Stella Glow: A Song of the Sea and Stars

PRESS START

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…

…

Tick Tock…

Tick tock…

Oh, now that's strange isn't it…

That clock stopped turning a while ago.

Tick tock…

Tick Tock…

It's been left to rust.

And yet, it feels like the gears have started to move again.

Tick tock…

Tick tock…

Don't you think so?

I wonder…

Even after they succeeded…

Could it be that something starts after that?

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

Well… Let's start this again, shall we?

Except this time, let's start…

This story that isn't yours at all.

Tick tock…

Tick tock…

The countdown on the screen in that empty theater ends, and the screen fades in.

To the story of the Sea and the Stars.

Prologue: Shattered Peace

Day 1

"Alright, lemme see…" Lisette muttered as she flipped through a book of stories, "Yep, everything's here…" she shut the book, and tucked it beneath her arm, and stood up. She dusted off the front of her dress, and walked to her door before stopping.

Lisette turned around and grabbed the necklace on her bedside table. Attached to it was a semicircular gemstone that seemed to reflect all kinds of colors even in the pitch black room. "Ehe… Almost forgot about you," She quietly said before putting it around her neck.

She walked out of her room into the hallway. From there she walked into the kitchen where her mother, Rosa, was sitting at the table. Rosa looked over to where Lisette was standing.

"You're up early," Rosa said, "I haven't had time to make breakfast for you yet, is something happening?"

"No, no," Lisette shook her head, a smile written on her face. "Yesterday, some kids asked me if I could tell them some stories today. We promised to meet up around now," Lisette started to walk toward the exit, her footsteps echoing through the quiet small house, "I'm off."

"Have a safe trip. Just don't be out too long," Rosa said, "I have to make something for you to eat after all."

Lisette turned around and smiled at her mother, "Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I finish," She turned back around and opened the door.

Lisette squinted as she opened the door, the early morning sunlight getting in her eyes. She put her hand up, blocking the sun from her vision as she let her eyes adjust to the outdoor light. It was still slightly dark outside, the day was still very young. She walked out into the cool morning.

The village was quiet as she passed through its empty streets. Well, quiet in comparison to how it normally was, which wasn't really much louder. Lisette walked briskly to the town square, listening to the cricket chirps, the quiet rustling of leaves in the distance, the soft crunch of the grass as her feet passed over it, and she felt the cold breeze pass over her.

It was… peaceful.

Lisette walked into the town square, "I'm here!" She said, waving to the kids waiting in the square.

"So," Lisette said sitting down on the ground on the picnic mat that the kids had set up. She opened the story book she had brought and laid it out in front of her, "Which story do you want to hear today?"

"I wanna hear the story about the Hero Elcrest and King Xeno again!" Three of the kids said in sync, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Heheh," Lisette flipped the book open to a page with a drawing of two figures, one holding a sword, the other holding a spear, "You all always ask for this one…"

Lisette cleared her throat, "The story of the Hero Elcrest and King Xeno…

"Once upon a time, there was a god that lived on the moon. People worshipped this god, not out of respect, but out of fear. The god often sent many angels to punish the people. This went on for years, until two children, Elcrest and Xeno, decided to stand up. With their allies, they went up to where god resided, the moon."

Lisette turned the page, on the new page, there was a picture of a chaotic battle. People fighting angels, as Elcrest and Xeno made their way toward the god. "After an arduous battle, Elcrest and Xeno finally met the god. They had planned to destroy her, and let the people live freely in the future. However, right before they destroyed her, Elcrest realized something…"

Lisette turned the page, revealing a picture of Elcrest hugging the figure of the god, "Elcrest realized that the god was hurting, after she had listened to all the pleading of the people, all of the despair had lead the god to the conclusion that the only way to save humanity was to kill them. Elcrest comforted the god, telling her that that wasn't the only way that humanity could be saved."

"However, due to the battle that had been raging on the moon, the moon had started to fall apart. The god realized this, and she stayed behind on the moon, as the rest of the people left, believing in the potential of humanity, the god used her powers to continue to hold the moon together, so that humanity could continue to live on. It is said that, on a clear night, if you just listen, you can hear her song that she sings to hold the moon together."

