XIX
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Red split her world apart and filled it with flux and fire.
She pulled the earth into high mountains that erupted with liquid flame.
Her lands would die and return in a cycle of constant renewal.
The Red Lands, islands of fire, the world of death and rebirth.
Red took her beloved lizards and made them great, in endless variety.
She sent crawlers into the seas nearby, worms and many tentacled things.
She cared little for trees and standing plants, finding them too permanent.
Lower plants and mosses thrived, all quick growers, to return life after death.
Red gave her people dark skin, to match her own dark body.
She made their bodies tall and lean, as well, with coarse hair.
They could weather the heat of mountain fire and the coldest depths.
Flexible, strong, enduring - so made were the people of the Red Lands.