A Different Path
Disclaimer: Animorphs belongs to Scholatic, and the Heralds of Valdemar series belong to Mercedes Lackey. I do not wish to make any money off this in any way, shape or fashion.
Prologue
Aximili
My name is Aximili, and I am a confused Andalite.
My people are not superstitious. We do not believe any more in what our ancestors did, in gods. What would be the point? With science, it is obvious that those were just ways of explaining the inexplicable.
I have observed my human friends making statements about whatever god they believe in. I do not understand how such intelligent beings are taken in by these ancient superstitions.
Yet, the Ellimists are real. Could it be possible that these beings called gods are real, too?
It is night. I have been having trouble sleeping recently. I have been thinking of things like life and death. My culture usually ignores that aspect of life, yet it troubles me.
When the body dies, do we just stop? Does anything go on to something else? Is this it?
For all the time I have been here on earth, I have fought the Yeerks. But is has troubled me, all of the killing, all the death, if it is for nothing. Are there any greater powers? Are the Ellimist and Crayak all the ultimate authority that exists?
I turned off the T. V., and walked outside my scoop.
I looked up to the stars, and tried looking at them, not as giant balls of gas, but as something else. Maybe I was looking for a sign, I don't know. I sighed, thinking, what was the harm? I will try something different. I will pray.
Staring out at the night, I whispered in thought-speak, I have never done this before, but if you are real, someone, I would ask for your help. My friends and I are in a war we cannot really win. I know that. I might as well admit it. Please, show me some kind of sign, an omen. I need something to believe in. If you can here me, answer me, please.
I listened with all the strength I had, and I heard nothing.
I went back into my scoop, and turned on the television.
Jake
My name is Jake. You probably know the details, so I won't go into them.
Today had been a normal day. You might even say a bit boring. Hey, though, I like boring. It means no pain, running and screaming, no life and death decisions, and no gambling with my friend's lives. It was a good day.
I got home from school and opened the fridge, looking for a snack. I felt a strange prickling on the back of my neck; the kind I get when something is about to happen. I'm not psychic or anything, but you learn to trust instincts like that in my job. So, I turn around, bringing the soda I had gotten up to throw.
My eyes found a woman, dressed all in black, with black hair, gold toned skin, and a sword peeking out from under a long overcoat. She was impossibly beautiful. Then, I saw her eyes. There was nothing there, just the blackness of night, and they were strewn with sparkling stars.
She couldn't be human.
Then what the hell was she?
I felt as if she was reading me, everything that I had been and would become. Man, did I feel naked.
Finally, she smiled, and the lump that I hadn't noticed was gone from my throat. I could talk.
"Are you an Ellimist?" I croaked, feeling sweat seem to pop out all over me.
"No," she answered, in a soft, musical voice. Despite its beauty, there was a terrible ring to it, like the sound of two swords colliding.
"What-," I cleared my throat, and less hoarsely, continued," What are you then?"
"My name is Kalanel, Jake, and I need your help."
Marco
Jake called me, saying that we needed to meet at Cassie's. He had sounded weird on the phone, like he was both awed and annoyed. Strange combination.
I morphed osprey, and flew over to the barn. I had felt really P.O.'d, because I had a project that was due tomorrow, and I hadn't even started the research.
When I arrived, everyone else was already there. Rachel was lounging on a hay bale, Ax was standing in the middle of the room as himself, and Cassie was cleaning cages. Tobias was in his usual spot in the rafters. Where was Jake?
"Hey, Cass, any idea why Jake called the meeting then skipped out?" I ask.
She turned to me, then back to the cage. "Your guess is as good as mine. I have no more of a clue than anyone else."
"Great," I muttered to myself, sitting cross-legged on a bale.
We waited a while, then Jake finally showed up, with a stranger. Immediately, Ax went combative, Rachel started her grizzly bear morph, and Tobias swooped. I started my gorilla morph, when without warning, everyone stopped. The woman Jake had brought raised an eyebrow, and we all stared. That was all we could do, being frozen and all.
Jake grimaced. "Guys, this is Kalanel. She is here to ask for our help. I think we had better listen."
