Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Stories Moving
Hello guys, Amy here. This blog will be discontinued, but all the stories will be moved here. Be sure to move your subscription there!
The Adventures Of Marco And Sabre
Sabre the panther from Ook's Soggy Creek and Smuggler's Highway has been babbling about a faraway kingdom recently. Checking the Alpha's archives, I have found some burned information on some papyrus. Be sure to remember that these stories can be fakes, but there has been no confirmation, so this is the only lore Jamaa leans on today...
"Really, son?" was the first thing Gilbaatorix said when he saw young Sabre trudge in covered with linen.
It was a new age where the Coraxese were settling down in the north, after separating from the Jamaasians and worshipping Moon instead. Sabre would be a good prince, Gilbaatorix thought, but he had to be more peaceful and stop getting the remains of their ancestors on his platinum armor and leather saddle. For some reason, Sabre thought that having his father ride him like a horse was good exercise.
But the good times would end.
One day, Gilbaatorix's term as king ended on Sabre's twenty-fifth birthday. That was the required age for a Corax to become king, and they had to be royalty, as Gilbaatorix had set. Sabre clung on to his days playing jockey with his dad and "digging" in the Sand-Mouth for treasure by hosting a large party.
"Hello," and "I wonder what the new king will do when he is king" were the only things Sabre could hear as he sat near his birthday cake, twenty-five candles on the exotic icing. Everyone passed the whiskey and salty brownies around as the king took off his platinum crown and placed it on Sabre's head. He was offical prince.
"Dad, what does the rank 'prince' mean?" Sabre asked his father after the party, just when their handmaidens were finishing their cleaning shifts. Panthers like them were smart, but despite the odds Sabre had never heard the term "prince" be used to describe him before. Gilbaatorix smiled.
"Son, it is a rank of royalty that is like a deputy to a clan leader. You have the right to command a portion of the military, and succeed me to the throne, but you have no rights whatsoever to seize full control. Understand?" Gilbaatorix whispered so that their servants didn't think Sabre was an idiot.
Sabre looked up at his father's new platinum crown grander than his previous one, and wondered if he would be that great a prince.
"Take off that stupid saddle!" was the first thing Sabre heard in the morning afterwards. Sabre looked up from his feather mattress, and saw Madeline, the annoying koala he hated. Apparently, his father was busy sorting out disputes between peasants, and paid Madeline half-price to watch Sabre, because her ugly makeuped face was carved into a pout. Sabre took off his saddle, because he didn't feel like having his stuffed animal Ted ride him.
Ted, who was under his covers.
Madeline didn't mind, of course, but Sabre felt like Ted was a friend, not a trophy, so he hid Ted where there was little view but good air.
Sabre sighed, and got up so that he could train a bit.
Ten years later...
Sabre was now king, as Gilbaatorix had died protecting his kingdom fighting frost dragons. Everyone said that he had died nobly, but Sabre didn't feel like that.
He felt like Gilbaatorix had left him for his world to get shattered, and despite his training he had not been prepared.
Mental damage is the damage that really hurts, Madeline had told him a mere year ago. Now she was dead, because of him. He had been practicing the spell to summon the Yeti, and all of a sudden a frost dragon had come, bringing more on its trail.
Madeline and her family had been trampled in the chaos resulting.
Sabre had passed harsh laws to prevent that happening again, and now riots were frequent around his palace.
The protesters threw rocks saying that magic shouldn't be limited, there was another way, et cetera. However, Sabre was gone.
Now, Sabre was packing up his room, using magic to stuff his room into a sack like a paper painting, along with Ted and all his possessions.
"Oh, Father, please forgive me for leaving Corax without a heir to the throne..." Sabre pleaded to the sky, wherever his father was. Gilbaatorix seemed to listen, as Sabre felt a wave of calm spread over him. His father's voice spoke in his mind.
Go to the Duat docks. Go. Meet the armored penguin, and set sail for Ook. Secrets and danger await...Go.
The voice repeated itself in Sabre's head over and over, over and over, as he slunk to the magic docks, sack and all.
He had no idea what awaited him, or what would become of his penguin friend, who would become the penguin alpha...
"Really, son?" was the first thing Gilbaatorix said when he saw young Sabre trudge in covered with linen.
It was a new age where the Coraxese were settling down in the north, after separating from the Jamaasians and worshipping Moon instead. Sabre would be a good prince, Gilbaatorix thought, but he had to be more peaceful and stop getting the remains of their ancestors on his platinum armor and leather saddle. For some reason, Sabre thought that having his father ride him like a horse was good exercise.
But the good times would end.
One day, Gilbaatorix's term as king ended on Sabre's twenty-fifth birthday. That was the required age for a Corax to become king, and they had to be royalty, as Gilbaatorix had set. Sabre clung on to his days playing jockey with his dad and "digging" in the Sand-Mouth for treasure by hosting a large party.
"Hello," and "I wonder what the new king will do when he is king" were the only things Sabre could hear as he sat near his birthday cake, twenty-five candles on the exotic icing. Everyone passed the whiskey and salty brownies around as the king took off his platinum crown and placed it on Sabre's head. He was offical prince.
"Dad, what does the rank 'prince' mean?" Sabre asked his father after the party, just when their handmaidens were finishing their cleaning shifts. Panthers like them were smart, but despite the odds Sabre had never heard the term "prince" be used to describe him before. Gilbaatorix smiled.
"Son, it is a rank of royalty that is like a deputy to a clan leader. You have the right to command a portion of the military, and succeed me to the throne, but you have no rights whatsoever to seize full control. Understand?" Gilbaatorix whispered so that their servants didn't think Sabre was an idiot.
Sabre looked up at his father's new platinum crown grander than his previous one, and wondered if he would be that great a prince.
"Take off that stupid saddle!" was the first thing Sabre heard in the morning afterwards. Sabre looked up from his feather mattress, and saw Madeline, the annoying koala he hated. Apparently, his father was busy sorting out disputes between peasants, and paid Madeline half-price to watch Sabre, because her ugly makeuped face was carved into a pout. Sabre took off his saddle, because he didn't feel like having his stuffed animal Ted ride him.
Ted, who was under his covers.
Madeline didn't mind, of course, but Sabre felt like Ted was a friend, not a trophy, so he hid Ted where there was little view but good air.
Sabre sighed, and got up so that he could train a bit.
Ten years later...
Sabre was now king, as Gilbaatorix had died protecting his kingdom fighting frost dragons. Everyone said that he had died nobly, but Sabre didn't feel like that.
He felt like Gilbaatorix had left him for his world to get shattered, and despite his training he had not been prepared.
Mental damage is the damage that really hurts, Madeline had told him a mere year ago. Now she was dead, because of him. He had been practicing the spell to summon the Yeti, and all of a sudden a frost dragon had come, bringing more on its trail.
Madeline and her family had been trampled in the chaos resulting.
Sabre had passed harsh laws to prevent that happening again, and now riots were frequent around his palace.
The protesters threw rocks saying that magic shouldn't be limited, there was another way, et cetera. However, Sabre was gone.
Now, Sabre was packing up his room, using magic to stuff his room into a sack like a paper painting, along with Ted and all his possessions.
"Oh, Father, please forgive me for leaving Corax without a heir to the throne..." Sabre pleaded to the sky, wherever his father was. Gilbaatorix seemed to listen, as Sabre felt a wave of calm spread over him. His father's voice spoke in his mind.
Go to the Duat docks. Go. Meet the armored penguin, and set sail for Ook. Secrets and danger await...Go.
The voice repeated itself in Sabre's head over and over, over and over, as he slunk to the magic docks, sack and all.
He had no idea what awaited him, or what would become of his penguin friend, who would become the penguin alpha...
Friday, March 1, 2013
Spirit Troopers
The Phantom King slid the purple shard into the phantom's body, and suddenly it radiated powers of evil.
"Well, I stole these from the Shard Cave in distant Ook, so use their magic wisely."the Phantom King said. The phantoms bowed, and walked away to be replaced by new recruits. He was sure that this time, those pesky Alphas couldn't stop him.
Amelia was doing fine with Ka in her brain, but now she needed more food and exercise to sustain herself and Ka. She didn't mind, of course, but both her and Ka were drained from hunting down elk to eat. She pummeled the elk, Ka wormed his way into its dim mind to make it easier to kill. By the time it was dusk, Amelia fell onto the bed, drained.
It turned out that Ka was actually a good "parasite", as he was quite helpful, and their thoughts were quite similar, so they got along just fine. But now Greely insisted on training Ka by hosting him during mealtimes and throwing his worst nightmares at him, so when Amelia threw some of her pancakes and hamburgers at Ka, he barely ate at all.
But now, Ka kept on telling her his being kept on sensing parts of him nearby---in other hosts. So Amelia told Lisa to go look for the hosts, which was a few hours ago, but now she was in the bathtub relaxing Ka's mind, and hers. Amelia still wondered if she had made a good decision...before the phantom came.
The phantom seemed to be normal, but punched her with mighty power. She lunged, and barely destroyed it. But the tears ripped away to reveal a crude shard of Ka, and the phantom respawned. Amelia tore the shard to dust. Ka seemed to notice that bit of himself.
"Amelia, I have a bad feeling that if there are more of these troopers, they could destroy Jamaa, and I want to destroy Ook instead. If you let me leave you, then I will be able to make the Shadow Heart bigger by splicing those shards long-distance. Trust me, or I will be charged with the makings of another war!" Ka shouted in her mind. Amelia closed her eyes, and imagined a thread between her and Ka, a strong silk thread. She imagined the claws of time eat at the bond, slowly straining their connection. As she vomited the Shadow Heart up, the image went blank.
"Ka, destroy those shards!" Amelia shouted. The heart glowed with energy, and a few shards attached to it. Amelia felt like there still was a stable bond between her mind and Ka's. More shards attached, and Amelia was blinded by a blast of light. When the burst subsided, the Shadow Heart was barely swallowable.
"Well, now you see my powers, and this is only a small fraction of what I can do. Together, we can save Jamaa from this evil.After all, I am the villain, not those blarney-faced phantoms."Ka said.
"Do you have even the slightest idea what 'blarney' means?" Amelia asked Ka.
"Nope," he replied, "not the slightest of an idea."
"Well, I stole these from the Shard Cave in distant Ook, so use their magic wisely."the Phantom King said. The phantoms bowed, and walked away to be replaced by new recruits. He was sure that this time, those pesky Alphas couldn't stop him.
Amelia was doing fine with Ka in her brain, but now she needed more food and exercise to sustain herself and Ka. She didn't mind, of course, but both her and Ka were drained from hunting down elk to eat. She pummeled the elk, Ka wormed his way into its dim mind to make it easier to kill. By the time it was dusk, Amelia fell onto the bed, drained.
It turned out that Ka was actually a good "parasite", as he was quite helpful, and their thoughts were quite similar, so they got along just fine. But now Greely insisted on training Ka by hosting him during mealtimes and throwing his worst nightmares at him, so when Amelia threw some of her pancakes and hamburgers at Ka, he barely ate at all.
