Under a brisk autumn sky, a small comfortable breeze shook golden orange leaves free from gently swaying branches. Hidden in the bushes a pair of ice-blue eyes watched with curious fascination at the two beings squaring off in a non-hostile standoff. The Faun child had feigned a nap and followed his parents to watch them spar. The sound of leaves rattling overhead distracted the pair of spying eyes.
"Hai!" cried out his father, a Faun with dark brown curly hair suddenly lunged forward thrusting his hand out in an attempt to strike his opponent. The Child abruptly returned his attention to the match unfolding before him.
His mother, a pureblood female Faun, a Doe with similar ice-blue eyes and pixie style short black hair, stepped sideways with ease; she leapt backwards swinging her leg, executing a swift back flip kick, which the male Faun dodged with a grin.
He caught her left leg as it came up and with half the force he normally used he spun her around and around until he suddenly let go.
The spying Faun child let out a gasp as she flew precariously toward a rock wall. She caught herself before making impact and landed gracefully upon the harsh surface. With a grunt she sprang her body forth, her naturally hard iron like head aimed at her mate. The male Faun quickly bent backwards, avoiding her potential blow. He grasped both of her shoulders and using his hooves flipped her over. Unable to catch herself this time she hit the ground with a dull thud.
The Doe rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. Her mate looked down upon her with a smile and held out his hand. Returning his smile, she made as if she was going to take it when suddenly she swung her leg. Catching him off guard, she uprooted his hooves and hit the ground with same dull force she endured
"That was for going easy on me." She said.
The looked at each other in silence for a few moments then burst into laughter. A bright Smile spread across the Faun child's face. He was about to make his appearance and join his parents when suddenly something grabbed both of his shoulders with a grip so vice-like he winced and cried out. There was nothing he could as he was lifted ten, twenty, thirty, forty feet into the air.
"TUMNUS!" The Doe screamed as she watched a Hag carry off their only child. "Kensun, do something!" Her mate sped off after them without another word.
The Hag had some trouble keeping a firm grip on the child. Her greasy, leathery wings flopped up and down almost uselessly as they struggled to keep the pair in the air for young Tumnus kicked, screamed, squirmed and fought like he never had before. Completely distracted by the fighting little Faun, the Hag took no notice of the streak of sleek black fur that burst forth from a thicket of trees.
A young panther had been sunning herself under a clearing in the forest and had taken notice of the struggling air borne duo. She now found herself hurtling toward the Hag with her long pearl colored claws bared. They pierced and dug into saggy, greasy skin. The Hag screeched in shock as the panther tore massive holes through her grotesque wings. She had no choice now but to give up her spoils.
The Doe screamed as her child was tossed into the air and spiraled down toward a pile of jagged rocks. Kensun heard nothing but wind in his ears as his hooves picked up a speed he never knew they had. At first, he heard only gushes of gusts in his eardrums but at the sight of his only son's small and fragile frame sailing toward the unforgiving surface of sharp rocks, all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat. Time seemed to slow; the faster he went the slower he felt.
"O' my Lord and Savior," Kensun thought as he reached out his arms. "Dear Aslan, if I ever had a purpose in life, please, let it be this..." His hooves left the ground as he leapt forward with all his might. The child's body met his father's arms. Kensun maneuvered his body around so that his back hit the rocky ground. He scraped along the gritty, craggy surface at least two and a half meters before coming to a halt completely.
As the dust settled, Kensun let out a holler of relief when he heard his son crying into his chest. The shrill sound of growls, hisses, spitting and roaring filled the air as the Hag and Panther continued their battle.
"Kensun!" The Doe cried as she scooped up her child and cradled him in her arms. She could not help but let out a string of relieved sobs.
"He's okay, Tumikiyo." Kensun croaked stroking her arm in reassurance. "He's okay."
As the panther and hag scratched and bit at each other they suddenly found themselves beholding the silhouette of a Centaur standing before a setting sun. The panther abruptly backed away as the centaur charged forward. He rounded upon the Hag and pinned her into a rock wall.
"Who sent you?" He roared, holding a gleaming blade to her throat. She only hissed in response, showering the centaur's face with droplets of sour spittle. He slammed her twisted, gnarly body into the rock wall.
"Who sent you?!" He demanded again.
"I'll never tell." The Hag snarled.
"That's just fine with me." The Centaur replied simply.
Tumikiyo looked away and shielded her child's eyes as he sliced the blade through her throat.