Rachel
Once we were free to move again, we sat, but warily. Jake started telling how he had met her. I listened with half an ear, far more interested in looking this woman over.
I had just noticed her sword, when I got to her eyes. The sheer power in them washed me over.
"Are you an Ellimist?" I asked without thinking.
NO. Came a rather ticked sounding voice.
"No," Kalanel echoed.
WHY ARE YOU HERE, STAR-EYED?
"To plead for help."
YOU?
"Yes, me."
The Ellimist appeared in the form of an old man, with star strewn eyes. I compared the two.
I definitely thought Kalanel seemed more powerful, though I couldn't say why.
" The Yeerks will, in some time, invade my world. It doesn't have the same defenses that earth does. We are humans, without your technology. I can take you to my world, and make sure that you are able to come back to this one. No matter what happens there, you will return here."
You can do this? asked Ax skeptically. When the Ellimist apparently cannot?
Suddenly, the guise that the woman wore to seem human vanished, and we could feel the energy running through the room. Kalanel was still Kalanel, but now, she wore black chain link armor, high black boots, and slacks.
Yes, I can. I am not like the Ellimist. I am older, far more so. I have been here for a long time.
I shivered, and screwed up my courage to ask," Who are you really?" I could see that the Ellimist was trembling.
I am the Star-Eyed, the Warrior, the Goddess of the South Wind and the New Moon, one of the Aspects of the Lady.
All of us just sat in silence. There was not much you could say after that.
"What will happen if we go?" asked Cassie, breaking the silence.
I will give you identities to fit into your new lives. I cannot tell how long yet you will be there, and you will need to understand the places you will be going. I will put your souls into new vessels, which will look similar to your old ones. If you are killed or after the Yeerks are driven out, you will return to your old body, here, in this barn. No time will pass between.
I looked into Her eyes again, feeling foolish at my boldness. I saw true suffering there, for the fate of her people, and her world.
If you are what you say you are, why are you asking us for help? Why don't you just destroy them with a wave of your hand? asked Ax, sounding odd, with a mixture of wonder, fear, and skepticism.
I am bound by rules. There would be open warfare between the gods if I were to violate them. Many of those Powers believe that mortals should be left to their own devises. Mortals are to the most of what they can for themselves before we intervene.
Jake commented," Why are you here now, then? If you are not supposed to get involved?"
We may intervene when petitioned, and I have been so. I have gone to find mortals who have fought the Yeerks, and understand them. We may only intervene directly when all life is threatened. If the Yeerks were to win here, the gods would surely act. Until then, you must do what you can to stop the tide.
"Aren't you breaking the rules now by getting us?" interjected Cassie.
I said nothing about bending them. You are mortals. I am not acting if I ask you, not make you, help. Not all life is threatened yet, and you are the best hope I can find, and maybe the only one.
"Well, what do we get out of it?" asked Marco, even though he had his hands in front of his eyes.
I pinched him.
"Ouch!"
She answered anyway.
You have a right to ask shrewd one. All I can offer is knowledge of another world, and the things you might learn there. I will tell you this, however. Our two worlds are far more similar than you know.
I felt a smile creep across my face. I looked at Jake. He nodded, and looked to the others. Various expressions of agreement met his gaze.
Jake turned to the Goddess.
"Let's do it!"
The smile on Her face was like the sun coming out.
Done.
Chapter One
It was still a week before the Midwinter festival. This year was going to be a special one, thought Jake of Wyvern's Reach. This year, we are going to spend it in the capital of Valdemar, the city of Haven.
It would be the first time that he and his brother Thom had been to the Capital. Jake's parents were minor nobles, and were far enough away that they rarely had any business there.
As Jake packed his bags, he wondered if his parents had forgotten the most important part about Haven. The Herald's Collegium was there, and so was Companions field. He could be Chosen!
Jake had always wanted to be a Herald. He had read everything that he could get his hands on about the near legendary 'Arrows of the Queen'. They went out and did things, not just read about them. They righted wrongs, and delivered the Queen's justice. They were messengers, spies, and sometimes thieves, in the service of Valdemar. Jake truly believed in what they did, and he wanted nothing more than to be one of them. Whenever he had mentioned his ambition to his father, he had always told him that the job was too dangerous. He was only thirteen, and had no idea of the threats they faced. A rebellious voice inside him told him that he had somehow faced threats that maybe only a Herald could imagine. He had dreams of being something huge and powerful, fighting evils not of this world, but then he woke up, and recognized those dreams for what they were, a kid's dreams after too many hours listening to the bards.
