Chapter One: Wand of Nova

Once upon a time, tens of billions of stars lit up the world above. It was said that the souls of the past and the lost return to the StarPath and become stars that watched over and protected the living. This belief existed a long time ago and dissipated when the Calamity, a powerful force of darkness that devastated the living, destroyed the World and its balance. The people who still believed in the stars are convinced the Calamity had cut the connection between the World and the StarPath. They say that the moment the connection broke was the moment the stars disappeared from the World.

Without the StarPath protecting and guiding the people of the World, the balance between light and dark broke, and the World became neutral, bringing neither happiness or sadness.

One night, centuries after the Calamity, a mystical light blinded the people of the World for a smidge of a second. When the light passed, and the people looked skywards towards the source, the scene above them would forever be etched in their minds. There, in the once empty night sky, was a single bright star. Its light reflected off the dull eyes of the living, and in that moment, a part of their buried light came through.

As nights turned to days, and days turned to months, and months turned to years, stories of the appearance of the "Last Star" circulated around the World. The stories of the Last Star were all different, but every last one of them contained one overarching message:

"The StarPath will return."

The flames of a discolored fire crackled as the wood log burned and turned into ashes. A few stray ashes floated in a downwards spiral onto the palm of a woman's hand. As she gazed down onto her palm, the firelight that reflected off her eyes gave off a glimmer of the wondrous livelihood that stayed hidden behind her dull eyes. When she flicked off the stray piece of ash, she looked around the semicircle around the fire to smile warmly at the small children listening to her story.

"And when the Last Star is ready to help our World, we will be ready to give our support so that the StarPath will return to us." The woman finished off with a flourish of her hand.

The small children before her that sat in a small semicircle did not react much to her story. They stared at the woman with blank looks on their faces. The woman sighed as she stood up from the boulder she sat on during story-telling. She turned her gaze upwards towards the Last Star, wishing that one day it would come down to the World to help these lost and misguided children and the rest of their generation.

The woman stared at the star for a while more before turning back to her small group of children. If she had stayed a second more, just a little more, she would've seen the star crack down the middle and split in half. The star broke apart into two distinct pieces and fell down on opposite ends of the World.

One half of the star fell out of sight, and the other half sped through the starless night in the direction of the woman and her small children. It seemed as if it was going to land right on top of the group, but fortunately, it landed meters away from them. The force of the impact sent powerful sound waves that wooshed through the clearing the group was in, sending grass and bushes whipping around violently.

Smoke floated from the crater into the air lightly as the woman and the small children cautiously made their way towards the new crater in the earth. A soft pink light pulsed through the air and slowly faded till the only source of light came from the bright flames crackling in the distant.

The woman stepped forward to the edge of the crater to peer down at the fallen half star. The only thing she could make out from the dim light of the fire was a lone figure. With her determination rising, she bent down on her knees to slide down the cracked dirt into the depths of the hole.

Before, when she was standing on the edge, she could only see the silhouette of the figure, but on closer inspection, the figure turned out to be a girl curled into herself. Her arms clutched a wand with a pink gem that glimmered in the firelight.

The woman gasped in surprise at the sight of the girl. With the safety of the child in mind, she kneeled in front of the girl to carry her smoking form out of the crater.

The small children followed the woman back to the fire, peering at the unconscious girl every once in awhile. The gem in the middle of the wand in the girl's arms sparked a sense of curiosity they had never felt before in their lives. It made them feel wondrous and light, and they wanted to keep the feeling to themselves.

The women sensed the spark of curiosity that suddenly lit up in the children's eyes. She followed their line of sight, and their gaze led to the sparkling gem. It piqued the woman's interest as she had never seen their eyes light up so bright before. It made her question the girl in her arms and the wand she clutched tightly against her chest.

As the woman and the children settled down around the fire again, the children decided to touch the gem when the woman was searching for medical supplies. At the exact moment one of them lightly brushed the surface of the gem, the girl's eyes popped wide open. Her eyes flowed with pink light that resonated with the pink glow of the gem in her wand. She rigidly sat upright, her eyes still aglow with light, and sent a burst of pink light out of her wand.

The woman quickly turned around to see the burst of light pierce the darkness of the night. It burst upwards like a beacon, becoming the only light source in the sky and most definitely alerting the animals around the area. Before the woman stepped towards the girl to extinguish the light, the pink light in the girl's eyes and wand faded away once more.

