Eilif bounced excitedly as he entered the village, today was the day the integration would be occurring and he was going to be one of the frontrunners on a new world! It didn’t happen often that his planet was involved in an integration, in fact this was the first time in two hundred years that the gods had reached out and told them to prepare. Still, the gospels and texts told them exactly what they’d needed to do, and for the last two years they’d made ready. They had trained with spear and shield, done combat drills, sparred, exercised, and been given various lessons on how constellations and starlight worked. The last few months had been a hectic rush to construct a village and stockpile it with the things they would need, food, clothing, basic furniture and housewares, even a stockpile of shards!

The village was populated entirely by youths who hadn’t unlocked their constellations. It was a rule that anyone who was part of an integration had to be under the age of manifestation. He was fortunate to be just under that limit. At seventeen summers he wasn’t quite old enough to unlock his constellations, just a few months more and he’d likely have been locked out with the rest of his family.

He walked quickly to the hut he’d been assigned. Like all the other dwellings it was a small affair; a large single room with a cot, shelving, fireplace, and a small table with two chairs. One of the restrictions the gods placed on any migration was that all chosen to represent their world must have the same advantages. No one got nicer homes or finer clothes, nor could they smuggle in extra shards or magic items. Anyone who tried to break that accord would find themselves severely penalized, it was possible they could even lose their starting constellation.

Eilif sat in one of the chairs but couldn’t help but fidget. He was simply too excited to sit still. This was literally a once in a life time event. Everyone dreamed of being involved in an integration, in finding new shards and constellations. It was a sad but true fact that old worlds had strictly regulated shards and poor opportunities to gain new and unique constellations. What dungeons still existed were tamed and farmed regularly, the monsters of the wild had been subdued or subjugated, and great deeds of either valor or villainy were relegated to myths and legend. None of this was true for a newly integrated world! It would be wild and free, with a new people and new concepts, new shards and best of all room for great deeds that would bring with them new constellations!

Finally, the appointed time arrived, high noon. A great hush fell over the newly populated village, and from his small window he could see a curtain of light surround the wall that had been erected as the first defense. At the same time a soothing and calm voice spoke into his mind.

“Children of Soria, the time has come once more for you to walk among new planets! As you know, a new world has been found and, as with many worlds, it lacks the light of the stars to guide its path. Therefore, we will be bestowing our grace upon it and sending you to show the inhabitants the error of their current beliefs and the path to a new and bright future under the night sky.

“Because you have proven yourselves to be brave and bold children of the gods each of you will be granted two boons, a constellation and a shard. The constellation shall be chosen from the histories and stories of this new world, and the shard will synergize with it. Go forth, oh fearless ones, go forth and bring this new world to the light of the stars!”

As the voice finished speaking the curtain of light flared into blinding brightness and swept inward across the village. In the blink of an eye Eilif was elsewhere. The sky outside his window was the same blue, but now he could see mountains where there had been none before. In addition, the air was thinner and held a subtle chill.

Standing up he exited his hut, looking around to see the other residents of the village doing the same. They, like him, were all young, beneath the appointed age at which constellations became available. Also like him, they would now have access to their constellations. He was excited to look at his, to see what he’d been gifted with, but knew that it was more important right now to make sure the village wasn’t in any immediate danger.

Hefting his shield and spear he made his way up and onto the wall. The view revealed that the village had been placed down in a small mountain valley with a pass to the north and south. The valley was sparsely populated with trees, being mostly open grassland with a large river that cut through the approximate center. It was a good location, with room for farming, a good water source, and two defensible entrances.

Seeing that there was no immediate danger Eilif returned to his hut and took up his seat once more. Once sitting, he immediately focused on seeing his constellations. His vision instantly went black, as if he was looking at an empty sky. Then, one by one, little pinpricks of light appeared, outlining two distinct constellations, each overlaid with an image. The first constellation, which looked like a gnarled and weathered staff and held five stars that made the shape of a Y with an extra-long bottom, was well known to him, though not the one he’d expected; it was The Stave, the constellation of magic.

The second constellation contained an amazing nine stars and was overlaid with an image of some kind of building. It had a pointed roof and four columns, with a star at the top of the roof, and the top and bottom of each column. He focused his mind on it, seeking information, and the gods provided, whispering the status of his new constellation in his mind.

The Library of Alexandria – Unique, Legendary

Aspect: Utility

Bound Location: None

Node 1: Empty

Node 2: Empty

Node 3: Empty

Node 4: Empty

Node 5: Empty

Node 6: Empty

Node 7: Empty

Node 8: Empty

Node 9: Empty

Eilif was surprised at the revelation that the structure was a library. Those were things that only existed in big cities, he’d never even seen one in his life; he couldn’t even read! Still, the gods knew what they were doing, so it must be a good fit for him, somehow.

Shaking off his doubts and worries, he focused on the first empty node. He didn’t have any shards right now, but the gods had promised one that would synergize with his new constellation. As if in answer to his thoughts, he felt a power manifesting inside him and the first node, the tip of the roof, flared brightly, and then settled once more. Immediately the information on the constellation changed.

