Hey. Why aren't anyone leaving any BLOODY REVIEWS?! Anyways, here's chapter five, hope you enjoy it. AND. LEAVE. SOME. BLOODY. REVIEWS!
Chapter five
Ha lnaiean zab [The First Challenge]
...
Jenny's POV, present day.
It had been about three days since we left Ponyville. We already had a lot of ground covered, but according to Apkeha, we still had a long way to go, about five months if we were fast.
The terrain had changed from fertile land to rocky ground, and the elevation of the ground itself was decreasing. Rapidly, as in drops. Plus, we were in an area where rain was more frequent. And to our great pleasure, it had been raining continuously for a day and a half now.
As I stepped on a rock to go down the small cliff we had to pass to continue, I slipped and lost my footing on the slippery wet rock. Thankfully, Twilight was just behind me and she grabbed me using her magic. She levitated me to the bottom of the chasm and then teleported herself.
"Watch your step, Jenny." She told me.
I nodded as I regained control of my breathing. Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Sylva's smiling face. I smiled back to her.
Once we were all down in the chasm with the rain still falling down on us, Apkeha walked to the front of the group, scouting the area a little. When she came back, she spoke to us.
"Okay. This chasm is some sort of shortcut. It will buy us a day, two if we walk all night. This chasm leads to a cave system the ponies know nothing about, and it is how Dexan's group came in Equestria."
"What kind of shortcut is it?" Shining Armor asked.
"One that passes under the thick forest above. Trust me, those caves are much friendlier than the forest." Apkeha replied, which made Shining Armor gulp.
We began to walk forward, but Apkeha stopped, extending a hand to make us stop.
"What is it?" Shining Armor whispered.
"Vwekolar. Wolves." Apkeha answered.
As she said that, dark grey wolves appeared above us, looking down into the chasm. They were growling and snarling, clearly pissed that they could not attack us. Then, a woman walked out of the darkness ahead. She was about the same height as Sylva. She had long curly black hair that stopped at her knees, similar to a tail. Her eyes were a vivid sky blue, and her skin was white. She was wearing a dirty white dress and was barefoot.
As she kept approaching us, she smiled, revealing her teeth. She had what looked like wolf fangs. She then began to laugh.
"Peajo, peajo, peajo. Nacwnzav ya mqa jkqo wrkjo eye. Qj cnkqla z'dqiwejo zenecan lwn Apkeha Iltan. Pkqpa qja oqnlneoa. [My, my, my. Look at what we have here. A group of humans led by Apkeha Iltan. What a surprise.]" The woman said.
"Apaorkqo hw Zwia wqt hkqlo? (Are you the Lady with the wolves?)" Apkeha asked as she un-sheathed her sword.
"Aj bwep, kqe. Fa oqeo Najwenza. Ap qja lanokjja i'w zaiwjza za rkqo pqan. Kq zq ikejo, rkqo nwhajpen. [As a matter of fact, yes. I am Najwenza. And a person asked me to kill you. Or at least slow you down.]" Najwenza said as she was now a few feet away from Apkeha.
She then saw Sylva, and then me. Or, more accurately, my facial expression.
"Mq'wrkjojkqo hw? Lnejyaooa Sylva Mikos. Ap qja fkhea faqja baiia wray qj ejopejyp za hkql. [What do we have here? Princess Sylva Mikos. And a pretty, young woman with the instinct of a wolf.]" Najwenza said as she began to move towards me and Sylva, who took my hand.
I took a step back as she took one more step towards me and Sylva. I could feel the wolf's instinct I got from continuously shifting into a wolf submit to Najwenza, almost as if she was an alpha. Sylva squeezed my hand, making me feel better. I began shifting partially, gaining the fangs, the ears and the tail of a wolf.
"Pq ao qja Atehaa, Najwenza. Hweooajkqo lwooan. [You are an Outcast, Najwenza. Let us pass.]" Apkeha pleaded.
"Jkj. Get 'em, boys. Iweo hweooavike Sylva ap hw behhahkql. [No. Get 'em, boys. But leave me Sylva and the wolf-girl.]" Najwenza said with a sadistic smile on her face as she came closer to me, entering my reach.
The wolves jumped down in the chasm. I quickly let go of Sylva's hand, who also let go of mine, and I revealed my ears to Najwenza. She was shocked, and I took the opportunity to attack her. However, she passed her shock quickly and dodged my attack. I was now separated from the group, wolves blocking my way to them. I knew the rest of the pack also shifted something that could be useful in a fight, like claws or fangs. Najwenza then spoke to me.
