Chapter 12; Mission in the Meadowlands
After docking Spinnerella and her companions shouldered backpacks full of provisions and began the swift trek through the Meadowlands towards the Emerald wood at the southern end of the continent. They were dropped off in Untakki, south of the Ugauan swamplands. There were no towns on this side of the mountains, most of the human settlements were on the other side in the Horde controlled provinces where Ehteria's grains were mass produced. The Ugauans ruled the land which they traversed, the fields and streams and marshes stretching from the swamps to the enchanted borders of the Emerald Wood which were controlled by the Ondi-amites. The Majestic peaks of the Lure Mountain range rose to the North of them, spires of gray and lavender rock reaching like lustrous fingers to the heavens, causing a breath to catch in her throat. Spinnerella knew, from discussions on the sailing vessel with her friends, the Star sisters, their home city of Celestia was hidden among the purple peaks.
The Star sisters, as she knew them, were a trio of women sent from a city of stargazers to take part in the movement of the world to free itself from the clutches of the evil Horde. They were the daughters of King Astron, though they met their father in person only once and they were their peoples contribution to freedom. Their people lived in hidden seclusion studying the heavens and the positions of the stars.
There were three castes in Celestia, the warrior caste, lowest in the system though not degraded in any way- they prepared the city for defense against invasion, protecting the citizens and engaging in wargames within the coliseum. Their sole purpose in life was to train to become the greatest of hand-to-hand combatants. This was not difficult for them with the help of the Star stone, a sacred and mysterious artifact which imbued them all with unique powers upon completion of their training.
According to Jewel, her sister, the fiery-haired Tallstar- they called her Tallis- was trained within that caste. When her training was completed there was some kind of obscure esoteric ritual performed; Tallis was forbidden to speak of it; but when it was over she gained the ability to stretch and bend and distort her body in ways defying logic. Talis had a personality as fierce as her hairs flaming hue, quick to anger and just as quick to laugh, she took her job as protector seriously. Her brown eyes would flame amber sparks at the mere hint of danger towards her sisters.
The second tier of the caste system involved the Ambassadors and the intellectually elite. Their specialty was negotiation and strategic thinking. This was the caste the society built itself on, with shrewd merchants in varying trades; they bargained for the sheer intellectual stimulation and not for any material reward. Jewelstar was of that caste, like her father and king. She could fight well and her armor had the unique ability to emit a flash of blinding radiance which would temporarily blind her enemies but her best ability was her mind. She quietly believed that Adora's betrayal would rouse the people of Etheria to a furious pitch of wrath and swell the ranks of the rebellion with supporters. However Spinnerella was still bitter about Adora's defection and would not tolerate any discussion of her former commander. Jewel was possessed of a quiet dignity and gentle nobility. She was eloquent in speaking her mind and a natural peacemaker.
Starla was quiet. A somewhat nondescript form next to her sparkling sisters she had a dreamy expression and was constantly watching the heavens. Jewelstar informed her, that was because her rather reserved sister was a member of the most elite caste in the kingdom. She was a revered stargazer. Trained to read the heavens and thereby predict great events in the future. She was agile and quick and had a strong grasp on self defense but her most powerful ability came from the star at her chest. It could invoke a burst of sparkling mist, dulling the mind and sometimes inducing slumber on the subject of attack. She also had an uncanny sixth sense. It was unnerving the way she seemed to know things. Jewel claimed it was because her youngest sibling walked on a plane higher than the rest of them.
Spinnerella was told that in battle the women would follow her lead but before they were teamed with her they bent to the whims of Tallis. When facing an unfamiliar people they followed Jewel but both of the two seemed to seek the assent of the reserved Starla before taking any action.
