A rewrite of my first Shattering Peace book, which retells the first Land Before Time movie in a mature humanized fantasy world (AKA, the Gang of Five are human fantasy races and have been aged up to young adults).
I'll be starting from the VERY beginning and doing some crazy stuff. I'll be expanding on tiny plot points and things that happen in the background of the movies. I'll be changing many races from the previous version of Shattering Peace. They should more or less match their dinosaur self (every Triceratops should be a Pulse Salamaoso, every Apatosaurus should be a Lightning Iyarkai).
I'm doing a very deep dive into the movies and plucking at each background character and the colors of every character (screenshots and PowerPoint color picker are my best friends here, XD). For example, in the recolored version of the first movie, Mama Swimmer is a murky green, but she's brown in all the sequels… what about Ducky's parents being pink and blue when she greets them at the end of the first movie? I know, it's just how the animators decided to color things, but what if it wasn't?
This first chapter is super world-building heavy and introduces a lot of very minor characters. It'll probably be helpful if you watch the first 3 minutes or so of the first Land Before Time movie and check out the characters' profile pictures posted on my DeviantART (same username as here).
Anywho, have fun reading! I hope you enjoy it!
Gǔpansya; Realm of all Races, Chaotic
Year 582 of the 19th Era; 19e-582
Mid Spring
Garden of Nacanyimbo (Deity of Dance and Music); Sapphire Branch River
Urodella dove into the cool depths of the Sapphire Branch River. Her small body sliced through the water until the forward momentum couldn't take her any further. The blue-skinned teenager floated upwards, seemingly weightless in the water. Her hair, like spun gold, drifted around her head like the tentacles of an octopus, while the portwine-stain-birthmark that covered her left eye contrasted against her blue skin under the dappled sunlight.
As she floated, Urodella's yellow eyes, like citrine crystals, searched the depths for a possible meal. It was midday, and she and her three friends had already dared each other that morning to see who could catch the day's first fish. The moment Nectus mentioned he was hungry, Urodella had dove into the waters.
Her finned ears, like that of the gossamer fins on a fish's tail, twitched, and her eyes locked on movement among the sand and rocks below. However, her chest was starting to burn. Urodella pushed for the water's surface rather than investigating the movement. Webbed, clawed hands breached the surface. Another blue hand, one of a different shade of blue but similarly clawed and webbed, clasped onto Urodella's reaching one.
Urodella dramatically burst from the water, sucking in a lungful of air. Her three friends watched from the shore, though one was bent over, gripping her hand in his. Far beyond them lay their village, Rimewater, known for its population of Riverthief Chisai.
Chisai were part of a larger group of people called the Yari. Yari were people who weren't quite human in appearance compared to most other races of the realm. They often sported tusks, pointed ears, tails, or colorful skin. The Chisai were a race of Yari recognized for their small stature — averaging half the height or even smaller than a Meek — Meeks were people without magical abilities or an unusual appearance. Chisai were also known for their large, pointed ears, sharp teeth, and claw-like fingernails.
Among all the Yari races, there were numerous subraces. The Chisai of Rimewater Village, including Urodella and her three friends, were that of the Riverthief subrace. Nectus, the young man clasping Urodella's hand, was a classic example. His skin was bluer than Urodella's skin. Pale-blue hair was cut short but long enough that his curls had to be smoothed down, unlike Urodella's bright gold hair. His hands were webbed, his fingernails sharp and pointed like claws, and his mouth full of impressive shark-like teeth. His ears were just like the other three adolescent Riverthief Chisai's ears — long, pointed, and finned like that of a too-elegant fish's tailfin. Nectus proudly sported tatters and nicks in his finned ears, just like the older generation in their village, something Urodella would never admit she was jealous of.
"See anything?" Nectus pulled Urodella onto shore before patting his soft stomach. "I'm hungry, Della. Bring me back something good."
"Hey!" Urodella pulled her hand away from his. "I'm not bringing anything back for you. Whatever I catch is all mine." She slipped back into the river. When she turned around, Urodella swiped her hand through the water, spraying the paler-haired teenager and the other two teenage girls beside him.
