first of his name -wil, grey-

Of all the places the new overloridian would be. Stonecraft. At first Noor had hoped there was some kind of mistake, but there was no denying that something--someone--in this wretched city was pulling at the Star Piece. Noor reminded herself not to be prejudiced, and that some of history's greatest overloridians had come from rather humble roots. Besides, it could be worse. At least the Star Piece hadn't led her to Deilig.

Plain-clothed guards were positioned around her inconspicuously. The last thing Noor wanted while carrying Dian's most valuable treasure through the streets of Stonecraft was to draw any attention. Her goal was to come in, get the overloridian, and leave as quickly as possible. The formalities could all be performed once they and the Star Piece were all safely back in Dian where they belonged.

The Star Piece, hidden in a small satchel that Noor kept on her clio, had led her to a dilapidated building that she would barely describe as habitable. The inside smelled moldy, as if it had flooded several times despite being above ground level. The hallway was lined with doors, and Noor passed several before the Star Piece tugged her towards one.

Behind this door is Dian's overloridian, she thought. She knocked, and the door creaked open. Gods, the latch didn't even work. "Hello?" she called. "I need to speak with whoever is here. It's urgent."

Wil had been standing near the window making a pot of tulips dance when she heard the a knock at the door. Grey was in the bathroom taking a shower after work (now that Grey had been able to get a job, they could afford to keep their water on all month!), and Lotus was working a closing shift at the flower shop, so Wil walked to the door. She was almost there when she heard a loud, clear voice.

Lady at Door wrote:Hello? I need to speak with whoever is here. It's urgent.

Urgent? Pot of tulips in hand, Wil wrenched the door open the rest of the way, letting a very stern and scary looking woman into view. Wil took a breath.

"Lotus is okay, isn't he?" she asked, heart in her throat.

Noor raised an eyebrow at the rather eccentric-looking girl who had answered the door with a non-sequitur. She was holding a flowerpot and had a large daisy in her hair, and was looking at Noor with pleading brown eyes. What in the..? "I...don't know who that is, but he isn't why I'm here," she said after a pause.

Could this girl be the overloridian? She was about the right age for it. "I'm looking for someone who recently settled as Dian," she said. She looked past the girl into the dwelling. It was tiny, cramped, with no one else in the room. However, the distinct sound of running water coming from behind a closed door told her someone else was here as well.

Wil let out an audible sigh of relief when the woman claimed to have no idea who Lotus was. "We don't really know who he is either," she laughed. The flowers that had drooped slightly during Wil's momentary panic perked up again and started their flowy dance as Wil backed up, letting the woman come in.

Lady wrote:I'm looking for someone who recently settled as Dian.

Wil narrowed an eye at the lady. "What for?" she asked, her sudden suspicion audible. Had it been a mistake to let this woman in? Had Grey stolen something from her recently, or something?

"Who are you?" she asked, eyebrow still raised. The flowers stood straight and tall, and so did Wil.

Noor took in the girl's sudden display of suspicion impassively. Though weary, she hadn't even tried to deny that someone who had recently settled as Dian was here. And it clearly wasn't her, given the sudden active behavior of the tulips she was holding.

"My name is Noor Batel," she said. No point in playing coy. "My mother was Tamar Batel, the late overloridian of Dian. I'm here for her successor."

She reached into her satchel and carefully pulled out the Star Piece. When her mother had held it, it glowed with beautiful silver light. In her own hand, it was dull and gray. Still, she could sense it thrumming with power. "This is the source of Dian's power. It brought me here." She held it flat in her palm so the girl could see it slowly slide towards the closed door on the other side of the room, before closing her hand and hastily putting the Star Piece back in its satchel.

“You’re looking for the Dian Overloridian?” Wil asked. Her eyebrow didn’t drop. She didn’t know what successor meant, and she didn’t know what a boring gray rock had to do with overloridians—especially an overloridian that wasn’t Adhbhar.

“You have the wrong house. And I think you meant to say you’re looking for someone Adhbhar. My brother can control metal. Not rocks.”

Noor took in a deep breath through her nose. Important as this was, it wouldn't do to get overly impatient with this obviously uneducated girl. "Then your brother is the one I'm looking for," she said, keeping her voice even. "What I just showed you is called a Star Piece. There's one for each eilemaiden, and this is Dian's. It attracts towards the overloridian like a magnet."

Just then, the door across the room opened to reveal a skinny boy wearing an oversized T-shirt and faded plaid pajama pants. The Star Piece thrummed. This was him. Tamar's replacem...successor.

Humble roots, Noor reminded herself again as she took in the boy's unimpressive appearance. All overloridians had to start somewhere. "My name is--"

"I heard," he interrupted, rudely. He stared at her distrustfully. "This is a joke, right? A trick."

"No," Noor said. She pulled out the Star Piece again. "Everything I said is the truth."

