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THE THREE BIRDS [fantasy short story]

Personified immortal Stars have lived secretly on Earth throughout history. This piece takes place in 13th century Iran, notable for astronomical scholarship, and Arabic star names are used as the main roots. Waqi (currently the Star Vega) leads Taira (Altair) and Dhanab (Deneb) on a mission to secure the Stars' carefully kept secret existence. The Stars' world was created by myself and @heirmyst. Word count: 5,201

Waqi climbed the sky higher, relentlessly battling the air with every flap of their wings. As they gained altitude, frost dared to gather on their face. Unfazed, they summoned latent blue fire from within, melting it on immediate impact.

Good attempt, nature, they thought, smiling into the forceful wind. But only I decide when to stop.

Except even the grandest flights rested on the premise of a zenith… and its aftermath. Finally, air thinned to nothing, and Earth below seemed a faint suggestion of matter. The time had come. Waqi slowed the frenzied movement of their wings.

They took a deep breath, savoring the moment. “Here it comes.”

Then, they let themself fall.

The air just barely carried the sound they let out, halfway between a laugh and a scream of delight.

This was their favorite part. They would never admit it on the ground, where every part of them itched to fight the atmosphere with their wings and fly, however high the day would let them. Many times, they’d said to other Stars that they’d happily give up immortality if it meant they could fly for the rest of their existence, and the sentiment was barely a joke. But the fall? They lived for it, and the air as they burned their way down was the sweetest they’d ever taste.

Clouds faded into view, gray and rumbling, preparing to unleash a deluge onto Iran. Waqi’s fists heated up, glowing with ready blasts; they could not let this unacceptable weather stand.

They plunged into the mess. When fog took over their vision, they pivoted sharply, punching at the nearest storm cloud. The lightning crackling inside was no match for Waqi’s own strikes of energy. They cut through the surrounding air in a wide arc, so swiftly that the clouds vanished with a whimper.

“You tried,” Waqi said, laughing to themself as they took off to vanquish the brewing storm from the rest of the sky.

They moved with instinctive ease when they shed their corporeal form to become a merciless blue lightning bolt. It was less satisfying than punches and blasts, but it killed every threatened storm before it got the chance to materialize, all the while keeping Waqi hidden from any onlooking human’s eyes.

Of course, the tactic traded away precision for raw power.

They didn’t process hitting the wrong target until the voices rang out.

“Waqi!” Dhanab yelled, halting the excitement with a start. “What in the skies did you do that for?”

Waqi shifted back into their usual form, steadying their flight with their wings and blinking the scene before them into clarity. Their Star friends Dhanab and Taira hovered in front of them. Dhanab was scrambling to cover her head. Taira had stopped midway through braiding Dhanab’s hair, barely containing laughs.

Slowly, Waqi turned around. Remnants of lightning floated in empty air, having burned a hole in the white cloud structure around them. They’d destroyed a Star lodging. For the third time that week. And this time, they didn’t get to pretend they were heroically fighting monstrous Hauntings, because this was nothing but a cloud punching spree.

They faced their friends with a sheepish smile. “I’ve interrupted something, I gather?”

“I’d say so, yes,” Taira said lightly, at the same time as Dhanab muttered, “Not the first time.”

“In my defense,” Waqi began. “I had—”

“North Star duties,” the two finished in unison.

Waqi looked away, sighing. There went their excuse. “I don’t suppose you’ll allow me to make it up to you?”

A scheming smirk crept across Dhanab’s face. “Taira?”

“Hm.” Taira stretched and cracked her joints in preparation. “Since you've so kindly offered...”

Waqi had barely enough time to summon a defensive forcefield when Taira shot toward them with unbelievable speed. She tackled them off the cloud’s ledge. Waqi fought to keep their flight steady among her unpredictable movements and countered her every hit. Laughing all the way, they tumbled wherever Taira wished, because as strong as a flier as Waqi was, they only fought the air; Taira held it at her command.

“Unfair!” Waqi protested, pushing Taira’s voluminous wind blown hair away from their own face. “I’m taking this up with the king!”

“What’s the matter?” Taira said, between laughs. “Holding back so I’ll be taken off guard by your next move?”

Waqi caught her next punches, holding both of her hands in place with a surge of lightning. They grinned. “You know me too well. This is a tactical liability.”

She cried out as Waqi seized her hair and flipped her over their head. As soon as they readied their next blast, their arm locked up, illuminating with a silvery blue glow.

The rest of their body followed. Taira also froze. The two Stars’ descent had been halted by a joy-killing outside force.

“Dhanab!” Waqi yelled to the sky. “It was just going to get good!”

Taira snorted. “For you, maybe.”

Dhanab swooped gracefully down from above, landing only a few feet below without breaking her telekinetic hold on the other two. Waqi gaped. Were they that close to the ground already?

“Do you want to let all of Maragha in on the secret?” Dhanab asked, gesturing frantically to the town behind her.

“Oh, we’re in trouble now?” Taira asked.

“You will be, keeping this up,” Dhanab said. “Two wild winged beasts screaming and clawing at each other is hardly discreet.”

Waqi raised an eyebrow. “And two wild winged beasts suspended in midair by a third, decidedly more stuck-up winged beast… is?”

Dhanab opened her mouth to argue, then shrugged. “Point taken.” With one wave of her hand, the glow faded, and Waqi and Taira collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Waqi brushed themself free. Dhanab pointedly looked past them in favor of helping Taira up. Only Taira.

“The disrespect,” Waqi said with mock offense, forcing themself to their feet. “This is how you treat your North Star?”

Dhanab smiled sweetly. “I wouldn’t dream of insinuating the North Star could possibly need my help.”

Waqi rolled their eyes and shifted their attention to the sky. At least from here, they could check whether they’d succeeded in averting the storm. They expected to see clear blue conditions, plagued by a few maddening remnants of a storm they happened to miss. Instead they were met with… a sunset. In the distance, the town of Maragha seemed to come alive, suddenly bustling with movement.

“Oh no,” Taira said quietly behind them.

