Beyond the Stars

An Ordinary Day

The sun burned its way through a cloudless sky, casting light and shadow upon the dirt streets of a remote mountain village. Raul sat on the front porch steps of his ramshackle home. Meanwhile, Faria was fetching the water for the day, and he had already done the prep work needed to clean it. To pass the time, he chose to partake in a favorite pastime of his – people watching. He always thought people were fascinating, and he found that observing them was therapeutic.

Raul could recount stories. There was one time when the herald from Kakariko was able to come up to share the latest news.

Despite having connections with some of the higher ups in the government, he always presented himself as very down-to-earth. He never wore any silks or fine jewelry, instead opting for an overcast gray wool traveler's cloak and a tawny tunic. The only valuable thing on his person was a pin with the insignia of the royal family. He never spoke in a pompous tone, he always found a way to explain complicated issues so his audience could understand.

As he was standing at the corner of the general store in front of a small crowd, Raul remembered being in the back of the crowd. Arms crossed and listening skeptically. Old Man Jo was wandering up and down the street, rambling to himself.

Ciph was relaying a new expansionary fiscal policy to everyone, as most of the people there didn't understand. As such, he explained that it meant the government was reducing taxes and that this would have the effect of increased investment and consumption. This way when people bought raw iron from them, more money went into their pockets. It was at that moment that Jo shook his cane at Ciph, proclaiming that the new policy would do nothing to help their situation, consequently it would worsen it by causing overwork. Ciph actually got off the platform and walked up to Jo.

The herald explained that this would benefit the community given time. Old Man Jo swatted the air, saying that the money that they would earn would be breadcrumbs compared to what they would need to fix the town up. In the end neither man won the argument, but it seemed like they both walked away learning something.

Today, Otho was shucking corn on his front porch, taking care to remove all the silks. Ciph was at his spot vividly describing the latest tidings of the outside world, especially regarding Kakariko and the Death Mountain Area. Apparently there were monster attacks going on around the country. More eerily, sometimes whole villages just vanished out of thin air.

Ciph was recounting a tale he heard. The fable was about a boy who was fetching some water from a river when he heard screeching and howls from behind him. When he rushed back to his hamlet, there was no trace of anyone. Not even the animals were left behind. The people in the flock murmured among themselves. Just at the fringe of the crowd, Raul spotted the new guy - Nozall - leaning against the outside of the store jotting something down in his notebook.

It was very rare to get a new resident. Most people living here never left the boundaries of the hamlet - only in cases of trade. And this village was isolated from civilization, the closest town was Kakariko at the foot of the mountain which was maybe a half day away. Naturally everyone would be curious about them.

Nozall was a controversial historian living in a city in southern Hyrule with his wife and teenage son. His wife worked as a librarian and their son was following in his footsteps. They lived in a townhouse with a library and small flower patch near the heart of the metropolis. The place was built very differently than what Raul was used to. The cobblestone streets whistled as the people went about their lives. The stone buildings stretched to the sky as they gleamed brightly in the sun. There was a defensive wall that wrapped around the polis like a choker, and aging wooden guard towers dangled off of it. The differences didn't end there. There were public parks, colleges and plazas where events such as concerts, debates, even plays would take place. Nozall told him that their hometown had a nickname, the City of Gardens. When he heard about it, he couldn't help but be amazed. It shook him to his core to find out how it all came apart.

According to what Nozall told him, it began as an ordinary day.

Tenei had gone to work at their local library for the day. Their son was at university by the time Nozall had his morning tea and began researching for his next book. People were outside minding their business.

Nozall reminisced about writing a sneak attack when suddenly something went BOOM.

Shrieks rang through the air. He jumped from his desk to see people sprinting past his window. He rushed to his front door to see what they were running from.

One of the guard towers was blazing. Demonic soldiers were running rampant. One hinox stabbed an old man through his throat. Another demon disemboweled a woman as she dashed by. They smashed windows and threw torches in. One monster even dragged a girl into an alleyway.

Nozall immediately fled his house. He had to weave his way around the terrified civilians and assailants before getting to his wife at the library. Once he found her they raced to find Keat at the college. Luckily they stumbled upon him outside the school entrance.

It took three days, but they made it to a city out on the very western coast of Hyrule to stay with family friends. Having left everything behind, they had to start over from scratch by tutoring local students to earn some income.

Nozall said he began hearing of other attacks from other refugees and assumed that their temporary residence could be next on the chopping block. Once they earned enough money between the three of them, they bought supplies to make emergency packs. Sometimes Keat would work for provisions when his clients didn't have money. They also devised several escape routes and meet up points in the event of another attack. They tried to get as many people as they could on board with it. Soon a local entrepreneur capitalized on the idea of the survival kits, making a killing selling them.

In spite of all their preparation, the city was attacked and all its defenses came crashing down. As naval officers and city guards, their friends were obligated to defend the city and assist the citizens. Nozall and his family had no choice but to run for the hills, leaving their friends to their fate. Eventually, after what must have been weeks, they wandered their way up here.

Raul couldn't help but wonder if anywhere was truly safe? Would they be taking in more refugees with more or less the same tale? If so, how soon would they have to turn people away? And why here of all places, why not go to a place with functional infrastructure?

Raul swatted a mosquito. He couldn't help but feel sorry for what that family went through. Especially Keat, the kid was unable to fit in and make new friends here no matter how he tried.

Although, he was grateful to them for being able to begin educating the citizens here. Everyone in town was better off than before thanks to them! Faria was now at the second grade level of literacy, Imi finished learning her alphabet, and Dilan just started multiplication. He hoped he could someday repay that family for everything they've done.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a figure approaching him. Turning to his right, a girl wearing a tattered dress and carrying two buckets of water walked towards him.

"Hey, pop, can you lend me a hand? These buckets are getting heavy."

Raul got up and strode to her, "Sure thing, honey."

As soon as they got back to their house, Faria turned back around to leave for her job for the day - taking the store's inventory. As she was walking out the door, her mother requested her to find Dilan and Imi and send them home. Then she reminded her about going to temple service in the evening.

Right after she walked out, Raul started pouring the water through some filters - which were nothing more than layers of clean shirts. As they dripped into the pot below, he lit a match and flicked it onto a pile of wood. The fire grew as it devoured the kindling. When the water began to bubble, he cautiously stirred in some spoonfuls of homemade moonshine. Ever since Biras contracted a worm from drinking the water, Raul never fully trusted it. Sadly, there was only one spring within a mile of the village.

As long as they filtered the water, it was safe. They made the most of what they had, they did the best they could with it. Raul looked out of the kitchen window. He hoped there wouldn't be any accidents in the mine, and that it would be just another ordinary day.