Nectus wiped the water from his eyes, a shark-toothed smile light on his lips as he grinned challengingly at Urodella. He stripped off his wet shirt and pants, leaving him in just his undershorts. Nectus leaped into the waters, splashing Urodella with his wake. The gold-haired girl laughed as she shielded her face from the spray. When Nectus's pale-blue hair emerged from the surface, Urodella lunged for her slim hunting spear sitting on the shore. She ducked under the water and swam as fast as she could. She would still be the one to get the first kill of the day and getting as far away from Nectus was the first goal.
A brilliant flash of red caught her eyes as she streamed through the water. With a possibly long investigation before her, Urodella popped her head out of the waters, sucked in a deep breath, and dived under. The bright red creature casually swam through the waters below her without a care in the world.
It was a fish.
A rather large fish.
Strong kicks of her feet drove the Riverthief Chisai closer to her target. But the closer Urodella got, the further the fish swam, darting this way and that. It wasn't that it was trying to avoid her, but seemed to be its natural movements. Maybe it saw a flicker in the water and was checking it out, or maybe it was just how it swam. Either way, it was annoying, and the teenager's lungs began burning.
Mentally cursing the fish, Urodella swam for the surface. She burst from it, her long, gold-colored braids whipping from the water, slapping her shoulders and upper back. Wiping the water streaming from her face, Urodella glanced around at her surroundings.
She had swam further than she had thought.
Teida and Macula, her two other friends, were downstream, waving her down while Nectus was nowhere in sight. The two other girls were shouting something, but she couldn't hear them. Knowing the pale-blue haired boy was still hunting and not wanting to lose to him, Urodella just waved back to her other two friends and ducked under the waters.
As soon as her head was underwater, she cursed herself and resurfaced. A massive bloom of opalescent bubbles burst somewhere from the riverbed. Pure magic enveloped within the bubbles graced her blue skin. She tingled all over, a shudder running down her back, followed by a burning where the magic had touched her leg and arm.
The release of super concentrated magic wasn't just happening in the riverbed of the Sapphire Branch River but all over the region. Races sensitive to magic, like the Tassar, always talked about it.
And it was happening more and more often.
Urodella ignored the magic and continued to paddle downriver. She didn't know what would happen if she stayed too long. Still, she had heard enough stories to discourage her from trying to find out. The tales ranged from the water turning acidic to the point where it dissolved flesh and bone, the wildlife turning hostile, or even the environment itself turning on its inhabitants. All Urodella wanted was food and to win a dare, and checking out magic-filled bubbles under the water had nothing to do with that.
Another cluster of opalescent bubbles burst from the water's surface with a sizzling pop. Urodella glanced over her shoulder, wrinkling her nose as the sharp smell of magic hit the air. Most people, including Yari, couldn't sense magic, let alone taste or smell it. However, the magic within the bubbles was so concentrated that even a Meek could feel it.
Nonetheless, the golden-haired teenager kept swimming. She ducked her head underwater now and then, looking for the best fish in the cool waters of the Sapphire Branch River. The once open waters morphed into jutting rocks and thick plant growth as she neared a different part of the river. Thick mats of river plants flourished while fish darted between large rocks or through the river weeds. There were so many to choose from, and it didn't help that Urodella's stomach was growling just watching them.
A flash of red caught her eye.
The beautiful, large red fish from before was just below her, still swimming without a care in the world. As she focused on her prey, all the warnings about the current portion of the river she was in vanished.
Sucking in a deep breath, Urodella ducked under the water once more. The fish had stilled, resting on a rock, fins gently undulating. The Riverthief Chisai touched down on a large rock jutting from the river bed, slowly letting her body sink until she was crouched on the stone. She was perfectly still, but her mind ran with all the possibilities of attack. If she could impale it with her spear on the first throw, maybe she'd bring back a better meal than Nectus. The fish was nearly as long as her arm, almost thrice as thick, and sported beautiful bright red scales.
All she had to do was kill it.
Urodella drifted back, darkness almost engulfing her as she focused on her prey. She needed to aim her body just right… Bracing herself on the large rock, the small, blue-skinned girl aimed. Urodella launched through the water like a diving seabird. But the fish sensed her and darted.
