Of Creation and Music

Lyca jerked awake with a snort and confused bleariness, only to realize the deep rumble that had woken her had been the Titan's belly-deep laughter. The tips of the trees were still shaking a little, leaves raining down and others trembling in their place as the rumbling laughter petered out.

Their Titan, a gigantic being of vine and plant and trees, was the home of the forest clan and had carried them on her back for generations and across the Eternal Sea without pause or hesitation. Be it day or night, their Titan walked on, as did the other Titans that carried the other clans upon their bodies.

Lyca could spot the others in the very distance sometimes, like walking mountains on the horizon. Especially the volcano Titan was easy to spot at night. They were a far-off, dim orange light, their molten-rock veins and open pouring lavafalls glowing visibly even from miles away.

Sitting up from the mossy forest floor she had slept on, Lyca felt the wind sweep through the trees as their Titan ever-steadily walked onward.

Soft giggling made her pause and glance to the left and she spotted a couple sitting a little further down in the forest, whispering to each other with besotted smiles. She just barely managed to make them out between the thick, large trees and flowering shrubbery that covered large parts of their Titan and provided the clan with wood and life.

Stretching her arms up until she heard something pop along her spine, Lyca got to her feet and wandered away from her spot, carefully watching her step. Roots poked out often, half hidden beneath moss and soft, dark earth, just waiting to trip unsuspecting folk up.

She passed by mushrooms growing in big clusters in the shade and along dead trees, while herbs and pretty little forest flowers rose wherever sunlight fell through the canopy. The scent of the woods was cool and dark and it ever so faintly mingled with the scent of the sea.

She emerged from the forest right at the edge of the Titan's shoulder and strong, reedy trees grew up between the chest plates of the Titan's armor, anchored in the weave of the Titan's clothes beneath. Thin branches stretched towards the sky like hands with wide-spread fingers, little green leaves shivering in the constant wind.

Those hardy trees turned the steep, miles-long drop from the Titan’s shoulder down into the ocean into something quite bumpy and rather fraught looking. Not that anyone was jumping down willingly and very few fell accidentally.

Miles below, looking downright tiny in the distance, the feet of their Titan sloshed through the ocean at a steady, unhurried pace. The waves usually lapped up to the middle of her calf, though sometimes they only reached her ankle, depending on how deep the ocean was.

The Titan's movements looked terribly slow as she walked, slow enough that watching her take a single step put anyone to sleep, even the most obstinate toddler.

Glancing up and squinting towards the horizon, Lyca spotted one of the other Titans, this one walking on all fours rather than upright on two legs like the forest Titan did. The Titan of Dunes and Canyons, if she wasn't mistaken.

Each and every Titan had a city built on their backs, which housed the clans that lived on them and they carried those cities steadily and protectively. They never slept, as far as Lyca knew, nor did they need to.

Tipping her head to peer upwards, Lyca saw tiny dots flitting through the air far above, much like dust mites dancing in the sunlight, as people flew on their magnificent skybeasts for easy travel.

The skybeasts were their main mode of transportation and the only way to visit other clans if the Titans didn't walk close together and reached out towards each other, their hands entwined and arms stretched out to create the bumpiest of miles-long bridges, which took days to traverse even with the swiftest horses.

Whistling loudly and sharply, putting some magic into the sound so it carried far enough to be heard up in the sky, Lyca grinned when she heard an answering roar carried by the wind.

Her own skybeast, Starfall, winged down from atop the Titan's head where his kind had their massive nests built among the root-hair of their Titan. Even from atop the Titan's shoulders, their large nests looked like tiny specks on a far mountain top.

Starfall flew towards her, fast and swift and she watched his rapid approach, before she grinned, a giddiness suddenly filling her.

With a giggle she backed up a couple of steps and took a running leap. Starfall tucked his feathery wings close to dip into a steep dive as she fell and he dove past her to get beneath her, snapping out his wings and he next second he had securely caught her.

His back was strong, though he was too large and broad for her to sit on him like she would on the stocky, short horses of their clan, so she was kind of kneel-sitting on him and as she righted herself, his wings beat quickly to carry them back up again. He growled at her playfully in greeting, his body rumbling with the noise.