"Fa p'wrweo okqoaopeiaa, behhahkql. Ap fa j'wrweo lwo naiwnmqa pao pnwepo za hkql. Pq banweo qj xkj wfkqp w iw iaqpa. [I underestimated you, wolf-girl. And I did not see your wolf traits. You would be a good addition to my pack.]" Najwenza said before she threw herself at me.
She caught me and we fell to the ground. She was trying to knock me out while I tried to bite her. After a few minutes, I heard a wolf whine. Me and Najwenza looked at her wolves, and we saw that one had an arrow in his back. That one was obviously dead. Then, another arrow was shot, and it hit another wolf in the head, killing it instantly. We all looked up to where the arrows came from, and I saw someone leaning over the side of the chasm.
"Jalor!" Apkeha exclaimed.
Then, another wolf whined, but that one had not been hit by an arrow. Instead, a short woman in a leather armor had stabbed the wolf at the base of the neck, cutting the spine.
"Kalia?!" Apkeha said, dumbfounded.
Kalia and Jalor killed every wolf in a matter of seconds. Then, Shining brought his sword to Najwenza's neck. Jalor hopped down from his spot, sliding down the chasm's wall.
"Don't. She's not worth it." Jalor said, almost no accent in his voice.
Shining put his sword back in its sheath, and Najwenza ran away.
"What are the two of you doing here?" Apkeha asked.
"We are Outcasts, Apkeha. Athalon stripped us from our military title and exiled us from Corantha." Kalia said, almost no accent in her voice as well, although her speech pattern was more traditional.
"Why would he do that?" Apkeha asked, visibly shocked.
"Go tell him that. After Delkor's death, he was already a wreck, but ever since his father died and he became King, he seems more troubled than anything. And that goddess, Iwhaxa, didn't help, either." Jalor explained as he went to Kalia's side.
"Iwhaxa? Are you sure, Jalor?" Apkeha insisted.
Jalor nodded, his expression dark. Kalia, during that small time, was looking intently at Sylva.
"Is that Athalon's daughter?" Kalia asked.
Sylva nodded as she removed the hood hiding her face. I got up, shifting back to normal.
"Who's Iwhaxa?" I asked.
"She pretends to be the goddess of protection, but she truly is the goddess of evil. And you are?" Jalor said.
I smiled.
"I'm Jennifer Stone, and you could say that Sylva and I are a couple." I said.
Jalor was glaring at me while Sylva and Apkeha both giggled at my boldness.
"She must not have impure relations! She's our princess and future Queen!" Jalor almost yelled.
Kalia looked at Jalor with an amused expression.
"Relax, Jalor. Jennifer seems like a correct person, and besides, Sylva is an Ayandeyeaj, and there are spells to allow her to have children. Plus, impure relations are not forbidden, simply discouraged." Kalia told him.
"Let's get going." Apkeha said as she began to go towards the cave, but she stopped. "Care to join us?"
With that, two more person joined our group. We spent three days underground before we finally reached the outside world, and the sun was setting.
"We will stop for the night." Apkeha said.
Once our camp was set, we were all sitting around a campfire. Jalor had proposed to tell stories, either typical horror stories told only around campfires or fairytales, or legends. Luna had told us about the fight between her and her sister before she was banished. It was Jalor's turn to tell something.
"The story I will tell you took me some time to translate into Pony tongue. It is a legend about a young boy who killed is entire village." Jalor explained.
"Not again?" Kalia said, exasperated.
Jalor glared at her for a second before he spoke again.
"Do you want me to tell it in Coranthan or in Pony?" Jalor asked with a big smile.
"Coranthan." Sylva answered.
"Pnao xeaj. He apwep qja bkeo, zwjo qj lapep rehhwca, rerwep qj faqja cwjykj. Ya cwjykj apwep... Apnwjca. Qj fkqn, whkno mqa ha cwjykj wrwep ajrenkj zet wjo, hao dwxepwjpo zq rehhwca ykiiajyanajp w zeolwnwepna. Wq xkqp z'qj ikiajp, hao lwnajpo zq cwjykj naiwnmqanajp mqa haqn beho wceoowep xevvwnaiajp. Lwnbkeo, ha cwjykj narajwep ydav hqe ykqranp za owjc.
[Alright. Once upon a time, in a small village, lived a young boy. That boy was... Strange. One day when the boy was about ten years old, the inhabitants of the village began to disappear. After a some time, the parents of the boy noticed that their son was acting weird. Sometimes, the boy would come back home covered in blood.]