But now, Ka kept on telling her his being kept on sensing parts of him nearby---in other hosts. So Amelia told Lisa to go look for the hosts, which was a few hours ago, but now she was in the bathtub relaxing Ka's mind, and hers. Amelia still wondered if she had made a good decision...before the phantom came.
The phantom seemed to be normal, but punched her with mighty power. She lunged, and barely destroyed it. But the tears ripped away to reveal a crude shard of Ka, and the phantom respawned. Amelia tore the shard to dust. Ka seemed to notice that bit of himself.
"Amelia, I have a bad feeling that if there are more of these troopers, they could destroy Jamaa, and I want to destroy Ook instead. If you let me leave you, then I will be able to make the Shadow Heart bigger by splicing those shards long-distance. Trust me, or I will be charged with the makings of another war!" Ka shouted in her mind. Amelia closed her eyes, and imagined a thread between her and Ka, a strong silk thread. She imagined the claws of time eat at the bond, slowly straining their connection. As she vomited the Shadow Heart up, the image went blank.
"Ka, destroy those shards!" Amelia shouted. The heart glowed with energy, and a few shards attached to it. Amelia felt like there still was a stable bond between her mind and Ka's. More shards attached, and Amelia was blinded by a blast of light. When the burst subsided, the Shadow Heart was barely swallowable.
"Well, now you see my powers, and this is only a small fraction of what I can do. Together, we can save Jamaa from this evil.After all, I am the villain, not those blarney-faced phantoms."Ka said.
"Do you have even the slightest idea what 'blarney' means?" Amelia asked Ka.
"Nope," he replied, "not the slightest of an idea."
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wings Of Dread
Amelia tossed and turned, groaned and moaned, and even tore her bedsheets to shreds before she got out of her bed.
Today was an especially hot day, and Lisa still expected her to "rest well". So she decided to sneak into Greely's room.
Greely was asleep, and Amelia suspected that there was no way she could convince him to watch the stars with her at midnight, especially since that made him nostalgic for Shade. Amelia's attention was diverted to a table before her, though.
A frame with green palm leaves lay on the table, unfinished, but Amelia could clearly see that they were wings. The leaves sparkled, showing her that they were enchanted.
Now, a normal animal would turn away at the sight of those wings, because they defied the normal nature of Jamaa, and magic items always led to trouble. But Amelia was daring, and she plucked the wings off the table as one would pluck a bird's feather.
Every breeze tonight was hot, which meant that riding the wind, Amelia would probably rise high enough to cool down as she flapped.
Good thing that Greely had finished the wings enough to add some Velcro to attach to fur, else Amelia would have to wake up Graham to finish them.
And Graham was grumpy if he didn't get enough sleep every night, believe me.
So Amelia started flapping, and she rose and rose. Pollen sparkled in the breeze, as it was of rare fruit, and Amelia frolicked among the evening birds and owls. She laughed out loud several times, watching a few night Jammers the size of ants, at least to her. Amelia didn't pay attention to the ground, though, and soon was flying over the coast to the open sea.
Storm clouds and tailwinds threatened Amelia, but by the time she realized she was far from land, she was indeed very, very far from land. Amelia jerked this way and that, barely dodging vultures and lightning.
Then, Amelia approached land, but alas, it wasn't Jamaa! Instead, she saw a land larger than Jamaa, and lowered herself down to get a better look.
Amelia was shocked at how much the land looked like Jamaa. The land was lush, yet tainted faintly by a long-ago war, which sounded a lot like Jamaa.
Monkeys that looked different from the monkeys in Jamaa played ball all around, but many heroes also battled monsters in crumbling ruins using weapons the Alphas used in the First Phantom War. What was going on?
Then, she saw a sign that read:
Welcome To Ook
and knew that she was in this land called "Ook". Amelia kept flying around, and learned more about this strange land of Ook. There were five tribes called Crossroads, Sea Dragons, Chim Foo, Ootu Mystics, and Ice Raiders. There was also some sort of steampunk tribe, but Amelia saw nothing about that tribe. She learned all about the Monkey King by overhearing conversations, blah blah blah, but then she saw some sort of glint in Z'or. The glint enticed her to come to it, and Amelia couldn't help but to swoop down and look.
The glint was very hard to detect once she entered the cold field of energy around Z'or, which burned like icefire. Something powerful was nearby, as not even the Coraxese ice palace atmosphere burned this much, and the palaces were teeming with spells.
Icicles froze her several times, but her muscles managed to wriggle her out. There were some weird "Spikers", squirrels that came out of the snow to shoot spikes, but she easily clawed them into little magic pieces.
Amelia guessed the myths were different in Ook despite the striking similarity to Jamaa, because the monsters died differently and they worshipped other magic protectors, which Amelia expected.
After a lot of struggling against the wind currents, she found a place deep in the heart of Z'or. Icicles formed a makeshift prison around a dark purple amethyst, which radiated a sort of icefire. Amelia shivered, since icefire was so powerful that it burned and froze you at the same time, like frostbite, only that it had many complicated magic properties even Greely had yet to figure out.
Amelia read the runes on a stone, and it seemed to explain the founding of Ook, in the Jamaasian myth and the Ook myth. It seemed as if the Jamaasians had the full story, but you could never be sure with mythology.
The stone rose, and a gnarled face that seemed like a cross between Apophis and a beat-up phantom appeared in the smoke inside the stone. Amelia now saw that it was shaped like a crude heart.
What is your desire... the stone whispered. The whisper was more of a rasp, the makings of the earth's blood and the smoke.
Amelia faced the stone boldly, and the face smiled.
Oh, young one, I am the Shadow Demon Ka, a sleeping serpent that was created from Apophis, as the legend states. That proud Monkey King shattered me with this little stick... argh, if he was still alive, I would bash him with my best minions! Ka snarled. Amelia knew that Ka was more powerful than all the phantoms combined, and now wondered how Ook got by with such an evil creature under the surface. Then again, the evil monsters were running loose.
Oh, of all creatures, it is me that knows you Alphas are fighting a hopeless battle. Your desire is one I could fulfill, if you gave in. I needn't no questions, my tentacles read minds mighty fine. Your desire is to make yourself accepted as a rogue. Well, my family are unruly rogues! You would be more than welcome to join me...if you wish. Ka whispered. Amelia stared at Ka unblinkingly. He sure did persuade well, but her oaths would stop her from treachery. Sensing her thoughts, the stone whispered even more.
You know my limits, as a rogue, so you know my vast power reserves can cut those bonds as easily as you would cut a cucumber. And with those sharp claws, you can cut anything. Amelia, if you don't swear oaths to join me as a lieutenant, at least free the stone from the cage and bring me to Jamaa... I promise, without the other Shadow Shards I cannot assist any evil or escape your bonds. After all, your curses and oaths are stronger than mine... Ka said. Amelia knew that she would need Ka later on to save Jamaa, so she went over her options as the stone just floated there, Ka's Shadow Heart taking in the new icicles that had grown around the stone. The Shadow Heart was the center of Ka's spirit, which meant that all the Shadow Shards had to connect to it to regenerate Ka.
"Fine," Amelia said boldly, "but you will have to swear my oaths."
Ka smiled.
I swear that I shall not destroy Jamaa, nor help the Phantom legions in any way, and if I break any oath or not bend to your will, the heart of me will be shattered into a million pieces. Ka said, doing the oath Amelia was just about to give him. And so, she hacked apart his bonds and put the Shadow Heart between her paw and the leaf wings.
"You brought a deadly demon HERE?!" Marco shouted, pounding his table of maps and plans. Amelia nodded, holding the Shadow Heart in a linen cloth between her jaws.
"Yes, I made Ka swear oaths, and I will let him possess me until further notice." Amelia said. Marco sighed.
"Well, if anyone were to be trusted, it would be you, but Sabre warned me a long time ago when we were friends that Ka were not to be trusted. If you let him possess you, be safe." Marco said under his breath. Amelia let her body absorb Ka.
Today was an especially hot day, and Lisa still expected her to "rest well". So she decided to sneak into Greely's room.
Greely was asleep, and Amelia suspected that there was no way she could convince him to watch the stars with her at midnight, especially since that made him nostalgic for Shade. Amelia's attention was diverted to a table before her, though.
A frame with green palm leaves lay on the table, unfinished, but Amelia could clearly see that they were wings. The leaves sparkled, showing her that they were enchanted.
Now, a normal animal would turn away at the sight of those wings, because they defied the normal nature of Jamaa, and magic items always led to trouble. But Amelia was daring, and she plucked the wings off the table as one would pluck a bird's feather.
Every breeze tonight was hot, which meant that riding the wind, Amelia would probably rise high enough to cool down as she flapped.
Good thing that Greely had finished the wings enough to add some Velcro to attach to fur, else Amelia would have to wake up Graham to finish them.
And Graham was grumpy if he didn't get enough sleep every night, believe me.
So Amelia started flapping, and she rose and rose. Pollen sparkled in the breeze, as it was of rare fruit, and Amelia frolicked among the evening birds and owls. She laughed out loud several times, watching a few night Jammers the size of ants, at least to her. Amelia didn't pay attention to the ground, though, and soon was flying over the coast to the open sea.
Storm clouds and tailwinds threatened Amelia, but by the time she realized she was far from land, she was indeed very, very far from land. Amelia jerked this way and that, barely dodging vultures and lightning.
Then, Amelia approached land, but alas, it wasn't Jamaa! Instead, she saw a land larger than Jamaa, and lowered herself down to get a better look.
Amelia was shocked at how much the land looked like Jamaa. The land was lush, yet tainted faintly by a long-ago war, which sounded a lot like Jamaa.
Monkeys that looked different from the monkeys in Jamaa played ball all around, but many heroes also battled monsters in crumbling ruins using weapons the Alphas used in the First Phantom War. What was going on?
Then, she saw a sign that read:
Welcome To Ook
and knew that she was in this land called "Ook". Amelia kept flying around, and learned more about this strange land of Ook. There were five tribes called Crossroads, Sea Dragons, Chim Foo, Ootu Mystics, and Ice Raiders. There was also some sort of steampunk tribe, but Amelia saw nothing about that tribe. She learned all about the Monkey King by overhearing conversations, blah blah blah, but then she saw some sort of glint in Z'or. The glint enticed her to come to it, and Amelia couldn't help but to swoop down and look.
The glint was very hard to detect once she entered the cold field of energy around Z'or, which burned like icefire. Something powerful was nearby, as not even the Coraxese ice palace atmosphere burned this much, and the palaces were teeming with spells.
Icicles froze her several times, but her muscles managed to wriggle her out. There were some weird "Spikers", squirrels that came out of the snow to shoot spikes, but she easily clawed them into little magic pieces.
Amelia guessed the myths were different in Ook despite the striking similarity to Jamaa, because the monsters died differently and they worshipped other magic protectors, which Amelia expected.
After a lot of struggling against the wind currents, she found a place deep in the heart of Z'or. Icicles formed a makeshift prison around a dark purple amethyst, which radiated a sort of icefire. Amelia shivered, since icefire was so powerful that it burned and froze you at the same time, like frostbite, only that it had many complicated magic properties even Greely had yet to figure out.
