Ænurin

Brandon M. Dennis

The Glaski and Talitar the Red - Part I

The Glaski lines were founded by Klist and Glost, two of the original twelve that were once Ænurin. Klist and Glost awoke to find themselves in a deep jungle, north of Raterweoud and east of Snowcap the Old. The trees were thick at the base and thin at the top, squat and knobby, and within a short time one could climb to the top of any tree and look out over the entire jungle canopy. It was a very wet place and the temperature remained warm all year long, but it was not all that humid and Klist and Glost lived a comfortable existence, lost amongst the bright green trees, entangled vines and rugged terrain. They named their jungle Tlakrin, which means "Place of Bounty".

            The reason for such a name was that fruit grew from every single tree, vine and plant. They came in a myriad of colors, but by far the most common was the light blue fruit which Klist and Glost called grimptu that grew from the trees of Tlakrin. The fruit was hardy, did not bruise easily, was sweet and delicious. The area within the jungle where Klist and Glost first arrived was filled with this fruit, and so the couple had little reason to venture anywhere else. Little pools of water dotted the jungle floor, and so Klist and Glost made their home amongst the roots of the fattest tree nearby, drank from the pool, ate from the tree and gave birth to the Glaski.

            The Glaski was the most beautiful of all the races of men. They were blessed with black, glossy hair, which both sexes wore long and strait. Only the women ever braided their hair and this was seldom, usually when they were working (which was also seldom). They were very tall and pale, and yet their faces were highlighted with the faintest rosy hue. They were athletic and delighted in climbing their trees and racing across the entwined network of branches that made up the jungle canopy, with the vastness of Tlakrin before their very eyes.

They collected birds of all kinds which had no fear, and would fly from the Glaski homes to feed and come strait back in order to sing their beautiful songs. The Glaski made clothing out of discarded feathers from their birds, thin, tough vines and hides from the small animals that lived amongst the roots of their trees. They knew no troubles since their existence was so easy, and they played games every day, challenging each other to races, eating contests and tests in weaving.

Over the years the Glaski eventually became so numerous that they had to spread throughout Tlakrin. It wasn't long before little groups of Glaski could be found at the furthest reaches of the jungle, and the songs of birds and laughter could be heard everywhere. But Klist and Glost stayed at the very spot where they first arrived, and built for themselves a magnificent wooden palace made from the roots of their beloved tree. The palace itself sprouted branches and bore fruit, and there was a throne at the very top where Klist and Glost could sit and look out over the entire jungle to watch their children race and play atop the canopy.

One day while Klist and Glost were being entertained by their children there was a loud, piercing scream that echoed throughout the entire jungle. The Glaski did not know what to make of it for no beast they knew made such a noise. They clutched their ears in pain and Klist and Glost raced to their thrones while their children climbed the trees. From there they looked to the skies and their mouths went wide with astonishment. A blazing ball of fire fell from the stars, and the shrill scream emanated from within it. The Glaski watched as the ball of fire passed from one end of the jungle to the other until it struck ground.

At that moment the sky lit up with a burst of white, and a thunderous noise pierced the air. The Glaski closed their eyes and held their ears and many of them cried, unable to process what it was they were witnessing. When the thunder ceased the Glaski opened their eyes and realized, to their great relief, that the screaming had ended. Klist and Glost saw a dark gap in their canopy, and from it rose a thick, black smoke.

Klist left the throne room and raced down the stairway of entangled roots to the ground. He found his staff and he found his cloak and without a word he left his palace, making for the rising smoke. When he stepped outside he was greeted by a throng of his children.

"What happened? What was that noise? What is that smoke?" they asked, and Glost came out of the palace quickly to join her husband.

"I'm not sure," said Klist, "but I'm going to find out." He marched off towards the rising smoke alongside his wife, and his children followed him curiously.

It took many days of brisk walking but at last they began to grow nigh the smoke. The trees were no longer green but were gray, and as Klist traveled deeper they became black as coal until finally there were no standing trees at all, but instead they were fallen, shorn of their leaves and fruit and splayed out strait, all pointing away from the thick, black smoke. The Glaski grew afraid and would no longer follow their father, but Klist and Glost went on, albeit cautiously.

At last they arrived at a black-rimmed crater, lying and smoking where once a number of trees and creatures lived. Klist crept forward and peered over the edge of the crater. He gasped and his wife joined him.

A tall, dark figure squirmed and wriggled in the bottom of the crater. He was on fire and as he squirmed he cried out in pain, patting the flames on his arms and legs. He flung dirt and ash everywhere but nothing he did could douse the flames, and he bit his tongue in agony. He saw Klist and Glost gaping at him from the rim of the crater and he cried out to them.

