.^^ Giant-Born Mongolin ^^

— Caroline —

Sandy woke me up, the day of the celebration, and shushed me when I went to speak. She motioned me to dress and follow her, and began pulling her own clothes on.

I obeyed, confused but interested in what was going to happen, and gasped quietly when I saw the group of people, the entire clan of 120 Daisha that had gathered over the past few days, carrying Iris and four other girls (that were also coming of age, apparently,) like they were crowd-surfing in their sleep.

Sandy placed a finger on my lips, and I noticed the eery silence in the house, as the crowd began a procession, like a funeral march without the caskets, through the streets and into the entry canal.

As the procession marched, each of the adult women raised a staff, and the ends lit on fire; the men held curved scimitars on guard in front of themselves, adding to the image, which made the entire procession resemble an angry mob and a military parade mixed together... until the dancing started.

I'd never seen so much grace and elegance in a single group of individuals, as they deftly moved around each other, threading around each other like needles and fine silk.

Sandy led me to the rest of my family that had stayed, which was just our adventuring party and my parents, plus Sariel, who was glued to Tommy's side, staring at the fire and flashing blades around him with his wide red eyes.

After we were together in the center, she moved to stand next to her mother, and their moves synchronized flawlessly, leading the procession out of the canal into a large cave, which had several tunnels upwards. They didn't choose any of them, instead walking into the water that rocked gently at the opening towards the outside of the cliff.

The fire on their staffs didn't die out, and I noticed a tunnel of air open around them, then stay open behind them. I curbed my need to exclaim how awesome this entire experience was, because other than the sounds of the flames and swords flying, there was no sound yet. No words.

The path continued until we curved around and reached a piece of beach, our arrival from the sea scaring away a group of giant seals and a few slumbering water dragons.

The crescent moon was directly over us, and I could feel the heat of the sands under us, even though it didn't affect me. Papa was the only one who was bothered, apparently, which mother solved by carrying him, much to his embarrassment.

The procession laid the girls down in the sand, and formed a large circle around them, stabbing their staffs into the sand, like tiki torches, as the sand around the flames in the bottom of the staffs crystallized from the heat, and kept the staff upright.

A cave to our left finally made a sound, and a massive creature slowly walked out on two legs, though it had four. A furry belly and armored scales on his back made him some sort of pangolin, perhaps, but mixed with a Ferret, with his slender, weasel-like body, other than the scales. On his forearms, he wore brass bracers, and his larger bottom feet were strapped almost to the toes in silk.

He sniffed, and then approached the circle carefully, and a rich, deep voice came from his throat. "When the moon is High, rage and fury Die... when the Sands Quake, the Daisha do not Shake... descendants of Giants, killers of Titans, breakers of Tyrants, Givers of Life. What does the Daisha Bring the Giant-Born Mongolin?" He asked, and sat primly in front of Kaza.

She mutely gestured to the girls, who had woken up as soon as he'd exited the cave, but hadn't moved from their sitting positions.

"To enter into Adulthood, a Daisha must have strength. Strength of body, of mind, of soul, of heart. To aid in this, you may ask for strength, from your family. From your Clan. From yourself, even." He leaned into the circle, speaking to them directly.

One of the girls stood, and then planted a seed, and held her hands together for a moment, concentrating, until a root broke out of the sand. It extended upwards, solidifying into a staff. She grinned and blushed when a yellow flower bloomed on top of it.

"From Within, then... You wish to draw strength not from others, but from yourself. You shy from pain, yet would turn the Black Sands to Glass to soothe your Clan... Power is yours to take." He stepped aside, and she marched into the cave, holding her staff up and providing herself with light as she went deeper.

We waited, silent, for about fifteen minutes, tracking the steady progress of the moon, before she stumbled out of the cave, covered in cuts and scrapes, but grinning victoriously, as a small, new tattoo was visible across her collarbone, a beautifully detailed tattoo of a honeysuckle vine.

She collapsed into the circle, almost to Kaza and Sandy, and the creature nudged her the rest of the way. "One finds Strength and Power Within. And you?" He looked at the next, who gulped audibly, and then stood shakily, looking at another woman in the circle. "Strength from the Family. A good choice." The creature nodded, and suddenly staffs began to rise from the sand, the staffs from the dresser in the Estate.

She breathed deeply, and gripped one, a white wood that was reminiscent of bone. When she pulled it out of the sand, he nodded. "Another path chosen. Power is yours." He gestured at the cave.

She nodded, and stomped towards the cave, clutching the white staff.

Another fifteen minutes stretched into a half-hour, and the creature cocked its head, then sighed. "Power... is not always kind." The girl stepped into view, gazing forward with sightless eyes, but walking with confidence, baring her new tattoo on her forehead, a beautifully styled third eye. She stepped to her place in the circle near Kaza, and sat down again, her new staff across her knees. He looked at the third. "And you?"

She stood, and walked over to another girl only a little older, who smiled and handed her a staff, (one of the two she had carried here,) then a swift kiss.

