For the first years after village formation, under the leadership of Ellenium it accepted any traveler fleeing from the outside world, never asking where they were from or what the secret of them past were. Ellenium had put all his energy into creating a real home in that modest, small nook in the middle of a coniferous grove surrounded by a chain of mountains. Naturally, he did not work for the benefit of the people alone, he was helped by his family and the backbone of the village, assembled from strong and seasoned lions, and therefore the foreman could not afford to devote too much time and attention to his only son.

He took Ian with him wherever he went - the cub often witnessed the political conversations that the elders had among themselves, but either because of his age or because of his character, Ian preferred to remain silent and calmly play with butterflies, feeling his father's gaze on his back. Much of what the lion cub said could be imagined in his mind, based on some fragments of memory, but much remained beyond the bounds of reason - for example, the existence of Creatures. Who are the Creatures? Why is his father, who built this settlement and gave hope to dozens of lonely souls, scared to death of them? Are they huge and terrible? How many of them are there that even the lions can't chase them back to the world they came from?

Ian asked many questions, but did not voice them, for fear of meeting resistance from his parents. His mother always encouraged his thirst for knowledge and personally engaged in his training, but some topics... even in such a trusting relationship, there were always "taboos". Perhaps the couple was just afraid of losing the surviving child who had worked so hard to make his way into this world. They were only lucky that the lion cub was not known for curiosity and clearly obeyed the prohibitions of his elders, turning away with a sigh from the contemplation of the border of the forest at the first call of Ellenium.

Over the years, not only the bad news come from the outlands, where his father's shoulders hunched as if under an overwhelming burden - Ian's mother, unexpectedly for herself, became pregnant and gave birth to a small, honey-colored girl, who was given the name Iris. Ian was still a child himself at this time, but due to the heavy workload of the Ellenium, he had to take on his sister's upbringing from time to time and look after her in her spare moments from training and training. Perhaps it was only because of this that the bond between the two was particularly strong - Iris was always close to her brother, not retreating a step, and Ian sincerely loved such a sudden gift of fate, making a promise to himself to always be there and protect her from any adversity.

They appreciated every moment spent with each other, almost without parting. Often, lying under a cloudy sky amid the spikelets of trampled grass, Iris wrinkled her rounded nose, speculating about what lay beyond their small village. Ian did not encourage such conversations and always tried to steer the subject away, so as not to ignite a spark in the little soul that could ignite into a stunning conflagration of rebellion and interest, in an attempt to find out the truth, not based on the stories of the elders and parents.

But no matter how hard he tried, all his words ended up crashing like the ocean in a storm, against the impenetrable rock of Iris ' stubbornness, unwilling to listen to the same thing for the hundredth time. Ian would have blamed himself now for not choosing the right words, for not taking care of this problem properly - but then he was just a child, too carefree and frivolous to be able to influence anything.