Disclaimer- I do not own AoT, only my OCs.

This is a backstory arc for my character, Sereak (Sea-wreck) from BluePheonix34's story AoT-Black Skies. You should read her story, it is amazing!

-:-

A light, steady breeze blew across the forest, making the tall pine trees sway lazily back and forth. The breeze carried the sharp, minty smell of the pines. Sereak closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell from her perch in one of the tall pines. She opened her eyes, and watched all the trees gently sway like grass on the plains. A hawk flew overhead, a small figure clamped in its talons. Sereak's bright green eyes followed the hawk until it disappeared behind the other trees in the distance. Another breeze blew. Sereak inhaled deeply, she contemplated getting down from her perch and trying to find and follow the hawk to its nest, but a distant voice denied that notion.

"Sereak!" The voice called, seemingly far away, but she knew that it was her father calling from the bottom of the tree. Sereak slowly started to climb down the tree not that she couldn't go down any faster, heck she could jump five limbs at a time, but she wanted to make it last.

Once at the bottom of the tree, Sereak saw her waiting father, two bows and quivers in his hands.

"Your mother is running out of meat to cook, so I thought I'd go hunting. I couldn't forget to bring my young hunting partner with me."

Sereak grinned. It was a small one and probably the closest thing she would get to an actual smile. She didn't smile often, nor did she like the feeling. It made her eyes feel squinty and her face feel fat and squished.

She took her bow and swung the quiver over her shoulder. Her father put his arm around her and together they walked further into the woods.

When her father first suggested the idea of hunting, Sereak's mother refused. She thought it was an offense to the animals living peacefully, saying that they could just buy meat and whatever other produce they needed from the markets inside the walls. Her father agreed and went to the walls immediately. He was gone for several hours, but when he came back, he was outraged. He recited how the wall guards had told him he had to get permission to enter. Living in the mountains so far away from the walls, the guards hadn't trusted him. They even went so far as to call him a spy for some other land. Sereak's mother calmed him, telling him to send for permission the next day. Her father agreed and the first thing he did the next day was write a letter, asking for permission to enter the walls. A whole week went by and there was still no reply. By now even her normally very patient mother had had the last straw. She agreed to let him hunt with his solemn promise to only hunt for the amount of meat the family needed, never for sport.

It was a good thing she had let him, Sereak's father's hunting had saved the family from starvation. It had taken a full month for the reply letter from the government to get to them, only for it to say that no permission was needed to get into the wall! Only an I.D check was needed. Sereak grinned as she remembered the string of profanities her father had said, cursing the wall guards that had given him the false information.

Again, it was her mother who had calmed him. She had placed both her hands on his shoulders and given them a short massage. Her father instantly relaxed and leaned back. Once her mother felt he was calm enough, she would stop the massage and would peck a quick kiss on his forehead. Sereak's father smiled instantly and pulled his wife into a hug. He held his hand out to Sereak and she would join in the family hug.

"I'm sorry hon'." He sighed. "I can't and shouldn't get worked up over this. After all, we lived, and we lived pretty darn well with your grand meals, hon'. Besides we got enough food for us and Lil' Pup here."

Lil' pup. His nickname for her. Given to her the first time she had gotten angry and little fangs had poked out of her mouth. Making her forget her anger instantly and feel the small teeth while her father roared with laughter. "Well, Lil' Pup, looks like I'm going to have to be careful around you." He had teased.

A hand shook Sereak's shoulder, snapping her back to the present.

"Are you all right Lil' Pup?"

Sereak nodded. "Dad, aren't I getting a little old for the name Lil' Pup?"

Her father laughed and ruffled her hair. "Not in the slightest Lil' Pup. You see no matter how old you get, your old father will always be older than you. So you will always me my Lil' Pup."

Sereak mulled it over, the logic was sound and she didn't mind the nickname. "You're not that old dad."

"Well, I'm glad you think so. Lil' Pup."

Sereak grinned for an impressive third time that day and continued to look around the forest thinking of different things, replaying old memories, and so on.