Amelia read the runes on a stone, and it seemed to explain the founding of Ook, in the Jamaasian myth and the Ook myth. It seemed as if the Jamaasians had the full story, but you could never be sure with mythology.
The stone rose, and a gnarled face that seemed like a cross between Apophis and a beat-up phantom appeared in the smoke inside the stone. Amelia now saw that it was shaped like a crude heart.
What is your desire... the stone whispered. The whisper was more of a rasp, the makings of the earth's blood and the smoke.
Amelia faced the stone boldly, and the face smiled.
Oh, young one, I am the Shadow Demon Ka, a sleeping serpent that was created from Apophis, as the legend states. That proud Monkey King shattered me with this little stick... argh, if he was still alive, I would bash him with my best minions! Ka snarled. Amelia knew that Ka was more powerful than all the phantoms combined, and now wondered how Ook got by with such an evil creature under the surface. Then again, the evil monsters were running loose.
Oh, of all creatures, it is me that knows you Alphas are fighting a hopeless battle. Your desire is one I could fulfill, if you gave in. I needn't no questions, my tentacles read minds mighty fine. Your desire is to make yourself accepted as a rogue. Well, my family are unruly rogues! You would be more than welcome to join me...if you wish. Ka whispered. Amelia stared at Ka unblinkingly. He sure did persuade well, but her oaths would stop her from treachery. Sensing her thoughts, the stone whispered even more.
You know my limits, as a rogue, so you know my vast power reserves can cut those bonds as easily as you would cut a cucumber. And with those sharp claws, you can cut anything. Amelia, if you don't swear oaths to join me as a lieutenant, at least free the stone from the cage and bring me to Jamaa... I promise, without the other Shadow Shards I cannot assist any evil or escape your bonds. After all, your curses and oaths are stronger than mine... Ka said. Amelia knew that she would need Ka later on to save Jamaa, so she went over her options as the stone just floated there, Ka's Shadow Heart taking in the new icicles that had grown around the stone. The Shadow Heart was the center of Ka's spirit, which meant that all the Shadow Shards had to connect to it to regenerate Ka.
"Fine," Amelia said boldly, "but you will have to swear my oaths."
Ka smiled.
I swear that I shall not destroy Jamaa, nor help the Phantom legions in any way, and if I break any oath or not bend to your will, the heart of me will be shattered into a million pieces. Ka said, doing the oath Amelia was just about to give him. And so, she hacked apart his bonds and put the Shadow Heart between her paw and the leaf wings.
"You brought a deadly demon HERE?!" Marco shouted, pounding his table of maps and plans. Amelia nodded, holding the Shadow Heart in a linen cloth between her jaws.
"Yes, I made Ka swear oaths, and I will let him possess me until further notice." Amelia said. Marco sighed.
"Well, if anyone were to be trusted, it would be you, but Sabre warned me a long time ago when we were friends that Ka were not to be trusted. If you let him possess you, be safe." Marco said under his breath. Amelia let her body absorb Ka.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
[Another] Part Three
Inside, there were ghosts dressed in spiritual robes, definitely phantoms that died long ago. The ghosts took no heed of King, but he stepped around them carefully anyway. He had to scream three times before he could get over his fear.
The next room wasn't much better.
Gold, crystals, rubies, diamonds and other minerals of value were scattered at his paws, beckoning him to step on them. Only, the big ones were screaming "Don't touch me!" and the little ones "Embrace me!" King was confused, and avoided them altogether. He couldn't help but cry out in confusion.
And the next room was even more disturbing.
King saw himself in the room, holding a knife and killing young kits in a basket, lips blood-caked. Blood was spread on bread, blood was in jars, blood was slowly becoming a monster that seemed more phantom than monster. Just as the monster groped for him, he was in another dreadful room. King screamed.
This time, Greely was here.
Greely was staring at his paws, ignoring everything in the room full of goodies. King walked around Greely, threw pies in his face, slashed Greely until his claws were bloody, but Greely kept muttering the same thing:
"Oh, dear, I should have cut my claws today...insanity and greed...order and balance...Amelia and me...Harper and Marco...Love is insane...Spill the blood, Admiral! Get the orb!"
King had no idea what Greely was doing, but he didn't have time to ponder the matter.
And another room loomed above King, but now he was at a crossroads. He was about to run for Momma as shadows crept along the walls, laughing, when a rugged wolf appeared in the doorway to his right, staring at him.
King found himself following the wolf into a small antechamber, where a tapestry and a pure orb sat under the cloak of darkness.
"King, anyone unworthy of forgiveness would be insane by now. I am proud that finally somebody can stand such torture, and you may be purified by this orb..." the wolf said, smiling. King hadn't felt that tortured, but he took it as a trophy anyway.
He was skeptical, after hearing Crazy Greely in the last room, but he smashed his face into the glass.
King was in the Township, but now everyone was chanting his name.
"King, King, King."
He felt proud, and smiled to the sun as all of Jamaa lifted him up on their shoulders, and King thought:
Maybe scamming isn't that good after all.
The next room wasn't much better.
Gold, crystals, rubies, diamonds and other minerals of value were scattered at his paws, beckoning him to step on them. Only, the big ones were screaming "Don't touch me!" and the little ones "Embrace me!" King was confused, and avoided them altogether. He couldn't help but cry out in confusion.
And the next room was even more disturbing.
King saw himself in the room, holding a knife and killing young kits in a basket, lips blood-caked. Blood was spread on bread, blood was in jars, blood was slowly becoming a monster that seemed more phantom than monster. Just as the monster groped for him, he was in another dreadful room. King screamed.
This time, Greely was here.
Greely was staring at his paws, ignoring everything in the room full of goodies. King walked around Greely, threw pies in his face, slashed Greely until his claws were bloody, but Greely kept muttering the same thing:
"Oh, dear, I should have cut my claws today...insanity and greed...order and balance...Amelia and me...Harper and Marco...Love is insane...Spill the blood, Admiral! Get the orb!"
King had no idea what Greely was doing, but he didn't have time to ponder the matter.
And another room loomed above King, but now he was at a crossroads. He was about to run for Momma as shadows crept along the walls, laughing, when a rugged wolf appeared in the doorway to his right, staring at him.
King found himself following the wolf into a small antechamber, where a tapestry and a pure orb sat under the cloak of darkness.
"King, anyone unworthy of forgiveness would be insane by now. I am proud that finally somebody can stand such torture, and you may be purified by this orb..." the wolf said, smiling. King hadn't felt that tortured, but he took it as a trophy anyway.
He was skeptical, after hearing Crazy Greely in the last room, but he smashed his face into the glass.
King was in the Township, but now everyone was chanting his name.
"King, King, King."
He felt proud, and smiled to the sun as all of Jamaa lifted him up on their shoulders, and King thought:
Maybe scamming isn't that good after all.
A Part Two
King awoke in paradise.
Literally.
A lush temple around him grew bursting plants, with not-so-faded marks in the stone. Scents of rare and exotic flowers drifted in his nose by breeze, and the temperature was just perfect.
Evil may have lurked here before, as there were a few phantom corspes hanging from the trees, but everything was at ease. A river flowed nearby, the insects and birds sang in harmony, and the grass seemed to form a bed around King. A few birds-of-paradise looked down in his eyes, which he found creepy.
"Where am I?" King asked his newfound friends.
"In the Lost Temple Of Mira,of course!" a bird that had two large forehead plumes squawked. The other birds nodded.
"I thought that Jamaa Township was Mira's temple!" King complained, but the birds shushed him.
"Yes, it is sacred to the Sky Mother, but this is a temple the Alphas still have yet to show to the public!"the birds said. Somehow, Elvanto had implanted knowledge of Mira in his mind, despite his fuzzy mind. King's mind was full of questions, but first he wanted to explore. So he got up, and went out a crumbling doorway.
The birds made no attempt to stop him, and started preening as if nothing had happened.
King saw many various plants and animals, along with a lily lake and a crumbling courtyard with various buildings and artifacts scattered around.
If you had read the Mira Gate, those events happened a long time ago, and since then the place has grown lusher and less tainted by the years. Today, it is known as the Paradise Party's location. The well is just where the Timekeepers once stood, as they had crumbled away to nothing.
Suddenly, Elvanto's voice came back just as King was enjoying himself.
"Since you have sinned in the Jamaa Township, Greely asked me to embark you on a mission. I agreed. Follow the bane, and retrieve the orb..."Elvanto said, but the breeze swept his words away.
Probably an old enchantment that prevented any phantom contact, King thought. A silver coin dropped from the sky, and it landed on his fur, and melted into his flesh. Suddenly, King felt a desire to go into the most intact building in the forest. So he went in, and discovered quite a fright.
To be continued...
Literally.
A lush temple around him grew bursting plants, with not-so-faded marks in the stone. Scents of rare and exotic flowers drifted in his nose by breeze, and the temperature was just perfect.
Evil may have lurked here before, as there were a few phantom corspes hanging from the trees, but everything was at ease. A river flowed nearby, the insects and birds sang in harmony, and the grass seemed to form a bed around King. A few birds-of-paradise looked down in his eyes, which he found creepy.
"Where am I?" King asked his newfound friends.
"In the Lost Temple Of Mira,of course!" a bird that had two large forehead plumes squawked. The other birds nodded.
"I thought that Jamaa Township was Mira's temple!" King complained, but the birds shushed him.
"Yes, it is sacred to the Sky Mother, but this is a temple the Alphas still have yet to show to the public!"the birds said. Somehow, Elvanto had implanted knowledge of Mira in his mind, despite his fuzzy mind. King's mind was full of questions, but first he wanted to explore. So he got up, and went out a crumbling doorway.
The birds made no attempt to stop him, and started preening as if nothing had happened.
King saw many various plants and animals, along with a lily lake and a crumbling courtyard with various buildings and artifacts scattered around.
If you had read the Mira Gate, those events happened a long time ago, and since then the place has grown lusher and less tainted by the years. Today, it is known as the Paradise Party's location. The well is just where the Timekeepers once stood, as they had crumbled away to nothing.
Suddenly, Elvanto's voice came back just as King was enjoying himself.
"Since you have sinned in the Jamaa Township, Greely asked me to embark you on a mission. I agreed. Follow the bane, and retrieve the orb..."Elvanto said, but the breeze swept his words away.
Probably an old enchantment that prevented any phantom contact, King thought. A silver coin dropped from the sky, and it landed on his fur, and melted into his flesh. Suddenly, King felt a desire to go into the most intact building in the forest. So he went in, and discovered quite a fright.
To be continued...
When Marks Teach Lessons
King Majormajor walked around the Township, and suddenly had an idea.
He snuck to Mira's ruined shrine, and changed into ripped robes. Mira's eyes stared down at him with pity, although he swore that her eyes were never like that. King walked back into the township, and collapsed.
"I am poor, send me unwanted stuff!"he cried with his best poor voice. A few Jammers sent some blue Macaws, and cards attached to items rained down on him. King laughed.
"You are foolish, I was scamming! Now may Mira make you even more stupid!" King shouted, and ran. The Jammers made no attempt to catch him, which was unusual for King.
