A Story of Forever

Part 12

Now Funaraya was also an Uzra with much greed in her heart. She wanted a vast plot of land from which she could build her business and produce many goods, so that people would pay her much money and be dependant upon her. She also thought that she was very wise and could easily get the land she needed.

Now it should be said that Funaraya had three sons, given to her by a Yemar man. Now according to the laws of the Uzras, these sons were not Uzra. And she never treated them like her sons either. She never acknowledged them unless she needed them to do something. And she only saw them as things to be used.

One day Karkion was giving away new plots of land from the great rolling praries he had burned up. He declared that anyone who could go around the burned remains of the land in one day - from sunrise to sunset - could have the land for themselves.

Now, many an Uzra tried to walk around the perimeter of the land. But none of them succeeded. For it was such a large piece of land that they walked all day and still they could not even reach one corner. Many other Uzras came with their great and swift horses, and they tried to ride around the land. But even they could not reach half the land's perimeter.

Now, Funaraya looked at this vast stretch of land and her heart overflowed with greed. She saw in it the capacity to fulfill all of her dreams. She saw in it the ability to become great. She knew she must have it for herself. And she knew exactly how she was going to do that.

She went to her three sons, the three young Yemars who were and were not her sons. And she turned them into horses, powerful and swift. She told them that if they did not run fast, faster than the wind, then she would butcher them and turn them into glue. She then attached them onto a golden chariot, which she rode.

Funaraya rode to Karkion and she announced that she would compete for the land. Karkion told her that it was a difficult task, that no-one had succeeded thus far. Funaraya assured him hat she was not just anyone, and she would be the one to win the stretching prize.

And so she made her sons run. And they ran and they ran, until their muscles ached and their lungs were bleeding. And they ran even faster. For they were terrified of their mother and what she could do to them if they were found wanting. And there, tied to the chariot, they sped on.

Funaraya had them tied and she knew that they would drag her to victory. And when they did, she viewed the victory as her victory, and her victory alone. Won by her own cleverness and ruthlessness.

She looked at the land that she had won. And she smiled darkly, as her sons lay collapsed on their sides.

Now, Funaraya was not the only one who traded their love for their children for love for status and power. Lord Valdion also treated his son as a commodity. The only difference was, his son was an Uzra.

Now, Lord Valdion had a son named Farrook. From the moment he was born, Valdion loved and doted on this son very much, and always gave him the best of everything. The baby was a happy baby, who then grew up to be a very happy toddler.

But Lord Valdion heard the stirrings of unrest in his lands. He heard, through his network of spies, that the Yemars of his lands were planning a rebellion. And they were going to strike soon.

Now, Valdion knew that his forces could squash this rebellion very easily, it would only be a matter of days. But he also knew that Karkion, the All-King, would be very dissapointed in him for allowing the rebellion to come to such a point unchecked. He needed a way to avoid his ire. He needed to shield his land from Karkion's spies and Ryan's all-seeing eyes.

He combed through all the books he could find, until he found a ritual that could shield his lands. But it was a terrible ritual. One that would require an unthinkable sacrifice.

He had to sacrifice the one he loved most.

He looked at his son, and he looked at his domain. And he chose.

And so it was that a five-year-old Farrook was sacrificed in secret on an altar inside the depths of the castle he was raised in. And he did not know what was happening at first. He screamed and cried when the knife was brought down to his throat. And then, all was quiet.

Farrook was welcomed by Oella's embrace.

In the meantime Hari grew longer and longer and longer yet, more and more scales added to the links of their form.

In the meantime Lewinn continued carrying Karkion, on the way to what he didn't know was his grave.

Now Wolver's bound form was found by a young Tzimar woman named Saviligg who lived nearby on the island where he was bound. She tried and she tried for many days and nights to free him. She tried pulling on the chains, tried cutting them, tried frosting them over and tried melting them. She tried singing unbinding spells. But nothing worked. Wolver was bound fast.

But Saviligg did not give up. All the days of her life, she never gave up.

In their long nights of trying to help each other, there underneath the moon and the stars and the darkest blue of the night, there they fell in love.

Wolver communicated with Saviligg with his magic, and she facilitated their psychic link through her own magic. Surely and surely, their magic grew stronger, and their psychic link grew stronger.

From their love were born four children, all in the shape of wolves. One was the morning, one was the night, one was the dusk and one was the day.

Saviligg and Wolver raised their children together there, as well as they could. They gave their children all the love they could. But it was not only them who raised the children and gave them love. All the Yemars around them did so, and fostered the children with all the love that they had.

And so the children grew sure and swift and strong.

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