I just stared.
"I...", I mumbled, "How do you know me?"
"I am a star", Lucifer smiled, "I am as ancient as time. I know things. I was there when the prophesy was made."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you", he said with a serious face, "We stars aren't supposed to take sides, but I suppose I have been here for a very long time. I have become more like the creatures of the Earth than I used to be. And Folius is bad for this world. So I want to help you stop him."
"What can you do to help me?"
"I'm a star", he smiled again, "I can give you two things."
He leaned closer and whispered in my ear. At that moment, time lost all meaning. It was a beautiful language I had never heard before. It was like a tiny stream of silver, trickling into my ear. It was like music, like an ancient song. Like time itself, and life, and beauty, and the world and all the other worlds. It was something more beautiful than anything I had ever heard before. And I understood every word of it. I understood it all.
Luficer backed away. It all had disappeared. I had no idea anymore what he had just said. All I knew is that it was something amazing, that it was the most important thing anyone would ever say to me. But I didn't remember what it was. I only knew it had changed me, though no matter how hard I tried I couldn't make sense of how. It was one of those moments you knew you had realized something very, very important, but couldn't get a grasp of what it was you had realized.
Again, I just stared.
I felt empty and so full I would explode, all at once. It was... everything. I was too overwhelmed to... anything. I opened my mouth and gasped for breath.
"The other thing I have for you is someone who can help you along", Lucifer said. He handed me my bow and quiver I had apparently had on my back when we escaped into the woods, and gestured for me and Celer to follow him. Threw my only possessions of the moment on my back and followed him into one of the tunnels of the cave. Soon it became pitch black, but somehow I knew where to step and which way to go so that I wouldn't trip and I would always stay close to the fallen star. This wasn't the horrifying dark of the previous (the one before that?) night, but a safe and comfortable dark. Soon I felt the tunnel began to rise. We were walking uphill. We walked for a quite long time. What ever the cave was in must have not been just a small hill.
Finally I saw a dim light and heard a noise. Something tumbled down the tunnel we were walking up. Two somethings, seemingly fighting. Not very big somethings, just about the size of a big (well, huge) house cat. I was able to make out a tip of a wing and a tail or two. The somethings straightened up when they noticed us coming up the tunnel. It took me a moment to realize what they were. Griffins. Small griffins. Baby griffins?
"Uncle Lucifer!" the other one screamed as we reached them.
"Hello, little ones", Lucifer answered to them and they followed us enthusiastically out of the tunnel. I had to shade my eyes in the bright of the day.
We were on a huge flat, not even nearly at the top of the mountain. On the other end was a huge nest, and in the nest was a big griffin. A very big griffin. And a few smaller ones. I counted five, all together.
"Dad, uncle Lucifer came by", one of the little griffins that had tumbled into us in the tunnel shouted.
"I can see that", the big griffin in the nest answered in a low voice. He got up and padded to us slowly.
"Go play", he said to the kids and turned to Lucifer, "Well, what brings you here? I see you brought company."
"They have grown", Lucifer said, and then, "I need your help. Or to be more exact, Cinnamon here does."
The griffin eyed me up and down with his eagle's eyes.
"So, this is Cinnamon", he said, "So tiny. Well, I guess being small might be used as an advantage. My name is Min. With what do you need my help?"
I was about to say I didn't know, really, but Lucifer cut in.
"She needs to get back to the troops", he said.
"Yes, she might be more of use there", Min said, still eyeing me. His gaze was very sharp, and it was making me quite uncomfortable.
"I was hoping, that for the sake of all of us, you would take her there", Lucifer said. Min turned to look at him instead of me. They shared a long look. I didn't know if it was about something between them earlier, of if they knew something about the general picture that I didn't. I felt it was the latter. Their look made me feel there was something bad, very bad coming up that no one knew about except the two of them.
"What about the centaur?" Min asked.
"I suppose he can make his own way back. His presence isn't as urgently needed", Lucifer said.
"And my children?"
"They will be taken care of while you are gone", the two of them stared at each other for a little while longer.
"As much as I hate flying with someone pulling me down, I will take Cinnamon to the main camp of the Freedom Fighters, if the centaur stays here to look after my kids while I am gone. At least then I can say I've done my part in this nonsense on a war", Min finally said. Celer looked like he was about to object, but a small hand gesture from Lucifer shut him up.
"Don't worry, Celer", Lucifer said to him, "You have done well. You have done extremely well. The attack was a real attack by the men of Folius. There is a good chance you would have lost this land's only hope if you hadn't taken her into safety. You have already done more than your share."
"I'm glad to hear that", the centaur nodded, "But I still do need to go back as soon as possible. There is always more I can do."
Lucifer nodded in approval.
"You need to go now, Cinnamon", he said, turning to me. Min lay down, so I could climb onto his back.
"I wish you all the best of luck", Lucifer said to me, "Remember my words."
And then we took flight.
____________________________________________________________
Yeah, sorry about ditching the star, but we only have five parts left and we have to be able to somehow wrap this up. Anyway, I have a feeling he will show up later in at least one of the parts left somehow.
I've got nothing more today.
Your topic for tomorrow is Wool.
~matu
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