Apparantly the seers of Celestia knew the time was ripe for hero's to combine forces and take back the world of Etheria. They knew as well that freedom must be fought for to be appreciated and so when their king ascended the throne it was decreed that his children would all become Celestia's gift to the world. His wife proved fertile and gave birth to three daughters in the first five years of his reign. A child to be represented by each caste. The leaders of the castes were formed by trios of elders, the most powerful in each of their fields. They were given the children to instruct in the ways of their people. When the girls reached maturity they were brought before their father. It was their first meeting with him and with each other. A bond was formed instantly between the three women as they were told the hopes of the kingdom rested on them and they were banished from their homeland until Etheria was freed from the tyrannical grip of the Horde.
With only each other to depend on the trio became a family. Spinnerella admired the easy camaraderie between the three but often felt herself an interloper, she found herself missing her own sister, Netossa more and more.
Spinnerella and Netossa originally came from a neighboring star system. They were entertainers. They came to this little planet hoping to take a vacation from the Galactic Horde Empire and perfect their skills- She was a master Dancer and Netossa was a magician- not a user of real magic but a mistress of slight of hand, she was also a contortionist. When they arrived in Mystacor they went their separate ways looking for work, meeting up again a month later through a bizarre set of circumstances in which she was convinced by Hordack that the rebellion had taken her sister captive.
After meeting the charismatic leader Adora, Spinnerella felt something stir inside her she had never felt before, a passion to be free. When she spoke to Netossa her sister agreed to stay with her and help the rebellion. They never regretted it. Now it was up to her to convince the people of the Meadowlands to open their eyes and hearts and take up arms against the Horde oppressors.
She would start with the Ondi'amites, the wood elves of the Meadowlands. Bow assured them the elves were not hostile to humans merely isolated. With the magics of their people protecting their forest home they felt no need to involve themselves in the Horde occupation on either side. It was up to her and Jewelstar to change it. As they crossed the Growling sea, sailing past the peninsula of Horror hall, realm of Shadow Weaver and the steep southern cliffs of the Meadowlands and the Emerald wood Spinnerella developed a great respect for Jewelstar and decided to allow her to handle any negotiations. Spinnerella had only been made leader of the party because of her powerful attack skills but in the end she was just a dancer. She was not so proud as to leave the skills of one of her teammates unacknowledged.
"We're not alone." Starla spoke, startling Spinnerella from her reverie.
"What?" She asked looking around her in concern, "I see no one?"
"But I smell them!" Growled Tallis. "ready yourselves my sisters, parasites!!" This last word was hissed with extreme venom. The three sisters met, back to back. Starla had her staff whirling, the loop in the end whistling eerily as the air shot around it like the voice of a disembodied spirit. Jewel was crouched in a ready to spring position and the colors of her armor began to move in a rapid succession of metallic hues. Tallis had her hands balled in tight fists, her knuckles adorned with spiked rings shining like sapphire glass in the sun.
Then she saw them and understood Tallis' disgust.
Ugauans.
Spinnerella's lip curled in distaste. Like Leech they were wrinkled and blue with fanged orifices issuing slurping noises and slobber. Two were wielding tridents but the rest appeared ready for hand to hand. They wore brown loincloths and all appeared to be male. All appeared to be hostile and all appeared ready to kill. Then a tall muscular leech, his body adorned with several crimson tattoos, his back straighter than the rest and his bearing oozing confidence stepped toward the women.
Grimward couldn't believe his luck. His party was out hunting for food on the borders of Ondi-amite territory and returning empty handed when he saw them. Women. Four of them and all of them beautiful. His warriors would be pleased at the pleasure they would bring them and his people would be happy at the sustenance they would provide. The one who peaked his appetites was a beauty- no doubt. Tall and lithe and bouncy. Her form was barely concealed from his hungry eyes in diaphanous strips of material that only heightened her allure and her bountiful breasts practically begged to spill their fertile plumage to his rapacious gaze from the corset of carnation satin which contained them. She had full curling pink tresses which caressed her skin with teasing abandon. He wanted her.
The others were striking as well- except for the small blonde one. Her breasts were rather small and her body rather gangly but she would make a good meal. The other two seemed to sense his coming for while the scrawny one seemed lost in thought the other two immediately went into defensive postures as soon as he gave the signal to advance.
