Darin was used to moving. She moved practically all day since before she could walk. There was rarely a time for stillness where she grew up. She moved around the house. She moved around the field. She moved around town and around the market. Lately she had been walking or riding practically nonstop. Darin was used to moving. She was just not used to moving quickly. She could run and had before. She wasn’t the swiftness in her village, but she had never considered herself slow before; until today. Today was a lesson in a completely different type of moving that Darin wasn’t sure she was used to.

It had started out fine. Darin was more than capable of avoiding Ridahne’s hands as they came at her. The human was under no illusions. She knew full well that the Elf was holding back. Still she felt capable enough for the moment. Then without warning speed up. It was a slow process and at first Darin still managed to avoid most of the blows. It wasn’t long before the blows making contact greatly outnumbered the blows she avoided. Darin did the best she could, but she just couldn’t keep up. She was not surprised when, in an attempt to avoid a strike to her arm that had already been hit twice, she slipped over nothing and went tumbling to the ground.

Darin cried out, “Break please! Breaktime!”

The human felt sore and exhausted. She could also feel the bruises that were starting to form. She was glad for the leather armband that Ridahne had given her. It meant that the stitches on her forearm were spared top much damage though her whole arm was throbbing as she struggled to breath. Darin had never wanted to build up this type of stamina before. She had always been more interested in being able to work all day in whatever weather there was. The trick to that was eating enough and drinking enough water. Darin had a feeling that this was a completely different type of stamina. It would take practice. That was for certain.

Darin was still on her back from where she had fallen. She wasn’t in the mood to really get up right away. The stars were slowly starting to come out. Darin traced the constellations that she knew. There was the Snake peeking his head above the horizon. The three stars that made he’s head could be plainly seen and the seven that made his body would be visible as the stars traveling across the night sky. The Hunter would follow; chasing the Serpent in revenge for killing his child. Despite the fact that Darin had no sense of direction whatsoever she could always find the constellations. She knew all of the stories as well; at least the ones that the elders told. She wondered what stories Ridahne had about the stars. Were they any different?

Darin pointed at one star that everyone in Astra knew, “The Elders say that Ravi was a good person; they just got lost all the time. In fact; they were such a good person that when they died the gods granted them a boon. Ravi was so tired of being lost all the time that they asked for a way to make sure that no one was ever really lost ever again. So the gods placed them in the sky, so they could provide a frame of reference for everyone that looked up in wonder.” Darin twisted her head to look at Ridahne, “It that the story you were taught?”

Darin was vaguely aware of Ravi, the Overseer not the star, watching them. She knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away for long. Darin knew that inherently the Overseer was a good person. He was good in a way most people failed to be. He still liked to meddle more than was necessary wise. He had also hadn’t been questioned in far too long. He was used to people just doing as he told them to do. That wasn’t necessarily bad. It was just Darin couldn’t afford to just follow. She knew that. The Tree had told her that. She needed to learn how to be a leader and she needed to learn how to be a leader quickly. She never planned for that. She just hoped she was up for the task.