My hope was for Mlezi and his family to usher in an age where their kind could actually survive on my surface instead of barely getting by and so, over the course of three years, I taught them everything I knew, from language to science, mathematics, military tactics, politics, medicine, agriculture and magic.

All this information would obviously be too much for one person who was starting from scratch and so I gave them each specific fields to specialise in.

Although I made sure they were all masters of language, Mlezi specialised in military tactics and politics.

I hadn’t given him any set instructions on how to lead, I simply told him what kind of leaders and social structures there were.

He had also spent the three years intensely training with the spear I had gifted him.

It was two and a half meters long and was made from pure diamond since part of me wondered how much time would pass before it was lost only to be recovered in the far future as an archaeological artefact.

As for Ua, she focused on science and mathematics.

Her focus would be on spreading as much of what she had learned as possible. Whether she taught people outside of her family was for her to decide.

My gift to her was a Glass bracelet.

The boy was the magician of the group, although he also studied agriculture.

His gift was a leather bag full of Glass and as I suspected all that time ago, the transparent hair of the humanoids was the key to their use of magic.

It was laden with Glass, which is natural considering that it was made of HCT, but the humanoids weren’t able to cast magic naturally and this was related to an observation I’d made years before.

Animals operated differently from humanoids in that they used magic instinctively while humanoids needed to actually put some thought into it and somewhat comprehend the machinations of Glass.

Jua knew how to use all five forms of magic but he and his parents could not use Soul Magic at all.

I wondered if this was somewhat related to the phenomena that affected my doll.

When I was controlling it, my ability to use magic was significantly reduced so maybe humanoids simply couldn’t access that level of magic.

Or at least, not yet.

Maybe they just needed to expand their understanding of the universe around them.

Regardless, the time had come for me to let them go and so I stood in front of them as they stood dressed in woollen clothes Ua had made.

She had greatly increased her skills as a seamstress and would’ve been able to make more elaborate clothing if not for the limited resources of the mountain.

I looked into each of their eyes and saw determination and hope.

I wondered what expression I was making at this moment...

I sighed deeply before making a decision that I knew would affect me but... I didn’t care.

[I give unto you now, my children all, the gift of Glass. Feel free to use it whenever you find it although I don’t think I need to remind you that it’s a finite resource.]

“Of course, my Lady. And thank you again for all you’ve done for us.” Mlezi said with a deep bow.

Ua and Jua joined him in bowing but I couldn’t let things end here.

There was one last thing I wanted to do and so I grinned.

[Before we part way, may I ask one thing of you?]

“Of course- oh...” Mlezi sounded.

He knew that I had been waiting for this moment for years and so his shoulders dropped as I silently clapped my hands.

[Would you like to join me on a short flight?]

“Yes!” Jua jumped at the offer but Mlezi and Ua were still unsure.

I didn’t care.

They were going to see dragons whether they liked it or not!

[Great! Hold each other’s hands please.] I said and they did as instructed, although Mlezi and Ua looked beyond scared.

I then gave them a nod before raising them a few meters into the air.

“AHHHHHHHHH! PUT US DOWN! PLEASE PUT US DOWN!” Ua cried but I ignored her and made my doll join us in the air.

I then lifted us one hundred meters into the air but this just made Ua scream louder and Mlezi looked like he was about to pass out but Jua glowing with excitement so I chose to keep going.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I flew us to the clouds and grabbed one of the stone boards I’d created.

I then brought it up to Mlezi’s family and allowed them to rest on it while we floated hundreds of meters in the air.

Ua glared at me but this made me laugh loudly.

[See? It’s not that bad, right?] I asked while wiping a non-existent tear from my left eye.

“It’s terrifying! Put us back down, please!” Ua cried while tightly holding onto Mlezi and Jua.

[Do not worry. I will do that... After I show you something.] I grinned before moving the family towards the ocean at a fair pace so as not to knock them off the stone board.

[Look down. Behold the land you may choose to hold dominion over.]

Mlezi glanced at Ua who was quaking where she sat.

He then took a deep breath before looking over the edge of the board making Ua panic even more.

His eyes widened as he beheld the southern continent.

I had taught them all about how I was structured but this was the first time they were actually seeing the scale of their world, my scale.

Ua eventually and cautiously joined Mlezi on the edge with Jua in hand and they watched as we flew over the Kifo Valley.

“Is that-?”

[Yes.] I smiled proudly as we flew.

We then reached the coast and at this point, my passengers had gotten tired of gasping.

That changed when they saw the first dragons, those who flew the lowest.

I had told them about the existence of dragons but even though I know they believed me, they probably thought I was describing things that existed only in the veiled spirit world.

But dragons really existed in my skies and although they didn’t do much, they were still a sight to behold.

I flew us up to a light brown one and stepped onto its large, scaly head.

[Come on!] I beckoned but Mlezi and his family simply gave me cautious looks as they stood on the edge of the board.

[Please.] I pleaded making Mlezi glance at Ua and Jua.

