Recorded by Sophia Lionhartt,
Of the events which took place on the 18th day of Radia, until the night came, year of Pinnikle: 1,229.

I swear, I should have fallen to my death, but suddenly Tryn appeared by my side. A trail of stardust glistened behind her, and I heard her voice.

"I'm here, Sophie!" She said. "I need you to fight gravity, Sophie! spread your arms and your legs with all your might!"

I pushed and pulled with all my strength against the misty air. It was hard to control my limbs as I fell. As scared as I was, I was also embarrassed for losing control in the first place. I did manage to spread all my limbs, like a flying squirrel. As I did so, I leveled out, belly toward the water below. Though I had been falling for a very long time, I was only presently very close to the bottom. I knew that if I were to hit the water at such high speed, I would surely die!

"Brace yourself!" Tryn instructed.

I shut my eyes tightly, only moments before splatting onto the water. If I wouldn't have be killed on contact, than I would have surely drowned, immobilized from shock! I felt Tryn's arms wrap underneath my shoulders, and she gently diverted my momentum from a downward fall, into a majestic horizontal flight, only an arm's length over the water. I had been saved! Had I not been expecting the worst, I would have relished in the moment! Instead, here is what happened as Tryn coninued to fly us horizontally: I still had my eyes tightly shut. I continued to brace myself for impact, and even flinched a few times from expectation. The funniest part: I continued to hold my breath, until I was blue in the face!

"You can... open your eyes now," Tryn said, after a moment. 

I had been rescued so gently. I had not even noticed I was safe, until I opened my eyes and gasped for breath. Only then did I notice we were soaring away from the waterfall, and our pace was slowing nicely.

The star set me down a fair distance from the falls, in ankle deep water. I hugged her, facing the great waterfall, and my eyes widened as I noticed Leon and Fin, two tiny figures about halfway through their plummet.

Tryn stepped back to see my frightened face and said: "They will be okay,". She squeezed my shoulders assuringly, and gave me a smile.

Then something happened that I couldn't make up! You would expect, if anyone were to see a star save a girl from a terrible fall, like the one from End's Drop: that person would cheer, or something. That is not what happened... There was a river pub not far from us. A thin, brown haired nix was fishing off its dock. He looked to Tryn and I with some dull glimmer of grotesque desire, and his jaw was dropped. After he saw Tryn hug me, he said the most disgusting thing I think I have ever heard. 

He shouted toward us: "What's it goin' wiv the tew of ya!? Spicy hot as the sun heheh!". 

The translation, in case you cannot understand the dialect of a backwoods nix: "What are you two doing? It's getting me excited,". Disgusting.

Tryn had not been fond of many nix, and this was her reason: They were always so dull in the head, and their fantasies were so languid. She glared around my shoulder at the man. By the time he noticed her glare, Tryn had teleported from in front of me, and was nose to nose with him.

"Mmm, wot a treat, you are!" He said. "Fancy bringin' me ta join yews!"

The translation: "You're beautiful. I want to be with you, both."

Tryn told me his breath smelled like rank fish and alcohol, and that he reached out to caress her face. Ew...

"Do you know what stars do when we are mad, little brown haired nix?" Tryn said, her tone very serious.

"No I do not, little dear twinklin' toes!" The simple nix said. He looked down, feeling a rush of gross excitement, and back to the star to say: "Have I... Made yew upset!?". He smiled in a way that was crooked, uncanny, and unpracticed; also nervous.

Tryn looked behind to see Leon and Fin falling closer to the water, then back at the man. She put her nose to his, and with a grimace she told him what stars do when they are angry: "We. Pop. Off."

Tryn shot herself back toward the waterfall with a massive burst of starlight. The brown haired nix went flying, and landed somewhere down the river.

"Fiend," She whispered under her breath, about the perverse nix. 

Tryn appeared, trailing behind Fin and Leon. She grabbed them by the backs of their pants, and slowed them ungracefully. Their yowls could be heard from where I stood, as Tryn dragged them through the air toward me. She dropped them on the shore beside me. She was offended by the uncultured man by the pub, and was very much taking it personally.

Fin lay in the fetal position beside Leon, but composed his voice enough to say, "I didn't think we were goners, but after watching how you handled Sophie, I expected something a little nicer..."

"Sorry," Tryn said. "You're heavy," was her excuse. I saw a sly half-smile curl on her lips, like she'd done something mischievous. "I really am sorry," she said.

The two men took a moment to writhe, wriggle, and moan softly, then stood.

"See," Leon said, "You only must wish upon a star, and you will reach the bottom of End's drop with a wedgie... But you'll keep your life!" He winked, and we all laughed.

"I would never let anything happen to you," Tryn said to all three of us, but looking particularly at me. "Not as long as I have strength and stardust!" 

