Aster Muryono

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## Records of Aster Muryono

The following are entries written by Aster Muryono describing important moments in their life. Each will have Aster's age written in the introduction.

### The beginning

I write this now as a review on my life thus far. Currently I am 14 years old and am an orphaned child. The plague forced my mother to drown herself in the sewers. Since growing strong enough to not leech off society, I’ve worked in the depths. I clean the sewers every day, the kilometers of stone and copper always needing to be cleaned. I spend most of the day underground, only resurfacing for a meal before I slumber. The man who used to do my job brought me, Jinsei, into his home and offered me food, clothes, and shelter. He is mute and thus I don’t know very much about him. If he needs something, he writes it with charcoal on a plank of wood. Otherwise he keeps to himself.

When it rains, I don’t have to work. It’s not safe to be in the depths with rainfall, I’d drown too easily. It is during this time I usually rest, read in the city library, or simply sit and watch the people of the city. Not many jobs stop when the rain comes, so I often see many people continuing their daily chores and responsibilities. Sometimes I overhear conversations, talks of business, religion, family, and most interesting, love. It fascinates me the relationship between two Sorradi, especially when it gets to the point of affection. Maybe it’s simply my lack of affection that drives me to it, but I can’t help it.

### A run-in with my Savior

I write this now at age 16. I think I perhaps experienced a miracle. I’ll begin from the start of the day. I awoke at my usual time, first checking the sky before setting out for the sewers. I usually pack a small sealed bag of lunch along with the lantern and cleaning equipment. The work day was fairly usual when I heard the distant and distorted rumble of thunder. This caught me off guard as the weather had seemed fine this morning, but I knew I had to leave quickly. The rain had already begun to pour in, but as I drew closer to the surface, the rain became overpowering. I slipped on one of the metal ladders, falling into one of the retaining pools. The rushing water pouring in from above pushed be further down into the pool, my strength unable to overcome the force of the downfall. The more I struggled, the quicker my body became heavier and tired. I finally went limp, my last breath escaping my mouth and bubbling up to the rumbling surface. My mind was blank for a moment, before a deep hatred and rage seeped in.

My life from beginning to end had been nothing but hardship and bad luck. I had barely survived my infantile life if it hadn’t been for Jinsei, I’d have starved or fallen sick. Since then I had done nothing but work and earned my shelter and meals. Cherishing every rainy day to enjoy life. And yet, I am punished, for what? For being born to a sick mother in a decrepit and crumbling city? For working my entire life to clean the bowels of the city that everyone dirties every day? For taking what little time I have off to enjoy my simple life? The poor lot I was given in life slowly enraged me. Filled my mind with nothing but evil thoughts and pain. What little joy I had in my life was overpowered by anger, just like the raging torrent of rain had overpowered my weak body.

Then, a soft warmth filled my mind, like an embrace. My rage had been quelled, my mind slowly filling with a love only a mother could give. When I opened my eyes once more, I was laying on the floor of a stone pipe. A trickle of water flowing past my body. Below my feet was the pool I had fallen into, the plummeting rain now just the usual dripping and lines of water splashing into the dimly lit basin. Intermixed into the dripping and flowing water, was a glowing silver light that washed the room in its ethereal glow. It slowly ebbed and flowed like the water. Slowly it moved towards me, the pluck and pull of a stringed instrument ringing out into the stone pipes of the sewers. It stopped just before my face, its glow resonating as it finally rested on my chest. The same warmth from before enveloped me, its glow embracing me and filling me with warmth. A motherly warmth.

### New job, new home

I write this now at age 17. Ever since that series of events in the sewers two years ago. I’ve been having good luck. I’ve gotten a new job as a librarian. It seems the book store owner, Hiromi, had noticed my diligence in literature and hired me once I had gotten too big to clean the sewers. Since then I’ve had a warm and soft place to rest. More free time on my hands, three full meals every day. Jinsei still lives in the same home, I visit him every day for lunch. I began to teach him sign language, so we can have conversations now. He too got lost in the sewers when he was younger. He screamed for a week, his voice dying then and never came back. He hired me originally so he didn’t have to work any longer. However he later came to enjoy my company and pledged himself to take care of me and to raise me well.

