Silver Beaches

Prologue

They say that Nebesa was crafted by the gods. Father Earth and Mother Sun wanted a place for their family to live, free from the distractions of the rest of the world. The ocean possessed enough isolation for them. Father Earth parted the great waves and filled the hole with rocks rich in minerals and metal. He covered the island with sand and the richest soil he could find. He created three lakes of varying sizes and placed them on the island. Two lakes on the east side and one pond on the west. Each had their own river that connected blissfully to the sea.
Mother Sun filled the island with life. She created creatures of all kinds to live on the unique island. Many resembled the creatures of the mainland, but were distinctly different. The horses she created were in wild colors and had golden hooves. The rabbits were must faster and had ears that drooped to the ground. The birds were all larger than their mainland counterparts, and their colors were brighter and bolder. She grew trees taller than redwoods in the island's three southern forests. She gave the trees wide leaves in all shades of green and made their wood stronger than all others. She made apple trees with the reddest apples, peach trees with the juiciest peaches, and cherry trees with giant cherries in the central forest. She made birch trees with the purest and whitest bark for the southeast forest, and a single sprawling tree with hundreds of trunks, all connected, for the southwestern forest. Mother Sun grew the grass tall and bushes large. She placed a single willow tree in the northern part of the island, the largest in the world.
When the island was finished, Father Earth and Mother Sun showed it to their children, Brother Moon and Sister Star. They instantly fell in love with the beautiful island, and the family moved in quickly. Father Earth placed his spirit in the largest lake, filling it with everlasting fish. Mother Sun rested her spirit in the single willow tree, and it became immortal, just like her. Brother Moon jumped into the western beach causing the sand to turn a brilliant silver, and Sister Star placed herself in the single tree forest making the tree's leaves turn golden and the pond beneath the branches glow. The island was a true paradise, an everlasting Eden, and it was a happy time for them all.
But no paradise lasts forever, Edens must fall, and all happy times end. The island was discovered by humans, creatures Mother Sun created on a foolish whim. They were too capable for their own good, and not smart enough to see the consequences of their actions. But these people were kinder than most, and they recognized the island for the paradise it was. They fell in love with its crystalline waters, fine sand, and exotic creatures. They brought their own creatures as well, cows, plain horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, rodents, and even a pair of peafowl. They spent their lives building homes and crafting weapons from minerals they found. However, they spent their wealth on constructing a large palace out of the white stone on the cliff by the birch forest. It was obvious these kind people carried out the deeds of a more powerful man back in the land where they came from. Father Earth, Mother Sun, Brother Moon, and Sister Star watched as their quite island was taken away from them. It was hopeless to protest, and they left the island to the mercy of man.
When the palace was completed, a small boat left the island. Some time later, a much larger boat returned. It seemed that their leader had arrived. They called him king, and he was treated as such. The man, spoiled in power, surveyed the island in the most precise measure, right down to the grains of silver sand on the western beach. Despite all the natural beauty around him, the island did not please his lust of gold, and he left the island swifter than when he came. His people, lost and abandoned, were not even thought of as he left.
The island's residents were alone, forgotten, purposeless, but they were not the kind of people to sit around and wait. They took action. They choose a new king to lead them; he was one of the island's original colonizers and was very kind. He decided it was best to divide the islands workforce into four specialized villages. Suroviny provided wood from the birch forest and resources from nearby mines. Ryba produced fish from the ocean and largest lake and made crafts from the sea. Plodina tended to the crops and livestock that were on the island. Lihoviny dealt with the islands spiritual side and the natural herbs that could cure disease. Only the wisest and most spiritually intune islanders lived in Lihoviny; they called themselves soul searchers, and the wisest of them was called the Wise Woman.
The new king moved himself, his wife, and his son to the castle. He appointed the strongest men to his guard to keep his family safe and his laws enforced. He appointed the smartest men to be on his advising council. They had no true power over the island; the king thought that would make the positions too contested and important. He thought it was only himself who could handle the power that came with the throne. He was able to control himself far better than most other men could. Everything on the island went smoothly for several generations. That was-- until the night of the prophecy.