by Emlyn Hall
The Brachanids now occupied all of the fertile areas on the planet. They sought out anywhere with a good supply of food and water and moved in, crushing anyone that stood in their way. They took the strongest of the warriors they defeated as slaves and entertainment leaving none others alive. Since the rise of the Brachanids, all other civilisations on the planet had diminished, becoming mere shadows of their previous selves. Nothing could stop the Brachanids and all worried that they would soon occupy the whole planet, leaving all others extinct - draining the world of its very last drop of water and eating to the very last crumb. The greedy, selfish and power hungry Brachanids were slowly but surely killing the entire planet. Over the years, the prosperous Brachanid kingdom grew and grew, not only in number, but also in stature. From weak and supressed slaves, the Brachanids reinvented themselves as gigantic muscular war creatures with sharp dagger-like teeth and blood red eyes set where once eyes as blue as a deep ocean danced. Some say that the Brachanid's eyes changed colour on account of the vast pools of blood they not only witnessed, but created.
After his successes during the Great Gannish War, Siinjid was elected by the people to become the leader of the Midnight Army.
The cruellest, the strongest, most merciless and the most feared leader ever.
Home is Where the Water is
Bafflebod Klimbod was a ten-year-old Zephod. More accurately, he was an exceptionally skinny and pale Zephod. Zephods were a peaceful race and looked like humans in every imaginable way, apart from one.
Zephods had enormous fingers. Their fingers were as long as pencils and twice as sharp. Zephods used these fingers to help them to dig. Zephods were exceptional diggers, it was this skill that had ensured that they survived on the planet despite the roaming hordes of vicious Brachanids.
Zephods lived underground in vast networks of tunnels. The tunnels were a little like man-sized rabbit warrens. By living underground, the Zephods remained relatively safe from the much larger and infinitely more deadly Brachanids, but it did mean that water and food in particular were very hard to come by. The Zephods survived in most part by digging huge deep wells within the lowest chambers of their tunnel systems in attempts to access ancient sources of water. For food, they relied mainly on the roots of plants which grew above and a type of moss they harvested on rocks in special food chambers.
Food sources in Bafflebod's tunnel had been low for a number of months now. This was why Bafflebod was exceptionally skinny and very pale.
Things had gotten progressively worse for Bafflebod and the rest of the group of Zephods he lived with in his little underground community over the last few years. The Brachanid scouts were passing overhead with greater and greater frequency as they scoured the lands for food and water. Fortunately, the Zephods were experts at hiding and the openings to their tunnel systems were almost impossible to find to the untrained eye. Being trapped underground for such long periods of time was not a good thing, even for the Zephods. They had lots of moss, roots and a plentiful supply of water, but they desperately lacked the warmth of the sun and the nutrients they usually gained through fruit, vegetables and the meat they would hunt. The news from other tunnel communities was not good either, it was the same story everywhere. The Zephods had lived this way for centuries and all agreed that things were getting progressively worse.
It was fair to say that Bafflebod's days were boring, long and monotonous. The highlight of his day was bedtime. At bedtime, his father would tuck him in so that he was nice and cosy and tell him tales of the ancient and glorious Zephod Empire. He would tell him stories of Zinish The brave who singlehandedly defeated over twenty Brachanids during the Great Gannish War, saving the lives of many hundreds of Zephods. And tales of Funiry of Gann who had led the great Zephod exodus during the first age, after the once bountiful realm of Gann became infested with diseases and plague. Bafflebod loved the stories of old, they made him feel proud to be a Zephod and the sound of his father's voice made him feel safe. Most of all the tales gave him hope. Hope that things could change.
After his father had finished his tales, Bafflebod would fall asleep and dream. He would dream about being above the ground, sometimes even flying. He would dream about hunting for Sagoplaws (large cow-like animals with a head similar to that of a crocodile) with his father and if he was lucky, he would dream about his mother. Zephod had never seen his mother, she was taken by the Brachanids while she was gathering fruit, Bafflebod was just a baby when this happened. Despite having never met his mother, he was certain that the woman who appeared to him in his dreams, with the pretty and kind face was her.
