Chapter 1
Ria
The two jag men waved their fronds, swishing around
the tropical heat which encased Ria’s loft house. They had insisted on this
task, but in reality the humidity did not bother Ria; she had been born in the
rainforest and her blood hummed within the confines of this damp and natural
environment.
Rising from her day bed, Ria
stretched to her full height, working out all of the kinks from her slumber. A
few beads of sweat rolled along her body, usual for the weather here.
She waved off the jags. They gave a
brief bow to their queen before departing and leaving her to the morning
ritual. Clothed only in her tawny skin, Ria strode across to the large opening
which was hung with threaded vines to separate her home in the tree tops from
the rest of the jungle. With the barest of thoughts the barrier shifted out of
her way. She thanked her beloved plants with a blown kiss.
Standing in the perfect still of
the jungle, Ria absorbed the glow of the six moons surrounding Regali. They
cast soft filtered light through the dense wilderness. Her platform was two
miles high, in one of the older trees, allowing the most unrestricted view of
her territory.
Ria thought of the tales from the
south. She’d never left her home but she had heard that other countries had
clear land and expanses of flat grass-plains. She couldn’t really imagine that.
Her country was the jungle of Artwon and there was no free space. They must
feel exposed, not having the protection of undergrowth and high level tree
tops.
“Ria!”
She was not startled by the growled
greeting. Her best friend and bodyguard was Klea, a leon. She turned around. The
blue-tinged light from the moons highlighted the female standing in her
doorway. She was shorter than Ria, as were all in this jungle, except the bera pack.
Klea’s mane was a dark golden color, long down her back and wrapping around to
coat her forehead and cheeks. The rest of her fur covering was a lighter gold,
the same color as her eyes.
“You are well?” Klea said gruffly.
Her vocal cords only resonated in a low rough sound.
Ria nodded. “For once I slept
uninterrupted. The tree spirits kept the dreams away.”
Klea growled. “The tree spirits? I
do not know why you ask anything of them. They are your family and still you
must be indebted to them after each favor.”
Ria’s mother, Theanine, was the
matriarch of the tree spirits. The gods of Regali. Theanine was literally
mother-to-nature. None of the spirits existed on the physical plane any longer.
Ria was the last to walk with the beasts. Her mother had taken a temporary
corporeal form to conceive and grow her child. But then she had returned to the
spiritual plane.
“You know that there must be
equilibrium; if I take I must also give. The spirits keep the natural balance.”
Ria was steadfast in her defense of her mother’s people.
Right now Ria was the most powerful
creature in Artwon. All living plants heeded and obeyed her call. And for this
reason she was Queen of the beasts who lived within these jungles. There were
six main packs. The jags: small cat people; leon: large cat people; bera:
grizzlies; eaglet: the flyers; slimes: reptiles; and munks: the apes. The
smaller or mixed breeds were scattered around, mostly keeping to themselves.
“Where am I visiting today?” Ria
asked as she clothed herself in leather and vines.
The sparse two-piece set had been
weaved from an array of donated skins from the packs. It was the right of the
Queen to wear her people. In the long past the packs would sacrifice members
for the honor of the leader wearing their skin. Today, thankfully, the leather
was from those naturally fallen.
“It is the morning before the red
moon, Ria. You must convene with the tree spirits and prepare for the
shifting.”
A smile spread across Ria’s full
lips. She should have known. Her blood was boiling this morning and her spirit
extra restless. She was not pack and did not have to shift on the red moon, but
she still felt the pull. Striding forward, her long mahogany hair fell almost
to her calves. With her innate agility she leapt from the outer branch, landing
in the next tree. From here she took a vine down to the ground level.
The thick undergrowth hugged her
legs in greeting. A quick pause by the reflective pool where she bathed gave
her time to trail a hand along her favorite purple calia flowers. Their
iridescent color was a perfect match for her own eyes. Her mother surrounded
this area with the beautiful but deadly flower, as she knew they soothed Ria’s
soul. The benefit of having a nature goddess as her mother. The negative was,
of course, never having her physically around. Ria had been raised with the leons,
hence why Klea was her best friend.
