A man came through the gate, followed by a boy and a group of ten guards wearing mail and carrying swords at their waist. The host wore a green tunic with stars embroidery and the symbol of a golden eagle on his chest, was short, with a large belly and beard, wore a crown over his head whose red hair was scattered on all sides. A golden cloak fell from her shoulders to her ankles.
He grinned at the newcomers.
The stellars crossed the bridge and were greeted by the entourage.
— Hello, gentlemen! Good to receive stellars in our kingdom! — The king clasped his hands. — It's been a hundred years since we had a legionary's visit here in Londrian. As soon as the guards on the walls saw your fall, they warned me, and I made a point of coming to receive you!
— Hello, Your Majesty, thank you for your consideration.
The commander began with a small bow, when he saw that his son was not following, gripped his head tightly and pushed him down.
— Oh ... okay, I know. — The boy whispered.
— My name is Aros, Commander of the Central Troop, it is an honor to be received by your ...
— Aros? I know that name!
The king interrupted him abruptly, his eyes were yellow, but though they shone like the stellar ones, they were human-shaped, with irises and pupils.
— The commander who almost died buried in the forecast? — He continued: — You know, I heard many stories about you, sir, all amazing! They say that your strength is worshiped even among the celestial soldiers. It's my honor to welcome you to my kingdom.
This time the host and his followers bowed to the great commander. Soon after, remembering something, the king said:
— Even if I'm not mistaken, that image was inspired by you, wasn't it?
The image showed a bearded man facing a kind of giant lizard. "Ha!" That's what went through Eastar's mind, and he snorted, knowing he would have to put up with his father bragging about it later. Aros, however, did not make fun of the boy's joking expression, which surprised him.
— Yes! — The commander put a hand on his chin and leaned to analyze the image of the gate. — A very good carving, your majesty, and a story I can tell you if you want. — He scratched his beard, trying to remember something important he'd forgotten. — Ah yes! This is my son.
— Son? — The king widened his eyes and turned quickly to the young page who had a pen and paper in his hand. — I hope you're taking notes of what is going on here, boy, such a visit must be recorded.
— Yes, your majesty.
— Great, great.... So, commander, I've never heard of stories about you having a sirion child. Doesn't he live in the kingdom? And the soldiers said they saw two stellars coming down, where's your mate?
— Actually, my son is a stellar, your majesty. — Aros grinned and clenched the boy's cheek, which could only twitch and tear with pain. — He was born on the day of the Fall, my wife is part of the South Troop. This little brat is the first star we know to be born of two others.
— By Ulmo! This is fantastic!... But the eyes… are blue, I always thought male stellars had yellow eyes.
— Imagine my surprise when I saw it. — Aros crossed his arms, laughing.
— I didn't know that was possible! Nice to meet you boy! Commander, this is amazing, a star not born of Ulmo's sacrifice. I think the priests might be a little horrified. — He laughed out loud as if this was a great joke. — What's your name, young man? Can you spell it? It's for the record, that's important, you know.
Eastar was uncomfortable with the sudden attention of all the soldiers and the king himself, looking at him as if he was some kind of miracle or freak, he still wasn't sure which one, maybe a little of each. Decided to just give a little smile and bow again in a little reverence to de sirion king.
— My name is E-A-S-T-A-R, Your Majesty, and it reads Ístar. My mother says she has put together the words Earth and Star from an ancient language.
— If this comes from English, I don't think the right pronunciation would be Ístar. — The page grunted under his breath as he wrote until there was a certain silence, looked up, only to see the angry face of the king that was so red seemed to explode.
— I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I-I just ...
— It's all right, folks — said Aros, smiling. — I never thought Luriel was as good with tongues as she thinks she is. — It looks like she used the "ea" sound we use now.
— If you say, commander. — The king turned to the newcomer and his face began to return to normal color. — Very well. — Then sighed. — Come on in, I want to hear the story of the gate, but it can wait until we have food in our stomachs. You must be hungry as you just arrived.
The king turned, and the two stellars followed him with the retinue close behind.
— Soldiers in the battlements who saw the fall said one of you couldn't stop in time. — He looked at Eastar and smiled. — Seeing how covered by earth you are, I don't think I need to ask who it was, do I? Ha! First time, boy?
— Yes, I didn't know it could hurt so much. — He put his hand on the back of his neck, scratching his head. — I'm feeling a little weak.