“I know,” they agreed, exasperated, glaring at the accursed observatory on a nearby hill. “Now we’ll have to listen to the evening prayer.”

“I like the sound of the prayer,” Dhanab said quietly.

Taira shook her head. “It isn’t that! The sun set too early.” Oh, Waqi thought. They’d assumed they simply lost track of time once more. “Waqi,” Taira said, all humor gone from her voice. Disoriented by the sudden change in mood, Waqi turned to face her. “This is a whole hour early.”

Dhanab’s eyes widened. “An hour? Did the king tell you anything about this?”

Waqi laughed, but their voice shook with uncertainty. “There you two go, taking everything the sky does so seriously…”

“Even if we didn’t, the humans would!” Dhanab argued. “Especially here. Their prayer relies on this, you think they won’t look into the situation? And if they look too deep, they’ll find us, and then the secret keepers might tell on us too, and—”

“Dhanab.” Taira wrapped an arm around her. “Slow down. Breathe.” She looked to Waqi for support.

Their words caught in their throat. Skies above, they had not expected a morale strengthening task today. “I’ll… speak to Sol,” they blurted out, “and get this all sorted! He’ll play some trick of sunlight, hide the irregularity. This kind of thing is easy for him! It will be fine.”

The Star king’s name seemed to put the two at ease. Yes, Sol would fix this, and Waqi would have free reign to make fun of his overly dramatic success speeches to his face afterward. That was how this was supposed to go.

“Before that,” Taira piped up, “maybe we can go and ask director Tusi’s minions what they think is happening.” She tilted head toward the observatory. “To see how much damage we’ll have to undo.”

Waqi made a face at the thought of vanishing their wings. “Go and ask. In the guise of a human?”

“As a man?” Dhanab added, equally offended. “No, thank you.”

Both of them stared at Taira. She sighed, closing her wings and gathering up her long cloudlike tresses. “The usual, I see.”

“Don’t act as if you don’t like it,” Dhanab said.

Taira winked at her. “I let you off the hook only because you’re too beautiful to pass as a man.”

Dhanab flushed, but got to work on tearing a section of her own outer robes, wrapping it around Taira’s hair as a makeshift turban.

“You could just give over your scarf,” Waqi pointed out.

“Waqi, please!” Dhanab said, scandalized. “I am not going to stay out here uncovered!”

That sounded absolutely ridiculous, but Waqi chose not to argue. They never did see the point in bothering with matters of earthly conduct, when by all means the Stars were meant to live above them all. This is why they could never stomach any task that involved walking among humans. Their status as North Star, Stardom’s first line of defense, would surely get lost among the endless customs and rules that every other little kingdom offered a different version of. Such a life was inconceivable.

Still, they noticed that Dhanab was pointedly trying to avoid being perceived with torn robes. Wordlessly, they walked in such a way to conceal her from any passersby’s view, keeping a low profile as they trailed Taira.

Not that Taira made it particularly easy.

With a skip in his step, Taira closed in on the observatory hill at a quick pace. Too quick. The other two almost struggled to keep up and stay hidden at the same time.

“What’s his hurry?” Waqi whispered to Dhanab.

“You know Taira,” Dhanab said. “At least he hasn’t resorted to flying. Yet.”

Waqi and Dhanab stopped at a distance, hanging back as Taira went on. He reached the entrance of the central observatory tower, greeting the two workers outside like old friends. One of the men straightened up to receive the new company, while the other remained pointedly occupied perusing an astronomical manual.

“Peace be upon you, brothers!” Taira said. “I could not help noticing that the sun has been down for several counts too far, and I have not heard the call for Maghrib yet.”

“Upon you be peace. I do not know what to tell you, Al-Ta’ir,” the attentive man said, his tone apologetic, as if he was fully ready to take the blame for the heavens breaking an otherwise flawless pattern. “Sirvan and I have been in conversation all day, and we haven’t yet reached an impasse.”

“Forget this pretense, Payam. Tell him like it is!” the other man, Sirvan snapped. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and, without warning, shoved the manual in Taira’s face. “Look at this!”

Taira stayed silent for too long. “Yes,” he said, purely to appease the worker. “This is… most irregular.”

“Irregular,” Sirvan said with a bitter laugh. “For all our lives the sky stays constant! Predictable! ‘Study the heavens,’ Tusi tells us, ‘Mark prayers as God commands!’ How were we meant to know the sun can set anytime!”

Waqi rolled their eyes. Humans truly believed their neat tables could map the skies out to the letter. As if the Stars had nothing better to do than move in strict patterns for their convenience. An impulsive lightning blast threatened to break free at their fist. Dhanab touched their hand, stopping it right there.

“I believe I should call out Maghrib now,” Payam said carefully. “The people will be concerned.”

“Concerned?” Sirvan said, baffled. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen!”

Taira wisely saw his exit. “Thank you, brothers,” he said, though Sirvan’s diatribe about the fundamental principles of the sun’s movement drowned it out. “I trust your decision, and eagerly await your call.” Meaningfully, he caught Payam’s eye at the last word.

With that, Taira left the scene as swiftly as he’d arrived, regrouping with Dhanab and Waqi.

“Overreacting scholars,” Waqi said. “This is probably nothing!”

Taira ignored them. “Payam is the muazzin. I’ve dropped as many suggestions as it’s appropriate for me to do. I think we’ll be in the clear, if he can get his volatile brother calmed or distracted long enough to call the prayer.”

“I hope he does,” Dhanab said softly.

“That’s all we can do for our coverup on the human side, but we’ll stick around just in case.” Taira turned to Waqi. “The rest is up to you. Ask Sol what’s going on. He’s the only one who can make this seamless.”

Waqi nodded. This, at least, they could do. Leaving their friends at the hill, they crept a safe distance away from wandering townspeople’s eyes.

Then, they opened their wings and shot off into the early night sky. The air was clear, carrying that sweet tropical taste that came only when the dark settled and—

Focus, they reminded themself, shaking off the intoxication. This flight had to be short, direct. Purely economical.

