I wrote these when I was thirteen and fourteen, which would explain the quality. I would have thrown them away by now, except that the entirety of the White King and Rogue Captain series were based on them (which were written at fifteen, so not much better, but still). I've thought over and over about going back and rewriting them, but never quite got up the motivation -- so, they've stayed the same as they used to be. The map at the top of one of the pages (I don't remember which) is based on them.
With not much more to say, I'll leave you here with these: Evergreen I and II, or as they used to be known, "Forever's Voice", and "Forever's Sacrifice".
With not much more to say, I'll leave you here with these: Evergreen I and II, or as they used to be known, "Forever's Voice", and "Forever's Sacrifice".
The Basic Eras and Time Periods of Evergreen (The Continent)
A.R.: After Rejection
First Era (0-1000 A.R.): Evergreen split into two countries: the Ratlands, and of course, Evergreen. The Evergreen population was made up of multiple small tribes, each inhabiting a different area of the country based upon natural specimens and environment. Ex: the animals accustomed to cold lived in the north, while the ones most accustomed to heat lived on the Eastern Islands, which are similar to Therrenia. War breaks out in the final days of the First Era between Icelenic tribes and southern tribes.
Second Era (1000-5000 A.R.): The War of Snow and Ice ends with Icelen as a seperate country and Evergreen under a monarchy. Peace lasts for thousands of years. At one point during this period, Syren the Sailor rules (explained below).
Third Era (5000 A.R. - Current): This is the most recent era, the current era. Began with Tulrag Whiptail (original) overthrowing the last king and queen. Short rebellion led by Hollend Barkleaf. Tulrag Whiptail’s third descendant overthrown by Kirren Barkleaf and company, no government.
The Basic Eras and Time Periods of Clandon (The Continent)
P.L.: Post-Landing
First Era (0-200 P.L., 2000-2200 A.R.): Icelenic sailors land on Clandon. Clandon is later called “United Clandon” in this era, due to no wars and no leaders or government. Doesn’t make sense.
Second Era (200-500 P.L., 2200-2500 A.R.): Smaller countries form, including the Plainsterritories and Therennia.
Third Era (500-2000 P.L., 2500-4000 A.R.): East and West Regions break off from United Clandon, United Clandon gains a monarchy. Spokesbeast position installed in West Region. War between East and West Region begins, creating North and South Regions, then ends after about one hundred years due to the Set Laws. Clandoran is formed. (yeesh!)
Fourth Era (2000-2870 P.L., 4000-4870 A.R.): East and West Regions start at it again, even though they are under the Set Laws. This time, it lasts for HUNDREDS of years. In fact, it’s still going. Good work, Spokesbeast Farleaper.
Fifth Era (2870-2998 P.L., 4870-4998 A.R.): Norden Northwind takes southern Clandoran, but is killed by his son. Gulrag Northwind kills Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade, takes all of Clandoran in 2980 P.L. He is forty at this time.
Sixth Era (2998 P.L. - Current, 4998 A.R. - Current): Gethnoel Swiftblade, formerly Icefurr Swiftblade, takes the throne.
A.R.: After Rejection
First Era (0-1000 A.R.): Evergreen split into two countries: the Ratlands, and of course, Evergreen. The Evergreen population was made up of multiple small tribes, each inhabiting a different area of the country based upon natural specimens and environment. Ex: the animals accustomed to cold lived in the north, while the ones most accustomed to heat lived on the Eastern Islands, which are similar to Therrenia. War breaks out in the final days of the First Era between Icelenic tribes and southern tribes.
Second Era (1000-5000 A.R.): The War of Snow and Ice ends with Icelen as a seperate country and Evergreen under a monarchy. Peace lasts for thousands of years. At one point during this period, Syren the Sailor rules (explained below).
Third Era (5000 A.R. - Current): This is the most recent era, the current era. Began with Tulrag Whiptail (original) overthrowing the last king and queen. Short rebellion led by Hollend Barkleaf. Tulrag Whiptail’s third descendant overthrown by Kirren Barkleaf and company, no government.
The Basic Eras and Time Periods of Clandon (The Continent)
P.L.: Post-Landing
First Era (0-200 P.L., 2000-2200 A.R.): Icelenic sailors land on Clandon. Clandon is later called “United Clandon” in this era, due to no wars and no leaders or government. Doesn’t make sense.
Second Era (200-500 P.L., 2200-2500 A.R.): Smaller countries form, including the Plainsterritories and Therennia.
Third Era (500-2000 P.L., 2500-4000 A.R.): East and West Regions break off from United Clandon, United Clandon gains a monarchy. Spokesbeast position installed in West Region. War between East and West Region begins, creating North and South Regions, then ends after about one hundred years due to the Set Laws. Clandoran is formed. (yeesh!)
Fourth Era (2000-2870 P.L., 4000-4870 A.R.): East and West Regions start at it again, even though they are under the Set Laws. This time, it lasts for HUNDREDS of years. In fact, it’s still going. Good work, Spokesbeast Farleaper.
Fifth Era (2870-2998 P.L., 4870-4998 A.R.): Norden Northwind takes southern Clandoran, but is killed by his son. Gulrag Northwind kills Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade, takes all of Clandoran in 2980 P.L. He is forty at this time.
Sixth Era (2998 P.L. - Current, 4998 A.R. - Current): Gethnoel Swiftblade, formerly Icefurr Swiftblade, takes the throne.
Chronicle One: Voice
Kirren strode along the dusty, rut-filled path that led to his home. The young squirrel glanced at the sky. Still a little light left. I have to hurry if I want to have time to make dinner, he thought. He hopped over a small ditch that was in his way. I’ll need to go out and forage again tomorrow.
He could see his small den about 200 feet away. The door was closed, and the windows and escape tunnel were undisturbed. As he walked, he thought about all the strange things that had happened to him that day. He shook the thoughts from his mind. No time to think. He would try to puzzle this out while eating. He glanced at his side, making sure that his jeweled dagger, the most precious thing that he owned, was still there. It had been his father’s. He always kept it with him, to protect against the rats and lizards that sometimes came to the Forest of Darkroot. They didn’t usually venture this far into the woods, though.
It had been 77 years since the evil lord, Tulrag Whiptail and his descendants (all named after him), had come to the lands of Evergreen. With him, the foul rat had brought an army of reptiles and vermin, mainly other rats. They had swept across the country, destroying and conquering wherever they crawled and skittered. Kirren’s grandfather had led a rebellion in the name of the Forever against Tulrag a few years after the disgusting creature had come. Kirren’s father was orphaned at an early age . . . as was the young squirrel, many years later.
Kirren could hardly remember his father. He only had a few earlier memories, such as the one where his father, Ferras, carried him on his shoulders, playing games with him. He had thought that his father would be there forever in his young age, but his house was burned to the ground by a gang of weasels. His father had rushed in to rescue Kirren from the flames. What happened next, Kirren had never forgotten.
His father was attacked by the same weasels burning the house. There were at least a score of them. His father was unarmed, and Kirren was sure that he would be killed. His father cried out, “Forever, help me!” He raised his arms as if surrendering. Then, a bright light flashed, temporarily blinding the ten year old squirrel. He was thrown back with a force that felt like it was going to tear him apart. When he came to, he couldn’t see anyone. Not his father, not the weasels, no one.
That experience was nothing compared to the anomaly that had occurred today. Kirren walked inside, taking off his over-tunic and cap and throwing them onto the back of a small chair. He checked his storeroom, and gathered all the supplies that he would need to make a hot vegetable soup. The recipe was passed down to him from his great-grandmother, who passed it down to his grandmother, and then to his mother.
His mother. He could still remember the day that she left him, as clearly as if it were yesterday.
When his father died, Kirren’s mother had gone into a state of shock. She barely ate, and she didn’t sleep. She didn’t even acknowledge that her son was there. Kirren could clearly see that she was slowly fading away. He did everything he could to try to help her, but one day, when he was about 15 years old, she just passed on into what comes after.
After that, he couldn’t stay in his old, refurbished house anymore. It carried a heavy atmosphere of sadness and memory. He moved into the woods, where he wouldn’t be bothered by any of those disgusting, murdering vermin that had taken the country. He learned to take care of himself. He taught himself to cook, and he learned how to keep away any intruders that were foolish enough to come into the woods. He set up traps and snares to keep away unwelcome visitors.
As he finished eating, Kirren quickly cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for bed. He was wiped out from the events of that day. He grabbed his nightclothes, washed himself down, and slipped into his hay cot. He thought, I’ll wonder tomorrow. He fell asleep immediately.
What actually happened...
Kirren was walking along, out for a noontime stroll, when a bright light flashed in front of him. He was so startled that he stumbled backwards and fell, hitting his head. Kirren! said a voice that was both strong and soft at the same time. It sounded like it was in his mind. “Whaaa...whooo….”. His words were stumbling too. Kirren! Get up! I am calling you to me. You will be my VOICE! This last word in his mind resonated in his head. This, and hitting his head, both combined to knock him out, as forcefully as if he had been punched in the jaw. Kirren could never really figure out what happened.
He felt himself drifting away, as though he was underwater. He opened his eyes, and he saw...a huge pupil, staring at him, inches away. He looked up. It looked back down at him. It was a huge beast, covered in dark, murky scales and fins. Then, it opened its mouth. It lunged toward him, and he yelled. He closed his eyes, still yelling. But nothing happened.
He opened his eyes. He was standing in a field, and there were workers, mice, and other squirrels, like him. He saw rats, stoats, and ferrets with whips, standing guard over the slaves...for that was what they were. He could see it in their eyes, in the hopelessness in their hearts. He could hear their thoughts. He could find it easily in the way they held themselves, in the superiority with which they regarded their overseers. Everywhere Kirren looked, he heard misery and weakness. He turned around.
He felt he was going to leave this place soon, but before he did, he saw him. A fully grown wolf, dragging two plows with the strength of ten squirrels. Kirren didn’t know how, but he could feel the wolf’s spirit, lashing out with the power of a free beast. He could hear the wolf’s emotions, words, a bright light shining fiercely with all the hope of one who was clearly not broken. He could also see something that scared him...the wolf could see Kirren. It looked at him nodded in his direction, then whipped around with strength and power, even more than before. The wolf broke his bonds. He then ran straight at three guards clustered together. It lashed out with one paw...and the vision disappeared.
Kirren woke up in a cold sweat. It was much later in the day, and he was lying on the ground in the same place as when he went out. What...just...happened, he thought. Wait. Maybe, that was ... preposterous. I’ll think about it later. He got up, and started for home.
The next day, Kirren woke up with a shout. He had been dreaming about the wolf again. He had been in a dark, smelly dungeon cell, crying out to the Forever. He smashed into the door repeatedly. All night, Kirren had been in the cell with him. He felt his pain. He could understand the feeling of being trapped, as Kirren had felt this way when his father, then his mother died. He felt trapped in his woods, too. Too afraid to come out, yet angry at the murderers of his family and his life as he knew it.
Now that he was awake, it all felt like a dream, but he knew better. It had been all too real. He just needed to find out what it meant. No, not that. He had to find that wolf, or die trying. He thought for a minute, then set off in the direction of the city.
When he got there, he was stunned by how horrible it had gotten in the last few years since he had seen it. There was trash and mud and slop everywhere. There were babies crying, and mothers begging for food. He saw no men, however. He walked up to a small mousewife. She was slumped up against the wall. “Excuse me, where are the slave fields?” he asked. She didn’t answer. He asked again. Still nothing. He shook her shoulder. She slumped over. He knelt down to examine her. Her eyes were glazed over, and there was blood all over the side of her smock. He realized with a start that she was dead, and jumped back, mentally wringing his paws. He felt another paw on his shoulder. “You’re not from around here, are you?” a rough voice rasped. “You’re making yourself too obvious. Get back.” The paw pulled him back into an alleyway.
Once they were at a safe distance in the shadows, the paw let go. Kirren turned. Whoever it was wore a green-brown cloak, with a hood that obscured its face. Kirren noticed its paw. The creature’s fur was silver.
“I know you,” it...he growled. “I’ve seen you. You were in my prison cell.” It pulled back its hood. It was the wolf. “My name is Anghan. You helped me get out. You must be a Sight, too.”
“A Sight? What’s that? How did you escape? Who are you? What are these strange visions I’m having?” Kirren asked in rapid fashion.
“Whoa, slow down there, friend. I’ll explain everything, but first we have to get somewhere safer. In here.” Anghan pulled Kirren into a doorway nearby. There was a small fire, and some tattered blankets and couches. “This is where I’ve been hiding out for a few days. Sit down.” He motioned towards a small pillow. “I’ll get some bread.” He moved some things away to reveal a small cupboard. He pulled out two plates and some bread and cheese.
“Cheese! I haven’t had any in so long!” exclaimed the squirrel. He attacked his plate with vigour. He looked up, then noticed that Anghan hadn’t touched his food.
“We haven’t thanked Forever for our food,” the wolf said, hiding a smile. Kirren felt his face flush beneath his fur. He also noticed that the wolf’s voice wasn’t raspy anymore.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t eaten with anyone else in a long time. I’ve lived in the forest for a long time.” He then explained why he was there in the city. The wolf listened intently, not interrupting, except to ask a question now and then. When Kirren was done, the wolf spoke.
“I know what happened. I’m only 21 years old, not old enough to be important, but two years ago, I got a message like yours, except that I saw things, instead of hearing things. I saw wickedness in the creatures of Tulrag Whiptail, and I saw hopelessness in my fellow slaves. I saw others like me, two. My father and mother. They were killed soon after, by Whiptail. I saw even more, I can’t even begin to describe it. I saw you, and I knew that I had to leave and help you. I thought that you were like me, except that you don’t see. You hear, and you say. You are a prophet.” Kirren’s mouth dropped open. “Like me, except a different kind. You have different abilities. You are special. The Forever gave you these gifts, to use them for good. Only two other creatures have had these strengths, though, and I have seen them both. One was named Elijah Irontail, a mouse of the old days. The other was called Ferras Barkleaf.”
“My dad!” Kirren exclaimed. He thought back to his father’s death. It explained everything. The light — why his family, specifically, had been attacked. “I had no idea. But . . . why didn’t he use his gifts to help free Evergreen?” Kirren asked, after taking some time to think.
“I haven’t seen it. I don’t know. My best guess is that he was ordered by Forever not to. The important thing right now is that you were ordered, and that you learn to use your gifts. You can do many things, or at least I believe you can. I’ll try to teach you. Though, I don’t understand the beast in the sea.”
At this point, Anghan stood up and walked over to a corner of the room. He dragged out two soft blankets. “What are you doing?” Kirren asked.
“Well, prophets have to sleep too!”
The next morning, Kirren woke up to the sound of somebeast banging on the door to the little apartment. Right away, he started to call for Anghan, but the wolf’s paw came from behind him and covered his mouth. The elder prophet crept to the door and held up his paw to his mouth, indicating silence.
He swung open the door, his cloak swirling around him. Two guards stood armed on the doorstep, and one said, “In the name of Tulrag Whiptail, you are under arrest!” The lizard brandished his spear.
Anghan flicked his paw, and as Kirren looked on in amazement, a huge snake appeared out of thin air! It hissed, and wound its way straight towards the pair of vermin. They screamed like little babes. Then they ran for the hills. Literally.
The wolf turned to his companion. “How did you do . . . where did it . . . what?” Kirren asked, confused.
Anghan scratched his ear. “It’s a gift from the Forever. I’m pretty sure that you can too. Now, breakfast.” He quickly scrambled together some bread, fruit, and something that he called coffee, although Kirren had never heard of it. After they were done, they washed their breakfast dishes in a small rivulet of water that ran out of the side of the wall near the back of the room.
The elder prophet stood in the middle of the room. “Time for training to begin,” he said. Anghan swept his paw gently over the floor, and it became alive with color. Trees, and seas, and deserts all became visible, as if Kirren were riding on the back of some great eagle. His jaw fell, and as Anghan walked around the room, and moved his paws, the “eagle” zoomed around, showing different places everywhere, eventually landing over Kirren’s den.
“Wow,” Kirren breathed. It really was amazing. “Can I do that?” he asked out loud. Anghan thought for a moment.
“Give it a try!” he said. “Just concentrate, and try to move the map.” Kirren did exactly that, but it didn’t go quite as planned.
When he put his mind to it, something did happen, though. All of a sudden, he heard clear voices, like they were right next to him. This is what he heard.
Oy, where is it? Came a voice, in the gruff accent of a vermin rat.
Hey, it’s over here! I got the shiny!
Give it ‘ere. We need to git back to Whipfanny before dark.
Wot? We could just stay ‘ere for the night. If’n that slave gits back, I’ll gut ‘im wid ‘is own pointy toy.
Nah, put it back fer naow.
“Woah!” Kirren said, and stepped off of the map. “That’s crazy! I just heard everything going on over there.” He quickly related what he’d heard. When he’d finished, the wolf shook his head.
“Sounds like hired beasts, and they’ve got the dagger that you mentioned.”
Kirren grabbed his cloak, and was ready to head out the door, when a silver paw stopped him. “Where do you think you’re going?” the wolf asked.
“Back home!” He shrugged off his friend’s paw, but stopped again when Anghan stepped in front of him.
“You’re not going anywhere . . .” Anghan began.
“Hang on, Anghan --” Kirren stopped. Anghan already had his cloak on, too, and was holding back a grin. Kirren suddenly got the feeling that he was having his leg pulled.
“ . . . without me.” The wolf opened the door, and quickly snuck out. “We’ll continue training on the way, as we fight past the guard’s of the gate. How’d you get in here, anyway?”
Kirren shrugged. “There weren’t any guards when I came in.” He joined his friend, and they ran towards the east side of the city.
They reached the gate, and contrary to Kirren’s thoughts, there were five guards standing in front of it. Anghan paused. “Okay, Kirren, first lesson.” For no obvious reason, he punched at Kirren’s face.
“Aaah!” he yelled, but something had happened. Right as the clenched paw would have reached him, it slowed down. Actually, everything slowed down. The wolf paw slowly passed by Kirren’s face, as he moved out of the way. Then, everything returned to normal.
“What was that!” Kirren asked.
“It was another gift, that’s going to help you now. Basically, it’s something that slows down time when you are in harm’s way. It’s the Forever’s way of protecting us,” Anghan replied. He kicked, punched, chopped, and scratched at Kirren, but every time, it slowed down and gave the squirrel time to move out of the way.
“Oh.” Kirren thought for a moment. Then, he rushed at the five guards without warning.
Yelling something unintelligible, he slammed one footpaw into a rat’s back, kicking it into a nearby wall. Spinning, he brought a crushing blow from his left paw to another.
Anghan jumped into the middle, and back kicked a lizard, that swept another’s feet out. He heard the whistle of a sword, and stepped out of the way as it slowed down, then chopped the back of the rat’s neck. He stepped away and breathed a long breath.
Before the pair stepped out of the gate, they heard a cry of anguish from behind them. Kirren quickly spun and sprinted towards the noise.
He came to a small shack, where a mouse was screaming as her son was pulled away from her. “Help!” she yelled, when she saw Kirren. The lizard and three rats doing the deed turned immediately.
“Yew better stay away, slave, if you know what’s good fer yeh,” one snarled. He raised his hand to strike Kirren.
The young prophet’s eyes flashed all of a sudden, and he grabbed the rat’s paw. “Let the babe go,” he said softly, but it didn’t make it any less menacing. The rat sneered and raised a whip in his other paw.
Kirren stepped back, and raised his paws. “I serve the Forever!” he yelled. “Let . . . him . . . GO!” White fire blasted out of his paws, and flew into the air, maybe six feet high. He spun, and with one of the lengths of fire, struck down two of the vermin, burned. The other two cowered in fear, and scampered away, dropping their weapons.
The fire diminished, and Kirren knelt by the mouse, who had fainted. He picked her up, walked inside the shack, and gently laid her on a tiny cot inside. Her little babe toddled inside, and sat down. He sucked his thumb like absolutely nothing had just happened.
Kirren walked out, to an amazed Anghan. “I didn’t know . . . your power . . . it’s far more than mine!” the wolf said in wonder. “Look!” He held out his paw, making a small fire in his palm, maybe two feet tall. It quickly went away, though, and he spread his arms wide. “See? You are a Voice! Your fire is blazing hot inside of you, and His wrath shows itself in furious power. I am just a mere Sight.”
Kirren was sweating, and he just nodded. He joined his friend, and they walked out of the gate together.
They passed through unhindered, and entered a large grassy meadow. “We’ll keep training as we go,” Anghan said. He faced Kirren for a second. “Now, another gift that I’ve been given is the power to see very, very far away. For instance, if I look over your shoulder, I see a bug crawling on the bark of a tree, at a distance of about fifty yards. Now, I want you to do the same thing. However, we do already know that it won’t be the same,” he explained. Kirren did as he had said, and nothing happened at first. Then, he started to hear things. He heard the wind, and the grass crackling under Anghan’s paw. He heard a house settling on the outskirts of the City, and even the insect that Anghan had seen brushing the tree with its little legs.
“It’s working!” he exclaimed. “I can hear . . . everything!” He kept walking, following Anghan’s footsteps. With his eyes closed.
“Okay, next thing. Point at a place, and see if you can make something appear like me,” the wolf said next. Kirren opened his eyes, and tried what his mentor had said, and . . . nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing.
“Okay . . . hang on. Let’s try something else.” Anghan stood in front of Kirren. “Try it on me.”
“I’m not sure, Anghan.”
“Sure you’re sure. However, instead of thinking of an image, think of a sound or something.”
Kirren hesitated, then did exactly as Anghan had directed. The wolf shook his head in confusement. “Uh . . . Anghan?” the squirrel asked, hearing something strange. “Are you . . .”
The wolf shook it off, though, when Kirren stopped. “What sound was that?” the tall squirrel asked. “I heard my mother!” He rubbed his eyes.
“I have no idea.”
The pair walked off into the woods, and started to talk. All of a sudden, Kirren broke into a run. “What are we doing?” he yelled. “We need to get going!”
Anghan jogged beside him. “Do you know the way, youngster?”
“Yes, it’s . . .” Kirren paused. “Youngster?!? You’re only three years older than me!”
Anghan held back a grin. “Well, someone has to be older, little ‘un.”
“WHAT? You’re not coming if you’re going to act like my mother!” he said.
His friend chuckled. “That’s no way to speak to . . . your elder!” He finally burst into laughter, which echoed around the trees. Kirren couldn’t keep a straight face anymore, and collapsed into a giggle fit.
“It is if . . . your elder . . . is an immature . . . little wolf pup! Hahahahaha!” he gasped out.
“What does that make you?” Anghan managed with a deadpan face, then helplessly chortled like a child.
After about five minutes of laughing and running, which gave Kirren hiccups, they settled down and spotted the squirrel’s house. “There it is!” he whispered. They crept towards it, and immediately noticed a horrible stench. “Ugh!” Kirren exclaimed. “What is that smell?”
“Vermin.” They moved closer, and were at the door. Kirren could hear drooly, sloppy snoring from inside. In the light of the failing sun, he carefully moved forward . . . straight onto the paw of a very fat rat.
“Woooaagghh!” he yelled, sitting straight up. “Murder, mates! I’ve been stabbed to death!” He looked around, then scrambled for his spear as all his friends did the same, waking up in the process and smacking into each other.
Once they had all stood up without falling over, one of them paused. “Hey, they’re only a couple of slaves! Get ‘em!” He rushed at Anghan, knife in striking position. It was a mistake.
Anghan ducked the blow with blinding speed, and blasted the lizard’s tail with a stream of blue fire. The vermin yelped and dashed out of the house without a second thought . . . leaving his tail behind.
Another was too busy to notice his comrade’s fate. He leapt at Kirren, swinging a curved sword wildly. It came within two inches of the squirrel’s neck, but slowed down. Kirren ducked it. The young prophet slammed a blast of fire into the rat’s chest. It screamed and ran out the door, followed by his friends, all dropping their weapons in the process.
Kirren stood panting from the exertion, and the pair of prophets took a quick break. “I don’t think that they got the dagger,” Kirren said uncertainly. “It’s usually on my nightstand when I leave it behind, or behind my bed. I’ll check.” The tall squirrel ducked through a nearby doorway, and came back carrying the jeweled dagger. “Found it. I wonder why it’s so special to them?” He handed it to Anghan.
The wolf examined it closely with his enhanced eyesight, and immediately saw something. “There’s a secret compartment in the hilt. Listen closely.” He twisted the pommel, and Kirren heard a series of clicks. “You’ll have to twist each section of the hilt in a certain combination.” He gave it back to the younger prophet.
Kirren put his ear to the hilt and twisted carefully, hearing tumblers fall into place. After four turns of small rings around the hilt, the pommel fell off, and a slip of rolled up paper fell with it. Kirren picked it up and slowly unrolled it. It was brittle, and it had probably been in there for a very long time. Finally, it was flattened out on a table, and Kirren looked at it in awe.
At first, it seemed like a map of Evergreen, but Kirren immediately noticed something else. A mass of land lay far off the west coast of the Ratlands, on the other side of Evergreen, and it was labeled “Diamond”. Some notes were scrawled next to it, and it mentioned something called “bears” and superior knowledge. Riches, glory, peace, and other thing were written of as well. Kirren slowly nodded. “This is what they were after.”
That evening, after Kirren had returned the map to the dagger for safekeeping, he showed Anghan to a little extra cot in a separate room. Then, he retired for the night as well, after a quick dinner of soup, milk, and a hunk of bread.
The next morning, Anghan woke up early and found some provisions to make a meal of oatmeal, eggs, and coffee (he’d brought some with him). He woke up Kirren, and the two ate quickly and silently. After they finished, Kirren cleared the plates. “We should get going today, and try to catch those mercenaries before we’re too late,” he said as he scrubbed them clean. Anghan nodded.
“We’ll find them before we leave,” he said, grabbing his cloak. “How big is your bedroom? These rooms are tiny.”
Kirren finished and wiped his paws on his tail and tunic. “It’s only a bit bigger, but it has a flat floor without much furniture. Come on,” he replied, and he led Anghan into his room. Then they moved the bed and nightstand to the wall. The wolf flicked his paw, and Kirren was soaring over Evergreen again. Anghan moved the map to the house again, and started slowly in an eastwardly direction. Kirren listened closely, until he heard something. “Go back,” he said. The wolf obliged, tilting his paws and body until the map had returned to the spot.
The younger prophet could easily hear curses and rambling as the small gang of vermin creatures stumbled through the woods toward the City. Kirren stopped and threw on his cloak, and Anghan did the same when the squirrel told him why. They rushed out the door.
The pair moved through the forest at a speedy pace, until they reached the place where Kirren had heard the gang. “They can’t have gone much farther at that pace,” Anghan remarked. Kirren nodded, and started listening carefully. A few minutes later, he stopped his friend with his paw.
“I hear them.” He quickly narrated what he could sense.
Oy! Where’re you goin’?
Back to Whipfan . . . er . . . Whiptail!
Well, you don’t have the squirrel or the dagger. Yer comin’ wid us!
But we did! Then the liddle brat gits back, with another slave. They was magic!
There ain’t no such thing as magic, ‘cept for wot the bosses does.
It’s true! I see’d it too! That’s why Slinky ain’t gotta tail no more.
Okay, boys, I think they’re off their rockers, but just to be sure, we should take ‘em to the Boss . . .
At this point, Anghan and Kirren were galvanized into dashing through the trees, until they burst into a clearing. In the center stood a group of uniformed soldiers circled around the mercenaries from last night. One in the middle screamed, the one without a tail. “There they is!” He tried to make a run for it, but was poleaxed senseless by a weasel guard with a spear.
Anghan pointed at the mercenaries. “Give them to us, and we’ll let you go,” he said to the soldier who looked most important. The lizard shook his head.
“We has orders from His Mightiness, Tulrag Whiptail. Git outta here, if you wants to stay alive!” He brandished his spear at them both. Anghan flicked his paw, and images of Kirren popped up in a circle all around the vermin. The vermin leader gulped, and half of the mercenaries looked like they would just started crying.
“Let us have them.”
The lizard shook his head, sweating. “Get ‘em!” he yelled without thinking. He charged one of the fake Kirrens, and swung his spear clean through it. “Oy! It’s a trick! It’s them liddle prophets we were sent after! Don’t be scared like wee babes! Their ‘Lord’s power’ is only fake! Boss says!” The vermin ran straight at the real prophets.
Anghan stepped back in a fighting stance, but Kirren had already jumped into action. He had run straight into the middle of them, paws blazing. Yelling a war cry, the young squirrel leapt into the air, paws blasting fire almost ten feet out. He spun, twice, thrice, and it swirled around him in a ring. Finally, it exploded in a huge sphere of white fire, incinerating the vermin soldiers and mercenaries, but passing completely over Anghan. The evil creatures were reduced to nothing but lumps of ashes.
This boy amazes me again and again, Anghan thought. He ran over to the young squirrel to help him up in another few minutes. He’d fallen on the ground, retching after seeing the piles of vermin, paws clenched. His mentor lifted him, and carried him to a large tree. The boy was shivering.
Killed . . . dead . . . my fault . . . they’re gone . . . Kirren’s thoughts were a jumble of guilt, pity, and shock. He’d never killed anything, and never seen a deadbeast besides his mother.
Anghan quickly started a fire and got some dinner ready. He set up a tent with his cloak, then put his younger friend inside. Kirren quickly fell asleep. Anghan did not. The Sight sat by the fire, nibbling on a piece of bread from a small pack that they’d snatched as they stampeded out the door. Something had happened that day, but he didn’t know what it was. Something was wrong. It stayed at the edges of his mind, and he eventually dozed off.
He realized what it was in the morning.
“Kirren!”
The squirrel jerked awake. He’d been dreaming of something horrible. Something about prophets, and Anghan, and Slinky, and his father . . .
“Kirren!” Anghan’s furry head popped into the tent. “You’re awake! Good. I have something important to tell you.”
Kirren moaned internally. It hadn’t been a dream. He crawled out into the rising sunshine, and licked his lips, thirsty. “What is it?” he asked the wolf, stretching in the light and trying very hard not to think about the horrible piles of ash sitting thirty feet away.
The wolf quickly replied. “All night, I knew something was wrong. This morning, it hit me! That vermin leader said that they’d been sent after us! They know we’re here!” He immediately started taking down the “cloak tent” and swinging it around his shoulders. Kirren did the same.
“Where are we going to go?” Kirren asked.
“To my friends. Dango Freebeast and his army of rebels.” Anghan marched matter of factly into the woods, towards the south.
Kirren’s jaw dropped. “Dango Freebeast? The Dango Freebeast? The legendary resistance fighter?” He ran to catch up with the elder prophet. “I thought that he was a myth!”
“Oh, no, he’s quite real. I fished with him. Now, if I could only remember where his hideout is,” the wolf mused. He paused. “Oh yes, this way.” He pointed with his right paw, and they set off together into the woods. As they walked, Anghan remarked, “This will be a good two or three days good march.”
Yes it was! Kirren and Anghan walked, for almost four days, looking for the hideout of Dango Freebeast. During this time, they walked, slept, walked, talked, became better friends, walked, ate, avoided a few enemies, and walked.
One such day, Kirren felt like he would topple over from exhaustion, when Anghan said, “Aha! I recognize this place! The entrance is around here somewhere . . .” The wolf rummaged around in the foliage, while Kirren tuned in his hearing for any sign of life. And he heard it. Right behind where Anghan was standing, Kirren could hear light breathing, and more surrounding them.
“Anghan, watch . . .!” He couldn’t get farther before a net came down on top of the wolf and wood mice sprang out from the foliage on all sides. Kirren drew his dagger right away, checking his fire. He was attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible, but he didn’t think it would last for very long.
“Alright, lads, get ‘im!” one, the tallest (even though he was still smaller than Kirren), shouted. The mice got ready to spring on Kirren, too, but he brandished his dagger.
“Oho, look, boys, ‘e’s got a knife!” the big one laughed.
“That’s not all I’ve got,” Kirren said, and his right paw burst into flames. He knew it wouldn’t last long. The mice jumped back, the fire reflecting in their brown eyes. “Let my friend go.”
“We aren’t afraid of a little trick, see?” the brown mouse said, but his voice told otherwise. At this, Anghan burned through the ropes with a strong blast of blue fire. He instantly joined Kirren, side by side.
For about a full minute the two sides faced off, neither talking. Then Anghan started to laugh. Out loud. “Twitch Freebeast, you silly creature! It’s me, Anghan! Didn’t your father tell you about me? When I saw you last, you were only about eleven. ” He walked up and slapped the harvest mouse on the back.
“Yes, he did,” Twitch grinned, his face softening slightly, “But the only thing that I can completely recall is that he said that he was going to have rheumatism in his back from your rough greetings.” The mouse was about a third the size of the wolf, and Anghan swept him up onto his shoulder.
“Where’s the entrance! I need to see your old man!” Anghan roared. The mouse pointed, with some difficulty, at a tree.
“Hidden . . . in the roots! ‘Elp, mates!” the mouse squeaked, although he was laughing. Obviously, he seemed to think of Anghan as an uncle of some sort.
Anghan put down the mouse and moved over to roots. He glanced, nodded, and dived into a hole at the base of the tree. His furry silver ears popped up again. “Come on, Kirren!” his muffled voice sounded. “There’s a tunnel!” Anghan’s head disappeared again, and Kirren walked over to the tree. Sure enough, there was a tunnel, with some light seeping out. The squirrel hopped lightly inside and found himself next to the wolf. They both jogged down the path to the source of the light.
Kirren’s jaw dropped when he saw what laid at the end of the tunnel, just from the size of the place.
It was a huge underground cavern, with mice, hedgehogs, and squirrels all over the place. Little houses were built into the rock walls, and when the mice and other creatures saw Anghan, they all drew some kind of weapon. “Intruders!” one squeaked. Anghan held up his paw.
“Wait, mice. I need to see Dango Freebeast!” he shouted above the noise. They all quieted. Then, one very tall mouse, almost as tall as Kirren, stepped forward.
“Well, if it isn’t Anghan Silverfur! How are you, my old friend?” he said in a big voice. He stepped forward and gave Anghan a bear hug, which was returned in kind. The wolf laughed.
“I’m fine!” he exclaimed. “Seems that you’ve got quite the community here! I can’t remember it ever being this busy the last time that I was here, right before they caught me again.”
Dango stepped back. “How’d you get past the sentries, mate?” he asked suspiciously. “Twitch!” he called with a voice like thunder. “Were you wingriding again?”
Twitch came bounding through the tunnel. “You called, Da?” He was immediately snagged by the ear.
“How many times have I told you that you aren’t to slack on sentry duty? Now get back up there, and be vigilant!” After Dango had finished reprimanding his son, he let go of the young mouse’s ear and Twitch dashed up the tunnel. Dango turned to Anghan.
“Now, what brings you here, Anghan?” Dango asked, turning to the wolf. Anghan looked around to make sure that no one was near enough to hear him. He leaned in and whispered in Dango’s ear.
“We’ve been discovered.”
Dango was frantic. “Who? Us mice? The rebels? You?” Anghan shook his head.
“Kirren and I.”
Dango cocked his head. “Who?” Anghan pointed at Kirren.
“Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever.” Dango’s jaw dropped.
“Barkleaf?” He spun around. “Rebels! Show some respect! This is a Voice! The Voice!” he yelled. All of the mice dropped to one knee, one paw clutched to their chests in a sign of allegiance. Kirren heard a sharp intake of breath from Anghan.
“I forgot about that,” he muttered. He quickly swept Dango and Kirren into a small side cave. Once they were all inside, he shut the door.
“What? What is it?” Kirren asked, confused. Anghan sighed.
“Kirren, in all the confusion of the last few days, I completely forgot the reason why you’re with me, why you’re here. Dango, do you want to tell him?”
“No way, mate. This is yours,” Dango quickly replied. Anghan rolled his eyes.
“Okay. Kirren . . .”
*****
“I grew up a slave, from about five years old. My parents were both Sights (even though I didn’t figure it out until a year ago), and they only ever used their gifts to help the other slaves. For some reason, the Forever wanted them to stay put. But He never mentioned me to them.
“One night, while the guards had dozed off, I escaped through a gap in the pen of the slave compound. I was about sixteen. I ran into the woods, and got lost. Then, Dango here found me. He was about twenty at the time, and took me here. For a few days, we ate and drank and slept under the same roof . . . er, cave. One day, we decided to go fishing. We walked to a creek, sat down, and cast our poles in the water.
“Since I was a strong worker, they’d sent soldiers after me to find me. They did. They ambushed me when I had dozed off, but Dango had moved farther up the stream, so they didn’t find him.
“Before I left, something had happened. I prophesied.
“The prophecy spoke of you. It went something like this:
Born a Barkleaf, fire of white
Darkness will be overcome with light
Truth will foil the Whiptail’s wile
He will defend the Diamond Isle
Filled with power, strength in faith
He will defeat the Dark One’s wraith
Stronger than any other before
This is the holy word of the Lord
“Dango was there when I said these words, and told his tribe when I was taken. You are that prophet. You are to lead us in battle.
“Also, while I was a slave, I figured some things out, from my sight and visions, after I’d been called by the Forever. It was very disturbing. Do you know who the Shadow is?”
Kirren nodded. “The enemy of the Forever.”
“Right. He has his own ‘prophets’. They have their own abilities. I classified them into three categories, like Voices and Sights. First, the Hungers. These are the weakest. They drain energy, and can never get enough of helpless victims. Then, there are Lashes. They create torture weapons out of fire, and darkness. They’re stronger. They use greenish fire, and Hungers use purplish fire.
“Finally, there are Nightmares. Whiptail is one. They use creatures of the night and darkness to their advantage, and cause evil dreams and hallucinations. They are pure evil. Ever horrible, they are the strongest of the three.”
*****
They’d all sat down for this well sized narration, and Kirren stayed down. His jaw was slack, and his eyes bulged. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. This was even crazier than the idea that he was a prophet, which he had started to get used to.
“Well?” Dango said expectantly. Anghan looked at Kirren with a question in his eyes.
“Uh . . .” the squirrel stuttered. “I don’t really . . . don’t know what to say . . . I . . .”
“Don’t know what to say?!” Dango burst out. “What do you mean, nothing to say?”
“Take it easy, Dango,” Anghan said calmly, although sounding a little disappointed. “It’s a lot to take in. I mean, what would you say if I recited a prophecy about you?” They sat in silence for another minute, thinking that one over. “No, never mind, I take that back,” Anghan thought out loud.
Then Kirren spoke up. “If He says so, then it is to be. When do I start?” Anghan grinned.
Dango showed Kirren and Anghan to a room, which was really just a cave with two bunks, and a mousemaid brought them a small dinner. Then, they went to bed.
The next morning, Kirren woke up early, and Anghan woke up soon after. They walked quickly into the dining room, expecting to see lots of activity, but were surprised by the fact that one kitchen aid was the only one there. Anghan grumbled something about “lazybeasts” and “slackers”. They each grabbed some food for breakfast from the sleepy kitchen helper, then sat down at a table to wait.
Wait they did. They waited for another four hours before the mice started trickling into the hall. Finally, Dango walked in with Twitch and sat down next to Kirren and Anghan. The two glowered at him and instantly started berating him.
“What kind of rebel leader are you?!”
“Waking up this late, you should be surprised that it isn’t supper-time yet!”
“My grandmother woke up earlier than you!”
They continued like this for about thirty seconds, and Dango waited, staring them down like an eagle. They eventually noticed and faltered. “We stayed up all night planning,” he said calmly. “You have no right to talk like this.”
Kirren curled his tail in, an ancient form of squirrel embarrassment. “Oh,” was all he could manage. Anghan didn’t say anything. Dango grinned.
“Aw, mates, you couldn’t have known. Come on. I’m assuming that you’ve had breakfast . . . er, lunch. We have a war room, now, Anghan.” The mouse got up, and the two prophets followed him into a large hall on the western side of the cavern.
When they came to the end of the hall, Dango opened a huge door, his muscles straining. He and his companions walked in, and Kirren was astounded. There were suits ings of armor lining the walls, and huge war machines all over, being constructed. Weapons were on racks everywhere, and . . . “What are those?” Kirren asked a passing stable hand, pointing at stables full of birds, all different colors and sizes, and all suited in saddles and armor.
“They’s wingriding birds, sir! Jays and Lancewings, we calls ‘em,” came the immediate reply. Kirren thought about this for a moment, then followed his friends, but still not really paying attention to anything else that was going on. His head was spinning with ideas of actually flying, riding on a bird’s back.
Dango and Anghan had already reached a table with maps and plans spread all over it. They each took a chair and sat down, and gestured for Kirren to do the same. The tall squirrel grabbed a stool, and scooched up to the table.
“First things first. Anghan and Kirren, you two have been promoted to honorary commanders. You will each take charge of a wing going into the city.
“Second: there will be four groups attacking the city. First, a small group of soldiers will attack the front gates, which are on the east side, to distract the vermin from the other wings. Then, while this is going on, a group of jay wingriders will strike the northern wall, with crossbows and debris, to seem like the aerial strike. What will actually be happening is that a group of Lancewing wingriders will be in the city already, having come in over the southern walls. They’ll dismount, creep up to the western gate, and let the main force in, who will be attacking already and have joined with the distraction, to keep the guards there from looking back. Now, which force do you two want to lead?”
Before Dango had even finished his sentence, Kirren exclaimed, “Lancewings! I want to go with the Lancewings!” Anghan howled with laughter.
“So that’s what had you so captivated!” Dango said, a grin on his face. “Of course you’ll go with them. Anghan?”
The big wolf thought for a moment. “I guess . . . I’ll go with the distraction. More guards will come if there’s a prophet, and probably a few commanders, false servants of the Shadow,” he slowly said. Dango nodded.
“Makes sense. Just don’t get yourself killed. We only have four living prophets,” he said. This made Kirren perk up in curiosity, but he didn’t say anything.
Dango spoke again. “Kirren, if you’re flying with the wingriders, you’ll need training. Oy! Slash!” he called, beckoning the stable hand that Kirren had talked to before. “You’re to teach Commander Kirren here how to ride!”
The mouse nodded. “Yes, Chief.”
“Lancewing riding, mind you. I know that you ride a jay, but I also know that you know both riding styles.” Slash nodded, and grabbed Kirren’s shoulder, steering him towards a low building on the east side of the war cavern.
“Let’s get you a bird, commander.”
“A bird?” Kirren asked, puzzled.
“Of course. Lancewings are only loyal to one master, ever,” Slash grinned. He walked up to a guard sitting in front of a large door. “We’re here to get Commander Kirren a Lancewing.”
The guard, another mouse, scoffed. “That’s not Commander Kirren. Commander Kirren is supposed to be a super strong beast, like Anghan Silverfur over there,” he sneered. This is not a nice mouse, Kirren thought. He was getting the idea that not everybody here was like Dango and Twitch. He held out one of his paws. White fire sparked from it.
“This enough proof?” The guard shook his head.
“Firestarter.”
The fire curled out and swirled around the paw, enveloping it in a blaze, then exploding into the air. “How about this?!” Kirren said, exasperated by this rude creature. The guard scampered behind Slash, and nodded.
Anghan had seen it, and strode sternly over. “Kirren! Come here!” he said. The fire diminished, and Kirren walked over to the wolf. “I saw that. You never use your gifts for intimidation! Never!”
“But . . .” Kirren started, but Anghan cut him off.
“No! I’ve seen things like this in visions of the older days, and it never ended well! If it continues to happen, consequences of your own making will come. Thank the Forever that he is merciful and a loving creator.” Anghan walked off, shaking his head.
Kirren stood there for a moment, and a hot tear of shame rolled down his cheek when he realized what he’d done. He wiped it away, quickly apologized to the guard, who grunted in reply, and hustled inside the door. Kirren followed, with Slash behind him.
He forgot everything when he stepped inside.
There were birds of all shapes and colors, and sizes, from red to blue, and even a few gold and silver ones. The little ones hopped around and played with each other, while their mothers slept and the older ones chattered. Some were bigger, with long wings and sharp looking feathers, while some were smaller, with rounded feathers. Kirren thought that the latter were probably the jays. Saddles and reins lined the walls, with feeding troughs underneath them. “Wow,” Kirren breathed.
“Okay, Commander! Which one do you want?” Slash asked. “Be sure to pick a Lancewing, though. They’re the bigger ones.” Kirren nodded, and started to walk through the huge room.
Kirren saw some good looking ones, but they seemed to bully the other ones around. Some were weak and small, and some were very strange looking. Finally, he reached the back of the room. Standing there was a huge Lancewing, with gold feathers and flashes of silver on it’s wings. It didn’t seem to be unkind to the other birds around it, but they all seemed to respect it. “This one,” Kirren said immediately. Slash came over. Right away, he whistled.
“He’s a beauty, all right. There’s just one problem. Gold and silver are reserved for commanders . . .” Slash stopped. “You are a commander. Never mind.”
“How do you know he’s a male?” Kirren asked.
“For one thing, he has blue eyes. All the females have purple eyes,” Slash explained. “Also, he has claws on his talons. Now, let’s get you a saddle and some gear.” He walked over to the wall, grabbed a leather bag and a saddle. “Let’s try this one.”
After about fifteen minutes, they had a saddle, stirrups, reins, and some other odds and ends that fit Kirren and the bird. They walked up to a table where an old female hedgehog sat. “We need to buy this equipment, and we’re permanently checking out a Lancewing for Commander Kirren,” Slash told her. She nodded and gave him a price for the equipment. Slash tossed a few copper coins on the table, then led Kirren and the bird out of the hatch on the other side of the stable.
“Time for training.” They walked out of the hideout through the hallway and secret tunnel. The Lancewing hopped after Kirren, butting him and pecking him. “Ha! He likes you!” Slash laughed. After they had walked through the forest quietly for a while, Slash stopped them in a clearing. “Okay, first things first,” he began. “I’ll show you how to set up your gear on . . . what’s his name?” he asked inquisitively. Kirren thought, then his eyes caught the flashes of silver on the gold wings.
“Lightning,” he said decisively. Slash nodded in approval, then showed the prophet how to strap on the saddle, and harness the reins. After Kirren had gotten it down, Slash stood up.
“Okay, this is something you might want to see.” He stepped back, picked up a few stones, and whistled loudly. It was a three note song.
A red jay swooped through the trees, spinning and flipping. She screeched, and Slash started throwing stones at her! She evaded every one of them, and finally caught one, spinning and slingshotting it back at the mouse. He caught it in his left paw. The jay dived and landing with a fluttering of wings. “Kirren, meet Razor!” Slash said cheerfully.
Kirren reached out to stroke her wing, but got pecked on the head. The jay twittered as if laughing at him. Slash chuckled. “I think that she thinks you’re annoying me.” He punched Kirren playfully on the arm. Lighting jumped at him.
The gold Lancewing grabbed the mouse and hung him upside down on a nearby tree branch, chattering angrily. Kirren started laughing. “I think that Lightning thinks you’re annoying me! You look like a plum, ripe for picking!” Lightning looked at Kirren mischievously, and Kirren stopped laughing. The Lancewing pounced, and suddenly Kirren was next to Slash. Now Lighting laughed.
“Who’s a plum now?” Slash asked. He and Kirren both scrambled down, and dropped, dizzy. They both stumbled to a nearby stream and ducked their heads. “Whoo! That’s better,” Slash said, albeit a little woozily. He climbed on Razor and clipped himself in with a strap of leather. Kirren followed his lead.
“What now?” Kirren inquired.
“I want you to nudge Lighting’s left side, and hold on.” Kirren did so, and found himself hurtling up into the sky.
“Yahoo!” he yelled. Slash came up beside him.
“Now do it again!” he shouted. Kirren did, and leveled out. “Good!” he called. “Now right side!” Lightning dived, and then leveled out when Kirren repeated the action. “Great! The only thing is, if you’d open yer eyes, you’d see how awesome this is!”
Kirren had been closing his eyes. He slowly opened them, then gasped. He could see everything! He could see the City far off, and all of Evergreen, and even a bit of the Ratlands in the distance . . . maybe. “This is amazing!” he yelled to Slash, who grinned.
“Now, this is part of your training. I’m going to ask you to do something really stupid, alright?”
Kirren was a bit skeptical, but nodded.
“Alright! Lean forward, and put your head lightly on Lightning’s saddle!” Slash yelled over the sound of the wind. Kirren did. “Hold on as tight as you can, then flatten your tail hard!”
The squirrel hesitated, then did as Slash had told him. It was a good thing that he had a really good grip on the reins.
The bird flipped five times, then zigzagged back and forth a few times. Then, at top speed, he dove down to the trees and came back up, doing a barrel roll. Kirren would have screamed, but he was using all of his energy in staying on. Finally, ending with a complete drop and three spins, Lightning calmed down.
“What . . . was . . . that?!” Kirren gasped. “What did you make me do?”
Slash was giggling like a babe. “Evasive . . . maneuvers!” Kirren turned towards him and flew straight at him. Slash yelled in surprise and flew as fast as he could in the other direction. But the Lancewing was faster. Finally, Slash had to take drastic measures. “It’s been nice, Kirren!” he called. “But I have to get going now!” He whispered in Razor’s ear, unclipped himself, and the jay flipped around. When she came back up, Slash wasn’t in the saddle anymore!
Lightning flew right over the smaller bird, and Kirren turned his head to look for his mouse friend. He was plummeting towards the ground! Razor screeched, dived, and neatly caught him out of the air. “Come get me!” Slash called. Kirren shook his head, chuckling. He dived, came up next to the mouse, and called back to him.
“It’s about midday! We should get something to eat!” Slash bobbed his head in acknowledgement, and they angled their birds towards the hideout.
They got back, and took their birds to a different stable. Kirren dumped some food in a feeding trough, and he and Slash went to the dining room to join the others for lunch. They grabbed some sandwiches and salad. After they finished, Kirren retreated to his room for a while, to get a short rest. However, he was soon awakened by Slash coming to get him for more training. Before they left, Anghan walked in. “Slash,” he said. “I was wondering if you would help me get a jay.”
“Sure! I’ll do that tonight.”
Kirren was puzzled. “Why a jay?” he asked. “Lancewing are faster, and bigger.”
“Well, a jay is more maneuverable, and smaller means lighter,” Slash explained.
“Also,” Anghan added, “They come in different colors.” He grinned. “I’m kidding! I’m not interested in jays just for their color.” He laughed and walked out of the room.
“Okay, Kirren! Training, again. Let’s go pick up the birds,” Slash said, walking out of the room with the squirrel prophet on his heels.
After they’d gotten their birds again and saddled them, Slash led them into a new part of the cavern complex. He went through another hallway out of the war cave, then down two more, through a door, then came to a another huge double door. “Here we are!” he said. “Help me open this gate.” Kirren set his back to one of the two doors and pushed hard. It slowly creaked open.
The squirrel and his friend got it all the way open, and led Lightning and Razor in. For not the first time that week, Kirren gaped.
It was a huge, rocky, open space, with rings in the air, ramps, training equipment everywhere, a covered object in the corner, dummies, and all sorts of things for wingriding birds. “I’ve collected this stuff for years,” the mouse said. Slash hopped on Razor and flew her into the air, signaling for Kirren to follow, and the squirrel did. He followed Slash through rings, under ramps, in tunnels, and around various hanging obstacles, laughing his head off while he did. At one point, he figured out how to barrel roll through a ring, and impressed Slash. However, he was immediately outdone when Slash used the evasive maneuver trick to go through multiple training obstacles. Lastly, Slash taught his pupil how to train Lightning a call, with a few different notes.
That night, Slash helped Anghan to get a bird, and he joined them for a bit. For three straight days, they flew and trained, only taking breaks for food, sleep, and when they couldn’t feel their rears anymore. Finally, on the last night before the attack was to come, Kirren landed by the door. “This has been wonderful, Slash,” he said. “I hope that it will be of use tomorrow.” His mouse friend nodded gravely.
“It will. Now, let’s get some sleep. It will be a very, very busy day tomorrow.” They walked out, with their birds hopping behind them, and barred the door. After that, they each moved to their separate rooms. Kirren couldn’t stay still though. He ran through his door and jumped into his bunk like a sugar-happy cub.
“You seem energized!” Anghan chuckled. “You better put your Lancewing up, though.” He pointed a paw from his bed towards the door. Lightning was trying to fit through.
“Whoops,” Kirren muttered. He took Lightning’s halter and led him to the stables. He put him away, then went to bed himself. Suddenly, he felt exhausted.
He slept fitfully that night.
Kirren stood in the center of a grassy field. He smelled salt and heard distant waves, so he assumed that he was near the sea. He couldn’t turn to be sure, though. He could also hear wood being sawn, and hammers on nails: the signs of carpentry. Suddenly, the voice of Forever rang through his head. Kirren, my son. Do as I command.
Yes, Lord, the prophet mentally replied.
Whiptail must never reach the Diamond Isle. It is my holy land. It is only for my faithful servants, after my own heart. It is for fallen soldiers, those who are true to me. Whiptail shall be hindered.
Yes, Father.
Kirren woke up in a cold sweat. Something had woken him up, something that he’d heard. He tuned his hearing, but didn’t need to.
“Wait ‘til da Boss hears dat I kilt’ one o’ dem magic slaves. I’ll be promoted!” a raspy voice quietly snickered. Kirren sneaked to the door and he flung it wide open! The lights from the lamps in the hall shone fiercely on a hunched up rat, with a knife in one claw that was positioned over Anghan’s neck. It turned immediately, growling, but Kirren had already thrown a stream of fire towards it’s knife claw, yelling. Immediately, the rat fainted from pain and shock.
Anghan was up on his feet, albeit a bit groggy. Dango and Twitch were awakened by the commotion and had rushed from their bedroom next door. “Whadisit?” Dango said, speech slurred from sleepiness.
“I caught this vermin scum ready to kill Anghan, and blasted his knife and claw off. He must have followed us from the City and snuck past the sentries,” Kirren explained. He quickly retold what had happened to the group. Anghan nodded.
“If I know rats, he’ll have come alone, hoping to have all the glory for himself. Do you have anywhere to keep him?” Anghan asked, turning to Dango. The tall mouse nodded.
“We have a small dungeon area for prisoners. Twitch, you take Kirren there and help him carry the vermin. Tie him up first, though,” the rebel leader cautioned. He tossed Twitch a length of rope from a corner. Twitch quickly tied the rope around the rat’s paws in an intricate knot, then hefted him on his shoulder with Kirren’s help.
“Follow me,” he said. They walked down the hall to the main cavern, then the war room, then down another tunnel that led to a metal gate.
The rat started to wakefulness. Where was he? Why did his claw hurt so much? However, he was saved anymore wondering when Twitch dropped his head on the ground to bang on the gate, knocking him cleanly unconscious. “Open up! Twitch Freebeast and company!” the mouse yelled.
A rebel mouse guard yawned and came around a corner, jingling an iron key on a ring. He inserted the key into a lock, twisted it, and the gate swung open. “Whatcha doin’ up this late? Or rather, early?” the guard grumbled. Twitch was clearly too busy, so he walked off to his little stool in the corner. Maybe he would get a little more sleep.
Twitch and Kirren walked down the little hall to an empty cell . . . well, all of them were, as a matter of fact. They placed the rat inside, shut the cell door, bolted it from the outside, and walked back to the entrance gate. “Lock it again!” Twitch yelled, and the guard stumbled from his chair again, groaning.
The pair made their way back in general silence, as not to wake up the other sleeping beasts. When they reached Kirren’s bedroom, they found a surprise that wasn’t cheerful for either of them. “As long as we’re up, we might as well get ready,” Dango announced. He and Anghan were both fully dressed and ready to go. Kirren and Twitch moaned.
After they had gotten dressed, they all marched down the dining hall, waking up mice and other beasts as they went. All the rebels and their families gathered in the dining hall. Dango stepped up to a pedestal. “All right, men! After breakfast, those who are too old or too young will make their way to the siege caves! Understood?” A chorus of mumbled affirmation greeted his order. “Okay! Cooks! Breakfast!” he yelled.
After a very good breakfast of flapjacks and milk, Kirren watched as all the rebel families disappeared through a huge iron door that led down into the siege caves. He was impressed by how organized it was, as if they’d practiced over and over. Finally, the last mother and child squirrel disappeared through the door, and it was shut and bolted from the inside.
Slash found Kirren in the midst of the crowd. “Oy! Put these on!” he said, tossing the tall squirrel a bundle of clothes.
“What are they?” Kirren asked. He unrolled the leather bundle.
“Wingriding gear! This is a leather riding outfit, with a belt, water canteens, a weapon holster, and a few other little odds and ends. These boots are softer, with a clip loop, and they’re easier on your heels,” Slash explained. Kirren nodded, and was about to say something when Dango’s bellowing voice cut him off.
“Mice! Report to your individual troops!” Kirren suddenly found himself surrounded by wingriders, all dressed in the same gear as he had just been given. “Um . . . go get your birds, saddle them, and meet me in the flight hangar!” he ordered. He’d been briefed a little about this. The Lancewing riders saluted, and Slash with them.
“I’m with you, Commander!” he announced. Kirren rolled his eyes at the formality, and went to go get dressed.
Once he had finished getting his gear on in his room, he noticed that his shoulder had an epaulet on it, with a red blazon that depicted a pair of wings and a pawprint in between them. “It must mean that I'm a commander,” he said to himself. Then there was a knock on the door. Kirren finished buckling the supply belt, and called out, “Come in!” He sat on his bed to slip on his soft leather boots, and Anghan walked in.
The big wolf was dressed in full battle armor, with an iron breastplate and epaulets to match, with silvery shin guards and gauntlets. It was finished off with a steel helmet, that came down and covered his nose, and came around his cheekbones. “Kirren, there’s someone that I want you to meet,” he said. “She’s the regular wingrider captain, for raids, and she’ll be flying with you today. Meet Lilian Treeflyer.” The large wolf moved out of the doorway.
The most beautiful squirrelmaid that Kirren had ever seen walked through the doorway into the room. She was dressed in the regular wingriding uniform, but had a blue shoulder pad instead of red or plain leather. She had her hair in a braid, and an amber earring in her left ear. She also had reddish brown fur. “Hello! I’m Lilian!” she said cheerfully. Kirren couldn’t say anything.
Anghan hid a chuckle. “Kirren? Are you there?” he asked, waving his paw in front of the squirrel’s face. Kirren shook his head quickly, as if to rid himself of a stupor.
“Er . . . I’m Kirren Barkleaf! Mice to neet you . . . I mean, nice to meet you!” he stammered. “Uh . . .” He stood up. “I guess that I’m supposed to meet the other Lancewing riders in the flight hangar. I don’t know where that is.”
She grinned. “I do. Come on.” The pretty squirrelmaid led him out of his room and down another hallway. “So, you’re a prophet?” she asked.
“Yes, but . . . not a very good one,” Kirren replied sheepishly, recalling the incident with the guard. His tail curled in.
“Not from what I’ve heard. I was told that you blasted a score of vermin into oblivion, and even rescued a young slave!” she said. The prophet smiled, a little shyly, and his tail unfurled. “Where’s your father? We haven’t heard anything from Ferras Barkleaf in years!”
“He’s . . . dead.” Kirren rubbed his eye. “He died eight years ago, protecting my mother and I from Whiptail’s vermin.” Lilian nodded.
“My parents are dead, too. They died of a disease when I was fifteen. I’m eighteen now.”
“How’d you become a captain at such a young age?” he asked inquisitively. She shrugged, and he didn’t press her.
The pair were now outside the war stables. The hedgehog guarding them tugged his cap respectfully, and the two went inside. Slash was standing there, with Lightning and Razor. “Ready to go, Commander!” he said cheekily. Kirren grinned. Lilian had gone to get her own bird, so they were left standing alone.
“Ready!” Kirren replied. After about five minutes, Lilian walked in with a sky blue Lancewing, with silver facial feathers. Clearly a female.
“Kirren, this is Thunder, and . . .” Lilian gasped. She’d seen Lightning. “He’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, rushing over to look the bird over. “What’s his name?”
“Lightning,” Kirren replied. “Thunder looks good too!” Lilian was infatuated with his golden Lancewing.
Slash cleared his throat. “We should probably get going. The other riders are waiting.” Kirren nodded, tapped Lilian’s shoulder to get her attention, and they continued out through the hallways.
After a few more minutes, they arrived in the wingriding hangar. It was a large, circular cavern with all of the Lancewing riders lined up under a round hatch in the ceiling. “Wingriders! Mount!” Lilian yelled in a perfect parade ground voice. All of the wingriders, including Kirren and Lilian, jumped on their birds. “Wait!” she called. “When do we fly?” she asked Kirren in a whisper.
“In about thirty seconds,” he said, looking at the sun through a skylight.
“Okay.” Lilian put her paws to her mouth, and whistled loudly. In about five seconds, another whistle responded. The hatch started to open.
“Fly out, single file, then V formation!” Kirren ordered. He was a little more confident now. He held up his right paw, then nudged Lightning’s side, shooting up through the trapdoor, with Lilian, Slash, and all the other riders right behind him. When he was in the open air, past the trees, he let his paw drop, and they assembled into the previously ordered formation.
“North to the city!” Lilian shouted over the wind. Kirren pointed them north, following the jay riders that he saw in the distance, and they were off at a slower pace.
Kirren’s tail was sore, after about an hour of flying. His paws were numb, too. Finally, he could see the City. on the horizon, far larger than it had looked at the beginning of the venture. The young prophet tuned in his enhanced hearing, and even without it clearly heard the distraction and jay riders attacking the east and northern sides.
Lilian took the lead, and brought the company down low. Two more minutes and they swept in over the south wall for a landing.
All the wingriders quickly hid their birds in small abandoned houses, and looked around. Where are the slaves? Kirren thought. Lilian reached into a pouch at her belt.
“Here’s a map of the city,” she said, showing a piece of paper. “We should probably move around the outskirts, to avoid guards and such.” The captain pointed out a quick route. Kirren nodded.
“Let me check.” He moved his hearing ability along the map, and found nothing except a small disturbance near the gate. He immediately related this to the squirrelmaid. She nodded, signaled the other wingriders, and proceeded down a side alley.
Every corner or so, Kirren would listen again just to be sure. It went uneventfully for the first three fourths of the journey, but at one point, Kirren stopped the group. “Hang on.”
Git in there faster, slaves! If yew doesn’t, it’s the whip!
Please, sirs, we haven’t had any food in days!
Shut it! Kirren heard a whip crack.
That was it. Kirren leaped into action with Slash right behind him. “Come on!” he yelled. There were a group of slaves, and two taskmasters, and Kirren jumped at one of them. His paws blazed, and swirled around, smacking the whip in the lizard’s claw to the ground and incinerating its face. Slash’s two knives flashed, and the other collapsed. “You’re free,” the mouse said to the bunch of slaves. “Get into those buildings. You’ll be safer there.” They nodded hastily, and shuffled into the low sheds that Slash had pointed out.
“There’s the gate!” Kirren exclaimed. Lilian came up behind him.
“Scout! Archers!” she called quietly. One of the mice came up beside her, and five squirrel and mouse archers lined up in front of her. “Check it out.” The scout nodded, and ran on ahead. He held up his paw for all clear. Then, three things happened.
Ten or so of the twenty there rushed forward, ready to put their paws to the gates, including Slash.
All of a sudden, out of Forever knows where, a score of soldiers burst out and slaughtered three of them.
Kirren saw Slash’s horrified face one more time . . . before he was stabbed through the stomach and out the back by a vile rat with a spear. “No!” Kirren screamed. Slash looked at him with a painful expression, and fell over, the spear still sticking out of him. “Aargh!” Kirren yelled, and hit five vermin before they started running, and he ran after them, throwing a storm of fire in a rage. Finally, he ran back, weeping, and dropped to his friend’s side. “Slash!”
“Don’t . . . go . . .” Slash gasped. Blood was seeping out of the stained leather. “You’re my . . . best friend . . . tell Razor and my mother . . . goodbye . . .”
“No! Slash, I’m not going anywhere! You’ll get help . . .” Kirren’s voice faltered.
“Thank you . . . save Evergreen . . .” Slash’s last breath slipped away. Kirren sobbed.
“Kirren, we have to go,” Lilian said urgently, although tears were slipping down her face as well.
“I know. Just one more thing,” he said, in a halting voice. The squirrel put his paws to his mouth and whistled that high pitched whistle that Slash had that day in the woods.
Razor heard it, and zoomed out of her hiding place. Screeching, she flew over the city until she saw Kirren standing over Slash. Giving a mournful call, she dove and landed next to the body of her dead master. “Razor, I need you to take him home,” Kirren said, trying to keep the tears out of his voice. The bird nodded her understanding, and the squirrel gently lifted the body of his friend onto her saddle, strapping him in with the clip. She took off, and screeched one last time. Kirren turned. “For Slash!” he yelled.
“For Slash!” the wingriders echoed. They rushed at the gate, all shoving with their whole weight.
“Something’s blocking it!” Lilian exclaimed.
“Step back, everyone!” Kirren yelled. They did, and he spun, creating a huge river of fire and blowing the gates to smithereens. “Charge!”
They burst through the rubble on the other side that had been holding the gate closed. Kirren followed into the battle that was going on between the vermin soldiers and the rebels. However, as he ran, he tripped and found himself looking at the end of a long spear, held by a runty rat. The vermin thrust it down, but was blasted with a familiar flash of blue fire. “Anghan!” Kirren exclaimed. The silver wolf helped him up.
“Watch it, young ‘un!” he shouted above the noise. Kirren grinned.
“I need to get out of here!” he said, blowing up a small shack and destroying the vermin that were clustered around it. “I need --” He paused to punch a weasel in the face. “-- to stop Whiptail!” Anghan nodded, and the two of them started clearing a path to the gate, which rebels were already flowing through. Kirren stepped through and ran as hard as he could towards the large palace that Whiptail had built when the rat’s father had invaded Evergreen.
Kirren ran through the streets, not even checking with his hearing, because he could easily deal with any danger. All of the false prophets were most likely to be at the palace, or the front gate because of Anghan’s presence.
Finally, Kirren arrived at the metal gridded gate of the palace. He looked around for another place to enter, but there was none. Good thing he was a squirrel.
Swinging up and grabbing the first few bars, Kirren quickly ascended the gate and hopped over. He now stood in the center of a wide paved courtyard, with no guards in sight. “Good,” he said to himself. Now, though, he started to be more cautious. Following a sound that he’d heard, he quietly stalked down a dark hallway, that seemed empty. When it got to the point where he couldn’t see, he lit his paw to light the way.
He reached the end of the corridor and found a wooden door. He slowly creaked it open, and stepped inside, staying close to the wall.
Kirren appeared to be in some kind of large planning room, with pillars lining the outside and a large skylight that was covered by multiple slats of wood. In the center, a few rats and lizards clustered around a large table, with some kind of diagram on it. Three of them seemed normal, but the other two looked strange, with flat eyes and gravelly voices. Kirren got closer, hiding behind pillars until he was only about ten feet from them.
Suddenly, one of the strange creatures sniffed the air. “Someone’s here,” he muttered to his companion. He started to slowly shuffle to the pillar that Kirren was standing behind. The squirrel spun out of his hiding place, eyes blazing.
“I come in the name of Forever! Where is Whiptail?” he shouted. Three of the vermin ran. Two of them stayed, the strange ones. One of the two lizards held out his claw, and a purplish flame crawled out of it, building until it was two feet high. The other did the same, and flicked his other claw, but nothing happened. His eyes widened in surprise. The three began to circle.
“We can’t drain his energy!”