"Jake!" shouted his father. "You better get down here, the pack train is leaving!"
Jake jumped, and grabbed his saddlebags. Taking the steps three at a time, he ran out into the courtyard, and hopped into the saddle of his gelding, Hardhead. He could hardly wait.
A few days later, he hoped that Haven would be better than the trip there. All the way, his brother talked about he was looking forward to the annual fencing matches held during the Festival, and when he wasn't talking about that, he was talking about how the most beautiful ladies in Court were going to be there. There was one particular one that he would go on about for hours. Jake wondered if he could but a bur in his saddle to make him shut up.
When they got to Haven, they went their winding way through the city. Jake's father told him that Haven had been built with defense in mind, and that they made sure that no roads led directly to the Palace. Jake thought he would go to sleep and fall off his horse, when they finally got there.
They went through the Privy gate. It was a bit smallish, but big enough for their needs. Immediately, Jake's mother told him that they had to go get bathes; they were eating at Court tonight.
"Mom!" Jake protested. "We just got here! I'm bushed. And a bath? We had one at the inn we last stayed at."
The glare she gave him was answer enough.
He rushed to the bathing rooms, and was impressed with the way they were made. The copper boilers for the heating water and the hole to drain away the used water was a great idea.
After getting out his best tunic and breeches, Jake found his family, and they went to the dining room.
Is it possible to die from boredom? Wondered Jake, not for the first time as the evening wore on. No one was there for him to talk to, and when he did try to talk to someone, they looked at him as if he was some sort of talking dog.
Jake sighed. He wondered where Companions' Field was. Maybe he could go see if he could be Chosen. He had hoped that a Companion would meet him at the gate. None was, and he had been depressed the rest of the evening.
Jake heard his brother laugh, talking to a pretty girl. He groaned. This was going to be one of the longest nights of his life.
As the holiday wore on, he despaired of ever being Chosen. Maybe he wasn't good enough. Maybe he just wasn't as smart as he needed to be. He wished he knew.
Finally, it was time to go, and good riddance. He hoped he never saw Haven again.
Be honest with yourself, Jake, he told himself. You just got mad because you weren't Chosen. Did you actually think you could do it?
He mentally agreed with himself. He just never would. That was that.
His father led them through the twists and turns of Haven. Around and around they went. Jake was looking at nothing, thinking about how stupid he had been, when he heard an earth shattering whiny.
Everyone turned in their saddle. A white horse, no, Companion, galloped toward them.
It stopped at Jake. All Jake could do was stare into its blue eyes. He felt like he was falling in.
: Hello, Jake. I am Blazar, and you are my Chosen:.
Cassie had always been a normal girl with a talent for animals. She had helped her parents, the local healers, stitch up raccoons, birds and any other animal that was injured and crossed their path. It was a way of life.
She grew up next to the Pelegris Hills, and had seen a lot of strange things. Firebirds, kyree, and even some hertasi, to name a few. The strangest, however, had to be when she was five, and she had been out with some friends, playing. A bad snow storm had come through. This happened every winter, and Cassie almost enjoyed them. She had been building snow forts, when she felt, more than heard, a whimper of pain.
No one else seemed to hear it, and she decided to go off on her own to investigate. She was five, after all, and could handle these things.
She found a tangle of broken down bushed, and a tree skewed sideways. A dead griffin was beside it. She was sad at seeing such a big, big animal dead. It was so pretty. Then it seemed to move.
She jumped back, and gasped. The movement had stopped. Her curiosity overcame her five year old fear, and she went to she was had moved. Was it still alive?
Then a wiggling motion came from under the wings, and she understood. What was moving was under it.
She went to where the wings were, and yanked them up as hard as she could. Nothing happened.
She grunted, and tried again. Nothing had happened.
Then, a bear came up. Cassie looked at the bear. It seemed to be asking her a question.