His fur was night-black and he had a thick mane around his neck, perfect for holding on to whenever he didn't wear a saddle. Dark horns curled up from his broad lion's head, speckled with spots of white and his wing-beats sounded like big sheets snapping in the wind.

He was her bonded beast since they had both been babes, a faithful, steadfast companion she could always rely on. She had been born first and he a mere day later and he had chosen her the moment they laid eyes on each other. They had been inseparable, best friends since.

The Titan smiled at them as they passed by her ear, rumbling out another deep, long and slow-sounding chuckle that made the immediate water around her feet ripple and the very air itself vibrate. Lyca saluted the Titan and with a small shift of her seat, Starfall reacted, tipping to the side in a smooth arc, sweeping past the massive forest on their Titan's left shoulder.

The right shoulder was made up largely of farmland and grazing grounds and lakes that had filled with rain water centuries ago. The people had once felled all the trees on that shoulder to both feed themselves and create homes that sheltered them and kept them warm in icy winter months.

Ancient texts spoke about how much effort it had been for their ancestors to live on the Titan, how their Titan had once held them cupped in her palms for months as storms and bad weather raged and they had struggled to build lasting homes for themselves.

These days trees were largely felled for instruments and tools and trade and for firewood and only occasionally to create new homes.

Their Titan felt it when her trees were felled, though it didn't hurt her and she could easily regrow them in no time at all. Almost overnight, even, if she really focused on it. She gladly provided everything and anything her people might need.

All Titans did, no matter what they were made of, whether they were made of plants or snow and ice or stone and sand. It had created a healthy trade and companionship between the Titan clans and many times throughout the year the Titans came together for big celebrations and to allow for big markets to be set up.

Lyca straightened with a grin and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm wind rushing past her, tugging at her clothes and tangling with her hair. She heard a greeting song as another member of her clan passed her by on their own skybeast.

Lyca sang back, the magic in their music carrying easily so they heard each other without trouble, no matter the distance and whistling winds.

Once Starfall reached the backside of the Titan's shoulder, a press of her knees was enough for him to tuck his wings and they hurtled down the Titan's back. Buildings and ladders and bridges and lifts rushed past in a blur of color and shapes until he flared his wings, catching air.

In a tight, long-practiced curve he landed roughly on the landing pad in front of the house Lyca called home, the wood groaning briefly beneath his weight, before it settled again. He trotted onward, nudging the big door open with his head, the wood already scratched up from many years of multiple horns scraping against it.

Lyca flattened herself against his back, while he ducked his head to avoid dragging his horn-tips across the top of the doorframe, as well.

"Welcome back!" her mother's cheerful voice made Lyca smile and she sang a quick little note back in greeting as she sat up again.

Swiftly sliding off of Starfall, she laughed, surprised and delighted, when two small skybeast cubs barreled into her that moment, their tiny wings flapping excitedly. They weren't grown enough yet to fly, but they sure did their best to try anyway.

She picked up the cubs and nuzzled them while she heard the greeting rumbles between Starfall and the long-grown skybeasts that had chosen her parents back when they had been born.

The cubs yipped and tried to rumble as well, though they weren't big enough yet to do anything but squeak cutely. Starfall left her side and he ambled over to the large bed made for the beasts and flopped across Sunstar, her father's beast, who swiped playfully at him.

"Now, where did you leave my siblings?" Lyca asked the cubs, each the size of a knee-high dog and she struggled a bit with carrying them both at the same time, since they were intent on wriggling around excitedly. She was used to their antics and their weight, however, since they had been part of the household ever since they had bonded with her brothers and they enjoyed getting carried.

They both tried to lick her cheeks simultaneously and almost scraped her jaw bloody with their horns, their wings flapping her upside the head in their eagerness.

She heard badly muffled giggles and looked up quickly enough that the twins couldn't hide in time. They froze in the middle of trying to duck down behind the broad support beam that ran above her, their eyes wide for a second in startled surprise. The next moment they looked disappointed, clinging to the rafters above her with big pouts.