She wasn't giving up that easily.
With powerful kicks, Urodella swam after the bright fish. The pair darted this way and that in the pursuit of prey versus predator. The teenaged Riverthief Chisai grew tired, but so did her prey. Determined to catch the beautiful meal, she surfaced quickly, gulping a lungful of air before diving back down. The fish had grown more tired than Urodella.
"Perfect," Urodella thought before she dived for it.
The gold-haired teenager might have noticed the dark presence lurking behind her if she hadn't been so focused on the bright red scaled prize drifting in the water.
Once more, Urodella planted herself on the large rock. Positioning herself just right, she looked almost like a statue as she watched her soon-to-be-meal drift in the water. She silently counted in her head until she reached the number one. Launching herself off the rock, Urodella thrusted her spear forward, the sharp metal head slicing cleanly through the fish's scales. Prey impaled on her spear, the blue-skinned teenager nearly cheered as she held her catch close. There was no way Nectus would catch anything as good as what she had just killed.
However, Urodella felt a presence behind her as she floated toward the surface. Without turning around, she jolted forward, holding her kill for dear life. A heavy spear, nearly thrice the size of her slender metal one, streaked past her. It lodged itself between a cluster of rocks in front of her.
A dark-brown-skinned man emerged from the shadows, lips pulled back in a snarl, displaying shark-like teeth deadlier and larger than Urodella's. Patches of dark-copper scales on his shoulders and chest shimmered under the sunlight filtering through the ever-moving waters. Gills flared on each side of his ribs, pulling and pushing water with each breath. A clawed, webbed hand, slightly scaled, flashed forward, nearly tangling in Urodella's long gold braids.
The man was another Yari — a Mizuomi, a race of aquatic people. He was a Mizuomi Who is Among the Waters of the Sun, otherwise known as a Sun Mizuomi.
He swam out of his dark alcove, dark-copper scaled hands reaching for where his spear had lodged between the rocks. Webbed hands wrapped around the dark wooden shaft and easily pulled the spear out. The Sun Mizuomi turned to Urodella, who was nearly frozen in the waters, her mind not quite processing that she should swim away. The man raised his spear again, blue eyes burning with anger. He launched his spear, powerful arm propelling it far into the waters, but little Urodella was faster. She snapped out of her daze and darted to the surface, the prize still in her arms.
The Mizuomi chased, a garbled scream of bubbles streaming from his mouth. He reached for her, webbed hand almost gasping her ankle. She kicked, clawed toes scoring his face as she streaked towards the surface. Three more blue-skinned bodies dropped into the water.
Clawed hands struck, and sharp teeth bit. Urodella's three friends kicked, scratched, and bit the much larger Mizuomi until he couldn't take it anymore, and they could finally escape. When all four broke the surface, the three friends hauled Urodella to shore, the gold-haired girl still holding her prize.
The Sun Mizuomi surfaced as the four friends scrambled as far away from the waters as possible. He roared as water dripped from his thick, kinky black hair and ray-finned ears. A third eyelid swept across his blue eyes, water mingling with the blood dripping from the gash Urodella had given him from her kick. Breathing hard, the man finally submerged to patrol his territory once more.
Urodella didn't hear any of Teida's scolding as she flopped onto the sun-warmed stone, the large, bright red fish clutched to her chest. She just laughed, waving her friend off and raising her prize so everyone could see. "I won."
"Woah," Nectus breathed, rivulets of water still glistening on his deeper blue skin. "That's a good catch, Della. But I got mine faster." He looked over his shoulder to where a small pair of silver fish lay on some nearby rocks, a cooking fire ready to be started beside them.
Urodella sat up, wringing water from her hair, still trying to catch her breath. "Yeah, but mine's bigger and better. Look at those small things." She pointed at Nectus's catch. "All three of us can at least make a meal out of mine. You'll barely be able to feed yourself with your catch."
Nectus opened his mouth to rebut, but Teida jumped in. "What were you thinking, going so close to Esox? Were you trying to mess with him? You know how territorial he is."
"Hey! I didn't know how far out in the river I had gotten."
