All the same, I remember seeing a petroglyph depicting four great beasts in the corners of Kortos, though the specific creatures differed.' 'Though it’s more common in Earthsong minotaur art to carve our stories in stone, rather than tell them in words.

'We have a similar myth back home, though it’s very obscure,' Charikleia said, adding some notes to her sketch as she scratched the base of one of her horns. And though many consider it a myth, some say that out there, somewhere in the last expanses of the world, the four Wardens of the Wild yet reign.'īaranthet’s wistful sigh was drowned out by the thrumming wings of the Zoetrope as the ship crossed the water’s edge and began soaring over sand dunes. 'So it was again in the next epoch, and again, and again, the great wheel of life turning. And when the Migration came yet again, as it must, they in turn selected their four successors before passing from the wilds. 'And so it was that the little elephant, the rattling snake, the angry fish, and the kind butterfly became the four new Wardens of the Wild, growing to great size as they were filled with the primal magic of their respective realms, over which they reigned for one epoch and one day. Some might rely on their judgment, while others might hold contests of strength or wit or heart, but in some manner, they would choose four new wardens to inherit the mantle. 'When the Migration was complete and the animals were gathered, the Wardens of the Wild would select their successors. Though he’d explained their mission as soon as funding was secured-long before he’d finished constructing the ship or assembling the crew-he wasn’t sure he’d ever properly told her the story that inspired it all, as he’d originally heard it each year in his youth: Grandmother's story, which he now told in her stead. 'Ah, apologies, got away from myself for a moment.' Baranthet smiled at his research assistant. Instantly, her brush was in her hand, capturing the turtle’s likeness in her sketchbook for the expedition’s records. 'Professor, you're getting off track again,' Charikleia said with as much tact as she could muster, even as her eye caught a majestic lightning turtle through the waves. Below, the water was so clear you could see the eels and fish and rays darting through the coral as the ship neared the coast. 'Every animal on the planet, all in one place?' He gazed out over the deck of the Zoetrope. 'Can you imagine it, Charikleia?' The naturalist, now much older than a boy, put the stone tiles back in their velvet-lined box, the one his grandmother had left him. The flocks and schools and herds all came together in a grand convergence known as the Migration-every animal, even those so rare they’re thought extinct. The wardens converged from their disparate realms upon a single location, tucked away in the furthest expanses of the wilds, along with every beast that could make the trip. And as they were the stewards of the natural world, so too did every animal in their care: those upon the land, those within the earth, those under the sea, and those above the sky. 'When their time drew close, the four wardens felt the call. Yet nothing of the wild lasts forever-such is not the way of nature. Where the wild grew threatened by disaster or development, the wardens repelled intruders and restored the world with their vast power. Where animals and beasts disputed or doubted, the wardens quelled their infighting and fortified their hearts. 'For one epoch and one day, the Wardens of the Wild reigned.

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