Part 1:The Princess of the Wood
I ran through the forest, my hair whipping behind me. They were coming. I could feel them through the earth as they were foolish and were wearing shoes. All of my scouts know that to wear shoes is to be heard and to die.
I ran until I came to a tall tree. It would give me advantage of height, so I could watch these foolish men while staying hidden myself. I did not want to be caught unaware again. It is an unpleasant experience even when you're not seen by bumbling idiots who couldn't make less noise than a cowherd running at full speed if they tried. I definitely did not wish to repeat the experience.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
A girl? A girl is the leader of the Cruta Clansmen? I cannot believe it. Women should not be allowed to lead violent groups such as the Cruta.
The day after we arrived at the Crona Forest, we went into the woods to hunt down the survivors of the Great War. What we found was a girl, about 15 years old lying by a stream. She was very beautiful with straight, black hair, piercing, green eyes, skin of ivory silk, and pale red lips. She lay sleeping gently by the trickling water, oblivious to the world around her. One of the new soldiers rushed into the glade, unaware that he was destroying our chance to kill one of the leaders of the Cruta. We had already identified her by the small silver ring she wore on her middle finger.
In my heart, I was secretly glad. I had not been brought up to kill woman whether helpless or not. So, I watched as she jumped up, and ran away. I pursued her of course, but not with single-minded determination. She would have gotten away in any case. Clansmen are not caught unless they are totally oblivious to the hunters' presence and they are greatly outnumbered. No clansman is ever totally unaware except when he sleeps. Since we don't know where their camps are, it is an impossible task to catch one. It does not help that they can hear us if we get within a mile of them, but for anyone who wishes to hunt clansmen, they should already know that it will be a long and difficult job.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
They have stopped searching. Either they're very stupid or they believe that because I'm a woman, I'm not a threat to them. I would not expect any more from a town-bred weasel. My name is Alithriel Falon. In the old tongue, the language of the Paravians, it means Silver Star that is lost in darkness. I am a princess of the hidden people. Perhaps you've heard of us. The merchants tell tales of the marauding, murdering, and plundering clansmen who haunt the trade routes like ghosts. We were once the lords of this land, respected and feared by all. Now, we must hide and plunder from those who were once our subjects. We stay near the ancient sites of mystery, feared by townsmen. We are called barbarian, but when it comes down to it, which is the real barbarian? They have killed our families, made us flee our homes leaving all possessions behind, sent out headhunters to kill us for a piece of gold, and given us no respite in which we could have become a people again. We have tried to survive.
The Hawk Army has tried to eradicate us entirely for years. We live anywhere that will shelter us. There are still all four clansmen tribes: the Sanlat in Fasto Forest, the Palnua in Sharpanoo Forest, the Taja in Nargona Desert, and my clan, the Cruta. We live in the largest of the forests, and Crona Forest is definitely the most beautiful. To lie in this forest is to feel the peace of the Paravians, they who are gone.
The towns are ruled by weak and foolish governors. They do not care for the well being of their people. All they care about is power and prestige, and both are things they'll never have. The only powerful city is Thernal. It is the Hawk City ruled by the Taltora Shando. Shando is strong. He is the one who united the principalities together in order to make us die. He is the one who made a thousand tears of blood soak the ground in their sorrow. Now, there are few of us left.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
My fellow officers have decided to wait them out. They wish to see if anymore of the clansmen will give us a chance to capture them. It is folly. Clansmen are not so foolish, and they will never willingly surrender. We shall have to kill them, and by waiting, we are accomplishing nothing. If we want to flush them out, we should poison the streams. Who cares if all the wildlife dies in the process? They're only animals, and this is for a good cause, right?
My name is Palquin. I am a senior member of the Hawk Army, of which I've been a part for 2 years. I have hunted my fair share of barbarians, but I do not condone the act of trying to eradicate them. By even trying, we're wasting funds which could be put to better use, such as helping those peasants who've been devastated by the war. The barbarians do not all deserve to die anyway. They may kill us, but what other choice do they have? They have no fertile land that they might farm, and only harmless drifters are allowed inside of the towns. We are the ones that have given them no way to live besides banditry, and now we have killed their leaders, making young girls take their places. Maybe I should be glad that it will not take as much effort to kill them, but I cannot give my joy to anything so repulsive as killing. This is not right.
