He knew when he looked up high. As always, the vast starry sky spread over the boy's head, so why did everything seem unfamiliar? The stars, the moon, they were all there, but they were also so different.
"Do you think we can save him?"
"I am not sure... He has lost too much blood."
A foreign language he didn't understand, unfamiliar surroundings, since when did the world change so much? The boy felt his eyelids heavy. He was exhausted. The cool breeze caressed his cheek, inciting him to close his eyes.
"He is about to die, continue casting healing magic!"
If only this cacophony stopped, the boy thought as he let the darkness to hug him.
...
...
It was a devastating war, one that plagued the world for hundreds of years. The humans devoured every single resource the planet could offer, and when they realized that nothing had remained, it was all too late. Chasing after short-term profit, humans destroyed their home and sentenced their race to extinction. Was it worth it? Was money more important than the continuation of the new generation? Even animals take care of their cubs, why would humans destroy their children's future? Sirius couldn't understand. He was too young. They could only yield to fate and live in that vast desert that had covered the whilom blue planet, waiting for their end.
He found it then when he was wandering on the scorching sand. In the beginning, the boy thought he was losing his senses as he approached. However, he realized that an unnatural phenomenon was manifesting in front of him. The sand was dancing erratically in the air; his surroundings seemed to alter, Sirius couldn't discern what was real. His eyes turned to his hands, which appeared to reshape and turning back to normal over and over again. A black vortex started forming suddenly in the air, awaking the boy from his daze. When he realized what kind of situation he was in, a deep sense of crisis overwhelmed him. Sirius wanted to move, but he didn't seem to have control over his body. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his head, a headache that was threatening him to lose his consciousness. The desperate efforts of the boy to keep his eyes open were insignificant. He was helpless again, as he had always been since the day he was born.
"Nothing has changed!" the boy said while he was sobbing.
"Wake up! Wake up, boy!"
The moment Sirius was about to surrender himself to the nightmare, a raspy voice became his recourse, helping him escape and open his teary eyes. Unfortunately, the unfamiliar ceiling that welcomed him didn't allow him to calm down yet. The boy jerked up from the straw bed in which he was reclined and started to look around worried. Although he realized he was inside in some kind of hut, what monopolized his attention wasn't his surroundings, but the dark-skinned man that was looking at him with a smile. The man started to speak again, but the boy could only hear incomprehensible words. When Serius was about to ask him what he was saying, the boy suddenly began coughing violently. He tried to take a breath, but he felt that the air was chocking him instead. Sirius desperately tried to think of a way to escape his predicament, as a deep sense of panic began to overwhelm him. When he started to lose hope, a dazzling light appeared out of nowhere, embracing him and calming him down. The poisonous air until now seemed to return to normal, allowing him to breathe steadily again. Sirius couldn't help than stare at the man with a bewildered expression. Before the appearance of the bizarre light, the man seemed to sing some kind of song. To Sirius, it reminded him of his mother's prayers she chanted at nights. The man smiled at the boy and gave him the bowl with the food he held in his hands. He murmured some words again and gestured him to eat.
Only then did Sirius realize the existence of the bowl. It was real food! Neither colorful pills to soothe his hunger nor processed food in tubes.
I died, he thought as tears started flowing from his eyes, heavens genuinely exist! He began to wolf the food without holding back. As for what was that light previously or in what kind of mysterious place he had ended up, he didn't care anymore.
...
...
Several days passed since then, but Sirius couldn't adapt to this place yet. The happy sounds of the kids playing outside, the vast green that surrounded the village, were clues indicating that this was undoubtedly a different world than the one he resided. A world that was as it came out from fairy tales, a peaceful place filled with unconcern and peace. Sirius knew there was a time Earth was like that too, that was the reason he thought, in the beginning, he traveled back in time. Although forests had decreased in number on Earth, they weren't still extinct, or every single life would have already disappeared. For the boy, although the surroundings were new for him, they weren't unknown. Ιf radioactivity from the war didn't render impossible the continuation of life on the planet hope might have still existed for Earth to become like that again too. However, this world had something unique that forced the boy to rule out the possibility of time travel. There was magic here!
