Autumn, Chrónia 565
Autumn had always been the best time for stargazing according to Nathos. The upcoming cold made the nights less cloudy and therefore stars littered the skies above his head. The moon stood high and although there was only half of the moon visible, it emitted enough light to illuminate the lands. From his position, he could the trees rocking in the wind and ever so often he spotted a wild anymore taking a peek in the valley. The lack of vegetation and the sight of the farm made them turn back immediately.
Nathos smiled, with his hands behind his head, he laid down the top of the roof, gazing up at the stars. His parents didn't know that he went up to lay down on the roof, and he wanted to keep it this way. This was his place, his place to come and think or just relax.
Tonight, he was lucky, the stars were very willing to show themselves that night. Although Autumn was the best season for stargazing it didn't always mean that the stars wanted to appear. His grandfather had always said that stars had a will of their own.
A breeze flew through his hair and Nathos gave a small chuckle. Watching the stars calmed him down, they made him feel at home. The welcomed him, showed him answers and guided him during his nightly adventures. Whenever he looked up at them he would be intrigued, he couldn't fathom what they were and he could look at them the entire night. Just being lost in his own thoughts, trying to understand what was up there.
It only took him a few heartbeats to find the Arean star. This star was also known as the brightest star and stood at the center of the skies. In the book he read this morning it said that if you stared at a star with wide eyes, more stars would be showing themselves as if they were jealous. And so Nathos tried. He kept his eyes open as long as he could and more and more stars appeared for him to see. When he looked away strangely enough most stars disappeared, *How strange*, Nathos thought. He sat up straight and pulled a notebook from the side. He quickly scribbled something down before he laid down again, he had to discuss this with his grandfather. He would know why the stars had a sense of jealousy.
After finishing up his experiment he relaxed and took Arean again as a starting point to find constellations. He found the Grucnaven Warrior soon after and he recanted the tale of a lonesome warrior taking on an army of giants with just a spear and a round shield. He was a legend, therefore he had earned his place among the stars. To forever be honored and wished upon. Nathos knew that he wasn't really among the stars, his mother had told him that they honored past heroes and heroines by connecting the stars on a map. This way they could look up and remember those that had done right.
*I would want to be a hero.* Nathos thought as he stared at the constellation. Thirteen stars, telling one heroic story. Thirteen stars, just dedicated to one single man. *Could I?*
*I'm just a farmer's son*, Nathos thought as he sighed. He frowned soon after, remembering something from a few summers back, back when he showed his parents his speed.
He was running through the forest because it was almost getting dark. He knew he should be in before dark because that was when it became dangerous. It was going to be a close one and Nathos really didn't want to get a speech from his parents, especially his mother. He decided to speed up and noticed that he could go even faster, and faster, and faster. At this speed, he would be able to catch up with a deer and it made him smile. He loved this, the wind blowing through his hair, a rush of adrenaline flowing through his body.
The clearing where his home was, came into view and he sped through. This way he would be way on time. His mother was waiting outside, with her arms crossed. Out of breath, Nathos stopped in front of her, but before he could say anything his mother asked him a question, her voice trembling. "Nathos, son, why were you running that fast?"
Nathos was stunned by her mother, it sounded like she was scared. "I tried to get home as fast as possible and I could run really fast did you see?" Nathos smiled, he was really proud of what he had accomplished.
His mother knelt before him and looked him deep into his eyes, tears welling up in her eyes. "Nathos, my dear, don't ever run that fast again, okay? It's dangerous. Do us a favor and never try anything like that again."
Nathos had no clue about what was going on, but he saw his mother crying, that was never a good thing. So he nodded, he never wanted to make his mother cry again.
Thyia let out a smile and pulled her son into a hug, "Thank you, Nathos."
Nathos hugged her back but frowned, it made him think. He had no clue why he could suddenly go that fast and he didn't understand his mother's reaction, why wasn't he allowed to run that fast?
As years went by pieces began to get together, he wasn't just a normal child, he was an abnormality. He realized that more every day. He had read a lot of books and figured out that he was not the same as the children portrayed in the books. He could lift things that they could not, he could run faster than even predator animals, he had better memorization than scholars and he understood things better than philosophers.
It had confused him up until this day when his thoughts finally began to manifest as he was staring at the stars. Both of his parents were very normal people. His father was a hardworking farmer who could make everything with the right tools and his mother was a smart scholar whose main interest was gardening. He could not wrap his head around it. With two amazing, but normal people as parents how was he so abnormal. Was it talent? Or was it maybe a gift? Maybe he had been blessed by the gods. Nathos guessed otherwise, he was more inhumanly abnormal and that had nothing to do with talent, gifts or blessing.
No, there was something else. This innate feeling, the feeling that his future was much bigger than this farm, way bigger.
Nathos sighed and for the first time in his life he asked the question that had always been on his mind out loud, "Who am I?"