This chapter is a mass of more exposition. It's been 18 years, and it's only right that we catch up with some of our favorite peeps. Find out who's still alive, what they're up to, and where Star fits into it all. The answers are, respectively: LOL, not Lann; nothing much; and, sometimes, awkwardly.

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Chapter 2: Family of Heroes

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It was springtime in the valley, for sure. All its signs hummed around Star as she walked down the lane, which wound alongside the village orchards. Her grandfather was probably somewhere in those trees, tending to them as he had all his life. It was a stroll that Star appreciated, no matter what time of year it was. But spring was her favorite time to enjoy the trees. She could almost feel life and energy surging back through them, after a chilly winter. She felt energized, just looking at the trees and their new blossoms.

Up ahead, she heard familiar voices carrying on a rather loud conversation. She quickened her pace and soon rounded a turn in the lane. Not too far ahead, she saw her father standing in the middle of the lane, speaking loudly to the treetops.

"Don't you have work of your own to be doing?" he was saying. "I'm busy, myself. You're distracting me."

"Distracting you is my job," retorted a voice from somewhere in the tree's thick foliage. "What are little sisters for?"

"So this is where you've been," Star teased brightly, finally catching up with her father. "I was waiting for you, and you never came back. You always let Alanis get to you."

"I can hear you, Star."

"I know," she grinned, peering into the leaves at the young woman perched on one of the branches.

"Though this argument has been stimulating," her father interrupted, rolling his eyes, "I'll take this as my queue to exit."

"You're just giving up," Alanis countered with a sly smile.

"I suppose I know when I'm beat."

Alanis rolled her own eyes. "Whatever."

Before leaving, he stopped to give his daughter a hug. "I'm sorry I missed you at breakfast, Star. Was there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Just to make sure there's nothing you left off the list," she answered, showing him the paper in her hand. He took it and glanced over it, finally, thoughtfully nodding his head.

"I think that's it, for now. I hope this clarifies some things."

"It does," she agreed, taking the list back. "I had wondered what some of those words were."

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming," he said dryly. "We can expect to see you for lunch this time, right? It bothers us when you forget."

"I'll try."

"That will have to suffice, then. I shall see you both later today, then. And make sure you stop by the bakery before you come home. It peeves your godparents when you forget them so easily."

"I'll try to remember," she agreed, hugging him tightly before he left. Waving goodbye, he hurried away before his youngest sister could engage him again. She was always certain to try; but that was her own way of showing her affection.

Star turned her attention back to Alanis and shook her head. "You deprive me of my father, sometimes," she scolded with a smirk.

"He was my brother, first, before there was ever an idea of a you," Alanis teased back, jumping down from the tree, her long raven hair trailing after her like a streamer. Even though it was a long way to the ground, she landed effortlessly, with the ease of many year's practice. "Another set of notes? You're off to the house of books again, aren't you?" she guessed.

"I like it there," Star answered with a shrug.

"People are going to start thinking you're odd. They're all so proud of how normal you've turned out, and now you're out to ruin it."

Star scoffed. "I've never been normal."

"It's easier to be normal. People don't bother you as much."

"I suppose, but it's also more boring to be normal. I like myself the way I am, thanks."

Alanis rolled her vividly green eyes, and sighed to herself. "You'll get yourself in mountains of trouble, thinking like that," she cautioned, digging in her pocket. She pulled out a small bundle and handed it to Star, who opened it to reveal a small bread roll, still warm.

"I don't like what Rowan said about you skipping meals. You need your strength, dumb. I'll be going home for lunch on time, like a normal person, so I imagine you will need this more."

"This must be very fresh," Star commented, stuffing the wrapped roll into her bag. "I suppose Forley has been here recently."

"Perhaps," Alanis answered vaguely, letting her eyes wander into the trees.

"He's supposed to be at the bakery, helping his father, like a normal person."

"He's a restless person. He can't help himself, sometimes."

"He'll cause enough problems of his own, like that," Star pointed out, turning to go on her own way.

"What can I say? I never mind a brief distraction from those I love," Alanis answered with a smile. "I can't bring myself to scold him anymore. I gave up trying a long time ago, but maybe he would listen to you."

As she waved a goodbye of her own, Star highly doubted that. Forley never listened to anyone but himself. And he certainly didn't listen to her.

Even though Alanis was her father's sister, it was nearly impossible to think of her as an aunt. She was only three years older than Star, and they had played together since babyhood. Alanis was one of her best and closest friends, and so it had always made more sense to think of her as a cousin. Not quite her sister, but more than just a friend. They were directly related, after all. There were very few secrets between them, and they intended to find their own adventures side by side, as the family that they were.