As for his everyday life, the people in the village welcomed him warmly despite his inability to communicate. Unfortunately, the boy couldn't reciprocate the trust they were giving him. He couldn't since he had never experienced similar feelings before.
"Astar!"
Sirius turned his attention toward the dark-skinned man who seemed to call him. The boy couldn't determine his age since he was the oldest person he had ever met. The man was only wearing a breechcloth as a cloth, though, the boy found his appearance still quite intriguing. Despite his age, he was muscular, his torso covered with countless tattoos representing a mighty dragon flying towards the skies. Some spiral symbols were also decorating his head, starting from the top of his skull--since he was bald, they were noticeable--ending up below his eyes.
"No, I told you! My name is Sirius! The brightest star!" the boy shouted as he pointed his finger towards the sky. The shimmering sea of the universe, although unfamiliar compared to the one he was used to, was the only thing that made the boy feel nostalgic about his former world. If only that geezer stopped calling him Astar, it would be great.
"Astar!" the man repeated as he shook his head and pointing toward the sky too.
"No, I am Sirius!"
"Astar!"
"Sirius!"
The two of them continued arguing pointlessly like that, as though they were afraid of remaining silent, as though they were afraid of losing the warmth they offered to each other.
The man looked at the skinny boy with tenderness and affection. It was a boy that came from the skies, landing in front of his home. The one who was born by the stars, the man decided to name him Astar. A small, frail, weak life that disrupted his lonely world. The man who was the great shaman, a person who was destined to be alone in his whole life, suddenly obtained a son.
The boy was impatient to hear that distinct melancholic music from the adjacent room, the cathartic melody that was offering him temporary shelter from the unbearable loneliness in the nights. He kept waiting as the minutes passed, staring at the darkness, negotiating with himself if he should stand up and find the reason for the delay. However, he was afraid of the darkness. He was afraid of how it devoured the light, how easy it would be to swallow someone as insignificant as him. That dominating silence that made him feel like he was alone in the world, though, was even more terrifying, it was his worst nightmare. Not able to endure the waiting anymore, he steeled himself and headed towards the room. He was hesitant when he approached the door of his neighbor as he had been cautious about the woman living there. She was a mysterious person, unsociable, always carrying a cold expression and staying alone without giving any signs of life all day. The boy took a deep breath and knoc
What is magic? A desire? A dream? Or maybe an illusion? Sirius had read many versions of stories about that fantastic power back on Earth, but it was undoubtedly a natural phenomenon in this place. He could feel that invisible energy from the very first time he arrived here, even detecting its existence in the air, in the water, in the ground."I know what you are thinking, but it doesn't exist everywhere, and the energy isn't inexhaustible either. You probably shouldn't have noticed yet since you haven't left the village, but when you enter someday inside the forest, you might feel that it starts to thin out. It is also possible to consume the entire magic of an area, though it should refill again soon. Although finding a place with no magic at all is rare, places where that energy is scarce still exist, so you should be careful and not depend on it wholeheartedly." The Great Shaman lectured the boy with a stern voice. He honestly didn't want Sirius to learn magic yet
A warm sensation, as well as the feeling of touching hair, the boy jerked up panicky from the floor with drops of cold sweat flowing from his forehead. He hurriedly left the room and returned, holding a lightened candle in his hand that brightened the room a little. A woman was lying face down at its center, surrounded by scattered opened books, a sight that almost made the boy drop his candle. She is alive, he thought as he checked her breathing, putting the candle on the floor and trying to raise her and put her on the bed. He was exhausted, though. Carrying the woman until the bed, he could hardly keep his footing, collapsing, in the end, on the bitterly cold floor.No! I have to get up!However, his body wouldn't listen to him. He was devoid of strength."I have to get up! I have to get up..." He kept on muttering as his eyelids began to close......."Wake up, sleepyhead! It's alread
