f i f t y - f i v e - pt. 2

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Remi felt like pursuing the matter further, but didn't want to risk her grandpa changing his mind about telling her about all this. "Winged beasts--I think they were Icixes. There were also other strange creatures . . ."

And then, it hit her. Remi's eyes widened as she took in her seemingly frail, old grandpa, and remembered the way he'd used his powers to make himself into a giant of darkness. "You . . . were there. And another giant, but of light. They were fighting."

He raised an eyebrow, and then shook his head. "Not me, but someone like me. Someone who had learned how to use their powers to their full potential, in the way they were intended. Anything else?"

"Lots of other drawings, but most didn't make sense," she answered honestly. "I suppose the words that spiralled beneath and around them would have helped me to understand if I could have been able to read them."

Her grandpa let out another one of his deep sighs as he clasped his hands together on the table between them. "We never used to live here, like this, Remi dear."

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"It is true that the islands were once a large continent that split apart. But not here, not on this sea. Have you ever wondered why this cluster of islands, altogether filled with millions of people, just happened to be? Or, why there isn't anyone else out there, like us?"

Gears turned in Remi's mind. No, she'd never stopped to consider that before. But now that Grandpa Bericc mentioned it, she had to admit it was odd. "I never really thought about it before. But if I had, I'd probably have just assumed that there were other continents and islands out there, with people in them that we've never met, because the sea monsters keep us segregated."

Grandpa Bericc hummed his agreeance, a smile bright like the sun on his face. "That's a fair assumption. Smart, too. Of course it is, you're my granddaughter, after all."

Remi offered him a small smile. It was hard to stay mad at him. His wrinkled face and bright smile was hard to ignore, and seemed so unassuming. It was hard to remember that he could transform himself into a giant of dark energy, and was powerful enough to stop two of the strongest men she knew--her father and uncle--in their tracks.

He continued speaking as he swished his beer around in his glass. "There never used to be people down here, on this blue planet, or these islands we now live on. Only an endless abyss of sea. There is a large continent, a long ways off, but all that lives there are vicious beasts without the intelligence of people like you and me. It's a bloodfest there. Dangerous, and unsurvivable."

Remi tried her best to process what he was saying, but it was hard to make sense of it all. "If there never used to be people down here, then how did we all get here? You're not making any sense, grandpa." She couldn't resist making a joke. "Perhaps in your old age, you've lost your marbles."

He cracked a toothy grin. "Heavens, no, child! I've lost a few teeth, and most of my hair, sure, but my marbles are most definitely in tact."

She laughed lightly, enjoying the sparkle in his eyes. This was the grandpa she remembered.

"Let me try to explain this better for you. Just as how islands can float on the sea, there are land masses that can float in the sky. They are special, and look different than these down here, because they haven't been corroded away by water, and stained dark from the blood of warring sea creatures. You can't tell them apart from the clouds, because clouds surround their bottoms, disguising them. All these islands--Merricrest, the others, and even Northfall--they all used to make up the north side of a much larger continent in the sky."

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