"Kensun, Kiyo, are you alright?" The panther asked rushing over to the Faun family. "Your son?"
"He's fine." Kensun said as he sat up. "Are you alright, Tatziyarra?"
The she panther nodded as she watched the Centaur inspect the hag's corpse.
"Thank-you, Tatzi." Kiyo said gently clutching her child to her chest. "You saved his life."
The Doe's brow furrowed in concern as she felt fluid warmth from underneath her palm. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to draw in a gasp. Her palm was glistening with freshly shed blood, which cascaded down her son's back from deep puncture wounds in his shoulders. Horrified at the sight of how inflamed the marks had become Kensun quickly jumped up.
"Hurry," Said Tatzi in urgency. "We must get him back to my den. The Hag's claws may have been poisoned."
"Now I wish it was still alive." Kensun seethed. "Just so I can kill it again myself."
In Tatzi's den, Oreious the centaur had to restrain the frightened Faun child as Tatzi and the Faun couple tended to his wounds. Turns out, the Hag had indeed poisoned her claws so the child's cuts had difficulty closing.
"Oreious!" Tatzi snapped in frustration. "Keep him still." The poor panther was a little tense for the Hag poisoned her claws with snake venom.
"I'm trying." The young Centaur replied calmly. "He's stronger than he looks."
Despite the situation, Kensun could not help but smile slightly with pride to himself. It was true that for only having seen four Narnian winter, the Faun child put up a fight far beyond his years. And rightly so, for the topical anti-venin Tatzi used had an excruciating burning sensation, a side effect that young Tumnus did not take well at all. Fortunately, the snake venom had dried before piercing his skin rendering the substance pretty-much harmless.
Finally after the boy settled down to rest on a nest of wolf furs, the Fauns, the Panther, and the Centaur began to discuss the events that unfolded merely an hour ago.
"She follows the White Lady." Oreious said slapping down a crudely made anklet causing the child to stir a little. He remained nestled under the furs but let out a small cry as he relived what had happened to him in his dreams. Unable to ignore her motherly instincts, Kiyo hurried over to his side to comfort him.
Kensun picked up the anklet and studied the bizarre, crudely carved markings.
"Minotaur clan." he said. "She was from general Otmin's fleet."
"That Traitorous pile of manure." Oreious snorted in fury. "Oh, how I long to put that great horned heifer back in his place."
"What does it mean?" asked Tatzi.
"It means our morale is slipping," said Kensun. "More and more are joining her side. Word has spread that she is now calling herself Queen of Narnia."
Oreious let out another infuriated snort.
"But what does this all have to do with the child and the fact that a Hag attempted to kidnap him?" Tatzi said.
They sat in silence, unable to find an answer. Kensun looked over at his mate as she tended to their child. He placed his hand upon his heart. A terrible sense of dread washed over him like ice water before he could quell it. Not even Kiyo's warm smile could soothe the fear bubbling in his stomach as his mind's eye replayed what had happened to his son.
"I don't know," he said finally. "What I do know is that it is not safe here anymore. We have to leave Lantern Wastes."
"Where will you go?" Tatzi asked.
"More and more Fauns are migrating into the mountains," said Oreious. "Is there a refuge there?"
"Yes, there's a remote village just outside the Narnian borderlines," Kensun replied. "If the White Lady thinks herself the Queen of Narnia then she can't reach us there."
Oreious suddenly hushed him and blew out a nearby candle. In the darkness, they could hear voices, many voices and the clatter of weaponry. The Centaur unsheathed his blade and together, he and Kensun crept toward the mouth of Tatzi's den.
Outside they could make out the shadowed outlines of wolves, a Minotaur, and a gaggle of Black Bearded Dwarves. All followers of the White Lady.
"I estimate about twenty in all." said Oreious.
"We can take 'em." Kensun replied, "The loud lumbering fools."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tatzi said, chuckling from behind them.
"Leave the Minotaur to me." said Kensun.
"No I want the Minotaur." Said Oreious. "It could be that sorry sack of bullshit Otmin. You can have the wolves."
"Those wolves are lamer than a mule with three broken legs." Kensun complained.
"C'mon you two." said Tatzi impatiently. "Make your choices and be done with it."
"Fine." Kensun sighed "All the wolves?"
"All the wolves..."
With that, they charged with a war cry that could have shaken the nation. Tatzi reached the party first, bowling over dwarves and sinking her claws into any jugular she could reach. Oreious leapt over her swinging his blade at the Minotaur, who unfortunately turned out to be blonde and not at all Otmin. The Minotaur blocked the attack but was really no challenge at all.
