Praetorian Rising, стр. 11
"Like Camille!" Lunci pipped in.
"Yes, just like Camille," Peter said with a smile.
"Then there was Nimeha, eldest of them all, the protector of time, wisdom, and fate. Right, Papa?" Lunci asked, his exuberance and enjoyment of the story infectious to Camille's normal reserved state.
"Correct, my boy. Nimeha had the most beautiful hair, cascading down the length of her back, neither white nor blond, but a mix of the two slipping from tones of honey to the white iridescence of pearl. Her eyes were of the lightest amber, soft and inviting."
Camille eased the stone pillar against her back, slipping into the story with ease as Peter's slow rumbling voice continued. She enjoyed the stark tales of love and adventure, of loss and good fortune. Each story came with a strong message or warning, all she felt were slightly recognizable, but she could never place her finger on when she had heard the tale.
"The Daughters were often referred to as the Ayya, the three forms of life joined together in a circle of infinite growth and cycle of nature. Soon after enjoying the gift of new life and the exploration of their surroundings, it wasn't long before the pang of loneliness struck them.
"Nimeha, understanding the workings of fate, had it in her mind that Ma'Nada wouldn't leave them to suffer in longing. She patiently waited for her true love to find her. Joanna, walking the flat plains, grassy knolls, and rocky terrain of her lands, lived for the exploration and nurturing of life all around. She didn't much mind the longing for human interaction as she had the animals and the trees to converse with. She kept a peace of mind, if not a slow yearning, knowing that her time would come. Buvona, fierce in stature and pressed into the darkness of their world, felt the sting of loneliness the most. She cared for those in passing and nurtured all who crossed the gates into Cydonia, but she could neither save them nor ease their pain. Buvona, youngest of the three sisters, felt cheated."
Peter pulled the steaming kettle from the hook inside the hearth and went about pouring three cups of his specialty lavender mint tea. The earthy sweetness filled Camille's nostrils, and she grabbed a slim slice of bread off the plate as Peter offered her the steaming cup. "Thank you," she said quickly, not wanting to interrupt his story, but Peter continued with a mere nod of his head as he blew methodically on his own steaming cup of liquid.
"One night, Buvona begged for mercy from Ma'Nada, asking for the gift of man to bring her some sense of warmth and bond of family. Ma'Nada agreed, wanting love in her daughters' lives. From the seeds of Ma'Nada's womb, she gifted her daughters with three handsome men: Edis, Gideon, and Fotrix.
"Edis, a proud man with a penchant for the sea, took to Joanna, their mix of land and sea melting together as one. Their love true and bond secure, together they nurtured and protected not just their domains but also each other. Gideon, finding his passion in the craft of writing song and poetry, soothed his heart in the arms of Nimeha and her infinite knowledge. Fotrix was a sly trickster. Though joyous and bubbly at heart, he wasn't honest or truthful. His passion was to manipulate, to trick, to deceive. His falsities and lies tricked Buvona, who was desperate for light and love in her life and fell deeply for the silver-haired fox.
"As Joanna and Nimeha explored the joys of love and blossoming family, Buvona remained sadly alone. Despite Fotrix’s expressed desire to love and cherish her, and his promise to build a family, Buvona walked the silvery nights alone and without any children to soften the harshness of being alone. In a spur of great cunning, Buvona devised a plan to trap Fotrix in the darkness of the underworld, allowing him only to roam the lands at the brightest of all full moons for her to easily find him."
"I've always thought Fotrix deserved to be tricked," Lunci spoke up, his lips pursed with intent thought.
"Oh?" Peter said, taking the pause in storytelling to sneak a bit of turkey between his lips. "Why is that?"
Lunci scrunched his tiny nose in thought, his sharp blue eyes watering with focused intensity. "Well, because he is mean. Buvona loves him and she is a caring, beautiful person, but he brings out the worst in her. He makes her look evil, even though she isn't."
"Keen observation," Peter replied, nodding once in agreement.
"Please continue," Camille spoke up, now profoundly intrigued with the tale.
With one quick gulp of tea, Peter quirked up an eyebrow in thought as though searching for the words rolling around somewhere in the confines of his brain. His lips pressed together, his eyes scrunched before his mouth popped open into an 'o' as though locating his mental bookmark and he continued the story.
"Fotrix didn't like to be the center of a trick and loathed Buvona for succeeding in trapping him in the dark depth of the underground. He was allowed out into the open air once at every moon cycle when the fullness of its light could grace the lands with a bright silvery glow. It was on these nights that Buvona expected him to come to her, but that he did not. He instead enchanted the rocks, the trees, and the late-night animals to charm her while he planned a devious trick against her. Fotrix schemed to give a child to both Joanna and Nimeha, shielding their eyes for them to believe they lay with their lovers. Buvona, enchanted as well by Fotrix's charm, thought herself to be full with child.
"In