The Realms of Animar

by Owen Black

  She paused at the door to his room and listened for movement. Hearing only silence, she rapped lightly. “Time to get up sleepy head!”

  After a few seconds, she grasped the handle, opened the door and walked in. “Thane you need to get up, it’s already—”

  She looked down at the floor and screamed.

  Chapter 8

  Daylight pierced the thick canopy of trees as the forest awoke from an evening slumber. The air carried the chill of early winter, leaving a thin white frost on the leaves that transformed the landscape into a mosaic of natural beauty.

  Well concealed by their surroundings, two shadowy figures wearing dark hooded cloaks were crouched behind a fallen moss-covered tree. Their attention was focused on a small group of people that were busy cleaning up their camp just ahead. The assassins had been following the group for some time and had become quite familiar with their habits and relations.

  The oldest of the travelers was a large older man with a massive round belly and equally rounded face. He was frequently in heated discussions with a woman of similar age but slightly lesser size who they had decided to be his wife. Joining the couple on their journey were two other women and two children approximately ten to twelve years of age, a boy and a girl. Their attire was that of typical nomads, worn with age and frequent use. They had clearly traveled a long distance.

  Mordigal leaned and whispered to the figure beside him, “A bit too close, but we need to stay in earshot.”

  His accomplice turned his head and nodded. His face was hard, with dramatic features - a long nose and sharp, thin eyes and his left cheek bore a large scar, the remnant of a past battle. He had shoulder length brown hair and dark, thoughtful eyes. His name was Ash and he was Mordigal’s half-brother.

  They bore almost no resemblance to one-another save their general stature. Each had different fathers and Ash had the unfortunate likeness of his. He was strong, however, and well-respected by the other members of their pack. Mordigal had often left him in charge of his affairs when he traveled alone and Ash had never disappointed him. Although they did not share the close bond of full brothers, Mordigal had looked after his younger brother even still and was at times proud of what he had become.

  “Did you talk to the horses?” Mordigal asked.

  “I warned them again,” Ash replied quietly.

  “Good. The shoes should keep them from changing but we know that they can still give us away.”

  Ash began to speak but Mordigal raised his hand when the large man turned his head in their direction and took a few steps forward. His eyes darted around the forest - something had caught his attention. The concealed men were frozen. They knew that any movement, even that in effort to further hide, could be detected. Too much was at risk. If they had to kill the group now they would lose precious time.

  The young boy wandered up to the man and tugged at his sleeve. At first he ignored the child and kept his focus on the forest, peering about with purpose. When the young boy failed to steal his attention he tugged once more, this time a bit harder.

  “Are we going to be there in time?” the boy asked. “Will we make it before the festival starts?” The cold morning air clung to his words, sending forth small puffs of fog as he spoke.

  A few moments passed and then the man lowered his gaze to the boy. He reached out and patted his thick dark hair with his hand. “Tomorrow is the first day of winter and that means the start of the festival. We are close. We’ll be there by sundown tonight. I promised we would make it and we will.”

  The assassins watched as the pair turned and walked back to the main camp area where the others were busy stuffing their packs and cleaning up the site. The large man gave one last glance over his shoulder and then turned his attention to the task at hand.

  Skilled predators, Mordigal and Ash remained motionless. Their breathing was calm and their weight carefully balanced as to not make noise. When the time was right they gradually crept away from the camp and moved deeper into the trees, making no more noise than the soft breeze around them.

  After a brief trek through the forest Mordigal and Ash made it back to the rest of their pack who had been waiting anxiously for their return. There were five others in the group, two men and three women and all wore similar dark hooded cloaks that had become a symbol of their kind. There had once been twelve in the pack but others had been lost to disease and combat. The seven that remained were a strong group and had been used by Fatalis for his most important, and often dangerous, tasks.

  A vulture lingering in a tree above the pack squawked lightly, causing Mordigal to cast him an angry stare.

  “Quiet you stupid bird!” Mordigal said in a whispered but angry tone.

  Critias looked away and picked at his feathers with his beak.

  Scattered about the small clearing were seven horses, tied securely to trees. They were sturdy and some of the best from the stables but the prize among them was a brilliant black horse that Mordigal had taken for his own.

  Horses were extremely valuable to the carnivores due to their usefulness in travel and in combat. Fatalis had allowed Mordigal to take some of his best and this further stressed the importance of the secondary mission that had been told to him alone discretely. His task was simple – kill Avryn’s son. He knew nothing else about the boy nor did he know the reason behind the hatred Fatalis had for Avryn, apart from the natural conflict between the two realms. Although Mordigal had never been fond of killing children, he knew better than to question the order.

  The journey to the village had taken several weeks but this had been necessary. They needed to be careful and stumbling upon the herbivore travelers had been worth the delay. The travelers had revealed that a festival was soon to take place and this distraction would greatly improve their chances for success. Using this information, they decided to use the horses to gain access to the village, hoping the guards would welcome those traveling with their own kind. Clearly this was not without risk. If the horses were somehow able to give away the nature of their riders after they had breached the village walls they would be doomed. They would need to act quickly and once inside, the others would scout the village while Mordigal hunted the boy and when they were finished they would escape, hopefully without alarm, using the festivities of the day to help hide their activities.