Two wolves recklessly lunged at Kensun who immediately leapt and delivered a massive kick to one wolf's jaw and gracefully twisting his body used the same leg to deliver yet another ferocious clock in the face of the other wolf. A row of yellowed sharp teeth appeared in his peripheral vision, he quickly side stepped the creature before it could bite down on his throat. As it flew past him Kensun grabbed hold of its tail and spun him around and around, bowling over a wolf that ventured too close and with all the force he had he swung around once more and let go, sending the quadruped flying into a rock wall with sickening skeletal crack.
Infuriated, Maugrim, the young pack leader, lunged at Kensun. The Faun leapt backwards, swung both hooves up and struck the wolf in the gut. He sent Maugrim sprawling into the bushes, taking him out with a single blow.
"THERE SHE IS!" shrieked one of the Dwarves pointing towards the mouth of Tatzi's den.
The battle paused. Everyone turned to see Kiyo standing there watching.
"KILL HER!"
To Kensun's horror not only did the entire party charge at the Doe, more creatures flew out from the trees and bushes. Wolves, Dwarves, Hags, Jackals, bats, and many other diverse dark creatures sped toward Kiyo with blood lust roars. It was an ambush!
TUMIKIYO!" cried Kensun but he immediately noticed that she showed no fear. He focused on her, not with his eyes but with his inner self, and saw an electric spark of energy growing within her, he felt it. Kiyo snapped to attention and she faced the hoard of traitors and murderers.
To the untrained ear, the sound of the wind could be heard whispering all around them, but the strong energy surge in Kensun's stomach told him that sound was that of his mate drawing in a deep inhale.
Kiyo had left her slumbering child's side after placing him in a safer spot in Tatzi's cave and watched the battle unfold before her eyes. She was ready to fight. She stood leaning against the cave wall, her eyes closed in concentration. It was still there. The energy she stored away during her sparring match with Kensun was still there and the more she concentrated the bigger the electric spark forming within her became.
Behind her eyelids, Kiyo saw many tiny forms of energy flying at from the ground and from the trees. Finally, she felt the rush of adrenaline course through her veins as her energy reached its maximum. In a split second, she realized she had to use it, all of it, in a single move. The Doe drew in a long deep inhale.
"GET DOWN!" shouted Kensun as he bounded upon Oreious and Tatzi making them duck down and cover their ears.
A long shrill scream pierced the night air, nearly shaking the branches right off the trees. The army of the White Lady stopped in their tracks. Those with the ability to hear clutched their ears and doubled over in agony. Hags, Bats and other flying creatures bumped and smacked into one another in a frenzied yet clumsy retreat. The sound of the fleet's panicked footsteps faded fast and the echo of Kiyo's technique dissipated on the wind leaving behind an eerie silence.
"Kiyo?" Kensun whispered into the darkness. He saw her leaning back against the wall of the cave. Too weak to hold herself up, she began to fall. Kensun rushed over to her and caught her before she hit the ground.
"What in the bloody Oblivions name was that?" Tatzi exclaimed as Kensun hoisted Kiyo's petite frame into arms.
"It's hard to explain really," Kensun replied. "It's a special technique that runs in her bloodline. It's called-"
"Panikon Deima." Oreious said in awe. "I heard legends and myths about it. I never thought that I would ever live to see it executed. Amazing."
"Take her please," said Kensun handing Kiyo over to the centaur. "I have to get my son." The Faun quickly retreated into Tatzi's den and came out a moment later with Tumnus asleep in his arms.
"How was he able to sleep through all of this?" Tatzi asked incredulously.
"He's immune to it." Kensun replied looking upon his son with pride.
They stood in silence for a few moments until a benign rustling in the distance caused them to start.
"It's not safe here." Kensun said, more to himself. "We have to leave tonight."
"Tonight?" said Tatzi. "But, my friend, the road is dangerous."
"No more dangerous than what we faced just now." The Faun replied. "Besides I know of other routes. I'm not going to risk being outnumbered again."
With that, he sped off with Oreious and Tatzi following close behind him. Unbeknownst to them a wolf form arose from the brush. His mad, feral eyes locked onto the departing trio.
"Panikon Deima." He said to himself. A ghastly grin formed on his grey, shaggy face. Maugrim bolted in the opposite direction, eager to return to the White Lady, his Queen's camp.