A/N: The song for this chapter is Life by Vvilderness. It is instrumental, so do not be afraid to give it a try.

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Judith was not really happy when she was sent to the far away village at the border of Saproot Fief and the Tundratown province with nothing but a cryptic mission to keep watch two months ago. Yes, the place was among the potential routes for the Portuan army to try their next move, still, why her? Why here when something seemed to be drastically changing in the predator community she became to consider her new home back at Tundratown?

The village the bunny was sent to was basically a small congregation of hunters and fishcatchers, wooden huts sporadically built around a small stone fort, no more than hundred and fifty mammals inhabiting it. Most of which were considered old, in their forties and fifties, with only around a dozen of children below ten years old. It was located near a large river, which allowed for its prosperity, since it was lush with fish and supplied surrounding lands with enough water to support large population of animals. The village traded in dried lizard and bird meat as well as fish with predator neighbour's, skin and wooden appliances with prey neighbours, and housed both prey and predator species. No one seemed to be complaining much about such arrangements. On the contrary, the place seemed to be as close to idyllic as was mammalianly possible. Which was reflected in its name - Topia, or "place" from a long forgotten language.

The village had a representative, which to Judith seemed to be the very embodiment of this "place". A bit on the small and overly thin side for his species, black wolf with extremely long fur that hid his features completely. So well, in fact, that aside from his fur being black, the doe could not tell anything else about him, not even the color of his eyes, despite being around for quite a while. Known as Tyhja, and the only blacksmith in Topia,the wolf preferred black also in his clothing, wearing too large robes day in and day out, with the only indication of them being changed constantly their lack of smell and stains. He was mostly responsible for dealing with outside predators due to his lack of apparent enthusiasm, brisk and efficient manner of speech that found him well received by the carnivorous traders, who cared only for business and efficiency, as well as were hard pressed to guess anything from the wolf's expression or body language, leaving them at disadvantage when haggling..

The wolf had an aide who dealt with villagers and prey customers, a small, Judith reached her neck while standing on her toes, lynx by the name of Sylvi. Now she was of much more interest to the doe, since the lynx was much closer to her "supposed" age of around 25. Sylvi's short round muzzle, wide yellow eyes, brownish nose and a fluffy tuft of fur around her cheeks and neck made her a rather pleasant sight. Her constant smile and cheery attitude, that could rival even most emotionally charged bunnies, only boosted her image of everybody's favorite. Sylvi seemed to be the only one who openly disregarded Tyhja's surly attitude towards life and got away with it. As well as calling him Susi, which the doe learned, meant "wolf" in one of the many languages of the North. The wolf seemed to be sort of a father figure for the furry fountain of positive energy and as such was subject to every father's weakness - unless it was something extremely unreasonable, he followed his daughter's wishes.

Sometimes, watching the two interact, Judith was reminded in a way of her father, and how he used to carry the doe around on his back, when she was still small enough to fit there. Sylvi, despite being an adult, seemed to not grow out of the habit, constantly riding the wolfs left shoulder, hanging on it like it was a branch and he was a tree. It helped that the black wolf was nearly two times taller and, despite being in his sixties, walking around with a thick metal staff, that had a reversed curved croasguard at the top, with a pear-shaped tip, had enough strength left in him. When asked about his staff, Tyhja would just silently shrug the question off, while Sylvi would laugh it away and the villagers would speculate, but have no idea of it. The wolf never separated from it after all.

Life wasn't bad in the village, no. The inhabitants knew each other and were all rather outgoing. Even more. What surprised Judith at first were several interspecie couples that lived in the village, among them one between prey and predator! That was more than just cultural shock for the doe. When she learned that no one really cared for the "deviants", as long as they didn't bring harm, the bunny was even more confused. Since then, Topia became for her a place that completely fell out of time and space. Because in this era, when specie supremacy and natural selection of the fittest were preached at every bazaar and every literarium, this small village defied every such teaching of those evolutionaries. There were no superiors, but the Creator. And they needed not great temples to show how true their faith was with their simple everyday lives and prayers. Maybe, one day in the future, there would be a large city standing in the place of this small village. With tens thousands of pairs of legs treading its streats, hundreds of species coexisting and blooming in unity. In life.