— This is not because of the fall, son. — The commander interrupted . —This is thirst and hunger, because of that I said the first thing to do when we arrived was to eat and drink. — He smiled, like the revelation of that information was the climax of the mistery created before.
He hawk when saw that his son don't was amazed, then seemed to make an enormous effort to remember what to say, when he succeeded, he raised his finger once more in his reciting gesture.
— Our body is changing to adapt to the biosphere of the planet and, despite we don't need to breathe, the energy we spend must be replaced by water and food.
Aros smiled while, on impulse, the soldiers clapped, although they themselves ask why they were doing it. Eastar rolled his eyes and put a hand in his face, while the king snapped his fingers and widened his eyes.
— Oh! If you wanna know, let's make it better. Capitain Jorg!
— Yes, my lord?
A man approached, he had no hair or beard. He bent down with his helmet in his hand.
— Run to the kitchens and have the food tripled for lunch, I want our visitors to eat the best we have!
The capitain hurried ahead of them, heading toward the castle which was soon after a few big houses — where people in clothes very well made were watching the commotion — and some tents fairground.
— By the way, Your Majesty, excuse the rudeness, but centuries ago that I did not come down to earth and do not know your name, is supposed to be the grandson of king Trembor?
— I appreciate the compliment, Commander Aros, but I'm not that young, I'm past my six hundred years. — My name is Herimbor Armondis, and Trembor Armondis was my father. He died in the battle of the South Void twenty-two years ago.
— I… I see.... — Eastar noticed a certain surprise and sadness on his father's face, but the stellar composed himself and continued — I'm so sorry. He was a good man, I mean, a good sirion, sorry.
— No problem, these language customs catch on even among us, even though we don't get involved with them.
— Them?
Eastar was curious, began to notice that all the people passing by on their way to the main entrance of the castle had the bright and colorful eyes of the sirions, many of them were gathering around them to fear the stellar arrival. That made him uncomfortable and he turned his attention to the king, who began to explain:
— Humans. They are treacherous beliefs, young man. The grief of our ancestors come from this race, we cut relations with them. Very unstable in their short lives, not that I don't like them like most in my kingdom, I find them interesting, but I prefer not to get involved with the race.
— But they...
The group reached the castle, and Eastar's question was lost on its way to the mouth. Everything was huge, there were some steps at the entrance, so wide and sumptuous that the young man came up looking at the floor and was startled when he looked up and saw the entrance of the hall in front of him.
The great room had double height and rounded pillars, was long, with a green carpet following the entrance to a raised area where two thrones were located. A large and flashy was covered with green and gold cloths while had its structure in polished silver, the side of the throne, although made of the same material, had not loud, only flying arrows drawings under stars entalhad the backrest.
Aros took advantage of his son's distraction and sighed with relief, the subject they were entering brought him discomfort. Looked to the empty seats and decided to take the conversation to another topic.
— Won't the queen come to receive us?
— Actually... — The king broke off, a sad expression on his face. — I have only my youngest daughter here, her brother commands Androis, and the oldest died with his grandfather in a horrible war. — He shook his head. — My wife died giving birth to Sindar, it can be said that she is all I have.
— I'm sorry, your majesty, was not my intention.
— Forget, you don't have to be sorry. Is I who really need to, since my daughter should be here.
He folded his arms and raised his head as he inhaled sharply, recovering from the sudden memory before continuing.
— She has a terrible habit of going out to the woods behind animals that can hunt, sometimes stay there for days. I've tried persuade her to stop, but she's too stubborn to me.
— I know what your majesty go through. — The commander looked to your boy, who paid no attention to the conversation, amazed at the things he saw.
A man in white came out from a door on the left side of the great hall and headed for the king.
— My lord, the food is ready.
— Great! What about Captain Jorg?
— You went to the courtyard, sir.
— Always faithful to work that one there. — Herimbor smiled. — Well, what are we waiting for? Have them start serving, and put a chair next to me.
So the king sat on his throne and a high-backed wooden chair was placed to his right, where the young star sat. The celestial commander was allowed to sit on the silver throne, as well as being a celestial, he still enjoyed a high reputation among all races.
