Morph: Book One

| 17 |

"Ryn, is it?" I nodded and offered a small smile to Morrel's youngest child, Elis.

Tonight, Morrel's family planned a surprise feast to welcome Ezic and I into their home. Morrel had what an earth equivalent to a wife was, but here they were called Lifemates. Morrel's Lifemate went by the name of Kadi, and together they had three children, two girls, and one boy. Marlow was the eldest at sixteen years old, while the other two, Mikel and Elis, were eight years old and fraternal twins.

The twins took after their father. They were the same pale color as Morrel, and they shared the same red eyes. Marlow took after her mother. Though she was slightly paler than an average Zorr, she still had the familiar shadings that a Zorr had. Such as darker extremities and subtle dark highlights outlining her facial features.

"Come now, everyone, let's have a feast!" Kadi ushered everyone into the dining room. The table sat about a foot off the ground and had firm red cushions placed all around it. On top of the table lay bowls and plates filled with colorful food that I hadn't seen before. Everything smelled wonderful.

"I thought that you might want to experience some traditional Zorron cuisine." Kadi smiled proudly at her creations. I could feel my mouth start to water in anticipation. Once everyone was seated, they took turns giving me small pieces of each dish to try. I had to admit that most of it didn't seem to sit well with my tastebuds, but I favored one dish above all the others. The dish's main ingredient looked similar to a purple banana. When pealed, it would uncover hearty beans and thready innards that had a slight natural spice. Eaten with it was a salsa of some sort that had a sweet undertone and left a pleasant aftertaste. When I tried this dish, all the ones that followed it seemed to pale in comparison.

By the time everyone was done with the meal, it was the afternoon, and only a couple of hours of daylight remained. So the family decided to go to a local supermarket that the Zorr shared with the planet's natives. Zorron didn't always belong to the Zorr. In fact, their history was similar to that of us humans. War and destruction brought their homeworld to its knees. In a last-ditch effort to save what was left of their people, the Zorr uprooted themselves and traveled the universe, searching for a young habitable planet on which to start over. A couple of centuries into their search, they found this planet.

They had developed sustainable energy that was not harmful to the planet and could be mass-produced. Black Ore was what made this planet habitable, and everything was made of it. The planetary belt full of other small planets, moons, and space debris came from this planet eons ago. Black Ore was mined from these planets, and debris made up the forcefield and atmosphere. The Black Ore that created the atmospheric belt generated enough gravity to keep us grounded on the surface. Without Black Ore, the planet would not have been habitable to the Zorr.

The natives didn't put up much of a fight as they were never grounded. The natives looked similar to Zorr, except they had large webbed wings that allowed them to take flight. The natives of this planet and the Zorr agreed that the Zorr could create whatever they wished as long as it was on the lower valleys of the planet near the shores. In return for Black Ore and to build cities, the Zorr would leave the higher valleys to the natives.