The Heavenly Host

“This place is awesome!” Fer-Rog exclaimed to Rupert as they came up to a wide stream. He jumped in the water and splashed around. “Water that stays on the ground? That you can walk into and through?” Fer-Rog shook his head. “It is almost as weird as the hairy ground!”

“Tall grass,” Rupert corrected for the third time. “Most of the ground in Astlan has stuff growing on it. Except for deserts, or so I am told. I have never seen a desert other than, I guess, the Abyss.

“Yeah, and those wooden sticks growing out of the ground are pretty cool too. Who knew wood was all fluffy on the end? We have so little wood at Mount Doom, and all of it really old and heavily preserved.” Fer-Rog hunkered down to sit in the stream.

“It is so cool, cold even. I have never felt anything like it.” He ran his claws through the water, watching it whirl and part around his fingers. He looked towards the east as Fierd came above the horizon, and his eyes widened. “Don’t look now, but there is a giant ball of fire that just came over the horizon!”

Rupert chuckled. “That’s Fierd. It is coming up and will follow an arc through the sky, bringing light to the world!” He traced Fierd’s path through the sky with his arm. “Wow, I just realized this is your first fierdrise!”

“What’s a fierdrise?” Fer-Rog asked.

“It’s what we are watching: Fierd rising above the horizon, starting its journey while providing light, energy and life to plants,” Rupert explained.

“So it’s orbiting Astlan? I remember being taught that Astlan, and most worlds, are spheres.” Fer-Rog asked.

“No, Astlan orbits Fierd; Uropia and Anuropia orbit Astlan. That greenish crescent we saw in the sky last night was Uropia, the closest moon. Anuropia should be in the southern hemisphere now and visible during the day. Not sure where we are, but given where Uropia was in the sky, we might see Anuropia near the southern horizon today.”

“Okay...” Fer-Rog said, trying to figure it out.

“Fierd and Uropia traverse the sky from east to west; Anuropia moves from either north to south or south to north, depending on the time of year.”

“Seems complicated.” Fer-Rog shook his head.

“Yeah, it is, but you gotta know all about this stuff if you’re a wizard because where the moons are affects the astrological signs and can have a major influence on spell casting. Most spells are associated with the five elements, and the moons determine the season and thus the current elemental affiliations,” Rupert said.

“And that makes a difference?” Fer-Rog asked.

“Spells of the opposite sign are harder to cast and are less effective; spells that are of the same sign are easier to cast and are more powerful. So yes, it can. Unless you are someone like Lenamare, who can toss enough mana into a spell to counteract the astrological effects on the elements. Most normal wizards can’t,” Rupert said.

“Lenamare is that crazy wizard you studied under?” Fer-Rog asked, trying to remember what Rupert had told him about life in Astlan.

“Yep, that’s him. He’s one of the most powerful wizards in the world,” Rupert said.

“He would have to be in order to summon a demon prince.” Fer-Rog said.

“Yeah, well, I think and have always figured that my dad wanted Lenamare to summon him so he could be reunited with me. So as I figure it, father just used Lenamare and his summons as a focal point. Sort of like the calling stones he is using to locate the shamans.”

“So why did he take so long to come find you?” Fer-Rog asked.

Rupert frowned. “I’m not really clear on that. He does not want to talk about it for some reason. Maybe he didn’t know my mom had died? Or maybe he was busy on other planes doing things and that was as soon as he could get to Astlan. Or, who knows — maybe it is part of the prophecy, and I was meant to experience life as a human for several years.”

Fer-Rog frowned. “I’ve never met a human, unless that knight of your dad’s is a human; can’t tell inside his armor. I’ve heard stories about them, though; while physically weak, they are shifty and untrustworthy, only slightly better than the evil alvar, who no one can trust.”

Rupert shrugged. “Many of them are nice enough, but it is true that a number of them are petty and mean and lacking in honor. Talarius is a human; he killed me once here in Astlan and tried to kill all of us permanently about a week ago. That’s when my dad kicked his butt and took him prisoner.”

“Why did he try to kill you? I mean, I know that is what followers of Tiernon do, just like the demons that follow Lilith, but I’m not sure why,” Fer-Rog asked.

Rupert shook his head. “He’s convinced that all demons are evil and out to overthrow humanity and all goodness in the world. He has therefore made it his job to kill all demons he encounters.”

“Seems rather racist if you ask me,” Fer-Rog observed.

“Tell me about it, but it’s a pretty common belief among humans,” Rupert said.

“So why didn’t anyone try to kill you previously?” Fer-Rog gestured up and down at Rupert. “You’re pretty obviously a demon.”