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Ares was in his library’s office tallying up some inventory, when his apprentice, Giselle, fell into one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“What a day!” she said, rolling out her neck.
“Did you hear from Essie about The Guardian Star of the Solstice? I am still trying to track down a copy,” Ares asked her, not looking up from his ledger.
“She’s still looking,” Giselle said, then put a copy of the Baldur’s Mouth paper on his desk. “But speaking of, it sounds like Reithwin is putting on a huge Winter Solstice festival this year.”
“That’s good,” Ares said, barely listening as he flipped through the inventory sheet, adding the total to the bottom.
“You should go and check it out, maybe see that big druid of yours,” she suggested.
“We have a huge order from Rolana’s Rare Books arriving from Waterdeep this week, plus with the winter shoppers I don’t think I can sneak away,” Ares commented.
“Boss, me and the rest of the staff have this place under control. You haven’t been on a real holiday in ages,” she said.
Ares glanced up at her, with an eyebrow raised.
“The kids will be thrilled to see you, especially Marisol,” she replied. “Plus, I know you miss him.”
⭐
A tenday later, Ares looked out the carriage window at the remarkable transformation of Reithwin. The once-dilapidated town, hidden under a shadowy curse, now saw its streets teeming with joyous activity. People greeted each other with warm smiles, the little retail shops were bustling with eager shoppers, and shimmering magical lights hung over the bustling main square like woven starlight. Indigo and silver banners fluttered from the light poles, bearing the town’s new crest, and even the formerly ominous Moonrise Tower glowed with festive lighting on its turrets and bright candles in the windows. Ares was happy he listened to his thoughtful apprentice.
As the carriage rolled onward, it left the main street behind, and turned up a gentle hill dotted with warm homes and newly manicured parks. Ares enjoyed seeing all that changed in the town since the last time he had been back to visit his lover, Halsin Silverbough.
He and Halsin loved each other deeply. They had also respected each other’s callings and responsibilities and never needed to be present in each other’s daily lives. Halsin often wrote in his weekly letters to him, “separation is merely physical, not a chasm between our hearts,” which Ares loved reading. Yet, he would be lying if he didn’t miss waking up in the big druid’s embrace.
“Uncle Ares! Uncle Ares! Yeah! He’s here!”
Ares could already hear Halsin’s three wards, a set of tiefling twins and a half-elven little girl, calling out his name as the carriage stopped in front of the large timber framed home. He opened the carriage door and had barely stepped out before he was tackle-hugged by the children.
“I missed you all too,” he said, embracing each child, then picked up the smallest one, Marisol, and held her to his hip.
While Ares was usually awkward around children, there was something about Marisol’s kind heart that could bring out paternal love from anyone. Marisol was a toddler when she became one of Halsin’s wards and she took to Ares immediately. She insisted he be the one who carried her, or held his hand when they all walked around town. She also loved watching him perform magic, always begging him to teach her how he cast his spells. Many people in town thought the little half-elven child was Ares’s own daughter since she resembled him, even sharing his rare genetic trait of heterochromia. That only made him feel more protective of the sweet child.
“Daddy Halsin told us you were staying throughout the holidays,” Marisol said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“I am,” Ares grinned at her.
“Yeah!” she and all the tiefling twins cheered.
Ares turned back to face the carriage. With a casual wave of his free hand, three leather trunks levitated effortlessly from the roof rack and drifted gently to the ground. He then reached into his coin purse, dumped out several coins, including a generous tip, and handed them to the driver. He offered his thanks for the ride to the house.
“You never miss a chance to show off for the children,” he heard his lover’s deep voice behind him.
Ares, still holding Marisol, turned to see a large wood elf descending the front stairs to greet him. “Hello love, aren’t you a sight.”
He put Marisol down as Halsin approached and the druid pulled him into a longing embrace. “I have missed you, my heart.”
Ares pulled Halsin tighter against him, burying his face in the elf’s muscular chest and inhaling Halsin’s familiar scent of oakmoss and bergamot. It only reminded him how much he missed him during their long separation. They remained wrapped in each other’s arms, enjoying the precious moment, when suddenly, small arms wrapped around them both.
“Group hug!” Marisol said, looking up at him with her infectious grin.
After stepping into the large house, Ares still couldn’t believe that only a few years back this charming home had been a rundown shack, barely held up by the weight of its framing. Now vibrant life seemed to fill every corner, from the lively patterned rugs that covered the ceramic tiled floor to the ivory stucco walls decorated with colored canvas artwork, all proudly made by the children. Of course, it wouldn’t be Halsin’s home without potted plants sitting atop cluttered bookshelves or hanging gracefully in macrame slings. Ares grinned at the harmonious chaos, loving how it felt quintessentially like Halsin.
“The renovations look great,” Ares finally commented, admiring the work Halsin had done.
“I can’t take all the credit. The new carpenter’s guild has been busy donating their time,” Halsin mentioned. “Each of the children’s rooms now have new beds, dressers, and desks. It’s been a real treat.”
“Wait until you see the big firepit outside, Uncle Ares,” Marisol said, clasping his hand.
“Yeah! On Fridays Daddy Halsin lets us roast marshmallows and we eat them between chocolate chip cookies,” Konrad, one of the tiefling twins added.
“That sounds delicious,” Ares commented, already craving one of the treats.
He followed Halsin into the large great room where the fireplace was already roaring. The children caught him up on their school work, friends they had made, and presented him their latest artwork. Ares caught Halsin’s eye, before the druid walked into his open kitchen and blew him a kiss.