"No, I don't want the meat. I am trying to get something from underneath it. If you help me, you can have all the meat you want," she replied, with at five-year-old's lack of concern with being found by a large carnivore. It would do as she asked. She knew it.
It did. Carefully, it put its muzzle under the body, and heaved. The dead griffin flopped, and rolled over.
Under it was a baby griffin.
Well, Cassie knew what to do when she found a baby animal lost in the woods. She took it home to her Momma and Da. Picking up the little griffin, and holding it tightly to her chest, she walked back to her home. Finding her Momma and Da gone, she put the griffin in her bed, got some soup for herself and the griffin, and they ate.
The griffin ate sloppily, and got soup everywhere. Cassie giggled, and cleaned them both up.
Rubbing the griffin dry, she said, "Oh, your so soft. I'll call you, um, Downy."
The baby gave a soft gurgle, and went to sleep. Cassie joined it.
Later, when her parents came home, they did their best to find another griffin to take care of Downy. Eventually, they found out that she was a female, smart as any human, and Downy grew up with Cassie, like a sister.
Cassie started showing signs of the Healing gift early, and at thirteen, went to Haven to join the Healers' Collegium. They tried to make Downy stay behind, but that was like telling any cat what to do. It just didn't work. So Downy went to the Collegium, with Cassie.
Jake and Cassie met at the Collegium by accident. Jake had been there about two months, when he went riding Blazar into the Field to exercise him.
Jake was talking to Blazar in mind-speech, and not paying any attention where they went. He was still adjusting to life in Haven, and had developed enough mind-speech to have a long talk with Blazar about a history test, when all of a sudden, a half-grown griffin shot out from behind a tree.
Jake yelled, and without warning, a ball of fire ignited itself beside her.
Suddenly, Cassie came running, yelling several rude things at Jake.
"Lady Bright, watch what you're doing," she finally said, when the rest of her vocabulary had run out.
"I'm sorry," Jake began, when Downy interrupted.
"I'm sssoorrrry, sssir. I ddidn't mean to ssscarre you," she hissed. Frankly, Jake was just shocked that words could come out of that beak.
Downy, in her hissing voice, told Cassie what happened. Cassie looked embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, I over reacted. Not everyone has like Downy that much, and I guess I was a little sensitive. My name is Cassie. What's yours?" She put her hand out to shake.
Taking it, he answered," Jake. Pleased to meet you." He noticed her washed out green clothes. "You are a Healer trainee?"
"Yup, and you're a Herald trainee, right?" she asked, gesturing to his gray uniform.
"Uh-huh. I was Chosen two months ago. I'm still getting the ropes, though."
"Well, good. If you know where, then, could you tell me where to find the dining hall? I'm lost."
Jake laughed, and dismounted. Pointing, he said," This way."
Raqueljiz was a member of the noble house, Erstogath.
She hated it.
Ever since she could walk, her mother had made her act a certain way, talk a certain way, sit a certain way and even sleep a certain way. All she did was governed by rules of good behavior. It was all geared, so her mother said, to making her a suitable marriage piece.
If there was one thing she did not want, it was to be wrapped up in tinsel, and handed off to some guy she didn't know. She just wished she had a choice in the matter.
He father often let get out of the never-ending lessons. He let her go riding, let her learn how to juggle and tumbling from the jester, and even read something other than about etiquette.
What Raqueljiz wanted was an adventure. She wanted to save the world, like the people in her books, though she felt like it never would because, unfortunately, however much her father let her get away with, he still wanted her to get married. He even set it up.
They had some wealthy neighbors, the Crointers. They had wanted to get a hold on their property for years, and this was how they were going to do it.
When the news came that Raqueljiz was to marry the oldest son of the Crointers, her mother went crazy. She had her scrubbed until skin came off, rolled her hair, and put her in a gown that was so stiff, she nearly suffocated.
All Raqueljiz could do was hope the guy wasn't to boring.
On the big night, when Raqueljiz was to be betrothed, they arrived, and she felt like she was having shackles put on her. Her hair was a heavy weight, and her dress was too hot. She looked ahead into the reception line; found the man she was to marry. He was twice her age.