Something must be done.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Something must be done. The Army has decided to outwait us. We all know that when an army wishes to outwait you, all they have to do is poison the streams. We have some stores of water for times of need, but there aren't enough to outwait one full division of the Hawk Army. I do not wish to flee, but we cannot fight against this force Shando has sent, not when our numbers are so depleted. My father made me promise to keep the forest safe as well as my people, but at this moment , I'm not sure how to balance those two vows.
Shando is a fool to believe he will annihilate all of us, though. Even if he kills all of us that our in the forest, we will live on in those we've sent to our neighbors. I am sworn to protect the people, but how will I keep safe these lives entrusted to me? I wish that my father were still alive. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do. I am too young for this post. At 16 years of age, I should be commanded, not commanding!
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
While on patrol, I heard a soft sound coming from the underbrush. We were low on food, and since it sounded like a hare, I went to investigate. As I got closer, I realized the sound I had heard was weeping. I followed the sound into a small glade. On the ground, by the stream, I saw the young girl from 2 days ago. She was crying as if she would never stop, and she was clutching a small, hand carved horse to her chest.
I approached her silently, not wanting to startle her. I ruined it by accidentally stepping on a branch. Her head shot up and she was halfway to her feet by the time I had pounced. I heard a voice yelling, "Get him" and "Protect the princess". I remember the girl's shocked face and my feelings of anger that I had been so stupid as to not think of guards. Then, all went black.
To Be Continued...
*Great War-a recent war between the clansmen and townsmen which killed 7,000 people
*A silver ring signifies an heir to power
*Paravians-the old race of unicorns, centaurs, and sunchildren. They left the continent 500 years ago and haven't been seen since
*Taltora-the leader of the four principalities: Sanlata, Palnuan, Taja, and Crutas. They have ruled since the nobles became clansmen 500 years ago.
*Drifters are related distantly to clansmen. They wander the plains of Crutas selling horses.
I ran through the forest, my hair whipping behind me. They were coming. I could feel them through the earth as they were foolish and were wearing shoes. All of my scouts know that to wear shoes is to be heard and to die.
I ran until I came to a tall tree. It would give me advantage of height, so I could watch these foolish men while staying hidden myself. I did not want to be caught unaware again. It is an unpleasant experience even when you're not seen by bumbling idiots who couldn't make less noise than a cowherd running at full speed if they tried. I definitely did not wish to repeat the experience.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
A girl? A girl is the leader of the Cruta Clansmen? I cannot believe it. Women should not be allowed to lead violent groups such as the Cruta.
The day after we arrived at the Crona Forest, we went into the woods to hunt down the survivors of the Great War. What we found was a girl, about 15 years old lying by a stream. She was very beautiful with straight, black hair, piercing, green eyes, skin of ivory silk, and pale red lips. She lay sleeping gently by the trickling water, oblivious to the world around her. One of the new soldiers rushed into the glade, unaware that he was destroying our chance to kill one of the leaders of the Cruta. We had already identified her by the small silver ring she wore on her middle finger.
In my heart, I was secretly glad. I had not been brought up to kill woman whether helpless or not. So, I watched as she jumped up, and ran away. I pursued her of course, but not with single-minded determination. She would have gotten away in any case. Clansmen are not caught unless they are totally oblivious to the hunters' presence and they are greatly outnumbered. No clansman is ever totally unaware except when he sleeps. Since we don't know where their camps are, it is an impossible task to catch one. It does not help that they can hear us if we get within a mile of them, but for anyone who wishes to hunt clansmen, they should already know that it will be a long and difficult job.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
They have stopped searching. Either they're very stupid or they believe that because I'm a woman, I'm not a threat to them. I would not expect any more from a town-bred weasel. My name is Alithriel Falon. In the old tongue, the language of the Paravians, it means Silver Star that is lost in darkness. I am a princess of the hidden people. Perhaps you've heard of us. The merchants tell tales of the marauding, murdering, and plundering clansmen who haunt the trade routes like ghosts. We were once the lords of this land, respected and feared by all. Now, we must hide and plunder from those who were once our subjects. We stay near the ancient sites of mystery, feared by townsmen. We are called barbarian, but when it comes down to it, which is the real barbarian? They have killed our families, made us flee our homes leaving all possessions behind, sent out headhunters to kill us for a piece of gold, and given us no respite in which we could have become a people again. We have tried to survive.