They ascended just enough for their head to peek through clouds.

Waqi looked around, and almost didn’t recognize Sol’s home at first. They were so used to the sight of extravagantly piled clouds, reflecting sunlight with infuriating perfection, that they only processed the black clouds in front of them as an incoming weather disaster.

Somewhere on the way to destroying the storm, they realized it floated where their best friend’s home should have been.

“Sol?” Waqi’s voice broke embarrassingly at the call of his name.

Any moment, the only part of them still clinging to hope insisted. Any moment, Sol would fly out, laugh triumphantly about his incredible unexpected practical joke, and fix everything.

No answer came.

Waqi rammed themself into the mass of black clouds, their mind racing. The structure fell apart pathetically, the only sign of Sol’s brilliant presence being stray plumes of flame. Actual flame. Not the inviting light that always decorated the king’s home.

Waqi emerged on the other side into empty air. The home being deserted, leaving only storm clouds and flame, and whatever the early sunset was…

All signs pointed to a struggle.

Waqi glared at the remnants of black smoke around them with newfound hatred. This was no longer annoying weather. It was the herald of the enemies—assassins—who took Sol away… and after seeing it, Waqi was sitting here, staring into space like an idiot.

They needed to act now. In a flash of blue lightning, they dived, right back to the spot where they left their friends. The grass beneath them caught fire as the shock of the ground returned them to their corporeal form. Before they had time to breathe, someone grabbed their shoulder.

“Careful! You’ll—” Dhanab’s usual chiding stopped short, and her face softened into concern. “What happened?”

Waqi tried to contort their features into something less alarming. Judging by their friends’ confused glances, it did not work.

“What did the king say?” Taira asked. “He didn’t deny the request, did he?”

A laugh, clipped and shaky, escaped Waqi’s throat at the question. “It’s a hard thing even for him, to deny something he hasn’t even heard,” they said. “Something broke into his home. Only storm clouds remain there.”

A shadow passed over the other two’s faces. Taira took a deep breath. “Please don’t tell me…”

“Hauntings?” Dhanab asked, her voice small. It was barely a question.

“Listen to me,” Waqi said, grasping her hand, suddenly emboldened by their friends’ clear panic. Waqi couldn’t afford to be scared when they had other Stars to worry about. “No one can hear of this. Not until we get to the bottom of it.”

“Waqi,” Taira said. They couldn’t help but flinch. They hated when all playfulness faded from her voice like that. “This isn’t some accidental cabin fire we can just pretend is an act of nature. This is an attempted Haunting assassination, and if those monsters even got to the king, what chance—”

“They didn’t get to him!” Waqi snapped. “It’s Sol! Skies above, will you have some faith? For all we know, he reduced them all to ashes and is just… hunting for a new home. Or better yet, for the assassins’ allies.”

This half of North Star duties, the one which was conquered by words rather than fire, never came naturally to Waqi. Yet, often, they found they could simply speak anything into existence, and if it softened even a single line of worry on a fellow Star’s face, it would do the trick. For better or worse, Waqi held all the cards here. They knew Sol better than anyone; whatever they said about him, the other two had to take it by necessity.

Waqi needed to take it too. It was all they had.

“You’re right,” Dhanab said, mercifully. “Yes, that must be it!”

“So, all we do is track him down. It’s the same plan as before… just with this extra step.” They spoke feverishly right as the words came to them. “Taira. Those trails of dark smog from Hauntings are left in the sky for hours after the fact, are they not?”

Taira nodded, a hint of her usual laidback confidence returning to her eyes. “If the monsters escaped—”

“There’s no way in hell Sol would let them go free without pursuit,” Waqi finished. They braced themself for flight. “Lead the way. We’re right behind you.”

And so, the three Stars took to the skies. They cast jokes and idle conversation between themselves like playing balls, masking any unwanted urgency. The premature night hung around them heavily. Even as they followed the sickening, viscous Haunting trail, no one dared to suggest the unspoken; that the king was likely in danger and it may be up to them to save him. Sol was supposed to save them, not the other way around.

You’re fine, Sol, Waqi thought to themself repeatedly, reassuring their own mind and daring their friend to meet the challenge. They need you to be fine. You can give them that much.

Give me that much.

When the trail ended its forward snaking in the sky and dissolved into fog, Taira began to descend and the other two followed. An expansive lake awaited them below. It boiled furiously, despite the cool night, sending warm air towards the Stars.

“Here we are,” Taira whispered. “Now, either the Hauntings show themselves, or Sol comes out… let’s hope we don’t have to do something drastic.”

Waqi strained their eyes to see the lake past the fog. Why was it boiling? “I swear… why can’t we just—”

“Don’t summon a flame,” Dhanab warned, reading their mind. “Wait for it.”

“Wait?” Waqi shot back, incredulous. “For them to—”

Something shot out of the lake. One projectile gave way to several, piercing the silence with the high whistles of Haunting laughter. The fog stopped the Stars from seeing the attack, but they all heard it, and knew the lack of light would not let them dodge. Taira screamed as a Haunting assailant tackled her into the darkness.

“No!” Dhanab instantly moved to follow Taira’s faint white flame.

Waqi prepared a blast. “Leave it to me!”

Dhanab blocked their path, taking hold of their shoulders. “I’ve got her. You should look for the king.”

Look for the king. Waqi knew what she meant to say, but they resented the wording anyway. It was far too close to acknowledging the danger they’d so carefully chosen to downplay. Still, she stayed, her gaze lingering on them with clear anxiety. She wouldn’t go without their express order.

“Go,” Waqi told her. “Do… whatever it is you were already going to.”

She smiled, relieved. “North Star duty!” she called out encouragingly, flitting away to Taira’s aid.

Dropping every precaution about stealth, Waqi lit themself up in a burst of blue flame. The fog lifted. Finally, finally, they could see their attackers, scattered in midair and on the banks of the lake; without the cloak of darkness, the Hauntings carried forms befitting creatures of earth, except far too big, and closer to humans in terms of gait and clarity of disruptive purpose. This assortment of aquatic bait froze in fear at Waqi’s explosion, even the overgrown shrimp that had Dhanab and Taira locked in battle. Waqi relished the look of shock on the monsters’ faces. Clearly, they hadn’t been expecting the North Star.