“He’s protected by the Accursed One,” his partner answered, terror creeping into his voice. Kirren held out both paws next to him, and they burst into white fire at these words, growing to twice the size of the Hunger’s. The evil false prophets started back. Then, one ran at Kirren.
The squirrel jumped back, blasting the lizard as he passed, and the Hunger fell to the ground, dead. But now the other jumped at Kirren’s unprotected back. His claw grew into a huge weapon, and he swung it at Kirren’s head.
Kirren felt it slow down, and rolled out of the way. He flicked his paw, and the lizard also collapsed, blasted straight to the face with a huge wave of pure, beautiful sound, magnified until it was too much for the brain to take. Kirren heard it too, but a whisper, like a voice that you would hear in a dream.
Now that that was taken care of, the squirrel ran down the hall that he’d seen the other vermin go down, thinking that they might lead him to Tulrag. He tuned in his hearing, and didn’t hear anything until he passed a stone wall section. He backpedalled until he reached it. Kirren put his ear to it, and heard someone wheezing and coughing.
Tulrag, sir, we have to leave! The Voice is in the building!
Don’t call me by my first name! (wheezing here) I have to get the map. Hee hee! I can’t believe that Ferras gave it to that old hermit!
Boss, he’s close! I can feel him!
Kirren felt along the stone wall, until he felt a rock give way. He placed both paws on it and pushed harder. It slid in, and the whole section flipped out to reveal a hidden tunnel. Kirren could hear the false prophets ahead running hard. He ran as fast as he could, until he was right around the corner from them. He peeked around, and saw a huge, old rat, with two smaller ones attending him. They were running towards an old chest, and the rat creaked it open, pulling out an old map.
Kirren jumped out and shouted, “Tulrag Whiptail, you shall not leave this place alive!” The rats turned, then the old one laughed a sloppy, ragged chortle.
“And who are you, young one, to order me around like you are my master?” he sneered.
“I am Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever!” Kirren answered. His paw blazed, and fire swirled around him, then streamed straight towards Whiptail.
The rat merely sidestepped it. He was fast for somebeast of his age. “Is that all you have?”
Kirren growled, and tried sound. Somehow, that didn’t work either. Whiptail merely flicked his paw. Then, he did something.
His claw did something that Kirren couldn’t see, and all of a sudden, two black objects came out of nowhere and rushed at Kirren. He couldn’t move out of the way in time, and they hit him head-on. He became so cold, and it was all a rush of noise, and screams, and cries of anguish. The struggling prophet heard his father, his mother, Slash, Anghan, Dango, and everyone else who he cared about. They were all crying out in pain. Kirren let out a sob.
A light appeared in the darkness. He reached out and grabbed onto it.
“Forever . . . Forever!” he cried. “Forever!” The darkness vanished, and Kirren felt himself being filled to the brim with light. Then it blasted out with enough force to destroy a huge building. Whiptail and his cronies were slammed against a wall, screeching.
“Get him!” Whiptail cried in fear. The two other rats shook their heads, until he threatened them with a claw filled with dark fire. They ran hesitatingly at Kirren, who built and huge fireball, as big as a house, and threw it at them, completely obliterating them.
“Whiptail! You were created from dust, and to dust you shall return!” Kirren shouted in a voice of thunder. The rat was running for his life, down hallways and secret passages, looking for a way out. Kirren ran after him, filled with power.
His footpaws pounded the ground as he chased after the rat. He listened for any secret passageways, and always found where the rat had gone. Finally, they both emerged out into the city, near the western gate. Kirren saw a few slaves peeking out of windows, but retreating immediately when they saw the rat. He was fast for a rat of his age.
Kirren’s claws scraped the cobblestones as they rushed towards a small door in the wall ahead. Kirren’s lungs were screaming, but he kept at it, doggedly pursuing the evil false prophet. Whiptail slammed into the door.
“Guards!” he screamed. “Help me!” But there weren’t any guards. His claws fumbled with the latch, and he got it open just in time to avoid Kirren’s blast of hot white fire. He shut it in the squirrel’s face, and kept running through the forest.
The young prophet stopped, panting hard. He blasted the door open, and it fell to little pieces, and he ran after Whiptail through the thick trees. Kirren could barely see him through the trees, but could hear enough to know that the rat was faltering. The squirrel sped up his pace and kept going.
Back at the battle at the gate, Lilian saw Kirren heading through the forest. She fought her way to Anghan, who almost hit her, but stopped when he saw who it was. His armor was scarred in a bunch of different places. “What are you doing?” he shouted over the clash of metal on metal. “I could have killed you!”
“Kirren’s chasing Tulrag into the woods! He’s going to hurt himself!” she yelled back, parrying a spear with her sword and stabbing the rat that held it.
“What?! He’s crazy!” Anghan yelled. He fought his way to the edge of the fighting, then broke off into the woods, chasing after where Lilian had pointed. The squirrelmaid leapt through, slashing with her sword, and joined him, climbing into a tree and hopping from branch to branch and easily outpacing the big wolf.
Kirren was still running, and he could hear Anghan and Lilian a long way behind him. He ran even faster at this, although his lungs were burning and his strength was failing. His footpaws cracked twigs and smashed old leaves into the forest floor.
Whiptail was running onto a beach now, and Kirren could smell salt. “No!” he said under his breath. He was running so close to the Nightmare now that he could almost touch the rat. “No!” There was a huge ship sitting in a sandy bay. The rat seemed to get faster, or maybe Kirren was getting slower.
Kirren’s footpaws kicked up sand like a small storm, but Whiptail grabbed a rope and swung himself onto the deck. “Stop!” Kirren yelled. He dove into the water, but the ship was already moving. That burst of strength was gone now. Even so, the determined prophet swam even harder, if not faster.
The ship outpaced him easily, though, and he was left treading water with the last of his energy. His soaked fur and clothes were pulling him down, and he was sixty feet from the shore. Not a long distance, but it could have been a mile to the young, exhausted squirrel.
“Kirren!” Anghan and Lilian yelled from the beach where they stood. Anghan dove into the water and started swimming towards him, but it was too late. Something, maybe a fish and maybe fatigue, was pulling Kirren under.
Forever . . . He slowly sank to the bottom.
“Kirren!” Lilian screamed. She couldn’t see him anywhere. He’d just disappeared. Anghan was slapping the water hard with his footpaws, and his fur was soaked. He’d discarded his cloak and armor on the shore.
Under the water, Kirren’s only sadness was that he’d failed. Forever. His eyes slowly shut.
Anghan dove under the water.
Please.
Chronicle Two: Diamond
Kirren woke to the feeling of throbbing pressure on his chest. He opened his eyes and found Anghan pumping on his torso while water spewed out from between his lips. He coughed and sat up. Anghan mopped his brow, and gave Kirren a brotherly hug. “We thought we’d lost you,” he said, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.
“What happened?” Kirren asked groggily.
Lilian was standing behind Anghan, with relief clearly visible in her eyes and residual tears remaining in her fur. “I saw you running after Whiptail while we were fighting near the gate. I fought my way to Anghan, told him, and we broke free of the vermin and chased after you and Tulrag. We got to the shore just in time to see you swimming after the ship. Anghan dove into the water and hauled you onto the shore. You almost drowned,” she explained, her voice almost breaking. “I couldn’t lose you. After I saw you doing so much for the Forever and good, I couldn’t lose you without getting to know you first.”
Kirren remembered. “Whiptail! We have to stop him!” he burst out. He tried to get up, but sank down again. He must have seriously strained his right footpaw, because he couldn’t stand on it. “Aah!” he breathed. It hurt. “How far are we from the hideout?”
Anghan sighed. “We’re at least a two day’s journey away. We have no idea how you and Whiptail ran this far nonstop (Lilian and I had to fly), and I can see it took a toll on you. The main force had to get to the City in the first place by using pack birds, since it would take too long to walk.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe we could call our birds.” Lilian stood up.
“That’s easy! They have the best hearing out of anybeast in the entire world!” she exclaimed. She whistled a five note tune out into the woods, and Anghan and Kirren each whistled a four note tune. Then they sat down to wait.
After about an hour and a half or so of resting and waiting, Kirren heard two screeches coming over the treetops. Lightning and Lilian’s bird soared over the branches, swooping in towards them. “Look!” Kirren called to the others, who were talking. “It’s Thunder and Lightning!” He paused to think about what he had just said. “Thunder and Lightning. That’s funny,” he said to himself. Lilian and Anghan stood up.
“Where’s mine?” Anghan wondered out loud.
“Lancewings are faster than jays,” Lilian said. “Is he coming, Kirren?” The other squirrel nodded. He could hear the jay flapping hard to keep up. Lightning and Thunder landed, and Kirren limped to his bird.
“Good boy,” he said. Lightning pecked him lightly on the head. He clambered into the saddle, gritting his teeth as he felt a spasm of pain in his footpaw. His bird helped him up. Lilian hopped on her’s, and Anghan watched his bird fly over, with it’s tongue hanging out in the wind. It landed, stumbled a few times, then dropped, tired out.
Anghan rushed over to it. “We should let him rest,” he said. “He needs some water.” The silver wolf grabbed his canteen and poured some liquid in the jay’s mouth. The jay swallowed it, and stood shakily on it’s feet. Then it butted Anghan for making it come all the way here.
They waited for a few more minutes, and then took off into the sky. Lightning and Thunder slowed down compassionately for the jay this time. As they flew, Kirren looked all over the land. It seemed so small from up here. He even thought that he could see Icelen, but realized that it was just a heat mirage.
Finally, when Kirren’s tail was sore and somewhat asleep, they saw a certain tree that Lilian said was near the hideout. Lilian and Kirren dived below the treetops, and Anghan stayed just above them, having not had as much experience as his younger friend.
They landed in a clearing by the entrance, and led their birds through the tunnel. For Lightning it was a bit of a squeeze, but they got him through like last time. Kirren leaned on Anghan for support while they made their way down the tunnel. When they emerged into the cavern, they saw Twitch and some others herding the wives and children out of the siege caves. Lilian walked up behind him. “Where’s your da’?” she asked. He jumped and turned, startled. The mouse pointed towards the dining hall.
Anghan and Kirren walked to the big wooden door and opened it. Dango was in the middle of the hall, directing his mice. They were corralling vermin soldiers into large, solitary caves. The big mouse spotted Anghan and Kirren and rushed over. “Kirren! Hero of the day!” His shouting grabbed the attention of the mice, and everyone cheered. Kirren gave a tired smile, then stumbled. “Kirren! Are you all right?” Dango asked.
“I’m fine, it’s just that . . . ooh . . .” Kirren stopped. Suddenly, everything seemed blurry. His ears rang, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
He woke up again with a splitting headache and a pained stomach. “My head . . .” he groaned. He opened his eyes to Lilian’s face. She looked worried. When she saw that he was up, she gave a sigh of relief.
“I just dropped in to see if you were okay,” she said. “You slept for two days!” He sat up slowly, his head pounding. “That run must have taken a serious toll on you.”
“Two days?” Kirren asked. “I can’t believe that!” He tried to get out of bed, but fell back, his footpaw killing him. Lilian jumped up and grabbed something that had been leaning against the wall.
“A carpenter hedgehog made this crutch for you,” she said, handing him the pole with a crossbar at the top. “He heard that you injured your footpaw.” Kirren stood on his left paw and leaned on the crutch.
“That was kind of him.” He practiced hopping around a few times, and when he knew that he wouldn’t fall over, vaulted out the door. “You hungry?” he asked. She nodded. The pretty squirrelmaid followed, walking next to him. “What time is it?”
“Around noon,” Lilian replied. “Lunchtime!” She and Kirren made their way quickly to the dining hall at the thought of food. When they got there, there were former rebels everywhere, getting as much food as they could heap on their plates. Dango was with them, and spotted Kirren.
“Kirren! Finally awake, eh?” he bellowed across the room. Kirren grinned and joined the line at a long table piled with food. The big mouse shuffled through the other mice towards them. Anghan was nearby, too, and saw Kirren.
After they’d all gotten food, they sat down at another table at the far side of the room with a bunch of other important looking mice. “Okay, Kirren,” Anghan started. “I think that it’s time to tell Dango what the importance of Whiptail leaving was.” Kirren nodded, and began to talk.
He explained the entire thing, from when they found the map, to his dreams, to the ship’s significance. He also told all the mice that he’d been ordered by the Forever to go after Whiptail. They all nodded slowly, and Dango slammed his paw down on the table. “Well, we’ve got to go after him, then!”
“How?” one of the mice asked. “We have no ship!”
“But we do know someone who does,” another said slowly.
“You don’t mean . . .”
“Yes, yes he does mean. That otter used to be a pirate, I’ll admit, but he hates Whiptail as much as us,” Dango agreed. “We might as well. He has the fastest ship on the ocean, and will easily catch Whiptail, as long as we don’t waste any time.” Most of the mice nodded in agreement. One or two still looked a little unsure, though.
“We need someone fast to get there, though,” Anghan said. “The bay is almost a day’s ride away, since it’s hard to find.” One of the mice jumped up.
“I’ll go!”
Dango immediately shook his head. “We can’t afford to lose any prophets, Sarcen. You and Dilann are our only Helpers,” he said. Kirren looked at Anghan with a question in his eyes.
Anghan leaned over to whisper. “Helpers are a different kind of prophet. They use fire, get a vision or two, and are protected by the Forever, but I think that that’s about it,” he explained. “This is actually the first time that I’ve seen one in real life.” Kirren nodded in understanding, and turned back to the conversation.
“Nathan, you go. Take your Lancewing and supplies for a day of travel. When you get an answer, come back and tell us if Gale Strykwave will take us on his ship,” Dango said. A tough looking squirrel stood, nodded, and took off towards the war room. All of the mice and beasts stood and made as if to go. Dango walked over to Kirren. “Kirren, lad, I need you to come with me.” His face was dark and serious. Kirren nodded, stood, and followed him down another hallway near the exit.
They went down at least four flights of stairs before Dango stopped at a small door. Kirren felt claustrophobic. This was the farthest underground that he’d ever been. Dango opened the door and stepped inside. Kirren followed, and saw a large box in the center of a small dirt room, with a female mouse standing by it, weeping. A younger mouse stood over her and comforted her. Dango looked sadly at Kirren. “We thought that you should have one more chance to say goodbye to your friend before we give him to Forever.” Kirren realized at once what was in the box . . . no, the coffin.
His face immediately began to stream with tears, and he tried to wipe them away. “Are you . . . are you Slash’s mother?” he asked through sobs. The mousemaid nodded. “He said . . . to tell you goodbye.” The two didn’t know each other, but the fact that they had both lost someone special to them made them want to embrace and comfort each other.
They wept for a long time. When they finally calmed down enough, the younger mouse grabbed a large shovel, and he and Dango lifted the coffin into a large hole in the packed dirt floor. Then he heaved a pile of dirt that was already there into the hole. Dango led them all out, shut the door, and sealed it with a large seal and some melted wax on a table by the door. Then he carved out Slash’s name in the wax, and they all walked back up the stairs in a general sense of peace, but sadness.
Kirren managed to keep his composure until he reached his room. Anghan wasn’t there, and nobody really seemed to be about. The young prophet fell on his bed, sobbing. He didn’t understand why his beloved Creator would have let something like this happen.
It hit him like a thunderbolt. The Forever hadn’t let it go unchallenged. Slash’s killer had been killed, and Slash was home with his creator now. Kirren had a reason to weep, but it wasn’t what he’d initially thought it was. He was grief-stricken because his friend was no longer here to brighten the lives of those around him.
Kirren slowly calmed down, and felt a sense of peace at the thought of his friend being with Forever. He got up and decided to go and read a book that he had found on the floor of a random cavern. He walked down the hall to the dining cavern. There really wasn’t anyone there, either. All the rebels were moving to the City. He walked to the storerooms and grabbed some bread and cheese to snack on.
He opened the book to the first page, and was transfixed by a beautiful picture. It depicted a huge storm at sea with a ship tossing and turning in the midst of it. In the center of the ship, a strong looking mouse stood, with a little babe in his arms. What struck Kirren about it was the look of peace on the child’s face. She had total faith in the strength of her father.
Kirren heard someone come up next to him, and he shut the book. He turned and found himself facing Lilian, who sat down next to him. “Hi,” he said. She looked sadly at him.
“I’m sorry about Slash. I didn’t really know him, but he seemed like a good mouse,” she said. Kirren nodded.
“He’s with his creator now,” Kirren said. “He lived a good, if short, life. I wish that I’d done better. If I’d heard them, I could have saved him . . .”
“What’s done is done,” she interrupted. “You couldn’t have done better than you did.” She smiled a bit. “In my personal opinion, you did wonderfully.” Her tail brushed Kirren’s, and she kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her, a little startled, then grinned like an idiot.
“You want to see something cool?” he asked. She smiled and nodded. He grabbed her paw, pulled her up, and she followed him to the stables. “Grab your bird and meet me back here,” he said. The squirrelmaid nodded, and they both went off to saddle their birds.
Once they had Lightning and Thunder, Kirren led Lilian down some halls and through some doorways until they reached the large training cavern. The strong young squirrel and his Lancewing heaved open the door, then Lilian stepped inside. She gasped. “Like it?” Kirren asked, laughing. “Slash built it. I don’t think he showed anyone but me.”
“This is amazing!” she exclaimed. “It’s for wingriders?” Kirren nodded. Lilian needed no invitation. She jumped on Thunder without even bothering to clip in, then took off, immediately having her bird flip around a hoop three times. Kirren was a little more cautious, and clipped himself in, taking off a bit more slowly. He dived through a hoop, then dove towards the ground and flew in and up a ramp. He quickly mounted the small crossbow and shot at three targets, hitting each one in the center.
Lilian was not going to be outdone. She stood up in her saddle, directed Thunder towards a hoop, then jumped, flipping and twisting straight through it. Thunder dived, and Lilian went after her. The agile squirrelmaid flipped one more time, then landed perfectly in the saddle. Kirren watched with eyes wide open and jaw slack as she pulled Thunder out of the dive and landed perfectly hopping out of the saddle. He dove down, pulled up early, and lowered Lightning.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. She pointed.
“I want to see what that is!” she said. Lilian was pointing towards a large object, covered by canvas. She and Kirren walked over. The prophet yanked the cover off.
It was a catapult. A small catapult, complete with levers and ammo (pillows and dummies) stood before them. Lilian squealed with excitement. “I’ve never seen something like this when training!” she exclaimed. She immediately figured out how it worked and loaded it with enthusiasm. Kirren looked on in slight amusement.
“You want to fly first?” he asked, but she’d already taken off. “Okay . . .” Kirren waited until she was in the air, then fired off the first shot, a lizard shaped dummy. Lilian flipped and dodged it easily.
“Come on, that was too easy!” she yelled down. Kirren shoved three or four pillows in the bowl, and fired them off at the same time. Lilian flipped and dodged again, then the last one hit her square in the mouth. She tossed it back. “That’s more like it!”
Kirren commenced to fire five, six, seven at a time, until he was out of ammo. He waved Lilian down, and he took a turn. He got hit at least three times before it ended. Lilian had only gotten hit once. Suddenly, as he was coming down for a landing, they hear loud noises outside. Kirren heaved the door open again, and they peeked out.
The mouse, Nathan, was running down the hallway at full speed, his bag flying behind him. He looked like he’d flown all day, which he probably had. Kirren and Lilian immediately directed their birds after him and galloped down the cavern after him.
They followed him to the war cavern, where Dango and Anghan were talking with a few of the other rebel leaders. He burst in and stopped, panting. Lilian and Kirren pulled up their birds behind him and dismounted. “What is it, lad?” Dango asked, looking concerned. Nathan held up a paw, still panting.
Finally, he spoke. “Gale’s willing to take no more than a score of us, and he’s leaving tomorrow morning, with or without us, for a large smuggling deal in Icelen. Shifty blighter,” he finished in a mutter. Dango jumped up.
“Then we’d better get going!” He started giving orders. “Anghan, have the cooks prepare food for a score of rebels for at least a week.” The wolf nodded and ran to the kitchens. “Lilian, get twenty packs ready with bedrolls and clothes.” Lilian dashed off to the mousemaids’ area. “Kirren, you are to choose twenty rebels to go with us, including me.” Kirren nodded, and he ran off to gather the ones he chose.
Soon, Lilian and Anghan were done and had all the supplies near the exit. Kirren finished right after them. He’d picked himself, Dango, Anghan, Lilian, and some mice and two or three squirrels who looked like good fighters. Kirren had also chosen the two Helpers. One was Sarcen, the headstrong mouse, and the other was Dilann, a powerful squirrel with black fur. He brought them all to the entrance of the cavern, and lined them up each by a canvas pack. Dango nodded. “You chose the right ones to bring.”
Dango led them all out of the cavern complex into the sunlight. Kirren blinked in the bright rays. Then the prophet lined up all the mice and squirrels with their packs in front of him. “Alright, warriors!” Dango yelled, and Kirren joined those in line. “Ready to move out?” This was met by a chorus of affirmation. “Prophets, step forward.” Kirren, Sarcen, Anghan, and Dilann joined him. “I want you four to go ahead and hold the ship there for us. He might try to get away without us.”
“But that would be forcing a goodbeast to do something against their will!” Kirren protested. Anghan and Dilann agreed immediately. All of a sudden, Kirren heard a voice.
Kirren, tell them to go. He won’t leave with you there, it said. Kirren nodded.
“By the order of the Forever, we will go,” he interrupted. They stopped arguing at this sudden change. “We won’t use force.” Anghan nodded.
“Are we taking the birds, or leaving them behind?” Sarcen asked.
“Leaving them,” Dango replied. The mouse grumbled, but he nodded.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Anghan ordered. Leaving behind their packs, Kirren and the rest followed after him at a brisk pace through the forest. After a while, when Kirren heard the other group speed up, Anghan and Sarcen pounded the ground hard in a double time pace while Dilann and Kirren took to the trees, leaping from branch to branch.
Finally, after four straight hours of nonstop motion, Anghan called for a break for lunch. They had a lot of stamina. It occurred to him that they were probably the fastest running species in the known world: squirrels, wolves, and mice, and could keep running for a long time if needed. If it was a day’s flight, it must be a day’s run, he reasoned with himself. He and Sarcen were drenched with sweat -- Kirren and Dilann were drowning in it. Leaping from branch to branch, with a large tail like theirs, did not feel good after four hours.
After a quick nap and lunch of bread and cheese, they started again, breathing hard after about fifteen minutes. Kirren and Dilann abandoned the branches, even though it was faster up there. The pair of squirrels dropped to the ground and continued running with the others. Sweat dripped into their eyes, and their footpaws stumbled. Anghan immediately called for a halt. “Friends, we’re pushing too hard. Let’s wait an hour before we start again,” he said. The two squirrels needed no further invitation. They collapsed on a patch of grass, gulping water and air.
Anghan let them rest for another hour and a half, contradictory to what he’d said. He woke them at the end of this period. Kirren stretched, yawned, and jumped up. Dilann and Sarcen followed, and they all got ready to run again. The small pack that Anghan had been carrying with their meals was transferred to Sarcen, and they took off at a blazing pace again.
After a few more hours of running, Anghan stopped them. “I smell salt. We might be about another hour’s run from the cove. We’re obviously still a good hard jog from where Dango and the others are, so we’ll take a fifteen minute rest. Then I want you, Dilann, and you, Kirren, to go ahead of us in the trees. You can obviously go faster up there,” he said. The pair of squirrels nodded as they guzzled water. “Sarcen and I will keep running.”
After the quarter hour, Kirren and Dilann stretched as to not strain or cramp their muscles as they raced through the treetops. Anghan and Sarcen started running again, and the squirrels leaped into the limbs of the large oaks and beeches. Hopping and flinging themselves from branch to branch, they quickly overtook the others and passed them. At this pace, they’d get to the cove twice as fast as the wolf and the mouse.
And they did. Anghan had told Kirren where it was, during their break, and he directed Dilann there with ease. They dropped to the sand and gravel of a small beach half an hour later. Panting with exertion, Kirren and Dilann looked around wearily for Strykwave’s ship. They couldn’t see it!
Look in the cave. To the right of the beach. Kirren got up and slowly stumbled to the rightmost end of the cove, and sure enough, there was a large cave, big enough to admit a large ship like what Kirren expected Gale captained. Dilann had followed him, and they hopped onto a small sandbar that ran into the tunnel.
They walked inside, their legs slowly gaining strength again. The water soothed their aching paws, and Kirren began to run again through the shallow water. Then they hit the end of the tunnel.
A big ship sat in the water, with otters scurrying all over it. They made the ropes tighter, and set the oars in the giant oarlocks. “Ahoy!” Kirren yelled. “Gale Strykwave! Come down!”
A huge tattooed otter stood up, peering into the gloom of the cave. He grabbed a torch from a bracket, and leaped down from the helm, landing in a perfect bent stance. He straightened, and walked through the shallow water on the side of the cave towards the direction he’d heard the voice come from. “Ahoy!” he called back. “Who’s there?”
“Messengers from Dango Freebeast!”
Gale waded through the water until he stood in front of Kirren and Dilann. “Who does he send this time?” The otter held up his torch until he could see the two squirrels clearly.
“I am Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever. This is another prophet, Dilann the Helper. We’ve come to make sure that you don’t leave without the rest,” Kirren said. Gale grinned, baring his sharp fangs.
“A Barkleaf, you say?” he asked. “Son of Ferras?” Kirren nodded. “Well, then, I’ll wait as long as I need to for a Barkleaf!” He laughed. “I knew your father well. How is he?”
“He’s been dead for eight years,” Kirren responded sadly.
“Oh . . . I’m sorry, lad,” Gale said. “He was a good prophet. Although I never saw him do anything with those gifts except stop me and my pirates. Of course, I haven’t been a pirate for years, and I’ve changed plenty.”
“It’s fine. Two more prophets and four less than a score are still coming. The prophets should be here in about thirty minutes, and the rest should be here late tonight.” Gale nodded. The big otter climbed back aboard, then invited them on the ship. Kirren followed Dilann onto the deck, and Gale directed the ship out of the cave.
“So, you’re the one who chased off Whiptail? Well done!” Gale praised Kirren. “Now we have to catch him, and finish it?”
“It wasn’t really me, it was the Forever,” Kirren said. Gale grunted. He didn’t completely believe there was a Forever.
Suddenly, Kirren heard a shout from the beach. He and Gale ran to the side. Anghan and Sarcen were on the shoreline, calling to the ship. “Ahoy! Gale Strykwave!” The big wolf waved. Gale dashed to the helm and pointed the ship towards the cove. He beached it, barely, and hopped down to meet the pair. They were tired. Kirren followed to see how his friends were.
“Are these the others?” Gale asked Kirren. The squirrel nodded.
“This is Sarcen the Helper, and Anghan Silverfur,” he said. Sarcen and Anghan shook paws with Gale.
“It’s a gathering of prophets!” Gale laughed. “This feels official!” He climbed back on board his ship with a rope ladder, followed by Kirren and Dilann. Sarcen and Anghan hesitated, then climbed up after them.
“Dango and the rest are probably only three hours behind us,” Sarcen said, still a bit wary of Gale. The big otter paid no attention to the mouse’s tone of voice and nodded.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait, then, mates!” He sat down and closed his eyes while his otters ran around the ship, keeping everything shipshape.
They waited for another three and a quarter hours. As they did, Kirren and Anghan filled Gale in on the whole scenario, but leaving out the parts about the map and the Diamond Isle. The otter was very interested in the story, and laughed and cried at just the right places, although the latter wasn’t convincing from a huge tattooed creature like Gale.
Finally, Anghan’s keen eyes picked out Dango at the head of his rebels about a mile away, heading through the clearest part of the forest towards the ship. He alerted the others, and Gale’s otters set up a gangway to let the mice and squirrels on board.
The company emerged from the forest at a steady jog, huffing and puffing as they strained to maintain their pace. Dango was at their head. They slowed down when their feet hit the soft sand. Still, they picked their footpaws up and put them down, not stopping until they reached the gangway. Dango climbed up and planted himself down in front of Gale. “Well, you goin’?” he asked. The otter roared with laughter.
“Well, of course, mousey! We’ll be goin’ shortly! We were gonna go tomorrow, but you’re here already, so we’ll leave tonight.” The otter started yelling orders, while Dango looked at Kirren, scowling.
“Who’s he calling mousey?” Kirren just chuckled. Dango sat down in a huff, and proceeded to look like a babe who’s just been sent to bed.
Anghan walked up to Gale to ask a few questions. “Where are we to sleep?” he inquired.
“You brought bedrolls, right? We have a large cargo hold, and it’s currently empty, until we catch that rat and I get to Icelen to pick up my . . . er, goods. You can sleep down there,” he told the wolf. Anghan nodded, and asked one more question.
“Will we be able to catch up with Whiptail?”
Gale turned a steely gaze on Anghan.
“There’s not a single ship on the seas that can outrun the Whitewake, not one.” He turned back to the rudder, and Anghan walked away, sufficiently chastened.
Finally, everything was ready: supplies, ropes, sails, equipment and everything else. The otter sailors jumped down, set their backs against the hull of the ship, and heaved with all their might (Gale had beached the ship to wait). The ship slowly sank back into the water, and they climbed back on board by the rope ladder. Gale walked down to the deck and made his way over to Dango. “By the way, where exactly are we goin’?” he asked.
“Uh . . . Hang on.” Dango stood up and wobbled across the moving deck to where Anghan and Kirren were talking. “Strykwave wants to know where we’re going,” he said.
“We’ll just give him the directions, and send him to the first island,” Anghan said. Dango looked at Kirren, but the squirrel shook his head.
“I’m no good with directions.” Dango sighed. “Anghan can do it,” Kirren added. The wolf shrugged, and stumbled a bit up to the helm. He still hadn’t quite found his sea legs. However, he comforted himself with the thought that Dango probably never would. The mouse had just somersaulted down the deck at just a slight swell.
Anghan climbed the stairs with a bit of difficulty, and walked over to Dango. “So, Dango told me to give you the directions to our first stop. We have three of them. Hopefully two,” he added to himself. He quickly explained their route, and Gale gave him a map to show it. Anghan traced the path, and his claw landed on an empty spot.
“There’s nothing there,” Gale said. “I’ve never been that far, though. Nobody has. There’s things out there, like monster storms and jungle creatures.”
“Trust me. We’ll get there, and there is an island,” Anghan said. Gale sighed, and pointed the ship’s nose northwest. Anghan clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, mate. We won’t die.” I hope, he added to himself. He’d heard the stories about the far west seas as well. Monsters, and hurricanes, waves as big as towers.
The big wolf shivered.
It had been four days, and they hadn’t sighted land yet. Kirren sat in the crow’s nest, thinking. He’d come up there many times in the past couple days. He found the swaying a lot like that of the top of a tree, and it was very relaxing.
Anghan said that they should arrive at the first island at about noon. Well, it had passed noon, and Kirren still didn’t see anything. He peeked up over the edge of the crow’s nest just to make sure, but sank back down with a sigh. Kirren turned back to what he’d been doing before he looked for land.
Down in the cargo hold, he’d found some interesting things. Mostly some random imports from Icelen and northern Evergreen, but also some books. He had one now, but it was in the writing of the eastern islands, off the coast. He’d been puzzling over it for a long time. Kirren wasn’t going to learn Eastern Speech anytime soon. The only creatures who were fluent were the red pandas and mongoose who lived there, and a few otters. Maybe Gale would understand it. Kirren grabbed the book, tucked it in his sea boot, and hopped through the opening in the floor. Down he fell, down, until his footpaws kicked into action.
Kirren slammed his left footpaw into a rope on the net leading up to the rigging, slowing down his progress. He did the same thing with his right, flipped twice down the rigging, and landed safely on the deck right side up. One of the mice nearby gulped. “That kid’s crazy,” he said to his friend by him. The other mouse shrugged.
“He might be crazy, but the One he serves isn’t. If he wants to use crazybeasts, then he can.” They both looked at Kirren again, shrugged, and turned back to their card game.
The tall squirrel ran up to the helm, and made his way towards Gale. “Gale, could you help me?” The big otter kept his eyes ahead. He nodded. “Do any of your otters know Eastern Speech?”
“Let me think . . .” Gale thought for a moment. “Aye, Current does. Oy!” he called to a tall, slim otter. “Current, come over here!” The otter nodded, and scurried up the stairs to the poop deck. “Current, you know Eastern Speech, correct?”
“Aye, sir,” she replied.
“Good. Kirren needs help with something relating to that.” Current turned to the tall squirrel.
“Wotcha got, sir?” she asked, with a grin.
“I need help translating this book. Could you write it down, or read it out loud, or something?” Kirren asked. He handed the book to Current. A picture of a bird that Kirren had never seen before graced the cover. The brown otter flipped it open, and a sound of concentration escaped her. She thought for about two minutes.
“I haven’t seen this dialect before. It must be that of Shaotan, the island in the far north,” she finally said. “If I had time, I could figure it out, though. It’s similar to the speech of Laigu, my homeland.” She paced the deck, studying the figures and runes.
Lilian came up behind Kirren. “What’s that?” she asked. Current handed her the book, open to a page full of art, words, and symbols. “Trying to learn a new language, now, are we?” she teased. Kirren glared at her, but she just laughed. The young prophet couldn’t stop a smile spreading across his face. Her giggles were infectious.
“I don’t know if I have time to translate this, Kirren,” Current said. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s all right,” he responded. After this remark, the pretty maid beside him noticed his shoulders slump.
“Kirren, I can help,” she said suddenly. “I know Eastern Speech.”
The squirrel perked up. “You do? Why didn’t you say so?”
“You never asked!” Lilian replied with another laugh. Kirren rolled his eyes and followed her to the ship’s cargo hold.
Two more days passed without any events, and during that time, Kirren trained like a madbeast. He learned how to fight with the sword, but still couldn’t come close to besting Lilian, who was teaching him. He and the other prophets worked on their skills. Here, Kirren discovered something interesting.
Contrary to Anghan’s beliefs, Helpers did have special skills. They discovered this one day, when Kirren and the wolf were using the map. Kirren was listening intently, and they were zooming over the west sea. Suddenly, Sarcen accidentally walked into the map. Kirren was extremely surprised when the map jump up and became three-dimensional! Anghan jumped back. The map vanished.
Apparently, Helpers could strengthen the gifts of Voices and Sights. They tested each gift. When Kirren used his hearing, he could hear everything, even some creatures on the bottom of the ocean!
Kirren was in the crow’s nest again, reading with Lilian, when they heard a call from the deck below. “LAAAAANNND!” Their ears perked up and they both jumped to see what it was.
Sure enough, it was an island. It was covered in unfamiliar trees and forest, though. Kirren hadn’t ever seen anything like it, but . . . jungle. The word popped up in his head without warning. It was jungle. Far away on the horizon, with a huge mountain in the center. “Is that where we’re landing?” Lilian asked. She looked excited.
“I guess so . . .” Kirren’s voice trailed off as he returned to thought.
The agile squirrels leaped out of the crow’s nest and raced to the deck. Lillian landed a fraction of a second before Kirren, but then promptly stumbled and fell on her back. Her friend dropped to the deck and helped her up. “That’s what you get for climbing too fast!” Kirren laughed. She brushed herself off and ran up to the helm to talk to Gale.
Kirren walked over to where Anghan stood, looking over the side of the ship. “How long until we reach the island?” he asked. The wolf turned and looked at him, then saw Dango in the corner of the ship and burst out laughing. Kirren turned to look at what was so funny.
Dango had thrown up in the sea cap of an otter sailor! The cap’s furious owner was berating the big mouse, but Kirren had the feeling that Dango couldn’t hear a thing. He was curled up over the side of the deck, staring at the sea with a horrible expression on his face. Anghan quickly stifled his laughter as the otter turned to look.
“About forty minutes, lad, to answer your question,” Gale said from behind.
Exactly forty-one minutes later, the ship scraped sand, and Dango flung himself over, kissing the hard earth.
Kirren whooped and jumped off the ship’s deck. His paws landed in the deep, soft sand, tripping him and flinging him on his face. The tall squirrel spat out dirt from his mouth. Behind him, the others took a more cautious approach. Gale Strykwave’s otters lowered a wooden ramp and Dango’s mice started unloading camping gear. Sleeping on a ship wasn’t the best experience, as Kirren well knew.
Anghan came up to him. “Dango asked that we find a suitable camping spot, somewhere further in the jungle,” he said. Kirren nodded, and dashed into the jungle. In two minutes he’d found a reasonably large clearing and reported back to Anghan and Dango.
Lilian and Kirren shouldered packs with the mice, and the otters stayed on board the Whitewake. When they reached the clearing, Kirren watched as the mice set up a fire and campsite. There was no sign of rain. As the sky was clear, the young squirrel decided to sleep in the open. He rolled out his bed on the edge of camp.
Lilian popped up beside him. She’d set up her little space about twenty feet away. “These trees are weird, huh?” she commented. “I bet you a bag of crystal fruit that neither of us could climb one.”
“I’ll take you up on that bet,” Kirren retorted. He looked up at a nearby tree. They certainly were strange. The bark seemed to be slicked down with rain and dew, and there were very few branches going up the trunk until you reached the top. “First one to the top gets the bag?”
“You’re on!” Lillian said right away. “Pick a tree!”
Kirren walked over to the one that he’d been observing in the first place. At least it wasn’t worse than the others he’d seen. Lilian picked one a couple of feet away from his. “Ready . . . set . . .” Kirren started.
“Go!” someone yelled from the camp, probably Dilann or Anghan. Kirren exploded off the ground, clawing and grabbing at slivers of wood and bark. Lilian did, too, and neither cared that he hadn’t said go.
About ten feet up, both started to slip. The moist bark was more slippery than it looked. Down the two squirrels came, against their hardest efforts to stay up. When they hit the bottom, both tried again. It ended in the same result.
As Lilian got ready to try again, Kirren walked around the trunk, looking for some kind of foothold. At the back, he immediately saw that it was scarred and twisted into claw marks, providing many dry purchases and places to put his paws. Up he leaped, bounding from ledge to ledge. In about five seconds, he’d reached the top.
“Ahoy, down there!” he called to Lilian, who was still trying to get up the hard way. “Where’s that bag of crystal fruit?” The squirrelmaid’s mouth flopped open in surprise.
“How did you . . .” she started, but Kirren wagged his paw at her before she could continue.
“No, no, that’s my secret. Now. I’m starving, and I haven’t had crystal fruit in two years,” he said, licking his lips.
Lilian huffed in exasperation, and pulled out a small leather pouch from her tunic. Kirren hopped down to join her. At the look of her face, though, he gave up the charade and handed her some of the crystal fruit. “I’m kidding! I couldn’t eat all of this by myself!” he chuckled.
Crystal fruit is a soft bluish color, with small bits of sugar-like sap collected all over it. It is the most delicious thing imported from Icelen. However, since it’s very filling, not much of it is ever grown. It’s plant is very strange in the fact that it can only grow in the harsh, cold conditions of Icelen.
There were four small fruit clusters in the bag, and Kirren gave three to Lilian. She noticed and gave him one, but he denied it, on the pretense that his stomach had been acting up of late.
The sun was going down quickly, so someone lit another fire and made a delicious stew. Kirren wasn’t hungry, though. That crystal fruit had filled him enough for now. He laid down on the mat, watching the clouds turn red, then pink, then fade to give way to stars. A small blue flower dangled in front of his face, but he ignored it, blending it in with the background in his mind.
Lilian walked over and sat down next to him. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she whispered. Kirren merely nodded.
After a few more minutes, he said, “It’s times like these when I realize the power of our Creator.”
The pretty squirrelmaid laid her head on his shoulder. Kirren was unused to physical contact, so stiffened instantly. He slowly relaxed. It was fine.
Once it was almost dark, Lilian stood up to go to bed. She kissed Kirren on his cheek and walked back to her bedroll.
The next morning, Kirren was woken up by the crowing of a strangely colorful small bird. It fluttered around his head. While it stayed put, Kirren observed it with interest. It was about the size of his head, with a small but sharp looking beak, with serrated edges. It talons were each also very sharp and pointed. However, because of its size, Kirren didn’t think anything would happen to him if he drove it away.
The tall squirrel jumped up and waved his arms at it. It squawked, flashed its colorful wings, and flew up into the taller branches of the tree above him. Kirren chuckled, then sat back down on his bedroll . . . or would have, if it was there. Another bird flopped away, chattering and holding his bedroll in its talons. “Hey!” Kirren yelled. “That’s mine!” He ran after it. It fluttered away, staying near to the ground and carrying the bedroll.
Kirren finally caught up to it after a hard fast run, and flopped onto the blanket, snatching it from the bird and slightly tearing it. He stood up to go. A huge beak stopped him, poking his chest. Kirren looked up.
A large version of the little bird stood there, its razor-sharp beak clacking hungrily. Kirren looked around him. More were stalking out of the bushes towards him, their talons digging into the soft earth. The first clicked its beak again, and the others all followed suit, clicking and cracking their beaks at him. Kirren stayed perfectly still. His body was yelling at him, run, run! But his mind objected. If he ran, he’d be chased, and he couldn’t outrun something on wings. If he yelled, there was a good chance he’d be attacked. However, he had an idea.
Slowly, the young prophet moved away towards the largest opening in their line. The birds’ eyes followed him carefully, and they kept moving. When Kirren saw them making as if to close the gap, he dashed for it.
Screeching, the closest leaped at him, swing its talons to grab him. It slowed, suspended in the air as Kirren felt the Forever protecting him. He dodged the vicious claws and ran through the gap. “Evergreeeeeen!” he yelled with all his strength, in the hope that someone at the camp would hear him. Evidently, they did. He immediately heard a reply. “Foreveeeeerrr!”
Kirren incinerated a bird who attacked him from behind, scratching his left forearm while he yelled. Batting away two more little ones, he kept pushing through. Suddenly, somebeast dashed through the trees and slashed at a large beak that descended towards the Voice, and Kirren looked up for a moment. Anghan and Lilian stood by him, defending his back from the claws of the colorful birds. He could hear others, too.
The tall squirrel saw an opening on their left, and pointed his paw towards it, yelling, “Run!” The others finished off another few winged menaces and followed him.
On his right, Kirren saw, with alarm, a particularly fast bird after Lilian. It raised a talon to slice at her, and he exploded into action. Kicking at the head of another bird, he shoved himself into the path of the claw. It was moving too fast for him to push her out of the way and get himself to safety as well. He slammed into the squirrelmaid and twisted, getting as much of himself out of the way that he could. The talon grazed him deeply, ripping his fur and skin and leaving a gash right above his heart. They both fell to the ground.
Before the bird could strike again at Lilian or Kirren, Anghan yelled with a thunderous voice and released a wave of pure images. Kirren saw them, as well as Lilian, and had to cover their eyes because of the vibrance. The birds hated it. White light burned their eyes, filled with pictures of Kirren and Lillian, and all of the other people Anghan loved. It threw Anghan’s arms out with the force, and all of the birds collapsed and screeched on the ground.
They didn’t get back up.
Anghan bodily lifted both squirrels and ran, his paws pounding the ground and moving them through the forest at a tremendous rate.
Finally, they emerged into the clearing. Dango followed their sounds, and appeared at the same time. “Help the wolf!” he ordered some of his mice. Four of them immediately relieved him of Kirren and Lilian, helping the squirrels stand on their feet, and two more caught Anghan as he fell to the ground. Lilian was breathing hard. She wasn’t as strong as Kirren, and collapsed into his arms. He held her tightly.
Kirren saw Anghan beckon him, and he let Lilian go for a moment. The wolf sat up against a tree. “Every time we do something for our creator, such as ridding the island of these evil creatures,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, “we must give it our all.”
Kirren clutched his friend’s paw and helped him up to a standing position, leaning him against a tree. The powerful creature regained his balance quickly. He walked over to the camp to help with breakfast, and Dango swiped his paw across his forehead. “That beast has strength,” he muttered in amazement.
After a delicious (but hurried) meal of strange fruits and some kind of grain porridge, everybody got back on board the ship as fast as they could. Nobeast wanted to meet more of the odd birds. “Get this ship going!” Dango said hurriedly to the otter captain, who was climbing groggily out of the hold. Gale grunted in reply, waved a paw at the steersbeast (who happened to be Current), and stumbled back down to the hold to get his tunic changed.
Current directed the ship with a trained paw and guided it out of the bay it was sitting in. Right away, Kirren shot up to the crow’s nest to have a look. The island was eerily quiet. He waited a few more minutes, then climbed back down to tell Dango. “All clear!” he said, mocking a soldier’s stance with his right paw in a salute. The mouse nodded his head in satisfaction.
Three more days of sailing. Kirren and Anghan, with the Helpers, trained relentlessly. More and more, they developed their gifts, until they thought they were ready for Tulrag Whiptail and his false prophets. Lilian also trained them and the other mice in sword fighting.
Kirren still came back to the top of the mast every evening for two reasons: to get some time to himself, and to admire the setting sun at sea. On the third night, he sat up there, reading the book that Lilian had been so kind as to translate. He’d found the bird that they’d encountered. Apparently, it was called a candycolor treemonger, since it was very undesired in the forests of the Eastern Islands themselves. Kirren decided that they must have moved to these western islands after being chased off.
Lilian’s head popped up through the opening in the bottom. “Hi!” she said cheerfully. She sat down right beside him. “Like the book?”
Kirren nodded, looking at her and grinning. Her red fur seemed on fire in the light of the setting sun. Whenever he was around her, he couldn’t stop smiling.
“I haven’t gotten a chance to thank you for protecting me from that bird . . . er, treemonger,” she said softly. “How’s the wound?”
“Better,” Kirren replied. He still had a bandage running across his chest because of the gash, but it had closed up.
“Good. That’s good.” Lilian looked up just in time to see the first star come out. “Oh . . .” she breathed. Kirren glanced where she was looking, and did a double take.
Stars in Evergreen are different than stars in other places. They aren’t burning balls of fire. They float on the same level as clouds and shine brightly in blue light, with little sparks erupting from them and swirling around in patterns. Kirren watched a shining white one appear and dash around the sky, looking for a place to stay. It settled in one spot right over a little cloud, so that its light filtered through and became softer.
More and more appeared, popping up everywhere. One zoomed down to the ship, and swirled around Kirren’s head. He jumped in surprise. That almost never happened to anyone! One alighted on Lilian’s head. The pretty squirrelmaid stayed perfectly still, until it moved to Kirren’s paw. He barely lit the paw on fire, and the star became bigger and brighter, making a sound like tinkling bells, which sounded like laughter. He raised his paw, and it flew back into the air.
Kirren turned to Lilian. Her face was brilliant with the light of the stars right above her. The sun was almost gone, and the whole place was blazing with blue and white light. “I never got to say that you are welcome. I would have done it again and again if I needed to,” he said. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “In fact, I need to say . . .” Kirren paused, and Lilian turned back around.
“What?”
“I love you.” With that, Kirren kissed her on the mouth, holding her close. She hugged him back, and the two lovers looked into each other’s eyes for a long, long time.
The next morning, Kirren woke up in the hold. His back was sore from sleeping in the rocking ship so much, but he still felt very refreshed. He stretched, threw on his cloak, and walked up the stairs out onto the deck. Sarcen was up, too, and was looking out from the helm for land. He nodded a greeting to Kirren. The tall squirrel was about to climb up into the netting to stretch his limbs, then saw something jutting out of the water ahead of the ship.
“Reef! Rocks! Turn the ship!” he yelled at the otter on duty. The otter started awake. Kirren realized that he’d been sleeping. “TURN THE SHIP!” he yelled again. Gale came out of the hatch running. He’d heard the word “reef”, and that’s the worst nightmare that a sailor could have.
“Get the wheel!” Sarcen roared. He had a big voice for a small mouse, Kirren noted. Gale bounded up to the helm, and he and the otter turned the wheel with all of their strength. The ship heaved over to the side. Then it righted itself, about three inches off of the rocks. Thankfully, it passed by with only a slight scratch on the hull.
Gale let go of the rudder and started berating the helmsbeast. Kirren grimaced at the language.
Other than this incident, nothing extremely out of the ordinary happened that day. Kirren trained with Anghan, and did some sword practice. However, that evening, Gale decided that they had enough extra food for the journey that they would have a feast. Anghan had explained everything to him, and he was fully convinced that they would find Tulrag at the next island. Therefore, he’d made up his mind that the crew and company needed cheering up.
The ship’s lamps were cleaned and brightened. The carpenter built a makeshift foldable table, about half the length of the ship, and the cook, whose name was Shrimp, loaded it with all kinds of seafood, fruit, and pastries. Dango, of course, only took a bit and went back to his little corner, where he proceeded to be sick for the rest of the festivities.
Kirren loved the food. He’d almost never had seafood, and it was a delicious surprise for the young squirrel. He filled his plate to overflowing and sat down at the table next to Dilann and Sarcen. Lilian sat directly across from him, then Gale at the head. Anghan sat at the other end, and Dango’s mice and the crew filled up the rest of the benches.
They all ate, laughed, and sang sea shanties well into the night. Kirren felt like his tunic would split at the seams. No one else could compare theirs to Twitch’s appetite, though. The smaller mouse had so much food on his plate, and demolished so much of it, that it left Gale staring at him slack-jawed. The only eater who came close was, of course, Anghan. The wolf’s size needed a lot of nourishment.
Finally, Lilian got up to sing. Everybeast quieted, for they all knew that she had a pretty voice. Her lark’s voice burst into a silly sailor song.
When you sail upon the mighty blue sea,
It’s always good to make sure to be
An otter, a fish, a duck or a swan
But never, ever, a squinty eyed stoat!
You’ll get soaked and drowned as a storm-slapped bug,
Won’t sleep as sound as one in a rug.
If you’re a sailor who happens to be a stoat,
You’ll heave so much that you’ll rock the boat!
Oh, stoats and ferrets and weasels and rats
Never did make very good sailing capn’s
You’ll stumble an’ fall, and tip and skip
If you’re at all a squinty eyed stoat!
You can’t get a rope right ‘twixt your teeth.
Rather, you’ll get it tied up in a pretty old wreath!
If you’re a sailor who happens to be a stoat,
You’ll turn so much, you’ll tip the boat!
Amid much laughter, Lilian bowed and took her seat once more. Gale was roaring with merriment. He slapped the back of the nearest mouse and almost sent him tumbling across the table. Thankfully, the mouse was able to keep his seat.
When everything had died down, Anghan stood up to make a speech. “Everybeast, I hope that you had a good time tonight. However, I have some news. Tomorrow, we will likely reach our next destination. Cap’n Strykwave fully expects to find Tulrag Whiptail there, restocking on food to get to the Diamond Isles.” All of the mice nodded in understanding, but some of the otters were a bit confused. Dismissing this, Anghan continued. “This has been a very good voyage. Almost a week and a half, we’ve been sailing in wonderful company, but we mustn’t forget that this is no pleasure sail. We’re out to do the work of the Forever, and that means destroying Whiptail and the other false prophets. Some of us won’t make it, and we knew that from the beginning. So, fight hard.” The big wolf sat down.
With this new thought in mind, Kirren and everyone else besides the otter watch went to bed.
Kirren woke up later than usual. There was no light filtering through the deck to wake him up, but apparently everyone else was up. No one was down in the hold. He climbed out the hatch. Nobeast was on deck, either. The ship was empty.
Kirren was filled with horror. He couldn’t find anybeast! All over the ship, he searched. Finally, as he stood in the center of the deck, he heard something from the port side of the ship. He ran over, then immediately jumped back in fright. Rats, with dark eyes, were climbing up the sides of the deck, bringing with them a horrible darkness.
Kirren ran up to the helm, but they were there too. On the starboard side, and everywhere! He dashed to the middle. “Get back!” he yelled, trying to set his paws ablaze, but it didn’t work. “No!” he screamed. They came closer. The darkness enveloped him, tearing apart his insides and hurting his mind, with a ferocity that almost ripped his arms and legs from his body.
Finally, something happened. A huge blast of light came up from somewhere inside the prophet, and blew apart the rats and darkness. Out over the ocean they flew, and Kirren hit the deck so hard that he couldn’t feel anything . . .
He woke up in a cold sweat. It was a dream, Kirren thought in relief. Then he thought better of it as he looked around him. Once again, there was no light seeping through the deck’s cracks, and no one was around. He tossed aside his blanket and dashed up the stairs to the deck. Not again, not again . . .
Everyone was still there. They were eating breakfast in a dreary silence. Clouds covered the sky, blackening everything. Kirren felt his terror ebb away. He accepted an apple and a hardtack biscuit from a gloomy Shrimp. “What is it?”
Shrimp sighed sadly. “Gale says there’s a storm coming, the likes of which he’s never seen. A hurricane . . .” he mumbled. “We won’t make it.” A few others agreed with him.
Kirren almost dropped his food. “What? Anghan?” He looked at the big wolf, who still had hints of determination in his face. Anghan nodded his head as well, though. “You all have got to be joking!” Kirren exploded. Now he had the attention of all who sat nearby. “How many of you have seen what the Forever can do? He can easily get us to the next island. If he means for us to stop Whiptail, then he will!” He was yelling now. “Forever, deliver us from the coming storm!” A huge lightning bolt came down by the ship, crackling across the water. Anghan, Dilann, Dango, Sarcen, and Gale were fervently praying now. The big otter had come to believe wholeheartedly in his Creator. Winds were whipping around them.
A huge wave came up and almost hit the ship, but at the last moment moved and came around the sides. Another came straight towards the deck, then bounced off as if there were a stone wall there. Gale’s crew stared open mouthed. Many of them were praying, even though not all of them believed in the Forever. Kirren himself was praying as well, out loud.
A huge torrent of water swirled up to the sky, into the dark clouds and moved towards the ship. At the exact same time, a mouse suddenly called, “I see it! The island!” Kirren looked up. Indeed, no more that six or seven hundred yards away, the island was standing, a mere blotch in the rain. Kirren turned around. The pillar of water was almost upon them.
“Fooooreeeeeveerrr!” someone yelled. Lilian stood fearlessly at the helm, her fierce eyes moving past the rain and storm to a patch of light behind the pillar. It grew, steadily, until it covered the entire sky behind them. A hole grew in the pillar, but came back together. It is the Shadow’s work, Kirren thought.
Anghan. Dilann. Sarcen. Kirren. Go to the end of the ship. Forever’s voice spoke into their minds at the same time. Dilann and Sarcen both started in surprise. They rarely heard something like this. Then they made up their minds and ran with the Voice and Sight to the end of the ship. Kirren held out his paw, and a beam of white light exploded into existence. Anghan placed his paw inside it, and a stream of blue light joined it. Dilann and Sarcen both did the same, and two bright streaks of orange joined. The light curved until it hit the water, which was now boiling and black. It swept over the mass of hot liquid, covering it from top to bottom.
Then, it simply exploded. The pillar fell back into the ocean, and the light came down in sparks, onto everything around. The ship was deathly quiet as the light spread across the rest of the sky, wiping out the clouds.
The ship erupted into cheering.
Kirren, gasping and rubbing his eyes from the brightness of the light, joined his friends in celebrating on the main deck. Lilian was jumping up and down right beside him. Current, Twitch, and Gale were all slapping the prophets on the back and laughing. Shamelessly, Kirren spun around and kissed Lilian full on the mouth. Anghan and Dilann stopped laughing and gaped. Gale just laughed harder at the looks on their faces.
Dango was sitting, green-faced, by a bucket. Because the smell of its contents, nobody really wanted to know what they were.
The celebration was halted when the ship came to a grating stop in the gravel of the island. Dango heaved himself over the side and landed bum first in the shallows. Kirren, Lilian, and Dilann all climbed down the side. This island was a little different. Most of it was rocky, but had coniferous trees with needles gathered in clusters. The bay was sheltered by small cliffs. Near the center of the island was a tall mountain, with a shining white peak. It was also two or three times the size of Jungle Island (this was what they’d taken to calling it).
Right away, Dango, Gale, and Anghan organized a camp nearer to the ship than last time, in light of what happened there. Also, Dango thought that this time they should send Dilann and Kirren to check the place out. The two fleet squirrels immediately sped off around the circumference of the island.
Two hours later, they found what they were looking for. A black ship sitting in a bigger bay, with rats, lizards, and a few weasels scurrying all over the place. They were stocking up on food, just as Gale had predicted. Kirren and Dilann flopped down to watch for a few minutes, then got back up and began the jog back.
On the way back Kirren spotted a bush of crystal fruit. He quickly filled up his tunic with the delicious food.
When they got back, Kirren ran up to Anghan and Gale. “We found them.” Gale nodded his head.
“We’ll attack tonight, after dinner,” Dango said from behind them.
“Speaking of dinner,” the two squirrels chorused as they both emptied their belt pouches, spilling out at least 45 crystal fruits. Gale laughed.
“Well now, lads, you’ve got yourselves a fine haul there! We’ll have them for supper.”
Kirren nodded, and to take a break from running, sat with his back against a lone tree in the clearing. He brought another crystal fruit out from his tunic fold. He tossed it up, caught it, and laughed. Everybeast was settled in the camp for now. Lilian popped up like she did all the time, and sat by him. She’d brought a few blankets. Now that he wasn’t running, Kirren had to admit that it was cold. They must be at the same latitude as Icelen.
They both bundled up and watched a few snowflakes fall. One fell on Kirren’s head. Lilian blew it away, and leaned on his shoulder.
“Aha!” Both squirrels jumped. Anghan, Dilann, Sarcen, and Current all jumped out from behind the thick pine tree. “You thought we didn’t notice!” Dilann laughed. He and Anghan picked Kirren up on their shoulders, and Sarcen and Current lifted Lillian, despite protests. Probably to parade us around camp. When this thought occurred to him, Kirren hopped down. Lilian joined him, and they ran off to have alone time.
Dango watched them go, chuckling. “I knew it from the start,” he said to himself. Twitch was nearby and overheard him.
“We all did,” he muttered. Dango smacked his son over the ears.
That night, after a quick dinner, Kirren and Anghan had everybeast gathered around the fire. Kirren stood up to explain the attack plan. “Alright . . . has everyone had their blades blackened by Shrimp?” A chorus of affirmation greeted this question. “Okay. Dark cloaks?” Another yes. “Now, Anghan is going to take three creatures with him of his choosing, then I and three other squirrels will also go. We’re going to climb the sides of the ship, and let down rope ladders. Anghan and his three will lead the rest of the force, going a bit ahead to scout it out. Then it’s war. We will only take prisoners, not kill cold-heartedly.”
Twitch whooped, then was smothered by Sarcen, who tackled him and covered his mouth.
Kirren chose Lilian, Dilann, and another squirrel who was named Swiftpaw. They set off through a small line of trees. Anghan chose his, then left fifteen minutes later at a quick pace.
The young prophet and his comrades arrived in another hour and a half. They slowed down nearing the beach’s gravel, and tread carefully. Their dark cloaks provided cover from the sentries on duty. Kirren’s elbows were scraped from the stones by the time they reached the hull. Thankfully, Whiptail’s steersbeast had decided to beach the ship, so they didn’t have to swim.
The foursome quickly scaled the rough black wood. Kirren peeped over the side, and saw two sentries talking at the starboard side. They looked bored. Kirren signaled to Dilann, and they both jumped over the side. The sentries, a lizard and a weasel, both turned, drawing their weapons. When they saw two squirrels, they laughed and ran at them. “Jus’ a couple o’ slaves!” one thought to himself.
He couldn’t have been more wrong. Kirren and Dilann both swirled around and blasted them with fire. Two splashes were heard dimly on the far side of the ship. “Come on!” Kirren whispered, and Lilian with Swiftpaw hopped over.
By the time they’d let down the ropes, Anghan and his three could be seen running over the next rise. Not far behind them were the rest of the mice, even with a few otters. Kirren was surprised at that. He didn’t think that the otters were coming.
The big wolf and his companions all climbed over. Before they could wait for the others to come aboard, a sentry hiding in the crow’s nest noticed them and yelled, “HELP!” An arrow from a mouse archer silenced him, but it was too late. Whiptail and three others appeared in the doorway.
The old rat pointed his paw, and screeched, “Get them!” The attendants ran at the group. They were false prophets, for they destroyed two of the three with Anghan in a matter of seconds. The other by the wolf was Sarcen. One of them collapsed Swiftpaw, somehow draining his power. Two Lashes and a Hunger, Kirren decided as he stood in front of Lilian, protecting her from the power of the three dark ones.
Anghan engaged the Hunger, while Dilann and Sarcen took a Lash. Kirren also started to battle a Lash, but kept himself in between the lizard and Lilian. He immediately blasted it with a wave of beautiful sound that the Lash couldn’t stand. It fell to its knees, and Kirren finished it with a wave of rolling white fire.
Anghan had a bit more difficulty with his rat, since he’d never done this. The rat threw out a pillar of purple fire, and Kirren saw the Sight dodge it with amazing speed. However, he was caught off guard, so he rolled over onto his side. A huge pair of jaws appeared over Anghan. However, it must have just been an image, for Anghan easily turned it around and sent it rushing towards its owner. The rat squeaked in surprise, and ran away from it. Another Anghan popped up in front of the Hunger, and while it was distracted with that, Anghan sent a fireball of blue hurtling towards the rat. Another splash was soon heard.
Dilann and Sarcen were outmatched. The lizard they were battling had two maces and chain that were green with fire, and sent flames out all the while. Sarcen took a chance at a fireball to its chest. It hit, but only knocked the Lash over. He was wearing armor. Sarcen turned, thinking it was dead.
Then a fiery dagger sprouted from his chest.
“No!” Kirren and Dilann both yelled at the same time. Sarcen collapsed to the deck, staring up at the dark sky. The stars hadn’t come out tonight.
Dilann leaped up from his friend’s side with hatred in his eyes. The lizard was back up and stood there, smirking. “There were two of you, but you were still outnumbered,” it hissed.
“He’s not anymore.” Kirren stepped up to his friend’s side. A white blaze erupted from his paws and swirled around him, creating elliptical patterns. The lizard was petrified. Dilann’s flames joined Kirren’s, and they both entwined and became something powerful. The fire shot towards the Shadow’s servant and enveloped him, sending him screaming over into the sea.
Now a full battle began. Whiptail’s servants were fighting the ex-rebel fighters, who had swarmed over the sides of the ship after pushing it out to sea. That way, nobeast could escape. The clashing of steel mixed with the cries of rats and lizards and mice. There were more vermin than previously reckoned. Kirren could tell that the rebels were losing. He blasted down a couple more lizards and a weasel before Lilian yelled, “Kirren! Look up!” The young prophet did, and saw Whiptail climbing with an agility that belied his age.
Kirren gritted his teeth, and started climbing after the rat. Up and up and up, they both climbed, until they reached the mainsail spar. Whiptail had nowhere else to run. He scampered out onto the wooden beam, coughing as he did. Kirren balanced his way out after him. The sounds of battle below had silenced. “Whiptail!” the Voice yelled. It was lightly raining now. “There’s no way out! You’re finished! You will never reach Diamond!”
“Never!” the rat screamed. He looked down to gloat in his vermin’s success, but all he saw were dead rats and lizards, living mice and otters, and a huge brown creature gracefully walking back into the forest. The mice and otters didn’t see it, but the two at the mast did.
Here comes time for me to explain something. This was a Servant of the Forever. More correctly, it was one of the bears that Kirren had read about. Kirren and Whiptail only saw it because the Forever willed them to. Therefore, when it demolished the servants of the Shadow, all that the vermin knew was that they were all dying and theyhated what was doing it, and the sons of Forever saw their enemies falling with no cause.
Desperate, the Nightmare sent out a torrent of black fire, which Kirren could barely see. Nevertheless, he felt it slow, but dodged too quickly. He felt a searing pain in his left footpaw. Kirren fell and caught the spar with his paws, and Whiptail cackled. The old dark creature crept over the young prophet and stamped on his right claw. It slipped, and Kirren was holding on by one arm.
All of a sudden, Kirren’s dream came back to him with such vibrancy that he almost let go. When you do something in Forever’s name, we must give it our all. Anghan’s words from the other day also resonated in his head. So did the Forever’s.
Trust me. He did.
Kirren let go.
As he fell, he felt a huge blast of power rush from him and slam into Tulrag Whiptail. The Nightmare disappeared into the sky, never to be seen again. Kirren had time to think these few thoughts before the power drove him back into the deck. He blacked out.
Kirren woke to the sun’s light on his face. He almost sat up, but a tight bandage around his neck stopped him. He looked around him in a slight daze.
He was on a small cot, in the Whitewake’s hold. The light filtered through a gaping hole to the left of him. Lilian sat beside him, breathing deeply. She was sound asleep. Kirren looked himself over. He had a bandage on his left footpaw . . . stump. His footpaw was gone. He had a bandage on his neck, and that was it.
He nudged himself to a slightly more comfortably position. That was enough to wake up the sleeping squirrelmaid. Her head started up. Even in her tired face, Kirren found so much beauty that he couldn’t stand it. Lilian’s eyes widened, and she screamed, “Kirren!” She hugged him so tightly he thought he would be crushed, but he hugged her back.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she whispered over and over. He kissed her for a long time, until Anghan, Dilann, Gale, Twitch, Current, and Dango came thundering down the stairs.
“KIRREN!” they all yelled. The squirrel found himself being hugged and slapped on the back from all directions.
Dilann decided to explain things. “You’ve been in a coma for four days! We restocked, buried our dead, and made our way back to Jungle Island. You crashed clear through the deck. You had serious protection, my sir, especially since you’ve had no food,” he said in rapid fashion. “Anything to say to that?”
Kirren thought for a moment. “I’m hungry.” Gale burst into one of his laughs again.
“Well, of course you are!” Gale turned around. “Current, go have Shrimp make our hero here a breakfast fit for a king!” Current dashed up the stairs, almost tripping on her rudder-like tail. She came back down bearing a loaded tray.
Kirren laughed. He was surrounded by good friends, companions, and food. Lilian was by him. Anghan had a paw on his shoulder. He was happy.
Well done. Well done, Kirren Barkleaf, My Voice.
Epilogue
Kirren sat on the porch of his house. Lilian sat next to him, and so did Anghan. They were all drinking mugs of hot chocolate, which Lilian had made very thoughtfully.
It had been almost a year since Whiptail had been defeated. Kirren had come back to his old home and rebuilt it, and after asking Lilian to marry him (she said yes), they both settled down in it. Anghan had built himself a house as well, nearby, and visited often. The former slaves were rebuilding the City to its former glory, with the help and strength of the prophets. All of the rats, lizards, and weasels had returned to the Ratlands. On another note, Kirren had a metal contraption holding his footpaw in place as Dilann and the other prophets continued healing it. Peace seemed sure.
But not necessarily. Dilann came running up to Kirren’s house, panting hard. He’d run a long way. Kirren jumped up just in time to catch him as he fell. “Dilann! What’s wrong!”
Dilann took a huge drought of air, then spoke. “False prophets . . . chased me . . . they have your father!”
Kirren strode along the dusty, rut-filled path that led to his home. The young squirrel glanced at the sky. Still a little light left. I have to hurry if I want to have time to make dinner, he thought. He hopped over a small ditch that was in his way. I’ll need to go out and forage again tomorrow.
He could see his small den about 200 feet away. The door was closed, and the windows and escape tunnel were undisturbed. As he walked, he thought about all the strange things that had happened to him that day. He shook the thoughts from his mind. No time to think. He would try to puzzle this out while eating. He glanced at his side, making sure that his jeweled dagger, the most precious thing that he owned, was still there. It had been his father’s. He always kept it with him, to protect against the rats and lizards that sometimes came to the Forest of Darkroot. They didn’t usually venture this far into the woods, though.