Knowing them, they had purposefully sent their beasts to her in hopes of distracting her and then scaring her by hurtling down from above. A horrid plan really, since they would have had to try to land on her to avoid crashing onto the floor like human pancakes.

While she was reasonably certain that she was strong enough to not immediately faceplant into the wooden floor like a wet rag, it would end badly quickly if she lost her footing and then they would all go down in a heap of limbs. Especially so if they caught her mid-step. Besides, her arms were full, so it wasn't like she could try to catch them.

"That's dangerous," she told them, ignoring their pouts. "If you jump down while I'm occupied, we're all going to get hurt."

At this they frowned and kept looking disappointed, but they started climbing along the rafters to the main pillar in the middle of the large living room to get back down.

"You only have yourself to blame," Mama called from the kitchen. "You're the one who encouraged that habit when they were wee ones."

In all fairness, it had been incredibly fun to toss them up and catch them again when they had been smaller or to have them leap at her from increasingly creative places with playful little howls. They had been easy to handle back then. Her little brothers were going to grow up into real menaces at this rate.

"Where's Papa?" Lyca asked and let the wriggling cubs down. She stepped forward to hold out her arms, smiling expectantly.

Her brothers, who had just started to climb down the main pillar of the house, lit up. She caught them as they let go and jumped at her, sticky little hands clinging to her tunic and vest and they shrieked in delight when she spun in a fast circle that nearly left her dizzy, one arm securely around each boy.

"He's still out fishing," Mama answered, wiping her hands on her apron and looking fondly exasperated at her impossible children. "He'll be back in a few hours."

The fishers had great fun casting large nets into the waters and tying them to their Titan, letting her drag the nets behind her while they sang cheerfully to lure the fish close. Those who didn't or couldn't sing played an instrument, the magic of music part of all of them. The fishers always brought back great hauls, brimming with pride at having provided for their families and friends.

Tossing her brothers over her shoulders like sacks of grain so they shrieked again in delight, little hands holding on tightly, she strode forward, the cubs squeak-growling at her heels. They playfully and harmlessly nipped at her ankles, careful enough with their teeth that they neither made her stumble nor did they damage the leather of her boots.

"Do you need any help?" she asked and as her mother shook her head, she gently bounced on the balls of her feet, making her brothers giggle as they were bounced too until they were breathless.

"I'm almost done here," Mama said, gesturing at the baking fish and the potatoes getting cooked with herbs. "Why don't you put down these two rascals and get to work? I know you haven't finished that flute yet."

Lyca shifted her shoulders and arms so her brothers rolled down her biceps into the crooks of her elbows, her hands holding onto the backs of their shirts to keep them from falling.

"Alright, off with you, go and play with your toys," she told them mock sternly as she set them down on their feet.

They grinned so wide it must've hurt their cheeks and they scampered away when she lightly tugged on their ears, their cubs clumsily but eagerly following after them.

Lyca took a step towards her mother to press a kiss against her cheek and she snagged a small plate of cut fruits, clearly leftovers from her brothers snack time, her mother waving her off with a warm, fond smile.

Lyca returned to her workbench in an alcove at the side of the main room, a long table littered with tools set up beneath a window and there were walls to her right and left, stuffed with various materials.

She continued working on the flute she had left on the table two hours ago when her back had started to cramp too much to be ignored. Lyca had stayed up all night working and had been in dire need of a break and a long, refreshing nap.

Since the house had been too rowdy to sleep, she had hitched a ride on Starfall to the forest and had dozed off there, nestled safely among roots and trees, the buzz of insects a gentle background noise that had tangled pleasantly with the rustle of the wind in the boughs.

Lyca loved her work and she was grateful that she was able to do what her hands liked most. She had learned how to make instruments from a young age, ever since she had toddled up to her oldest teacher and the woman had unceremoniously started showing her how to help.

It had been Lyca's passion ever since that day and she had learned everything she could, following in her teacher's footsteps to do things the old fashioned and traditional way. Which meant making absolutely everything about instruments herself, because that made it easier to enchant them.

