose as more and more of her little brother's warm blood trickled down her arms like the wisps of his life ebbing away.

She, however, could not do anything but direct her gaze forward. Sitting on the dusty ground, she looked up in horror and grief.

Before her stood an old friend. A clansman whom she had known all her life.

They used to call him uncle Timbers.

Used to...

Whoever stood before them now was someone else entirely. A great portion of his bones and muscles were in view as chunks of his flesh continued to fall from his body as he slinked closer to them.

His posture was slumped and he walked at an unsteady pace. Almost limping, yet not. A small khopesh sword clutched in his right hand. The edge stained red.

This was the weapon he had used to gravely injure Vesmis. Tulip struggled to put strength into her legs and arms to lift off the ground into a run but failed.

Both shock and fatigue assaulted her mind from the recent events.

The brother and sister duo had venture out in the night to investigate the strange howling they had heard from their home.

Their small settlement was under a strict curfew after the recent disappearances of people, both from their own settlement and others.

Guards patrolled around while in full battle gear. Tanned, leather armour with steel arm guards and shin guards. Bows hung across their backs while swords dangled on their hips.

While fearful, curiosity still won over their hearts and they decided to leave.

To the both of them, the howling sounded remotely familiar. To their surprise, they had stumbled upon their old uncle Timbers wondering aimlessly in the valley.

As they had approached him, they stared and spotted oddities with his behavior but what they were most concerned about was getting him back home.

Where his son and wife, their aunt and cousin, were anxiously awaiting his return.

They remembered how their aunt had wept and begged on her knees to the Mahra, their clan's leader, to send out a search party for their uncle.

How could they have expected that he, their beloved uncle, would suddenly pounce at them while brandishing his khopesh.

A burst of adrenaline ripped through Tulip as she saw Vesmis reeling back from the attack and with her sharp instincts, immediately decided to flee while carrying her brother.

But they had wandered a great distance from their settlement and she could only run so far while carrying someone else before her legs gave out.

"Tulip," the young boy coughed lightly and said. "Just leave me and go tell everyone..."

His breathing was light and his voice was even lighter. It was a pleading whisper but the words rang in the deepest parts of her ears like a shout.

"They need to know what happened to uncle..."

He was not wrong. The wisest decision now may very well have been to abandon the boy and inform the tribe about what had happened.

But Tulip refused.

"You idiot! How could I leave you behind?" Her yell contained with it a deep remorse and sadness.

"Don't you dare say something like that again!"

She held his body even closer and pulled his head into her chest. Tears began to stream down the sides of her face as she softly sobbed.

The wind lightly brushed past them and the grass swayed.

"It's going to be okay..." She said in weak mumble. "Everything is going to be okay! Remember that tomorrow is really important."

At times, it was a heavy stomp. Some other times, it was a light tap.

Tulip squeezed her eyes shut resolutely.

"The Mahra said that he would announce the members of the next Bejant Trials!"

Her words sounded more like sobs.

"Who knows! Maybe you or I could be called!"

The sound of foot steps grew closer and so her voice grew louder.

"Papa said that you were really talented with a bow, didn't he? You better bring us glory!"

Stomp. Stomp.

"When you're famous and all the clans know your name, you better not forget your dear big sister!"

Stomp. Rustle. Step.

"I'll make sure you find a nice wife so make sure you come back home!"

She feigned a smile as she shouted. It was nearly time. The steps grew so close now that she could practically feel them.

"Just... Just come back home..."

She softly whimpered. Eyes still firmly shut.

Seconds passed but it felt like the world stood still in that moment. There was so much left she felt she could have said but was now, unable to.

A feeble cry could be heard from her chest as her brother also began to weakly cry out.

"I'm sorry... This is all my fault..." He sobbed.

This made her hug him even closer. If they were to leave this world, she was determined that they would leave together at the very least.

The wait was torment but there was nothing she could do.

She neither a wise shaman like her mother nor a powerful warrior like her father. She was just a child. Just short of being of age by a few months.

Precious moments passed them like this.

But nothing happened. A creeping anxiety dug deep into her mind. Why was nothing happening?

Even the sound of the footsteps ceased. Replaced with a soft, droning noise. At first it was barely a hum but now, it sounded like the air was rumbling above her.

It took sometime before she mustered up the courage to open her eyes only to witness a bizarre spectacle.

The undead creature stood stock still in place about three meters from her and stared directly upward to the sky.

Then she saw it.

Hundreds of lights streaked across the night sky in a dazzling array, illuminating the darkness.

To Tulip, it was like the sky itself was weeping as the stars fell from the heavens. Adding to her shock, she discovered one that was falling straight in her direction!

The shadowy valley they were in was now completely lit up as the rumbling grew louder while the ball of fire descended.

Even the ground faintly shook as if heralding it's arrival.

This all culminated into a loud explosion and massive burst of light that forced Tulip to shut her eyes once more.

A gust of heat washed over them and a cloud of dust and debris was lifted into the air as the star finally landed.

Tulip lifted her head and gazed into the impact crater which was about 30 meters from her and from it's depths, came a soft groan.

"Argh... It feels like I got hit by a truck..."

Following the voice, she could slowly make out a silhouette grumbling as it rose from the ground. She could also feel her brother shifting his head to take a look.

The dust began to clear and the figure took shape in the form of a rather large red and black yata with a strangely thin, long, black and white stripped tail.

However, it wasn't just a normal yata either. It looked like an enlarged version of those yata plush toys they had seen some parents gift to little children.

Even they had one growing up.

But the tail seemed extremely out of place as it clearly was not a normal yata's tail.

Before they could think about anything else, the now undead Timbers deftly sprinted with an awkwardly low posture.

At it's arrival at the crater, it suddenly leap into the air and swung down it's khopesh at the groaning plush yata.

Tulip's eye opened wide in shock and she expected to see a blood bath but what happened next was completely out of her expectations.

A divinely beautiful shield suddenly appeared on the strange yata's left arm and met the descended khopesh. The impact made the undead Timbers fall onto it's back after the attack was repelled.

It was struggling to stand up again when the yata suddenly said,

"Huh? A zombie? Get the fuck outta here, you trash mob!"

Tulip held her breath as she saw the yata moving so fast, her eyes could barely make out its shape. He arrived in front of the undead creature then swung his shield at it's chest.

The impact of the shield lifted the zombie off the ground and when its feet landed on the ground again, it staggered and struggled to stay upright. Seemingly dazed.

Less than a second later, the yata once again smashed his shield into the zombie but this time, with his full weight into the charge instead of just lightly swinging his shield.

"Hmph." The yata snorted in contempt as they all saw the zombie being sent flying and falling apart in the air like an unraveled ball of yarn.

Then the strange plush toy-like, red and black yata turned it's head in their direction. Tulip and Vesmis held their breath.