It had been 77 years since the evil lord, Tulrag Whiptail and his descendants (all named after him), had come to the lands of Evergreen. With him, the foul rat had brought an army of reptiles and vermin, mainly other rats. They had swept across the country, destroying and conquering wherever they crawled and skittered. Kirren’s grandfather had led a rebellion in the name of the Forever against Tulrag a few years after the disgusting creature had come. Kirren’s father was orphaned at an early age . . . as was the young squirrel, many years later.
Kirren could hardly remember his father. He only had a few earlier memories, such as the one where his father, Ferras, carried him on his shoulders, playing games with him. He had thought that his father would be there forever in his young age, but his house was burned to the ground by a gang of weasels. His father had rushed in to rescue Kirren from the flames. What happened next, Kirren had never forgotten.
His father was attacked by the same weasels burning the house. There were at least a score of them. His father was unarmed, and Kirren was sure that he would be killed. His father cried out, “Forever, help me!” He raised his arms as if surrendering. Then, a bright light flashed, temporarily blinding the ten year old squirrel. He was thrown back with a force that felt like it was going to tear him apart. When he came to, he couldn’t see anyone. Not his father, not the weasels, no one.
That experience was nothing compared to the anomaly that had occurred today. Kirren walked inside, taking off his over-tunic and cap and throwing them onto the back of a small chair. He checked his storeroom, and gathered all the supplies that he would need to make a hot vegetable soup. The recipe was passed down to him from his great-grandmother, who passed it down to his grandmother, and then to his mother.
His mother. He could still remember the day that she left him, as clearly as if it were yesterday.
When his father died, Kirren’s mother had gone into a state of shock. She barely ate, and she didn’t sleep. She didn’t even acknowledge that her son was there. Kirren could clearly see that she was slowly fading away. He did everything he could to try to help her, but one day, when he was about 15 years old, she just passed on into what comes after.
After that, he couldn’t stay in his old, refurbished house anymore. It carried a heavy atmosphere of sadness and memory. He moved into the woods, where he wouldn’t be bothered by any of those disgusting, murdering vermin that had taken the country. He learned to take care of himself. He taught himself to cook, and he learned how to keep away any intruders that were foolish enough to come into the woods. He set up traps and snares to keep away unwelcome visitors.
As he finished eating, Kirren quickly cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for bed. He was wiped out from the events of that day. He grabbed his nightclothes, washed himself down, and slipped into his hay cot. He thought, I’ll wonder tomorrow. He fell asleep immediately.
What actually happened...
Kirren was walking along, out for a noontime stroll, when a bright light flashed in front of him. He was so startled that he stumbled backwards and fell, hitting his head. Kirren! said a voice that was both strong and soft at the same time. It sounded like it was in his mind. “Whaaa...whooo….”. His words were stumbling too. Kirren! Get up! I am calling you to me. You will be my VOICE! This last word in his mind resonated in his head. This, and hitting his head, both combined to knock him out, as forcefully as if he had been punched in the jaw. Kirren could never really figure out what happened.
He felt himself drifting away, as though he was underwater. He opened his eyes, and he saw...a huge pupil, staring at him, inches away. He looked up. It looked back down at him. It was a huge beast, covered in dark, murky scales and fins. Then, it opened its mouth. It lunged toward him, and he yelled. He closed his eyes, still yelling. But nothing happened.
He opened his eyes. He was standing in a field, and there were workers, mice, and other squirrels, like him. He saw rats, stoats, and ferrets with whips, standing guard over the slaves...for that was what they were. He could see it in their eyes, in the hopelessness in their hearts. He could hear their thoughts. He could find it easily in the way they held themselves, in the superiority with which they regarded their overseers. Everywhere Kirren looked, he heard misery and weakness. He turned around.
He felt he was going to leave this place soon, but before he did, he saw him. A fully grown wolf, dragging two plows with the strength of ten squirrels. Kirren didn’t know how, but he could feel the wolf’s spirit, lashing out with the power of a free beast. He could hear the wolf’s emotions, words, a bright light shining fiercely with all the hope of one who was clearly not broken. He could also see something that scared him...the wolf could see Kirren. It looked at him nodded in his direction, then whipped around with strength and power, even more than before. The wolf broke his bonds. He then ran straight at three guards clustered together. It lashed out with one paw...and the vision disappeared.
Kirren woke up in a cold sweat. It was much later in the day, and he was lying on the ground in the same place as when he went out. What...just...happened, he thought. Wait. Maybe, that was ... preposterous. I’ll think about it later. He got up, and started for home.
The next day, Kirren woke up with a shout. He had been dreaming about the wolf again. He had been in a dark, smelly dungeon cell, crying out to the Forever. He smashed into the door repeatedly. All night, Kirren had been in the cell with him. He felt his pain. He could understand the feeling of being trapped, as Kirren had felt this way when his father, then his mother died. He felt trapped in his woods, too. Too afraid to come out, yet angry at the murderers of his family and his life as he knew it.
Now that he was awake, it all felt like a dream, but he knew better. It had been all too real. He just needed to find out what it meant. No, not that. He had to find that wolf, or die trying. He thought for a minute, then set off in the direction of the city.
When he got there, he was stunned by how horrible it had gotten in the last few years since he had seen it. There was trash and mud and slop everywhere. There were babies crying, and mothers begging for food. He saw no men, however. He walked up to a small mousewife. She was slumped up against the wall. “Excuse me, where are the slave fields?” he asked. She didn’t answer. He asked again. Still nothing. He shook her shoulder. She slumped over. He knelt down to examine her. Her eyes were glazed over, and there was blood all over the side of her smock. He realized with a start that she was dead, and jumped back, mentally wringing his paws. He felt another paw on his shoulder. “You’re not from around here, are you?” a rough voice rasped. “You’re making yourself too obvious. Get back.” The paw pulled him back into an alleyway.
Once they were at a safe distance in the shadows, the paw let go. Kirren turned. Whoever it was wore a green-brown cloak, with a hood that obscured its face. Kirren noticed its paw. The creature’s fur was silver.
“I know you,” it...he growled. “I’ve seen you. You were in my prison cell.” It pulled back its hood. It was the wolf. “My name is Anghan. You helped me get out. You must be a Sight, too.”
“A Sight? What’s that? How did you escape? Who are you? What are these strange visions I’m having?” Kirren asked in rapid fashion.
“Whoa, slow down there, friend. I’ll explain everything, but first we have to get somewhere safer. In here.” Anghan pulled Kirren into a doorway nearby. There was a small fire, and some tattered blankets and couches. “This is where I’ve been hiding out for a few days. Sit down.” He motioned towards a small pillow. “I’ll get some bread.” He moved some things away to reveal a small cupboard. He pulled out two plates and some bread and cheese.
“Cheese! I haven’t had any in so long!” exclaimed the squirrel. He attacked his plate with vigour. He looked up, then noticed that Anghan hadn’t touched his food.
“We haven’t thanked Forever for our food,” the wolf said, hiding a smile. Kirren felt his face flush beneath his fur. He also noticed that the wolf’s voice wasn’t raspy anymore.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t eaten with anyone else in a long time. I’ve lived in the forest for a long time.” He then explained why he was there in the city. The wolf listened intently, not interrupting, except to ask a question now and then. When Kirren was done, the wolf spoke.
“I know what happened. I’m only 21 years old, not old enough to be important, but two years ago, I got a message like yours, except that I saw things, instead of hearing things. I saw wickedness in the creatures of Tulrag Whiptail, and I saw hopelessness in my fellow slaves. I saw others like me, two. My father and mother. They were killed soon after, by Whiptail. I saw even more, I can’t even begin to describe it. I saw you, and I knew that I had to leave and help you. I thought that you were like me, except that you don’t see. You hear, and you say. You are a prophet.” Kirren’s mouth dropped open. “Like me, except a different kind. You have different abilities. You are special. The Forever gave you these gifts, to use them for good. Only two other creatures have had these strengths, though, and I have seen them both. One was named Elijah Irontail, a mouse of the old days. The other was called Ferras Barkleaf.”
“My dad!” Kirren exclaimed. He thought back to his father’s death. It explained everything. The light — why his family, specifically, had been attacked. “I had no idea. But . . . why didn’t he use his gifts to help free Evergreen?” Kirren asked, after taking some time to think.
“I haven’t seen it. I don’t know. My best guess is that he was ordered by Forever not to. The important thing right now is that you were ordered, and that you learn to use your gifts. You can do many things, or at least I believe you can. I’ll try to teach you. Though, I don’t understand the beast in the sea.”
At this point, Anghan stood up and walked over to a corner of the room. He dragged out two soft blankets. “What are you doing?” Kirren asked.
“Well, prophets have to sleep too!”
The next morning, Kirren woke up to the sound of somebeast banging on the door to the little apartment. Right away, he started to call for Anghan, but the wolf’s paw came from behind him and covered his mouth. The elder prophet crept to the door and held up his paw to his mouth, indicating silence.
He swung open the door, his cloak swirling around him. Two guards stood armed on the doorstep, and one said, “In the name of Tulrag Whiptail, you are under arrest!” The lizard brandished his spear.
Anghan flicked his paw, and as Kirren looked on in amazement, a huge snake appeared out of thin air! It hissed, and wound its way straight towards the pair of vermin. They screamed like little babes. Then they ran for the hills. Literally.
The wolf turned to his companion. “How did you do . . . where did it . . . what?” Kirren asked, confused.
Anghan scratched his ear. “It’s a gift from the Forever. I’m pretty sure that you can too. Now, breakfast.” He quickly scrambled together some bread, fruit, and something that he called coffee, although Kirren had never heard of it. After they were done, they washed their breakfast dishes in a small rivulet of water that ran out of the side of the wall near the back of the room.
The elder prophet stood in the middle of the room. “Time for training to begin,” he said. Anghan swept his paw gently over the floor, and it became alive with color. Trees, and seas, and deserts all became visible, as if Kirren were riding on the back of some great eagle. His jaw fell, and as Anghan walked around the room, and moved his paws, the “eagle” zoomed around, showing different places everywhere, eventually landing over Kirren’s den.
“Wow,” Kirren breathed. It really was amazing. “Can I do that?” he asked out loud. Anghan thought for a moment.
“Give it a try!” he said. “Just concentrate, and try to move the map.” Kirren did exactly that, but it didn’t go quite as planned.
When he put his mind to it, something did happen, though. All of a sudden, he heard clear voices, like they were right next to him. This is what he heard.
Oy, where is it? Came a voice, in the gruff accent of a vermin rat.
Hey, it’s over here! I got the shiny!
Give it ‘ere. We need to git back to Whipfanny before dark.
Wot? We could just stay ‘ere for the night. If’n that slave gits back, I’ll gut ‘im wid ‘is own pointy toy.
Nah, put it back fer naow.
“Woah!” Kirren said, and stepped off of the map. “That’s crazy! I just heard everything going on over there.” He quickly related what he’d heard. When he’d finished, the wolf shook his head.
“Sounds like hired beasts, and they’ve got the dagger that you mentioned.”
Kirren grabbed his cloak, and was ready to head out the door, when a silver paw stopped him. “Where do you think you’re going?” the wolf asked.
“Back home!” He shrugged off his friend’s paw, but stopped again when Anghan stepped in front of him.
“You’re not going anywhere . . .” Anghan began.
“Hang on, Anghan --” Kirren stopped. Anghan already had his cloak on, too, and was holding back a grin. Kirren suddenly got the feeling that he was having his leg pulled.
“ . . . without me.” The wolf opened the door, and quickly snuck out. “We’ll continue training on the way, as we fight past the guard’s of the gate. How’d you get in here, anyway?”
Kirren shrugged. “There weren’t any guards when I came in.” He joined his friend, and they ran towards the east side of the city.
They reached the gate, and contrary to Kirren’s thoughts, there were five guards standing in front of it. Anghan paused. “Okay, Kirren, first lesson.” For no obvious reason, he punched at Kirren’s face.
“Aaah!” he yelled, but something had happened. Right as the clenched paw would have reached him, it slowed down. Actually, everything slowed down. The wolf paw slowly passed by Kirren’s face, as he moved out of the way. Then, everything returned to normal.
“What was that!” Kirren asked.
“It was another gift, that’s going to help you now. Basically, it’s something that slows down time when you are in harm’s way. It’s the Forever’s way of protecting us,” Anghan replied. He kicked, punched, chopped, and scratched at Kirren, but every time, it slowed down and gave the squirrel time to move out of the way.
“Oh.” Kirren thought for a moment. Then, he rushed at the five guards without warning.
Yelling something unintelligible, he slammed one footpaw into a rat’s back, kicking it into a nearby wall. Spinning, he brought a crushing blow from his left paw to another.
Anghan jumped into the middle, and back kicked a lizard, that swept another’s feet out. He heard the whistle of a sword, and stepped out of the way as it slowed down, then chopped the back of the rat’s neck. He stepped away and breathed a long breath.
Before the pair stepped out of the gate, they heard a cry of anguish from behind them. Kirren quickly spun and sprinted towards the noise.
He came to a small shack, where a mouse was screaming as her son was pulled away from her. “Help!” she yelled, when she saw Kirren. The lizard and three rats doing the deed turned immediately.
“Yew better stay away, slave, if you know what’s good fer yeh,” one snarled. He raised his hand to strike Kirren.
The young prophet’s eyes flashed all of a sudden, and he grabbed the rat’s paw. “Let the babe go,” he said softly, but it didn’t make it any less menacing. The rat sneered and raised a whip in his other paw.
Kirren stepped back, and raised his paws. “I serve the Forever!” he yelled. “Let . . . him . . . GO!” White fire blasted out of his paws, and flew into the air, maybe six feet high. He spun, and with one of the lengths of fire, struck down two of the vermin, burned. The other two cowered in fear, and scampered away, dropping their weapons.
The fire diminished, and Kirren knelt by the mouse, who had fainted. He picked her up, walked inside the shack, and gently laid her on a tiny cot inside. Her little babe toddled inside, and sat down. He sucked his thumb like absolutely nothing had just happened.
Kirren walked out, to an amazed Anghan. “I didn’t know . . . your power . . . it’s far more than mine!” the wolf said in wonder. “Look!” He held out his paw, making a small fire in his palm, maybe two feet tall. It quickly went away, though, and he spread his arms wide. “See? You are a Voice! Your fire is blazing hot inside of you, and His wrath shows itself in furious power. I am just a mere Sight.”
Kirren was sweating, and he just nodded. He joined his friend, and they walked out of the gate together.
They passed through unhindered, and entered a large grassy meadow. “We’ll keep training as we go,” Anghan said. He faced Kirren for a second. “Now, another gift that I’ve been given is the power to see very, very far away. For instance, if I look over your shoulder, I see a bug crawling on the bark of a tree, at a distance of about fifty yards. Now, I want you to do the same thing. However, we do already know that it won’t be the same,” he explained. Kirren did as he had said, and nothing happened at first. Then, he started to hear things. He heard the wind, and the grass crackling under Anghan’s paw. He heard a house settling on the outskirts of the City, and even the insect that Anghan had seen brushing the tree with its little legs.
“It’s working!” he exclaimed. “I can hear . . . everything!” He kept walking, following Anghan’s footsteps. With his eyes closed.
“Okay, next thing. Point at a place, and see if you can make something appear like me,” the wolf said next. Kirren opened his eyes, and tried what his mentor had said, and . . . nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing.
“Okay . . . hang on. Let’s try something else.” Anghan stood in front of Kirren. “Try it on me.”
“I’m not sure, Anghan.”
“Sure you’re sure. However, instead of thinking of an image, think of a sound or something.”
Kirren hesitated, then did exactly as Anghan had directed. The wolf shook his head in confusement. “Uh . . . Anghan?” the squirrel asked, hearing something strange. “Are you . . .”
The wolf shook it off, though, when Kirren stopped. “What sound was that?” the tall squirrel asked. “I heard my mother!” He rubbed his eyes.
“I have no idea.”
The pair walked off into the woods, and started to talk. All of a sudden, Kirren broke into a run. “What are we doing?” he yelled. “We need to get going!”
Anghan jogged beside him. “Do you know the way, youngster?”
“Yes, it’s . . .” Kirren paused. “Youngster?!? You’re only three years older than me!”
Anghan held back a grin. “Well, someone has to be older, little ‘un.”
“WHAT? You’re not coming if you’re going to act like my mother!” he said.
His friend chuckled. “That’s no way to speak to . . . your elder!” He finally burst into laughter, which echoed around the trees. Kirren couldn’t keep a straight face anymore, and collapsed into a giggle fit.
“It is if . . . your elder . . . is an immature . . . little wolf pup! Hahahahaha!” he gasped out.
“What does that make you?” Anghan managed with a deadpan face, then helplessly chortled like a child.
After about five minutes of laughing and running, which gave Kirren hiccups, they settled down and spotted the squirrel’s house. “There it is!” he whispered. They crept towards it, and immediately noticed a horrible stench. “Ugh!” Kirren exclaimed. “What is that smell?”
“Vermin.” They moved closer, and were at the door. Kirren could hear drooly, sloppy snoring from inside. In the light of the failing sun, he carefully moved forward . . . straight onto the paw of a very fat rat.
“Woooaagghh!” he yelled, sitting straight up. “Murder, mates! I’ve been stabbed to death!” He looked around, then scrambled for his spear as all his friends did the same, waking up in the process and smacking into each other.
Once they had all stood up without falling over, one of them paused. “Hey, they’re only a couple of slaves! Get ‘em!” He rushed at Anghan, knife in striking position. It was a mistake.
Anghan ducked the blow with blinding speed, and blasted the lizard’s tail with a stream of blue fire. The vermin yelped and dashed out of the house without a second thought . . . leaving his tail behind.
Another was too busy to notice his comrade’s fate. He leapt at Kirren, swinging a curved sword wildly. It came within two inches of the squirrel’s neck, but slowed down. Kirren ducked it. The young prophet slammed a blast of fire into the rat’s chest. It screamed and ran out the door, followed by his friends, all dropping their weapons in the process.
Kirren stood panting from the exertion, and the pair of prophets took a quick break. “I don’t think that they got the dagger,” Kirren said uncertainly. “It’s usually on my nightstand when I leave it behind, or behind my bed. I’ll check.” The tall squirrel ducked through a nearby doorway, and came back carrying the jeweled dagger. “Found it. I wonder why it’s so special to them?” He handed it to Anghan.
The wolf examined it closely with his enhanced eyesight, and immediately saw something. “There’s a secret compartment in the hilt. Listen closely.” He twisted the pommel, and Kirren heard a series of clicks. “You’ll have to twist each section of the hilt in a certain combination.” He gave it back to the younger prophet.
Kirren put his ear to the hilt and twisted carefully, hearing tumblers fall into place. After four turns of small rings around the hilt, the pommel fell off, and a slip of rolled up paper fell with it. Kirren picked it up and slowly unrolled it. It was brittle, and it had probably been in there for a very long time. Finally, it was flattened out on a table, and Kirren looked at it in awe.
At first, it seemed like a map of Evergreen, but Kirren immediately noticed something else. A mass of land lay far off the west coast of the Ratlands, on the other side of Evergreen, and it was labeled “Diamond”. Some notes were scrawled next to it, and it mentioned something called “bears” and superior knowledge. Riches, glory, peace, and other thing were written of as well. Kirren slowly nodded. “This is what they were after.”
That evening, after Kirren had returned the map to the dagger for safekeeping, he showed Anghan to a little extra cot in a separate room. Then, he retired for the night as well, after a quick dinner of soup, milk, and a hunk of bread.
The next morning, Anghan woke up early and found some provisions to make a meal of oatmeal, eggs, and coffee (he’d brought some with him). He woke up Kirren, and the two ate quickly and silently. After they finished, Kirren cleared the plates. “We should get going today, and try to catch those mercenaries before we’re too late,” he said as he scrubbed them clean. Anghan nodded.
“We’ll find them before we leave,” he said, grabbing his cloak. “How big is your bedroom? These rooms are tiny.”
Kirren finished and wiped his paws on his tail and tunic. “It’s only a bit bigger, but it has a flat floor without much furniture. Come on,” he replied, and he led Anghan into his room. Then they moved the bed and nightstand to the wall. The wolf flicked his paw, and Kirren was soaring over Evergreen again. Anghan moved the map to the house again, and started slowly in an eastwardly direction. Kirren listened closely, until he heard something. “Go back,” he said. The wolf obliged, tilting his paws and body until the map had returned to the spot.
The younger prophet could easily hear curses and rambling as the small gang of vermin creatures stumbled through the woods toward the City. Kirren stopped and threw on his cloak, and Anghan did the same when the squirrel told him why. They rushed out the door.
The pair moved through the forest at a speedy pace, until they reached the place where Kirren had heard the gang. “They can’t have gone much farther at that pace,” Anghan remarked. Kirren nodded, and started listening carefully. A few minutes later, he stopped his friend with his paw.
“I hear them.” He quickly narrated what he could sense.
Oy! Where’re you goin’?
Back to Whipfan . . . er . . . Whiptail!
Well, you don’t have the squirrel or the dagger. Yer comin’ wid us!
But we did! Then the liddle brat gits back, with another slave. They was magic!
There ain’t no such thing as magic, ‘cept for wot the bosses does.
It’s true! I see’d it too! That’s why Slinky ain’t gotta tail no more.
Okay, boys, I think they’re off their rockers, but just to be sure, we should take ‘em to the Boss . . .
At this point, Anghan and Kirren were galvanized into dashing through the trees, until they burst into a clearing. In the center stood a group of uniformed soldiers circled around the mercenaries from last night. One in the middle screamed, the one without a tail. “There they is!” He tried to make a run for it, but was poleaxed senseless by a weasel guard with a spear.
Anghan pointed at the mercenaries. “Give them to us, and we’ll let you go,” he said to the soldier who looked most important. The lizard shook his head.
“We has orders from His Mightiness, Tulrag Whiptail. Git outta here, if you wants to stay alive!” He brandished his spear at them both. Anghan flicked his paw, and images of Kirren popped up in a circle all around the vermin. The vermin leader gulped, and half of the mercenaries looked like they would just started crying.
“Let us have them.”
The lizard shook his head, sweating. “Get ‘em!” he yelled without thinking. He charged one of the fake Kirrens, and swung his spear clean through it. “Oy! It’s a trick! It’s them liddle prophets we were sent after! Don’t be scared like wee babes! Their ‘Lord’s power’ is only fake! Boss says!” The vermin ran straight at the real prophets.
Anghan stepped back in a fighting stance, but Kirren had already jumped into action. He had run straight into the middle of them, paws blazing. Yelling a war cry, the young squirrel leapt into the air, paws blasting fire almost ten feet out. He spun, twice, thrice, and it swirled around him in a ring. Finally, it exploded in a huge sphere of white fire, incinerating the vermin soldiers and mercenaries, but passing completely over Anghan. The evil creatures were reduced to nothing but lumps of ashes.
This boy amazes me again and again, Anghan thought. He ran over to the young squirrel to help him up in another few minutes. He’d fallen on the ground, retching after seeing the piles of vermin, paws clenched. His mentor lifted him, and carried him to a large tree. The boy was shivering.
Killed . . . dead . . . my fault . . . they’re gone . . . Kirren’s thoughts were a jumble of guilt, pity, and shock. He’d never killed anything, and never seen a deadbeast besides his mother.
Anghan quickly started a fire and got some dinner ready. He set up a tent with his cloak, then put his younger friend inside. Kirren quickly fell asleep. Anghan did not. The Sight sat by the fire, nibbling on a piece of bread from a small pack that they’d snatched as they stampeded out the door. Something had happened that day, but he didn’t know what it was. Something was wrong. It stayed at the edges of his mind, and he eventually dozed off.
He realized what it was in the morning.
“Kirren!”
The squirrel jerked awake. He’d been dreaming of something horrible. Something about prophets, and Anghan, and Slinky, and his father . . .
“Kirren!” Anghan’s furry head popped into the tent. “You’re awake! Good. I have something important to tell you.”
Kirren moaned internally. It hadn’t been a dream. He crawled out into the rising sunshine, and licked his lips, thirsty. “What is it?” he asked the wolf, stretching in the light and trying very hard not to think about the horrible piles of ash sitting thirty feet away.
The wolf quickly replied. “All night, I knew something was wrong. This morning, it hit me! That vermin leader said that they’d been sent after us! They know we’re here!” He immediately started taking down the “cloak tent” and swinging it around his shoulders. Kirren did the same.
“Where are we going to go?” Kirren asked.
“To my friends. Dango Freebeast and his army of rebels.” Anghan marched matter of factly into the woods, towards the south.
Kirren’s jaw dropped. “Dango Freebeast? The Dango Freebeast? The legendary resistance fighter?” He ran to catch up with the elder prophet. “I thought that he was a myth!”
“Oh, no, he’s quite real. I fished with him. Now, if I could only remember where his hideout is,” the wolf mused. He paused. “Oh yes, this way.” He pointed with his right paw, and they set off together into the woods. As they walked, Anghan remarked, “This will be a good two or three days good march.”
Yes it was! Kirren and Anghan walked, for almost four days, looking for the hideout of Dango Freebeast. During this time, they walked, slept, walked, talked, became better friends, walked, ate, avoided a few enemies, and walked.
One such day, Kirren felt like he would topple over from exhaustion, when Anghan said, “Aha! I recognize this place! The entrance is around here somewhere . . .” The wolf rummaged around in the foliage, while Kirren tuned in his hearing for any sign of life. And he heard it. Right behind where Anghan was standing, Kirren could hear light breathing, and more surrounding them.
“Anghan, watch . . .!” He couldn’t get farther before a net came down on top of the wolf and wood mice sprang out from the foliage on all sides. Kirren drew his dagger right away, checking his fire. He was attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible, but he didn’t think it would last for very long.
“Alright, lads, get ‘im!” one, the tallest (even though he was still smaller than Kirren), shouted. The mice got ready to spring on Kirren, too, but he brandished his dagger.
“Oho, look, boys, ‘e’s got a knife!” the big one laughed.
“That’s not all I’ve got,” Kirren said, and his right paw burst into flames. He knew it wouldn’t last long. The mice jumped back, the fire reflecting in their brown eyes. “Let my friend go.”
“We aren’t afraid of a little trick, see?” the brown mouse said, but his voice told otherwise. At this, Anghan burned through the ropes with a strong blast of blue fire. He instantly joined Kirren, side by side.
For about a full minute the two sides faced off, neither talking. Then Anghan started to laugh. Out loud. “Twitch Freebeast, you silly creature! It’s me, Anghan! Didn’t your father tell you about me? When I saw you last, you were only about eleven. ” He walked up and slapped the harvest mouse on the back.
“Yes, he did,” Twitch grinned, his face softening slightly, “But the only thing that I can completely recall is that he said that he was going to have rheumatism in his back from your rough greetings.” The mouse was about a third the size of the wolf, and Anghan swept him up onto his shoulder.
“Where’s the entrance! I need to see your old man!” Anghan roared. The mouse pointed, with some difficulty, at a tree.
“Hidden . . . in the roots! ‘Elp, mates!” the mouse squeaked, although he was laughing. Obviously, he seemed to think of Anghan as an uncle of some sort.
Anghan put down the mouse and moved over to roots. He glanced, nodded, and dived into a hole at the base of the tree. His furry silver ears popped up again. “Come on, Kirren!” his muffled voice sounded. “There’s a tunnel!” Anghan’s head disappeared again, and Kirren walked over to the tree. Sure enough, there was a tunnel, with some light seeping out. The squirrel hopped lightly inside and found himself next to the wolf. They both jogged down the path to the source of the light.
Kirren’s jaw dropped when he saw what laid at the end of the tunnel, just from the size of the place.
It was a huge underground cavern, with mice, hedgehogs, and squirrels all over the place. Little houses were built into the rock walls, and when the mice and other creatures saw Anghan, they all drew some kind of weapon. “Intruders!” one squeaked. Anghan held up his paw.
“Wait, mice. I need to see Dango Freebeast!” he shouted above the noise. They all quieted. Then, one very tall mouse, almost as tall as Kirren, stepped forward.
“Well, if it isn’t Anghan Silverfur! How are you, my old friend?” he said in a big voice. He stepped forward and gave Anghan a bear hug, which was returned in kind. The wolf laughed.
“I’m fine!” he exclaimed. “Seems that you’ve got quite the community here! I can’t remember it ever being this busy the last time that I was here, right before they caught me again.”
Dango stepped back. “How’d you get past the sentries, mate?” he asked suspiciously. “Twitch!” he called with a voice like thunder. “Were you wingriding again?”
Twitch came bounding through the tunnel. “You called, Da?” He was immediately snagged by the ear.
“How many times have I told you that you aren’t to slack on sentry duty? Now get back up there, and be vigilant!” After Dango had finished reprimanding his son, he let go of the young mouse’s ear and Twitch dashed up the tunnel. Dango turned to Anghan.
“Now, what brings you here, Anghan?” Dango asked, turning to the wolf. Anghan looked around to make sure that no one was near enough to hear him. He leaned in and whispered in Dango’s ear.
“We’ve been discovered.”
Dango was frantic. “Who? Us mice? The rebels? You?” Anghan shook his head.
“Kirren and I.”
Dango cocked his head. “Who?” Anghan pointed at Kirren.
“Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever.” Dango’s jaw dropped.
“Barkleaf?” He spun around. “Rebels! Show some respect! This is a Voice! The Voice!” he yelled. All of the mice dropped to one knee, one paw clutched to their chests in a sign of allegiance. Kirren heard a sharp intake of breath from Anghan.
“I forgot about that,” he muttered. He quickly swept Dango and Kirren into a small side cave. Once they were all inside, he shut the door.
“What? What is it?” Kirren asked, confused. Anghan sighed.
“Kirren, in all the confusion of the last few days, I completely forgot the reason why you’re with me, why you’re here. Dango, do you want to tell him?”
“No way, mate. This is yours,” Dango quickly replied. Anghan rolled his eyes.
“Okay. Kirren . . .”
*****
“I grew up a slave, from about five years old. My parents were both Sights (even though I didn’t figure it out until a year ago), and they only ever used their gifts to help the other slaves. For some reason, the Forever wanted them to stay put. But He never mentioned me to them.
“One night, while the guards had dozed off, I escaped through a gap in the pen of the slave compound. I was about sixteen. I ran into the woods, and got lost. Then, Dango here found me. He was about twenty at the time, and took me here. For a few days, we ate and drank and slept under the same roof . . . er, cave. One day, we decided to go fishing. We walked to a creek, sat down, and cast our poles in the water.
“Since I was a strong worker, they’d sent soldiers after me to find me. They did. They ambushed me when I had dozed off, but Dango had moved farther up the stream, so they didn’t find him.
“Before I left, something had happened. I prophesied.
“The prophecy spoke of you. It went something like this:
Born a Barkleaf, fire of white
Darkness will be overcome with light
Truth will foil the Whiptail’s wile
He will defend the Diamond Isle
Filled with power, strength in faith
He will defeat the Dark One’s wraith
Stronger than any other before
This is the holy word of the Lord
“Dango was there when I said these words, and told his tribe when I was taken. You are that prophet. You are to lead us in battle.
“Also, while I was a slave, I figured some things out, from my sight and visions, after I’d been called by the Forever. It was very disturbing. Do you know who the Shadow is?”
Kirren nodded. “The enemy of the Forever.”
“Right. He has his own ‘prophets’. They have their own abilities. I classified them into three categories, like Voices and Sights. First, the Hungers. These are the weakest. They drain energy, and can never get enough of helpless victims. Then, there are Lashes. They create torture weapons out of fire, and darkness. They’re stronger. They use greenish fire, and Hungers use purplish fire.
“Finally, there are Nightmares. Whiptail is one. They use creatures of the night and darkness to their advantage, and cause evil dreams and hallucinations. They are pure evil. Ever horrible, they are the strongest of the three.”
*****
They’d all sat down for this well sized narration, and Kirren stayed down. His jaw was slack, and his eyes bulged. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. This was even crazier than the idea that he was a prophet, which he had started to get used to.
“Well?” Dango said expectantly. Anghan looked at Kirren with a question in his eyes.
“Uh . . .” the squirrel stuttered. “I don’t really . . . don’t know what to say . . . I . . .”
“Don’t know what to say?!” Dango burst out. “What do you mean, nothing to say?”
“Take it easy, Dango,” Anghan said calmly, although sounding a little disappointed. “It’s a lot to take in. I mean, what would you say if I recited a prophecy about you?” They sat in silence for another minute, thinking that one over. “No, never mind, I take that back,” Anghan thought out loud.
Then Kirren spoke up. “If He says so, then it is to be. When do I start?” Anghan grinned.
Dango showed Kirren and Anghan to a room, which was really just a cave with two bunks, and a mousemaid brought them a small dinner. Then, they went to bed.
The next morning, Kirren woke up early, and Anghan woke up soon after. They walked quickly into the dining room, expecting to see lots of activity, but were surprised by the fact that one kitchen aid was the only one there. Anghan grumbled something about “lazybeasts” and “slackers”. They each grabbed some food for breakfast from the sleepy kitchen helper, then sat down at a table to wait.
Wait they did. They waited for another four hours before the mice started trickling into the hall. Finally, Dango walked in with Twitch and sat down next to Kirren and Anghan. The two glowered at him and instantly started berating him.
“What kind of rebel leader are you?!”
“Waking up this late, you should be surprised that it isn’t supper-time yet!”
“My grandmother woke up earlier than you!”
They continued like this for about thirty seconds, and Dango waited, staring them down like an eagle. They eventually noticed and faltered. “We stayed up all night planning,” he said calmly. “You have no right to talk like this.”
Kirren curled his tail in, an ancient form of squirrel embarrassment. “Oh,” was all he could manage. Anghan didn’t say anything. Dango grinned.
“Aw, mates, you couldn’t have known. Come on. I’m assuming that you’ve had breakfast . . . er, lunch. We have a war room, now, Anghan.” The mouse got up, and the two prophets followed him into a large hall on the western side of the cavern.
When they came to the end of the hall, Dango opened a huge door, his muscles straining. He and his companions walked in, and Kirren was astounded. There were suits ings of armor lining the walls, and huge war machines all over, being constructed. Weapons were on racks everywhere, and . . . “What are those?” Kirren asked a passing stable hand, pointing at stables full of birds, all different colors and sizes, and all suited in saddles and armor.
“They’s wingriding birds, sir! Jays and Lancewings, we calls ‘em,” came the immediate reply. Kirren thought about this for a moment, then followed his friends, but still not really paying attention to anything else that was going on. His head was spinning with ideas of actually flying, riding on a bird’s back.
Dango and Anghan had already reached a table with maps and plans spread all over it. They each took a chair and sat down, and gestured for Kirren to do the same. The tall squirrel grabbed a stool, and scooched up to the table.
“First things first. Anghan and Kirren, you two have been promoted to honorary commanders. You will each take charge of a wing going into the city.
“Second: there will be four groups attacking the city. First, a small group of soldiers will attack the front gates, which are on the east side, to distract the vermin from the other wings. Then, while this is going on, a group of jay wingriders will strike the northern wall, with crossbows and debris, to seem like the aerial strike. What will actually be happening is that a group of Lancewing wingriders will be in the city already, having come in over the southern walls. They’ll dismount, creep up to the western gate, and let the main force in, who will be attacking already and have joined with the distraction, to keep the guards there from looking back. Now, which force do you two want to lead?”
Before Dango had even finished his sentence, Kirren exclaimed, “Lancewings! I want to go with the Lancewings!” Anghan howled with laughter.
“So that’s what had you so captivated!” Dango said, a grin on his face. “Of course you’ll go with them. Anghan?”
The big wolf thought for a moment. “I guess . . . I’ll go with the distraction. More guards will come if there’s a prophet, and probably a few commanders, false servants of the Shadow,” he slowly said. Dango nodded.
“Makes sense. Just don’t get yourself killed. We only have four living prophets,” he said. This made Kirren perk up in curiosity, but he didn’t say anything.
Dango spoke again. “Kirren, if you’re flying with the wingriders, you’ll need training. Oy! Slash!” he called, beckoning the stable hand that Kirren had talked to before. “You’re to teach Commander Kirren here how to ride!”
The mouse nodded. “Yes, Chief.”
“Lancewing riding, mind you. I know that you ride a jay, but I also know that you know both riding styles.” Slash nodded, and grabbed Kirren’s shoulder, steering him towards a low building on the east side of the war cavern.
“Let’s get you a bird, commander.”
“A bird?” Kirren asked, puzzled.
“Of course. Lancewings are only loyal to one master, ever,” Slash grinned. He walked up to a guard sitting in front of a large door. “We’re here to get Commander Kirren a Lancewing.”
The guard, another mouse, scoffed. “That’s not Commander Kirren. Commander Kirren is supposed to be a super strong beast, like Anghan Silverfur over there,” he sneered. This is not a nice mouse, Kirren thought. He was getting the idea that not everybody here was like Dango and Twitch. He held out one of his paws. White fire sparked from it.
“This enough proof?” The guard shook his head.
“Firestarter.”
The fire curled out and swirled around the paw, enveloping it in a blaze, then exploding into the air. “How about this?!” Kirren said, exasperated by this rude creature. The guard scampered behind Slash, and nodded.
Anghan had seen it, and strode sternly over. “Kirren! Come here!” he said. The fire diminished, and Kirren walked over to the wolf. “I saw that. You never use your gifts for intimidation! Never!”
“But . . .” Kirren started, but Anghan cut him off.
“No! I’ve seen things like this in visions of the older days, and it never ended well! If it continues to happen, consequences of your own making will come. Thank the Forever that he is merciful and a loving creator.” Anghan walked off, shaking his head.
Kirren stood there for a moment, and a hot tear of shame rolled down his cheek when he realized what he’d done. He wiped it away, quickly apologized to the guard, who grunted in reply, and hustled inside the door. Kirren followed, with Slash behind him.
He forgot everything when he stepped inside.
There were birds of all shapes and colors, and sizes, from red to blue, and even a few gold and silver ones. The little ones hopped around and played with each other, while their mothers slept and the older ones chattered. Some were bigger, with long wings and sharp looking feathers, while some were smaller, with rounded feathers. Kirren thought that the latter were probably the jays. Saddles and reins lined the walls, with feeding troughs underneath them. “Wow,” Kirren breathed.
“Okay, Commander! Which one do you want?” Slash asked. “Be sure to pick a Lancewing, though. They’re the bigger ones.” Kirren nodded, and started to walk through the huge room.
Kirren saw some good looking ones, but they seemed to bully the other ones around. Some were weak and small, and some were very strange looking. Finally, he reached the back of the room. Standing there was a huge Lancewing, with gold feathers and flashes of silver on it’s wings. It didn’t seem to be unkind to the other birds around it, but they all seemed to respect it. “This one,” Kirren said immediately. Slash came over. Right away, he whistled.
“He’s a beauty, all right. There’s just one problem. Gold and silver are reserved for commanders . . .” Slash stopped. “You are a commander. Never mind.”
“How do you know he’s a male?” Kirren asked.
“For one thing, he has blue eyes. All the females have purple eyes,” Slash explained. “Also, he has claws on his talons. Now, let’s get you a saddle and some gear.” He walked over to the wall, grabbed a leather bag and a saddle. “Let’s try this one.”
After about fifteen minutes, they had a saddle, stirrups, reins, and some other odds and ends that fit Kirren and the bird. They walked up to a table where an old female hedgehog sat. “We need to buy this equipment, and we’re permanently checking out a Lancewing for Commander Kirren,” Slash told her. She nodded and gave him a price for the equipment. Slash tossed a few copper coins on the table, then led Kirren and the bird out of the hatch on the other side of the stable.
“Time for training.” They walked out of the hideout through the hallway and secret tunnel. The Lancewing hopped after Kirren, butting him and pecking him. “Ha! He likes you!” Slash laughed. After they had walked through the forest quietly for a while, Slash stopped them in a clearing. “Okay, first things first,” he began. “I’ll show you how to set up your gear on . . . what’s his name?” he asked inquisitively. Kirren thought, then his eyes caught the flashes of silver on the gold wings.
“Lightning,” he said decisively. Slash nodded in approval, then showed the prophet how to strap on the saddle, and harness the reins. After Kirren had gotten it down, Slash stood up.
“Okay, this is something you might want to see.” He stepped back, picked up a few stones, and whistled loudly. It was a three note song.
A red jay swooped through the trees, spinning and flipping. She screeched, and Slash started throwing stones at her! She evaded every one of them, and finally caught one, spinning and slingshotting it back at the mouse. He caught it in his left paw. The jay dived and landing with a fluttering of wings. “Kirren, meet Razor!” Slash said cheerfully.
Kirren reached out to stroke her wing, but got pecked on the head. The jay twittered as if laughing at him. Slash chuckled. “I think that she thinks you’re annoying me.” He punched Kirren playfully on the arm. Lighting jumped at him.
The gold Lancewing grabbed the mouse and hung him upside down on a nearby tree branch, chattering angrily. Kirren started laughing. “I think that Lightning thinks you’re annoying me! You look like a plum, ripe for picking!” Lightning looked at Kirren mischievously, and Kirren stopped laughing. The Lancewing pounced, and suddenly Kirren was next to Slash. Now Lighting laughed.
“Who’s a plum now?” Slash asked. He and Kirren both scrambled down, and dropped, dizzy. They both stumbled to a nearby stream and ducked their heads. “Whoo! That’s better,” Slash said, albeit a little woozily. He climbed on Razor and clipped himself in with a strap of leather. Kirren followed his lead.
“What now?” Kirren inquired.
“I want you to nudge Lighting’s left side, and hold on.” Kirren did so, and found himself hurtling up into the sky.
“Yahoo!” he yelled. Slash came up beside him.
“Now do it again!” he shouted. Kirren did, and leveled out. “Good!” he called. “Now right side!” Lightning dived, and then leveled out when Kirren repeated the action. “Great! The only thing is, if you’d open yer eyes, you’d see how awesome this is!”
Kirren had been closing his eyes. He slowly opened them, then gasped. He could see everything! He could see the City far off, and all of Evergreen, and even a bit of the Ratlands in the distance . . . maybe. “This is amazing!” he yelled to Slash, who grinned.
“Now, this is part of your training. I’m going to ask you to do something really stupid, alright?”
Kirren was a bit skeptical, but nodded.
“Alright! Lean forward, and put your head lightly on Lightning’s saddle!” Slash yelled over the sound of the wind. Kirren did. “Hold on as tight as you can, then flatten your tail hard!”
The squirrel hesitated, then did as Slash had told him. It was a good thing that he had a really good grip on the reins.
The bird flipped five times, then zigzagged back and forth a few times. Then, at top speed, he dove down to the trees and came back up, doing a barrel roll. Kirren would have screamed, but he was using all of his energy in staying on. Finally, ending with a complete drop and three spins, Lightning calmed down.
“What . . . was . . . that?!” Kirren gasped. “What did you make me do?”
Slash was giggling like a babe. “Evasive . . . maneuvers!” Kirren turned towards him and flew straight at him. Slash yelled in surprise and flew as fast as he could in the other direction. But the Lancewing was faster. Finally, Slash had to take drastic measures. “It’s been nice, Kirren!” he called. “But I have to get going now!” He whispered in Razor’s ear, unclipped himself, and the jay flipped around. When she came back up, Slash wasn’t in the saddle anymore!
Lightning flew right over the smaller bird, and Kirren turned his head to look for his mouse friend. He was plummeting towards the ground! Razor screeched, dived, and neatly caught him out of the air. “Come get me!” Slash called. Kirren shook his head, chuckling. He dived, came up next to the mouse, and called back to him.
“It’s about midday! We should get something to eat!” Slash bobbed his head in acknowledgement, and they angled their birds towards the hideout.
They got back, and took their birds to a different stable. Kirren dumped some food in a feeding trough, and he and Slash went to the dining room to join the others for lunch. They grabbed some sandwiches and salad. After they finished, Kirren retreated to his room for a while, to get a short rest. However, he was soon awakened by Slash coming to get him for more training. Before they left, Anghan walked in. “Slash,” he said. “I was wondering if you would help me get a jay.”
“Sure! I’ll do that tonight.”
Kirren was puzzled. “Why a jay?” he asked. “Lancewing are faster, and bigger.”
“Well, a jay is more maneuverable, and smaller means lighter,” Slash explained.
“Also,” Anghan added, “They come in different colors.” He grinned. “I’m kidding! I’m not interested in jays just for their color.” He laughed and walked out of the room.
“Okay, Kirren! Training, again. Let’s go pick up the birds,” Slash said, walking out of the room with the squirrel prophet on his heels.
After they’d gotten their birds again and saddled them, Slash led them into a new part of the cavern complex. He went through another hallway out of the war cave, then down two more, through a door, then came to a another huge double door. “Here we are!” he said. “Help me open this gate.” Kirren set his back to one of the two doors and pushed hard. It slowly creaked open.
The squirrel and his friend got it all the way open, and led Lightning and Razor in. For not the first time that week, Kirren gaped.
It was a huge, rocky, open space, with rings in the air, ramps, training equipment everywhere, a covered object in the corner, dummies, and all sorts of things for wingriding birds. “I’ve collected this stuff for years,” the mouse said. Slash hopped on Razor and flew her into the air, signaling for Kirren to follow, and the squirrel did. He followed Slash through rings, under ramps, in tunnels, and around various hanging obstacles, laughing his head off while he did. At one point, he figured out how to barrel roll through a ring, and impressed Slash. However, he was immediately outdone when Slash used the evasive maneuver trick to go through multiple training obstacles. Lastly, Slash taught his pupil how to train Lightning a call, with a few different notes.
That night, Slash helped Anghan to get a bird, and he joined them for a bit. For three straight days, they flew and trained, only taking breaks for food, sleep, and when they couldn’t feel their rears anymore. Finally, on the last night before the attack was to come, Kirren landed by the door. “This has been wonderful, Slash,” he said. “I hope that it will be of use tomorrow.” His mouse friend nodded gravely.
“It will. Now, let’s get some sleep. It will be a very, very busy day tomorrow.” They walked out, with their birds hopping behind them, and barred the door. After that, they each moved to their separate rooms. Kirren couldn’t stay still though. He ran through his door and jumped into his bunk like a sugar-happy cub.
“You seem energized!” Anghan chuckled. “You better put your Lancewing up, though.” He pointed a paw from his bed towards the door. Lightning was trying to fit through.
“Whoops,” Kirren muttered. He took Lightning’s halter and led him to the stables. He put him away, then went to bed himself. Suddenly, he felt exhausted.
He slept fitfully that night.
Kirren stood in the center of a grassy field. He smelled salt and heard distant waves, so he assumed that he was near the sea. He couldn’t turn to be sure, though. He could also hear wood being sawn, and hammers on nails: the signs of carpentry. Suddenly, the voice of Forever rang through his head. Kirren, my son. Do as I command.
Yes, Lord, the prophet mentally replied.
Whiptail must never reach the Diamond Isle. It is my holy land. It is only for my faithful servants, after my own heart. It is for fallen soldiers, those who are true to me. Whiptail shall be hindered.
Yes, Father.
Kirren woke up in a cold sweat. Something had woken him up, something that he’d heard. He tuned his hearing, but didn’t need to.
“Wait ‘til da Boss hears dat I kilt’ one o’ dem magic slaves. I’ll be promoted!” a raspy voice quietly snickered. Kirren sneaked to the door and he flung it wide open! The lights from the lamps in the hall shone fiercely on a hunched up rat, with a knife in one claw that was positioned over Anghan’s neck. It turned immediately, growling, but Kirren had already thrown a stream of fire towards it’s knife claw, yelling. Immediately, the rat fainted from pain and shock.
Anghan was up on his feet, albeit a bit groggy. Dango and Twitch were awakened by the commotion and had rushed from their bedroom next door. “Whadisit?” Dango said, speech slurred from sleepiness.
“I caught this vermin scum ready to kill Anghan, and blasted his knife and claw off. He must have followed us from the City and snuck past the sentries,” Kirren explained. He quickly retold what had happened to the group. Anghan nodded.
“If I know rats, he’ll have come alone, hoping to have all the glory for himself. Do you have anywhere to keep him?” Anghan asked, turning to Dango. The tall mouse nodded.
“We have a small dungeon area for prisoners. Twitch, you take Kirren there and help him carry the vermin. Tie him up first, though,” the rebel leader cautioned. He tossed Twitch a length of rope from a corner. Twitch quickly tied the rope around the rat’s paws in an intricate knot, then hefted him on his shoulder with Kirren’s help.
“Follow me,” he said. They walked down the hall to the main cavern, then the war room, then down another tunnel that led to a metal gate.
The rat started to wakefulness. Where was he? Why did his claw hurt so much? However, he was saved anymore wondering when Twitch dropped his head on the ground to bang on the gate, knocking him cleanly unconscious. “Open up! Twitch Freebeast and company!” the mouse yelled.
A rebel mouse guard yawned and came around a corner, jingling an iron key on a ring. He inserted the key into a lock, twisted it, and the gate swung open. “Whatcha doin’ up this late? Or rather, early?” the guard grumbled. Twitch was clearly too busy, so he walked off to his little stool in the corner. Maybe he would get a little more sleep.
Twitch and Kirren walked down the little hall to an empty cell . . . well, all of them were, as a matter of fact. They placed the rat inside, shut the cell door, bolted it from the outside, and walked back to the entrance gate. “Lock it again!” Twitch yelled, and the guard stumbled from his chair again, groaning.
The pair made their way back in general silence, as not to wake up the other sleeping beasts. When they reached Kirren’s bedroom, they found a surprise that wasn’t cheerful for either of them. “As long as we’re up, we might as well get ready,” Dango announced. He and Anghan were both fully dressed and ready to go. Kirren and Twitch moaned.
After they had gotten dressed, they all marched down the dining hall, waking up mice and other beasts as they went. All the rebels and their families gathered in the dining hall. Dango stepped up to a pedestal. “All right, men! After breakfast, those who are too old or too young will make their way to the siege caves! Understood?” A chorus of mumbled affirmation greeted his order. “Okay! Cooks! Breakfast!” he yelled.
After a very good breakfast of flapjacks and milk, Kirren watched as all the rebel families disappeared through a huge iron door that led down into the siege caves. He was impressed by how organized it was, as if they’d practiced over and over. Finally, the last mother and child squirrel disappeared through the door, and it was shut and bolted from the inside.
Slash found Kirren in the midst of the crowd. “Oy! Put these on!” he said, tossing the tall squirrel a bundle of clothes.
“What are they?” Kirren asked. He unrolled the leather bundle.
“Wingriding gear! This is a leather riding outfit, with a belt, water canteens, a weapon holster, and a few other little odds and ends. These boots are softer, with a clip loop, and they’re easier on your heels,” Slash explained. Kirren nodded, and was about to say something when Dango’s bellowing voice cut him off.
“Mice! Report to your individual troops!” Kirren suddenly found himself surrounded by wingriders, all dressed in the same gear as he had just been given. “Um . . . go get your birds, saddle them, and meet me in the flight hangar!” he ordered. He’d been briefed a little about this. The Lancewing riders saluted, and Slash with them.
“I’m with you, Commander!” he announced. Kirren rolled his eyes at the formality, and went to go get dressed.
Once he had finished getting his gear on in his room, he noticed that his shoulder had an epaulet on it, with a red blazon that depicted a pair of wings and a pawprint in between them. “It must mean that I'm a commander,” he said to himself. Then there was a knock on the door. Kirren finished buckling the supply belt, and called out, “Come in!” He sat on his bed to slip on his soft leather boots, and Anghan walked in.
The big wolf was dressed in full battle armor, with an iron breastplate and epaulets to match, with silvery shin guards and gauntlets. It was finished off with a steel helmet, that came down and covered his nose, and came around his cheekbones. “Kirren, there’s someone that I want you to meet,” he said. “She’s the regular wingrider captain, for raids, and she’ll be flying with you today. Meet Lilian Treeflyer.” The large wolf moved out of the doorway.
The most beautiful squirrelmaid that Kirren had ever seen walked through the doorway into the room. She was dressed in the regular wingriding uniform, but had a blue shoulder pad instead of red or plain leather. She had her hair in a braid, and an amber earring in her left ear. She also had reddish brown fur. “Hello! I’m Lilian!” she said cheerfully. Kirren couldn’t say anything.
Anghan hid a chuckle. “Kirren? Are you there?” he asked, waving his paw in front of the squirrel’s face. Kirren shook his head quickly, as if to rid himself of a stupor.
“Er . . . I’m Kirren Barkleaf! Mice to neet you . . . I mean, nice to meet you!” he stammered. “Uh . . .” He stood up. “I guess that I’m supposed to meet the other Lancewing riders in the flight hangar. I don’t know where that is.”
She grinned. “I do. Come on.” The pretty squirrelmaid led him out of his room and down another hallway. “So, you’re a prophet?” she asked.
“Yes, but . . . not a very good one,” Kirren replied sheepishly, recalling the incident with the guard. His tail curled in.
“Not from what I’ve heard. I was told that you blasted a score of vermin into oblivion, and even rescued a young slave!” she said. The prophet smiled, a little shyly, and his tail unfurled. “Where’s your father? We haven’t heard anything from Ferras Barkleaf in years!”
“He’s . . . dead.” Kirren rubbed his eye. “He died eight years ago, protecting my mother and I from Whiptail’s vermin.” Lilian nodded.
“My parents are dead, too. They died of a disease when I was fifteen. I’m eighteen now.”
“How’d you become a captain at such a young age?” he asked inquisitively. She shrugged, and he didn’t press her.
The pair were now outside the war stables. The hedgehog guarding them tugged his cap respectfully, and the two went inside. Slash was standing there, with Lightning and Razor. “Ready to go, Commander!” he said cheekily. Kirren grinned. Lilian had gone to get her own bird, so they were left standing alone.
“Ready!” Kirren replied. After about five minutes, Lilian walked in with a sky blue Lancewing, with silver facial feathers. Clearly a female.
“Kirren, this is Thunder, and . . .” Lilian gasped. She’d seen Lightning. “He’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, rushing over to look the bird over. “What’s his name?”
“Lightning,” Kirren replied. “Thunder looks good too!” Lilian was infatuated with his golden Lancewing.
Slash cleared his throat. “We should probably get going. The other riders are waiting.” Kirren nodded, tapped Lilian’s shoulder to get her attention, and they continued out through the hallways.
After a few more minutes, they arrived in the wingriding hangar. It was a large, circular cavern with all of the Lancewing riders lined up under a round hatch in the ceiling. “Wingriders! Mount!” Lilian yelled in a perfect parade ground voice. All of the wingriders, including Kirren and Lilian, jumped on their birds. “Wait!” she called. “When do we fly?” she asked Kirren in a whisper.
“In about thirty seconds,” he said, looking at the sun through a skylight.
“Okay.” Lilian put her paws to her mouth, and whistled loudly. In about five seconds, another whistle responded. The hatch started to open.
“Fly out, single file, then V formation!” Kirren ordered. He was a little more confident now. He held up his right paw, then nudged Lightning’s side, shooting up through the trapdoor, with Lilian, Slash, and all the other riders right behind him. When he was in the open air, past the trees, he let his paw drop, and they assembled into the previously ordered formation.
“North to the city!” Lilian shouted over the wind. Kirren pointed them north, following the jay riders that he saw in the distance, and they were off at a slower pace.
Kirren’s tail was sore, after about an hour of flying. His paws were numb, too. Finally, he could see the City. on the horizon, far larger than it had looked at the beginning of the venture. The young prophet tuned in his enhanced hearing, and even without it clearly heard the distraction and jay riders attacking the east and northern sides.
Lilian took the lead, and brought the company down low. Two more minutes and they swept in over the south wall for a landing.
All the wingriders quickly hid their birds in small abandoned houses, and looked around. Where are the slaves? Kirren thought. Lilian reached into a pouch at her belt.
“Here’s a map of the city,” she said, showing a piece of paper. “We should probably move around the outskirts, to avoid guards and such.” The captain pointed out a quick route. Kirren nodded.
“Let me check.” He moved his hearing ability along the map, and found nothing except a small disturbance near the gate. He immediately related this to the squirrelmaid. She nodded, signaled the other wingriders, and proceeded down a side alley.
Every corner or so, Kirren would listen again just to be sure. It went uneventfully for the first three fourths of the journey, but at one point, Kirren stopped the group. “Hang on.”
Git in there faster, slaves! If yew doesn’t, it’s the whip!
Please, sirs, we haven’t had any food in days!
Shut it! Kirren heard a whip crack.
That was it. Kirren leaped into action with Slash right behind him. “Come on!” he yelled. There were a group of slaves, and two taskmasters, and Kirren jumped at one of them. His paws blazed, and swirled around, smacking the whip in the lizard’s claw to the ground and incinerating its face. Slash’s two knives flashed, and the other collapsed. “You’re free,” the mouse said to the bunch of slaves. “Get into those buildings. You’ll be safer there.” They nodded hastily, and shuffled into the low sheds that Slash had pointed out.
“There’s the gate!” Kirren exclaimed. Lilian came up behind him.
“Scout! Archers!” she called quietly. One of the mice came up beside her, and five squirrel and mouse archers lined up in front of her. “Check it out.” The scout nodded, and ran on ahead. He held up his paw for all clear. Then, three things happened.
Ten or so of the twenty there rushed forward, ready to put their paws to the gates, including Slash.
All of a sudden, out of Forever knows where, a score of soldiers burst out and slaughtered three of them.
Kirren saw Slash’s horrified face one more time . . . before he was stabbed through the stomach and out the back by a vile rat with a spear. “No!” Kirren screamed. Slash looked at him with a painful expression, and fell over, the spear still sticking out of him. “Aargh!” Kirren yelled, and hit five vermin before they started running, and he ran after them, throwing a storm of fire in a rage. Finally, he ran back, weeping, and dropped to his friend’s side. “Slash!”
“Don’t . . . go . . .” Slash gasped. Blood was seeping out of the stained leather. “You’re my . . . best friend . . . tell Razor and my mother . . . goodbye . . .”
“No! Slash, I’m not going anywhere! You’ll get help . . .” Kirren’s voice faltered.
“Thank you . . . save Evergreen . . .” Slash’s last breath slipped away. Kirren sobbed.
“Kirren, we have to go,” Lilian said urgently, although tears were slipping down her face as well.
“I know. Just one more thing,” he said, in a halting voice. The squirrel put his paws to his mouth and whistled that high pitched whistle that Slash had that day in the woods.
Razor heard it, and zoomed out of her hiding place. Screeching, she flew over the city until she saw Kirren standing over Slash. Giving a mournful call, she dove and landed next to the body of her dead master. “Razor, I need you to take him home,” Kirren said, trying to keep the tears out of his voice. The bird nodded her understanding, and the squirrel gently lifted the body of his friend onto her saddle, strapping him in with the clip. She took off, and screeched one last time. Kirren turned. “For Slash!” he yelled.
“For Slash!” the wingriders echoed. They rushed at the gate, all shoving with their whole weight.
“Something’s blocking it!” Lilian exclaimed.
“Step back, everyone!” Kirren yelled. They did, and he spun, creating a huge river of fire and blowing the gates to smithereens. “Charge!”
They burst through the rubble on the other side that had been holding the gate closed. Kirren followed into the battle that was going on between the vermin soldiers and the rebels. However, as he ran, he tripped and found himself looking at the end of a long spear, held by a runty rat. The vermin thrust it down, but was blasted with a familiar flash of blue fire. “Anghan!” Kirren exclaimed. The silver wolf helped him up.
“Watch it, young ‘un!” he shouted above the noise. Kirren grinned.
“I need to get out of here!” he said, blowing up a small shack and destroying the vermin that were clustered around it. “I need --” He paused to punch a weasel in the face. “-- to stop Whiptail!” Anghan nodded, and the two of them started clearing a path to the gate, which rebels were already flowing through. Kirren stepped through and ran as hard as he could towards the large palace that Whiptail had built when the rat’s father had invaded Evergreen.
Kirren ran through the streets, not even checking with his hearing, because he could easily deal with any danger. All of the false prophets were most likely to be at the palace, or the front gate because of Anghan’s presence.
Finally, Kirren arrived at the metal gridded gate of the palace. He looked around for another place to enter, but there was none. Good thing he was a squirrel.
Swinging up and grabbing the first few bars, Kirren quickly ascended the gate and hopped over. He now stood in the center of a wide paved courtyard, with no guards in sight. “Good,” he said to himself. Now, though, he started to be more cautious. Following a sound that he’d heard, he quietly stalked down a dark hallway, that seemed empty. When it got to the point where he couldn’t see, he lit his paw to light the way.
He reached the end of the corridor and found a wooden door. He slowly creaked it open, and stepped inside, staying close to the wall.
Kirren appeared to be in some kind of large planning room, with pillars lining the outside and a large skylight that was covered by multiple slats of wood. In the center, a few rats and lizards clustered around a large table, with some kind of diagram on it. Three of them seemed normal, but the other two looked strange, with flat eyes and gravelly voices. Kirren got closer, hiding behind pillars until he was only about ten feet from them.
Suddenly, one of the strange creatures sniffed the air. “Someone’s here,” he muttered to his companion. He started to slowly shuffle to the pillar that Kirren was standing behind. The squirrel spun out of his hiding place, eyes blazing.
“I come in the name of Forever! Where is Whiptail?” he shouted. Three of the vermin ran. Two of them stayed, the strange ones. One of the two lizards held out his claw, and a purplish flame crawled out of it, building until it was two feet high. The other did the same, and flicked his other claw, but nothing happened. His eyes widened in surprise. The three began to circle.
“We can’t drain his energy!”
“He’s protected by the Accursed One,” his partner answered, terror creeping into his voice. Kirren held out both paws next to him, and they burst into white fire at these words, growing to twice the size of the Hunger’s. The evil false prophets started back. Then, one ran at Kirren.
The squirrel jumped back, blasting the lizard as he passed, and the Hunger fell to the ground, dead. But now the other jumped at Kirren’s unprotected back. His claw grew into a huge weapon, and he swung it at Kirren’s head.
Kirren felt it slow down, and rolled out of the way. He flicked his paw, and the lizard also collapsed, blasted straight to the face with a huge wave of pure, beautiful sound, magnified until it was too much for the brain to take. Kirren heard it too, but a whisper, like a voice that you would hear in a dream.
Now that that was taken care of, the squirrel ran down the hall that he’d seen the other vermin go down, thinking that they might lead him to Tulrag. He tuned in his hearing, and didn’t hear anything until he passed a stone wall section. He backpedalled until he reached it. Kirren put his ear to it, and heard someone wheezing and coughing.
Tulrag, sir, we have to leave! The Voice is in the building!
Don’t call me by my first name! (wheezing here) I have to get the map. Hee hee! I can’t believe that Ferras gave it to that old hermit!
Boss, he’s close! I can feel him!
Kirren felt along the stone wall, until he felt a rock give way. He placed both paws on it and pushed harder. It slid in, and the whole section flipped out to reveal a hidden tunnel. Kirren could hear the false prophets ahead running hard. He ran as fast as he could, until he was right around the corner from them. He peeked around, and saw a huge, old rat, with two smaller ones attending him. They were running towards an old chest, and the rat creaked it open, pulling out an old map.
Kirren jumped out and shouted, “Tulrag Whiptail, you shall not leave this place alive!” The rats turned, then the old one laughed a sloppy, ragged chortle.
“And who are you, young one, to order me around like you are my master?” he sneered.
“I am Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever!” Kirren answered. His paw blazed, and fire swirled around him, then streamed straight towards Whiptail.
The rat merely sidestepped it. He was fast for somebeast of his age. “Is that all you have?”
Kirren growled, and tried sound. Somehow, that didn’t work either. Whiptail merely flicked his paw. Then, he did something.
His claw did something that Kirren couldn’t see, and all of a sudden, two black objects came out of nowhere and rushed at Kirren. He couldn’t move out of the way in time, and they hit him head-on. He became so cold, and it was all a rush of noise, and screams, and cries of anguish. The struggling prophet heard his father, his mother, Slash, Anghan, Dango, and everyone else who he cared about. They were all crying out in pain. Kirren let out a sob.
A light appeared in the darkness. He reached out and grabbed onto it.
“Forever . . . Forever!” he cried. “Forever!” The darkness vanished, and Kirren felt himself being filled to the brim with light. Then it blasted out with enough force to destroy a huge building. Whiptail and his cronies were slammed against a wall, screeching.
“Get him!” Whiptail cried in fear. The two other rats shook their heads, until he threatened them with a claw filled with dark fire. They ran hesitatingly at Kirren, who built and huge fireball, as big as a house, and threw it at them, completely obliterating them.
“Whiptail! You were created from dust, and to dust you shall return!” Kirren shouted in a voice of thunder. The rat was running for his life, down hallways and secret passages, looking for a way out. Kirren ran after him, filled with power.
His footpaws pounded the ground as he chased after the rat. He listened for any secret passageways, and always found where the rat had gone. Finally, they both emerged out into the city, near the western gate. Kirren saw a few slaves peeking out of windows, but retreating immediately when they saw the rat. He was fast for a rat of his age.
Kirren’s claws scraped the cobblestones as they rushed towards a small door in the wall ahead. Kirren’s lungs were screaming, but he kept at it, doggedly pursuing the evil false prophet. Whiptail slammed into the door.
“Guards!” he screamed. “Help me!” But there weren’t any guards. His claws fumbled with the latch, and he got it open just in time to avoid Kirren’s blast of hot white fire. He shut it in the squirrel’s face, and kept running through the forest.
The young prophet stopped, panting hard. He blasted the door open, and it fell to little pieces, and he ran after Whiptail through the thick trees. Kirren could barely see him through the trees, but could hear enough to know that the rat was faltering. The squirrel sped up his pace and kept going.
Back at the battle at the gate, Lilian saw Kirren heading through the forest. She fought her way to Anghan, who almost hit her, but stopped when he saw who it was. His armor was scarred in a bunch of different places. “What are you doing?” he shouted over the clash of metal on metal. “I could have killed you!”
“Kirren’s chasing Tulrag into the woods! He’s going to hurt himself!” she yelled back, parrying a spear with her sword and stabbing the rat that held it.
“What?! He’s crazy!” Anghan yelled. He fought his way to the edge of the fighting, then broke off into the woods, chasing after where Lilian had pointed. The squirrelmaid leapt through, slashing with her sword, and joined him, climbing into a tree and hopping from branch to branch and easily outpacing the big wolf.
Kirren was still running, and he could hear Anghan and Lilian a long way behind him. He ran even faster at this, although his lungs were burning and his strength was failing. His footpaws cracked twigs and smashed old leaves into the forest floor.
Whiptail was running onto a beach now, and Kirren could smell salt. “No!” he said under his breath. He was running so close to the Nightmare now that he could almost touch the rat. “No!” There was a huge ship sitting in a sandy bay. The rat seemed to get faster, or maybe Kirren was getting slower.
Kirren’s footpaws kicked up sand like a small storm, but Whiptail grabbed a rope and swung himself onto the deck. “Stop!” Kirren yelled. He dove into the water, but the ship was already moving. That burst of strength was gone now. Even so, the determined prophet swam even harder, if not faster.
The ship outpaced him easily, though, and he was left treading water with the last of his energy. His soaked fur and clothes were pulling him down, and he was sixty feet from the shore. Not a long distance, but it could have been a mile to the young, exhausted squirrel.
“Kirren!” Anghan and Lilian yelled from the beach where they stood. Anghan dove into the water and started swimming towards him, but it was too late. Something, maybe a fish and maybe fatigue, was pulling Kirren under.
Forever . . . He slowly sank to the bottom.
