Ever since he was a child, Doukun would spend his evenings on the porch outside his room, admiring the bright, twinkling stars generously scattered upon the night sky. He was always in awe of how each star emitted only a tiny speck of light, but when put together, would all shine beautifully in a unified harmony that probably no person could ever achieve.
As Doukun grew older, he started setting aside time from his daily lessons to study the stars. He learned about the different patterns he had observed, the way they appeared and moved across the night sky, from the moment they first shined to the moment their light finally gave out. As Doukun learned to interpret the meanings behind each pattern and each movement, he felt as if the stars themselves were close to him - as if he were one with them.
Among all the patterns of stars in the sky he had ever observed, seven constellations shone brighter than the rest. These stars would appear in the sky only at certain particular times in a month, always in the same region and in the same precise configuration. These, Doukun learned, were the seven stars of Suzaku, the Vermillion Phoenix - the guardian deity of the southern kingdom of Hong-nan. It has been said that the seven constellations shine in accordance with the will of the god himself, and that the messages they convey decide the fate of the nation.
It is with this knowledge that Doukun once again gazed upon the sky, scanning it for the seven constellations he had gotten to know and grown to love. He'd found them all again, scattered in their particular sections of the night sky, twinkling steadily, unceasingly. Then suddenly, all at once, the stars emitted an uncharacteristic flare of white, hot light, before finally dying out.
Fear gripped Doukun's heart as he frantically scanned the rest of the now darker sky, searching for something - anything that could tell him what this unexpected sign meant. Still not understanding what just happened, he left his beloved porch to turn to his books and tomes of knowledge. As he reached for one of the nearest scrolls, a searing pain shot through his entire body like a lightning bolt, and he collapsed on the floor with a hard thud.
His last thought was of how he would never be able to see his beloved constellations again, before his world turned black.