*#*#*#*#*
Let me tell you a story. A tale spun not so long ago… well, perhaps just a few millennia back. Or maybe longer? Time does odd things when you're a…*#*#*#*#*… Oh, let's not get bogged down in specifics. I've seen it all before, so really, who's counting?
Back then, in a forgotten corner of the cosmos, there was a lovely little crimson planet called Elestis. In those days, they worshipped a rather striking deity, one they rather cleverly named after the brightest thing in their skies, *#*#*#*#*. Oh yes, they were charming, my little mortals, with all their incense and grand temples built to a… well, let's just call her an important figure.
But this story isn't about *#*#*#*#*, nor about her immense charm and unparalleled power. It's about a prophecy. And about one of my... let's call him an enthusiastic admirer, who, shall we say, was rather good at crafting tales. Oh, he loved a good prophecy, that one. And so he set his plan in motion.
The man, known only as the Seer, appeared one day on Elestis. He didn't say where he'd come from, only that he'd seen worlds beyond worlds, stars brighter than anything they'd dreamed of. And, oh, how they loved him.
To the people of Elestis, he was a prophet, a sage, perhaps even an agent of *#*#*#*#*. With a voice that seemed to ring with the authority of the cosmos itself, he gave them the prophecy that would shape their world for generations. His face became myth; his words, sacred.
*In a time of shadow, amid skies aflame, a Saint from the stars shall descend.
An egg of fire shall herald her, the Incarnation of Our Lady. She will come to us in light and flame, to save our lands.
From beyond the heavens, she shall rise, and we shall know her as the Sun's Chosen One—the great Saint who will bring light to Elestis.*
I must say, it was a rather impressive performance. People talked of nothing else; everywhere, the whispers grew. A Saintess was coming. A divine incarnation. Now, I suppose a certain someone might have tried to correct the story, to, oh, clear up a few little exaggerations. But I decided to let the prophecy run its course. Besides, as *#*#*#*#*, time works rather differently for me. One millennium, two… a drop in the bucket, really.
So I watched, curious to see how the prophecy would unfold. They built shrines to the coming Saint, wove tales of her arrival in colors as vibrant as the skies over Elestis. Generations lived and died waiting for their Saint. They watched the heavens for a star, an "egg of fire," the one that would bring *redacted*'s chosen back to them.
Oh, he must have been pleased with himself, that Seer. It was, in its own way, a masterstroke.
And so the years passed, Elestis thrumming with the promise of salvation. That "egg of fire" would arrive, they were sure of it. They'd staked everything on this coming Saintess, the one who would save them all, restore balance, or whatever else they imagined in those wild little heads.
Now, I could give you some nice, neat little hints about how it all began… but, you know, i love a bit of mystery.