“Kirren!” Lilian screamed. She couldn’t see him anywhere. He’d just disappeared. Anghan was slapping the water hard with his footpaws, and his fur was soaked. He’d discarded his cloak and armor on the shore.
Under the water, Kirren’s only sadness was that he’d failed. Forever. His eyes slowly shut.
Anghan dove under the water.
Please.
Chronicle Two: Diamond
Kirren woke to the feeling of throbbing pressure on his chest. He opened his eyes and found Anghan pumping on his torso while water spewed out from between his lips. He coughed and sat up. Anghan mopped his brow, and gave Kirren a brotherly hug. “We thought we’d lost you,” he said, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.
“What happened?” Kirren asked groggily.
Lilian was standing behind Anghan, with relief clearly visible in her eyes and residual tears remaining in her fur. “I saw you running after Whiptail while we were fighting near the gate. I fought my way to Anghan, told him, and we broke free of the vermin and chased after you and Tulrag. We got to the shore just in time to see you swimming after the ship. Anghan dove into the water and hauled you onto the shore. You almost drowned,” she explained, her voice almost breaking. “I couldn’t lose you. After I saw you doing so much for the Forever and good, I couldn’t lose you without getting to know you first.”
Kirren remembered. “Whiptail! We have to stop him!” he burst out. He tried to get up, but sank down again. He must have seriously strained his right footpaw, because he couldn’t stand on it. “Aah!” he breathed. It hurt. “How far are we from the hideout?”
Anghan sighed. “We’re at least a two day’s journey away. We have no idea how you and Whiptail ran this far nonstop (Lilian and I had to fly), and I can see it took a toll on you. The main force had to get to the City in the first place by using pack birds, since it would take too long to walk.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe we could call our birds.” Lilian stood up.
“That’s easy! They have the best hearing out of anybeast in the entire world!” she exclaimed. She whistled a five note tune out into the woods, and Anghan and Kirren each whistled a four note tune. Then they sat down to wait.
After about an hour and a half or so of resting and waiting, Kirren heard two screeches coming over the treetops. Lightning and Lilian’s bird soared over the branches, swooping in towards them. “Look!” Kirren called to the others, who were talking. “It’s Thunder and Lightning!” He paused to think about what he had just said. “Thunder and Lightning. That’s funny,” he said to himself. Lilian and Anghan stood up.
“Where’s mine?” Anghan wondered out loud.
“Lancewings are faster than jays,” Lilian said. “Is he coming, Kirren?” The other squirrel nodded. He could hear the jay flapping hard to keep up. Lightning and Thunder landed, and Kirren limped to his bird.
“Good boy,” he said. Lightning pecked him lightly on the head. He clambered into the saddle, gritting his teeth as he felt a spasm of pain in his footpaw. His bird helped him up. Lilian hopped on her’s, and Anghan watched his bird fly over, with it’s tongue hanging out in the wind. It landed, stumbled a few times, then dropped, tired out.
Anghan rushed over to it. “We should let him rest,” he said. “He needs some water.” The silver wolf grabbed his canteen and poured some liquid in the jay’s mouth. The jay swallowed it, and stood shakily on it’s feet. Then it butted Anghan for making it come all the way here.
They waited for a few more minutes, and then took off into the sky. Lightning and Thunder slowed down compassionately for the jay this time. As they flew, Kirren looked all over the land. It seemed so small from up here. He even thought that he could see Icelen, but realized that it was just a heat mirage.
Finally, when Kirren’s tail was sore and somewhat asleep, they saw a certain tree that Lilian said was near the hideout. Lilian and Kirren dived below the treetops, and Anghan stayed just above them, having not had as much experience as his younger friend.
They landed in a clearing by the entrance, and led their birds through the tunnel. For Lightning it was a bit of a squeeze, but they got him through like last time. Kirren leaned on Anghan for support while they made their way down the tunnel. When they emerged into the cavern, they saw Twitch and some others herding the wives and children out of the siege caves. Lilian walked up behind him. “Where’s your da’?” she asked. He jumped and turned, startled. The mouse pointed towards the dining hall.
Anghan and Kirren walked to the big wooden door and opened it. Dango was in the middle of the hall, directing his mice. They were corralling vermin soldiers into large, solitary caves. The big mouse spotted Anghan and Kirren and rushed over. “Kirren! Hero of the day!” His shouting grabbed the attention of the mice, and everyone cheered. Kirren gave a tired smile, then stumbled. “Kirren! Are you all right?” Dango asked.
“I’m fine, it’s just that . . . ooh . . .” Kirren stopped. Suddenly, everything seemed blurry. His ears rang, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
He woke up again with a splitting headache and a pained stomach. “My head . . .” he groaned. He opened his eyes to Lilian’s face. She looked worried. When she saw that he was up, she gave a sigh of relief.
“I just dropped in to see if you were okay,” she said. “You slept for two days!” He sat up slowly, his head pounding. “That run must have taken a serious toll on you.”
“Two days?” Kirren asked. “I can’t believe that!” He tried to get out of bed, but fell back, his footpaw killing him. Lilian jumped up and grabbed something that had been leaning against the wall.
“A carpenter hedgehog made this crutch for you,” she said, handing him the pole with a crossbar at the top. “He heard that you injured your footpaw.” Kirren stood on his left paw and leaned on the crutch.
“That was kind of him.” He practiced hopping around a few times, and when he knew that he wouldn’t fall over, vaulted out the door. “You hungry?” he asked. She nodded. The pretty squirrelmaid followed, walking next to him. “What time is it?”
“Around noon,” Lilian replied. “Lunchtime!” She and Kirren made their way quickly to the dining hall at the thought of food. When they got there, there were former rebels everywhere, getting as much food as they could heap on their plates. Dango was with them, and spotted Kirren.
“Kirren! Finally awake, eh?” he bellowed across the room. Kirren grinned and joined the line at a long table piled with food. The big mouse shuffled through the other mice towards them. Anghan was nearby, too, and saw Kirren.
After they’d all gotten food, they sat down at another table at the far side of the room with a bunch of other important looking mice. “Okay, Kirren,” Anghan started. “I think that it’s time to tell Dango what the importance of Whiptail leaving was.” Kirren nodded, and began to talk.
He explained the entire thing, from when they found the map, to his dreams, to the ship’s significance. He also told all the mice that he’d been ordered by the Forever to go after Whiptail. They all nodded slowly, and Dango slammed his paw down on the table. “Well, we’ve got to go after him, then!”
“How?” one of the mice asked. “We have no ship!”
“But we do know someone who does,” another said slowly.
“You don’t mean . . .”
“Yes, yes he does mean. That otter used to be a pirate, I’ll admit, but he hates Whiptail as much as us,” Dango agreed. “We might as well. He has the fastest ship on the ocean, and will easily catch Whiptail, as long as we don’t waste any time.” Most of the mice nodded in agreement. One or two still looked a little unsure, though.
“We need someone fast to get there, though,” Anghan said. “The bay is almost a day’s ride away, since it’s hard to find.” One of the mice jumped up.
“I’ll go!”
Dango immediately shook his head. “We can’t afford to lose any prophets, Sarcen. You and Dilann are our only Helpers,” he said. Kirren looked at Anghan with a question in his eyes.
Anghan leaned over to whisper. “Helpers are a different kind of prophet. They use fire, get a vision or two, and are protected by the Forever, but I think that that’s about it,” he explained. “This is actually the first time that I’ve seen one in real life.” Kirren nodded in understanding, and turned back to the conversation.
“Nathan, you go. Take your Lancewing and supplies for a day of travel. When you get an answer, come back and tell us if Gale Strykwave will take us on his ship,” Dango said. A tough looking squirrel stood, nodded, and took off towards the war room. All of the mice and beasts stood and made as if to go. Dango walked over to Kirren. “Kirren, lad, I need you to come with me.” His face was dark and serious. Kirren nodded, stood, and followed him down another hallway near the exit.
They went down at least four flights of stairs before Dango stopped at a small door. Kirren felt claustrophobic. This was the farthest underground that he’d ever been. Dango opened the door and stepped inside. Kirren followed, and saw a large box in the center of a small dirt room, with a female mouse standing by it, weeping. A younger mouse stood over her and comforted her. Dango looked sadly at Kirren. “We thought that you should have one more chance to say goodbye to your friend before we give him to Forever.” Kirren realized at once what was in the box . . . no, the coffin.
His face immediately began to stream with tears, and he tried to wipe them away. “Are you . . . are you Slash’s mother?” he asked through sobs. The mousemaid nodded. “He said . . . to tell you goodbye.” The two didn’t know each other, but the fact that they had both lost someone special to them made them want to embrace and comfort each other.
They wept for a long time. When they finally calmed down enough, the younger mouse grabbed a large shovel, and he and Dango lifted the coffin into a large hole in the packed dirt floor. Then he heaved a pile of dirt that was already there into the hole. Dango led them all out, shut the door, and sealed it with a large seal and some melted wax on a table by the door. Then he carved out Slash’s name in the wax, and they all walked back up the stairs in a general sense of peace, but sadness.
Kirren managed to keep his composure until he reached his room. Anghan wasn’t there, and nobody really seemed to be about. The young prophet fell on his bed, sobbing. He didn’t understand why his beloved Creator would have let something like this happen.
It hit him like a thunderbolt. The Forever hadn’t let it go unchallenged. Slash’s killer had been killed, and Slash was home with his creator now. Kirren had a reason to weep, but it wasn’t what he’d initially thought it was. He was grief-stricken because his friend was no longer here to brighten the lives of those around him.
Kirren slowly calmed down, and felt a sense of peace at the thought of his friend being with Forever. He got up and decided to go and read a book that he had found on the floor of a random cavern. He walked down the hall to the dining cavern. There really wasn’t anyone there, either. All the rebels were moving to the City. He walked to the storerooms and grabbed some bread and cheese to snack on.
He opened the book to the first page, and was transfixed by a beautiful picture. It depicted a huge storm at sea with a ship tossing and turning in the midst of it. In the center of the ship, a strong looking mouse stood, with a little babe in his arms. What struck Kirren about it was the look of peace on the child’s face. She had total faith in the strength of her father.
Kirren heard someone come up next to him, and he shut the book. He turned and found himself facing Lilian, who sat down next to him. “Hi,” he said. She looked sadly at him.
“I’m sorry about Slash. I didn’t really know him, but he seemed like a good mouse,” she said. Kirren nodded.
“He’s with his creator now,” Kirren said. “He lived a good, if short, life. I wish that I’d done better. If I’d heard them, I could have saved him . . .”
“What’s done is done,” she interrupted. “You couldn’t have done better than you did.” She smiled a bit. “In my personal opinion, you did wonderfully.” Her tail brushed Kirren’s, and she kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her, a little startled, then grinned like an idiot.
“You want to see something cool?” he asked. She smiled and nodded. He grabbed her paw, pulled her up, and she followed him to the stables. “Grab your bird and meet me back here,” he said. The squirrelmaid nodded, and they both went off to saddle their birds.
Once they had Lightning and Thunder, Kirren led Lilian down some halls and through some doorways until they reached the large training cavern. The strong young squirrel and his Lancewing heaved open the door, then Lilian stepped inside. She gasped. “Like it?” Kirren asked, laughing. “Slash built it. I don’t think he showed anyone but me.”
“This is amazing!” she exclaimed. “It’s for wingriders?” Kirren nodded. Lilian needed no invitation. She jumped on Thunder without even bothering to clip in, then took off, immediately having her bird flip around a hoop three times. Kirren was a little more cautious, and clipped himself in, taking off a bit more slowly. He dived through a hoop, then dove towards the ground and flew in and up a ramp. He quickly mounted the small crossbow and shot at three targets, hitting each one in the center.
Lilian was not going to be outdone. She stood up in her saddle, directed Thunder towards a hoop, then jumped, flipping and twisting straight through it. Thunder dived, and Lilian went after her. The agile squirrelmaid flipped one more time, then landed perfectly in the saddle. Kirren watched with eyes wide open and jaw slack as she pulled Thunder out of the dive and landed perfectly hopping out of the saddle. He dove down, pulled up early, and lowered Lightning.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. She pointed.
“I want to see what that is!” she said. Lilian was pointing towards a large object, covered by canvas. She and Kirren walked over. The prophet yanked the cover off.
It was a catapult. A small catapult, complete with levers and ammo (pillows and dummies) stood before them. Lilian squealed with excitement. “I’ve never seen something like this when training!” she exclaimed. She immediately figured out how it worked and loaded it with enthusiasm. Kirren looked on in slight amusement.
“You want to fly first?” he asked, but she’d already taken off. “Okay . . .” Kirren waited until she was in the air, then fired off the first shot, a lizard shaped dummy. Lilian flipped and dodged it easily.
“Come on, that was too easy!” she yelled down. Kirren shoved three or four pillows in the bowl, and fired them off at the same time. Lilian flipped and dodged again, then the last one hit her square in the mouth. She tossed it back. “That’s more like it!”
Kirren commenced to fire five, six, seven at a time, until he was out of ammo. He waved Lilian down, and he took a turn. He got hit at least three times before it ended. Lilian had only gotten hit once. Suddenly, as he was coming down for a landing, they hear loud noises outside. Kirren heaved the door open again, and they peeked out.
The mouse, Nathan, was running down the hallway at full speed, his bag flying behind him. He looked like he’d flown all day, which he probably had. Kirren and Lilian immediately directed their birds after him and galloped down the cavern after him.
They followed him to the war cavern, where Dango and Anghan were talking with a few of the other rebel leaders. He burst in and stopped, panting. Lilian and Kirren pulled up their birds behind him and dismounted. “What is it, lad?” Dango asked, looking concerned. Nathan held up a paw, still panting.
Finally, he spoke. “Gale’s willing to take no more than a score of us, and he’s leaving tomorrow morning, with or without us, for a large smuggling deal in Icelen. Shifty blighter,” he finished in a mutter. Dango jumped up.
“Then we’d better get going!” He started giving orders. “Anghan, have the cooks prepare food for a score of rebels for at least a week.” The wolf nodded and ran to the kitchens. “Lilian, get twenty packs ready with bedrolls and clothes.” Lilian dashed off to the mousemaids’ area. “Kirren, you are to choose twenty rebels to go with us, including me.” Kirren nodded, and he ran off to gather the ones he chose.
Soon, Lilian and Anghan were done and had all the supplies near the exit. Kirren finished right after them. He’d picked himself, Dango, Anghan, Lilian, and some mice and two or three squirrels who looked like good fighters. Kirren had also chosen the two Helpers. One was Sarcen, the headstrong mouse, and the other was Dilann, a powerful squirrel with black fur. He brought them all to the entrance of the cavern, and lined them up each by a canvas pack. Dango nodded. “You chose the right ones to bring.”
Dango led them all out of the cavern complex into the sunlight. Kirren blinked in the bright rays. Then the prophet lined up all the mice and squirrels with their packs in front of him. “Alright, warriors!” Dango yelled, and Kirren joined those in line. “Ready to move out?” This was met by a chorus of affirmation. “Prophets, step forward.” Kirren, Sarcen, Anghan, and Dilann joined him. “I want you four to go ahead and hold the ship there for us. He might try to get away without us.”
“But that would be forcing a goodbeast to do something against their will!” Kirren protested. Anghan and Dilann agreed immediately. All of a sudden, Kirren heard a voice.
Kirren, tell them to go. He won’t leave with you there, it said. Kirren nodded.
“By the order of the Forever, we will go,” he interrupted. They stopped arguing at this sudden change. “We won’t use force.” Anghan nodded.
“Are we taking the birds, or leaving them behind?” Sarcen asked.
“Leaving them,” Dango replied. The mouse grumbled, but he nodded.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Anghan ordered. Leaving behind their packs, Kirren and the rest followed after him at a brisk pace through the forest. After a while, when Kirren heard the other group speed up, Anghan and Sarcen pounded the ground hard in a double time pace while Dilann and Kirren took to the trees, leaping from branch to branch.
Finally, after four straight hours of nonstop motion, Anghan called for a break for lunch. They had a lot of stamina. It occurred to him that they were probably the fastest running species in the known world: squirrels, wolves, and mice, and could keep running for a long time if needed. If it was a day’s flight, it must be a day’s run, he reasoned with himself. He and Sarcen were drenched with sweat -- Kirren and Dilann were drowning in it. Leaping from branch to branch, with a large tail like theirs, did not feel good after four hours.
After a quick nap and lunch of bread and cheese, they started again, breathing hard after about fifteen minutes. Kirren and Dilann abandoned the branches, even though it was faster up there. The pair of squirrels dropped to the ground and continued running with the others. Sweat dripped into their eyes, and their footpaws stumbled. Anghan immediately called for a halt. “Friends, we’re pushing too hard. Let’s wait an hour before we start again,” he said. The two squirrels needed no further invitation. They collapsed on a patch of grass, gulping water and air.
Anghan let them rest for another hour and a half, contradictory to what he’d said. He woke them at the end of this period. Kirren stretched, yawned, and jumped up. Dilann and Sarcen followed, and they all got ready to run again. The small pack that Anghan had been carrying with their meals was transferred to Sarcen, and they took off at a blazing pace again.
After a few more hours of running, Anghan stopped them. “I smell salt. We might be about another hour’s run from the cove. We’re obviously still a good hard jog from where Dango and the others are, so we’ll take a fifteen minute rest. Then I want you, Dilann, and you, Kirren, to go ahead of us in the trees. You can obviously go faster up there,” he said. The pair of squirrels nodded as they guzzled water. “Sarcen and I will keep running.”
After the quarter hour, Kirren and Dilann stretched as to not strain or cramp their muscles as they raced through the treetops. Anghan and Sarcen started running again, and the squirrels leaped into the limbs of the large oaks and beeches. Hopping and flinging themselves from branch to branch, they quickly overtook the others and passed them. At this pace, they’d get to the cove twice as fast as the wolf and the mouse.
And they did. Anghan had told Kirren where it was, during their break, and he directed Dilann there with ease. They dropped to the sand and gravel of a small beach half an hour later. Panting with exertion, Kirren and Dilann looked around wearily for Strykwave’s ship. They couldn’t see it!
Look in the cave. To the right of the beach. Kirren got up and slowly stumbled to the rightmost end of the cove, and sure enough, there was a large cave, big enough to admit a large ship like what Kirren expected Gale captained. Dilann had followed him, and they hopped onto a small sandbar that ran into the tunnel.
They walked inside, their legs slowly gaining strength again. The water soothed their aching paws, and Kirren began to run again through the shallow water. Then they hit the end of the tunnel.
A big ship sat in the water, with otters scurrying all over it. They made the ropes tighter, and set the oars in the giant oarlocks. “Ahoy!” Kirren yelled. “Gale Strykwave! Come down!”
A huge tattooed otter stood up, peering into the gloom of the cave. He grabbed a torch from a bracket, and leaped down from the helm, landing in a perfect bent stance. He straightened, and walked through the shallow water on the side of the cave towards the direction he’d heard the voice come from. “Ahoy!” he called back. “Who’s there?”
“Messengers from Dango Freebeast!”
Gale waded through the water until he stood in front of Kirren and Dilann. “Who does he send this time?” The otter held up his torch until he could see the two squirrels clearly.
“I am Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever. This is another prophet, Dilann the Helper. We’ve come to make sure that you don’t leave without the rest,” Kirren said. Gale grinned, baring his sharp fangs.
“A Barkleaf, you say?” he asked. “Son of Ferras?” Kirren nodded. “Well, then, I’ll wait as long as I need to for a Barkleaf!” He laughed. “I knew your father well. How is he?”
“He’s been dead for eight years,” Kirren responded sadly.
“Oh . . . I’m sorry, lad,” Gale said. “He was a good prophet. Although I never saw him do anything with those gifts except stop me and my pirates. Of course, I haven’t been a pirate for years, and I’ve changed plenty.”
“It’s fine. Two more prophets and four less than a score are still coming. The prophets should be here in about thirty minutes, and the rest should be here late tonight.” Gale nodded. The big otter climbed back aboard, then invited them on the ship. Kirren followed Dilann onto the deck, and Gale directed the ship out of the cave.
“So, you’re the one who chased off Whiptail? Well done!” Gale praised Kirren. “Now we have to catch him, and finish it?”
“It wasn’t really me, it was the Forever,” Kirren said. Gale grunted. He didn’t completely believe there was a Forever.
Suddenly, Kirren heard a shout from the beach. He and Gale ran to the side. Anghan and Sarcen were on the shoreline, calling to the ship. “Ahoy! Gale Strykwave!” The big wolf waved. Gale dashed to the helm and pointed the ship towards the cove. He beached it, barely, and hopped down to meet the pair. They were tired. Kirren followed to see how his friends were.
“Are these the others?” Gale asked Kirren. The squirrel nodded.
“This is Sarcen the Helper, and Anghan Silverfur,” he said. Sarcen and Anghan shook paws with Gale.
“It’s a gathering of prophets!” Gale laughed. “This feels official!” He climbed back on board his ship with a rope ladder, followed by Kirren and Dilann. Sarcen and Anghan hesitated, then climbed up after them.
“Dango and the rest are probably only three hours behind us,” Sarcen said, still a bit wary of Gale. The big otter paid no attention to the mouse’s tone of voice and nodded.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait, then, mates!” He sat down and closed his eyes while his otters ran around the ship, keeping everything shipshape.
They waited for another three and a quarter hours. As they did, Kirren and Anghan filled Gale in on the whole scenario, but leaving out the parts about the map and the Diamond Isle. The otter was very interested in the story, and laughed and cried at just the right places, although the latter wasn’t convincing from a huge tattooed creature like Gale.
Finally, Anghan’s keen eyes picked out Dango at the head of his rebels about a mile away, heading through the clearest part of the forest towards the ship. He alerted the others, and Gale’s otters set up a gangway to let the mice and squirrels on board.
The company emerged from the forest at a steady jog, huffing and puffing as they strained to maintain their pace. Dango was at their head. They slowed down when their feet hit the soft sand. Still, they picked their footpaws up and put them down, not stopping until they reached the gangway. Dango climbed up and planted himself down in front of Gale. “Well, you goin’?” he asked. The otter roared with laughter.
“Well, of course, mousey! We’ll be goin’ shortly! We were gonna go tomorrow, but you’re here already, so we’ll leave tonight.” The otter started yelling orders, while Dango looked at Kirren, scowling.
“Who’s he calling mousey?” Kirren just chuckled. Dango sat down in a huff, and proceeded to look like a babe who’s just been sent to bed.
Anghan walked up to Gale to ask a few questions. “Where are we to sleep?” he inquired.
“You brought bedrolls, right? We have a large cargo hold, and it’s currently empty, until we catch that rat and I get to Icelen to pick up my . . . er, goods. You can sleep down there,” he told the wolf. Anghan nodded, and asked one more question.
“Will we be able to catch up with Whiptail?”
Gale turned a steely gaze on Anghan.
“There’s not a single ship on the seas that can outrun the Whitewake, not one.” He turned back to the rudder, and Anghan walked away, sufficiently chastened.
Finally, everything was ready: supplies, ropes, sails, equipment and everything else. The otter sailors jumped down, set their backs against the hull of the ship, and heaved with all their might (Gale had beached the ship to wait). The ship slowly sank back into the water, and they climbed back on board by the rope ladder. Gale walked down to the deck and made his way over to Dango. “By the way, where exactly are we goin’?” he asked.
“Uh . . . Hang on.” Dango stood up and wobbled across the moving deck to where Anghan and Kirren were talking. “Strykwave wants to know where we’re going,” he said.
“We’ll just give him the directions, and send him to the first island,” Anghan said. Dango looked at Kirren, but the squirrel shook his head.
“I’m no good with directions.” Dango sighed. “Anghan can do it,” Kirren added. The wolf shrugged, and stumbled a bit up to the helm. He still hadn’t quite found his sea legs. However, he comforted himself with the thought that Dango probably never would. The mouse had just somersaulted down the deck at just a slight swell.
Anghan climbed the stairs with a bit of difficulty, and walked over to Dango. “So, Dango told me to give you the directions to our first stop. We have three of them. Hopefully two,” he added to himself. He quickly explained their route, and Gale gave him a map to show it. Anghan traced the path, and his claw landed on an empty spot.
“There’s nothing there,” Gale said. “I’ve never been that far, though. Nobody has. There’s things out there, like monster storms and jungle creatures.”
“Trust me. We’ll get there, and there is an island,” Anghan said. Gale sighed, and pointed the ship’s nose northwest. Anghan clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, mate. We won’t die.” I hope, he added to himself. He’d heard the stories about the far west seas as well. Monsters, and hurricanes, waves as big as towers.
The big wolf shivered.
It had been four days, and they hadn’t sighted land yet. Kirren sat in the crow’s nest, thinking. He’d come up there many times in the past couple days. He found the swaying a lot like that of the top of a tree, and it was very relaxing.
Anghan said that they should arrive at the first island at about noon. Well, it had passed noon, and Kirren still didn’t see anything. He peeked up over the edge of the crow’s nest just to make sure, but sank back down with a sigh. Kirren turned back to what he’d been doing before he looked for land.
Down in the cargo hold, he’d found some interesting things. Mostly some random imports from Icelen and northern Evergreen, but also some books. He had one now, but it was in the writing of the eastern islands, off the coast. He’d been puzzling over it for a long time. Kirren wasn’t going to learn Eastern Speech anytime soon. The only creatures who were fluent were the red pandas and mongoose who lived there, and a few otters. Maybe Gale would understand it. Kirren grabbed the book, tucked it in his sea boot, and hopped through the opening in the floor. Down he fell, down, until his footpaws kicked into action.
Kirren slammed his left footpaw into a rope on the net leading up to the rigging, slowing down his progress. He did the same thing with his right, flipped twice down the rigging, and landed safely on the deck right side up. One of the mice nearby gulped. “That kid’s crazy,” he said to his friend by him. The other mouse shrugged.
“He might be crazy, but the One he serves isn’t. If he wants to use crazybeasts, then he can.” They both looked at Kirren again, shrugged, and turned back to their card game.
The tall squirrel ran up to the helm, and made his way towards Gale. “Gale, could you help me?” The big otter kept his eyes ahead. He nodded. “Do any of your otters know Eastern Speech?”
“Let me think . . .” Gale thought for a moment. “Aye, Current does. Oy!” he called to a tall, slim otter. “Current, come over here!” The otter nodded, and scurried up the stairs to the poop deck. “Current, you know Eastern Speech, correct?”
“Aye, sir,” she replied.
“Good. Kirren needs help with something relating to that.” Current turned to the tall squirrel.
“Wotcha got, sir?” she asked, with a grin.
“I need help translating this book. Could you write it down, or read it out loud, or something?” Kirren asked. He handed the book to Current. A picture of a bird that Kirren had never seen before graced the cover. The brown otter flipped it open, and a sound of concentration escaped her. She thought for about two minutes.
“I haven’t seen this dialect before. It must be that of Shaotan, the island in the far north,” she finally said. “If I had time, I could figure it out, though. It’s similar to the speech of Laigu, my homeland.” She paced the deck, studying the figures and runes.
Lilian came up behind Kirren. “What’s that?” she asked. Current handed her the book, open to a page full of art, words, and symbols. “Trying to learn a new language, now, are we?” she teased. Kirren glared at her, but she just laughed. The young prophet couldn’t stop a smile spreading across his face. Her giggles were infectious.
“I don’t know if I have time to translate this, Kirren,” Current said. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s all right,” he responded. After this remark, the pretty maid beside him noticed his shoulders slump.
“Kirren, I can help,” she said suddenly. “I know Eastern Speech.”
The squirrel perked up. “You do? Why didn’t you say so?”
“You never asked!” Lilian replied with another laugh. Kirren rolled his eyes and followed her to the ship’s cargo hold.
Two more days passed without any events, and during that time, Kirren trained like a madbeast. He learned how to fight with the sword, but still couldn’t come close to besting Lilian, who was teaching him. He and the other prophets worked on their skills. Here, Kirren discovered something interesting.
Contrary to Anghan’s beliefs, Helpers did have special skills. They discovered this one day, when Kirren and the wolf were using the map. Kirren was listening intently, and they were zooming over the west sea. Suddenly, Sarcen accidentally walked into the map. Kirren was extremely surprised when the map jump up and became three-dimensional! Anghan jumped back. The map vanished.
Apparently, Helpers could strengthen the gifts of Voices and Sights. They tested each gift. When Kirren used his hearing, he could hear everything, even some creatures on the bottom of the ocean!
Kirren was in the crow’s nest again, reading with Lilian, when they heard a call from the deck below. “LAAAAANNND!” Their ears perked up and they both jumped to see what it was.
Sure enough, it was an island. It was covered in unfamiliar trees and forest, though. Kirren hadn’t ever seen anything like it, but . . . jungle. The word popped up in his head without warning. It was jungle. Far away on the horizon, with a huge mountain in the center. “Is that where we’re landing?” Lilian asked. She looked excited.
“I guess so . . .” Kirren’s voice trailed off as he returned to thought.
The agile squirrels leaped out of the crow’s nest and raced to the deck. Lillian landed a fraction of a second before Kirren, but then promptly stumbled and fell on her back. Her friend dropped to the deck and helped her up. “That’s what you get for climbing too fast!” Kirren laughed. She brushed herself off and ran up to the helm to talk to Gale.
Kirren walked over to where Anghan stood, looking over the side of the ship. “How long until we reach the island?” he asked. The wolf turned and looked at him, then saw Dango in the corner of the ship and burst out laughing. Kirren turned to look at what was so funny.
Dango had thrown up in the sea cap of an otter sailor! The cap’s furious owner was berating the big mouse, but Kirren had the feeling that Dango couldn’t hear a thing. He was curled up over the side of the deck, staring at the sea with a horrible expression on his face. Anghan quickly stifled his laughter as the otter turned to look.
“About forty minutes, lad, to answer your question,” Gale said from behind.
Exactly forty-one minutes later, the ship scraped sand, and Dango flung himself over, kissing the hard earth.
Kirren whooped and jumped off the ship’s deck. His paws landed in the deep, soft sand, tripping him and flinging him on his face. The tall squirrel spat out dirt from his mouth. Behind him, the others took a more cautious approach. Gale Strykwave’s otters lowered a wooden ramp and Dango’s mice started unloading camping gear. Sleeping on a ship wasn’t the best experience, as Kirren well knew.
Anghan came up to him. “Dango asked that we find a suitable camping spot, somewhere further in the jungle,” he said. Kirren nodded, and dashed into the jungle. In two minutes he’d found a reasonably large clearing and reported back to Anghan and Dango.
Lilian and Kirren shouldered packs with the mice, and the otters stayed on board the Whitewake. When they reached the clearing, Kirren watched as the mice set up a fire and campsite. There was no sign of rain. As the sky was clear, the young squirrel decided to sleep in the open. He rolled out his bed on the edge of camp.
Lilian popped up beside him. She’d set up her little space about twenty feet away. “These trees are weird, huh?” she commented. “I bet you a bag of crystal fruit that neither of us could climb one.”
“I’ll take you up on that bet,” Kirren retorted. He looked up at a nearby tree. They certainly were strange. The bark seemed to be slicked down with rain and dew, and there were very few branches going up the trunk until you reached the top. “First one to the top gets the bag?”
“You’re on!” Lillian said right away. “Pick a tree!”
Kirren walked over to the one that he’d been observing in the first place. At least it wasn’t worse than the others he’d seen. Lilian picked one a couple of feet away from his. “Ready . . . set . . .” Kirren started.
“Go!” someone yelled from the camp, probably Dilann or Anghan. Kirren exploded off the ground, clawing and grabbing at slivers of wood and bark. Lilian did, too, and neither cared that he hadn’t said go.
About ten feet up, both started to slip. The moist bark was more slippery than it looked. Down the two squirrels came, against their hardest efforts to stay up. When they hit the bottom, both tried again. It ended in the same result.
As Lilian got ready to try again, Kirren walked around the trunk, looking for some kind of foothold. At the back, he immediately saw that it was scarred and twisted into claw marks, providing many dry purchases and places to put his paws. Up he leaped, bounding from ledge to ledge. In about five seconds, he’d reached the top.
“Ahoy, down there!” he called to Lilian, who was still trying to get up the hard way. “Where’s that bag of crystal fruit?” The squirrelmaid’s mouth flopped open in surprise.
“How did you . . .” she started, but Kirren wagged his paw at her before she could continue.
“No, no, that’s my secret. Now. I’m starving, and I haven’t had crystal fruit in two years,” he said, licking his lips.
Lilian huffed in exasperation, and pulled out a small leather pouch from her tunic. Kirren hopped down to join her. At the look of her face, though, he gave up the charade and handed her some of the crystal fruit. “I’m kidding! I couldn’t eat all of this by myself!” he chuckled.
Crystal fruit is a soft bluish color, with small bits of sugar-like sap collected all over it. It is the most delicious thing imported from Icelen. However, since it’s very filling, not much of it is ever grown. It’s plant is very strange in the fact that it can only grow in the harsh, cold conditions of Icelen.
There were four small fruit clusters in the bag, and Kirren gave three to Lilian. She noticed and gave him one, but he denied it, on the pretense that his stomach had been acting up of late.
The sun was going down quickly, so someone lit another fire and made a delicious stew. Kirren wasn’t hungry, though. That crystal fruit had filled him enough for now. He laid down on the mat, watching the clouds turn red, then pink, then fade to give way to stars. A small blue flower dangled in front of his face, but he ignored it, blending it in with the background in his mind.
Lilian walked over and sat down next to him. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she whispered. Kirren merely nodded.
After a few more minutes, he said, “It’s times like these when I realize the power of our Creator.”
The pretty squirrelmaid laid her head on his shoulder. Kirren was unused to physical contact, so stiffened instantly. He slowly relaxed. It was fine.
Once it was almost dark, Lilian stood up to go to bed. She kissed Kirren on his cheek and walked back to her bedroll.
The next morning, Kirren was woken up by the crowing of a strangely colorful small bird. It fluttered around his head. While it stayed put, Kirren observed it with interest. It was about the size of his head, with a small but sharp looking beak, with serrated edges. It talons were each also very sharp and pointed. However, because of its size, Kirren didn’t think anything would happen to him if he drove it away.
The tall squirrel jumped up and waved his arms at it. It squawked, flashed its colorful wings, and flew up into the taller branches of the tree above him. Kirren chuckled, then sat back down on his bedroll . . . or would have, if it was there. Another bird flopped away, chattering and holding his bedroll in its talons. “Hey!” Kirren yelled. “That’s mine!” He ran after it. It fluttered away, staying near to the ground and carrying the bedroll.
Kirren finally caught up to it after a hard fast run, and flopped onto the blanket, snatching it from the bird and slightly tearing it. He stood up to go. A huge beak stopped him, poking his chest. Kirren looked up.
A large version of the little bird stood there, its razor-sharp beak clacking hungrily. Kirren looked around him. More were stalking out of the bushes towards him, their talons digging into the soft earth. The first clicked its beak again, and the others all followed suit, clicking and cracking their beaks at him. Kirren stayed perfectly still. His body was yelling at him, run, run! But his mind objected. If he ran, he’d be chased, and he couldn’t outrun something on wings. If he yelled, there was a good chance he’d be attacked. However, he had an idea.
Slowly, the young prophet moved away towards the largest opening in their line. The birds’ eyes followed him carefully, and they kept moving. When Kirren saw them making as if to close the gap, he dashed for it.
Screeching, the closest leaped at him, swing its talons to grab him. It slowed, suspended in the air as Kirren felt the Forever protecting him. He dodged the vicious claws and ran through the gap. “Evergreeeeeen!” he yelled with all his strength, in the hope that someone at the camp would hear him. Evidently, they did. He immediately heard a reply. “Foreveeeeerrr!”
Kirren incinerated a bird who attacked him from behind, scratching his left forearm while he yelled. Batting away two more little ones, he kept pushing through. Suddenly, somebeast dashed through the trees and slashed at a large beak that descended towards the Voice, and Kirren looked up for a moment. Anghan and Lilian stood by him, defending his back from the claws of the colorful birds. He could hear others, too.
The tall squirrel saw an opening on their left, and pointed his paw towards it, yelling, “Run!” The others finished off another few winged menaces and followed him.
On his right, Kirren saw, with alarm, a particularly fast bird after Lilian. It raised a talon to slice at her, and he exploded into action. Kicking at the head of another bird, he shoved himself into the path of the claw. It was moving too fast for him to push her out of the way and get himself to safety as well. He slammed into the squirrelmaid and twisted, getting as much of himself out of the way that he could. The talon grazed him deeply, ripping his fur and skin and leaving a gash right above his heart. They both fell to the ground.
Before the bird could strike again at Lilian or Kirren, Anghan yelled with a thunderous voice and released a wave of pure images. Kirren saw them, as well as Lilian, and had to cover their eyes because of the vibrance. The birds hated it. White light burned their eyes, filled with pictures of Kirren and Lillian, and all of the other people Anghan loved. It threw Anghan’s arms out with the force, and all of the birds collapsed and screeched on the ground.
They didn’t get back up.
Anghan bodily lifted both squirrels and ran, his paws pounding the ground and moving them through the forest at a tremendous rate.
Finally, they emerged into the clearing. Dango followed their sounds, and appeared at the same time. “Help the wolf!” he ordered some of his mice. Four of them immediately relieved him of Kirren and Lilian, helping the squirrels stand on their feet, and two more caught Anghan as he fell to the ground. Lilian was breathing hard. She wasn’t as strong as Kirren, and collapsed into his arms. He held her tightly.
Kirren saw Anghan beckon him, and he let Lilian go for a moment. The wolf sat up against a tree. “Every time we do something for our creator, such as ridding the island of these evil creatures,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, “we must give it our all.”
Kirren clutched his friend’s paw and helped him up to a standing position, leaning him against a tree. The powerful creature regained his balance quickly. He walked over to the camp to help with breakfast, and Dango swiped his paw across his forehead. “That beast has strength,” he muttered in amazement.
After a delicious (but hurried) meal of strange fruits and some kind of grain porridge, everybody got back on board the ship as fast as they could. Nobeast wanted to meet more of the odd birds. “Get this ship going!” Dango said hurriedly to the otter captain, who was climbing groggily out of the hold. Gale grunted in reply, waved a paw at the steersbeast (who happened to be Current), and stumbled back down to the hold to get his tunic changed.
Current directed the ship with a trained paw and guided it out of the bay it was sitting in. Right away, Kirren shot up to the crow’s nest to have a look. The island was eerily quiet. He waited a few more minutes, then climbed back down to tell Dango. “All clear!” he said, mocking a soldier’s stance with his right paw in a salute. The mouse nodded his head in satisfaction.
Three more days of sailing. Kirren and Anghan, with the Helpers, trained relentlessly. More and more, they developed their gifts, until they thought they were ready for Tulrag Whiptail and his false prophets. Lilian also trained them and the other mice in sword fighting.
Kirren still came back to the top of the mast every evening for two reasons: to get some time to himself, and to admire the setting sun at sea. On the third night, he sat up there, reading the book that Lilian had been so kind as to translate. He’d found the bird that they’d encountered. Apparently, it was called a candycolor treemonger, since it was very undesired in the forests of the Eastern Islands themselves. Kirren decided that they must have moved to these western islands after being chased off.
Lilian’s head popped up through the opening in the bottom. “Hi!” she said cheerfully. She sat down right beside him. “Like the book?”
Kirren nodded, looking at her and grinning. Her red fur seemed on fire in the light of the setting sun. Whenever he was around her, he couldn’t stop smiling.
“I haven’t gotten a chance to thank you for protecting me from that bird . . . er, treemonger,” she said softly. “How’s the wound?”
“Better,” Kirren replied. He still had a bandage running across his chest because of the gash, but it had closed up.
“Good. That’s good.” Lilian looked up just in time to see the first star come out. “Oh . . .” she breathed. Kirren glanced where she was looking, and did a double take.
Stars in Evergreen are different than stars in other places. They aren’t burning balls of fire. They float on the same level as clouds and shine brightly in blue light, with little sparks erupting from them and swirling around in patterns. Kirren watched a shining white one appear and dash around the sky, looking for a place to stay. It settled in one spot right over a little cloud, so that its light filtered through and became softer.
More and more appeared, popping up everywhere. One zoomed down to the ship, and swirled around Kirren’s head. He jumped in surprise. That almost never happened to anyone! One alighted on Lilian’s head. The pretty squirrelmaid stayed perfectly still, until it moved to Kirren’s paw. He barely lit the paw on fire, and the star became bigger and brighter, making a sound like tinkling bells, which sounded like laughter. He raised his paw, and it flew back into the air.
Kirren turned to Lilian. Her face was brilliant with the light of the stars right above her. The sun was almost gone, and the whole place was blazing with blue and white light. “I never got to say that you are welcome. I would have done it again and again if I needed to,” he said. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “In fact, I need to say . . .” Kirren paused, and Lilian turned back around.
“What?”
“I love you.” With that, Kirren kissed her on the mouth, holding her close. She hugged him back, and the two lovers looked into each other’s eyes for a long, long time.
The next morning, Kirren woke up in the hold. His back was sore from sleeping in the rocking ship so much, but he still felt very refreshed. He stretched, threw on his cloak, and walked up the stairs out onto the deck. Sarcen was up, too, and was looking out from the helm for land. He nodded a greeting to Kirren. The tall squirrel was about to climb up into the netting to stretch his limbs, then saw something jutting out of the water ahead of the ship.
“Reef! Rocks! Turn the ship!” he yelled at the otter on duty. The otter started awake. Kirren realized that he’d been sleeping. “TURN THE SHIP!” he yelled again. Gale came out of the hatch running. He’d heard the word “reef”, and that’s the worst nightmare that a sailor could have.
“Get the wheel!” Sarcen roared. He had a big voice for a small mouse, Kirren noted. Gale bounded up to the helm, and he and the otter turned the wheel with all of their strength. The ship heaved over to the side. Then it righted itself, about three inches off of the rocks. Thankfully, it passed by with only a slight scratch on the hull.
Gale let go of the rudder and started berating the helmsbeast. Kirren grimaced at the language.
Other than this incident, nothing extremely out of the ordinary happened that day. Kirren trained with Anghan, and did some sword practice. However, that evening, Gale decided that they had enough extra food for the journey that they would have a feast. Anghan had explained everything to him, and he was fully convinced that they would find Tulrag at the next island. Therefore, he’d made up his mind that the crew and company needed cheering up.
The ship’s lamps were cleaned and brightened. The carpenter built a makeshift foldable table, about half the length of the ship, and the cook, whose name was Shrimp, loaded it with all kinds of seafood, fruit, and pastries. Dango, of course, only took a bit and went back to his little corner, where he proceeded to be sick for the rest of the festivities.
Kirren loved the food. He’d almost never had seafood, and it was a delicious surprise for the young squirrel. He filled his plate to overflowing and sat down at the table next to Dilann and Sarcen. Lilian sat directly across from him, then Gale at the head. Anghan sat at the other end, and Dango’s mice and the crew filled up the rest of the benches.
They all ate, laughed, and sang sea shanties well into the night. Kirren felt like his tunic would split at the seams. No one else could compare theirs to Twitch’s appetite, though. The smaller mouse had so much food on his plate, and demolished so much of it, that it left Gale staring at him slack-jawed. The only eater who came close was, of course, Anghan. The wolf’s size needed a lot of nourishment.
Finally, Lilian got up to sing. Everybeast quieted, for they all knew that she had a pretty voice. Her lark’s voice burst into a silly sailor song.
When you sail upon the mighty blue sea,
It’s always good to make sure to be
An otter, a fish, a duck or a swan
But never, ever, a squinty eyed stoat!
You’ll get soaked and drowned as a storm-slapped bug,
Won’t sleep as sound as one in a rug.
If you’re a sailor who happens to be a stoat,
You’ll heave so much that you’ll rock the boat!
Oh, stoats and ferrets and weasels and rats
Never did make very good sailing capn’s
You’ll stumble an’ fall, and tip and skip
If you’re at all a squinty eyed stoat!
You can’t get a rope right ‘twixt your teeth.
Rather, you’ll get it tied up in a pretty old wreath!
If you’re a sailor who happens to be a stoat,
You’ll turn so much, you’ll tip the boat!
Amid much laughter, Lilian bowed and took her seat once more. Gale was roaring with merriment. He slapped the back of the nearest mouse and almost sent him tumbling across the table. Thankfully, the mouse was able to keep his seat.
When everything had died down, Anghan stood up to make a speech. “Everybeast, I hope that you had a good time tonight. However, I have some news. Tomorrow, we will likely reach our next destination. Cap’n Strykwave fully expects to find Tulrag Whiptail there, restocking on food to get to the Diamond Isles.” All of the mice nodded in understanding, but some of the otters were a bit confused. Dismissing this, Anghan continued. “This has been a very good voyage. Almost a week and a half, we’ve been sailing in wonderful company, but we mustn’t forget that this is no pleasure sail. We’re out to do the work of the Forever, and that means destroying Whiptail and the other false prophets. Some of us won’t make it, and we knew that from the beginning. So, fight hard.” The big wolf sat down.
With this new thought in mind, Kirren and everyone else besides the otter watch went to bed.
Kirren woke up later than usual. There was no light filtering through the deck to wake him up, but apparently everyone else was up. No one was down in the hold. He climbed out the hatch. Nobeast was on deck, either. The ship was empty.
Kirren was filled with horror. He couldn’t find anybeast! All over the ship, he searched. Finally, as he stood in the center of the deck, he heard something from the port side of the ship. He ran over, then immediately jumped back in fright. Rats, with dark eyes, were climbing up the sides of the deck, bringing with them a horrible darkness.
Kirren ran up to the helm, but they were there too. On the starboard side, and everywhere! He dashed to the middle. “Get back!” he yelled, trying to set his paws ablaze, but it didn’t work. “No!” he screamed. They came closer. The darkness enveloped him, tearing apart his insides and hurting his mind, with a ferocity that almost ripped his arms and legs from his body.
Finally, something happened. A huge blast of light came up from somewhere inside the prophet, and blew apart the rats and darkness. Out over the ocean they flew, and Kirren hit the deck so hard that he couldn’t feel anything . . .
He woke up in a cold sweat. It was a dream, Kirren thought in relief. Then he thought better of it as he looked around him. Once again, there was no light seeping through the deck’s cracks, and no one was around. He tossed aside his blanket and dashed up the stairs to the deck. Not again, not again . . .
Everyone was still there. They were eating breakfast in a dreary silence. Clouds covered the sky, blackening everything. Kirren felt his terror ebb away. He accepted an apple and a hardtack biscuit from a gloomy Shrimp. “What is it?”
Shrimp sighed sadly. “Gale says there’s a storm coming, the likes of which he’s never seen. A hurricane . . .” he mumbled. “We won’t make it.” A few others agreed with him.
Kirren almost dropped his food. “What? Anghan?” He looked at the big wolf, who still had hints of determination in his face. Anghan nodded his head as well, though. “You all have got to be joking!” Kirren exploded. Now he had the attention of all who sat nearby. “How many of you have seen what the Forever can do? He can easily get us to the next island. If he means for us to stop Whiptail, then he will!” He was yelling now. “Forever, deliver us from the coming storm!” A huge lightning bolt came down by the ship, crackling across the water. Anghan, Dilann, Dango, Sarcen, and Gale were fervently praying now. The big otter had come to believe wholeheartedly in his Creator. Winds were whipping around them.
A huge wave came up and almost hit the ship, but at the last moment moved and came around the sides. Another came straight towards the deck, then bounced off as if there were a stone wall there. Gale’s crew stared open mouthed. Many of them were praying, even though not all of them believed in the Forever. Kirren himself was praying as well, out loud.
A huge torrent of water swirled up to the sky, into the dark clouds and moved towards the ship. At the exact same time, a mouse suddenly called, “I see it! The island!” Kirren looked up. Indeed, no more that six or seven hundred yards away, the island was standing, a mere blotch in the rain. Kirren turned around. The pillar of water was almost upon them.
“Fooooreeeeeveerrr!” someone yelled. Lilian stood fearlessly at the helm, her fierce eyes moving past the rain and storm to a patch of light behind the pillar. It grew, steadily, until it covered the entire sky behind them. A hole grew in the pillar, but came back together. It is the Shadow’s work, Kirren thought.
Anghan. Dilann. Sarcen. Kirren. Go to the end of the ship. Forever’s voice spoke into their minds at the same time. Dilann and Sarcen both started in surprise. They rarely heard something like this. Then they made up their minds and ran with the Voice and Sight to the end of the ship. Kirren held out his paw, and a beam of white light exploded into existence. Anghan placed his paw inside it, and a stream of blue light joined it. Dilann and Sarcen both did the same, and two bright streaks of orange joined. The light curved until it hit the water, which was now boiling and black. It swept over the mass of hot liquid, covering it from top to bottom.
Then, it simply exploded. The pillar fell back into the ocean, and the light came down in sparks, onto everything around. The ship was deathly quiet as the light spread across the rest of the sky, wiping out the clouds.
The ship erupted into cheering.
Kirren, gasping and rubbing his eyes from the brightness of the light, joined his friends in celebrating on the main deck. Lilian was jumping up and down right beside him. Current, Twitch, and Gale were all slapping the prophets on the back and laughing. Shamelessly, Kirren spun around and kissed Lilian full on the mouth. Anghan and Dilann stopped laughing and gaped. Gale just laughed harder at the looks on their faces.
Dango was sitting, green-faced, by a bucket. Because the smell of its contents, nobody really wanted to know what they were.
The celebration was halted when the ship came to a grating stop in the gravel of the island. Dango heaved himself over the side and landed bum first in the shallows. Kirren, Lilian, and Dilann all climbed down the side. This island was a little different. Most of it was rocky, but had coniferous trees with needles gathered in clusters. The bay was sheltered by small cliffs. Near the center of the island was a tall mountain, with a shining white peak. It was also two or three times the size of Jungle Island (this was what they’d taken to calling it).
Right away, Dango, Gale, and Anghan organized a camp nearer to the ship than last time, in light of what happened there. Also, Dango thought that this time they should send Dilann and Kirren to check the place out. The two fleet squirrels immediately sped off around the circumference of the island.
Two hours later, they found what they were looking for. A black ship sitting in a bigger bay, with rats, lizards, and a few weasels scurrying all over the place. They were stocking up on food, just as Gale had predicted. Kirren and Dilann flopped down to watch for a few minutes, then got back up and began the jog back.
On the way back Kirren spotted a bush of crystal fruit. He quickly filled up his tunic with the delicious food.
When they got back, Kirren ran up to Anghan and Gale. “We found them.” Gale nodded his head.
“We’ll attack tonight, after dinner,” Dango said from behind them.
“Speaking of dinner,” the two squirrels chorused as they both emptied their belt pouches, spilling out at least 45 crystal fruits. Gale laughed.
“Well now, lads, you’ve got yourselves a fine haul there! We’ll have them for supper.”
Kirren nodded, and to take a break from running, sat with his back against a lone tree in the clearing. He brought another crystal fruit out from his tunic fold. He tossed it up, caught it, and laughed. Everybeast was settled in the camp for now. Lilian popped up like she did all the time, and sat by him. She’d brought a few blankets. Now that he wasn’t running, Kirren had to admit that it was cold. They must be at the same latitude as Icelen.
They both bundled up and watched a few snowflakes fall. One fell on Kirren’s head. Lilian blew it away, and leaned on his shoulder.
“Aha!” Both squirrels jumped. Anghan, Dilann, Sarcen, and Current all jumped out from behind the thick pine tree. “You thought we didn’t notice!” Dilann laughed. He and Anghan picked Kirren up on their shoulders, and Sarcen and Current lifted Lillian, despite protests. Probably to parade us around camp. When this thought occurred to him, Kirren hopped down. Lilian joined him, and they ran off to have alone time.
Dango watched them go, chuckling. “I knew it from the start,” he said to himself. Twitch was nearby and overheard him.
“We all did,” he muttered. Dango smacked his son over the ears.
That night, after a quick dinner, Kirren and Anghan had everybeast gathered around the fire. Kirren stood up to explain the attack plan. “Alright . . . has everyone had their blades blackened by Shrimp?” A chorus of affirmation greeted this question. “Okay. Dark cloaks?” Another yes. “Now, Anghan is going to take three creatures with him of his choosing, then I and three other squirrels will also go. We’re going to climb the sides of the ship, and let down rope ladders. Anghan and his three will lead the rest of the force, going a bit ahead to scout it out. Then it’s war. We will only take prisoners, not kill cold-heartedly.”
Twitch whooped, then was smothered by Sarcen, who tackled him and covered his mouth.
Kirren chose Lilian, Dilann, and another squirrel who was named Swiftpaw. They set off through a small line of trees. Anghan chose his, then left fifteen minutes later at a quick pace.
The young prophet and his comrades arrived in another hour and a half. They slowed down nearing the beach’s gravel, and tread carefully. Their dark cloaks provided cover from the sentries on duty. Kirren’s elbows were scraped from the stones by the time they reached the hull. Thankfully, Whiptail’s steersbeast had decided to beach the ship, so they didn’t have to swim.
The foursome quickly scaled the rough black wood. Kirren peeped over the side, and saw two sentries talking at the starboard side. They looked bored. Kirren signaled to Dilann, and they both jumped over the side. The sentries, a lizard and a weasel, both turned, drawing their weapons. When they saw two squirrels, they laughed and ran at them. “Jus’ a couple o’ slaves!” one thought to himself.
He couldn’t have been more wrong. Kirren and Dilann both swirled around and blasted them with fire. Two splashes were heard dimly on the far side of the ship. “Come on!” Kirren whispered, and Lilian with Swiftpaw hopped over.
By the time they’d let down the ropes, Anghan and his three could be seen running over the next rise. Not far behind them were the rest of the mice, even with a few otters. Kirren was surprised at that. He didn’t think that the otters were coming.
The big wolf and his companions all climbed over. Before they could wait for the others to come aboard, a sentry hiding in the crow’s nest noticed them and yelled, “HELP!” An arrow from a mouse archer silenced him, but it was too late. Whiptail and three others appeared in the doorway.
The old rat pointed his paw, and screeched, “Get them!” The attendants ran at the group. They were false prophets, for they destroyed two of the three with Anghan in a matter of seconds. The other by the wolf was Sarcen. One of them collapsed Swiftpaw, somehow draining his power. Two Lashes and a Hunger, Kirren decided as he stood in front of Lilian, protecting her from the power of the three dark ones.
Anghan engaged the Hunger, while Dilann and Sarcen took a Lash. Kirren also started to battle a Lash, but kept himself in between the lizard and Lilian. He immediately blasted it with a wave of beautiful sound that the Lash couldn’t stand. It fell to its knees, and Kirren finished it with a wave of rolling white fire.
Anghan had a bit more difficulty with his rat, since he’d never done this. The rat threw out a pillar of purple fire, and Kirren saw the Sight dodge it with amazing speed. However, he was caught off guard, so he rolled over onto his side. A huge pair of jaws appeared over Anghan. However, it must have just been an image, for Anghan easily turned it around and sent it rushing towards its owner. The rat squeaked in surprise, and ran away from it. Another Anghan popped up in front of the Hunger, and while it was distracted with that, Anghan sent a fireball of blue hurtling towards the rat. Another splash was soon heard.
Dilann and Sarcen were outmatched. The lizard they were battling had two maces and chain that were green with fire, and sent flames out all the while. Sarcen took a chance at a fireball to its chest. It hit, but only knocked the Lash over. He was wearing armor. Sarcen turned, thinking it was dead.
Then a fiery dagger sprouted from his chest.
“No!” Kirren and Dilann both yelled at the same time. Sarcen collapsed to the deck, staring up at the dark sky. The stars hadn’t come out tonight.
Dilann leaped up from his friend’s side with hatred in his eyes. The lizard was back up and stood there, smirking. “There were two of you, but you were still outnumbered,” it hissed.
“He’s not anymore.” Kirren stepped up to his friend’s side. A white blaze erupted from his paws and swirled around him, creating elliptical patterns. The lizard was petrified. Dilann’s flames joined Kirren’s, and they both entwined and became something powerful. The fire shot towards the Shadow’s servant and enveloped him, sending him screaming over into the sea.
Now a full battle began. Whiptail’s servants were fighting the ex-rebel fighters, who had swarmed over the sides of the ship after pushing it out to sea. That way, nobeast could escape. The clashing of steel mixed with the cries of rats and lizards and mice. There were more vermin than previously reckoned. Kirren could tell that the rebels were losing. He blasted down a couple more lizards and a weasel before Lilian yelled, “Kirren! Look up!” The young prophet did, and saw Whiptail climbing with an agility that belied his age.
Kirren gritted his teeth, and started climbing after the rat. Up and up and up, they both climbed, until they reached the mainsail spar. Whiptail had nowhere else to run. He scampered out onto the wooden beam, coughing as he did. Kirren balanced his way out after him. The sounds of battle below had silenced. “Whiptail!” the Voice yelled. It was lightly raining now. “There’s no way out! You’re finished! You will never reach Diamond!”
“Never!” the rat screamed. He looked down to gloat in his vermin’s success, but all he saw were dead rats and lizards, living mice and otters, and a huge brown creature gracefully walking back into the forest. The mice and otters didn’t see it, but the two at the mast did.
Here comes time for me to explain something. This was a Servant of the Forever. More correctly, it was one of the bears that Kirren had read about. Kirren and Whiptail only saw it because the Forever willed them to. Therefore, when it demolished the servants of the Shadow, all that the vermin knew was that they were all dying and theyhated what was doing it, and the sons of Forever saw their enemies falling with no cause.
Desperate, the Nightmare sent out a torrent of black fire, which Kirren could barely see. Nevertheless, he felt it slow, but dodged too quickly. He felt a searing pain in his left footpaw. Kirren fell and caught the spar with his paws, and Whiptail cackled. The old dark creature crept over the young prophet and stamped on his right claw. It slipped, and Kirren was holding on by one arm.
All of a sudden, Kirren’s dream came back to him with such vibrancy that he almost let go. When you do something in Forever’s name, we must give it our all. Anghan’s words from the other day also resonated in his head. So did the Forever’s.
Trust me. He did.
Kirren let go.
As he fell, he felt a huge blast of power rush from him and slam into Tulrag Whiptail. The Nightmare disappeared into the sky, never to be seen again. Kirren had time to think these few thoughts before the power drove him back into the deck. He blacked out.
Kirren woke to the sun’s light on his face. He almost sat up, but a tight bandage around his neck stopped him. He looked around him in a slight daze.
He was on a small cot, in the Whitewake’s hold. The light filtered through a gaping hole to the left of him. Lilian sat beside him, breathing deeply. She was sound asleep. Kirren looked himself over. He had a bandage on his left footpaw . . . stump. His footpaw was gone. He had a bandage on his neck, and that was it.
He nudged himself to a slightly more comfortably position. That was enough to wake up the sleeping squirrelmaid. Her head started up. Even in her tired face, Kirren found so much beauty that he couldn’t stand it. Lilian’s eyes widened, and she screamed, “Kirren!” She hugged him so tightly he thought he would be crushed, but he hugged her back.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she whispered over and over. He kissed her for a long time, until Anghan, Dilann, Gale, Twitch, Current, and Dango came thundering down the stairs.
“KIRREN!” they all yelled. The squirrel found himself being hugged and slapped on the back from all directions.
Dilann decided to explain things. “You’ve been in a coma for four days! We restocked, buried our dead, and made our way back to Jungle Island. You crashed clear through the deck. You had serious protection, my sir, especially since you’ve had no food,” he said in rapid fashion. “Anything to say to that?”
Kirren thought for a moment. “I’m hungry.” Gale burst into one of his laughs again.
“Well, of course you are!” Gale turned around. “Current, go have Shrimp make our hero here a breakfast fit for a king!” Current dashed up the stairs, almost tripping on her rudder-like tail. She came back down bearing a loaded tray.
Kirren laughed. He was surrounded by good friends, companions, and food. Lilian was by him. Anghan had a paw on his shoulder. He was happy.
Well done. Well done, Kirren Barkleaf, My Voice.
Epilogue
Kirren sat on the porch of his house. Lilian sat next to him, and so did Anghan. They were all drinking mugs of hot chocolate, which Lilian had made very thoughtfully.
It had been almost a year since Whiptail had been defeated. Kirren had come back to his old home and rebuilt it, and after asking Lilian to marry him (she said yes), they both settled down in it. Anghan had built himself a house as well, nearby, and visited often. The former slaves were rebuilding the City to its former glory, with the help and strength of the prophets. All of the rats, lizards, and weasels had returned to the Ratlands. On another note, Kirren had a metal contraption holding his footpaw in place as Dilann and the other prophets continued healing it. Peace seemed sure.
But not necessarily. Dilann came running up to Kirren’s house, panting hard. He’d run a long way. Kirren jumped up just in time to catch him as he fell. “Dilann! What’s wrong!”
Dilann took a huge drought of air, then spoke. “False prophets . . . chased me . . . they have your father!”
Father
Kirren
Kirren wiped the rain from his brow, blowing water from his snout as he did. The squirrel shivered, pulling his cloak around himself, and nudged his bird’s side with his footpaw. The Lancewing came in for a smooth landing in the mist on the ground.
Kirren Barkleaf had been flying for the past two days, looking for the edge of Evergreen where Dilann had said his father was. After the mouse prophet had stumbled up the porch of Kirren’s house, the squirrel had jumped on Lightning and flown without a backwards glance. He’d even forgotten food, and he was starving. He just knew that he had to get to his father, Ferras.
The squirrel rolled himself up in his cloak to try and get a few hours of sleep. He hadn't been asleep for long, however, before he heard a thump behind him. At first, he didn't think much of it. It was probably just Lightning hopping around. He soon thought better of it when he woke up again to the slight warmth of a fire.
He sat up, unwrapping his cloak. It was a silver wolf, and a beautiful reddish-brown squirrel, warming their paws by a small blue fire. Kirren got up and joined them, crossing his footpaws as he sat by the squirrel. "Where'd you two come from?" he asked.
"Well, you didn't think that we were going to let you go by yourself, did you?" the wolf grunted. "Hungry?" He tossed a burlap pack to the squirrel prophet.
"Thanks, Anghan." Kirren looked inside the bag. It was filled with food for a few days, mostly biscuits and dried fruit: traveling food. He grabbed a few and munched on them for a little bit.
Lilian, the other squirrel, commented, "It's getting dark. Maybe we should camp here for the night." Anghan and Kirren nodded, and the tall squirrel rolled himself up in his brown cloak again by the fire. The other prophet did the same. Lilian laid her head on Kirren's shoulder and curled up next to him.
Lilian didn't have a cloak, so Kirren undid the drawstrings on his and spread it mostly over her. Lightning and Thunder both laid down next to their masters, spreading their wings over them. The prophet whispered a word of thanks to Forever, then fell asleep.
The next morning, Kirren woke up to the smell of toasted bread. He moved Lightning's wing and moved gently out from under the cloak. Anghan was making breakfast. He motioned for Kirren to sit down by the fire, and the squirrel noticed that it was taking a long time for the biscuits on the flames to cook.
"Move the bread," he told his friend. Anghan did so, and Kirren held up his paw. A small, but powerful, white fireball flew towards the coals. They almost exploded, but stayed burning stronger than before. Anghan laid the biscuits back down, and they were done in thirty seconds.
Kirren walked back and tried to wake up Lilian. She mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over, so Kirren tried something else: he tickled her nose with his tail’s tip. She jumped up and sneezed. Before she could say anything, he pointed at the fire. They walked over and joined Anghan for a hurried breakfast.
Lilian and Kirren jumped up on their Lancewings, and Anghan hopped onto his jay, but before they could lift off, his squirrel friend pointed at it. "I never asked," Kirren said. "What's it's name?"
Anghan patted the red bird's neck. "His name is Cason, an old name meaning 'storm'." He nudged it with his left paw, and Cason leapt off into the sky. Lilian and Kirren both joined him immediately, catching up quickly with their large birds' wings.
The wolf brought his bird up alongside Kirren's and leaned over. "Where exactly are we going?" he shouted into the wind.
"Dilann said that the hideout is on the western side of the border with Icelen. I'm pretty sure we're almost there. Isn't that where you're from?" Kirren added. "Since most of the only residents are wolves and foxes." Anghan nodded.
"My parents were visiting some friends here when I was a pup, and they were captured with me by some of Whiptail's lizards," the wolf said. "But I barely remember it. All that I can recall is that it was very cold." He chuckled. "Of course, that in itself is obvious."
Lilian waved at them from ahead. Kirren swooped over to her. "What?" he called.
She pointed down at the ground. "Look!" Kirren did, and saw nothing at first. Then he saw a spiral of smoke coming from a clearing in the forest below. The group of wingriders landed in a small triangle a little way away at a signal from Kirren.
Kirren moved in closer and found a place to hide, while he tuned in his Forever-enhanced hearing. When he did, however, he couldn't hear anything except raucous laughter, and whimpering. He made his way through the trees back to his friends, and relayed it to them. Anghan came up with an easy plan.
Kirren and Lilian moved up into the trees where they couldn't be seen as Anghan walked carelessly towards the noise and smoke. When they came to the edge of the clearing, they saw him emerge into what seemed to be a small camp of wolves and white foxes. There were a few of them in the center, tormenting a small, runtish lizard. He was shivering.
The Icelenians were laughing and kicking the bound creature around, watching it squirm. The lizard squealed and groveled at their footpaws. "Please, kind masters! Don't hurt me!"
"You're our slave!" The fox who had spoken snorted. "We’ll do what we . . . oomph!" He stopped talking abruptly as Anghan, unnoticed among the group, slammed a knee into his side. The fox doubled over in pain as his friends saw Anghan and backed away. Compared to him, they were tiny. Kirren hadn't realized before, but Anghan was at least a foot taller than a normal wolf. He'd seen pictures in storybooks when he was little.
In a few moments, the wolves realized that they outnumbered Anghan, and pulled out their weapons. The prophet shielded the little lizard with his body. The biggest wolf, who seemed to be the leader, advanced slowly towards Anghan. "Get away from our vermin," he growled.
Anghan was surrounded. Still, he said, "Even though he's a vermin, mindless torture is stooping to his level. You stay away," he added to a fox behind him. "You don't want to come near either of us."
The fox backed off, his curved knife in a defensive posture. Anghan turned back towards the leader . . . only to discover that the wolf was leaping straight at him! Anghan held up his paw, but it was a little too late. The wolf knocked his paw away and swung with his sword, and Anghan dodged in just the nick of time.
Now was Kirren and Lilian's chance. The rest of the vermin were looking at Anghan and the other wolf fighting. The squirrels leaped down and dashed at them from behind. Lilian drew her sword and dispatched one like lightning while Kirren set fire to another.
Now the foxes and wolves noticed them. They hadn't seen Kirren's fire, though. All they saw was one squirrelmaid with a sword and another unarmed squirrel. They all turned and charged.
Kirren instinctively held up both of his paws and threw up a gigantic fire-field in front of them, scorching one. The fox nearest the pair spun on a coin and ran, joined by the rest. Kirren flicked his right paw, and they all collapsed on the ground, holding their ears, except one. He was obviously deaf, by the way he was looking around and hadn't yelled when he charged the squirrel pair, and the hearing trumpet at his belt. He ran straight at Lilian without hesitation.
The wolf swung his straight sword, but it was parried by Lilian's sword, twisted out of his grasp, and the wolf found himself looking at the end of a silver blade. "Run," Lilian said, not one to kill a defenseless creature. The wolf gulped and spun around. He tripped on a stone, but quickly got up and ran for the trees. His companions, having recovered from the noises, joined him.