“Let’s go, you have many miles to
traverse this morning.” Klea spoke after clawing her way down to where Ria
stood.
They started at a run, in the
direction of the sixth moon, toward the sacred tree. The undergrowth was dense,
but that posed no problem. The plants and vines simply shifted for them. Ria
had already sent out her energy along their path to let the forest know she
needed a clear run. With the help of her plants they would be at their
destination in no time.
She kneeled, allowing her chestnut-colored hair to fan
around her; the vines that were imprinted across it shimmered green. Ria closed
her eyes, her hands reaching forward to lie flat-palmed against the sacred one.
It was the first tree in Regali’s existence, and from where all the tree
spirits were born. Ria felt her energy separate from her being and entwine with
the warmth of her ancestors. Words were never spoken out loud or internally; it
was simply a joining of spirit, a moment for thanks and recharge.
“Queen.”
Her head snapped up at the
interruption. No one was ever to disturb her during these blessed moments.
Where was Klea? Suddenly her friend moved into view. She had her muscled arms
locked around the throat of a munk.
“Sorry, Ria, I was too slow to cut
off his vocal cord access.” Klea lowered her head, shame spreading across her
cat-like features.
Ria waved her hand, rising from her
kneeling position to stand before them.
“Let him speak,” she said.
Klea growled at these words.
“He would not have disturbed me if
it wasn’t important,” Ria finished. She had great faith in her people. They
were honorable.
With one last rumble from her chest,
Klea loosened her muscular arms, allowing the munk to suck in a deep breath.
His dark fur was disheveled, but it was more the panic in his eyes which moved
Ria.
“Speak without fear,” she told him,
flicking her head at Klea so she would back up a few steps.
“I apologize, your most majestic
one.” He spoke in the tongue of the beasts, which had taken Ria many years to
understand.
It was far different to the words
of the gods that she spoke.
“I have been sent from my pack. We
need your help. The fringe are back.”
Ria straightened, adrenalin
flooding her system. She winced as Klea’s roar of pain and anger echoed
throughout the jungle foliage. The fringe, as this group of misfits was known,
had killed Klea’s sister: Agia. Ria also mourned the loss of Agia. They had
been searching for the fringe’s hidden territory for years, but so far the
plants were keeping it secret, even from Ria.
“How many of them?” she asked as
they started to run.
“At least ten,” he said.
There was no time to waste. The
fringe had not been seen for many red moons, and this was a chance to stop the
carnage. Ria mentally called for her people.
They had a system where the plants
around each of the six packs’ territories would alert them. Each pack had
trained guards who had pledged their loyalty to her, but unlike other queens,
she did not have them by her side all the time. She preferred they stayed to
protect their packs, only leaving if she called for their help. But the fringe
were strong and dangerous, made up of rogue members from every pack and, since
they killed indiscriminately, Ria knew she would need help. Plus, each pack
deserved the chance to avenge its dead.
They were fast through the jungle.
Klea and the munk used the trees, flying through the higher canopy. Ria was
safer on the ground, her plants lending their assistance. The heat continued to
beat down, humidity coating her shining skin. The six moons that circled Regali
kept their world warm, and when the red moon rose, the heat’s intensity
increased. Ria tried to calm herself as she travelled. As Queen she needed to
keep the situation from escalating. She could never let go of her base
instincts and unleash the fury inside. But these misfits were testing her
patience as they wrought a path of destruction through the packs. She had to
protect her people.
The munks’ territory was in the
south of Artwon, where the trees were extra high and the undergrowth sparse.
Ria could hear calls echoing through the greenery. The soldiers of the packs
were moving through the jungle, preparing to descend on the fringe.
Artwon wasn’t a large country and
the packs lived reasonably close to each other. There were many rules for
co-habitating, and if they were broken by any members then there was a trial by
their peer group and the final sentence was dealt with by the Queen.