“So, did you bring us presents?” Marisol asked, swinging her arms from side to side.
“Presents?” Ares asked, trying to sound confused, while he sat down on one of the large plush sofas.
“Yeah, you always bring us presents,” Korman, the other tiefling twin said.
“I do? I don’t seem to remember that.” Again, Ares feigned ignorance as the children giggled, piled on top of him, and started to tickle him. He actually laughed, something he hardly ever did, but the children somehow brought it out of him. “Okay, okay! You all know me too well!”
Ares waved a hand at one of his trunks, quietly muttering a spell to unlatch the brass locks. He moved his hand again and the lid flung open. The bottom half of the trunk was filled with rows of colored children’s books, lovingly wrapped with a tag for each child. The top of the trunk was packed with new plushies, and other gifts he knew the children would like.
“Go on,” he said to the children.
Halsin brought him a mug of hot mint tea, then joined him on the sofa. They happily cuddled in each other’s arms as the children swarmed the trunk with laughter, finding their presents and unwrapping their stacks of books.
“You are spoiling them,” Halsin said, sneaking a gentle kiss.
“They deserve it,” he said, remembering when his own mother spoiled him and thinking what an amazing grandmother she would have been to these children.
“I have something for you,” Halsin said, handing him what felt like a thin book wrapped in a crisp gingham cloth with its corners tied in a bow. “Pardon, the poor wrapping.”
“Hardly.” Ares grinned, untied the knot, and unwrapped the cloth. Inside was an old leather-bound children’s book with embossed golden lettering that read, The Guardian Star of the Solstice.
Ares covered his mouth with a hand. He could not believe it. He flipped the old pages, seeing the vibrant illustrations and elegant lettering that still jumped from the page, much like the copy he once owned.
“I have been looking for a copy of this for years,” Ares exclaimed. “Where did you find it?”
“The town’s people have been donating old books to the orphanage. I saw this on the pile. I remembered how important it was to you,” Halsin explained.
He had only ever told Halsin once of his favorite children’s book and how his late mother read it to him every night. Ares felt his eyes well with tears. It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for him. “Thank you, my love,” he said, his voice full of emotion.
“What did Daddy Halsin get you?” Marisol asked, climbing up on the sofa with them.
Ares wiped his eyes. “This was my favorite book from when I was around your age.”
“What’s it about?” The little half-elven girl asked, when the tiefling twins joined them.
“Well, how about I read it to you all,” Ares said, as the children all got comfortable around him and Halsin on the sofa.
Ares opened the book to a beautiful illustration of a brown bear cub, curled up with his two siblings. He traced the artwork like seeing an old friend, then he began to read aloud. “Björn blinked awake, shivering not just from the winter chill, but from excitement. Tonight was the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. He intended to stay awake to see the brightest star, known as the Guardian Star.”
“The bear has two different colored eyes!” Marisol exclaimed, pointing at the drawing of the bear.
“He does,” Ares smiled at her and tapped her nose, before continuing the story.
“While his family was fast asleep in the den, Björn carefully tiptoed to the entrance of their warm cave. Outside, the forest was covered with snow. Not a sound could be heard, not a bird song, not even a chattery chipmunk. Everything was quiet, under the empty dark canvas above,” Ares read on.
They flipped through several more pages of illustrious artwork of a forest with a jagged mountain range in the distance. There were more stunning drawings of the bear cub looking out from his cave, his two different colored eyes almost seemed to blink looking back at them.
“Björn waited, his eyes straining against the darkness. He knew the star would come, he just had to stay awake,” Ares continued.
Then it was Konard’s turn to flip the page.
“Just as Björn started to feel drowsy, there in the distance he saw a tiny prick of light burst into existence far above the trees. Björn realized it was selfish to witness this moment alone,” Ares read.
Korman turned the pages to the cub waking his family and bringing them to the cave’s entrance.
“After rousing everyone from their deep slumber, Björn brought them all to the mouth of the cave. And there they looked upon the dark sky and saw the magical glimmer shining down on them, like a celestial guardian,” Ares finished.
Halsin turned to the last page to the bear cub and his family silhouetted in the foreground as they all looked up at the night’s sky. Ares touched the pages again, almost hearing the faint sound of his mother’s voice, reading the story’s words.
“Can we go outside to see if we see the same star?” Marisol asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Ares said, remembering asking his mother the same thing.
Once they helped the children into their winter coats, the five of them stood in the backyard and looked to the sky. Ares remembered when there weren’t any stars to see in Reithwin, but now the sky was filled with millions of little pinpricks of light.
“Which one is it?” Korman asked.
Ares turned around, instinctively remembering the celestial navigation his mother had taught him. He scanned the night sky until he located ‘The Arrows of the Gods’ constellation. Then he knelt down and guided the children’s gaze to the constellation. He showed them how to follow a line west until they reached the familiar shape of another constellation, ‘Mystra’s Star Circle’. The children gathered closer as he extended his arm, leading their gaze to the specific star.
“I see it!” Marisol excitedly said.
“Me too!” The twins said in unison, jumping up and down.
Ares didn’t know if it was the infectious excitement of the children, the warmth of Halsin’s strong arms wrapped around them all, or the simple comfort of finding the story again. But in that hushed moment, his mother's presence washed over him. He had always yearned to see her again, yet as they gazed up at the sky, he knew she was there, watching over him, like she was his guardian star.
⭐