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Imported post - written by whisper
Above the world of Hyborea sat a ring of shining silver. It wrapped all the way around her waist, but not too snugly. It had the comfortable fit of something that was well-worn and carefully chosen.
The Argent Ring, as it was called, had once been a ring of rocks and ice around the blue world. It had captivated the planet's inhabitants for generation upon generation, until at last they found a way to reach out and touch it. The first voyages had not gone well. The ships made it well enough, but the brave passengers had not fared well in the cold, airless reaches of space.
For Hyboreans, science never really took hold. There was little reason for it to go beyond the basics. When asked why a thing happened, "magic" is a convenient answer that was often enough true. That left them with a poor understanding of the more necessary fundamentals when it came to getting space travel right the first time.
The scientific method - or the "magic method", as they were wont to call it - did, fortunately, exist. When the first ships did not return, subsequent ones were sent with a more .. careful approach. Less bravado, more careful study. The notion that the atmosphere simply stopped at some point came as quite the shock. The lack of gravity was received in much the same manner.
As creatures who were familiar with going above and below the sea, the lack of these two things was not seen as particularly large challenges to overcome. Ways to capture and recycle air around ships had been discovered long ago and gravity was solved easily enough.
And so, armed with little more than magically enhanced sailing ships, the first Hyboreans reached the ring around their world.
Many, many generations later, it had been converted into a sprawling port that circled the entirety of Hyborea.
"Fia!" yelled a boy's voice. He was not quite a teenager yet, but more than old enough to move about independently. He ran through the streets towards his target, deftly moving around merchants and shoppers alike. His loosely fitting clothes, once brightly colored but now just pastels, caught the wind and the turns of his body as he maneuvered.
"Fia!" he yelled again, coming to a stop to catch his breath. "Where could she-"
A meager hand waved back at him from one side of the street. Sitting in a pile of her own loosely fitting clothes was a girl only slightly older than the boy. She could proudly declare herself well into her teenage years by now, which meant she was approximately fourteen. In a year, she would be an adult - but for now she could not quite claim that honor. Sitting before her were a collection of odds and ends that she'd been doing her best to sell all day.
"Fia," said the boy with admonishment as he approached. "You know you're supposed to be back by now. The Headmaster gets real sour when we're late."
The girl looked up and brushed some of the thick, light blue tentacles that were the Hyborean equivalent of hair out of her face. "Is it that time already?" she said in a dreamy tone.
The boy crossed his arms. "It is."
She looked down at all her things and began to collect them into the satchel she wore at her hip. Once she was done, they left together along the dusty streets towards a horizon that curved up ahead of them until the end was so far away that it simply tapered off and faded.
The Headmaster was not pleased.
"Fiametta!" she called, her stocky frame blocking the door that would have led them further into the building they called home.
"Yes, Headmaster," the girl, Fia, replied with downcast eyes.
"You know that you are supposed to be here before the tenth bell strikes. All of the others have been waiting for you to arrive so that we can eat. You must apologize to them."
"Yes, Headmaster," the girl said again.
When the way was no longer blocked, the girl and her companion walked past the Headmaster and into the large eating hall. Simple dishes of fish stew were placed out for the dozen or so other adolescents in the room. Two spots were conspicuously empty and the angry eyes cast her direction told her that all the others were keenly aware of just how empty those seats were.
And for how long.
She looked around at the others with a solemn face. "I'm sorry everyone. I just lost track of time."
"You always lose track of time, Fia," grumbled one of the other youths. "You're going to be an adult soon. You have to start acting like one."
Fiametta looked off to the side, then nodded. "You're right."
"Of course I am," replied the other. The girl usually was right, after all, and she was not shy about it. She'd been apprenticing to a local Runecarver and had let it go to her head.
Apologies offered, Fia and the boy took their seats. He nudged her a bit and spoke in a quiet voice, "Don't let them get to you. You're just.. somewhere else sometimes, that's all. You're lucky you've got me to grab your anchor line and haul you back to shore."