The redhead with the stubborn chin scanned the grasses around the road with an Eagles sharp-eyed-intensity, clenching her jaw together so tight it accentuated her high cheekbones. He could smell her bodies response and it inflamed him. She was not afraid, she was excited. Here then was a warrior, aching for battle. He immediately lost interest in the pink haired woman, here was a female to offer him challenge, sating his appetite for violence as well as his lust. The Silver haired woman was similarly stanced but he smelled fear on her and dismissed her as a threat.
He stood, straightening to his full height, allowing the females to stare at the evidence of his masculine superiority and cower. When they didn't, he smiled ferally. This would be fun! In two strides he stood before the red head.
"I am Grimward, of the Kulketnich clan. Yield and we kill you quick." He grunted with no intention of keeping his word.
"Be gone hell spawn- back to the muck you crawled from. You don't want this." The fiery warrior drawled. Her words warned him off but her sparkling amber eyes shot sparks of challenge, begging him to stay. He deliberately let his eyes caress her body.
"You wrong. Grimward want all." He moved to advance and was suddenly blinded. He heard a high pitched gurgling scream, unaware it was his own. He still wore a puzzled look on his face as he died.
The second the fool reached for her sister Jewelstar emitted an enraged bellow and blinding white light flashed from her armor. When Tallstar opened her eyes and saw the confused gaze of the beast before her she grunted, slamming her spiked fist deep into his belly. He screamed in agony and she smiled grimly as she pulled her arm free of his carcass by pushing his body away with a dainty pink boot. She hated it when their innards stuck to her arms. Spinnerella opened her eyes after counting to five and immediately went into a whirl wind attack, raising her arms she spun in a blurry pirouette, repeatedly murmuring words to herself in an ancient language she didn't even understand, merely repeated by rote as she was taught and thus the air picked up speed around her. She felt nothing but the dance flowing from her body, the heat of the words in her blood, spinning so fast the surrounding landscape moved with the wind of her motion. With frenetic leaps within the spin she moved at a blinding speed, effortlessly picking up and hurling nine of the blue skinned warriors from her vicinity. She didn't see their bodies flung like dolls through the air, one landing at an odd angle as his neck snapped and several slamming into trees breaking their spines like twigs. One was hurled with such force that he completely splintered the tree he hit, a huge length of wood impaled him as he landed.
One of the Ugauans, an ugly snarl of fury painting a grotesque mural of hatred on his face rushed at Starla who was twirling her staff at a furious rate. When he lunged she bent, flowing like water out of the way- with a sharp twist of her hips and bend at the knees, the animal found himself groping air and then he felt a sharp pain in his skull and knew only darkness. Starla slammed her staff into the cranium of the hideous beast, inwardly cringing at the thunk of wood on bone before stepping away from him.
The remaining parasites ran in terror from the women they had thought easy prey.
"We are alone again." Starla said in her dreamy way.
"Shall we continue?" Jewel asked looking to Spinnerella.
"Yes. We are done here." Spinnerella looked around her, her face a mask of sorrow. She was sorry to cause such harm to any living being. She would have preferred to be left alone but once they threatened her friends and her own safety, the well being of her attackers was secondary to the safety of her and the Star sisters.
She hadn't much experience in combat with living entities, most of her conflicts had always been with robots. But Adora had often spoken with her at length about the necessity of death in a war. 'show mercy when you can but remember, to pity the guilty is to betray those you protect' . She now knew what she meant. The four women continued on their journey toward the Emerald wood and the home of the Ondi'amites. As Spinnerella wondered about her sister and the fate of the rebellion in Brightmoon she was unaware that at that very moment Castaspella was become a hero and hope to the people of Shaddamite, the island west of the agrarian continent of Untakki. If she had known she would have felt a new stirring of hope as well but all she could feel now was a sad stirring of regret for the lives lost at her hands this day.