A twig snapped. Sereak snapped out of her daydreams and stiffened. She slowly scanned the area in front of her and to the side. Nothing was there. She looked over to her father; he was slowly turning to look behind them, she mimicked his action. Together they faced the direction of the snapping stick. Sereak scanned the tree line and the floor. A tree branch moved and another branch snapped. She slowly moved her hand to grasp one of the arrows in her quiver, just in case.

A squirrel popped its' head out of the mess of pine needles on the branch. Sereak exhaled, only just now realizing she had been holding it.

"Good thing that wasn't a bear." Her father said. "It's about the time they all come out of their winter dens to feed and fatten back up. Cubs should also be around with their mothers now as well."

Sereak nodded, agreeing. While she loved observing bears and the other animals in the forest, she understood the danger of running into a hungry animal; even worse, running into a hungry mother with smaller mouths to feed.

With the tension lifted, Sereak and her father continued on their hunt. It wasn't until half an hour later, though, that Sereak and her father found what they were looking for, a small herd of deer, feeding in a small clearing.

With practiced ease, Sereak crouched down low and snuck over to a nearly tree. She carefully hoisted herself into a low hanging branch, without making a sound. Sereak climbed up several more limbs until she found the perfect vantage point. She looked down at the small herd. There were five deer in all. Three were doe, a young buck, and an old, proud stag. She decided not to shoot the large buck; he looked strong and handsome, almost guaranteed to produce young as strong and handsome as he. The young buck was out of the question as well; he was still young and had not experienced the wonders of the forest. It would have to be one of the doe.

Sereak observed them carefully. One looked fatter than the others, either she was pregnant or she was just fat. The latter was highly unlikely; the forest animals were never overweight, unless people fed them. If they got their food naturally they would be fat. Sereak ruled the pregnant doe out.

The second looked just as young as the buck, she to hadn't fully enjoyed the wonders of the forest. The third, however, looked about middle aged. She didn't look pregnant; it would have to be her. Sereak sighed and looked for her father. She spied him behind some bushes just a little bit beyond her tree. He was looking at her, waiting to see her choice. Sereak signed a doe, just putting both hands on her head, resembling large ears, then three fingers to represent which doe, and then she pointed her finger at it.

Her father nodded and examined her chosen deer. He turned to her, smiled, and gave a thumbs-up. Sereak nodded and silently readied her bow. She carefully slid an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it into the bow. She steadily drew the bow back and held it, carefully taking aim. Her father gave a small whistle. Instantly all the deer had their heads up, noses quivering. Sereak released her arrow. It flew fast and true, imbedding itself in between the doe's ribs and into her heart. The doe collapsed, dead. A quick and painless death, a good kill.

The remaining dear fled, their tails raised like banners, showing the white flag of danger, their way of announcing to all the animals of the forest to flee. Sereak climbed down from her tree and walked respectfully over to the body. She knelt down in front of the doe.

"I am sorry I had to take your life friend. Your death is not in vain. It goes to feed my family; your body will be treated with respect, never the opposite." Sereak carefully unlogged the arrow from the deer's side. "Thank you for your sacrifice."

She cleaned her arrow on the grass beside her. Her father walked over to the deer side and he too knelt down in front of her and said the same respectful words, thanking her for her life and the meat she would provide his family. He took out his skinning knife and started to skin the deer. Sereak looked up; crows and other scavengers were already circling overhead. They didn't have much time before other, bigger, more dangerous animals came upon the kill.

Her father handed the skin to her, later he would cure it and make it into a blanket or some article of clothing. While they wouldn't need it now, come winter the family would be glad to have it. Her father then started to carve out choice cuts of meat, making sure the meat he got wasn't tough or to stringy. He cut a good sixty pounds, the normal amount for a doe that size. He left the organ meat inside for the other animals. Sereak watched him pull out two bags for the meat from his jacket. After dividing the meat as evenly as he could, Sereak's father handed her one of the bags. Holding her bow in her hand, Sereak accepted the bag and slung it over her left shoulder.

"The rest we leave for the scavengers and other animals." Her father said.

Sereak nodded. There was no need to stay any longer. As they walked away, Sereak looked back at the body. The flying scavengers were already descending and feeding. Her father had often told her that many hunters hated the sight of scavengers feeding off of the kill. This amused and confused her. Why would they be upset? They should already have the meat and skin. There was no reason to go back and scare them away. She believed that the scavengers should be allowed to stay and eat with a free heart, as was natural. With happy hearts and growling stomachs, the pair returned home.

