Antiquity was an interesting, if bland, place. At least from what Qullqiya had seen so far, though admittedly she spent most of her time seeking other gods and trying to figure out if they were useful to her. She had some ideas in mind of what she was sinking, but the god that actually caught her full attention was not one that she had intended to meet, in fact, it was a god she didn’t even know existed until this very moment. She approached him directly. [color=DAA250]”Hello, pardon the interruption as you look at the board, yet I couldn’t help but to notice your aura is very similar to that which runs up in the starry sky. Do you happen to be the god who oversees such things?”[/color] Sirius barely moved except for his cloak slightly pulling closer to him. He whispered, “Yes.” [color=DAA250]”Well, that is actually excellent! See, well, don’t take this the wrong way, I am not a god who wants her creations to have special treatment, on the contrary I think challenges are good for them. Yet… If they fail at it for about uhh… a thousand years? Give or take a century. That is when I start to think about seeking the help of others who have the expertise necessary on the fields in which I need assistance.”[/color] She summoned a chair and sat down. [color=DAA250]”Say, have you heard of witches? I know for sure some of them do feel very passionate about the stars so maybe a prayer or two reached you?”[/color] “I have … been keeping an eye on … Galbar. There have been some... things of concern.” [color=DAA250]”Oh there has been many for sure, though it seems most of us gods disagree on what the concerning developments are. Oh, speaking of development, let me just say, fantastic work with the stars, really excellent things. I am sure you will be able to help to maximize the potential of the witches.”[/color] she made a finger gun and winked for a moment. [color=DAA250]”See… witches, they uh, come of age at around 100, well, either they come of age or they die. I don’t want to bore you with the magical-biological-social mambo jambo, but they end up choosing between storing mana in their flesh and being attuned to the earthly telluric energies or store mana in their blood and be attuned to the celestial telluric energies. Or it should be an option, but none so far has managed to do the latter. Many earthly witches were born, yet no celestial one has managed to make it.[/color] Sirius turned around to face Qull, “There is more to the stars than power and blood.” Qull took a deep breath, looking up at the sky of Antiquity for a moment. [color=DAA250]”Oh, I know there are, I know it all too well. The stars are truly fantastic, complex, pretty things. Perhaps that is why there is such a high failure rate? I tried teaching them like I did with the Earthly style but I failed to get the actual results. I mean… it's a pretty sorry state of affairs, they are all people who are passionate about the stars, if only they could have… some help…”[/color] “I am sure… I could help. Perhaps… it is simply easier to surrender the stars than it is … to surrender the earth. I could tell them how… but would they listen?” [color=DAA250]”Well, can’t vouch for all of them, I make sure of having very individual creations. Some won’t, and they will fail for that, yet, am equally certain some will listen to your guidance.”[/color] “If the issue is the duality… of the far and the near. Then the… easy solution would be to sever the connection to the … near. Let me consider… renouncing one's lands and titles, while spending a year… or so, in a high place such as a mountain… contemplating and mapping the stars… that should work.” [color=DAA250]”Hmm… Not many witches have earthly possessions such as land, but there are equivalences, equivalences which would also be renounced in such a way. Though you speak of contemplation… Perhaps the core of the issue is in the fact most witches have very active minds, often anxious or overthinking, not used to such types of meditative contemplation.”[/color] the statue-like goddess smiled. [color=DAA250]”See? I knew talking with you would be worth it.”[/color] “Yes. Unlike myself… you are skilled with words.” Sirius said, turning around. A note appeared on the notice board detailing the zodiac. [color=DAA250]”Well, each of us have their individual skills. Anyway! Let’s hope the first celestial witch is born soon, I have been thinking about this topic for way too long.”[/color] she turned to face the zodiac note in the message board, rubbing her chin gently as she took in its information. [hr] Life felt unfair as of late. It always felt like such a distant date, she couldn’t believe she was almost there already, a whole century of life. She hadn’t been the best witch, not in a moral sense, oh no, she was pretty well controlled for a witch, but she lived life way too easily, she hated hard things so she took her time merely enjoying the little things. That kept most of the dangers at bay, but not time… and now… It was unfair, so unfair! If there was one aspect of magic she loved, it was the stars, she would spend hours a day playing and tugging at the celestial forces and letting them pull her back. She felt so light and careless when that happened, it was nothing like the