Lisette turned the page again, the illustration was of a celebration in a kingdom, "After they returned, Xeno founded the kingdom of Regnant, becoming the first king of our kingdom. He is said to have been a very kind king, who cared dearly about his people. And Elcrest…"

Lisette sighed, she turned the page of the book, to the final page of the story. The illustration on it was of Elcrest slowly walking out into the distance, "Despite being regarded as a hero everywhere, with a name known throughout the kingdom, Elcrest disappeared, never to be heard from again. The end."

Lisette closed the book and looked at the kids with a smile.

"Aww, that's the end?" a small redheaded girl asked, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Oh, you haven't heard this story before?" Lisette looked at the girl, her warm gaze meeting the girl's eyes, "Nobody really knows what happened, whether Elcrest settled down somewhere quiet, or started another journey."

"Awww…" The girl looked to the ground, a dejected expression on her face, "I wanted to hear more about Elcrest."

Lisette patted the girl on the head, ruffling her hair as she did. Then, picked up her storybook and tucked it beneath her arm, "Well, that's it for today, maybe tomorrow we can meet up again, I'll tell you a different story," Lisette said, she waving goodbye to them as she walked down the street.

"I'm home," Lisette said, as she walked through the door, back into her house.

"Oh?" Rosa set the plate she was holding down onto the countertop beside the stove, and turned around to face her daughter. With a smile on her face she said, "You're back early."

"Eheheh, told you I'd be back as soon as I finished, didn't I?" Lisette walked over to the table, setting her book down on it, "Mind if I help out?"

"No, not at all," Rosa said, as Lisette walked back over to the countertop where her mother was preparing food at, "You can help make the eggs."

"Alright!" Lisette grabbed the eggs, before cracking them into a pan over the stove. The eggs sizzled against the heat of the pan as they cooked.

Rosa brought the plate back to the table, placing it onto the table and sitting down, "You are making them how I taught you right?"

"I am mom," Lisette said, as she moved the eggs a bit in the pan.

"Just making sure," Rosa said as she grabbed a piece of bread.

"Aaaand, finished," Lisette said as she placed the eggs on the plate, and she made a disappointed sigh.

"It happened again didn't it," Rosa said as Lisette brought the eggs over to the table.

"Yeah…" Lisette sighed again, "I don't know why this keeps happening."

The eggs Lisette had made looked perfect, except for the fact that… they were purple.

"I mean…" Rosa moved one of them onto her toast, and ate it, "The taste is fine, it's just the color, and you have been making them how I told you to."

Lisette just sighed in response, and ate her toast.

"Anyway, how was the meeting?"

"Good!" Lisette said, smiling, "There was a kid who didn't know the story of The Hero Elcrest and King Xeno there."

"Oh, there was?" Rosa's eyes widened in surprise, "I didn't know there was anyone who didn't."

"I was surprised too…" Lisette said, taking another bite of the toast, "Maybe her parents just hadn't told her yet."

The two continued their conversation a little after this, just talking about trivial things, things that happened days before, as well as plans for the future.

Lisette glanced out the window, the sun was just over the horizon, though it was still dark, "The flower stall should open around now," Lisette said quietly, before standing up, and starting to walk towards the door.

"Oh, yeah it looks around that time," Rosa said, glancing out the window, "Have a safe trip."

"Thanks," Lisette said. The door creaked quietly as she opened it, "I'll be right back."

She walked back through the village. She walked past the rows of houses on her way back, their lights slowly starting to turn on as she passed. The village was starting to wake up now. People opening their windows, others walking past her in the streets, just getting their day started.

Lisette turned and began walking towards the flower stall.

"How much for one rose?" She asked the shopkeeper, her hair fluttering in the cold breeze.

"5G please," The shopkeeper said, "You know, the price isn't changing anytime soon, you don't have to ask every time."

"Well, it's always good to ask, isn't it?" Lisette smiled, "You know, just in case."

Lisette reached a hand into her pocket, and pulled out a handful of coins, "One… two… three, four, five." She put the rest back in her pocket.

"One rose please," she said, putting the coins on the table.

"Here you go Miss Lisette," The shopkeeper said, handing Lisette a rose.