The children stared in awe at the girl when the pink glow of her eyes faded away to electric blue ones. Her body relaxed when the power surge drained away, but tensed up once more when she took notice of her surroundings.

"W-where...?" She let out a tiny squeak when she caught sight of a couple of children staring up at her in wonder. Behind them, she took notice of the crackling fire, the silhouette of tall trees that stood a bit of a distance away from the clearing, and the glimpse of running water. She drank in the beauty of it all, completely forgetting about her previous dilemma.

The woman cleared her throat. It made the girl jump before she whipped her body towards the woman, lifting the wand in front of her like a weapon to protect herself.

The woman lifted her hands up to show that she was harmless. "Ah. Sorry if my children and I scared you."

The girl clenched her wand tighter, not yet sure if she could trust the woman in front of her. "W-who are you people?! Where is this place?!"

The woman could see how lost and confused the girl looked, and felt empathy towards her. She was just like her when she was younger, albeit in a different situation.

The woman smiled warmly at the girl. "I am Dima and these children are Arden and Ardis. We are a group of travellers that travels from place to place, never staying in one place." Arden and Ardis ran over to Dima, standing on each side of the woman.

"May I ask you what your name is?" the woman nodded encouragingly as her children jumped up and down in anticipation.

The girl looked conflicted, but answered nonetheless. "My name is... Astra." She lowered her wand, thinking about what to say next. Astra added the next phrase with uncertainty.

"And I think I'm from the... StarPath?"

Dima gasped. "The StarPath?" Her eyes lit up with wonder. "Are you here to help us, Astra?"

Astra nodded slowly. "I think so, but I don't think I'm the only one here. Astin was with me... Astin!" Astra panicked as she looked around again, trying to find Astin. "Do you know where he is?!"

Dima looked confused. "You were the only one we found. You were the only one we saw come down from the sky."

"What? No! I know Astin was here with me. We were just together until...Esther."

A memory surfaced in her mind.

Before she came crashing down onto the World, when her and Astin were still conjoined as the Last Star, they had heard a voice. It told them that it was finally time to repair the World and bring back the StarPath. It told then the only way this could be achieved was to find the Heart of Esther. The Wand of Nova and the Sword of Seren, powered by their love towards one another, will help guide them to the Heart, and the rest of the journey would be on their own.

When the memory faded away, Astra remembered what she and Astin were sent to the World to do. Even if Astin was not by her side, she knew the Wand of Nova she had clutched in her hand was a part of him and that they were still together in a way.

Determination filled her. This was just the beginning, and she had a long way to go.

Astra bowed her head to the woman and her children who had helped her. "I have a favor I need to ask."

Dima quickly rushed over and gently lifted Astra's head. "There is no need to ask. We are here to help the Last Star in anything she needs."

Astra smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I need help to navigate the World as I have never stepped foot in this place in all my life. Being travelers, I was thinking you and your children would know this World better than any other. It's alright if you can't. I understand."

Dima laughed happily. "Of course we'll help you. We are travellers, and that title isn't reserved for everybody. Travellers are people who guide the lost back home, and that is why we never stay in one place. We have existed ever since the StarPath was born, and we still continue to exist even when the StarPath disappeared. We all hoped that one day, the Last Star would come down and reconnect us to the StarPath." Dima took Astra's hands into her own palms gratefully. "We should be the ones thanking you. You have finally come here to help us, and the least we could do is to help you in return."

Astra smiled. "I don't know what to say. Thank you!"

Dima patted her hand. "Like I said, no need to thank us." The woman turned her gaze towards her children. "It's getting late now, time to rest. We have a long journey ahead of us." Dima looked back to Astra. "The same goes to you too. Come along, let's get a day's rest before we go."

Astra nodded happily and followed the travellers bed.

After that, Astra and the travellers went from city to city, guided by the Wand of Nova. Turns out, Astra could use magic with the Wand and, with enough practice, it has helped her many times along the way.

Astra absolutely loved using magic to help people, and she grew to absolutely love the people themselves. With each city she visited, she grew to understand just how many lives were affected by the Calamity and the disappearance of the StarPath. She started to see the World as it could be with the proper guidance that only the StarPath could offer and a World where she would protect.

Months later, Astra and the travelers came across a thickly covered forest, now only days away from their destination. On the first day in the forest, Astra bumps into Astin. They rejoice as they have finally found each other after months of separation.

Astra was completely unaware of Astin's change of heart. Until it was too late.
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