Within Bafflebod's tunnel community lived fifty families of very peaceful Zephods all doing the best they could to stay alive in a very difficult situation. A stone's throw from Bafflebod's tunnel network lay one of the most important of all Zephod tunnel systems, the Leader's Barracks.
About 200 warrior Zephods were based within the Leader's Barracks, along with the great leader of the Zephods himself, Dev Pron. Warrior Zephods are fierce warriors, highly trained and very skilful. Using their long sharp extended fingers, bio armour and amazing dexterity, Zephod warriors hold their own against the Brachanid troops. They are incredible archers and fantastic swordsman. Zephod warriors lack nothing in battle skills. What they do lack however, is numbers. After the Great Gannish War just 10,000 warriors remained, with just a scattering of those located near Waking Veil and Bafflebod's community. It was fair to say that Bafflebod's community were quite alone.
Dev Pron was a great leader and well loved by all Zephods. Dev was a quiet man, covered in scars and wearing an eye patch which covered the small pebble which sat in his now empty eye socket. Dev lost his eye during a battle again a Brachanid hunting party. Dev and four warrior Zephods had been above ground ten miles south of the barracks hunting when they were ambushed by the Brachanids. All four warrior Zephods died in the attack and Dev was slashed across the face with a Brachanid sword which also took his eye. Dev did not flinch as the sword struck, just grimaced, spun and drove his sword deep into his attacker's chest. Dev walked the ten miles back to his barracks leaving a trail of blood behind him. None of the twelve Brachanids who ambushed Dev survived.
As the leader of the Zephods, Dev was the holder of the Great Stone of Haffin Thorpe. The Stone of Haffin Thorpe was discovered by the Zephods at the beginning of the first age and had been passed from leader to leader ever since. The Zephod people experimented with the Great Stone for centuries, unravelling it secrets and abilities. Of all its powers, the main use for the Zephods had always been to utilise its powers of cloaking. The Zephods used the stone's power to hide the entrances to their tunnels.
The Zephods discovered that the Great Stone had a finite limit of power which can be utilised by the drawing of different symbols on its surface, different symbols reveal different powers. They discovered that the Great Stone's power diminished if kept out of the reach of the sun's great energy. This posed problems for the underground dwelling Zephods, as it needed to be regularly taken above ground in order to recharge its essence.
The Zephods calculated that they used around eighty per cent of the Stone of Haffin Thorpe's power to help remain hidden, keeping the other twenty per cent in reserve in case of an emergency.
Bafflebod loved his home, he loved his dad and he loved being a Zephod. But he was lonely and sick of having to spend all of his time underground with very little to eat and nobody to play with. Bafflebod was the youngest in his community by quite a few years, with the next youngest being a fifteen-year-old male Zephod called Feron, who he didn't really get along with.
It was fair to say that with no friends, a rumbling empty tummy and a persistent cough from the underground dust, that Bafflebod was a little bit fed up.
The Beach at Veil
As quickly as the bright light started, it stopped. Penny and Jack's feet landed back on the ground. A different ground, a very different ground.
The soft, springy texture of gra
ss had been replaced by the tough and unyielding resistance of solid rock.
Jack looked around, Penny's house and garden had gone and he found himself gazing upon a vast open plain. The rock upon which they now stood spread out in all directions for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. In the far distance to his left, Jack could make out huge cliffs that rose proudly towards the crystal blue skies.
The rocks themselves appeared to be stained with a dried up and dead and shrivelled brown plant. Shells and small skeletons from all manner of strange creatures littered the surface. It was clear that nothing had lived in this barren place for years.
A light breeze swept across the pair of them, bringing with it an unpleasant and sweet smell, as if something within the land was rotting away slowly. It certainly did not have the 'scent appeal' of Penny's beautifully fragranced garden.