The Library of Alexandria – Unique, Legendary

Aspect: Utility

Bound Location: None

Node 1: Knowledge, Concept, Level 1

Node 2: Empty

Node 3: Empty

Node 4: Empty

Node 5: Empty

Node 6: Empty

Node 7: Empty

Node 8: Empty

Node 9: Empty

To say Eilif was disappointed would be a slight understatement. He’d always dreamed of being a powerful warrior, fighting with all kinds of weapons and besting monsters in a test of skill and strength. Everyone knew, however, that the greatest warriors started with The Sword constellation, just as the most powerful casters started with The Stave, and the most celebrated craftsmen started with The Anvil. Shaking his head in disappointment he decided to bind The Library of Alexandria to his head, the traditional location for knowledge-based powers and constellations. Immediately the constellations information shifted once more.

The Library of Alexandria – Unique, Legendary

Aspect: Utility

Bound Location: Head

Node 1: Knowledge, Concept, Level 1

Power: Insight - Active Effect: Learn a mild amount about an observed creature, place, or thing. Energy Cost: Infinitesimal Power: Keen Mind – Passive Status: Active Effect: Mild increase to learning capacity and speed. Upkeep Cost: Total

Node 2: Empty

Node 3: Empty

Node 4: Empty

Node 5: Empty

Node 6: Empty

Node 7: Empty

Node 8: Empty

Node 9: Empty

Eilif had to grudgingly admit that both effects seemed good. What was concerning, however, was the upkeep cost of the passive ability. The term ‘total’ meant that the shard wouldn’t contribute to his starlight regeneration at all; that meant that while he now had a small capacity to hold starlight, he couldn’t actually gather any while the passive was active. With a thought he deactivated the passive for now, it wouldn’t do him much good in the short term. Finished viewing his constellations, he dismissed the vision.

He stood and exited the hut once more, this time on a course for the town hall. Thoroard had been designated the record keeper for the village, and would be organizing the census. No one was required to tell anyone what their constellations actually were, however it was in everyone’s best interest to share their types. The town had been stocked with a small selection of shards that would be handed out based on what aspects you had.

Entering the larger building he found a small line had already formed in front of the table Thoroard was using as a desk. Nearby Maria was standing over another table with several small chests open on it. As the quartermaster for the village it was her job to handle the stores, including the shards that had been sent with them; that meant she was in charge of handing them out and documenting who got what.

The line was short and moved forward at a brisk pace. Soon Eilif found himself standing in front of Thoroard. Not for the first time he marveled at the size of his fellow traveler, he had to be almost seven feet tall. The two years of training had melted whatever baby fat the villagers had left, and almost all of them were in a state of fit athleticism, but Thoroard had taken his own training a step further and looked solid as a boulder.

“Name and aspects?” the large youth asked.

“Eilif; magic and utility,” came Eilif’s reply.

“Split stars huh? Well alright,” Thoroard wrote it down in his ledger.

Everyone had been offered the chance to learn to read, write, and learn sums. Eilif hadn’t seen the point. He’d never been interested in reading, and he’d never needed more than simple math. It had been a better use of his time to practice more drills. Where Thoroard had found the time to learn to read, write, and do sums while also training harder than anyone else, Eilif didn’t know.

“Head over to Maria and she’ll give you a shard. Since you’re one of the first you should be able to get a good one,” Thoroard continued.

Eilif nodded and moved over to the other table. Maria looked up at him and gave a cheery smile.

“Hey Eilif!” she said. Maria had made it a point to learn the names of the other 119 residents of the village, an act most found endearing. “Magic, combat, or utility?”

Eilif gave her his best smile back. “Magic for me, it looks like.”

She made a sympathetic noise, in addition to learning everyone’s names she’d also done her best to learn about them, which meant she knew he’d been hoping for The Sword. “Well, let’s go with an energy then. We’ve got lots of the standard and a few of the rarer ones.”

Eilif thought about it for a moment. Common shards would be easier to upgrade, but he was less likely to come across something resistant to a rare shard. “Let’s go with something less common,” he said finally.

Maria nodded and plucked a shard from one of the boxes then wrote something in her own ledger. Finished, she handed the shard to Eilif. “Here you go!” she said cheerily.

“Thanks Maria,” he said, taking the shard and then heading out.

Once he was back in his hut, he examined the shard closely. It was about the size of his thumb and glowed with a pure golden radiance. He was pretty sure it was a holy shard. That… would not have been his first pick. Eilif had never been particularly devout, though he did pay homage to the gods on holy days and threw them the occasional prayer. Holy was also a little rarer, and thus harder to advance, than he might have liked.

As he looked at the shard he had a thought; could he identify the shard with his Insight? He concentrated on the shard and actively thought of using the ability. A second later, knowledge slid into his mind.

Holy, Energy, Level 1

Eilif smiled. Knowledge may not have been what he wanted but it was undeniably useful if it could identify items for him. Done with his examination he opened his constellations and slotted the holy shard into The Stave and bound it to his hands. He then took a moment to familiarize himself with the new information.

The Stave – Basic

Aspect: Magic

Bound Location: Hands

Node 1: Holy, Energy, Level 1

Power: Holy Blast - Active Effect: Fire a negligible blast of holy energy. Cost: Negligible

Node 2: Empty

Node 3: Empty

Node 4: Empty

Node 5: Empty

Finished reviewing, Eilif leaned back in his chair and prepared to wait. Once everyone had finished registering their constellations, they would all be split into groups and be assigned duties. He would most likely be on the wall, protecting the village. It was a far cry from what he’d wanted to be doing, scouting out this new world, fighting monsters, and delving dungeons, but ranged support was most useful on the wall. With a sigh of resignation, he settled in.