Two small platforms slowly rose from the earth, the dust that slowly floated into the air drifting towards the campfire. The crackling embers the only sound in the otherwise silent night.

“Careful, the ground needs a chance to settle. If you don’t pay attention you might fall into the fire.” A woman’s deep upbeat tone filled the air.

Her voice didn’t quite reach Mareus though, his placid stare remaining unchanged as he watched the shadows dance beneath his feet. He lost count how many times he thought he could hear something in that bottomless darkness. He’d have to remember to meditate on it more.

"You know, it's not very often that I get to appreciate the night sky like this." The light from Heaven’s Scar bathed the dark skinned woman, highlighting the pale line that tracked up the side of her face ending in the stump where her other horn should be. “It’s peaceful.”

The ground beneath his feet shifted, knocking Mareus back onto the dirt platform. Mareus brushed the hair from his face before throwing a glare at his companion. “Don’t do that Aayda.”

“How else am I supposed to get your attention when you’re off in your own world?” She shrugged. “Here, I haven’t seen you eat anything today.”

“Thanks.”

A bright glint caught his eye as Aadya handed him the bowl. He looked up towards the sea of stars, the spotted canvas slowly drawing him in.

“And there you go again. I’m curious, where do you go when you’re like that?”

Why am I drifting off like this? Mareus couldn’t remember the last time he let himself drift off like this. “I wonder, tell me what do you know about Heaven’s Scar?” He looked off into the distance, the white scar dividing the sky in half.

“Is that really what was on your mind?” She doubted.

“...”

“Fine.” Aadya sighed. “This is the most I’ve gotten you to say so I guess I’ll entertain you.” She leaned back onto her own platform, watching the same part of the sky. “I’ll admit that it’s not a common legend, but I grew up with my father telling me stories about a heavenly being splitting the sky open sometime far in the past and ascending beyond our world. What remains is the Dao slowly healing our reality.”

“I see.” Mareus slowly swirled his drink.

“Oh? You sound like you have your own legend. Well don’t be selfish, please share, little brother.” Aadya’s smile grew as she leaned closer in.

“I don’t remember being your little brother, Aunty.”

“Aunty?” She exaggerated. “I may be almost twice as old, but I have a few siblings around your age. Besides in the circle of cultivators you’d be a potential marriage partner for myself.”

“Don’t joke around.” Mareus couldn’t look at her.

She smirked. “Mmm? You’re more bashful than I thought. You know, my father is about forty years older than my mother and just by his looks you’d think he isn’t much older than me.”

“It was a battle.” Seeing her confusion he continued and pointed at the sky. “The scar, after the birth of the first race there was a battle of unimaginable scale between them that not only changed the face of Ídào. But also transformed the ancient moon into the snowy river that’s present even during the day.”

“You sound rather confident that’s the true story, where’d you hear that from?” Aadya’s playfulness vanished.

“My master, she’s familiar with some rather ancient beings. And I have no reason to doubt her.” When he was younger, her knowledge of the world and the stories she told always drew him in as if she had been there rather than simply passing on stories to a young student.

“Ancient beings? You don’t mean-”

“Regardless of the truth, it’s nothing more than a story at this point and has no greater impact on us.” Mareus stared at his untouched food.

The conversation brought up memories he thought he had long moved past. Flashes of a younger boy rushed through his mind, a gray robed old woman smiling as she told him stories, an unimpressive village on a bright day.

“Lost in thought again?” Aadya appeared breaths away.

He did his best to hide his shock, “Just reminded of the past.” He picked up another log and used it to shift the crumbling embers before tossing it onto the fire. "It's not often that I'm reminded of what started me on my path." At least not in such a positive way. He thought to himself.

A spark passed through her, "Well get on with it, please tell me the history of such a mysterious sourcer.”

Mareus stared back at the dark skinned woman, her eyes glowing a brilliant amber in the fire light. He sighed. "I suppose that's only fair, but I must warn you. My story isn't as entertaining as you might think. Despite happening so long ago I still have a hard time accepting that it even happened at all.”

“The Dao doesn’t let just anyone gain strength, anyone who’s reached our level has a dark period or two full of struggle. Whether it’s entertaining or not I will listen to it.”

Despite the fire dying down, the shadows seemed to retreat a little. “It was all so fast and if anything it feels like a dream, one that you keep having over and over where only unimportant details change. Perhaps it's more like a reoccurring nightmare than a dream. I'm probably getting ahead of myself though, I should start from the beginning. At least what I remember as the beginning.