The Diary Part 2: Dies Natailis Solis Invicti

Badru POV

     It had been four days since the little tree spirit started translating the book. Most of the pages have been about every day life in the forest while occasionally going into towns when he came across them. There has been no significant people or any surprising new facts. Other than the fact that the pages when he interacted with people was almost like it was written as he experienced it. I also found out that this was written around the time I took over the Egyptian scroll library for my goddess. 

     I picked up the next translated paper hoping to get some answers to my questions and if not at least it would be interesting to read from his view point.

   Its cold. Snow shined on the ground everywhere. The town was quiet. Nothing moved, almost like a ghost town. I shut the door of the barn I had borrowed for the night. I had been traveling when a snow storm struck. Luckily I had been only a mile from this town. 

     I looked around. The town was small and almost completely isolated from the outside world. It was set right in the heart of a forest. There was only one road in and one road out, nothing that ran from one side of the forest to the other. However that is ok because I do not travel by the human roads. 

     A soft click, came from behind me. “Who are you?” asked a small curious voice. I closed my eyes. I had planned to be out of here before anyone woke up. Turning around I saw a little kid that looked to be about six years old. He wore a fleece jacket and working pants, both of them were worn and covered in paint. 

     I smiled. I wanted to just walk away but I could feel people watching me now, and knew it would be a fight to leave. So with a resigned feeling I said "I am Nobody. Who are you?“ To give one’s name was to give power to them. To be specific, a power over you.

     "I’m Chris. Where did you come from? I did not see you come in on the road, and there is no other way in. The forest around us is covered with cliffs, rivers, and wild animals. So how did you get here?” He had tilted his head just a bit when he had asked. As if to see if he could figure it out himself.

     "I walked here from the south. Following the path from there I came here.“ Something wasn’t quite right. This child was no child and this town felt alive. However it was still quiet and the only things moving here were me and the child. I took a deep breath trying to see if I could smell anything.

     "From the south, and you followed the path? That is strange. I did not see you at the gate yesterday. How did you get to this place?” Chris frowned and looked a little confused as if this was not going the way he wanted. His eyes were intently focused on mine as if he was trying to read my mind.

     I felt the eyes come closer like a predator closing in on prey. I glanced around. This is not going very well. “Well I walked right through that gate, you must have missed me. I came here after the storm started. There did not seem to be anyone around, so I stayed in the barn for the night. If it is yours then I am sorry.”

     The boy’s eyes hardened and the frown deepened just a bit. The expression aged him by years. He knew that I was not telling the full truth, but he did  not know what it was I wasn’t telling him. “There is no way you could have come by the path. Even if there wasn’t a snow storm. Nor could you have come through the forest alive. You should not be here. What are you, because you can not be human?”

     The snow about a meter from me started to shift around. Ahhh. So that was it. Magic. I had been sensing magic. It was everywhere. I forced the smile to stay on my face. So the truth then. “I am sorry to disturb your town. You are right I am not human. I was walking through the forest, headed further North, when the storm hit. I sought shelter here, because it was the closest thing around.”

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     The answer seemed to satisfy him. He went back to having a curious  look on his face, and looking only six again. “Why are you traveling North? Are you on a quest?”

     Despite myself I burst out laughing. A quest? Me? That is absurd. “No, I am not on a quest. I am just traveling north. I have no place to live and decided that it would be better to travel. So I picked a direction and went.”

     The not boy boy looked at me with a sad expression. “Would you like to live here for a while? There are very few in this town. I am sure you can feel calm and safe here. I would of course let you live in a house, not have you sleep in a barn.”

     I was surprised by the offer. I had not settled down anywhere in quite a long time. It would be good to rest a little before I started heading to ‘Athens’ again. “If you do not mind, I would love to stay a little while. However I do not think I will stay for long. Is that ok?”

     "Yes, that is fine. My name is Sol. My I know yours?“ Sol released the magic that he was holding onto. The snow around me settled, and the eyes I had been feeling went away. Interesting. 

     "It’s nice to meet you Sol. You can call me Xylon.” I smiled. It was a name I would not give lightly because it was close to my true one. Well if translated.

Sol frowned. “Xylon?… As in a dryad?… No more like Physis?” I frowned. How had he come to that? Sol Nodded to himself. “I see how you got here. Please come this way.” Following behind him we made our way to the center of the town. “Xylon, my full name is Sol Invictus. If possible I would like you to join me for Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.” 

“So you are the Unconquered Sun that I hear so much about.”

“Hahahaha, Well I guess. However it is merely a formality for the humans. They have taken it upon themselves to call me that. I wish to have you join me in Rome for the festival. If you do not mind.”

“Hmm, that would be interesting. The towns I have passed by have all said that it was an amazing festival to behold. However how will we get there in such short notice?” 

“Oh, that is no problem we can just use this.” We walked to a wall that had a magic circle written on it. Tomorrow I’ll activate this and we will be there, but for now please enjoy the town.” 

     I set the paper down amazed. This talked about Sol Invictus the sun of the original son god. However if I remember correctly this is also the one that later became called Kris Kringle, Yule figure, Saint Nicholas, and Santa Clause. I had no idea that he really existed! What a surprise! Not only that Kaz got to celebrate Dies Natalis Solis Invicti with him! The original celebration of the Winter Solstice! 

     I reread the page to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. What caught my attention was that he called himself ‘Xylon’ the greek name for ‘of the forest’. That was the first time that Kaz had given a name that hinted at his identity… Physis if I’m not mistaken was the study of Nature. Taking the time period into about it should be about Nature its self as pose to the study of. So Sol Invicti called Kaz Nature? As in Nature its self? That is a bit confusing if only there was more information. [ Sigh, I’ll ask him when he comes back. ]

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