The Catianian Chronicles

Proluge

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The campfire rose and danced in the night air, making the trees around them look creepy and old. On one side of the fire sat a very old man indeed, for he was one of the Firsts and he aged. His whiskers were drooped and pure white as was all his beautiful hair, which was still quite as silky as it had ever been. His arms and legs were slim and wrinkled. He looked as if a slight wind would break him. The children didn’t come near him, for he was one of the Firsts and he aged. They were afraid that if they touched him, they were live as he had, in pain their last years. Their parents had scolded them for this, but that did not remedy the problem.

He was one of the Firsts and he aged.

Now, do not think of these children as cruel, for they were nothing of the sort. They were a very kind bunch and didn’t mean for anyone to be hurt. It was just that he was one of the Firsts and he aged. None of them would age like he did, being a First.

One man walked up to the elder and sat at his side. He bade the children come as well with one pale hand. The man’s son was first to do so, not wishing to wrong side his own father. But he sat far from the oldest man, still very much afraid. Spurred on by the thought of their parent’s disapproval, the other eleven did the same. The First looked at them all in turn and afterward, never before, the child would shiver. No child wished to look upon the wretched soul.

"Dear kittens," the First started, his voice distant and calm. All twelve of them jumped. They had expected a raspy voice, not this calm smooth one. Was there really one area in the poor man that wasn’t aged to extinction? Despite their surprise, the First only smiled. "Do not fear me, kittens. I will not harm you."

If they listened or not, none will know, for at that moment an elder woman stepped up behind them and spoke.

"Tell them the story, Gabriel," she said softly. "Tell them their history and why they are so blessed to be alive and so well off here. Please tell them, dearest Gabriel."

Gabriel closed his old eyes and tilted his head down. "As you wish, child. As you wish."

Sitting on their haunches so that their tails would not get cramped, they leaned forward to listen, for they knew that a request was definitely worth looking at the first. Gabriel took a long time before he opened his pale eyes and looked at them as a whole. The children’s fears of him were long gone, and they crowded around him, silently fighting to get closest. The old man’s lips twitched into a wry smile.

"All right, kittens," the First said in the kind voice. "I’ll tell you the story. For I was a First and there from the beginning." He paused. "I could start from the Great War, but that wouldn’t make you understand why it became... So I will start at the beginning, when I first woke up..."