“Carcalix, Drinker of Starlight” - Epithet from the Song of Creation, describing Carcalix, god of greed, gluttony, jealousy, and pride.

Naven peered into his searching ring. He watched the small valley village from a well concealed vantage point on the skirt of the rugged northern mountain range. It sat at the edge of what, according to maps they found, was once a great sea. While the majority of this region was water, it was still a small area compared to many of the regions they ventured through. From far and high it looked peaceful. Yet another place where people had what he and his sought: a home.

“Aevoonie lellanya aa—” Calla began.

“Calla,” Naven interrupted. “We have had these words before. We are to speak the tongue of these people—so commands the Dreir Voli. I will not need to be heard again.”

“I give my apology, Finder.” Calla’s flecks brightened in embarrassment. “It is that I find my thoughts and wonder why we are still here. What hope does this small port settlement have? I am sure you do not believe they will stop our foe, so what cause do we have to stay?”

Her reasoning was sound, but ultimately unpersuasive. Naven’s shoulders rocked in disagreement. “They may not be a force for us to ally with, but we must still find some way to warn them of what marches. It is decency.”

“Then we must practice swiftness, no? We forfeit our only advantage when we spend too much time on decency.”

“Perhaps you are right, and we shall hasten our warning.”

✹✹✹

Aster picked out the tunic that Nysa got him for his nineteenth yearday. It was the nicest he had, and he wore it so infrequently that it was practically freshly made. He pulled it over his head and fastened his belt.

Aster typically avoided the tavern. Phaea invited him often, as it was one of her favorite places to spend an evening, but there was little there for him. The pleasure of wine and company was diminished when the majority of that company saw no reason for his presence.

This time would be different. Aster’s heart raced with excitement. He genuinely believed this time could–would–be different. There was a gleam of respect in the eyes of the wardens who watched his wrestling match where there had been none before.

When they got back to the house, Haemon had already woken and left, so Phaea spent part of the day showing him some techniques he could have applied in his match against Tokites. It was actually fun to learn in a way it hadn’t been in the past.

“You ready to go?” Phaea called from their family’s courtyard.

“Uh, yeah! Almost.” He checked the pouch on his belt and grabbed a few more silver kernels to bring with him. Phaea told him she was paying if the need arose, but it never hurt to be overly prepared. With a deep breath, he stepped out into the courtyard.

“Mother will be glad to see you getting some use out of that,” Phaea said. “Are you ready for some fun?”

“As ready as I’m going to get!” Aster chuckled nervously.

“Good. Maybe you’ll even finally catch some young woman’s eye. Maybe Lilia or Penelope?”

Aster's cheeks warmed as he looked away “I’m not … let’s just go!”

“Have it your way!” She pushed both doors on their gate open and stepped out with an exaggerated breath.

Karipos only had one tavern. It was technically called Hypaia’s Haven, named for the goddess of adventure and wanderlust; however, that was a name from the Gilded Era, when it served as a resting point for wanderers and visitors. The people of Karipos primarily called it the tavern.

The tavern was on the west side of Karipos and situated near the base of the southern hill. It was close to the docks, and frequently featured freshly caught fish and crab brought in by the village fishermen. Melodious singing and the strumming of instruments radiated from the tavern before he stepped inside.

Following his sister in the front door, anxiety tightened its grip around his chest like a bird clutching prey in its talons. He scanned the room; Leron was already waving him and Phaea over to a table with a handful of the younger wardens.

There were two spots at the edge of one of the benches at the table, and Aster slid in after his sister. “How nice of you to save us seats,” Phaea said.

“Oh none of us wanted to miss watching Tokites pay up.” Leron’s wine soaked words were interspersed with merry laughter.

“I won’t have any of you doubting my word,” Tokites grumbled. “I already told Dareus that your food and drink is on me tonight,” he said to Phaea. “Yours and the runt’s.”

Phaea glanced at Aster, and when he looked down in hot faced shame, she said, “That runt just swept the floor with you, certain as stone. You dishonor yourself to disrespect him.”

