The Donkey: (A Tale of a Planet)

The planet was badly divided and injured by vast destructive passions, cruel rulers, and a dark magical science that operated in the name of twisted gods and corroded the world down to its core. All the five kingdoms had two things in common: a fundamental philosophy that would not permit difference; and the capacity to tap forbidden energies, at a grave cost for the balance of the planet itself, and to distort them to their immediate benefit: to rule uncontested. A current of white, caring magic surfaced out of a sacrifice: initially a trickle, it grew, carried in the hearts and souls of two young lovers, a few animals, and a bit of dragon substance (a dusty scale? A polite belch?). The lovers' experience of what it means to be separate and still one nourished a new sort of energy, which blossomed and spread reunion, and coexistence, and healing. Eventually, the dark, demanding gods were forced out of the planet, and the mending had its chance. This tale took place in a physical universe. (The same tale could happen in a mental universe, too. It carries a lesson.)