May 27th, 1946
Tiny people. Tiny
people! We are in a city of tiny
people! And when I state ‘tiny’ I
illustrate this with our first meeting of a young man named ‘Thome.’
We traveled for three days without our caravan and then came
to what looked to me like absolutely nothing.
It was almost like we were staring at this big mud puddle. While I was nothing but confused, Cyrus held
this grave look upon his features. Then,
he crouched down and held out his hand.
I thought a bug was crawling up into his palm, but it was a man! A little man!
I was so shocked that I stumbled and almost fell upon my backside.
Thome was sharply dressed in a little pin-striped suit and
holding a pocket watch. He brushed
bright lime green hair out of his face and pointed furiously at the pocket
watch before thrusting his finger towards the stars above. I only heard a few strained squeaks, but
Cyrus was nodding over and over as if the two were having a conversation.
Thome easily fit in my beloved’s palm, equaling in height to
about his middle finger and only a bit bigger around than the same finger. As I mentioned, he had bright lime green hair
and matching sparkling green eyes. His
flesh was a deep almond and his face held a gentile smile. He seemed harmless enough, for a tiny man.
Being left out of the conversation was frustrating, but I
stood and marveled over the small person until Cyrus finally began to explain
that Thome was a sort of ambassador for his people. When ‘bigger people’ came to their lands with
intent to enter them, he was the one to do the greeting. He spoke many languages and knew our
customs. He had clothing that resembled
our own and he could pass for a ‘bigger person’ only smaller.
I could only nod mutely, as I had no idea what was happening.
Cyrus began to walk with Thome sitting in his palm and I
simply followed. We eventually ended up
in the shadow of a rock facing and he explained that Thome was also a competent
magic user and I should hold my breath.
I was about to ask why I needed to hold my breath, but before I managed
to speak a word, my world grew a whole lot bigger. Or perhaps I should explain it more in terms
of I just got a lot smaller.
That’s right! I’m
tiny! It’s remarkable. I have seen magic spells in action, but
nothing could have prepared me for being shrunk. I stumbled around for a bit like an infant
not certain of his feet, and then finally was able to speak with Thome on his
own level. He is indeed a genteel fellow
with a good sense of humor. We followed
him through rocky terrain that used to be just, the ground, now seemed like
steep caverns and mountains.
Then something happened that took my breath away. With the wave of his hand a shimmer erupted
in the air and before me appeared a city with glittering lights and tall
spires. I tried to imagine how big it is
to someone of my height before I was shrunk down. It is probably not more than ten feet wide,
but now it is an enormous metropolis, filled with moose-like beasts you can
ride, and beautiful twisting trees that grow fragrant pink fruits shaped like
apples that taste like peaches.
The people here are incredible as well. Though Thome looks like anyone I might meet
upon the street, sans the lime green hair; there are some here with sparkling
colored skin or even fluorescent wings.
At one point as we traversed the twisting roadways of this tiny city I
leaned towards Cyrus and whispered, “Are we in the land of the fairies?” He grinned to me and whispered back,
“Something like that.”
Later Cyrus informed me that these people are known as ‘Oovulits’
and while thought to be distant cousins to the more common fae folk, they are
unable to change their size or shape shift.
Their magic in terms of ‘changing’ things only works on other races, and
not themselves. The Oovulits are peace
loving people, but highly endangered.
Cyrus explained that in his long life he had watched over a hundred such
tiny cities be dwindled down to only around twenty, thanks to humans. The Oovulit cities are protected with strong
magical barriers that make them seem like mundane terrain, but that cannot keep
them from being trampled or torn apart by manmade machines.
Thome explained to us over dinner one night that machines
had been spotted in the area and the people feared that the space where the
city sat was about to be used to house humans soon. That would mean the city and all its people were
in danger of being ripped to shreds.
I have done many terrible things in my life, but nothing has
ever caused me to stop and think more than being amongst the Oovulit
people. A simple act such as walking
without care can uproot an entire family.
Humans trample across the Earth without thought to what the consequences
might be. In trying to ‘make the world a
better place’ are we actually destroying intricate parts of it for entire
civilizations we refuse to see?
When Cyrus first gently scooped Thome up from the soil
beneath his feet, I could not even understand what the man was saying. I realized that I was not listening hard
enough. My beloved vampire has patience
and wisdom that I do not have. Though
some would claim that vampires are monsters because of their need for blood to
survive, I cannot help but think that is just another example of a human not
taking the time to listen and understand.
My world has vastly expanded since I came to spend a few
days amongst the Oovulits. I am deeply
invested in the welfare of these people and while I do not yet know how we are
to save them or their tiny town. I know
in my heart that Cyrus will come up with a plan. I am by his side in whatever he decides is
the best course of action.
Until next I write, Journal.
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