### Life changes, but not this much. Right?

I write this now at age 18. Jinsei died yesterday. He was in bed when I found him. The doctor said his heart stopped sometime during the night and he probably didn’t even wake up. So I guess he left me peacefully. I visited the priest today, I asked for the covenant to make sure he passes on correctly. Apparently this is through a ceremonial cremation. The priest turned me away since I had no reputation and lacked the funds to begin with.  I took it upon myself to take care of Jinsei and to properly send him off. He wasn’t very heavy thankfully, so carrying him over my shoulder was fine. I spent the afternoon in the wilderness, gathering herbs and preparing his cremation. As he burned, despite the horrid smell, I felt a weight lifted off of me. As if I was giving him my final goodbye. There were so many things I wish I could have told him, but it was too late now. I just hope he felt content with his life and with raising me. Apart from my actual mother, he was my true parent. I wouldn’t be where I am now without him taking me in and caring for me. After praying and letting these thoughts fill my mind, I scooped the ashes into a wood box, and sealed it with a pair of leather straps. Now, I sit here now and write this journal. Thankfully, Hiromi said I could take the next few days off to mourn. I think I’ll end the entry here and go to sleep.

I woke up this morning and felt incredibly tired. I lacked any and all energy to get up. The day mostly consisted of drifting between sleep and getting up to relieve myself. I couldn’t even bring myself to eat, despite how good Hiromi’s cooking was.

Something odd happened this morning. After a few days of laying in bed and sleeping all day, I finally got myself out of bed. I won’t be working today, but I need to get back into my routines. That and I can’t lay in bed all day and leach off my boss. However the odd thing was I had an abundance of hair on my body this morning when I went to the bath. I’m not sure if this is due to my lack of meals or sleeping all day, but it was odd enough for me to remember when writing this entry.

I woke in the middle of the night with searing pain. My skull felt compressed like a book being bound. But also like a large needle was constantly being poked through from the inside. I wasn’t bleeding, but felt a bump on my head. Maybe I had hit myself in my sleep. Either way, I couldn’t sleep much that night. I also felt incredibly hot, like I was wrapped in a fur blanket I couldn’t remove. I have this lingering feeling something isn’t right with me.

Something is definitely wrong. Ever since I cremated Jinsei, I’ve slowly been growing into a more animal version of myself. I still feel and act the same, but my appearance has changed dramatically. My skin has been covered in a thick layer of spotted, gray fur. My flat face shifted more towards that of a cat or leopard. My tail is growing thicker and longer. My hands and feet grow soft pads on the undersides. I feel my senses have heightened, but I can’t ascertain by how much. Weirdest of all, a pair of ice blue, semi-transparent horns adorn the top of my skull. Hiromi seemed a bit hesitant to interact with me at first, but it seems we are both equally confused and she doesn’t feel threatened or worried anymore. Those around me however, don’t quite feel the same. Their eyes, always. I can feel them, burning into my fur. I’m not sure if this is a blessing or a curse, but it feels more like the latter than the former.

## The Corrupt Ministry and Covenant of Kaiho

The following is a letter and speech given by Aster Muryono:

> "The ‘Velvet Plague’ killed many of our families, our communities, our friends, young and old. Their blood stains the wood and stone used to build our cities and towns. What was left behind is a broken shell of its former self. Those who remain cling onto the past like a child clings to their mother. But just like children, you must let go at some point. Just like a child you must grow and become your own, think your own thoughts, perform your own actions. And as you grow, you reflect on your actions, you reflect on what caused you pain and sorrow, you reflect on what caused success and granted you happiness.
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> The Ministry lied to you, it attached strings to your mind and put on a show. A show they then put on for the masses. To sell the lie of their power as religious zealots. You must snap those strings and gain access to your life once more. Someone who is merely controlled by their thoughts, is not really a person, but an animal forced to do one’s bidding. Like cattle to a farmer, once you lose your usefulness, you are slaughtered to be consumed. Once you take your sovereignty back, you then become whole. Your thoughts, feelings, expressions, actions. All are done by you and you alone. You make your own choices, you work and live for your own goals.
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> I can teach you how to snap those strings, but snapping them must be done by your own free will. As did I." (Letter to the People of Umari, Aster Muryono)
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