The Oasis Spirits

“A story, you say? Well, let me see. Have I told you the one about the wild… yes, yes I did. Ah, I know. The oasis spirits, the Gaidi. Ring a bell? No? Excellent. Now, you shall have to give me a minute as I remember quite how that story goes.”

The party shuffles into a ring around the campfire, children sitting cross-legged at the front, eagerly anticipating the old traveller's story.

“Now, long ago, when dragons ruled Corico, there was a vast garden filled with water and moss. Green as far as the eye could see. All of it was watched over by the Gaidi, who planted the gardens and tended to the waters. They fed and watered passing travellers gladly, whether they were Balra, Mudstalkers, or dragons. So long as you were kind and courteous, you had a place with the Gaidi.”

“But dragons are cruel creatures, who think only for themselves. And this greed got the better of them. When offered a meal by a Gaidi, a dragon would bellow MOOORRRE.”

A young child jumps up in fear at the sudden outburst before bashfully taking her seat again.

“Sorry, pet. Well, this was terribly rude of them, so the Gaidi refused to feed them. Not one bite to eat, not one drop of water. And this made the dragons furious.”

The traveller puts on a deep, gravelly voice and leans towards the rapt children.

“Refusing to feed us, the dragons, the rulers of Corico? How dare they? We'll make them pay for that.”

“So, the dragons came into the garden, roaring and belching great gouts of flame, demanding to be fed. But the Gaidi refused, shouting in defiance of the dragons. So, the dragons burnt the garden to the ground, scorching the earth, and burning the Gaidi to ashes. Those that could escape did so, taking as much of the gardens as they were able, leaving the rest to burn as they fled.”

“In the years that followed, the dragons would hunt for the spirits who escaped. But they'd never find them. The gardens, which we now call oases, would move each night under the cover of darkness, hiding from the wrath of the dragons. Even now that the dragons are gone – dead, trapped, or up in the stars – the oases constantly change. But the custodians of those gardens still care for us. Wherever an oasis can be found, so can life, and plentiful food and water. That's the best gift one can find.”