“You could say that,” Hua shrugged. “I prefer a more intimate approach.” He spoke nonchalantly, but Maeve suspected the god’s pleasurable pastimes. “After we roughly shaped this earth, she oversaw the design and creation of every tree, plant, fruit, and vegetable around you. Fungus too, even though she received a little help from me.”
Close to them, Ystävä’s eyes shone, amazed by the incredible opportunity to hear an Ancient describing the creation of the world.
Hua carried on. “It was the work of millennia, finding the right balance for the ground composition, weather, growth, and reproduction of Paki’s vegetation. But so many things were still missing. Many of our siblings abandoned the task and returned to the stars. Only a handful of us remained rooted here. Then, I envisioned the first animals.” The story was mind-boggling, but Maeve held her breath, not wanting to lose a word. Hua closed his eyes, enjoying his reminiscence. “Simple creatures at first, but complex enough to bring the balance we needed.”
Ystävä couldn’t resist anymore. “I read once, in the beginning, creatures were so basic they couldn’t comprehend their impact on the rest of the ecosystem, reproducing and eating away without restraint.”
“That is true, Warlock Ystävä. Soon our solution became an additional problem, and the balance we hoped to achieve was once again threatened.” The Ancient’s eyes clouded, somehow lost in his unfathomable memories. “So we found another solution. A drastic one, but effective.”
“Pouri...”
The unknown raspy voice took them by surprise. Maeve glimpsed the immediate response of Hakken and Regn, sitting far from the rest of them. Both men tensed, ready to face any danger.
But the voice belonged to someone who would never cause them any harm. The Tree goddess finished her transformation, detaching the last roots from her now feminine form. Her skin resembled clear bark, and her dark brown hair framed her delicate face, with greenish strands here and there. Her eyes, as her brother’s, were inscrutable and deep, but instead of a starry night, hers resembled bottomless pools of deep water, like a shifting lake at night. A thick layer of moss covered her body and swayed around her, shaped like a long, elegant dress. Maeve smiled. The goddess Paki might have spent thousands of years in the form of a magnificent tree, but she looked astonishing as a woman.
“The ‘solution’ was our youngest sister, Pouri,” she said, the muscles around her mouth slightly cracking. Her profound voice resounded deeply from within her. The goddess stood high, staring at them with benevolent eyes, as dignified as a queen. But as soon as she stepped forward, she tripped with the hem of her mossy dress and fell flat on her face. Both Warlocks jumped to her help, while Maeve stared in shock at the unexpected scene. Hakken barely stifled a laugh, unlike Regn, who had lost the fight and cackled like an idiot.
Hua didn’t seem to find the scene amusing. After struggling for a moment, Paki stood on her brand new legs once more, sporting a bashful smile. “Well, this is harder than it looks!” She walked on shaky knees, holding her hands to Maeve. “Some help, will you love? I never used legs before.”
Maeve went to her aid, taking her hands and marveling at the softness of her skin.
“As I was saying, the new solution was our youngest sister. Unlike us, she was not keen on creating life. It has always been an enigma why she joined us while we shaped this world and did nothing but watch. So when the time came to take drastic measures to prevent the collapse of our living world, she proposed to take care of the balance.” The goddess let out a sigh, not used to conversation.
“How did she manage that feat?” Finn asked, fascinated.
“Population control. Volcanoes, wildfires, floods, deadly diseases.” Paki shook her head. “It was painful to allow our children to die by the thousands, but necessary to maintain harmony.”
“I’ve read some records from previous Warlocks, documenting evidence of natural disasters and pandemics such as these.” Finn seemed to search for the details in his mind. “But I don’t recall any event of this magnitude for the last three thousand years.”
“We learned from our mistakes.” Despite the imperativeness of the entire ordeal, Hua looked quite pleased with himself while telling them their story. “We allowed our children more freedom, more self-awareness. Over time, they learned on their own how to achieve balance.”
“And thus rendering Pouri’s assistance unnecessary,” Paki concluded. “We were too busy indulging in our success to notice the sudden change in plans was not of our little Pouri’s liking.”
Hua shared a meaningful glance with his sister. “We took for granted that after thousands of years of depending on her to fix our mistakes, leaving her behind would be of no consequence.”
“Pouri left. One day we realized she disappeared, and even though we searched for her for centuries, our little sister vanished from the surface of the world.” Paki held a hand over her mouth, holding back her sadness. A reverent silence fell on the clearing. They were listening to the story of the creation of their world, told by the gods.
Maeve wondered if they would have the chance of this remarkable honor if their situation wouldn’t have been so dire. It was a complicated feeling, knowing she could experience such wonders at such a terrible cost. Life had a strange way to find balance. If she hadn’t lost her family, she would never have entered the Forest, nor met all her new, wonderful friends. She wouldn’t have Hakken. If there was no war, she might have never seen Finn again, nor gained her magic.
Finn interrupted her trail of thoughts when he let out an exasperated yelp. “Oh, wonderful!” He grabbed his head. “Now it all makes sense!” He turned to look at the others, hands raised, visibly excited, and clearly expecting everyone else had the same realization. But he only met blank