Just as quickly, they recovered with shrill battle cries, and the inky fog wafted into the air once more. This time, Waqi was ready.

They shot lightning indiscriminately, warding off the first few human-sized black crustacean Hauntings that leapt up at them. The flame stayed steady all the way, keeping their sight clear throughout every scuffle. The effort of keeping up defenses still remained a liability. They could not take in a single iota of their surroundings if every moment was punctuated by a strike at the relentless Haunting flock.

“Clear me an opening!” Waqi yelled to their friends.

Practically before Waqi finished speaking, it was done. Dhanab seized telekinetic control of the flock’s edges, and Taira sped to take out anyone who dared step into Waqi’s radius.

With newfound freedom, Waqi began a swift descent… and it allowed them a crucial glance at the mysteriously boiling lake.

A golden light flickered beneath, its glow coloring fire into the angry waters.

Sol.

Waqi didn’t think. They dove headfirst, the fall heating up their every inch. Hauntings cried out, attempted a poorly thought out deflection, but Waqi’s fire now radiated fatally. Just try it now, they dared the assassins. Naturally, not a single one met the challenge.

The saline water greeted them all at once.

Any numbing power it might have had over Waqi was warded off by the burning field surrounding them. They had bigger concerns.

“You came,” said an unmistakable voice behind them, with a tone of never having expected anything else. “My one and only North Star.”

Waqi turned sharply to look at Sol, relief and frustration warring within them for the chance to guide their response. Neither got the chance, because an ink-black current hit them instead.

The staggering force threw them back, until they wedged their feet against the lake floor and opened their wings. They summoned a field of energy, protecting them from the onslaught. Waqi stepped forward, fighting the water with all they had, and broke into a run. The Hauntings they rammed into crumpled at the slightest touch of fire.

Waqi had help down here too. Sol’s pillar of flame, emboldened by the new arrival, burned brighter, working with Waqi’s to purify the waters. When the blackness cleared, the piscine Hauntings that cast the torrent at them instantly skittered away from fear. Good.

At long last, the sunny glow was uninhibited. Every malicious assassin who stood between Waqi and Sol had been vanquished. As for Sol himself, his wings had been folded down and forcibly fastened to a rock formation by the Hauntings’ signature viscous ink. His brilliant golden locks, plumes of flame that had been boiling the lake from underneath, finally settled into soft waves. Despite the tired, sunken shadows beneath his eyes, he beamed at his friend like nothing had happened.

“I take it you have questions,” Sol said, calm as ever.

“Oh, you don't know the half of it. Hold still!” Waqi struck Sol’s restraints with lightning, setting his wings free. Sol stumbled forward from the sudden unshackling, and Waqi moved to steady him. “Do you need a moment?”

Any sign of weakness faded as his eyes flashed with clear offense. “Who in the everloving skies do you think I am?”

Waqi laughed. There he was. “I was only making sure. Come on!”

They seized his arm, guiding him to the surface until his wings recovered enough to pull his own weight. Waqi made it to the surface first, taking in the taste of pure wind and then turning to help Sol onto solid ground. A clear night sky shone above them, decorated with stars, free of any fog. The smell of charred flesh and the odd black puddle on the bank were the only signs that Hauntings had even been there.

“Well done,” Sol said, finally allowing Waqi to unclench their muscles. He’d said the word, so the fight was over.

A short distance away, Dhanab stood over Taira, no doubt fussing endlessly over every minor scratch Taira had sustained during her scuffle with the shrimp Haunting. All the while, Taira stared at her, smiling like she’d won something beyond the fight, not making a single move to stop her. Waqi rolled their eyes fondly. Those two could accomplish untold feats exemplifying every Star ideal, and still act afterward more like illicitly close adolescent human girls.

Sol strode toward them. “I see I have you two to thank for this infestation’s defeat.”

Dhanab jumped to attention, rushing to adjust her scarf. “My king! It is… an immeasurable relief to see you again.”

He laughed good naturedly, extending a hand to help Taira to her feet. “Are you alright?”

She took it. “That shrimp was far sturdier than he looked.”

“You must forgive me for the confusion this must have caused,” Sol said, and Waqi made a considerable effort to not bite back in the presence of their friends. “As valiantly as you fought, I never like having to send you all into Haunting territory.”

Taira scoffed. “You didn’t need us, my king. We all saw how you boiled the lake. Waqi told us on the way you were probably destroying them already, and they were right!”

Sol turned to Waqi, an unspoken question in his eyes. Waqi met his eyes meaningfully. Later, they tried to tell him.

Dhanab cleared her throat. “There’s still the matter of… the early sunset,” she said, thankfully changing the subject. “The humans were very shaken up.”

“Ah,” Sol said, glaring at the sky with truly personal resentment. “An unfortunate side effect of my… divergence, after the assassination attempt.” He stood up straighter. “No matter. The irregularities will be smoothed over by next morning. And our North Star here can convey the desired story to the secret keepers.”

“What?” Waqi protested. “Please don’t make me talk to Tusi again! He’s insufferable!”

The other three laughed, because Waqi’s misfortune was the joke that united them all. Some friends, Waqi thought, though they couldn’t stop their smile.

Taira stretched out her arms. They cracked painfully, sending out sparks, but she pretended not to notice. “Well, that’s taken care of. I should check Maragha’s parameter for any runaways.”

“Absolutely not,” Sol scolded. “Dhanab, get her straight home and make sure she doesn’t set a single wingbeat out until next sunrise. This is an order.”

Already at attention, Dhanab grabbed Taira’s hand and spread her wings. “Yes, my king! Let’s go, Waqi.”

“You two go ahead,” they said, mustering all the cheer they could. “I need to speak with the king.”

It was a common enough request that the two didn’t think twice about. Waqi watched as arm in arm, Dhanab and Taira took off into the sky, chattering between themselves about plans for the next day.

