Prologue

My grandmother said we were merely visitors to this land. The Caprini were too, but us doubly so. We were the last to come to this land. Our people came here by accident. We, the People of the Fresh Water, the Ludovody, were once of the sea. We were Valudzki then. Somewhere part of the world broke, and a great wave came, and we were washed on the shore. Thousands of us were beached—most of a city. Only a handful had survived. Only the Splitters, the throwbacks of evolution with 2 tails, survived. We learned to walk on this land like the Caprini and the Sarna before us, but different.
They were here before us, but they were not native to here. My grandmother told us the story that her grandmother told her, and her grandmother before her, since before memory. We were all one once, the Caprini, the Sarna, and the Valudzki. She said when we were one, we came from a land far away; beyond the Sisters and Mothers that watch over us above. Then too did we arrive by accident, at the very least, not in a way we would have liked. The Guardian that brought us here hit another and broke into many pieces, and not much of our kind were left, and if they survived, they were flung to the far corners of the Eversea.
The Eversea wasn’t anything like the place we had come from before, and we had to adapt with what we had, but back then we were weak and frail. We had to be made for this world. The world didn’t make us, which is the normal way of things. The world, however, did make Others. The Others were as diverse as we became to be, and they were the true inhabitants of this land. Caprini say they wiped them out long ago, but we Ludovody know better. When we were Valudzki there were Others of the Sea, and we drove them near extinction, but they hid where we could not reach. We have always suspected the same of the Others of the Land. It’s why the Caprini fear caves and will not dig too deep—they’re afraid.
They’re afraid they’ll come back for revenge. They’re afraid that the Others will do to the Caprini what the Caprini did to the Sarna. That is why we Ludovody also do not dig too deep or go to caves. If it’s bad enough to scare the Caprini, it must be much worse.
We’re not meant for the land and thus, no match for any Caprin adult on our own. We’re told never to stray too far from the villages, and if we’re to travel between towns, to be silent and quick, lest they find us. If they find one of our paths, it can destroy the whole village, and therefore, paths of often changed, and travel is hard without detection.
The day the Third Guardian fell, I made an exception. I saw the Third Guardian in the sky at mid-day. It was like the Orrkai of legend but stuck in the sky. I saw it hit something like I’m sure the first two did that our ancestors came on before it, and I saw it fall. Although it was far away, everyone heard it roar. We heard Caprin warning bells ring all across the land, and the people of our village began to panic. If the Caprini were afraid, it must be very bad.
My grandmother tried to bring me inside but gave up when she saw I would not come. I had to see it. The elders called that another big wave was coming and could wipe us all out to Sea again. I remained outside. I saw it scream with fire down towards the Sea. I saw from it come a large cloud, that seemed to catch it for a second, then fail. I watched it until the tree line blocked my view, and I heard it crash into the Sea.
I don’t know if it was out of curiosity, some death wish, or the assumption that the Caprini were all probably cowering in their homes too, but without thinking, I started to run to the sound of the crash. I ran towards it, ignoring the strange looks, and shouts of concern from the elders. I ran ignoring the approved paths to the next village. I ran past that village, and the next, through Ludovody and Caprin village alike. It’s like some unknown deep-seated part of me awoke and was pulling me there. I had to see it. I had to see where we came from. I had to see if they were like what we were before. I had to meet them if there were any left to meet. I had to know.