raging force of the earth. Yet, to survive to the next year, she would have to say goodbye to the stars. She could feel her body unfraying internally, unable to take her duality anymore. Well, death was an option, but she was afraid of that, though being earth-bound forever… was not all that better. She patted a celestial sheep in the head, at least she would have these little fellas around her forever once she… She couldn’t finish the thought, lying to herself wasn’t working. She returned to her cottage, opening all the scrolls she could. “T-this time, t-this time for sure! I will understand the nature of magic and figure out how to keep my mana infused blood. I-I… p-please…” she kept looking over the papyrus, seeking an answer she wouldn’t find there. She kept looking for the whole night, until finally she broke, witches didn’t often pray, only the most desperate or naive ones. She pressed her hands together against her chest and looked at the stars. “I don’t want to become numb to the stars. I don’t want it… It’s the only magic I can TRULY feel… please… Kukia, Chirus… someone… I beg you for guidance!” A soft, emotionless whisper emanated somewhere vaguely behind her, “Why should you have this power?” Her eyes widened, she looked all around her for a moment, was that a god, a spirit or just her mind going insane? It didn't matter, she would answer it. “Why… I uh… uh…” her eyes teared up. “I know I am not the most skillful, or the most intelligent, but… I always sought this. So many witches had given up on the stars knowing there would be this obstacle in their future, but not me… I had hope I could be the one who could do it… not for fame or glory, but… Oh it must sound like I think I deserve something because I worked for it, I know this isn’t how the world works, I had to try to do this because it was the only way to have a chance to break the barrier, I couldn’t, but I don’t regret the time spent.” she ended her monologue with a long sigh. The whisper continued, its tone unchanged from before, “What will you do with this power?” “I uh… I will study it! I want to feel what it's like, I want to see what I can do if I truly dedicate myself fully to it.” “How can a bird fly when it is shackled and lacks wings?” the whisper continued, immediately afterwards a rolled scroll rolled off the table. She turned to look at the scroll, her eyes quickly widening as she found things she had never read before on it. She devoured the contents of the paper, reading it through the night and then five times more in the next few days. Her mind was racing about all she had read, the zodiac signs, the way the stars worked... she stopped herself. Somehow, even with the text in hands, it wasn’t working out fully. She let her mind wander back to the words of the voice. What shackles her? Her lack of skill? Her lack of focus? Was she a wingless bird and nothing more? She thought about it over and over, her mind running wild with all the possibilities. Looking back at the scroll, there were two birds on the zodiac, the wren and the owl. Was she supposed to become more like one? The power of the zodiac waxes and wanes over time, if she bound herself to one, then the consequences would be potentially lethal when it reaches its lowest point. Then she noticed a small detail, the wren and owl were strongest when the other was weakest, then if she bonded herself to both, it might be feasible. But was it possible? Bonding seemed like the path to doing the act, to do what earthly witches did but with the celestial realm. She stopped to think about what the wren and the owl meant… When one stops to think about it they are very different actions, one is spending your attention internally while the other is an external focus, but both are necessary for wisdom. She sighed and got up. Everything around her seemed to distract her, she was neither instropecting or observing at the moment. Deciding to cut the noise, she picked her scroll and left, there were no mountains where she lived with clear air and easy view of the sky, but the whole place was sparsely populated anyway, and the fact she was a witch only kept her more distant from the people. She had faith that once this was all over, her new life would start, one bound to the stars. [hr] [hider= Story Summary] Qull encounters Sirius while he is looking at the noticeboard, and they have a discussion about witches, and in particular celestial witches. Sirius is suspicious of Qull, for creating witches in the first place, but goes along with it as it suits his own agenda. Sirius leaves a note explaining the zodiac on the noticeboard before leaving. A witch desperately tries to connect to the stars, but is close to resigning herself to death or a miserable life as an earth witch. She prays to Sirius and asks her cryptic questions, but ultimately leaves her with a note explaining what she truly needs to know about astrology in order for it to work. She studies the note and eventually realizes that in order to become a zodiac, a witch must embrace two opposing zodiacs so that their connection to it remains stable regardless of the zodiac period. [/hider] [hider= Might Summary] -2 might bless the witches with the ability to become celestial witches [/hider]