Disclaimers: not mine
Author's note: This story is inspired by my personal beliefs and a little bit of the legend of Beowulf thrown in there. I hope you like it.
***
It was late, and Roxton, Veronica and Marguerite had been walking all day. Marguerite, true to form, complained much of the day, but neither of her companions paid her any heed, used to her grumbling. Roxton and Veronica even laughed at her from time to time, ruffling her feathers even more.
They came out of the trees just before sunset, and were met by one of the most beautiful scenes they had witnessed since their arrival. A huge valley covered in thick mists, only allowing the very tips of the trees to be seen surrounded by the reflected oranges, pinks and purples of the sky as the sun disappeared behind a distant mountain.
"Amazing," Marguerite awed with wide, shining eyes as she caught up with Roxton and Veronica. Roxton watched her out of the corner if his eye, his grin growing wider at her happy expression. Ever since the death of Frances Beaumont she seemed much happier, like a shadow that had been cast over her was suddenly gone.
"It is a nice view," he commented. Marguerite shot him a sly smile before starting toward the valley behind Veronica.
"We can camp below the fog line and hopefully hide from any predators in that valley, and maybe we'll get lucky and find a fowl of some kind," Veronica said.
"Sounds like a wonderful idea," Roxton called from the end of line.
As they passed through the mist they found that the valley had an almost vertical drop to the base, and had to grab the roots of trees to balance themselves. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Marguerite said as she lost her footing for the third time.
"It's too late now, turning around isn't an option, we'll have to find a path in the morning," John stated.
When they finally reached the base, darkness was creeping in on them, but had not quite fallen yet. They gazed in amazement at the magnificent trees that grew high above them, reaching up like the ceiling of a cathedral in Europe. They were much taller than any of the trees in the rest of the jungle, and obviously much older. The faint sounds of birds and other creatures could be heard in the distance, chattering and saying goodnight to each other.
Suddenly, they heard someone in the clearing ahead of them, and crept forward. A young woman walked through a clearing carrying a basket laden with various plants. She was tall, Veronica estimated that she stood eye to eye with Roxton, and slender. She wore a long white toga style outfit that fell to her feet, and swept around her as she walked, or floated, along gracefully. Her long blonde hair fell well past her knees in tight unbound curls, and seemed to drift with the dress, and her skin was extremely fair, the color of ivory, as if it had never been touched by the sun. Around her left arm was a leather band reaching from her wrist to her elbow, but it wasn't her appearance that took their breath away, it was the massive saber toothed tiger walking behind her, which she seemed to not notice.
Roxton raised his rifle to fire, leveling it at the vicious carnivore, but before he could pull the trigger, the young woman they had observed, unexpectedly dropped to her knee, spun around and fired an arrow from a bow she swept off the ground, all in one fluid motion. The offending projectile found its home in the tree behind Roxton, taking his hat with it.
"Is she an Amazon?" Roxton hissed, trying to retrieve his hat.
"I've never seen an Amazon like her before," Veronica replied.
"Drop your weapons and come out with your hands where I can see them," she demanded in a foreign tongue.
Marguerite began to relate the command, but Roxton interrupted, "I know, I understood her."
"So did I," Veronica whispered, confused. They complied as the stranger stood poised with another arrow aimed at Roxton. Her intense blue eyes were a sharp contrast to her fair skin and hair, making her appear cold and distant. The cat stood at her side, glaring at them, daring them to disobey.
"We mean you no harm," Roxton called as they stepped out.
"I've heard that before." The tiger approached them cautiously, circling around them, then he called to his mistress. She nodded her head and he returned to a position behind her. "You may put your hands down now. What are you doing here?"
"We were just looking for a place to set up camp," Veronica answered.
"This is not the place. There is a path out of the valley in that direction, my companions will escort you there, you must then leave this sacred place and never return. I do not wish to kill you, but I will not hesitate if you return." She made a strange clicking noise with her tongue and a raptor leapt out of the foliage, causing the explorers to jump backward in unison. The young woman giggled at their reaction, "They will not harm you, yet."
"How reassuring," Marguerite retorted. The explorers quickly returned to their weapons, and Roxton pried the arrow deeply embedded on the tree out to retrieve his precious hat. Then, with the raptor ahead and the tiger behind, they made their way out of the valley, under the watchful eye of the beautiful young woman.
Once they were out of the valley John turned to Veronica, "Do you know anything about what just happened?"
"No, but we can ask the Zanga's, I'm sure Assai will know something," Veronica answered.
***
Back in the Valley the young woman stood on a boulder overlooking a small lake reflecting the full moon. The light gave her an almost ethereal look as she calmly played her flute to the steady beat of the waterfall across the lake.
There was a time when you would have killed them on the spot.
She lowered the instrument and turned to look into the large yellow eyes of a saber toothed tiger. "Do you think I made a mistake letting them go?"
I don't know, they seemed harmless, but the temptations this place offers can change Children of Seth. You would know, you saw what it did to your family so long ago.
"Human nature is a very ugly thing."
It's not just Sons of Seth we have to worry about, the raptors spotted the Sons of Cain snooping around the western path yesterday, they are getting bolder. You had better prepare for battle. They must have discovered the writings of their ancestors. The birds have been reporting in as well.
"What do they have to say?"
It seems that they are under the impression that they are superior beings.
"They have believed that a long time. The Sons of Cain have long suffered a superiority complex," the woman answered with a slight smile.
This is not a laughing matter. Many were killed the last time, and the only allies we are able to afford are animals, and as loyal as they are to this place, we can't lose them all. The cat began to pace nervously.
"We've been doing this for centuries, you need to learn to laugh at yourself." The woman leapt down from her perch and knelt in front of her most trusted confidant and put her hands on either side of his immense head, "What ever happens will be His will, all we can do is prepare. Set the raptors up on patrols of three with strict orders not to attack, I don't want to lose any of them, send the sparrows to the city of the Sons of Cain, and I want the small primates to find all of the great predators that are not nesting. We will need their help if we are to defend the Garden. The Guardian could stop a three or four if they got past us, but we've never let him deal with an army, and I don't intend to start now."
The cat turned away and started for a small stone cabin in the distance, surround by a protective stand of trees. It is late Kinari, you had better get some sleep, your human, just like the Sons of Seth and the Sons of Cain.
Kinari watched her friend slink away, then turned and faced the massive ancient stonewall. The Gate stood high above her head and she could barely see the top through the trees in the moonlight. She knew it was the oldest structure in the world, remembered the stories her grandfather told her about the perfect world that existed behind the doors as she sat on his knee. He had died many millennia ago, though, along with her father, mother, and husband. She had been alone for nearly 6000 years now. A single tear trickled down her cheek, even after all these years she missed them. Her only consolation was that she would join them someday.