"Where are we?" asked Jack
"Welcome to Waking Veil, Jack," replied Penny, while gently dusting herself down.
"You mean? we are in? isn't that the name of the stone?" stuttered Jack.
"It certainly is. The stone was named after the very place we now stand," said Penny. "Legend has it that this place was once a great sea and the stone was once just a pebble like any other, that is until the Ungan Dazafs breathed life into it. It is now a means of teleport from our world to this world. Don't worry, Jack, it will take us home again too."
"The Ungan what?" asked Jack.
"The Ungan Dazafs were an ancient race of people who once lived upon this world. Most believe that they were a colony of explorers from another world who settled here many thousands of years ago. They possessed the ability to create worm holes out of rocks, just like the one I hold in my hand. Legend tells us of six stones in total, commonly called the Great Stones. The stone of Haffin Thorpe, the stone of Breet, the stone of Exing Shol, the stone of Zannit Fru, the stone of Craksik Mull and this one, the stone of Waking Veil.
"Two of the stones are currently lost, the fabled stone of Craksik Mull has never been discovered, but the stone of Zannit Fru was lost a few decades ago in a great battle. We have this one and the other three are in safe hands too," said Penny.
"So who has the other three?" asked Jack. As Penny opened her mouth to answer Jack's question, the sound of a huge deep horn interrupted her as it rang out across the land shaking the very ground beneath their feet.
"We had better get to safety, Jack. I will tell you more then," said Penny
Penny reached out, took Jack's hand and started to walk at a very brisk pace towards the distant cliffs.
"What was that sound?" asked Jack, doing his best to keep up.
"That, Jack, was the sound of trouble, serious trouble. It was the war horn of the Midnight Army. They know we have arrived and they are after the stone. We must be quick," replied Penny.
The horn rang out again and was this time followed by an almighty boom as if 10,000 voices all called out together in anger.
Penny broke into a run and pulled Jack along. Jack was amazed at just how fast this little old lady was actually going and found it a real struggle to keep up.
Faster and faster they ran, Jack's legs started to become a blur. He would occasionally lose his footing and find himself being dragged for a few paces and it felt like he was flying. Jack was amazed at just how strong this little old lady was.
The horn rang again out, again followed by the boom of voices and again Penny increased the speed. Jack looked over his shoulder towards the source of the sound. In the distance Jack could just about make out a dark black mass of shapes which appeared to be moving towards them with what looked like a large gathering cloud of dust which hung gently below the brilliant blue sky.
Jack turned his head back, the cliffs were close now. The cliffs spanned left and right as far as the eye could see and were like vast sheets of impenetrable rock. Jack wondered how on earth they were going to get up and over.
They reached the foot of the cliffs and stopped dead, Jack stumbled forwards with the suddenness of Penny's sharp braking. He stood up, dusted himself down and looked back, the shapes and cloud were growing ever closer. He looked at Penny, she was busy retrieving the stone from her pocket.
"Quickly, Jack, come here!" she shouted.
Jack quickly walked over to Penny. The shapes were getting closer. He could now see what he thought looked like a vast army. A vast army of large people riding what looked like huge horses.
"Hold on to my waist tightly, Jack," said Penny. Jack did as he was told. Penny held out the stone before them in her left hand and with her right thumb she painted out a series of shapes on to its surface. The pair of them shot into the air with tremendous speed. They were flying!
Jack clung on to Penny's waist for dear life. Up they rose like a rocket. They reached the top of the cliff in a second, skimmed across the land which lay above like a flat stone on a still pond for 100 metres or so before coming to a particularly bumpy and quite painful halt.
"Wow!" said Jack. "That was amazing!"
"Quickly," said Penny. "Take my hand, we are nearly there."