I'm thirteen! She thought. I don't want to get married! Especially to that!
He saw the look she was giving him, and returned it with a leer. Her heart stopped.
Suddenly, every object not bolted down in the room went flying around the room. People screamed, and ran around in panic. Most of those objects tried to hit the young Lord Crointer.
Raqueljiz felt exhausted, and fainted.
When she woke up, she found herself in a sitting room. Her father was raging about her having the Mage gift, and how were they going to work out the marriage without everyone finding out?
However, Raqueljiz heard the rest of this only vaguely. I have the Mage gift! She thought. What in the twelve hells am I doing here?
She sat there patiently, waiting for her father to finish his tirade, working out a plan. Her dress tonight was covered in gems. That would give her the money that she needed to do what she was planning.
When her father stopped bemoaning the fate of the betrothal, and left, Raqueljiz sneaked out the door. Making sure she wasn't being watched, she found a tailors room, stole his clothes, and ripped out a good piece of her dress. Leaving that, she got to the kitchens, stole some food, and ran to the stables. She didn't steal a horse, but went out through that exit, and went to find a mage school.
The closest she knew of was the Blue Mountain School. Finding it, she became Rachel, and started her apprenticeship.
Marco once lived in a village at the border of the Pelegris Forest. He, his mother and father had lived a happy life there. Very few creatures of the poisoned lands of the Pelegris had ever come there, and most thought none ever would.
They were wrong.
One night, in the cold of winter, a pack of glowing wyrsa, animals that looked like a cross between dogs, snakes and weasels, attacked, and killed most of the villagers. Marco had been eight.
He had been getting water for supper, and he heard an eerie howling. He didn't know what it was. Both his parents had been inside the house, and if he had been in there with them, he would have been killed.
The wyrsa had come from the direction of the village, and had entered from the front. Marco heard his parents' scream. Then he heard them yell for him to run.
Marco didn't understand what was going on. He wanted to go to his Mom and Dad, but they were telling him to go, to run. So he did. He dropped his bucket, and ran. He went deep into the forest, and got lost. As it got darker, Marco wondered where he was. No one he knew had ever gone far into the woods like this. He was scared.
He walked for hours, and was very cold. Snow lay on the ground nearly a foot thick. Finally, sad, frightened, and completely lost, he sat down in the snow, and cried.
He didn't know how long he had been there, when he heard a strange hooting. He looked up, and the largest owl he had ever seen looked back at him. He was so surprised by the way the owl looked back at him that he forgot to cry.
Then, Marco heard the sound of footsteps. He turned around, and a strange looking man with white hair walked over to him. He put his arm up, and the owl flew to him, and perched on his shoulder. Marco gaped.
"So," said the strange man," you are the last survivor. The only one I have found."
He said this in a language Marco didn't know, but he said it in a way that Marco trusted. The man, named Moonowl, took him back to his Vale, a home of the Tayledras Clan k'Sheyna.
Marco learned the language of the Moonowl, and was adopted into the Clan. Though he had no skills as a mage, Marco grew up wanting to be a scout, like Moonowl, who had adopted him. He learned the ways of the forest, archery, and fighting, so he could give something back to the Clan that had saved him.
He eventually took the use-name Trickster, because of his love of practical, and corny, jokes. He bonded to a hawk-eagle, and became a true Hawkbrother, at last.
Aximili shena Lirha'Irden was a member of the Shin'a'in Clan, the Deer Sibs. He loved the open plains, and loved being one of the free people living there. He had a brother who was his idol. His name was Elgor. He was a great warrior. He had left the Plains to see the world before Aximili had been born. Soon after, he had become a Kal'enedral, one of the Goddess Kalanel's Sword Sworn. The word actually meant Her Sword Bothers or Children of Her Sword. They were the best fighters of the Shin'a'in, but they paid a price that many were unable to pay. They became completely sexless, celibate. They alone could take up blood feud, but it could never be with another Shin'a'in. They followed the Lady's will for the rest of their lives.
Elgor would often leave the Plains and return, and tell Aximili stories of where he had gone. Ax enjoyed these stories, and wanted to travel like his brother.