Tokites scowled but avoided meeting her eyes. “A fluke, and when I discover the trick behind it I’ll prove it.”

“It was quite the feat! Hard to believe I saw it with my own eyes,” Leron added.

“But how did you do it?” Yuthios asked Aster. “You moved with the strength of a man twice your size.”

“We already told you.” Aster sighed, rubbing a hand against the base of his neck. “I’m Attuned, now. It happened the night of my twentieth yearday.”

“Yeah, right, and now the other hunters will be after you? Ready to carve you up like the flamestag Phaea was so proud of?” Tokites scoffed. “How’d you get your eyes to look like that, anyway? Some new potion mixed by your mother no doubt.”

“I’m not lying to you,” Aster protested. “I don’t know why, but I am changed. I’m not the kid you used to push around, Tokites. I’ve had my Poroneía and with it I am both an adult and Attuned.”

“If you say so,” Tokites said, eyeing Aster with suspicion.

“Why don’t you go get us some dinner with wine to wash it down,” Phaea suggested to Aster. As he stood, she caught his arm and, winking, said, “Make sure to get the best Dareus has.”

Aster smiled at that, and enjoyed the quiet fuming on Tokites’ face as he went to see how much he would be able to cost the arrogant young warden. As he approached the main bar of Hypaia’s Haven, he caught fragments of other conversations.

“–telling you, the crab must have been the size of a skiff, at least! It was going to drag our ship right into the chaos storm if we hadn’t cut the line.” Laerus, one of the village’s fishermen, was gesturing enthusiastically with his arms while telling a story to several other fishermen and interested listeners.

“The harvest has been good so far, we just–”

“Who is he to say we can’t leave the village? If he comes looking for anything dyed blue this year… I’ll be sure to let him know he’s the one who stopped our forage in the middle of the rootling bloom.” Thalysios was complaining loudly to Dareus while staring into his wine bowl. A pungent smell surrounded the dyer, and it mixed unpleasantly with the scents of warm food, wine, and burning oil lamps.

“Young Aster!” Dareus said, seemingly relieved for the excuse when Aster stepped up to the counter. “What can I do for you?”

“Aster?” Thalysios said. “You tell that father of yours to mind his–” Thalysios’ words caught when he met Aster’s eyes. He raised closed fists to either side of his head, forearms straight like pillars as he bowed his head with shut eyes.

It was a gesture of reverence to Galae and Helia, the two pillars of creation. It wasn’t uncommon to see those who were old enough to remember the Gilded Era make the gesture out of habit or to ward evil. Aster shifted uncomfortably, though, remembering that Phaea mentioned Thalysios had claimed to have met an Attuned.

Thalysios was one of few outsiders who made a home in Karipos. Before the cataclysmic ending of the Gilded Era, Karipos had been a satellite village of Senithae and had relied on trade with the city for things like dyes. With chaos storms cutting Karipos off from the rest of the world, Thalysios’ talents as a dyer were well appreciated.

“Boy, your eyes …” Thalysios looked Aster up and down.

Dareus froze as he looked more closely at Aster. “That ain’t normal, lad. What sort of god’s forsaken sorcery has taken you?”

Aster gulped and found himself glancing around for Phaea.

“I haven’t seen eyes like that since … well, since I … since I seen a man carve through my whole blighted town.” Thalysios’ eyes darkened with unwanted memories. “Said he wielded the power of Carcalix himself. Attuned, he was.”

Thalysios was famously unwilling to talk about why he ended up caught in a chaos storm, and only shared scraps of information about his life before Karipos.

Aster stammered. “I … well, I woke up like this. On my Poroneía.”

“Woke up like that, did you?” Thalysios pressed. “Made some deal with Carcalix, boy?” Thalysios grabbed Aster by the collar, pulling the fabric tightly around his neck.

“Hey now, you old drunk!” Dareus objected.

Aster grabbed at Thalysios’ wrist and hand with both arms. He peeled the older man’s fingers open with surprising ease, and forced Thalysios to release him. “I’ve done no such thing! The gods are gone. How would I have made a deal with any of them?”

