Chapter 2: Not Gonna Give Up
"Welcome, my loyal knights! I am pleased to see you are all here." The five knights were greeted by the gruff voice of the king as they entered the royal dinning room. In front of them was a very long table with more than enough plates and utensils. The king sat at the far end, wearing a long majestic cloak.
"Please seat yourselves," they heard him say after they respectfully bowed before him. Naturally, they all sat separated. It wound up being with two knights on each side of the long side of the table and one opposite the king's side. Tamir dared not sit there. He was the most inexperienced out of the five knights and he'd do his best to show respect.
It happened to be that out of the five knights, the most experienced one, Kai, had sat opposite the king. Tamir noticed this right away. Maybe one day he'd be experienced enough to sit there.
"As you all know, I have summoned you here to explain a very important mission I have for you all… individually," the king began. "Individually, your honor?" Kai echoed. The king nodded. Tamir was surprised that the king hadn't gotten angry at Kai for interrupting him.
"I need all of you to travel far out; far out to the north, south, east, and west." The king had actually pointed to four of the knights as he said this. The finger had landed on Tamir when he said "east". "Kai shall go northwest, where I hear a mysterious group of gerbils have been seen lurking around," the king ordered.
"Yes, your majesty," Kai replied. "I want you all to travel far out in your direction on this mission. Find any kingdoms you can, disguise yourselves as peasants and learn all of their secrets and skills. You shall all return by the time two full moons have passed," the king continued. "You shall leave tonight. Understood?"
"Sir!" the knights cheered. Tamir's heart flipped when the king finished. Tonight? Why so soon? Could he not even say goodbye to his friends? It seemed so. The king, as if in some sort of rush, hurried the knights to the stables outsides. There he gave them money, food, weapons, and armor they'd need for the journey.
And, before he knew it, Tamir and the others had saddled up their cats and rode of in their separated directions. Tamir was upset that he could not see Meeko before he left. What if this mission turned out to be a disaster for him? What if he couldn't make it back? What if he died? These questions haunted his mind all night as he rode off into the darkness.
Tamir had settled down in a tree branch that night. His cat was tied up at the tree's huge roots. The Blackfire kingdom's territory was known for its huge, unique trees. As long as these were around, Tamir knew he was still home. But he wouldn't be for long.
The sound of a startled crow aroused him from his slumber. It was early morning now. He looked down to see his Bengal cat apathetically pawing at a nearby bush. He crawled down the tree trunk and stretched. "I suppose we ought to get going," he muttered as he grabbed his cat's harness, which neatly fit around its small muzzle like one would for a horse. He got on its saddle and snapped the halter reins. "Mit!" he said sharply, and the cat was off running.
The Bengal cats around where Tamir lived were like horses in their own way. They could run for miles as long as they were full and quenched. Only the knights rode the Bengal cats, and only Bengal cats would the knights ride. They were the only cats around, plus the only ones wild enough that they actually could be tamed and ridden. Tamir had named his Ben.
It had started to rain after a few hours of riding and the two were forced to take shelter under the long leaves of the shrubs. "I think I smell water… I mean, lots of it," Tamir said quietly. He had never smelt so much water at once before. It had a strange tang to it. Common sense held him back from going out to see where it was coming from. Plus, Tamir hated getting wet.
The rain lasted all night. Eventually, Tamir and Ben moved up a tree to escape the muddy ground. They filled up on some old corn that had been packed up and given to Tamir by the king. It was all too obvious that he hadn't been too thoughtful about what to pack.
By morning the rain had stopped and Tamir was bid good morning by silently falling water droplets on wet leaves. "A day has already gone by and I'm not even sure if we're still in Blackfire kingdom territory, let alone if we're still going east… We only have two months."
The two were off again before long. This time, Tamir headed toward the scent of water he caught the night before. It wasn't long before they reached it. A huge, never ending field of dark blue water stretched out before them. Tamir had to rub his amber eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
How could something like this be real? Quickly, he hopped off of Ben and dashed across the sand that separated him from the water. He got as close as he could to the water without actually touching it. He immediately jumped back when a small wave of water licked the sand he was standing on, painting it dark brown.
When another wave came, Tamir carefully scooped up a pawful of water and drank it, only to spit it out. "Gross! It's… salty?! I hate salty stuff," he hissed with a grimace. He padded back to Ben, who had obediently watched him from where he was left.
Figured. That would've been an unlimited supply of water, had it been drinkable. "Oh well. I guess I ought to tell the king that I couldn't go any farther," Tamir sighed. Even though, he didn't want to go back. What if the king thought he was lying? That he was just lazy, or scared? "I wonder if there's a way across."
Tamir spent most of the day just staring at the ocean, listening to its hissing, and wondering if there was some magical way to just walk on it. He wondered if there was even anything on the other side. He couldn't see anything.
The sun was beginning to set by the time Tamir gave up. He got up, sighed, and began to now wonder how he'd explain to the king how he failed his first special mission as he padded back to his cat. A sudden, deep roar froze him in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around.
It wasn't close, but not out of sight, either. Something small, or maybe big, was on the water. Floating? Impossible. How could something so strange do that? With such a roar, it must've been big.
"A boat," Tamir said to himself. Something made by man. Of course! Man: masters of balance and everything that made no sense. They defied nature. They could do anything.
Tamir had never seen man, but his grandfather had told him all about them. They were never a threat to hamsters unless they decided to destroy their forests. Other than that, they were usually ignored. Because of this many civilians of Blackfire kingdom have come to believe that man don't exist at all.
But the boat was so far away. Tamir would never be able to get to it. "But why would man want to walk on water? Unless there's something else out there…" He gulped. Now he'd feel guilty if he turned back. East didn't end here. It went on, much farther on.
"I have to get to that ship!" He turned around and quickly began picking up rubbish from the beach. He put together pieces of trees and barks like a puzzle. He glued them together with tree sap. This was something his grandfather had also taught him to do. Tree sap made good glue and wood almost always floated.
"C'mon, Ben," Tamir said as he pushed the big, unsteady raft toward the ocean. The cat stared at him unbelievingly. "I know you hate water, but you have to come, too. Come on!" He padded over to Ben and tugged at his halter, forcing him on the raft, then waited for another wave to come.
It lifted them from the ground as if it were a hand and carried them to the ocean. So far everything was going according to how Tamir had hoped. "All right! We haven't sunk yet! We're floating!" He cheered. Ben crouched down, shivering, his nails digging into the wood. Tamir looked at the boat, which still looked so far away. "I'm not gonna give up."
Chaptah 2! Sorry if it seems like I'm rushing things. The story doesn't really start until Tamir meets the Ham-Hams, and that'll take a few chapters. Keep watch for Chapter 3: The World of Man. Oh yeah, and if it seems like I'm using "man" strangely in sentences, I'm doing it on purpose. Tamir's word "man" is plural, so that's how I'll type it until the word "human" is introduced.