The food was served and Eastar found himself dazed before a confusion of smells and colors in the dishes, many of them contained game meat: geese, rabbits and wild boar. Yellow and green vegetables were served that made the young man curious, there were also colorful baskets with fruits, but the smell of meat was what caught his attention.
— Come on, son, try it on — said Aros.
He was already pulling a thigh from one of the geese and taking a big bite. The king tore the rabbit with your hands, eating the flesh and sucking the bones.
— You'll see how you will feel much better. — The captain smiled, his mouth full of flesh. Then he swallowed and continued: — You know, we normally do not need to eat more than one or two times a week, but it's so a good thing that there's no reason to not accompany the earthlings at every meal.
Eastar stared at the food and took a thigh from the bird in front of him, took a bite and, as soon as he tasted it, his eyes widened. In a moment he found himself finishing swallowing bone and all while sucking the fat of his fingers, took another and ate with the same speed, put a handful of vegetables in the mouth without even bothering to know what they were. He would boot up a piece of meat when he saw his father and the king to look for him with even bigger eyes than his.
A huge laugh burst from both of them. The hall seemed to tremble.
They laughed so hard that Aros choked, Herimbor then asked for water and wine, and his guest poured a glass of dark drink, taking it in one gulp.
— Heck, a good wine your majesty! — He wiped his mouth with one hand. — Apparently the vineyards of Londrian remain as famous as they were.
— In fact our wine is already considered the best in all of Udoros. — The king turned to the boy, who was trying to wipe his hands on his overalls and look more dignified. — Young Eastar, I would advise you to drink from the water, at least until you become more accustomed to these earthly needs.
The young man was a little uncomfortable, but filled a glass of water and took it carefully without knowing what to expect. Once again, he was taken aback, took everything quickly, and involuntarily opened his mouth with a sound of relief.
— This is amazing! — He said, looking at the clear liquid. It had been very refreshing, he had not realized how dry his throat was.
Lunch continued amid laughter and stories. The young man allowed himself to be impressed and proud of his father, hearing the stories about him from the mouth of King Herimbor, who in turn had heard these stories from his own father's mouth. It wasn't just the burial during the Prediction, stories his son hadn't seen happen because he was training with other soldiers - or running from the studies, obviously.
— Once, boy. — The king brandished the rabbit leg like a sword. — Your father saved a sirion queen from drowning in the Song River, the largest river in our kingdom. Another time... — He stopped to chew and continued: — he fought against a king Sirion in Northern Kingdom Dungor. They fought for a whole day! — He slapped his hand on the table and leaned toward the young man, whispering, as if making a confession. — And in the end he was still smiling while King Sirion was defeated.
The meat was taken, and the cooks brought the sweets. Eastar was keen to prove them all and repeated them. His attention was divided between listening to his father's stories and remembering the taste of each meal, he could go on with it forever and never get tired of it.
His table mates, however, were beginning to look different. The commander and the king laughed loudly and spoke in a choked voice, it must have been the wine's effect, and he thanked for the king's idea of leaving him in the water.
— That's nothing! — Aros waved his hand. — I've fought the big lizards in the Burning Mountains! That image of the gate. — His cheeks were pink and her smile was vague. — And I hunted Trots! In summer, on the banks of the Song River, centuries ago. IN THE SUMMER!
The young star was curious about the Trots, according to his father, were carnivorous birds the size of horses and with three eyes with a thick and long beak, who lived to the west, especially where the Song River met the great ocean.
The food had been removed, and the king still drinking wine with his guest, their conversation became so confused that Eastar thanked mentally when Herimbor got up.
— Commander, our conversation was ... incredibly fun. — His speech was paused by sobs. — But I think it's time ... to retire to my quarters. — The servants ... will show you yours... if you want to rest.
— I'll... go to my... room. — The commander tried to get to his feet, leaned against the throne, and nearly fell to the table, his son having to hold back not to laugh. — I think it's good... to sleep a little after... so much wine. Eastar, you... you... — He gave up finishing the sentence, waved his hand and joined the king as two servants helped them up the stairs to the floor where the rooms were.
The young star stood there wondering what he would do, he did not want to rest, after eating and drinking realized how well he felt and wanted to see more. He decided to leave the castle and explore, wanted to test his strength and speed on this planet, his senses, all he could do to learn about the sensations there.
"Mom would be proud of all this curiosity." He thought, smiling as he walked out the castle door and into Londrian's entrance gate.