ORIGIN

Zeno inhaled deeply, his heart adjusting to the change in blood flow needed to deal with having such a large surface area in contact with the cool ground. He might have to take a trip up toward Fornax after this, but for now keeping a low altitude was more important than fleeting comfort.

"Cycles are a unit of time, a strange constant known to most of the cave's inhabitants. Over the course of a single cycle most gembound, that is to say living creatures in the cave, will sleep at least a couple dozen times and go about their own business just as many times."

His reply was patient, his tone even. The question was simple, pure, and Zeno's disposition was reflective enough to derive no stress from the passing of knowledge. From his expression, in fact, he appeared to be rather enjoying the inquisitive nature of this young one.

Its next question, however, was much deeper than the child could have possibly known. Though his face stayed still, showing no reaction aside from a continuation of his most recent emotion, the larger bat's mind raced. Whether this life was accidental or not, such a question bordered on asking if life had any inherent meaning aside from what was forged.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer the question of if you or I or anyone else is accidental. Nor can I give you a concrete rule on how scary it can be out there. What I can say though is that this world is more varied than the world of dreams could ever prepare you for. Being noticed and encountering another life can indeed be scary should you encounter a primal lesser gembound or a malicious greater one. On the other hand, it can also be a thing of beauty and joy, as can happen when you watch a herd of peaceful lesser ones or encounter a greater gembound that challenges and changes the way you see the world."

He knew he was rambling. He knew that half of what he was saying would be nonsensical. Despite all this emotion and thought mixed together as he mused, and a warmth rose in his chest as he remembered the majesty of watching cave deer graze under the stars of Orion.

As he spoke these last few words small sparks of light began to rise from the ground, swirling into shapes similar to his thoughts but dissipating like smoke before any concrete image could be formed. This hadn't been the first time such a thing had happened, and Zeno quickly set his mind to let the thought pass through lest its manifestation frighten the poor young bat. The warmth in his chest faded along with the lights and Zeno bowed his head again with closed eyes, hoping to display that he had meant no harm.

Hearing no sounds of terror Zeno chanced lifting his head again, relieved to see that the youth was not afraid of the phantom lights that had appeared. It made sense in a small way, due to its size it seemed to have developed a gut reaction to fear things that were larger than it. Those odd specks were probably among the first things it had encountered that had not dwarfed it in size.

With the apparent relaxation in demeanor Zeno took a chance and lifted his body slightly off the ground, enough that he was no longer lying flay but was crouched down on folded wings.

"That is absolutely true, young one." he replied calmly. "Like you I am much smaller than most of the gembound who live here. In all that time I can only recall a single incident where blood was drawn. Most of the time they ignore me, as to be expected, and there have been times where I too been deathly afraid of a few of the particularly giant ones. In the end they seemed to have no more desire to hurt me than I would have to hurt something smaller than I am."

Words came before he really thought about them. He was a fruit eater, but fellow gemless bats who appeared to fall in the lesser gembound category would often eat insects to survive. Hopefully the subtlety would be lost on the youth.

An almost inaudible chuckle emerged from Zeno's throat as the youth imitated his position. It was unsteady, but soon it would learn and grow and become stronger. How much it would grow was still a mystery; perhaps it would grow just a little or perhaps it would one day dwarf him in size. Wouldn't that be a sight to see!

"I'm glad to have been able to help you out today. he responded to the small bat's thanks, beginning to move his wings to crawl slowly toward the nearest exit from the root's shelter. "You will do just fine in this place. Once you venture out into the caves you can often find me in the room of starry skies."

With a genuine smile and bow of his head he began to crawl away, looking forward to the time that they would meet again. Before he was halfway to the exit, however, a thought occurred to him. There was one more thing out there that the youth had not encountered that would probably give it a scare should it come in an intimidating form.

"Oh, I nearly forgot" he interjected, stopping in his tracks and looking over his shoulder at the youth. "There is a force usable to all the greater gembound in this cave, myself included. From most it is harmless, and from some it can seem scary, but in the end it is simply a tool granted to us."

Zeno took a deep breath and began to clear his mind, letting thoughts that came pass without regard. A sense of calm washed over him and the warmth in his very core washed over him. The images of his vision became as watching the view of the world from afar, real but vaguely disconnected from his sense of self. This meditation had been developed shortly after encountering a mysterious pictorial story on the cave's wall and with it always came...

A soft blue light began to manifest, lighting all that Zeno could see. His pupils faded away from sight and his brown eyes shifted into a brilliant iridescent blue, sparkling as their light shone.

"That force," he uttered, his voice soft and metered as he spoke directly from his heart, "Is called magic."

Voices, images, cold and memories. Thoughts and feelings continued to race though Zeno's consciousness as his mind continued to stretch out and relax in the pure state of present. These inputs were not bad, and the mind's quick desire to process them was no flaw.

"Among those who live in the caves,"

Words and thoughts were mixed as one, his tone distant and peaceful as the force behind his voice sent out into the world ideas untouched by extensive examination.

"there are those whose thoughts rise above simple instinct. There are those who speak and explore and form lasting bonds of community. They are called the greater gembounds and their status has been bestowed upon both you and I."

Slow breath lightly echoed among the roots as Zeno's form shifted positions, turning once more to the cave's new life. His iridescent gaze cast shadows on the ground behind it and lit its face in greater detail than could have been seen before.

"The great blessing of the greater gembounds is this magic that emanates from the gem which some feel contain the very essence of our beings. You are fortunate to have entered this world with a beautiful stone for all to see. I am but a lowly gemless one, what stone I might have possessed surely became lost within my bones or blood."

The light flickered for a brief moment as emotions of envy and loss threatened to take hold of Zeno's mind. In this state, however, he was more than prepared for the expected emotions. This was his vice, and one that would take time to overcome should they even be overcome at all. Acknowledging the thoughts he let them slip back away into the chaos of passing fancies, his light becoming brighter once more.

"Still, with my thoughts and words and feelings I have not fallen so low as to be a lesser gembound who acts on instinct alone. Certainly I can only hope to be an observer of this place, but with that blue pip upon your chest there is no telling what kinds of wonders you can accomplish in this life."

With another deep breath Zeno allowed the magic flowing throughout his body to start to slip away. His distant expression transformed back into a soft smile as the light dimmed, his pupils returned, and finally the iridescent blue gave way to his eyes natural color.

He had indeed been speaking without filter, using terminology that crossed his mind without real consideration for how it would be interpreted. He could work with it though.

"It's nothing like that, young one." he spoke once more, his voice taking on inflections and care distinct from the distant utterances just a moment before. "I was speaking metaphorically. Like the shape of your gem, a pip is a kind of fruit seed. It may start out small and insignificant but given time and care will grow into a great tree that supports life for all."

After he spoke his mind wandered back to the concern this one had shown for him at the mention of his lack of gem. A true kindness, and perhaps a more logical view. He had never met one who had treated him poorly for his lack of gem, but the insecurity still remained. In truth whether he was lesser than the gemmed ones was a moot point, he would probably take upon himself the same task regardless of what he looked like. Surely he would never be a powerhouse of might or magic, but if he could be even a small positive force for others then he could at least claim worthiness to draw breath.