Inyanga's Star and Other Constellations

Flash Forward in Time - Storm's Star

New character name meanings

Luz: Light in Spanish

Manzi: Water in Zulu

Bǎo: Treasure in Chinese 宝 or Bāo: Bud in Chinese 苞

When Storm Works for Constellation

Two thousand years later.

It was Rain Day. The one day a year when weather modification spells were altered to allow a thunderstorm downtown. Storm's favorite day of the year, actually, since aeh worked in Constellation's downtown headquarters. Aeh tapped aer foot with anxious energy, sitting by the window waiting outside Song's office for their fourth meeting. Gray rain from a gray sky spattered the windows like rapid starfire artillery, and every once in a while the wind would pick up and moan so loud the whole office would stop to listen.

What Storm hated was to stop. To stop moving, to wait, to be stuck wasting time, like aeh was now. Even if aeh had a good thunderstorm to watch in the meantime.

Glancing around the open concept 72nd floor of the levitating Alcyone skyscraper, aeh saw that everyone else was hard at it, heads bent over stellar tablets. More than one magician tampered with getting a new spell correct, right at aer desk. Managers stormed the conference rooms as if leading teams into battle. Secretary magicians hovered legions of coffee and cha cups in front of their gnomons, directing the flying cups (full of scalding hot liquid) to the worker bees at their desks.

Even Exequi Song's secretary Luz had to look up from an important-looking call to tell Storm, "Please wait here and take a seat. Exequi Song will be with you shortly," and then needed to get back to her important commlink conversation. Here was Storm sitting outside a closed door doing nothing at hora septa on a dies Lunes. It was infuriating.

How dare Exequi Song be late. No idea whether she was inside the office or out, prioritizing other work or off on a long, luxurious lunch date with her wife. Seated close to Luz's desk, Storm's black airweave heels occasionally kicked Luz's ankle under her rosy Azaleawood desk, the table top of which floated without the support of legs.

The floating desktops only further inflamed Storm's outrage at the company aeh worked for today. Now, the cost of an airweave spell to encase aer feet with inky undulating shadow clouds and great arch support was worth every solidae per minute. One truly had to wonder, particularly if one took a moment to extrapolate the magic for one frivolous fashion spell — what was the price per minute of every levitating desktop on Alcyone's penthouse floor? Not to mention the cost of levitating Alcyone tower itself round the clock for several millennia.

Stars. If magic could run out, Julia Mars would never waste it on such trivial luxuries as every fucking thing constantly and eternally levitating. This company was full of stars damn shit.

Finally along came Song. And with her came two cups of hot cha wrapped in invisible airweave to-go spell cups. Surprisingly, they weren't held aloft by the power of the stars, but by Song's two hands.

"Peace offering," said Song, battling a wayward coil of her hair with her shoulder, since her hands were full. "It's from Bay's cafe. Rosemary cha or buttercream?"

"How frugal of you to carry a mano." Most licensed magicians would have a gnomon out, directing their cups to fly through the office, leaving hands free. Storm took the green liquid in its transparent mug, predicting correctly that it was rosemary, and inhaled its evergreen and soil scent.

"We're deep in debt, making a few little sacrifices," Song confided. Her office door still opened itself at her unspoken will.

Of course her family was in debt. Two children, two in vivo fertilization starborns, four immortality subscriptions, magicians college tuition to save for, color spell subscriptions, unlimited link subscriptions on a family plan, a levitating penthouse, and the latest motos, entirely for show, since the entire family could get anywhere they wanted instantaneously with unlimited link portals. That sure would add up to some debt.