Eight years had gone by since the ex-slaves fled the City of Ferocities. By now they were calling themselves Grandenites, and they had finally strived and built upon their great colony. For the first few years of their independence, many of the Grandenites took jobs working in other cities and lands. Whatever wages they received were brought back to Grandelyn and saved until they had enough money to buy their own resources to live and build with. They purchased cows to provide milk, and as well as other farm animals. Yarn and many clothing materials were bought for the seamstresses to make clothing for the people. They bought tools and other building materials to begin forming and fixing Ash City.
Cautious of the fact that the Savage Kingdom now knew of their whereabouts, and mindful of the possibilities of another seize, the Grandenites remained prepared. Each day young Ariyah, now a blossoming, pretty, plump, 16 year old, reviewed all the training her mother taught her as a child. She took the heavy task upon herself to train the rest of the Grandenites in case of another attack.
Quickly the years had gone by. In the process, Grandelyn no longer looked like a remote beach land but instead a beautiful functioning city which still held the majestic sites of the unique land. The children became teenagers, marriages took place, and new children were born. The big building on the first mountain was converted into a school for both children and adults, named the Empire. It was there that the people learned both academics and battle training.
Properties were neatly landscaped, and small buildings and homes were either renovated or built. After working for others for so long, the Grandenites were happy to create their own jobs. Buildings were constructed for the doctors, blacksmiths, craftsmen, and architects of the city. The people had made progress and they knew there would be no turning back.
To ensure that their rough past was forgotten, the Grandenites desired to remove the SK branding from behind their right shoulders. Daily the women would take a jagged rock and harshly scrape away the damaged skin. As the flesh slowly began to fade away, an aloe plant was then used to soothe and heal the wounds from the disgraced symbol. All the SK brands began to fade. Except that of Ariyah’s. No matter how many times the jagged rock and aloe session was done, Ariyah’s just wouldn’t fade. She was saddened by her permanent mark, but she dealt with it and continued to explore life.
Every morning at dawn, during the same hours her mother used to train her, Ariyah would eat her daily dose of fafura. Then she would meditate. Her form of meditation consisted of full body stretching and balancing skills. She would practice long handstands. She showed great acrobatic flexibility with her stretch stances; though not quite able to reach her feet on top of her head. But that was a goal she was trying to reach. In the dark blue sky of the dawn as Elai soared high above her, her full figured shadow would display across the grounds as she stretched and meditated. The astonishing determination and greatness of a self made warrior and riveting young lady, Ariyah had every defying trait of her mother and she worked hard to mirror herself after Crystaline. After her morning meditations, she would feverishly massage her medallion in hopes Crystaline would respond. Every once in awhile Ariyah would feel her move inside the bronze locket and that movement made her feel at peace. She could then begin her day with ease.
For the majority of citizens, mornings began at the Empire. The elders of Grandelyn would take the younger children up to the small gray mountain, named Mount Edgemoore, where the school was. The zebralings were used as their transportation. Then the teenagers followed along. Sheevar, who also grew into a beautiful ample teenager, would walk with Ariyah to The Empire every morning. She always adorned her curly blonde hair with a crown of blue roses, which many of the young men grew fond of. The two beauties would walk alongside the others up Mount Edgemoore.
Each student of the Empire learned arithmetic, the alphabet (to those who didn’t know them) and science. Vanka gave basic life lessons and wisdom classes. The craftsmen of Ash City taught the young male Grandenites how to make defense weapons and build shacks for the zebralings and other creatures. This helped prepare the males to become strong, independent men.
With all the fantastic things that were occurring in Grandelyn, the main thing that each citizen desired to have was a palace; a kind of fortress. A statement, that proclaimed ‘we are here…and we have overcome!’ The architects of all the work that had been done to date were Mr. Vanhinkel, Mr. Johanssen, and Mr. Walter B. Victor. These men realized that the old damaged palace on the mountain behind Mount Edgemoore (now called Ribbon Rock) could be reconstructed. They drew out the plan and set about rebuilding. The development would take years, but everyone was more than happy to wait for such a thing. They wanted Ash City to be the most envied city to ever exist. Whatever it was before no longer mattered. Only what it was going to become. They wanted Grandelyn to be the most desired place on Earth. Because then they could take pride in knowing where they came from and where they ended up and they could forever be proud. History books could be made about them, plaques and statues could be made in their honor; their story would be like no other. Since they knew others would not accept them looking the way they did, they strived to be the best and most unique, sought after land. They had no idea just how sought after they were.