Page 163 of Hidden Kingdoms

Someone else joined us by the fire, dressed in a uniform much thicker than Lev’s. The flames illuminated his brown skin and umber eyes that shined independent of the firelight. His black hair was braided close to his scalp with tiny silver hoops twined throughout.

Holding his hands out to the fire, he looked up as someone else moved closer, the ground crunching under heavy boots—another soldier.

“That time already?” the standing soldier asked.

“I’ve just sat down.” He deadpanned.

“Perfect timing, then.” The soldier grinned.

Before I could ask what was happening, Alouette spoke. “Ansel’s Grandmother.” She gestured towards the man with silver threaded through his hair. “She was a Story Keeper, and while he possesses very little talent himself, he’s still better than the rest of us when it comes to tales round the fire. So, we let him take centre stage every now and then. Gives him some practice.”

“Let me? These stories are told under duress!” He waved to the others who had wandered closer, now filling the empty spaces on the logs or crowding around the fire.

“Stop being a whiny bitch, you love it.”

“Do you want a story, or are you just going to insult me?”

“A story, of course. But insults are still on the table.”

Ansel shot her an unamused look, and I pressed my lips together to contain my smile. Plenty of people hadn’t come over, still continuing the party, the music playing and their voices a hum that didn’t quite reach this newest gathering.

“Here,” someone said in my direction, and I looked up to see Old Roger handing over something wrapped in paper, steam curling into the frigid air.

“Oh, thank you.” I reached out in surprise to take what was offered, peeling back the top to see a thick bread roll full of grilled meat, the grease staining the paper a little.

Alouette tucked straight into her own one and I followed suit, savouring the flavours that melted in my mouth.

“Get on with it then!” A voice called out, and quiet laughter spilled from those around, all faces focused on Ansel.

Ansel sat up straighter, taking in a breath of the icy air, and it felt as though even the trees leaned in a little closer. Keeping his eyes on the flames, Ansel began.

“Before there was us, there was nothing. Before there were birds and trees and all manner of creatures, there was only darkness. It was not a darkness of fear and bad things, nor was it a darkness of comfort and safety. It just was.

“All things in the universe need a balance, and so, a spark of light was born, and from that spark grew the mightiest blaze of them all. A light so bright, so hot, so powerful, there was no choice but for it to hang high in the sky, illuminating the world and sweeping away the dark as it drifted through the clouds. And so, Xol was created.

“But even the mightiest of beings need rest, and one night as he allowed the dark night to sweep over the world, he realised he was not alone. For there, shining in the dark, with the dark, was the most beautiful creation he had ever seen. Where Lune came from no one knows. Maybe she was there all along, the night so dark her light was hidden, or maybe she was created as Xol had been.” I couldn’t help but glance at the sky, to the crescent moon watching over us as Ansel spoke. His voice was melodic, soothing, a caress that wove through the words and I hung onto every one.

“Entranced by this new being,” Ansel continued, “Xol reached for her, and to his surprise, she reached back and together they made the sky their home. They say their union broke the foundations of the world so was their power together.

“For millennia, they shared the sky, bathing half the world in each of their lights as it spun beneath them. As Lune pulled the tides and Xol soaked the ground in his rays, the very earth bloomed.

“With such a love as theirs, it wasn’t long before Lune’s womb grew heavy with child, and when her time came, even the winds stopped to pay attention, for this was a moment like no other. Though six times Luna’s womb would swell and 7 goddesses she would gift to the world, this was the first.

“And so, she was born, as beautiful as her mother who pushed her into the world. Tieralla was the first being whose feet had touched the earth. It’s said that with every step she took, flowers grew in abundance. Where she slept at night, under the watchful eyes of her parents, great forests burst forth. She wandered alone, blanketing the world in verdant hills, and groves of oaks, and fields of wildflowers. But alone she was, for Xol and Lune remained high in the sky.

“A second time, Lune’s womb swelled, and again she bore a goddess. Zerua swept into the world, and before Xol could deposit her onto the earth alongside her sister, Zerua was caught on an errant wind. In terror, Lune watched as her daughter was ripped from Xol’s arms until the lilting peal of laughter blew through the skies, and Zerua glided past them. A child able to walk on earth and master the sky.

“A third time, Lune and Xol’s unions proved fruitful, and soon Lune was bigger than she had been yet. Though this time, it was not easy like it had been with her previous daughters. This time, the child within roiled like the thunderclouds Zerua liked to summon.”

I glanced around, seeing the crowd that had joined us listening with rapt attention as Ansel weaved his tale through the frost laden air.

“Sooner than expected, her time came, and out of her she pushed a beautiful daughter just like the others. Yet this time, there was something different, for the child screamed and screamed and would not let Xol or Lune pass them to the earth.

“As it had been while inside her, the child thrashed and those around her could do nothing but look on. And as they looked on, the little goddess began to vibrate, to shake so violently that at first they didn’t see. They didn’t see as she started to break apart, to become two beings.

“Xol and Lune were in such a state of disbelief, they forgot to keep a grip on their children, and the little goddesses plummeted to the earth below. Even Zerua was not fast enough to catch her new sisters. Lune’s scream, the scream of a mother’s terror for her children, cleaved the worlds apart, enough they say that it was when the first rifts into Hell were formed. But there was nothing to be done.” I could see it, the tiny children plunging through the air as the ground rose to meet them. Hear their mothers scream in the winds that jostled the jasmine-scented flames crackling around us.

“As they neared their end, power surged up towards them. Whether it was their own or some inherent gift from the universe, no one knows. As the first little goddess hit the earth, the dirt and grass and flowers grown there by Tieralla turned into the first great lake. Its waters cradled the child, depositing her on the muddy banks and so Adria, goddess of water and the sea and all things beneath, was created.

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