Once they were sure the two were out of earshot, Waqi punched Sol in the face.

Sol, naturally, barely flinched. “And here I thought you’d be the bigger Star about this,” he said flatly.

Waqi swung another fist, overflowing with everything they’d been holding back. “The bigger Star? You—” They pointed an accusing, lightning infused finger, giving up all pretense of being the unbothered North Star. “—scared the absolute shit out of me, you know that?”

Sol sighed. “Of course. I realize it was not ideal, but—”

“I had to tell them you were fine.” Breathlessly, they laughed, because the absurdity didn’t let them react any other way. “I mean, even after the sunset, I’d seen the state of your home. And I had to look them in the eyes and tell them you weren’t in trouble. And all this time, the Hauntings actually overpowered you, imprisoned you in a fucking lake? They could’ve hurt you, or worse!”

“They could have done no such thing,” Sol said, so emphatically that it actually gave Waqi pause. “I was in no danger. I knew you’d come.”

“Oh, please…”

Sol took their shoulders and stared them right in the eye. Quietly, with terrifying emphasis, he said, “I let them capture me.”

Waqi froze, at a loss for words.

“I had no time to decide.” He spoke hurriedly, like he needed to make Waqi understand in the shortest time possible. “The assassins came, and all I could think was, are there others nearby, and will they hurt the other Stars if I don’t act? I allowed my home to be ransacked, and I allowed them the false sense of confidence to imprison me. And… the plan had been to do away with them all once they took me to their base, but…”

“The lake,” Waqi finished. “And the darkness, and the combined force of the flock. Just one of those three at a time you could’ve taken. Not all at once.”

“It did not end me, or even hurt much. It did worse, momentarily weakening me enough that I couldn’t fight back. I counted on you to finish it for me.” Finally taking a breath, he smiled. “And you did.”

Any trace of lingering anger Waqi might have harbored evaporated. They pulled Sol into an embrace, taking great pleasure in the fact that he, eternal king of Stars, melted into it instantly. “You know I always will,” they said, and they meant it. Sol was put on such a pedestal by other Stars, and Waqi knew how thin he was spread because of it. They were the one person he had to fall back on; this was the least they could do. “Still, for the love of the skies, never pull something like this again. Your grand kingly plans are going to be the death of me.”

“But you cannot die.”

“I’m also best friends with a king who believes the basic principles of reality are optional,” they joked, letting go of the hug. “It’s safer to not take anything for granted.”

“That sounds fair,” Sol conceded. “All of this aside, I will ask you… keep the reality of this day between us.”

Waqi nodded. As if they needed to be told. “I’m not your trusted North Star for nothing.” They beat their wings twice and rose, itching to take to a clear sky for the first time that day. “Get up here!” they called down to Sol.

“To where?” he said with a laugh. “You know what became of my home.”

“Well, fortunately for you, I’m feeling daring today,” they said. “I think it’s about time I rebuild a cloud home, instead of crushing every one I touch.”

#rb writing #en scribes #stars collapse #oc #LETS FUCKING GOOOOO #my bestie a history nerd #SUPPORT THEM PLS #the amount of research behind this is actually fucking insane

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heirmyst · 1 day

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READ STARS COLLAPSE READ IT READ READ READ

also have this accompanying polaris concept doodle he is my everything (finalized design still in progress)

POLARIS - North Star [short fantasy snippet]

A character introduction for a story co-created with @heirmyst about personified immortal Stars secretly living on Earth. Previous posts: [SUN] [ARCTURUS] [VEGA] Next post: [ABYSS] Word count: 1492

Polaris strummed to drown out the island’s panic.

He strummed so intensely that a string snapped with a sickening metallic reverb, for the third time that week. Normally, this would have been when he stopped, took a moment to breathe as he replaced the string, and calmly put the guitar aside until he needed it again. But as it happened, he called into the empty, cavernous meeting room far ahead of time, and now was supposed to be when others began to come in. He had to be present at the head of the table to greet them. It would be painfully awkward to leave now.

Besides, the king was missing. All normality went out the window, did it not?

Before the horrific implications of the thought had time to sink in, Polaris assaulted his own ears with a haphazard, five-string melody, still preferable to the alternative. “Don’t think,” he warned himself. “Just keep going...”

Impossibly fast footsteps pierced through his sound bubble. Polaris placed them immediately from the speed, but was allowed no time to brace for the nonsense before the door flung open.

“Oh,” Arcturus said, perpetual frown deepening as he realized they were the only ones in the room. “It’s just you.”

“Unfortunately,” Polaris agreed. He shoved the guitar below the table so no inconvenient questions would come his way. “How have you been?”

He blinked. “You saw me literally just a few hours ago for a mission report.”

“Ah.” Had he? Polaris couldn’t remember. Time and conversations blended together into white noise lately. All he was sure about was that four days ago, the sun went dark. “Well. Clearly, your ‘report’ was only part useful information and mostly undue criticism, then.”

Arcturus stiffened, letting Polaris know the accusation was on point. Though frankly, it was not a hard guess. “It’s completely warranted, actually. How long do you plan to sit around and—”

“For skies’ sake, Arc, leave him alone.” Procyon entered, hand in hand with Sirius. “I swear, the world could end and you still wouldn't stop sniping pointlessly.”

Arcturus stepped back to let both of them through, still scowling at Polaris. “He started this one.”

“Sure he did,” Sirius said, though the strained smile beneath his mask did not reach his eyes. He nodded toward Polaris. “All set?”

By now, Polaris knew the question was a formality and the answer carried just as little significance, but he met it with an affirmative smile regardless, moving his guitar even further out of view.

Stars filed into the room, each with their own extended opinion piece on the situation. Polaris listened, because that was his job. He had to make a conscious effort to avoid mentally compiling the information into easy reports for the king.

Focus. He isn’t here right now, Polaris kept telling himself. You, however, are. Make it count.