She sang to every little piece she worked with, be it the wood or metal or gemstone, as the instrument slowly took shape, until it was finished.

If one wanted the best magical instrument, capable of enhancing every song and melody, no matter what, one needed to infuse every little thing with magic as early as possible. That included things like making paint and strings herself, tanning and stretching hides for drums and smelting down metal to hammer it into shape.

There was a reason why instrument making was a tedious job even among their musically gifted people. It took a lot of time and learning a number of different skills and it took a lot of patience and dedication to work with even the most obstinate and hardy materials.

Some instrument makers specialized themselves on certain instruments, creating things that kissed at the feet of perfection and never branched out beyond that, while others commissioned carvers and smiths to make and enchant pieces before they assembled them into instruments.

Most of them certainly did their best to avoid the materials that were incredibly finicky to work with. It wasn't really necessary for them to go to such lengths when they had other, kinder materials to choose from, after all.

Not many people were willing to spent months, sometimes even a year or longer, bent over single pieces of wood or metal or bowls of paint, coaxing everything to soak up the magic of music.

Lyca had always liked the nitty-gritty parts of her job, the harder the better at times, and like most instrument makers she had shown an affinity for it early on.

Lyca loved to mould magic with her hands and voice, to give it purpose, to create something with love and joy and sometimes a bit of frustration and annoyance, depending on the piece.

She sang to the flute now as she carefully started to carve small flowers up its body, her song fluctuating from soft to loud and back, from peppy and quick melodies to something almost haunting and soft.

That was what the flute and the wood she had used liked most, after all. They wanted to hear as much as possible of what music had to offer, eagerly soaking up everything she showed them.

There was a spark of joy glowing beneath her hands as the magic within the instrument hummed back at her, while basking in getting more attention.

The flute also wanted to be carved slowly and delicately, with a sort of reverent gentleness that was usually reserved for infants and baby animals and fragile, gorgeous pieces of art. It wanted to be that, it wanted to be cute and beautiful and to be fawned over, so that was what Lyca did.

A touch to her shoulder a few hours later made her flinch in surprise and when she looked up, setting the flute aside for the moment, she realized it was getting late and that her father had returned.

Her father looked windswept and salt kissed as he grinned down at her. "Look what I found," he said proudly, holding out a beautiful, shimmering shell. "Think you can make something out of that?"

Lyca felt herself perk up in awe. "Oh, absolutely. This is beautiful, Papa. Do you have anything in mind for it?" She took the shell, easily bigger than both her hands combined and turned it this way and that, admiring the rainbow of colors that danced across the smooth interior as the light shifted across it.

"I'm not sure yet, but it's far too pretty to become a mere bowl," he said, sitting down on the stool beside hers and flicking his long braid decorated with small shells over his shoulder. His hair had fully grown out to his hip this spring and he was very proud of it, carefully braiding and decorating it each morning. "But it's also too big to become pretty decoration, isn't it?"

"Hm." Lyca hummed thoughtfully, fingertips tracing over the rough, black outside of the shell as she continued to tip it this way and that to make the inside shimmer and shine. "I'll think of something."

She got up to gently put the big shell onto the shelf of knickknacks she intended to do more with one day. She had other, smaller shells beside it, along with crystals and glass, petrified wood and a hunk of stone that had fallen down from the sky a few years ago, striking the Titan of ice and water in the shoulder.

Getting her hands on it had been nearly impossible, for the Blue Ice Clan had taken ownership of the fallen sky-piece. She had only managed to snag this piece when it became clear that the hunk of stone had fragmented upon impact, creating a plethora of small pieces that the clan was willing to share with others.

Those special items were not going to be easy to enchant. Then again, enchanting things aside from soft wood and simple stone already stopped being easy and it only got harder the rarer or special something was. The world knew its worth, her teacher had loved to say, and it would demand to be treated accordingly.

Some gems liked being filled with magic and did not care about the song at all, while others were so incredibly picky that even a single note they didn't like caused the entire enchantment to disperse and vanish, forcing her to start all over again from the beginning.

