generated with meta.ai
“Earth, fire, and brimstone. A portal to Earthlea. Reveal!” Rowla sprinkled brown sand in the air that started to glimmer. Her round eyes popped. She tucked some brown strands of hair behind her ear as she anticipated. Just like the twinkles merely faded, the glint in her eyes disappeared too.
“Let's try again, Blubber.” Rowla pouted. She rubbed the furs of Blubber's hair as he lay in on a warm rock watching her with intense yellow eyes. ”Gnnargh” he grunted.
She retrieved some more brown sand from a leather pouch and blew dust into the air while conjuring the little magic she had in her. “Fireflies, whisps clouds, flowy rivers, and everything encompassing reveal an era once forgotten.” Once again the glimmers quickly died out as soon as they formed.
Rowla fell into a heap beside Blubber. Her peach floral dress formed a circle around her. “This is the 20th era and the spell has been watered down from generation to generation. I fear Earthlea may be lost forever. I want to see it. I want my magic to evolve. Tell me more about it Blubber. You were there before it all went to dust.”
“Earthlea is as real as I am. I feel the air and raindrops. I can smell the ocean and how the sun shines so brightly. The feywings and fairies flutter. Elves and pixies jumping trees. Oh, what a great life lived in peace and harmony.” Blubber closed his eyes and his body shook. He looked so much at peace that Rowla couldn't help but smile. “I feel it Rowla. All of it.”
Rowla gathered the ruffles of her dress and stood up. Trying to steady her feet on the ground, she slipped on a small pebble.
“Easy now Rowla.” Blubber clutched the hem of her dress with his blunt thick claws.
“That was close.” Rowla’s heart raced looking down at the meadow beneath the mountain they stood on.
“Earthlea is an unbelievable place but it isn't worth losing you I promise.” Blubber bent his hind legs low enough for Rowla to climb his back. He shook his head and his soft furs ruffled down to his eyes. The furs gently parted. Blubber grunted and began leaping one rock after another until he descended the mountain. With one more grunt, he sprinted through the shrubs and flowers in the meadow. His massive round body kept bouncing in and out of tall grasses.
Rowla felt the sun on her face and the warm air on her skin. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the joyful moment. Rowla’s life mission was to find Earthlea and practice magic but she couldn't think of anything she loved more than spending time with Blubber.
“You have all of this here.” Blubber slowed down as they approached a small market with a handful of people buying and selling.
“But Earthlea can be home for you again. A place where we can be free of stares and judgment. An enchanted place where your kind and mine dwell.”
“But I have made a home here,” Blubber groaned.
“Be quiet now.” Rowla playfully rubbed Blubber's head as they passed by some strangers. The villagers of Kholta were already accustomed to seeing a giant white furry creature roam around with an Asher but no one knew he could talk. Blubber had been with the Ashers from time immemorial. He had become a living myth but it was an open secret that the Ashers came from a long line of mystics.
At the beginning of time, Kholta coexisted with another magical land called Earthlea right beside the edge of the mountain. Earthlea was home to everything magical. Humans and magical beings lived in harmony until one day, a mysterious disease plagued Kholta. The humans believed that Earthlea cast a spell on them.
This turn of events brewed enmity between the two kinds. The earthleans feared that the humans would act on their animosity so some of them began disguising as humans and the rest of them rolled off together with Earthlea into a giant white ball of dust. They were going to find Earthlea another home. With Earthlea gone, the power of magic became so weak in Kholta that magic came to be something only latent. Some say that the Ashers were the Earthleans who kept Earthlea’s location a secret. They passed this secret down to custodian ancestors from generation to generation.
Rowla had received the gift of the magical sand from her great-aunt. She was also the Asher of her time responsible for Blubber. As such, the two had become inseparable.
The sun had hidden its bright face giving way to the illuminating moonlight when Rowla and Blubber got home. The rest of her family had not come home yet. She was famished but tired so she barely walked Blubber to his shelter before she snuggled beside him on a heap of hay.
“Are we sharing a…..” Blubber did not finish uttering his words before she drifted off.
In Rowla’s dream, she saw herself floating through their house. Only this time, it was centuries ago. She saw a girl just about her age holding on to Blubber. The girl stretched her hand to an older woman. “We are Ashers and we must keep Earthlea hidden until the 20th era. When the time comes, this day will reveal itself as a vision. Life and death, the end and the beginning. A new Earthlea will rise.” The woman walked to Blubber and patted him. “You are safe in here now but your time will come again.” She gave the girl a leather pouch.
“Life and death, the begin…” Rowla roused from a frantic tapping.
“You-you've found it. The right words.” Blubber's eyes widened. “You were talking in your sleep.”
“Yes. I think I just had a vision. Wait! how do you know?” Rowla's joy knew no bounds.
Blubber merely growled. He always did that when he didn't want to let on more than he knew.
“Oh well, come on now, let's go to the rock. ”Rowla ignored Blubber's hesitation and ran off. She knew he'd come after her. He always did. “You are going to miss the great reveal”, she yelled.
Rowla caught her breath when she got to the edge of the mountain. She gazed down at the vegetation below. She had always imagined Earthlea as a world suspended in the air beside the mountain.
“I am going to miss you but I will always be with you,” Blubber announced feeling vanquished. He moved to the edge of the mountain.
“life and death, the end and the beginning. A new Earthlea will rise.” Rowla retrieved her sand and blew some dust into the air. She had finished uttering the words before Blubber's voice echoed in her head. She was too excited and it happened too fast.
“What do you mean Blubber?” Her eyes darted from place to place before settling on Blubber's teary eyes. She had never seen him cry before.
Amidst her confusion, Blubber's body began to dissipate into twinkling dust, vines, trees, flying creatures, flowers of many colors, and a sweet smell like berries emanated. Like a rolled-out carpet in the air, what was once blubber was materializing into a new world and Rowla stood in front of it dazed.
“Earthlea is Blubber. And Blubber is not a creature. I am a place." She could hear Blubber’s echoes as his voice faded out in whispers of the birds.
Rowla began weeping profusely. She tried to catch the last pieces of leaves falling in the air. She slowly let herself into Earthlea with a feeling of regret. She fell to her knees when her legs couldn't carry her much longer.
She wanted Earthlea. A place where all magical beings would find a home but she never imagined it would mean giving up Blubber. She thought about all the times he tried to make her stop. She could still feel him and Earthlea echoed his silent grunts.
Soon, a creature came running towards her. He looked full and furry just like blubber. Only much smaller and his yellow eyes begged for affection.
“I will call you Blabber,” she muttered between sobs.
