Grown from Earth

Grown from Earth, tortured by men, sold off, traded, and exploited for labor, the only person who had ever understood him was his Brother Aiyel because he had been there every part of the way. Their kind had always been the peaceful sort, it’s hard to go on wanting when all you need is sunlight. The memories of his true kin were that of a hotly translucent blue sunspot or a bubble in whitewater—certainly there but hard to follow. Their love for the world permeated his soul and he could feel it, but their cause was now seemingly dwarfed by a conflict far greater than anything he could have control over.

Aiyel was the last living relic of a history governed by this loving truth. In a world of anger and desperation, he had always been the face and voice of compassion. More than that, he looked like family long since gone. Working the farms, the taverns, the mills, and the bakeries, the two brothers learned to survive. War mongering hatred festered in their city from the same spitting mouths of rugged men who took them from their home in the first place. Their insults of cowardice for failing to join the fray fell flatly, hypocrisy rang in their tone.

This way of life continued for some time. The two brothers working, surviving, and finding love in the community of refugees and stolen labor the city provided for them. That was until the nation’s enemy attacked. They were indiscriminate in their killing, their bloodshed extended to what was in view, nothing less.

He never knew why Aiyel had died and he had not. He never supposed there was an answer to that question. All he knew now was the last living relic of a loving past was gone. The only one who had seen his journey, step by step, was no longer there. The only one who had ever really understood him had vanquished at the hands of his abuser’s enemy.

Does he fight for the men who took everything from him in the first place? Or does he fight the men who finished the job? Does his pursuit of justice only amount to some petty attempt for control? Or does Aiyel deserve vengeance?

The airships took him to a place where these questions would be answered whether he was ready for it or not.