Astrantian Tales – Part 2. Callistephus and the Shooting Star (youngsters:fantasy, 2965 words) [2/3] show all parts
Author: Ian Hobson	Added: Apr 17 2004	Views/Reads: 3856/2611	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
...But the doorknocker was magic, and before Callistephus could touch it, it knocked by itself and shouted ‘Visitor!’... This is the second of three children's stories set in the fairytale land of Astrantia.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

Luzula had sat, noticing that, between his feet, a small patch of the 
dusty path was still damp from Luzula's teardrops. 

‘Asperula tried.'  Callistephus repeated Luzula's words.  ‘But...  But
what?' he wondered.  Then, as he finished his breakfast, he reached a 
decision, and he stood and set off down the path towards the village. 

The village was in a wide valley, close to the river, a little way
downstream from where Callistephus liked to swim.  And beyond the 
village was the cottage where the witch, Asperula, lived.  Soon 
Callistephus left the main path to take a lesser-used one that skirted 
the village.  It was many years since he had been this way and he found 
it almost blocked by nettles and brambles.  But undeterred, he 
continued on until finally he arrived at the witch's cottage. 

He stopped at the gate, remembering the times he had been there before
to ask Asperula to undo the spells that had made him never grow older 
and made him a wolf by night.  To be fair, she had tried hard to undo 
the spells but the spells would not be undone.  She had even asked 
Holcus, the warlock, for help.  But he was an old and cantankerous 
individual and all he did was throw an old spell book at her and tell 
her to go away.  And even the spell book was of no help because it was 
written in an ancient and mostly forgotten language that Asperula could 
not read. 

Callistephus opened the gate and made his way past the plum tree that
years ago he had raided.  It was laden with plums but they were still 
green and not ready to eat yet.  Not that he would have taken any, for 
the witch's spells had made him completely honest.  He approached the 
cottage door and reached for the doorknocker, which was in the shape of 
a monkey's head.  But the doorknocker was magic, and before 
Callistephus could touch it, it knocked by itself and shouted 
‘Visitor!' 

At first there was no reply, so the doorknocker knocked and shouted
again, and this time there was a shuffling sound and then the door 
opened and there stood Asperula; grey haired and dressed all in black, 
except for her dirty grey apron.  ‘Go away!' she said, menacingly.  
‘Whatever you're selling, I don't want any.' 

‘But I'm not selling anything,' said Callistephus. 

‘Oh, it's you,' said Asperula, glaring at the boy on her doorstep.  ‘I
thought I had seen the last of you.  If you want me to undo the wolf 
spell, I've told you before, it can't be undone.  So go away and leave 
an old witch in peace.' 

‘No, it's not that,' replied Callistephus.  ‘I've come to ask about
Luzula's mother.  I know you tried to cure her, but...' 

‘But what?' asked Asperula, suspiciously. 

‘That's what I came to ask,' said Callistephus. 

‘You talk in riddles, boy,' said Asperula.  ‘Say what it is that you
want or be off.' 

‘I just wanted to ask why she can't be cured?' asked Callistephus. 

Asperula's expression changed and her hand went to the gold pendant that
she wore around he neck.  ‘Caltha is very sick,' she said.  ‘Only 
strong magic can cure her.  And you won't find that here anymore.' 

‘Why not?' asked Callistephus. 

‘What business is it of yours?' asked Asperula, still toying with the
pendant at her throat. 

‘Because I want to help Luzula,' Callistephus replied.  ‘When I saw her
today, she was crying...  Why is your magic not strong anymore?' 

‘You ask too many questions, boy.  But if it will make you go away, I
will tell you,' said Asperula, taking the pendant from around her neck 
and showing it to Callistephus.  ‘My talisman is broken, see?  Broken 
beyond repair.  And without it my powers are weak.' 

Callistephus looked closely at the gold chain and what was attached to
it.  It looked like part of an ordinary pebble, except that it was 
jet-black in colour and sharp-edged on the underside.  Asperula fumbled 
in her apron pocket, pulled out a similar stone and held it to the one 
on the chain.  It was a perfect fit, and together they formed an almost 
perfect sphere. 

‘This stone was the heart of a shooting star,' said Asperula, ‘found by
my great-grandmother.  It gave us our powers... My great-grandmother, 
my grandmother, my mother, and then me, down through the years.  But 
now it is broken and it lives no more.' 