  Vital to the plan was the use of shoes on the horses. Although rare, they were at times used by horses for their own purposes - to protect their hooves on long trips that required their animal forms. They also served a more sinister purpose in that they also kept the creatures locked in animal form since the metal in the shoe prevented transformation. The shoes, along with the threat of certain death by their riders, would hopefully keep them under control.

  Mordigal walked to where the pack was gathered and the group stood when he drew near. One of the women stepped forward as he approached. She had long, straight blonde hair and a stunningly beautiful face with bright green eyes.

  “I was beginning to worry,” she said.

  Mordigal eyed her warily. “I know better. We weren’t gone that long.” To the rest of the group he continued. “They are packing up to move out. We leave in a few minutes.”

  The group separated and began clearing their site while Mordigal walked to the black mare and began securing his gear, ignoring the woman who had followed him to the horse. A scowl had formed on her face.

  In quiet but angry voice she began, “Why must you treat me this way? Other men would kill to have my love.”

  Mordigal glanced at her and then returned his gaze to the saddlebag he was securing on his horse.

  “Will you never give me a chance?” she said before affectionately placing her left hand on his shoulder. “Your brother is more than willing.”

  Without looking away from his work he replied, “Then perhaps you should take the matter up with him.”

  “We mate for life, you know that, and I am clearly the superior female in our group. I should be with t
he Alpha.”

  “But I have a say in that,” Mordigal said. He paused a moment then continued, “Ash has been after your heart since you joined us. You should give him a chance. I will not claim the woman he loves. Besides, you know he will take over the pack if I die.”

  She took her hand from his shoulder. “Ash is not the one I want.”

  “He won’t give up on you and I can never love you,” he said sympathetically. “Ellyn, you are a beautiful woman and will make him, or any man, many beautiful children. Don’t waste your time on me. He loves you and my bond with him is more valuable than the touch of any woman.” Mordigal then glanced over at Ash who was busy checking the shoes on his horse. “Now go get ready. We need to leave.”

  Chapter 9

  Avryn ran into Thane’s room when he heard the scream. He glanced down at the small pool of blood on the floor next to the bed while Felia looked out the bedroom window. He kneeled down and touched it. When the cool moisture tickled his fingertip he knew it was fresh.

  “This isn’t enough to be a serious wound,” Avryn said. “It couldn’t have been too long ago. I will check the training area and see if any of the guards have seen him, maybe you should check the school.”

  He then noticed the tears that had formed in Felia’s eyes. He stood up and walked to the window and embraced her. “I’m sure he is fine,” he said. “He is probably running in the fields or checking on his new little friend.”

  “I hope you are right. He never wanders off without telling us and the blood…what if he is hurt really bad?”

  “I’m sure he is fine,” Avryn said. He then grasped her hand and led her from the room. “Come on, let’s go track him down.”

  ***

  Felia arrived at the school after a short sprint. It was not a school day and thus the shutters on the windows were closed and the building appeared vacant. She reached the main door and pulled it open. The hinges creaked in defiance.

  Although dawn had recently broken the classroom was dimly lit with only small scattered beams of light trickling through the cracks. As she gained her focus she spotted Thane sitting with his back to her facing a cage that rested along the left wall of the room.

  “Thane!” she cried out.

  He turned and lifted a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

  Felia scowled and walked toward the boy. “I will not be quiet! We were worried sick. What was the blood from? Are you ok? What are you doing here? You need to leave this poor little rabbit alone.” As she drew closer, Felia noticed the cage door was open.

  She was surprised when Thane slowly pointed to the far end of the school. There, covered mostly by shadows and perched on a stool, sat a small teenage girl. She was curled up in a ball with her legs and feet pulled up on the seat in front of her and it was obvious that she was terrified.

  The girl had long blonde hair that was ratty and unkempt and unfortunately matched her dress that was tattered and filthy. It was obvious to Felia that though her face was spoiled by filth the girl’s features were soft and perhaps even beautiful when properly bathed.

  Felia was rendered speechless for a moment but then whispered to Thane, “Has she said anything?”

  “Not a word. This just happened a few minutes ago though.”

  Felia took a few slow steps toward the girl and held out her right hand. “Hi there sweetie, what is your name?”

  The girl pulled her legs tighter to her chest. Felia stopped her approach.

  “It’s ok, we won’t hurt you,” she said sincerely. “We are just trying to help you.”

  Felia glanced at Thane and then to the girl. She was unsure of what to do next. An awkward stillness fell over them but it was quickly dashed when Avryn, Trussil and a short, stubby guard with dark spiked hair stormed in.

  Avryn spotted Thane immediately. “Thane! What are you doing here? Are you hurt?”

  “We saw blood in your room.” Felia added.

  Trussil gasped when she noticed the girl. “Well hello there!”