Qja fkqn, hao lwnajpo zq cwjykj ha oqeranajp cqomqa zwjo hw sylva. Pkqpabkeo, qja bkeo zwjo hw sylva, ha cwjykj wrwep zeolwnq ap j'apwep pnkqrwxha jqhha lwnp. Hao lwnajpo ydanydanajp lwnpkqp, owjo oqyyao. Arajpqahhaiajp, hao lwnajpo wxwjzkjanajp haqno naydanydao.
[One day, the parents of the boy followed him into the forest. However, once they were in the forest, the boy had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. The parents searched everywhere, to no avail. Eventually, the parents stopped their search.]
Whkno mq'eho napkqnjweajp ydav aqt, mqahmqa ydkoa xkqcaw zwjo hao xqeookjo, ap ha lana whhw rken za mqke eh o'wceoowep. Wqooepkp mqa ha lana ajpnw zwjo hao xqeookjo, eh oa bep penan zwjo hao xqeookjo, lkqoowjp qj yne za iknp. Hw iana oqerep okj iwne ap ha pnkqrw ailwha oqn qja xnwjyda ywooaa, qja yknza wppwydaa w hw ydarehha.
[While they were going back home, something moved in the bushes. The father went to see what it was. As the father stepped in the bushes, he was dragged in them. The mother followed her husband and found him impaled on a broken branch, a rope tied to his ankle.]
Hw iana ynew. Ahha oa napkqnjw ap pkixw bwyawbwya wray okj beho mqe pajwep qj ykqpawq. Eh hw pknpqna lajzwjp hkjcpailo wrwjp za hw pqan, ywn hw lanokjja mqa ha cwjykj zapaopwep ha lhqo, y'apwep ow iana. Yanpwejo zeoajp mqa ha cwjykj aop pkqfkqno aj rea, ap mq'eh dwjpa pkqpao hao sylvao, wppajzwjp qja jkqrahha reypeia lkqn oao leacao ahwxknao.
[The mother yelled. She turned around and came face-to-face with her son who was holding a knife. He tortured her for a long time before killing her, as the person the boy hated the most was his mother. Some say that he is still alive, and that he haunts all the forests, waiting for a new victim for his elaborate traps.]"
Once he was done, the atmosphere had changed. Luna and Shining Armor were visibly tense, Twilight was looking left and right, Nathan, Jacob and Franklin were surrounding Lucy who was sobbing lightly, Sylva was holding my hand tightly and had closed her eyes, and I was ready to jump and attack anything that made a sound. Apkeha, Kalia and Jalor were the only there that were not affected by the legend.
"Seriously? The legend of the trapper?" Apkeha asked.
"Yes. He has had that strange fixation on that legend for some time now." Kalia explained.
"Come on. It's just a story." Jalor said.
Something then moved in the bushes nearby. I turned my head in that direction, and I sniffed the air. Nathan saw me and looked at the bushes himself. He gestured to the bushes and I nodded. He got up and slowly went to the bushes. When he was halfway between the campfire and the bushes, he stopped.
"There's a trap in there." Nathan said.
"Stop freaking out." Jalor said. "Let's go to sleep. I think we all need it."
We all went to our sleeping places, and I slowly drifted to sleep.
"Where am I?" I asked out loud.
I was in the night sky, as in 'I was standing on nothing with stars all around me and the moon behind me.'
"Jennifer."
I turned around, recognizing the voice.
"MOM!" I yelled as I jumped to her, only to pass right through her.
"I am not really here, Jenny." My mom said.
She had great, beautiful snowy white feathered wings, and they were fully unfolded.
"Your path will be hard, and you will face many challenges." She said as she walked around, her white dress brushing the invisible ground.
"And?" I asked, unsure.
My mom stopped walking around me. She then looked at me in the eyes.
"You will be tested, Jenny. Your powers will be revealed to the others, and so will Sylva's." She said.
"How do you know her?" I asked.
"That is not important. In due time, you will be challenged. I am sorry, sweetie, but I am running out of time. I will see you soon..." She said as she slowly disintegrated into oblivion.
I stood there, staring into the distance, until I began to disintegrate as well.
I woke up covered in sweat. The sun was beginning to rise. I got up and packed my things.
"Up early?"
I stopped packing and I looked around to see Kalia walking towards me.
"Yeah... I always wake up with the sun." I said.
"I need to talk to you in private." Kalia said.
I nodded and she walked away from the camp. I followed her, and once I had reached her, she spoke to me.
"Listen, Jennifer. My sister is the high priestess of Coratas, and she asked me to tell you something."
