Riezz and Astra

Riezz: What is it that you see, Astra? Serenity? Shining Hope? It's rather amazing that you can maintain such interest in the celestial world.

Astra: I see what you see in it, Riezz - A world of glittering white stardust. To some, perhaps, they may even be called pixels, but I'd rather not give them such cruel treatment. It is rather condescending to call them creations of humankind, after all.

Riezz: What then, makes you different from I, who but glances at the stars every night?

Astra: Have you ever seen the stars change?

Riezz: Yes. They are different from place to place.

Astra: That's what makes us different. The stars are always there to look down upon us. Whether we see it is another matter.

Riezz: So whoever seeks them finds them?

Astra: Not quite. Since the dawn of civilization, people have relied upon the celestial world to lead them to their next destination. Was it not the stars that led three wise men on a journey that gave birth to the era of Anno Domini? The stars have always led people onto the next path. To humans of ages past, stars have been a source of hope and of destiny.

Riezz: Then what of this land, with its starless sky?

Astra: The stars have always been there to look down upon us. What do you see upon this land?

Riezz: A glistering city under a soulless night with a silent moon.

Astra: Where are the stars that have been everbright?

Riezz: ...not here?

Astra: That's where you're wrong. They have been there since the dawn of man, and will continue as so. Radiance has always been relative to others. Would a candlelight be prominent in a ballroom of chandeliers? Rather, it is the realm of creeping darkness that lets the lonely flame shine ablaze. We have taken the stars from the skies, Riezz, and scattered them across the land. Don't you think so? We have created hope for ourselves after so long. Look at the sky. what do you see?

Riezz: Clouds amongst the starless black sky?

Astra: They are the mirrors of nature. When the sky is sad and overcast, the clouds are grey. When the sky is an eternal azure, the clouds are white and far-reaching. And look at them now. they glow faintly with the light of the earth. Our light. They have never done as such for the stars, nor the moon.

Riezz: But what if the clouds go dark again? What if they disappear into the starless sky? What if the lights of the earth are gone?

Astra: They simply return to the sky. And they watch over us again, like they have always done.