‘But can't you get a new one,' asked Callistephus. 

‘A new one!' exclaimed Asperula.  ‘Chase down a shooting star at my
age?'  And with that she began to laugh and cackle like... well, like 
an old witch.  Then she slammed the door before Callistephus could say 
another word. 

‘Now what shall I do?' said Callistephus to himself. 

‘I would have thought that was obvious,' said the doorknocker.  ‘You are
not too old to chase down a shooting star and find its heart.' 

‘Me?' said Callistephus.  ‘But how would I do that?' 

‘Don't ask me.  I'm just a doorknocker,' replied the Doorknocker.  ‘And
I wouldn't go bothering Asperula again, if I were you.  She's been in a 
foul mood all morning.' 

‘Oh,' said Callistephus.  ‘Well, thank you anyway.' 

‘You're welcome,' replied the doorknocker, as Callistephus turned and
retraced his steps along the garden path and walked thoughtfully out 
through the gate.  It was at times like this that Callistephus wished 
he had a friend to confide in.  But then suddenly he remembered he did 
have some friends and he hurried off to find them. 

The first he was able to find was Echinops, the porcupine.  He was a
prickly character at the best of times, and it was always best to 
approach him from the front, because he was a little deaf and inclined 
to let loose a few of his spines if he thought a predator might be 
creeping up on him. 

‘Hello, Echinops,' said Callistephus, in a loud voice, so as to save
repeating himself.  ‘I need some help with something, if you're not too 
busy.' 

‘What?' said Echinops.  ‘Some help?  Busy?  I see.  Well... fire away,
then.' 

‘I need to find the heart of a shooting star,' said Callistephus. 

‘Part of a hooting what?' asked Echinops. 

‘No, not a part of,' replied Callistephus, more loudly this time.  ‘The
heart of...  The heart of a shooting star!' 

‘Oh,' said Echinops.  ‘Well why didn't you say that in the first place? 
A shooting star indeed.  I can't say that I've ever seen one.  Or did 
I?  When I was younger, perhaps.  No, perhaps not.' 

Callistephus looked very disappointed. 

‘You might try Athyrium,' said Echinops.  ‘She may know where to find
one.' 

‘Yes, Athyrium!' said Callistephus, looking much happier.  ‘She's sure
to know.  Thanks, Echinops!'  And he ran off at great speed towards the 
woods. 

Athyrium was an ancient owl who lived at the edge of the woods.  She had
seen and heard a lot in her time, and she was very much the wise old 
owl that many locals thought she was.  Her house was high in a very 
tall fir tree, but the tree was beside a large rock that jutted out 
from a steep hillside, which made it easy for any visitors to call on 
her.  In fact her younger visitors would often sit on the rock, while 
Athyrium sat on a branch just above them, telling them stories. 

As Callistephus climbed the steep slope and made his way onto the
flat-topped rock, a voice said ‘Well bless me, if it isn't 
Callistephus.  What brings you here on a warm summers day, I wonder?'  
Callistephus looked above his head, and there, in a shady spot, sat 
Athyrium, looking down on him with her huge intelligent eyes. 

‘Hello,' answered Callistephus, a little out of breath from his climb. 
‘I was hoping to find you in.  I need some help with something, if it's 
not too much trouble.' 

‘I see,' said Athyrium, hopping down onto a lower branch so that she
could see eye to eye with her visitor.  ‘Well, first you must tell me 
what you need help with, then I can tell you if it is too much trouble. 
 But please be sure to start at the beginning.  I like to know all the 
facts, before helping with something.' 

So Callistephus sat on the rock and told Athyrium all that had happened
that day, starting with Luzula coming up the path from the village.  
And Athyrium listened carefully, interrupting only when Callistephus 
came to the part where Asperula showed him the broken stone.  ‘Ah,' she 
said, ‘so that is why she no longer rides about at night on her 
broomstick.  I thought there must be something amiss.  Carry on.' 

Callistephus continued, missing out nothing, including what the
doorknocker said, and how Echinops had suggested he seek help from 
Athyrium.  And finally he asked ‘So, Athyrium, can you tell me where to 
find the heart of a shooting star?' 