Kirren had been so busy with the other Icelenners, he hadn't seen Anghan defeat the leader. The wolf's body was on the ground, and Anghan had a wound on his left leg. He limped to the squirrels. "He was fast. Really fast. Where are the others?"
"Gone," Kirren stated. "As is the lizard. He must have taken off in the fighting." He looked back towards the forest. "Let's go check on the birds." The trio walked back to their rides.
The birds were fine.
The rest of the day, they flew with only a few short breaks and no more trouble. When it started to grow dark, Kirren waved the group down and signaled Lightning to land. Lilian and Anghan landed beside him, and they all hopped off their birds to survey their surroundings.
Kirren couldn't see well, but from what he could observe, they'd landed in a cold, barren area of stumpy grasslands, away from the forest. There didn't seem to be any shelter, so they were vulnerable to the weather, but Kirren was so tired that he didn't care. He and his companions plopped down in the center of what appeared to be nowhere.
Anghan and Kirren got a fire going for warmth. The wolf pulled some biscuits and fruit juice from his pack, and soon his friends and he were full and tired, an instant recipe for sleep. However, they stayed up a little later to talk.
"So, how much farther do we have to go?" Anghan asked. "We must be near to or at the border, because the natural divider between our countries is the River Brinewash, and we flew over that a few minutes ago."
"Um . . ." Kirren didn't know what to say. He'd taken off, with vague instruction from Dilann about the location, and hadn't really paid attention. "I think it's on the Icelen side, and near a village called Bergena. I haven't heard of it, but I thought we'd ask a local."
"Oh, I know where that is!" Lilian exclaimed. "I've seen it on a map. Also," she added, "How do we know that your father will be there?"
"We don't," said Kirren. "I trust Dilann, though. He said that he'd stumbled on a cave and saw my father, and I believe him."
"Well, I don't know about all of you," Anghan yawned, "But I'm exhausted! I'm all for bed. Or ground," he added with a rueful grin. Without another word, he flipped his roll out of his pack, laid down on it, and started fake snoring.
"I'm with him," Kirren agreed. Lilian nodded as well, and since neither had thought to bring their bedroll, they both curled up underneath Kirren's cloak. He looked up at the stars through a thin layer of mist. In his mind, he went through all the constellations that he could remember, but could only find two of them, as he was too far north for the others. He heard the nearby wolf's breath slow down and knew that Anghan was sleeping.
Two and a half hours later, Kirren still hadn't fallen asleep. He got up, spread the rest of the cloak over Lilian, and went for a walk.
When he'd paced out about 30 yards from the rest of the little camp, he sat down and took out a little candle with flint and tinder. He lit the candle, then removed a little reed-bound journal from the inside of his tunic.
Kirren had developed an admiration for writing. Whenever he had nothing to do, he took out his journal and wrote for a while, especially if he was tired. Right now, he was writing the story of how he and Lilian met each other, and how ridiculous he acted around her at first. He grinned in the darkness. He also wrote about how they'd gotten engaged and married. Then, he heard a noise behind him.
Kirren stood up and spun around, looking hard into the gloom for the source. He heard it again to his right. He turned carefully, peering through wide, alert eyes. He still didn't see anything.
Suddenly, he was pushed from behind. He landed spryly upright at the bottom of a small rise, and turned around to the sound of giggling. Lilian was on the ground, laughing her heart out. "Your face . . . so funny . . ." she got out through her joyful breaths. Kirren grinned, but put a paw to his lips. He looked at her, lightheaded with happiness. Wasn’t marriage supposed to take care of his infatuation?
"Don't want to wake up Anghan," he whispered. She barely nodded and tried to calm herself down. Kirren couldn't help a grin sneaking onto his face again, her laughter was so infectious. "Couldn't sleep either?"
"No," she answered. "Then I saw you leave and decided to see what you were doing. What are you writing?" Kirren handed her the journal, and they sat down together in the candlelight. She quickly read the page he'd written so far, then smiled. "Can I add something?" she asked quietly. Kirren nodded and handed her a charcoal pencil. She wrote a few more sentences, then handed the journal and pencil back to her fiance. He looked at what she'd written:
. . . And they lived happily to this very moment, after which Kirren kissed Lilian for a long, long time!
Kirren looked up, barely able to keep from laughing. "Says who?" he whispered, grinning again.
"Says me," she replied. He laughed and pulled her in for a long kiss. The pair fell to the ground together.
Kirren pulled away and laid back, looking up at the stars. His tail twined with Lilian's, and they both laid there for a while, listening to the sound of wind in the grass.
After a little bit, Kirren stood up. "We should probably get back to our birds and Anghan. We need our rest for tomorrow," he whispered. Lilian rolled over and faked a snore. Kirren suppressed a smile. "Come on, you." He tickled her footpaws, and picked her up upside down. "Time for bed."
Putting Lilian back down after a few feet, Kirren walked with her back to where they'd been sleeping. She got under the cloak, and Lightning and Thunder spread their waiting wings again over the two. Kirren still couldn't sleep, though, so he just looked up at the stars for a long time. The last thing he said, and the last thing he heard before drifting off to sleep, was, "I love you."
The next morning, Kirren woke up first. It was still a bit dark, and he didn't want to get up, so he laid there, waiting for the sun to come out. It didn't for a while yet, but when it did, Lilian woke up next to Kirren. Until Anghan woke up, he stroked her ears and laid there.
When Anghan got up, they made a short meal of bread and fruit, and saddled up again. This time, Kirren asked Lilian to ride in front. The pretty squirrelmaid accepted, and their birds zoomed off in a triangle.
“What’s that?” Kirren had taken the front position, and was pointing a paw towards something in the air, about five hundred yards away. It was somewhat hard to see in the misty air. The prophet strained his eyes, but couldn’t distinguish it. “Anghan?”
The Sight tuned his extremely enhanced vision, given by his Creator, and immediately saw what it was. “Oh, no, no . . . Kirren, Lilian, turn around! Quick!” Cason reared back, spun in the air, and darted off back towards the Brinewash. Lilian followed immediately, but Kirren waited for a moment. He listened carefully, and instantly heard it: clanking armor, powerfully flapping wings, and one or two howls.
“Back, Lightning, back!” he whispered frantically. The Lancewing spun and shot off after the other two birds.
Anghan chanced a backwards glance. “Oh, no . . .” he breathed once more. The foreign birds were getting closer. He scanned the ground, looking for some cover. “There!” he ordered. “Dive!” The trio flipped their mounts into a full-scale drop towards the ground.
Lightning hit the ground first. Kirren dropped down from his back, then ducked behind the boulder outcrop that Anghan had pointed out. Lightning followed. Kirren spread his cloak over the bird’s flashing wings to hide them, then ran to Lilian’s bird, Thunder, to help her down. The pair hid Thunder’s blue color with part of Kirren’s cloak just as Cason and Anghan joined them. Anghan threw his outer tunic over Cason’s red feathers. “Shh!” he warned. They all went quiet.
Not more than twenty or thirty yards away, two strange birds landed in the grey-green grass. Both were white, with black markings, and stood more upright than any bird that Kirren had ever seen. Their eyes were huge, and their heads twisted around to watch their riders, who dismounted from their perches on the birds’ backs.
The riders themselves were pure white wolves, covered in steel armor, and bearing silvery spears, twice as long as the wolves themselves. At their sides were two short swords each. Each had a steel helmet that ran down their muzzles and around the sides of their faces, fitting tightly to their faces with room to see through the eye slits. On their shoulders, each wore a cloth with a black emblem on it: two eyes with a black flame between them. The flame looked strangely familiar to Anghan, who could see it better than the others.
One of them sniffed the air. He said something to his companion, and the other wolf grinned. Kirren’s eyes widened visibly. “Kirren!” Anghan whispered faintly. He knew that the squirrel’s ears would pick it up. “What did he say?” The Voice looked over at Anghan, and quickly scribbled in the dust behind the boulder.
I smell them. They’re over here. We’ll take ‘em to the king. Anghan frowned. Kirren looked back at the wolves. They were coming towards them!
Kirren’s paw caught fire, white flame encircling the prophet’s fur. Anghan’s paw did the same, and both tuned in their senses. Just as they were about to leap up, Kirren’s head reverberated with a voice. Kirren! Stop! Don’t hurt them. Go with them. Anghan almost stood up, but Kirren’s paw clamped down on his shoulder. “Wait. We must go with them.”
“What? Kirren, they’re almost here! We have to attack!” Anghan started to rise again, but Kirren kept him down.
“Anghan! If you would listen for a moment, and consult the Forever! Rely on his wisdom, not your own.”
Lilian sheathed her sword, and stood up. Kirren and Anghan’s flames disappeared, and they joined her, paws up. “I trust Kirren,” she said, then to Thunder, “Stay.” The wolves stopped in front of them.
“Come with us! All trespassers in White Sun must be shown to the king!” one ordered. Kirren and Anghan nodded. “Where are your birds?” Kirren stopped nodding. He exchanged a glance with Anghan and Lilian. “Where are they? We saw them!” the wolf said again.
“What birds?” Kirren asked, then got a slap to the face. He hit the ground, dazed.
The wolf yanked him up by the front of his tunic. “Where are they?” Kirren looked him in the eye, then placed a paw in his mouth, whistling a two note tune, hard and loud.
Lilian and Anghan each did the same. “Stop!” the wolf ordered, and pulled Kirren’s paw from his mouth. It was too late, though, and Lightning, Cason, and Thunder all burst from their cover into the sky, out of arrow range in seconds. Kirren knew that they would remain close enough to know when they were needed again.
The other wolf growled. “Paws behind your backs, we’re taking you to the prison to wait.”
“No. We’ll come peacefully, as ordered by the Forever,” Kirren said. The wolf laughed scornfully.
“Forever? He has no power here!” He laughed again, and took three pairs of leather cuffs from his belt. “We can’t have you drawing weapons, now, can we?”
“You may take our weapons, but no cuffs,” Anghan said, tossing a small knife down on the ground. Lilian followed suit with her sword and dagger, but Kirren had no weapons to give. The wolves searched him, and when satisfied, called their birds. Anghan rode with one wolf, and the two squirrels rode with the other. The strange birds were at least twice the size of Lightning, and Lightning was large in his own species.
“How far from your city are we?” Lilian shouted over the wind after a few minutes. She looked scared, Kirren noticed. The wolf grunted.
“Two days flight!” After that, he didn’t say anything more. Lilian quietly laid her head back on Kirren’s shoulder.
“Why did Forever tell us to go with them? I’m scared,” she whispered into her husband’s ear. Kirren started. He’d always thought of Lilian as his fearless, headstrong lover. He hugged her tightly to him, kissing her headfur.
“I don’t know why, but I trust him. I love you.” She sighed, then nervously pawed at her amber earring. The prophet looked at it. “I’ve never asked you, but where did that come from?”
“This? Oh, this was my mother’s. It’s almost the only thing that I have from my parents,” the squirrelmaid explained. “Do you want to see it?” She carefully unclipped the jewel from her ear. Kirren clasped it firmly between his paws, to keep it from falling to the ground. Lilian twisted around and gestured to some markings on the front. “It says ‘family’. I have another piece, that I had somecreature at the rebel base craft for me, but I don’t wear it. It’s matching. A pendant. I left it at home.”
Kirren handed it back to her, just as the forward wolf dove towards the ground. The sun had almost set behind the faroff Kranof Mountains. The wolf flying the bird that carried Kirren and Lilian followed the leader’s, diving in a breathtaking spiral that rivaled the speed of Lightning.
The pair of birds landed upright, and Kirren and Lilian both fell right off. The gallant prophet jumped right up and helped his wife to her feet. Anghan and the two wolf soldiers hopped nimbly down. The guards unloaded their packs, then one pointed at Lilian. “You, see if you can gather some firewood,” he ordered.
Kirren disagreed. “I’ll do it,” he said. The wolf shook his head.
“I told her to do it, so she’ll do it.” The wolf was smirking, obviously quite arrogant.
“No, I will. Do you wish to disagree?” Forever? What do I do now?
You may show him my power, but only to rebuke him.
The wolf was walking towards Lilian, to force her, most likely, but Kirren stepped between them. “I said no. Your Creator rebukes you! Touch her, and you will suffer the consequences!” The wolf snarled, but Kirren’s paw stopped him from coming nearer. Kirren was at least a head shorter, but the fire swirling around his other paw raised in the air and the flames flowing through his eyes made him seem larger to the soldier. His arrogance was wiped right off of his face, but he didn’t move. Instead, he foolishly drew his swords.
“Put away whatever firestarter you’re using! In fact, give it here!” his companion commanded. “We’ll do what we like. We serve the mighty god Riken, and . . .” Kirren’s paw flicked, and suddenly neither wolf could hear anything.
“Forever commands you to be silent!” The wolves heard only this. They nodded mutely. Kirren turned to fetch the firewood. Ten minutes later, the group was sitting by a warm fire. By now, they were far enough in that snow covered the landscape, so they were cold, but no one complained: Kirren, Lilian, and Anghan because they didn’t want to complain to each other, and the wolves because they just couldn’t talk.
The next day, the five flew all day, hardly stopping for any reason. Their guards were able to hear and speak again, but didn’t say anything else, obviously scared. They flew their birds hard for four or five hours, then came in for a landing in a white, glistening clearing among the evergreen trees. Kirren, Anghan and Lilian all had food, so the wolves didn’t bother to see to their nourishment. One of them went out and shot some fish from a small stream for himself.
It took three more hours before a large, white-stoned city came into sight. It almost blended in with the bright surroundings. The pureness of the city masks the corruption inside, Forever spoke in the prophet’s mind. Kirren nodded. If the rest of the residents were like these, they needed help and light. He and Anghan, by the grace of the Forever, could bring that to them.
Forever? Is that why you sent us here?
No. Something else. Kirren thought for another moment.
Lilian, too?
Yes. This word came into Kirren’s mind just as the two birds -- owls, according to the wolves -- landed roughly in a stone paved courtyard. This time, Lilian knew to hang on, but Kirren hadn’t been paying attention. He fell hard on the hard surface, hitting his head. “Ow . . .” he muttered. Lilian hopped down and ran to his side.
“Are you okay?” she asked, obviously worried. He nodded, stunned, and staggered to his feet. Up in the sky, Lightning let out a concerned call, but calmed down when his master stood. Lilian looked up at the birds. “They have a lot of stamina,” the squirrelmaid commented. “They can’t hold out for much longer, though.”
They were interrupted by one of the wolves asking them to stay put while he announced their crimes to Riken and their king. Kirren and Lilian sat on the ground, and were soon joined by Anghan. “Crimes? What crimes?” The big wolf chuckled, but stopped to frown. “Since when was flying into the state a crime? We’ve always been on peaceful terms with this place, as far as I know, or at least Whiptail was.”
Both of his friends shrugged. Kirren didn’t know anything about politics in either country.
Two minutes later, the wolf came back. He beckoned for them to follow him, then marched off down a corridor through a large, elaborate door. The group left what Kirren assumed was the palace courtyard right away, and the white stones were replaced by gold and jewels all around them. “If this is the hallway, I’d love to see how he decorates his own bedroom, this king,” Anghan muttered from behind Lilian, and the group tittered quietly.
“Quiet back there,” the wolf ordered. He had regained some of his cockiness, Kirren noticed.
The four stopped at a huge, exquisitely carved entryway, and the wolf told them to wait once more. When he left, Kirren asked Anghan, “Do you know where we are? I mean, your parents must have told you about Icelen, so . . .”
“We’re not in Icelen. We’re in a small city-state called White Sun, and as you can plainly see, they have a very high opinion of themselves,” the wolf added sarcastically. “They fall under the allegiance of Icelen’s Councilcreature, but have their own little government set up. We were most likely caught on the border, as their lands are only six or seven miles long. They . . .” He went quiet when the wolf came back out.
“His Illustrious Majesty will see you now.” Kirren rolled his eyes and walked boldly into the throne room, closely followed by his friend and wife.
Bright white marble curled around in spirals all over the floor, meeting with golden pillars set with ivory carvings. Everywhere they looked, red rubies and emeralds caught the light from a large glass roof and threw it back at the looker’s eyes, making the room seem more brilliant than it was. At the other end of the room stood a silver throne, with images of snakes curling up the sides and legs. On this throne sat a pure white ermine, presumably the king, and upon his head perched a very tall crown, also silver with snakes etched into it.
The ermine stood, looked the trio up and down, and laughed. He spoke with an outrageous accent. “Zo, deze are de magizians who zcared de living daylights out of my bezt zoldiers.” He turned to the wolf soldier. “Get out of my zight, mangy zcum,” he ordered. The wolf bowed and backed out of the chamber, still bowing.
The arrogant king looked back towards Kirren. “I am de great and powerful Zantago, king of all of White Zun, purezt land on Evergreen! And who . . .” He sniffed in disdain. “Who might you be?”
Kirren answered immediately. “I am Kirren Barkleaf, Forever’s prophet. These are my . . . companions. We are not magicians, but rather servants of Forever.”
The ermine waved this last comment away contemptuously. “Yez, yez, but why are you here? White Zun haz no need of de Forever,” Zantago remarked pompously.
“Yes, you do! Your Creator has seen your evil ways and indifference towards him, and has judged your city unworthy. Zantago Darkbane, mend your ways now, and the Forever will forgive you! Your creatures suffer in poverty on the lower levels, and even in the higher classes of society, the creatures are corrupt.”
In that moment, three things happened in direct succession, explaining many things.
Zantago rolled his eyes.
Anghan growled, a strange thing to Kirren who had always seen him as calm and collected, and the Sight’s paw burst into blue flames.
Zantago narrowed his eyes angrily, and his paw burst into green flames! “Dare you to ztand againzt my power, given by Riken, god of all?”
Kirren’s eyes widened. “Forever?” he whispered. A non verbal confirmation rushed through his head. So, rats and lizards were not the only creatures who served the Shadow. “Zantago! You have no right to cover yourself in apparent beauty, and hide the evil that resides in your soul! In the name of the Forever, I send you to your master!” Fire exploded from Kirren’s body, the white fire consuming entirely the screaming Lash, and passing over the faithful in the room to consume the foul decorations on the walls. A sound rolled through the chamber, like that of the knell of a bell struck miles away being carried on the wind. Lilian noticed that the source seemed to be Kirren.
The blackened doors burst open. White-furred wolves, foxes, mice, and ermine filled the doorway, weapons drawn, eyes huge at the sight of the burnt and melted walls. The first to speak was a tall commander, bearing multiple medals. He walked into the room, fury obvious in his eyes. “What have you dared to do? Where is our king?!” he exploded. He leveled his sword at Kirren.
This commander is loyal to his king, not evil. Let him live, but leave him with my warning. Kirren closed his eyes, bowed his head, then looked at the commander. “Rekten Slendry, we leave you with this: your people have all turned from their Creator. Look back to the Forever, who you worshipped so long ago. Be a good king.” Rekten’s eyes grew wider, but the trio didn’t stay long enough to see his reaction. Kirren whistled long and loud, a four note tune, and Lilian and Anghan each emitted a three note sound. Kirren nodded his head to the onlookers as he climbed up on the windowsill. “It’s been a pleasant visit!” he said, then grinned as he fell out of the window. Lilian and Anghan both jumped out of the window, which overlooked a very large cliff.
Commander Rekten rushed to the window. The prophets and warriormaid didn’t fall for long until they were snatched skillfully out of the air by something . . . no, three somethings: one red, one light blue, and one gold. The birds were back.
Kirren whooped for joy as he flipped, dived, and spun around on Lightning’s back. The Lancewing screeched. “Anghan! Which way?” he called. The wolf thought for a moment, then pointed towards the ground. Confused, the younger prophet hesitated before landing Lightning beside Cason. “What is it?” he asked.
For an answer, the wolf cleared a large square of snow with three or four fireballs. The prophet flicked his paw, and a large map of Evergreen spread out before them. Kirren smacked his forehead. “Of course, why didn’t we do this earlier?” He and Anghan both stepped onto the glowing map.
“Okay, Kirren, let’s see what you can find. Oh, sometimes I wish that we brought Dilann on things like this,” Anghan complained. “Oh, well.” Kirren knelt and placed a paw on the center of the map, and the wolf moved his footpaws around the map until they reached a part of Icelen. Anghan brought his paws together, and the image zoomed out until it covered all of the country. “Kirren? Where do you want me to go?”
Kirren was too focused on tuning in all of his enhanced sense to the map. Lilian walked onto the map and shook his shoulder. “Sweet, Anghan asked you a question . . .” She trailed off. Kirren opened his eyes and looked at her, then at Anghan.
“Huh?” Anghan didn’t answer. He was staring at the map, flabbergasted. “What is it?” Kirren tried again. The wolf pointed at Lilian. Kirren looked at his wife, then at the map. His eyes grew enormous. “Lilian . . .” he whispered.
Dark and light . . . things were all over the map, little dots that moved all over the image of Icelen. They had appeared when Lilian had come onto the map. “Anghan! Zoom in on where we are!” Kirren ordered. Anghan’s paws moved apart, and the view opened up on a spot not far from a cluster of dark images. When Anghan was in far enough, Kirren could plainly see three figures, all glowing brightly. Two were in the shape of squirrels, and another was larger, like a wolf. “Lilian . . . did you do this? That’s us!” Kirren exclaimed excitedly. The squirrelmaid was stunned.
“I . . . uh . . . I didn’t . . .” she stuttered, and stepped off of the map. The figures vanished.
“You’re a prophet!” Anghan said in wonder.
Kirren was the next to voice a question. “What type?” he asked. Anghan thought in silence for a few moments, while they all puzzled over that question, then came up with an answer.
“I don’t know what she is, but I do know that when Sarcen died, it must have opened a hole in the prophet group. There are only three acknowledged prophets of the Forever, Kirren, and many more of the Shadow’s. So, Forever must have called her through us,” he explained. He turned to Lilian. “I want you to try something. Hold out your paw.” Lilian was still baffled, but extended her right paw. “Now, try to make fire. Just . . . concentrate.”
Lilian’s paw was instantly surrounded by something, but it wasn’t fire -- it was light. Silver and gold light swirled around her arm, then her entire body. She narrowed her eyes, and the light formed a bright, shining sword. Her mouth fell open. The light vanished. “Kirren . . . Anghan . . .” Both traditional prophets looked at her in amazement.
Anghan had another idea -- always the philosopher of the group. Kirren snickered quietly to himself at the thought as the wolf spoke. “Lilian, I believe that this means something, but I’m not sure yet what it is. The light flushes out the darkness, and on the map, the dark and light exposes the truth about other creatures. Mind if I give your new type a name?”
“No, not at all!” she said, saying something for once. Anghan thought again, then had it.
“Purity. I feel it.” Lilian thought for a moment, then closed her eyes.
Lilian
Lilian was stunned. Um . . . Forever? she thought. Is this right? I’m not a speaker, or a prophet, like Kirren or Anghan . . .
You are my creation. Are you my servant?
Lilian’s eyes grew even larger. Was the Forever talking to her? It only took her a moment to decide upon the answer. I am always your servant, Forever. Am I a Purity?
Yes. To you, my beautiful daughter, I give you wisdom, to help those around you, and other gifts that you will discover in due time.
Kirren looked at her strangely. “Lilian? What is it?” he asked, sounding concerned.
“The Forever talked to me,” she breathed. “He says . . . He says that He gave me wisdom, and ‘other gifts’ that will be revealed.” Anghan nodded understandingly, and Kirren clearly looked as if he knew what she was talking about.
Anghan had yet another tidbit of thought. “Over time, or immediately, or anytime, really, I think that the Forever will give you wisdom that surpasses that of almost all creatures, to find the allegiance of others and give council to creatures around you,” he said. “You are special.”
Lilian thought on this for a moment. She didn’t think that she was special, like Kirren, and . . .
No, do not compare yourself to my other creations. I love you just as you are, spoke the Forever. Give up your sword, and follow me. She bowed her head and heart to Him. She drew her sword, then planted it into the ground. She would leave it there.
Anghan didn’t notice, and he still wanted to know one more thing. “Lilian, do you know if you are protected like Kirren and I?” he inquired, punching at Kirren and dodging a kick from the younger prophet very quickly to demonstrate what he meant. Lilian shook her head. She had no idea. Anghan picked up a pebble and threw it at her. It flew back from two inches away from her body and struck Anghan in the nose. “Ow!” he exclaimed, surprised. “How . . .”
Kirren laughed at the wolf’s mishap. Lilian did as well, if only because Kirren was laughing. Handsome squirrel, she thought. Then suddenly, he got serious. “We need to focus now,” he said. “Lilian can help us find the false prophets!”
Snow had covered the cleared area again, so Kirren blasted it all away with one burning missile. “I should have done that in the first place,” Lilian heard him mutter. The grass underneath was now sufficiently scorched away. Anghan reset the map, and Kirren and Lilian both stepped on the map. Kirren had an idea. “I bet that I could allow you to hear what I hear as well!” He placed a paw in Lilian’s, then on Anghan’s shoulder. The little figures of the trio on the map moved as well. “Anghan, move towards the border. Lilian, watch for the prophets, and I’ll listen and try to transmit it to you,” he ordered. They all did so, and soon Anghan landed on the country’s southern boundary. Kirren looked for Lilian’s figures, but didn’t see any nearby. “Anghan, zoom out.” The Sight obliged, and Kirren saw a cluster of black, with a smaller white light at the center, at the far east corner of the border, right by the Ratlands. “Alright, I’m going to try this. Listen carefully.”
Kirren looked as if he was adjusting his finely attuned hearing, and Lilian felt him sending his power out through his paws. At first, all that the two others heard was silence, then dripping water. It echoed around in their heads. “Whoops, a little off,” she heard her husband murmur, then heard more clear sounds that were instantly distinguishable. Dark mutterings, the crack of a whip, cackling.
And a hoarse, strangled cry. Kirren audibly gritted his teeth, and the sounds stopped in Lilian’s ears. “Oh, no . . .” she breathed.
Kirren stood up, and whistled fiercely. Lightning looked up from where he’d been pecking out of the feed back at his side, then hopped over to his master, who swung up onto his back. “I’m going to find my father,” he said, then took off into the air. Oh, no. He may be a gorgeous creature, but he is a foolish one, Lilian thought irately, then ran to Thunder.
Anghan called after her. “Aren’t you going to get your sword?” She stopped, then pulled out her dagger and left that in the snow as well. Leaving the baffled wolf to figure things out himself, she vaulted onto Thunder’s back and exploded into the air.
Lilian looked back, and Cason was already on his way up to where Kirren and Lilian flew. Kirren was flying as fast as he could. Lilian had to drive Thunder hard to catch up to him. Anghan was falling behind quickly. “Kirren! Stop! Stop!” Kirren didn’t listen to him. Forever? Help! A quick thought rushed through her head. Lilian saw the light flash from her paw out of the corner of her eye, then formed it into a long, glowing cord.
The new prophet swung it around her head and whipped it towards the speeding Voice ahead of her. It grew in length until it reached Kirren, then curled around his chest and upper arms, halting his progress. Fortunately, he had enough sense to stop Lightning before he was pulled right off. “Kirren! I said stop!” she yelled. The cord shortened, bringing Kirren closer, then disappeared. His eyes were furious. Both birds’ wings beat at each other’s.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. Anghan finally caught up with them, Cason struggling.
“Foolish young one!” Anghan admonished.
“You cannot just rush into an unknown situation without thinking through it first, Kirren!” Lilian said.
“That’s my father they’re torturing!” he said angrily.
“You don’t know that, Kirren! Dilann said that he didn’t have time to look closely, and was chased off by the false prophets. He just saw a squirrel crying to the Forever, being held by these Shadow-servants.” Lilian was surprised at her calmness. This time, Anghan wasn’t the one explaining everything to Kirren.
Kirren breathed heavily, but calmed down. Lilian looked at him in the eye. “Now, let’s think of a plan,” she quietly said. They spiraled down towards the ground, landing in a clear white space. Kirren walked towards his wife, ashamed.
“Lilian, I . . .” he started.
“Shh,” she whispered. “I forgive you. I forgive you. I love you.” Lilian leaned in and kissed him, then hugged him tightly. Anghan cleared his throat from nearby. The squirrelmaid turned to look at him.
“What now, oh wise counsellor?” he asked jokingly. Lilian shrugged.
“I don’t know. I thought that you would.” The wolf sighed.
Soon, the three of them had come up with an idea. Anghan would masquerade as a servant of the Shadow, and see how close he could get to the prisoner using his ability of images. Kirren and Lilian would follow behind, wait near the entrance, and would help Anghan if the need arose. Lilian wasn’t sure how she would do that, because she wouldn’t fight, but she reasoned that she could at least protect the others. Besides, she didn’t have her sword.
Kirren noticed this just as they were mounting their birds, and voiced his concerns. “Lilian, your weapon! How will you fight?”
“It is the Forever’s will that I not kill. It happened so fast, I never got to ask why . . .” She trailed off. Why couldn’t she? She would have to question Forever about that later. Lilian hopped up on Thunder, clipped herself in, and took off towards the east and south. Kirren followed, and they both went at a pace suitable for Anghan’s bird.
Looking down at the ground, Lilian only saw white that stretched for miles, and dots of green evergreen trees. Cold wind whipped around her face, making her eyes water. Even so, the sparkling purity of the landscape took her breath away. The sun shone brightly through a layer of clouds, making it even more beautiful. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Forever, thank you!”
They flew that whole day nonstop. When they finally stopped for a rest and a meal, it was dark, and the birds were tired. “We’ll sleep here tonight,” Anghan announced, and nobeast argued. They were sheltered by trees, and a partially frozen stream for water flowed nearby. It was a perfect stopping place.
While they ate some dried fruit and roots that Kirren had spotted, they discussed their plans. “If we fly all day tomorrow, we should be there by nightfall,” Anghan reasoned. “That means lots of rest for us and the birds tonight. I would advise that you two get to bed early.” Both squirrels nodded. After eating, they laid down and went straight to sleep.
Almost. Lilian was still awake three hours after her husband and friend had gone to the realm of dreams. She tossed and turned beside Kirren, trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing worked. She even tried counting jays. That didn’t help either. Finally, she stood to get some exercise. Maybe that’ll put me to sleep, Lilian thought ruefully.
The squirrelmaid walked around the camp in ever-widening circles for about five minutes, clutching a blanket around her shoulders as protection against the cold. She looked up at the moon. It shone beautifully. The clouds and mist had disappeared, leaving the light coming down clearly. “What is the moon?” she asked out loud. “Is it like the stars, rushing and infinitely many balls of tangible light?” She thought about this for a moment. “What about the sun? But it’s too bright to be a star, and too big.” All the time, she walked around, thinking. “Forever, your creation is a beautiful mystery to me.”
And I made it for you. Every day, these things are my gift to you. Lilian smiled. And what do you think?
I think it’s the most wonderful gift that you could ever give me, the Purity answered. Her smile grew. Thank you. You are my Father. Still walking, she took a turn to move up a slight hill. Maybe she could see the moon better from . . .
A grimy paw covered her mouth, and yanked her backwards, then pulled her away from the campsite. Another arm came around her neck. She screamed into her assailant’s fur and kicked, catching her assailant in the leg. A male voice grunted in pain, then jerked his arm tighter, making her see colored dots. Her footpaws started to go numb. Black crept in towards the edge of her vision.
A thought came into her mind: Come on, me, you’re a prophet! Do something! Concentrating, she formed a wall of solid light between her back and her attacker’s body. It grew until it forced his arms apart and paws from her throat. She fell to the ground, coughing. The light wall grew, and stayed.
When she’d recovered some, Lilian turned to see who her intended assassin was.
A tall white fox, wrapped in a dark cloak, was battering at the wall with paws wreathed in purple flame. Lilian stood steady, feeling the blows against her own paws. The fox snarled, and struck harder, but it did nothing to the wall. The Purity focused again, and the wall swung around quickly until it formed a box around the Hunger. His eyes were full of rage, but weirdly flat and . . . a bit creepy, if she was being honest with herself. His fire was extinguished by the light, and his strange eyes widened. “Who are you! And why did you try to kill me?” Lilian demanded. The Hunger didn’t answer for some time, catching his breath.
Finally, he said, “I was sent for you, beloved of the servant to the Cursed One. I was told that you would be easy to kill, but . . .” He laughed quietly, a sound that made Lilian’s fur stand on end. “It seems that you are a witch as well.”
“I am no witch.” The Forever’s voice spoke in her mind: Draw it out of him.
Lilian steeled herself, then looked straight at the fox, releasing him. He growled, a fiery purple sword materializing in his paw. Forever? What do I do? An image and a prompt appeared in her head, and she understood. The fox drew the sword back, trying to catch her off guard, and brought it down towards her head.
Lilian drew a bright sword of her own, and quickly deflected the Hunger’s attack, then swung it through his middle. He screeched furiously. Black spewed out from anywhere that the sword touched, but the light did not wound him. His fire and sword both disappeared. The fox collapsed to the ground, then clutched his middle, expecting a gaping slash. But there was none. Baffled, the Shadow’s servant stood, looking all over his body. Finally, satisfied that he had not been harmed, he sneered at Lilian and thrust his paws out.
But nothing happened. “What the . . .” he muttered, then tried to conjure a weapon. Nothing. “What have you done? You cursed me!” he yelled.
Anghan and Kirren, having heard Lilian’s cries, came dashing over the rise. “What happened? Lilian, are you okay?” Kirren exclaimed. He saw the fox. “Who is that beast?!”
Lilian thought for a moment. “Well, he used to be a Hunger, but now he is just a powerless servant of the Shadow,” she decided. The fox looked at the three prophets, and promptly spun and ran. A fireball flew from Kirren’s paw. Lilian was faster, though. Another shield of light came up in front of the Voice that put out the white flame.
Now the fox was too far to hit. “Lilian? Why did you do that?” Anghan asked from behind them, confused.
“Let him go. Let the Shadow’s servants be afraid of their Creator’s power,” she said. After a pause, she added, “And let that misguided fox know that his Father still loves him.”
They tried to get some more rest for the next day, and this time, Lilian finally fell asleep, lulled by Kirren’s gentle breathing.
She woke up early. Of course, I couldn’t sleep in for once, could I? she asked herself. Her habit of waking up before everybeast else could be really annoying at times, and she knew that if she tried to go back to sleep, she wouldn’t. Oh, well. At least she could make breakfast.
Lilian did this very quickly, and both of her companions were still asleep. Hm. She could wait for another hour, or she could wake Kirren up . . . obviously the second. The pretty squirrelmaid walked over to where Kirren was sleeping. “Kirren?” she whispered, slightly shaking him. He moved his arm, but did nothing else. Lilian tried something else. She leaned over, took his face in one paw, and kissed him. His eyes flew open. “Good morning, sleepy head!” She smiled. He grinned back, then pulled her closer for a longer kiss. Lilian’s head felt light. His paw stroked her headfur, bringing it around to her shoulder, and she traced the outline of his face.
Lilian started to Anghan’s voice. “Well, now, lovebirds? Are you done yet, or should I pretend to sleep for another ten minutes?” Embarrassed, she jumped up and turned to the fire, where she had a few pieces of biscuit topped with fruit and some milk melting on a flat stone.
“Er, no, you’re fine,” she stammered. She heard Anghan snicker as Kirren joined her.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Just something that I thought would be nice before our high-speed journey.” She grabbed a few wooden plates from her bag. Using her paw, she scooped up two of them for each plate and dished out her concoction to both of the others, then gave herself some. Kirren tried a small bite, then a larger one, then started eating as fast as he could cram it into his mouth.
“This is delicious!” Anghan exclaimed. Lilian tried some, and to be truthful, she enjoyed it immensely.
Finally, they packed up, put out the fire, and mounted Lightning, Thunder, and Cason. All three birds looked fit and ready for anything. “All right, girl, up to a long flight?” Lilian whispered to Thunder. The Lancewing screeched and ruffled her wing feathers. Lilian took that as a “yes”. “Good girl. Go!” Thunder took off at high speed, shooting so fast that Lilian’s eyes were streaming after five seconds. “Slow down, Thunder! Slow down! Wait for the others!”
Once she’d slowed her excited bird down and the others had caught up, they all took off towards the eastern border once more.
Contrary to what Anghan had said the previous night, they reached the eastern Brinewash before nightfall, but close enough that it was growing darker. Kirren landed first, then Anghan. Kirren quickly cleared a large area of snow. Anghan’s map appeared there in seconds, and Lilian ran onto the map, searching for the cluster of dark figures. She spotted their own figures, then the false prophet hideout about two hundred yards away on their left. “Okay, Anghan, see what you can do!” she said.
Anghan closed his eyes. Lilian watched, amazed, as his fur changed to white, then a purple flame appeared in his paw. He opened his eyes. They were flat. “Did it work?” he asked. Lilian nodded quickly.
“Does the fire do anything?” Kirren asked. Anghan shook his head, then swung it around towards the Voice. It passed right through. “Okay, then let’s move! Come on!” Kirren ordered, and the trio commanded their birds to stay. All of them sped off at the same time, but then Anghan took the lead as the other two fell back.
Far ahead of them was a small hillock. It was covered in snow, but strangely enough, the front was screened by bushes that weren’t. They’ve been moved, Lilian realized. They must be hiding an entrance. Anghan apparently figured that out as well, because he slowed down and began walking nonchalantly towards the hidden opening. Lilian flipped up the hood on her tunic, and she saw Kirren don his cloak some fifty feet away.
Suddenly, a grey rat leapt out of the darkness near Anghan. Lilian dropped to the ground.
The Purity waited there for a few minutes. When she finally deemed the coast clear, she looked up. Anghan and the rat were talking. Anghan “lit” the fire in his paw again, most likely to prove something. Finally, the rat let Anghan pass through the bushes and disappeared around the hill again. Lilian leapt up.
Kirren ran towards the bushes and dropped back to the ground behind one. Lilian looked around and stopped moving once again.
The grey rat had obviously heard something, and came dashing around to see what was going on. Seeing nothing, he turned his back on the bushes.
Kirren was as silent as an Evergreen star. He quietly rose up from his hiding place, lit his paw, and punched the guard in the back of the head. The force of the punch and the extreme pain of the fire combined to knock the rat out as efficiently as a boulder to the jaw. Lilian jumped up.
After she had secured the rat to a tree far enough away and gagged him with one of her glowing cords, the pair ran back to the entrance to wait. Kirren peeked over the bushes into utter blackness. “Huh,” he muttered. “Not the most cheerful place in the world.”
Soon, they heard Anghan’s voice whisper from inside. “You two, come on in here! This is a tunnel. You don’t have to be out in the cold.” Lilian vaulted inside, followed by Kirren.
Once inside, it was even darker than she’d thought when she was outside. She reached out with her paw on one side and hit a smooth rock wall. The ground was the same, and it felt like it was made from cut marble. Wryly, Kirren whispered, “Looks like we just jumped right into the mouth of the Despair.” That . . . was actually pretty close to how Lilian felt right now. The darkness was stifling.
Anghan started to explain what had happened. “I got close enough to see that they had a squirrel tied up in the center of their main cavern, but I don’t know if it’s your father. I only saw him once, and that in a vision. Then somebeast started getting suspicious, so I got out of there. Strangely enough, the Lashes had put up a false image of another squirrel up around the one that they had,” he added, somewhat confused. Kirren shrugged. Anghan turned to Lilian. “What do we do?”
She took a step back, startled. “Uh . . .” She thought for a moment. “It wouldn’t do to rush them at once, because one or all of us would die, if these are all false prophets. Anghan, could you project the same image that you were using on yourself?” The wolf shook his head.
“I would have to synchronize the movements of the image with your bodies, and that’s hard enough as it is with one person,” he explained, and dropped his false self’s figure. Lilian nodded, and tried to think of something else. Finally, she had it!
“You two, come out here for a moment,” Lilian ordered, climbing out of the entrance. All three soon stood in the entrance. “All right. Anghan, turn up the heat. I want to see how bright you can go.”
Blue fire rushed from the Sight’s paws and climbed up his arms, than covered his upper body. “This is as much as I can make,” he said pensively.
“It doesn’t matter. How bright and hot can you make it?” Anghan closed his eyes, and the fire grew in intensity. The blue light was soon as bright as the sky on a sunny day, and growing brighter. “Perfect!” Lilian exclaimed. “Kirren?”
Kirren’s fire exploded from not only his paws, but the rest of his body as well, growing into a huge sphere that soon enveloped all three of them, melting the snow but not burning any of them. “This is my maximum, unless I let it go! Then it fires in one direction!” he called over the roaring of the flames. Thankfully, they were far enough away that none of the vermin could hear. It got brighter and brighter until Lilian had to cover her eyes.
“Good! Now put it away before it blinds us!” Lilian yelled. The sphere doubled in on itself and retreated back into Kirren. The squirrel was sweating. “Do you need a break?” Lilian asked. Kirren shook his head, panting. His paws still glowed.
Now it was Lilian’s turn. “Guys, shut your eyes,” she advised, then pure light burst from her eyes, paws, and body. A huge golden beam flew up towards the sky. It was so bright that Lilian’s eyes were streaming after five seconds. The light vanished, and she grinned. “You can open now!” she told the other two.
Uncovering his eyes, Anghan asked, “What was that about?”
“We’re going to blind them, aren’t we?” Kirren inferred. Lilian nodded. “What about my father, then?”
Lilian had the answer to that, as well. “Anghan, could you make a person stop seeing temporarily?” Anghan shrugged. “Try. Try on me.” The wolf hesitated, then held his paw out.
Her vision went black. “Okay! It worked!” The black faded, with Anghan standing there smiling. “I want you to do that to Kirren’s . . . the squirrel when we blind the rest. Got it?” He nodded. The three turned back to the cave. Behind them, a rat tied to a tree screeched through the glowing strip that muzzled his snout shut, completely blind.
All three prophets vaulted into the hole again, and rushed down the passage in the direction that Anghan pointed out. They stopped near the end, which opened onto a cavern lit by a large bonfire. “Ready?” the squirrelmaid asked. Her husband and friend both nodded. “Good. Anghan, now.” Taking a deep breath, the Sight stood, stepped out into the cavern, and raised his paw. Kirren and Lilian both looked inside. There was, indeed, a squirrel in the center, and from the sharp intake of air from Kirren, she assumed it was his father.
The prisoner suddenly cried out, looking frantically about him. A few of the other creatures looked at him strangely, but more of them were interested in Anghan than that. “Hey! Who are you?” one yelled. Anghan growled.
“I am a servant of the Forever!” Many of the beasts screeched, holding their ears shut. Anghan’s paws lit with blue flame. About two thirds of the creatures who filled the cavern (nearly twoscore) lit their paws with green, purple, and even some black fire.
Lilian and Kirren stepped out to join their friend. Then, at the same time, they all ignited themselves in light. Kirren’s fire destroyed seven or eight vermin near him, and Lilian’s light sliced through two. All three of them together caused every single Shadow’s servant in the cavern to collapse. Lilian had to shut her eyes tightly before the lights extinguished. “Forever!” she exclaimed. “That was bright! Look at the vermin!” The rats, lizards, wolves, ermine, and foxes were all stretched out on the floor. “It must have overloaded their senses, and caused them to faint!” She turned towards Anghan, but had to turn away again. “Anghan, put away your fire! It’s too bright!” And she was right. It was so bright, it almost rivaled the strength of Lilian’s beam.
Anghan laughed and put out his fire. Kirren laughed dryly. “If I didn’t know better, friend, I’d say that you knocked them all out single-pawed.” Suddenly, he seemed to remember why they were there, and ran as fast as her could to the fire. The blinded squirrel slumped against the pole that he was tied to. “Father? Father!” Kirren looked worried. The squirrel looked up. Kirren turned to Anghan. “Take the blindness away!” Anghan’s paw flicked, and the prisoner’s eyes became clear again. Kirren looked closely at the squirrel. “Lower the Lash’s image.”
It looked as if a curtain fell away, as the visage dropped, and Kirren looked again. “This . . . this isn’t him!” Tears started to build in his eyes. The squirrel looked at him strangely, then at the trio.
“Well, are ye going to untie these leather straps, or are ye just going to stand there looking around like befuddled birds?” the prisoner asked. “I prayed for hours, and ye seem to be the answer. Unless, of course, ye don’t want to. Kirren, lad, don’t ye remember the face o’ yer old dad?”
Kirren
“Father?” Kirren said uncertainly. The squirrel rolled his eyes. He motioned towards the cuffs on his wrists, and Anghan ran around to undo them. When he was free, he stood up and hugged Kirren.
“Of course I’m your father!” he laughed. “Do ye need proof? Here, I’ve got some! Or . . . did somebeast tell ye? Oh, no matter.” His right paw lit up in white flame, then his left.
The older squirrel glanced around the semicircle of creatures. “Ye don’t look surprised.” Kirren and his friends started laughing. “What is it?” the baffled Ferras asked. Kirren, with tears of joy streaming down his face, slapped his arms around his father.
“Father, I can’t believe it’s you! I love you so much!” he cried. He took a step back. “Do you really want to know why we’re laughing?”
“Yes, of course I do!” He looked at the other chuckling creatures. “Who are these?”
Kirren grinned. Anghan’s paw lit up with blue flame, and he encircled his body in the fire. Ferras gaped. Lilian’s paws each illuminated, and she created a pair of glowing swords. Ferras’ eyes grew huge.
And when Kirren’s arms and chest started to burn with the same white fire in Ferras’ paws, Kirren thought that his father was going to burst. “Ye mean . . .” Ferras started, then paused. “All three of ye are prophets?” They nodded. “I must learn ye’r names!”
“Father, my name is Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever,” Kirren began.
Anghan continued. “My name, sir, is Anghan Silverfur, Forever’s Sight.” Ferras shook the wolf’s paw heartily.
Lilian stepped forward next, smiling. Ferras bowed at the strange sight of her light. “I am Lilian Barkleaf, Forever’s Purity and husband of your son.”
Ferras turned to Kirren. “I have a new daughter? I am so behind!” He chuckled, then enveloped Lilian in another hug. “How long have ye --” He was interrupted by the sound of one of the rats starting to revive. “Quick, let’s get out of here!” He jumped up, and dashed towards the entrance, followed closely by his son, daughter-in-law, and Anghan.
Once they were outside, Kirren called Lightning to him. Ferras stepped back, startled. “What’s that?” he asked. Thunder and Cason joined them. “And what are those?”
“This is Lightning, my Lancewing riding bird,” Kirren explained. “That’s Thunder, also a Lancewing, and Cason, a jay. Lightning, boy, this is my father.” The intelligent bird hopped over to the other Voice, looked him in the eyes, then bowed his golden head. Ferras hesitated, then bowed back. Kirren laughed, joined by Anghan.
Ferras was confused. “Whiptail let ye have those?” he asked. Kirren exchanged glances with Anghan.
“Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t, if Kirren hadn’t killed him,” Lilian said.
“Killed him?”
Kirren slapped his father’s back, and led him towards their birds. “Come, father, we need to talk. For a really, really long time; Icelen seems completely in the dark,” he chuckled. “Lightning, do you think that you can carry both of us?” The Lancewing chirped in protest. “Hm.” Ferras shook his head.
“No need. I’m not entirely without bird experience.” Ferras held one paw up in the air, then sent off a small bolt of fire that went up about two hundred feet, then exploded outwards. Kirren started to ask a question, but Ferras said, “Wait, just wait.”
About five seconds later, a huge silvery-white owl swooped down from the cloudy sky, blending in almost perfectly with its surroundings. It landed in front of Ferras and hooted. “Snowstorm, this is my son, his wife, and their friend. Say hello,” he commanded. The owl hooted again, this time towards Kirren. He laughed. Ferras hopped on the oddly positioned saddle. “So, where to, son?” Kirren looked to Lilian. She has indeed grown wiser, he thought.
Lilian mulled over the thought, then came to a decision. “As we’re on the border, I thought that we’d fly far enough away to be out of sight of these creatures, but close enough to still get a good night’s sleep.” She gestured towards the south. Ferras looked uneasy again, but followed Kirren, who flew at a medium speed in the direction that Lilian had pointed out.
Kirren was curious. How fast could these owls fly? He voiced the question to Ferras over the rushing of the wind. “You want to see? I’ll race ye!” his father yelled back. Kirren nodded. “One . . . two . . . three!” Both birds went off at top speed, leaving Anghan and Lilian far behind.
Lightning and Snowstorm stayed neck and neck for half of the time, but then Lightning started to gain. Kirren yelled back, “Done yet, dad?” Ferras laughed wildly, and Snowstorm broke into a dive, gaining speed extremely quickly, and passing the Lancewing in a matter of seconds. “No, we’re not beat that easily,” Kirren muttered, then covered his eyes with his cloak hood. “Okay, boy, as fast as you possibly can!” He pressed his right paw into the Lancewing’s neck, a command rarely used.
For a reason. Lightning screeched, then dived at a speed so hard that Ferras actually heard the bird’s wings whistling as they passed. Kirren couldn’t hear anything over the roaring of the air against his cloak and Lightning’s feathers. “Pull up, pull up!” he yelled, pressing his paw again. The bird spread his wings, and stopped so abruptly that Kirren was thrown backward, almost losing his grip on the saddle. Ferras pulled even and hovered there in front of Lightning. “Give up?” Kirren asked, grinning. Ferras nodded, his eyes wide.
“What . . . how did ye do that?” His face was so comical that Kirren almost burst with mirth.
“That is why they’re called Lancewings. Normally, they fly at about fifty or sixty miles an hour, which was what your bird was doing. However, in a dive, they can reach top speeds of two hundred miles an hour!” Ferras’ jaw dropped. That was an almost impossible speed.
Both birds circled down towards a patch of snow among some darker trees to wait for the other two. They had been going so fast that they lost sight of Kirren’s companions. After about five minutes, Lilian and Anghan appeared flying above them. “You could have warned us!” Lilian hollered down as Thunder and Cason spiraled down towards the waiting Voices.
Kirren shrugged his shoulders. “He started it.” He pointed towards his dad, who did the same to him.
“Please, Kirren, it’s always you,” Anghan chimed in. A smirk flitted over his face. His friend rolled his eyes.
Lilian interrupted with a piece of logic. “Let’s set up camp.”
Soon, they had a warm fire built and Lilian was once again making dinner, while Anghan and Kirren told the story of Evergreen’s release to Ferras. This time, with their limited resources, she managed to make a delicious vegetable broth, then tossed in some quickly rolled bread and twisted stalk dumplings. Anghan tried some. “This is really good, considering how little you had to work with,” he complimented. Lilian smiled at him. Kirren also tried some. It really was delicious!
“Lilian, I think that you might have a talent for this sort of thing!” he exclaimed. The new prophet-cum-cook took all the compliments graciously. Soon, Anghan was asking for seconds, with Kirren right behind him. Lilian ladled a generous helping into the wolf’s bowl, but stopped Kirren with her paw.
“For a second bowl, you owe me something!”
Kirren was baffled. “What?”
She pulled him in closer and kissed him once on the mouth. “This,” she whispered, and kissed him again, longer. His mind spun. Thankfully, he suspected his father was too busy eating to notice.
Then Anghan saw, and started laughing out loud, most likely because Ferras hadn’t realized what was going on right in front of him. Lilian quickly gave Kirren a large portion of the remaining soup and turned away, her tail curled in. Ferras snorted. “You thought I wasn’t watching? Save it for when you’re alone, you two.” He chuckled. “I remember when I and your mother were like that.” Meekly, Kirren nodded and moved away to eat. He walked over to Lightning to check his saddle and gear.
“You won’t say anything, will you, boy?” The bird chirped in acknowledgement. “I knew you wouldn’t. Had enough to eat?” All four birds were eating from recently replenished feedbags, but Lightning had just finished. He headbutted Kirren, then turned his head towards the saddle. “All right, let’s go on a little nighttime ride, before I have to continue explaining a bunch of stuff to my dad.” He quietly climbed onto the Lancewing’s back, then nudged Lightning’s left side. The bird flapped its wings and was soon hurtling up towards the sky. Kirren did it again, and they leveled out, far above the little light of the cooking fire.
Kirren took a firm hold of the saddle and reins, then leaned forward and rested his head on the bird’s neck. He flattened his tail, hard.
Lightning recognized the signal, and chirped gleefully. The bird then went into a series of flips, zigzags, and dives that would normally make Kirren laugh with joy and whoop, but when Lightning finished the last turn and flip . . . Kirren was weeping.
Tears streamed down his face as a flood of memories from a year ago rushed into his mind at once. His friend Slash had taught him that, shortly before he was killed in the attack on the City. Telling his father some of the story had brought up a flood of emotions, and that flight command had enhanced them. He knelt his head against Lightning’s warm body, his own shaking with sobs. He would miss Slash for as long as he lived, until the day that he joined him with the Forever. He knew that in his heart.
Sensing his master’s sorrow, Lightning gently glided down to a secluded clearing in the forest below. Kirren unclipped himself and stumbled against a tree, pain clenching at his spirit. He slumped down and sat on the ground, covering his face as even more faces rushed into his mind, of Sarcen, and all those loyal mice and other creatures who died for Evergreen and their Creator. Even more, further back, his mother came to mind, and faces that he had never seen before, visions from the Forever adding to his thoughts. Lightning laid beside the young prophet, trying to comfort him, but it didn’t help. “Forever, why are you showing these . . . th-these to me?” he stammered through his tears.
You need to learn compassion for those that you fight against, and for every other creature around you. The tears came afresh as a torrent of sounds added to the faces.
Kirren abruptly silenced himself as he heard the subtle snap of a twig. He stood up quickly, as did his flying companion. The Forever slowly tuned in the Voice’s hearing. Muttering immediately came from that direction. Servant of the Accursed, I will be the one to end you! somebeast said out loud, and not very far away. I am the one of the strongest of the Shadow’s Servants.
“Funny, that’s along the lines of what Tulrag Whiptail said right before the Forever ended his life,” Kirren called, wiping the tears from his face. A screech sounded from the bushes, then a tall silver fox jumped out, his paws blazing.
With black fire. “Oh, no,” Kirren muttered.
“Oh, yes! Never say that name again!” the fox commanded.
“Who made you my lord? Where were you when I became His servant? Where were you when he put his plans into motion? Where were you when your predecessor, Whiptail, was blasted into the Despair? I know that the name of the Forever carries power, and I will use it against those who take up arms and fire against him!” The fox’s eyes blazed, and he threw a giant black fireball towards Kirren. Kirren’s fire swirled up and extinguished it.
Now Kirren held up his fiery paws, and an almost visible blast of beautiful sound sped towards the fox. He put up a wall of pure darkness; the sound bounced right off. From the wall, two dark creatures leapt at Kirren. He blew one apart, then the other scored a direct hit on his chest, slicing it open. Kirren’s fire blasted it into oblivion, but the damage had been done. The Voice fell to the ground in agony. “Anghan! Father!” he screamed. “Lilian!” The fox prepared for another blast of dark fire, but Kirren stumbled to his feet again, releasing another wave of sound. The fox’s ears were blown back, and he clutched them in obvious pain. Kirren and he both took a moment to recover, then the fox looked back up.
“Had enough?” he asked, rasping. Kirren shook his head.
“Never! Forever!” The fox snarled, and more fire spilled from his claws, but before he could throw any, a ball of blue fire exploded through the trees and blasted it from the Nightmare.
Anghan and Lilian dashed out of the trees, then Ferras a few seconds later. All three of them were blazing. Lilian drew back on a bright arrow on a glowing string. “Leave now!” she commanded. The fox took a step back, but growled still and threw a fireball towards Ferras. The older squirrel sidestepped it. Lilian let go of the arrow.
Before the Nightmare could do anything, the shining missile entered his body and passed through, making sparks where it entered. He screeched, collapsing as his fire diminished. “Curse you! Curse . . . !” he screamed. Ferras’ beam of white fire blew him, smoking, into a nearby pine tree before he could finish his tirade. The Nightmare collapsed on the ground.
Anghan ran over to see if the fox was still alive and conscious, but Lilian and Ferras dashed to Kirren’s side: the younger Voice had fallen to one knee again. He clutched his chest tightly.
Suddenly, Kirren couldn’t see right. Darkness was creeping in at the edges of his sight, and what he could see was misty. His chest sent darts of pain flaring through his nervous system. “Lilian! Father! Forever!” he screamed, his paws convulsing horribly.
Through the pain, he faintly heard Lilian ordering his father to hold him down, and her paws prying his own apart. In a matter of seconds, he felt himself succumb to the nature of his wound.
Lilian
Lilian was panicking as she watched the one she loved most in the world slipping away. His breathing was coming in rapid, short bursts, his muscles were tensing and bunching up, and his eyes were shut tightly, contorting his face grotesquely. “What’s wrong? What happened? Ferras, what’s going on? Don’t let go, hold him down!” Lilian cried. She tore at Kirren’s paws, until finally, they started to budge. “Anghan, leave that vermin! Come help me!” she commanded, sweating.
“Kirren! What’s wrong with him?!” Kirren’s best friend yelled, grabbing the injured prophet’s paws between his, and yanking them apart. Lilian gasped.
Dark red blood oozed out of her husband’s tunic, staining it quickly. The wound was already lined by black crusted blood. Something dark was drifting out of the wound, like shadowed smoke. Lilian waved her paw through it. It was cold.
“I can’t help this!” she sobbed. “What do we do?” Ferras shook his head.
“I’ve never seen something like this. But I know somebeast who could help.” He picked up his son, holding him close to stop him from moving around. “Come on! Hurry! Follow me!” Still holding Kirren, he jumped on Snowstorm and took off without bothering to clip in. Without Kirren near her, Lilian started breathing as quickly as her husband and ran to Thunder.
“Go, girl, hurry! Now!” Thunder blasted into the air, followed by Cason, and Lightning, who was screeching like a crazy creature.
That night was terrifying, exhausting, and hectic all at once. Lilian felt her emotions warring inside her for control of her mind, and tears streamed down her face until she had no more to cry. After that, all she could think was, Save Kirrren. Save Kirren. Save Kirren.
Finally, they landed in what looked like another white clearing. Lilian stumbled from her saddle, and . . . promptly fell in the snow, asleep.
*****
She woke up again to somecreature shaking her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open. “What the . . . where am I?” she cried. Her head hurt. A white-furred fox was standing above her, holding a bowl of . . . something. He held it out for her to take it, which she did hesitantly. Lilian looked inside. It seemed to be some sort of porridge, or oatmeal, or something. “Where am I?” she asked again.
“You’re at Capton, milady,” he replied, stepping back. His eyes looked somewhat fearful. “Capital of Icelen.” She was in a white-walled room, the sides lined by large windows. Glancing down, Lilian noticed that her legs and paws were loosely tied down to a metal cot. She pulled at the cords, straining her limbs until her forepaws slipped from the loops.
“Why am I strapped to this bed?” she asked. He backed away again, closer to the door.
“You . . . went mad. We had to sedate you before you hurt somebeast or yourself.” His paw touched the latch behind him. “You were screaming for Karen, or some other beast . . .”
“Kirren? Kirren! Where is he?” she exclaimed, looking around frantically, all the events of the night before coming back at once. She started to remove the chains binding her footpaws to the cot, but they were locked in place by a large padlock. “Let me go!” The fox shouted for help and dashed out the door. Lilian summoned a shaft of light, fit it into the lock, and pulled it out. It was in the exact shape of a key. She pressed it in again, twisted, and watched lock fall away. The other chains came off easily.
Lilian launched herself from her bed through the door. Yells came from her right, so the squirrelmaid ran down the hallway on her left. “Forever? What’s going on?” she muttered. A series of images popped into her mind telling her where to run. “Okay . . . turn here!” She skidded around a corner. Lilian narrowly avoided smashing into a maidservant, and directed her footpaws in another direction. “Here . . . oh, no!” A huge door blocked her way, and the shouting from behind was coming ever closer.
Frantically, the squirrelmaid looked around her. There! Another smaller door was swinging closed slowly, presumably leading into the same room. A quick burst of solid light held it open for another moment as she dashed in through, then closed it quietly behind her.
As she had thought, Ferras stood there beside a bed on which Kirren writhed, still in obvious pain. “Lilian! What are you doing here? I thought they locked you up! You were in some sort of extremely violent shock!” Lilian shook her head, and rushed to her husband’s side. His eyes were open, but fully dilated and bloodshot. His exposed chest showed an even worse wound, the wound still oozing out in pus-like waves, and black spreading through the torn flesh.
“What . . . what happened? Kirren!” Kirren stilled momentarily, then kept twisting.
“Lilian! Keep talking to him while the medics here try to figure out what’s wrong with him! Your voice soothes him,” Ferras ordered. Lilian started humming softly as Ferras rushed off. Kirren slowed his convulsions, and soon, his eyes were closed as well. Lilian kissed his forehead. He smiled softly, and she kept humming and praying.
It was two hours of humming and kissing Kirren into peacefulness before Ferras returned, bringing with him a short, wrinkled hedgehog. The older squirrel gently moved Lilian’s tearstained face from Kirren with his paw and pointed her towards the hedgehog. “Lilian, this is Harke Lundir. She knows everything there is to know about healing, and is a devout follower of the Forever,” he whispered in her ear. She nodded and stood aside for Harke to move closer to Kirren.
“Oh, that’s a nasty wound, aye,” the ancient hedgehog mumbled. “Need hot water . . .” She suddenly leapt back, startled, and crashed into Lilian. Kirren was screaming again, his face contorted into horrible gestures. Harke righted herself with some difficulty, then glanced at Ferras and Lilian. “Ferras? Ye didn’t say anythin’ about this.” Her old grey eyes were wide. “This is serious. I don’t know what I kin do,” she added. Lilian choked down a sob.
Kirren’s mouth came apart, then together again, then apart. His teeth clenched and unclenched. “F . . . For . . . ev . . . Arrgh!” he stammered. “Angh . . . an! Help!” Ferras was puzzled, the confusement in contention with the furious worry in his face.
Lilian spun. “Where’s Anghan? Get him here right now!” Ferras signaled another medic. The fox nodded and rushed out of the room, obviously glad to be gone. Lilian rushed back to Kirren’s side, and the young Voice was instantly soothed. “Sh, honey, it’s okay,” she whispered. His face calmed. “I’m here . . . your father’s here . . . the Forever is here . . .” Kirren’s black eyes snapped open again, and he yelled. “Forever!” she said again after a moment. Kirren screeched again. “By the Forever’s name, be silent!” she finally yelled, directed by her Father’s words in her mind.
Kirren’s voice went quiet. Ferras looked at his son strangely, in a way that scared Lilian. “I think . . . oh, my son!” He rushed to Kirren’s side as well. “His mind is being infected with the poison of that Nightmare!” The tears that he’d been holding back as a strong father came welling up and falling down his face, onto his clothes, and dripping to the floor.
*****
About twenty minutes later, Anghan rushed into the infirmary. “Oh, Forever, what’s wrong with him?” he exclaimed. Lilian was too overwhelmed to say anything, and she just pointed. “My woods . . .” His deep voice trailed off. “We . . . need to . . . pray,” he choked out. Lilian looked at his silvery eyes and immediately saw that he must know more than he was letting on about the wound. They looked . . . scared.
Quickly, Lilian put this out of her mind and started begging her Creator furiously to show her what to do. Not two seconds later, he spoke in her head. I’m always just waiting for you to ask. A series of images bombarded her consciousness. “Kirren . . . !” she gasped, but turned to Anghan nonetheless. “Sit him up.” The strong wolf held the convulsing squirrel tightly and raised his upper body towards Lilian. The Purity took a very deep, long, shaky breath, wiping away the rest of her tears with the back of her paw. “Kirren!” Her husband whipped his head towards her, bloodshot eyes searching frantically. “By Forever’s name, be still!” He immediately stilled.
“By the authority given me as a child of the Forever . . .” Lilian started. Kirren started to scream, but Anghan held his mouth shut. “I command you to come out of him!” Kirren’s limbs hardened and thrashed around, catching Anghan one in the jaw, but the wolf stoically held fast. Black smoke started oozing out of the chest wound.
“No . . . stop . . . aargh!” Kirren’s jaw clenched tightly. He shook his head. “No . . . get it out! It hurts . . .” The smoke sped up, taking the form of a black hound, almost running from Lilian’s commanding voice, but still seeming reluctant and snarling at all the creatures around it.
Lilian drew a pattern in the air. Her eyes drooped closed as she let the Forever’s will take over her actions, light pouring from her paws. In front of her soon glowed an intricate cross. The hound started to whine, its smokey shape twisting away from the bright shine. Lilian focused, and the cross shot towards Kirren, shattering over his body and the black surrounding it. The smoke vanished, and Kirren drooped in Anghan’s arms. He was asleep.
Harke’s eyes grew wider and wider. She opened her mouth to say something . . . then collapsed in Ferras’ arms. The ancient hedgehog had also fainted. Anghan wiped his brow. “This squirrel is very, very strong!” he muttered. Lilian felt tears of relief slipping down her own face. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then, “A cross?”
*****
Lilian walked out with Ferras. “Where are we?” she asked. “I know we’re at Capton, but where is that? And what happened?” The older squirrel took her shoulders and pointed her in the direction of her dormitory.
“When Kirren started acting strangely, we flew towards the far north, where we are now. Capton is at the northernmost tip of Icelen. By the time we landed, Thunder was practically dragging you by your safety strap. I had to have the guards carry you in to your dormitory. When they set you down, you woke up and went . . . well, mad. One of the soldiers had to knock you unconscious, and you obviously remember that.” Lilian nodded and rubbed her head. “After that, you know the rest. Understand?” She nodded again, but there was one more thing that was on her mind.
“You seem to carry some authority here. Why? Why is that?” She felt like he had kept something from them. He shuffled his paws awkwardly, which would have been almost comical from an older creature like him if Lilian weren’t as deadly serious as she was.
“I . . . I may or may not be on the Icelenic Council,” he finally mumbled. Lilian was startled. “I know, that’s not what you expected, but it’s what the Forever commanded, I promise!” Lilian was too surprised to say anything. She just let Ferras keep talking.
“It was some years ago. Kirren was very young, then, maybe ten years old? Never mind. Well, one day, Whiptail sent a small group of arsonists and mercenaries to kill us: my own father had fought against the rat. They came into our house, and started a fire, herding us outside into a little group. I didn’t know what I could fully do yet, just my enhanced senses, so I didn’t know how to fight back. But when I did see a chance, I took it, and tackled a weasel. I grabbed his sword. With my body, I shielded Kirren and his mother, and fought back against the evil things; there were over a score. I had no chance. But at the last second, I cried, ‘Forever! Help me!’ And, of course, he did.
“All I know is that I saw a blazing white light, and then I was standing in a bright white field, covered in snow. I collapsed to the ground. When I awoke once more, a pair of kind little field mice had taken me into their house.
“I spent a few days with them, as they nursed my wounds and back to health. During this time, I spent hours speaking with the Forever. He eventually told me to go to Capton. Somecreature pulled some strings, and the Forever had me as a positive influence in the Icelenic Council,” he finished.
Still, Lilian didn’t say anything. Ferras turned back to her.
The stress, tension, and shock had all conspired to put her straight to sleep. She lay on the floor, breathing heavily. “Poor girl,” he whispered. Gallantly, Kirren’s father picked her up and carried her down the hall towards her room. Her breathing momentarily sped up. Even in her sleep, Ferras noticed that she looked ready for anything. “Brave girl!” he added.
She was running. Hard. Something ahead of her ran from her. Even further, in front of that, Kirren’s voice was coming from a bedraggled creature that was stumbling along a dusty road. A wave of black chased him, catching up to him and nipping at his weary heels. “No!” Lilian screamed.
