"Light and Dark" and Other Short Stories

The Great Tree

     When the world was first formed in the hands of the gods, they created one Tree. This Tree was nothing like the trees of the world today; he was larger than trees are now. His many hundreds of branches spanned out for miles, covering the sky in many places and, in others, hanging down to the ground with their own weight. At the time, he was the only tree in the world, and while the Tree was lonely, he made himself happy by giving homes to many traveling birds and creatures.

      Many years after the beginning of the world, the Leviathans took over the land, spreading wanton destruction in their path. There were four of the giants- one was named Tornado, and he specialized in flattening all manner of earthly protrusions. Flood was Tornado's brother, and he destroyed by calling forth all the nearby water to carry out his ruination. There was Inferno, who controlled the energy of the sun and concentrated it into flame. And then there was Terra. Terra stood alone from her brothers and was much more peaceable. She spent her days slowly, moving from place to place and giving birth to all life, including the Tree. She only wanted peace, and disagreed with her brothers' views of destruction for all.

      The three Leviathans, Inferno, Tornado, and Flood decided to pay a visit to the Tree, whom they decided posed a threat to their reign. The Tree had done them no harm; he simply wanted to live peacefully and give life to more trees. But the Leviathans thought that by killing the Tree, they would secure their places of power and place fear into the hearts of every creature. If anything could stand in their way, they decided, it was Tree, for he was young and strong and defiant.

      When they arrived at the plain where Tree stood alone, Tornado chortled with his brothers. "Look," said he, "the great Tree thinks he can withstand our might. Let me have the first go at him." Drawing up his strength, Tornado blew a terrible wind at Tree. Sensing the oncoming threat, Tree did not brace himself- rather, he let himself relax and bent with the gale. If he had stayed rigid, he would have splintered away into thorns.

      When Tornado had blown himself into exhaustion, and with no lapse in sight of Tree's steadfastness, he said to himself, "Bah!" and stood behind his other brothers.

      Flood cringed outwardly at his brother's failure, but inside, he knew that he could bring Tree to his knees. Letting out a whistle, the Leviathan commanded the water in an overhead cloud to come forth. It did, and with it, Flood made the calm river nearby swell into huge proportions. The water overflowed Tree's roots, but it did not affect the tree. He drank what water he wanted, then stood still and waited for Flood to tire out. When he did, he shook his head tiredly and stood behind Inferno.

      Inferno, thinking himself the strongest of the Leviathans, grinned. "Watch, my brothers, for now you will see the true might of a giant." He used all his strength and concentrated the heat of the sun onto the ground. At first, the grass did nothing but smolder and smoke hotly- Flood's river had wetted the ground to make it nigh impossible to start a fire. Angrily, Inferno turned to the Tree himself and put all his strength into setting the tree on fire. But alas- Tree was also still wet from Flood, and he too would not catch aflame.

      "You see, Leviathans," said Tree in his powerful but gentle voice. "You cannot bring down a Tree. Inferno, I banish you to the core of the earth. Tornado, you are banished to live above the world. Flood, you are banished to the seas and rivers. None of you may leave your exile without my consent." With that, the three marauding Leviathans disappeared into the ground.

      While this had been happening, Terra had been watching fearfully. Tree was the son of Terra, through whom all life came, and so she feared for the safety of her flesh and blood. "My son," said she, "you have passed the gauntlet that my brothers threw down. I am proud. Your reward is that you will be the father of all trees to come." As Terra finished speaking, she raised her gentle hands and mountains grew around Tree, forming a peaceful and well-protected valley filled with grass. "As long as you stand, so will these Mountains. They will be your guardians and friends."

      All Terra said came true. Tree soon let out many seeds into the world, all of which grew into their respective species of trees. And Tree still stands to this day, protected by the Mountains and watching over the earth and the great Leviathans who failed to bring him down.