‘Well,' replied Athyrium, thoughtfully,' first you must look for a
shooting star.  That part should be easy enough, especially at this 
time of year.  I saw two myself, last night.' 

‘You did?' exclaimed Callistephus, jumping to his feet excitedly. 

‘Calm down,' said Athyrium.  ‘Anyone who stays up late enough, at this
time of year, can see a shooting star, or a falling star, as some folks 
call them.  But you have to see where it falls.  The heart of the star 
is just a small piece of rock.  Or at least that's what I'd thought.  
But I see now that there's magic in a rock of that sort; for a witch or 
a warlock, anyway.  My advice to you is to go back to that cave that 
you live in and get some sleep.  Then tonight, climb to the top of the 
hill and watch the skies.' 

‘But at night I am a wolf,' said Callistephus. 

‘All the better,' answered Athyrium.  ‘For you may have to run long and
hard to get to the place where a shooting star falls.' 

So Callistephus returned to his cave and slept as best as he could. 
Though his dreams were filled with images of Luzula and Asperula and 
talking doorknockers.  And finally at sunset, when he changed from boy 
to wolf, he climbed to the top of the hill and began his vigil. 

He waited and he waited, all the time looking into the night sky.  But
all he saw were bats, and millions of stars, and Hesperis, Astrantia's 
pale pink moon.  And by sunrise he had fallen asleep and when he awoke 
he was Callistephus the boy again. 

Crest-fallen, he returned to his cave, but that night he tried again,
and this time he was rewarded by a wondrous sight.  Not one, not two, 
but three shooting stars fell from the sky, and he raced down the hill 
and through the countryside and on and on through the night, in search 
of where they had fallen.  But as Athyrium had predicted, seeing a 
shooting star was one thing, but finding where it had fallen was 
another.  By sunrise, when he changed once more from wolf to boy, he 
felt sure that he had run far enough, but there was nothing to see 
except grass and trees and the river and the shadow of a circling bird. 


‘You have done well,' said a voice from above, unexpectedly.  And as
Callistephus looked up he saw that the circling bird was an eagle.  ‘My 
name is Phalaris,' said the eagle.  He was a huge bird with a wingspan 
of at least twice the height of a man.  ‘I'm a friend of Athyrium's.  
She asked me to look out for you and for any falling stars that may be 
within your reach.  Can you swim and dive under water?' 

‘Yes,' replied Callistephus, as Phalaris swooped down, with his talons
extended, and lifted him off the ground.  ‘But why do you ask that, and 
where are you taking me?' 

‘To the river,' replied Phalaris.  ‘One of the falling stars dropped
into the river.  If it were not for the splash, I would have lost sight 
of it...  Here we are.  Now be ready to take a deep breath, and 
remember the stone you seek is black, not white.  I'll be as accurate 
as I can.'  And with that he dropped Callistephus into a deep part of 
the river, not far downstream from a waterfall. 

Luckily Callistephus remembered to take a deep breath, for he soon hit
the water and went under.  And as his feet hit the riverbed he opened 
his eyes and saw that it was covered in white pebbles.  ‘Black not 
white,' thought Callistephus, as he held his breath and searched.  And 
there below him, he saw it; the jet-black heart of a shooting star.  
And with just enough breath to spare, he grasped it in his right hand 
and turned and swam upwards. 

‘Well done, again!' said the now familiar voice of Phalaris, as the boy
surfaced.  And as Callistephus drew in a deep breath and pushed his wet 
hair back from his eyes, he was once more lifted into the air by huge, 
but gentle, talons. 

Well, I'm sure you can guess the rest of this story.  Callistephus, of
course, returned to Asperula's cottage and presented her with the heart 
of the shooting star, and soon her magical powers were restored.  And, 
of course, Asperula's first task was to cure Caltha, Luzula's mother, 
which she did with Luzula's help, for her mother was very weak.  Then 
one day when Callistephus went, as usual, to the hollow tree he found 
Luzula waiting for him. 

‘I came to thank you, little sparrow,' she said with a smile, as
Callistephus hesitantly approached.  And from that day on they became 
good friends. 

Have you ever watched the sky at night and seen a shooting star?  Not
all of them fall to earth, but some do.  And who knows, they might be 
magic too. 


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