"I'm Xilan, a princess from a small nation full of natural riches and surrounded by so many great predators. We are directly in the middle of the continent and all of them want to put their hands on our yellow soil. Lately, the immense empire of Zhengzhou is continuously attacking our eastern border and all of my older brothers are fighting against these brutes from that evil empire.They proudly call themselves Zhengzhou wolves, but instead, we call them dogs! Dogs, Dogs, Dogs....this is what they are! If one day I will put my hands on a Zhengzhou man, I will skin him alive! Oh....no! Please don't get me wrong! I am not a cruel person, but these people are ruining our homes and burning our fields. They're killing my people! I can't forgive any of them!

So, as I was saying, we are in a difficult time right now and I would like to have the power to help my people, but I am only a weak girl. If only I could learn sorcery, in that way I would be of great help to my nation. Unfortunately, here in Xilu, they don't allow us, women, to learn and perform it. Someone should abolish this stupid rule! If the grumpy elders of Xilu wouldn't have supported this idea, it would have been abolished by now. This rule only drags us down as a nation. I want us to grow stronger! I swear that I'll find a way to learn magic and draw magic runes one day!"

While the younger princess of Xilu is weighing her thoughts inside the Astronomy Tower, a secret report from the battlefield arrives at the palace.

The soldier that hurries inside the throne room speaks:

"REPORT....

Your Majesty, the crown prince and the second prince were defeated and had to retreat a mile back .The fourth prince was taken hostage!"

"Damn Zhengzhou!"...yells the king of Xilu.

"How did they capture the fourth prince?"...continues the king to babble.

The soldier speaks again:

"REPORT...

Your Majesty, the prince was captured while trying to keep the Zhengzhou army back, so that the rest of our soldiers and the other princes can retreat."

"Infamous! Infamous!"...yells the king in front of the four elders and the ministers.

"Your Majesty, calm down! Calm down!"...loudly speak the crowds of old men.

"What should I do now?"....yells the king, "He's going to ask us to surrender our land in exchange for my son's life!"

"What should I do?"...continues the the king to yell.

Suddenly one of the elders speak: "Let's sign a peace treaty with Zhengzhou!"

"But they don't want peace, they want our rich lands!"...exasperatedly yells the king.

The same elder says: "If they want our richness, then we will give them what they want! My king, do you think they prefer to lose their soldiers in this war, instead of taking what they want without suffering any casualties?

"I don't think they will be satisfied only with exploiting our magical crystals!"...says the king.

Another elder answers: "Maybe but what if we become allies through marriage! The first princess is old enough to get married. If we can befriend such a powerful empire, our safety can be assured for a long time."

"Do you think, the Zhengzhou emperor is such a fool?"...angrily asks the king.

"He's not a fool but what damage can he suffer if he accepts our gifts?"...asks the elder who has previously spoken.

"Do you want to send all my children hostages to Zhengzhou?"...says the king while boiling of anger.

The elders speak again: "If that can save our people, this great sacrifice should be done! A sacrifice for all the lives of a nation!"

The king of Xilu remains silent for a moment.

When he starts speaking again, he says: "I agree with you all, but I have heard that the Zhengzhou emperor is a tyrant. How can I send Ah-Xua there?"

(Ah-Xua, the first princess of Xilu, the daughter of the queen.)

An elder says: "If you don't send the first princess, they won't believe in our sincerity! Princess Ah-Xua is a very smart person. Maybe if the emperor likes her, she can persuade him to release the fourth prince. It would be a great success for a small nation as Xilu, to have such a powerful backer. We won't fear our neighbours anymore. My king, sooner or later, we must find ourselves a strong ally!"

"Fine, we will do as you suggest! I'll send an envoy to the Zhengzhou camp to discuss the condition of the peace treaty. Also, tell the Great Star-Gazer to find an auspicious date for the wedding. I hope everything goes as smoothly as you make it sound!"...speaks the king of Xilu.

As it was said by the king, so it was done!

In a short time, someone reaches the Astronomy Tower and the royal envoy goes to the enemy camp to propose a peace treaty.

When the king's personal attendant comes to the tower in search of the Great Star-Gazer, the second princess of Xilu is still lingering in the Hall of Astronomy, playing with her master's tools.

Actually, the Great Star-Gazer, who is respected by so many in Xilu, is the personal tutor of the second princess (the daughter of a concubine who has died right after giving birth).

So, when Xilan hears the footsteps of two people approaching the hall, she fastly hides behind some bookshelves.

The two men enter the hall discussing about something important:

"Regarding what I have told you, the king would like to know when is the auspicious time for the marriage of the first princess with the emperor of Zhengzhou! He wants an answer as fast as possible!"....says the king's attendant.

"Is there no other way out of this?"...asks the Star-Gazer.

"I don't think it is....

Even though the king is reluctant to let the princess go to Zhengzhou, the elders and the other ministers strongly support this idea.They believe this will put an end to the war!"...murmurs the attendant.

"Zhengzhou has brutal men! You can see that on the battlefield. Who knows if a small tribute can stop this conflict! I personally think they want the whole land and our people as slaves to dig the precious crystals, and besides that, the queen won't allow her precious daughter to go there!"...adds the Star-Gazer.

....a complete silence befalls on the entire hall when the two men stop talking. Not even a mosquito can be heard.

After a moment, the conversation starts again:

"In any case, you only have to read the stars and give us the result! Everyone is waiting for your conclusion! Let's hope it will be a good choice!"...says the attendant.

"I understand. Tonight, I will observe the constellations and tomorrow morning everyone will have the desired answer. I also hope to see a favourable sign tonight!"....replies the star gazer.

