Aramund would tell the story on nights where the wind would not rest.
The fire flickered lazily, casting dancing shadows across the floor and around the small room where sleep was imminent but stubbornness chased it away.
Arne climbed up into his father’s lap and tucked his small wings behind him. Altair lay on his stomach with his chin in his hands, facing the hearth so he could watch the sparks drift from the crackling wood and die in the air.
“Listen.” Aramund instructed. He brought his arms around Arne and held him close.
Outside, the sky was clear and Gallius hung above, brighter than the rest, unblinking and cold.
“There was a star,” Aramund began, “and he did not live in the sky.”
Altair scrunched his face, confused. “Then where did he live?”
Knowingness flashed in Aramund’s gaze. “He lived on the surface of a lake. One so still that it could hold a reflection without breaking it. The star was afraid.”
“Afraid?” Arne was skeptical. “How can a star be afraid? Afraid of what?”
Aramund shushed him with glance. “This star was not afraid of fading. It was not afraid of falling. It was afraid of living, because every life has an end, and he feared that end more than he feared loneliness.”
“He was alone?” Altair asked.
“Yes. He would watch the other stars at night. Those who dance in the heavens. But he told himself that his solitude was worth the safety of no end.”
Wind hit the outside walls and howled in every crack it could find.
“One day,” Aramund continued, “Gallius saw this star hiding on this lake, shining only half his potential, and he came down to speak with him.”
“Did he make the star go up?” Arne questioned eagerly. “Did he tell him to go to the other stars?”
“No.” Aramund shook his head. “He sat with him. He told him many things. He told him about life and death. He told him that the end was what made the beauty of life matter so much.”
“And what did he do?” Arne loved to hear about Gallius, and as far as he was concerned, this story had gotten much more interesting.
“He did not do anything at first, but then Gallius offered his hand, and together they found his courage to finally rise. To finally shine from above.”
“Did he find the end?” Altair did not enjoy stories that ended in death.
“He did.” Aramund answered. “When his light was spent and his calling fulfilled, the star scattered his radiance through the heavens, painting the sky with the story of his choice to live.”
“I think I would be afraid.” Altair mumbled.
“I wouldn’t!” Arne nearly shouted, earning shush from his mother. “If Gallius came and told me to go to the sky, I would go with him.”
“The star was afraid.” Aramund said.
“But he still went.” Arne observed.
“And that’s what makes his decision so important.” Aramund brushed his hand through Arne’s head feathers. “He was afraid and still went, even knowing that he could never go back.”
Arne stood beside Altair on the edge of a great sea cliff.
The water below roared and the sky above churned with gray anger.
Both grown. Both many years older, but inside they felt as if a piece of their soul was missing.
“I think…” Arne stared down at the sea, barely audible over the wind. “That he would choose to do it all over again…”
Altair turned to look at Arne. His brother was wild and windswept, and yet, there was a tenderness in his face that broke through all the confusion and fear.
“When he was telling us the story of the star on the lake,” Arne continued. “He was telling us also of himself.”