As the pair argued, Macula crouched in front of the waters. The Sun Mizuomi had disappeared into the kelp forest and rocky riverbed as if the attack had never happened. The water foliage waved peacefully with each lap of the water while the water-dwelling creatures went about their business as calmly as can be.
The washed-blue-skinned Riverthief Chisai brushed back the white streak of hair out of her eyes. Teida, her younger sister, had the same white streak in her hair. However, Teida had paler blue skin, hair that was a touch greyer than Macula's, and she was rather plump. The two sisters did share the same grey eyes. Just like Urodella, the sisters were not pureblood Riverthief.
Nectus was the only one among the four misfits with two Riverthief parents. Teida and Macula's father was of the Slategaze subrace of the Chisai, known for their grey skin and eyes. Urodella got her gold hair and yellow eyes from her Sunsing Chisai mother.
Someone cleared their throat, and Macula looked up. It was an elderly Hekka woman standing in front of her, a basket resting on her hip. A thick ocher stripe colored her pale skin, starting from her right temple, down her face, down her neck, and disappearing underneath the collar of her shirt. The rest was hidden underneath her clothing, but a slice of ocher peaked out from the hem of her pants on the outside of her ankle. The woman cocked a thin dull-green eyebrow at the teenager, clearing her throat again. Slowly, Macula stood straight and took a step back.
It was unusual for those of other races to interact with each other. Some held stronger opinions than others. The pointy-eared woman seemed fine working with the Chisai nearby but not with them standing in her way. Macula hung back, watching as the Hekka woman worked her magic.
Threads of water rose from the river, thick kelp leaves following within the stream. The woman repeatedly curled her fingers upwards, more and more water filtering through her basket, leaving sopping wet kelp behind. She soundlessly continued her work until she stood up, a basket filled to the brim with water plants. Her beige eyes narrowed when she saw that Macula was still watching her.
With a sniff, the Water Life-Bringer Hekka from the Court of Algae walked away, a basket of dripping wet kelp in her arms.
"Hey, Macula!" Urodella called. "Come eat something. This fish should be just about done cooking."
The girl turned back to her friends. The group of four ate and chatted for a while before jumping back into the cool waters, away from Esox's home. As they splashed and swam among the river's fish and kelp, a pair of unusually colored figures were spotted on the other side of the shore. Behind them, more colorful figures mingled in the distance.
The younger of the pair standing on the shore sported teal skin. His hair was black and tied back in a topknot, and the sides of his head were shaved. His ears were slightly pointed but not as defined nor as elongated as the elderly Water Hekka's ears. Small tusks jutted from his bottom lip, and he sported bright orange eyes. The other figure was an elderly man with similar tusks and pointed ears. However, he was far thinner, had no hair, and sported ashy-yellow-green skin.
"Who are they?" Teida whispered from beside Urodella as she treaded water.
"I think they're a nomadic group of Novaave," Macula answered, pointing to the other colorful-skinned people of similar shades of yellows, greens, and blue-greens beyond the river. "They must be stopping for a rest."
Novaave were another race of Yari, like the four friends and Esox. The Novaave were known for the tusks that jutted from their bottom jaw.
Urodella nodded. "Do you think we should say hi?"
"Heck no. I've had enough. Let's go home." Teida grabbed the two other girls' arms and led them back to the other shore where their village of Rimewater was, Nectus following close behind.
As the four climbed to shore, a tween girl waved them down, shouting Urodella's name. Urodella rolled her eyes at the golden-haired girl. "I guess I've got to go. My little sister and parents are waiting for me. We're going upriver to buy some weird food for a dish that Mom wants to make. Bye, see you all later!" She waved back at her three friends and jogged to her family.
Breath of Üzeereighaṛi (Deity of Watching)
A husband and wife duo sat amongst the mist and towering trees of the Breath of Üzeereighaṛi. The region was a wonderful paradise filled with strange and wonderful creatures. An extravagant picnic was laid out before the pair. There was a gracious amount of exotic food. The pair chatted as they ate, simply enjoying the misty morning.