Ua gave him a weary smile and Jua nodded energetically.

The three then stepped onto the head of the dragon and I triumphantly raised my arms.

[You did it! Give the dragon a good little pat on the head. That’s how to greet ‘em.] I said with a puffed chest as my doll and stone board floated onto the dragon’s head as well.

Mlezi and his family gently patted the dragon’s head and it let out a low, sky-shaking drone, scaring the already terrified Ua.

“What did he say?” She asked.

[No idea! Hahaha!] I laughed making Ua’s eyes tear up a little.

Mlezi comforted her with a hug while I turned to the north.

My island and Mega Crystal were supposed to be visible from where we were but a massive cloud was blocking our view and so I moved it to the side using Gravity Magic.

[Behold! The Mega Crystal!] I loudly declared making the already wide eyes of my passengers wider.

[You can harvest all other shards of Glass except that one. That one is mine, alright?] I asked and they all nodded.

[Good. Now, it looks like you’re all about to pass out so let’s head back.] I chuckled before stepping onto the board.

The three joined me and we promptly made our way back.

We eventually returned to the summit and, without wasting a second, Ua jumped off the board before we even touched the ground where she happily grabbed the grass.

I let out a soft chuckle before deeply sighing.

Our time together was about to come to an end.

I could’ve easily followed them and accompanied them throughout time or until they died but they needed to carve their own place in history and my presence would only ever sway whatever decisions they made.

The same went for their species as a whole.

I could’ve easily introduced myself to them and ruled over them but I had no interest in playing such a role.

I was much happier watching them live.

Same for all the other life forms on my surface.

So, I instructed my doll to gather the tablets and boards.

Mlezi and his family then flinched simultaneously as the doll began breaking them with its bare fists.

[The time has come for us to part ways. Go now.] I instructed.

Mlezi gave me a nod before leading his family in deeply bowing but it was Jua who ran up to me with open arms.

He tried hugging me but his arms went right through my projection.

I looked into his teary eyes and gently placed my hand on his cheek. He may not have been able to feel the touch of my hand but he was certainly able to feel its warmth.

[Go now, child.] I smiled and Jua weakly nodded before returning to his parents.

The three then left the summit leaving me with a silence that weighed quite heavily on my shoulders.

I turned to my doll as it destroyed the last of the tablets.

I didn’t turn them into powder since I thought it would be cool if someday someone dug them up and tried piecing them together.

With that concluded, I entered the doll and returned to the sky before following Mlezi and his family as they descended the mountain.

I looked ahead and saw that the Umande tribe had grown a little bigger since I began teaching my three pupils but nothing had changed about the food shortages.

Fortunately for the Umande, they always had water so at least there was that.

As for the Chofumah, they had also grown in number and their encampment grew a little larger towards the north.

Tensions had somewhat eased after everyone realized that if they escalated, ruin would befall both sides, regardless of who emerged victorious and so a silent truce was made.

A few more Chofumah had come from the north and they brought with them a superstition that I took personal interest in.

Apparently, all evil and misfortune were born in a dark realm that mirrored that heavenly or spirit realm and it was ruled over by a being of light who sat on a gigantic Crystal throne which stood over a sea of bones.

I knew exactly who spread this silly idea although I suppose I almost tortured him so maybe his fears weren’t entirely unfounded.

I silently chuckled before returning my focus to Mlezi and company as they approached the southern perimeter of the Umande village.

They were taking the path around it but any who caught sight of them whispered about how ghosts had descended from the mountain.

A popular theory after I took Mlezi and his family in was that they had died after climbing too high up the mountain.

This led to people being apprehensive about their return and others refused to believe what was right in front of them.

Mlezi and his family eventually reached the outer perimeter of the Chofumah encampment and the sentiment was similar.

Everyone thought they had died and those who thought they had run off wondered why they had returned.

Another question on everyone’s mind was why Mlezi was carrying a shiny spear.

The consensus was that he attained a spear of light in the heavenly or spirit realm.

I initially wanted to scoff at this but they needed a way to rationalize what they were seeing so it was understandable.

Mlezi and his family eventually reached their home which remained mostly untouched.

They silently spent their first moments cleaning up before eventually sitting inside and simultaneously sighing.

They then all broke into a short fit of delirious laughter.

“Haha! Thank you, Lady Sav’ta.”

“Thank you, lady Sav’ta.”

“Thanks, Lady Sav’ta.”

They all said.

Mlezi then crossed his arms.

“So... What now?” He asked while looking at Ua who thoughtfully tapped her chin, something she had gotten from me.

“Remember the stories our parents would tell us about the Crystal Lands to the far west?” She asked.

“Yes? Do you think they were speaking about Glass?”

“Most likely.”

“Mmm... They described those lands as being days away... We’ll need to prepare. Also... We might need some help carrying all that Glass back here... If it exists.” Mlezi said while stroking his beard.

“Yes, but we have time, even if it is limited.”

“That we do .”