Fia nodded appreciatively. "That I am, Cosi." The warm smile she gave him was all the reward he wanted.
While the youths ate, the Headmaster walked to the head of the table with a sheaf of papers in hand. "It's time to announce the next round of apprenticeships!" That got everyone's attention.
The older Hyborean listed off a few names before arriving at one that interested the pair. "Cosimo! You'll be joining the Shipwrights' guild under a Master Matteo. Congratulations on having your request accepted."
Cosi's eyes went wide at the news and he stood up to yell out a cheer. The others laughed with good nature until Fia shyly pulled him back down.
When the noise died down, the Headmaster gave a heavy sigh before making the next announcement. "Fiametta! You've been asked for at the Starfinders' hall. Master Pasqua asked for you specifically, in fact, though I haven't the slightest idea why or how she'd even know you were here. Did you put a request in?"
Fia, aghast, shook her head. "N-no Headmaster," she managed. She had no idea who 'Master Pasqua' was or why she'd have any interest in her.
"Well," said the Headmaster after giving Fia a considering stare. "Well, I'm happy for you. Try to keep your head out of the stars while you're there and you might just turn out alright."
The rest of the evening did not go well for Fiametta. Having finished her food along with the others, there was little to do but socialize until lights out was announced.
She did not enjoy socializing. Especially when she was the topic of the conversation, one that had a decidedly unkind bend to it. That she, of all people, had been picked for a Starfinder apprentice position just was not going over well with some of the other youths.
Cosimo, on the other hand, was quite enjoying being the center of attention. Everyone knew he'd wanted to become a shipwright and he'd been putting in lots of work to get there. They slapped his back, shook his hand, and generally congratulated him in a way that showed just how much they'd noticed all his effort. He smiled sheepishly at the others, sharp teeth shining, but his eyes were for Fia.
Once he'd managed to shake them off, he sat at her side.
"A Starfinder, huh?"
She jutted out her bottom lip and twisted it, clearly not pleased. "I didn't ask for it."
Cosi leaned back and looked up, imagining the stars above. "I didn't think you did."
"I don't want it," she continued.
"I'm sure you don't," he replied, nodding. "But maybe this is a chance for you, yeah? If you do well - who knows! Maybe you'll get to guide one of my ships one day."
The girl looked at Cosi's playfully boasting expression and then gave him a light shove. "You've got a long way to go before you're making ships, Cosi."
"Sure, sure," he said, grinning wider. "But one of these days, I will. And then who's going to make sure it doesn't crash into some space rock? I'd be devastated if that happened."
She narrowed her eyes at him, then stuck her tongue out.
"This will be your room," said a gentle, older man. His locks were nearly waist-length and braided behind back, while his clothes - well, they were fancy. Fia wasn't really sure what to call them, but there was buttons and such all over it. He certainly had more gold jewelry than she was used to seeing. He motioned at her and she broke out of staring at him to enter.
The room wasn't massive, but it was the first time she'd ever had a room to herself. She'd been warned by the Headmaster that this might be the case and to "not gawk and make us all look like a bunch of backwater idiots".
She only gawked a little.
"Thank you," she managed. A bed, dresser, mirror, and so on were all present as she looked around. None of it was ostentatious, but it was all well made. The window caught her attention and she went to look out it. On the other side, she could see Hyborea above, in all its blue beauty, and the silvery ring that was her home stretching off into the distance. Below, she saw people bustling about the courtyard of her new home. She had noticed that there weren't many youths here and she still didn't see any while she watched.
"Is the room to your satisfaction?"
What?
Fia pulled her attention away from the window and to the source of the voice. The man was still standing there patiently.
Oh!
"Yes! Yes, it's fine, thank you. I'm sorry- I didn't know that-"
"It's quite alright, miss," replied the man with a warm smile. "I'll come fetch you later, when Master Pasqua is ready for you. Until then, feel free to get comfortable."
