Long ago, on a different land from what anyone's ever seen, far out of the Archipelago - far from everything - three siblings came to this world. The oldest child was seven years old when the second baby came, and when the younger one was close to a year-old, the third came - smaller than the other two though. The seven-year-old boy often played with his little sister, her grass green eyes full of joy when they buried themselves in her older brother's forest ones. The baby girl played with her father's shield, though she wasn't supposed to... But her older brother made sure he never caught her when she did. The youngest baby boy, smaller than the eldest's sister, wasn't thought to live by his size. The parents feared he wouldn't make it. He was incredibly fragile, his emerald green eyes often refusing to open. He cried a lot, and the oldest boy could hear his parents and the little baby inside the house. From time to time, he would eavesdrop on what his parents were saying. But one night, as he did, he surprised them speaking about his baby brother, his sister and himself included.
He hadn't completely registered what they had said, but he had been able to pull out some sentences from their conversation.
''...it would be safer for all of them and the town's fate...'' said the father.
They were talking on the opposite side from the door, so the seven-year-old boy had some trouble making out what they were saying entirely.
''Are you sure it's the right thing to do..?'' asked the mother, sounding quite concerned by the decision they were making.
''Remember what I said...'' said the father. ''We're doing this to—''
''—to give them their best chance...'' said the mother with a heavy and sad sigh. ''I know...''
The man lifted the baby from the crib, and held him in his arms, rocking him gently with all his love. He hated the idea as much as his wife did... But it was the best thing to do. If they didn't do what had to be done, the world risked great danger from the three siblings if they lived united.
''There will be three who hold the power of dragons in their hands…'' murmured the man as he held his youngest son's little hand. ''The prophecy has come true.''
The boy at the door had given up on his spying, understanding quite little about what was going on. He wasn't the curious kind of kid anyway. He turned his back to the entrance of the house and shrugged, carrying on entertaining his happy little sister.
The next day, something strange was going on at the docks at the edge of the island. The three siblings' father, the chief of the village, had given orders to prepare three ships. The older boy was wondering what exactly was going on and edged closer to the edge of the cliff, overlooking the ocean. He leaned closer, flat on his stomach as he watched every move from his own tribe's members. A couple of them gave him expressionless looks when they spotted him up there, and carried on preparing the ships just like the chief had asked.
The vessels weren't as big as the ones usually used to go into battle... These were approximately the size of the fishing boats; nothing big.
They were being loaded with nothing more than a couple baskets containing supplies. The sails above were rolled up, simply waiting for the beginning of the journey to get unleashed and carry its passengers with the help of the wind.
''Son,'' said the father's voice from behind. The boy turned around instantly, brought out of his thoughts about the ships below as his father called for him. ''We need to talk.''
The boy pushed himself to his feet and approached his father.
''Yes, father?'' he asked, looking up into his green eyes, rough and seeming less caring while his were innocent and full of ignorance of the situation.
The red-haired man rubbed his hands together and inhaled deeply, hardly able to believe what he was about to do.
''I need you to go to the healer's hut,'' he said, straightening himself as he spoke, hiding the concern behind his serious mask. ''She has something for you.''
The boy blinked a couple times, a bit confused of all the weird things going on around the town this morning. But he nodded anyways and rushed to the healer's hut, ignoring what was waiting for him in there.
The large man sighed heavily as his son vanished from his sight and let his shoulders drop as he closed his eyes for a split second. Then he inhaled once more, puffing out his chest as he marched to his residence, where the two other siblings were sleeping soundly. As much as hated to do this, he simply had to. It was heart-wrenching, but it had to be done.
He opened the door of the house, to find his wife embracing the two children with love and care, tears streaming down her face as the kissed them both. The baby girl was older than her little brother by barely a year. The baby boy had been born way earlier than expected and turned out to be so frail, so fragile... They had feared he wouldn't make it, but the mother believed he was strong enough to live. And in the end, here he was, alive, in her mother's arms along with his sister, about to be sent away... The three siblings wouldn't be sent to the same place though. They owned something no other human did... And that's what caused the following events. Neither parents wanted this, but it was the best thing to do for all their sake.
Carefully, the father took the two babies from the mother's arms and carried both of them out of the house and towards the decks, where the boats where waiting for them. The woman waited for her husband to cross the doorway and she burst out in tears, a hand covering her mouth as she was barely able to scream her pain. Letting her children go was possibly the hardest thing she had to do... and it hurt like hell. She slowly sank to the ground, closing her eyes shut as her treasures were carried away.
Meanwhile, at the healer's house, the young boy made his way to the old women's hut and knocked a couple times before she opened to him and welcomed him inside. He passed her, smiling kindly and sat on a bench inside the small house.
''My father said I had to come here for some reason he didn't explain,'' the boy said as the healer turned her back to grab what was told her to give the chief's son.
''He did,'' said the healer. She wasn't young, but she wasn't so old. At least, she didn't look her age. As the young boy looked around the house, the healer poured some liquid in a bowl and mixed it a little. She turned around and handed it over to the heir, who took it awkwardly, not understanding what was going on a bit.
''What's that?'' he asked, exactly what the healer didn't wanted to happen.
''It doesn't matter,'' she said, ''All that matters is that you drink it.''
The boy looked at her suspiciously but didn't ask more questions, knowing she was the healer of his island, she must know what she was doing. He poured the liquid from the bowl down his throat, and in matter of seconds, he started to feel dizzy and all he saw were bright spots until he blacked out.
The women caught him just before he hit the floor and held him in her arms, walking out of her hut and down to the decks, where the chief and the two other children were. She, as well, hated the idea of sending the island's heirs away, but what the three of them might be able to do in the future was unpredictable.
Gently, the father took his oldest son from the woman in his arms; his body limp as he had been forced to fall asleep, at least long enough for the trip, with the help of the potion the healer had made.
He set his boy down on the small vessel, inside a tent set on the deck. He would be asleep for a while, perhaps five days, maybe even seven. He would lose a lot of weight during the trip, for not eating during those days. The tribe members who would be accompanying them to their new home wouldn't be able to force food inside him, but for what's water, they could simply pour some down his throat just to keep him hydrated.
The two other babies had been separated, each on its own vessel with their own guardian for the trip. The three members of the tribute on the vessels, ready to set sails, were given a specific tribe to deliver the child, and none were the same: but they all were located inside the Archipelago.
With a last goodbye, the father waved a hand to his three children as they were carried away, on their way to their new family... their new home