Home, to the Poljor family, was a cabin made from logs, blood, sweat, and tears. To most, it looked nothing more than a small wood house with a stone chimney, not half the size of the homes of those living in the interior. To Sereak, however, it was one of the most beautiful sights and best place to be in the world. In the summer months, it was cool, the perfect place to escape the heat. In the winter, snow covered cabin looked all the more cozy. The sound walls kept the heat in and the bone chilling winds out. The inside of the cabin itself was surprisingly roomy. With four rooms, the cabin was very much so the perfect home for the Poljors.

Once the cabin was in view, Sereak couldn't help but grin. She helped her father take the meat to the smoke house behind the cabin, before heading inside and greeting her mother.

"Hello? Mom we're home." She called out.

"Good." A voice called from the kitchen. "You and your father have perfect timing. It's almost time for dinner.

"Dinner?" Sereak mumbled to herself. She went back to the door and looked outside. Sure enough, the sun was starting sink, a pink and orange tinge colored the sky. She closed the door and walked back inside and went into the kitchen, where her mother was finishing up dinner. Sereak set the table, grabbing plates and eating utensils and placing them on the table in their designated spots.

"Can you go and get your father? I'm just about done with dinner." Her mother asked.

Sereak nodded and wordlessly went outside to get her father. He was still near the smoker, carefully placing the meat inside to it would smoke as evenly as possible. Smoked, the meat wouldn't rot as quickly. He did save some of the meat to put into their cellar. The cellar wasn't in the house, but right next to it. It was a large underground room, cold enough to store meat and not worry about it rotting.

Sereak walked over and tapped her father on the shoulder. "Dad, Mom says that dinner is ready."

Her father put one last side of meat into the smoker. "All right, lil' pup, let's go."

He put his arm around her shoulder and they both walked into the house. The smell of one of their favorite dishes wafted around them. It was duck soup. It took forever to make, but somehow, the cooking master of the house, Teresa Poljor, had kept it hidden from the both of them.

"Come in and close the door. The soup is going to get cold with you just standing there." Her mother smiled.

Sereak closed the door and uncharacteristically, raced to the table. Both her parents smiled and slowly walked to the table. Her mother set bowls in front of them all and filled them with the soup. Nobody spoke; they were all too busy digging into the delicious soup. It was many minutes later when her father broke the silence and spoke.

"The fur business isn't going very well, well deer fur that is. My pelts are only going for three fourths of what it was worth two years ago. The people in the inner walls are starting to move toward fox, minx, and beaver skins. The more exotic, the more they feel they should have it. It's just starting out though. It should take a few more years until the deer skins become out of date."

"What do you plan to do once the pelts aren't worth anything?" Sereak's mother asked.

"Well. I heard that the government is taking old Garrison workers back and letting them work part time I could join up and do that. It pays enough to get us what we need." Her father answered.

Sereak's mother nodded. There wasn't much more discussion after that and it didn't take long for everyone to finish up dinner. Sereak cleared the table and put the dishes in the sink, did her chores, washed up, changed into her pajamas (just a plain grey shirt and long black pants), and went to bed.

Her father came in and hugged and kissed her good night. Her mother came in a second later and sat with Sereak on the bed, a black book in her hand.

"Where did we leave off in the story?" She asked.

"We left off… Oh! We left off where the three magicians came to the town." Sereak answered.

"Ah yes, I remember now." Her mother flipped thorough the book, found the page, and started to read.

-:-

The three magicians walked through the town on its' main road. The town itself was empty, not a soul in sight The magicians noticed this strange phenomenon, but at the same time they felt the hot sensation of many eyes roaming over them, evaluating them. They suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and turned around. In the center of the road was an old wrinkled man. He stood firmly and started emotionlessly at them.

"Who are you and what foolishness has made you come here?" The old man croaked.

The three magicians looked at each other, the middle and oldest of them stepped forward.

"We are the Traveling Magicians from the far away city of Merael. The reason for our foolishness, I do not know. After all, one cannot now why an action is foolish without knowing why."

