05-08-2020, 11:12 PM
[font=trebuchet ms]"That is Carina- part of the Argo Navis, named for the Argo from Greek mythology."
Rin held the arrow aloft with her telekinesis, its tip pointing to the constellation and tracing it out. "You can recognize it by that star right there- Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky- then it follows a sort of dipper shape like this." Hopefully it was more clear to them than it was to her. Turning her head to glance at the others who were gathered, she continued, "The Argo Navis actually has three constellations, all of which are supposed to be part of the 'ship.' Carina is the keel."
Tugging at her scarf, she nodded. "According to myth, an old king sent the Argo's crew out to fetch a magical piece of golden fleece, hoping that the quest would get them killed. Inexplicably, Hera decided to help them out, and they successfully retrieved the fleece and brought it back." That was a significantly condensed retelling, but she was trying to stay laconic.
With a shrug, she added, "Of course, this myth is just that: a myth. The gods would never be so helpful, among other things." Pointing her arrow to the stars in decreasing order of brightness, she went on, "Each constellation really is just... stars. Beta, Epsilon, Theta, Eta Carinae- actually, Eta Carinae was the brightest star in the night sky for a bit, tied with Sirius, while it was experiencing outbursts. One of those outbursts created an entire nebula- the Homunculus Nebula." She traced the clouds of stardust with her arrow.
Twitching her ears, she commented, "As far as some people are concerned, all of that is boring, and it's much more fun to come up with some story about gods and mortals. But frankly, I've had enough of gods for several lifetimes. Nature is much more interesting."
Turning back to the others, Rin put her arrow back in her quiver. "But I know that's not all of you, so let's make a game out of this. One of you picks a constellation, or really, any series of stars that you think looks interesting; then the next one to reply has to tell a story about that group of stars." Shrugging, she added with a half-smile, "It doesn't have to be true. Just make it interesting." Looking over the crowd, she went on, "Once you've told your story, then you pick a constellation for the next person, and so on and so forth."
Walking over to the side of the dock and sitting down, she looked back up at the sky. "Best storyteller gets bragging rights." Well, maybe there'd be a prize, but she wasn't sure what they'd want. Maybe she could figure that out later.
Pointing up at a cluster of stars, she said, "I'll start. First volunteer, tell us a story about Orion." As for which stars were a part of Orion... if they didn't know, they could make it up. It was all bunk anyway.
Rin held the arrow aloft with her telekinesis, its tip pointing to the constellation and tracing it out. "You can recognize it by that star right there- Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky- then it follows a sort of dipper shape like this." Hopefully it was more clear to them than it was to her. Turning her head to glance at the others who were gathered, she continued, "The Argo Navis actually has three constellations, all of which are supposed to be part of the 'ship.' Carina is the keel."
Tugging at her scarf, she nodded. "According to myth, an old king sent the Argo's crew out to fetch a magical piece of golden fleece, hoping that the quest would get them killed. Inexplicably, Hera decided to help them out, and they successfully retrieved the fleece and brought it back." That was a significantly condensed retelling, but she was trying to stay laconic.
With a shrug, she added, "Of course, this myth is just that: a myth. The gods would never be so helpful, among other things." Pointing her arrow to the stars in decreasing order of brightness, she went on, "Each constellation really is just... stars. Beta, Epsilon, Theta, Eta Carinae- actually, Eta Carinae was the brightest star in the night sky for a bit, tied with Sirius, while it was experiencing outbursts. One of those outbursts created an entire nebula- the Homunculus Nebula." She traced the clouds of stardust with her arrow.
Twitching her ears, she commented, "As far as some people are concerned, all of that is boring, and it's much more fun to come up with some story about gods and mortals. But frankly, I've had enough of gods for several lifetimes. Nature is much more interesting."
Turning back to the others, Rin put her arrow back in her quiver. "But I know that's not all of you, so let's make a game out of this. One of you picks a constellation, or really, any series of stars that you think looks interesting; then the next one to reply has to tell a story about that group of stars." Shrugging, she added with a half-smile, "It doesn't have to be true. Just make it interesting." Looking over the crowd, she went on, "Once you've told your story, then you pick a constellation for the next person, and so on and so forth."
Walking over to the side of the dock and sitting down, she looked back up at the sky. "Best storyteller gets bragging rights." Well, maybe there'd be a prize, but she wasn't sure what they'd want. Maybe she could figure that out later.
Pointing up at a cluster of stars, she said, "I'll start. First volunteer, tell us a story about Orion." As for which stars were a part of Orion... if they didn't know, they could make it up. It was all bunk anyway.
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