In the typically weird and magical land of Nim, three brothers named Irvin, Eli, and Kan, lived in a small town called Oz with their mother Nai, who worked as a messenger for Center Isle, the land ruled by the fairies and gremlins.
These creatures brought balance to Nim, wherein peace was preserved from a rich history of deadly wars waged between ancient kingdoms. They were, the governors of time, so to speak. Little winged creatures about two feet high, fairies dressed with all nobility while gremlins, their male counterpart, looked like princes with five toes on feet spread like the veins of leaves. Gremlins hated machinery at all, a reason why Center Isle's civilization (Centerner) thrived and stayed as it was before – it never changed – a meek, backward society founded on clean prowess, finesse and wit. Anyone who belonged in this civilization possessed the power to remove the evil that engulfs bodies –those of humans or Natives as they were called.
Humans still existed in this world; however, some were born with talents beyond what the normal can do, while others turned their backs on simplicity to become who they wanted to be. Sacrifices had to be made; unless their offspring was five years or younger, the Natives had the chances to provide a brighter future for their children by turning them into Centerners. The ultimate sacrifice involved a twenty-year leap of youth conceiving a never-aging full-fledged fairy/gremlin who would serve to protect Reign Teseree and the kingdom of Center Isle.
"If we take her, there's no turning back. She will remember no one; she can love no more. Are you willing to give them up?" The modest Reign Teseree modestly emphasized her words to a group of Natives who had decided their children's fate.
At the Center
Center Isle's population only grew through the honest pursuit of dreams, for better life – the parents' aspirations; Centerners cannot mate nor bear offspring.
Centerners remained awake at night and slept by the time the sun had risen; they brought with them their fireflies that collect pixie dusts from flowers which will bloom the next day. They used the dust to groom themselves – as an accessory that causes them to glow and glimmer like stars. These dusts served as energy for them to flap their wings and heat their bodies up against the cold. Some of the pixie dusts were reprocessed into golden shingles, the powder grains they load into their 4-inch high staff being used to dispel evil.
"Your children, once transformed, will receive such magical gifts," referring to the stacks of staff, Reign Teseree continued in such sweet, melancholic accent.
Each mystical staff was made up of twigs and branches of Oak trees that covered most of the arable soil of Center Isle. Its top portion, the cinder stone, consisted of impure Amethyst crystals. To date, Amethyst crystals were mined in all of Nim. These crystals were used as articles of shelter, weaponry and defense. These differed from pixie dust because the crystals served as the core jewels of Nim – the ones most priced for its rarity and peculiarity.
"They will have the honor and love of everyone in Center Isle. But, again I must iterate, they will be loved by many but they can love back no more."
"Yes, your Reign. If it's all for the good, of this city which we all are protecting, we offer you our only possession," a woman dressed, in a brown robe tightened by white barn straw and a veil that seemed to blanket the tearing eyes, wholeheartedly addressed her consent to Reign Teseree.
Amethyst crystals, which form part of each staff's cinder stone, in its purest form were extremely scarce; only four were thought to have existed, each guarded and protected by a kingdom, and stored inside an amulet carried by the head of the civilization.
Reign Teseree then led the Native parents to a sacred site, the Carth, and showed them the powerful amulet.
"These provide Center Isle's last deterrent against an outside attack. Once this amulet falls at the wrong hand, all of our lives will be put to greater risks. We will be defenseless and prone to invasion from other civilizations – which, I presume, count to four," she said to them, according to a history book found at the Citadel, the heart of Center Isle.
The Citadel extended thousands of kilometers across, yet only reached up to a maximum of 15 feet high. And with all due respect, Reign Teseree had to fly up a little higher so she can talk eye-to-eye with parents who visited her outside the Crown Tree – the majestic tree palace of the Reign at the middle of the Citadel.
The fragrant smell of pixie dust can be found everywhere, so strong that one would realize if he/she has reached the capital upon sensing the scent of ripe bananas. The trees which dwelled in Center Isle served as homes to thousands of Centerners. Gremlins carved out holes on trunks, branches and roots for entrances and windows, while fairies decorated the interiors with grasses, leaves, twigs and bugs.
Other homes built within the kingdom were for the Natives, who have migrated there for safety. Through their loyalty, the Natives were provided pointed wooden stakes and rock-solid shields. They were given armaments to defend the Center Isle against any possible attack, but they never had tools for repair or foundries for making weapons because the gremlins, given its nature, will only destroy whatever metallic (machinery) they ever see.
Never did they wield anything; instead, fairies granted them these wooden weapons up to such limited pixie power. Thus, stockpiles were all set and ready for use.
For anyone (wanderer) who wished to enter the home of a fairy or gremlin, he/she had to ask first to be scaled down in size and be able to come inside. This meant, they – including non-Centerners – had to knock on the tree trunk and say the words:
"Oh, what lovely time, to you Centerner I speak; with all your humility, an entry's what I seek."
The Centerner's response has always been to show that the visitor was welcome:
"Time is beauty; come in, dear wanderer."
Natives made up 10% of Center Isle's population. Their shelters looked like ordinary cottages with lanterns from burning pixie dust and beds that come from trunks. Natives were powerless beings, not until they train and transform – their last option, but in Center Isle they were free; they cultivated the Isle's lands and raised animals for food. They were granted rights by Reign Teseree to live with security and contentment, as long as they do not trample upon nor betray the trust of the Royalty. In return, most of them willingly gave up their offspring to contribute and help strengthen Center Isle now that what was once a truce with the wolves – the Hunters civilization - was now at the brink of collapse.
Chapter 2: Lost and Found
https://steemit.com/fiction/@migo25/amethyst-or-chapter-2-lost-and-found