Just as he was about to begin, one glaringly empty seat gave him pause. He addressed the gathered Stars, all occupied in talking amongst themselves. “Has anyone seen Ri—”

The skylight burst open, allowing in a freezing gust of wind. The building’s walls lost their glow for a moment, flickering dangerously. Stars closest to the center of the room ducked for cover, but they didn’t need to, because Rigel flew in. He promptly summoned a temporary net above everyone’s heads to stand by as he pulled the skylight securely shut. Furious raindrops, successfully stopped, continued to splash across the panes.

Relief filled the room, cut short by a thunderous peal from within. Everyone’s heads turned in Polaris’ direction.

“Hey!” Arcturus grabbed Polaris’ hand before it drifted below to reach for the guitar, fixing him with an impatient glare. “Get it together. Start the goddamn meeting.”

Polaris straightened up, face warm with embarrassment as he collected himself. The unintentional booming sound he had let loose subsided. “Thank you all for coming,” he said, eager to move past the moment of weakness. “Rigel, I believe we should begin with you.”

Rigel, still recovering and taking his seat, snapped to attention. He cursed under his breath, not quietly enough to slip by Polaris. Though, to be fair, not many things could evade his hearing unless he wanted them to. Sirius gave Rigel an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder.

“Uh. I didn’t find Bett.” Rigel pointed at the mess above the skylight. “Obviously. Cyon tracked the explosions well, but every time I got to a place… Bett was already somewhere else.”

“There’s no way for me to account for the storms either,” Procyon added.

Polaris nodded. “Stars keep falling to this… Abyss sickness. The few we were able to catch are contained in the cell block for everyone’s safety. More powerful ones evade us, like Betelgeuse.”

Methuselah cleared her throat from the far end of the table. “Forgetting to mention someone, are we, North Star?”

Polaris sighed. “It’s hardly a matter anyone can forget,” he said carefully. “Our searches for the king have come up empty. We have at least one scouting group out for him at all hours, and yet…”

“This is a problem,” Arcturus said, as if anyone needed to be told. “And clearly, sitting around isn’t an option. If we don’t take this on now—”

“We don’t know what we’re up against!” Polaris retaliated. “The only person on this island who would is…” He trailed off. There was no need to finish.

Rigel stared at him. “Are you saying we should give up? Be okay with losing our people?”

“That isn’t what I—” he began, but it was no use.

“Whether or not we want it, they are gone,” Methuselah said. “Lost causes, if the Abyss has tainted them so.”

And that was it. He’d lost them. The room devolved into panic and heated argument. Rigel’s panic, Procyon’s emergency data, Methuselah’s call to tradition, Arcturus’ need for immediate action, everyone’s terror about being the next to fall… all of it collided in a cacophony, transcending the peace and diplomacy that had been the lynchpin keeping together Polaris’ stint as North Star. Worse, he didn’t have the king to back him up.

Polaris heard every shouted point in exhaustive detail and finally had enough. He brought a fist down hard on the table, the boom shocking everyone into silence. “Stop,” Polaris said, “acting like he’s gone!”

When he looked up, every Star’s eyes were wide, trained on him. Usually, that amount of attention would be accompanied by smiles, because it would be directed toward a song Polaris played, or a celebratory announcement of the king’s entrance.

Now, all he saw in those faces was desperation laid bare.

“The darkness that overtook the sun lasted one hour,” he went on, speaking from the heart. “Because he is still out there. The sun goes on rising, clouded as it might be, because he will return to us! This is a difficult time, but if you’ll all do everyone a favor and have the slightest modicum of faith in the eternal pillar of Stardom… well. That will do us a far greater service than endless, futile dispute in the eye of a storm, don’t you agree?”

Polaris sat back down, tentatively studying the reactions. Rigel and some others, he’d successfully calmed, while the rest at least got something to chew on. Even Arcturus eyed him with some small amount of surprise.

Sirius slowly raised a hand.

“Please,” Polaris said, motioning for him to go on. It was only right for the highest ranked Star present to speak. “The sky is yours.”

“Your words are all true,” he said. “But still, as it stands now… tomorrow marks our fifth day with no sign of the king in sight.”

Polaris’ prepared reassurance died on his tongue at the strange emphasis Sirius placed on the time. He wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. Rigel’s eyes regained the light they’d lost in the past days. Arcturus sank deeper into his seat with a quiet “Shit…”, while Methuselah hardened her gaze, as if warning everyone present to choose their words wisely.

“Polaris,” Sirius continued. “As North Star, you’ve sworn to be the voice of the Stars and Sol’s trusted second. His crown is still formally in your keeping, right?”

He nodded, confused about why he was being asked. Of course he still had it; Sol had entrusted it to him during the Equinox and tasked him with renewing its light. More whispers drifted across the room, but instead of panic, they carried… hope.

Why did that scare Polaris even more?

“Then it’s settled,” Sirius said, and looked at Polaris as if to apologize in advance for what he was about to say. “If Sol’s not back by tomorrow… you take the throne until he is.”

Arcturus let out a disbelieving laugh. “Acting king Polaris,” he said, with a note of abject horror that matched Polaris’ own. “We’re doomed.”

When overwhelmed voices began to crowd the room once more, Polaris could only meet them with stunned, paralyzed silence.

#rb writing #en scribes #stars collapse #oc #support my friend and our project ty :D

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heirmyst · 1 day

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HEY GUYS EVERYBODY . my bestie is gonna start posting more writing of our project Stars Collapse again soon pls give them love so they stop being a dumbass this is a threat >:/

have this accompanying doodle of our MC Jade

ABYSS - The Brewing Storm [short urban fantasy snippet]

A character introduction for a story co-created with @heirmyst about personified immortal Stars secretly living on Earth... and the human boy who stumbles into their world holding an otherworldly parasite! Previous posts: [SUN] [ARCTURUS] [VEGA] [POLARIS] Word count: 1716

Jade’s eyes snapped open. He sat upright with a gasp of much needed air, a little too abruptly. His chair teetered dangerously backward. The hoodie obscuring his view didn’t let him regain his balance in time, but a helpful hand from the side steadied the chair for him.