It was these rules which had
offended the animalistic sentimentality of the fringe members. They wanted to
fight and war without repercussion. But Ria would be dead and back with her
ancestors before she let anarchy rule the packs. Her appointment as Queen had
been a hard-fought battle. For the first time in history Artwon was ruled by
someone not of the packs. She had worked to tame them, although it was wise to
never forget their animal sides.
With a brief mental command Ria
lifted her arms and called for the vines she used to swing herself through the
trees. She was fast and had unlimited stamina, but that was nothing compared to
that of the packs, and so this was the easiest way for her to keep up with
them.
To her left five slimes swung into
view. They nodded their heads in a deferential greeting to her. On her right
were the jags. She could see bera grizzly guards beneath her, thrashing through
the undergrowth. She winced as her plants were trampled. Her energy cleared the
rest of the path, saving any further plant deaths.
The vines continued to swing her in
graceful arcs. Her advanced hearing detected the echoes of screams from the munks’
territory. She urged her journey on faster. She needed to get there now; the
fringe members were probably tearing them apart. As a rule the munks were
smart, agile and quick, but in brute strength they were near the bottom of the
packs, except for their ape guards. But by the sounds of it they were in
trouble.
The vines propelled her through the
outer perimeter of the munks’ territory.
And suddenly the carnage came into
view.
The mangled body of a female munk,
crouched over her two babies, was the first thing Ria saw. Pain exploded in
Ria’s chest and she let out a cursing shriek that rang through the trees.
She had been too late for that
family.
The plants around her immediately
reacted to her pain and anger. The jungle sprang to life: vines shooting
around, branches descending and being used as weapons by the pack guards.
Ria’s rapid observations determined
that the messenger munk had been mistaken. There were not ten; there were at
least three dozen fringe members. They were easy to discern by the red streaked
throughout their fur. This was their gory calling card: blood of the enemies.
And they were organized. Half of them were fighting through the pack, keeping
them all occupied, whilst the other half were stealing food and healing stores.
“No!”
The messenger munk was crouched
over the fallen body of the female and young. He had gathered them into his
arms, rocking back and forward, his howls ringing through the screams and
fighting.
Ria’s heart ached for him. But
before she could move closer, a tiny cry could be heard. The munk’s head flew
up in shock and Ria couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
One of the babies crawled out from
under its mother and into his arms. Followed by the second baby. Ria felt both
relieved and saddened; their mother had died protecting them, but at least they
had not been sacrificed.
The munk cradled both the tiny
creatures in his arms. As he stood he caught Ria’s eye.
She could see his need for help and
sent the vines to him. They formed a safe netting into which he reluctantly
released his offspring. As Ria’s warm energy mingled with the plants, she asked
the vines to take and protect the young until she called for them. The greenery
disappeared up into the canopy.
The munk dropped beside his mate
again, kissing her once on the head and closing her eyes before he stood and
turned away.
Ria lost him as he plunged into the
crowd. The other packs’ guards had arrived now and they soon had the fringe
members surrounded.
As Ria strode over to the main
group she wondered why they’d allowed themselves to be caught. Fringe did not
usually come in willingly.
A burst of noise had her spinning
around and a vine snatched her up just as another large group of beras flooded
the munks’ territory.
Their fur was speckled with blood.
From her secure position, Ria was
able to send the rest of the vines to seize her people, saving them from the
ferocity of the new arrivals’ attacks. Beras stood over ten feet tall, strong
and brutal with razor claws and jaws full of massive teeth. For some reason
more of this pack had defected to the fringe than any other.
After rescuing their members, the
fringe disappeared into the jungle, taking with them the munks’ supplies.
Ria followed using the sight of her
plants, hoping to be led to their territory. The plants were her best chance of
keeping up with them. The guards were in pursuit but were already a step
behind.