Most of the time his victims chased him screaming "SCAMMER."
He lay under Mira's wings, looking at the sky and his new rares. Suddenly, a voice echoed through the Township.
"King, if you are really a King, then I dare you to climb Mt. Shiveer!" the voice shouted.
"Who are you?" King shouted back. The voice laughed.
"I am the ghost of Elvanto, the wretched Phantom assassin! I dared defy good, and I died at the hand of Harper! My dares cannot be refused...and only those who are truly wretched can hear me, go try."the voice said. A chill went down King's spine, and his paws moved against his will. The voice laughed again.
King's mouth moved against his will as he emerged into the crowd as Jammers chattered like birds.
"Anyone hear that Phantom?" he asked the crowd.
Everyone was silent for a moment, then started laughing.
"You are lying, scammer. Go ahead and climb the mountains!" everyone laughed. King's face turned beet red, and he fled to the mountain against his will, although he would have done it anyway.
King scampered over the thin ice covering a spring, and went up the path, past the slide, past the cave, past the magic boundaries. Suddenly, the weather grew harsher, and yet Elvanto insisted on staying as a tour guide.
"Dis is where the Ram Spirit Stone was destroyed, and now it hangs with a replica in the Shiveer Shoppe and Jam Mart Clothing. Mira was angry, and sent a storm all the way from Cloud Peak. It still rages today."Elvanto said. As if that wasn't obvious.
King kept climbing the mountain, as harsh as the weather could be. Somehow, Elvanto controlled his muscles so that he couldn't turn back.
He could only go forward.
King slipped, and Elvanto made no attempt to hold him up.
Then again, he was just a ghost.
"Argh!"he shouted as he barely got a pawhold on the sheer cliff.
Rocks tumbled down the slope, plunging into the forest below.
"Help!" King shouted, but his claws slipped from the rock, and he was plunged into darkness.
To be continued...
He snuck to Mira's ruined shrine, and changed into ripped robes. Mira's eyes stared down at him with pity, although he swore that her eyes were never like that. King walked back into the township, and collapsed.
"I am poor, send me unwanted stuff!"he cried with his best poor voice. A few Jammers sent some blue Macaws, and cards attached to items rained down on him. King laughed.
"You are foolish, I was scamming! Now may Mira make you even more stupid!" King shouted, and ran. The Jammers made no attempt to catch him, which was unusual for King.
Most of the time his victims chased him screaming "SCAMMER."
He lay under Mira's wings, looking at the sky and his new rares. Suddenly, a voice echoed through the Township.
"King, if you are really a King, then I dare you to climb Mt. Shiveer!" the voice shouted.
"Who are you?" King shouted back. The voice laughed.
"I am the ghost of Elvanto, the wretched Phantom assassin! I dared defy good, and I died at the hand of Harper! My dares cannot be refused...and only those who are truly wretched can hear me, go try."the voice said. A chill went down King's spine, and his paws moved against his will. The voice laughed again.
King's mouth moved against his will as he emerged into the crowd as Jammers chattered like birds.
"Anyone hear that Phantom?" he asked the crowd.
Everyone was silent for a moment, then started laughing.
"You are lying, scammer. Go ahead and climb the mountains!" everyone laughed. King's face turned beet red, and he fled to the mountain against his will, although he would have done it anyway.
King scampered over the thin ice covering a spring, and went up the path, past the slide, past the cave, past the magic boundaries. Suddenly, the weather grew harsher, and yet Elvanto insisted on staying as a tour guide.
"Dis is where the Ram Spirit Stone was destroyed, and now it hangs with a replica in the Shiveer Shoppe and Jam Mart Clothing. Mira was angry, and sent a storm all the way from Cloud Peak. It still rages today."Elvanto said. As if that wasn't obvious.
King kept climbing the mountain, as harsh as the weather could be. Somehow, Elvanto controlled his muscles so that he couldn't turn back.
He could only go forward.
King slipped, and Elvanto made no attempt to hold him up.
Then again, he was just a ghost.
"Argh!"he shouted as he barely got a pawhold on the sheer cliff.
Rocks tumbled down the slope, plunging into the forest below.
"Help!" King shouted, but his claws slipped from the rock, and he was plunged into darkness.
To be continued...
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Creation Of Ook
You may wonder why I'm doing a MonkeyQuest myth, but it is one that I retrieved from the oldest archives of the Chamber Of Knowledge, at the back of the shelf. Those old tomes are really dusty, you know.
This is a tale of Zios, and here is how it goes...
Ook
by Amy Jiao
Zios was not satisfied when he created Jamaa, and snuck off with some of Mira's feathers and a few pieces of Jamaa in the darkest part of the night.
He found an empty patch of ocean far from Jamaa, and started to weave, for he could string thread of the fabric of time as easily as a human may do a Cat's Cradle.
The Crossroads area came first, as a small crater where he cast the first feather. The feather made a small lake, and brought up some lava in a nearby crater where Zios threw the second feather.
Grass and trees grew, and the temples dedicated to Zios's monkey form sprang up. Since Zios was Father Sky, he could become any animal, and so sometimes roamed among the mortals. Sometimes, he would actually fuse with a certain animal, and that animal would be chosen to become an Alpha to guard the Spirit Stones he had made out of his own soul.
Next, Zios created Jade Mountain, where large reservoirs of Jade lay. This time, he created a mostly barren land, but with plenty of rivers, bamboo and Foo pandas, pandas with a larger appetite and a very bouncy fat store under their hide than Jamaasian pandas.
Zios still wasn't satisfied, and made a mountain range, along with small trees to supply wood, the tall mountain of Z'or that ruled them all, and plenty of walruses for meat.
Yet, Zios thought some things were missing. So he created an area where swamps and bogs were common, and the earth's blood seeped up to feed the overgrown plants.
However, Zios liked to do his best, and made a final part of the land.
A beach sprung up with a small island off the coast of the landmass, and he created many ocean animals to roam the bay. At that moment, he named the land Ook, because the land seemed to act like a monkey's land to him.
That was it! The intelligent people of the land would be monkeys! So Zios created monkeys, but they weren't very smart. So instead, he created mystical creatures to evolve into smarter monkeys, and recalled the stupid monkeys back to his mana reserves.
But Apophis was still in the Sea Of Chaos, as Zios hadn't customized Earth much yet, and he was up to no good.
So Apophis broke off a piece of himself, and created Ka, the Shadow Demon. Ka, and his evil minions, haunted the land. and covered Ook with their souls, as the phantoms desire in Jamaa.
Zios was horrified, and broke Ka into a million pieces, and put each of the pieces into a chest, all of which were scattered across the land. Since Zios's land was nearly destroyed by then, he recreated everything, but remade the monkeys, and a chameleon to instruct his next hero, the Monkey King.
Zios was tired, and barely made anything else. He named the chameleon Enzo, and tried to make both the Monkey King and Enzo as much as he could like himself, but both were a tad vain. So he created five monkeys, and placed them in the corners of Ook.
Zios went back to his bed of stars in mixed feelings that night, as he thought over the creation of Ook.
This is a tale of Zios, and here is how it goes...
Ook
by Amy Jiao
Zios was not satisfied when he created Jamaa, and snuck off with some of Mira's feathers and a few pieces of Jamaa in the darkest part of the night.
He found an empty patch of ocean far from Jamaa, and started to weave, for he could string thread of the fabric of time as easily as a human may do a Cat's Cradle.
The Crossroads area came first, as a small crater where he cast the first feather. The feather made a small lake, and brought up some lava in a nearby crater where Zios threw the second feather.
Grass and trees grew, and the temples dedicated to Zios's monkey form sprang up. Since Zios was Father Sky, he could become any animal, and so sometimes roamed among the mortals. Sometimes, he would actually fuse with a certain animal, and that animal would be chosen to become an Alpha to guard the Spirit Stones he had made out of his own soul.
Next, Zios created Jade Mountain, where large reservoirs of Jade lay. This time, he created a mostly barren land, but with plenty of rivers, bamboo and Foo pandas, pandas with a larger appetite and a very bouncy fat store under their hide than Jamaasian pandas.
Zios still wasn't satisfied, and made a mountain range, along with small trees to supply wood, the tall mountain of Z'or that ruled them all, and plenty of walruses for meat.
Yet, Zios thought some things were missing. So he created an area where swamps and bogs were common, and the earth's blood seeped up to feed the overgrown plants.
However, Zios liked to do his best, and made a final part of the land.
A beach sprung up with a small island off the coast of the landmass, and he created many ocean animals to roam the bay. At that moment, he named the land Ook, because the land seemed to act like a monkey's land to him.
That was it! The intelligent people of the land would be monkeys! So Zios created monkeys, but they weren't very smart. So instead, he created mystical creatures to evolve into smarter monkeys, and recalled the stupid monkeys back to his mana reserves.
But Apophis was still in the Sea Of Chaos, as Zios hadn't customized Earth much yet, and he was up to no good.
So Apophis broke off a piece of himself, and created Ka, the Shadow Demon. Ka, and his evil minions, haunted the land. and covered Ook with their souls, as the phantoms desire in Jamaa.
Zios was horrified, and broke Ka into a million pieces, and put each of the pieces into a chest, all of which were scattered across the land. Since Zios's land was nearly destroyed by then, he recreated everything, but remade the monkeys, and a chameleon to instruct his next hero, the Monkey King.
Zios was tired, and barely made anything else. He named the chameleon Enzo, and tried to make both the Monkey King and Enzo as much as he could like himself, but both were a tad vain. So he created five monkeys, and placed them in the corners of Ook.
Zios went back to his bed of stars in mixed feelings that night, as he thought over the creation of Ook.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
The Snake, The Fox, Miroza and the Mask
It was a normal day for Miroza, dreaming of Jamaa and other things. She was watching Zios craft Ook out of pieces of Jamaa when suddenly, a strong gale whisked her spirit off to Mira's resort....Cloud Peak, a mountain overlooking the Lost Temple Of Mira, where the dream gate fed it's well-being. Miroza rarely bumped her dreams against her mother's, in pain and sorrow for her painful life.
Amelia wasn't having a normal day, either.
She was watching the stars outside the Alpha Hut when suddenly, Greely pounced on her wearing a Gothic cloak. The black stunned her for a moment, but then Amelia pinned Greely to the ground. The cloak fell off.
It seemed like Greely had hesitated to pin her and kiss her, because her lovely face seemed to not want wolf slobber all over. Amelia sought out the fault in his pathetic pin.
"Men,"she snarled,"always falling for a pretty face. You ought to go to Cloud Peak and see the true meaning of beauty!" Greely looked shocked, but Amelia gave him a lick anyway, and let him up.
"Greely,"she asked the grey wolf as they both collected themselves,"you don't usually do such things to your girlfriend. Not even Shade experienced this. What on Jamaa is wrong with you?" Amelia looked at Greely's aging face, seeking the smallest crack in his soul for her to see his heart.
