A Quest for the Stars

Lenoria woke up to feel her legs moving on their own. She opened her eyes to find herself walking with her arms bound by a red string. At the end of a string was a man in black, wearing a flowing hanbok and a black-brimmed hat. The hands were pale, one of them wrapped with the string to get a better grip on it.

The girl looked around her. She was still at the park, but the sky was overcast. Instinctively, she looked for the boulder and there she found the eagle staring at the ground. She looked where it was facing, and that’s when it clicked.

She was dead. The predator was watching her prone corpse and the little raven standing on her chest. Time had stood still.

Her lips moved to say something, but she was quickly interrupted. “It can’t hear you,” said the male voice of the figure in black.

“Are you the Reaper?” The girl asked.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Please, Mr. Reaper, give me a chance! T-there’s a lot I have to live for!”

The Reaper stopped and looked back at Lenoria. He was not angry or sad, but his grim expression startled her. “I’m sorry, but I must now escort you to the Underworld, where you shall face your judgment.”

Judgment. The very word scared the girl. Cults of the dead would often scream on the streets about how judgment day would come for the unbelievers, but she always dismissed it as a bunch of loons trying to manipulate the crowds with scare tactics. They scared her, yes, but that didn’t make them less annoying for her.

“W-what’s going to happen to me?”

“You will wait to be judged, unless you are claimed by the angelic beings of the Upper Planes or the fiends of the Lower Planes.”

“I see,” the girl said. “What if I wasn’t that religious but didn’t do bad things?”

“Then you shall be judged by your deeds. If the Master deems you just and righteous, then you will be free to go to a plane of your choosing. But if you are guilty, then he will choose your punishment.”

Master? “I thought the Grim Reaper had no master.”

“Young lady, you must have me mistaken for someone else. I am simply one of the many servants of King Yeomra.”

“I heard of him.” Lenoria wished to test her knowledge. “He rules the realm of souls.”

She was in no hurry to meet him.

“Isn’t there anything I can do, mister, um-”

“Joo Dae-seong,” the man introduced himself. “It would be best if you addressed me by my title, however.”

“What is your title?”

“‘Messenger.’”

“R-right. Isn’t there anything I can do to return to the world of the living?”

The man in black shook his head solemnly.

“Can I at least visit my family? My friend? They have to know!”

“Even the living should know that is not how it works. If I allow you to roam free, then you will become a ghost. And it is my duty to prevent that from happening.”

Nothing was working. Even the afterlife had its rules, and they must have been absolutely grounded if a servant of a god of death was unwilling to compromise.

Lenoria returned to the spot where she died. She crouched next to her own corpse and tried grabbing her own hand with her bound hands. ‘Tried’ being the key word here as her new, pale hands went right through the dead body.

She caught her reflection on a nearby puddle of water. A strange light shone above her head. A halo. Her knees sank to the ground and a single tear fell from her eye.

“Do you plan to defy me,” asked the messenger.

Lenoria wanted to escape. She thought about trying her luck and maybe kicking the Messenger while he wasn’t looking. Then she looked at the eagle; a predatory bird, while dangerous, should not have been able to kill a human so easily, let alone four. Maybe the Messenger had some hidden power that would capture her or, worse, kill her again.

She decided against escaping. Whether her fate was cruel or not, the Messenger was just doing his job. How many more times does he have to do this today? Her parents taught her better than to make a difficult task even harder.

“No. I would just like to stay here a little longer.” She kept her gaze on the raven. “This little one is here because I saved his life. He must be trying to save mine.”

“That is absurd,” the Messenger said harshly, “most animals do not have that level of compassion.”

“This one does.” Lenoria sobbed. It was time to say goodbye, even if the raven could not hear her. “I wanted to protect you. Something nasty hurt you and I just happened to be there. And now you’re risking your life just to be there for me. You’re a dumb little bird, but you and Clara are the kindest souls I met at the Guild!” She scooped up the bird one more time. “You have to fly away and live! Please do that for me!”

The Messenger, rigid as he was, gave the girl a surprised look. “How are you doing that?”

“Doing whaAAA!” The raven was moving in her hands. Lenoria dropped it and was immediately relieved when the bird slowed its descent by flapping its wings. “You can move!”

The obsidian stone around the raven’s neck shone with a green light. The ghostly visage of a woman in a black gothic dress appeared behind the raven, staring at Lenoria firmly.

“I thank you for saving the life of my precious Poe. Now that you made contact with him, I can reach you even when you're in a timeless dimension such as this one. Anyone who goes out of their way to aid corvidkind is worthy of the Raven Star.”

Lenoria was mesmerized by the woman’s appearance. “Who are you?” She could barely get the words out, but she did so fluidly.