"Thanks," Lisette said, brushing her hand through her hair, before grabbing the rose.

"You're welcome."

Lisette walked back through the village. There were more people outside, the buzz of conversation now permeating throughout the street. She passed by familiar face after familiar face as she walked. She held the rose tightly in her hand, holding it in front of her face and examining it as she did. Lisette then turned left, into a path up a small incline, without many people walking on it.

Her shoes crunching against the dirt on the ground as she walked through. She eventually reached the end of the road, and she walked into the graveyard just beyond.

Lisette walked over to a grave. She leaned over, and placed the rose on it. She took a step backward, her expression a melancholic one.

"...Thank you…" Lisette said quietly, before she turned around and walked out of the graveyard.

She walked slowly through the village, heading back to her house. She passing by people she knew on the street, waving hello to them as she passed, hearing kind replies of good morning back to her.

"Hey, Lisette!" Lisette stopped, she turned around to face the small girl behind her.

She crouched down so that she was eye level with the girl, "What is it Mina?"

"Mom wanted me to ask you to gather herbs for us!" Mina said.

"Huh? What brought this on?" Lisette asked, confusion evident in her face at the sudden request.

Mina smiled widely, closing her eyes as she did, "Mom said that the queen is coming to the Mithra!"

"Oh oka—" Lisette stopped, her eyes widening in shock as the words registered in her mind, "Wait, the queen!?"

"Yeah yeah," Mina nodded with each yeah.

"B-but why me?" Lisette asked, she nervously tapped her hands together.

"Ummm," Mina put her hand to her chin, "Uhh, mom said you were the person with the best eye for herbs."

Lisette sighed, "Alright…" She said, ruffling Mina's hair, "I'll get the herbs."

The herbs grew in a place a little ways away from the village, in a small wooded area with a river running through the middle. Lisette crouched down next to the riverside, pulling out the herbs from their place in the ground. Beside her was a stick she had found earlier… Well it was more like a small branch rather than a stick. She had seen it when she went into the forest and thought it'd be good to take along, just in case she needed to defend herself.

Lisette dusted the dirt off from the herb she had just pulled out of the ground. She made a humming noise as she dusted it off, and examined it.

"Hmmm… Yep looks good," Lisette said, putting it into the basket she brought along. Lisette looked at the herbs she had gathered in her basket and nodded, "Okay that looks like enough, now time to get back…"

There was a sudden sound of rustling grass behind her. Lisette quickly grabbed the stick she had set next to herself earlier. She slowly turned around.

And she was face to face with three large wolves.

Victory Conditions: Survive.

Defeat Conditions: Lisette is defeated.

Mission Start

'Crap,' Lisette thought, as she gripped the stick tightly in both hands.

In one fluid movement a wolf crouched downward, and then jumped at Lisette. Lisette quickly jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding its attack. She clumsily thrust her stick forward hit the wolf as it flew past her. And it went crashing into the ground.

The wolf rose to its feet and angrily turned around, growling as it did. It then lunged at Lisette, mouth wide open and teeth bared.

Lisette quickly shoved her stick out in front of her, and the wolf bit down on it, then quickly jerked its head to the right, throwing Lisette onto the ground.

Then, it pounced onto Lisette, pinning her to the ground, as the other wolves moved to surround her. She continued to struggle against the first, not realizing that her escape was being cut off.

The wolf pushed downward, gnawing on the stick she was holding, causing her to wince in pain.

Lisette violently kicked at the underbelly of the wolf as hard as she could. She kicked and she kicked and she kicked.

It didn't even flinch.

Pulling it as hard as she could, Lisette desperately tried to drag her stick out from its mouth.

But it was held firm in the beasts jaws.

'... So this is it.' Lisette closed her eyes, and her body relaxed as she resigned herself to her fate.

-And the clock starts turning anew-

Lisette suddenly felt the weight on her shoulders disappear. She slowly opened her eyes and saw:

Nothing.

There was nothing on her.

Lisette sat up. In front of her there were two of the wolves hunched over, looking ready to pounce any moment. And yet, they didn't pounce on her. In fact, they were growling.

Lisette's eyes widened in realization. Weren't there… Three wolves?

Was there… something behind her?