Her other cousins were a different matter. They were her godparent's children, and not related to her at all; but they were so close, it was easy to forget this. Allun the baker had always been one her father's most trusted friends; and so his son, Forley, and his daughter, Leah, had always been to Star. At least, Forley was. The two shared an adventurous streak and a love of being outdoors, surrounded by nature. He also liked to think of himself as her own personal bodyguard, which had been nice when she had been a little girl, but was now mostly a bother. Still, he was an almost constant companion, and she couldn't imagine getting by without him.

Leah had always been another story. She was a striking contrast to her older brother. She certainly wasn't faint hearted or a weakling; in fact, she was an excellent archer, in spite of her poor eyesight. She had worn spectacles for most of her life to compensate this. However, she had overwhelming problems with crowded spaces; the thought of the market, the square, or anywhere else there might be a crowd made her terribly anxious, and so she rarely left her home unless she had to.

Many people in Rin had similar problems with other, equally normal things, but it was often agreed that Leah's problem was exceptionally strange. Star's father called these "brain fears": unexplainable, irrational mental fears of mundane things that sometimes couldn't be overcome. He said it was unsurprising that Leah should have one, since her own mother had a brain fear of confined spaces.

It was difficult to know Leah well, since she made herself so scarce. One of the few who did was Star. Behind that strange fear, for which Leah had often been teased cruelly, she knew there was a powerful mind, and a heart that was perhaps even more powerful. Of the two siblings, Leah was the only one with any sense. She was careful and patient, not entirely out of necessity. Inside, Leah had the heart of a true guardian, and her sense of justice was strong. If Forley could be bothered to listen to anyone, it was his little sister, who was a bastion of wisdom and advice beyond her years.

Star was positive that she would bump into Forley eventually, if she just kept walking toward the village. No doubt, he had stopped to bother Alanis, because he knew that his youngest cousin would be coming that way soon. The thought irked her, and she quickened her pace, hoping to slip past and miss him. When she had been born, everyone had told him to take good care of her, because she had no older brothers or sisters to do so. All three of her older cousins had been alarmed by this, at the tender ages of five and three years old. Alanis and Leah couldn't imagine not having an older brother; being a big brother, himself, Forley had decided that it simply wouldn't do, and had taken up the task of filling that void.

It was sort of funny. Once upon a time, he had honored that task by using his adorable, toddling cousin as a distraction, while he got away with all sorts of mischief. These days, he was the one trying to keep her out of trouble. He followed her nearly everywhere, hardly letting her out of his sight. Star knew that Forley meant well; but mostly, she wished he would stop worming his way into her business.

Star could picture how he would find her, because it was the same routine every day. He would all but appear at her side out of the blue, greet her casually, as if their meeting was just a happy coincidence, and proceed to follow her everywhere for the rest of the day. She would beg him to go back to the bakery, where his father was probably missing his help, because she was 13 years old and perfectly capable of looking after herself. He would lie and insist he was doing no such thing, and all he wanted was to know what she had been up to in the hours they had been apart.

Forley reminded her of a puppy, that way; or perhaps, more vaguely of an overly attached lover. He seemed to miss her entirely too much when they were apart, and he was always too eager to know what she was up to—where she was going, what she was to do when she got there, and who else would be there. Rarely so that he could join her, just so that he knew. It had been sweet, at first, but it was starting to make her a little angry.

Star wondered what it really was that drove him to be that way. Perhaps he really was only trying to be helpful, and was too self-absorbed to understand that he was going about it the wrong way. Perhaps he was hopeful that she would stumble into a grand quest someday soon, and was determined not to miss it. Or, perhaps, he was inwardly concerned about her for just that reason. Alanis was quite right about him: he was a very restless young man, and Rin was quickly becoming too small for him. As much as he longed for a good adventure, he couldn't stand the thought of his friends getting hurt in the middle of it.

It must be conflicting for him, Star thought as she walked, feeling a grain of compassion for her cousin.

Therefore, it was surprising when she reached the carpentry and still hadn't seen him. Like her parent's house, the carpentry was on the outskirts of the village. The people of Rin had to walk a long way to purchase their furniture; but Bronden the furniture maker needed her privacy, because of brain fears of her own. Star never minded walking past the place, though, because for her, the carpentry was one of her usual places. With any luck, her uncle would be in the yard, working on a project, and his sister would be sitting in the sun, keeping him company as she painted. They would wave and say hello, and perhaps conjure up a word puzzle for her to think on.