Jack grabbed Penny's hand and they were off again, racing across the soft grass. A few minutes later the pair stopped. Again, Penny pulled out the stone and drew on its surface. A shower of light flowed from the stone and settled across the floor in front of them. The light sparkled, faded and, where moments before there had been nothing but soft sweet green grass, a large heavy wooden door had appeared. Penny knelt on the grass and banged on the door with an elaborate series of knocks that reminded Jack of the lesson he had done in school about the Morse code.
Moments later the great door opened inwards. It was pitch black inside.
A friendly looking pale face popped out.
"Ah, Miss Penny! How lovely to see you!" said the very pale and very thin face. "Do come in!"
Jack and Penny climbed down and walked into the darkness.
Dark Seeking the Dark
Crake Zee was Siinjid Azzar's second in command and a fearsome warrior. He sat on top of his Cara cara and snarled. His blood red eyes shone with menace from within his horned black helmet.
"They have gone up and over the cliffs," snarled Crake Zee to his second in command.
Crake was the only member of the Midnight Army who was not a Brachanid, he was a member of a race of strange beings called the Janyilids. The Janyilids had dark human-shaped bodies covered in scales similar to those on a snake and a head that looked like a cross between that of a snake and a lion, flat and sleek, with enormous teeth and piercing red eyes. They were similar in colour to those of the Brachanids, but with almond shaped pupils similar to those of a cat.
The Janyili's, much like the Brachanids were once slaves of the great Ungan Dazaf people. However, when the Ungan Dazafs disappeared, the Brachanids, being the species with greater numbers, enslaved the Janyilids immediately, using them to build, grow food and as entertainment in the fight pits. The Brachanids bred them in prison camps and trained the male Janyilids to fight from an early age to prepare them for a short adult life in the fight pits. The women were put to work making armour and weapons for the Midnight Army.
Crake Zee was a pit fighter and spent the best part of his life in the pits fighting to the death against all manner of opposition.
Pit fights were quite simple really. Two opponents went into a fight pit, often with no weapons and only one ever came out. During his time, Crake Zee came out of more than 300 pits. Crake Zee had survived as a pit fighter for nearly three years, the average life expectancy for a new pit fighter was just two months.
It was Siinjid himself who had freed Crake after witnessing the battle skills he had developed during his time in the fight pits. Siinjid took it upon himself to train Crake in weapon combat and when he was ready, Siinjid was so impressed by Crake that he promoted him to his second in command.
The giant horse-like Cara cara bellowed smoke from his nose and Crake gave a sharp tug of the reigns as if to remind it of who ex
actly was in charge.
"Head for the cliff pass!" screamed Crake in his deep and gravelly voice.
The great horn bellowed out and the company of Brachanids roared as they were led off by Crake at a tremendous gallop. Within minutes they were negotiating a narrow path which cut its way like a zigzag through the cliffs. The path was so narrow that even by going single file some of the Cara caras would occasionally get stuck, requiring the Cara cara behind to give it a good shove to get it free again.
It took the company of Brachanids over an hour to climb to the top of the cliff. They gathered on the velvety grass surface above and the Cara caras grazed happily, thankful for the rest and the unexpected meal.
"They will be around here somewhere!" shouted Crake. "They are allies of the worthless Zephod scum and I am certain there is a Zephod nest near here, I have trodden these plains before and smelt their foul stench in the air. I am sure there are two of them and I would wager they have 'jumped' here with a great rock. Split up and search every inch carefully as any Zephod hole will surely be protected by that cursed rock which they yield! Get to it!"
With that the company scattered and began the search. Crake sat motionless on top of his Cara cara, closed his blood red eyes, poked out his very long forked tongue and began to taste the air. His huge chest rose and fell as he drew the air in deep from all directions. Janyilids had a quite amazing sense of smell.
Crake's eyes sprung open and his black oval pupils shrunk to pin holes in the bright light. Crake had a scent, he dug his heels sharply into the side of the Cara cara which instantly stopped eating grass and started to run. Crake's tongue flickered out all the while, the scent was getting stronger and stronger. He tugged the reigns and brought the Cara cara to an instant halt.
