Page 36 of Orange Lake
“Just curious, what is your planet’s population?” Volks asked.
Brin shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she answered. I liked that she leaned towards me. “About 7 billion I think.”
I gasped. So did the others.
Billions of people.
All at once, everyone has questions on their mind. How could they be so many?
I looked at her and noticed two things. She’s tired and confused about who to answer first. Even Roqs and Coone are asking her question.We’ve been in this meeting since early morning.
“Enough!” I roared. Good to know I can still silence everyone. “She needs to rest. Tomorrow, you can ask her what she wants.”
Crix and Jigen groaned. They were very vocal about their protest.
She looked up at me and it’s good to know I made the right decision.
‘Well then,” Crix announced as he stood up with the rest of us. “Coone, why don’t you entertain us with some stories?”
Coone dramatically sigh but he said, “Let me tell you about what others are saying about the Purple Tribe.” It caused others to laugh but Crix looked ready to defend his tribe. Even though his tribe forsaken him to this place, so far from his relatives.
I tuned them out. Crix was the most curious of all people and is always fascinated by Coone’s stories. It’s a wonder why Crix and his mates do not go off-planet and explore.I was not surprised when Roqs joined me as we went outside for a breath of fresh air.
Chapter 11
THE LAKE
Zirc
“Why can’t we swim? The water is so peaceful and clear. I don’t need any goggles to dive in here.”
I shuddered to think of the consequences and what will happen to her. Clearly, Brin came from a planet that canswim. We know of many other races that can swim then drown. Every. One. Of. Them. No one is invincible.
“No,” I said firmly. I saw her lips pouting that made me want to bite those lips.
“But why?”
I tried to pull her closer to me but she moved away a little. I growled lightly at her but she looked so stubborn.
I sighed and looked at the heavens. “It’s a long story Brin.”
“I’ve got lots of time.”
Clearly, she does. The second sun is about to settle down. I already saw the first three moons in the horizon. This place is very peaceful. To think this used to be a place of carnage and a warzone.I took her outside of the moat.
“We call this place, the Purple Tribe’s lost lakes. Most of the powerful crystals on this planet are buried underneath the soil. The lakes here are very deep but has crystal water, so it’s very easy for us to collect them. However, my kind cannot swim on the water. We need special equipment to first breathe underwater. We have machines or specialized vessels that can go underwater. But because this is a lake and not the sea, it is very easy to disturb the sand and dirt, making it hard to see. Somebody discovered the secrets of the caves and the lakes that are full of crystal. So many manasties died to covet this area. But the Purple Tribe won. Alas, when they did won, so many crystals were destroyed.”
“Is that why -”
“Yes,” I looked at her. “There are some small lakes and bigger lakes. The smaller lakes were man made, made by war machines and bombs during that war. It was tragic. Crix said his parents lost many relatives and servants during that war.”
She looked sad. “What happened after?”
“It is in this place that the Purple Tribe established their place in the ruling council. They immediately harvested all the special crystals. The ones we see are for ornaments. They still have value but not to power up the war machines.”
“But I heard Coone say that these crystals are special.”
“Hmm?” I chuckled. It’s hard to say why Coone would open up to her about that. “I thought he doesn’tlikeyou?”
