“I can’t do this,” Lofet said as he paced the grass. Sene and a group of Umbatia sat at what seemed to be a large table, but it was made from a mound of Earth. Lofet’s seat, which was a small sprout of grass that Umbatia could encourage to grow in a matter of seconds by using the Essence, was empty.
“Sit down, Loffey,” Sene said with exasperation. “It’s hard to talk with you moving around. This serious and we need to talk about it.” As she talked, the large aphro of brown hair on her head moved like it was alive and echoed her sentiments. Her brown skin glowed where her skin was exposed by her tunic, at her shoulders and legs.
“This wrong and all y’all know it,” Lofet continued. His golden skin was less shiny than usual, like his own internal light was dimmed. His bare shoulders slumped and his belly poked out like he was slowly deflating.
“I don’t see how this bad,” a female called Umbriel said. She sat in the middle of the table and she was dressed like Lofet with no top, but cloth draping around her waist that hung down to her ankles. Her skin was stark white and her hair that flowed down past her shoulders was shiny and gave off small orbs of light.
“We got to end this fight with them Earthers or they gone catch us off guard one day and tear down everything we done built here,” Umbriel continued. “And if we lose this place, then the doorway we keep open to the Fonlands gone close and all that mean is less Essence for everybody. That ain’t good. You said she wanted to help us, well, it’s time we show her how she can.”
“Do we know she can live without the Third Heart?” a male called Galwan asked. He had dark black skin and his hair was as long as Umbriel’s. He wore a tunic that stopped just above his knees and he crossed his legs at the ankles.
“No we don’t,” Sene said. “We don’t even really know how the thing work. We shouldn’t even be talking about taking it from her.”
Umbriel sighed audibly then said, “The legend say Pultine…”
“Aww, hush up about a legend,” Sene said. “That legend ain’t say nothin about nobody taking Pultine’s Third Heart from her. It say she gave it to the forest, the forent ain’t take it.”
“Ain’t she proof that the legend real?” Umbriel asked. “We ain’t never had no Umbatia born with no Third Heart, but the scouts found Earthers who had one cause the legend say a Fonlander can feel the Third Heart in somebody else. That was real. We don’t need her to get what we need, just the heart.”
“But she say she want to help, why would we just take it out of her then?” Lofet asked.
“‘Cause,” a deep voice said. It belonged to Tiriq who had very black skin that was darker than Galwan’s. “We ain’t depending on no Earther, not even Pultine’s daughter. We need to figure how it work, then figure how to make it work without her. All Earthers the same, don’t matter if they slave or owner, they all think they the center of the world and we just stories for them to laugh at. You saw how she act around us, like all this a dream she having. We ain’t real to her and she ain’t nothing to us but that Third Heart.”
“We can’t do nothing til we know for sure how the thing work,” Sene said. “You talking about Coffey like you know her, Tiriq. She a nice girl. Yeah she flying around here with her eyes all wide, but you don’t understand the life Loffey saved her from. Them black Earthers, they slaves. The white Earthers treat them worse than they do the animals. This unreal to her because she ain’t never really fit nowhere. She ain’t never had no home. We can give her one, she can be one of us…”
“She ain’t one of us!” Tiriq yelled and slammed a fist on the mound of Earth between them and an orb of light seemed to explode on impact, sending chunks of dirt flying. “She ain’t suffered like we have in this swamp, she ain’t worked her hands to bone to make this place work. Shouldn’t be no Earthers here at all.”
Tiriq flew away from the gathering in a flash, the chitin wings at aer back flapping so fast that they were invisible.
“Ae ain’t wrong,” Umbriel said.
“Yeah,” Lofet said. “Ae wrong. We can’t hurt Coffey.”
“We won’t,” Sene said and stood to put a hand on Lofet’s back. “We can’t do nothing until we know how the heart work. You just take care of your girl til then. I know you sweet on her.”
– – –
from the Manual and Reference of the Fonlands
Lêgba is notorious among all inhabitants of the Fonlands, and because his name is mentioned in the myths and legends of the Earthers, some Endlanders believe that Lêgba has spent time in the Earth realm, though it is widely believed that no Vodun has ever set foot on Earth. Lêgba is a man of mystery, some say the definition of the word, and it is impossible to track his movements through any realm or universe.
The exact number of Lêgba’s Iterations, or copies, is unknown, and it is possible that an iteration using the name Lêgba has explored or inhabited the Earth realm. There may presently be an iteration of Lêgba, or more than one, on Earth or anywhere in the universe Prime 5.
– – –
Tiriq was not male or female. Tiriq was not a combination, or mashup of gender conventions that exist in the Earth realm. Tiriq was third-sex, meaning that ae’s reproductive capabilities adapts to produce offspring with whom or whatever ae wants to produce offspring with. Most Fonlanders are only able to reproduce with one another and many different varieties of Earthers.
Tiriq is a parent to many Umbatia that live in the swamp and ae is an elder of aer community. Ae is very vigilant about the safety of the hive at the swamp and will do anything to ensure their safety, including dismembering the body of one of Pultine’s daughters to make her Third Heart work for them. Ae knew that ae had to convince many of the other elders of the need for such drastic action. Ae would keep aers hive safe, even if it meant sacrificing the lives of a small number of the Umbatia that ae loved so much.
Tiriq flies from the swamp and into the thick woods surrounding. Ae doesn’t fly long before a dark figure rustles the leaves. Tiriq intensifies aers orb of light that surrounds aers body and in a flash, ae is as tall as the dark figure.
“I heard you found a Third Heart,” an eerie voice issued from the dark figure.
“We did,” Tiriq said. “I want your word that you will do what you say when I bring it to you. No Earther, neither man nor beast, should ever step foot in our swamp again. Promise me, Lêgba.”
A devious chuckle issued from the dark figure.
“Bring the heart and I will give you whatever you want.”
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