Suddenly, her footpaws were aided in their journey, and she passed the black and dashed in front of it. “Stop!” she commanded, and threw herself at it. Kirren yelled, “Please, no! Not her!”
Then she woke up. Her body jumped forward, sitting up and sweating furiously. All around her it was dark, but she could see a crack near her where the moonlight poured through. It was a window shutter. Lilian staggered from her bed and jammed her paws into the crack, wrenching the window open frantically. It wasn’t enough light. Gold and silver flared from her body, instantly filling the room.
Lilian sighed in relief. She hated the dark. Too much of it, with that nightmare alongside, terrified her. “That was . . . horrible,” she whispered. “Forever? What was that?”
That was what Kirren suffered before you and I helped him, and what he dreams of now. Lilian’s paw flew to her mouth. “Kirren! Oh, my love!” She jumped out of her bed and took off out the door in nothing but a nightgown and slippers. The light in her room disappeared, taking after her in a blazing stream. No, that wouldn’t do. She focused, but it became a little creature running beside her. The light grew smaller. Much better, she thought, and pause in her relentless flight to bend down and ruffle the little light-thing on what she thought was the head.
Finally, she reached the end of the hall where the infirmary was located. She and Light-Bug (she had hurriedly named it as she ran) burst through the door. Fortunately, it was unlocked.
As the Forever had told her, Kirren lay in an obvious nightmare on his cot. Nocreature else was in sight. He was alone in his suffering, his fur glistening with sweat. Lilian lit up the entire room, but kept Light-Bug by her side, and fell down beside Kirren. “Kirren! Wake up! Kirren!” Kirren’s eyelids fluttered, but stayed closed.
“Lilian . . . Anghan, father! No! Stay away from them! Get back!” He raised his arms, and his body jumped beneath the sweat-soaked sheets.
Kirren
He was still running, throwing fire behind him. It did nothing. “No . . .” he gasped, recognizing the darkness. It had come right before he almost died by Whiptail’s flames. “No!” he screamed. He heard it echo . . . and again. That wasn’t an echo. He chanced a look back: Lilian was diving into the black, pushing it back. “No! Not her, please!” he begged. Then others followed her, and his father! “No! Lilian . . . Anghan, father! No! Stay away from them! Get back!” He stood still, then crossed his arms in front of him and slammed into the dark fire. “NO MORE!” he screamed. Fire . . . blue fire? . . . erupted from his heart, enveloping the black and crushing it.
He charged up for one more blast, but, like last time, nothing came!
“Kirren! Wake up! Kirren!” His eyes snapped open. Lilian sat over him, literally filling the room with light. A weird little light-creature hopped around next to her. “Kirren! Oh, Kirren!” Lilian burst into sobs and hugged his neck. He gripped her tightly to himself.
“What’s the matter? It was only a bad dream,” he said. She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
“You weren’t . . . w-weren’t yourself! The N-N-Nightmare . . .!” she stammered. Kirren pulled her closer.
“It’s all right. I’m here. It’s all right,” he murmured, stroking her headfur. The light-creature jumped up on Lilian’s lap, nuzzling her face and chirping. “Who’s this?” Kirren asked in surprise. Lilian laughed softly through her tears. “And where are we?”
“This is Light-Bug. I was scared for you, and he just appeared beside me. I meant to make him into a lamp, but now I can’t get rid of him. So, we have a new pet! Oh, and we’re at Capton, capital of Icelen,” she added. Kirren thought about this for a moment.
“Does he need feeding?”
“I have no idea. And, no, I don’t think he needs to sleep, I don’t know if he can dim his light, and I’m not sure exactly what he is.” Kirren snickered. Apparently, she had anticipated all his questions . . . all but one.
“Does he wet the carpet?”
Lilian could never help bursting out into giggles at something like that, Kirren knew. “Of course not, you silly furball of a handsome squirrel!” She kissed him on the mouth. Somehow, she managed to transfer her laughter that way, and soon Kirren was chuckling too. It felt good to laugh. He hadn’t laughed for days. Why hadn’t he? No matter. He was now.
Lilian hugged him again. The two, and Light-Bug, sat there for another two minutes, before somebeast knocked on the infirmary door. Kirren exchanged a glance with his wife. “Who could that be? We don’t know anycreature here,” he whispered.
Council
Kirren stood and crept to the door. He heard Lilian coming up behind him. Silently, he reached out towards the wooden double door . . . then smacked the wooden door at about eye level, hard enough to startle anyone with their ear against it. Sure enough, he could hear a surprised -- but young? -- cry, and somecreature stumbling onto the stone floor. Lilian whipped the door open.
A little squirrelbabe was on the floor, sucking her thumb quietly. She looked up at Lilian, then Kirren, then smiled sweetly. “Big Brother Kiwen! Ms. Lilian!” she whispered excitedly. She didn’t look any older than two or three years. Kirren’s eyes grew wide.
“What did you say?” he asked. Lilian silenced him with a glare, then turned to the adorable little thing and picked her up.
“My mommy say’d that you kin wead my mind,” she suddenly murmured, shying away from them in Lilian’s arms. “Is dat twue?” Lilian looked at Kirren.
“No, of course not!” he said hurriedly. “Um . . . who is your mommy? And daddy?”
“F . . . Fewas Barkleaf and Jana Barkleaf, but my weal Daddy is Fowever,” she said after a moment of comic concentration. Lilian looked at Kirren again, confused.
*****
“Why? Why did you not tell me these things before?” Kirren demanded. His father stood a few feet away, behind a desk in a large room, groggy-eyed. He looked at his son guiltily, but couldn’t hold his furious gaze, and turned away.
“I know, son, I should have told you before. I should have told you that I was on the Council. I should have told you that I remarried. I should have told you that you had a little sister, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t know how you would react!” he said defensively. Kirren just stood there, staring at him with piercing eyes. Ferras was holding something back.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he questioned further. “What are you not telling me?” Ferras sighed, and looked up at the ceiling of his office.
“Jana hates prophets.”
“What?! How? She’s married to one!” Kirren exploded. Somewhere in his subconscious, he heard Anghan telling him to control his temper, but didn’t care. “What do you mean, she hates prophets?”
“Just that. She hates prophets, she’s terrified of them. And, well . . . she divorced me by Icelen law when she found out that I was one, lumping me in with all the false ones: that’s what she grew up with, and wouldn’t put up with it in her home,” his father murmured, bending his head. Kirren’s heart immediately softened, and he cleared his throat.
“Oh . . . I’m sorry,” he stammered awkwardly. He didn’t exactly know what to say. A thought occurred to him. “Um, on another note, what do we do with her?” Behind him stood Lilian, holding the little squirrelbabe. She hugged Lilian around the neck, holding on tightly.
“Oh, little Kaytlen? Well, that’s her realy name, but everybeast calls her Kay.” Ferras walked over and took her from Lilian, with a little prying. “I’ll take her back to her mother.” Kay shook her head, and reached for Kirren, latching herself onto his shoulders. Ferras let her stay there.
“My mommy say’d dat I can’t come back,” she mumbled sleepily. “She be’d scared dat I kin read her mind.” Ferras’ eyes widened, then got angry.
“She did what?!” he exploded, then turned and stalked out the door. Kirren turned to Lilian.
“What do we do with Kay?” She shrugged. The baby squirrel had fallen asleep in Kirren’s arms. He looked down at the peaceful child, then made up his mind. “Well, I’m not letting her go back to a mother like that. She can’t be more than two years old!” He looked around. Obviously, it was still the middle of the night. “Where’s your room in this place?”
“On the other side of the . . . castle, I guess.” The beautiful squirrelmaid led her husband down a few halls, then through a doorway into the dormitory that she’d presumably been staying in. Kirren carried his newly discovered baby sister in, found an extra blanket in the corner, and wrapped the precious little creature up in it, placing her in the center of the bed as he did so. Lilian stripped the sweat-soaked blankets from the other side, and grabbed another clean, dry one from the corner by Light-Bug’s lamp.
“Light-Bug, put that out, please,” Lilian mumbled, stifling a yawn of her own. Light-Bug disappeared. Not even questioning that, Kirren flopped down beside Kay. Lilian laid down on the other side. Underneath the dry, warm blanket, the two exhausted squirrels fell fast asleep.
Kirren was woken, startled, by little Kay bouncing up and down on the bed next to him. She was a very happy child. The sun streamed through the window, hitting the right side of Kirren’s peaceful face. Lilian groaned and flipped the blanket over her head. Fully awake by this time, though, her husband was not going to let her pass up a joyful time like this. “Come on, up with you,” he murmured, and pulled the blanket from her face. She glared up at him.
She couldn’t stay angry for long, though. Kay jumped on her, wrapped her arms around Lilian’s neck, and looked her straight in the eyes, as solemnly as her tiny face could look. “Gotta get up, big sister,” she ordered. Kirren burst out laughing.
“You’ve got do what she says, Lilian! She’s the boss around these parts,” he chuckled.
Lilian grumbled somewhat, then sat up in the bed and held Kay. “Light-Bug?” she called. The bouncy little creature appeared again. Kirren’s eyes widened: the thing was green! “Jump on Kirren’s head for me, will you?” Lilian ordered. The green light-thing bounced onto the bed and then onto Kirren’s face, knocking him back into the pillows.
“Aah! Get off, you . . .” Instantly puzzled about something, he sat up with no difficulty. Light-Bug didn’t actually weigh anything. “What is he? He looks like a colorful blob with legs.”
Lilian’s eyebrows creased. “I actually have no idea. Light-Bug? What in the world are you?” The little thing was still trying to perch on Kirren’s head and completely ignored her. “Light-Bug, down!” He flopped back down on the bed, letting Kirren do the same. Light-Bug stared up at Lilian hopefully.
Kay was staring at Light-Bug with an open mouth. Then she gave a squeal of excitement and wrapped her little arms around the creature. He rubbed what Kirren assumed was his face against her little nose, and Kay fell back against the covers, humming to herself happily. “Well . . . looks like your pet’s found a new best friend!” Kirren exclaimed. Lilian smiled, somewhat grudgingly, and slipped out of the bed, dragging a blanket with her. “What . . .” She yawned. “What is there to eat in this place? I’m starving! All I’ve had to eat for the past day and a half was a bowl of oatmeal that I never finished, and I’ve barely left this room. In fact, I’ve barely seen anybody.”
Kirren thought for a moment. “Well, we know the way to my father’s chambers, so we’ll go find him. Or, we could go look at the infirmary,” he reasoned.
“I know where to get bweakfast!” Kay exclaimed. She was a bouncy little thing.
Lilian got down on her knees on the bed. “Where? Could you show us?” she asked with a smile on her face that could light up the whole room. Kay nodded, then tumbled off the bed and started for the door.
Following the little speeding creature, Lilian and Kirren dashed around corners, up stairs, and through many doorways. Since it was early in the morning, only a few guards were on duty, and they took no notice of the squirrels -- presumably on Ferras’ orders.
Finally, Kay skidded to a stop, crashing through a door into a small side kitchen. Only one young server was there, also a squirrelmaid. She jumped back from the crashing door. As she did so, a freshly baked pie flew out of her paws towards the sink nearby that was full of water. “Oh, nae!” she exclaimed in astonishment.
Lilian was quick to help. The solid light flashed from her paws in a river of gold, picking the pie right out of the air and placing it in the server’s paws again. Notwithstanding this, Kay ran up to the stunned worker’s side and pulled at her apron strings.
“Mayb’ll, my big bwother and sister are hungwy!” she whispered confidentially. Maybell nodded shakily and stumbled over to a cupboard, obviously terrified. Lilian walked softly over to her.
“It’s all right. My husband and I don’t serve the Foul One,” she whispered. Maybell looked at her now, suspiciously.
“Ye’re sure? Ye ken, we hae’nt got a mere dram o’ them de’il servin’ demons!” she stammered. Lilian nodded. Maybell breathed a hesitant sigh of relief. She turned to Kirren with a fresh beaming smile on her face, pulling out two new tarts. “‘Ere ye are!” Of course, Kirren had no questions as to the sudden attitude change. He’d heard it all from straight across the room. He chuckled to himself. No, he shouldn’t use his senses like that, but . . . sometimes, he couldn’t help himself.
Kay clapped her tiny paws. “T’ank you, Mayb’ll!” she squealed happily as the kind young squirrelmaid gave the little babe a small pastry of her own.
Kirren and Lilian both took seats at a little table in the corner, quickly demolishing their food. Both of them were very hungry, having not eaten for a day or two. When they were finished, Lilian took off the blanket and folded it neatly, smoothing out her night-gown as she did so. “What now?” she asked Kirren.
Her husband was baffled. “I don’t know . . . Kay?” He turned to his little sister. The baby squirrel looked up from her miniature breakfast. “Do you know the way from here to where Daddy is?” She nodded, her tiny cheeks stuffed with food. “Can you show us?” She nodded again, hugged Maybell, and dashed out the door. Lilian started to her feet and followed Kay, swinging the door wide open, right in front of Kirren. “We need to find Anghan!”
“Thank ye fer comin’!” Maybell called after them, but her voice was drowned out in the drumming of their footpaws against the stonework that made up the place. She sighed. “Nobeast ne’er appreciates guid cookin’.”
“Father, why are we still here?” Kirren asked Ferras, once again across the desk from him.
“I’m fighting something here, I told you!” Ferras paced back and forth like a caged Lancewing. This reminded Kirren of Lightning.
“What are we doing here? What are you fighting? Where are our birds? What do we do about Kay? What in the world can Forever possibly meant by sending us here?” Kirren cried. Behind him, Anghan placed a paw on Kirren’s shoulder, but the Voice ignored it and shrugged it off.
“I need your help!” Ferras yelled back. “These Nightmares are overrunning the Council and I don’t know what to do! I don’t know why you’re still here, I don’t know where your birds are! I don’t know where these false prophets are coming from, I’ve had to hide my identity. Here, I’m Jon Firewyrm, Council member and presumably a servant of the Shadow!” He stood head to head with his son, both with fists clenched and fire in their eyes.
Tears threatened to fall from Kirren’s eyes, and he finally looked away in shame. “I’m sorry, father . . . I’m just confused, and angry, and I don’t know what happened.” Ferras took his son in his arms, and the two Voices held tightly to each other.
Kirren had an idea. “Lilian! What should we do?” Ferras looked at him strangely, then bent down and whispered in his son’s ear, “Ye’re askin’ yer wife?”
“Yes, of course, she’s been given the gift of wisdom,” the younger squirrel muttered back. Ferras shrugged, but still looked confused. Kirren ignored this, as Lilian was talking.
“Who leads the Council? Is he a Nightmare?” She paused, thinking.
“His name is Jennter Mc’Kallen. I don’t believe that he’s a prophet of any sort, but he is being controlled and presumably blackmailed by the others. The Nightmares are led by -- believe it or not -- a mouse, called Fallyne Anjyl. Strange name, isn’t it?”
Lilian let out a small gasp of air, barely audible, and whipped her head around towards Anghan, behind Kirren. “Quick, I need to know something. Was was the last vision you had? Not the last one you can understand, the last series of images that went through your head.”
Anghan started. “How did you know? Never mind, dumb question. Let me show you . . .” He walked up to the Purity and placed his large paw on her temple and Kirren’s.
Kirren felt himself falling into something like a dream, his eyes glazing over.
*****
He stood in a dark room, with only a small green lantern for any light. Dark creatures scurried through the shadows. Their eyes were green, just as the lantern. One stood up in the circle of light. It was just a rat, so Kirren wasn’t worried.
He did start getting nervous as a whole group of animals stood up behind the rat. “Anghan? Where are you?” he murmured. He lit up a paw to see better. The rat and his comrades stepped back, hissing softly. “Oh, you don’t like that? How about this?” Kirren challenged. His body lit up with flames. This time, though, the rat stayed put. His paws darkened with black fire, followed by the paws of all the others.
“He is a Voice. He must perish.” The chant came from the Nightmares’ mouths in a monotone voice. “He is a Voice. He must perish. He is a Voice, he must . . .”
Kirren interrupted. “Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to move?”
The Nightmares took a step towards him in unison, and held out their paws. A wave of black rushed towards the prophet, followed by another vision.
This time, he was underwater. Again. For the second time in his life, he was before that sea creature with the huge eye. This time, though, the dark scales were replaced with white scales, and the eye was blue. The eye stared at him, somehow understanding and comprehensive without speech. In just a few more seconds, the image went away and Kirren was somewhere else.
This time, he had no idea where he was. None at all. It was a large plain, beside a stone pillar. Two white foxes, dressed in silver and white, were fighting against a large army of . . . huge, immense monsters. They were terrifying, and their eyes were red. White fur obscured by black armor, and they carried gigantic battle axes. In fact, they were smaller but similar to the servant of the Forever that Kirren had seen in the battle against Tulrag Whiptail.
The foxes were blindingly white. One had streaks of silver in his fur, and both had silver eyes at the moment. Both wore silver armor, with an emblem of white engraved on it. Both carried strange swords, but they were different as well. One fox didn’t even look like a normal fox, with a longer snout and tail, taller than his companion. He carried a curved steel sword. The other wielded a black sword, thin and straight. What drew Kirren’s attention was the power surrounding them both.
The larger fox was uttering words that sounded like holy prayers, and as he finished each, a wave of power blasted out from his body and sword. White light blew back their opponents. He looked exhausted from it, and Kirren had no idea how much longer he could keep up this angelic battle.
The smaller fox was even more terrifying. He didn’t cry out at all for whoever the older fox was calling upon. His sword was covered in spiraling flames that darted out at his attackers and sheared through their weapons. The fox thrust forward, and a cylinder of light burst forth, slamming into a monster and disintegrating it.
Kirren’s mind erupted into a wave of questions. Forever? Who are they? What are these monsters they fight? Who do they call upon? Where is this?
Surprisingly, the answers came almost immediately. They are servants of mine in a distant land. The taller one is a king, and the younger my prophet in that country, though he knoweth it not. They call upon me. These creatures they fight are also my creations. A short silence followed this. Tell no one. Not even your wife.
Kirren started to protest, then kept his peace. Best not to argue with your Creator, he reasoned. He asked one more question, though. Is there any more to show me?
Yes. The young prophet was whisked away yet again. Now, though, he knew where he stood. In the center councilchamber of Capton, most likely.
Anghan stood in the central position of the room. Blue fire surrounded him, but he wasn’t controlling it at all. In fact, it seemed to moving away from his body, up towards the ceiling. A crown hovered above his head. “Anghan?” Kirren exclaimed, then his face fell as he realized his friend was part of the vision. The fire rushed faster and faster away until it was all gone. The crown lowered onto the wolf’s head, and Anghan stumbled backwards, rubbing his eyes in confusion. He flicked his paw at the floor, attempting to make a map, but nothing appeared. Kirren frowned.
Suddenly, the visions ended. Anghan took his paws away from Kirren and Lilian’s heads.
Lilian
Lilian took a step back from Anghan, trying to sort out that series of images. Her vision had ended with a shape of a cross, tall and oblong. It wasn’t perfect, like the shape of Evergreen, but one side was longer. No matter, though, she knew exactly what Forever had told her with the first part. The Shadow was making more Nightmares, enough for an army. She quickly related this to Ferras. “We need to find this Fallyne Angyl, and Jennter Mc’Kallen. The former rather than the latter. Where are they right now?” she asked.
“Presumably in their chambers, as it is rather early,” Kirren’s father responded. He spun around his desk and led the way out the door, followed immediately by Kirren, Anghan, and a worried Lilian. The Purity prayed as she walked, asking two questions. Forever? Who is Jennter Mc’Kallen? And why do you want me to speak with him?
He is a creature from another land, and he knows a way of assisting you against the Shadow. Lilian nodded, satisfied, and increased her pace until she matched strides with Anghan. “Do you know what the last image meant? With you and the fire?” she asked. She had so many questions today.
Anghan shook his head, obviously nervous. “I don’t know, but I don’t really like it all that much,” he answered shakily. That vision jarred him, Lilian noted. She had another sudden thought.
“I know what will make you feel better!” she exclaimed. “Light-Bug! Come here, boy!” Instantly, the little creature appeared at Anghan’s side. The wolf jumped, startled, then grinned at the jumpy little thing.
“Who’s this? A new addition to the family?” he laughed. Light-Bug made a small barking noise and bounced onto Anghan’s shoulder, turning bright pink as he did. “He doesn’t weigh a thing!”
“I know! He just appeared last night, and I presume he was sent by the Forever.” The pink bug bounced up and down on Anghan’s head as if nodding.
In a few more minutes, they’d reached the end of a hallway, followed by an open door. “Fallyne’s in there, I believe,” Ferras muttered, stepping closer to the door. “Better let me go first.” He hesitatingly walked into the chamber, where a mouse sat reading in a comfortable chair. The mouse was of black fur, and slightly taller than Dango Freebeast. A servant stood by the door on either side. Kirren followed his father, then Lilian. “Fallyne? I have some guests who wished to speak with you,” Ferras announced, then moved his mouth slightly. Kirren’s ears perked, and he nodded.
Lilian murmured something, too. “What did he say?” Kirren backed up to his wife, leaned over, and whispered back.
“Hide our prophetic abilities.” Then her husband stepped up to his father’s side to nod at Fallyne. “Mr. Angyl, we would like to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?”
“Aye, I mind something,” the mouse said in -- surprisingly -- a wonderfully beautiful voice. It must help him in the Council, Lilian reasoned. “I mind the way you greet a Councilmember. Do you not bow?” Fallyne continued.
Lilian prayed for a split second. Forever? A mental nudge pushed her forward. “No, Councilmember, we bow not. ‘Tis the conduct of our country, if you’ll excuse it. May we speak now, if you please?” she continued. Fallyne sighed, then nodded and put down the scroll he’d been examining. “Thank you. Kirren?” She nodded to her fiance.
Kirren sat before Fallyne, now on his level. “Mr. Angyl, whom do you serve?” he started. Strange tactic to jump right into it, Lilian thought, but effective. It had caught Angyl off guard.
Fallyne stammered, then composed himself and replied, “My country, if nothing else, of course. Whom do you serve?”
Kirren couldn’t reply, but Lilian had seen it coming. “We serve the continent of Evergreen, if it is any of your concern. We seek the good of our people. That is why we helped change the government of our country! Very clean job of it, too, don’t you think?”
Fallyne laughed. “Yes, indeed! A job well done. We were getting tired of Whiptail’s dictatorship and arrogancy. You must tell me about it someday!” He paused, and Lilian caught a sign of something flashing through his eyes; anger, perhaps. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared. “On another note, why might you be here? You aren’t planning on killing the entire Council, are you?” He laughed again, but this time with a slight nervous inflection.
Lilian shook her head. “Oh, of course not! Now, if you’ll answer another question, we’ll be on our way. Might you send your servants away?” Fallyne gave his consent, and all the servants in the room walked out, closing the door as they went. Anghan subtly walked over to the chamber entrance and slid the lock over. Fallyne didn’t notice.
Kirren leaned over and got in Fallyne’s face. “Mr. Angyl.” He paused, then lowered his voice. “Why serve you the Shadow?”
Fallyne leaped out of the chair and backed into a corner, taking a breath to cry for help, but Kirren’s paw covered his mouth in an instant. “Are you, or are you not, leader of the Nightmares here? Are you one yourself?” Fallyne shook his head, panicked. Lilian looked into his eyes.
“He’s telling the truth, love. Let him go. Only,” she added to Fallyne, “if you promise not to scream.” Fallyne nodded frantically, and Kirren took his paw away. The mouse gasped for air. “What are you?” Lilian questioned further.
“Only a lesser servant! I am of no use to you, I am only their spokesbeast! I promise!” Lilian looked into his eyes once more. He was still telling the truth.
Anghan broke into the conversation. “Who is, then? You must know. Tell us,” he ordered. “By Forever’s name.” Fallyne’s eyes widened, and he started breathing quickly. A strangled gasp escaped him.
“Don’t . . . say that word . . .” he managed. “I’ll tell you, just . . . don’t say it again! It’s evil, it is! The leader is Jennter Mc’Kallen, I promise once again!” Anghan nodded, satisfied, and turned to open the door, followed by Kirren and Ferras.
Lilian saw Fallyne’s muscles bunch up. The mouse must have thought she was no threat. Fallyne’s paw ignited in black flames, and a fireball flew towards the door, blasting it open. “Guards!” he screamed. Lilian reacted quickly, light bursting from her paws and slamming into Fallyne, knocking him back, but it was too late. A score of guards rushed into the room. All carried some sort of hollow staff . . .
At the same time, four of the guards raised the blowpipes to their mouth and shot darts into the necks of Kirren, Anghan, Ferras, and Lilian before they could react.
*****
Lilian woke up, groggy and bleary-eyed. She sat in a black-walled cell, next to Kirren and Anghan, with no windows. There was one door to the room, and it was barred with iron. Kirren was standing in front of the door, and the bars looked hot, glowing, in fact. He’d been trying to burn through them. “Kirren? What wrong with that door?” she asked after rubbing her eyes. “And . . . where’s your father?”
Kirren turned to her, and she noticed that his face was streaked with tears, his eyes red. “They took him. What are they doing to him?!” he screamed, fury shaking his body. A cry of pain echoed from down the hallway outside their cell. Kirren’s eyes widened, and his paws lit again. The squirrel slammed his enflamed body into the cell door. Once, twice.
Finally, he gave up and curled up on the ground, covering his ears as another yell erupted from the doorway. “Father, father,” Kirren murmured. Lilian scooted over to comfort him. Anghan stood and inspected the doorway. He was awake. Lilian hadn’t paid attention, but now she could see tears in his eyes as well. She felt Kirren’s falling on her paw, which was carressing his face. She made soothing sounds as she did.
Anghan had an idea. “Lilian, how hard is your light blade?” he asked. Lilian looked up at him, confused. “I mean, we’ve tried fire and sonic blasts from Kirren, so why not give it a shot?”
“I’ll try.” The squirrelmaid got up. Light flashed in her paw, forming her favorite shape of sword, and she brought it up over her head. But, suddenly, as she was about to slice down, she felt it change shape. She looked up. It had changed into the form of a skeleton key. “Oh Forever . . .” she muttered, and changed it herself. Then it switched back into a key. “Come on!” Once more she switched forms, and it changed back. “What the . . .?” An idea came into her head, and she poked her head outside the bars. Yes! There was a keyhole!
She fit the key inside, turned, and the door swung open. “Yes! It worked! Get up, Kirren, we have to save your father!” Kirren glanced up, saw the door open, and leaped to his feet. Blazing fire heated his eyes and swirled around his body. Lilian saw what was coming and started, “Don’t do anything . . .!”
It was too late. Kirren barged through the cell door, paws flaming, and came face to face with about a score of creatures dressed in fancy robes. All of them ignited with black fire. “Have your father back, mongrel black magician,” one spat. Two others threw Ferras’ smoking body onto the ground. Kirren dove to the older squirrel’s side. “I guess that makes him his ‘Forever’s sacrifice’,” the rat chuckled.
“Father?! What did they do to you?” he howled, panicking. Ferras didn’t answer. Kirren put an ear to his heart. Lilian watched from the shadows of the cell, worried. Kirren lifted his head, stone-faced.
“You killed him.” The Voice stood. “You killed him,” he repeated, and lifted a fiery paw.
Suddenly, a bright wall flew up between the furious young squirrel and the Nightmares. “What the . . .?” Kirren erupted, and turned to see Lilian’s upheld paw behind him. “Let it down! Let me kill them!” the squirrel exploded, but Lilian shook her head.
“Revenge isn’t the way, Kirren,” she started, but Kirren interrupted.
“I don’t care! Let me through! I’ll kill them!” Kirren’s fist crashed into the light, but it held firm. Lilian’s body shook with the impact. Kirren tried again, but this time his fire disappeared. “No! Forever! Why did you do that?” Kirren screamed at the ceiling. Multiple fireblasts from the other side hit at once, and Lilian fell back, fists clenched. “Forever!” Kirren screamed again. Anghan rushed out and grabbed the exhausted squirrelmaid, running down the other hall.
“Kirren, get your tail over here! Stop screaming at your Creator and help your wife!” Anghan yelled in a huge voice. Kirren started, looked back at Lilian, then the diminishing wall of light, and took off after them, his fire gone. Anghan quickly loosed a fireball at the lead Nightmare. The rat fell to the ground in blue flames, surprisingly, and this bought the trio time to duck into another doorway. Anghan shut it and locked it, listening to the crowd of false prophets run by.
*****
He turned to Kirren’s shaking form. It was dark, and the only light they had came from Anghan. “What were you thinking?” he whispered furiously. “You would have died if it weren’t for your wife, whom you hurt yourself! Physically!” He gestured to Lilian, who laid against the cell wall recovering. She tried to say something, but Anghan continued. “How dare you! And how dare you presume to disrespect the Forever in such a way! You ask why he took your fire in that moment. Well, there’s your answer!”
Kirren bowed his head, tears dripping from his face. Lilian looked into his eyes. There she saw true remorse, and in that instant, the Purity forgave him. “Forgive me . . . I was rash, and I didn’t think, and I . . . I . . .” he stammered in Anghan’s direction. “Forgive me, Forever! Forgive me, Lilian! I didn’t listen to either of you. Please, Forever, forgive me . . . forgive . . .” His voice turned into a whispered prayer.
Lilian arched her back, trying to elliminate the ache from her arms and chest. “I forgive . . . you,” she managed, and Kirren’s tears increased. Lilian knew that Kirren was speaking with Forever.
They spent the night in that room, with one of them always on watch. Kirren grew silent, most likely in constant prayer. Lilian prayed as well, on his behalf, but couldn’t keep it up for long. Her body exhausted, she fell asleep in an hour.
She woke up after a deep, dreamless sleep with no idea of what time it was. Kirren was awake as well, as was Anghan. She realized immediately that she had been healed in the night, and that she was starving. When the other two realized that she was awake, Anghan asked, “How do we get out?” Lilian got the idea that they’d been waiting for her gift of wisdom to proceed.
Before she said anything, she looked into Kirren’s eyes once more to dicern his thoughts. She saw a look that gave her the impression something had happened last night, and the same look in Anghan’s eyes. They must have had some sort of talk, she thought. Kirren is still Anghan’s apprentice. “Can you hear me?” she barely whispered. Kirren nodded sadly, and she breathed a sigh of relief. His prophetic abilities had been restored. Obviously, however, he was still greiving for his father. “Thank you, Forever!”
The Purity turned to Anghan. “Have you had any more visions?” she asked. The wolf shook his head. She looked at Kirren. “You?” Kirren hesitated, then nodded. “What was it?”
Kirren seemed to think for a moment, then said, “A repitition of Anghan’s last vision. Or, at least, the third part of it, with the foxes. Do you remember?” Both of his companions nodded. “I saw it once more, with a new set of instructions from Forever. The last time I had it was two days ago, and Forever said not to tell you two what it meant. It would have distracted us from everything else. Now, though, he allows me to tell you.”
“What was it?” Lilian asked after a pause. Kirren stopped to gather his thoughts, then continued.
“It was a vision of the past. About half a year ago, to be exact. Forever told me that it is of another land, and probably not even on this continent. The creatures in the vision were more of Forever’s creations, and I think they came from Icelen, because they were all arctic creatures. Interestingly, some aren’t even from Icelen! The two foxes we saw were servants of Forever. That’s where their power was stemming from. I don’t think they use the same name for him, though. Something like ‘Dough-An’ or other. Anyway, that’s what I can remember,” the squirrel finished. “The only other thing is that they speak a language very, very similar to ours, and I could understand most of what the larger fox yelled.”
Lilian nodded. “Then that will be our way out of here. Probably. I don’t know how, but it will. Until what I’m thinking of happens, we’ll find our own way. The false prophets moved down that hall and never came back, so there must be a way out in that direction,” she reasoned.
Anghan whistled softly. “Your new wife really is wise, Kirren,” he noted. Kirren grinned and nodded as they followed Lilian silently out of the cell.
They’d not gone twenty paces when they came upon another guard. Thankfully, this one was asleep, but just to be sure, Anghan hit the wolf over the head. Under the chair he was in they found a stash of food. “Quickly, only take what you can and let’s be on our way,” Lilian ordered, and the other two obeyed.
Soon, they reached the end of the hallway. A trapdoor was the only way to go from there. Anghan stood as tall as possible to reach the cord hanging from it, pulled it down, then got on his knees to help up the other two. Lilian was first. She hopped onto Anghan’s shoulder, then peeked over the edge to make sure everything was clear.
The door opened into the corner of a large room: the center councilchamber! Nobody was inside, and the main doors were shut. Benches lined the walls, row upon row. A podium stood near the middle. Lilian estimated that the room could seat approximately five-score creatures. This brought to mind a nasty thought: if there were that many animals on the council, how many of them were Nightmares? Was the Council really that corrupt? This was even worse than Evergreen, and White Sun, and . . .
This train of thought was interrupted by Anghan lifting her up into the room, and she lightly jumped off. “It’s clear!” she called down, and Kirren followed her. Both of them strained to pull up the immensely heavy Anghan, and soon all three of them were in the councilchamber. Kirren stared in horror at the benches, his mind clearly running on the same tracks as Lilian’s had.
Anghan didn’t hesitate for a moment. He dashed to the doors, opened them, then looked outside. He shut it and turned to them with a nervous look on his face. “They’re everywhere.” He paused. Kirren’s ear flicked, and the Voice waved them all down behind a bench.
“They’re coming!” he whispered, and Lilian dove down beside him. Anghan dropped silently to the floor behind the podium just as the doors slammed open.
Through walked Fallyne Angyl, followed by another score of robed creatures: half rats, half foxes. The mouse flicked his paw. The rats circled to the left side, and the foxes to the right; Kirren and Lilian slowly moved underneath the benches. Lilian glanced out at the podium, then did an instant double-take. Where was Anghan? She looked again. Was he on the other side of the podium? No, he couldn’t be. Fallyne was on that side. She stared for a bit, then noticed a slight shimmering on this side. Her jaw dropped. He was concealing himself? Forever, you are amazing, she instantly praised.
But now they had other problems to worry about. The rats were almost at the angle where they could spot the two hiding squirrels. Taking matters into her own paws, Lilian stood and shouted at Fallyne, “You lied! How?”
The mouse didn’t even seem surprised. “I lied not. Stay,” he commanded the circling Nightmares. “I am not the leader of the Nightmares, as you call them. Our Master is. Also, I do consider myself a lesser servant of those others who serve our Master. Did you think me a fool to fall for your little verbal traps?” Fallyne chuckled. “You have fallen for ours. Or, should I say, you have Fallyne for it.” He grinned. “Take them alive! I would like to have a bit of sport.”
Anghan materialized behind the Nightmare. “Not if I can help it.” His paw was on the back of Fallyne’s head, ready to burst into flames. The mouse froze. “Step back, or I’ll kill him!”
Everything seemed to freeze. A deathly silence permeated the councilchamber, and nobody moved. Lilian’s paw slowly outlined the shape of a sword behind her back. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Kirren had flames barely concealed within his paws, ready to blast out. To her dismay, she saw the same in the paws of every Nightmare in the room but Fallyne’s.
“Well?” Fallyne said, breaking the silence. “What do you want?”
“You’ll let my friends and I go free, take Ferras Bar . . . Jon Firewyrm’s body, and escape into Evergreen. For now,” Anghan added. Fallyne laughed again, cruelly.
“You think I’ll just let you go?” he demanded. “If you kill me, my comrades will kill your friends and then you. So go ahead, kill me now! I dare you.” He smiled, and the look in his eyes made Lilian shiver.
“I just might,” Anghan shouted, aiming his voice at the Nightmares along the walls. “One final act in the name of the Forever.” The rats and foxes all covered their ears at once. “Not a bad end story.” He seemed prepared to do it, too, but the squirrelmaid had an idea. Lilian drew her sword out from behind her.
The Nightmares were too distraught by the Forever’s name to notice! Kirren saw her, then glanced at the Nightmares, then opened his paws. An orb of white fire rotated around both. The false prophets still took no notice. Lilian edged around the bench and sidled up to the side full of rats. This time, Fallyne saw her, and opened his mouth right away. “You fools, look! Kill her! Now!” His enflamed paw came up behind him, knocking Anghan’s away. The wolf instantly vanished.
Lilian dashed towards the Nightmares, who were just lifting their heads. Her sword instantly transformed into a bright wall, going in front of and behind her, and another sword appeared in her left paw, darting out and slicing through the first five rats before they could react. Black smoke rose from their wounds, and they all slumped to the ground. One feebly attempted to create fire.
After those five, it wasn’t so easy to defend against the others. They pushed her back with their own black walls and fire. Behind her, Kirren entered her bright shield. Back to back with each other, Kirren threw flaming white fireballs towards one enemy as Lilian shot off arrows from the bow her sword had transformed into. More Nightmares started pouring through the double doors, and many of them wore the regular attire of palace guards. “How many do they have?!” Kirren exploded, sending a blast of sound in Fallyne’s direction. The mouse was furiously blasting dark blazes in all directions, no doubt searching for Anghan.
Fallyne noticed the wall of rippling sonic air just before it hit him and countered it with his own hallucinatory shield, sending it back towards Kirren. Lilian left her husbands side and slashed down with a ray of light, dispelling the darkness.
Anghan shimmered into view behind Kirren to replace Lilian, who was going after Fallyne. “How many did the Shadow have time to make?” the wolf wondered out loud as he sent a blue fireball in the direction of a white fox. “They’re inexhaustable!” Suddenly, both realized at the same time that Lilian’s shields were shrinking. She’d forgotten!
In fact, she hadn’t forgotten at all, but was too focused on battling Fallyne and had to split her strength between two fights at once. The black mouse was on top of the podium, hurling shadowy balls of flame and darkness at her. She covered her eyes with a blinding barrier for a split second, and Fallyne saw his chance! The Nightmare drew two poisoned knives out of his cloak at once and threw them at Lilian’s forearms.
Both bounced off without touching her. Fallyne’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Lilian grinned fiercely. “Aye, that’s right. I’m under protection you can never know!” A sudden whispering came into her head. “Beelzebub.” Fallyne’s face tightened. “You are not Fallyne Angyl, though you may be a fallen angel! You’ve taken the form of an innocent mouse. That is why you are so intent on destroying me! The Forever can use me to break your hold on this worldly shape, and you know it!”
Fallyne’s face hardened, and he began to chuckle in an unearthly voice. “You cannot stop me! You may not kill! It’s part of your little honor code, you silly little squirrelmaid,” he mocked.
“I may not kill, but I can draw you out!” With that, a blazing whip formed in her paw and she slashed it towards the Shadowservant. The mouse hopped to the side, fire driving through the whip and throwing it back at Lilian. Fallyne laughed and ran towards the now shield-less Anghan and Kirren. “No!” Lilian screamed, and shield came back up. She’d poured her weapon into it to build up its strength.
Leaving her unarmed and distanced from help.
Lilian looked around frantically, panicking and still trying to keep up the shield. Fallyne turned slowly towards her. A cruel smile was on his face. If she let the shield down to protect herself, Kirren and Anghan may be crushed. If she protected them, she would die, then they might as well. Fallyne obviously knew this. “You’re trapped!” he cried triumphantly. “Do you surrender?” He stood in between Lilian and her shield.
Lilian hesitated, sweating. “I . . .” she started, but was interrupted by screams from outside the room. Fallyne’s eyes darted towards the door. The Nightmares froze, and so did Anghan and Kirren. All of them looked towards the door.
Well, all of them but one. An older white fox who had stood at the edge of the room dashed to the double doors, paws on the handles. “Mc’Kallen! Freeze!” Fallyne commanded, but Jennter ignored him. A satisfied grin on his face, the Councilmember flung the double doors open. Fallyne prepared to throw a fireball at Jennter.
Before he could do something, however, two more white foxes leaped in front of the Council’s leader. Fallyne looked at them, confused. “Is this rebellion?” he asked. Lilian stared hard at them.
Then she heard Kirren gasp, and she suddenly knew why. These were the foxes from their visions! Fallyne must think they’re palace guards, she realized. “Step out of my way, or you die!” the black mouse ordered.
“I don’t think so,” the taller fox said in broken Icelenian. “My name is Gethnoel Swiftblade, FoxWolf and king of Clandoran, servant of Doranfather. You must not touch any of these.”
“Clandoran? I’ve never heard of this land.” Lilian could clearly tell he was lying without even looking at his eyes. Fallyne’s face darkened. “Who is your companion?”
“I am Ithiniel Fex, guardian of Clandon, and you will let them go, you pawns of the Shadow!” the other fox declared, in much better Icelenian. Fallyne laughed and motioned towards the Nightmares. All of them lit their palms and turned towards the intruders.
“You are powerless against our strength. Leave now, or die!” Beelzebub ordered. The mouse lit his own paw.
Ithiniel whipped his black sword from his scabbard, pointed it towards the ceiling, and yelled, “Ithiniel, Doran’s xenot!” Blinding white fire burst forth from the rapier and blasted a hole in the stonework that made up the palace. The fire swirled around Ithiniel in symmetrical circles. A few of the Nightmares stepped back apprehensively.
Fallyne audibly ground his teeth, furious. “You,” he spat. “I was told of you.” Gethnoel drew his own sword at this, a scimitar.
Lilian waved at the foxes. “Hi!” she said. “Some help now would be nice.”
Gethnoel tipped his crown towards her. “And we’ll be doing that, milady.” He turned towards the Nightmares in the back. “As you will not release our friends here,” he said, “I’ll have to make you. Et pta shi lithen xenot, Doran!” A spiral of white light flew from the tip of his sword to form a new shield around Kirren and Anghan, carrying them towards the two foxes. All the Nightmares snarled as one, and their bodies were enflamed.
Freed from protecting the other two prophets, Lilian smiled sweetly. “We’ll have none of that, thank you!” A wall of light flew from her arms and slammed all the Nightmares into the wall. She was thrown back through the door into Kirren’s arms. “Oops,” she murmured, attempting to stand. Gethnoel had lowered his shield.
“No time for introductions,” Anghan said quickly, as Jennter Mc’Kallen started to open his mouth. “Shut that door!” He and Swiftblade put their backs to the double doors, slamming them shut and barring them with two tall candlesticks. “Now, do you have a way out of here?” he asked the FoxWolf.
“Aye. Birds wait for shi . . . us, I mean, outside the palace gates. We found a few more for you three in the stables,” Ithiniel said. “We’ll explain all when we find a way out.” Kirren nodded and picked Lilian up to lead the way. “Down this hall, then turn left, there are the main gates. We took care of the guards, but it’s not long until those cranathi ederqas escape, so let’s get out of here!” All six took off down the hall.
*****
They reached the front doors with barely any trouble, save for one or two guards that Anghan and the two newcomers dispatched with ease. Outside waiting for them were four familiar birds and three huge eagles. These last birds astounded the prophets, as none of them had ever seen such a creature.
Lilian had little time to marvel over this, because the instant she saw Thunder, she dropped from Kirren’s arms and stumbled over to lean on her beloved bird. “Oh, good girl! You’re okay! Thank Forever,” she whispered into the blue Lancewing’s feathers. Thunder screeched happily, then got down so Lilian could step up into the saddle. Nearby, Kirren and Anghan were also reuniting with their birds.
Gethnoel, Ithiniel, and Jennter were over by the eagles. Lilian had assumed that the birds belonged to the warriors, but it didn’t seem so now, for Ithiniel and the king were speaking with the eagles! She couldn’t understand some of the foreign language, but from what she gathered, they were thanking the birds for carrying them. Both eagles inclined their heads and responded in a positive format of the language. Gethnoel and Ithiniel, along with the Councilmember both leaped onto the eagles’ bare backs and almost took off, but the fox suddenly noticed the white owl beside Lightning. “Whose bird is that? We were under the impression that there were four of you,” Ithiniel noted.
Kirren’s head bowed. “She was my father’s.” Lilian saw Gethnoel give Ithiniel a look, and the fox stopped talking. Kirren looked at the owl. “Snowstorm, follow us.” Some sort of thought moved between the two, and Lilian saw that Snowstorm’s eyes were already glistening with tears. She bowed her head as well, and the seven birds darted into the sky.
Lilian heard Snowstorm give a long, agonizing mourning call. It was the exact same sound she’d heard almost a year ago, in the City, when Slash died and Razor carried him off.
Later, they all sat around a campfire. Again. It was evening, and they’d made it all the way to the edge of the continental border of Icelen. Lilian listened intently as Ithiniel explained all that had happened.
Apparently, Clandon was an entire continent on the other side of the western sea. It was divided into six different countries: East Region, West Region, Clandoran, the Mountainous Lands, the Plainsterritories, and Therennia. Gethnoel, as afore mentioned, ruled Clandoran. Four of the countries were allied under something called the Set Laws, and this included Clandoran, who had initiated the alliance.
Anyway, Gethnoel and Ithiniel had been in the Karenian (capital city) throne room when both had simultaneous visions from Doranfather. The visions depicted the four prophets in Ferras’ study, at the time that they’d had the vision of Ithiniel and Gethnoel. Immediately, Jennter (Clandonian advisor to the king) had admitted that Doran had allowed him to be the sole traveler between the countries for several years, living a double life. He arranged for transport, and they left at once, arriving in two days at top speed.
Anghan, always wanting to know more, had a few questions. “So, you receive your power from Forever . . . er, Doran, like us?” he inquired. Both fox and FoxWolf shook their heads.
“We both concluded that while we may all receive strength from the gods, Doran and Forever are not one and the same. We did, in fact, ask Doran, and he spoke to me. They are both of the same godhood, brothers in fact," Gethnoel added.
“Just to make sure, do you mind if I test two things?” The king shook his head.
“Not at all.”
“Alright. Hold out your paw, Ithiniel, if you please. Kirren? Fireball.” Ithiniel calmly held up his palm, and Kirren’s white fireball flew straight through. “Gethnoel? Lilian?” Same result: Lilian’s sword went through. “Perfect! Now, I’d like to see Clandon for myself,” Anghan declared, walking over to a patch of clear snow.
“What do you mean? We must stay here, to help rid Icelen of the --” Ithiniel started.
Anghan silenced him with a paw. “No, I mean something else. Lilian, Kirren, help me? Gethnoel and Ithiniel, please help us clear this snow.”
Lilian could tell the other three were puzzled, but they helped anyway. In a few seconds, they stood on a patch of burnt ground. Anghan flicked his paw, and the map appeared. Jennter’s jaw dropped. “Amazing!” he murmured, but the prophets weren’t finished.
Lilian quickly explained what they were doing. “There are four types of prophets in Evergreen, and we are almost all of them. There are Sights -- that’s Anghan over there -- and they use blue fire, have exceptional sight, and create this map that can view anywhere in the world. There are Helpers, and one survives back in Evergreen. Helpers use regular fire as their weapon, enhance the other prophets’ abilities, and make the map three dimensional. There are Voices, the most powerful, and Kirren represents them. He creates white fire -- like you, Ithiniel -- has exceptional hearing, controls sound, and many other things, but what he’s doing right now is listening in on what happens in the world on the map.” She pointed to Kirren, who’d knelt down on the map with his eyes closed. Ithiniel’s eyes widened in wonder, and so did Gethnoel’s. “And I’m a Purity. You’ve pretty much seen all I can do, but I can show creatures on the map. I also use light as my weapon, heal, have wisdom from the Forever, and can tell exactly what you’re feeling right now.” She smiled.
“You can tell our feelings?” Ithiniel asked disbelievingly. “What are we feeling right now?”
“You, Ithiniel, are amazed, doubtful, and somewhat apprehensive at the moment. Gethnoel is feeling wonder, excitement, and love for all who are here right now. Jennter, you just seem calm.” The young fox’s jaw dropped once more, and Jennter nodded.
“Well, let’s look at this wonder map!” Gethnoel exclaimed, and Lilian stepped onto the map. Little figures appeared everywhere. Anghan moved his paws, and the view zoomed out over the ocean. Further, further, and further they went, until they reached a cross-shaped mass of land. “That’s it!” Gethnoel said.
A strip of mostly white figures covered the center of the continent. “That’s Clandoran,” Ithiniel shouted, excited. The rest of the country was mostly mixed dark and light, but one area was half empty.
Lilian pointed to it. “Where is that? Therennia, East Region, the Plainsterritories . . .” she counted off from the ones told her by the Clandoranians.
Jennter interrupted. “That is the Mountainous Lands. We wiped out the polar bears who lived there, all but some who had no part in the battle. I’ll tell you about that some other time, but right now I think we should get to sleep.” The others nodded, and they all returned to the fire.
Lilian laid beside Kirren, and went straight to sleep knowing that there was far more hope than she’d thought.
Epilogue
In a dark room, with a green lantern providing the only light, two creatures stood, speaking with each other. “These ‘Clandonians’ pose a threat to the plans,” one said, fury evident in his soft, pleasant voice. “Where did they come from? Didn’t you know . . . Master Claatral?”
The other, a huge, hulking form, growled. “I did. I didn’t know that that’s what they called it. No worries. We have the Weapon.” His voice was not of this world, and it seemed to come from all directions at once. “We use it when it’s ready.”
Elsewhere at the time, a dark creature stirred in the water. Its eyes stayed shut, but it wouldn’t be long before it opened. “When it’s ready . . .” it heard in its dreams.
Information Regarding Clandon
Basic Information: Source -- Tracten’s History of Modern Clandon
MAIN REGIONS
North and South Regions of Clandon
Historians say that further back into the past of these two regions, they have always been entwined, even though they are on opposing sides of Clandon. The kings of North and the kings of South had good relations for decades. Some generations back, they ended up under one king. The two families had intermarried so much that without even some kind of vote or agreement, Lifewind Swiftblade just took the throne, and no one disputed his rights. The two regions were combined into one: Clandoran. For four more generations, there was a peaceful rule of foxwolves with no battles or wars with the other two regions.
In the rule of Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade, Gulrag’s father appeared in the furthest south. The wolverine had gathered many followers and quickly took the lower half of the South region. King Mc’Kenthon sent troops to drive them back, but it failed, losing Clandoran half of its army. The army’s leader, also known by Norden, kept coming.
Finally, he reached the capital of Clandoran. In a final stand, Norden slayed King Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade, despite the strength given the foxwolf by the Overall King (I’ll talk about that later). He took the throne, assuming the title of warlord. He swept most of the North clean of resistance. However, some remained to fight and continue to attack the warlord’s army in the weakest points of strategic defense.
Two nurses with two children of royal blood are said to have escaped and disappeared.
Now, we’ll talk about the natural history of the North and South regions.
The Southern Region was and is mostly populated by the smaller animals, such as arctic foxes, ermine, and snowshoe hares. Most of the time, foxes stand taller than ermine, and ermine stand taller than hares and rabbits. Usually, ermine and hares are more prone to battle and joining Gulrag’s army at earlier ages, or helping the resistance.
The landscape is barren. Few trees grow, but the ones that do are evergreen and live for many years. The rest is nondescript ice and snow. In the summer, there is also usually a light dusting of snow.
The Northern region has the larger, more warlike species: white wolves, eagles, and sea otters. The otters are far smaller than the wolves, but tougher. The eagles, and a few other bird species, resent the rule of Gulrag as warlord, so are almost always ready to assist the rebels. You might have seen this earlier at the encounter that Icefurr and Leo Gundar had with the resistance.
The plantlife is a little more rich in the Southern Region, but that isn’t saying too much. Mostly, that just means there’s dried grass instead of snow in areas furthest south, where Gulrag trained his army.
West Region of Clandon
The Western Region has a simpler history than the North and South do. It originated when a faction of creatures, mostly snow lemmings, mice, and arctic rabbits, broke off from the North Region. They formed a democratic council. As time went on, these smaller animals forged alliances with the creatures of the Mountainous Lands, making them far harder to conquer.
Every once in awhile, they hold an election for a new Council Spokesbeast. This creature is in charge of directing the council, and therefore holds a bit more power than the other councilcreatures. Fourteen Spokesbeasts have ever been in office, and there are two that I’d like you to remember: Redtail Farleaper, and Ferguson K’Lenon.
Redtail Farleaper is of importance to you because he was the rabbit who proposed to form the alliances with the Mountainous Lands and declare war on Eastern Region . . . the second time. He was the eleventh Spokesbeast. By his suggestion, messengers were sent to the Marshall of the Lands to create bonds of trust, and eventually, a mutual defense treaty to protect them in any kind of battle or war. Also under the guiding paw of Farleaper, the first attack to gain land from East Region was ordered. Ever since, conflicts have been constant and perennial.
Ferguson K’Lenon is of greater significance. He was the one to begin attacks Gulrag Northwind’s father’s southern borders, and aiding the rebels. He believed that the warlords were a blight upon Clandon as a whole, and they should be subdued. K’Lenon’s son continued this mission. He took office as Spokesbeast directly after Farleaper.
As I said before, Western Region is almost completely populated by arctic lemmings, white rabbits, and mice: the smaller animals. Their birds are mostly terns and puffins. That’s about it for the animals. As to their tendency to battle, these creatures don’t like to fight. However, they do keep a small garrison for those who are actually good warriors.
The plant life is far more rich than that of the South and North. The farther west you move, the more evergreens and bushes you find, until there is absolutely no snow at all.
East Region of Clandon
The East Region has almost the same story as the West: they broke off from the Southern Region, and formed alliances with two other small areas. These other places were Therennia and the Plainsterritories. This way, they were also protected against attack and so were the two others. They also have a council, but no Spokesbeast or anything of the sort. So, I have nothing else of interest for you here.
The animals of the Eastern Region are the same as the Western Region, but their birds are sparrows. Their plant life is basically the same as the South Region of Clandon.
OTHER LANDS
The Mountainous Lands of Clandon
The Mountainous Lands, as their name suggests, contain a lot of mountains. They have almost always been independent, the historians of Clandon say. This area covers the entire west edge of the continent.
The Mountainous Lands are also called the Land of Mystery, for no one really knows much about their origin, the military strength of their government, how the government is really organized, or all the types of animals there. There are only a few things that are known for sure.
The main animal species living there is the polar bear. This creature’s strength in battle is what makes them such a valuable asset to the Western Region. Instead of being governed by a king, they are ruled by an emperor. Nocreature really knows the rest of the hierarchy.
The Plainsterritories of Clandon
Again, the name gives away what most of the landscape is: plains. This place covers almost a third of the eastern branch of the Clandonian continent. It’s no secret that the residents of this land are governed by their own warlord. He isn’t as powerful as Gulrag is, but he is strong enough to keep the Plainsterritories to himself. If Kallenian Snapclaw keeps to himself, so will the warlord of what used to be Clandoran.
Before Snapclaw conquered the Plainsterritories, they were ruled by a king. However, the Territories were easy to take because the king had no real power over what happened in his small, flat savannah of a kingdom. Usually, the animals living there just kept to their own small villages and townships.
The animals of the plains include jackals (like Kallenian), foxes, hawks, and badgers: mostly strong, agile and fast animals. The plantlife is mostly long grass and a few trees, as can be expected.
Therennia
Therennia, interestingly, is not a part of the overall Clandon area, and is never referred to as Clandon. Actually, it’s not even attached to the continent. It’s a large island off the coast of the Plainsterritories and East Region. The animals of Therennia are mongoose, snakes, red pandas, and actual pandas. Due to its size and habitat, the population is dense but fewer than you would think. Still, the alliance with East Region is invaluable to both sides.
All the creatures together make decisions together. However, they do have a militia-based army with full-time commanders. They need it to uphold their mutual defense treaty with Eastern Region and to defend themselves from the likes of Gulrag Northwind and Kallenian Snapclaw.
The plant life of Therennia is based on jungle trees, ferns, ground plants, and other forest growth. This makes it inhospitable to the creatures on the mainland, who are used to very cold climate year-round, and habitable to the animals who live there. The snakes, pandas, and mongoose could never survive on Clandon, but some do manage to live in the Plainsterritories.
Governmental Info: Source -- An Explanation of the Governments of Modern Clandon (By Country)
Therrenia: Therrenia is split into four different, but small, territories. Each is ruled by a Quin (pronounced as shin), or governor. Overall, their decisions are dictated by the Raltin, who holds a position similar to that of a king. So, Therrenia’s territories are watched by the ruling Raltin who dictates decisions.
However, it isn’t that simple. They follow a very strict set of ancient traditions, even though the new King Gethnoel attempted to extend the arm of the Set Laws, which will be explained later. According to these traditions, ten things are set in stone:
- The Raltin must be a mongoose. One family has ruled for over two centuries, and they were all mongeese.
- The Raltin’s chief advisor must be a snake.
- Without a queen, the Raltin defers to the Quins.
- No territory may go to war with another. Strangely enough, this one is actually followed, and nocreature knows why.
- Each year, all the creatures come together for one night of celebration, called Nishu (Peace).
- Any form of a treaty or a declaration of war on the Raltin’s part is sent to the Quins for review, and vice versa.
- The Therrenians live in a hierarchy: Raltin on top, then the Quins and the royal family, then the warriors (half of the population, even though it is a very peaceful country), the priests, and finally the peasants.
- Slavery is NOT allowed, due to their religion.
- Warriors are treated as gods, also due to their religion, which brings this to item #10 . . .
- . . . the religion! This is the biggest factor in Therrenian society.
The centerpiece to the Therrenian religion, or Guttism, is the main god/goddess quadruplet. These include Rinquas -- god of the sea and sky, Futu -- god of the sun and fire, Inshi -- goddess of all creatures, even the unintelligent ones, and Aulh -- goddess of harvest. Along with obedience to their gods (of which there are many, but these are the main rulers), the religion brings along a complex Code of Law, or Lhong, which is too long to write here .
The Plainsterritories: The Plainsterritories lie in the east, on the coast nearest Therennia and on the border of East Region. For a description of the government, I must give a history, which I did not give in the briefer explanation of the individual countries and their natural tales.
What I did tell you, reader, was that the Plainsterritories were ruled at first by a king. Ten kings ruled, for longer than Clandoran existed, up to the point when Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade was overthrown. Every one had been diverse in some way, and there were no restrictions on what animal could rule. Only one family had kept the throne for more than a generation, and theirs was the most stable reign. Kings weren’t very respected, and had no real power, except for in the village surrounding the castle and in the small army kept as a personal bodyguard to the king. This army usually consisted of jackals and badgers, the more powerful creatures.
The last king to rule, until about thirty years ago, was Stripeslash Yetwar. He did nothing remarkable for his “subjects”, and was overthrown almost immediately by . . . Kallenian Snapclaw, a powerful jackal warlord.
Of course, at the time, he was nowhere nearly enough to take down Norden Northwind, or his son Gulrag. However, he had his sights set on the Plainsterritories for two reasons: the many squabbling small-time rulers and king would be of no resistance, and . . . why would he want Clandon? It was cold and harsh, and he was an Eastern creature: the further east, the warmer. So, he built up a small army that was three times the size of Yetwar’s, rushed in, and quickly took the entire country with ease. Now, he’s set himself up in a dictatorship, likened in many ways to that of the Northwinds.
So far, Snapclaw has refused any sort of a treaty, including the Set Laws, offered to him. It’s not unknown that he has his sights set on Therennian next.
King Gethnoel Swiftblade, Spokesbeast Tiren Letren, and the Council of East Region know that he is there, and aren’t going to let it continue very much further, under their Set Laws, but are somewhat preoccupied with other matters at the moment.
So, by definition, the Plainsterritories are under a military dictatorship.
The Mountainous Territories: Unknown.
Clandoran (north and south): Clandoran, formerly known as North and South Regions, formerly known as Clandoran, formerly known as Clandon, is currently ruled by a military monarchy. King Gethnoel Swiftblade, son of Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade the FoxWolf, currently rules under many names, including: the Rogue Captain, the White King, Icefurr Swiftblade, and others.
Instead of a law set in stone for the country, this king trusts his subjects to make the correct decisions based on their instinct, their direction from Doranfather’s Spirit, and his dictation. However, Swiftblade did place into effect a police force, about twenty creatures in Force Guild and Swiftness Guild per village.
Speaking of which, he also installed a “guild” system. This split his army and any advisors or messengers of his into five different categories, based upon where their skills laid: Swiftness Guild, Force Guild, Swordmasters, Guild of Instinct, and Distance Guild. The names are all self explanatory. Almost the entire police force is made up of the first two, and the infantry is as well. Advisors, generals, and councilmembers are usually Guild of Instinct. Archers and messengers are almost always Swiftness or Distance Guilds, and the Swordmasters are solely shock troops.
It’s a military monarchy because that is the main outcome of many of King Gethnoel’s achievements: a stronger army. This is rumored to be so because of the overthrow of the original Clandoran empire, the death of the king’s parents, and the dividing of Clandoran into North and South Regions by Norden and Gulrag Northwind. King Swiftblade has vowed not to let this happen again, which causes him to have been very, very intent on the destruction of Old Clandon (the cult), which succeeded, and Kallenian Snapclaw’s army. First, though, he has to smooth out the wrinkles in the Set Laws and help settle the war between East and West Regions.
East and West Regions: Both of these have the same government, with one major difference that will be explained later.
In short, each is ruled by a council. The councils have their own complicated sets of laws, that nocreature follows. No explicit history is to be given, except for this short synopsis:
At the start of written history in Clandon, when the old language was just being eradicated, the whole continent was a group of uneducated, leaderless creatures. Two groups of smaller, less powerful creatures split from the union. One went east. One went west. Each had the same basic idea, and both ended up with councils and no armies. Thus, they had to form alliances with the other small countries that had broken off. Using their allies’ resources and strength, East Region and West Region became stronger and larger, soon opposing each other and the rest of united Clandon. Soon, they forced their ways in towards and through the center of united Clandon, creating the first North and South regions. Soon, they were at war, even with the Set Laws that the king of North Region had set in place.
Now, only a few things have changed: the first war ended with North and South pushing together, forcing the East and West Regions out and becoming Clandoran. Then, another war took hold, about a century or two after the installment of Spokesbeasts in Western Clandon. Finally, King Gethnoel was successful in bringing the East and West under the protective shield of the Set Laws.
The Set Laws: The Set Laws were put into effect under the rule of Harken MacKay, king of North Region, before Clandoran, after United Clandon (which was essentially a bunch of creatures with no ruler). They constituted five things that would help all the countries bound by it to stay under some sort of code.
At first, it was only accepted by South Region, which eventually created Clandoran. East Region and West Region refused and ended up attacking the North. However, BECAUSE of the Set Laws, South Region came to MacKay’s aid and drove East and West apart. A few centuries later, King Gethnoel finally convinced almost the entire landmass to join, except for the miniature countries. He still continues to send envoys to the Plainsterritories and the Mountainous Lands.
The Laws have many sub categories and fine prints, but these are the main principles of the main body:
- If one country under the Laws ventures onto the land of another, it isn’t a declaration of war unless destruction or killing occurs.
- If one country under the Laws ventures onto the land of one not protected, it is beyond the reach of all under the Laws except the ruler of the first country.
- If one country out from under the Laws ventures onto the land of one protected, it IS a declaration of war on the entire Set Laws alliance . . . however, the country whose land was under attack must take offense first.
- In time of war between two countries under the Laws, the other countries may not interfere.
- Finally, when under attack by an outside force, Clandoran and the other countries all band together into one country for the time being. This is the law that finally sold the deal for East and West.
Old Clandon (cult): Old Clandon originated only half a year after King Gethnoel took the throne. Nocreature knows for sure who started the cult, but it’s said that he/she was part of the rebellion.
Old Clandon, though it doesn’t really exist anymore, believes three things:
- Clandoran has no rightful ruler, and if there were, they would be chosen by the universe.
- The universe is intelligent, and knows all, the future, present, and past.
- King Gethnoel is a usurper who deserves to die -- he and his black magic.
Old Clandon is a clan of powerful assassins, who are divided into a strict hierarchy. Each assassin is given a level. First comes the Divine, or the leader of the cult. After him come the Shamans, or top generals. After that come the level ten assassins, all the way down to the level one servants.
Each assassin, no matter their level or rank, carries a double curved sword and multiple throwing knives of the same make. All wear black cloaks, the “color of perfection”. These rogue fighters also carry poisonous crossbows. Along with these, they have an array of dangerous poisons and different types of darts and bolts. Each wears a special patch with a number and the Old Clandon symbol.
Kirren
Kirren wiped the rain from his brow, blowing water from his snout as he did. The squirrel shivered, pulling his cloak around himself, and nudged his bird’s side with his footpaw. The Lancewing came in for a smooth landing in the mist on the ground.
Kirren Barkleaf had been flying for the past two days, looking for the edge of Evergreen where Dilann had said his father was. After the mouse prophet had stumbled up the porch of Kirren’s house, the squirrel had jumped on Lightning and flown without a backwards glance. He’d even forgotten food, and he was starving. He just knew that he had to get to his father, Ferras.
The squirrel rolled himself up in his cloak to try and get a few hours of sleep. He hadn't been asleep for long, however, before he heard a thump behind him. At first, he didn't think much of it. It was probably just Lightning hopping around. He soon thought better of it when he woke up again to the slight warmth of a fire.
He sat up, unwrapping his cloak. It was a silver wolf, and a beautiful reddish-brown squirrel, warming their paws by a small blue fire. Kirren got up and joined them, crossing his footpaws as he sat by the squirrel. "Where'd you two come from?" he asked.
"Well, you didn't think that we were going to let you go by yourself, did you?" the wolf grunted. "Hungry?" He tossed a burlap pack to the squirrel prophet.
"Thanks, Anghan." Kirren looked inside the bag. It was filled with food for a few days, mostly biscuits and dried fruit: traveling food. He grabbed a few and munched on them for a little bit.
Lilian, the other squirrel, commented, "It's getting dark. Maybe we should camp here for the night." Anghan and Kirren nodded, and the tall squirrel rolled himself up in his brown cloak again by the fire. The other prophet did the same. Lilian laid her head on Kirren's shoulder and curled up next to him.
Lilian didn't have a cloak, so Kirren undid the drawstrings on his and spread it mostly over her. Lightning and Thunder both laid down next to their masters, spreading their wings over them. The prophet whispered a word of thanks to Forever, then fell asleep.
The next morning, Kirren woke up to the smell of toasted bread. He moved Lightning's wing and moved gently out from under the cloak. Anghan was making breakfast. He motioned for Kirren to sit down by the fire, and the squirrel noticed that it was taking a long time for the biscuits on the flames to cook.
"Move the bread," he told his friend. Anghan did so, and Kirren held up his paw. A small, but powerful, white fireball flew towards the coals. They almost exploded, but stayed burning stronger than before. Anghan laid the biscuits back down, and they were done in thirty seconds.
Kirren walked back and tried to wake up Lilian. She mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over, so Kirren tried something else: he tickled her nose with his tail’s tip. She jumped up and sneezed. Before she could say anything, he pointed at the fire. They walked over and joined Anghan for a hurried breakfast.
Lilian and Kirren jumped up on their Lancewings, and Anghan hopped onto his jay, but before they could lift off, his squirrel friend pointed at it. "I never asked," Kirren said. "What's it's name?"
Anghan patted the red bird's neck. "His name is Cason, an old name meaning 'storm'." He nudged it with his left paw, and Cason leapt off into the sky. Lilian and Kirren both joined him immediately, catching up quickly with their large birds' wings.
The wolf brought his bird up alongside Kirren's and leaned over. "Where exactly are we going?" he shouted into the wind.
"Dilann said that the hideout is on the western side of the border with Icelen. I'm pretty sure we're almost there. Isn't that where you're from?" Kirren added. "Since most of the only residents are wolves and foxes." Anghan nodded.