"You know, Jax," the ashy-iris haired woman stared, a glass of dark wine in one hand as she gazed through the trees. "Is it just me, or has the land become mistier and mistier over the years?" She waved at the fog, dusky-cobalt lightning dancing along her ocher skin. "I'm not sure we should be concerned about it."
The woman laid back on the blanket they were seated on, her slender hand reaching for the grass. She brushed her hand through the dew-laded blades while her teal-painted fingernails clicked against the wineglass in her other hand.
Her dark-brown-skinned husband hummed, stroking the thin line of black facial hair under his lower lip in thought. "You may be right, Louisa. The mornings do seem a little mistier than usual. But maybe it is just an unusually wet summer. I wouldn't worry about it too much, my dear."
Jax pulled an elderberry jam-filled pastry from one of the covered baskets filled with food. He lifted the food to his mouth, almost lovingly brushing his thumb along it. The same sparks that had danced across his wife's skin now scattered across his, but his electricity was slate in color. The sparks snapped across his dark skin and through the pastry until a subtle warmth wafted from it. Jax took an eager bite, humming in delight. Brushing some of the flaky crust from his mouth, he offered the other half to Louisa.
As the woman tucked into the rest of the baked good, Jax gazed beyond the misty forest. "What will your dear cousin, Callwen, do if the land changes? She is rather attached to that wonderful village she leads, right? It's such a wonderful paradise that will never change, as far as she is concerned."
"I don't know," Louisa sighed, sipping from her glass of aged wine, a bite or two left of the elderberry-jam-filled pastry still in hand. "It might be hard for her to move, seeing as she's just begun to have grandchildren. But it's not like this place would change overnight. If it does, I am sure dear Callwen has a few tricks up her sleeves."
Jax laughed to himself, laying down beside his wife to gaze up at the fog-cloaked treetops. "I don't think even your cousin would have enough power to bring one of those creatures to keep the land stable. It could cost lives, too many lives. Or are you talking about making a deal with the deity of magic? Why would either of those things work when we are Lightning Iyarkai — the weakest of nature manipulators?"
"Callwen will find a way. She always has. And either decision would be fine with her. I wouldn't put it past Callwen to sacrifice a few lives for the greater good. She's always been willing to do whatever she could for her village, no matter what else it may affect. If she had to sacrifice a few hundred lives of non-Lightning Iyarkai, she'd do it in a heartbeat to save her people, but only her people. Ah, well, I'm just glad I don't have to deal with her. I much preferred my other cousin, Elevetha.
"Callwen's younger sister, correct?" Jax asked, taking the glass of wine from Louisa's hand and sipping from it.
His wife hummed in confirmation. "I haven't seen her in decades. The family kicked her out after she married a man they didn't approve of. I never did get the whole story from them, but rumor had it that his family was cursed. But I think it was just because he wasn't noble-born like the rest of the family."
Jax chuckled. "I am glad your family approved of me. But I have a feeling that wouldn't have stopped us from falling in love." Jax entwined his fingers with Louisa's, and the pair stared lovingly into each other's eyes. "Even if the land does change, we will still have each other."
Garden of Nacanyimbo (Deity of Dance and Music); The Charcoal Floodplains
Many people marched through the Garden of Nacanyimbo back to their homeland in the Charcoal Floodplains. The group had been on a cultural excursion of sorts. They had just finished their annual trial for those coming of age to prove their worth as Pulse Salamaoso or those who wanted to renew their sense of pride and strength.
The villagers of Greyshine had trodden the treacherous path with their leader, Barrak, beside them. Since he had taken on the role as leader, he had accompanied his people each year to where their trials took place. The man was of an impressive build, sporting skin of burnt-bronze. His hair was an early salt-and-pepper mix of greys, while his eyes were two colors, like the rest of his people. His eyes were as black as a starless, moonless sky, pupils ringed by ashy-vermillion.
It wouldn't be long until they were among the walls of Greyshine Village, greeting their family and friends and rejoicing in another successful trial.
But something was tugging at Barrak's mind. As he walked in the middle of the many young adults around him, letting those who succeeded lead the way home, he thought of the smoking mountains and the bubbling lava beyond the trial. They had been more active this year. Many groups traveled through the mountains to reach the Garden of Nacanyimbo or beyond. Even if he wanted to deny it, deep in his bones, he could feel the land was changing.
