The Firmament is a short story by James Wylder in Poor Man's Iliad about the early life of Lady Aesculapius on the Firmament Homeworld. The main events of the story are the earliest in-universe chronological appearance of Lady Aesculapius, showing her "birth", though not the first story released with her.
The story is also the earliest in-universe appearance of Professor Meistras, and his first appearance in print.