#so...izar set one free

[izar-tarazed]

So this is something I didn't know had happened—back when Izar and Ensha were sent out together for the very first time, barely trusting each other, and ending up at Raya Lucaria after a series of unplanned complications.

They have reached the Church of the Cuckoo and made camp there—to rest and recover, painfully necessary for both of them. They have called a truce, unsure where to go from here. Izar is losing the grace.

And yet, when she strolls through the church, her curious gaze flickering over the scrolls and books scattered over the floor…

She notices feathers. Everywhere in the nave, the cold polished stone floor is covered in feathers.

Izar frowns, and looks up. Only now does she recognize the dark metal objects hanging from above as what they really are: bird cages.

There are still shapes within. And as she holds her breath, she can hear it. The faintest flutter of tired wings. The softest chirp.

‟They’re still alive!” she exclaims, well aware that Ensha is keeping an eye on her even though the church should be safe by now. ‟Or at least… not fully dead? Anyway. We need to open those cages.”

He stares. How can she care possibly care about the forgotten cuckoos of the Academy? Why would it matter—

She’s already halfway up the ladder.

Ensha can’t call after her, so he just snaps his fingers, gesturing; motioning for her to look more closely at the cages and the chains holding them. Even from the upper floor, there is no way to reach them.

Izar’s fingers tighten around the rung as her gaze follows Ensha’s motioning and she understands. ‟But we can’t just leave them. They shouldn’t be kept in cages.” A pause, and she adds, ‟Nobody should.”

There is something about her saying we that catches Ensha off guard. As if there was a we. As if there could be one.

He points again—to a cage she has overlooked in her eagerness. This one isn’t hanging from the ceiling; it’s placed on the floor, between the pillars.

Within reach.

The bird inside tilts its head as Izar approaches, slowly, holding her breath. It has feathers… but no eyes. She still gets the feeling that it watches her every movement.

Careful not to startle it, she moves closer. Reaches out. Opens the cage.

As it flutters away, Izar smiles—despite everything, and not just to herself. ‟We set it free.”

Ensha, in silence, gazes after the bird.

[astrogeoguy]

Maximum Mercury, Dark Nights, Bright Jupiter, and the Best of Boötes!

(Above: The Pinwheel Galaxy, aka Messier 101, is located between Boötes and Ursa Major. This image was taken using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Subaru Telescope and then processed by Robert Gendler. NASA APOD for June 14, 2015.)

Hello, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of June 23rd, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me, and we’ll tour the Universe together!

The Moon and Planets

The moon will be out of the evening sky this week as it slides towards its meeting with the pre-dawn sun next week. Meanwhile, it’s a perfect week to explore the night sky – now that the Northern Hemisphere daylight period is slowly shortening and our nights lengthening! Here are the Skylights! 

Monday morning will find the late-rising moon among the modest stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer) in the southeastern pre-dawn sky; and then our natural satellite will linger in view in the southwestern sky until mid-day. For the rest of the week, the waning moon will pass through Cetus (the Whale) and dip into Pisces (the Fishes). On Tuesday morning at 5:46 am Eastern Time, the moon will officially reach its last quarter phase – appearing half-illuminated on the left-hand (its western) side. 

On Saturday morning, the old, slim, crescent moon will land in the western end of Taurus (the Bull). On Sunday morning, just before sunrise, see if you can spot the delicate moon sitting a few finger widths above Taurus’ brightest star, Aldebaran.

(Above: The distant, dim, blue planet Neptune is among the stars of Aquarius, shown here for 4 am local time on June 29, 2019. The magnitude 7.9 planet will be sitting a thumb’s width to the left (east) of a medium-bright star named Phi (φ) Aquarii.)

While we’re talking pre-dawn, remember that Distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will be rising shortly after midnight local time this week. You’ll find the magnitude 7.9 planet sitting a thumb’s widths to the left (east) of a medium-bright star named Phi (φ) Aquarii. 

Blue-green Uranus will be rising just after 3 am local time this week. It is sitting among the stars of Aries (the Ram) and is just a palm’s width above the head of Cetus. The large main-belt asteroid Vesta is nearby - a palm’s width below Uranus. Look for Vesta sitting only half a finger’s width below the modest star Xi (ξ) Ceti (and also named Al Kaff al Jidhmah). They will appear together in the field of view of a backyard telescope.