Shaaran and Norriss had come from the land across the sea many years earlier—it was a long and complicated story, which everyone from the hills to the coast was very familiar with by now. They were like a brother and sister to Star's parents; they frequently described themselves as four quarters of a whole, which could never be broken. Star had always liked that. She had often thought of herself and her three cousins in the same way, even though that bond had yet to be tested. The bond between her parents and her aunt and uncle had been forged suddenly, in desperation and panic, and then tested brutally by fate several times in the years that had followed. It was as if the first few hours of their legendary friendship had been so powerful, it had may as well have been forged by the hottest furnace, until the four souls had been fused perfectly together.

Those days of trials seemed to have come to an end. The valley, and indeed the whole land, was at peace now, thanks to them. The four souls were now living an oddly normal life, doing common work that suited them. Star found their contentment strange, considering everything they had been through together. But they always insisted that such times of peace and plenty were reward enough for what they had been put through.

Therefore, the brother and sister were happy to live at the carpentry, assisting Bronden with her work, because some of her old wounds had never quite healed and had left her deeply changed. Norriss had a way with putting things together, and had taken quickly to the work. Shaaran was in no way as physically strong as her brother, and the work didn't suit her in the slightest; but she was a better homemaker than both of her companions combined. It was a perfectly normal and easy role to play in their strange household, which left her plenty of time for her own work as the village chronicler. She had been persuaded at last to keep written records of important things that happened, as the people of Rin had done for a little more than three centuries; but mainly, and more happily, she painted it. On wide, long strips of silk, she painted their history, as their ancestors had done for thousands of years before them. It was a glorious tradition, and she refused to let it die so easily.

They were settled and very happy, now. If Star thought hard enough, she could remember a time, very early in her life, when they had been much less so. Her godfather's own mother had been their hostess when they had first come to the village; even though they had appeared out of the blue and were strangers, she had graciously taken them into her home. Star remembered the woman Sara only dimly, because she had died when she had been small. It had been a time of terrible sadness for her whole cobbled-together family. In a sudden show of compassion that people said was shockingly rare, Bronden had offered her home to the grieving brother and sister; they had already been assisting her for some time by then, and she had stoutly insisted that it was her duty to do so. And so the three of them had lived ever since.

That had been a particularly difficult part of their lives to say goodbye to, to close the door on and leave behind. The door that opened in its wake had brought them no small amount of peace and joy. Time had marched on, and their terrible hurt had been healed by their hard work, their new purpose, and the new family they had become.

In the years since then, Star had come to spend almost as much time at the carpentry as she did at home, because her aunt and uncle now lived there. And so much closer to her house than they had been before! Having them so readily available was hard not to take advantage of, sometimes. When she had been small, her parents had often left her there for Shaaran to look after, when they had been especially busy, or if there was illness being treated in their house. She had passed those hours in peaceful pleasure, as her aunt had helped her learn to read and write, and even taught her a little of how the silks were painted. If Norriss wasn't busy, he would quickly carve her toys to play with, or tell her clever word puzzles he had learned from his grandfather; if he was busy, he would let her sit quietly and watch him as he crafted planks of wood into tables, chairs, bedframes, and other things.

Sometimes, if he had a few hours to spare, she would be watching him tinker with screws and scraps of metal, and strands of copper beaten into threads, as he tried to duplicate some of the impressive machines he remembered from his childhood, in the Zebak lands. They had harnessed machines of all kinds to make their lives easier and safer, he had explained once. He saw no reason why the people of Rin shouldn't do the same.

Star had learned much from her aunt and uncle, since she had been small. They had taught her as many useful skills as her parents had. They had also taught her that sometimes, things get much worse before they get better; but that if she kept hope in her heart, she was sure to find a way. Just as her father had taught them, when he was barely older than she was now. She loved them both dearly.

Perhaps they would let her hide in the carpentry today while she worked. If anyone came looking for her—Forley, in particular—they would expect to find her at the house of books, near the center of the village. Only a few people would think to look for her here, first. She quickened her step, hoping to find them as she expected.

When she rounded the bend and saw the carpentry ahead, she was slightly surprised to see that the yard was empty. Just as she was wondering where everyone she was expecting had gone to, she became aware of voices floating from the building before her. Voices she recognized, speaking sharply to one another, though she couldn't hear what was being said. Curious, she stole to the nearest window and peeked inside.