All Shin'a'in learned the sword, but Aximili wanted to be great. He trained his own horse by the time he was eight, and passed his adult test by the time he was nine. He was ready to become a warrior.
Well, his parents told him. Maybe later.
Every year he and his family made a trip to the trade city, Kata'shin'a'in. He would go and see the strange clothing that the OutClan would wear, and try their strange food. It was a yearly adventure.
On the way back to the Dorisha Plains, or the Plains of Sacrifice, they would go visit the Kin-Cousins, the Hawkbrothers. It was just something that they did.
Tobias grew up in a mountain hamlet in Karse. Every year, they had what was called the Feast of the Children, where priests of the Sungod Vkandis would come and test the children of an area for Mage gift.
Tobias had been overlooked for years. They only tested children from ages eight to twelve. Besides, nobody cared what happened to Tobias anyway. His mother had sired him by some unknown stranger. Rumors even said a Shin'a'in, but who believed rumors? Tobias didn't even look like a proper Karsite, with his blond hair and blue eyes. Karsites were supposed to be dark.
Then, one year, a man in a black robe came to test the children. Tobias was eleven then. He had become certain that all the Feast would ever mean for him was some candy after being looked over by the Priest.
This year, they grabbed him out of the line, and took him to the Temple.
He felt strange, there, but was mentored by a kindly old Priest, who taught him to love learning. He learned to use his God given ability with magic to summon the demons that black robe Priests used to protect the people of Karse. He grew skilled.
Chapter Two
Aximili had been making the trip to Kata'shin'a'in for years now. Nothing ever changed there. True, sometimes the faces were different, but over all, not enough to be interesting.
Aximili was now seventeen summers. He had yet to grow into his gangly arms and legs. He was a good rider by Shin'a'in standards, which meant he was phenomenal by any one else's. He looked like a typical Shin'a'in, with gold skin from constant exposure to the sun, black hair that had an uncharacteristic curl to it, and blue eyes. He looked strangely pretty.
On the way back from the Fair this year, they camped a bit earlier than usual. This year his brother had come with them, which made it more interesting.
It came without warning. There was a roaring, like none they had ever heard before. A large insect looking thing hovered above them. Then another followed it. All they could do was stare.
"What kind of demon is this?" Ax whispered. He was frozen in place.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightening shot from one of the demons. It hit his brother, who had shoved him out of the way. Nothing else was left but ashes.
"Goddess, NO!" his father screamed, as they dodged further bolts. Them, the demons landed, and disgorged strange creatures, so odd Aximili thought they had to be from the Pelegris. Some looked like giant worms, the other like a walking collection of swords. They held objects that shot out lightening, too.
The next bolt hit his father, and he, too, was gone. Aximili got his mother, and they ran. They got to their horses, and galloped away.
They almost made it. A stray blast took his mother's horse out from under her. She fell. He tried to go back for her, but she urged him away. He looked back one last time, to see her being eaten by the giant worms.
Then he rode away.
He was half-mad with thirst and hunger by the time he made it back to his Clan. They helped him from his horse, and brought a Healer. While they ministered to him, he rambled out his story. A rescue team was sent to see what happened. All they found was scorched earth.
They reluctantly concluded that what had really happened was thieves had assaulted them, and Aximili had made up everything else trying to get back. When they told him this, Aximili reacted violently.
"I know what I saw, Shaman," he yelled. "I know what happened before I got back. If you can't, or won't, do anything, then I will! I cry blood feud."
"You can't, child. You are not sworn to the Goddess," she responded.
He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Then that is what I will do. I wish to take the Oath."
The Healer and the Shaman looked at each other. They seemed to hold a silent conversation.
"So be it," the Shaman finally intoned. "If the Goddess accepts your Oath, then do as She wills you."
Aximili nodded, a choppy gesture, and headed for the tent shrine.
For a race of nomads, the tent shrines had to be simple. At each wall was an altar for each aspect of the Goddess. On the East, was the altar to the Maiden, with a single flower, on the west, for the Mother, a sheaf of grain, and on the altar for the Crone, a smooth, black stone. Then, on the South, was the altar to the Warrior. Before this one, he knelt, and began his prayer.
