[centre][h1][sub]CERES
in
DEHRTHAA[/sub][/h1]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/XRcyBUw.png[/img][/centre]

  The divine avatar, Ceres, draped in ragged clothes to hide her unusual starry form though she could do nothing to hide her towering stature, walked down the road, followed by a small child similarly covered. 

  As they walked, Ceres stopped and examined a pile of rocks. They were familiar. She could almost sense Sirius’ presence cast over them, and heard him whisper, “Nirjurti” 

  Her head did not move, and she realized she had allowed herself to become distracted and now heard a person quickly walking towards them. She turned and looked at the girl she was travelling with who had taken and gently placed a small rock unto the pile and was praying. 

  “Good evening to you, friends,” the approaching old man called out to them. He was bald and long of beard, his skin dark and wrinkled - the lines of laughter mixing with those of age. He held a staff in one hand and was dressed in nothing but an old white loincloth. As he approached his black eyes shifted from Ceres to the little girl. “Ah, a roadside shrine. May the lord Nirjurti bless you my child, and guide your footsteps to wisdom and righteousness.” He picked up the same rock the girl had placed and sat by the shrine, which approached head height when he was seated. He reached into the back of his loincloth and emerged with a small sharp rock and got to chipping away at the stone until a small face was apparent in the rock. It was not the most beautiful or well-made, but it was a small contribution. The old man placed it back on the pile and, getting to his knees and placing the front of his fists together, spoke a prayer. 

  “O great  lord, o Nirjurti! Let the protective sheath of your guidance be ever present with us on our travels. Let our chants go on constant and unceasing, every step a call on you, every breath a prayer. Bless the road, master of roads, and show us the wisdoms and glories that we may know the world for what it is. Let our life-journey cast us free of suffering and pain, let it free us of the shackles of fleeting joys and illusionary happinesses.” He bowed his head and was quiet for a time, and then sat back and looked at Ceres and the girl.

  Ceres was cautious of the man, he didn’t seem to be particularly dangerous but mortals are fickle beings. The girl was also nervous around the man, though at this point she would be startled by a falling leaf. Part of the avatar wanted to simply leave, however she thought it might set a bad example for her new charge. She was also still interested in this shrine, noting the carving that the elderly man made, she ended up speaking but thinking, “And what is this carving of?” 


  The old man looked her up and down, curiosity dancing in his eyes. “Ah, new to these roads are you? Come from far away perhaps?” He tapped the carved rock. “It is a small and poor carving in honour of lord Nirjurti, who made the stars and roads, whom the augurs and astrologers all turn to.” He rooted around in the back of his loincloth, where there seemed to be a large pocket, and emerged with a small blue stone that glinted in the dying embers of the sunlight as though it had stars within. “See, I keep it always. Great Nirjuri has cast stars into certain stones, and this is just one of them.” The girl was staring at it intently, and the old man smiled, “but you can have it if you like, I doubt if I will be needing it for long now.” He laughed slightly and brushed his bald head. “I’ve as many years left as hairs.”


  Ceres listened to the man, “I have travelled far from my home. You have told me much, so allow me to tell you a story. There was a king, greater than any other before or since, who wished to live forever through his work. And so he would construct tower after tower, reaching ever higher and higher, and yet never was he satisfied with the work and abandoned it. Eventually, he created a castle, so large and grand that it finally sated him and he settled down and had kids. Each of these children went off and created their own wonders and each have their own story, but among them there was one who did not create something for himself but instead marvelled at his father’s work, the towers, incomplete and in disrepair. He toiled no less than any of his other siblings repairing them, and installing a great lantern into each of them so that anyone travelling the king’s land could always find their way through the night.”

  The old man looked to Ceres with knotted brows, stroking his beard as he tried to make out her features beneath the hood. “That is a glorious and dutiful son. Tell me, strange traveller, what is this land that you call home? And how did this prince create lanterns so great as to light up the night?”


  “The entire epic of the king and his children can be sung for days and nights, but as for the lanterns, he did not achieve the feat alone as he obtained a gift from his eldest sibling, and their project,” Ceres replied, gracefully dodging the question about her home.

  “And can this gift be replicated? I am certain the great lord Nirjurti would be pleased if we could create road shrines as wondrous as those of that dutiful prince.” The old ascetic spoke, clearly choosing not to pursue the dodged question.

  Daylight was just beginning to yield to night, and yet the stars were already clearly visible in the sky, “That is just a story, but if you wish to guide people through the night, then the lanterns are already in place. You simply must teach people how to follow them.” 

  His eyes narrowed in thought, and then they widened in realisation as his gaze fell upon the stars. “Oh… great Nirjurti.” He breathed, then looked at Ceres with heightened curiosity, rising to his feet. “M- may I see your face as I learn this from you, wise stranger?”

  Ceres paused, “There are some things that are better imagined than seen. You asked about my home. When your journey reaches its end, you shall be closer to it than I will have the chance,” she said, the stars vanishing back into the colorful sunset for a few more hours, as Ceres began to walk away, followed closely behind by the girl carefully clutching the starlit stone. 

[indent][list][*][hider=Summar]Ceres is collecting children for her orphanage. This time she happens to be in Dehrthaa and stumbles upon a road-side shrine. An old ascetic comes along and prays by the shrine, carving a face into one of the rocks. A conversation ensues and Ceres ends up teaching him about celestial navigation via star maps.[/hider][/list][/indent]