Chapter One; The Beginning
Singuar the panther rested a paw firmly on the tiller of his ship, the Waveweaver. The warm sun shone on his black coat, giving it a dull sheen. He was a trader, voyaging far from his home village in the south to seek out new goods and adventure. Like the rest of his crew, the panther lived further south than any of the creatures in Mossflower country, miles past the place they call Southsward. They left their home by their own will, seeking out the high seas and the north. There was one thing Singuar wanted to see most ---snow. He wondered if it was cotton fallen from the skies, or tiny pieces of silver left by the clouds.
"Where're we bound, Singuar?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, rough and light in an off-paw way. He turned to see the speaker ---a limber, sinewy cheetah, clad in a tight green shirt and dark grey pants.
"T' Mossflower country. We're to trade with th' inhabitants, and seek out Salamandastron, stronghold of the country's best fighters." He replied, smiling. "How're th' goods holdin', Tirrake?"
Tirrake tapped his chin with a claw, thrusting the other paw into his pants pocket. "'Tis fine, though th' crew's gotten inta th' dried mango."
"That's fine, s'long as they're happy, and that there's some left for trade."
"Aye, that there is." There was silence for a while, Tirrake leaning on the rail, looking back at their wake. Singuar perked his ears at the sound of the seagulls, wondering how close they were to Mossflower. They had been travelling for quite a while now, a month at the least, though the panther hadn't told the crew where they were going until Tirrake inquired, having completely forgotten.
"And the cocoa? How is that faring?" The panther shattered the quiet.
"Our most precious cargo is, of course, watched by our best sentry. Kiranka's keepin' a good watch on it. Th' tiger's tied it down tightly in our cabin. She says she'll shred anybeast 'oo comes near th' box." Tirrake chuckled, smiling at the thought of the heavily built tiger who was their weapons master.
"Good. Tell Queora to bring her maps up here, I need to have a word with her."
Tirrake nodded and swiftly disappeared below deck. Soon a short, thin ocelot strode up, the knives at her side clinking rhythmically to her movements. Tucked under her arm were various scrolls and maps. Singuar acknowledged her with a nod, indicating for her to have a seat. The ocelot winked, spreading her largest map across the deck, pinning it down with four of her knives.
"What do ye want to see?" Queora sat cross-legged on the deck, pulling out a piece of charcoal as Singuar leaned over from his position at the tiller, examining the map with his amber eyes.
"Show me our current position, an' our destination." He replied.
Queora was silent for a moment before marking a small triangle on the map. On the coastline, she charcoaled in 'Salamandastron—destination of Waveweaver.' Muttering some indistinct numbers and calculations to herself, her paw went around in circles as she plotted their approximate position, startling Singuar as she suddenly made a sharp dot in the sea which separated Southsward from their lands, writing "Waveweaver's position, 46th day of the Summer of Great Bounty" beside it.
"We'll pull into Southsward for positions. About when will we be there?" The panther stretched his stiff limbs, cramped from standing by the tiller all day.
"About a week. We should be seein' some signs o' land in a few days. I'll tell th' crew." Queora dislodged her knives from the deck, rolled up her map and slunk below deck. Singuar smiled.
"Thankee, Queora." He was cut off from further speech as his eyes wandered over to a shape on the horizon. A ship!!
Singuar the panther rested a paw firmly on the tiller of his ship, the Waveweaver. The warm sun shone on his black coat, giving it a dull sheen. He was a trader, voyaging far from his home village in the south to seek out new goods and adventure. Like the rest of his crew, the panther lived further south than any of the creatures in Mossflower country, miles past the place they call Southsward. They left their home by their own will, seeking out the high seas and the north. There was one thing Singuar wanted to see most ---snow. He wondered if it was cotton fallen from the skies, or tiny pieces of silver left by the clouds.
"Where're we bound, Singuar?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, rough and light in an off-paw way. He turned to see the speaker ---a limber, sinewy cheetah, clad in a tight green shirt and dark grey pants.
"T' Mossflower country. We're to trade with th' inhabitants, and seek out Salamandastron, stronghold of the country's best fighters." He replied, smiling. "How're th' goods holdin', Tirrake?"
Tirrake tapped his chin with a claw, thrusting the other paw into his pants pocket. "'Tis fine, though th' crew's gotten inta th' dried mango."
"That's fine, s'long as they're happy, and that there's some left for trade."
"Aye, that there is." There was silence for a while, Tirrake leaning on the rail, looking back at their wake. Singuar perked his ears at the sound of the seagulls, wondering how close they were to Mossflower. They had been travelling for quite a while now, a month at the least, though the panther hadn't told the crew where they were going until Tirrake inquired, having completely forgotten.
"And the cocoa? How is that faring?" The panther shattered the quiet.
"Our most precious cargo is, of course, watched by our best sentry. Kiranka's keepin' a good watch on it. Th' tiger's tied it down tightly in our cabin. She says she'll shred anybeast 'oo comes near th' box." Tirrake chuckled, smiling at the thought of the heavily built tiger who was their weapons master.
"Good. Tell Queora to bring her maps up here, I need to have a word with her."
Tirrake nodded and swiftly disappeared below deck. Soon a short, thin ocelot strode up, the knives at her side clinking rhythmically to her movements. Tucked under her arm were various scrolls and maps. Singuar acknowledged her with a nod, indicating for her to have a seat. The ocelot winked, spreading her largest map across the deck, pinning it down with four of her knives.
"What do ye want to see?" Queora sat cross-legged on the deck, pulling out a piece of charcoal as Singuar leaned over from his position at the tiller, examining the map with his amber eyes.
"Show me our current position, an' our destination." He replied.
Queora was silent for a moment before marking a small triangle on the map. On the coastline, she charcoaled in 'Salamandastron—destination of Waveweaver.' Muttering some indistinct numbers and calculations to herself, her paw went around in circles as she plotted their approximate position, startling Singuar as she suddenly made a sharp dot in the sea which separated Southsward from their lands, writing "Waveweaver's position, 46th day of the Summer of Great Bounty" beside it.
"We'll pull into Southsward for positions. About when will we be there?" The panther stretched his stiff limbs, cramped from standing by the tiller all day.
"About a week. We should be seein' some signs o' land in a few days. I'll tell th' crew." Queora dislodged her knives from the deck, rolled up her map and slunk below deck. Singuar smiled.
"Thankee, Queora." He was cut off from further speech as his eyes wandered over to a shape on the horizon. A ship!!