The Hawk Army has tried to eradicate us entirely for years. We live anywhere that will shelter us. There are still all four clansmen tribes: the Sanlat in Fasto Forest, the Palnua in Sharpanoo Forest, the Taja in Nargona Desert, and my clan, the Cruta. We live in the largest of the forests, and Crona Forest is definitely the most beautiful. To lie in this forest is to feel the peace of the Paravians, they who are gone.
The towns are ruled by weak and foolish governors. They do not care for the well being of their people. All they care about is power and prestige, and both are things they'll never have. The only powerful city is Thernal. It is the Hawk City ruled by the Taltora Shando. Shando is strong. He is the one who united the principalities together in order to make us die. He is the one who made a thousand tears of blood soak the ground in their sorrow. Now, there are few of us left.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
My fellow officers have decided to wait them out. They wish to see if anymore of the clansmen will give us a chance to capture them. It is folly. Clansmen are not so foolish, and they will never willingly surrender. We shall have to kill them, and by waiting, we are accomplishing nothing. If we want to flush them out, we should poison the streams. Who cares if all the wildlife dies in the process? They're only animals, and this is for a good cause, right?
My name is Palquin. I am a senior member of the Hawk Army, of which I've been a part for 2 years. I have hunted my fair share of barbarians, but I do not condone the act of trying to eradicate them. By even trying, we're wasting funds which could be put to better use, such as helping those peasants who've been devastated by the war. The barbarians do not all deserve to die anyway. They may kill us, but what other choice do they have? They have no fertile land that they might farm, and only harmless drifters are allowed inside of the towns. We are the ones that have given them no way to live besides banditry, and now we have killed their leaders, making young girls take their places. Maybe I should be glad that it will not take as much effort to kill them, but I cannot give my joy to anything so repulsive as killing. This is not right.
Something must be done.
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Something must be done. The Army has decided to outwait us. We all know that when an army wishes to outwait you, all they have to do is poison the streams. We have some stores of water for times of need, but there aren't enough to outwait one full division of the Hawk Army. I do not wish to flee, but we cannot fight against this force Shando has sent, not when our numbers are so depleted. My father made me promise to keep the forest safe as well as my people, but at this moment , I'm not sure how to balance those two vows.
Shando is a fool to believe he will annihilate all of us, though. Even if he kills all of us that our in the forest, we will live on in those we've sent to our neighbors. I am sworn to protect the people, but how will I keep safe these lives entrusted to me? I wish that my father were still alive. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do. I am too young for this post. At 16 years of age, I should be commanded, not commanding!
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
While on patrol, I heard a soft sound coming from the underbrush. We were low on food, and since it sounded like a hare, I went to investigate. As I got closer, I realized the sound I had heard was weeping. I followed the sound into a small glade. On the ground, by the stream, I saw the young girl from 2 days ago. She was crying as if she would never stop, and she was clutching a small, hand carved horse to her chest.
I approached her silently, not wanting to startle her. I ruined it by accidentally stepping on a branch. Her head shot up and she was halfway to her feet by the time I had pounced. I heard a voice yelling, "Get him" and "Protect the princess". I remember the girl's shocked face and my feelings of anger that I had been so stupid as to not think of guards. Then, all went black.
To Be Continued...
*Great War-a recent war between the clansmen and townsmen which killed 7,000 people
*A silver ring signifies an heir to power
*Paravians-the old race of unicorns, centaurs, and sunchildren. They left the continent 500 years ago and haven't been seen since
*Taltora-the leader of the four principalities: Sanlata, Palnuan, Taja, and Crutas. They have ruled since the nobles became clansmen 500 years ago.
*Drifters are related distantly to clansmen. They wander the plains of Crutas selling horses.