(Above: The blue-green planet Uranus is among the stars of southwestern Aries, shown here for 4 am local time on June 29, 2019. The asteroid Vesta is located a palm’s width below Uranus this week. Vesta is only half a finger’s width below the modest star Xi (ξ) Ceti, labelled here as Al Kaff al Jidhmah.)  

Venus is bright enough to see within the pre-dawn twilight sky that surrounds it, but it is sitting very low in the northeast - sinking ever-closer to the rising sun. Venus will be rising at about 4:40 am local time all week.

The blazingly-bright object that you’ve been seeing in the southeastern evening sky recently is mighty Jupiter. We are still near our closest approach to the planet for 2019, increasing its apparent brightness and the size of its banded disk and moons in binoculars and telescopes. This week Jupiter will be rising at about 7:30 pm local time, before sunset. 

(Above: Io’s shadow will be completing a transit on Jupiter (with the Great Red Spot) just before 11 pm EDT on Thursday evening, so you can start to look for them as soon as the sky darkens. This image shows the situation at 10:15 pm EDT.)

From time to time, the small, round black shadows cast by Jupiter’s four Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) Jupiter’s disk. Starting at about 2 am EDT on Wednesday morning, Io and its shadow will cross Jupiter for more than two hours. Io’s shadow will also be completing a transit (with the Great Red Spot) just before 11 pm EDT on Thursday evening, so you can start to look for that as soon as the sky darkens. On Saturday morning, Europa and its shadow will cross Jupiter for two hours (with the Great Red Spot), starting at about 2:40 am EDT. Jupiter will set while they are crossing. 

Due to Jupiter’s rapid 10-hour rotation period, the Great Red Spot (or GRS) is only observable from Earth every 2nd or 3rd night, and only during a predictable three-hour window. The GRS will be easiest to see using a medium-sized, or larger, aperture telescope on an evening of good seeing (steady air). If you’d like to see the Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be crossing the planet on Monday evening from 10 pm until 12:30 am EDT. More GRS viewing opportunities will occur on Wednesday from 11 pm to 2 am EDT, Thursday evening before 11:30 pm EDT, and on Saturday night in the hours before midnight. 

(Above: The bright planets Jupiter and Saturn dominate the southern evening sky this month, as shown here at 11 pm local time. Saturn is 30 degrees to the east (lower left) of Jupiter.)

Yellowish Saturn will be rising in the east-southeast just before 10 pm local time this week. Its position in the sky is just to the left (east) of the stars that form the teapot-shaped constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Saturn is quite a bit dimmer than Jupiter. To find it, look about 3 fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter. Dust off your telescope! Once the sky is dark, even a small telescope will show Saturn's rings and several of its brighter moons, especially Titan!  Because Saturn’s axis of rotation is tipped about 27° from vertical (a bit more than Earth’s is), we can see the top surface of its rings, and its moons can appear above, below, or to either side of the planet. During this week, Titan will migrate counter-clockwise around Saturn, moving from the upper right tonight, to the left of the planet next Sunday. (Remember that your telescope will flip the view around.) 

Dim, reddish Mars and brighter Mercury are still hanging out together just above the northwestern horizon after sunset this week, but not as close together as last week. Mercury will become easier to spot every night while it climbs away from the sun and brightens. The best time to look for Mercury falls between 9:45 and 10:15 pm local time. Tonight (Sunday) Mercury will peak in visibility when it reaches its widest separation, 25 degrees east of the Sun, for the current apparition. Look for Mars sitting a few finger widths to the upper left of Mercury. (Take care that the sun has set before attempting to view them using binoculars or a telescope.) You can also look for the bright stars Castor and Pollux of Gemini (the Twins) sitting to the upper right of the two planets.

(Above: Mercury is climbing away from the sun and drawing away from dimmer Mars, as shown her at 10 pm local time on Sunday evening. Mercury swings widest from the sun on the same date, and then will start dropping sunward again.)

The Treats of Boötes

The absent moon for the next two weeks and the lovely early summer nights offer a fine opportunity to explore the realm of Boötes (“Bow-Oh-tees”), the Herdsman or Plowman. Grab your binoculars and your favorite star-gazing partner and head outside. Let’s tour!

After it gets dark, face southwest and look about halfway up the sky for a very bright, orange-tinted star named Arcturus. The fourth brightest star in the entire night sky, Arcturus means “Guardian of the Bear” in Greek, because it rises after Ursa Major (the Big Bear), which sits to its upper right (west). Arcturus is that colour because it is just passing middle-age for a star, starting on its way towards the red supergiant stage. In Chinese, Arcturus is known as Dà Jiǎo 大角, "Great Horn". 

