Prologue
She swept into the room like the earth force that she was, glancing at the tiny beings who were the soul of earth and who did great things to keep earth going. There were so many of them and they were so very tiny that it would not be hard to squash them but without them, this world would be entirely different. However, she had a new task for them.
She looked around the room. The room they were in was very green and very large. It was the room she used when she wanted to tall to all the earthly creatures. The room has vine hanging from every corner. She did not have to worry about tripping over the vine because she didn’t walk. The force of the earth that was flowing into her body literary elevated off the ground. She floated instead of walking. But sometimes, she wished that she could walk. She would really love to know what it felt to march on the vine on the floor and walk on them. Most of the creatures didn’t walk. They flew or floated.
The woman in the room was not at all human. She had pointy nose that looked like the cutting edge of a very proper compass. Her eyes were pure emerald with an ethereal sparkle. Her face was green, smooth and beautiful. Her ears were spiked like a goblin’s. Her hair was flowing vine, as was the cloth she wore. She did not walk on the ground; she floated on it. Her cloth glided over the ground, making everything on it alive in its wake.
Yes, she was Vera, the Mother Nature. Right now, she was furious. Her eyes gleamed while her face turned a sickly green.
Mother Nature turned to a very tiny creature in front of her, whose face was indistinct in the dimmed emerald light of the green room. ‘I want you to go into the world and find out why I am weak in the midst of these humans. They should be blessed that I make my home in their country. My father will be upset at what I am about to do but I cannot keep quiet any longer, not if I wish to live,’
The creature nodded solemnly. ‘I shall do as you wish, Mother, but I want to know what I am going to be looking out for when I go into the human world,’ the creature said in a sing song voice.
Her name was Gea. She was not looking forward to this adventure, having heard from other creatures that had been on earth surface that it was very harsh for gentle and weak creatures like her. However, she could not refuse Mother Nature anything. Indeed, she loved to please her, and that was why she was agreeing to her command. She understood that Vera might not even be aware that the venture was very dangerous. Gea hoped she would stay alive long enough to get the message across to her.
Vera looked wildly around her. ‘I want you to go in there and find out what is causing my children to die. There is evil on the earth surface. I can feel it. I want you to find it for me. Sniff it out, my little angel.’ Her eyes softened as they focused on Gea. ‘While you are looking for it, I do not want you to give up your life in the process. They are not worth it. You may leave.’
Gea realized Mother Nature had just given her the chance to back out. That was why they called her the fair mother. But she knew she wouldn’t beg off, because she wanted to do it for her. ‘I will do as you say, Mother.’
Gea was a messenger fairy. She was so tiny she was almost invisible. She had a pointy mouth like a beak. Some called her a bird, but birds didn’t talk like Gea. She had wings like birds, and also had a leg. She had the same kind of ears and eyes as Vera but in a much smaller size.
She flapped her tiny wing, leaving the Mother Nature’s presence through the tiny hole that led her to the earth surface. Gea did not really know from where to start, but she did not have to search long; the evil drew her.
She recoiled from it when she felt it oozing from the earth surface. It was suffocating. Moving out of the ground, she flew to the air above, where the evil was present but in a lesser degree.
Gea had no idea that she had come onto the earth surface at dawn. She was too weak a creature to stand the heat of the sun, which was yet to come out, so she built up enough energy to fly from one corner of the earth to the other, trying to find out what made it so evil. She could now ascertain that the evil was in connection to earth, and kinds of Gea could not survive it.
She flew to the side that had the most repugnant odour. She was afraid to go closer for fear that the evil would suffocate her, but she had no choice than to do so. That was the only way to pinpoint exactly where the evil was coming from. She noticed that the soil here was darker and that there was no vegetation. She went closer, and then stopped suddenly when the smell hit her in the face.
Blood!
The realization shook her very being. She knew what blood could do to living vegetation. It killed it outright. It was also the fastest way to kill her kind. If it was the source of evil, then it was very dangerous for her. It was not just any blood that could kill her kind. It was only human blood. They still could not understand why. That was the reason they fled their former abode – a place underneath the earth surface, where the land was so full of rich earth that they did not pay attention to the earth surface. By the time they realised what was happening, it was too late to fight it. The humans living above were having the biggest bloodbath in human history. They were at war. The bloodshed was so much upon the earth that the whole vegetation was almost gone. Mother Nature was unable to do anything because she had agreed to obey her father, which meant that she was not to show herself to the humans.
They had to leave the place. They came to a land that was peaceful, and had been staying there until another evil of the old kind came upon them again. It seemed Mother was not going to stay quiet about this one. Gea hoped that her father would not be very angry with her.
She flew forward to know if she could find more. That was when the sun came out, and did so with vengeance. Gea felt weak and tired. She looked up and saw the sun. She tried to find a place to hide, but could not. They needed sun but too much of it killed her kind. She felt her life force leaving her. At the sight of a big plant, she flew towards it as though it was home. She knew that if she made it on time before she died, she would live. She tried to fly harder but her wings had a mind of their own. She started falling. She was unconscious before she touched the big leaf for which she was heading. She blended in with the plant as if she was part of it.
She really was part of it.