The elder grinned toothlessly. This magician was clearly very wise. "You have not heard of this village or the horror its very name provokes? Hm, it is a bit surprising, after all this is the village of Dethoa."

The youngest magician looked startled "The village of Dethoa! That means the tyrant king-"

The elder's eyes flashed. " Yes, the tyrant king, King Malvus the Cruel, resides here."

The oldest magician rounded on his young companion. "What do you know of this village?"

The young magician gulped. "It is rumored that King Malvus the Cruel, is a tyrant over his people. He forced all the females of his village, whether they be wife, mother, child, or infant, to come to his castle and be put into a paradise like forest. But it was a trick, every weekend he would go on a hunt in the forest. Not for deer or the normal quarry, but for the trapped females in the forest."

"What happens if they are caught?" The second magician whispered, he was the most creative out of the three.

The young magician shivered. "It would depend. If he favored the looks of the captured female, he will…he will force her to bear his children, as if to prove he is the father of them all. If he didn't favor them, they are toyed with, and then killed."

"And when you say toyed with, you mean tortured?" The oldest magician sighed.

"Yes sir."

"What if they women escape? Can they not run back to their family and run away? Maybe even start a family of their own somewhere else?" The creative magician asked.

"No." The youngest whispered. "The females are hunted down, especially if they escape. Even if they did manage to get away, they cannot have any children. You see all the men have had their genitals cut off. They are still able to perform bodily functions, though."

The oldest rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We must help these people. It is unnatural what this 'king' is doing."

"How are you going to help us?" A voice croaked behind them. They all turned and faced the elderly man. "How are you going to help us?" He repeated.

The oldest continued to rub his chin. "How many of the men know how to fight?"

"All of them. We were all trained to serve in the king's army if need be. We still have the weapons and armor as well."

"Why haven't you tried to kill the king yourselves?" The youngest magician asked.

The old man stiffened. "Like you, the king has magic. He also has a loyal army, believe it or not. We have tried many times in the past, all attempts have failed. The would-be assassins would be gone for two whole months, and never seen until later. They would always be in the middle of town, strung up on pikes for all to see. We are not so weak that we didn't try to kill the king."

"Please forgive me question." The young magician apologized. "I had no intention to offend."

The old man waved his hand as if it were nothing.

The creative magician stroked his stubble. "How many able-bodied men do you have?"

The elderly man smiled another toothless grin. "Follow me."

-:-

Sereak's mother closed the book. "And that is the end of another chapter."

"One more?" Sereak pleaded. This particular book was a new book. Her mother had found it and Sereak wanted to hear the end. The rest of her mother's books she knew by heart.

"No, I can read it tomorrow." Her mother smiled.

"But mom, how are the magicians going to convince the people to rebel? How are they going to start the Black Rebellion?" Sereak asked, trying to tug at her mother's curiosity and get her to read another chapter.

It didn't work. "We can read all about that in the days to come. After all, we have as many days as we want to finish this book."

Sereak sighed, nodded, and wiggled under her covers. Her mother kissed her on the forehead good night, turned off the kerosene lamp and left the room. Even so, Sereak lay awake in her room listening for her favorite lullaby.

Sometimes the owl would lead with doleful hoots, other times the fox would, with loud screams and yips. But most of the time, it was the wolves that lead, with long mournful or cheerful howls. They were Sereak's favorite.

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance. A fox screamed and the crickets chirped. Then she heard it. One long mournful howl, soon joined by two, then three, then five more. The wild choir of the forest was warming up and about to sing. Sereak always stayed up to hear it, after all the same song was never sung twice.

The choir started to sing. The song played out with a series of long sad howls, then a short high pitched yip, and then several low hoots. Then the wolves took the stage, taking over the whole show with a series of heart pounding high howls and spine chilling low, long howls. Then a crescendo of synced high and low howls filled the air, continuing over a d over. Then it stopped. With that the chorus was over, all was silent, with the exception of the still chirping crickets. Sereak breathed in deeply, snuggled under her covers, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

-:-

Jauntues- As I stated above, at the very beginning, this is a story arc for BluePheonix34's story AoT: Black Skies. A huge thank you as well to BluePheonix for letting me make up the story for the "book" The Black Rebellion. You who haven't read Pheonix's story should go read it right now, like right now...what are you still doing here?