After docking Spinnerella and her companions shouldered backpacks full of provisions and began the swift trek through the Meadowlands towards the Emerald wood at the southern end of the continent. They were dropped off in Untakki, south of the Ugauan swamplands. There were no towns on this side of the mountains, most of the human settlements were on the other side in the Horde controlled provinces where Ehteria's grains were mass produced. The Ugauans ruled the land which they traversed, the fields and streams and marshes stretching from the swamps to the enchanted borders of the Emerald Wood which were controlled by the Ondi-amites. The Majestic peaks of the Lure Mountain range rose to the North of them, spires of gray and lavender rock reaching like lustrous fingers to the heavens, causing a breath to catch in her throat. Spinnerella knew, from discussions on the sailing vessel with her friends, the Star sisters, their home city of Celestia was hidden among the purple peaks.
The Star sisters, as she knew them, were a trio of women sent from a city of stargazers to take part in the movement of the world to free itself from the clutches of the evil Horde. They were the daughters of King Astron, though they met their father in person only once and they were their peoples contribution to freedom. Their people lived in hidden seclusion studying the heavens and the positions of the stars.
There were three castes in Celestia, the warrior caste, lowest in the system though not degraded in any way- they prepared the city for defense against invasion, protecting the citizens and engaging in wargames within the coliseum. Their sole purpose in life was to train to become the greatest of hand-to-hand combatants. This was not difficult for them with the help of the Star stone, a sacred and mysterious artifact which imbued them all with unique powers upon completion of their training.
According to Jewel, her sister, the fiery-haired Tallstar- they called her Tallis- was trained within that caste. When her training was completed there was some kind of obscure esoteric ritual performed; Tallis was forbidden to speak of it; but when it was over she gained the ability to stretch and bend and distort her body in ways defying logic. Talis had a personality as fierce as her hairs flaming hue, quick to anger and just as quick to laugh, she took her job as protector seriously. Her brown eyes would flame amber sparks at the mere hint of danger towards her sisters.
The second tier of the caste system involved the Ambassadors and the intellectually elite. Their specialty was negotiation and strategic thinking. This was the caste the society built itself on, with shrewd merchants in varying trades; they bargained for the sheer intellectual stimulation and not for any material reward. Jewelstar was of that caste, like her father and king. She could fight well and her armor had the unique ability to emit a flash of blinding radiance which would temporarily blind her enemies but her best ability was her mind. She quietly believed that Adora's betrayal would rouse the people of Etheria to a furious pitch of wrath and swell the ranks of the rebellion with supporters. However Spinnerella was still bitter about Adora's defection and would not tolerate any discussion of her former commander. Jewel was possessed of a quiet dignity and gentle nobility. She was eloquent in speaking her mind and a natural peacemaker.
Starla was quiet. A somewhat nondescript form next to her sparkling sisters she had a dreamy expression and was constantly watching the heavens. Jewelstar informed her, that was because her rather reserved sister was a member of the most elite caste in the kingdom. She was a revered stargazer. Trained to read the heavens and thereby predict great events in the future. She was agile and quick and had a strong grasp on self defense but her most powerful ability came from the star at her chest. It could invoke a burst of sparkling mist, dulling the mind and sometimes inducing slumber on the subject of attack. She also had an uncanny sixth sense. It was unnerving the way she seemed to know things. Jewel claimed it was because her youngest sibling walked on a plane higher than the rest of them.
Spinnerella was told that in battle the women would follow her lead but before they were teamed with her they bent to the whims of Tallis. When facing an unfamiliar people they followed Jewel but both of the two seemed to seek the assent of the reserved Starla before taking any action.