(Above: Shown here at 11 pm local time, the western evening sky in late June / early July annually features the constellation of Boötes, the Herdsman. It is easy to trace out by starting at the very bright, tinted star Arcturus.)

Arcturus marks the bottom tip of the large, kite-shaped constellation Boötes, traditionally represented as a Herdsman or Plowman. The rest of the stars in the kite are medium-bright and visible under party light-polluted skies. About a fist’s diameter above and slightly left (east) of Arcturus are two close-together stars. The higher one named Izar, meaning “Loin Cloth”, is moderately bright. The lower one is much fainter. In a telescope, Izar splits into a gorgeous double star – one is golden and the other is white or greenish. 

Moving another fist’s width upwards along the same line brings us to the Herdsman’s eastern shoulder, a modest star designated Delta Boötis, or Thiba. (The word Boötis is latin for “belonging to Boötes.) Thiba is a sun-like star, about ten times the mass of our sun, sitting 117 light-years away. Looking up and to the right about 7.5°, we find a star named Nekkar “Ox Driver”, marking the constellation’s head (or tip of the kite). This is an elderly blue star passing through a phase that is causing it temporarily resemble a large version of our sun - on its way to becoming a brighter red giant. 

Sitting about three finger widths towards the upper left from the line connecting Delta Boötis and Nekkar (shoulder and head) is a triple star named Alkalurops, a name derived from “Shepherd’s Staff”. Two of Alkalurops’ stars can be discerned with good eyes or binoculars, and one of these becomes two stars when viewed in a telescope. All three stars are orbiting in a dance that takes at least 125,000 years for a turn. 

As we head from Nekkar back down the crooked western side of the kite, we first stop at a medium bright star named Seginus, which marks the western shoulder. Seginus is also evolving - presently a white giant star that is on the way towards becoming a red giant one day. This 85 light-years distant star is spinning about 70 times faster than our sun! 

Moving less than halfway down the constellation towards Arcturus, we find a modest star sitting about four finger widths to the right of Izar. This star, designated Rho (ρ) Boötis, marks the gentleman’s western hip. There’s a noticeable small star just to its left named Sigma Boötis. 

Descending from Arcturus to the east and west are some minor stars that mark the legs and feet. The eastern foot, less than a fist’s diameter to the lower left of Arcturus, is designated Zeta Boötis. In a telescope it is revealed to be a nice matched pair of close together white stars. Moving about four finger widths down the western leg brings us to the bright star Muphrid. It’s also classed like our sun, and is actually the same distance from us as Arcturus. But its inherent brightness is less, so it looks much dimmer. Dropping down slightly and moving farther right is the star Upsilon Boötis, a very distant red giant star.

(Above: A sky chart identifying all the major stars of Boötes. Sweep the sky to the right of Arcturus with binoculars to find the small, fuzzy blob of the globular star cluster labelled as M3)  

All the stars in our galaxy are in motion, jostling as they orbit the galactic centre every quarter of a billion years or so. Some stars’ move faster, or are closer to us – so they exhibit a greater apparent motion across the sky. Astronomers call this Proper Motion. That’s why star charts need to be updated regularly. Arcturus has a very high proper motion southward. In a few thousand years, the herdsman’s legs will be bent upwards with Arcturus below his knees! 

Boötes extends way up to the tip of the Big Dipper’s handle. Just before you get there, look for a tight grouping of three stars that represent the herdsman’s upraised hand. The star names are Asellus Primus, Asellus Secundus, and Asellus Tertius “First, second, and Third Donkey”. Two of them are telescopic double stars, but the area around them is a lovely rich field for viewing. The famous Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101) is located only a few finger widths above them! I’ll post a sky chart here.

Oh, Look – it’s Ophiuchus!

If you missed last week’s information about the large summer constellation of Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer) and its loads of deep sky treats, I posted it here. 

Public Astro-Themed Events

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

On Friday, June 28, starting at 7 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present their planetarium show The Life and Death of Stars. Find tickets and details here. 

The next RASC Family Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, July 13. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[olympus-summit]

The Gift of Free Speech || Chapter 5 Trial

There were many uncomfortable looks shared among the members of your class as you all filed into the elevator for the fifth time, or perhaps the first time if you were Montgomery. And to the game modder’s credit, he didn’t seem particularly enthused about the lift ride upstairs either. Regardless of how anyone might have felt about the late Astrophysicist, everyone present could sense the sheer pain emanating from his Neuropsychologist paramour.