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Stuart of clan Hopps was not a wide known name. And nowadays he very much preferred it that way. Fame put expectations of others upon one's shoulders, and few were strong enough not to cave in under that weight. The other boon was the ability to move from place to place without arousing any questions or suspicions. And that is exactly what he was tasked with by lord Big.

As one of the few prey mammals under the shrew's command, the rabbit was the most suitable one for the mission of infiltrating the Portuan kingdom. Two months have passed since his and Judith's last assassination task, that seemed to put a stopper into the kingdom's plans on conquering the passage towards North. At least for now.

But that was not the actual reason the buck was sent. Lord Big has also sensed the changes the wind brought with it. But unlike Stuart, the shrew understood its whispers and what they meant. Messengers were dispatched to different regions, to invite famed figures of the North, or their representatives. Joan Dark of clan Fangmayer of the tigers. Yasson of clan Wolford of the wolves. Finneas The First of clan Suoman of fennecs. Skyeburn of clan Whitefur of arctic foxes. Fangron the Red Angel of bears. The most prominent figures in the history of predators. The ones that ascended from mere mortals to gods. Some were more than several millennia old, some have only seen several centuries pass by. But all were devoted to their people.

Stuart of clan Hopps was tasked with several messages to prey gods that would stand by their side. Tyrano of clan Bogo of water buffalos, Gazelle of clan Longhorn of gazelles, Jackson the Savage of clan Leporida of hares. The three mammals formed an alliance, called the Forest Cantons, and due to their geographical location on the plains of mountainous region, were left alone by everyone but the dumbest conquerors.

Of course, that was olden history, and the reason Stuart was tasked with delivering the message was due to the fact no one knew where to find the mentioned mammals. And thanks to his extensive network of contacts, upheld by the rabbit's clan, the buck was the most suited mammal to find and track the receivers. Stuart wished for his daughter to come with him, but Fru-Fru, lord Big's daughter and Judith's closest friend, insisted on sending the young doe to another place. To a small village named Topia at the riffle of the Zoo river. She was to be stationed there as a lookout for potential movements of Portuan's forces, and also in order to experience the fact that both predator and prey species could live in harmony, since the doe was the youngest and least experienced in "the big picture" when it came to bearing the responsibilities of a god. The Creator bestowed this talent upon them all, and it was their duty to use it wisely. For this, they all had to see what could be, not just what couldn't.

The time called for most gods to apply themselves to war with the followers of the mighty creature known as the Enemy, or the Father of all Lies (recently though this creature was known to be called Allfather), aiming for the usurpation of the position that belonged to Creator by the right of creation. Or, to be more precise, a certain king has called for war against the cult nearly three thousand years ago, after almost a century of remaining faithful of the Creator being culled down like meatstock, offering no resistance. A century that has seen The Way nearly extinct amongst the prey and predators being next in line to suffer the same fate.

That was the time when Imperi Carnivora was established by an individual known as The Red King, uniting the predators' lands known in the modern times as North. United army of the predators then marched to fight the kingdoms and lands that conducted genocide against The Way and its followers. The war lasted for nearly half a century, and taking into account the amount of mammals killed during the previous century, resulted in a wipeout of nearly two thirds of mammalian population. A catastrophe of historical proportions, but one that has seen nearly complete annihilation of the Cult.

Predators didn't force The Way upon the territories they conquered. The Red King cared not for other mammals and their beliefs. Everyone would answer for them themselves in death. His only goal was to ensure survival of the belief in the Creator and eradication of the danger that the Cult posed.

To Stuart of clan Hopps, who lived for around eight centuries now, history was one of his passions, so he greedily consumed what he could, based on rumors and tales that were passed amongst predators and prey. This passion was also a reason he was now seated in a forge, looking at the work of the blacksmith and his prentices.

Tall, broad shouldered, with arms as thick as trunk of a century old oak tree and torso that probably even ten bunnies would not be able to hug, supplemented with polished curved horns atop his head, the water buffalo looked like he came straight out of a book depicting a prey god of war. With an exception of little detail. The buffalo's left arm ended at the elbow.