"My parents were visiting some friends here when I was a pup, and they were captured with me by some of Whiptail's lizards," the wolf said. "But I barely remember it. All that I can recall is that it was very cold." He chuckled. "Of course, that in itself is obvious."
Lilian waved at them from ahead. Kirren swooped over to her. "What?" he called.
She pointed down at the ground. "Look!" Kirren did, and saw nothing at first. Then he saw a spiral of smoke coming from a clearing in the forest below. The group of wingriders landed in a small triangle a little way away at a signal from Kirren.
Kirren moved in closer and found a place to hide, while he tuned in his Forever-enhanced hearing. When he did, however, he couldn't hear anything except raucous laughter, and whimpering. He made his way through the trees back to his friends, and relayed it to them. Anghan came up with an easy plan.
Kirren and Lilian moved up into the trees where they couldn't be seen as Anghan walked carelessly towards the noise and smoke. When they came to the edge of the clearing, they saw him emerge into what seemed to be a small camp of wolves and white foxes. There were a few of them in the center, tormenting a small, runtish lizard. He was shivering.
The Icelenians were laughing and kicking the bound creature around, watching it squirm. The lizard squealed and groveled at their footpaws. "Please, kind masters! Don't hurt me!"
"You're our slave!" The fox who had spoken snorted. "We’ll do what we . . . oomph!" He stopped talking abruptly as Anghan, unnoticed among the group, slammed a knee into his side. The fox doubled over in pain as his friends saw Anghan and backed away. Compared to him, they were tiny. Kirren hadn't realized before, but Anghan was at least a foot taller than a normal wolf. He'd seen pictures in storybooks when he was little.
In a few moments, the wolves realized that they outnumbered Anghan, and pulled out their weapons. The prophet shielded the little lizard with his body. The biggest wolf, who seemed to be the leader, advanced slowly towards Anghan. "Get away from our vermin," he growled.
Anghan was surrounded. Still, he said, "Even though he's a vermin, mindless torture is stooping to his level. You stay away," he added to a fox behind him. "You don't want to come near either of us."
The fox backed off, his curved knife in a defensive posture. Anghan turned back towards the leader . . . only to discover that the wolf was leaping straight at him! Anghan held up his paw, but it was a little too late. The wolf knocked his paw away and swung with his sword, and Anghan dodged in just the nick of time.
Now was Kirren and Lilian's chance. The rest of the vermin were looking at Anghan and the other wolf fighting. The squirrels leaped down and dashed at them from behind. Lilian drew her sword and dispatched one like lightning while Kirren set fire to another.
Now the foxes and wolves noticed them. They hadn't seen Kirren's fire, though. All they saw was one squirrelmaid with a sword and another unarmed squirrel. They all turned and charged.
Kirren instinctively held up both of his paws and threw up a gigantic fire-field in front of them, scorching one. The fox nearest the pair spun on a coin and ran, joined by the rest. Kirren flicked his right paw, and they all collapsed on the ground, holding their ears, except one. He was obviously deaf, by the way he was looking around and hadn't yelled when he charged the squirrel pair, and the hearing trumpet at his belt. He ran straight at Lilian without hesitation.
The wolf swung his straight sword, but it was parried by Lilian's sword, twisted out of his grasp, and the wolf found himself looking at the end of a silver blade. "Run," Lilian said, not one to kill a defenseless creature. The wolf gulped and spun around. He tripped on a stone, but quickly got up and ran for the trees. His companions, having recovered from the noises, joined him.
Kirren had been so busy with the other Icelenners, he hadn't seen Anghan defeat the leader. The wolf's body was on the ground, and Anghan had a wound on his left leg. He limped to the squirrels. "He was fast. Really fast. Where are the others?"
"Gone," Kirren stated. "As is the lizard. He must have taken off in the fighting." He looked back towards the forest. "Let's go check on the birds." The trio walked back to their rides.
The birds were fine.
The rest of the day, they flew with only a few short breaks and no more trouble. When it started to grow dark, Kirren waved the group down and signaled Lightning to land. Lilian and Anghan landed beside him, and they all hopped off their birds to survey their surroundings.
Kirren couldn't see well, but from what he could observe, they'd landed in a cold, barren area of stumpy grasslands, away from the forest. There didn't seem to be any shelter, so they were vulnerable to the weather, but Kirren was so tired that he didn't care. He and his companions plopped down in the center of what appeared to be nowhere.
Anghan and Kirren got a fire going for warmth. The wolf pulled some biscuits and fruit juice from his pack, and soon his friends and he were full and tired, an instant recipe for sleep. However, they stayed up a little later to talk.
"So, how much farther do we have to go?" Anghan asked. "We must be near to or at the border, because the natural divider between our countries is the River Brinewash, and we flew over that a few minutes ago."
"Um . . ." Kirren didn't know what to say. He'd taken off, with vague instruction from Dilann about the location, and hadn't really paid attention. "I think it's on the Icelen side, and near a village called Bergena. I haven't heard of it, but I thought we'd ask a local."
"Oh, I know where that is!" Lilian exclaimed. "I've seen it on a map. Also," she added, "How do we know that your father will be there?"
"We don't," said Kirren. "I trust Dilann, though. He said that he'd stumbled on a cave and saw my father, and I believe him."
"Well, I don't know about all of you," Anghan yawned, "But I'm exhausted! I'm all for bed. Or ground," he added with a rueful grin. Without another word, he flipped his roll out of his pack, laid down on it, and started fake snoring.
"I'm with him," Kirren agreed. Lilian nodded as well, and since neither had thought to bring their bedroll, they both curled up underneath Kirren's cloak. He looked up at the stars through a thin layer of mist. In his mind, he went through all the constellations that he could remember, but could only find two of them, as he was too far north for the others. He heard the nearby wolf's breath slow down and knew that Anghan was sleeping.
Two and a half hours later, Kirren still hadn't fallen asleep. He got up, spread the rest of the cloak over Lilian, and went for a walk.
When he'd paced out about 30 yards from the rest of the little camp, he sat down and took out a little candle with flint and tinder. He lit the candle, then removed a little reed-bound journal from the inside of his tunic.
Kirren had developed an admiration for writing. Whenever he had nothing to do, he took out his journal and wrote for a while, especially if he was tired. Right now, he was writing the story of how he and Lilian met each other, and how ridiculous he acted around her at first. He grinned in the darkness. He also wrote about how they'd gotten engaged and married. Then, he heard a noise behind him.
Kirren stood up and spun around, looking hard into the gloom for the source. He heard it again to his right. He turned carefully, peering through wide, alert eyes. He still didn't see anything.
Suddenly, he was pushed from behind. He landed spryly upright at the bottom of a small rise, and turned around to the sound of giggling. Lilian was on the ground, laughing her heart out. "Your face . . . so funny . . ." she got out through her joyful breaths. Kirren grinned, but put a paw to his lips. He looked at her, lightheaded with happiness. Wasn’t marriage supposed to take care of his infatuation?
"Don't want to wake up Anghan," he whispered. She barely nodded and tried to calm herself down. Kirren couldn't help a grin sneaking onto his face again, her laughter was so infectious. "Couldn't sleep either?"
"No," she answered. "Then I saw you leave and decided to see what you were doing. What are you writing?" Kirren handed her the journal, and they sat down together in the candlelight. She quickly read the page he'd written so far, then smiled. "Can I add something?" she asked quietly. Kirren nodded and handed her a charcoal pencil. She wrote a few more sentences, then handed the journal and pencil back to her fiance. He looked at what she'd written:
. . . And they lived happily to this very moment, after which Kirren kissed Lilian for a long, long time!
Kirren looked up, barely able to keep from laughing. "Says who?" he whispered, grinning again.
"Says me," she replied. He laughed and pulled her in for a long kiss. The pair fell to the ground together.
Kirren pulled away and laid back, looking up at the stars. His tail twined with Lilian's, and they both laid there for a while, listening to the sound of wind in the grass.
After a little bit, Kirren stood up. "We should probably get back to our birds and Anghan. We need our rest for tomorrow," he whispered. Lilian rolled over and faked a snore. Kirren suppressed a smile. "Come on, you." He tickled her footpaws, and picked her up upside down. "Time for bed."
Putting Lilian back down after a few feet, Kirren walked with her back to where they'd been sleeping. She got under the cloak, and Lightning and Thunder spread their waiting wings again over the two. Kirren still couldn't sleep, though, so he just looked up at the stars for a long time. The last thing he said, and the last thing he heard before drifting off to sleep, was, "I love you."
The next morning, Kirren woke up first. It was still a bit dark, and he didn't want to get up, so he laid there, waiting for the sun to come out. It didn't for a while yet, but when it did, Lilian woke up next to Kirren. Until Anghan woke up, he stroked her ears and laid there.
When Anghan got up, they made a short meal of bread and fruit, and saddled up again. This time, Kirren asked Lilian to ride in front. The pretty squirrelmaid accepted, and their birds zoomed off in a triangle.
“What’s that?” Kirren had taken the front position, and was pointing a paw towards something in the air, about five hundred yards away. It was somewhat hard to see in the misty air. The prophet strained his eyes, but couldn’t distinguish it. “Anghan?”
The Sight tuned his extremely enhanced vision, given by his Creator, and immediately saw what it was. “Oh, no, no . . . Kirren, Lilian, turn around! Quick!” Cason reared back, spun in the air, and darted off back towards the Brinewash. Lilian followed immediately, but Kirren waited for a moment. He listened carefully, and instantly heard it: clanking armor, powerfully flapping wings, and one or two howls.
“Back, Lightning, back!” he whispered frantically. The Lancewing spun and shot off after the other two birds.
Anghan chanced a backwards glance. “Oh, no . . .” he breathed once more. The foreign birds were getting closer. He scanned the ground, looking for some cover. “There!” he ordered. “Dive!” The trio flipped their mounts into a full-scale drop towards the ground.
Lightning hit the ground first. Kirren dropped down from his back, then ducked behind the boulder outcrop that Anghan had pointed out. Lightning followed. Kirren spread his cloak over the bird’s flashing wings to hide them, then ran to Lilian’s bird, Thunder, to help her down. The pair hid Thunder’s blue color with part of Kirren’s cloak just as Cason and Anghan joined them. Anghan threw his outer tunic over Cason’s red feathers. “Shh!” he warned. They all went quiet.
Not more than twenty or thirty yards away, two strange birds landed in the grey-green grass. Both were white, with black markings, and stood more upright than any bird that Kirren had ever seen. Their eyes were huge, and their heads twisted around to watch their riders, who dismounted from their perches on the birds’ backs.
The riders themselves were pure white wolves, covered in steel armor, and bearing silvery spears, twice as long as the wolves themselves. At their sides were two short swords each. Each had a steel helmet that ran down their muzzles and around the sides of their faces, fitting tightly to their faces with room to see through the eye slits. On their shoulders, each wore a cloth with a black emblem on it: two eyes with a black flame between them. The flame looked strangely familiar to Anghan, who could see it better than the others.
One of them sniffed the air. He said something to his companion, and the other wolf grinned. Kirren’s eyes widened visibly. “Kirren!” Anghan whispered faintly. He knew that the squirrel’s ears would pick it up. “What did he say?” The Voice looked over at Anghan, and quickly scribbled in the dust behind the boulder.
I smell them. They’re over here. We’ll take ‘em to the king. Anghan frowned. Kirren looked back at the wolves. They were coming towards them!
Kirren’s paw caught fire, white flame encircling the prophet’s fur. Anghan’s paw did the same, and both tuned in their senses. Just as they were about to leap up, Kirren’s head reverberated with a voice. Kirren! Stop! Don’t hurt them. Go with them. Anghan almost stood up, but Kirren’s paw clamped down on his shoulder. “Wait. We must go with them.”
“What? Kirren, they’re almost here! We have to attack!” Anghan started to rise again, but Kirren kept him down.
“Anghan! If you would listen for a moment, and consult the Forever! Rely on his wisdom, not your own.”
Lilian sheathed her sword, and stood up. Kirren and Anghan’s flames disappeared, and they joined her, paws up. “I trust Kirren,” she said, then to Thunder, “Stay.” The wolves stopped in front of them.
“Come with us! All trespassers in White Sun must be shown to the king!” one ordered. Kirren and Anghan nodded. “Where are your birds?” Kirren stopped nodding. He exchanged a glance with Anghan and Lilian. “Where are they? We saw them!” the wolf said again.
“What birds?” Kirren asked, then got a slap to the face. He hit the ground, dazed.
The wolf yanked him up by the front of his tunic. “Where are they?” Kirren looked him in the eye, then placed a paw in his mouth, whistling a two note tune, hard and loud.
Lilian and Anghan each did the same. “Stop!” the wolf ordered, and pulled Kirren’s paw from his mouth. It was too late, though, and Lightning, Cason, and Thunder all burst from their cover into the sky, out of arrow range in seconds. Kirren knew that they would remain close enough to know when they were needed again.
The other wolf growled. “Paws behind your backs, we’re taking you to the prison to wait.”
“No. We’ll come peacefully, as ordered by the Forever,” Kirren said. The wolf laughed scornfully.
“Forever? He has no power here!” He laughed again, and took three pairs of leather cuffs from his belt. “We can’t have you drawing weapons, now, can we?”
“You may take our weapons, but no cuffs,” Anghan said, tossing a small knife down on the ground. Lilian followed suit with her sword and dagger, but Kirren had no weapons to give. The wolves searched him, and when satisfied, called their birds. Anghan rode with one wolf, and the two squirrels rode with the other. The strange birds were at least twice the size of Lightning, and Lightning was large in his own species.
“How far from your city are we?” Lilian shouted over the wind after a few minutes. She looked scared, Kirren noticed. The wolf grunted.
“Two days flight!” After that, he didn’t say anything more. Lilian quietly laid her head back on Kirren’s shoulder.
“Why did Forever tell us to go with them? I’m scared,” she whispered into her husband’s ear. Kirren started. He’d always thought of Lilian as his fearless, headstrong lover. He hugged her tightly to him, kissing her headfur.
“I don’t know why, but I trust him. I love you.” She sighed, then nervously pawed at her amber earring. The prophet looked at it. “I’ve never asked you, but where did that come from?”
“This? Oh, this was my mother’s. It’s almost the only thing that I have from my parents,” the squirrelmaid explained. “Do you want to see it?” She carefully unclipped the jewel from her ear. Kirren clasped it firmly between his paws, to keep it from falling to the ground. Lilian twisted around and gestured to some markings on the front. “It says ‘family’. I have another piece, that I had somecreature at the rebel base craft for me, but I don’t wear it. It’s matching. A pendant. I left it at home.”
Kirren handed it back to her, just as the forward wolf dove towards the ground. The sun had almost set behind the faroff Kranof Mountains. The wolf flying the bird that carried Kirren and Lilian followed the leader’s, diving in a breathtaking spiral that rivaled the speed of Lightning.
The pair of birds landed upright, and Kirren and Lilian both fell right off. The gallant prophet jumped right up and helped his wife to her feet. Anghan and the two wolf soldiers hopped nimbly down. The guards unloaded their packs, then one pointed at Lilian. “You, see if you can gather some firewood,” he ordered.
Kirren disagreed. “I’ll do it,” he said. The wolf shook his head.
“I told her to do it, so she’ll do it.” The wolf was smirking, obviously quite arrogant.
“No, I will. Do you wish to disagree?” Forever? What do I do now?
You may show him my power, but only to rebuke him.
The wolf was walking towards Lilian, to force her, most likely, but Kirren stepped between them. “I said no. Your Creator rebukes you! Touch her, and you will suffer the consequences!” The wolf snarled, but Kirren’s paw stopped him from coming nearer. Kirren was at least a head shorter, but the fire swirling around his other paw raised in the air and the flames flowing through his eyes made him seem larger to the soldier. His arrogance was wiped right off of his face, but he didn’t move. Instead, he foolishly drew his swords.
“Put away whatever firestarter you’re using! In fact, give it here!” his companion commanded. “We’ll do what we like. We serve the mighty god Riken, and . . .” Kirren’s paw flicked, and suddenly neither wolf could hear anything.
“Forever commands you to be silent!” The wolves heard only this. They nodded mutely. Kirren turned to fetch the firewood. Ten minutes later, the group was sitting by a warm fire. By now, they were far enough in that snow covered the landscape, so they were cold, but no one complained: Kirren, Lilian, and Anghan because they didn’t want to complain to each other, and the wolves because they just couldn’t talk.
The next day, the five flew all day, hardly stopping for any reason. Their guards were able to hear and speak again, but didn’t say anything else, obviously scared. They flew their birds hard for four or five hours, then came in for a landing in a white, glistening clearing among the evergreen trees. Kirren, Anghan and Lilian all had food, so the wolves didn’t bother to see to their nourishment. One of them went out and shot some fish from a small stream for himself.
It took three more hours before a large, white-stoned city came into sight. It almost blended in with the bright surroundings. The pureness of the city masks the corruption inside, Forever spoke in the prophet’s mind. Kirren nodded. If the rest of the residents were like these, they needed help and light. He and Anghan, by the grace of the Forever, could bring that to them.
Forever? Is that why you sent us here?
No. Something else. Kirren thought for another moment.
Lilian, too?
Yes. This word came into Kirren’s mind just as the two birds -- owls, according to the wolves -- landed roughly in a stone paved courtyard. This time, Lilian knew to hang on, but Kirren hadn’t been paying attention. He fell hard on the hard surface, hitting his head. “Ow . . .” he muttered. Lilian hopped down and ran to his side.
“Are you okay?” she asked, obviously worried. He nodded, stunned, and staggered to his feet. Up in the sky, Lightning let out a concerned call, but calmed down when his master stood. Lilian looked up at the birds. “They have a lot of stamina,” the squirrelmaid commented. “They can’t hold out for much longer, though.”
They were interrupted by one of the wolves asking them to stay put while he announced their crimes to Riken and their king. Kirren and Lilian sat on the ground, and were soon joined by Anghan. “Crimes? What crimes?” The big wolf chuckled, but stopped to frown. “Since when was flying into the state a crime? We’ve always been on peaceful terms with this place, as far as I know, or at least Whiptail was.”
Both of his friends shrugged. Kirren didn’t know anything about politics in either country.
Two minutes later, the wolf came back. He beckoned for them to follow him, then marched off down a corridor through a large, elaborate door. The group left what Kirren assumed was the palace courtyard right away, and the white stones were replaced by gold and jewels all around them. “If this is the hallway, I’d love to see how he decorates his own bedroom, this king,” Anghan muttered from behind Lilian, and the group tittered quietly.
“Quiet back there,” the wolf ordered. He had regained some of his cockiness, Kirren noticed.
The four stopped at a huge, exquisitely carved entryway, and the wolf told them to wait once more. When he left, Kirren asked Anghan, “Do you know where we are? I mean, your parents must have told you about Icelen, so . . .”
“We’re not in Icelen. We’re in a small city-state called White Sun, and as you can plainly see, they have a very high opinion of themselves,” the wolf added sarcastically. “They fall under the allegiance of Icelen’s Councilcreature, but have their own little government set up. We were most likely caught on the border, as their lands are only six or seven miles long. They . . .” He went quiet when the wolf came back out.
“His Illustrious Majesty will see you now.” Kirren rolled his eyes and walked boldly into the throne room, closely followed by his friend and wife.
Bright white marble curled around in spirals all over the floor, meeting with golden pillars set with ivory carvings. Everywhere they looked, red rubies and emeralds caught the light from a large glass roof and threw it back at the looker’s eyes, making the room seem more brilliant than it was. At the other end of the room stood a silver throne, with images of snakes curling up the sides and legs. On this throne sat a pure white ermine, presumably the king, and upon his head perched a very tall crown, also silver with snakes etched into it.
The ermine stood, looked the trio up and down, and laughed. He spoke with an outrageous accent. “Zo, deze are de magizians who zcared de living daylights out of my bezt zoldiers.” He turned to the wolf soldier. “Get out of my zight, mangy zcum,” he ordered. The wolf bowed and backed out of the chamber, still bowing.
The arrogant king looked back towards Kirren. “I am de great and powerful Zantago, king of all of White Zun, purezt land on Evergreen! And who . . .” He sniffed in disdain. “Who might you be?”
Kirren answered immediately. “I am Kirren Barkleaf, Forever’s prophet. These are my . . . companions. We are not magicians, but rather servants of Forever.”
The ermine waved this last comment away contemptuously. “Yez, yez, but why are you here? White Zun haz no need of de Forever,” Zantago remarked pompously.
“Yes, you do! Your Creator has seen your evil ways and indifference towards him, and has judged your city unworthy. Zantago Darkbane, mend your ways now, and the Forever will forgive you! Your creatures suffer in poverty on the lower levels, and even in the higher classes of society, the creatures are corrupt.”
In that moment, three things happened in direct succession, explaining many things.
Zantago rolled his eyes.
Anghan growled, a strange thing to Kirren who had always seen him as calm and collected, and the Sight’s paw burst into blue flames.
Zantago narrowed his eyes angrily, and his paw burst into green flames! “Dare you to ztand againzt my power, given by Riken, god of all?”
Kirren’s eyes widened. “Forever?” he whispered. A non verbal confirmation rushed through his head. So, rats and lizards were not the only creatures who served the Shadow. “Zantago! You have no right to cover yourself in apparent beauty, and hide the evil that resides in your soul! In the name of the Forever, I send you to your master!” Fire exploded from Kirren’s body, the white fire consuming entirely the screaming Lash, and passing over the faithful in the room to consume the foul decorations on the walls. A sound rolled through the chamber, like that of the knell of a bell struck miles away being carried on the wind. Lilian noticed that the source seemed to be Kirren.
The blackened doors burst open. White-furred wolves, foxes, mice, and ermine filled the doorway, weapons drawn, eyes huge at the sight of the burnt and melted walls. The first to speak was a tall commander, bearing multiple medals. He walked into the room, fury obvious in his eyes. “What have you dared to do? Where is our king?!” he exploded. He leveled his sword at Kirren.
This commander is loyal to his king, not evil. Let him live, but leave him with my warning. Kirren closed his eyes, bowed his head, then looked at the commander. “Rekten Slendry, we leave you with this: your people have all turned from their Creator. Look back to the Forever, who you worshipped so long ago. Be a good king.” Rekten’s eyes grew wider, but the trio didn’t stay long enough to see his reaction. Kirren whistled long and loud, a four note tune, and Lilian and Anghan each emitted a three note sound. Kirren nodded his head to the onlookers as he climbed up on the windowsill. “It’s been a pleasant visit!” he said, then grinned as he fell out of the window. Lilian and Anghan both jumped out of the window, which overlooked a very large cliff.
Commander Rekten rushed to the window. The prophets and warriormaid didn’t fall for long until they were snatched skillfully out of the air by something . . . no, three somethings: one red, one light blue, and one gold. The birds were back.
Kirren whooped for joy as he flipped, dived, and spun around on Lightning’s back. The Lancewing screeched. “Anghan! Which way?” he called. The wolf thought for a moment, then pointed towards the ground. Confused, the younger prophet hesitated before landing Lightning beside Cason. “What is it?” he asked.
For an answer, the wolf cleared a large square of snow with three or four fireballs. The prophet flicked his paw, and a large map of Evergreen spread out before them. Kirren smacked his forehead. “Of course, why didn’t we do this earlier?” He and Anghan both stepped onto the glowing map.
“Okay, Kirren, let’s see what you can find. Oh, sometimes I wish that we brought Dilann on things like this,” Anghan complained. “Oh, well.” Kirren knelt and placed a paw on the center of the map, and the wolf moved his footpaws around the map until they reached a part of Icelen. Anghan brought his paws together, and the image zoomed out until it covered all of the country. “Kirren? Where do you want me to go?”
Kirren was too focused on tuning in all of his enhanced sense to the map. Lilian walked onto the map and shook his shoulder. “Sweet, Anghan asked you a question . . .” She trailed off. Kirren opened his eyes and looked at her, then at Anghan.
“Huh?” Anghan didn’t answer. He was staring at the map, flabbergasted. “What is it?” Kirren tried again. The wolf pointed at Lilian. Kirren looked at his wife, then at the map. His eyes grew enormous. “Lilian . . .” he whispered.
Dark and light . . . things were all over the map, little dots that moved all over the image of Icelen. They had appeared when Lilian had come onto the map. “Anghan! Zoom in on where we are!” Kirren ordered. Anghan’s paws moved apart, and the view opened up on a spot not far from a cluster of dark images. When Anghan was in far enough, Kirren could plainly see three figures, all glowing brightly. Two were in the shape of squirrels, and another was larger, like a wolf. “Lilian . . . did you do this? That’s us!” Kirren exclaimed excitedly. The squirrelmaid was stunned.
“I . . . uh . . . I didn’t . . .” she stuttered, and stepped off of the map. The figures vanished.
“You’re a prophet!” Anghan said in wonder.
Kirren was the next to voice a question. “What type?” he asked. Anghan thought in silence for a few moments, while they all puzzled over that question, then came up with an answer.
“I don’t know what she is, but I do know that when Sarcen died, it must have opened a hole in the prophet group. There are only three acknowledged prophets of the Forever, Kirren, and many more of the Shadow’s. So, Forever must have called her through us,” he explained. He turned to Lilian. “I want you to try something. Hold out your paw.” Lilian was still baffled, but extended her right paw. “Now, try to make fire. Just . . . concentrate.”
Lilian’s paw was instantly surrounded by something, but it wasn’t fire -- it was light. Silver and gold light swirled around her arm, then her entire body. She narrowed her eyes, and the light formed a bright, shining sword. Her mouth fell open. The light vanished. “Kirren . . . Anghan . . .” Both traditional prophets looked at her in amazement.
Anghan had another idea -- always the philosopher of the group. Kirren snickered quietly to himself at the thought as the wolf spoke. “Lilian, I believe that this means something, but I’m not sure yet what it is. The light flushes out the darkness, and on the map, the dark and light exposes the truth about other creatures. Mind if I give your new type a name?”
“No, not at all!” she said, saying something for once. Anghan thought again, then had it.
“Purity. I feel it.” Lilian thought for a moment, then closed her eyes.
Lilian
Lilian was stunned. Um . . . Forever? she thought. Is this right? I’m not a speaker, or a prophet, like Kirren or Anghan . . .
You are my creation. Are you my servant?
Lilian’s eyes grew even larger. Was the Forever talking to her? It only took her a moment to decide upon the answer. I am always your servant, Forever. Am I a Purity?
Yes. To you, my beautiful daughter, I give you wisdom, to help those around you, and other gifts that you will discover in due time.
Kirren looked at her strangely. “Lilian? What is it?” he asked, sounding concerned.
“The Forever talked to me,” she breathed. “He says . . . He says that He gave me wisdom, and ‘other gifts’ that will be revealed.” Anghan nodded understandingly, and Kirren clearly looked as if he knew what she was talking about.
Anghan had yet another tidbit of thought. “Over time, or immediately, or anytime, really, I think that the Forever will give you wisdom that surpasses that of almost all creatures, to find the allegiance of others and give council to creatures around you,” he said. “You are special.”
Lilian thought on this for a moment. She didn’t think that she was special, like Kirren, and . . .
No, do not compare yourself to my other creations. I love you just as you are, spoke the Forever. Give up your sword, and follow me. She bowed her head and heart to Him. She drew her sword, then planted it into the ground. She would leave it there.
Anghan didn’t notice, and he still wanted to know one more thing. “Lilian, do you know if you are protected like Kirren and I?” he inquired, punching at Kirren and dodging a kick from the younger prophet very quickly to demonstrate what he meant. Lilian shook her head. She had no idea. Anghan picked up a pebble and threw it at her. It flew back from two inches away from her body and struck Anghan in the nose. “Ow!” he exclaimed, surprised. “How . . .”
Kirren laughed at the wolf’s mishap. Lilian did as well, if only because Kirren was laughing. Handsome squirrel, she thought. Then suddenly, he got serious. “We need to focus now,” he said. “Lilian can help us find the false prophets!”
Snow had covered the cleared area again, so Kirren blasted it all away with one burning missile. “I should have done that in the first place,” Lilian heard him mutter. The grass underneath was now sufficiently scorched away. Anghan reset the map, and Kirren and Lilian both stepped on the map. Kirren had an idea. “I bet that I could allow you to hear what I hear as well!” He placed a paw in Lilian’s, then on Anghan’s shoulder. The little figures of the trio on the map moved as well. “Anghan, move towards the border. Lilian, watch for the prophets, and I’ll listen and try to transmit it to you,” he ordered. They all did so, and soon Anghan landed on the country’s southern boundary. Kirren looked for Lilian’s figures, but didn’t see any nearby. “Anghan, zoom out.” The Sight obliged, and Kirren saw a cluster of black, with a smaller white light at the center, at the far east corner of the border, right by the Ratlands. “Alright, I’m going to try this. Listen carefully.”
Kirren looked as if he was adjusting his finely attuned hearing, and Lilian felt him sending his power out through his paws. At first, all that the two others heard was silence, then dripping water. It echoed around in their heads. “Whoops, a little off,” she heard her husband murmur, then heard more clear sounds that were instantly distinguishable. Dark mutterings, the crack of a whip, cackling.
And a hoarse, strangled cry. Kirren audibly gritted his teeth, and the sounds stopped in Lilian’s ears. “Oh, no . . .” she breathed.
Kirren stood up, and whistled fiercely. Lightning looked up from where he’d been pecking out of the feed back at his side, then hopped over to his master, who swung up onto his back. “I’m going to find my father,” he said, then took off into the air. Oh, no. He may be a gorgeous creature, but he is a foolish one, Lilian thought irately, then ran to Thunder.
Anghan called after her. “Aren’t you going to get your sword?” She stopped, then pulled out her dagger and left that in the snow as well. Leaving the baffled wolf to figure things out himself, she vaulted onto Thunder’s back and exploded into the air.
Lilian looked back, and Cason was already on his way up to where Kirren and Lilian flew. Kirren was flying as fast as he could. Lilian had to drive Thunder hard to catch up to him. Anghan was falling behind quickly. “Kirren! Stop! Stop!” Kirren didn’t listen to him. Forever? Help! A quick thought rushed through her head. Lilian saw the light flash from her paw out of the corner of her eye, then formed it into a long, glowing cord.
The new prophet swung it around her head and whipped it towards the speeding Voice ahead of her. It grew in length until it reached Kirren, then curled around his chest and upper arms, halting his progress. Fortunately, he had enough sense to stop Lightning before he was pulled right off. “Kirren! I said stop!” she yelled. The cord shortened, bringing Kirren closer, then disappeared. His eyes were furious. Both birds’ wings beat at each other’s.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. Anghan finally caught up with them, Cason struggling.
“Foolish young one!” Anghan admonished.
“You cannot just rush into an unknown situation without thinking through it first, Kirren!” Lilian said.
“That’s my father they’re torturing!” he said angrily.
“You don’t know that, Kirren! Dilann said that he didn’t have time to look closely, and was chased off by the false prophets. He just saw a squirrel crying to the Forever, being held by these Shadow-servants.” Lilian was surprised at her calmness. This time, Anghan wasn’t the one explaining everything to Kirren.
Kirren breathed heavily, but calmed down. Lilian looked at him in the eye. “Now, let’s think of a plan,” she quietly said. They spiraled down towards the ground, landing in a clear white space. Kirren walked towards his wife, ashamed.
“Lilian, I . . .” he started.
“Shh,” she whispered. “I forgive you. I forgive you. I love you.” Lilian leaned in and kissed him, then hugged him tightly. Anghan cleared his throat from nearby. The squirrelmaid turned to look at him.
“What now, oh wise counsellor?” he asked jokingly. Lilian shrugged.
“I don’t know. I thought that you would.” The wolf sighed.
Soon, the three of them had come up with an idea. Anghan would masquerade as a servant of the Shadow, and see how close he could get to the prisoner using his ability of images. Kirren and Lilian would follow behind, wait near the entrance, and would help Anghan if the need arose. Lilian wasn’t sure how she would do that, because she wouldn’t fight, but she reasoned that she could at least protect the others. Besides, she didn’t have her sword.
Kirren noticed this just as they were mounting their birds, and voiced his concerns. “Lilian, your weapon! How will you fight?”
“It is the Forever’s will that I not kill. It happened so fast, I never got to ask why . . .” She trailed off. Why couldn’t she? She would have to question Forever about that later. Lilian hopped up on Thunder, clipped herself in, and took off towards the east and south. Kirren followed, and they both went at a pace suitable for Anghan’s bird.
Looking down at the ground, Lilian only saw white that stretched for miles, and dots of green evergreen trees. Cold wind whipped around her face, making her eyes water. Even so, the sparkling purity of the landscape took her breath away. The sun shone brightly through a layer of clouds, making it even more beautiful. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Forever, thank you!”
They flew that whole day nonstop. When they finally stopped for a rest and a meal, it was dark, and the birds were tired. “We’ll sleep here tonight,” Anghan announced, and nobeast argued. They were sheltered by trees, and a partially frozen stream for water flowed nearby. It was a perfect stopping place.
While they ate some dried fruit and roots that Kirren had spotted, they discussed their plans. “If we fly all day tomorrow, we should be there by nightfall,” Anghan reasoned. “That means lots of rest for us and the birds tonight. I would advise that you two get to bed early.” Both squirrels nodded. After eating, they laid down and went straight to sleep.
Almost. Lilian was still awake three hours after her husband and friend had gone to the realm of dreams. She tossed and turned beside Kirren, trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing worked. She even tried counting jays. That didn’t help either. Finally, she stood to get some exercise. Maybe that’ll put me to sleep, Lilian thought ruefully.
The squirrelmaid walked around the camp in ever-widening circles for about five minutes, clutching a blanket around her shoulders as protection against the cold. She looked up at the moon. It shone beautifully. The clouds and mist had disappeared, leaving the light coming down clearly. “What is the moon?” she asked out loud. “Is it like the stars, rushing and infinitely many balls of tangible light?” She thought about this for a moment. “What about the sun? But it’s too bright to be a star, and too big.” All the time, she walked around, thinking. “Forever, your creation is a beautiful mystery to me.”
And I made it for you. Every day, these things are my gift to you. Lilian smiled. And what do you think?
I think it’s the most wonderful gift that you could ever give me, the Purity answered. Her smile grew. Thank you. You are my Father. Still walking, she took a turn to move up a slight hill. Maybe she could see the moon better from . . .
A grimy paw covered her mouth, and yanked her backwards, then pulled her away from the campsite. Another arm came around her neck. She screamed into her assailant’s fur and kicked, catching her assailant in the leg. A male voice grunted in pain, then jerked his arm tighter, making her see colored dots. Her footpaws started to go numb. Black crept in towards the edge of her vision.
A thought came into her mind: Come on, me, you’re a prophet! Do something! Concentrating, she formed a wall of solid light between her back and her attacker’s body. It grew until it forced his arms apart and paws from her throat. She fell to the ground, coughing. The light wall grew, and stayed.
When she’d recovered some, Lilian turned to see who her intended assassin was.
A tall white fox, wrapped in a dark cloak, was battering at the wall with paws wreathed in purple flame. Lilian stood steady, feeling the blows against her own paws. The fox snarled, and struck harder, but it did nothing to the wall. The Purity focused again, and the wall swung around quickly until it formed a box around the Hunger. His eyes were full of rage, but weirdly flat and . . . a bit creepy, if she was being honest with herself. His fire was extinguished by the light, and his strange eyes widened. “Who are you! And why did you try to kill me?” Lilian demanded. The Hunger didn’t answer for some time, catching his breath.
Finally, he said, “I was sent for you, beloved of the servant to the Cursed One. I was told that you would be easy to kill, but . . .” He laughed quietly, a sound that made Lilian’s fur stand on end. “It seems that you are a witch as well.”
“I am no witch.” The Forever’s voice spoke in her mind: Draw it out of him.
Lilian steeled herself, then looked straight at the fox, releasing him. He growled, a fiery purple sword materializing in his paw. Forever? What do I do? An image and a prompt appeared in her head, and she understood. The fox drew the sword back, trying to catch her off guard, and brought it down towards her head.
Lilian drew a bright sword of her own, and quickly deflected the Hunger’s attack, then swung it through his middle. He screeched furiously. Black spewed out from anywhere that the sword touched, but the light did not wound him. His fire and sword both disappeared. The fox collapsed to the ground, then clutched his middle, expecting a gaping slash. But there was none. Baffled, the Shadow’s servant stood, looking all over his body. Finally, satisfied that he had not been harmed, he sneered at Lilian and thrust his paws out.
But nothing happened. “What the . . .” he muttered, then tried to conjure a weapon. Nothing. “What have you done? You cursed me!” he yelled.
Anghan and Kirren, having heard Lilian’s cries, came dashing over the rise. “What happened? Lilian, are you okay?” Kirren exclaimed. He saw the fox. “Who is that beast?!”
Lilian thought for a moment. “Well, he used to be a Hunger, but now he is just a powerless servant of the Shadow,” she decided. The fox looked at the three prophets, and promptly spun and ran. A fireball flew from Kirren’s paw. Lilian was faster, though. Another shield of light came up in front of the Voice that put out the white flame.
Now the fox was too far to hit. “Lilian? Why did you do that?” Anghan asked from behind them, confused.
“Let him go. Let the Shadow’s servants be afraid of their Creator’s power,” she said. After a pause, she added, “And let that misguided fox know that his Father still loves him.”
They tried to get some more rest for the next day, and this time, Lilian finally fell asleep, lulled by Kirren’s gentle breathing.
She woke up early. Of course, I couldn’t sleep in for once, could I? she asked herself. Her habit of waking up before everybeast else could be really annoying at times, and she knew that if she tried to go back to sleep, she wouldn’t. Oh, well. At least she could make breakfast.
Lilian did this very quickly, and both of her companions were still asleep. Hm. She could wait for another hour, or she could wake Kirren up . . . obviously the second. The pretty squirrelmaid walked over to where Kirren was sleeping. “Kirren?” she whispered, slightly shaking him. He moved his arm, but did nothing else. Lilian tried something else. She leaned over, took his face in one paw, and kissed him. His eyes flew open. “Good morning, sleepy head!” She smiled. He grinned back, then pulled her closer for a longer kiss. Lilian’s head felt light. His paw stroked her headfur, bringing it around to her shoulder, and she traced the outline of his face.
Lilian started to Anghan’s voice. “Well, now, lovebirds? Are you done yet, or should I pretend to sleep for another ten minutes?” Embarrassed, she jumped up and turned to the fire, where she had a few pieces of biscuit topped with fruit and some milk melting on a flat stone.
“Er, no, you’re fine,” she stammered. She heard Anghan snicker as Kirren joined her.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Just something that I thought would be nice before our high-speed journey.” She grabbed a few wooden plates from her bag. Using her paw, she scooped up two of them for each plate and dished out her concoction to both of the others, then gave herself some. Kirren tried a small bite, then a larger one, then started eating as fast as he could cram it into his mouth.
“This is delicious!” Anghan exclaimed. Lilian tried some, and to be truthful, she enjoyed it immensely.
Finally, they packed up, put out the fire, and mounted Lightning, Thunder, and Cason. All three birds looked fit and ready for anything. “All right, girl, up to a long flight?” Lilian whispered to Thunder. The Lancewing screeched and ruffled her wing feathers. Lilian took that as a “yes”. “Good girl. Go!” Thunder took off at high speed, shooting so fast that Lilian’s eyes were streaming after five seconds. “Slow down, Thunder! Slow down! Wait for the others!”
Once she’d slowed her excited bird down and the others had caught up, they all took off towards the eastern border once more.
Contrary to what Anghan had said the previous night, they reached the eastern Brinewash before nightfall, but close enough that it was growing darker. Kirren landed first, then Anghan. Kirren quickly cleared a large area of snow. Anghan’s map appeared there in seconds, and Lilian ran onto the map, searching for the cluster of dark figures. She spotted their own figures, then the false prophet hideout about two hundred yards away on their left. “Okay, Anghan, see what you can do!” she said.
Anghan closed his eyes. Lilian watched, amazed, as his fur changed to white, then a purple flame appeared in his paw. He opened his eyes. They were flat. “Did it work?” he asked. Lilian nodded quickly.
“Does the fire do anything?” Kirren asked. Anghan shook his head, then swung it around towards the Voice. It passed right through. “Okay, then let’s move! Come on!” Kirren ordered, and the trio commanded their birds to stay. All of them sped off at the same time, but then Anghan took the lead as the other two fell back.
Far ahead of them was a small hillock. It was covered in snow, but strangely enough, the front was screened by bushes that weren’t. They’ve been moved, Lilian realized. They must be hiding an entrance. Anghan apparently figured that out as well, because he slowed down and began walking nonchalantly towards the hidden opening. Lilian flipped up the hood on her tunic, and she saw Kirren don his cloak some fifty feet away.
Suddenly, a grey rat leapt out of the darkness near Anghan. Lilian dropped to the ground.
The Purity waited there for a few minutes. When she finally deemed the coast clear, she looked up. Anghan and the rat were talking. Anghan “lit” the fire in his paw again, most likely to prove something. Finally, the rat let Anghan pass through the bushes and disappeared around the hill again. Lilian leapt up.
Kirren ran towards the bushes and dropped back to the ground behind one. Lilian looked around and stopped moving once again.
The grey rat had obviously heard something, and came dashing around to see what was going on. Seeing nothing, he turned his back on the bushes.
Kirren was as silent as an Evergreen star. He quietly rose up from his hiding place, lit his paw, and punched the guard in the back of the head. The force of the punch and the extreme pain of the fire combined to knock the rat out as efficiently as a boulder to the jaw. Lilian jumped up.
After she had secured the rat to a tree far enough away and gagged him with one of her glowing cords, the pair ran back to the entrance to wait. Kirren peeked over the bushes into utter blackness. “Huh,” he muttered. “Not the most cheerful place in the world.”
Soon, they heard Anghan’s voice whisper from inside. “You two, come on in here! This is a tunnel. You don’t have to be out in the cold.” Lilian vaulted inside, followed by Kirren.
Once inside, it was even darker than she’d thought when she was outside. She reached out with her paw on one side and hit a smooth rock wall. The ground was the same, and it felt like it was made from cut marble. Wryly, Kirren whispered, “Looks like we just jumped right into the mouth of the Despair.” That . . . was actually pretty close to how Lilian felt right now. The darkness was stifling.
Anghan started to explain what had happened. “I got close enough to see that they had a squirrel tied up in the center of their main cavern, but I don’t know if it’s your father. I only saw him once, and that in a vision. Then somebeast started getting suspicious, so I got out of there. Strangely enough, the Lashes had put up a false image of another squirrel up around the one that they had,” he added, somewhat confused. Kirren shrugged. Anghan turned to Lilian. “What do we do?”
She took a step back, startled. “Uh . . .” She thought for a moment. “It wouldn’t do to rush them at once, because one or all of us would die, if these are all false prophets. Anghan, could you project the same image that you were using on yourself?” The wolf shook his head.
“I would have to synchronize the movements of the image with your bodies, and that’s hard enough as it is with one person,” he explained, and dropped his false self’s figure. Lilian nodded, and tried to think of something else. Finally, she had it!
“You two, come out here for a moment,” Lilian ordered, climbing out of the entrance. All three soon stood in the entrance. “All right. Anghan, turn up the heat. I want to see how bright you can go.”
Blue fire rushed from the Sight’s paws and climbed up his arms, than covered his upper body. “This is as much as I can make,” he said pensively.
“It doesn’t matter. How bright and hot can you make it?” Anghan closed his eyes, and the fire grew in intensity. The blue light was soon as bright as the sky on a sunny day, and growing brighter. “Perfect!” Lilian exclaimed. “Kirren?”
Kirren’s fire exploded from not only his paws, but the rest of his body as well, growing into a huge sphere that soon enveloped all three of them, melting the snow but not burning any of them. “This is my maximum, unless I let it go! Then it fires in one direction!” he called over the roaring of the flames. Thankfully, they were far enough away that none of the vermin could hear. It got brighter and brighter until Lilian had to cover her eyes.
“Good! Now put it away before it blinds us!” Lilian yelled. The sphere doubled in on itself and retreated back into Kirren. The squirrel was sweating. “Do you need a break?” Lilian asked. Kirren shook his head, panting. His paws still glowed.
Now it was Lilian’s turn. “Guys, shut your eyes,” she advised, then pure light burst from her eyes, paws, and body. A huge golden beam flew up towards the sky. It was so bright that Lilian’s eyes were streaming after five seconds. The light vanished, and she grinned. “You can open now!” she told the other two.
Uncovering his eyes, Anghan asked, “What was that about?”
“We’re going to blind them, aren’t we?” Kirren inferred. Lilian nodded. “What about my father, then?”
Lilian had the answer to that, as well. “Anghan, could you make a person stop seeing temporarily?” Anghan shrugged. “Try. Try on me.” The wolf hesitated, then held his paw out.
Her vision went black. “Okay! It worked!” The black faded, with Anghan standing there smiling. “I want you to do that to Kirren’s . . . the squirrel when we blind the rest. Got it?” He nodded. The three turned back to the cave. Behind them, a rat tied to a tree screeched through the glowing strip that muzzled his snout shut, completely blind.
All three prophets vaulted into the hole again, and rushed down the passage in the direction that Anghan pointed out. They stopped near the end, which opened onto a cavern lit by a large bonfire. “Ready?” the squirrelmaid asked. Her husband and friend both nodded. “Good. Anghan, now.” Taking a deep breath, the Sight stood, stepped out into the cavern, and raised his paw. Kirren and Lilian both looked inside. There was, indeed, a squirrel in the center, and from the sharp intake of air from Kirren, she assumed it was his father.
The prisoner suddenly cried out, looking frantically about him. A few of the other creatures looked at him strangely, but more of them were interested in Anghan than that. “Hey! Who are you?” one yelled. Anghan growled.
“I am a servant of the Forever!” Many of the beasts screeched, holding their ears shut. Anghan’s paws lit with blue flame. About two thirds of the creatures who filled the cavern (nearly twoscore) lit their paws with green, purple, and even some black fire.
Lilian and Kirren stepped out to join their friend. Then, at the same time, they all ignited themselves in light. Kirren’s fire destroyed seven or eight vermin near him, and Lilian’s light sliced through two. All three of them together caused every single Shadow’s servant in the cavern to collapse. Lilian had to shut her eyes tightly before the lights extinguished. “Forever!” she exclaimed. “That was bright! Look at the vermin!” The rats, lizards, wolves, ermine, and foxes were all stretched out on the floor. “It must have overloaded their senses, and caused them to faint!” She turned towards Anghan, but had to turn away again. “Anghan, put away your fire! It’s too bright!” And she was right. It was so bright, it almost rivaled the strength of Lilian’s beam.
Anghan laughed and put out his fire. Kirren laughed dryly. “If I didn’t know better, friend, I’d say that you knocked them all out single-pawed.” Suddenly, he seemed to remember why they were there, and ran as fast as her could to the fire. The blinded squirrel slumped against the pole that he was tied to. “Father? Father!” Kirren looked worried. The squirrel looked up. Kirren turned to Anghan. “Take the blindness away!” Anghan’s paw flicked, and the prisoner’s eyes became clear again. Kirren looked closely at the squirrel. “Lower the Lash’s image.”
It looked as if a curtain fell away, as the visage dropped, and Kirren looked again. “This . . . this isn’t him!” Tears started to build in his eyes. The squirrel looked at him strangely, then at the trio.
“Well, are ye going to untie these leather straps, or are ye just going to stand there looking around like befuddled birds?” the prisoner asked. “I prayed for hours, and ye seem to be the answer. Unless, of course, ye don’t want to. Kirren, lad, don’t ye remember the face o’ yer old dad?”
Kirren
“Father?” Kirren said uncertainly. The squirrel rolled his eyes. He motioned towards the cuffs on his wrists, and Anghan ran around to undo them. When he was free, he stood up and hugged Kirren.
“Of course I’m your father!” he laughed. “Do ye need proof? Here, I’ve got some! Or . . . did somebeast tell ye? Oh, no matter.” His right paw lit up in white flame, then his left.
The older squirrel glanced around the semicircle of creatures. “Ye don’t look surprised.” Kirren and his friends started laughing. “What is it?” the baffled Ferras asked. Kirren, with tears of joy streaming down his face, slapped his arms around his father.
“Father, I can’t believe it’s you! I love you so much!” he cried. He took a step back. “Do you really want to know why we’re laughing?”
“Yes, of course I do!” He looked at the other chuckling creatures. “Who are these?”
Kirren grinned. Anghan’s paw lit up with blue flame, and he encircled his body in the fire. Ferras gaped. Lilian’s paws each illuminated, and she created a pair of glowing swords. Ferras’ eyes grew huge.
And when Kirren’s arms and chest started to burn with the same white fire in Ferras’ paws, Kirren thought that his father was going to burst. “Ye mean . . .” Ferras started, then paused. “All three of ye are prophets?” They nodded. “I must learn ye’r names!”
“Father, my name is Kirren Barkleaf, Voice of the Forever,” Kirren began.
Anghan continued. “My name, sir, is Anghan Silverfur, Forever’s Sight.” Ferras shook the wolf’s paw heartily.
Lilian stepped forward next, smiling. Ferras bowed at the strange sight of her light. “I am Lilian Barkleaf, Forever’s Purity and husband of your son.”
Ferras turned to Kirren. “I have a new daughter? I am so behind!” He chuckled, then enveloped Lilian in another hug. “How long have ye --” He was interrupted by the sound of one of the rats starting to revive. “Quick, let’s get out of here!” He jumped up, and dashed towards the entrance, followed closely by his son, daughter-in-law, and Anghan.
Once they were outside, Kirren called Lightning to him. Ferras stepped back, startled. “What’s that?” he asked. Thunder and Cason joined them. “And what are those?”
“This is Lightning, my Lancewing riding bird,” Kirren explained. “That’s Thunder, also a Lancewing, and Cason, a jay. Lightning, boy, this is my father.” The intelligent bird hopped over to the other Voice, looked him in the eyes, then bowed his golden head. Ferras hesitated, then bowed back. Kirren laughed, joined by Anghan.
Ferras was confused. “Whiptail let ye have those?” he asked. Kirren exchanged glances with Anghan.
“Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t, if Kirren hadn’t killed him,” Lilian said.
“Killed him?”
Kirren slapped his father’s back, and led him towards their birds. “Come, father, we need to talk. For a really, really long time; Icelen seems completely in the dark,” he chuckled. “Lightning, do you think that you can carry both of us?” The Lancewing chirped in protest. “Hm.” Ferras shook his head.
“No need. I’m not entirely without bird experience.” Ferras held one paw up in the air, then sent off a small bolt of fire that went up about two hundred feet, then exploded outwards. Kirren started to ask a question, but Ferras said, “Wait, just wait.”
About five seconds later, a huge silvery-white owl swooped down from the cloudy sky, blending in almost perfectly with its surroundings. It landed in front of Ferras and hooted. “Snowstorm, this is my son, his wife, and their friend. Say hello,” he commanded. The owl hooted again, this time towards Kirren. He laughed. Ferras hopped on the oddly positioned saddle. “So, where to, son?” Kirren looked to Lilian. She has indeed grown wiser, he thought.
Lilian mulled over the thought, then came to a decision. “As we’re on the border, I thought that we’d fly far enough away to be out of sight of these creatures, but close enough to still get a good night’s sleep.” She gestured towards the south. Ferras looked uneasy again, but followed Kirren, who flew at a medium speed in the direction that Lilian had pointed out.
Kirren was curious. How fast could these owls fly? He voiced the question to Ferras over the rushing of the wind. “You want to see? I’ll race ye!” his father yelled back. Kirren nodded. “One . . . two . . . three!” Both birds went off at top speed, leaving Anghan and Lilian far behind.
Lightning and Snowstorm stayed neck and neck for half of the time, but then Lightning started to gain. Kirren yelled back, “Done yet, dad?” Ferras laughed wildly, and Snowstorm broke into a dive, gaining speed extremely quickly, and passing the Lancewing in a matter of seconds. “No, we’re not beat that easily,” Kirren muttered, then covered his eyes with his cloak hood. “Okay, boy, as fast as you possibly can!” He pressed his right paw into the Lancewing’s neck, a command rarely used.
For a reason. Lightning screeched, then dived at a speed so hard that Ferras actually heard the bird’s wings whistling as they passed. Kirren couldn’t hear anything over the roaring of the air against his cloak and Lightning’s feathers. “Pull up, pull up!” he yelled, pressing his paw again. The bird spread his wings, and stopped so abruptly that Kirren was thrown backward, almost losing his grip on the saddle. Ferras pulled even and hovered there in front of Lightning. “Give up?” Kirren asked, grinning. Ferras nodded, his eyes wide.
“What . . . how did ye do that?” His face was so comical that Kirren almost burst with mirth.
“That is why they’re called Lancewings. Normally, they fly at about fifty or sixty miles an hour, which was what your bird was doing. However, in a dive, they can reach top speeds of two hundred miles an hour!” Ferras’ jaw dropped. That was an almost impossible speed.
Both birds circled down towards a patch of snow among some darker trees to wait for the other two. They had been going so fast that they lost sight of Kirren’s companions. After about five minutes, Lilian and Anghan appeared flying above them. “You could have warned us!” Lilian hollered down as Thunder and Cason spiraled down towards the waiting Voices.
Kirren shrugged his shoulders. “He started it.” He pointed towards his dad, who did the same to him.
“Please, Kirren, it’s always you,” Anghan chimed in. A smirk flitted over his face. His friend rolled his eyes.
Lilian interrupted with a piece of logic. “Let’s set up camp.”
Soon, they had a warm fire built and Lilian was once again making dinner, while Anghan and Kirren told the story of Evergreen’s release to Ferras. This time, with their limited resources, she managed to make a delicious vegetable broth, then tossed in some quickly rolled bread and twisted stalk dumplings. Anghan tried some. “This is really good, considering how little you had to work with,” he complimented. Lilian smiled at him. Kirren also tried some. It really was delicious!
“Lilian, I think that you might have a talent for this sort of thing!” he exclaimed. The new prophet-cum-cook took all the compliments graciously. Soon, Anghan was asking for seconds, with Kirren right behind him. Lilian ladled a generous helping into the wolf’s bowl, but stopped Kirren with her paw.
“For a second bowl, you owe me something!”
Kirren was baffled. “What?”
She pulled him in closer and kissed him once on the mouth. “This,” she whispered, and kissed him again, longer. His mind spun. Thankfully, he suspected his father was too busy eating to notice.
Then Anghan saw, and started laughing out loud, most likely because Ferras hadn’t realized what was going on right in front of him. Lilian quickly gave Kirren a large portion of the remaining soup and turned away, her tail curled in. Ferras snorted. “You thought I wasn’t watching? Save it for when you’re alone, you two.” He chuckled. “I remember when I and your mother were like that.” Meekly, Kirren nodded and moved away to eat. He walked over to Lightning to check his saddle and gear.
“You won’t say anything, will you, boy?” The bird chirped in acknowledgement. “I knew you wouldn’t. Had enough to eat?” All four birds were eating from recently replenished feedbags, but Lightning had just finished. He headbutted Kirren, then turned his head towards the saddle. “All right, let’s go on a little nighttime ride, before I have to continue explaining a bunch of stuff to my dad.” He quietly climbed onto the Lancewing’s back, then nudged Lightning’s left side. The bird flapped its wings and was soon hurtling up towards the sky. Kirren did it again, and they leveled out, far above the little light of the cooking fire.
Kirren took a firm hold of the saddle and reins, then leaned forward and rested his head on the bird’s neck. He flattened his tail, hard.
Lightning recognized the signal, and chirped gleefully. The bird then went into a series of flips, zigzags, and dives that would normally make Kirren laugh with joy and whoop, but when Lightning finished the last turn and flip . . . Kirren was weeping.
Tears streamed down his face as a flood of memories from a year ago rushed into his mind at once. His friend Slash had taught him that, shortly before he was killed in the attack on the City. Telling his father some of the story had brought up a flood of emotions, and that flight command had enhanced them. He knelt his head against Lightning’s warm body, his own shaking with sobs. He would miss Slash for as long as he lived, until the day that he joined him with the Forever. He knew that in his heart.
Sensing his master’s sorrow, Lightning gently glided down to a secluded clearing in the forest below. Kirren unclipped himself and stumbled against a tree, pain clenching at his spirit. He slumped down and sat on the ground, covering his face as even more faces rushed into his mind, of Sarcen, and all those loyal mice and other creatures who died for Evergreen and their Creator. Even more, further back, his mother came to mind, and faces that he had never seen before, visions from the Forever adding to his thoughts. Lightning laid beside the young prophet, trying to comfort him, but it didn’t help. “Forever, why are you showing these . . . th-these to me?” he stammered through his tears.
You need to learn compassion for those that you fight against, and for every other creature around you. The tears came afresh as a torrent of sounds added to the faces.
Kirren abruptly silenced himself as he heard the subtle snap of a twig. He stood up quickly, as did his flying companion. The Forever slowly tuned in the Voice’s hearing. Muttering immediately came from that direction. Servant of the Accursed, I will be the one to end you! somebeast said out loud, and not very far away. I am the one of the strongest of the Shadow’s Servants.
“Funny, that’s along the lines of what Tulrag Whiptail said right before the Forever ended his life,” Kirren called, wiping the tears from his face. A screech sounded from the bushes, then a tall silver fox jumped out, his paws blazing.
With black fire. “Oh, no,” Kirren muttered.
“Oh, yes! Never say that name again!” the fox commanded.
“Who made you my lord? Where were you when I became His servant? Where were you when he put his plans into motion? Where were you when your predecessor, Whiptail, was blasted into the Despair? I know that the name of the Forever carries power, and I will use it against those who take up arms and fire against him!” The fox’s eyes blazed, and he threw a giant black fireball towards Kirren. Kirren’s fire swirled up and extinguished it.
Now Kirren held up his fiery paws, and an almost visible blast of beautiful sound sped towards the fox. He put up a wall of pure darkness; the sound bounced right off. From the wall, two dark creatures leapt at Kirren. He blew one apart, then the other scored a direct hit on his chest, slicing it open. Kirren’s fire blasted it into oblivion, but the damage had been done. The Voice fell to the ground in agony. “Anghan! Father!” he screamed. “Lilian!” The fox prepared for another blast of dark fire, but Kirren stumbled to his feet again, releasing another wave of sound. The fox’s ears were blown back, and he clutched them in obvious pain. Kirren and he both took a moment to recover, then the fox looked back up.
“Had enough?” he asked, rasping. Kirren shook his head.
“Never! Forever!” The fox snarled, and more fire spilled from his claws, but before he could throw any, a ball of blue fire exploded through the trees and blasted it from the Nightmare.
Anghan and Lilian dashed out of the trees, then Ferras a few seconds later. All three of them were blazing. Lilian drew back on a bright arrow on a glowing string. “Leave now!” she commanded. The fox took a step back, but growled still and threw a fireball towards Ferras. The older squirrel sidestepped it. Lilian let go of the arrow.
Before the Nightmare could do anything, the shining missile entered his body and passed through, making sparks where it entered. He screeched, collapsing as his fire diminished. “Curse you! Curse . . . !” he screamed. Ferras’ beam of white fire blew him, smoking, into a nearby pine tree before he could finish his tirade. The Nightmare collapsed on the ground.
Anghan ran over to see if the fox was still alive and conscious, but Lilian and Ferras dashed to Kirren’s side: the younger Voice had fallen to one knee again. He clutched his chest tightly.
Suddenly, Kirren couldn’t see right. Darkness was creeping in at the edges of his sight, and what he could see was misty. His chest sent darts of pain flaring through his nervous system. “Lilian! Father! Forever!” he screamed, his paws convulsing horribly.
Through the pain, he faintly heard Lilian ordering his father to hold him down, and her paws prying his own apart. In a matter of seconds, he felt himself succumb to the nature of his wound.
Lilian
Lilian was panicking as she watched the one she loved most in the world slipping away. His breathing was coming in rapid, short bursts, his muscles were tensing and bunching up, and his eyes were shut tightly, contorting his face grotesquely. “What’s wrong? What happened? Ferras, what’s going on? Don’t let go, hold him down!” Lilian cried. She tore at Kirren’s paws, until finally, they started to budge. “Anghan, leave that vermin! Come help me!” she commanded, sweating.
“Kirren! What’s wrong with him?!” Kirren’s best friend yelled, grabbing the injured prophet’s paws between his, and yanking them apart. Lilian gasped.
Dark red blood oozed out of her husband’s tunic, staining it quickly. The wound was already lined by black crusted blood. Something dark was drifting out of the wound, like shadowed smoke. Lilian waved her paw through it. It was cold.
“I can’t help this!” she sobbed. “What do we do?” Ferras shook his head.
“I’ve never seen something like this. But I know somebeast who could help.” He picked up his son, holding him close to stop him from moving around. “Come on! Hurry! Follow me!” Still holding Kirren, he jumped on Snowstorm and took off without bothering to clip in. Without Kirren near her, Lilian started breathing as quickly as her husband and ran to Thunder.
“Go, girl, hurry! Now!” Thunder blasted into the air, followed by Cason, and Lightning, who was screeching like a crazy creature.
That night was terrifying, exhausting, and hectic all at once. Lilian felt her emotions warring inside her for control of her mind, and tears streamed down her face until she had no more to cry. After that, all she could think was, Save Kirrren. Save Kirren. Save Kirren.
Finally, they landed in what looked like another white clearing. Lilian stumbled from her saddle, and . . . promptly fell in the snow, asleep.
*****
She woke up again to somecreature shaking her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open. “What the . . . where am I?” she cried. Her head hurt. A white-furred fox was standing above her, holding a bowl of . . . something. He held it out for her to take it, which she did hesitantly. Lilian looked inside. It seemed to be some sort of porridge, or oatmeal, or something. “Where am I?” she asked again.
“You’re at Capton, milady,” he replied, stepping back. His eyes looked somewhat fearful. “Capital of Icelen.” She was in a white-walled room, the sides lined by large windows. Glancing down, Lilian noticed that her legs and paws were loosely tied down to a metal cot. She pulled at the cords, straining her limbs until her forepaws slipped from the loops.
“Why am I strapped to this bed?” she asked. He backed away again, closer to the door.
“You . . . went mad. We had to sedate you before you hurt somebeast or yourself.” His paw touched the latch behind him. “You were screaming for Karen, or some other beast . . .”
“Kirren? Kirren! Where is he?” she exclaimed, looking around frantically, all the events of the night before coming back at once. She started to remove the chains binding her footpaws to the cot, but they were locked in place by a large padlock. “Let me go!” The fox shouted for help and dashed out the door. Lilian summoned a shaft of light, fit it into the lock, and pulled it out. It was in the exact shape of a key. She pressed it in again, twisted, and watched lock fall away. The other chains came off easily.
Lilian launched herself from her bed through the door. Yells came from her right, so the squirrelmaid ran down the hallway on her left. “Forever? What’s going on?” she muttered. A series of images popped into her mind telling her where to run. “Okay . . . turn here!” She skidded around a corner. Lilian narrowly avoided smashing into a maidservant, and directed her footpaws in another direction. “Here . . . oh, no!” A huge door blocked her way, and the shouting from behind was coming ever closer.
Frantically, the squirrelmaid looked around her. There! Another smaller door was swinging closed slowly, presumably leading into the same room. A quick burst of solid light held it open for another moment as she dashed in through, then closed it quietly behind her.
As she had thought, Ferras stood there beside a bed on which Kirren writhed, still in obvious pain. “Lilian! What are you doing here? I thought they locked you up! You were in some sort of extremely violent shock!” Lilian shook her head, and rushed to her husband’s side. His eyes were open, but fully dilated and bloodshot. His exposed chest showed an even worse wound, the wound still oozing out in pus-like waves, and black spreading through the torn flesh.
“What . . . what happened? Kirren!” Kirren stilled momentarily, then kept twisting.
“Lilian! Keep talking to him while the medics here try to figure out what’s wrong with him! Your voice soothes him,” Ferras ordered. Lilian started humming softly as Ferras rushed off. Kirren slowed his convulsions, and soon, his eyes were closed as well. Lilian kissed his forehead. He smiled softly, and she kept humming and praying.
It was two hours of humming and kissing Kirren into peacefulness before Ferras returned, bringing with him a short, wrinkled hedgehog. The older squirrel gently moved Lilian’s tearstained face from Kirren with his paw and pointed her towards the hedgehog. “Lilian, this is Harke Lundir. She knows everything there is to know about healing, and is a devout follower of the Forever,” he whispered in her ear. She nodded and stood aside for Harke to move closer to Kirren.
“Oh, that’s a nasty wound, aye,” the ancient hedgehog mumbled. “Need hot water . . .” She suddenly leapt back, startled, and crashed into Lilian. Kirren was screaming again, his face contorted into horrible gestures. Harke righted herself with some difficulty, then glanced at Ferras and Lilian. “Ferras? Ye didn’t say anythin’ about this.” Her old grey eyes were wide. “This is serious. I don’t know what I kin do,” she added. Lilian choked down a sob.
Kirren’s mouth came apart, then together again, then apart. His teeth clenched and unclenched. “F . . . For . . . ev . . . Arrgh!” he stammered. “Angh . . . an! Help!” Ferras was puzzled, the confusement in contention with the furious worry in his face.
Lilian spun. “Where’s Anghan? Get him here right now!” Ferras signaled another medic. The fox nodded and rushed out of the room, obviously glad to be gone. Lilian rushed back to Kirren’s side, and the young Voice was instantly soothed. “Sh, honey, it’s okay,” she whispered. His face calmed. “I’m here . . . your father’s here . . . the Forever is here . . .” Kirren’s black eyes snapped open again, and he yelled. “Forever!” she said again after a moment. Kirren screeched again. “By the Forever’s name, be silent!” she finally yelled, directed by her Father’s words in her mind.
Kirren’s voice went quiet. Ferras looked at his son strangely, in a way that scared Lilian. “I think . . . oh, my son!” He rushed to Kirren’s side as well. “His mind is being infected with the poison of that Nightmare!” The tears that he’d been holding back as a strong father came welling up and falling down his face, onto his clothes, and dripping to the floor.
*****
About twenty minutes later, Anghan rushed into the infirmary. “Oh, Forever, what’s wrong with him?” he exclaimed. Lilian was too overwhelmed to say anything, and she just pointed. “My woods . . .” His deep voice trailed off. “We . . . need to . . . pray,” he choked out. Lilian looked at his silvery eyes and immediately saw that he must know more than he was letting on about the wound. They looked . . . scared.
Quickly, Lilian put this out of her mind and started begging her Creator furiously to show her what to do. Not two seconds later, he spoke in her head. I’m always just waiting for you to ask. A series of images bombarded her consciousness. “Kirren . . . !” she gasped, but turned to Anghan nonetheless. “Sit him up.” The strong wolf held the convulsing squirrel tightly and raised his upper body towards Lilian. The Purity took a very deep, long, shaky breath, wiping away the rest of her tears with the back of her paw. “Kirren!” Her husband whipped his head towards her, bloodshot eyes searching frantically. “By Forever’s name, be still!” He immediately stilled.
“By the authority given me as a child of the Forever . . .” Lilian started. Kirren started to scream, but Anghan held his mouth shut. “I command you to come out of him!” Kirren’s limbs hardened and thrashed around, catching Anghan one in the jaw, but the wolf stoically held fast. Black smoke started oozing out of the chest wound.
“No . . . stop . . . aargh!” Kirren’s jaw clenched tightly. He shook his head. “No . . . get it out! It hurts . . .” The smoke sped up, taking the form of a black hound, almost running from Lilian’s commanding voice, but still seeming reluctant and snarling at all the creatures around it.