It was around 490 BC when the Athenian army, aided by Plataea, blocked the numerous soldiers of the Persian Empire at Marathon. Later, it would be recognized as one of the most critical fights of ancient times. The first reason was that Athens' victory gave time for the Greeks to prepare for the imminent invasion of the Persians. Secondly, because if the Athenians hadn't won, then no one could have stopped this mighty army in the whole of Europe at that age. As the General of the Athenian army, Miltiades realized that they would win the fight during the battle. He assigned Pheidippides, one of his soldiers, to announce their victory to Athens. The same man was tasked with requesting Sparta's help, running around 250 kilometers in two days and then returning, adding another 40 kilometers to reach the battlefield from Athens. Although he was a professional long-distance runner, he died, in the end, from the exhaustion during his victory announcement to the magistrates in session. Insp
"One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! You are bad at this, huh?" Anders commented as he looked at the boy who had just fallen on the ground."The moves are too complicated. I also don't understand why I need to learn dancing," Sirius replied while patting his clothes in a try to remove the dust from them."It's not just dancing, I told you. These are exercises that will strengthen your body, giving you at the same time flexibility. Watch!" Anders said and took a fighting stance. He first punched the air with a force that was so strong that it even created a sound. He bent down next, making a sidekick and rolling backward over his shoulder before standing back to his feet, all these in a few seconds."The proficiency to move your body in whatever means you want to is essential in battle," he continued with a proud expression."Wow! That was amazing! You look stronger than Ajamu," Sirius couldn't help than remark with admiration.
"I see... Does that mean that I'll have to participate?" Sirius's voice contained a little anxiousness as he said that. Not only he didn't like fighting, but he also knew he couldn't contend with other people as he was now."Of course not. You haven't even done your awaking day yet. How can you win against others? The people of the Tiger tribe may not be as strong as us, but they are far from weaklings.""I am not a weakling. It is your power that is supernatural.""Haha, it's because we follow the path of the warrior," Anders commented with a laugh."I-I am sure that Astar will also become strong one day. He is the most determined person I have ever seen!" Sarah suddenly said, having awakened from her daydreaming."It's true that he is not your average person. I have never seen someone as desperate as you. That day is still giving me chills when I think about it," Anders also seemed to agree with the girl, recalling the boy
"Are you alright, boy? Wake up! Do you hear me? Wake up!"The boy slowly opened his eyes as bright rays of light welcomed him. How long had he been dreaming? It was a long nightmare, almost eternal. He was alone, running desperately in the darkness. Everyone was dead. Only he had remained. The sole survivor in a ruined world. Was it a nightmare, though, or the precognition of a possible future? He didn't care. He already knew what destiny held for him, an inescapable trap he couldn't avoid."Did you finally wake up? You like to take your time, eh?"Who was that? The boy turned his head toward the voice, scared, facing the woman who was staring at him. She had short gray hair and a pair of big round eyes. Although her face was young, its harshness disclosed the struggles and the suffering she had incurred, making her look older.It was her! The woman he had tried to help! So, she was alright! However, the boy started to feel regret. Why d
"Well, well, you are here. How was your journey?" The Chief welcomed with a smile the Great Shaman who had come together with Sirius at his house."It was fruitful. Shall we talk about it in private?""Come inside! Guys, you'll have to train alone again today. Don't laze around!" He said with a stern voice and gestured to the Great Shaman to follow him.The two men entered the house, whose decoration was simple, having inside only the bare necessities. If there was something that was sticking out, it was the countless heads of beasts that decorated the walls of the building, trophies the Chief had earned during his hunting days."It's been a while, Great Shaman," Juno, who had just got out of the kitchen, lowered her head respectfully."Nice to see you again, Juno. Every time I see you, you look more beautiful.""Don't flirt with my wife, old man. Have some consideration of your age," the Chief commented w