Stuart knew that legend. A ferocious wolf, named Fenrir, was so strong that no bindings could claim him. Finally, the most elaborate of all chains was forged by prey magi and gods. Fenrir, feeling something wasn't right, rejected the proposition for him to try this chain out. To assuage the wolf's suspicion, Tyr, a god that vowed to protect justice, offered to put his left hand into the wolves maw. Tyr lost it. But Fenrir was no longer free.

Tyranus Bogo was known as the best blacksmith in these lands. Thankfully to this fame and his appearance, Bogo was the easiest to locate for the buck. Hopefully, the buffalo would know where the other two were. The catastrophe that occurred three thousand years ago was about to happen again. But such was life.

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Finneas of the Fennec foxes was not amused. The red furred menace, whose summons usually meant trouble, was not really making much sense.

- You want us to restrict our possible response against Portuan kingdom to economic blockade over the sea and land? I thought this was a war council, not merchant discussion? You want me to bite your face off?! - The diminutive sand colored fox was always aggressive and deadly serious. His companions, back in the old days, never dared to joke with him on even the lightest subjects, since those could be taken not as intended. And woe be to he who mentioned the small stature of the tod. Broken knees served but a reminder to those who tested the short limits of Finneas's temper. Nicholas was the only one given the benefit of the doubt due to extremely long history between the two.

- As you say, Fin, this is a war council. I simply ask you to refrain from engaging your armies into the fighting. There is a component to this situation that makes me uneasy and I wish to investigate it further before we commit to destruction of the kingdom. - The red fox directed his words to Finneas and Lord Big, the warlords gathered before him at the Big's castle. It was imperative that he delivered what he learned of the Portuan kingdom to them and then depart back as soon as possible.

- I don't actually get the point of waiting, but be it as you say. You are the one to be held responsible, after all, Red King. - There was no mistaking the hostility in the fennec's voice, but Nicholas was used to it, just like he was used to the fact his friend would never let go of the red tod's failures.

- Just so that we are on the same page, I will summarize. That wooly ugly sheep that was supposed to be dead for a hundred and fifty or so years, is actually alive and kicking. More so, she somehow became the main advisor to young and ambitious second prince of Portuan, Leodore of the Lionhearts. Helped him claim the throne of another prey kingdom,and establish it as one of the most prominent in the region. It's all clear until that point. But what about the here and now? What is their purpose? A quest to conquer and unite all the land under her rule again, but this time through a proxy? But she hates predators! - The last sentence was punctuated by a loud thud made by the tod's fist connecting with the wooden surface of the round table the four mammals in the room sat at. After all, Kozlov, a polar bear, never left the presence of his shrew master.

- Which is exactly why I ask you not to move yet, but be prepared to do so at any moment. I must find out about her goals. As well as make sure she is dead for sure this time around. I cannot be seen making the same mistakes twice. - What the red tod decided to keep secret from the three mammals was the fact there were also rumors spreading around in Portuan kingdom of predators missing and prey being found mauled to death. These were his foremost concerns. A war would leave him no time to uncover these secrets or to concern himself with the wellbeing of individuals, rather than just the whole.

The Portuans would need time to gather a force against the Tundratown once again. Nicholas was keen on using that time to get rid of Bellwether and her plots first. After that, they could possibly find a common ground with Leodore to start peaceful talks.

The war council didn't last long. Nicholas has not been keen on staging the battlefield anytime soon so he left after receiving confirmations from Lord Big and Finneas that they would start preparing for the inevitable war, while not gathering the forces just yet, since it would put a huge toll upon the land and mammals of North. There would be messengers sent towards the Vikine Fief, to unleash their fleet upon portuan ships trying to sail the Sunset Sea, though.

- Fru-Fru, just the beauty I wanted to see. - The red tod found Lord Big's daughter sitting on an elevated table in the main hall of the castle, where the shrew was often seen working with a pair of needles. The two have known each other for a long time now, young lady of clan Big being a farseer knowing of their meeting even before it happened.

- Why thank you, Nicholas. Though it is hard for a lady to take you serious with that cover over your eyes, you know? - Fru-Fru's tiny voice held within mirth that was to her as natural as breathing. It caused the tod to smile in a genuine way, the soft expression replacing one of arrogant sureness.