Some wanted complete silence around her so they heard only her and some wanted to be out in the sun, while others wanted to be in complete darkness. It took a bit of trial and error each time she worked with a difficult material to figure out what they needed in order to be happy. In order to soak up the magic she offered them and hum back to her at long last.

"Dinner is ready!" her mother called from the kitchen. "Someone please get the twins cleaned up, they got into the honey jar."

Her father winced and hurriedly got up to help, while Lyca took care of feeding their beasts. Starfall nuzzled her cheek before digging into his fish, eating the first one in two quick, snapping bites, before he took his time with the rest.

Dinner was a lively affair, especially since the twins had recently gotten it into their heads that tossing food was far more fun than eating it.

In the end, Lyca had Bram, the older twin by five minutes, in her lap, while their father was wrangling the younger twin, Liam. The boys finally settled down and ate, as well behaved as any barely five year old full of mischief could hope to be.

Afterwards her father and mother cleaned up with the twins drying all the wooden dishes and spoons they handed them with smiles on their faces.

The twins liked the texture of the bowls a lot and had recently figured out how to sing the water away to dry things quickly. They tossed their songs back and forth, unintentionally and unknowingly creating a rather strong melody with their combined voices.

Lyca got back to work with a smile in the meantime. The flute was almost done, all that was left now was a tiny blue spinel. The gem stone had been one of the nice ones to work with, once she had figured out that it liked soft, sweet melodies, but it wanted breaks between each song and it had wanted to wait for its own completion until the flute was ready.

Lyca sang the last song to finish the enchantment on the spinel, smiling down at the stone. It basked in the music and magic she had given it, soaking it all up until it gave off a feeling of gentle, warm sunshine.

With the last piece of the flute completed, she very carefully put it in place. The gemstone was happy about it's spot and eagerly let itself be glued down right beneath the flute's head, in the middle of a cluster of flowers. It wanted to be a center piece, after all, to bring its beauty to the flute and truly make it shine.

The second it was all done, wood and spinel settling into place together, accepting each other readily, like an embrace of two songs that became one, she felt a rush of giddiness so strong she had to giggle and wriggle a little in place.

The flute hummed with steady magic now, ready to enhance every song and melody it encountered. It was downright eager to find hands that would hold it.

When she straightened from her slight hunch with glad satisfaction, she stretched her arms up above her head and heard her back crack. She tuned back into the world around her and heard her parents' voices, teaching magic to the boys, weaving stories about their clan in-between the songs.

Lyca leaned back and smiled at the flute with pride. Half a year she had worked on this. Half a year she had spent infusing the instrument from the very moment she had selected the tree, carefully cutting off a thick branch that worked just perfectly.

She had even flown to the crystal and gem Titan, the Jewelry Clan showing her to the spinel mine and they had helped her mine a stone fresh out of the earth.

She had sung countless songs as she had worked, had patiently poured love and magic into the wood and stone until it had taken root. She had hummed and tapped her feet in a particular rhythm, until it had all felt right.

And now it was done and the flute could be used to produce the most wonderful, most magical of melodies. Which was a thing every instrument maker said about their instruments, of course, because it was very true.

The things they made were their pride and joy, after all, so how could their instruments not make the best music anyone had ever heard?

Her fingertips traced the fine engravings in the wooden body of the flute, the leaves and flowers winding upwards to cradle the tiny blue stone at the very the front. She gently set the flute down in the box it would be transported in, already filled with wood shavings for cushioning.

"Is it done?" her mother asked, coming over and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "It's beautiful."

"Thank you, Mama." Lyca closed the box and tied it shut with some string, pinching a note with an address beneath the string. "Think Miss Mallow will like it?"

"She'll love it. And if she doesn't I'll give her a piece of my mind." Her mother sounded mock stern, then her voice gentled and grew earnest. "The music this is going to make will be wonderful. I can already sense the magic of the flute, you've done very well."

Lyca traced the edges of the box with her fingertips one last time, smiling softly. "I hope so. I hope the Titan will love it when she hears what it can do."

"The Titans love all the music we've made, they always have, and this will be no different." Her mother gave her shoulders a pat. "Now, please get some proper rest. You still look tired."