She slowly turned around, and saw it. A strange liquid-like substance wrapped around the wolf and it… It began to…

What the heck?!

It went into the wolf. The liquid forced itself through the wolf's mouth… Its eyes. Its ears. Even its skin. The wolf tried to howl in pain. Its eyes widened. It fell over, writhing in pain as the liquid forced its way into its body.

Then the liquid disappeared from the wolf's body. And there was silence. Then the wolf jolted up. The way it suddenly stood up just felt wrong. It was almost as if the wolf was a puppet that had violently been picked up by its strings.

And then the wolf changed. The horrible sound of its skin tearing as bones burst through it. A strange red color began to bleed into its eyes. Its fangs grew longer, keeping its mouth opened just slightly.

She needed to get out of here. Right now. But how?

The wolf crouched down.

And it lunged.

Lisette close her eyes, and dove to the right.

She had dodged it just in time. She opened her eyes, and glanced to her left. There it was. Lisette quickly sighed in relief. It's attention was for now focused on the other two wolves. All she needed to do now was get away.

MISSION CLEAR

"I'm telling you that's really what happened!" Lisette said, setting down the basket of herbs.

"I'm sure it was," She heard Mina's mother say. The way she said it made it sound dismissive. Though, it probably wasn't a good idea to cause a scene. Afterall, she'd spent the whole day trying to tell a lot of people about it to no avail. "And are those the herbs for the queen?"

"Yes!" Lisette said proudly, "I got the best ones I could find."

"Alright good work… You should get some rest," Mina's mother said, "I'm sure you're tired from running all the way back here, got into a fight with some wolves was it?"

"Yeah…" Lisette paused thinking back to the fight… Just what had happened to that wolf? Was that even real? "I should go home for now."

Lisette opened the door of the inn. The evening breeze blew by her as she left the inn. It really was evening huh… The day had just passed her by completely. She walked through the dirt roads, hearing the crunching of the earth as she passed.

She opened the door of her house, "I'm home…"

"Welcome back," Rosa said, "What happened? You took a longer time than usual to get back."

"I was asked to gather some herbs in the forest," Lisette yawned, "Apparently the queen is coming soon."

"Hoh… Well hopefully she enjoys her stay here, what's she coming for?"

Lisette paused, "Uh… I don't know. All I know is that she's coming."

"Well," Rosa said turning back around, "Dinner's ready, let's eat."

"Alright!"

Lisette lay on her bed, her laying by her sides. Today had been… eventful. It felt like just a few minutes ago when she was telling the story to those kids… She still was worried about the incident with the wolf… but it didn't seem like people in the town really believed what she said about it… Heck at this point she wasn't even sure if it was real…

"Whatever…" Lisette mumbled turning around in her bed. She was probably just tired… She brought her hands up and clenched her pendant tightly in her hands as she slowly let her mind flow into the world of dreams.

The sound of horse hooves echoed throughout the quiet forest. A lone carriage drove through the forest. The darkness of the night illuminated only by the lantern the driver held. Inside the carriage was a single woman with shoulder length blond hair. She wore a mostly black, somewhat revealing, outfit and had a pointed hat utop her head.

She was closing her eyes, so if one were to glance they might think her asleep. However, upon closer inspection it was clear that she wasn't… She was listening.

"Stop here," The woman said. Her voice was around mid-pitch and felt subdued...And yet it was commanding, "There's something out there."

The man stopped the carriage, and put a hand on his axe. The man jumped down, walking back to the door to the carriage and opening it. The woman grabbed her spear and got down.

"You wait here, we need someone to guard the carriage." The woman said.

"Roger," The man said, "Though I suppose you'll need this won't you?" He said taking the lantern down from the carriage.

"Thank you," The woman said, taking the lantern the man handed her. She slowly began walking in the direction of the noise she had heard. The light from the lantern illuminated three animal-like silhouettes in the distance. The woman squinted, straining her eyes for a better view.

The silhouettes edged closer, until they were just in the light of her lantern.

"I knew it…" She said quietly, putting the lantern on her belt. She gripped her spear in both hands, "They're here as well…"

There were three wolves, each with spikes of bone protruding from their bodies, and blood red eyes…