“I am Pearl, the spirit of the Corvus Constellation. And you, girl, are free to borrow its power.” The woman in black approached Lenoria and gently cupped the girl’s head with both hands. “You do not wish for things to end here, do you?”

Pearl, made by Midjourney

“N-no, I don’t.” Lenoria could not keep eye contact and just closed her eyes. “Corvus? I haven’t heard of that constellation.”

“The stars of the universe are infinite. There’s bound to be star patterns you’ve never seen before.” Pearl released Lenoria. “I can grant you a second chance at life with my power, but in exchange you must aid me on my quest. This quest is sure to bring pain, misery, and tears in your life. But you will not be bound in servitude; you are free to pursue your goals during downtime. I only request that you help me whenever I ask.”

“Is the quest dangerous?”

“Yes. You will definitely get hurt, but you will be stronger than before with my power.”

That was Lenoria’s only concern. By all accounts, she should be dead and moving on to the afterlife. She wasn’t a big believer in destiny, but she wanted to live long enough to make a name for herself and get her family out of debt. And she was going to need power to make it happen. If none of this was real and was just a dream, then she had to wake up sooner or later.

“You would claim her soul,” asked the Messenger.

Pearl shook her head. “I am not a fiend nor am I interested in buying a soul. I simply need the girl until my quest is finished, then she can move on with her life. I’ll even resurrect her with my power.”

The Messenger nodded. “Very well. If it is a simple revival spell, then I will take my leave. But if it’s anything else, I must report it to my master. I will remain here until the girl either decides to come with me or return to life in a proper manner.”

Lenoria wiped her face with her forearm. “How long do I have to make a decision?”

“As much time as you need. Time will resume once your soul re-enters your body, but it may take a while for your soul fragments to return to you. Once they reunite, you’ll be able to awaken.”

Lenoria planned to accept in any case, but she wanted to gauge how sincere Pearl really was. Worst-case scenario, if Pearl wanted to enslave her or wanted to screw her over in some cosmic way, Lenoria would (begrudgingly) leave with the reaper and face her judgment.

“What are your terms?” The first question was simple, but she expected a complicated answer. Lenoria figured as long as time stood still, she should leave no stone unturned as far as questions go. She already formulated more questions, each depending on the answer Pearl gave her.

“You will help me hunt down the Soulstones, as dictated by my master. This task may take years, even decades. It may not even be completed during your lifetime. For this reason, I won’t try to force you to complete this as soon as possible.”

“What would I get in exchange?”

“Other than another chance at life?”

“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“I guess not. You’ll be granted the power of the Corvus Soulstone. What you can do with it depends on how powerful your soul is.” Pearl nodded to the little raven, who flew over to Lenoria.

Lenoria held out her arm for the little raven to land on it. “Your name is Poe, huh? I was going to name you Kazehaya or Toki, but it looks like you already belong to someone.” She lifted the stone with her index finger. “So that’s what this is called. Soulstone. But why me, Pearl?”

“I already told you; you saved Poe’s life.” Pearl pointed at the predator on the boulder. “Poe was attacked by that eagle. He barely escaped with his life, but his wings could only take him a short distance with that injury. That’s when he found you.”

“So, this task could have easily fallen on anyone?”

“Yes, but not everyone is like you. There was no guarantee you - or anyone else, really - would have healed my little Poe.”

CAW!

Pearl chuckled amusedly. “And it appears he’s taken a liking to you.”

It would explain why the raven - Poe - acted differently from other birds. He was guided by someone else. The more Lenoria thought about it, the more foolish she felt for not catching the signs earlier. “If that’s the case, couldn’t you have contacted me before we went to the park?”

“I wanted to speak with you alone, but that’s when your friend found you. It was all for nothing, because she is aware of my existence now.”

“What’s wrong with that? If there is more than one Soulstone, people are gonna know sooner or later.”

Pearl shook her head sadly. “And therein lies the problem. More people means more fights. The spirits of the Soulstones are like me, they grant power to people they deem worthy. But not all of them possess the wisdom to judge someone as worthy. Conflict is inevitable and we’re not going to find them all overnight. But we face trouble if they fall into wrong hands.”

Pearl and Lenoria caught a blue glint from the eagle’s stone.

“Exhibit A. The power of the Soulstones is so strong they can awaken the minds of animals. And the color of the stone indicates it holds the power of the Aquila Constellation.”

“I was right. I would have died sooner if I treated it like any other animal.” Lenoria wanted payback, but more than anything she wanted to get out of the situation with her life. “In summation, I collect these stones for you so you can return them to your master. Why does he want them?”

Lenoria wanted to know if the stones were to be used for some evil purpose.

