[Far from the Stars] - Chapter 1
Synopisis: On the distant world of Novzahc, home to the industrious, clan-bound Aidin who have only recently mastered steel and siegecraft, the sky tears open with fire. From the heavens descend tall mysterious beings, riding thunderous metal beasts that roar like storms and spit lightning. To the vermin, who speak in legends of celestial Clans and star-spirits, these visitors can be nothing less than Angels.
They come with a warning though, one of a War in Heaven. The Angels declare they have arrived not as conquerors, but as protectors. They'll offer knowledge and prosperity beyond imagination… if the clans unite under their guidance. But not all Aidin see salvation in the talls. Across the cities, tunnels and fortresses, the Clans of Novzahc divide. Some, awed and fearful, believing obedience is the only path to survival. Others whisper, question and doubt their intentions, gathering under new banners against them.
[Next]
<Zeptym 3rd, 156>
<One day, angels came down from heaven, and now, I fight among them… Or at least, something close to fighting.>
<Once again, I warn all of you within the family:>
<Everything here is hard, nothing like the ranks of our clan. They’ll make you swim through the mud, tear down piece by piece any sense of the warrior pride from your family until there’s nothing but a single crumble of yourself before building you back up from it, so please, reconsider your thoughts on fighting as a soldier among them. They are training for Hyman standards and you’re a Vermin.>
<You’ll experience horrifying things as previously mentioned, such as the day they had one of their Metal Beasts walk overhead while firing with its thunder weapons.>
<But regardless, into another topic, their tailors seemed to not have hit the right mark yet in regards to our kind’s clothes. It’s a little tight around the tail and their adapted boots are a bit awkward to use because of how our legs and feet work, but it’s better than nothing and I can still forgive them for such mistakes, only now they started to accept us into their ranks.
<Speaking of which, only yesterday I learned the reason for it, coming from one of our doctors under them, it was mostly because they had little to no understanding of how our bodies worked, but now after some research and our help, they seem to have figured out the basics.>
<I do wonder though, will I ever be allowed to ascend into heaven? Fly into the stars alongside them? I know that for now they need me here*, as a diplomat, interpreter and scout to further spread the Hyman’s reach within our realm, but I do wish to witness the War in Heaven they fight far away from here.>*
<Hopefully they’ll recognize our potential as warriors capable to fight through the stars in the near future.>
<On another note, today will be my first official deployment, I was deemed fit to be a warrior and will be sent as an interpreter to another kingdom. It won’t exactly be a battle, but it’s the best I can do for the honor of our clan as of now, apologies Father.>
<From Skavit, to the higher authorities of the Low Yllif’s Clan, High Mother Theza and Great Father and Warchief Thuhm.>
“Watchu got there buddy?” A voice echoed right beside Skavit, making his left, large and pointy ear twitch for a moment as he looked up at the human, short whiskers twitching while his large black eyes stared up at the male. The soldier was wearing, as standard for the region they were acting in, a green uniform, a boonie hat, a scarf and standard body armor. There were also the recently added protective pads along the thighs, shin and calf, mostly after some incidents where they realized that because of their size, the Aidin were way more likely to stab someone around those areas and the lower back.
The human himself though, was quite the familiar face for Skavit, a softer brown color coating the furless face, the sharp nose and small lips alongside the thick brows above the dark eyes, with his distinct scent barely being hidden by the cheap and weird deodorant thing they used. That one was called Arizona, the grenadier of the squad that had to take the vermin under their wing.
“Oh! Jyst writing for family before we go.” The alien rodent creature replied, using the pen to write just one last thing before shoving it in a pocket inside a pocket inside his vest and folding the letter, shoving it in a pocket on his pants. “They’ve been curious!”
“Ah I see, I see. Man you’re lucky that you’re working so close to home, if I sent something it would take quite a while for it to get to my family.” Arizona replied, taking a quick look around before taking a seat beside the smaller creature’s bunk bed, breathing in for a moment in order to think carefully at his next words. “So, excited for your deployment?” The brunet asked, trying to get some chit chat going.
“Eeeh…” Skavit let out, looking away for a moment as his furless tail laid against the mattress of his bed, also in deep thought to try and not offend the human, clicking his tongue for a moment and even scritching the brown fur on his cheek for a moment.
“Yeah yeah I know, you’d rather be in combat and all, but I have a more important question though…” Once again, Arizona breathed in, looking around once again, unsure of how to exactly approach the topic he was about to bring up. “Look, I’ll be straight here, does your clan or the Royals have any grievances or something of the sorts with the one we’re about to meet?”
The rodent blinked, a bit caught off-guard, tilting his head to the side at the taller alien before diverting his eyes as he genuinely took a few seconds to think, reaching within the depths of his mind for something. “Well… The Royal Ziff-Tredan Clan did go to war with them before ye hymans arrived...” He replied after a few seconds, then glancing back up at the brunet soldier, tilting his head to the other side, questioningly. “Aren’t ye sypposed to know something like this?”
“Hey, look, our job will be to escort a representative so I barely got any info here. Command is still figuring things out, but I think that they are already aware of that one.” The human sighed, leaning back a bit as he stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. “The real question is, does YOUR Clan have anything against them?”
“I…don't really know.” Skavit squeaked as he came to a realization. “I was still yong when I got sent to the capital, so my clan never told me anything. Then I spent the next few years learning from ye Hymans while being trained by the Ziff-Tredan Clan, as most were as a favor, so I didn’t get anything in regards to their grievances too.”
“Okay, so in regards to you we’ll be a bit blind, I’ll report it to Sarge Mornin’.” The brunet sighed, slowly getting up from the bed, adjusting his vest for a few seconds. Meanwhile, the alien rodent looked up at him, curiously twitching those ears.
“Oh! Also! Why ye all call Sarge Wood that?” He asked, tilting his head to the side before figuring out that he should also get going and hopped off from the bed, standing tall beside the human, his pointy ears only reaching around the fellow soldier’s chest.
“Oh?” Arizona let out, taking a second to process his question before a mischievious grin appeared on his face. He'd take a quick look at the door of the quarters, leaning in a bit as if to gauge the amount of time he had in hand before quickly lowering himself down and landing a hand on the alien's shoulder, making him tense up. “Alright so, when he joined the Marines, he was always the first to wake up so-.”
“HEY! YOU TWO! Wood has been waiting for your assess! DO YOU IDIOTS WANT TO GET LEFT BEHIND?!” A voice echoed from the door of the barracks, startling both the human and the alien for a brief moment.
“SHIT SHIT SHIT.” Arizona mumbled as he just proceeded to grab the oversized rodent by his scalp, scooping him up before hurrying up to the exit of the barracks, with the poor alien letting out a squeak as he's dragged out.
Posted Dec 13, 2025, 10:33 AM UTC