Mind returning to the present, he spotted a straggler in the back, a young woman who had injured herself during the trial.
"Come on!" Barrak shouted, not quite targeting the young woman but spurring her to limp faster.
The group continued onwards, traversing the silent floodplain. The setting sun loomed behind them, painting the sky deep reds and oranges. A mountain range towered behind the rolling hills of the grassland beyond. It wouldn't be long before they were among their fellow Pulse Salamaoso, celebrating a job well done, even those who bore the physical marks of their trials.
Bowels of Vatraateş (Deity of Fire)
Nearly an entire village of Life-Bringer Hekka of the Court of Torrents tracked across the blistering wastelands of the Bowels of Vatraateş. It was this land that had changed the most in recent years. Previously a plentiful prairie, it was now distorted into a hellscape of oozing lava and ash-spewing volcanoes. The villagers weren't faring well, but they pushed onwards. The destination, whatever it was, wasn't too far away.
The leader, a middle-aged woman with dark-ashy-cerulean hair and cinereous growing from the temples, turned to look behind her at her fellow villagers. A sad smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she gazed upon the numerous people. Tears glittered in her light blue eyes, but she blinked them away.
They wouldn't make it, would they?
Her second-in-command, her identical twin sister, Rola, smiled back as if everything would be okay. Aurora, the leader, just turned her gaze back forward, trying to keep the tears at bay. All she could think was that she would never see her younger brother's face again. She would never be there for any of his children's births.
She ran her hand through her duel-colored hair. Would they have the Court of Torrents' dark blue color or the greens of their Court of Algae mother? Her fingers graced the black dotted line running from her right temple, down her right eye, following it where it trailed beneath her armor and clothing down the right side of her chest to her right hip, knowing it stopped on the outside of her right thigh — would her nieces or nephews have the black mark of the Court of Torrents, or an ocher mark of the Court of Algae? Two water-manipulating courts of Life-Bringer Hekka, brought together by her younger brother and the daughter of the sister of the Queen of the Algae Court. Aurora would never see how the union furthered, nor find out what the children between the union would look like.
The village leader lifted her head to the ash-laden sky, the sun hidden behind the heavy smog. A song drifted from her lips, low and somber, filled with sorrow and longing. Rola listened from where she walked a pace behind her twin. Slowly, she fell into the family song, feeding off her sister's sorrow.
Gradually, the song drifted from each Hekka who followed their great leader. The song filled the air, mourning for the life that would be lost.
Garden of Nacanyimbo (Deity of Dance and Music); Sapphire Branch River
The night had long since fallen over the Garden of Nacanyimbo, the moon hanging low and full over the Sapphire Branch River. A family of three walked along the river's shore, trekking onward for a safe place to raise a family. It consisted of a young woman and her parents. The fourth member, the woman's husband, was currently scouting for a decent meal for the family.
A strange group of winged people watched the family from afar, mutterings whispered among them.
"She is blessed." One whispered, large eyes locked on the family's movement from below.
"Her child will be blessed." Another hissed, eyes flashing as their large bat-like wings flared.
"Child? She has no child. She will have no children with a curse like that in her blood." A third growled. "It is *his* fault that she carries it."
There was a shifting of too many wings among the people watching the small family walk the river's shores. The man took the lead, his daughter following just steps behind and his wife bringing up the rear. He searched the river until he found a shallow section of half-submerged stepping stones. He turned back to his family, dusky-garnet eyes searching them, wanting to know they would be okay crossing.
His wife stepped up beside him before nodding to their daughter. "Quickly, Adore."
With quick and careful steps, the young woman traversed the length of the Sapphire Branch River. Her mother followed, reaching the shore.
"Do you think he will find us?" Adore asked. "The Grey Bone?"
"I don't know, Adore. Since you married Cathan, you've always been in danger." Her father answered.
Even if danger was present, the little family would eventually find a village of their kind within the Garden of Nacanyimbo. Hope for their family's growth waxed and waned with the coming years until a spark of hope did appear, followed by tragedy.
And then, the Garden of Nacanyimbo began to die.