Pearl kept her eyes downcast. “My master created them. He is a smith of unparalleled power, but a freak accident scattered the stones to your planet. He just wants them back.”

“You’re from another planet?”

“Yes. Are you having second thoughts?”

Lenoria giggled. “Nope! I always wondered if there was life outside of this planet. I mean, there are other dimensions but a few years back we learned that this world is a celestial body that is greater than the moon in the sky, according to scholars, anyway. Now, if your master wanted to use these stones for some evil master plan, then we’d have a problem.”

“Our master has always been a noble man. He wants just a handful of stones across the cosmos, not his entire collection.” Pearl looked at Lenoria solemnly. “Do you have any more questions? I have a feeling I’ve addressed your greatest concerns.”

“I only have one more. Am I going to have to sell my soul to you in any way, shape, or form?”

Pearl smiled. “No. This is less of a wish and more of a request for help. A deal, an oath, a contract, whatever else have you, that states you won’t back out of your promise as long as I don’t back out of mine. And vice versa.”

Lenoria returned the smile. “Only if you let me take the lead. Deal?” The girl extended her hand for Pearl, and both women shook on it.

***

Alistair Adams ran to the park as fast as his legs could take him. When a student in distress ran up to him and asked for his help, the blond boy did not hesitate to put down his baguette sandwich and follow the elven girl. Grunting in exasperation, his companion put away his own sandwich and followed right behind them with a hand on the axe strapped to his back.

Alistair

When Alistair, his companion, and the elven girl arrived at the park, they immediately noticed four motionless bodies on the ground. Alistair checked the closest one, which appeared to be a man in an explorer’s outfit with a hunting rifle.

No pulse.

A shriek from the elven girl alerted him of the body closest to the gunman: a young blonde girl wearing a bloody, damaged shirt made of iron chains.

“Lenoria!” The elven girl ran to the corpse and lifted her head. “She’s cold! Please, help her!”

“Lord Beau,” Alistair said to his companion, “is that-?”

“I’m afraid so. This is the girl Gabrielle wanted to meet. Looks like our visit here was all for nothing.”

“All for nothing?” The elven girl stood back up and poked the chest of the red-haired man. “You have to help her!”

Alistair got on one knee to examine Lenoria. “Rest assured, your friend will be given priority. But if she is truly gone, then I’ll have to check on the others.” The lad scratched his head. “Piercing wounds, like arrows.” He gently caressed the wound on the girl’s neck and pulled out an invisible object from it. “A feather. But who could have done this?”

The lad got to work. A holy light emanated from his hand which he then proceeded to place on Lenoria’s neck. New skin sealed the puncture wound, and the same occurred when he placed his hand on Lenoria’s belly and elbows.

“Her pulse is weak, but she’ll live.”

Blood spurted out of a puncture wound made on Beau’s neck. Voicing an exasperated grunt, the ox of a man pulled out the invisible feather and turned around to meet the aggressor. He spotted an eagle on top of a boulder wearing a sky-blue gemstone around its neck, spreading its wings as if to make itself look bigger. “I believe we found the culprit.”

The elven girl took a step back. “That eagle was there earlier. But they just hunt smaller prey. Maybe the culprit was another.”

“Don’t be an idiot. Look around you.” Beau pointed at each of the corpses on the ground. “All of them died from similar wounds, and Alistair said he found a feather lodged in that girl’s neck. On top of that, no eagle holds a stone that just glows out of nowhere.” Beau’s irises shrank and voiced a crazed laugh. “Alistair! Heal the girl while I take care of this! My blood’s boiling!”

“You’ll get in trouble if you do that,” the elven girl warned.

“Ma’am, let it go.” Alistair dislodged three other feathers from the girl’s body. “Once Lord Beau makes the decision to hunt, there’s no stopping him.”

“You’re a paladin, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you obey the law?!” A shower of dust rained on the elf as a battle between Beau and the bird had already begun. The predator flew in the sky and immediately dive bombed towards the elf. The girl raised her staff to protect herself, but Beau stepped in at the last second to shield her from a bite that tore off a chunk of skin from his hand.

“Do you still believe this thing isn’t the culprit?! It clearly means to kill us!” The big man swung his axe at the eagle but the predator had flown away in time. “Alistair, I’ll need some patching up later.” He held up his wounded hand. “Save some of your healing magic for me.”

Alistair nodded, to which Beau responded in kind before running off after the bird. “Ma’am!” He waited for the elven girl to face him before continuing. “To answer your question, my duty is to protect the people first, the government second. Besides, in the four years I worked with Lord Beau, my first mistake was believing I could tell him what to do. Not to mention, I’ll need your help, miss, um-”

“Clara.”

“Miss Clara, then. I’m Alistair.”

