Savage King: New Worlds - Milly Taiden Page 0,36
material.
Her big eyes were adorable as she asked, “Why do you wear this?”
Wren opened her mouth to answer then closed it. Studying the crowd, no such garment was in sight for anyone else. It amazed her how different two cultures could be, yet be so similar.
“I don’t want to get cold,” she said, having no better reason.
The girl giggled. “The sun is always hot here. Only during the cold moons do you need to protect your skin.”
Cold moons? “What are the cold moons?”
The girl looked at Wren like she couldn’t believe a grownup would ask such a question. “They are the days and nights when the air turns cold even when the sun is out. They don’t last very long. I am six cold moons old.”
“Ah,” Wren replied. A cold moon was probably what humans called a year.
The small one put a hand on Wren’s arm. “No one has ever had breasts as big as yours.”
Yeah, Wren could understand what the child was saying. But she wasn’t prepared for the next question.
The child raised her hand. “May we touch them?”
Wren twisted so quickly to avoid the small hand, that she fell off her pile of dirt. Those around laughed and giggled. “Uh, not right now, okay?”
“Okay,” the girl said, turning her attention to the boy beside her. “She said no. Only the alpha is allowed to touch her. When I grow up, I’m going to have breasts like that.” The boy’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Yup, Wren thought, very different cultures.
The elder female in the middle of the circle tapped her staff on the ground twice. “Good afternoon, young ones.” In a united voice, the kids greeted her in kind.
“Today, we have guests from far away. Their way of living is quite different from ours, so don’t worry if they do something they shouldn’t.” The elder winked at her. “In their honor, I will recall the creation of our world. I think our story will answer many questions they have.”
Many cold moons ago, too many to count, only dust existed in the darkness. When the gods and goddesses decided to create a perfect, beautiful planet the Crystal Kingdom came into existences.
The dark magic was unhappy because the balance of power went to the good magic. So it decided to make a place where it could rule. While the gods’ attention was on their creation, the dark magic spun itself a planet.
It was almost finished when one of the goddesses discovered the new location. She came to this world and let loose as much of her good magic as possible. She scolded the black magic for being jealous. If it had been more patient, it would’ve been included in their original creation.
But now this planet existed, and the darkness was tasked to take care of it as it would be its home forever.
Now, the parts of this world that hadn’t been yet made, the good magic brought to life. The Gnoleon were the first and best creation. Next came the forests of Banleth; giving a home to all the good creatures while the evil beasts remained elsewhere in their misery.
Afraid that the dark magic would abandon its child, Mother of the Land sealed the heavens above so the magic wouldn’t be able to port away. But she still needed to cross back into her time. The problem was how to lock the portal from the dark magic.
She created the Island of the Standing Stones. There, she set up a place where she could come to check the planet and leave without worry of being followed by those who were meant to remain in the dimension.
In the middle of the standing stones, Mother of the Land placed a magical gemstone on a flat rock, and an opening into her world appeared. When she stepped through, she took the stone with her, effectively closing off the exodus point.
To this day, the Standing Stones remain exactly how she left it on the island. Those of the dark magic had tried to destroy the stones just because it was created by goodness. They were destroyed.
Since then, no one has dared to cross the water to reach the island.
The Gnoleon have lived in peace with others of the Mother’s creations. We share her memory with each generation, so her goodness is worshipped and remembered. Upon her return, we will praise her and thank her for her light.
Chapter Sixteen
Wren had been captivated by the storyteller, so engrossed in the history, that she’d not noticed how