This piece explores survival, imagination, and the dream of a world untouched by the worst of humanity. What would this world be like if magic were part of it?
Share your thoughts and let’s explore the ideas together!
In the land of the animals, none is king. There are reciprocal relationships between predator and prey, those who are hunted and those who do the hunting, but there is no great divide between any creature from another. The predators know they cannot kill without discretion, and the prey understand that some must fall for the rest to survive.
But the humans changed all of that.
With the advent of man, the balance of creatures started to change. The wolves dulled their incisors and learned to heel and stay. The wild-running horses were broken; the cattle raised for slaughter. Even the birds began to selectively sing, fearing they might become targets for the crude arrows and snares the humans used to trap them.
Slowly, the world of men overtook the land of the animals, relegating the creatures like Clawdia to the fringes.
She was the last of the Chimera. A long line of rich and storied animals that had fractured and split as the multitudes she contained became entire species independent of their progenitors. Her snake-like tail was the root of all the reptiles, her lion’s mane the source of the jungle cats’ prowess. Her goat’s head was the reason man had milk and meat with which to flourish and reproduce.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Wanderlust & Wordplay | Life Abroad & Indie Storytelling to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.