Chapter 36: We Were Always Told Stories
We sat around a huge bonfire. It was a custom to celebrate the life of all giants once they died even the nasty ones, I guess. But this celebration of giant life wasn't about dance or song. We sat quietly around the flame and gave a moment of silence for the dead.
Stella stared into the fire for a moment before she finally spoke.
"We were told stories as kids… about a land that rested on the top of the stump. We were always told stories different every day. Some about how the black dome held dragons, castaway giants, gods, and even demons. Some said it was empty, and all you'd find if you ever peered inside was a void."
Then, after a pause, she said, "And then a few weeks ago you popped out… and saved all of giantkind," she smiled as she flipped a log in the flames.
"We have no way to truly thank you, Maddox. Melody. Eliza. You put your souls into that fight and came out victorious."
"Well... some of us," Mel said, shooting me a dirty look and pouting. "The rest of us were involuntarily exiled from the fight."
Stello laughed. "While that may be true,even before that,you guys coming here saved all of us and set us on the right path. And for that, we are grateful."
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Mel said, her vision narrowing.
"Did what on purpose?" I asked.
"The hand. The leg. You lost it on purpose, didn't you?"
"Why would he do tha-" el began to say.
"To look cool, probably. But you don't! You look lame," she huffed.
"I'm sorry," I laughed. "I look lame? Have you seen your face? If anyone's lame, it's you."
"What the hell does that even mean?" she gasped, pouting. "All around, I hope your face stays like that, you demon!"
"Who the hell are you calling a demon? Wanna fight, Maddox?" she shouted, getting up.
"Well, I don't know who here has one and a half horns, huh?"
"WHY YOU-!"mel begaan to say
I laughed.
She tried to keep her composure, but she burst into laughter too.
Stello smiled. "What I need to know, Maddox,continuing from what my sister said,is why did you do it? Why go so far for people you barely know?"
"One day in the orphanage, a girl came up to me. She was scared. Unsure. She tried to hide it. But even with her bully tendencies and all… she asked me for help.
"I didn't know how helpful I could be. Like,look at us. We were just some stupid snot-nosed kids."
"Excuse you,my nose never snotted," El said, glaring.
I smiled. "But even though we managed an impossible feat that led us here… since that day, I've told myself: even if it's just a little bit, if I can help someone who needs help, I'll do it. No matter what. Because you never know where that help might lead."
"What a beautiful way of thinking," Stello said, happy and content with that answer.
"So we didn't just do it for the free food?" Mel said, stuffing her mouth.
El sighed. "No. We didn't just do it for the free food. Your gluttony sickens me," she said dryly.
"Watch how you talk to me!" Mel barely finished that sentence before stuffing a whole leg of meat in her mouth.
"I believe there are two types of people," Stello said. "Those who are content with how the world is… and those who change it.
"When you first got here, it was because of him,First Thing. The one who froze your home in his eternal ice. I believe you want to find him… no?"
When he spoke like this, it was like a different person altogether. The childish, idiotic behavior was gone. He truly sounded like an adult, I thought to myself.
"Yeah, that's true. A bunch of my friends are trapped up there. I remember you told me: if I wanted to remove the ice, I'd need to kill him."
He chuckled. "While I will admit you are strong…"
"But," Stella continued, "it's a well-known fact that First Thing is levels beyond that. A hundred,if not a thousand,times more lethal than Good or any being in this world.
"It goes like this. In this world, there are only fourteen total continents. The rest of the world is made of water . At the four poles lie the four mega-continents, ruled by the Elementals.
"Well, five Elementals. It's rumored that there's a fifth, but no one's ever seen it,or if they have, they didn't live to tell about it."
The air went silent.
"Oh,and let's not forget the two deserts known as the No Lands. Huge stretches of dry wasteland you'd have to cross just to reach the mega-continents. If you're lucky, that is. No one's ever made it there."
"The fourteen continents are led by a group known as the Cloaked Ones. Each one resides on a single continent,or 'island,' really. Each of them is said to serve a purpose. But I'll admit, I know very little about them. We giants keep to our selves here, and we've never dared to step foot out of this island."
"The majority of this world, excluding the 14 islands and the 5 mega-continents, is just water. The No Lands serve as the borders to the North and East. It's said there's an additional pole,an opposite land of ice and snow. The poles act as the borders to the West and South. For simplicity, we can call all four of them the No Lands of the North, East, West, and South. You'll need to pass through each to reach the mega-continents."
"Now that you have a basic understanding of the world," Stella said, "it's important to know,of the five Elementals, only two are known: First Thing and Day One. The rest are a mystery. These two are the strongest entities the world knows. Under them are the 14 Cloaked Ones, who are about as strong,or stronger,than Good."
Those words hit me deep.
This… will be harder than I thought, I told myself.
