Prologue: Source of All
It had been so long ago; it was getting harder and harder for them to remember.
They remembered running: from what, long forgotten though the flicker of long limbed, slender creatures appeared in their mind. The ones that defied the natural order of life and destroyers of the soil and trees with their… unnatural creations.
They remembered hiding, the smell of salt and the scent of fear. Of a slow rocking side to side. Of a wetness that ran down their back in comfort. Their… friends? Family? Or just others just trying to get away from what they feared?
Their head hurt just trying to remember all the forgotten details.
Then, more running, fur against fur, of the cold breeze whipping around them. Of rocks digging into their paws, fear driving them onward. Then, there was green and shade.
However, as they looked down at their paws with the water lapping at them, they closed their eyes as that moment flashed in their mind, the one that they were unable to let go, for it was forever seared to their soul.
The moment that they died. The moment that they had lost everything.
They had left whatever group that they had been traveling with, seeking some water. One other figure came with them… A friend? A littermate? Their possible mate..?
It hurt trying to recall them, a hole where his heart would lay.
Together, they had found a large, clear pool of water, hidden under the shade of the nearby trees. They had chirped with delight, dashing towards it without a care in the world.
They had forgotten to check for signs of other predators in the area.
However, in the end, it failed to matter. Their end came from the above. Their end was unnatural.
As their paws hit the water, they lapped it up eagerly, happy to have found some moisture in this new land. Their companion laughed as they joined them, their voice feeling the clearing.
Then… there was nothing. No pain, just darkness.
They awoke in a blank, white space, a stone lodged where their heart once was. Glancing up, they stepped back in fear at the figures that now surrounded them.
The vixen sitting atop a large, strangely shaped rock, her many tails waving around behind her. The large snake that spread out its neck, tongue flicking out curiously as the strange stone replaced the back half of it. The towering, furless giant with large ears and a long, strange nose, a rock embedded within their massive head. And many, many more long forgotten animals lost to the passage of time… And the destruction of their pool.
They hissed, digging their claws into whatever what under them.
"Those stupid, arrogant creatures!" they growled. "Thinking that they own everything that they see! The land, the trees, the water… even all the animals! Believing that they have the right to destroy our world as they see fit!"
Sadness grew within their spirit as they remembered those gone, their spirits shattered beyond repair, forever forgotten by those living as their legacies died.
To lose is to gain. To gain is to lose.
Those that were forever marked as different… Cursed with power forever linked to their souls.
The Marked.
"Little cat… Are you still mopping about the Upwalkers?"
They glanced up to see two figures: one older, one younger. The fox regarded them with sorrow, their many tails bellowing out behind them while the wolf just watched warily.
"The Upwalkers?" echoed the wolf, their tail tucked between their legs. "You mean the humans? Why would anyone be upset with them?"
"Oh, little one," sighed the fox, brushing her tails against the other's legs. "You have not been here as long as we have. You have not seen the aftereffects of losing your pool… Or losing every single connection to the living… It… It is not pretty.
They knew. They had seen what had happened to those that had no hope to pass on their curse. Images of the snake that, in their madness, had eaten themselves out of existence. Or the elephant that had been ripped apart right in front of them, their last sense of self vanishing into dust.
"But why?" cried out the wolf, fur rising. "Sure, the humans have done some wrongs… But… They are trying to fix them! After all…!"
"Just because they have helped your kind doesn't make them good!" snapped back the fox. "In fact, you are just lucky that your pool is near a toxic area where no one would want to be! In fact, if I remember correctly…"
"I just wish that there was a way to help my kin."
Both canines stopped as they spoke out. They fell silent, giving each other worried looks as they turned toward them, their tail flickering with emotions.
"We are stuck here, with little to no memory of what we once were," they began, their eyes looking upwards. "And yet, our kin fight to live with each moment just to live! Those not… cursed with powers are feared and hunted by their own kind!"
"Unfortunately," sighed the fox. "What is not understood is feared and hated. Even now, we don't understand how this happened to each of us… Or why we… shatter when we lose our pool and linage of animals… marked."
"Is there a way to even help?" questioned the wolf, ears laying flat against their head. "We can't contact any of the living, not even those that have the ability to see the dead! There is even no way to talk to those that have fallen! No one can talk to us! How… How can we even try to save others when we can't even save ourselves?"
Silence fell on the clearing as they failed to know what to say to their younger companion. Glancing over at the fox, they saw that they too looked guilty, unsure of what to say. With a sigh, they turned back to the only other thing within their prison, a small pool of water that allowed them to see their 'descendants' in the living.
They could see destruction ahead for their little cats. They could see the stones being put into place for their pool's destruction, despite of the group that formed around it best efforts to protect it. They could see each of the groups of the six kin of Silvertongue tear themselves apart with their greed, hate, and anger in a world that hated them in return.
"There has to be a way to help my kind before they are gone," they prayed, staring upward. "A way to protect them from those 'creatures' and themselves… Oh spirits or any higher power out there, please give us a sign. Please give me a way to connect with the living, a way to save them! I am begging you… I will do anything to help them!"