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Flizer Forest

"Aleuta, the Cloud City, the cursed city! I wished I had never set my eyes on those grey walls," said the old woman. She was small and scrawny and her hair the colour of dry, brown-greenish leaves. She sat in a heavy wooden armchair almost twice her size. Her little hut, round as the tree trunk it was carved into, was filled with children of all ages. Their hushed excited murmurs accompanied her every word, yet the woman seemed not to notice.

"A city built by King Onan the Vile. A Veilys of terrible power, little ones," she said and took a large sip of tea from the mug that rested in her lap. "He was born with an insatiable hunger for the secrets of the Creators. Day and night he studied the ancient books. The more he learnt the more he craved for more knowledge."

"The Creators blessed him with only one child, a daughter. He loved her dearly and called her the most beautiful and sweetest flower in his garden. The day came for her to attend her first Soul Tying. Eleylin the Soothsayer, the Mother of Spirits, Seeress of the Past matched her to a poor chandler who had nothing but an old cloak to his name. It angered Onan to see the daughter he had dressed in gold and showered with pearls in the arms of a worthless man. Onan vowed to make Eleylin pay for the humiliation and on the very next day he disappeared."

Children's soft gasps filled the small hut. Outside the little hat, the birds began to sing. Yet, too engrossed in the old woman's tale, the children did not hear the birds chirping their farewells to the sun setting behind the clouds.

"It was rumoured that Onan journeyed to the Smoke Gorges of Teiwaz, to search for the Forces of the Creation. A year passed and there was no news from him. And on the day of the next Soul Tying, when Eleylin and the Spirits descended again from the mountain Teiwaz, a sudden storm swept over Leivrat. The likes of it one only sees on the Dark Night. And with the thunder and wind returned Onan. He brought forth a stone alive with light and the size of his eye. Red as blood, it shimmered and one by one the Spirits were drawn inside it. Even Eleylin was powerless against the wicked pull of the stone. And gone was she also."

"Fear grasped the hearts of the members of the Council, who until then ruled Leivrat with wisdom and fairness. Seeds of doubt in the powers of the Creators found fruitful soil in their minds. And when Onan proclaimed himself king, they bowed their heads and said it is so. And thus sorrowful times began."

"For one year the clouds were black and heavy with grief. Rain poured on Ailarin, bringing with it famine and hunger. Outsiders sent their envoys, yet the False King used the power of the accords against them. Accords that bound the Outsiders to never intervene in the dealings of the natives of Ailarin, Veilys and Flizers alike. And there was nothing to be done. No longer feeling safe, the Outsiders drew further into the lands they were given and hid their own Spirits. Resigned, they watched a new city rise on the top of the mountain, once home to Eleylin and the Spirits that served her."

"When the city was completed, Onan called it Aleuta and only those of power and wealth were allowed to join the False Kind. Once a year, on the day of the Soul Tying, he released Eleylin from her captivity in the stone to match the young ones. Yet, hard as she tried, there was no escape. She and the Spirits were forever bound to the stone and had to do Onan's bidding. Until today, rich are matched with rich in Aleuta. Poor are matched with poor in Leivrat. Thus Onan ensured that his bloodline would never again flow in the veins of the lesser men, of those he deemed unworthy."

"Yet, this was still not enough for Onan. He wanted those of his blood to rule the island and to command the Spirits for eternity, never to be challenged. It is said that he used a secret spell to place the wicked stone inside the chest of his granddaughter, whom he stole from her mother. She became the first Bearer of the Stone. The Spirit Stone, as it is called now, has since been passed through his female line, from mother to daughter, aunt to niece for over six hundred years. The line of the Queens of Aleuta thus began..."

"Old Zina, how did King Onan place the stone inside the girl's chest and she lived?" asked a boy named Patz. Like all the other children, he was green-haired and had a freckled face. His ears were long and pointy, rolled into cones.

Old Zina, who did not like to be interrupted, gave the boy a cold look with her almost blind eyes.

"With the knowledge of the secrets of the Creators there is nothing one cannot do," she cracked at him. "The Creators gave us our bodies. King Onan learnt how to bend it to his will."

The expression on Old Zina's face hardened and she slammed her hand down on the armchair. It rattled dangerously underneath her.

"But the price for it is high. I have lived through the reign of three Queens, I will know. The queen that rules now, Queen Kariah was still a young girl then. There was a lot of talk about her among Flizers, of course. Little of it was good. Proud and unforgiving, she was, even as a child. Quick to lose a hand on a Flizer. Still, it is the mother, Queen Alasa, that everyone on the mountain and below remembers in fear. Daughters kill mothers. Sisters kill sisters. Own kin's blood on their hands! Oh, Queen Alasa! A cold woman, a heartless woman! She poisoned her own sisters..."

"Poisoned! Poisoned?" echoed the children.