  Avryn looked at the girl and then turned to Trussil. “We will get Thane out of your hair and let you handle this.”

  “But—” Thane tried to reply.

  “Don’t argue with me,” Avryn interrupted firmly. “Come over here. Let me see where you are cut. We need to leave them alone for now and for this little morning fright you gave us you will be missing the start of the festival tomorrow. You can spend it in your room.” He turned to the guard standing beside him. “Go ahead on back now Marcos, thank you for your help.”

  The guard bowed slightly and then left the building.

  Thane stood up and brushed the dust off of his pants. A few spots of blood were now visible on his shirt and his hands were also tinted crimson. “I’m not cut, it was from my nose. I had another headache. I think I blacked out or something.” He then walked over to his father who grabbed him by the arm.

  Felia scurried over to him. “You should have gotten us.”

  “I’m fine,” he replied. “When I came to I couldn’t go back to sleep so I just came here and, well…this happened.”

  Trussil took a few steps toward the girl then knelt down. She smiled then asked, “Now, what’s your name sweetie? Mine is Trussil, well that is my last name actually but they all seem to use it.”

  “She doesn’t talk,” Thane said.

  Felia slapped him lightly on the head. “Thane!”

  “Well she hasn’t yet,” the boy muttered.

  “Of course she can talk, she is too old to not be able to talk,” Avryn said.

  “Quiet down a minute!” Trussil pleaded.

  “Please don’t make me miss the festival,” Thane begged.

  The conversations quickly digressed into a low roar of jumbled thoughts. Their voices continued to rise as they each struggled to have the questions that sprung into their minds answered.

  At the peak of the chaos in the school, when frustrations were growing along with tempers, they all stopped and looked over at the girl who had been cowering in the corner. She had quietly raised a hand into the air.

  Trussil glanced back at the others and then calmly asked the girl, “Yes sweetie?”

  In a soft, timid voice she replied, “I need a bath.”

  Chapter 10

  The next morning began anew with crisp air and a bright morning sun. Unlike most mornings in Avryndale, the village was already well awake and bursting with activity. The smell of fresh baked bread meandered through the air.

  Games and other amusements had been set-up and storefronts displayed a vast assortment of foods and specially brewed ale to quench the thirst of visitors. The arena had been transformed into a visual spectacle where jousting, dueling and archery contests waited to test the skills of the village’s best. Children giggled as they darted between buildings and shops anxious to see what new amusements awaited.

  This was the fourth annual Winter Festival and each year the anticipation had grown. For those of the Herbic realm, the coming of winter was usually marked with apprehension. Colder temperatures meant a slowing down of activity and an increase in danger while carnivores became desperate in the search for food. Their kind were forced indoors and tensions often rose during this difficult season.

  To counter this, The Council had accepted Avryn’s proposal for an annual celebration designed to lift the spirits of the village in an otherwise gloomy time. It had another, perhaps more important purpose as well, for each year messengers were sent across the land to other settlements, telling them of the festival and where they would be welcomed into a strong and safe new home. With the rise in attacks on herbivore settlements, the number of migrants had continued to increase annually. They simply had nowhere else to go.

  As the celebration began the village gates remained closed and well guarded although the mood of the day was certainly more pleasant. Those standing watch rotated regularly to enable them to all take part in the festivities.

  Usually rather dull, the early morning shift began
with a bit of apprehension when one of the guards spotted a group in the distance rapidly approaching. He signaled Semu and the others on duty and together the four men watched anxiously as the strangers came into focus. There were six and, more importantly, they were camels. The guards relaxed.

  The ceremonial horn then echoed throughout the countryside and, after a few seconds of calm, a wave of activity flooded the village. The festival had begun.

  Children ran to their favorite amusements, from apple bobbing to pull the tail on the donkey, and adults raced to sample the latest brews and take part in the events in the arena. It was a glorious day.

  A few minutes later the group of camels arrived at village walls. Exhausted, the newcomers caught their breath while the guards opened the gate. After a brief rest, they morphed into their human forms - a man, three women and two grinning children. They would make a great addition to the population.

  Semu and another guard climbed down from the wall and greeted the group as they entered.

  “Welcome to Avryndale,” Semu said loudly. “I hope your journey was safe and uneventful.” His muscular, dark stature and deep voice startled the children a bit.

  “Thank you,” the man replied. “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how glad we are to be here.”

  The other guard, a short man with a muscular build and spiked hair, greeted them as well. “Welcome friends. My name is Marcos. Did you see any more on the way by chance?”

  “You know, we did actually…about an hour ago, just after light broke. A group of horses was heading this way, maybe a dozen or so. They seemed like a nice bunch. We spotted them atop one of the far hills and they waved. We were going to wait for them but the little ones were anxious to get here. I’m sure they will understand.”

  Semu turned to the guard, “Show them to the Inn and get their belongings stowed. I will wait here for the next group.”

  “Weren’t you supposed to be in the morning tournament?” Marcos asked. He patted the Guard Captain on the arm and added, “You go on. I can stay here. I don’t mind.”