I looked at Kalia, completely lost. She let out a nervous chuckle.
"She might be my younger sister, but she is much more powerful than any Ayandeyeaj that ever lived. She came to me in a dream last night."
"Ah." I said as I finally understood.
"Anyway. You are special, Jennifer. Soon, my sister will visit you, and not in a dream. As I speak to you, she is leaving Coratas to come to us only so she can meet you. That is a great honour."
"Yeah... I suppose."
"Let us go back to the camp."
"Alright."
As we went back to the camp, I couldn't shake the feeling that my mom's death had something to do with all of this.
"Hey, Jenny!" Nathan called.
I went to him.
"Whaddaya want?" I asked.
"I checked with Twilight, Luna, Shining and Apkeha, and they all agree that we need someone to sniff out traps."
"And?" I asked, not understanding Nathan.
"You're gonna have to, um... Get out of your dress and, well... Shift into a wolf."
I nodded.
"Okay. Just a minute, though." I told Nathan as I moved towards where Sylva slept. "Sylva, fa zkep... Pa... lwnhan? [Sylva, I need to... Talk... To you?]"
Sylva walked to me, chuckling.
"Pq ao wzknwxha mqwjz pq ydanyda pao ikpo. Mq'u wpeh? [You are adorable when you struggle to say the right words. What is it?]" She said.
"F'weianweo mqa pq p'kyyqla za ikj owy w zko, wejoe mqa za iw nkxa. [I would love that you'd take care of my backpack, and of my dress as well.]"
"Yanpwejaiajp. Pq rwo odebpan aj hkql? [Sure. You will shift into a wolf?]"
I nodded, and Sylva smiled. I smiled back, then I dropped put my backpack on the ground with my cloak. I walked some distance away from the camp, then I took my dress off. Wasting no time, I immediately shifted into a wolf. I grabbed my dress as carefully as I could in my maw, then I went back where I left my backpack. I put my dress on top of my cloak, then I trotted to where Nathan still was. Luna, Apkeha and Shining Armor had joined him, and they were all looking in the distance.
"Any idea what still lies ahead of us?" Luna asked.
"I have no idea, Princess. But I hope it won't be too dangerous." Shining answered.
"Whatever's up ahead, we'll go right through it." Nathan added.
"Let us pray for the best, then." Apkeha concluded.
"As long as we're all together, nothing can beat us. Nothing." I cheered.
"I know you won't let me down, mom. You promised me that you'll always look out for me." I added for myself.
...
3rd person POV, present day.
...
Walking down a cobblestone road, a beautiful woman with beautiful, great snowy white feathered wings looked around for a specific building. The building the barefoot woman was looking for was hard to miss as it was a monumental cathedral with great, colourful window panes depicting the entire pantheon of Coranthian gods. Coratas, Leanna his wife, Athas, Okhaeh, Hqra were all there and they were accompanied by the lesser gods, who consisted of Zeoyknza, trickster god of Chaos and alcohol, Vaxylios, god of Harmony and justice, Vusei, trickster god of parties, and Owrken, goddess of Knowledge.
As the woman entered the cathedral, several monks looked at her and stepped back, hiding from her. As she came closer to the altar, a priest stepped in the woman's way.
"The high priestess is gone on a divine mission. How can I help you?" The priest asked in Coranthan.
"I am looking for the orphanage. Could you lead me there?" The woman answered back in an angelic voice.
"Sure. Follow me."
The priest then began to lead the woman to the 'orphanage'.
"If you are looking to adopt, you will need to prove your are a worthy mother." The priest said.
"Obviously. But I am not looking to adopt a child. And I demand that you show your true self." The woman told the priest, who stopped and turned around.
"You are clever, my dear twin sister. We shall meet again soon."
With that, the priest vanished, leaving a few jet black feathers behind. Then, the real priest came.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"Lead me to the orphanage, please."
The priest bowed to show he would, and he led the woman to the orphanage. In one of the room was a young girl around the age of three years old. She seemed like a normal girl, except she was a powerful Ayandeyeaj. The white winged-woman then appeared in the little girl's room, startling her. She hid under her bed.
"Sshhh. I am not here to hurt you. You are a special girl. You have a gift. The gift of love." The woman said as she lowered herself to be at the same level as the girl.
She then slid her fingers around the child's face, causing a pure white light to emanate from the girl's face. The woman then got up.
"You will be adopted soon. I promise. When the time will come, I will take you to your new father." The woman said before vanishing, leaving a few snowy white feathers behind.