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FOUR AGES
THE CLOUD AND THE SUN (Illustrations included!)

THE CLOUD AND THE SUN (Illustrations included!)

“Dad, guess what!” Figlio shouted excitedly. “Guess what we talked about in class today, Dad.”

“No, Figlio, I won’t... It’s time for bed.”

“Come ooon, Dad. Try.”

“Alright, alright... Another strange tale? Is it the one about the old hog and the sea?”

“I don’t know that one, no. We talked about the Cloud and Sun tyrants! They sound so cool.”

“My dear Figlio, in time, you’ll learn that no tyrant is truly cool, as you youngsters call it.”

“Well, I think the Cloud Tyrant is cool because he’s a cloud. Duh.”

“Okay, you got me there. You got me there.”

“So, are you going to tell me their story? My teacher told me a little bit about them, but I want to know more.”

“Alright. This is what my dad told me, and what his dad told him, and what his dad told… You get the idea. It's a story passed down through generations, and now it's your turn to hear it.”

THE CLOUD AND THE SUN

Written by: Isabel Chiwibel (Fiverr name @Chiwibel)

Edited by: Celina Mike (Fiverr name @Celinawrite)

Eras ago, when the Tyrants traveled the lands and the mortals were young, the tyrant ruler of the Clouds and his brother, the regent of the burning Sun, found themselves in a problem. One by one, their brothers and sisters had been defeated in battle, and their meager number of believers shifted to worship them instead.

The Cloud Tyrant was an unstoppable force, commanding the winds to do his bidding. He tore mountains apart, eroded castles and volcanoes, raised up the great waves of the oceans, and created hurricanes that destroyed and reformed forests, valleys, and deserts. Only wastelands remained wherever he passed through, and the first mortals prayed for him to stay away from their simple settlements of stone and clay.

The Sun Tyrant, instead, was a calmer being. His battles were quick, and he could light the flora of half a country in flames with only one glare from his ardent eyes. All consuming, ever burning. He strolled, giving way to his only friend, the Lady of the Moon, to bring shade and reflect his glory, illuminating the creatures of the night in a softer caress than that of his erupting inferno.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/d0zmSc6m/Sun-Tyrant.jpg]

Because his light was crucial to the start of life, those who worshiped him did so with enthusiasm and reverence. The Cloud Tyrant found that he envied his brother and desired a more dedicated following, not instilled by fear and not rejecting his presence.

He challenged his brother to fight him day and night, and the Sun Tyrant always accepted. The Cloud Tyrant blew mighty currents, twisted hurricanes, and horrendous typhoons, but the Sun Tyrant remained impassive and in place, moving across the skies at his own desired pace. He was the unmovable object, and they were at an impasse.

Ages passed, and no winner was declared. The first mortals thrived and built civilizations. They replaced wood with much more solid stone and created sturdier structures for their ever-expanding communities. In his rage, the Cloud Tyrant was blind to his subjects' advances. They meant nothing to him, whose body of fury and air ached for nothing other than their servitude.

And victory.

But he was lacking in both. The mortals slowly began forgetting him, creating their own winds and learning to manipulate the currents. And yet, they still needed the Sun to thrive, and they kept praying and singing to him.

The Cloud Tyrant conjured his brother to a mortal settlement. A fortress made of rock and stone. “This I will destroy, leaving these insignificant beings without a home for their transgressions, and this will be our final fight to prove that I’m mightier than you and that my terror knows no bounds. You’ll see the mortals bow to me.”

He blew and blew fierce gales against the walls, straining with all his might against the fortress, but nothing occurred. The mortals closed their windows and locked themselves behind their sturdy doors, their laughter echoed from within their warm homes, oblivious to the chill winds that raged outside.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/xCBfzt0d/Cloud-Tyrant.jpg]

The Cloud Tyrant continued to rage. Days passed, then weeks, and then months. In the end, the once colossal Cloud Tyrant had depleted his body of all his water and had shrunk to the size of a fruit.

Finally, it was the Sun Tyrant’s turn. He sat on one of his brother’s clouds, adjusted his wide-brimmed hat, and grinned wholeheartedly from ear to ear behind his golden mask, not over the fortress but instead over their fields. The mortals watched helplessly as their hopes for grain and corn dried up in a few sweltering days, and no matter how hard the farmers tried to replant or how much more they watered the land, no life sprouted from the dry, cracked earth.

The fortress slowly consumed its reserves of food in a matter of a few weeks. The inhabitants started packing and leaving. Carriages and long rows of mortals marched towards the rumor of a far distant valley graced by a central river that snaked through it, and there they stopped, abandoning their old fortress and leaving it to rot and to be overcome by nature. The Sun Tyrant then smiled warmly at the mortals in their newfound valley, and they turned towards his gentle warmth, and bowing with upraised arms they smiled back, relishing the nice warm day.

It is unknown what became of the brothers. Some say they continue their fight to this very day, but others say they became nothing but a tale to be passed on from generation to generation.

“Dad, how did the sun win?”

“With a grin and a smile, Figlio.”

“But how can the Cloud lose when he used up all of his power?”

“Listen to your father and never forget what I’m about to say. If you try to make someone do something with force, they’ll get stubborn and refuse to budge. Try a sincere grin or a kind smile, perhaps even throw in a thank you or please and you’ll move even the most stubborn of mountains.”

Artist: Nelson O (Fiverr name @Nelzartz)

Logo Designer: Nishi T (Fiverr name @Nishi_gfx_vfx)

Created by: Robert S.S. Gordon

This is the end of the ten fables of FOUR AGES. Please be sure to reach out to all the artists, writer, editor, and logo designer who put all of their hard work into putting these fables together and thank them all for their hard work!

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