Dareus pointed at Thalysios. “Get out!” he ordered. His words left no room for debate.

“Bah!” The angry old man turned and stormed his way out of the tavern, muttering to himself all the while.

“I’m sorry about that, lad,” said Dareus. “Your eyes are strange, true, but I don’t understand what set him off like that. Woke up like that, you said?”

“Yes, sir, that’s right.”

“Your mother had a good look at you, I trust?”

“She did, yes.”

“Well, if she ain’t worried then suppose there’s no cause for fright, ay?

Aster laughed lightly. “She sure wouldn’t have let me out of her sight if she was worried.”

“Well now, as I was saying before I was interrupted by that reeking drunk, what can I do for you?”

“I won a bet with Tokites, and so he’s paying for Phaea and I’s meal.”

“So I heard.” There was a warm twinkle in Dareus’ eyes as he smiled broadly.

“So … I was thinking it would make sense to get the most expensive meal for two that I can.”

Dareus chuckled heartily. “Aye, that does make quite a lot of sense to me. I’ll have a full spread brought out for you and your sister. To wash it all down … well, let me go get you an amphora of last year’s sweet black.”

While Dareus disappeared into a back room to get the wine, Aster looked around the tavern. It was one of the larger structures in Karipos, and he never appreciated how much of a crowd it drew in the evenings. He could see why; the food adorning tables looked and smelled good enough to compete with Nysa’s cooking. While the torrent of overlapping sounds was overwhelming, it was hard not to feel some piece of the music, laughter, and boisterous conversation sink into and warm him.

Aster happily accepted the amphora and brought it back to his sister. A wide grin spread across his face, and he sat down to a round of cheers punctuated by a single loud groan. Evidently, their table mates assumed the large amount of wine was meant to be shared. After brief consideration there was no reason to ruin their cheer, so Aster began to fill the table’s bowls.

“You really weren’t kidding, Phaea,” said Leron, eyeing the way Aster held the amphora without struggle. “So, what, he just wakes up one day, passes out, and is then crazy strong?”

“Pretty much,” Aster confirmed. Phaea and Leron both looked at him with mild surprise, so Aster continued, “I’ve had strange dreams, and according to my parents have become Attuned, like Raeus.”

Leron gaped at him. “Raeus was chosen by the gods.”

“Yeah, apparently in the Gilded Era all the Attuned were.”

“But the gods are all gone. Everyone knows that.”

“That’s right, yeah.”

“So then why you?”

“That’s a good question,” Aster replied with a mysterious smile. “If I knew the answer, I might even give it to you.”

“We really don’t know,” Phaea added. “Mother and Father don’t either.”

“That’s no fair …” said Yuthios.

“That’s what I said!” Phaea laughed. She glanced over at him, meeting his eyes. “Though, it may be the most fair.” She smiled and made a mess of his hair with one hand.

“Phaea!” Aster protested. The others laughed purely, though, and Aster happily laughed with them. Besides Tokites, who continued to brood at the other end of their table, the rest of the young wardens were all smiling and joking. None of them were looking at Aster as if he shouldn’t be there.

It wasn’t long before Leron was clapping Aster on the shoulder while clutching at his stomach in the pain of uncontrolled laughter. Aster soaked up the attention like the seamoss that clung to the poles of Karipos’ docks.

The sun was settled well into a dark horizon as Aster and Phaea stumbled their way home. Outside, away from the light of lanterns, Aster was surprised to notice that he could still see clearly. He could easily tell it was night, but the starlight seemed to cut through the darkness in a way it didn’t before.

That’s weird, he thought, maybe I drank a bit more than I thought. Or maybe this is yet another benefit of being Attuned?

When Aster and his sister tried to quietly open the creaking wooden gate of their home, Haemon was waiting for them, tapping fingers impatiently against an arm. The knuckles on his hand were red and slightly swollen.

“Oh!” Phaea exclaimed. “Father … what are you still doing up?”