Long ago, seven stars fell from the sky. One met a council of animals in a woodland glade, blanketing them with a knowing light. The second was caught by the wind and spun prettily into a rain shower. The third landed in the leaves of an oak tree and splintered into the branches before seeping from the roots. The fourth crashed into the ocean, and danced with a whirlpool before sinking into the depths. The fifth slipped into a cloud, disturbing its peace and filling it with so much energy that lightning streaked from it. The sixth followed the lightning’s trail and lodged itself deep into the rocky earth.
The seventh star, smaller and slower than the others, fell unsteadily. The sun, sensing that she was lost, beckoned her near. When the star met with the welcoming sun it caused such a bright flash that it blinded the first king of Corlandom. Amazed by the light, the blind king decreed that all should pay homage to the power of the sun.
A wise man that saw the seven stars fall came to the blind king with a prophecy:
Six sisters have fallen to bloom as roses
Pricked by their own thorns
Waters will rise and earth will crumble
Under the reign of scorns
The dog will poison the land and the frog will drain it dry
The horse will open the skies as the goat lifts the sea bed
The cow will set the world aflame while the pig tears it apart
And amidst the chaos the bloody bear will raise the dead
The seventh sister has gone astray
Lost amongst the stars
Until the lion is found and raised
The blossoms will not flowerThe king scoffed at the man and had him removed from his court. The world was too bight, too new, and too peaceful for any of the people to imagine the wise man’s words could be true. So he went into solitude and his warning was forgotten. As time passed, the king’s reign ended, the sun’s power waned, and the brightness of the world dimmed. In the shadows new forms took shape and the wise man’s prophecy began to unfold.