"Well, Amelia,"he said after a short period of evaluating what he wanted to say,"I've sensed an abnormal change in Miroza's dreams. We must teleport to Cloud Peak, where all the old Alphas are waiting to be reborn. I hear that the raccoon alpha has been reborn a while ago, and Mira will get him/her to Jamaa...Oh, how Mira erased our memories of the alphas not yet reborn!"
Amelia took Greely with her to Cloud Peak at the word "reborn", but not before letting out a cry to let the other alphas know where she was.
Miroza put her feet on the clouds, and looked up at Mira perched on a throne of dreams from a time long ago.
Mira smiled. Miroza struggled to smile back.
"Daughter, I wish that we saw each other awake...My, have you grown in your sleep! In my dreams, I have created a son from the souls of your guardian kestrels... So, take Zilch the snake to the Lost Temple Of Zios back in the Beta times, and fuse him to the door and his mask to the curtain. Travel back in time with my blessed powers." Mira said, planning out what she wanted Miroza to do.
"Mom, but why? And my own powers are sufficient you know, or even this Zilch we know of." Miroza complained. Mira shook her head.
"No, I'll take the pain for you any day, Miroza. Parents do that, although Zios is a bad parent, not attempting to come back for Zilch, you, and to rid Jamaa of the phantoms." Mira looked hurt talking about Zios, so Miroza put the subject aside.
Just then, Zilch appeared in Miroza's golden talons, wearing a white paper monkey mask. The snake was as wonderful brown, just like wood. Amelia and Greely also appeared, and seeing that Miroza had a job to do, they distracted Mira from the pain of her mana being depleted by chatting with her.
Miroza used the dream gate to travel back in time, back to the Beta times.
Nobody recognized her, as they were teaching the young Jammers about Jamaa. Snowyclaw was somewhere in the crowd, as Miroza could sense the little hero in there.
Miroza crept to the door that would be Brady Barr's lab years later, and fused Zilch there so that he could watch her sleep peacefully. The snake appeared to be a tribute to snakes, as Jamaasians valued all animal species, so the phantoms wouldn't suspect anything.
Next, Miroza fused the mask to the curtain. The mask was the eyes of Zilch, as the door was only an anchor for his spirit.
"Watch my dreams, O' brother."she whispered to Zilch, and the eyes sprang to life, at least deep in the Dreams.
But Miroza wanted a tribute on the marble to remind Zilch who he was to watch. Miroza scraped the etches of her image in the marble, and traveled back to the present to once again watch her dreams.
Amelia wasn't having a normal day, either.
She was watching the stars outside the Alpha Hut when suddenly, Greely pounced on her wearing a Gothic cloak. The black stunned her for a moment, but then Amelia pinned Greely to the ground. The cloak fell off.
It seemed like Greely had hesitated to pin her and kiss her, because her lovely face seemed to not want wolf slobber all over. Amelia sought out the fault in his pathetic pin.
"Men,"she snarled,"always falling for a pretty face. You ought to go to Cloud Peak and see the true meaning of beauty!" Greely looked shocked, but Amelia gave him a lick anyway, and let him up.
"Greely,"she asked the grey wolf as they both collected themselves,"you don't usually do such things to your girlfriend. Not even Shade experienced this. What on Jamaa is wrong with you?" Amelia looked at Greely's aging face, seeking the smallest crack in his soul for her to see his heart.
"Well, Amelia,"he said after a short period of evaluating what he wanted to say,"I've sensed an abnormal change in Miroza's dreams. We must teleport to Cloud Peak, where all the old Alphas are waiting to be reborn. I hear that the raccoon alpha has been reborn a while ago, and Mira will get him/her to Jamaa...Oh, how Mira erased our memories of the alphas not yet reborn!"
Amelia took Greely with her to Cloud Peak at the word "reborn", but not before letting out a cry to let the other alphas know where she was.
Miroza put her feet on the clouds, and looked up at Mira perched on a throne of dreams from a time long ago.
Mira smiled. Miroza struggled to smile back.
"Daughter, I wish that we saw each other awake...My, have you grown in your sleep! In my dreams, I have created a son from the souls of your guardian kestrels... So, take Zilch the snake to the Lost Temple Of Zios back in the Beta times, and fuse him to the door and his mask to the curtain. Travel back in time with my blessed powers." Mira said, planning out what she wanted Miroza to do.
"Mom, but why? And my own powers are sufficient you know, or even this Zilch we know of." Miroza complained. Mira shook her head.
"No, I'll take the pain for you any day, Miroza. Parents do that, although Zios is a bad parent, not attempting to come back for Zilch, you, and to rid Jamaa of the phantoms." Mira looked hurt talking about Zios, so Miroza put the subject aside.
Just then, Zilch appeared in Miroza's golden talons, wearing a white paper monkey mask. The snake was as wonderful brown, just like wood. Amelia and Greely also appeared, and seeing that Miroza had a job to do, they distracted Mira from the pain of her mana being depleted by chatting with her.
Miroza used the dream gate to travel back in time, back to the Beta times.
Nobody recognized her, as they were teaching the young Jammers about Jamaa. Snowyclaw was somewhere in the crowd, as Miroza could sense the little hero in there.
Miroza crept to the door that would be Brady Barr's lab years later, and fused Zilch there so that he could watch her sleep peacefully. The snake appeared to be a tribute to snakes, as Jamaasians valued all animal species, so the phantoms wouldn't suspect anything.
Next, Miroza fused the mask to the curtain. The mask was the eyes of Zilch, as the door was only an anchor for his spirit.
"Watch my dreams, O' brother."she whispered to Zilch, and the eyes sprang to life, at least deep in the Dreams.
But Miroza wanted a tribute on the marble to remind Zilch who he was to watch. Miroza scraped the etches of her image in the marble, and traveled back to the present to once again watch her dreams.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Where The Scarves Venture
These scarves have been left on the racks despite the weather for a while now, as if waiting for the perfect owner. But who placed them there, and why? This story may been more magical than it seems...
Greely had been tampering with the wool scarves for a while now, and was getting tired from mana drainage. Suddenly, though, a red scarf moved, then the white one!
"Scarves, wrap yourself around Otto so he isn't so cold." Greely commanded, but the scarves looked away, if they had eyes.
"Walk over to Otto the elephant to wrap yourselves around him...."Greely growled at the finicky scarves, even going as far to project a memory of Otto to their petty little minds, but the scarves had other plans.
"Wait!"Greely shouted, but it was too late.
The scarves had plopped into the SALE basket of winter clothes Harper had wove from satyr wool, and the owner of the Jam Market absentmindedly picked up the basket and strolled to the rack outside the old castle.
As the scarves were hung on the rack, the owner dropped the SALE label into the snow, and it was never found again. The Jammers awoke the next snow day, and took many of the scarves for themselves. Later, the owner realized that those scarves outside were his, and placed them on the shelves as Jamaaliday scarves. However, the first scarves Greely had enchanted refused to be moved from the rack, and to this day they hang mysteriously outside the castle.
But what was Jam Mart before it became a shop, and why was the Mart owner so absentminded? However, that is a story for another day...
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Puff
The day was young, but the day was already gnarled, as Fate always did.
Every slab of meat the Alphas placed on the board seemed too sour or not tender enough, and Sir Gilbert was repulsed every time he taste-tested the meat. Amelia didn't know what was the best meat to feed a dragon.
"Why can't we just go to Puff?"Peck whined after a few hours of trial and error.
"I guess... let's go to the Forgotten Valley. Mira has detected his presence there,"Lisa sighed. All the Alphas teleported to the valley.
There, Puff was licking his talons free of grass. The Frost Dragon was surprised at the Alpha's sudden appearance.
Lisa held up her paw, and waves of pink light spouted from it. Puff struggled against his bonds as the pink rope held tight to his white body, but soon he tired and slumped.
Each pink rope dissolved into his body, and Puff fell down with a mighty roar, to sleep for all time.
"Where will we keep him?" Harper asked Lisa. A large lump of scales would take up a lot of space, and most of Jamaa's lands were already full. The Forgotten Valley wasn't really a good place, since many animals lived here, and the Ice Palaces of the Coraxese would just leave his family to mourn over his death.
"To the Ice Palaces Of the Coraxese, we have to go, because a warrior lets his opponents pay respects to their dead," Sir Gilbert said, and raced up the mountains to the north. The Alphas had no choice but to follow.
Getting there wasn't a problem. Finding Puff's family was.
Lisa planned to keep Puff back in the valley before she had to summon him, but her energy was slowly drained by trudging through bitter cold snow. Then, a few proud elder dragons stomped lazily out behind a keep. If they hadn't been hunting, they would have squashed the Alphas flat.
"Hellllooo, little onnnnessss."the elders said, half-hissing, half-whispering.
Lisa wasn't scared by their raspy voices, and said bravely,
"We have brought Puff for you, O Mighty Ones," Lisa summoned Puff, and the elders were taken aback.
"You dare hurt our ambasssaador?" the elders growled, their eyes narrowing to slits.
"Uh oh," Marco squeaked. The two elders were oversize, and Marco didn't want to become Marco the Pancake.
Both elders reared up, and more dangerous icefire blasted at mach speed from their mouths than Puff's. Harper used a shield of ice to block it, but she barely held it up during the duration of the blast. Finally, she was able to blast the ice shield into the elder's faces, but it took precious time.
"Fine, we shall bury him alive, and pay respects that someday he shall wake up. However, little Alphas-" the elder hissed the word "Alpha" as if they were scum-"-it is dangerous that you have made such an ancient enemy, and any Dragon cannot forget a rivalry. Go for now, but we shall wreak havoc upon Jamaa!"
On that happy note, the elders blasted the Alphas back to their puny little hut.
Every slab of meat the Alphas placed on the board seemed too sour or not tender enough, and Sir Gilbert was repulsed every time he taste-tested the meat. Amelia didn't know what was the best meat to feed a dragon.
"Why can't we just go to Puff?"Peck whined after a few hours of trial and error.
"I guess... let's go to the Forgotten Valley. Mira has detected his presence there,"Lisa sighed. All the Alphas teleported to the valley.
There, Puff was licking his talons free of grass. The Frost Dragon was surprised at the Alpha's sudden appearance.
Lisa held up her paw, and waves of pink light spouted from it. Puff struggled against his bonds as the pink rope held tight to his white body, but soon he tired and slumped.
Each pink rope dissolved into his body, and Puff fell down with a mighty roar, to sleep for all time.
"Where will we keep him?" Harper asked Lisa. A large lump of scales would take up a lot of space, and most of Jamaa's lands were already full. The Forgotten Valley wasn't really a good place, since many animals lived here, and the Ice Palaces of the Coraxese would just leave his family to mourn over his death.
"To the Ice Palaces Of the Coraxese, we have to go, because a warrior lets his opponents pay respects to their dead," Sir Gilbert said, and raced up the mountains to the north. The Alphas had no choice but to follow.
Getting there wasn't a problem. Finding Puff's family was.
Lisa planned to keep Puff back in the valley before she had to summon him, but her energy was slowly drained by trudging through bitter cold snow. Then, a few proud elder dragons stomped lazily out behind a keep. If they hadn't been hunting, they would have squashed the Alphas flat.
