The other Artaic race on Eyon is the gnarts. They are basically the opposite of the Skjarts averaging about 5'3” for the men and 4'9” for the women. The word Gnart apparently means Fish-Human in Tharian. According to the Avatels the gods combined humans with fish. Like the Skjarts, this gave them two new species; Gnarts and Gnarajor. I haven't seen a Gnarajor before since they live in the ocean. Fishermen say they are quite a problem. Sometimes they call for help from the water just so that they can pull in anyone who comes to help. I don't know how true those tales are, but I think I'll stick to the land either way. The Gnarts on the other hand are incredibly sweet people and a blessing to society. They come in different shades of green, blue, and purple. Purple is the most rare, but the noble gnart families are predominantly this color, so even though they are less common, I've met more purple Gnarts than anything. They have distinct Fin-like ears. Under their jaws are three lines that I assume were gills at one point but have been closed up saying they are now land species. Their irises are nearly twice the size of humans and have an iridescence to them. Their hands are pretty similar to humans but they have slight webbing between their fingers, almost as if that is something that is also evolving to eventually go away.
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/sY8fe_d2hSc
Excerpt:
Idun’s eyes flickered open. She had been dreaming again.
A throbbing pain pounded within her skull. She groaned and rubbed the back of her head and felt a large welt. Her bruised fingers glided around to the right side of her head, where she found another welt. She sighed while slowly propping herself up and looking around. Her eyes were still hazy, but she could just barely make out the silhouette of a woman sitting across from her. Idun rubbed her eyes before reopening them.
“I doubt that will help,” the woman said, just as Idun came to that very conclusion. “You have a concussion.”
To her surprise, Idun recognized the voice.
“Ayla?”
The woman stood up and moved towards her, taking her seat on the bed next to Idun. There were two of her in Idun’s eyes, but she could still make out the features of her lifelong friend. She didn’t look like herself. Her long, curly, brown-black hair framed a smooth face, free of acne, and unhidden by glasses. But the most striking difference was her weight. The last time Idun saw her, she was skin and bones and likely less than one hundred pounds. The Ayla sitting in front of her looked… healthy.
“Jesus! How long have I been out?” She wondered if this was still part of the dream.
“Idun! Language,” she snapped.
Idun chuckled and put her head back down on the pillow. “Seriously, though, how long have I been out?”
“Almost twenty-four hours.”
A confused expression crossed Idun’s face, and she looked up from her pillow. “Can’t be. Don’t take this the wrong way, but there’s no way you look like this after just twenty-four hours. And my hair doesn’t grow this fast either,” she said, holding up a lock of auburn hair which was now longer than the length of her arm.
“These are our Frelsarien bodies…” She said as if that were obvious. She waited a moment as if to see if this triggered a memory, but it didn’t. Idun had no idea what that meant. “So, you really haven’t been briefed on this?”
“What?” Idun picked her head off the pillow and looked up at the blur which was Ayla. “What are you talking about?”
“Where do you think we are?” Ayla questioned.
Idun looked around the room, which, from what she could tell, was made completely of stone and decorated in red. “I don’t know…”
Ayla sighed. “What is the last thing you remember?”
“The last thing I know for sure wasn’t a dream.” Idun had to think for a moment. “I climbed that cliff just outside of town.” She rubbed the back of her head again. “I must have hit my head when I fell, though. I had this weird hallucination about being chased by the grim reaper.”
Ayla stood up to pour Idun a glass of water, then walked back and placed it in her hand. “Idun… that wasn’t a hallucination. It wasn’t the grim reaper, though,” She said, with a laugh.
Idun brought the cup to her lips but stopped, giving Ayla a confused yet doubtful glance. She opened her mouth to ask her to elaborate, but Ayla beat her to it.
“It’s called the soul splitter. It separated our souls from our bodies on Earth and brought them to our bodies here on Eyon.” She waited for a moment to study Idun’s expression again; Which happened to be one of disbelief. “Does any of that ring a bell?”
“Not even a little one.” Idun tipped back her cup and then placed it down on the table. “I’m actually pretty sure I’m still asleep.”
Ayla reached over and pinched the skin on the underside of Idun’s arm.
“What the heck!” Idun propped herself up with a jolt.
“Well, you’re not asleep,” Ayla giggled.
Idun scrunched her eyebrows together and massaged the back of her arm. “And you’re not Ayla...”
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