Fable Blue

"He was born in a remote village high up near the Blue, and his mother took him at once and swallowed him whole, holding his half-formed body safe inside her stomach. His father fed them and cared for them and talked sweetly to his wife, as new fathers do. She was Yio, quiet and loving. Strun had been her husband for years, but this was only their first child. Naming
a once-born is considered bad luck, but the village began to call the boy "Miracle." After all, Strun and Yio were middle-aged people, their carapaces glowing with the dull, softened colors of grandparents, and poor Strun had lost three arms since his prime. Yet here they were, suddenly parents, and Strun had to work like a young man, using experience in place of vigor to provide for his growing family.

"The entire village attended the boy's final birth, and he was named Wyll, which means "Little Miracle." Smaller than most children, Wyll nonetheless proved strong for his size, and smart too. He acted shy and said little, but when he did speak his carapace was full of vivid colors, bright and exuberant -- blues deeper than the Blue itself and reds that nearly burned the eyes watching him.'


Genre: Science Fiction