Joy woke up with leaves in her hair and a fire crackling nearby. She sat up groggily too see stars appearing through the vines of the cave.
"E-Eh?..." She groaned and placed a hand on her head. It had been hours since she had laid down for a "quick" nap. Just as she was looking up, rayman romped back in, holding a leaf basket filled with fruits and nuts, and some kindling and fire wood in the other.
"Awake huh?" he grinned at her. "good, I got some stuff for a fire to keep us warm, tonights gonne be cold. Oh, and some nuts and fruits. I wasn't sure if you were a vegetarian or not so I didn't try to catch anything." he set down the harvested goods in front of her, before turning around and starting to work on his fire. Joy watched for a bit, still rather out of it from her sleep. She looked down at the basket of fruit to inspect it. Apples, Small Plums and pears filled it, along with pine nuts, walnuts and a few she didn't recognize.
"How long does it take to get to the sea of lums from here?" She asked, picking up an apple and biting into it with a loud crackle of the skin breaking. Joy closed her eyes as she chewed it, and Rayman did some counting on his fingers.
"Hmm, should be around 6 days." He commented, as the fire grew large, he scooted back and picked up an apple as well. He inspected it for spots before taking a large bite out of it, consuming almost half the thing in one bite. Joy watched him take off a smaller bit after that, and look at it slightly. "Hmm... mid fall..."
"How old are you?" she interrupted his train of thought, and he looked at her with a bit of suprise.
"Er... turned seventeen last month. It's gonna get colder though as we head towards the sea. These southern area's are always late on the catch up for this colder weather. And I was just thinking about... well." He scratched the back of his head. He looked back at the fire, watching it in silence and leaving his thoughts unspoken. Joy reached for another apple, but stopped short when he spoke again. "..Joy.. Have you ever felt like something bad is coming? But you can't put your finger on it? I get this feeling a lot.." Joy picked up a pear instead, and looked at it.
"...Yeah.. A lot.." She glanced at him, as he stooped over and stared into the flames. She got an uneasy feeling from his troubledness. He was a guardian after all. The hero of the Glade. And he was expecting something to come. Why'd she compare her feelings with his? It's not like hers effected other peoples lives at all. She looked back up with a question. "What's it like to be a hero?" Rayman cocked an eyebrow and thought before answering.
"Hmm... It can be fun. But I'm not gonna say I'm never scared by it. Scooch closer to the fire, you're looking pale." He scooched over to give her room closer too it. As soon as she scooched back, she took a bite of the pear.
"Do you have any stories?" Rayman cracked his knuckles slightly and laid back, nodding.
"Wanna hear one?" Joy laid back as well and nodded, squeezing her pear. "Pass me one of those plums and I'll start."
It starts with Polokus. It had been hundreds of years since he had been born. Jano guarded his nightmares, and he dreamt of new creations, but something was not right. When lives came to an end, their spirits did not know where to go. He watched as they wandered, lost and sad. He knew he had to find a fix to this, and turned his attention to a small tribe of fairies close by. Taking their form easily, he walked through the village. Beautiful women weaving fabrics, Strong men lugging furs and firewood, but only one caught his eye.
Konokulus, young and alone. He sat surrounded by a few woodland creatures as he tended too a small garden of flowers, smiling as a few bloomed before his eyes. His eyes were a clear blue, and ash blonde hair was caught in a simple thread at the nape of his neck. It was him, Polokus knew it. He had found his God of Death.
Caring, gentle, and genuine, he would do well in helping spirits find the land he had made for them, no matter how far they were from it. It did not take long after his position, for Konokulus's heart to be captured by a young woman. Her dark ebony hair curled softly, and her olive skin gleamed in the moonlight, while her eyes were a beautiful ocean blue. Maleane was her name. And it did not take long for her to bear his children.
The first was Sincula. Goddess of light. Her Twin brother Sunorus, god of Darkness. Polokus watched his companion and his family, smiling serenely. He could not have predicted what would come next though.
"Still with me? You've been queit." Rayman commented with a chuckle, and got a face full of leaves.
"Keep going." He laughed loudly and obliged.
Maleane was walking towards home, after a day of gathering some fruit for her family. In the sunlight, red blood splattered as a theif stopped her in her tracks with a single slash of his bone knife. He made off with her goods, and left her to die.
They say Konokulus's screams echoed across the entire glade, spreading loss and darkness through out. Spirits transformed into ghastly creatures in it's midst, and seeked out to find their master. With them, Konokulus sought out the theif, and turned him to dust. But he could not stop there. Next came the theifs family, friends, and those who knew his name. It felt like it would never stop. This dark force that had taken over the peoples kindly god. Polokus knew he must be stopped, and faced him in a battle that lasted many nights and days. In the end, He pinned Konokulus down, and chanted a ritual. His physical form turned to a grey dust and floated to the sky, and an eerie peace went through out the glade.
In the end, Sunorus was told to take over the duties while his father was imprisoned, and many years passed, with the orphaned siblings taking over the god of deaths duties. Sincula would sense the spirits rise, and Sunorus would guide them. And Peace had returned with imbalance.
Rayman turned back to Joy, who was staring awestruck at him with wide green eyes.
"Where are Sunorus and Sincula now." She was surprised when Rayman snorted in contempt.
"Only ever met Sunny himself. Annoying git. He only cares that his face is good enough to look at and how many women and men he can get in his bed." He stabbed his plum with his thumb. Joy stared as the purple juices leaked over his hand and he wiped them off. He yawned and set the plum aside, and rolled into his den. "I'mma sleep. If you're gonna stay awake, don;t go outside... Giant owls fly around, if you stay still too long, they'll pick you up." He scooted as she laid next to him again.
"I'll stay in here." she said quietly, thinking too herself. Rayman soon started too snore, but Joy stared at the caves cieling. She couldn't get her mind off of what Rayman had said. How he felt like something bad was coming. She looked over at him, his golden blonde hair was drooping in front of his closed eyes, his mouth wide open as he gave a large grunting snore. "It was probably just his imagination." she muttered to herself, and despite having slept the day away, curled up and closed her eyes. "It's been too peaceful lately for anything bad too happen..."