Lyca let herself get ushered to her feet and off into her bedroom, Starfall already snoring on his bedding in the main room, cuddled up with the other skybeasts as she passed him by.

Her childhood bedroom was a bit cramped these days, the bed barely big enough to fit her, but if she wanted to keep the rest of the furniture, she could not get a bigger one.

Lyca had made her furniture herself over the years as she had learned to work with wood and metal and gems and glass. It had created an eclectic look for her room, with glass and gems shimmering and wood carved and painted with varying levels of skill.

The shelves along the walls were filled with toys and trinkets and books alike, relics of her childhood mingling with teenage fascination and adulthood adoration. There was a bar in front of each shelf, ensuring that nothing could fall and break whenever the Titan laughed loudly and the entire house rumbled and shook just a little as a result.

And right above her bed beside the window hung her beloved instrument, a nyckelharpa. It was the first one she had made after passing her various exams and it had been with her for eight years now and at the mere sight of her she swore she heard a faint hum from the instrument. They definitely had to play something together soon.

The room had been too small for a while, though Lyca had always been able to ignore it since she only came here to sleep. She had a large work area down in the main room of the house and she traveled often and for long weeks to get more materials from other clans.

And then she tended to stay a while longer to learn more from them, badgering various smiths and woodworkers and seamstresses that they might show or teach her more of their craft. She made sure to only bother those who actually wanted to be bothered, however, for there was no need to upset anyone on her endless journey of making better and prettier instruments.

Most people living on Titan-back only moved out from their parents' house upon finding a partner they wanted to stay with, though there were a couple of people who preferred to have their own spaces, to surround themselves with peace and quiet.

They had, however, discussed building an addition to the house that she could live in. Lyca hadn't minded staying in her childhood room at first, especially since she was usually working and otherwise she was gone with Starfall, but after years of creating things she ended up keeping on occasion she was running out of room.

Lyca loved her family and since she had no one else she wanted to live with, she and her family had put in an order for wooden boards and windows with the crafters that lived along the Titan's shoulders. In a couple of months she'd have her own space and she very much looked forward to it.

She got into her nightshift and flopped into bed, hearing it creak and squeak gently, the noise so familiar she barely noticed it anymore. She fell asleep within moments, only waking when the twins insistently tugged on her sleeve, stage-whispering about a monster under their bed.

She blearily got to her feet and made sure to chase away whatever imaginary beast was in their room. Afterwards she played a gentle beat on the little drums she had made for the boys, weaving magic through the air to help them fall asleep again. They were deeply asleep within moments, making her smile softly at them.

When she crawled back into bed a second time she didn't wake again until Starfall rumbled impatiently at her door.

She got dressed with her eyes mostly closed and flopped against his side when she shuffled out of her room with a yawn. He chuffed in greeting, a deep, friendly noise, as he nudged her towards the kitchen.

It was a calm, pleasant morning, Lyca finishing breakfast before the twins were up and she delivered the flute to Miss Mallow.

Afterwards she sat on the Titan's ear, listening to her sing and coming up with a new, silly little ditty herself, which made the Titan chuckle, a bassy, booming sound that made everything groan and tremble.

The reedy trees growing down the Titan's front front shook like they were frightened rabbits and green leaves tumbled free, getting blown away with the wind.

The magic of music had come from the Titans, who had taught the first generation of the clans all they knew. Everything from happy melodies for joyful dancing to mournful ballads to say goodbye to a loved one had been shared with their people.

The Titans had never held anything back from them and had never stopped encouraging them to come up with more songs of their own. To shape the magic they had been taught in new and different ways.

The clans considered the Titans their godly parents, their guardians and protectors who had offered them shelter for generation after generation. There was no land to live on anywhere, only the Endless Sea, and Lyca had heard different stories about why the world was like this.

That one day in the ancient past, the ocean had risen to swallow everything and the Titans had saved as many people as they could.

That there had been evil Titans once and their defeat had sundered all land to pieces, leaving it to sink beneath the waves, lost forever.