Apparantly the seers of Celestia knew the time was ripe for hero's to combine forces and take back the world of Etheria. They knew as well that freedom must be fought for to be appreciated and so when their king ascended the throne it was decreed that his children would all become Celestia's gift to the world. His wife proved fertile and gave birth to three daughters in the first five years of his reign. A child to be represented by each caste. The leaders of the castes were formed by trios of elders, the most powerful in each of their fields. They were given the children to instruct in the ways of their people. When the girls reached maturity they were brought before their father. It was their first meeting with him and with each other. A bond was formed instantly between the three women as they were told the hopes of the kingdom rested on them and they were banished from their homeland until Etheria was freed from the tyrannical grip of the Horde.
With only each other to depend on the trio became a family. Spinnerella admired the easy camaraderie between the three but often felt herself an interloper, she found herself missing her own sister, Netossa more and more.
Spinnerella and Netossa originally came from a neighboring star system. They were entertainers. They came to this little planet hoping to take a vacation from the Galactic Horde Empire and perfect their skills- She was a master Dancer and Netossa was a magician- not a user of real magic but a mistress of slight of hand, she was also a contortionist. When they arrived in Mystacor they went their separate ways looking for work, meeting up again a month later through a bizarre set of circumstances in which she was convinced by Hordack that the rebellion had taken her sister captive.
After meeting the charismatic leader Adora, Spinnerella felt something stir inside her she had never felt before, a passion to be free. When she spoke to Netossa her sister agreed to stay with her and help the rebellion. They never regretted it. Now it was up to her to convince the people of the Meadowlands to open their eyes and hearts and take up arms against the Horde oppressors.
She would start with the Ondi'amites, the wood elves of the Meadowlands. Bow assured them the elves were not hostile to humans merely isolated. With the magics of their people protecting their forest home they felt no need to involve themselves in the Horde occupation on either side. It was up to her and Jewelstar to change it. As they crossed the Growling sea, sailing past the peninsula of Horror hall, realm of Shadow Weaver and the steep southern cliffs of the Meadowlands and the Emerald wood Spinnerella developed a great respect for Jewelstar and decided to allow her to handle any negotiations. Spinnerella had only been made leader of the party because of her powerful attack skills but in the end she was just a dancer. She was not so proud as to leave the skills of one of her teammates unacknowledged.
"We're not alone." Starla spoke, startling Spinnerella from her reverie.
"What?" She asked looking around her in concern, "I see no one?"
"But I smell them!" Growled Tallis. "ready yourselves my sisters, parasites!!" This last word was hissed with extreme venom. The three sisters met, back to back. Starla had her staff whirling, the loop in the end whistling eerily as the air shot around it like the voice of a disembodied spirit. Jewel was crouched in a ready to spring position and the colors of her armor began to move in a rapid succession of metallic hues. Tallis had her hands balled in tight fists, her knuckles adorned with spiked rings shining like sapphire glass in the sun.
Then she saw them and understood Tallis' disgust.
Ugauans.
Spinnerella's lip curled in distaste. Like Leech they were wrinkled and blue with fanged orifices issuing slurping noises and slobber. Two were wielding tridents but the rest appeared ready for hand to hand. They wore brown loincloths and all appeared to be male. All appeared to be hostile and all appeared ready to kill. Then a tall muscular leech, his body adorned with several crimson tattoos, his back straighter than the rest and his bearing oozing confidence stepped toward the women.
Grimward couldn't believe his luck. His party was out hunting for food on the borders of Ondi-amite territory and returning empty handed when he saw them. Women. Four of them and all of them beautiful. His warriors would be pleased at the pleasure they would bring them and his people would be happy at the sustenance they would provide. The one who peaked his appetites was a beauty- no doubt. Tall and lithe and bouncy. Her form was barely concealed from his hungry eyes in diaphanous strips of material that only heightened her allure and her bountiful breasts practically begged to spill their fertile plumage to his rapacious gaze from the corset of carnation satin which contained them. She had full curling pink tresses which caressed her skin with teasing abandon. He wanted her.
The others were striking as well- except for the small blonde one. Her breasts were rather small and her body rather gangly but she would make a good meal. The other two seemed to sense his coming for while the scrawny one seemed lost in thought the other two immediately went into defensive postures as soon as he gave the signal to advance.
