Guided by the Stars

Guided by the Stars

                "Hail to the stars!" - a single voice, loud and exultant, the priest.

                "HAIL TO THE STARS!" - many voices, proud and devoted, the chorus.

                "But why do we worship them?" - a child, young and curious, the doubter. An established role, repeated again and again, but a very important question.

                "Well child, let me tell you of our past." - an elderly person, old and happy, the wise one.

                "A very, very long time ago, we were savages. Without reason or purpose, we wandered the land, giving it no heed. We scavenged and hunted what we could with sticks and stones alone. Our people were few and though we called the land our home it was not truly so.

                "Then came the people of the Starled Empire. Mighty warriors arrived in our lands, bringing with them offers of knowledge and a better way of life. They showed us their might, slaying many of the terrible beasts that roamed our lands. They showed us their food, and weapons. To share in these gifts, to possess the same might, all that we had to do was follow the stars, as they did.

                "Many of our people accepted, and the handful who did not left for the west. The warriors moved on to carry the light of the stars further, but in their wake came great thinkers. Men and women who knew how we could use the land.

                "They taught us how to farm the land, and brought with them animals that could graze upon it. They showed us the special rocks that can be found beneath the earth, and ways to extract metals from them. They showed us how to combine metals into greater ones, and how these metals could be shaped into tools and weapons. They brought light to our land.

                "Our people grew in number, and we formed the villages that exist even today. In return for the light we honoured the stars. At times, we were called upon to aid the empire's expansion. They honoured us by letting us fight alongside them, as equals. This is why we worship the stars."

                "But didn't the empire fall?" - the doubter, once more.

                "Yes child, it did." - an adult, measured and steady, the learned one.

                "The Empire's people were great, and led by the stars they were very great. Yet humans are always greedy. They desire power. We, and others, who left power and control of man in the hands of the stars must take the correct path - resist the lure of taking power for ourselves.

                "There were those within the Empire who desired power for themselves. They began doing what the stars had not asked, and ignored the stars' advice - and eventually, their orders. Yet as terrible as this sacrilege is, it was not their worst sin. You see, child, one day they decided to lie.

                "The world became dark when those trusted to read the messages of the stars instead spoke their own orders instead. Many of the stars left the sky, the night becoming darker than it had in years. Starfalls - something that occurs when a message is sent - became rarer; despite the orders becoming more common. Within the Empire distrust and corruption spread like a plague.

                "Eventually the few star-readers who remained true to the stars revealed a dark truth - the stars no longer sent messages. The Starled Empire was led no more. Mankind's corruption had left the stars unable to lead, so they did the only thing they could to stop the lies.

                "Despite the darkness that has fallen, the last message was one of hope. 'We will return when the time is right,' it read. One day the Starled Empire will light the world again. This is why we worship the stars."

                "That doesn't sound right. The Starled Empire will return, but why do we still worship the stars? We are not the Empire." - a young adult, wondering and pointed, the thoughtful.

                "Because the stars are still watching us!" - a child, happy and carefree, the watchful.

                "How do you know?" - the thoughtful.

                "Look up!" - the watchful. The watchful points at the night sky; at the hundreds of stars spread over their lands; a cluster right above the village.

                "THE STARS!" - the chorus.

                With the completion of the ritual, the cluster of stars directly above the village pulses.

                There is a very long meeting in the tribe-hall that night.