Lilian drew a pattern in the air. Her eyes drooped closed as she let the Forever’s will take over her actions, light pouring from her paws. In front of her soon glowed an intricate cross. The hound started to whine, its smokey shape twisting away from the bright shine. Lilian focused, and the cross shot towards Kirren, shattering over his body and the black surrounding it. The smoke vanished, and Kirren drooped in Anghan’s arms. He was asleep.
Harke’s eyes grew wider and wider. She opened her mouth to say something . . . then collapsed in Ferras’ arms. The ancient hedgehog had also fainted. Anghan wiped his brow. “This squirrel is very, very strong!” he muttered. Lilian felt tears of relief slipping down her own face. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then, “A cross?”
*****
Lilian walked out with Ferras. “Where are we?” she asked. “I know we’re at Capton, but where is that? And what happened?” The older squirrel took her shoulders and pointed her in the direction of her dormitory.
“When Kirren started acting strangely, we flew towards the far north, where we are now. Capton is at the northernmost tip of Icelen. By the time we landed, Thunder was practically dragging you by your safety strap. I had to have the guards carry you in to your dormitory. When they set you down, you woke up and went . . . well, mad. One of the soldiers had to knock you unconscious, and you obviously remember that.” Lilian nodded and rubbed her head. “After that, you know the rest. Understand?” She nodded again, but there was one more thing that was on her mind.
“You seem to carry some authority here. Why? Why is that?” She felt like he had kept something from them. He shuffled his paws awkwardly, which would have been almost comical from an older creature like him if Lilian weren’t as deadly serious as she was.
“I . . . I may or may not be on the Icelenic Council,” he finally mumbled. Lilian was startled. “I know, that’s not what you expected, but it’s what the Forever commanded, I promise!” Lilian was too surprised to say anything. She just let Ferras keep talking.
“It was some years ago. Kirren was very young, then, maybe ten years old? Never mind. Well, one day, Whiptail sent a small group of arsonists and mercenaries to kill us: my own father had fought against the rat. They came into our house, and started a fire, herding us outside into a little group. I didn’t know what I could fully do yet, just my enhanced senses, so I didn’t know how to fight back. But when I did see a chance, I took it, and tackled a weasel. I grabbed his sword. With my body, I shielded Kirren and his mother, and fought back against the evil things; there were over a score. I had no chance. But at the last second, I cried, ‘Forever! Help me!’ And, of course, he did.
“All I know is that I saw a blazing white light, and then I was standing in a bright white field, covered in snow. I collapsed to the ground. When I awoke once more, a pair of kind little field mice had taken me into their house.
“I spent a few days with them, as they nursed my wounds and back to health. During this time, I spent hours speaking with the Forever. He eventually told me to go to Capton. Somecreature pulled some strings, and the Forever had me as a positive influence in the Icelenic Council,” he finished.
Still, Lilian didn’t say anything. Ferras turned back to her.
The stress, tension, and shock had all conspired to put her straight to sleep. She lay on the floor, breathing heavily. “Poor girl,” he whispered. Gallantly, Kirren’s father picked her up and carried her down the hall towards her room. Her breathing momentarily sped up. Even in her sleep, Ferras noticed that she looked ready for anything. “Brave girl!” he added.
She was running. Hard. Something ahead of her ran from her. Even further, in front of that, Kirren’s voice was coming from a bedraggled creature that was stumbling along a dusty road. A wave of black chased him, catching up to him and nipping at his weary heels. “No!” Lilian screamed.
Suddenly, her footpaws were aided in their journey, and she passed the black and dashed in front of it. “Stop!” she commanded, and threw herself at it. Kirren yelled, “Please, no! Not her!”
Then she woke up. Her body jumped forward, sitting up and sweating furiously. All around her it was dark, but she could see a crack near her where the moonlight poured through. It was a window shutter. Lilian staggered from her bed and jammed her paws into the crack, wrenching the window open frantically. It wasn’t enough light. Gold and silver flared from her body, instantly filling the room.
Lilian sighed in relief. She hated the dark. Too much of it, with that nightmare alongside, terrified her. “That was . . . horrible,” she whispered. “Forever? What was that?”
That was what Kirren suffered before you and I helped him, and what he dreams of now. Lilian’s paw flew to her mouth. “Kirren! Oh, my love!” She jumped out of her bed and took off out the door in nothing but a nightgown and slippers. The light in her room disappeared, taking after her in a blazing stream. No, that wouldn’t do. She focused, but it became a little creature running beside her. The light grew smaller. Much better, she thought, and pause in her relentless flight to bend down and ruffle the little light-thing on what she thought was the head.
Finally, she reached the end of the hall where the infirmary was located. She and Light-Bug (she had hurriedly named it as she ran) burst through the door. Fortunately, it was unlocked.
As the Forever had told her, Kirren lay in an obvious nightmare on his cot. Nocreature else was in sight. He was alone in his suffering, his fur glistening with sweat. Lilian lit up the entire room, but kept Light-Bug by her side, and fell down beside Kirren. “Kirren! Wake up! Kirren!” Kirren’s eyelids fluttered, but stayed closed.
“Lilian . . . Anghan, father! No! Stay away from them! Get back!” He raised his arms, and his body jumped beneath the sweat-soaked sheets.
Kirren
He was still running, throwing fire behind him. It did nothing. “No . . .” he gasped, recognizing the darkness. It had come right before he almost died by Whiptail’s flames. “No!” he screamed. He heard it echo . . . and again. That wasn’t an echo. He chanced a look back: Lilian was diving into the black, pushing it back. “No! Not her, please!” he begged. Then others followed her, and his father! “No! Lilian . . . Anghan, father! No! Stay away from them! Get back!” He stood still, then crossed his arms in front of him and slammed into the dark fire. “NO MORE!” he screamed. Fire . . . blue fire? . . . erupted from his heart, enveloping the black and crushing it.
He charged up for one more blast, but, like last time, nothing came!
“Kirren! Wake up! Kirren!” His eyes snapped open. Lilian sat over him, literally filling the room with light. A weird little light-creature hopped around next to her. “Kirren! Oh, Kirren!” Lilian burst into sobs and hugged his neck. He gripped her tightly to himself.
“What’s the matter? It was only a bad dream,” he said. She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes.
“You weren’t . . . w-weren’t yourself! The N-N-Nightmare . . .!” she stammered. Kirren pulled her closer.
“It’s all right. I’m here. It’s all right,” he murmured, stroking her headfur. The light-creature jumped up on Lilian’s lap, nuzzling her face and chirping. “Who’s this?” Kirren asked in surprise. Lilian laughed softly through her tears. “And where are we?”
“This is Light-Bug. I was scared for you, and he just appeared beside me. I meant to make him into a lamp, but now I can’t get rid of him. So, we have a new pet! Oh, and we’re at Capton, capital of Icelen,” she added. Kirren thought about this for a moment.
“Does he need feeding?”
“I have no idea. And, no, I don’t think he needs to sleep, I don’t know if he can dim his light, and I’m not sure exactly what he is.” Kirren snickered. Apparently, she had anticipated all his questions . . . all but one.
“Does he wet the carpet?”
Lilian could never help bursting out into giggles at something like that, Kirren knew. “Of course not, you silly furball of a handsome squirrel!” She kissed him on the mouth. Somehow, she managed to transfer her laughter that way, and soon Kirren was chuckling too. It felt good to laugh. He hadn’t laughed for days. Why hadn’t he? No matter. He was now.
Lilian hugged him again. The two, and Light-Bug, sat there for another two minutes, before somebeast knocked on the infirmary door. Kirren exchanged a glance with his wife. “Who could that be? We don’t know anycreature here,” he whispered.
Council
Kirren stood and crept to the door. He heard Lilian coming up behind him. Silently, he reached out towards the wooden double door . . . then smacked the wooden door at about eye level, hard enough to startle anyone with their ear against it. Sure enough, he could hear a surprised -- but young? -- cry, and somecreature stumbling onto the stone floor. Lilian whipped the door open.
A little squirrelbabe was on the floor, sucking her thumb quietly. She looked up at Lilian, then Kirren, then smiled sweetly. “Big Brother Kiwen! Ms. Lilian!” she whispered excitedly. She didn’t look any older than two or three years. Kirren’s eyes grew wide.
“What did you say?” he asked. Lilian silenced him with a glare, then turned to the adorable little thing and picked her up.
“My mommy say’d that you kin wead my mind,” she suddenly murmured, shying away from them in Lilian’s arms. “Is dat twue?” Lilian looked at Kirren.
“No, of course not!” he said hurriedly. “Um . . . who is your mommy? And daddy?”
“F . . . Fewas Barkleaf and Jana Barkleaf, but my weal Daddy is Fowever,” she said after a moment of comic concentration. Lilian looked at Kirren again, confused.
*****
“Why? Why did you not tell me these things before?” Kirren demanded. His father stood a few feet away, behind a desk in a large room, groggy-eyed. He looked at his son guiltily, but couldn’t hold his furious gaze, and turned away.
“I know, son, I should have told you before. I should have told you that I was on the Council. I should have told you that I remarried. I should have told you that you had a little sister, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t know how you would react!” he said defensively. Kirren just stood there, staring at him with piercing eyes. Ferras was holding something back.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he questioned further. “What are you not telling me?” Ferras sighed, and looked up at the ceiling of his office.
“Jana hates prophets.”
“What?! How? She’s married to one!” Kirren exploded. Somewhere in his subconscious, he heard Anghan telling him to control his temper, but didn’t care. “What do you mean, she hates prophets?”
“Just that. She hates prophets, she’s terrified of them. And, well . . . she divorced me by Icelen law when she found out that I was one, lumping me in with all the false ones: that’s what she grew up with, and wouldn’t put up with it in her home,” his father murmured, bending his head. Kirren’s heart immediately softened, and he cleared his throat.
“Oh . . . I’m sorry,” he stammered awkwardly. He didn’t exactly know what to say. A thought occurred to him. “Um, on another note, what do we do with her?” Behind him stood Lilian, holding the little squirrelbabe. She hugged Lilian around the neck, holding on tightly.
“Oh, little Kaytlen? Well, that’s her realy name, but everybeast calls her Kay.” Ferras walked over and took her from Lilian, with a little prying. “I’ll take her back to her mother.” Kay shook her head, and reached for Kirren, latching herself onto his shoulders. Ferras let her stay there.
“My mommy say’d dat I can’t come back,” she mumbled sleepily. “She be’d scared dat I kin read her mind.” Ferras’ eyes widened, then got angry.
“She did what?!” he exploded, then turned and stalked out the door. Kirren turned to Lilian.
“What do we do with Kay?” She shrugged. The baby squirrel had fallen asleep in Kirren’s arms. He looked down at the peaceful child, then made up his mind. “Well, I’m not letting her go back to a mother like that. She can’t be more than two years old!” He looked around. Obviously, it was still the middle of the night. “Where’s your room in this place?”
“On the other side of the . . . castle, I guess.” The beautiful squirrelmaid led her husband down a few halls, then through a doorway into the dormitory that she’d presumably been staying in. Kirren carried his newly discovered baby sister in, found an extra blanket in the corner, and wrapped the precious little creature up in it, placing her in the center of the bed as he did so. Lilian stripped the sweat-soaked blankets from the other side, and grabbed another clean, dry one from the corner by Light-Bug’s lamp.
“Light-Bug, put that out, please,” Lilian mumbled, stifling a yawn of her own. Light-Bug disappeared. Not even questioning that, Kirren flopped down beside Kay. Lilian laid down on the other side. Underneath the dry, warm blanket, the two exhausted squirrels fell fast asleep.
Kirren was woken, startled, by little Kay bouncing up and down on the bed next to him. She was a very happy child. The sun streamed through the window, hitting the right side of Kirren’s peaceful face. Lilian groaned and flipped the blanket over her head. Fully awake by this time, though, her husband was not going to let her pass up a joyful time like this. “Come on, up with you,” he murmured, and pulled the blanket from her face. She glared up at him.
She couldn’t stay angry for long, though. Kay jumped on her, wrapped her arms around Lilian’s neck, and looked her straight in the eyes, as solemnly as her tiny face could look. “Gotta get up, big sister,” she ordered. Kirren burst out laughing.
“You’ve got do what she says, Lilian! She’s the boss around these parts,” he chuckled.
Lilian grumbled somewhat, then sat up in the bed and held Kay. “Light-Bug?” she called. The bouncy little creature appeared again. Kirren’s eyes widened: the thing was green! “Jump on Kirren’s head for me, will you?” Lilian ordered. The green light-thing bounced onto the bed and then onto Kirren’s face, knocking him back into the pillows.
“Aah! Get off, you . . .” Instantly puzzled about something, he sat up with no difficulty. Light-Bug didn’t actually weigh anything. “What is he? He looks like a colorful blob with legs.”
Lilian’s eyebrows creased. “I actually have no idea. Light-Bug? What in the world are you?” The little thing was still trying to perch on Kirren’s head and completely ignored her. “Light-Bug, down!” He flopped back down on the bed, letting Kirren do the same. Light-Bug stared up at Lilian hopefully.
Kay was staring at Light-Bug with an open mouth. Then she gave a squeal of excitement and wrapped her little arms around the creature. He rubbed what Kirren assumed was his face against her little nose, and Kay fell back against the covers, humming to herself happily. “Well . . . looks like your pet’s found a new best friend!” Kirren exclaimed. Lilian smiled, somewhat grudgingly, and slipped out of the bed, dragging a blanket with her. “What . . .” She yawned. “What is there to eat in this place? I’m starving! All I’ve had to eat for the past day and a half was a bowl of oatmeal that I never finished, and I’ve barely left this room. In fact, I’ve barely seen anybody.”
Kirren thought for a moment. “Well, we know the way to my father’s chambers, so we’ll go find him. Or, we could go look at the infirmary,” he reasoned.
“I know where to get bweakfast!” Kay exclaimed. She was a bouncy little thing.
Lilian got down on her knees on the bed. “Where? Could you show us?” she asked with a smile on her face that could light up the whole room. Kay nodded, then tumbled off the bed and started for the door.
Following the little speeding creature, Lilian and Kirren dashed around corners, up stairs, and through many doorways. Since it was early in the morning, only a few guards were on duty, and they took no notice of the squirrels -- presumably on Ferras’ orders.
Finally, Kay skidded to a stop, crashing through a door into a small side kitchen. Only one young server was there, also a squirrelmaid. She jumped back from the crashing door. As she did so, a freshly baked pie flew out of her paws towards the sink nearby that was full of water. “Oh, nae!” she exclaimed in astonishment.
Lilian was quick to help. The solid light flashed from her paws in a river of gold, picking the pie right out of the air and placing it in the server’s paws again. Notwithstanding this, Kay ran up to the stunned worker’s side and pulled at her apron strings.
“Mayb’ll, my big bwother and sister are hungwy!” she whispered confidentially. Maybell nodded shakily and stumbled over to a cupboard, obviously terrified. Lilian walked softly over to her.
“It’s all right. My husband and I don’t serve the Foul One,” she whispered. Maybell looked at her now, suspiciously.
“Ye’re sure? Ye ken, we hae’nt got a mere dram o’ them de’il servin’ demons!” she stammered. Lilian nodded. Maybell breathed a hesitant sigh of relief. She turned to Kirren with a fresh beaming smile on her face, pulling out two new tarts. “‘Ere ye are!” Of course, Kirren had no questions as to the sudden attitude change. He’d heard it all from straight across the room. He chuckled to himself. No, he shouldn’t use his senses like that, but . . . sometimes, he couldn’t help himself.
Kay clapped her tiny paws. “T’ank you, Mayb’ll!” she squealed happily as the kind young squirrelmaid gave the little babe a small pastry of her own.
Kirren and Lilian both took seats at a little table in the corner, quickly demolishing their food. Both of them were very hungry, having not eaten for a day or two. When they were finished, Lilian took off the blanket and folded it neatly, smoothing out her night-gown as she did so. “What now?” she asked Kirren.
Her husband was baffled. “I don’t know . . . Kay?” He turned to his little sister. The baby squirrel looked up from her miniature breakfast. “Do you know the way from here to where Daddy is?” She nodded, her tiny cheeks stuffed with food. “Can you show us?” She nodded again, hugged Maybell, and dashed out the door. Lilian started to her feet and followed Kay, swinging the door wide open, right in front of Kirren. “We need to find Anghan!”
“Thank ye fer comin’!” Maybell called after them, but her voice was drowned out in the drumming of their footpaws against the stonework that made up the place. She sighed. “Nobeast ne’er appreciates guid cookin’.”
“Father, why are we still here?” Kirren asked Ferras, once again across the desk from him.
“I’m fighting something here, I told you!” Ferras paced back and forth like a caged Lancewing. This reminded Kirren of Lightning.
“What are we doing here? What are you fighting? Where are our birds? What do we do about Kay? What in the world can Forever possibly meant by sending us here?” Kirren cried. Behind him, Anghan placed a paw on Kirren’s shoulder, but the Voice ignored it and shrugged it off.
“I need your help!” Ferras yelled back. “These Nightmares are overrunning the Council and I don’t know what to do! I don’t know why you’re still here, I don’t know where your birds are! I don’t know where these false prophets are coming from, I’ve had to hide my identity. Here, I’m Jon Firewyrm, Council member and presumably a servant of the Shadow!” He stood head to head with his son, both with fists clenched and fire in their eyes.
Tears threatened to fall from Kirren’s eyes, and he finally looked away in shame. “I’m sorry, father . . . I’m just confused, and angry, and I don’t know what happened.” Ferras took his son in his arms, and the two Voices held tightly to each other.
Kirren had an idea. “Lilian! What should we do?” Ferras looked at him strangely, then bent down and whispered in his son’s ear, “Ye’re askin’ yer wife?”
“Yes, of course, she’s been given the gift of wisdom,” the younger squirrel muttered back. Ferras shrugged, but still looked confused. Kirren ignored this, as Lilian was talking.
“Who leads the Council? Is he a Nightmare?” She paused, thinking.
“His name is Jennter Mc’Kallen. I don’t believe that he’s a prophet of any sort, but he is being controlled and presumably blackmailed by the others. The Nightmares are led by -- believe it or not -- a mouse, called Fallyne Anjyl. Strange name, isn’t it?”
Lilian let out a small gasp of air, barely audible, and whipped her head around towards Anghan, behind Kirren. “Quick, I need to know something. Was was the last vision you had? Not the last one you can understand, the last series of images that went through your head.”
Anghan started. “How did you know? Never mind, dumb question. Let me show you . . .” He walked up to the Purity and placed his large paw on her temple and Kirren’s.
Kirren felt himself falling into something like a dream, his eyes glazing over.
*****
He stood in a dark room, with only a small green lantern for any light. Dark creatures scurried through the shadows. Their eyes were green, just as the lantern. One stood up in the circle of light. It was just a rat, so Kirren wasn’t worried.
He did start getting nervous as a whole group of animals stood up behind the rat. “Anghan? Where are you?” he murmured. He lit up a paw to see better. The rat and his comrades stepped back, hissing softly. “Oh, you don’t like that? How about this?” Kirren challenged. His body lit up with flames. This time, though, the rat stayed put. His paws darkened with black fire, followed by the paws of all the others.
“He is a Voice. He must perish.” The chant came from the Nightmares’ mouths in a monotone voice. “He is a Voice. He must perish. He is a Voice, he must . . .”
Kirren interrupted. “Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to move?”
The Nightmares took a step towards him in unison, and held out their paws. A wave of black rushed towards the prophet, followed by another vision.
This time, he was underwater. Again. For the second time in his life, he was before that sea creature with the huge eye. This time, though, the dark scales were replaced with white scales, and the eye was blue. The eye stared at him, somehow understanding and comprehensive without speech. In just a few more seconds, the image went away and Kirren was somewhere else.
This time, he had no idea where he was. None at all. It was a large plain, beside a stone pillar. Two white foxes, dressed in silver and white, were fighting against a large army of . . . huge, immense monsters. They were terrifying, and their eyes were red. White fur obscured by black armor, and they carried gigantic battle axes. In fact, they were smaller but similar to the servant of the Forever that Kirren had seen in the battle against Tulrag Whiptail.
The foxes were blindingly white. One had streaks of silver in his fur, and both had silver eyes at the moment. Both wore silver armor, with an emblem of white engraved on it. Both carried strange swords, but they were different as well. One fox didn’t even look like a normal fox, with a longer snout and tail, taller than his companion. He carried a curved steel sword. The other wielded a black sword, thin and straight. What drew Kirren’s attention was the power surrounding them both.
The larger fox was uttering words that sounded like holy prayers, and as he finished each, a wave of power blasted out from his body and sword. White light blew back their opponents. He looked exhausted from it, and Kirren had no idea how much longer he could keep up this angelic battle.
The smaller fox was even more terrifying. He didn’t cry out at all for whoever the older fox was calling upon. His sword was covered in spiraling flames that darted out at his attackers and sheared through their weapons. The fox thrust forward, and a cylinder of light burst forth, slamming into a monster and disintegrating it.
Kirren’s mind erupted into a wave of questions. Forever? Who are they? What are these monsters they fight? Who do they call upon? Where is this?
Surprisingly, the answers came almost immediately. They are servants of mine in a distant land. The taller one is a king, and the younger my prophet in that country, though he knoweth it not. They call upon me. These creatures they fight are also my creations. A short silence followed this. Tell no one. Not even your wife.
Kirren started to protest, then kept his peace. Best not to argue with your Creator, he reasoned. He asked one more question, though. Is there any more to show me?
Yes. The young prophet was whisked away yet again. Now, though, he knew where he stood. In the center councilchamber of Capton, most likely.
Anghan stood in the central position of the room. Blue fire surrounded him, but he wasn’t controlling it at all. In fact, it seemed to moving away from his body, up towards the ceiling. A crown hovered above his head. “Anghan?” Kirren exclaimed, then his face fell as he realized his friend was part of the vision. The fire rushed faster and faster away until it was all gone. The crown lowered onto the wolf’s head, and Anghan stumbled backwards, rubbing his eyes in confusion. He flicked his paw at the floor, attempting to make a map, but nothing appeared. Kirren frowned.
Suddenly, the visions ended. Anghan took his paws away from Kirren and Lilian’s heads.
Lilian
Lilian took a step back from Anghan, trying to sort out that series of images. Her vision had ended with a shape of a cross, tall and oblong. It wasn’t perfect, like the shape of Evergreen, but one side was longer. No matter, though, she knew exactly what Forever had told her with the first part. The Shadow was making more Nightmares, enough for an army. She quickly related this to Ferras. “We need to find this Fallyne Angyl, and Jennter Mc’Kallen. The former rather than the latter. Where are they right now?” she asked.
“Presumably in their chambers, as it is rather early,” Kirren’s father responded. He spun around his desk and led the way out the door, followed immediately by Kirren, Anghan, and a worried Lilian. The Purity prayed as she walked, asking two questions. Forever? Who is Jennter Mc’Kallen? And why do you want me to speak with him?
He is a creature from another land, and he knows a way of assisting you against the Shadow. Lilian nodded, satisfied, and increased her pace until she matched strides with Anghan. “Do you know what the last image meant? With you and the fire?” she asked. She had so many questions today.
Anghan shook his head, obviously nervous. “I don’t know, but I don’t really like it all that much,” he answered shakily. That vision jarred him, Lilian noted. She had another sudden thought.
“I know what will make you feel better!” she exclaimed. “Light-Bug! Come here, boy!” Instantly, the little creature appeared at Anghan’s side. The wolf jumped, startled, then grinned at the jumpy little thing.
“Who’s this? A new addition to the family?” he laughed. Light-Bug made a small barking noise and bounced onto Anghan’s shoulder, turning bright pink as he did. “He doesn’t weigh a thing!”
“I know! He just appeared last night, and I presume he was sent by the Forever.” The pink bug bounced up and down on Anghan’s head as if nodding.
In a few more minutes, they’d reached the end of a hallway, followed by an open door. “Fallyne’s in there, I believe,” Ferras muttered, stepping closer to the door. “Better let me go first.” He hesitatingly walked into the chamber, where a mouse sat reading in a comfortable chair. The mouse was of black fur, and slightly taller than Dango Freebeast. A servant stood by the door on either side. Kirren followed his father, then Lilian. “Fallyne? I have some guests who wished to speak with you,” Ferras announced, then moved his mouth slightly. Kirren’s ears perked, and he nodded.
Lilian murmured something, too. “What did he say?” Kirren backed up to his wife, leaned over, and whispered back.
“Hide our prophetic abilities.” Then her husband stepped up to his father’s side to nod at Fallyne. “Mr. Angyl, we would like to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?”
“Aye, I mind something,” the mouse said in -- surprisingly -- a wonderfully beautiful voice. It must help him in the Council, Lilian reasoned. “I mind the way you greet a Councilmember. Do you not bow?” Fallyne continued.
Lilian prayed for a split second. Forever? A mental nudge pushed her forward. “No, Councilmember, we bow not. ‘Tis the conduct of our country, if you’ll excuse it. May we speak now, if you please?” she continued. Fallyne sighed, then nodded and put down the scroll he’d been examining. “Thank you. Kirren?” She nodded to her fiance.
Kirren sat before Fallyne, now on his level. “Mr. Angyl, whom do you serve?” he started. Strange tactic to jump right into it, Lilian thought, but effective. It had caught Angyl off guard.
Fallyne stammered, then composed himself and replied, “My country, if nothing else, of course. Whom do you serve?”
Kirren couldn’t reply, but Lilian had seen it coming. “We serve the continent of Evergreen, if it is any of your concern. We seek the good of our people. That is why we helped change the government of our country! Very clean job of it, too, don’t you think?”
Fallyne laughed. “Yes, indeed! A job well done. We were getting tired of Whiptail’s dictatorship and arrogancy. You must tell me about it someday!” He paused, and Lilian caught a sign of something flashing through his eyes; anger, perhaps. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared. “On another note, why might you be here? You aren’t planning on killing the entire Council, are you?” He laughed again, but this time with a slight nervous inflection.
Lilian shook her head. “Oh, of course not! Now, if you’ll answer another question, we’ll be on our way. Might you send your servants away?” Fallyne gave his consent, and all the servants in the room walked out, closing the door as they went. Anghan subtly walked over to the chamber entrance and slid the lock over. Fallyne didn’t notice.
Kirren leaned over and got in Fallyne’s face. “Mr. Angyl.” He paused, then lowered his voice. “Why serve you the Shadow?”
Fallyne leaped out of the chair and backed into a corner, taking a breath to cry for help, but Kirren’s paw covered his mouth in an instant. “Are you, or are you not, leader of the Nightmares here? Are you one yourself?” Fallyne shook his head, panicked. Lilian looked into his eyes.
“He’s telling the truth, love. Let him go. Only,” she added to Fallyne, “if you promise not to scream.” Fallyne nodded frantically, and Kirren took his paw away. The mouse gasped for air. “What are you?” Lilian questioned further.
“Only a lesser servant! I am of no use to you, I am only their spokesbeast! I promise!” Lilian looked into his eyes once more. He was still telling the truth.
Anghan broke into the conversation. “Who is, then? You must know. Tell us,” he ordered. “By Forever’s name.” Fallyne’s eyes widened, and he started breathing quickly. A strangled gasp escaped him.
“Don’t . . . say that word . . .” he managed. “I’ll tell you, just . . . don’t say it again! It’s evil, it is! The leader is Jennter Mc’Kallen, I promise once again!” Anghan nodded, satisfied, and turned to open the door, followed by Kirren and Ferras.
Lilian saw Fallyne’s muscles bunch up. The mouse must have thought she was no threat. Fallyne’s paw ignited in black flames, and a fireball flew towards the door, blasting it open. “Guards!” he screamed. Lilian reacted quickly, light bursting from her paws and slamming into Fallyne, knocking him back, but it was too late. A score of guards rushed into the room. All carried some sort of hollow staff . . .
At the same time, four of the guards raised the blowpipes to their mouth and shot darts into the necks of Kirren, Anghan, Ferras, and Lilian before they could react.
*****
Lilian woke up, groggy and bleary-eyed. She sat in a black-walled cell, next to Kirren and Anghan, with no windows. There was one door to the room, and it was barred with iron. Kirren was standing in front of the door, and the bars looked hot, glowing, in fact. He’d been trying to burn through them. “Kirren? What wrong with that door?” she asked after rubbing her eyes. “And . . . where’s your father?”
Kirren turned to her, and she noticed that his face was streaked with tears, his eyes red. “They took him. What are they doing to him?!” he screamed, fury shaking his body. A cry of pain echoed from down the hallway outside their cell. Kirren’s eyes widened, and his paws lit again. The squirrel slammed his enflamed body into the cell door. Once, twice.
Finally, he gave up and curled up on the ground, covering his ears as another yell erupted from the doorway. “Father, father,” Kirren murmured. Lilian scooted over to comfort him. Anghan stood and inspected the doorway. He was awake. Lilian hadn’t paid attention, but now she could see tears in his eyes as well. She felt Kirren’s falling on her paw, which was carressing his face. She made soothing sounds as she did.
Anghan had an idea. “Lilian, how hard is your light blade?” he asked. Lilian looked up at him, confused. “I mean, we’ve tried fire and sonic blasts from Kirren, so why not give it a shot?”
“I’ll try.” The squirrelmaid got up. Light flashed in her paw, forming her favorite shape of sword, and she brought it up over her head. But, suddenly, as she was about to slice down, she felt it change shape. She looked up. It had changed into the form of a skeleton key. “Oh Forever . . .” she muttered, and changed it herself. Then it switched back into a key. “Come on!” Once more she switched forms, and it changed back. “What the . . .?” An idea came into her head, and she poked her head outside the bars. Yes! There was a keyhole!
She fit the key inside, turned, and the door swung open. “Yes! It worked! Get up, Kirren, we have to save your father!” Kirren glanced up, saw the door open, and leaped to his feet. Blazing fire heated his eyes and swirled around his body. Lilian saw what was coming and started, “Don’t do anything . . .!”
It was too late. Kirren barged through the cell door, paws flaming, and came face to face with about a score of creatures dressed in fancy robes. All of them ignited with black fire. “Have your father back, mongrel black magician,” one spat. Two others threw Ferras’ smoking body onto the ground. Kirren dove to the older squirrel’s side. “I guess that makes him his ‘Forever’s sacrifice’,” the rat chuckled.
“Father?! What did they do to you?” he howled, panicking. Ferras didn’t answer. Kirren put an ear to his heart. Lilian watched from the shadows of the cell, worried. Kirren lifted his head, stone-faced.
“You killed him.” The Voice stood. “You killed him,” he repeated, and lifted a fiery paw.
Suddenly, a bright wall flew up between the furious young squirrel and the Nightmares. “What the . . .?” Kirren erupted, and turned to see Lilian’s upheld paw behind him. “Let it down! Let me kill them!” the squirrel exploded, but Lilian shook her head.
“Revenge isn’t the way, Kirren,” she started, but Kirren interrupted.
“I don’t care! Let me through! I’ll kill them!” Kirren’s fist crashed into the light, but it held firm. Lilian’s body shook with the impact. Kirren tried again, but this time his fire disappeared. “No! Forever! Why did you do that?” Kirren screamed at the ceiling. Multiple fireblasts from the other side hit at once, and Lilian fell back, fists clenched. “Forever!” Kirren screamed again. Anghan rushed out and grabbed the exhausted squirrelmaid, running down the other hall.
“Kirren, get your tail over here! Stop screaming at your Creator and help your wife!” Anghan yelled in a huge voice. Kirren started, looked back at Lilian, then the diminishing wall of light, and took off after them, his fire gone. Anghan quickly loosed a fireball at the lead Nightmare. The rat fell to the ground in blue flames, surprisingly, and this bought the trio time to duck into another doorway. Anghan shut it and locked it, listening to the crowd of false prophets run by.
*****
He turned to Kirren’s shaking form. It was dark, and the only light they had came from Anghan. “What were you thinking?” he whispered furiously. “You would have died if it weren’t for your wife, whom you hurt yourself! Physically!” He gestured to Lilian, who laid against the cell wall recovering. She tried to say something, but Anghan continued. “How dare you! And how dare you presume to disrespect the Forever in such a way! You ask why he took your fire in that moment. Well, there’s your answer!”
Kirren bowed his head, tears dripping from his face. Lilian looked into his eyes. There she saw true remorse, and in that instant, the Purity forgave him. “Forgive me . . . I was rash, and I didn’t think, and I . . . I . . .” he stammered in Anghan’s direction. “Forgive me, Forever! Forgive me, Lilian! I didn’t listen to either of you. Please, Forever, forgive me . . . forgive . . .” His voice turned into a whispered prayer.
Lilian arched her back, trying to elliminate the ache from her arms and chest. “I forgive . . . you,” she managed, and Kirren’s tears increased. Lilian knew that Kirren was speaking with Forever.
They spent the night in that room, with one of them always on watch. Kirren grew silent, most likely in constant prayer. Lilian prayed as well, on his behalf, but couldn’t keep it up for long. Her body exhausted, she fell asleep in an hour.
She woke up after a deep, dreamless sleep with no idea of what time it was. Kirren was awake as well, as was Anghan. She realized immediately that she had been healed in the night, and that she was starving. When the other two realized that she was awake, Anghan asked, “How do we get out?” Lilian got the idea that they’d been waiting for her gift of wisdom to proceed.
Before she said anything, she looked into Kirren’s eyes once more to dicern his thoughts. She saw a look that gave her the impression something had happened last night, and the same look in Anghan’s eyes. They must have had some sort of talk, she thought. Kirren is still Anghan’s apprentice. “Can you hear me?” she barely whispered. Kirren nodded sadly, and she breathed a sigh of relief. His prophetic abilities had been restored. Obviously, however, he was still greiving for his father. “Thank you, Forever!”
The Purity turned to Anghan. “Have you had any more visions?” she asked. The wolf shook his head. She looked at Kirren. “You?” Kirren hesitated, then nodded. “What was it?”
Kirren seemed to think for a moment, then said, “A repitition of Anghan’s last vision. Or, at least, the third part of it, with the foxes. Do you remember?” Both of his companions nodded. “I saw it once more, with a new set of instructions from Forever. The last time I had it was two days ago, and Forever said not to tell you two what it meant. It would have distracted us from everything else. Now, though, he allows me to tell you.”
“What was it?” Lilian asked after a pause. Kirren stopped to gather his thoughts, then continued.
“It was a vision of the past. About half a year ago, to be exact. Forever told me that it is of another land, and probably not even on this continent. The creatures in the vision were more of Forever’s creations, and I think they came from Icelen, because they were all arctic creatures. Interestingly, some aren’t even from Icelen! The two foxes we saw were servants of Forever. That’s where their power was stemming from. I don’t think they use the same name for him, though. Something like ‘Dough-An’ or other. Anyway, that’s what I can remember,” the squirrel finished. “The only other thing is that they speak a language very, very similar to ours, and I could understand most of what the larger fox yelled.”
Lilian nodded. “Then that will be our way out of here. Probably. I don’t know how, but it will. Until what I’m thinking of happens, we’ll find our own way. The false prophets moved down that hall and never came back, so there must be a way out in that direction,” she reasoned.
Anghan whistled softly. “Your new wife really is wise, Kirren,” he noted. Kirren grinned and nodded as they followed Lilian silently out of the cell.
They’d not gone twenty paces when they came upon another guard. Thankfully, this one was asleep, but just to be sure, Anghan hit the wolf over the head. Under the chair he was in they found a stash of food. “Quickly, only take what you can and let’s be on our way,” Lilian ordered, and the other two obeyed.
Soon, they reached the end of the hallway. A trapdoor was the only way to go from there. Anghan stood as tall as possible to reach the cord hanging from it, pulled it down, then got on his knees to help up the other two. Lilian was first. She hopped onto Anghan’s shoulder, then peeked over the edge to make sure everything was clear.
The door opened into the corner of a large room: the center councilchamber! Nobody was inside, and the main doors were shut. Benches lined the walls, row upon row. A podium stood near the middle. Lilian estimated that the room could seat approximately five-score creatures. This brought to mind a nasty thought: if there were that many animals on the council, how many of them were Nightmares? Was the Council really that corrupt? This was even worse than Evergreen, and White Sun, and . . .
This train of thought was interrupted by Anghan lifting her up into the room, and she lightly jumped off. “It’s clear!” she called down, and Kirren followed her. Both of them strained to pull up the immensely heavy Anghan, and soon all three of them were in the councilchamber. Kirren stared in horror at the benches, his mind clearly running on the same tracks as Lilian’s had.
Anghan didn’t hesitate for a moment. He dashed to the doors, opened them, then looked outside. He shut it and turned to them with a nervous look on his face. “They’re everywhere.” He paused. Kirren’s ear flicked, and the Voice waved them all down behind a bench.
“They’re coming!” he whispered, and Lilian dove down beside him. Anghan dropped silently to the floor behind the podium just as the doors slammed open.
Through walked Fallyne Angyl, followed by another score of robed creatures: half rats, half foxes. The mouse flicked his paw. The rats circled to the left side, and the foxes to the right; Kirren and Lilian slowly moved underneath the benches. Lilian glanced out at the podium, then did an instant double-take. Where was Anghan? She looked again. Was he on the other side of the podium? No, he couldn’t be. Fallyne was on that side. She stared for a bit, then noticed a slight shimmering on this side. Her jaw dropped. He was concealing himself? Forever, you are amazing, she instantly praised.
But now they had other problems to worry about. The rats were almost at the angle where they could spot the two hiding squirrels. Taking matters into her own paws, Lilian stood and shouted at Fallyne, “You lied! How?”
The mouse didn’t even seem surprised. “I lied not. Stay,” he commanded the circling Nightmares. “I am not the leader of the Nightmares, as you call them. Our Master is. Also, I do consider myself a lesser servant of those others who serve our Master. Did you think me a fool to fall for your little verbal traps?” Fallyne chuckled. “You have fallen for ours. Or, should I say, you have Fallyne for it.” He grinned. “Take them alive! I would like to have a bit of sport.”
Anghan materialized behind the Nightmare. “Not if I can help it.” His paw was on the back of Fallyne’s head, ready to burst into flames. The mouse froze. “Step back, or I’ll kill him!”
Everything seemed to freeze. A deathly silence permeated the councilchamber, and nobody moved. Lilian’s paw slowly outlined the shape of a sword behind her back. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Kirren had flames barely concealed within his paws, ready to blast out. To her dismay, she saw the same in the paws of every Nightmare in the room but Fallyne’s.
“Well?” Fallyne said, breaking the silence. “What do you want?”
“You’ll let my friends and I go free, take Ferras Bar . . . Jon Firewyrm’s body, and escape into Evergreen. For now,” Anghan added. Fallyne laughed again, cruelly.
“You think I’ll just let you go?” he demanded. “If you kill me, my comrades will kill your friends and then you. So go ahead, kill me now! I dare you.” He smiled, and the look in his eyes made Lilian shiver.
“I just might,” Anghan shouted, aiming his voice at the Nightmares along the walls. “One final act in the name of the Forever.” The rats and foxes all covered their ears at once. “Not a bad end story.” He seemed prepared to do it, too, but the squirrelmaid had an idea. Lilian drew her sword out from behind her.
The Nightmares were too distraught by the Forever’s name to notice! Kirren saw her, then glanced at the Nightmares, then opened his paws. An orb of white fire rotated around both. The false prophets still took no notice. Lilian edged around the bench and sidled up to the side full of rats. This time, Fallyne saw her, and opened his mouth right away. “You fools, look! Kill her! Now!” His enflamed paw came up behind him, knocking Anghan’s away. The wolf instantly vanished.
Lilian dashed towards the Nightmares, who were just lifting their heads. Her sword instantly transformed into a bright wall, going in front of and behind her, and another sword appeared in her left paw, darting out and slicing through the first five rats before they could react. Black smoke rose from their wounds, and they all slumped to the ground. One feebly attempted to create fire.
After those five, it wasn’t so easy to defend against the others. They pushed her back with their own black walls and fire. Behind her, Kirren entered her bright shield. Back to back with each other, Kirren threw flaming white fireballs towards one enemy as Lilian shot off arrows from the bow her sword had transformed into. More Nightmares started pouring through the double doors, and many of them wore the regular attire of palace guards. “How many do they have?!” Kirren exploded, sending a blast of sound in Fallyne’s direction. The mouse was furiously blasting dark blazes in all directions, no doubt searching for Anghan.
Fallyne noticed the wall of rippling sonic air just before it hit him and countered it with his own hallucinatory shield, sending it back towards Kirren. Lilian left her husbands side and slashed down with a ray of light, dispelling the darkness.
Anghan shimmered into view behind Kirren to replace Lilian, who was going after Fallyne. “How many did the Shadow have time to make?” the wolf wondered out loud as he sent a blue fireball in the direction of a white fox. “They’re inexhaustable!” Suddenly, both realized at the same time that Lilian’s shields were shrinking. She’d forgotten!
In fact, she hadn’t forgotten at all, but was too focused on battling Fallyne and had to split her strength between two fights at once. The black mouse was on top of the podium, hurling shadowy balls of flame and darkness at her. She covered her eyes with a blinding barrier for a split second, and Fallyne saw his chance! The Nightmare drew two poisoned knives out of his cloak at once and threw them at Lilian’s forearms.
Both bounced off without touching her. Fallyne’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Lilian grinned fiercely. “Aye, that’s right. I’m under protection you can never know!” A sudden whispering came into her head. “Beelzebub.” Fallyne’s face tightened. “You are not Fallyne Angyl, though you may be a fallen angel! You’ve taken the form of an innocent mouse. That is why you are so intent on destroying me! The Forever can use me to break your hold on this worldly shape, and you know it!”
Fallyne’s face hardened, and he began to chuckle in an unearthly voice. “You cannot stop me! You may not kill! It’s part of your little honor code, you silly little squirrelmaid,” he mocked.
“I may not kill, but I can draw you out!” With that, a blazing whip formed in her paw and she slashed it towards the Shadowservant. The mouse hopped to the side, fire driving through the whip and throwing it back at Lilian. Fallyne laughed and ran towards the now shield-less Anghan and Kirren. “No!” Lilian screamed, and shield came back up. She’d poured her weapon into it to build up its strength.
Leaving her unarmed and distanced from help.
Lilian looked around frantically, panicking and still trying to keep up the shield. Fallyne turned slowly towards her. A cruel smile was on his face. If she let the shield down to protect herself, Kirren and Anghan may be crushed. If she protected them, she would die, then they might as well. Fallyne obviously knew this. “You’re trapped!” he cried triumphantly. “Do you surrender?” He stood in between Lilian and her shield.
Lilian hesitated, sweating. “I . . .” she started, but was interrupted by screams from outside the room. Fallyne’s eyes darted towards the door. The Nightmares froze, and so did Anghan and Kirren. All of them looked towards the door.
Well, all of them but one. An older white fox who had stood at the edge of the room dashed to the double doors, paws on the handles. “Mc’Kallen! Freeze!” Fallyne commanded, but Jennter ignored him. A satisfied grin on his face, the Councilmember flung the double doors open. Fallyne prepared to throw a fireball at Jennter.
Before he could do something, however, two more white foxes leaped in front of the Council’s leader. Fallyne looked at them, confused. “Is this rebellion?” he asked. Lilian stared hard at them.
Then she heard Kirren gasp, and she suddenly knew why. These were the foxes from their visions! Fallyne must think they’re palace guards, she realized. “Step out of my way, or you die!” the black mouse ordered.
“I don’t think so,” the taller fox said in broken Icelenian. “My name is Gethnoel Swiftblade, FoxWolf and king of Clandoran, servant of Doranfather. You must not touch any of these.”
“Clandoran? I’ve never heard of this land.” Lilian could clearly tell he was lying without even looking at his eyes. Fallyne’s face darkened. “Who is your companion?”
“I am Ithiniel Fex, guardian of Clandon, and you will let them go, you pawns of the Shadow!” the other fox declared, in much better Icelenian. Fallyne laughed and motioned towards the Nightmares. All of them lit their palms and turned towards the intruders.
“You are powerless against our strength. Leave now, or die!” Beelzebub ordered. The mouse lit his own paw.
Ithiniel whipped his black sword from his scabbard, pointed it towards the ceiling, and yelled, “Ithiniel, Doran’s xenot!” Blinding white fire burst forth from the rapier and blasted a hole in the stonework that made up the palace. The fire swirled around Ithiniel in symmetrical circles. A few of the Nightmares stepped back apprehensively.
Fallyne audibly ground his teeth, furious. “You,” he spat. “I was told of you.” Gethnoel drew his own sword at this, a scimitar.
Lilian waved at the foxes. “Hi!” she said. “Some help now would be nice.”
Gethnoel tipped his crown towards her. “And we’ll be doing that, milady.” He turned towards the Nightmares in the back. “As you will not release our friends here,” he said, “I’ll have to make you. Et pta shi lithen xenot, Doran!” A spiral of white light flew from the tip of his sword to form a new shield around Kirren and Anghan, carrying them towards the two foxes. All the Nightmares snarled as one, and their bodies were enflamed.
Freed from protecting the other two prophets, Lilian smiled sweetly. “We’ll have none of that, thank you!” A wall of light flew from her arms and slammed all the Nightmares into the wall. She was thrown back through the door into Kirren’s arms. “Oops,” she murmured, attempting to stand. Gethnoel had lowered his shield.
“No time for introductions,” Anghan said quickly, as Jennter Mc’Kallen started to open his mouth. “Shut that door!” He and Swiftblade put their backs to the double doors, slamming them shut and barring them with two tall candlesticks. “Now, do you have a way out of here?” he asked the FoxWolf.
“Aye. Birds wait for shi . . . us, I mean, outside the palace gates. We found a few more for you three in the stables,” Ithiniel said. “We’ll explain all when we find a way out.” Kirren nodded and picked Lilian up to lead the way. “Down this hall, then turn left, there are the main gates. We took care of the guards, but it’s not long until those cranathi ederqas escape, so let’s get out of here!” All six took off down the hall.
*****
They reached the front doors with barely any trouble, save for one or two guards that Anghan and the two newcomers dispatched with ease. Outside waiting for them were four familiar birds and three huge eagles. These last birds astounded the prophets, as none of them had ever seen such a creature.
Lilian had little time to marvel over this, because the instant she saw Thunder, she dropped from Kirren’s arms and stumbled over to lean on her beloved bird. “Oh, good girl! You’re okay! Thank Forever,” she whispered into the blue Lancewing’s feathers. Thunder screeched happily, then got down so Lilian could step up into the saddle. Nearby, Kirren and Anghan were also reuniting with their birds.
Gethnoel, Ithiniel, and Jennter were over by the eagles. Lilian had assumed that the birds belonged to the warriors, but it didn’t seem so now, for Ithiniel and the king were speaking with the eagles! She couldn’t understand some of the foreign language, but from what she gathered, they were thanking the birds for carrying them. Both eagles inclined their heads and responded in a positive format of the language. Gethnoel and Ithiniel, along with the Councilmember both leaped onto the eagles’ bare backs and almost took off, but the fox suddenly noticed the white owl beside Lightning. “Whose bird is that? We were under the impression that there were four of you,” Ithiniel noted.
Kirren’s head bowed. “She was my father’s.” Lilian saw Gethnoel give Ithiniel a look, and the fox stopped talking. Kirren looked at the owl. “Snowstorm, follow us.” Some sort of thought moved between the two, and Lilian saw that Snowstorm’s eyes were already glistening with tears. She bowed her head as well, and the seven birds darted into the sky.
Lilian heard Snowstorm give a long, agonizing mourning call. It was the exact same sound she’d heard almost a year ago, in the City, when Slash died and Razor carried him off.
Later, they all sat around a campfire. Again. It was evening, and they’d made it all the way to the edge of the continental border of Icelen. Lilian listened intently as Ithiniel explained all that had happened.
Apparently, Clandon was an entire continent on the other side of the western sea. It was divided into six different countries: East Region, West Region, Clandoran, the Mountainous Lands, the Plainsterritories, and Therennia. Gethnoel, as afore mentioned, ruled Clandoran. Four of the countries were allied under something called the Set Laws, and this included Clandoran, who had initiated the alliance.
Anyway, Gethnoel and Ithiniel had been in the Karenian (capital city) throne room when both had simultaneous visions from Doranfather. The visions depicted the four prophets in Ferras’ study, at the time that they’d had the vision of Ithiniel and Gethnoel. Immediately, Jennter (Clandonian advisor to the king) had admitted that Doran had allowed him to be the sole traveler between the countries for several years, living a double life. He arranged for transport, and they left at once, arriving in two days at top speed.
Anghan, always wanting to know more, had a few questions. “So, you receive your power from Forever . . . er, Doran, like us?” he inquired. Both fox and FoxWolf shook their heads.
“We both concluded that while we may all receive strength from the gods, Doran and Forever are not one and the same. We did, in fact, ask Doran, and he spoke to me. They are both of the same godhood, brothers in fact," Gethnoel added.
“Just to make sure, do you mind if I test two things?” The king shook his head.
“Not at all.”
“Alright. Hold out your paw, Ithiniel, if you please. Kirren? Fireball.” Ithiniel calmly held up his palm, and Kirren’s white fireball flew straight through. “Gethnoel? Lilian?” Same result: Lilian’s sword went through. “Perfect! Now, I’d like to see Clandon for myself,” Anghan declared, walking over to a patch of clear snow.
“What do you mean? We must stay here, to help rid Icelen of the --” Ithiniel started.
Anghan silenced him with a paw. “No, I mean something else. Lilian, Kirren, help me? Gethnoel and Ithiniel, please help us clear this snow.”
Lilian could tell the other three were puzzled, but they helped anyway. In a few seconds, they stood on a patch of burnt ground. Anghan flicked his paw, and the map appeared. Jennter’s jaw dropped. “Amazing!” he murmured, but the prophets weren’t finished.
Lilian quickly explained what they were doing. “There are four types of prophets in Evergreen, and we are almost all of them. There are Sights -- that’s Anghan over there -- and they use blue fire, have exceptional sight, and create this map that can view anywhere in the world. There are Helpers, and one survives back in Evergreen. Helpers use regular fire as their weapon, enhance the other prophets’ abilities, and make the map three dimensional. There are Voices, the most powerful, and Kirren represents them. He creates white fire -- like you, Ithiniel -- has exceptional hearing, controls sound, and many other things, but what he’s doing right now is listening in on what happens in the world on the map.” She pointed to Kirren, who’d knelt down on the map with his eyes closed. Ithiniel’s eyes widened in wonder, and so did Gethnoel’s. “And I’m a Purity. You’ve pretty much seen all I can do, but I can show creatures on the map. I also use light as my weapon, heal, have wisdom from the Forever, and can tell exactly what you’re feeling right now.” She smiled.
“You can tell our feelings?” Ithiniel asked disbelievingly. “What are we feeling right now?”
“You, Ithiniel, are amazed, doubtful, and somewhat apprehensive at the moment. Gethnoel is feeling wonder, excitement, and love for all who are here right now. Jennter, you just seem calm.” The young fox’s jaw dropped once more, and Jennter nodded.
“Well, let’s look at this wonder map!” Gethnoel exclaimed, and Lilian stepped onto the map. Little figures appeared everywhere. Anghan moved his paws, and the view zoomed out over the ocean. Further, further, and further they went, until they reached a cross-shaped mass of land. “That’s it!” Gethnoel said.
A strip of mostly white figures covered the center of the continent. “That’s Clandoran,” Ithiniel shouted, excited. The rest of the country was mostly mixed dark and light, but one area was half empty.
Lilian pointed to it. “Where is that? Therennia, East Region, the Plainsterritories . . .” she counted off from the ones told her by the Clandoranians.
Jennter interrupted. “That is the Mountainous Lands. We wiped out the polar bears who lived there, all but some who had no part in the battle. I’ll tell you about that some other time, but right now I think we should get to sleep.” The others nodded, and they all returned to the fire.
Lilian laid beside Kirren, and went straight to sleep knowing that there was far more hope than she’d thought.
Epilogue
In a dark room, with a green lantern providing the only light, two creatures stood, speaking with each other. “These ‘Clandonians’ pose a threat to the plans,” one said, fury evident in his soft, pleasant voice. “Where did they come from? Didn’t you know . . . Master Claatral?”
The other, a huge, hulking form, growled. “I did. I didn’t know that that’s what they called it. No worries. We have the Weapon.” His voice was not of this world, and it seemed to come from all directions at once. “We use it when it’s ready.”
Elsewhere at the time, a dark creature stirred in the water. Its eyes stayed shut, but it wouldn’t be long before it opened. “When it’s ready . . .” it heard in its dreams.
Information Regarding Clandon
Basic Information: Source -- Tracten’s History of Modern Clandon
MAIN REGIONS
North and South Regions of Clandon
Historians say that further back into the past of these two regions, they have always been entwined, even though they are on opposing sides of Clandon. The kings of North and the kings of South had good relations for decades. Some generations back, they ended up under one king. The two families had intermarried so much that without even some kind of vote or agreement, Lifewind Swiftblade just took the throne, and no one disputed his rights. The two regions were combined into one: Clandoran. For four more generations, there was a peaceful rule of foxwolves with no battles or wars with the other two regions.
In the rule of Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade, Gulrag’s father appeared in the furthest south. The wolverine had gathered many followers and quickly took the lower half of the South region. King Mc’Kenthon sent troops to drive them back, but it failed, losing Clandoran half of its army. The army’s leader, also known by Norden, kept coming.
Finally, he reached the capital of Clandoran. In a final stand, Norden slayed King Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade, despite the strength given the foxwolf by the Overall King (I’ll talk about that later). He took the throne, assuming the title of warlord. He swept most of the North clean of resistance. However, some remained to fight and continue to attack the warlord’s army in the weakest points of strategic defense.
Two nurses with two children of royal blood are said to have escaped and disappeared.
Now, we’ll talk about the natural history of the North and South regions.
The Southern Region was and is mostly populated by the smaller animals, such as arctic foxes, ermine, and snowshoe hares. Most of the time, foxes stand taller than ermine, and ermine stand taller than hares and rabbits. Usually, ermine and hares are more prone to battle and joining Gulrag’s army at earlier ages, or helping the resistance.
The landscape is barren. Few trees grow, but the ones that do are evergreen and live for many years. The rest is nondescript ice and snow. In the summer, there is also usually a light dusting of snow.
The Northern region has the larger, more warlike species: white wolves, eagles, and sea otters. The otters are far smaller than the wolves, but tougher. The eagles, and a few other bird species, resent the rule of Gulrag as warlord, so are almost always ready to assist the rebels. You might have seen this earlier at the encounter that Icefurr and Leo Gundar had with the resistance.
The plantlife is a little more rich in the Southern Region, but that isn’t saying too much. Mostly, that just means there’s dried grass instead of snow in areas furthest south, where Gulrag trained his army.
West Region of Clandon
The Western Region has a simpler history than the North and South do. It originated when a faction of creatures, mostly snow lemmings, mice, and arctic rabbits, broke off from the North Region. They formed a democratic council. As time went on, these smaller animals forged alliances with the creatures of the Mountainous Lands, making them far harder to conquer.
Every once in awhile, they hold an election for a new Council Spokesbeast. This creature is in charge of directing the council, and therefore holds a bit more power than the other councilcreatures. Fourteen Spokesbeasts have ever been in office, and there are two that I’d like you to remember: Redtail Farleaper, and Ferguson K’Lenon.
Redtail Farleaper is of importance to you because he was the rabbit who proposed to form the alliances with the Mountainous Lands and declare war on Eastern Region . . . the second time. He was the eleventh Spokesbeast. By his suggestion, messengers were sent to the Marshall of the Lands to create bonds of trust, and eventually, a mutual defense treaty to protect them in any kind of battle or war. Also under the guiding paw of Farleaper, the first attack to gain land from East Region was ordered. Ever since, conflicts have been constant and perennial.
Ferguson K’Lenon is of greater significance. He was the one to begin attacks Gulrag Northwind’s father’s southern borders, and aiding the rebels. He believed that the warlords were a blight upon Clandon as a whole, and they should be subdued. K’Lenon’s son continued this mission. He took office as Spokesbeast directly after Farleaper.
As I said before, Western Region is almost completely populated by arctic lemmings, white rabbits, and mice: the smaller animals. Their birds are mostly terns and puffins. That’s about it for the animals. As to their tendency to battle, these creatures don’t like to fight. However, they do keep a small garrison for those who are actually good warriors.
The plant life is far more rich than that of the South and North. The farther west you move, the more evergreens and bushes you find, until there is absolutely no snow at all.
East Region of Clandon
The East Region has almost the same story as the West: they broke off from the Southern Region, and formed alliances with two other small areas. These other places were Therennia and the Plainsterritories. This way, they were also protected against attack and so were the two others. They also have a council, but no Spokesbeast or anything of the sort. So, I have nothing else of interest for you here.
The animals of the Eastern Region are the same as the Western Region, but their birds are sparrows. Their plant life is basically the same as the South Region of Clandon.
OTHER LANDS
The Mountainous Lands of Clandon
The Mountainous Lands, as their name suggests, contain a lot of mountains. They have almost always been independent, the historians of Clandon say. This area covers the entire west edge of the continent.
The Mountainous Lands are also called the Land of Mystery, for no one really knows much about their origin, the military strength of their government, how the government is really organized, or all the types of animals there. There are only a few things that are known for sure.
The main animal species living there is the polar bear. This creature’s strength in battle is what makes them such a valuable asset to the Western Region. Instead of being governed by a king, they are ruled by an emperor. Nocreature really knows the rest of the hierarchy.
The Plainsterritories of Clandon
Again, the name gives away what most of the landscape is: plains. This place covers almost a third of the eastern branch of the Clandonian continent. It’s no secret that the residents of this land are governed by their own warlord. He isn’t as powerful as Gulrag is, but he is strong enough to keep the Plainsterritories to himself. If Kallenian Snapclaw keeps to himself, so will the warlord of what used to be Clandoran.
Before Snapclaw conquered the Plainsterritories, they were ruled by a king. However, the Territories were easy to take because the king had no real power over what happened in his small, flat savannah of a kingdom. Usually, the animals living there just kept to their own small villages and townships.
The animals of the plains include jackals (like Kallenian), foxes, hawks, and badgers: mostly strong, agile and fast animals. The plantlife is mostly long grass and a few trees, as can be expected.
Therennia
Therennia, interestingly, is not a part of the overall Clandon area, and is never referred to as Clandon. Actually, it’s not even attached to the continent. It’s a large island off the coast of the Plainsterritories and East Region. The animals of Therennia are mongoose, snakes, red pandas, and actual pandas. Due to its size and habitat, the population is dense but fewer than you would think. Still, the alliance with East Region is invaluable to both sides.
All the creatures together make decisions together. However, they do have a militia-based army with full-time commanders. They need it to uphold their mutual defense treaty with Eastern Region and to defend themselves from the likes of Gulrag Northwind and Kallenian Snapclaw.
The plant life of Therennia is based on jungle trees, ferns, ground plants, and other forest growth. This makes it inhospitable to the creatures on the mainland, who are used to very cold climate year-round, and habitable to the animals who live there. The snakes, pandas, and mongoose could never survive on Clandon, but some do manage to live in the Plainsterritories.
Governmental Info: Source -- An Explanation of the Governments of Modern Clandon (By Country)
Therrenia: Therrenia is split into four different, but small, territories. Each is ruled by a Quin (pronounced as shin), or governor. Overall, their decisions are dictated by the Raltin, who holds a position similar to that of a king. So, Therrenia’s territories are watched by the ruling Raltin who dictates decisions.
However, it isn’t that simple. They follow a very strict set of ancient traditions, even though the new King Gethnoel attempted to extend the arm of the Set Laws, which will be explained later. According to these traditions, ten things are set in stone:
- The Raltin must be a mongoose. One family has ruled for over two centuries, and they were all mongeese.
- The Raltin’s chief advisor must be a snake.
- Without a queen, the Raltin defers to the Quins.
- No territory may go to war with another. Strangely enough, this one is actually followed, and nocreature knows why.
- Each year, all the creatures come together for one night of celebration, called Nishu (Peace).
- Any form of a treaty or a declaration of war on the Raltin’s part is sent to the Quins for review, and vice versa.
- The Therrenians live in a hierarchy: Raltin on top, then the Quins and the royal family, then the warriors (half of the population, even though it is a very peaceful country), the priests, and finally the peasants.
- Slavery is NOT allowed, due to their religion.
- Warriors are treated as gods, also due to their religion, which brings this to item #10 . . .
- . . . the religion! This is the biggest factor in Therrenian society.
The centerpiece to the Therrenian religion, or Guttism, is the main god/goddess quadruplet. These include Rinquas -- god of the sea and sky, Futu -- god of the sun and fire, Inshi -- goddess of all creatures, even the unintelligent ones, and Aulh -- goddess of harvest. Along with obedience to their gods (of which there are many, but these are the main rulers), the religion brings along a complex Code of Law, or Lhong, which is too long to write here .
The Plainsterritories: The Plainsterritories lie in the east, on the coast nearest Therennia and on the border of East Region. For a description of the government, I must give a history, which I did not give in the briefer explanation of the individual countries and their natural tales.
What I did tell you, reader, was that the Plainsterritories were ruled at first by a king. Ten kings ruled, for longer than Clandoran existed, up to the point when Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade was overthrown. Every one had been diverse in some way, and there were no restrictions on what animal could rule. Only one family had kept the throne for more than a generation, and theirs was the most stable reign. Kings weren’t very respected, and had no real power, except for in the village surrounding the castle and in the small army kept as a personal bodyguard to the king. This army usually consisted of jackals and badgers, the more powerful creatures.
The last king to rule, until about thirty years ago, was Stripeslash Yetwar. He did nothing remarkable for his “subjects”, and was overthrown almost immediately by . . . Kallenian Snapclaw, a powerful jackal warlord.
Of course, at the time, he was nowhere nearly enough to take down Norden Northwind, or his son Gulrag. However, he had his sights set on the Plainsterritories for two reasons: the many squabbling small-time rulers and king would be of no resistance, and . . . why would he want Clandon? It was cold and harsh, and he was an Eastern creature: the further east, the warmer. So, he built up a small army that was three times the size of Yetwar’s, rushed in, and quickly took the entire country with ease. Now, he’s set himself up in a dictatorship, likened in many ways to that of the Northwinds.
So far, Snapclaw has refused any sort of a treaty, including the Set Laws, offered to him. It’s not unknown that he has his sights set on Therennian next.
King Gethnoel Swiftblade, Spokesbeast Tiren Letren, and the Council of East Region know that he is there, and aren’t going to let it continue very much further, under their Set Laws, but are somewhat preoccupied with other matters at the moment.
So, by definition, the Plainsterritories are under a military dictatorship.
The Mountainous Territories: Unknown.
Clandoran (north and south): Clandoran, formerly known as North and South Regions, formerly known as Clandoran, formerly known as Clandon, is currently ruled by a military monarchy. King Gethnoel Swiftblade, son of Mc’Kenthon Swiftblade the FoxWolf, currently rules under many names, including: the Rogue Captain, the White King, Icefurr Swiftblade, and others.
Instead of a law set in stone for the country, this king trusts his subjects to make the correct decisions based on their instinct, their direction from Doranfather’s Spirit, and his dictation. However, Swiftblade did place into effect a police force, about twenty creatures in Force Guild and Swiftness Guild per village.
Speaking of which, he also installed a “guild” system. This split his army and any advisors or messengers of his into five different categories, based upon where their skills laid: Swiftness Guild, Force Guild, Swordmasters, Guild of Instinct, and Distance Guild. The names are all self explanatory. Almost the entire police force is made up of the first two, and the infantry is as well. Advisors, generals, and councilmembers are usually Guild of Instinct. Archers and messengers are almost always Swiftness or Distance Guilds, and the Swordmasters are solely shock troops.
It’s a military monarchy because that is the main outcome of many of King Gethnoel’s achievements: a stronger army. This is rumored to be so because of the overthrow of the original Clandoran empire, the death of the king’s parents, and the dividing of Clandoran into North and South Regions by Norden and Gulrag Northwind. King Swiftblade has vowed not to let this happen again, which causes him to have been very, very intent on the destruction of Old Clandon (the cult), which succeeded, and Kallenian Snapclaw’s army. First, though, he has to smooth out the wrinkles in the Set Laws and help settle the war between East and West Regions.
East and West Regions: Both of these have the same government, with one major difference that will be explained later.
In short, each is ruled by a council. The councils have their own complicated sets of laws, that nocreature follows. No explicit history is to be given, except for this short synopsis:
At the start of written history in Clandon, when the old language was just being eradicated, the whole continent was a group of uneducated, leaderless creatures. Two groups of smaller, less powerful creatures split from the union. One went east. One went west. Each had the same basic idea, and both ended up with councils and no armies. Thus, they had to form alliances with the other small countries that had broken off. Using their allies’ resources and strength, East Region and West Region became stronger and larger, soon opposing each other and the rest of united Clandon. Soon, they forced their ways in towards and through the center of united Clandon, creating the first North and South regions. Soon, they were at war, even with the Set Laws that the king of North Region had set in place.
Now, only a few things have changed: the first war ended with North and South pushing together, forcing the East and West Regions out and becoming Clandoran. Then, another war took hold, about a century or two after the installment of Spokesbeasts in Western Clandon. Finally, King Gethnoel was successful in bringing the East and West under the protective shield of the Set Laws.
The Set Laws: The Set Laws were put into effect under the rule of Harken MacKay, king of North Region, before Clandoran, after United Clandon (which was essentially a bunch of creatures with no ruler). They constituted five things that would help all the countries bound by it to stay under some sort of code.
At first, it was only accepted by South Region, which eventually created Clandoran. East Region and West Region refused and ended up attacking the North. However, BECAUSE of the Set Laws, South Region came to MacKay’s aid and drove East and West apart. A few centuries later, King Gethnoel finally convinced almost the entire landmass to join, except for the miniature countries. He still continues to send envoys to the Plainsterritories and the Mountainous Lands.
The Laws have many sub categories and fine prints, but these are the main principles of the main body:
- If one country under the Laws ventures onto the land of another, it isn’t a declaration of war unless destruction or killing occurs.
- If one country under the Laws ventures onto the land of one not protected, it is beyond the reach of all under the Laws except the ruler of the first country.
- If one country out from under the Laws ventures onto the land of one protected, it IS a declaration of war on the entire Set Laws alliance . . . however, the country whose land was under attack must take offense first.
- In time of war between two countries under the Laws, the other countries may not interfere.
- Finally, when under attack by an outside force, Clandoran and the other countries all band together into one country for the time being. This is the law that finally sold the deal for East and West.
Old Clandon (cult): Old Clandon originated only half a year after King Gethnoel took the throne. Nocreature knows for sure who started the cult, but it’s said that he/she was part of the rebellion.
Old Clandon, though it doesn’t really exist anymore, believes three things:
- Clandoran has no rightful ruler, and if there were, they would be chosen by the universe.
- The universe is intelligent, and knows all, the future, present, and past.
- King Gethnoel is a usurper who deserves to die -- he and his black magic.
Old Clandon is a clan of powerful assassins, who are divided into a strict hierarchy. Each assassin is given a level. First comes the Divine, or the leader of the cult. After him come the Shamans, or top generals. After that come the level ten assassins, all the way down to the level one servants.
Each assassin, no matter their level or rank, carries a double curved sword and multiple throwing knives of the same make. All wear black cloaks, the “color of perfection”. These rogue fighters also carry poisonous crossbows. Along with these, they have an array of dangerous poisons and different types of darts and bolts. Each wears a special patch with a number and the Old Clandon symbol.