~Chapter 1~
~Age 987 B~
A young Densius named Ruben lived on Platt Mountain with many of its people. The grey mountain was vast, covering much of the mid-western part of the Lands of Ralosia, with lush green plains surrounding it. Over the centuries tunnels had formed through the mountains for people to travel through.
Further up the mountain on one of it's many plateaus, Ruben's tribe of Densius lived. Their bodies were formed of varying stones, each with their own distinct shapes. Ruben had a boulder like body with rather short arms and legs, and red irises within its eyestones.
Though their leader Emer encouraged many of the Densius to travel the world and explore, Ruben had never left the mountain. Elder Dimon believed it was safest to stay put.
Ruben walked along the mountain rummaging for various rocks, its stone feet clacking along the ground with each step. The red-eyed Densius' body was formed of various grey rocks and clay, but its pointer finger had fallen off yesterday.
Ruben picked a few small rocks from around the mountain and laid them on the ground in a short line. The Densius placed its hand on the ground next to it, so the series of rocks took up the space of its lost finger.
Ruben concentrated on the rocks, trying to imagine them as a part of itself. The line of rocks began to gravitate towards the rest of its hand, pieces of clay wrapped between the stones, mending them together as if they were joints.
Ruben lifted its hand, and the small stones came with it. The Densius wiggled all it's fingers, and the series of stones that had just been bound to its body moved as well. Ruben focused on moving its new pointer finger, making sure that it was truly under its control.
Ruben looked about the mountain for other stones and found a few that would act well as a new thumb. Perhaps it could give itself a second thumb!
No. One thumb was perfectly fine.
Ruben would rather save those stones for safekeeping.
Ruben walked along the western portion of the mountain and spotted a group heading up the trail, a group of five Ralosians. Ruben hadn't met many Ralosians, those fleshy people who populated much of the world, but he knew these ones.
Two 12-year old boys sprinted alongside each other, ahead of the others. The black-haired Aero and the blonde Jirro were neck and neck racing up the mountain, their loose clothing waving about as they ran. Ruben knew the boys for a few years and learned that they were significantly stronger than most Ralosians.
Ruben waved its rocky arms at the two, and they sprinted towards the Densius. The boys charged past and skidded to a halt, both of them completely out of breath. Aero sat down while Jirro placed his hands on his knees.
They were taller than Ruben. The Densius had opted for stubbier arms and legs and a round, boulder-like body. It felt like the appropriate form for Ruben.
Aero spoke through labored breathing, "Who passed you first?"
Ruben smiled and shrugged, "It looked like you two passed me at the same time."
Jirro shook his head, "I'm pretty sure I won," He said as he caught his breath.
Aero hopped to his feet, "No way, I was ahead of you almost the entire way."
"I don't think so!" Jirro said, waggling his finger at him.
The two bickered with each other for a moment while the others caught up. Their fathers came into view, both of them black of hair with beards. Jirro's father, Lucar, was far more muscular, and had a scar above his brow.
Razan, Aero's father, had a little red-haired girl sitting on his shoulders, his daughter Corri.
"Hi, Ruben! How're you doing?" Corri greeted.
Ruben shrugged again, "Pretty good."
Ruben walked with the family towards the plateau on the mountain where the other Densius lived. Each of them had different forms to their bodies, a mishmash of varying shapes or rocks. Rocks of varying sizes were stacked around the Densius settlement.
This group was led by Emer and Elder Dimon, the oldest of the Densius among them.
Elder Dimon was a short and stout Densius, building its body to be structurally sound. It had white irises, derived from the diamond that resided inside its body. Emer, on the other hand, had its body resemble the Ralosian proportions much more, standing fairly tall. Its eyes were green, from the emerald within. Emer and Dimon came forward to see the Ralosian family.
Lucar waved, "How's it going you two?"
"Greetings! What brings you around today?" Dimon asked.
Razan winced, "We ran into some... nasty business recently. We were wondering if we could stay here for a while?"
"Nasty business?" Emer asked with a squint.
"Yup," Razan said with an uncomfortable look on his face.
Emer exchanged a knowing glance with Dimon before continuing, "Of course, you can stay. Ruben! We want to speak with Razan and Lucar privately for a moment. Why don't you help the kids build some shelter? Create the foundations with them and we'll be along soon."
Ruben nodded, "Sure, I can do that."
The rocks that formed Dimon's mouth curled up into a smile, "Thank you, young one."
While Emer and Dimon spoke with Razan and Lucar, Ruben took Aero, Jirro, and Corri across the plateau.
As they walked, the always inquisitive Jirro asked, "I've been wondering Ruben. How old are you?"
"Fifty."
"Whoa, I thought you were a kid like us. You're older than our dads!"
"For a Densius, I'm very young! Emer is over a century old, and Dimon is over 400. We can live as long as our Heartstone is intact," Ruben explained.
Ruben brought the three to a large pile of rocks and cast the ones he scavenged into the pile. A Densius's body was always subject to have pieces of it fall away, so it was good to have spare rocks like these lying around to replace them.
Ruben turned to the three kids, "So, I guess we should start by setting rocks down as a foundation-"
"Got it!" Aero said as he promptly climbed the pile of rocks, pulling out the largest he could find and lifting it over his head.
Jirro hurried to do the same, searching the pile for an even larger rock than Aero had lifted to outclass him. The two continued to compete, struggling to find a rock that the other couldn't lift. Corri and Ruben weren't concerned with their competition and instead grabbed rocks that would best suit the foundation of their shelter.
"What was that nasty business your dad mentioned?" Ruben asked.
"Some old lady tried to kidnap us. Destroyed our house too," Corri responded casually as she set a sizable rock down.
"Whoa, are you all ok?"
Jirro spoke up, "Yeah, my dad took care of it."
"Why did she try to kidnap you?" Ruben inquired.
"To get to our dads," Jirro replied.
"Why did they want to get to your dads?"
The three kids stopped in place, "I'm not really sure."
The two boys didn't think about it, and continued to pull rocks down and place them into a large circle on the ground.
"What do you think Emer and Dimon are talking to our dads about?" Corri asked.
"No idea."
Soon, the adults joined the youths and helped construct a small shelter, a place for the Ralosian family to stay while on the mountain. 421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6icQYAirQ
