~Chapter 5- Star Chart~

Jirro brought Ruben to Emer, Dimon, and the other Densius living among the Platt Mountains. Many were horrified at the condition of its body, but Ruben maintained a relaxed disposition, as if it knew it would be okay.

They set Ruben at the center of their community and began fetching rocks from all across the mountain and setting them around the boulder child. One by one, rocks bonded to its body, forming the beginnings of a new arm and two new legs.

Jirro sat on a boulder nearby and watched as the Densius rushed to repair his friend. Ruben looked at Jirro, "Did you find the Orephi people?"

"Yeah, it turns out they're not outlaws. Mauri's crew were, and they were after them," Jirro answered. He recalled that he said he'd meet them back at their ship. They were probably waiting for him... but Ruben was more important. He'd go see the Orephi once he was sure Ruben would be okay.

"Are they nice?" Ruben asked casually. It was a little funny seeing how talkative the young Densius was as it was being put back together.

Jirro chuckled, "They seemed like it. Harmless too. But, I bet they're stranded as well."

Jirro chatted with Ruben until the sun rose. By then, the young boulder child had newly formed arms and legs to use. When it tried to stand, it was very wobbly. Most Densius weren't used to bonding that many stones to their bodies in such a short span of time. But Ruben was strong and was able to hobble around on its new rocky legs after a little practice.

Once Ruben felt comfortable, it asked, "Do you want to go see the Orephi now?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I think you should take it easy," Jirro suggested.

"We'll go slow! Besides, the walk will help me get used to my new limbs," Ruben answered. Jirro never realized how perseverant the boulder child was.

The two walked at a leisurely pace from the Platt Mountains to the woods where the Orephi's ship crashed. They found Wroth and Celic sitting out on logs in front of their vessel.

Wroth stood once he sighted them, "I was wondering where you were!"

"Sorry about the wait! I had to help my friend out first," Jirro explained.

Wroth's eyes widened as he spotted Ruben, "Oh my! Are you a Densius? I've never met one of your kind before," Wroth knelt and extended his hand to the boulder child, "I am Wroth. It is nice to meet you."

Ruben extended its rocky hand and shook Wroth's, "I'm Ruben! Nice to meet you too!"

"I've always wondered... with your people being made entirely of rocks, how is it that you're able to speak without lungs or any sort of diaphragm?"

Ruben stared blankly at the eloquent Orephi and shrugged, "Not sure."

Wroth looked around the surrounding area, "You know, you should be careful with those outlaws around. If they hear about the Heartstone your people have, they may be so bold as to try and steal it."

Ruben raised its rock-brows, "You don't say?"

Wroth and Celic guided them into their ransacked ship and brought them to the back of their ship where their drive waited. The metal mechanism was crunched and bent harshly.

"Tell me, does this world possess any means of celestial travel?" Celic asked.

Jirro and Ruben returned vacant stares, "I don't think so."

"Ah, that's unfortunate. If the Ember Brigade's ship is destroyed as well, it appears we truly are stranded here," Celic said with curled down lips, "Are the people of your world... agreeable?"

"As long as you don't cause any trouble," Jirro answered.

"Oh! Of course not! We only wish to work to repair our ship. Though, that may take some time," Wroth added.

Jirro nodded, "I've been wondering. Both you and Mauri's group called our world cursed. Why is that?"

Celic and Wroth glanced at one another before they walked over to the console at the center of the deck, "We could show you."

Jirro and Ruben circled around the console. Wroth took the rolls of rigid paper he carried earlier, unfolded them, and slid them into compartments beneath the console. He pressed something at the side of the console, and light shot out from the top of it. The many layers of paper acted as a sort of filter for the light, and when it shot through them, it created a 3-D image.

Dozens of translucent spheres of light floated over the console, but a few of them looked distorted and strange. Celic gasped at the sight, "One moment," He said.

He removed one of the papers he inserted, and the spheres disappeared. He flipped the paper around and reinserted it beneath the console. The spheres reappeared, now appearing normal.

Wroth gestured his hands to the many spheres, "These are the worlds of this part of the Expanse," He pointed to one of the green spheres, "That is our world, Oreph."