The door shut and Fia was left on her own. It was strange, not hearing the noise of the street as people walked by her or the hushed conversations of the others in the shared quarters that all the other kids had spent the rest of their days in. If she strained, she could hear distant chatter or the sounds of walking in the hallway, but it began to sink in that this was truly her room. As long as she stayed in "Master Pasqua"'s good graces, that was.
She spent the next hour or so - at least, it felt that long - staring out the window before there was a knock at the door. The elderly Hyborean man opened it not long after.
"It's time to meet your patron, Fiametta. This way."
She was led down corridors and across courtyards, then marched up a tower on the outskirts of the Starfinder's compound. Fia was taken into a large, circular room, with glass or stained glass walls and ceilings. She saw ships glide by as entered.
Sitting on one of the window sills was a slender woman with black-and-white skin. If the man had worn more gold jewelry than she had seen before, this one was practically covered in it. Rings around her arms, necks, fingers, and calves were impossible not to look at, as were the bands around the locks of her tentacles. The woman stood and approached, giving Fia a critical eye.
"This is the one?" the woman asked, her voice deeper than the girl had expected.
"That's right," the man agreed. "The dreamy-eyed one from the market."
The woman leaned in, carefully taking Fia's jaw in her hand and looking at her closely. "She might do. Thank you, Diego. I will take it from here."
The man bowed respectfully, then made his way out of the room. The doors closed with an echo that Fia could only describe as dreadful.
Turning her head back to the woman, Fia swallowed and spoke. "Master Pasqua?"
The woman stared down her nose at Fia, waiting.
"Thank you for bringing me here. It's very kind. I.. I don't really know
why I'm here, though. Or, I do, but I don't know why I'm here."
The woman nodded, seemingly content with the question. "When others are yelling at you about staring off into the distance, what is it that you are looking at?"
Fia frowned. "Looking at?"
"That's right. Do you see things that others don't? Feel things that you can't explain?"
The girl's frown deepened. "I.. maybe? I lose focus sometimes, like there's so much to pay attention to and it's easier to just ... not."
The woman considered that. "Is there a lot to pay attention to, right now?"
"There always is, but everyone else seems to have figured out how to deal with it."
"Oh? And what's trying to get your attention right now?"
Fia shook her head. "I don't know. All the colors? The streams that are running around outside, but don't seem to be in here?"
"And what if they don't see all that, but only see the things they can touch? What if only you could do that?"
"I don't think I'd like that very much," Fia said. "It's hard enough already, but if everyone else thought I was crazy I don't think I could take it."
Pasqua sighed. "You're not crazy, girl. What you're seeing is raw magic. Most people can't see it, but if you want to travel the star safely - you need someone who can. Better yet if they actually know what they're seeing. It only takes a few moments for a big wave to crash into a ship. Traveling against the currents can add days to a merchant's trip. What you have is a gift, and it's time that you started treating it that way. Now - let me see.."
The Master Starfinder walked over to her desk and began to rummage around. She returned with an ornate golden ring.
"Do you have any bindings?"
Fia shook her head. She knew what a binding was, but they were expensive.
"Good. This will be your first. This is a Knowing Ring. The spirit of a memouse is inside of it. They're notoriously quick learners and, while you're wearing this, you will be, too. You'll still have to put in the work, but it'll help. Here."
The girl accepted the ring gingerly, then slipped it on when instructed to do so. She felt a tingling at first, like she'd stuck her hand into a bucket of cool water. And then there was something else - a presence, albeit a small one, the way it felt when you knew someone else was in the room with you but weren't looking at them.
"I..I think it worked?"
"Good," Pasqua said again. She held out a book to the girl. "Go read this and come back when you're done. If the door is locked, try again later."
Fia frowned at the book. "I don't think I can read it. I know some letters and numbers, but not much."
"Of course you don't know how to read. Fine, head back to your room. I'll send Diego along to rectify that. Honestly- we've nearly colonized every rock in this system and most people can't even read a map. You're still here? Go on! We've got a lot to do and it won't be done with you standing there all wide-eyed."
As commanded, Fia departed.