Thanks, Harley, he wanted to say. His aching, scratchy throat only allowed an incoherent mumble between coughs to push through.

“Jade Farren, how nice of you to join us,” the teacher’s unamused voice piped up all the way from the front of the classroom. “Do me a favor and try to keep up for the next fifteen minutes? This shortened class is dense as is.”

Badly hidden laughter echoed throughout the room. His fists clenched. Maybe it was time he really gave them something to laugh about.

“Good morning,” Harley whispered, cutting the thought short. Through the black spots dancing in Jade's vision, he could barely see Harley's pink, bracelet-laden shirt sleeve. Harley was putting aside his own notebook and reaching forward to lift Jade's hood. “All good?”

“Mm,” Jade managed, making a feeble effort to swat the hand away. “When did you get here?”

“In the middle of class, while you were already out cold.”

“Cold is right,” Jade muttered. “The fucking AC’s killing me. Ask to turn it off.”

“It’s not the AC. You’ve just caught something.” They patted Jade’s back and returned to their work; color coded pens, ridiculously detailed notes and all, complete with a fantasy novel on the side for later.

Jade’s desk, meanwhile, had one open textbook, which he was fairly certain was for the wrong subject.

“It’s okay,” Harley said, smiling sympathetically. “I’ll get this down for you. Rest up before the assembly.”

Jade accepted that without question, dropping back onto the desk when sitting for too long made his head spin. He fixed his gaze to the front of the room, fighting to stay awake. Chemistry class may have been torture, but it still was a step above drowning in his sleep again.

The bell screeched right on schedule. In the time Jade took to close his singular wrong textbook, almost everyone else had already scrambled to their feet, put their things away and made a beeline toward the auditorium. Jade and Harley were, of course, the last people left.

Harley held a paper in his hands. His face scrunched up in concentration as he scanned it. “Do you think Kiren will mind if I mess up the song?”

“No, but he’ll mind if I happen to breathe in a way he doesn’t like,” Jade pulled his jacket strings tight and shoved his freezing hands into his pockets. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t just go home?” Harley asked. “I mean, you look… really bad.”

If the comment came from anyone else right then, it would practically be asking for a punch. But it was Harley, so Jade settled for shooting him a look. “You coming or what?”

Harley sighed and ushered him forward, unfazed. “Just know that if we end up late, it’s on you!”

When they burst into the auditorium and rushed backstage, Kiren was already rattling off orders at everyone present, clipboard in hand like some sort of miniature director. He counted off all the heads he could see, and then froze, running his hand through his dark curls when he saw people missing. Jade almost considered hiding just to see how far the panic could go, but Kiren missed nothing. Jade and Harley had entered the scene, and Kiren would apparently be damned if he allowed them a second to breathe before forcing them into position.

“Harley, oh my god, finally!” Kiren grabbed his hand and deposited him near the center of the group.

Harley followed along, glancing back to give Jade an apologetic wave.

“There! That’s perfect!” Kiren’s smile plummeted as he turned back to face the far less cooperative newcomer. “And you…”

“Me.” Jade shrugged. “Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’ll save you the trouble and—”

“Nice try, but you’re not off the hook,” he interrupted. “Please, Jade. Do me a favor and don’t ruin this one too.” He turned back to the rest of the classmates, relaxing the slightest bit. “Or… I guess, the curtain's almost up, so you can’t really turn this into a whole thing. Huh.”

That infuriating triumphant smile did it. Jade curled his fists at his sides. “What? Like I’m some… fucking time bomb you’ve successfully tamed?”

Kiren, ever the asshole, had the nerve to look surprised, as if he didn’t do this at every opportunity. How did anyone ever buy his act? “Jade, when did I ever say—”

“You never have to say it.” His heart pounded, reaching his ears in cold, heavy drumbeats. It intensified when he took in the onlookers’ presence, realizing no one even bothered keeping up the pretense of looking away anymore. He gestured toward them. “See? Everyone watching always makes up their own goddamn minds about me!”

“Okay, just… pipe down, will you?” Kiren said, his gaze frantically darting to the curtain. “People might hear!”

Right. The curtain would rise soon and this was an important assembly, whatever. Jade didn’t care anymore.

A storm broke within his heart, driving him forward as he lunged at Kiren. But Mr. President wasn’t as squeaky clean as he looked; he knew when to anticipate Jade’s punches by now, and swiftly stepped to the side when Jade had already set his target.

The next thing Jade knew, he was on the ground, his head driven straight through a used backdrop.

I’m not done, he told himself, flailing blind to pull himself free. His heartbeat only quickened. Stage lights blinked on and off overhead, but the darkness filling Jade’s vision stayed even when they clicked on for good. I’ll fucking show them…

Someone was screaming, closing in on him. Footsteps rushed to his side. Jade prepared another hit, before his ears cleared enough to let him place the voice.

“Jade!” Harley cast aside the destroyed backdrop and propped Jade up to a sitting position. “Hey. Come on, talk to me!”

“Leave him be, Harley,” Kiren said a short way off, voice laced with his usual unbearable saccharine. “Let him clean up his own messes for once.”

Something cold stung behind Jade’s failing eyes. “My head…”

“I know,” Harley said quickly, his panic crystal clear. “Don’t worry, okay? I’ll take care of it!”

Before Jade could ask how the hell they would do that, they were hauling him to his unsteady feet and rushing him out the stage door. Jade allowed himself to be led forward, not trusting whatever would happen if he resisted or let go.

The two of them made it outside. Under the natural light of windows, Harley stopped, studying Jade with keener focus. “How are you feeling?”

Jade blinked away the sunbeams that were burning white hot holes into his sight. “Fuck stars,” he said, because that was the only thing his mind would let him.

Judging by Harley’s baffled face, it was the wrong thing to say. “That’s not an answer, and it makes no sense!” He scanned the area, before settling on something. “In here!”

Harley pushed through a nearby bathroom door, setting Jade against a wall.

Only then did Jade feel the sticky wetness dripping from his head. Tentatively, he raised a hand to the spot.

