Starry's. The title says it all. Well, almost. Here's a short description: There is a boy, Titus, who is an outcast in his village, because he asks so many questions and keeps getting into trouble. One day, he sees a winged stranger talking to someone from his village. Later, he runs away, knowing he'll never fit in. The winged stranger, Falcon, brings him to a safe mountainous village called Haven where misfits thrive. Soon it is revealed that Titus is the next Wielder; a special person who can hold and unleash the power of a mysterious sword. PROLOGUE Two friends chased each other in the twilight, flying farther than they'd ever flown before. "I'm going to get you, Gecko!" Falcon panted, gaining on her friend, who immediately tucked in his black dragon-like wings and plummeted to the earth. "Well, eventually anyway." she muttered. She heard Gecko's laughter as he snapped his wings open again, shooting up past her. Falcon caught his foot as he rose into the clouds, making him unsteady. "Falcon, stop it!" "Caught you!" she let go, stopped flapping her wings, and fell out of the clouds. "Now catch me!" she glided in a lazy spiral as Gecko caught his breath. As she waited, Falcon brushed her waist-length brown hair away from her face and gazed at the landscape below. It was unfamiliar. She grinned with delight, knowing an adventure was ahead. She heard Gecko behind her and shot forward. Falcon spotted an arch-like shape and ducked under it. It wasn't natural, made of stones stacked together. Built by humans. She reached another arch and stopped short, her wings tingling. Beyond the arch, crumbling towers and ivy-covered buildings clustered in the bottom of a valley, fog drifting between them. "Oh /wow/!" Falcon cried. Gecko tagged her left wing. "Too easy!" he teased, his green eyes shining. "Gecko, look." Falcon gestured to the ancient city. He inhaled sharply, amazed. "Let's explore!" Falcon said, excitement thrumming through her from her toes to her wingtips. Her brown eyes sparkled. "Heck yeah!" Gecko flew down to land in a stony place covered in shrubs and trees that looked as if it had been a large street a long time ago. Falcon followed eagerly. "How old do you think this place is?" she asked. "I don't know... maybe around five hundred years old?" Gecko responded. "Keep in mind I'm not an expert." Their voices echoed off the deteriorating walls and the sides of the valley. They stepped softly through the ruins, gaping at all of the structures that must have been even more imposing when they were intact. Covered in moss, ferns, lichen and dirt, a cracked stone staircase led up a small hill. Taking Gecko's hand, Falcon began to climb it, gently pushing ferns away. Gecko stumbled to a halt. "Um, Falcon, can you see what's at the top of the staircase?" She squinted. The top of the hill was shrouded in mist. "No... not really." she tugged his wrist impatiently. "Ow! Falcon, stop. My foot's stuck. Ow." Falcon bent to examine his foot. Shoving the crumbling rock away, she freed it. "Is it hurt?" he wiggled his toes. "Nope. Just a few scratches." Once they reached the top, they could see a massive shape looming in the mist. Falcon's heart was pounding. She squeezed Gecko's hand. "Gecko, what do you think it is? What's inside?" he shrugged. "Old ruined tapestries? Gold? Jewels? Let's go see!" He pulled Falcon through the doorway, both of them giggling softly. Inside it was very cool and quite drafty, since there were cracks and holes everywhere. "It looks like some kind of... temple?" Gecko observed. He and Falcon split up, searching for relics and whatever else might be there. Falcon tiptoed down a hallway, wrapping her wings around herself. The wind whistled creepily as she came to the end of the hallway and entered a high, large room with an old stone table, rotted wooden chairs, and a leather bound book. Falcon carefully picked up the book and dusted the cover off. She looked around the room, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Faded murals of armies and battles decorated every inch of the walls. Even the high ceiling had a soldier holding up his sword in triumph. Falcon came closer to one depicting two warriors sword fighting, holding the book to her chest. One had a sword that seemed to be glowing aqua. She whipped around, spotting the sword in every scene. The soldier in the ceiling held the same sword as well. A shaft of dim light came through a hole in the ceiling and fell an the wall opposite to Falcon. Gecko called from somewhere nearby, but Falcon barely heard, running toward a sheath strapped to the wall. Above it, carved into the stone, were the words DESTINY OF PEACE OR WAR... OUR FATE LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE WIELDER She shivered and ran a finger over the strong sheath. "FALCON!" Gecko rushed into the room. "/There/ you are!" "Oh, I'm sorry Gecko. I didn't mean to scare you. But just look!" after Gecko took it all in, Falcon said, "What do you suppose it means?"
"I-I heard a legend once... a legend of a powerful sword... but it was when I was very young, so that's all I remember." "You don't think maybe..." Falcon began to unstrap the sheath from the wall. Gecko joined in, and soon they had it on the ground before them. Falcon pulled a sword out of the sheath. It shone silver and was slightly curved. "A katana." she breathed. "Let me see." Falcon accidentally dropped it and Gecko rushed to pick it up. As he touched its hilt, a powerful blast knocked him and Falcon off their feet. "What the- this sword is... I don't know what it is!" Gecko exclaimed. "Extremely powerful and dangerous?" Falcon suggested. She reached warily for the sword and when she gripped the hilt, she and Gecko stared at each other in surprise. "How come it lets you touch it, but not me?" but Falcon shook her head, mystified. They carefully sheathed the sword and took it with them to their town. They brought it to the elders of the town, who gasped in astonishment. "Where did you find this and how did you bring it here?" they asked. "We found it in an ancient city." Gecko said. "For some reason, only Falcon can touch it." The elders whispered and muttered, trying to make sense of it all. Could it really be true? Yes. "Children," the oldest elder, Matthias, began. The two bristled. "We are not children!" "No? Fifteen is still young. Anyway, I will tell you the Legend of the Wielder." The two glanced at each other as Matthias began. "Once, there was a powerful dragonwing, Cobra, who wanted to destroy the human race. He said we were weak without wings and not much better than cattle. He despised us. Cobra went to the featherwing tribes, but they refused to help him, saying it was cruel. He roared that he would destroy them, too, and began preparing for war. The featherwings and humans forged an alliance and built a strong army. One skilled forger crafted a katana and embedded Knowledge Diamond into it. He gave it to Prince Aither, a human/featherwing of the StormTribe. The prince defeated Cobra, but his descendants still rise. And so does a new Wielder." Matthias gazed at Falcon. "Me?!" Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/407280147/
