A Glimpse of the Past – Orianna Èirigh – 25.10.2023

She left the others outside of Castle Gate.

Making her way blindly down the thoroughfare of Castle Road, Orianna felt like a stranger in her body. Six years gone in the blink of an eye. Six precious years.

Being in the body of her future self felt weird. She wasn’t supposed to be in this state, now. No, a person is meant to experience the journey that gets you from twenty-one to twenty-seven a day at a time. This was meant to be her future. As in, distant. Six years distant.

But the future is happening to her now. The future is in the present. It is present.

She can’t escape it.



Swooping down from the sky, she lands on the running trim outside her and Gerhard’s window on the top floor. As she lets go of the grey hawk form and becomes herself, a part of her (a very small and distant part) is grateful that Ilthuryn is not on her roof this afternoon. She was barely holding on, barely held it together after handing Matches back his mirror. The immediate concern mixed with disappointed look her star-brother would have at seeing her-

It would break her.

Biting her lip to the point of pain as she desperately tries to open the window, letting out a soft sob when it lifts without issue. Someone had left it unlocked and so she didn’t have to go through the front door. If her fathers were home, which they very well may be-

But it wasn’t locked.

Once inside, she goes through the motions of taking off her gear, her uniform, putting Throdrazz’s and Kessarax’s key down somewhere, letting the Starlight Cradle go but not hearing it ring when it falls against the wall. Her thoughts are high and far away, spinning through memories and conversations between her and the man she loves who is no longer quite human anymore. Soft spoken words about the time they had, regretful phrases on the moments they lost, grateful tones for what they have gained together.

But how can they keep stepping into the unknown together when she has lost so much in one single move? Time marches on and on into Infinity and she is finite. Every moment is precious. She does not know which will be their last but — holding up her hands, Orianna sees the slimmer fingers, the change in the curve of her palms, the way her lifeline is etched in just a little deeper — this has, undeniably, brought them both closer to it.

Tears fall. She climbs into bed. Orianna weeps, mourning the time once again stolen from her. In her grief and woe she descends into a fitful sleep made of dreams full of wishes and nightmares filled with memories.

She sleeps.




In ancient times, long before the Great Wheel would become what it is today — before even the idea of the Material Plane was glimmer in Creation’s eye — a great battle between the Primordial forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire and the Nine Aspects of Asgorath took place on the fringes of space and time.

The Four were Behemoths — large as planets and composed of every aspect of what made their primordial elements so chaotic and destructive. They spoke in a tongue entirely their own, and when they said their piece the Behemoth of Fire lifted its massive hand and sent out a barrage of all things flame and fury towards the Nine.

The Nine were Archwyrms — great dragons ranging in size from wings able to hold entire galaxies in their folds, to humming dual sets of glittering garnet, quick enough to allow for the nimblest mobility for such a large being. They scattered, deftly dodging the Behemoth’s first attack.

All were terrible and fierce. All were ready to see this through to the end.

With a commanding roar, the Queen of the Archwyrms, Stellarum Tenabris, urged her brethren towards their foe. Without hesitation or second thought, the battle began, a clash that would ripple through the ages.

The most eager amongst them were the Tungsten and Obsidian Dragons.

Answering his queen’s roar with one of his own, Vulcanax, the Cataclysm that Breaks the World, hurtled towards the Behemoth of Earth like inevitability. As he gathered speed, Kestrasz, the Hammer of Justice was already in front of the Behemoth, raking his glowing talons down the titan’s front causing it to reel back. Then he began to glow with divine radiance, ribs expanding out like a cage of light. Releasing his righteous glow, the beam burrowed into the core of Granius, cracks and fissures appearing across is great form. But before it could move or counter, the Shadow that Covers the Sun was upon it. Having curled into a ball of magma and fiery rock, when the Cataclysm struck he disconnected the Behemoth’s jaw from its face. The breaking was not done however, not until a volley of magma was sent down its earthen side, scorching its body leaving nothing but ash and bones.

