The Chosen Child: Tales of Ocaia

Takenna slumbered in eternal darkness, knowing not where she was in space and time. Her dreams became nightmares - death, despair, and war. No matter how she tried to stir herself awake, the misery continued and increased with ferocity. One by one, she witnessed the fall of humankind. One by one, she watched the loss of plant and animal life. Innocence vanished as quickly as it began, and each life snuffed out tugged at her heart. There it was in the distance, a light off the horizon growing in size and color intensity. Bright white shot through clouds and increased in hues of yellow, orange, and blood red. It was coming closer. She tried to shield herself, but stiffness of her sleep prevented such movement. She was frozen, unable to run or hide. As the light and heat came sweltering toward her, despair for her own life swelled inside. As she was unable to save lives of those she watched, she too was unable to save herself. Just as the wave of light came to envelope her being, a thunderous noise erupted around her darkness. Her eyes opened and her body ached. Gasping for breath and searching around her, terrified of the light that came and went so abruptly, it was gone. Takenna fell to her knees and wept, her translucent blue hair covered her face as she shook her head from left to right. For all that she had witnessed and the feeling that this would be her inevitable end as well, the anguish of those raw emotions poured out of her all at once. She held herself tight, weeping in anxiousness and sorrow while in her mind the nightmares played over and over again. After what seemed an eon, she released the tight grasp of herself and slowly began to scan her current environment. Clear and ongoing hues of rainbow light as far as the eye could see. The air was pure, the picturesque glow in soft light began to sooth the soul, and Takenna was able to regain her composure. She stood, struggling it seemed with the weight of images still in her mind, consciously attempting to regain all of her strength. All at once, she knew what she had to do. Her time had come. For the fourth time, the planet had a clean slate. Takenna's brothers before her had attempted, and failed, to maintain a sustainable existence within the confines of this planetary realm. Staring at the rock in space, contemplating how all attempts at life and beginning had come to a dramatic end each time. What lessons learned can be counteracted and improved upon? Conflict seemed inevitable. This was a formula she accounted for in the calculation of her canvas. There is never true peace within the hearts of those that dwell amongst each other, a burden learned in all of the trials made here time and time again. A voice rang loud and clear, echoing throughout the crystal void. "Takenna," it said, "how will you proceed?" She closed her eyes, gentle and slow as she centered her soul, her lashes interlacing as a calmness flowed through her entire being. A reimagining of this land was in her total control. A desire to create utopia, knowing it would never truly be as such but giving her best attempt, she wanted her children to feel as passionate as she did in this moment of awakening. Determination and vigor from within, she threw her arms into the air and spoke her truth. As soft as she appeared, her voice became as intense and thunderous as the one that preceded her own. As I am one, so shall be the land, air, and sea. As I am at peace, so shall the dwellers be. As I am their storm, so shall it bring them serenity. As I Takenna, their mother, so shall be for all eternity. She struck her hands together above her head, the clashing sound created a spiraling wind around her and straight to the planet ahead. The land began to move together and puzzle-piece itself into one contiguous place. Water swayed and crashed into places it had not been in quite some time. Tufts of white and grey swirled around in the calamity, creating a creamy picture high above the morphing of the land below. After a few moments, the dance of elements below had come to a halt and her first step had been completed. Takenna straightened her posture and stood proud in admiration of her work. After a thoughtful pause, she was ready to begin the next phase of her process. Creation of life. Takenna closed her eyes once more and then opened them to find herself walking the lands of her new planet. This blank slate would hold a few good things that her brothers before her had produced, but most of it would be new to her children. A mixture of old and new beings, molded and created to be able to bring diversity into balance. Though the nightmares weighed heavily on her heart, she remembered some good things. Humans had vivid imaginations and were able to transcribe words and pictures to be able to tell their stories. Some of those stories, although not created by a Creator, were rather charming and she wanted to implement some of those aspects as well. With every step she took a shade of green sprang beneath her. The harder her weight pressed into the ground, the darker the green would appear to become. Her smile created new flowers on the ground, and when she giggled at the same time those flowers tended to have a gentle glow on the petals. Each flower varied in size and color, from the palest of pink to the darkest shade of purple. Her favorite was the glimmering blue flower with short petals and a long stem, the scent of which she felt echoed the essence of her being. Takenna looked to the sky and gently blew out air between her lips, a soft breeze that graced the air and tingled her senses. The intersections of land that came together had done a marvelous job of molding large rock formations, but with a raise of her hand she made them grow taller and more bold. Large and small trees were created between her hands, lifting the dirt and growing them taller, and her laughter brought the tops of them to life in color and movement. Trees in her likeness were more colorful than her predecessors, hues that resembled the place of her waking to remind her children just how beautiful life can be. Each small tear of joy shed during her experience created a variation of pools, rivers, and tiny ponds over the land. Satisfied with the landscape, she then focused on the life of creatures to wander within the world. She had seen three previous sets of lives and wanted hers to be superior in all aspects. She stilled her breath, closed her eyes once more, and raised her hands and let the emotions flow out of her soul. Wind whirled around her silken hair, light flitted through the trees and shimmering dust emerged from her fingertips to be carried throughout the world. The sea rumbled against the land she had formed with the new disturbance in the air. With seamless binding, particles of dust clumped together in various areas of land and sea to create what Takenna felt in her heart to be the purest forms of life. The moments ticked by as she poured every piece of her heart and soul into her final creations and standing tall in the blustering air around her. Stillness fell over her and the air retreated, slowly grazing between the leaves of trees and through the mountains. Eyes still shut, there was no need to see them now as she had an eternity to watch over her children. With a deep inhale and pause, she opened her eyes back to crystal void from whence she began. She called this place Ocaia.