Celic pointed to a peculiar mass among all the others, one that was flat on one side and had a shapeless purple mass on the other, "And this is your world."

Jirro folded his arms, "Why does it look so weird compared to all the others?"

Wroth chuckled, "I'll be honest. I was hoping you'd know. All the worlds of the Expanse are spherical in nature, but yours is flat. Scientists have spent decades trying to understand how this is possible, but they haven't been able to come up with any theories that make sense."

Celic explained, "We're on the northern hemisphere of your world. It's mostly flat, with water spilling out and rapidly evaporating at its edges. But the southern hemisphere is especially strange. There's this sort of barrier surrounding the entirety of the southern hemisphere. It's astonishingly dangerous, emitting intense heat, cold, and lightning. Anyone that's dared to come close to it has perished. We were fortunate that we were able to land on the north portion of your world, otherwise we certainly would've died."

Jirro stared at the odd mass that the Orephi ascertained was their world. He heard that there was an edge of the world where the oceans ended. But if what they said was true, there was an entire half of their world that no one knew about, their southern hemisphere.

"This is confusing," Ruben relented. It looked away from the image, not wanting to think about it further.

"Do you know anything about your southern hemisphere?" Wroth asked.

Jirro shook his head, "I'm pretty sure you know more than either of us do."

Celic tapped the console and grabbed at its chin, "...Wait a moment."

Celic began fidgeting with the rigid rolls of paper which they had inserted into the display console and re-inserted them at different angles. The worlds which were displayed above the console flickered and reappeared at different positions. After Celic's tinkering, Jirro saw that the Lands of Ralosia and Oreph were very close to one another.

Celic let out a jubilant laugh, "This is perfect! This world and our world will be close to each other in a few years. It looks like it'll be 4 or 5. We might be able to build a drive that can travel that distance in that time."

Wroth smiled from ear to ear, "That's amazing! I thought we were going to be stuck here forever!"

Celic nodded, "Yes, we'll just need a place to work from. I don't think it'd be best to set up here. Those outlaws could come back."

Ruben spoke up, "You could stay with my people on Platt Mountain. As long as you don't cause any trouble, we won't mind having you."

"Oh, thank you so much, Ruben!" Worth circled the console, knelt back down, and began shaking Ruben's hand graciously. As Wroth shook Ruben's arm, it suddenly became unhinged from its body. It fell, and the Oreph shrieked.

"Don't worry! I can put it back on," Ruben said calmly. It stooped down, picked the arm back up, held it against its torso, and after a few moments, it bonded back to its body.

Wroth watched in amazement, "Your people are an interesting sort."

Wroth and Celic gathered their most vital belongings, maps, books, and various schematics, before heading east towards the Platt Mountains with Jirro. As they went, they asked all manner of questions about the world they found themselves on, the Lands of Ralosia. Their curiosity had no bounds. Jirro did his best to answer them, but when faced with questions such as, "At what points in your world's orbit is faced with the harshest weather?" He could only shrug and say he didn't know.

As they walked through dirt roads among the plains, Ruben asked, "So Jirro, are you going to look for your dad soon?"

"No, I don't think so. I've got to make sure you're all better before I do that. Besides, I've got to be there if Mauri and his people come back."

"You know the other Densius will be there to help me. I'll be okay. I don't want to keep you from looking for your dad," Ruben replied.

"Yeah, but..." Jirro paused, "You're more important right now. My dad can wait."

Ruben slowed its steps and looked at Jirro. There was honest surprise in its face, "Th-Thanks man!"

Jirro had always idolized and prioritized his father over most things. His decision to stay must've seemed radical to Ruben. Jirro nodded, "You're my friend. Don't mention it."

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Thanks for reading!

Hope you enjoyed this short story, I'm very curious how this one will be received by fans of the series so far, as it does expand the scope of the setting significantly.

If you liked this story and are interested in checking out future entries, this story is followed by

The Lands of Ralosia: The Ichino Mountains

If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy

The Lands of Ralosia: The Comet Tournament