From all directions, a wind came, and swathed him in the numbness he would need to cope with the following months. Then, from behind him, he heard someone say his name.
The Goddess had answered him, in Her own Person.
When he came out of the tent, you could tell he was different. Gone was the boy he had been. In his place stood an inhumanly calm man. All Shin'a'in grew their hair long. His was now shoulder length, and there had been nothing to cut it with in the tent.
He left at dawn. He had already trained with a warsteed, and took her along with him. They gave him the traditional black chain mail and clothes, and sent him silently on his way. It was forbidden to say anything to him.
When Ax found the place where the killing had happened, he realized powerful magic had to be involved. He needed information, and he could get it from the Kin-Cousins.
That night, after he had made himself a cold camp, he fell asleep. The next thing he knew, someone was shaking him roughly.
"Arise, Sworn One, and arm yourself."
Ax scrambled to his feet, with his sword in hand. He had been the best among his age group. This man in a black veil, dressed a Sworn One, killed him in less than two moves. He felt the blade go through his neck, and-
He awoke, staring at the stars.
"Your not bad, for a half lame duck," he heard a voice say form behind him. Aximili whirled around, and again they fought. The veiled man killed him four more times.
He awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed. He wondered if it had all been a dream. Then he saw his weapons and armor. They were arranged differently than how he had left them.
Every night after, the veiled ones came to him, and taught him the ways of the sword better than he could ever dream. During the day, a strange force seemed to guide his hand and eye, teaching him how to find the best trails, and how to find game.
Despite how well he had tracked so far, he quickly was lost under the huge, ancient trees. He stopped, and dismounted, trying to find his bearings, when he heard the shriek of a hawk-eagle.
The looked up in time to see a piece of the tree canopy move. He jumped.
"Welcome, Cousin," said the voice of the scout. Although the scout was standing directly in front of him, he had trouble making him out. The clothing he wore was mottled greens and browns, which made him fade into the background of everything he stood before. Aximili thought the voice sounded familiar.
He pulled out a medallion used for identification between Clans.
"I am Aximili shena Lirha'Irden."
"I thought I recognized you. It's me, Trickster. How, by the Lady, did you become a Kal'enedral?" asked Trickster. He had seen his dark clothes.
"My family was killed by magic. I need to find out what kind it was."
"I'll take you to the Vale. Star-Eyed, why were you wandering around like an Outlander?"
They talked about old times on the way there. They had met every year on Aximili's yearly trip. While they had never become good friends, they knew each other.
Trickster led the way, leading them through the underbrush with ease. Aximili envied the way he knew how to find his way with seeing the sky.
Aximili had not been Sworn long enough for his teachers to have taught him the finer points of scouting yet, so when Trickster spun around and loosed an arrow, he was caught flat footed.
They heard a shout from where the arrow landed. Notching another arrow, Trickster called to Siath, and he went to the source of the shriek. Noiselessly, he launched himself up into the trees. The next thing Ax saw was a tall, blond haired Outlander backing away from Trickster's drawn bow.
"Outlander," he said in the most common of the trade tongues," You have crossed into Tayledras territory. Tell me why you are here, and I will let you live."
It was obvious that the woman understood what was being said. Aximili saw that she wore the robes of a mage, but was wearing a sword. This was odd, because of the demands of both disciplines, very few people would undertake such a thing.
"I am here to find the Hawkbrothers," she replied defiantly. "I want to learn
their magic. I am not here to hurt anyone."
Trickster snorted. "I doubt that you could. Leave, Outlander. This is not your place."
"I can't," she replied, frustrated.
This time Aximili spoke. "Why?"
"I'm lost," she answered, looking sheepish.
Trickster held his head. "Bright Lady, why me? All right, mage. You can come, but the minute you show yourself to be a threat to Tayledras lands, I will shoot you, understand?"
She didn't look happy about it, but she nodded in affirmation.
"I am Trickster k'Sheyna, and this is Aximili shena Lirha'Irden. We are on our way to the k'Sheyna Vale. May we know your name?" he said, and put out his hand to be clasped.
"My name is Rachel. Thank you, but I might have done more damage than you think I could."