"...Mere girls still, matched but not wed. Then comes the youngest, Alasa, not a day matched and both sisters dead in their beds. We Flizers know all their secrets. We hear and we whisper." The old woman leaned closer and almost whispered, "She gave them poisoned grapes ..."

"But Old Zina, last time you said she gave them poisoned apples!" The same boy interrupted her again.

The woman's head jerked in the direction the voice came from and she let her gaze slide over the little children' heads. This time she mistakenly fixated a disapproving look on the boy sitting beside the culprit. Her face turned sour.

The boy, whose name was Zatz, immediately shrunk in size and shot his friend Patz a most accusing look. They boys could have passed for brothers. Both wore the same cloths and had the same unruly green hair. Yet where Zatz's eyes sparkled with amusement and liveliness, Patz's eyes bore a hint of wisdom beyond his age, and had longing in them that had no name and no beginning.

"You know it better, boy?" The woman's voice cracked like a whip.

"N-no, Old Zina," replied Zatz with a slightly trembling voice, shifting uncomfortably on his knees.

"Ay, thought so!" Satisfied, the old Flizer leaned back again in her armchair. "Alasa gave her sisters poisoned apples and their mother, the Old Queen, followed her dead daughters within the same year. Alasa's path to the crown was free and she sat on the throne, hard and cold as her heart, for twenty-three years."

"Yet taking the lives of own sisters weighs heavily even on a dark soul like hers. Alasa lost her mind in the end, you see. Everyone feared the daughter, Kariah would turn out just the same. Yet, she always lacked her mother's determination and cunning. Creators be thanked! That one kept her hands clean of her kin's blood. The elder sister did not get matched and that left Kariah with the crown. With her, at least Aleutans let the Outsiders be in the lands they were given. Only Flizers, we know no peace!" The last words were said with much bitterness. The woman's lips drew tight with old resentment.

"With the rise of Aleutan troubled times for Flizers began. The city where only rich and powerful lived, needed servants. One day long time ago, Aleutans appeared on their mighty eagles and told our ancestors that from then on we had to bring the young ones to the Shrine on the coast of Bauroo. It had to be on the day of the Soul Tying. If we disobeyed, they threatened to descend on the Hillroot forest and destroy our homes. Boys and girls alike must run down the slope to the shrine, they said. Girls, so the Aleutans would only take the unmatched ones. Boys, so they watch and learn to fear the power of Aleuta. ..." Her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes.

Used to Old Zina's prolonged silences that inevitably followed when her mind wandered to the times long past, the children did not interrupt. At last she opened her eyes and sighed deeply.

"And so in two days from now they will come as they always do. Young girls will be taken, old women returned. I was one of them. A Zapped One. For thirty years I served them. When they no longer had any use for me, they brought me back." With the sleeve of her shirt she wiped away the tears that began to glimmer in the corners of her eyes. "Beware of the Veilys, little ones. They are cruel and love us not!"

The door to the hut opened with a screech and a woman appeared. She frowned at the sight of all the children. Without hesitation, they sprang up and one after another darted for the door.

"Old Zina!" the woman exclaimed without anger, "You let them in again! You know the neighbours don't like it when you frighten their children with your old tales."

"They better know what's coming..." she muttered more to herself.

The woman, still in the doorway, caught one of the boys sneaking by her with a little girl in tow, and rubbed his face clean with the folds of her skirt. "Zapi Zosifoot! If I tell your mother that you brought your little sister here, she will chase you around the village again. I can't blame her. You know little girls are not supposed to listen to the Zapped One's tales." She let the boy go and gently patted his little sister on the head. "Run along now. Don't let me catch you here again."

"Thank you, Mrs. Zumpletoe," they called on the way out. Patz hoped to hide behind the other children and escape unnoticed, but that was easier said than done. As soon as he was in the woman's reach, she pulled him in a hug and kissed his unruly hair. Some children snickered. Patz flushed bright red up to the tips of his ears.

"Mother," he complained and pulled himself out of her embrace. Her attention was already on Zatz.

"Zatz Zuckleleg, you run straight home, you hear? Your mother is looking everywhere for you."

"Yes, Mrs. Zumpletoe," cried Zatz and together with his friend Patz they ran outside.

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Note fro writer:

I have introduced new characters in this chapter. Flizers are small creatures living in the south of Ailarin, they are native to the island just as the Veilys. They are super fast, that is why I called them Flizers. However, due to their size and inability to defend themselves, since the Last Wars and the rise of Aleuta, they have not experienced  much good coming from the other "Tall Creatures" (particularly Aleutans). That is why they are rather afraid of what is outside their home forest and are therefore not very adventurous.

As you can tell from the story, the royal family of Aleuta seems to have quite a few family troubles. A lot more exciting things will happen to them. 

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