The redhead with the stubborn chin scanned the grasses around the road with an Eagles sharp-eyed-intensity, clenching her jaw together so tight it accentuated her high cheekbones. He could smell her bodies response and it inflamed him. She was not afraid, she was excited. Here then was a warrior, aching for battle. He immediately lost interest in the pink haired woman, here was a female to offer him challenge, sating his appetite for violence as well as his lust. The Silver haired woman was similarly stanced but he smelled fear on her and dismissed her as a threat.
He stood, straightening to his full height, allowing the females to stare at the evidence of his masculine superiority and cower. When they didn't, he smiled ferally. This would be fun! In two strides he stood before the red head.
"I am Grimward, of the Kulketnich clan. Yield and we kill you quick." He grunted with no intention of keeping his word.
"Be gone hell spawn- back to the muck you crawled from. You don't want this." The fiery warrior drawled. Her words warned him off but her sparkling amber eyes shot sparks of challenge, begging him to stay. He deliberately let his eyes caress her body.
"You wrong. Grimward want all." He moved to advance and was suddenly blinded. He heard a high pitched gurgling scream, unaware it was his own. He still wore a puzzled look on his face as he died.
The second the fool reached for her sister Jewelstar emitted an enraged bellow and blinding white light flashed from her armor. When Tallstar opened her eyes and saw the confused gaze of the beast before her she grunted, slamming her spiked fist deep into his belly. He screamed in agony and she smiled grimly as she pulled her arm free of his carcass by pushing his body away with a dainty pink boot. She hated it when their innards stuck to her arms. Spinnerella opened her eyes after counting to five and immediately went into a whirl wind attack, raising her arms she spun in a blurry pirouette, repeatedly murmuring words to herself in an ancient language she didn't even understand, merely repeated by rote as she was taught and thus the air picked up speed around her. She felt nothing but the dance flowing from her body, the heat of the words in her blood, spinning so fast the surrounding landscape moved with the wind of her motion. With frenetic leaps within the spin she moved at a blinding speed, effortlessly picking up and hurling nine of the blue skinned warriors from her vicinity. She didn't see their bodies flung like dolls through the air, one landing at an odd angle as his neck snapped and several slamming into trees breaking their spines like twigs. One was hurled with such force that he completely splintered the tree he hit, a huge length of wood impaled him as he landed.
One of the Ugauans, an ugly snarl of fury painting a grotesque mural of hatred on his face rushed at Starla who was twirling her staff at a furious rate. When he lunged she bent, flowing like water out of the way- with a sharp twist of her hips and bend at the knees, the animal found himself groping air and then he felt a sharp pain in his skull and knew only darkness. Starla slammed her staff into the cranium of the hideous beast, inwardly cringing at the thunk of wood on bone before stepping away from him.
The remaining parasites ran in terror from the women they had thought easy prey.
"We are alone again." Starla said in her dreamy way.
"Shall we continue?" Jewel asked looking to Spinnerella.
"Yes. We are done here." Spinnerella looked around her, her face a mask of sorrow. She was sorry to cause such harm to any living being. She would have preferred to be left alone but once they threatened her friends and her own safety, the well being of her attackers was secondary to the safety of her and the Star sisters.
She hadn't much experience in combat with living entities, most of her conflicts had always been with robots. But Adora had often spoken with her at length about the necessity of death in a war. 'show mercy when you can but remember, to pity the guilty is to betray those you protect' . She now knew what she meant. The four women continued on their journey toward the Emerald wood and the home of the Ondi'amites. As Spinnerella wondered about her sister and the fate of the rebellion in Brightmoon she was unaware that at that very moment Castaspella was become a hero and hope to the people of Shaddamite, the island west of the agrarian continent of Untakki. If she had known she would have felt a new stirring of hope as well but all she could feel now was a sad stirring of regret for the lives lost at her hands this day.