"Strength from the Heart. Good choice." He nodded, a small smile on his scaled lips.

She blushed and walked into the cave with a slight skip to her step. Less than five minutes later, she reappeared, a tattoo across the left side of her face, in spiral air or Storm patterns, it seemed. She stepped to the circle, wobbling on her feet a bit, and sat next to Sandy proudly.

I raised an eyebrow, and Sandy glanced at Sariel. 'Ahhh, an apprentice... interesting.'

The fourth girl stood without being bidden, and the creature turned its gaze to her. "And where do you draw your strength from, Little Rabbit?"

The girl knelt, scooping up a handful of sand, which slowly crystallized and extended, turning into a black obsidian staff.

"Strength from the Land... how rare..." he chuckled, and bowed his head, surprising me. She smiled sweetly and stepped into the cave, the black staff settled over her shoulders.

We waited for almost an hour, but as I started to shift in concern for the girl in that mysterious, apparently very dangerous cave, she emerged, in a way, as a sand demon, before the sand ran off her body, and she stood in her own form again. She fell to her knees, coughing up sand, and then struggled over to Sandy, sitting down heavily.

"Three new Druids in one group, and of three different elements, plus a Mystic... a powerful Brood... and you? Where do you draw strength from?" He finally looked at Iris.

She stood, and I willed my staff into the circle, as she reached out. She paused, and touched it, stroking the patterns, then shook her head and moved to the next, a staff of Titanium and magnesium. She grinned and pulled it out of the sand, testing its weight. Then she winked at a boy in the crowd, who blushed and smoothed his hair back to look more presentable.

"Strength from Passion as well... a Good choice for a pyromancer's Power." He nodded. She breathed deeply, then suddenly sprinted into the cave, not even bothering to look back.

The creature laughed softly. "Fire... the strongest, yet most volatile of Elements. Prone to many faults, and many virtues."

A few minutes later, a massive gout of flame and lava sprayed from the cave, followed by a massive lava monster, the same size as the Mongolin. It slowly stepped out of the cave, melting slowly into Iris. She shivered, apparently cold from the loss of heat, and trudged over next to Sandy with the other three new Druids, near the Mystic girl.

The creature nodded. "The Paths are carved in the Sands of Time. The Daisha gained and lost much today... as did I." The creature sighed, gazing at its ruined cave, the lava still cooling and scorching the walls.

Iris scratched her scalp and looked away, refusing to meet his disapproving gaze.

"Hmm... but I wish you all luck. The Giant-Born Mongolin Param gives you leave to speak." He waved his tiny hand casually, and then picked his way into his cave, as a collective sigh of relief came from the group.

Then Kaza whistled sharply, and suddenly tables rose from the sand, surrounding the circle, and the women began to place food onto the tables, including several dozen pies, and someone started playing a drum and then a Lute and pair of pan-pipes joined in.

The party had officially started.

I made my way over to Sandy, sweeping her up into a hug and a thorough kiss, before setting her down. "Wow! So that was some sort of Clan Mascot?" I asked, excited.

She laughed. "He's technically an Elder of our Clan. All Great Clans have them. It's a long story."

"Cool, Cool, you can tell me later when we get bored. And four apprentices, huh? How you gonna manage that?" I asked.

"Well... I'll just take them with me, I suppose, once they choose their Work. It'll be interesting, traveling with four Druidlings, but I'm the only Druid capable of teaching them. Mother is technically a Druid, but a very new one. She's actually a Mystic, so she'll have her hands full with her apprentice... poor girl." She sighed at the sight of the girl's mother hugging her, crying softly.

I nodded. "Yeah... Hello, girls, I'm Cassidy, it's good to meet you." I shook their hands, then sighed at Iris. "But you didn't take my staff. I'm hurt."

She shrugged. "Bedu is the best Smith in the Clan. And the best kisser." She smirked as the other girls gagged at her.

I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he your cousin?"

"Distant, like seventh generation at least. Same with Kiri and her girl." She pointed a thumb at the girl who'd given the staff to the tempest girl.

The girl walked over and hugged the shivering new Druid. "Did my staff help?" She asked quietly.

"It did... every little bit helped." The girl shook her head, and hugged her little honey-love tightly.

I hummed. "Is it that bad in there? Do you need some healing, any of you?" I glanced at the girl who'd come out covered in scratches, but she was fine, it seemed.

Sandy nodded. "That's a good point! First lesson, girls, healing! Kiri, heal Hyla." She demanded calmly.

The girl jumped at being directly addressed, but nodded and stared at her staff for a moment, then hugged the other girl. The cuts closed a little, bit not fully.

"Good, good. Now Jia." She looked at the second girl, the one who'd turned to an earth elemental.

She rubbed the staff in her hands, and it glowed softly, as she touched it to the bleeding girl. The blood on her skin slowly retracted, into her body, and then the cuts healed almost all the way, this time.

"Very good! Now Iris?" She glanced at the girl.

She tied her hair back out of her face, then planted her staff in the ground, where it began to burn white hot. Then she tapped it to the girl's outstretched hand, and the staff went cold again, as her wounds healed, then her skin gained a beautiful, healthy glow.