"Hellllooo, little onnnnessss."the elders said, half-hissing, half-whispering.
Lisa wasn't scared by their raspy voices, and said bravely,
"We have brought Puff for you, O Mighty Ones," Lisa summoned Puff, and the elders were taken aback.
"You dare hurt our ambasssaador?" the elders growled, their eyes narrowing to slits.
"Uh oh," Marco squeaked. The two elders were oversize, and Marco didn't want to become Marco the Pancake.
Both elders reared up, and more dangerous icefire blasted at mach speed from their mouths than Puff's. Harper used a shield of ice to block it, but she barely held it up during the duration of the blast. Finally, she was able to blast the ice shield into the elder's faces, but it took precious time.
"Fine, we shall bury him alive, and pay respects that someday he shall wake up. However, little Alphas-" the elder hissed the word "Alpha" as if they were scum-"-it is dangerous that you have made such an ancient enemy, and any Dragon cannot forget a rivalry. Go for now, but we shall wreak havoc upon Jamaa!"
On that happy note, the elders blasted the Alphas back to their puny little hut.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Son Of Heroes
Today was the day the alphas were supposed to lure Puff in. However, Sir Gilbert needed to find Parlan a companion so that he could stay away from the initial battle and be safe while not being bored.
So he went to the Pillow Room, where some Jammers were holding an adoption center.
There, there were crying babies, dogs with broken legs, and even a seal that was living in a cage. Sir Gilbert felt pity for all of them, but he knew that they would all get good homes. He was sure.
In a corner, a snow leopard was playing chess with the mice sadly. However, Sir Gilbert sensed he was special the moment he moved a piece. Instead of reaching a paw out to move the piece by impaling the hole inside the piece on his claw and dropping it, he opened up his paw to let some mist move the piece. His queen went across the board, and helped the rook he already had in place to checkmate the king. The mice squeaked in anger when they saw they lost.
"Young lad, why are you here?" Sir Gilbert asked the small snow leopard. The leopard looked alarmed, and tried to escape to no avail. Gilbert just held him down with a single paw.
" Young one, I am the tiger alpha. You seem to possess some good chess skill there. Say, I have a young apprentice around your age who would like a companion. Would you like to be adopted by one of Jamaa's most important tigers?" Sir Gilbert asked him.
"Uh, sure. My parents were taken by phantoms, I'm afraid they are coming back from the uncharted lands. My name is Zion. Parlan plays chess, doesn't he." Zion said. Sir Gilbert had no idea how he knew Parlan's favorite hobby, but took his scruff in his jaws and carried him over to the cashier and the social worker.
"I would like to adopt Zion, please."Sir Gilbert said, and gave them a thousand gems. He signed some papers with his pawprint, then turned to the seal in the cage.
"Why is the seal in an enclosure?" Gilbert asked the social worker.
"Well, we found this orphan in a circus, but he seemed to like his cage so we brought him over here. Our orphans are treated like family, you know." the social worker said.
Soon, they were back in Sir Gilbert's jungle room, where Parlan was waiting while swimming in the river-themed pool.
"Parlan, this is Zion. Zion, this is Parlan. Now, why don't you too play a match of chess,"Sir Gilbert said. Zion summoned a chessboard, and Sir Gilbert lay on his hammock while watching their heated battle.
So he went to the Pillow Room, where some Jammers were holding an adoption center.
There, there were crying babies, dogs with broken legs, and even a seal that was living in a cage. Sir Gilbert felt pity for all of them, but he knew that they would all get good homes. He was sure.
In a corner, a snow leopard was playing chess with the mice sadly. However, Sir Gilbert sensed he was special the moment he moved a piece. Instead of reaching a paw out to move the piece by impaling the hole inside the piece on his claw and dropping it, he opened up his paw to let some mist move the piece. His queen went across the board, and helped the rook he already had in place to checkmate the king. The mice squeaked in anger when they saw they lost.
"Young lad, why are you here?" Sir Gilbert asked the small snow leopard. The leopard looked alarmed, and tried to escape to no avail. Gilbert just held him down with a single paw.
" Young one, I am the tiger alpha. You seem to possess some good chess skill there. Say, I have a young apprentice around your age who would like a companion. Would you like to be adopted by one of Jamaa's most important tigers?" Sir Gilbert asked him.
"Uh, sure. My parents were taken by phantoms, I'm afraid they are coming back from the uncharted lands. My name is Zion. Parlan plays chess, doesn't he." Zion said. Sir Gilbert had no idea how he knew Parlan's favorite hobby, but took his scruff in his jaws and carried him over to the cashier and the social worker.
"I would like to adopt Zion, please."Sir Gilbert said, and gave them a thousand gems. He signed some papers with his pawprint, then turned to the seal in the cage.
"Why is the seal in an enclosure?" Gilbert asked the social worker.
"Well, we found this orphan in a circus, but he seemed to like his cage so we brought him over here. Our orphans are treated like family, you know." the social worker said.
Soon, they were back in Sir Gilbert's jungle room, where Parlan was waiting while swimming in the river-themed pool.
"Parlan, this is Zion. Zion, this is Parlan. Now, why don't you too play a match of chess,"Sir Gilbert said. Zion summoned a chessboard, and Sir Gilbert lay on his hammock while watching their heated battle.
Sir Gilbert's Race
Sir Gilbert showed his proposal to Lisa.
"You're going to race when we have Puff on our paws?" Lisa asked him like he was a mad-tiger. Sir Gilbert nodded.
"It will build strength, and I want to ask the animals what it feels like to race,"Sir Gilbert told her. Lisa looked doubtful, but signed the contract by dipping her paw in the inkwell and placing it in the "Signature" box. The fresh pawprint on the paper gleamed, and Sir Gilbert could imagine the race trophy sitting right on Lisa's desk. He sighed, and took the paper in his mouth to take to the racemaster.
"So there, you can participate in the Jamaa marathon now,"the ridiculously mustached wolf told him, tail swishing in the air as he turned in his swivel chair. The file cabinet shut quite loudly as Sir Gilbert's application was lost among the other files. The elm desk shook as the racemaster stood on it to make sure Sir Gilbert remembered his rules.
"NUMBER ONE, YOU CANNOT CHEAT." the racemaster yelled at the top of his lungs, even going so far as to stand on two legs. His tuxedo was so ridiculous with his potbelly that Sir Gilbert wasn't intimidated at all. (We will skip the boring lecture the racemaster gave and get to the exciting parts.)
On the day of the race, the animals gathered for the lap around Jamaa. Nobody dared talk to Sir Gilbert, else they could get shushed for disrespect. Red flags were set up around the path so that the runners knew where was the path. Straying off the regular path was a forfeit.
"Onnnnn your mark....geeeeeeet set....Go!"the flagmaster shouted, waving the checkered black and white race flag. Sir Gilbert sped ahead, drawing on the energy reserves in his double-looped ring, and nobody dared challenge him. Only a brave, young tiger sped past him, wearing a jersey with the number 7 sewn in.
They raced past the Jamaa Township river, past the Lost Temple Of Zios southern border, around Crystal Sands (Sir Gilbert waved to his son, Captain Melville), into the sea, around Coral Pathways, past the wolf chasm in Coral Canyons, around Sarperia Forest, past Mt. Shiveer, past the vast grasslands of Appondale and back to Jamaa Township, but the young tiger still kept ahead Sir Gilbert.
Once they arrived at the end, Sir Gilbert was second and only won the silver medal, while the young tiger won a large golden trophy and a marvelous gold medal.
"Mira, why couldn't I beat such a young lad!" Sir Gilbert cursed, and hit the racemaster. The racemaster was too busy stocking up on hot dogs to notice, though.
Sir Gilbert sat down with some pork ribs, and thought as he devoured the juicy meat. Then, he came up with an idea.
Gilbert walked down the bleachers, and went up to the winner.
"What is your name, young one?"he asked the tiger. Stunned that the godly tiger Alpha would talk to a lowly Jammer, the young tiger coughed up his name.
"My name is Parlan," the tiger said. Sir Gilbert nodded.
"Parlan is a handsome name, Parlan. You are quite fast, and I think you should be my apprentice." Parlan looked stunned. Gilbert nodded.
"Yes, my apprentice. Come with me, and I can make you an alpha,"he said, and gave Parlan a small ring. Parlan's fur shimmered, and he shuddered. Sir Gilbert remembered the day he gained immortality, and he couldn't understand the old voice of Zios whispering in his mind, but now he could harness the power well. He hoped Parlan would learn too, and not grow to be like Seth.
"Come, Parlan, you have much to learn. Avenging Mira can be risky business, but if you can be my partner, Jamaa may become a better place. Come with me, and glorious adventures await you," Sir Gilbert said. Parlan's eyes glowed with awe as he saw the other alphas chanting his name, even charming little Indiana.
Melissa
Melissa is a mysterious one of the Coraxese, and she suddenly appeared in the Ice Palaces of the Coraxese one day. Who is the antlered wolf, and what is her story?
The Phantom King watched his subjects carefully, squinting in the bright light streaming down the Zios pit.
"How will we destroy Jamaa?" a war veteran asked him, all his legs in casts. The Phantom King grumbled.
"Last time, Marco destroyed our volcano base, now we have many injured phantoms." The Phantom King grumbled again, making his body vibrate.
He saw the younger phantoms shivering in the bitter cold. A puff of snow fell down, and he got an idea.
"Get the ice troopers out! They will ride the snow, and infiltrate the filthy borders of Jamaa! Get them out NOW!" he demanded. The veteran bowed, and hundreds of ice phantoms appeared at his will, and they dissipated to ride the wind. The Phantom King reached to link arms with the Phantom Queen, and they cackled together as they felt the phantoms ride farther and farther out...
Melissa was bored, bored, bored and bored. She even thought that she could paint Jamaa orange, but that was Peck's idea. Melissa didn't even have charmspeak or any authority that would make the helicopter pilots do her bidding.
She juggled oranges, whacked the palm trees, checked the pots for rainwater, even dove down the cliff into the sea, but nothing was satisfying Then again, being a Coraxese outcast that was overshadowed by Shade, nothing was right in life. The riots had forced her into Coral Pathways, where nobody dared hunt because of the twisters that prowled the land. Besides, there were a lot of oddities in the other Jamaa lands, she would rather hide in a place not accessible by teleporting. Besides, it was a link between Crystal Sands and Coral Canyons, just like she was a link between the Coraxese and the Jamaasians. A puny, simple, link.
Melissa thought she heard something.
"You're not going to get me, twister!" she shouted. No reply.
That was odd for Melissa, since she expected the winds to emerge from the trees and chase her. But instead, her powers as an antlered wolf let her see the frost phantoms riding on snow invisibly. Melissa had to do something, or Jamaa would be destroyed!Besides, something was wrong if she saw snow in the most humid and hot place in Jamaa so far.
"Hey, dingy spiders!" she shouted at the snow.
"Mft?" a frost phantom puffed, and emerged just long enough for Melissa to impale it on her antlers. The essence of the phantom peeled away to rejoin the fabric of time. This angered it's allies, and Melissa ran away laughing. As she wanted, the phantoms followed her.