- You know I would mean it no matter what, Shrimp. I don't need my natural sight for that. - Somewhere along the millenia, the two became rather close over the fact that their apparent gifts were just as much curses to them. The shared understanding and support made for a perfect foundation of a friendship.

- How are you doing, Shrimp? - Sometimes, questions meant nothing. Sometimes, the one asking you about how you were doing never even considered it important, but the customs were established for a reason and were supposed to be upheld. The fox though was genuinely interested in how his little and much younger friend was doing.

- Things are calmer after the war with the empire was finished. I don't see much these days. A landslide here and there, draughts or a river going out of its banks, forest fire. Recently though, there were four attempted attacks by the Portuans, that is when I told father to be ready for your return. You made quite a spectacle out of it, your excellence. - Even without exposing his eyes to the world around, Nicholas knew that the little shrew was baring her teeth in a vicious smile.

- Uh, don't call me that, you know I hate it. The times mammals refed to me that way has long passed. We are just a mercenary now. The king's howl was only used to rally up the predators of the North. Though, I am not sure whether to be amazed at its efficiency or scared. - After all that little stunt he pulled off at the mountain was meant exactly for that, an emergency.

- If you are so convinced of it, Nicholas of clan Wilde, known as Helvegen, than so be it. Though, now that this is also just a story of the past, are you going to assume another name? - It was customary for those ascended to godhood and not wishing to be exposed to assume different identities as time went by.

- No, I don't think it is needed for now. Older warriors would probably remember Helvegen, so it would be easy to command them on the battlefield. I'll leave everything else to your father and Finneas. I have done enough of thinking during those tumultuous times. It's his turn to think up hustles. - Finally, the red fox spotted a seat for himself and dragged the wooden chair closer to the table and the flaming hearth. He was slightly suspicious of the way Fru-Fru has worded her sentence about him being convinced in something, but the farseer was a peculiar individual, never giving more than was meant to be given. So he just ignored that part of his mind that wished to prod further.

- Well, since he had to start relying on himself and not you, Finneas really did mature quite a lot, even for a god. Still, he followed your footsteps mostly. Now he learns how to be completely independent, so it is a good thing you are doing. And, thanks to what you have done, I am going to extend the wedding invitation to you first. - There was no mistaking the pleased tone of the shrew's voice. Nicholas's raised eyebrow was forever hidden under the black silk cloth he used to hide his eyes.

- A wedding? Is there a shrew…

- Yes there is a new god amongst my kin. A ruther young one, just a couple of centuries, but age is of no consequence when you live and wait for the one for so long.

- You could find a husband from mortals or other species.

- True, but I would really love to have kits. I know there is no guarantee they would also become gods, but at least I will have someone by my side to support me when they pass away. I didn't want to experience what Fenrir went through with his love for a mortal girl.

- Well, he was a fool too. Five years mean nothing to us, but for her it was more than she could wait. I think he got lucky she dumped him.

- Still, for those of us who don't or can't allow to lose our emotions and compassion, severance of emotional attachment is an extremely hard experience. He is who he is mostly due to that experience.

- I know. He still treats that lynx as a little girl?

- Yeaaaaah. And will for foreseeable future.

A mutual sigh escaped both the red tod and the little shrew over their friend and his wilful ignorance and self-imposed solitude.

- By the way, where is he? - Nicholas had planned to take that one with him. The thought of their previous meetings once more sent shivers down his spine, but the fox could not deny the fact he needed him if he was to venture forth on his own.

- I'll tell you, but later. There are still many things I want to hear from you. For example, about how you was hired by a bunny when running away from the greed of the North…

And so a fox and a shrew, two natural enemies one might say, have spent the rest of the day and a night, talking, laughing, sharing stories and visions. Both knowing that the next time would not come soon. After all, such was their life.

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A/N: I am not sorry or the delay. NaVi won Starladder in CS:GO, and Secret are on their way to Supermajor title (I am a believer) in DOTA2, so I had not that much time to dedicate this hobby. On the other hand, untill I finished the last sentences of this chapter, I felt it lacking something. I even thought of splitting it in two. But in the end it turned out fine. And fitting to the song I wished to dedicate a chapter to.

Not sure when the next one is, so we got a while to go.

Don't forget, I am NOT responcible for the sufferings my text enduces.

Howleys.