The faint voice of a young woman is heard, she is calling out to someone, and she says "Astraeus... wake up..." Eventually, the voice turns into one belonging to an old lady and she screams, "Astraeus! Get up before I have to drag you out of your sheepskin." A boy awakens to the sight of his grandmother pulling him by the legs out of the comfort of his blanket. He yawns and says, "I'm up Gran. What's the rush?" He stands up and despite being a teenager, his grandmother towers over him. She says, "Did you forget? It's market day, we need to stock up on food for winter. So hurry up, get dressed, and eat your breakfast, if we miss out on getting some potatoes before they sell out, I'm blaming you." She walks over to a shelf and grabs one of Astraeus's handmade baskets.
He walks over to the table and sits down, the breakfast for today like many other days is just fried eggs from their coop, some bread, and on this particular day, there is some pork. He asks, "Granny, where'd you get the pork?" The woman responds, "Oh, a merchant came by the other day when you were out helping Kaja. He tried scamming me for a couple of silver but I managed to haggle it down to only five copper pieces for a pound of pork." He soon finishes his meal and stands up. She says, "Finally, now come on." Astraeus quickly puts on his shirt and makes his way outside with his grandmother.
They begin making their way to the main square of the village where many merchants have set up stalls to sell their products. Most of these stalls appear to be food stalls where farmers are selling their final harvest of the year before winter sets in. There are other attractions as well, some performers sing songs and tell stories of myth and legend. People are wandering the streets looking to buy supplies for the winter and to enjoy the festivities presented on this brisk fall morning.
As they wander the streets, Astraeus catches a glimpse of soldiers chasing a thief. His grandmother noticed as well and scoffs, "I can't believe the capital sent those soldiers here, all they do is play hero by catching a couple of thieves here and there. Even if Erebos declares another war, I doubt anyone would try invading our little village." She looks over at Astraeus and smiles at him, she continues, "Though if anything happens, I know you'll be there to protect me." He smiles back and they soon arrive at a stall filled with vegetables.
The man running the stall exclaims, "Aileen, glad to see you haven't croaked yet. What can I get you?" Aileen says, "I'm not that old! But you can give me some of those fresh potatoes and a discount." The man responds, "Of course... Wait a discount? This is my last batch of vegetables for the year and you expect a discount." She says, "Of course, aren't we good friends and family? Who do you think introduced you to your wife when you were a nobody?" The man looks down and utters in a defeated voice, "Fine... you win. Don't go saying I gave you a discount alright?" Aileen happily responds, "Don't mention it." They trade and Aileen walks away with a bag of her favorite vegetable for half off.
They begin walking around some more as Aileen harasses the merchants for discounts and after a while Astraeus says, "Gran, aren't you a little cruel?" She responds, "Cruel? For doing what? Simply getting a good deal for our winter supplies?" He retorts, "You made the last merchant nearly start crying as you made him sell his salted meat for one copper per slice." She laughs, "I could have done worse my boy, back before you were even born I nearly made a man stab his throat." Astraeus says, "Speaking of being born, are you ever going to tell me about my parents?" The question makes Aileen stop laughing and in an attempt to change the subject, she calls a woman over to them.
She says, "Kaja! Is that you?" The woman perks up and notices the two, she walks over to them. Kaja is a tall and strong woman with tan skin, she is a family friend of the two and owns a nearby tavern where Astraeus works part-time. She yells out, "Aileen! Shorty! How are you two!" Aileen answers her and says, "We're doing fine but you know Astraeus isn't that short, he just hasn't had his growth spurt yet." They laugh and Astraeus grumpily announces, "Can you two stop talking about my height already."
YOU ARE READING
The Unknown Divinity
FantasyA boy seemingly destined for greatness goes on a journey of self-discovery to find out the true reason for his birth. Along the way, he will meet many people who will help or hinder his growth into the man that he will become. But his story won't en...