And with what you found during investigations… no one was sure just what would be happening this trial. Was anyone sure of why Izar Rigel had to die? Surely, at least one person was, but who could that be, and who would start pointing fingers first?

As the lift door opens, you notice that there has been an addition to the normally rounded circle. In front of the largest island of empty thrones, a makeshift station was set up in front of Sabine’s, consisting of a gaming chair on swivels, padded with comfort and featuring a built-in keyboard, and a side table with a straw doll of a fox. 

Seeing as how everyone else had departed for their thrones, Monty approaches that chair with a little apprehension. Just because it looks like it was set out for him doesn’t mean he should sit so readily on it but… convenience won out over suspicion and he flops down onto the swivel chair with a sigh of relief. Better to be talking in his zone than have to do it standing up.

The door to the north hallway opens, and as the Fates step out, you realize that this is the first occasion where they were not prepared to welcome you from their usual spot in the centre of the trial room, above the Eternal Flame.

“I was not expecting that we would ever reach the point where we ended up here with as many people as we left with after the previous trial. At least on your side. Life certainly loves to make my job harder.” Atropos sighs. She’s not happy, but when is she ever? “Regardless, it is your task to find the one responsible for the death of Councilor Rigel. I assume that you know how this works by now.”

Well, Monty doesn’t, but she ignores him.

“If you have any questions for us, ask.” Clotho asserts, even as she seems to be… finishing up her breakfast burger. Huh. Bunching up the now-empty wrapper, she tosses it over to Lachesis who starts to play hacky-sack with it. “Don’t waste our time by trying to dance around the subject. Worst that can happen is that we’ll refuse to answer. Probably.” The youngest sister declares.

Catching the wrapper ball and stuffing it in a pocket, Lachesis smiles. “Good luck! As long as you can leave your personal biases out of the way… maybe this won’t turn out like last time?”

Ouch.

As the sisters began to weave with brilliant orange, red and black threads, you have no choice but to begin the discussion. It was time for yet another trial.

[aly-the-writer]

Of Ghosts (Pt 3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4  | Ao3

“Master Silver says that they will be arriving within the hour,” the blond Sith commented as she came to stand beside Theron who was eying the red-stained valley below.

Korriban was unsettling for non-Sith already – was in some ways unsettling for Sith – but Theron had had his thoughts occupied by his own problems even before the Jedi’s vessel had set down on the desert world two days before.

The spy nodded, his jaw clenching a little with his nerves. “…did he say anything after Yavin?”

“No, but he didn’t need to for it to be obvious that he loved you,” Lana clasped her hands behind her back as she did when she thought.

She considered the other Sith Lord in silence…she couldn’t claim she had many friends – the Empire wasn’t that sort of place – but Nox had been one of the few she trusted implicitly, and whose trust she knew she had earned. Although she could’ve done without him earning them Ravage’s ire with his whispered jokes during the Council meetings. (She suspected her impression on the older members of the Council might have been better if her seat as Minister of Intelligence hadn’t been next to Nox’s.)

“He doesn’t drink spirits often, you know-” she spared a wince at the phrasing, she could practically hear the Pureblood’s voice interrupting about how he ate them instead: “-but he dragged me along when we returned to the Empire to find a bottle of whisky, something nice. I thought it strange, he bought a very expensive, high quality alcohol and then immediately had it stored in his vault. He claimed he didn’t need it for another six years but he needed to know it was there.”

She studied Theron’s expression – knowing that its stillness was because he was drawing on his early Jedi lessons to try and sort through the information. “He did miss you, Theron, but Yavin was never the end for him. He loves you. That will give him the strength he needs for this.”

“Why are so many people needed for this ritual?” Theron asked.

“Dak and Aydin aren’t. They’re here to protect us from the wildlife and anything the ritual stirs up. Captain Fyre and her husband are strictly extraction and transport for Tusin, we needed someone we could trust. Your presence isn’t necessary but will probably help provide a focus.”

A Corellian XS-stock light freighter was coming in for a landing – the ship familiar enough to both of them they recognized it even before the bright green Blurrg in a top hat painted on the ship’s belly became visible.

