maddest | [video] star light star bright

Dear Adstringendum,

I'd like to hold a contest.

You see, we have a starfull of skies, pardon, sky full of stars, but no lore to fill it with. The constellations in my world all tell stories about heroes long fallen, about Gods and Goddesses and immortals and divinity.

I propose we make a little bit of the same for ourselves here!

The rules are simple. Find a constellation from the nighttime- be it the summer or winter sky- and remember and recount for me a 'legend' about that cluster. You can find images of the nighttime skies in old PCD video posts, if you look back.

We're talking about legend here, so any stories you tell should either be a year old at least, or should focus on events surrounding people who are no longer with us, or whose memories have been lost since the events themselves. That, or events that happened a year or so or more ago. I only want secondhand retellings. The stars are about myth, after all.

The winner will get the package of cookies I salvaged yesterday.

I'll start.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was an event in Adstringendum where the streets were patrolled by mean, crusty creatures called gnomes. These dreaded gnomes bossed, and bullied the city dwellers into living in buildings like dormitories for the better part of a week.

Weep and wail as they might, a curfew was strictly enforced, by the dreaded gnomes with their teeth and clubs. Enemy was planted abed next to other enemies, conflict started afresh, and by the end of the week the city was in such cranky, over exhausted turmoil, that the animus in their infinite wisdom flung the gnome creatures into the sky, never to be seen again.

The citizens of Adstringendum were released from their dormitory prison, and all that was left of the gnomes was a small cluster, just there- of stars. If you look close you see the outline of their little pot-bellies.