Once again, she was slightly surprised by what she saw. Her aunt and uncle were in the room beyond, and so was Bronden, but Star had expected this. What she hadn't expected to see was Annad, the older of her father's younger sisters, gripping a scowling and nervous looking Forley by his shirt collar, while she and Norriss argued back and forth. Shaaran and Bronden stood impatiently to the side, watching the scene with annoyance. As if the matter were no large deal, but extremely inconvenient.

Star wondered furiously what was going on, but realized at once that this was why she hadn't met Forley on her walk. It was sort of comic, seeing him gripped and argued over like a child, when he had just recently come of age. He looked absolutely indignant; but he also looked nervous, because the pillar-like woman who held him was the most promising young warrior in the village, and not to be tried. Her brother was a hero, and obviously made of magic, she often teased. He could probably turn you into a slug, if he wished it. She was, of course, merely teasing when she said such things; but somewhere in the part of her that still idolized her big brother, she might have believed it.

For a long moment, Star just watched the whole scene, unable to hear the argument clearly, and let her pale eyes slowly drift over her family. Dark-haired Shaaran, small and slight. Forley, who was dark skinned and curly-haired like his father. Tall, straight, sturdy Annad, with her long golden hair and flashing blue eyes. Norriss, who was oddly strawberry-blonde, but also tall and sturdy, his own eyes flashing, as well. Stocky Bronden, who was somehow shorter than Shaaran, and trying to scowl harder to hide the vague amusement in her eyes.

They were all very different from one another. Now that they were annoyed with each other, though, they looked very much alike, in certain small ways. Suddenly, they reminded Star of how their people must have been, thousands of years ago, when they had dwelt in the Valley of Gold. A time and a place where the strong and the weak, the bold and the gentle, and everyone between those extremes had lived in harmony, as one. Star smiled slightly, as she imagined that most certainly, their people had enjoyed small moments like this one in those days, when they had been whole.

All these long years later, the people of Rin had come to favor the strong, bold extreme, scorning the weak and gentle as being wanting, forgetting that the ones they scorned were still a part of them, and still needed. Slowly, in light of the things they had learned recently, they were changing, trying to become the whole, balanced people they were in ages past. Such change would take time, perhaps many generations; but seeing the argument unfolding inside the carpentry gave Star hope that however long that change would truly take, it would be a welcome and happy transition.

As she continued to watch, she saw Shaaran's dark eyes slide toward the window and notice her. At first, Star expected her aunt to say something, point her out, and get her normal morning back on track. Instead, the woman shook her head, appeared to excuse herself, and glided out of the room without anyone stopping to respond. Star realized that her aunt was moving toward the front door, and so crept from the window to meet her.

When they met on the porch, Shaaran planted her hands on her hips and shook her head again.

"Some days, I simply cannot stand these people," she said tersely, unhelpfully.

"I had wondered why Forley hadn't met me yet," Star said, hoping to prompt an explanation. "I normally can't take five steps from my door without him latching onto me. What happened?"

"Apparently, Annad had gone to look for him, because everyone who needs him this morning has been missing him. He had stopped to say hello to my brother; and by the time Annad caught up with him, they were deep in conversation. You know how the boy rambles... Anyway, she yelled at Norriss for indulging him, and then he started yelling back, and the next thing we knew, they were having a lover's quarrel in our front yard. When we pulled him inside to try and separate them, she followed us inside and dragged Forley with her! And now—this is happening. Oh, that brother of mine...!"

It was unlike Shaaran to be so frustrated, especially with her brother. Star could see how the rather shy woman would be upset, though. She was slightly frustrated, as well; she understood what her aunt had meant. Annad and Norriss had an odd and difficult relationship, these days. As if the idea of being more than just friends had struck their fancy, but they weren't yet sure if it was a good idea to go through with. Also, a show of great feeling was the best way to make Norriss very uncomfortable, even defensive. So, instead of talking about it, as Star and many others in their family would have thought was sensible, they tried to avoid talking about anything at all. So when they did speak, it was in the form of loud, pointless arguments, as if the sudden noise somehow made up for the silence between them.

Much like the argument they were having right now, which probably had little to do with Forley by this point. All at once, Star felt very, very bad for everyone involved in it—except perhaps for Bronden, who had looked to be enjoying herself, in spite of the scowl on her face. She also felt bad because she would be foolish not to use Forley's detainment to her advantage. She had every intention of slipping away while he couldn't run after her, leaving Shaaran to face the problem alone. There was little she could actually do about it, anyway.