The Enterprising Blurrg belonged to the last member of the team that had originally gotten tangled up in the Revanite mess. The smuggler Captain Claribel Fyre, she’d been brought in to fly the original Korriban strike team and when things didn’t add up she and Val were the ones Theron had reached out to.

It didn’t take long for the smuggler to show up down the ramp, leading Tusin down by the hand, concern showing on her face. They’d gotten Tusin changed from the prison uniform, so he was wearing simple black robes with the hood down – the sort that he’d worn for as long as any of them had known him. It made him look more Sith again, but the blank expression and the lack of personality still stood out.

The Mandalorian warrior from the holocall the first time he’d woken stood at the top of the ship’s ramp watching, but not making a move to come down, his helmet still securely in place.

Valirek smiled to them both as he approached, gesturing to where Theron was approaching as he said something to the Pureblood. Tusin’s eyes landed on them both, at least he seemed to recognize them all.

“Keep the credits, Val,” the smuggler was telling the Jedi as Theron and Lana came into earshot. “I paid off Clan Cadera already, but Iz and me aren’t going to take anything for this job. This one’s on me but it’s the last time you get any free flying, got it? Having Jedi friends is too expensive.”

Val smiled, he knew what they all knew – the woman had never been all about profit like she claimed she was. “If you insist, Clari. And thank you.”

“Yeah, well, y’know,” she shrugged – before looking to Theron. “Take care of him, okay, Shan? I’m not sticking around for the Force nonsense, I have a pick up on Ziost. Probably won’t be around Republic space til there’s a new Chancellor after this so you fly safe too.”

“We’ll do our best, Captain,” Theron smiled back. “You and Izar take care too.”

“Do our best,” she smiled before clasping Tusin’s arm, green eyes sad before she turned and headed back to her ship, Aydin trotting over to speak with her and her husband for a few minutes before they were back aboard and taking off.

Val waited for the Blurrg to be back in the sky before looking to Lana and Theron, “When should we begin this?”

“The sooner the better,” Theron replied, guilt pricking him as he kept his eyes off Tusin. It hurt to see him in this condition.

“Lana?” Valirek asked quietly.

The blond nodded, “I am ready, Master Silver.”

He nodded, “Tusin, will you please come with me?” he asked the Sith, leading him towards the tomb that Dak had been keeping cleared of wildlife for the last few days. He was speaking to the Pureblood, explaining the process behind the ritual they were going to perform and its purpose – giving the Sith a chance to protest if they were wrong and this shell-like version actually did feel any sort of wants.

The Jedi knight was perched on one of the stone slabs outside its entrance, a wide brimmed hat that looked suspiciously like it was from Val’s Rishi pirate disguise on his head to ward off the planet’s intense sun. “Things are clear inside,” he told them, “You want me in there or guarding out here?”

“You and Aydin can remain out here unless you sense something go wrong. If something’s going wrong get Theron out, moving the rest of us will be too dangerous once this begins.”

Dak saluted to them before adding: “May the Force be with you.” It wasn’t until the group was already past him in the mouth of the cave that the knight added in a mutter, “We’ll certainly need it.”

Theron glanced back, wondering if there was something the Force-users weren’t saying, but it wasn’t as if he could push any for answers. Lana would share what she thought was needed, if Valirek wasn’t saying anything then he felt it necessary to keep it secret.

He stayed out of the way as Val and Lana finished arranging the items around the altar. Bits and pieces of items that made no coherent sense at first: A battered shock collar, a light saber, a mask, pieces of a broken holocron… Souvenirs from Nox’s life he realized, recognizing a brightly colored Orobird feather he’d drunkenly braided into Nox’s hair on Rishi the night before his capture by Revan’s supporters.

He remembered the man complaining that the blue-green feather clashed terribly with his skin color, but he’d left it in the whole night. The next morning he’d overheard Lana cautioning the Dark Lord against permitting him too close as the Pureblood and Claribel had prepared to find Torch. Valirek had been given another task in light of Mandalorian’s infamous dispositions towards Jedi.

Theron blinked and shook his head, the faint smile that had come unbidden fading – he couldn’t do anything to help Tusin now, the least he could do was pay attention to the ritual not day dream…

The Sith Pureblood was helped onto the altar, laying in its center so still that Theron might’ve mistaken him for dead if not for the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Valirek and Lana were kneeling in front of it now, both assuming the pose that Force-users were taught when they meditated or were going into a trance. Val reached out first, his hand upturned. Lana took his wrist in one hand and the air in the cavern grew heavier, more dangerous. The hairs on the back of Theron’s neck stood up, and his skin crawled with goosebumps. Sith Sorcery. Old, and dangerous.