Lyca didn't care either way if she was being honest, she lived a good, gentle life here and whenever she wanted a change of scenery, all she had to do was get on Starfall's back and visit one of the other Titans.

Be it ice, fire, sand, meadows or tundra, each and every Titan had a clan they carried, a clan that lived and thrived and had so much to show and teach. The clans happily shared their knowledge, keeping the ties between them strong and each and every celebration they shared was filled with stories and magic.

The Titans celebrated on those days, as well, pressing foreheads together when they met up and singing to each other so powerfully Lyca had felt it in the marrow of her bones.

The sea would ripple for days around the Titans as they sang their traditional song cycle, the stars glowing brighter at night. The Titans got filled with renewed strength and power, some even growing a tiny bit bigger as they sang together, before they separated again to continue their long, endless march, the clans waving goodbye to each other.

Lyca loved their holidays and celebrations, the laughter and joy that was shared among everyone to the point where it started to become its own melody in the air. There was nothing quite like it.

Tales about wars and monsters existed only in books here, as they endlessly journeyed on Titan back across the ocean. The idea of strife was as distant and far removed as the tales about how they had come to live on these colossal giants in the first place.

And yet, despite all the love and joy they shared as easy as breathing, the Titans had been insistent on teaching their clans melodies of war, as well. How to hurt and kill and maim and survive. Every generation was taught and cautioned in the same breath.

Lyca had secretly hated those songs right up until she had reached puberty and had found a sudden, unexpected well of anger within herself as she struggled to be her own person. To find her footing in a world that did nothing but change, because she and her body were nothing but change.

It had helped, then, to have songs to put those emotions into, to soar out across the sea with Starfall and scream and snarl and howl and roar melodies that made the ocean explode in big waves until she had exhausted her messy mind.

It had helped most of all, however, to have a trade that she loved. Being an instrument maker in training had allowed her to leave for months at a time whenever a teacher in the other clans welcomed her, allowing her to grow as a person and instrument maker as she got to know different people and customs and learned how to make glass and forge metal pieces.

The Titans never explained why they insisted on teaching songs of war and destruction, but whenever they were asked, their eyes grew dark and distant, their bodies tensing in a way that made every building groan and creak and rumble in an unsettling manner.

Something horrible must have happened once upon a time. Something the Titans must have faced and that they still feared to this day. Something they were protecting the clans from. It made her uneasy to think about sometimes.

The Titans raised them with such care and compassion that none of the clans ever thought or spoke about waging war. Even if they had, Lyca was sure the Titans would simply interfere and scold them into either coming to their senses or giving up on the endeavor.

Whenever conflict arose it was solved peacefully and those who wanted to fight were introduced to the art of boxing and friendly competitions.

People looked after each other, grief and joy was shared, the young and sick and old were cared for together and it made their songs all the more stronger for it.

If someone was sad and lost but wanted no human company, they could always turn to the Titans. They would always find kindness there and a love so deep none of them ever doubted it.

If there was one thing each and every person across all the clans knew, as sure as their beating heart and the air in their lungs, it was that the Titans loved them. Truly, fully and unconditionally. It was in every song they sang to the clans, in their endless dedication and patience, in listening to their troubles which they must've heard over and over across the centuries.

But they didn't care how often people went through the same troubles, they only cared to help, to look after their clans and let them feel their unconditional love.

Maybe one day the evil their Titans feared would return. Or maybe one day the sunken land would resurface and with it the monsters that only lived in stories right now. When that happened, they would fight. They would protect the Titans as the Titans had protected them and battle side by side with them.

But until then, Lyca was happy to live her life as she pleased. To do with her time as she wanted, to make instruments and wrestle her little brothers while they shrieked and giggled and clumsy cubs crawled all over her, eagerly joining the tussle.

Though, truth be told,, sometimes she did wonder about what it must be like to travel for thousands of miles without ever seeing the ocean, like she had read in one of the library books. What it must be like to stand on ground that wasn't perpetually moving and breathing and rumbling.

Not that she wanted to abandon the Titans, they were ageless protectors, patient teachers and kind listeners. They were family. But still, she wondered from time to time.