"Help me!" he said, but the two founders of the Glaski race were too astonished to move. They had never met anyone before who was not their child. They didn't even know there could be anyone who wasn't their offspring. The figure wriggled and screeched crying out to them for help, and finally Klist leapt over the rim of the crater and slid down the side. As he approached he could feel the heat, until it grew so intense that he could go no further.

"If I come any closer I will burn up!" said Klist as his eyes began to water. The heat emanating from the figure distorted his features so that Klist could not make them out. He at once looked dark and beautiful, but then he would twist and screech and his face seemed contorted into something inhuman and terrible. Klist looked away in fear, and then an idea struck.

"Follow!" he called, and as he did he scrambled up the side of the crater. Glost met him at the top and the dark figure turned towards them. With a leap he cast himself out of the crater and onto the jungle floor. The shockwave sent Klist and Glost reeling. Klist regained his footing and looked off towards the tree line.

"This way," he said, and with that he raced off towards the trees with Glost close behind. As they ran the figure followed, twisted and contorted and squealing in torment, and soon Klist couldn't remember whether he was running towards something or away from the horrible being. But at length he came to the tree line and just beyond it he arrived at a large, sunken pool. He and Glost stepped aside and pointed at it, and the dark figure leapt into the water.

All at once steam shot from the pool, surging upwards and tearing the leaves off of any branches in the way. It was a large pool, big enough for twenty men to swim in comfortably, but the figure was so huge that he filled half of it. The heat from the steam caused Klist and Glost to turn their faces away, but soon the figure's screeching stopped and the steam began to fade. When the steam had all gone there was nothing left within the hole except for the dark figure. But he was no longer on fire.

The figure arose and sighed in relief. He looked up at Klist and Glost and his eyes began to sparkle. He hesitated a moment and then bowed graciously before them.

"Thank you, kind souls, for dousing my flames. Consider me in your debt."

"Where did you come from?" asked Glost curiously, when she had mastered her fear.

"I came from there," said the figure, and he pointed at a faint red orb that rested near the horizon. "My name is Talitar, and I am your maker."

"Our... maker?" asked Klist curiously, for he had only ever used that term when making things like clothing and toys. He never once thought that he had a maker.

"Yes, your maker. You don't think that you have always been, do you?"

"Well no, I remember the day I..."

"The day you were made, maybe?"

Klist blinked, bewildered.

"Why were you on fire?" asked Klist, and at this Talitar's countenance grew dark. His face twisted into a grotesque frown, but almost instantly he regained himself and smiled.

"I was flying through the sky," said Talitar, "and I grew too close to Yalis."

"What is Yalis?" asked Glost, and Talitar checked himself, realizing that they had no memory of ever being Ænurin. He pointed up at the fiery ball which was just on its way towards the sea.

"Ohhh," the couple said in unison.

"Anyhow, to repay you for your kindness I will teach you many things, for there is much yet that you do not know."

"What can you teach us?"

"I can teach you..." started Talitar, but he didn't have anything to teach them that they would have been interested in. He couldn't teach them a craft or skill. He was good at one thing only, and as he thought about how to veil his words his mouth curved upwards ever so slightly.

"I can make you rulers of this world," he said, "and I can make you and your children desired and envied by all the other races of men."

"There are other men besides us?" asked Klist in wonder, and Talitar chuckled.

"Oh yes, many more, but you are by far the most beautiful and the most talented. I made you that way." Klist and Glost glanced at each other, and Talitar could see that they were a little uncomfortable. He walked to the edge of the empty pool so that he was face to face with them. They stepped back a little.

"Don't you deserve to be the greatest race of all?" he asked in a soothing, disarming voice.

Klist paused but nodded slowly.

"Don't you have the right to live better lives than you do?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"And aren't you owed respect, glory and power?"

"Yes!"

"Then listen to Talitar, for he knows what is best for you."

Talitar leapt out of the crater and stood beside them, and the fading rays from Yalis highlighted his every feature. Klist and Glost realized that he looked just like them, with long, black glossy hair and pale skin. He shook himself and the dust and ash fell from him. He wore black clothes that were finer than the trappings that the Glaski wore, and he stood proudly with his chin held high. A gentle breeze kicked up and his hair was tossed about, and the couple became enamored with this beautiful being that fell from the sky. Their minds were filled with images of greatness, and they looked at their existence up until then as one of squalor and stupidity. But now with the help of Talitar they would be a great and wise people with dignified clothing and magnificent palaces, and no other people would ever be able to match them. They smiled brightly and all fear left them. They led Talitar the Red away from the crater towards their makeshift homes where their children awaited them, and as they walked through the jungle Talitar wore a broad, crooked grin.