A dark seed reigns in me
Like the storm rules over the sea
I challenge thee, do not cross
This bridge alone
Moon of the Growing Frost, 27th Sun
NB: For a glossary on Kingdom language, please see my profile page
Leading his tired knights, Lightning Strike approached the lip of the gorge that marked their current camp, looking for the Kingdom sentry to announce their return. It had taken all night to mark the new border and return home. A cat approached him.
"Hello there, your Highness. I heard you were dead."
The light-hearted mew came from Lightning Strike's guardian, Broken Heart. The Prince smiled in response. "Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated," he said, touching his nose to hers in greeting.
Ordinarily guardians were supposed to remain with their royals at all times, but Broken Heart had injured her foot in a previous clash. The injury was not severe and Lightning Strike had refused to even consider the possibility of having her destroyed. Permanent guardians were hard to find; most of them were either promoted to dukes or duchesses, or were killed in battle. Broken Heart was a rarity; she was a better fighter than many of the current duchesses, but had turned down all offers of promotion.
Broken Heart was what Lightning Strike had imagined a sister would be like. Queens didn't often raise their kits, as their duties prevented them from having the time to do so. Lightning Strike had been mothered by a maiden who had milk to spare. At the time, she was also nursing his future guardian, who was an orphan (only royals had relationships with their fathers); her mother had died in birth, and the little kit's yowls sounded so grief-stricken that the maiden had named her Broken Heart. Kingdom kits were named after things that were unique to them; Lightning Strike was named after his father, Thunder's Roar, and his strange fur colour. He'd had siblings, originally, but they were weak and sickly, and mysteriously disappeared shortly after it became apparent that they wouldn't grow stronger. This had concerned the Kingdom, who began to mutter about bloodlines growing too close. Lightning Strike knew he had to father healthy kits of his own one day to allay their fears.
He and Broken Heart had climbed the ranks of the Kingdom together, and while he was stronger and faster than she was, she was much more agile and cunning, and usually got the better of him in their play fights. And when they were sent off to real, frightening battles, they'd saved each others' lives countless times. He'd had no hesitation in promoting her to guardian once they were formally knighted, and nobody in the Kingdom disagreed with his choice.
"So, how many did you kill?"
"With my claws? None. I forced the battle to finish through elämävelan. I relish the thought of Ice Storm's humiliation when they return to their camps. The last time the Northern Kingdom lost a battle on their own territory was when we were kits."
"Technically, they didn't lose. They were forced to surrender. Go away and see their Majesties. I'm sure they'll be far more patient with your boasting than I am." Broken Heart shoved him gently before padding off.
Smiling and shaking his head, pleased that they were both still alive to joke, he ignored the respectful bowing of other knights and pushed his way through to the royal cave. The current Eastern Kingdom camp was set in a gorge carved by a long-lost glacier, though they would move their camps at the whim of the royals. This time, however, it looked as though the Kingdom cats would be staying here for some time, at least until the end of Deep-Ice. His father and the King, Thunder's Roar, despised moving camps in cold weather, and the gorge was as good a place as any to spend the cold season. The top of the gorge was narrow, to shield them from the worst of the wind and snow, but it was also wide enough to allow in sunlight during the noon hours. Both the Eastern and Western Kingdoms were nomadic in this fashion, but the Northern Kingdom cats lived in a honeycomb of tunnels in the heart of one of their mountains, while the Southern Kingdom knights lived almost exclusively in trees. The Southern Kingdom was a curious group; although they followed the same god as the Eastern, and the laws of all Kingdoms, they rarely battled over anything except territory they already owned and the Field.
Stopping at the mouth of the royal cave, Lightning Strike dipped his head to Hollow Tree, the duke standing guard. A thin grey tabby, he was renowned for being extremely clever. He had to have been a good fighter, or he wouldn't still be a duke, but looking at his willowy frame, the Prince thought that any cat wanting to beat Hollow Tree could simply sit on him.