Perhaps Shaaran had already guessed what she was thinking, because she smiled and shook her head slightly before saying, "I'll deal with my brother, Star. There's no need for you to get tangled up in his problems. Anyway, from the look of the paper in your hand, I'd say you have a lot of work to do."

Star smiled back, relieved that she wasn't abandoning her aunt entirely, and folded the list in her hand. "I'm almost done with the second adventure," she explained, stuffing the folded paper into her bag. "Mum and papa are in the Pit, but they haven't figured out what it really is, yet," she elaborated in a mysterious voice.

"Perhaps by the end of the day, they will have," her aunt suggested.

"Maybe. I want to really look up some things before I start writing everything down. I want to make sure I use all the right words in the right places. I want it all to be just right."

"You want it to be truthful."

"Yes, ma'am," Star beamed back. As chronicler and painter of the silks, Shaaran was bound by a pledge to only tell the truth with her work. It was something she took deadly seriously; and she had done all she could to instill its importance in her young niece, who was now a chronicler in her own right.

That training had paid off. Star never wrote a single passage in The Book unless she knew for sure that she was writing the truth, and the whole truth. This was why she worked in the house of books, where other written histories were readily available to cross reference. This was why her father's notes, recalling exact details, quotes, and memories, were vitally important. This was why it was taking her months of slow, careful work to complete it. The Book was special. No doubt, it would be crucial in centuries to come, if their people forgot to heed the lessons it told. Within The Book were secrets to the land they lived in, lost and forgotten, and then reclaimed through painful trial and error. By her own father and mother. By her uncle, and the delicate woman standing before her.

If The Book was errant in any way, failed to tell the whole story, if any one detail was missed, it might one day come to ruin everything all over again. All their hard work, their pain and their blood, even their friendship would have been in vain.

And she refused to allow that to happen.

Before she turned to leave, her aunt thrust a bundle of cookies into her hands, and cautioned her to keep track of the time. Apparently, she had also heard that Star had been missing meals; and now, true to her sensitive nature, she was worried. Star promised that she would try to be less careless, and hurried away. Before her cousin was released to track her down.

Though it was early, the heart of the village was already buzzing with its normal activities. Absolutely none of it was new or surprising, for she had seen it all every day since she had been born. She passed everyone she saw with a pleasant smile, and a greeting whenever she was hailed. The only trouble she met was from a small group of children, about her own age, laughing and whispering behind their hands as she passed, in spite of her plain appearance.

Star refused to let it show on her face how much their stares and whispering hurt her. She knew it shouldn't hurt, but it did, anyway. Alanis had been wrong. People weren't going to start thinking she was odd or different or strange—they already thought so. Most were simply too polite or too afraid of her father to say so out loud. Since she had been small, her father had warned her that it would be inevitable, and he had tried to prepare her for it as best he could. The hurt and the loneliness that came with being different could be eased with confidence and purpose, and from love and understanding, he had said; all the same, he had added, such knowledge is little comfort, when one is only 13 years old.

She certainly felt it now. Feeling her cheeks begin to burn from a surge of mixed emotions, she straightened herself even more, and kept striding toward the house of books, as fast as she could away from the sniggering gaggle of children. She knew them all fleetingly, from the few years she had spent with them under the teaching tree. Before her parents had grown tired of the teasing and bullying she had to face every day, and had kept her to study at home. Today, all this time later, she was at least equipped to ignore them; she knew all their names, but she only knew them as tormentors. None of them had changed.

But I have changed, Star thought proudly, as she at last approached her destination. I've learned more than they ever will, because my whole family is special, and they've taught me all they know. And most importantly, I've learned to control my temper. Once, I would have lashed out in anger, without bothering to think of what would come later. If I were any other child, people would be proud of me for standing up for myself; but I am different, and would only find myself in trouble. Now I know better.

Besides, she thought, feeling very flippant as she strode through the door to the house of books, why should I want to be like them? Especially when I can be me: Star of Rin, writer of books, daughter of heroes. Daughter of the Earth Titan.

That last thought made her feel as though she was glowing. Why be like them, when she could be her very odd, very special self, indeed?

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Afterthoughts...

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I know what you're all thinking just now, and yes. Earth Titan. The explanation gets a whole chapter to itself, here in a minute. It's good stuff. I've worked hard on hammering it all out; and with luck, I've gotten all the pressing kinks worked out of it. It's a "magic system", if you will, which I intend to use in original things someday, so this has been its springboard. Let's get started...