Chapter One: Life Along the Yellow Petal River
A small, algae-colored salamander-like creature drifted in the waters of a slow-moving river. The bright red spots adorning its flanks almost glowed in the dark waters. The large, translucent fin on its back, bigger than its own body, softly ungulated as the salamander floated upwards through the waters.
The salamander drifted too close to the surface and swam deeper, clearly wanting to stay in one spot. As it floated, a tiny red shrimp swam just under it. The salamander's large yellow eyes locked onto the tiny red shrimp, now some body-lengths away. The amphibian didn't twitch a muscle, not even a push of its webbed feet or a flick of its paddle-like tail. As the shrimp kept swimming, the salamander cocked its head and flexed its tiny webbed extremities. Hunger and instinct too hard to ignore, the salamander flashed forward in a great swoop.
A trail of bubbles followed its speedy, powerful wake, but the salamander had missed its prey. Dumbfounded at its miss, the little algae-colored creature drifted upwards. Beautiful opalescent bubbles followed the salamander's path to the surface, followed by another burst of bubbles.
Once more, the salamander was trying for another meal, this time among a rockier area of the river. It swam through the waters until it spotted something bright red ahead — another tiny shrimp.
This time, it wouldn't miss.
Settling on a nearby rock, it observed its newest meal. Slowly, it prowled closer like a stalking cat. It launched itself off the rock. The salamander snapped several times at the shrimp, but the shrimp was just a little faster than the salamander. With each snap of its jaws, the shrimp jetted away, but not too far out of reach.
But the salamander was desperate.
It followed the shrimp through the waters onto a jutting rock. It paused just long enough to rest as the shrimp drifted in front of it. The salamander stared. Hunger pangs strong and will to catch its prey even stronger.
It struck. The shrimp didn't stand a chance.
Meal in jaws, the little salamander devoured the shrimp whole. However, the little creature wasn't the only predator in the waters.
The moment the shrimp was down the salamander's throat, it sensed something. Yellow eyes wide, it dared not turn around to see the much larger, darker aquatic creature behind it. The fang-filled jaws of the pike snapped, but the salamander was quicker. It was almost a replay of when the salamander was hunting the shrimp. Each snap of the jaws was a miss.
The water stirred around the salamander with each frantic snap of the pike's jaws, but the salamander was faster, and the fish was uncoordinated. The little amphibian almost got away until the large fish looped around it. It sucked the salamander into the wake of the pike's path, the vortex almost pulling it into the fish's waiting jaws. Fueled by the will to live, the salamander escaped the vortex and swam away, joining a small group of fish and other aquatic creatures.
A spear plunged into the water before the pike could go after the amphibian again. The sharp stone skewered the fish. Blood clouded the water as it thrashed until it was pulled from the river.
A pair of honey-colored hands wrenched the fish from the spear. The owner was almost human, but not quite. Her ears were slightly elongated and tapered to a sharp point, and a glowing jade-green marking adorned her skin, like that of a dahlia blossom just below the right side of her collarbone. A distinct, sharp smell lingered around the woman, like that of a foreign plant.
She was not human but crystalborn.
Almost a year had passed since her mother was killed. Jade Blossom was now sixteen-years-old, doing her best to help her tribe. Still, it seemed many had become distant from her since Graceful Leaf's death. Even her little sister, Amber Sky, strayed from her, fueled by their father's warnings.
Nonetheless, her jade-green eyes turned to the earthborn standing beside her — a dark brown singer nearly twice the size of the crystalborn. The singer side-eyed her, clearly not enjoying the blood clouding the water they had just been drinking from. But beggars couldn't be choosers, and they drove their beaked jaws into the water, pulling out a clump of water plants from the rocky riverbed. The singer gazed past the crystalborn, slowly chewing the dripping plants.
Fish in hand, the young woman made her way downriver. She smiled as turtles swam past, followed by several fin-backed salamanders. The salamanders leaped into the air, giving a delightful aerial display and almost splattering the young woman with water droplets. She diverted from the river and continued her way through the trees.
A pair of longnecks stood among the thin, sky-scraping trees, grazing on the topmost leaves. They were practically obscured by the early morning mist that had yet to be burned away by the sun. When the crystalborn slipped between them, they slowly lowered their heads. One longneck watched on in surprise as the crystalborn walked away. They glanced at their mate, who merely shrugged, not quite as impressed.
Once Jade Blossom found a perfect spot for a fire, she sat down. Soon enough, a fire was blazing, and the fish was gutted and filleted. She leaned back, watching the flames cook the fish she had placed on a flat stone. The mouth-watering smell of cooking food permeated the air. She raised her hand, flicking her wrist in a half-circle. Herbaceous vines and woody roots rose from the ground. Slowly, the foliage moved inward, creating a barrier around the crystalborn to keep out any curious creatures or hungry predators.
A herd comprising mostly of grey hornfaces traversed a silent grassland. The massive setting sun loomed behind them, painting the sky with deep reds and oranges. A mountain range towered behind the rolling hills of the grassland, rumored to encircle the Great Valley. But the land hadn't become terrible enough to push the herd to search for a new nesting place. No, their current one was good enough. The herd lumbered onward, a dark grey bull shouting into the silent air to stir the stragglers forward.
A small herd of littlecrest singers nested not too far away, digging nests and preparing for the eggs that would soon be laid. Their nesting ground was wet. It was near the large river separating them from the hornface herd. Wetter than usual and had been becoming wetter each year, keeping eggs healthy was a struggle. The small herd had to make do as they waited for the rest of the much larger herd to arrive.
Unbeknownst to them, the rest of the herd was traveling through a blistering wasteland. The land, previously a plentiful meadow, had changed the most. It had distorted into a hellscape of oozing lava and ash-spewing volcanoes. The herd wasn't faring well, but they pushed onwards. Still, the nesting ground was so far away. The grey-scaled, brown-undersided leader looked back at her herdmates, a sad smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. They wouldn't make it, would they? Still, her second-in-command, her daughter, smiled back as if everything would be okay.
And, as night fell over the land, a family of three longnecks traversed the banks of a massive river not too far south of the singer herd. A massive flock of shorttail skyborn flew overhead, almost blackening the full moon for a fleeting heartbeat. The longnecks walked along the rocky riverside until they found the narrowest spot. The three stepped through the icy waters and crossed to the other side. They hoped to find a better place for the young female to lay the eggs she was currently carrying. Her mate had gone to look for a better place to live, something she didn't know how to feel about.
As the world continued to turn, eggs would soon be laid, and lives would unravel.