Passing of the Gift, the

Arel was two-and-ten when she received her Gift. For a moment she saw the daylight with new eyes, and when she called out to the clouds they answered back. Arel brought wonder and hope to her thirsty tribe. They loved her for it.

Hudon was but seven when he discovered the Gift. With it, he raised stone from the earth and bowed the trees down low. The seasons turned and Hudon grew older as he built a home for his people. They were safe from storms and wolves within.

In Sielyr the Gift was stronger than in any before. When he spoke of his ambitions, those who heard him saw his dreams with their own eyes and they were swept away. From plains to mountains, the elders of each tribe came to Hudon's Home and swore loyalty to King Sielyr.

There was great rejoicing when Maelah opened her Gift at six-and-ten. She and others with the Gift set off to explore the world. They saw many wonders, and brought back those which they could. Each time they returned, they found their home to have grown larger and more splendorous. When Maelah's bones grew weary, she broke her walking staff and set to teaching her peoples' children the use of the Gift. So Maeleh the Traveler became Maeleh the Teacher.

Assa was eight-and-ten when she found her Gift. She was four-and-twenty when she first felt the touch of the dread Blight. By then it was too late. The Gift was her soul made manifest in this world, and she could no more stop using it than a bird could its wings. The people were greatly troubles by her death, for it unnatural. They opened her body, but they could not find the cause of the Blight. The people began to fear.

Menil was two-and-ten when he received the Gift, though by then they had stopped calling it that. His mother cautioned him never to use his Gift, but as the Blight spread across her son's skin, she knew he had not heeded her words.

Pesari buried his father when he was nine. Great Penred, who had stilled the tides themselves, was no more. Pesari thus did not open his own Gift until, in the folly of youth, he offered to pull down a star from the heavens for his beloved. The Blight consumed him in an instant.

When the Keeper saw the light of the falling star, he said with sorrow:

"Thus ends the last great bloodline of the Gift. Our time has passed in this world, and humanity must carry on without us."

Every man and woman in the world heard these words before the Keeper finally set down his burden and found rest.

The sun still shines at the dawn of each day. The wind still carries the scent of fresh rain. The trees still grow strong in the forest of my fathers. But no longer do the children of Man receive the Gift.


This story's a bit short, but I'm hoping to get it published (long-time lurker, first-time poster, not entirely sure how all this works). Comments and advice would be greatly appreciated.

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