At that moment, the Alphas were enjoying some time in the Coral Canyons river, playing with the cool water and fishing for harmless fish. Just then, Melissa zipped by with frost phantoms chasing her.
"Did I just see an antlered wolf being followed by frost phantoms?" Graham asked himself. "I must be crazy."
"Well, it is. ALL JAMMERS, STAY INSIDE AND CLOSE THE WINDOWS. LIGHT A FIRE AND KEEP WARM. I REPEAT, ALL JAMMERS STAY INDOORS AND LIGHT A FIRE."Lisa shouted. The Jammers had no idea what she meant, but went to their dens anyway especially since it was bitter cold.
Melissa was pursed by all the ice troopers, and was chased as far north as the Ice Palaces of the Coraxese. There, she made her last stand as an antlered wolf.
As Melissa lay dying, the alphas arrived and finished the frost phantoms off. Even Cosmo's best medicines couldn't heal her, and Graham chanted a spell.
"Melissa, you shall be preserved in rock in Coral Pathways. When trouble is caused here, your spirit will defend the Coraxese." Graham said, and Melissa rose up into the stars, and a new painting was created. To this day, Graham seems to like retelling her story with mist and a campfire.
The Phantom King watched his subjects carefully, squinting in the bright light streaming down the Zios pit.
"How will we destroy Jamaa?" a war veteran asked him, all his legs in casts. The Phantom King grumbled.
"Last time, Marco destroyed our volcano base, now we have many injured phantoms." The Phantom King grumbled again, making his body vibrate.
He saw the younger phantoms shivering in the bitter cold. A puff of snow fell down, and he got an idea.
"Get the ice troopers out! They will ride the snow, and infiltrate the filthy borders of Jamaa! Get them out NOW!" he demanded. The veteran bowed, and hundreds of ice phantoms appeared at his will, and they dissipated to ride the wind. The Phantom King reached to link arms with the Phantom Queen, and they cackled together as they felt the phantoms ride farther and farther out...
Melissa was bored, bored, bored and bored. She even thought that she could paint Jamaa orange, but that was Peck's idea. Melissa didn't even have charmspeak or any authority that would make the helicopter pilots do her bidding.
She juggled oranges, whacked the palm trees, checked the pots for rainwater, even dove down the cliff into the sea, but nothing was satisfying Then again, being a Coraxese outcast that was overshadowed by Shade, nothing was right in life. The riots had forced her into Coral Pathways, where nobody dared hunt because of the twisters that prowled the land. Besides, there were a lot of oddities in the other Jamaa lands, she would rather hide in a place not accessible by teleporting. Besides, it was a link between Crystal Sands and Coral Canyons, just like she was a link between the Coraxese and the Jamaasians. A puny, simple, link.
Melissa thought she heard something.
"You're not going to get me, twister!" she shouted. No reply.
That was odd for Melissa, since she expected the winds to emerge from the trees and chase her. But instead, her powers as an antlered wolf let her see the frost phantoms riding on snow invisibly. Melissa had to do something, or Jamaa would be destroyed!Besides, something was wrong if she saw snow in the most humid and hot place in Jamaa so far.
"Hey, dingy spiders!" she shouted at the snow.
"Mft?" a frost phantom puffed, and emerged just long enough for Melissa to impale it on her antlers. The essence of the phantom peeled away to rejoin the fabric of time. This angered it's allies, and Melissa ran away laughing. As she wanted, the phantoms followed her.
At that moment, the Alphas were enjoying some time in the Coral Canyons river, playing with the cool water and fishing for harmless fish. Just then, Melissa zipped by with frost phantoms chasing her.
"Did I just see an antlered wolf being followed by frost phantoms?" Graham asked himself. "I must be crazy."
"Well, it is. ALL JAMMERS, STAY INSIDE AND CLOSE THE WINDOWS. LIGHT A FIRE AND KEEP WARM. I REPEAT, ALL JAMMERS STAY INDOORS AND LIGHT A FIRE."Lisa shouted. The Jammers had no idea what she meant, but went to their dens anyway especially since it was bitter cold.
Melissa was pursed by all the ice troopers, and was chased as far north as the Ice Palaces of the Coraxese. There, she made her last stand as an antlered wolf.
As Melissa lay dying, the alphas arrived and finished the frost phantoms off. Even Cosmo's best medicines couldn't heal her, and Graham chanted a spell.
"Melissa, you shall be preserved in rock in Coral Pathways. When trouble is caused here, your spirit will defend the Coraxese." Graham said, and Melissa rose up into the stars, and a new painting was created. To this day, Graham seems to like retelling her story with mist and a campfire.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Dragon!
Marco raised the alarm.
He had saw a living, breathing dragon out his window, and it looked angry. The snow-breathing creature's eyes were bright yellow, and it was freezing the hut. Harper was trying to drive it away, Amelia was slashing the icicles and throwing them at it, Lisa was zapping it with light, Sir Gilbert was biting him with jaws of steel, Cosmo was summoning roots to choke it, Greely was becoming darkness to enter the dragon's mind, Keldeo was walking over it with water stilts activated, Indiana was whacking the dragon with bamboo, Peck was painting fire dragons into existence to fight the dragon, Sophia was kicking it, Otto was stomping on it, Ruby was ramming it, Cornelius was biting it, and Edmund was hitting it with his neck, but nothing was working. The penguin egg he had found on the doorstep was growing weaker, and he could barely sustain it.
"Groara!" the dragon shouted, and icefire poured onto the building. The cold fire scorched and froze the hut at the same time, causing large damage. Marco placed the egg in the cooling fire, and launched himself out the window.
"Take this, overgrown lizard!"he shouted, and kicked the dragon with his horned feet. The dragon roared in pain as ichor poured from its ugly hide, and the snow dragon flew away.
"Why did the dragon attack us like that? Northern dragons, the ones that dwell in the Coraxese ice palaces, are calm and composed, only attacking when attacked. That is truly odd behavior!" Cosmo shouted as Sir Gilbert tried to break the ice and Keldeo put out the fire. Mira flapped down from the cosmos, which she hadn't done for a long time.
"Greetings, my Alphas, and today I will tell you why the dragon has come,"she said, and gave Cosmo a few more feathers from her spiritual reserves of plume before preening as she thought of how to put her intelligence.
"Well, I have discovered in my dreams that the Phantom Queen plans to use this wonderful Northern dragon, Puff, as a weapon to destroy Jamaa. However, he seems to be a crybaby, and takes a long time to recover from minor wounds."Mira said.
"Then why didn't the Phantoms pick a different dragon?" Indiana asked Mira.
"You see, all the other Northern dragons fit to battle are too sensible and stuck-up to fall for such a poor bribe, as they award a thousand crowns to whoever destroys Jamaa. That is a poor price for such a lush land, I say. Soon, you should see Puff come back. Then, you capture him and place him in a deep sleep to neutralize Puff, foiling Apophis's carefully laid out plans. Do this quickly, or a glacier will overcome Jamaa, and I cannot prevent such a thing without Zios's aid." The Alphas went back to what they were doing as the hut went back to perfect condition, and Mira flapped away to end her briefing.
He had saw a living, breathing dragon out his window, and it looked angry. The snow-breathing creature's eyes were bright yellow, and it was freezing the hut. Harper was trying to drive it away, Amelia was slashing the icicles and throwing them at it, Lisa was zapping it with light, Sir Gilbert was biting him with jaws of steel, Cosmo was summoning roots to choke it, Greely was becoming darkness to enter the dragon's mind, Keldeo was walking over it with water stilts activated, Indiana was whacking the dragon with bamboo, Peck was painting fire dragons into existence to fight the dragon, Sophia was kicking it, Otto was stomping on it, Ruby was ramming it, Cornelius was biting it, and Edmund was hitting it with his neck, but nothing was working. The penguin egg he had found on the doorstep was growing weaker, and he could barely sustain it.
"Groara!" the dragon shouted, and icefire poured onto the building. The cold fire scorched and froze the hut at the same time, causing large damage. Marco placed the egg in the cooling fire, and launched himself out the window.
"Take this, overgrown lizard!"he shouted, and kicked the dragon with his horned feet. The dragon roared in pain as ichor poured from its ugly hide, and the snow dragon flew away.
"Why did the dragon attack us like that? Northern dragons, the ones that dwell in the Coraxese ice palaces, are calm and composed, only attacking when attacked. That is truly odd behavior!" Cosmo shouted as Sir Gilbert tried to break the ice and Keldeo put out the fire. Mira flapped down from the cosmos, which she hadn't done for a long time.
"Greetings, my Alphas, and today I will tell you why the dragon has come,"she said, and gave Cosmo a few more feathers from her spiritual reserves of plume before preening as she thought of how to put her intelligence.
"Well, I have discovered in my dreams that the Phantom Queen plans to use this wonderful Northern dragon, Puff, as a weapon to destroy Jamaa. However, he seems to be a crybaby, and takes a long time to recover from minor wounds."Mira said.
"Then why didn't the Phantoms pick a different dragon?" Indiana asked Mira.
"You see, all the other Northern dragons fit to battle are too sensible and stuck-up to fall for such a poor bribe, as they award a thousand crowns to whoever destroys Jamaa. That is a poor price for such a lush land, I say. Soon, you should see Puff come back. Then, you capture him and place him in a deep sleep to neutralize Puff, foiling Apophis's carefully laid out plans. Do this quickly, or a glacier will overcome Jamaa, and I cannot prevent such a thing without Zios's aid." The Alphas went back to what they were doing as the hut went back to perfect condition, and Mira flapped away to end her briefing.
Sophia and the Rescue
Sophia was bored.
She had mentored quite a few horses today, but now nobody was becoming a horse. Sophia was just about to go play Jamaa Derby when she heard a cry.
"Save me! Sophia, save me!" a voice cried in her head. Sophia thought it was Galine in her mind again mocking her race, but when she grazed she heard the pleas again, now more desperate. Sophia meditated, tracking down the source of the pleas.
She went past the mountains, past the Forgotten Valley until she reached the far edge of the valley. There, two hungry coyotes were chasing a young colt, who had... (wait, was she dreaming?) a blue mane. Sophia's eyes snapped open, and she ran across the land like a bullet, only pausing to drink from a stream.
Sophia arrived where the coyotes were chasing the colt, and they stopped in their tracks as she picked up one by the scruff, and threw it over the mountain. One coyote down. Sophia turned to the next one as the colt hid behind a bush. The coyote wasn't scared, and lunged. Sophia knocked it away with her hoof.
"We are starving...please, let us eat that colt. The leaf-bare is very hard on us..."the coyote snarled, and Sophia could see that it was as skinny as a rail, skinny for a coyote leader. Sophia shook her mane, and several large cows lay in front of the coyote.
"This will last even a thousand coyotes the entire winter, no matter how much you eat. Take these to your pack, and feast on them all you like,"Sophia said as the coyote took a huge bite. The bite-hole was covered up by skin instantly as it removed its jaws. The coyote smiled her a pretty smile.