Trickster just shrugged, and motioned for them to follow. Rachel had a pony, and mounting it, she accompanied them.
To both Rachel's and Ax's surprise, Trickster started going from branch to branch, using the trees as a path. From there, they quickly made it to the Vale.
Rachel looked at the Veil, the magical barrier that protected the Vale, in wonder.
"I would kill to learn how to use my magic like that," she murmured to herself, when they entered.
Trickster's eyes went blank, and his bondbird went off, and he told them," Ax, I have sent Siath to call the Elders of the Clan to see what we can do to help you. They will also be asked to make a decision about you, Rachel."
"Great," she said sarcastically.
He led them to a cave, and they waited. Then, they were called out.
A large circle of people, all of them with white hair, and a feeling of great age stood around a table.
Finally, one stood up.
"We have heard what young Trickster has to say. We have come to a decision. My name is Jethra shena Tale' sedrin of the Shin'a'in. I have the ability called Foresight. When I heard Trickster's tale, I had a vision, one of you three fighting together against a great enemy. You, and three others. Aximili, the ones you have cried blood feud with, you are to fight with the rest of the young people in my vision to stop this enemy. All of you must unite, the way that you did before, to stop those who would despoil our world."
Chapter three
"That was weird."
"Tell me about it."
"You know, Marco, this whole thing about us working together has me getting the willies, you know?"
Trickster stiffened, the sound of his old name stirring something in his mind, but quickly fading.
"I never told you my birth name," he said quietly. "How did you know it?"
"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about. I called you Trickster."
"No, you called me by my birth name, Marco."
She looked a little confused. "Yeah, I think I did. I don't know why, it just seemed right at the time."
Trickster gave her a strange look. "You know, I feel like I should know you form someplace."
"Me, too."
They looked at each other uncomfortably for a minute, then both shrugged.
"It's got to be my imagination," he finally said.
"Yeah, just our imaginations."
Aximili sat at the edge of the Vale as night approached. The moon rose, and he could feel the arrival of his teacher. He turned to face him.
Ax drew his sword. He and his teacher fought, and fought. Unlike other times, this fight was not won easily by the veiled one. Ax had been a good learner.
Finally, Ax "killed" him.
"Well done, younger brother. You have earned some questions, which I expect is weighing on your mind."
"Who are you?"
Ax could feel is teacher smiling, although he couldn't see it.
"I am your fate. I was once Sworn, like you. I served the Lady in life, and now that I am dead, I serve her still. You will join our ranks, should you be a Kal'enedral at the time of your death. Do you wish to keep your vow? The Lady will not hold you if you do not wish to remain."
Ax said," I will keep my Oath. Now, why am I to bring these others with me on my vengeance? It is my battle alone."
"Because," then the veiled one paused. "Because you have fought this same battle with them before. Don't you remember, Andalite?"
He knew. Ax knew who he had been, with out any kind of fanfare, his memories returned, and he knew who he had been.
"I was an aristh," he simply said. Then the shock hit.
Trembling, he sat down at the base of a tree. He never noticed when his teacher left. He went to find the others, and see if they remembered anything.
He found them in one of the Hawkbrother tree houses. They were talking about the trail they would take, and how they were going to find the others. The way they got along, he realized they didn't remember who they had been. If they had, they would be arguing, he thought, and realized he now had a sense of humor. A human sense of humor. It wasn't as if he had jumped into this body. He was still the person he had been, and now was. There was no separation between the two. He was himself, just changed.
He called," Hello Marco, Rachel. When shall we leave to find the other Animorphs?"
They turned to look at him like he was insane.
"Horse-boy, has taking the Oath driven you mad?" asked Marco, and then he stared. His mouth opened and shut several times. The same thing was happening to Rachel.
"Yeah, we do need to find them, don't we?" said Rachel, weakly.
"Hey Rachel," Marco interjected. "Why aren't you in the whole body armor thing? That would be more your thing than a mage."
"That's a long story," she sighed, and sat down.
Marco and Ax did the same thing. They all started laughing.
The Animorphs had come to the world of Velgarth, and they had started their war on the Yeerks.
Comments? Chain letters? Smoke signs?