The royal attendant leaves the hall and the Star-Gazer remains lost through his messed up thoughts, but somewhere in the hall an object falls down and the noise produced when it hits the ground awakens him from his dream.

"Who is there?"...he startled asks, "Show yourself!"

No one appears, so he says again: "Damn rat, I won't be merciful when I catch you if you make me lose my cool!"

Another moment of silence befalls upon the grand hall....

Shortly after, the little mouse gets out from the hideout and shyly speaks: "It's me, grand tutor! Xilan! Oops! You caught me!"

Frowned, he asks her: "Did you overhear the previous conversation, princess Xilan?"

"Oops! I am sorry! I think I just heard something, but don't worry, I will not tell anyone! I promise!"...says Xilan.

No one says another word.

Shortly after, the princess starts questioning her tutor again: "Is it true that they want to send Ah-Xua to Zhengzhou to be the emperor's wife? Grand-tutor, you have to stop my father! Please find an excuse to make him cancel this marriage! Can you do that?"

"Princess, I am afraid I cannot help you! I am not allowed to interfere in politics. I am just a star gazer without any authority in the royal court! If I speak against this edict, I may ruin my entire life!"...says the tutor.

"But so many people respect you and you are also one of the greatest sorcerers of Xilu. Even the princes were tutored by you! I can't believe you have no word to say in this matter!"...complains the girl.

"Princess, I really can not help you this time! It is not up to me!"....apologizes the grand tutor.

"Fine, then I won't follow you from now on anymore! I'll ask for another tutor!"....yells the angered princess.

"Princess, I really can't do anything about this matter! Please understand me! It's up to you to have what teacher you want. If you want to cancel our contract, I won't stop you!"...says the man.

More angered, the princess kicks his leg with her slender foot.

"Ouch!"...screams the tutor. "Princess, I really can't help you!"

"Of course you can't! As a woman, I can only wait for someone to decide my destiny? After one or two years, I'll end up like my big sister too, married to a foreign country! Don't you think is a bit unfair, grand tutor? Why do I have to be just a weak creature, a tool for someone?"...she yells.

"Sigh!"...sobs her tutor.

Annoyed, the princess runs out of the Astronomy tower and returns to the palace.

When the evening comes, the great Star-Gazer prepares the ritual for the ceremony that will come when the full Moon will appear on the sky.

He draws some patterns in the middle of the hall, places sacred crystals around them and sits inside the magical runes. The long meditation starts when he closes his eyes and starts murmuring a prayer. Inside the field of his consciousness, there is an endless universe full of planets and stars. It will probably be a long night for him. At some point, the Moon strongly irradiates the sky and the stars accompany her.

This is the right moment to read the alignment of the constellations and to find out the desired answer. Before he opens his eyes to observe the starry sky of the night, the Star-Gazer sees a falling comet inside his sea of consciousness. The unexpected phenomenon gives him a sudden feeling of uncertainty and for a moment, he hesitates to open his eyes, but when he does it, the future is right in front of his two sparkling eyes. Everything is as clear as the water now! The man writes down on a paper the result and gets up to place it in a sandalwood box. He seals the box and carefully places into a safe place.

There are still a few good hours until the daybreak, so he goes to his lounge to rest, but that feeling of uncertainty continues to haunt him like a ghost.

Not being able to keep his thoughts inside, the man starts babbling: "Why was that comet falling in my dream? The small Moonstone comets only fall once at two hundred years and we already saw one falling in the night the second princess was born! It must be a sign related to the second princess, but I don't understand why it occured during this period of time. She isn't the one whose destiny is decided tonight..."

"I am afraid that something unexpected will happen and the second princess will be in great danger soon! What if I can not protect her forever? Maybe she has a point, it is not necessarily required to be born a man, so you can learn magic. In other places of the world, everyone can learn it; from young to old, regardless the gender. In this way, she can easily protect herself no matter the situation she's in! I can't help her with her big sister's problem, but I can definitely teach her magic. Everything will be fine if no one finds out."

The decision of teaching the second princess the forbidden arts of magic relieves his thoughts and he can finally fall asleep. After a couple of hours, Xilu sees the beautiful sunrise of the sun and all the courtiers of the court run toward the palace to attend the morning assembly. They are all curious to find out the result and so, the most important man of the day, even more important than the ruler of the nation, is the Star-Gazer.

Everyone is with their eye fixed on the entrance door, from small to big.

The most awaited person finally steps inside the throne hall and his boots are aimed by all the eyes present there. They count every step he makes until he reaches the seat where the king sits, not even a single one is missed.

He stops in front of the king, respectfully salutes him and hands over the sandalwood box.

The attendant picks the box and gives it to the king, who opens it and reads it: "The auspicious time is on the seventh day of the next month! That... if the Zhengzhou emperor agrees with it."

"Yes! We still have to wait for the envoy to return with the enemy's response!"...speaks one of the elders.

The king doesn't look too enthusiastic about this even and everyone can see his face turning yellow, but no one dares to say a word.

"I don't really want to marry the first daughter so far away and to make her that tyrant's wife! It breaks my heart! (cries the king) But if this can save the lives of so many people and the live of my own son, then I have to accept this cruel thought!"....speaks the king.

"Only this action can put an end to the war! Be strong my king! A wise king does not let himself overtaken by personal feelings and sees the whole grandeur of this act!"...loudly speaks another elder.

"I hope it will be how you say and we will soon have peace!"....murmurs the king.

Since his mission to the court is over, the Great Star-Gazer bows in front of the king and excuses himself. He walks out of the hall and returns to the Astronomy tower.