And then midway through Artwon, as
they neared the old waterfall, the fringe members simply disappeared. It was
always the same, and she couldn’t understand how they hid from the jungle. She
searched aimlessly for a few more minutes, but the foliage sensed no disturbance
at all.
Pulling her energy from the trees
she focused back on the scene in the munks’ territory. The vines dropped her
down and she rushed to offer help and comfort. The screams of grief were
deafening as packs found loved ones dead.
Ria joined with those moving to
tend to the injured. She spent many hours using her knowledge of healing and
plants to fix wounds, poisons and breaks. Finally, as the moons shifted higher
in the sky, they began to bury the dead and rest the injured.
Ria called for the vines with the
two babies. She had been keeping an eye on them and they had slept through most
of the pandemonium. Reaching out, she gently captured the sleeping munks, their
sweet little faces so peaceful. She looked around for the father, but he was
nowhere to be seen. Finally, as she wandered away from the main gathering, she
found him. He had been missed when they tended to the injured.
He was curled up beside his mate,
one of his hands resting on hers, the other pressed tightly to the wound in his
chest.
Ria’s breath caught in her throat.
The munk’s chest rose and fell very
lightly, but she could see the torn damage to his chest was too much for a
recovery. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. She glanced down at the
innocence in her arms, tiny little faces with brown fur so soft and silky. They
were too young to remember their parents, to realize their entire worlds had
been ripped apart.
“Ria, why do you hold these young?”
Klea, who had been her shadow for most of the battle, spoke from behind her.
“Their parents were killed.” She
pointed toward the fallen couple, and as she spoke the male took his last
breath, his body relaxing into the stillness of death.
She shed a few more tears, her life
water falling into the soil.
“Let us finish helping their
recovery and then we will return to the sacred tree,” Ria said, turning away
from the heart-wrenching scene.
She needed to speak with the tree
spirits about the fringe. This had to stop now. Their ferocity was increasing,
the carnage heartbreaking. It was Ria’s job to save her people, but she was
making no inroads into stopping them. She just couldn’t understand why her
plants hid these extremists from her.
“Queen.” A female munk stepped in
front of her. “I am Aralet, sister to Ara.” She pointed to the still body of
the little ones’ father. “I will take the children and raise them.”
She spoke bluntly but with respect.
Ria knew that even if Ara had no blood relatives, someone from the pack would
have cared for these two young. At that moment the elder of the two children
held out its arms to Aralet, and Ria could see they knew each other. Leaning
down, she laid a gentle kiss on top of their heads before she passed them
across to their brethren.
“Care for them well,” she said,
before turning to follow Klea.
They had many more hours work
helping to salvage and rebuild the Mmunks’ territory. All of which had to be
done before the red moon.
Ria was silent in her loft house, watching, waiting
for the full crest of the red moon. The six smaller moons cast their shade of
blue, but as the large red circle rose above the canopy, the world turned to
purple. And at the peak of the red moon howls rang free. Ria threw back her
head, savoring the spill of energy through her blood. It was rare that she
ventured down to run with the packs. This was their time to be free and not
feel their Queen was watching over their shoulders. But sometimes she wished to
be pack. To lose all forms of civilized behavior for a short time.
“I have to go now.” Klea’s rough
tone startled Ria.
She spun around to find the leon in
mid transition. The skin was melting away to be replaced by fur and when Klea’s
mouth finally lengthened into a muzzle she would no longer be able to speak.
Ria nodded. She knew Klea hated
leaving her unguarded, but no pack member could ignore the call of the red
moon. And she would be safe.
With a roar, Klea dropped to all
fours and flung herself out of the doorway. Ria moved back to the edge of the
trees, watching as her jungle came to life. The noise below was almost
deafening.
Ria never slept the night of the
red moon. The energy had her buzzing around her loft until the purple light
faded and the large ball disappeared from the sky. The moment that the blue moons
filled the sky, the packs quietened and proceeded to sleep off the night. Ria
took advantage of this time, descending to the forest floor and moving freely
through Artwon. She needed this moment to release her overload of energy. Each
time power fizzling from her plants sprouted or burst to life. Large flowers
bloomed, fruit blossomed, and she loved feeding her overflow back into nature.
