Rinea's Background (Abridged)
The Tale of Rinea Silverstar
Rinea Silverstar is the child of Thalose and Divera Silverstar of Duramnia. The planet Duramnia is in the Davinia system, on the outer rim of the Torbin galaxy. To an Earthling, Rinea is very odd, in many ways like a typical teenage Earth girl, but in many ways very alien. She does not consciously realize that she has power within her. Things just happen. If she wants a snack, one is there for her to eat. She has a hard time understanding humans motivations and desires because of this. The human concepts of fear, greed and power are as alien to her as compassion and desire.
When Rinea first awakened in her ice cocoon on planet Earth, a young man called Max met her. “Planet Earth…” she paused for a long moment, thinking. “I have never heard of Earth. That is good, it means we are far away from the Affinity.” When Max mentioned that he had never heard of the Affinity, she looked shocked, and pleased at the same time. “The Affinity are invaders who came to my planet. We tried to fight, but they took over everything. I was able to escape with a few others…” she looked around. “Are they here?”
Things on Earth were strange. Most common everyday items were a foreign concept to her. Upon seeing a car, she expressed her amazement at such a device. She walked around it a few times, before climbing up onto the roof and looking in through the windshield. “Amazing! You can see this beast’s insides through its eyes!”
Max had questioned her about herself. She related this story: “We were fleeing the Affinity, my family and I. We did not know how long the trip would be, so we all went into a cold sleep. But I do not know what happened to our ship… or to my family.” She looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. She then gave Max a small smile. “Thank you.” She looked at Max for a long moment, before smiling. “My name is Rinea. Rinea Silverstar.”
Max tried to explain about Earth. “It all sounds very mysterious,” Rinea said, after listening to his story. When he asked about her, she paused for a moment, thinking. At last, she spoke. “I am from the planet Duramnia, in the Davinia system. It was a small planet, but it was home. Not long ago, it was invaded by the Affinity, strange grey creatures. Though we tried to fight, we were overrun. They started to change our planet in some way, but my family tried to leave before we could learn how.” She hesitated because the story did not make much sense to her either.
Max asked about the ice ship. “The ice? No, it is not the way we usually travel. It was something my father had been working on, to help escape the Affinity’s scanners. Max asked her draw an Affinity soldier. Rinea took the pad and paper into her hands and began to draw. As she did so, she answered his other questions. At last, the drawing was complete, and she showed it to him. It was clear that she was not an artist, but Max was able to get a general idea of what it looked like. The creature looked very similar to the stereotypical alien: bipedal, with two long, spindly arms, a head that seemed too big for its body. Its only facial features were large, black eyes, and a thin, lip-less mouth. “This is what they look like, but they can take the form of any person they’ve met before.”
The next day, she went with Max to meet some people. Rinea was excited, because she liked to meet new people. As they made their way toward the building, Rinea was quite fascinated with the bustle of the city. She stopped several times to examine items that interested her, including once in the middle of the street to look at an oncoming bus. Max, her new friend, ‘saved’ her from being hit by the truck. What odd social customers these people have.
-Amulet