"Your Highness," rasped the duke in his high-pitched voice. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for my parents, if they're in here." He knew they were—he could smell their scent—but it always paid to be polite to dukes and duchesses. He would need their loyalty when he became King.
"They are. Do you want me to tell them that you're here?"
"Yes, thank you."
Lightning Strike examined the cold grey sky above his head while waiting for the duke to return. The scar on his left shoulder ached, warning him of snow to come. He sighed. There was still another whole moon of Deep-Ice to go before Melt-Ice arrived, the season where cascades of snow filled the river and green covered the bare rocks. Then would come the brief, sweet season of Bright-Sun, where for once there was enough food for the Kingdoms even if they didn't own the Field, before the sun would turn its face away from the mountains once more, leading into Short-Days, before Deep-Ice came once more.
Hollow Tree returned to the mouth of the cave. "They're ready for you, your Highness."
Lightning Strike thanked him before padding into the darkness, his eyes taking less than a second to adjust. He stepped through the tunnel before it opened up into a cavern where he and his parents slept.
"Hello, my dear," purred his mother and Queen, Northern Lights. Named for her beautiful pale blue-grey fur and her enigmatic green eyes, she licked his cheek.
A rumble of greeting came from the big yellow-eyed black tom. Lightning Strike was very large, but Thunder's Roar was larger still, his body made almost entirely up from heavy muscle and thick pelt. Although he was now heading towards the twilight of his life, he was still easily strong enough to snap a cat's neck, and no-one had even dared to think about challenging him. Scars roped his powerful body, including two shredded ears and an almost vertical line in between his eyes.
"Well?" he boomed, and the cave walls seemed to recoil from the power in his voice.
"We lost ten. Eight in battle, two from zhertva. The Northern Kingdom lost twelve, and if we're lucky Ice Storm might be exiled. I defeated her through elämävelan pretty easily, and from what I know of Midnight Snow, he doesn't accept failure. Even from his own kin. And he's still got two kits to spare."
"Well done," mewed Northern Lights. Thunder's Roar merely nodded. "Some of the patrols picked up the scent of an amenokti. Probably just one that woke up too early from hibernation, but you can never be sure, so I want you to take a small group and see if you can find out if it's still in our territory or not. Don't do anything stupid. Take Broken Heart with you—her foot should be healed by now."
Lightning Strike nodded and turned to go, but his father's voice sounded again.
"One more thing. There's reports of odd behaviour coming from the Southern Kingdom."
"Odd, Father?"
"Cats jumping in and out of trees, gathering in groups, and there's rumours that they're sneaking around in the Western Kingdom. Not much to do with us, but it's strange, nevertheless. Wouldn't have believed the reports, but I saw some of it myself. Before today I could have counted the number of times I'd seen a Southern Kingdom cat on my claws and still have plenty left."
Lightning Strike frowned. "They're planning to invade the Western Kingdom? That doesn't sound like them at all. And why would they need to? They've got the Field."
"I'm don't care much about why they're doing it," said Northern Lights, "I'm more concerned about how. Clearly their numbers are much larger than we previously thought, if they've got enough cats to dance around in the Western Kingdom and still keep control of the Field. I agree it's probably not much for us to worry about for the moment, but the Western and Northern Kingdoms should start saying their prayers to their Leopard."
Lightning Strike tapped the stone with a paw. "Ice Storm didn't have many knights with her, and the ones she did bring were pretty second-rate. The Northern Kingdom, at least, is preparing to assault the Field. Are they attacking because they're scared, or because they think there's an opportunity?"
"Your guess is as good as ours," yawned Thunder's Roar. 'But we can assume that Midnight Snow will want to have as many fighters under his command as possible, so he won't exile Ice Storm yet. Anyway, keep a close eye, son. This is one of those balancing moments. Either this is going to be hell for us or it's the best thing since Mitternacht founded the Kingdoms. Be ready for both."