During her run she’d never seen any
living creatures, so an unexpected movement between two lanta trees had her
grinding to a halt.
Pack members required at least
twelve hours’ sleep after the red moon, so it could be none of them. Ria
scanned the dense vines and trees as she wandered under the large brown trunks
that formed the structure for the tangled venus vines.
There was no more movement, but she
knew something had disturbed the land; she could feel the unease from the
plants.
Deciding that whatever it was must
be long gone, she was turning to continue her journey when he stepped out from
between a section of large vines.
Ria gasped.
She knew this man.
Her mother had given her dreams of
the father she’d never known. The father who was now standing before her.
She took an involuntary step
forward, her eyes cataloguing every detail. He was much taller than she was,
his hair the same silky brown color as her own, his skin much darker but still
tawny. Ria had always known that her unusual eye color was from him, but his
were even more dramatically set off by stunning purple square-shaped marks
running along the right side of his face and neck.
Except for these marks, she was the
female version of this man. Well, the marks and the ivy print in her hair,
which was courtesy of her mother.
They examined each other. Ria could
see the vines curling around his arms and legs, the same way they did when
greeting her. And then as she continued to stare at him the marks disappeared
off his face, as if they’d just melted into his skin. How had he done that?
“You are very impressive.” He
finally spoke, his accent heavy and unfamiliar.
“What are you doing here?” Ria
asked him.
“I have watched you for a long time.
Your mother asked that I leave you alone.” His purple eyes flashed, reflecting
off the blue moonlights. “But things are changing in the First World star
system. It’s no longer safe, so I’m here to warn you.”
Ria’s unease grew, which had her
plants wrapping tightly around her for comfort.
“Warn me about what?” she asked.
He held out a hand to her. “It
would be better if I showed you.”
Ria hesitated. She knew nothing of
him or his intentions. But despite this she found herself stepping forward and
reaching out to place her smaller hand into his.
“Show me the threat to my people.”
Ria stared at the bunkers under the roots of the
massive rairing tree, energy roaring inside her. She had the barest sliver of
control over her anger.
Her father, whose name she had learnt
was Nos, had shown her how the fringe had been evading her detection.
They wore the skins of the dead.
That was why when she scanned the
forest for them they went undetected: the skin of all those they had killed
surrounded their den like a large camouflage, and they also covered themselves
in the skins. The deads’ fur gave off its own aura, hiding the living who wore
it. And they had hundreds of furs, many more dead than she’d ever realized.
“As terrible as you may find this,
I did not bring you here to mourn your dead.” Nos spoke quietly. “These
nuisances are the gateway to something much worse that could spell the end of
Artwon and Regali.”
He definitely had Ria’s attention
now. She waited for him to continue, but he seemed content to sit beside her in
the high branches. Patience was a skill she’d worked hard to develop in her
many years, so for now she just continued to observe.
The fringe had numerous members. Hundreds
came and went through the veil of dead.
Ria sat upright, her senses firing
as a group emerged from the underground burrow. They weren’t pack. They looked
like her, but short and sturdy, the dwarvin. She had heard of these creatures.
They lived in the lands of the north; the flat plains.
“What are they doing here?” she muttered.
“War is coming to your doorstep,
Ria. The fringe are gathering rebel factions from all corners of Regali. They
plan on taking Artwon first.”
His words sent shockwaves of panic
through her. There had never been war between the countries before. As a rule,
everyone stuck to their own area.
“They could not have organized this
on their own,” she said, knowing the fringe did not have the manpower or the
resources.
The north men disappeared into the
trees. She was tempted to send out her vines and steal back her dead brethren
they wore, but she knew now wasn’t the time to tip them off.
“That is why I have come,” Nos said.
“You have a Walker problem.”