“Don’t touch!” Harley warned, already fiddling with his emergency cleanup kit. “I told you, I'll take care of it!”

Oh. So that was what they meant earlier. Of course Harley had been talking about the wound and not… whatever else was happening there.

Jade’s heart finally slowed. The sensation of warmth returned as Harley wiped off the blood and pressed a bandage to the wound. As was routine by now, the two of them let the comfortable silence engulf the adrenaline.

Then, as always, Harley broke it. “Jade…” they began softly.

“I know!” Jade snapped back on instinct. Then, quieter, “I didn’t want... you shouldn’t have had to see that.”

Harley shook his head. “That’s not the point. You jumped in so fast, you hurt yourself and…” His frown carried quiet concern, instantly evaporating every ounce of residual anger in Jade. “It never even crossed your mind to stop, did it?”

Jade looked down at his hands. No. But I’m sick, his first thought protested. I haven’t gotten any sleep. Kiren was pissing me off. None of the excuses left his throat; Harley wouldn’t stand for them, and they barely scratched the surface anyway.

Harley grabbed his bag, rummaging inside for something. “I need to check in with the rest of the assembly. You should go home.”

“But…” Jade trailed off, realizing there was no reason to stay the rest of the shitty day. He’d only come because it didn’t count as skipping if he never showed up at all, and what had showing up gotten him?

“There we go.” Harley smiled, reading his mind in that unnerving best friend way they always did, knowing they'd won the argument. They pushed a folded raincoat into Jade’s hands. “Here. In case rain surprises you on the way back.”

“Uh…”

They rolled their eyes. “What, you’re too cool for pink now?”

“If I was, I wouldn’t be here with you,” Jade said. “Is it going to rain today?”

“Who knows at this point? It’s just best if you don’t take chances. It already gave you this weird cold.”

Jade didn’t argue.

On the bicycle ride back home, he lagged behind his usual pace and looked up at the sun practically out of habit. He’d done it ever since the “black sun” incident that freaked everyone’s shit and dominated the news five days ago. Well, the sun definitely wasn’t black now. Despite the clouds surrounding it, the beams shone on, hurting Jade’s eyes even more than usual. If he squinted, the dark rings surrounding it seemed to return, sending a shiver down his spine. It took a single blink to dispel the imagined return, and yet…

Fuck this shit, Jade decided, and continued on his way.

There was no point thinking about this bullshit on a sick brain that was probably one bad day away from imploding, unless he wanted to prove people like Kiren right.

#rb writing #en scribes #stars collapse #oc #READ THEIR WRITING PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE #i will draw again pls read amen

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heirmyst · 2 days

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apologies if this has already been asked before!

what program/brushes do you use?

i used to use the square watercolor brush on medibang paint pro!

but recently in my burnout, ive now moved to krita and use a custom square brush that had a similar effect as the square watercolor :D

#:D #most recent mk doodle post was done on krita #everything else before was still on medibang iirc

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heirmyst · 29 days

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still through the worst burnout ever but i thought about him too hard and got revived just enough to doodle

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk #lmk fanart #lego monkie kid fanart #lmk mk #heirmyst art #doodle

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heirmyst · 4 months

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Are you going to make new fanart of all the eggs but with the new ones? (This is qsmp related just clarifying)

idk about drawing them all again yet, but i do want to draw my design ideas of the new eggs hehehehehe tho ive also been stuck in major burnout these past months so who knows when that'll happen o(-(

#:D

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heirmyst · 6 months

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hg!cellbit doodle. he is a little silly :DD

#qsmp #qsmp fanart #qsmp cellbit #cellbit fanart #hg!cellbit #heirmyst art #tw blood #let him stab and eat people amen #average 13 year old behavior #cellbit

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heirmyst · 6 months

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Is it okay to use your art as a profile picture (with credit ofc)

ye go ahead :DD

#:D

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heirmyst · 7 months

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q!etoiles he is the coolest ever

#qsmp #qsmp fanart #qsmp etoiles #etoiles fanart #heirmyst art #I ADORE HIM SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA #variegated leaves in the hair >:D

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heirmyst · 8 months

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I would like to know what your boundaries are when it comes to interacting with you.

are you ok with requests or questions that don’t have to do with your works

are you ok with receiving headcanons that are not relevant to or may contradict with what you already have

how many asks are you comfortable with receiving at one time.

Are there other things that you want us to know about fan interaction that I didn’t think to ask about

as long as you're not being creepy towards me or my art or sending hate messages, i'm open to anything :D

i don't always reply, but i do enjoy reading through whatever you guys send! <3

#:D

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heirmyst · 8 months

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!! KO-FI COMMISSIONS !!

[ OPEN (3 SLOTS LEFT) || KO-FI LINK ]

you want cool art ?? >:O

of your OCs or favorite characters ?? >:D

HEHEHEHE WORRY NOT!! I AM HERE!!

Headshot / Bust / PFP: $15+

Semi-Flat Character Illustration: $30+

Rendered Character Illustration: $50+

!! EXAMPLES BELOW !!

#:D #commissions open #commission #art commissions #i love art i love drawing comm me >:D #YOUR BLORBOS ARE IN SAFE HANDS #i need to decorate this post more but fuck it

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heirmyst · 8 months

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batch of eggs 🥚

#qsmp #qsmp fanart #qsmp eggs #qsmp eggs fanart #qsmp tallulah #qsmp chayanne #qsmp ramon #qsmp dapper #qsmp leonarda #qsmp richarlyson #qsmp pomme #heirmyst art #GOD THIS WAS A LOT #i love them all they are important to me #my hands hurt

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heirmyst · 9 months

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a peach. sun wukong is there too i guess

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk #lmk fanart #lego monkie kid fanart #lmk sun wukong #heirmyst art #monke >:D #also playing around w paint styles yeahhh

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heirmyst · 9 months

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blue bird in a gilded cage

#qsmp #qsmp fanart #qsmp jaiden #jaiden animations #jaiden fanart #heirmyst art #I AM SCREAMING #OHMYGOD Q!JAIDEN OHHHHH IM NORMAL

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