Wil listened to the woman, unbelieving. When she heard the door open she turned back to look at a squeaky clean Grey. He looked suspicious of Tamar immediately as well.

“Do you know her?” Wil asked, though from the look on Grey’s face it didn’t seem likely. “I mean, she’s wrong, right?”

It wasn’t like homeless kids off the street could become overloridians, right?

While in the shower, Grey could hear the conversation between Wil and the stranger clear as day. The walls in this building were thin as cardboard. The more he heard, the more he believed this woman was playing some kind of prank on them for some reason. A prank that not even Wil was gullible enough to fall for. Him, the overloridian? Fucking hilarious.

I dunno, Grey, Loren said as Grey dried himself off and pulled his clothes on. It could be true! Maybe that's why you settled as Dian.

There are literally a million reasons that make more sense than me being a gods-damned overloridian.

Like what? Loren asked. She went unanswered, as usual.

When Grey had had enough of listening to this strange clio try to con his sister, he finally walked out to face her. She looked stern, and was definitely dressed better than anyone he'd seen around this part of town. He tried to pick up any hints of dishonesty in her voice, but couldn't. But that didn't mean she wasn't lying. She had to be. He shook his head at Wil.

---

Noor had to push away her impatience again. All she wanted to do was get the Star Piece, herself, and the overloridian out of this place and back to Dian. "Look," she said shortly, holding out the Star Piece. It pulled at her hand, as if it was begging to go to this boy. He stared at it for a moment, and then, as if he could feel the pull too, held out his own hand.

Slowly, the Star Piece left her hand and floated towards his. Noor was suddenly struck by a mournful feeling. It was like letting go of a loved one. Once it was in the boy's hands, it glowed like it had for her mother, and never had for her.

---

Grey stared at the thing--Star Piece?--almost transfixed as it shone in his hand. This wasn't some ordinary stone. And it wasn't a trick, either. This thing had power. Real power. He could feel it. And it felt...familiar.

He looked back at Wil, eyes wide with shock. "I think she's telling the truth."

Wil’s eyes were wide as saucers. She still felt in the dark a little, unsure of what this all meant, exactly. But Grey was not gullible. He was probably the smartest clio she knew. His eyes were as wide as her own, and when he looked at her and said he thought the woman was telling the truth, Wil trusted him.

“What does this mean?” she asked, still looking at Grey. She turned them, to Noor. “ If he’s the Overloridian, why is he living here in Stonecraft? Shouldn’t he be living in Dian?” Why had he been living homelessly for years and years? Why had he been starving and cold and sick for his entire life if he was an overloridian?

Noor regarded the two children before her. Dirt poor, undereducated. They had to be orphans. The boy's parents had likely died before telling anyone who he was. "It isn't unheard of for an unsettled overloridian to fly under the radar^{whatever that means} until the preceding one passes," she explained. "And your predecessor's death was-" she swallowed, "-unexpected."

Grey barely heard her. He felt a weird, weightless sensation, as though he was floating an inch or so above his own body. His mind swam with questions. Is this a dream? He stared at the Star Piece.

"What happens now?" was all he could manage to ask.

"Now you will go to Dian and assume your post," Noor said. "I will mentor you until you're ready to lead on your own." That would be several years, judging by the current state of this boy. "What is your name?"

"Grey."

"Well Overloridian Grey, if you'll come with me, I'd like to escort you to Dian as soon as possible." Noor held out her hand, expecting the Star Piece back. While it was rightfully his, he couldn't exactly go walking around the street with it glowing like that.

“Well we cant leave until Lotus gets home!” Wil said. She looked to Noor. “And what am I going to do with my plants?”

She looked down at the potted flowers she still held, and then over to the shelves and shelves she’d added next to their sole window. They were covered in flowered vines, and twenty different pots holding plants of all kinds.

“And can I touch that shiny thing?” she reached out to grab what Noor had referred to as the star piece, not realizing Noor was trying to do the same thing.

Noor snatched the Star Piece out of Grey's hand before the girl could touch it. He blinked, as if snapped out of a trance, and looked up with a frown. The Star Piece immediately faded back to plain gray. "This isn't a toy," Noor said shortly, tucking it away back in its satchel.

"I'll arrange for someone to come and move your...possessions to Dian," Noor said after a pause, glancing around the sparsely furnished dwelling. "They can contact this Lotus clio as well. You should come with me now."

Grey was a little annoyed at the way Noor was talking to him and Wil, but in the moment he was too overwhelmed by shock, confusion, and curiosity to do anything about it. "Let's go, Wil," he said. Maybe this bizarre dream would make more sense once they got to Dian. I've never even been to Dian.

"Did you want to change your clothes first?" Noor asked, raising an eyebrow. Grey was still wearing pajamas.

"No," Grey said, walking forward.