It's true Good was strong,but deep down, I felt like he went easy on me. Like he wanted to die… like he needed someone to finally come and end it. His presence… or veil… was so intense. But he never used his full might. It was only a suspicion,but I truly believed he held back. A lot.
Even though I have no choice, I need to get to First Thing. I need to bring him down so that the ice can finally break. So that we can all live free from the dome.
"Well, it doesn't matter how strong you say they are. My mother is trapped in that ice," Mel shouted, still chewing. "So I'll kick First Thing's ass until he releases her. And our friends. And all the poor people of Veloria. Until he lets Neptune and Kimora go."
"That's true," Eliza said, sipping some green tea Stello made her. "We have a goal, and we won't be scared away by the feats we'll need to overcome to accomplish them."
They're right. We can't give up. That was never an option.
"If anyone can do it… I truly believe it's the three of you," Stella said, smiling.
Later that night...
On a continent far away… a turn, then a click. A light flashed. An event took place on that island that no one would speak of for a while. But what happened there was world-altering, and it happened in the dead of night.
The Next Day
I woke up early. Mel and El were still fast asleep. It was always fascinating, waking up to see the weird position Mel managed to twist herself into. She was such a heavy sleeper—if the bed wasn't so big, she would've fallen off.
I walked out to meet Stella and Stello,but something was different. The candy scene hadn't changed, but as I walked, I noticed a gingerbread man with an eyepatch.
Then one with a bionic arm,iron, rusted bolts.
Down the cracker and jellybean road, I saw a giant with a prosthetic leg. Some had gold teeth, missing arms replaced by badass prosthetics. They smoked and played rock and roll.
What was going on?
They wore black clothes, trumpet-shaped guns at their sides, long hats, jewelry, beads,all sorts of sparkling stuff. A kind of steampunk aesthetic had taken over the once-cheery and innocent town.
No one noticed it,or at least, no one acted like it was strange.
I finally reached Stella's castle. She stood outside.
"Are you having a parade or something? What's going on with the citizens?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Stella said. "They're dressed how they always are."
She too wore black clothes filled with shiny objects. A top hat. A monocle. A rapier slung in a smooth black sheath.
Something weird was going on.
Mel and El followed later in the day.
"Hey Maddox, did you see all the weird outfits today?" Mel giggled. "It's too funny."
"It's a very interesting look, for sure," El added with a soft chuckle.
"I have. But none of them explain what the occasion is. They just go about their day like it's normal. It's… strange."
"It's fine. Let it be," El said.
"Anyway, what is it, Stella?" Mel asked. "You said you had a surprise for us."
"Well, yes," Stella grinned.
"We wanted to thank you for all the work you've done,and since you'll need a way to get around, now that you're so set on finding First Thing… we got you this."
Our eyes widened. Our jaws quite literally hit the floor as Stella moved out of the way.
"You're giving us that? For free?" El asked, completely shocked.
"No, for real,we can have that?" Mel squealed, jumping around in joy.
I smiled. "That's so freaking awesome!" I shouted, unable to contain myself.
In the skies…
Far above, where Good once ruled…
The fogs of The Cindertide Hollow finally cleared.
A chamber grand, radiant, and vast held four empty eye-shaped sockets, each labeled WW1 to WW4. In its center: a chamber with a spot designed to hold a canister of joy.
Only one person had ever known its purpose.
He was no longer in this world. As he took his final breath, the veil blew away,sending the sky island plummeting down toward the ocean, crashing into the waters.
Mel, El, and I heard the boom and the sound of water violently displacing,a bang that shook the entire Giant's Island.
As it fell, a soul the size of a castle rose from the depths of the sea,followed by others, smaller but just as violent. They pulsed. And just like before,without warning,a portal opened at my side, sucking in a flurry of violent souls.
Stella choked on her breath, bewildered by what she saw.
"You continue to leave me speechless, Maddox," she said, smiling. "Anyway, the first land you'll need to cross on your journey… is rare. And dangerous. But this will get you there."
It was over. For real this time.
Good was actually dead.
I still don't know what the deal is with the portal or the souls that flew into it, and I've got a feeling it'll come in handy one day.
But for now-
We were still mesmerized.
It had two round engines with propellers the size of,like—ten… no, twenty of me. Brown and made of steel. A fluffy base.
It was a cloud,oval-shaped,just floating above us.
"This is our gift to you," Stella said.
On the side, a steel ladder was hooked on, leading up to the top.
Once we climbed it, our eyes basically burst out of our skulls.
It had a circular floor plan that spanned the entire top surface of the cloud, with overlapping cloud walls that worked like a kind of border.
The floor was a light brown cocoa color, polished and soft underfoot.
But the real star of the show?