In the light of the torches that had suddenly gone dimmer he could see the Jedi grimace but his focus remained unbroken – the touch of the dark side likely physically painful for the Barsen’thor rather than just the edgy discomfort that Theron felt even Force blind.

In the center of the ritual blue-black lights had begun to spark and dance, completely obscuring Tusin’s form.

[izar-tarazed]

And still, among grey and gold within the burning Erdtree, something remains to be done. The last crossroad of Izar's journey.

She looks at the fractured body of what once was goddess and queen of these Lands. The one, for all that Izar knows, who set her and her fellow Tarnished on the path towards this place. Guided by golden light.

To mend. To restore.

Izar knows she has the means to do it. Mend the Elden Ring. Go back to how things were. Sit on that throne that has seen so much bloodshed.

She inhales. But if there is no change, what has been the point of this journey? If all remains as it was, locked in place like the stars have been for so long...

Her gaze flickers to a symbol on the ground. Starlight. A silent greeting.

Throughout her journey, the stars have guided her just as much as the grace. And also... She has made promise and gifted a ring.

She kneels down in front of the shimmering sign, her fingers brushing the starlight.

"... The battle is over, I see."

Ranni's voice, as soft as always: falling snow in a wintry night, stars distant and cold.

Izar tilts her head. "What happens now?"

Her question is met with a smile and nothing else. Ranni steps past her, lifting Marika's head off the ground. It seems surprisingly gentle to Izar.

Izar stays where she is, watching as what is left of the Golden Order dissipates, listening as Ranni speaks of her new Order. Her new age: the Age of Stars.

And while there is a certain darkness to her words, Izar has long learned to spot the stars in even the darkest night, and find constellations and meaning.

So she understands what else there will be.

An Order as distant as the stars, not interfering, not imposing, not ruling. Nobody to sit on the Elden Throne. And therefore... countless fates, no longer locked in place—so many paths to be walked freely, by choice.

Destinies that now can be crafted. Choices that now can be made.

Izar smiles.

And as if she feels it, Ranni turns back to her.

"A thousand year voyage under the wisdom of the Moon." She looks at Izar for a long moment, as if remembering every single one of their encounters and conversations.

We share the love for the stars, Izar thinks, and the longing to forge our own destiny.

White hands—like snow, like porcelain—reach out for her.

"Well then. Shall we? My dear consort, eternal." And Izar remembers that Ranni has asked her before: whether she'll come, as consort and companion, on that journey to the stars.

Into the same night sky that has kept her company for so long.

Izar Tarazed, stargazer, astrologer with all her heart. Where else would she belong if not among the stars?

She reaches out.

And then, realizing...

"No."

Izar pulls back, lowers her hand. Shakes her head.

There is the slightest frown on Ranni's face.

"No," Izar repeats, and stands. "I can't. My place is here."

Ranni tilts her head as she pulls back her hands. "Wouldst thou rather rule from that throne, clinging to a past that is gone—overcome, and rightfully so?"

"No. I never wished for that throne." Izar inhales. "But I belong here. And if things are to change in the Lands Between, people will need help. Not force, not rule. But guidance." She smiles as she adds, "An outstretched hand maybe to know they're not alone, neither desperate nor lost."

"They must learn," Ranni says, "to walk on their own."

"They must learn. We must all learn. You can't build a new Order, distant or not, on old ideas. Things—and people—need time to change. To learn. To heal."

Ranni is silent.

"I will stay." Izar wonders, for a heartbeat, whether she should apologize. She decides she shouldn't.

This is her path. This is what she wants, free from any order, from prophecies, ambitions that aren't her own.

"I will stay and do the work. I'm not a ruler... but I'm a scholar. I will re-open the Academy. Make it a place where everyone is welcome and everything may be studied. Where every question can be asked and answers will not be withheld.

A place to share knowledge rather than hoard it. A point of departure for old and new ideas. A place of exchange... So many things can be done.

It might not be enough. But it is what I can do."

It is what she wants to do.

There is a long moment of silence, and then Ranni nods, the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

"I see," she says softly, no grudge in her voice. "Good. So be it."

And with that, she turns away.

Izar watches her leave in silence, and now, finally, she feels that she has arrived. The last crossroad of this journey. The first step on a new path.