"I know..." I responded. "I trust you, from the day you stood up for me in front of the villagers, I have trusted you. I've missed you, Tryn!"

"So uhh... What do we do now!?" Fin asked.

"We follow the ribbon. But I suggest we may want to rest before-hand," Leon said.

"There is a pub close by," Tryn said, pointing. "It's actually just there,".

It was a fancy looking pub on a grassy knoll, just off the riverbank. Attached to it: the empty dock stood on stilts, quite far over the river.

"Perhaps there are no fish today. This place normally has routine fishermen," Tryn said, glowing in sarcasm. 

The star was in a real mood, and I silently giggled about it; feeling a sense of sisterly protection. The four of us went up steps to the dock, and walked to its middle. Peering up at the towering waterfall, I fixed her eyes on the top. There, Tryn had spent every night in the mist, as long as I could remember. My eyes began to well up.

"If I had known all I had to do to see you was make a wish, I would have wished very long ago, and very often," I said.

Tryn glanced at the boys and signaled for a little space. They nodded, and went back to sit with legs off the dock, close to the shore and a little ways out from ear-shot. Tryn and I walked to the edge of the now-very-peaceful riverdock. The river was so peaceful below us.

"Sophie..." Tryn began, "I'm very sorry."

"Why didn't you come back?" I asked. I was not asking out of deep emotion, but a long dulled and curious heartache.

"Well... There was the king's request..." She said, looking forward. "Lumin and I also wanted to leave you with your own kind," she said.

"You are our kind!" I exclaimed. "All the people of our village mock the adventurous hearts of my brother and I! They called us royal bastards, and much more. They were not our kind."

"I'm very sorry, Sophie," Tryn said again.

"It's okay! I've just missed you is all!" I told her. "Leon explained to us about how he asked you to leave us. He really thought it was best..."

"Yes. We're loyal to the rulers of Pinnikle," she said.

"Why though?"

"The reasons go all the way back to the first queen. To say it shortly: We know the people of Pinnikle need us, and we serve you because it is our choice. You will find out more in time,". Tryn paused, and turned to face me. "I have missed you, too... That's why I passed by you each night, by the place you and Fin would always go."

"I knew it!" I said.

"But aside from the king's orders," Tryn explained, "I assumed you would not want to mingle with us! We are a strange kind, after all!" 

"Yes, you are strange enough to blast a fisherman down the river to teach him a lesson!" I said.

"Yes, well..." Tryn said, then began to laugh. 

We both laughed about the strange incident. I told Tryn about all the things I had done over the years, including trying to catch stars.

"I think it makes more sense now," I said about the topic. "The other stars didn't want me to catch them, because they thought I was like everyone else..."

Tryn responded, "Sophie, a time will come soon, when all the stars will know you for your kindness."

We went on talking for quite some time. The sun began to set, and only one passerby came out to walk along the dock. He was oddly unbothered, and did not become curious that a star bantered with a red haired girl on a river-dock. Fin and Leon had moved to a bench outside the pub. Two pint glasses had made a way to their hands, and the two were discussing a plan to disguise Leon, worried that an appearance from the king would cause a ruckus. It was, however, clearly too late to begin such an effort. They had already ordered pints from inside. 

"Here, wear this," Fin said, as he pulled off his shirt.

Leon pulled off his royal garment, and the two exchanged clothing, laughing like boys. In that moment, Fins laughter was even more pleasant to me than having my life. He was, even if only for one moment, not occupied with keeping me safe, or warm, or fulfilled. Fin had taken care of me like a father for so long, and it was nice to see him as big brother in this moment. He was a free man with his friend. And likewise, Leon was not the king for a moment, but a villager from Luca.

We called them over and chattered together until it was dark. Tryn floated off the dock, eye-level in front of us; and the three of us who were not stars sat at the edge. If it were not for the star, floating as stars do, what came next would have never happened. Because she faced us, she noticed the glow of a magic red ribbon, illuminated from a pocket on Leon's shirt, which Fin wore. She took the magic paper in hand, and the red ribbon pointed toward the pub sign, which read, "Starfall fix,".

Fin perked up and said, "That's supposed to point toward Lofi Phelix, right?"

"Truly," Leon replied.

"Why don't we take a look inside?" I suggested.

Under stars of the night sky, we stood. I looked to the top of End's Drop, and it was strange to know Tryn wasn't there, because she preferred to be with us. We went to peer through the window of the tavern. 

"You go inside..." Tryn said. "I'll go take my mark. It would be strange for me to go in..."

 The star who saved me peacefully floated toward the top of the End's spill, to take the place she had taken each night, for a very long time. Meanwhile, we opened the door, and there was a showman about to perform! It was the very same man who had walked along the dock earlier, when Tryn and I were speaking. I wondered who he might be.