The Gwyn family were simple folk. They were shepherds by trade, shepherds, and wool workers. The family had stayed in Grenville for generations. Eventually, they all began leaving for the big cities in the east, where there was more work to be done and wealth to be made. In the end, just one branch of the family remained and their son, Nathan, would have left as well if not for Phoebe.
As one might have figured out from the name, Phoebe was not native to Grenville, or the Estfal peninsula, or even the kingdom of Ardwen. In fact, she was not even from the continent Isthon. Her family came from the distant west, from a city called Ithakira, which was located in Medlun, the central continent. They were traveling merchants who had come to Grenville and decided to settle down there.
Like Nathan, Phoebe was the last of her family to remain in the village. Naturally, they were drawn to another and were married on the eve of the Festival of Fire when both were but nineteen. A year and a half later, the Gods blessed them with a son.
That was a memorable occasion all in itself. The whole village had not been as tense as that since the Great Famine. Mrs. Benson and the other midwives were sure that the child was stillborn when he did not begin breathing, which is a rather logical assumption to make.
Nathan, however, was not satisfied. He took a horse from Old George, the stablekeeper, and rode to the Tydestone monastery to see the Cleric. Thus, by the grace of Ardra, his son was saved and all of Grenville breathed a sigh of relief.
The very next day, he gifted a sheep to the monastery to thank the Cleric and the Gods Beyond. Ten days later, during the child's nameday, he and Phoebe butchered two lambs for the feast. Sister Tilde, who was the shrinekeeper at the village chapel, blessed the child during his naming ceremony.
Asterion was the name his parents had chosen for him. As one with any inkling of intelligence might have already guessed, the name was not an Estfalan one. It was an Ithakiran name of Elven origin, chosen by Phoebe. Nathan seemed to have liked it. However, he preferred to call the kid Aster, which was not an Estfalan name either but sounded close enough, and also because it was shorter and easier to pronounce than the full name. The village folk called him Aster as well and for the same reasons.
All things considered, Aster was an unusual child. This was agreed upon by the whole village of Grenville, and that included his parents. There were many observations that led them all to this conclusion.
The first was the very nature of his birth, which was considered to be miraculous by many and reasonably so. There weren't many cases of stillborn infants surviving even with a presence of a doctor of alchemy or, as seen in this case, a healing mage. The alderman's mother, Hilda the Elder, who as the name suggests happened to be the oldest person in the village, believed that the child was touched by Ardra Herself. There were few who disagreed with the Elder in that regard.
The other reason that marked Asterion as a strange child was that he was too quiet and a bit, well put it simply, different. The boy rarely cried, or laughed, or even made a sound. While he did spend most of his time sleeping, as infants do, it was the time that he spent awake was what often disturbed people.
Aster would observe his surroundings and the people in it with keen, calculating eyes. There was a spark of intellect in there that should not have been present in an infant as young as him.
When he began crawling, he would try to go near spots such as windows and doors but never beyond. Phoebe would say that he liked observing the outside, which was not surprising, to say the least. He began walking by himself when he was but a year old. Knowing his nature, the villagers would often let him sit by.
The most unusual yet impressive feat of Asterion was to learn speech, which he did by the age of a year and a half. He spoke clearly and fluently, though scarcely. His parents were both pleased and astounded by their son's rapid growth.
As soon as he had begun talking, Nathan and Phoebe would take him to the chapel during the school hour, where the village children were taught reading and other basic skills. Asterion was a bit young for school, but he appeared to enjoy the experience.
Sister Tilde, the Shrinekeeper, offered to vouch for him to get an extensive education at a convent in one of the big cities. Phoebe had refused rather sternly, unwilling to part with her child. Nathan too seemed to be hesitant. But who could blame them, they were, after all, the last of the Gwyn family who stayed in Grenville.