Retto and the others found the new world a thrilling one. Peridots ranged in deeper colors and some had sinuous bodies and longer appendages than Retto was familiar with. One even neared the height of a human! Is it the food, Retto thought? Everyone ate the same onions, tomatoes, pears, and kelp, so it couldn’t have been the food. Hmm, what could it be?

A rumbling from the ground rattled from their slumber a red-bodied Peridot with spikes across its tergum and head. Retto was hot-tempered and did not like to be woken up by anyone or anything. Retto, and only Retto, was in control of their eight hours of shut-eye. With fresh eyes, Retto noticed there was no one to charge at or frown at with a menacing stare. Retto chalked it up to the wind and rested their head upon a raised stone to sleep some more.

Humans and Peridots were no strangers to storms. Over the years, they adopted resilience and quick-mindedness on where to take shelter, on how to preserve food, and on how to watch out for everyone. But sometimes, rare events occurred that were catastrophic and, on one or two occasions, cataclysmic. Sometimes, a catastrophic event would presage a cataclysmic one. The following was such an event.

At the same moment that Anza departed to their habitat, Kee returned to the forest. Like Anza before them, they scoured the land high and low for the old man with the white beard. When their search yielded sorrowful stares from others, Kee sat upon a tree stump, tearful, submerged in the memories of sweetness and bitter-sweetness of their beloved keeper.

Anza, now a teenager, stared wistfully at the hut deep into the forest. Humans had last seen the old man with the white beard harvesting acorns, but some claimed he did not return. Where Anza lived, there were now more humans than Peridots – vastly more in fact. After the Drought of Engura, many humans ventured forth in search of more fertile soil and took their Peridots with them. Those who stayed behind were older, had already raised Peridots, but no longer had any of their own to tend to. The desire was there, but … Peridots were elsewhere. What these people needed, Anza felt, were more Peridots. Alas, there was little Anza could do in that regard. In fact, there was little Anza could do in general. Except to wait.

After years away, the Purple One returned to visit the campgrounds which they once called home. The campgrounds comprised more humans than Kee remembered. More Peridots too. Lots more. The grounds themselves were now home to two schools, a Tawnis’s sanatorium (a veritable herald’s square with a primitively fashioned stage) and a cobbler’s shop, where humans would barter rare fruits and veg for sturdier sandals. Huts were aplenty and sheltered families of up to four people and two Peridots. Snug, yes. And cozy. To Kee, this was no mere village, but a little world, where everyone had a purpose and a place and somewhere to make friends.

No one had seen anything like it. Peridots had now traveled the earth for dozens of years, expanded the reaches of their original land, made friends with thousands of humans. Yet no one – be it a human or Peridot – had ever come across anything like Anza.

Everyone admired Vida for their selflessness, and other Peridots strived to be like them. But when Vida became a teenager, the idolatry came to an end. While their gesture to create “Little Kingdoms for One and All” impacted Peridots and their keepers profoundly, Vida stumbled through life just like every other Peridot. They were no less clumsy, no less awkward, no less unknowing, and no less in need of companionship.

Vida sported six pronged feathers in the proximity of what would be a Peridot’s tail. The plumage was sprawling and aquatic. Their colors possessed a certain depth of blue, only to be matched by the depth of blue of Vida’s caboose. Their ears and hind legs were turquoise and lithe. Their chest and front legs were white as snow … which, at the time of their birth, Vida had yet to see. Their face was a mixture of blue and gray, maudlin colors that did not reflect Vida’s mood or spirit. This was a vibrant, plucky companion. No human keeper had seen such a unique Peridot, for up to that point, diversity of the species remained confined to a few colors, a few tails, and a few ruffles around one’s head. Vida’s magnetism charmed many a human, some of whom hoped that their next Peridot would be as beautiful as, if not more so than, Vida.

Olo是一隻身軀鵝黃、四肢雪白的花寶。牠熱愛惡作劇，並且經常利用不同的把戲將人類和其他的花寶耍得團團轉，惹得不少人怨聲載道。雖然Olo的惡作劇會逗得人們笑出聲（偶爾甚至會捧腹大笑），然而他們的笑聲總是零零落落、斷斷續續——牠鮮少博得滿堂歡笑，因為牠只能逗笑幸災樂禍的旁觀者。一旦那些旁觀者也被Olo捉弄，他們就再也無法跟著牠沒心沒肺地嗤笑他人。

紫之賢寶Kee離開那位蓄鬍的朋友已經好幾個月了。接到消息的人們都相當難過，然而這樣的情況並沒有持續太久。人們知道他們和那位留著鬍子的男人一樣：他們的花寶也會在未來的某一天離開，而那一天可能很快就會來臨——因為沒有人可以改變花寶根深蒂固的天性。所有人都明白（至少他們自己是這麼想的），即使花寶不再依賴他們而離開，他們也永遠不會忘記牠們。美好的回憶總是歷歷在目。

人類日復一日又無微不至地照顧著紫之賢寶，而牠也逐漸自成長期蛻變進入成年期。紫之賢寶日益穩重的姿態讓人類引以為傲。牠已經是一隻能獨當一面的花寶了，甚至還有可能……

紫之賢寶與人類之間的關係日益提升，一週過去後，Kee也變得更加年長與壯碩。人類將一切看在眼底，心想：再過一陣子，牠就能替我做到更多事了……

很久很久以前，在我們熟知的世界誕生之前，有一片樸素的大地，大地上生長著樸素的樹林，裡頭住著同樣樸素的鳥獸。當時沒有船或學校，甚至沒有羽毛筆來捕捉人們的思想。那時除了岩石、泥土與草木，什麼都沒有。樹木蔥鬱，湖泊坐落各處。海洋環繞著這片偏遠蠻荒的大地，但卻是無比遙遠。小鹿與野狼在地面和田野間漫遊，但彼此從不相會；牠們在白天外出尋找食物，在夜幕低垂時返回棲息的灌木叢。

您將踏上一趟精彩的旅程！數千年前，一種名叫「花寶」的奇幻生物降臨到地球。沒有人知道這些生物究竟來自哪裡。不過再怎麼思考也是白費功夫，因為只要知道牠們既親人又善良就好啦！相傳花寶比獨角獸及小精靈還要古老，卻又如同獨角獸和小精靈，人們以為花寶只存在奇幻故事中。