careful way he constructed me, I gained my own conscience. Avalanche, on the other hand, was born of wild magic. Gems, as you have been told, are crystallized magic. Sometimes those gems catch a passing spirit of someone headed to the ether and create heart stones. When that happens, over time the heart stone builds a body for itself. She was created by magic, but she was born of something completely different. I don’t think she remembers, but at one time, she had a flesh body.
“I thought that creatures like Avalanche could create new species, but if she was once flesh, wouldn’t she just make more of what she once was?” Bren asked, trying to imagine Avalanche as a flesh and blood dog.
Depending on what kind of energy she used most in the creation of her body, will determine what she will look like. Your father put a lot of study into this over the years. Avalanche always intrigued him, and he learned an abundant amount of information from the magical races. Seeing that they, too, were created with a heart stone.
“What?” Bren asked as his jaw dropped slightly. “I thought the magical races were created by their individual gods.”
I forgot that you only know a little about the creation of the other races and their gods. Had you stayed in the tower, you would have learned more, but I doubt the truth of their birth would have reached your ears unless you searched for it. Each god was ordered by their mother to make their own army. Unlike her, they didn’t have the power to easily create life, but given enough time, they could put enough of their energy into one place to make a heart stone. Once each had made their own heart stone, they sought out a soul to inhabit it. I don’t know how they found the soul nor, how they forced it into the heart stone, but that was the start of each race.
“But if there was only one of them, how did they…” Bren started to ask but left the question hanging in the air.
The first, such as Avalanche, is called an Alpha and can produce offspring by gathering magical energy as well as gems. From what your father learned, it can take hundreds of years for a single birth. The Alphas tend to live thousands of years, so it is not as if they need to rush things.
“I didn’t know that you knew so much about Avalanche. Is there anything you don’t know?” Bren asked, more out of frustration than real interest.
I only know what I have seen and heard. Most of that knowledge came from your father and some of it from what I observed on my own. In the end, I learn the same way that humans do…through experience.
“I guess that makes a bit of sense,” Bren admitted. “You are far older than I am, so you should know a little bit more than I do. Just don’t expect me to be thrilled when you prove it,” Bren added the last with a smile.
Humans… You always want knowledge, but you don’t like when people have more than you. If you listened to me half the time, you could skip having to learn the hard way.
“You mean like with Faye?” Bren asked, knowing where Thuraman was going with the direction of the conversation.
With women in general. I have told you a hundred times and will tell you countless more. Your life would be much better off if you never talked to another woman as long as you lived. I have found them to be completely different than men in every way imaginable. They are far smarter to start with and use that to get what they want with the least amount of effort, and that means using others to do the work.
“I see,” Bren said mockingly. “I guess I can’t argue about women being smarter than me, but I won’t admit it either. The problem with your statement is that you are talking too broadly. Not all women are like that—I think just my mother,” Bren said the last bit with a little chuckle. “And maybe my sister.”
You will see what I mean one day. I just hope that you don’t close your eyes to it like your father did.
Bren shook his head and waited for the staff to continue its rant, but when nothing more was said, Bren left it alone and went back to his own musings. He thought about