"Alright! It worked!" She cheered.

Sandy chuckled. "Indeed. Hyla... Hmm..."

I shrugged and cut my hand a little bit, extending it forward for the girl's perusal. She blinked, and then waved a hand, making a small plant sprout from her staff. She crushed it in her hand, and smeared the paste over my hand swiftly.

"Hmm... herbal remedies. Actual medicine. Good, that's a powerful magic for healing spells." Sandy nodded as the paste dried and then evaporated, the cut completely gone underneath it.

She blushed and looked down, not responding.

I chuckled. "Pretty badass, you ask me. Anyway, I'm going to go get my staff, seeing as you didn't want it. It was made of Ancient Red Dragon Horn, so it's very precious." I explained, walking into the circle and gripping my staff.

As I pulled it from the sand, Kaza gasped, staring at me. "Oh fuck..." she hissed, and whistled sharply, silencing everyone just in time, as the creature appeared almost from the dust of the sand and wind, staring at me from a mere foot or so away.

I opened my mouth, then closed it slowly, recognizing what I'd done too late to take it back.

"Ignorant of the Clan, yet powerful in her own right. She enters the Circle, and is of Age... she may live. Where do you draw strength from?" The creature asked sharply, staring at me unblinkingly.

I thought about it, and then looked at Tommy, then sandy and my parents.

"Family. The Heart. Curious... one so violent as yourself very rarely has Empathy for others. Power... is yours." It moved away, letting me view the cave.

I sighed, and started towards the cave, waving casually at my family. 'I'll be fine.' I chuckled to Sandy, knowing she could hear me.

She shook her head, looking worried. 'Do not underestimate the power of the Sands of Time.'

I entered the cave, and hummed at the strange sand inside. Different from the black and gold sand of the beach, and any other sand I'd ever seen. It was perfectly clear, like water, letting me see the endless pit beneath me, so deep I could see the stars.

I took a few handfuls of sand, examining it, and finding it was made of diamonds, crushed into dust so think that with a little water, I would have sunk right through it. When I looked up, the entrance was gone, and the staff, glowing softly, was my only light.

I quenched the light, and looked at the beautiful starscape all around me, hundreds of constellations, spinning and shifting and turning in every direction, planets reflecting the light of dawn and dusk. I walked deeper into the cave, and began to see the history of this realm.

Massive battles between god's and titans, whose names whispered themselves in my mind. Wizards and Mystics working together and fighting in equal amounts, eventually defying the god's, and breaking the realm in two. A planet, distant but intertwined with this one by the forces of gravity, shattered, and its continents moved with one last effort from the Dragons who called it home.

Meteors rained down upon the planet of Toril, as continents appeared in the ocean, upsetting the waters and causing cataclysmic tidal waves. The meteors hatched open, spilling out tiny baby dragons of every color imaginable, which spread and prospered, or were cut down, depending on their actions.

The remains of that other planet drifted around the planet, forming a thick carpet of satellites, as well as a large moon, that over time curved and became round, its jagged, broken edges smoothing.

Then another Eon passed in a breath, with all of the dragons except the most ancient dead, and the eggs that had been floating around the world were dropped from the skies by a goddess with blue skin and white eyes. As she did this, her eyes watered, and when the tears touched the stone eggs, they were brought back to life.

This time, there was response to the eggs falling. Two groups gathered them in droves, hoarding them away in secret places, searching high and low all over every continent... except one.

The southern continent, once thought an icy, frozen wasteland, was heated from fires in the core below, and the dragons flourished there, until the coming of the humans and elves. The tiefling's, who had lived in the islands surrounding the land for millennia, welcomed these newcomers with suspicion, but generosity.

I watched as the Orcs came up from the land below, exiting their caves and caverns into the light, claiming the Jungle that had grown on the northern half of the continent for themselves, and the wars, which had lasted for hundreds of years, ended in an instant, from my new point of view.

"The DemiPlane of Power does not often give Knowledge to mortals. Perhaps it is your age, or perhaps it is simply your origins, in a realm where knowledge was the only true Power to be found. The mysteries of the world are now yours to uncover, to either crack like nuts against a grinding stone... or coax them into the light, like a lemur, with the gift of a soft sap-fruit. " The Mongolin appeared next to me, humming curiously.

I pointed at my lips, and he grinned savagely, showing sharklike teeth.

"Oh yes... speak your questions if you wish." He chuckled darkly.

I frowned at him, my hands on my hips sternly.

He snorted. "Fine... you may leave, and you may speak." He grumbled, and curled up on a piece of stone, as suddenly I was standing in his cave, a calm, sedate cave with no real sand in it.

I touched the sand in my pocket, the handful I'd scooped from the Sands of Time, and smiled when I saw it was still there. I looked at the giant creature. "Are you hungry? My mother makes a great Meat Pie."

He laughed, and shook his head. "No. I do not eat mortal food. Goodbye." His tail wrapped my hips, and chucked me casually out of the cave.