#deepspace folklore

I’ve been thinking about how if we were to visit other planets, we’d probably be unfamiliar with different alien species’ sacred or strange sites. Like, for example, an alien was seen wandering around near stonehenge or chernobyl, my first thought wouldn’t be alien! It’d probably be something more like oh my god its some kind of cryptid or old folkloric monster (but that just might be me.)

So a human is stranded on a planet (as they usually are) and takes refuge in an old, dilapidated building that looks like it might have been a temple of some kind. She’s been wounded in the crash of her ship and has to pull out a fragment of the hull that’s lodged itself in her leg. It hurts and she screams but manages to get it out. Now, not far away is a small village who have all heard of the old practices that used to go on in the old temple just on the outskirts. They hear the screams and, assuming its the ghosts of long dead victims or the vengeful spirits of the mystics who died there, the mythology of the place grows and, without the human knowing, they have become, perhaps, a monster once summoned by those same mystics. 

Even our own stuff could become a sacred site. That same human, after healing, limps back to her ship to see if she can find her radio so she can call for help. She didn’t expect to find the shipwreck turned into some kind of free-for-all. She stays out of sight but watches creatures with heavy jewelry stooped around it. Were they praying? She can’t tell, but their strange voices rose high in the air. There are others there as well, what must be envoys from the different banners that surround the site. 

There’s no way she could get in and out of there now, she’d have to wait for nightfall. She turns to go back to the old temple but a cluster of eyes lock onto hers. One of the creatures in the envoy, looking weighed down by ornamentation. Her first thought is that they must be important. Her second thought is to run immediately, which she does. She hears no shouts from behind her so she assumes either the creature didn’t see her or didn’t say anything. She retreats to the temple. It’s only after nightfall, as she’s preparing to go back out towards the site, that she hears the voice.

“Where are you?”

She throws herself into the shadows without a thought, only turning to look when she is sure she cannot be seen. It is the thing, the bejeweled creature from the site. She doesn’t speak, only watches it as it enters the temple, looking around, obviously uncomfortable in the dark building. 

“Are you a monster?” it asks, “Or a spirit?”

Desperate for her chance to get back to her ship, and frustrated at being trapped here by this creature, she answers.

“I am a monster.”

The being startles, jumping away towards the door but surprisingly, it doesn’t leave, only settles by the open entrance. Fuck, she wants it gone so she can get back to the ship. The creature’s mandibles click nervously. Not waiting for it to ask more stupid questions, she roars.

“I’m a monster, didn’t you hear!? And that wreck out there is mine! Tell your people to stop their fawning over it and keep away! If I see them there again, I’ll- I’ll destroy you all!”

That got the creature moving, and with a pitiful shriek, it took off back out towards the encampment the envoys had set up. For a moment, the human felt their chest tighten and an uncomfortable worry settle in their stomach. They shouldn’t have said any of that. She hadn’t wanted to frighten anyone, but it was probably the only way she could get back to the ship without being caught herself. She hoped, at least, everyone had been cleared out. 

What she didn’t know, however was that the frightened creature had indeed warned its fellows about the monster in the temple that threatened destruction should its wreck not be left alone. And, as she’d hoped, the lot of them had cleared off by the morning, not wishing to anger the beast. However, in their distress, they warned any who they met not to visit the place and to tell others of the monster. 

‘Spread the word,’ they cried, ‘so that none fall victim to the monster’s wrath!’

The station explodes in the night sky, the light of the explosion being incredible. It is seen by all inhabitants of the planet. Immediately it is seen as an omen. Mystics scramble to attempt to unravel its meaning, not knowing what it actually is. Traitorous regents jump at the chance to whisper into the ears of monarchs that it is an omen of war and that they must be wary of neighboring lands. 

A princess sees it from the window of her general’s war room and wonders at its beauty. 

A prince sees it from a balcony on the night of their formal presentation at court and takes it as a warning. 

The escape pods land and the planet quakes with the impact. The response is immediate; something has fallen from the sky onto the planet. Monarchs send knights to ride out in search of what fell, sorcerers and magi saddle their animals, heads spinning curiosity as to what manner of thing could have fallen from the great sky and what properties it may hold. Mercenaries follow suit, looking to make an easy fortune. It is a rat race where no one knows the prize but each are excited to find out. 

A prince departs on their animal in the early morning, convinced that their destiny is tied to the sky that exploded so violently on the night of their royal debut, and in turn, they are tied to whatever fell from that explosion. They ride out in search for an answer. 

A princess departs the very night the planet shook, a weapon on their back and teeth sharpened for battle. Like the mystics, her mind reels with curiosity. She thinks on the beauty of the sky as it was torn in two that night, and wonders if what fell is equally as beautiful. She is not looking for an answer, she simply wants to see, and perhaps to keep, depending on what she finds. 

The officer crawls from her pod, bloody and burnt, to find herself amongst yellow grass and trees with leaves as sharp as knives. She lays there, pain shooting through her leg; it must be broken, until she hears shouting not far from her. She gets up and limps as quickly as she can passed the tree line into the woods. She does not yet know where her foes are nor where she is. She is afraid.