"The planet known as Feywyn was not really a planet. It was a plateau scattered with dense forests and lake and fields, hovering peacefully in a small group of similarly shaped planets, and slowly orbiting a small star known as Rô. On Feywyn, life flourished. Primarily, the two sentient species that shared the planet - the Drâken and the Adlyens.
The Adlyens were a relatively new habitant of Feywyn, having moved there when their own planet was invaded by one of the great empires of that place. They were two legged humanoid beings with skin colored a deep blue. The adults had jagged horns protruding from their head around their face and three eyes. The children had round stubs where the horns would grow and only two eyes. They were a very small race with perhaps about three or four cities total with several thousand each. /div
The Drâken had been there for millennia, some said as long as Feywyn had existed. They were white, sleek creatures with four legs, two wings resting on their back, and a two-finned tail. They had flaps on their head that acted as ears and small stubs that grew as they aged. They lived the caves and the forests in family groups, usually not interacting much with the others. Their population was slow growing, and there were only about twenty to thirty of them. But by the time the next orbit of Feywyn had passed, there would be only one.
Deep within a cave, a female Drâken gave birth to two cubs, one female with light blue eyes and one male with emerald green. Drâken do not have names that could be understood by most, so let's call them Blue and Green. For a short time, the small family flourished. The mother went out to hunt in the morning and Blue and Green remained in their cave home. They would often play-hunt or play-fight to pass the time until their mother would return with food.
Until one, day, their mother didn't come back. After a day's wait, they dared to creep out and track her scent to an open valley only to discover her corpse, a Adlyen spear through her heart. Green wailed in grief and wiggled between his mother's paws as if trying to wake her up. Blue did not wail. She went over to the spear and sniffed at it. They remained there until nightfall, when it was no longer safe. And from then on, they were on their own.
Blue took on their mother's role quickly. She taught herself to hunt and then taught Green. They weren't big enough to hunt the prey their mother had taken down, but between the two of them they could take down several smaller things to fill their bellies. Blue continued to take on the role of the head of the family, and Green admired her for her skill.
As they grew older, though, they began to grow apart. Green blamed only the hunter whose spear had taken their mother's life, but Blue harbored an unreserved hate for all Adlyens. They began to disagree on other things, too. Green chose to dispatch his prey as quickly as possible and only took what he knew he would eat. Some days, he did not hunt at all but ate fish from a pond he had discovered at the edge of the forest. Blue hunted excessively and without mercy. She harbored no fondness for fish.
Despite their differences, though, they loved each other dearly. They slept together in a cave partially up one of the many slopes and groomed each other each morning. And the bonds between sister and brother held strong between them. /div
Green finished his meal, perched in one of the giant trees that grew in the center of the forest. His ear flaps flipped in anticipation and he took off toward the edge of the wild lands. He didn't generally hide anything from Blue but this… Landing behind a chunk of stone that was the remainder of some long-ago temple, he waited, twitching.
"Drâken! Drâken are you here?", young voices called.
Green poked his head out from the rock to delighted squeals from the owners of the voices, two child Adlyens. They reached out the pet his head and lead him completely out from his hiding place. The three proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon together. The puplings climbed over Green, laughing wildly when he lifted them up with his tail or wiggled and leaped with them on his back.
Eventually, though, it was time for the Adlyens to return home before their parents become worried and they waved good-bye to Green, promising to come again soon. Green chiriped at them and spread his wings to head back to the cave. He always enjoyed these secret meetings, a chance to interact peacefully with the others on Feywyn and a lovely change from the usual suspicious-verging-on-hostile atmosphere.
Swooping down and settling in the entrance to the den, a strange feeling passed over Green. It was like the air before a storm. Something strongbig /strongwas about to happen. Warily, he stepped into the cave. There, in the center, was Blue. And at her feet was a dead Adlyen.