Next to this clash were Meldrosa, Thalistrasza, and Eroshira facing the mightiest of tempests — the Behemoth of Air.

On wings of leaves, the Verdant Forest let out jets of jade green fire making holes in the Behemoth’s tumultuous form. The Great Mother meanwhile circled around, joined by four other draconic figures. In perfect, uniformed formation, they all unleashed brilliant white fire at Imperos. Following up from above, the Skies First Light breathed out, and it was like a sun manifesting solar prominences. Great red loops, circling around and around, over and under, looping all around the gale of Air that was being suffocated with fire.

Close at hand, as the Behemoth of Fire prepared to devastate the Archwyrms with another blast of flame were two of the Nine — the Morion and Opal Dragons were making their move.

With an elegance inherent to her very form, the Maiden of Magic called out to the Weave. Threads of power answered her summons, attaching themselves to her opalescent form, gathering the force and might of all magic in Creation to her. Meanwhile, the Judge of the Dead summoned the forces of darkness into clouds of vapour and mist. Just before fire could scorch all, huge javelins of magical force shot out, latching onto Ragnis as shadows blanketed the raging inferno, blotting out the red light like ink spreading across the Behemoth. The Archwyrms flexed their wings, and fire and form were ripped out of existence.

But what of the smallest of the Archwyrms?

What of she who is their Queen?

The Great Seer, who’s dual wings and size is so small in comparison to their siblings, dipped, ducked, dived, and dodged around all. They were the quickest, the swiftest, the fleetest of wings not only in form but in things yet unseen. Each fly by saw a garnet eye flash in Knowing. A moment of intuition, of foresight that helped keep and coordinate the whole of the battlefield. Constant moving, never stopping, some might say Throdrazz had the hardest part to play of them all.

But strength is not just in knowing. It is in acting, in doing, in finishing what one starts.

The Night Keeper faced the Behemoth of Water all on her own. She called down the very stars to rain upon Neptulus. With each impact, starlight spread through its watery form, fractales and reflections of more starlight breaking it apart. A swoop around, another bolt like a comet strikes the Behemoth’s head and it is stunned by the gravity of the blow. But the Star Mother is not done. Starting at the tip of her tail, climbing up her back, rising in a vortex of light, Stellarum is a star unto herself as she opens her great maw and releases a beam of light unlike anything ever seen.

The silence is deafening in its wake.

Water bubbles. Air fizzles. Fire extinguishes. Earth crumbles.

The Nine are victorious.

They come together over the Behemoth’s remains. Words are spoken, debated, countered, and then, finally, agreed.

The Nine breathe in.

As they exhale, orbs of light come forth from their chests, gathering in the centre of their circle. The light begins to form a colossal double door composed of silver and marble. Then, the doors open and three figures emerge.

First, is the Matron.

Second, is the Caretaker.

Last, but in no way least, is the Architect.

The oldest and most powerful of the Infinite.

No one knows what was said between the Nine and the Three. But whatever story involves those of the Infinite Staircase, one thing is for certain — no one leaves unchanged.

When the speaking was done and agreement was met, each of the Nine touched their chest and a new mote of energy left their bodies. One-by-one they cast their pieces into the door, and when the last passed through its silver and marble frame, the Matron, the Caretaker, and the Architect bowed.

Great chains of silver and marble came out of the double doors, beginning to bind, wrap, and constrain the bodies of the Behemoths. This was the agreement for the price the Nine paid:

No more would the Behemoths move through the Spheres causing destruction with their passing.

No more would they reform, creating new bodies to continue their path of ruination.

No more would they exist within time and space.

No more would there be just Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.

With a final bow, the Infinite passed through the double doors and the Archwyrms flew away, moving on to the next part of this new beginning.

As they departed, each of the Nine knew they were changed, lesser than they were before.

For no one who crosses paths with the Infinite of the Staircase — be they Primordial, Archwyrm, mortal, or god — ever stays the same.




Continued in ‘Time’ 💫