“Why do you need my help? I know nothing about human anatomy.”

“You see, um,” the boy began, thinking heavily on each word that would follow, “this isn’t the first time a girl needed my help. When she awoke, all she noticed was her clothes piled neatly close to her and not the bandages I placed around her entire body until long after she had beaten me with a nailed club.”

“Oh. So, you need-”

“-a witness to vouch for me, yes. Are you afraid?”

Clara shook her head. “We had a field trip to the local clinic, once. They let us look at some of the worst injuries anyone’s ever seen, with patient approval. I should be fine.”

“Lenoria!” Alistair and Clara witnessed the arrival of a balding man with a snotty nose and a pungent body odor. “Oh, my love! Does she need mouth to mouth?”

“Who are you?” Alistair asked the newcomer who sat on the ground by Lenoria’s head. Alistair’s irises changed to a red color as he stared at the man intensely.

Clara shoved the newcomer away. “Thomas, what are you doing here?!”

“I’m her boyfriend,” Thomas told Alistair. “She’s not dead, is she?”

Squinting his eyes at Thomas, Alistair was not too pleased to see him. “Ah, Thomas Carpathia. I heard about you.” Alistair’s irises returned to their natural blue color. “Her pulse returned, by the grace of the gods. But I need to patch up her wounds or else she is at risk of death.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary! Just give her to me, I’ll take her to the school’s infirmary!” Thomas then looked at Clara with a pleading look and made a shushing motion.

But only an enabling idiot would stay quiet at a time like this.

“What are you scheming this time? Didn’t Lenoria tell you to back off earlier?”

“I-it was just a lovers’ squabble, honest!” Thomas was focused more on Alistair and tried to convince him over Clara. “You have to believe me, kid!”

Alistair remained indifferent. “Word does travel fast concerning you, sir. And I’m not even into gossip. Even if you are who you claim to be, I can’t let you carry the patient here until she is awake and can give her consent.”

Clara leaned closer to Thomas, but not before taking a deep breath. “You do know what consent is, right? You’ll have to wait until Lenoria wakes up and be able to clarify the situation for us before you can even lay a finger on her.”

Alistair watched the older man recoil from Clara’s statement. Why was he so nervous? A reasonable man would understand the situation and wait for his beloved to awaken and confirm or deny his story.

Alistair sighed. “I heard enough. Get out. You’re disrupting my work.”

Thomas dropped to his knees and groveled before Alistair. “P-please, sir! I love her so much! This is my chance to show her I can take care of her!”

“There is no way he is the number one student of the Guild. Lady Gabrielle, why are we here?” Alistair shot Thomas a squinted look once again. “Is this really the time? She needs medical attention.” Alistair did not believe him in the slightest; his body language, outrageous claims, and Clara’s attitude towards him told a completely different story. “I need you to tell me what you’re really after. Be honest with me, and you may have a chance.”

Clara was shocked. “Alistair!”

“However,” the boy continued while ignoring Clara, “if you lie to me again, this won’t end well for you.”

“But I didn’t lie to you,” Thomas lied.

Alistair sighed. He was done observing the much older man and he had enough. “Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn’t!”

There was an underlying fury in Alistair’s calm expression. He was done with this conversation. “Is that so? If you really want to help, then I’ll need to know your medical experience.”

“M-medical experience?”

“The human body is a fickle thing. Operating on it takes skill, and the wrong move can kill her. I need to see proof that you can handle it.”

“I’m more than qualified, just give me a chance! I know my way around a body.”

Alistair looked at the contents of his toolbox. Sutures, needles, bandages, and liquids in labeled bottles. His lips curved for a moment before giving Thomas a saddened look. “Okay, I’m convinced. I should let you help if you are who you claim to be. Time is running short and delaying any further could prove to be fatal.”

Clara was horrified. “Alistair, no! He’s lying to you!”

“Thank you, thank you!” Thomas rubbed his hands together, giving Lenoria a lecherous gaze. “What do you need me to do, doc?”

The lad wrote on a piece of parchment with a quill, then on an envelope. He folded the paper, placed it on the envelope, licked the envelope shut, and handed it to Thomas. “I need you to go to the address listed on the envelope. This girl lost a lot of fluids, and she will need plenty of them if she is to stay alive. Give the person in charge that slip, and they’ll take care of the rest. Can you do that for me? I’ll let this girl know how you contributed if you do.”

Thomas read the address. “Oh, it’s close to here!” He pocketed the slip away. He placed himself in a daze and imagined what Lenoria would say if he took credit for saving her life. Without a word, Thomas ran out of the park.

Once Thomas was out of earshot, Alistair sighed with relief. “Good. Now we can continue.”