On the far edge of the cloud, sitting like a crown jewel, was a crescent-moon-shaped cabin,or no, this was way too fancy to be called a cabin.
It was a house.
Circular windows. A double door, split in half when opened. Made from the same soft cocoa-colored wood as the floor.
A welcome mat made of crackers and cream, with chocolate letters that spelled Welcome Home.
Impractical for wiping your feet. But… sweet. Like really sweet.
"This home has multiple rooms," Stella said, beaming. "A kitchen. Two bathrooms. An indoor pool. Jacuzzi. Sauna. A main living room. A basement. A garden on the patio over there."
"If you actually wanna grow anything, though… you'll have to plant it yourselves," Stello added. "We didn't have time."
"And we stocked the pantry with enough food to last you a while. Meats and candy from your favorite kingdoms."
I didn't know what to say.
It was the coolest gift I'd ever seen in my life. Something like this would cost an arm and a leg just to build on the ground,and we had one that floated through the skies.
I laughed to myself.
I guess it did cost me an arm and a leg. But it was worth every finger and toe. Over a hundred times over.
"Oh my…" El said. "This is… so amazing. I don't even know where to start."
"Sooooooooooooooooooooo freaking coooooooooool!" Mel screamed as she sprinted through room after room. "Maddox,they have candy dispensers in the pantry!"
The kitchen was huge,packed with ovens, tools, gadgets. Basically a high-class restaurant in the sky.
"Hey! Don't break stuff before I get to see it!" I called after her, running in.
Stella and Stello were too big to climb aboard, so they stayed below, watching us from the edge of the cloud.
"They like it, Sister," Stello said with a proud smile.
"The giants worked tirelessly to get it done," Stella added.
"We love it. We don't even know how to begin to thank you guys," I said.
"We're forever grateful to all of you," El added, bowing slightly. "This is more than enough."
"This was just a small gesture," Stello said, "for a debt we'll never be able to repay."
Eliza ran to join Mel as she pointed out one of the funnier features.
On the front of the cloud-home, plastered in bold letters: The Saturn 01.
A fantastic engineering marvel,brought to you by the giants.
After hours of exploring and being in complete awe, we'd finally seen every last part of it. Every corner. Every room.
And then,it was time.
The giants of both kingdoms had gathered to see us off. They blasted music, danced, cheered, and celebrated like we were royalty.
"Don't forget," Stella said. "You're always welcome here in the Kingdom of the Giants."
The Saturn hovered on the edge of a makeshift stage near the water.
"And even if your journey is dangerous… and you feel like giving up…"
Stello raised his hand. "Know this,we're here, supporting you. All the way."
"GO WITH THE MIGHT OF THE GIANTS!" Stella and Stello shouted together.
"GO WITH THE MIGHT OF THE GIANTS!" the crowd shouted back, their voices echoing across the sea.
"I'm not sure if anyone cares," one of the giants yelled from the crowd, "but the whole armpit rash was a false alarm! I'm not dying!"
He waved a little goodbye flag, grinning.
"BYEEEEEEE!" Mel shouted as she waved, laughing and smiling like a child.
"We'll be seeing you again," El said, her voice steady but full of warmth.
I stood back a bit and took it all in.
So many people had come to see us off. So many faces. So much hope in their eyes.
And in that moment… I was truly happy.
It's funny, I thought to myself.
We were pushed into this new world we knew nothing about—from a smaller world we barely understood either,and now here we were.
Setting out even further into the unknown.
Other people might've been scared. Uncertain.
And yeah, maybe I was too.
But something about this moment… it felt right.
The propellers roared to life.
Stella and Stello cut the anchor rope, and the Saturn 01 began to rise, gently floating higher into the open blue above.
As the clouds parted around us, I realized something-
I was glad this was our first stop.
I couldn't imagine a better one.
The giants were so kind. So welcoming to strangers they didn't even know.
This whole adventure-
Even though it was painful, scary, and insane at times…
It was also fun.
I smiled.
Waved.
"Bye-and thank you for the awesome cloud!"
If I really had to pick...
I guess I'm more on the sweet side too, Stella.
It really is the superior flavor palette.
I won't be telling anyone that though.
There's still so much left to see.
So many places we haven't even dreamed of yet.
So many secrets waiting out there.
And as the sky opened up before us, I remembered the words Stella had said to me the night before…
"But be careful," she warned. "There've been rumors… misfortune tied to that place."
Then—finally, at last-
The first bang.
Then another.
The skies lit up in red, blue, and green as the cannon went off.
I guess we finally did use it.
I smiled.
To be continued…
Volume 3: Glass Beach
Notes
And there it is,the end of a "sweet" adventure.
To anyone who's read this far, thank you. I truly appreciate it.
The next volume will be Glass Beach. Please consider adding my novel to your library.
And as always, shine brighter than the rest :)