"You are generous, pretty one. May the coyotes bless you,"the coyote said. As it lugged the carcasses home, Sophia went over to the colt. The colt was shaking with fear.
"What is your name, young one?"she asked the peculiar colt.
"My name is K-Keldeo,"the colt said. Keldeo had some red feathers stuck in his mane, which Sophia found odd.
"Where are your parents?" Sophia asked Keldeo.
"D-dead. A rockslide crushed them. Will you a-adopt me?"Keldeo said. Sophia gave him some grass.
"Poor one. I am Sophia the horse Alpha, and I will adopt you as my apprentice. Show me what you can do."Sophia told Keldeo in a soothing voice. Keldeo looked confused about the term "Alpha", but he still smiled, and sprayed water from his hooves. He was lifted high above Sophia on water stilts. Keldeo stopped, and fell down gently. Keldeo tossed his blue mane, and Sophia saw that he was a unicorn. The small horn glowed, and elongated into a glowing, brown horn that cut through rock. Sophia smiled.
"Keldeo, come with me to Jamaa, where no animals eat each other and everyone lives happily in a lush land. I will train you, and one day you will become an Alpha. The Alphas protect Jamaa from the evil creatures, Phantoms, and being an Alpha's apprentice is a high honor. Follow me, for you will not regret it."Sophia told Keldeo. His eyes glowed with delight as he trotted into Jamaa Township to see the animals turn, clapping and chanting his name as the bright sun warmed his cheeks.
She had mentored quite a few horses today, but now nobody was becoming a horse. Sophia was just about to go play Jamaa Derby when she heard a cry.
"Save me! Sophia, save me!" a voice cried in her head. Sophia thought it was Galine in her mind again mocking her race, but when she grazed she heard the pleas again, now more desperate. Sophia meditated, tracking down the source of the pleas.
She went past the mountains, past the Forgotten Valley until she reached the far edge of the valley. There, two hungry coyotes were chasing a young colt, who had... (wait, was she dreaming?) a blue mane. Sophia's eyes snapped open, and she ran across the land like a bullet, only pausing to drink from a stream.
Sophia arrived where the coyotes were chasing the colt, and they stopped in their tracks as she picked up one by the scruff, and threw it over the mountain. One coyote down. Sophia turned to the next one as the colt hid behind a bush. The coyote wasn't scared, and lunged. Sophia knocked it away with her hoof.
"We are starving...please, let us eat that colt. The leaf-bare is very hard on us..."the coyote snarled, and Sophia could see that it was as skinny as a rail, skinny for a coyote leader. Sophia shook her mane, and several large cows lay in front of the coyote.
"This will last even a thousand coyotes the entire winter, no matter how much you eat. Take these to your pack, and feast on them all you like,"Sophia said as the coyote took a huge bite. The bite-hole was covered up by skin instantly as it removed its jaws. The coyote smiled her a pretty smile.
"You are generous, pretty one. May the coyotes bless you,"the coyote said. As it lugged the carcasses home, Sophia went over to the colt. The colt was shaking with fear.
"What is your name, young one?"she asked the peculiar colt.
"My name is K-Keldeo,"the colt said. Keldeo had some red feathers stuck in his mane, which Sophia found odd.
"Where are your parents?" Sophia asked Keldeo.
"D-dead. A rockslide crushed them. Will you a-adopt me?"Keldeo said. Sophia gave him some grass.
"Poor one. I am Sophia the horse Alpha, and I will adopt you as my apprentice. Show me what you can do."Sophia told Keldeo in a soothing voice. Keldeo looked confused about the term "Alpha", but he still smiled, and sprayed water from his hooves. He was lifted high above Sophia on water stilts. Keldeo stopped, and fell down gently. Keldeo tossed his blue mane, and Sophia saw that he was a unicorn. The small horn glowed, and elongated into a glowing, brown horn that cut through rock. Sophia smiled.
"Keldeo, come with me to Jamaa, where no animals eat each other and everyone lives happily in a lush land. I will train you, and one day you will become an Alpha. The Alphas protect Jamaa from the evil creatures, Phantoms, and being an Alpha's apprentice is a high honor. Follow me, for you will not regret it."Sophia told Keldeo. His eyes glowed with delight as he trotted into Jamaa Township to see the animals turn, clapping and chanting his name as the bright sun warmed his cheeks.
Cosmo's Academy
Cosmo plucked a flower, and sniffed. Ah, was it good. The flower muttered beautiful songs that he would never forget...
"Um, Mr.Cosmo, aren't we supposed to be shearing the satyr?" his bright student Indiana asked him gently. Indiana was a young koala that didn't like the flowers she was supposed to pick in the fields, and wanted to travel Jamaa looking at exotic plants.
"Yes, I guess that the plants just wanted to sing me a song,"Cosmo said, getting out his silver shears and shearing the wool off the satyr. The satyr bleated. He didn't like shearing goats or the more intelligent satyrs, but he needed the wool to make them fleece jackets to study the red pandas on Mt. Shiveer.
The duo sheared and sheared, letting the wool fall into woven grass baskets. The tropical rainforest, snowy woods, autumn trees and blooming flowers all in the sections around the center fountain danced to the tune of each snip. Cosmo had placed this greenhouse in the back of the alpha hut, where he could divert matter to make it within the redwoods north of Jamaa Township.
Cosmo and his apprentice Indiana could talk to plants, and picked them after asking permission. Sometimes they spliced DNA to make a new plant, but Indiana didn't like this.
"Mira is the one who should breed plants, not mortals,"Indiana always said, and Cosmo agreed, but Mira was too weak to do anything bigger than influencing Jamaasians, so they had to breed plants to supply more food to the growing nation of Jamaa.
After they gathered three baskets of damp wool, they thanked the satyr for his patience, and the satyr wandered into the tropical rainforest. Cosmo and Indiana went into their small "hut" in the rainforest to make wool into proper fleece.
They washed the fleece first, dipped it in pesticides and cleansing water to kill ticks and fleas, then got rid of the pesticide traces on the fleece. They wove it on the spindle to make soft wool, then sowed the fleece to a rag coat and tried them on.
The fleece jackets fit perfectly.
"So what now?" Indiana asked Cosmo. Cosmo led her out, and they walked along the raised wooden walkway around the rainforest, around the autumn woods, and into the snowy forest.
The cold hit instantly, but the fleece made them feel like they were still in the rainforest. Ice specters cackled at their odd jackets, and threw icicles at them, but the magic of Cosmo's paws kept the jackets intact. When they arrived at the blossoming trees, they took the jackets off.
"Time to study the red pandas on the mountain?"Cosmo asked Indiana, in case she wanted some hot cocoa. Indiana smiled.
"Time to go, Mr.Cosmo,"she said. They teleported to the hot spring at top speed.
Lava-heated water was nice, but they had a job to do. As Cosmo prepared the rope down the rocky slope of the mountain, Indiana took off her grass tunic and bathed in the water. She stared at the dinosaur frozen in the ice, back when Mira and Zios made Jamaa from the underwater depths of the sea.
"Cosmo, can we take the dinosaur out?"Indiana asked Cosmo.
"No, young Indiana, because the phantoms revived it from a fossil long ago, and tried to use it as a minion. However, it was weak, and they froze it in the ice. Now, it is strong, and it can destroy Jamaa."Cosmo said. Indiana nodded, and looked at the notes scribbled on the rocks instead.
When the rope was ready, Indiana scrambled to dress, and tied herself to the rope. Cosmo was down below her, but he didn't mind smelling her sweaty paws. Cosmo was talking to the bamboo instead, telling it to bend so that they could see the red pandas. The bamboo bended as if an invisible paw were pulling it down, and the red pandas stared at them with wonder. Indiana was wonderstruck by the cuteness of the pandas, and was so curious about them that she actually listened to Cosmo's blathering about red pandas and bamboo and the delicate existence conjoining them!
"Um, Mr.Cosmo, aren't we supposed to be shearing the satyr?" his bright student Indiana asked him gently. Indiana was a young koala that didn't like the flowers she was supposed to pick in the fields, and wanted to travel Jamaa looking at exotic plants.
"Yes, I guess that the plants just wanted to sing me a song,"Cosmo said, getting out his silver shears and shearing the wool off the satyr. The satyr bleated. He didn't like shearing goats or the more intelligent satyrs, but he needed the wool to make them fleece jackets to study the red pandas on Mt. Shiveer.
The duo sheared and sheared, letting the wool fall into woven grass baskets. The tropical rainforest, snowy woods, autumn trees and blooming flowers all in the sections around the center fountain danced to the tune of each snip. Cosmo had placed this greenhouse in the back of the alpha hut, where he could divert matter to make it within the redwoods north of Jamaa Township.
Cosmo and his apprentice Indiana could talk to plants, and picked them after asking permission. Sometimes they spliced DNA to make a new plant, but Indiana didn't like this.
"Mira is the one who should breed plants, not mortals,"Indiana always said, and Cosmo agreed, but Mira was too weak to do anything bigger than influencing Jamaasians, so they had to breed plants to supply more food to the growing nation of Jamaa.
After they gathered three baskets of damp wool, they thanked the satyr for his patience, and the satyr wandered into the tropical rainforest. Cosmo and Indiana went into their small "hut" in the rainforest to make wool into proper fleece.
They washed the fleece first, dipped it in pesticides and cleansing water to kill ticks and fleas, then got rid of the pesticide traces on the fleece. They wove it on the spindle to make soft wool, then sowed the fleece to a rag coat and tried them on.
The fleece jackets fit perfectly.
"So what now?" Indiana asked Cosmo. Cosmo led her out, and they walked along the raised wooden walkway around the rainforest, around the autumn woods, and into the snowy forest.
The cold hit instantly, but the fleece made them feel like they were still in the rainforest. Ice specters cackled at their odd jackets, and threw icicles at them, but the magic of Cosmo's paws kept the jackets intact. When they arrived at the blossoming trees, they took the jackets off.
"Time to study the red pandas on the mountain?"Cosmo asked Indiana, in case she wanted some hot cocoa. Indiana smiled.
"Time to go, Mr.Cosmo,"she said. They teleported to the hot spring at top speed.
Lava-heated water was nice, but they had a job to do. As Cosmo prepared the rope down the rocky slope of the mountain, Indiana took off her grass tunic and bathed in the water. She stared at the dinosaur frozen in the ice, back when Mira and Zios made Jamaa from the underwater depths of the sea.
"Cosmo, can we take the dinosaur out?"Indiana asked Cosmo.
"No, young Indiana, because the phantoms revived it from a fossil long ago, and tried to use it as a minion. However, it was weak, and they froze it in the ice. Now, it is strong, and it can destroy Jamaa."Cosmo said. Indiana nodded, and looked at the notes scribbled on the rocks instead.
When the rope was ready, Indiana scrambled to dress, and tied herself to the rope. Cosmo was down below her, but he didn't mind smelling her sweaty paws. Cosmo was talking to the bamboo instead, telling it to bend so that they could see the red pandas. The bamboo bended as if an invisible paw were pulling it down, and the red pandas stared at them with wonder. Indiana was wonderstruck by the cuteness of the pandas, and was so curious about them that she actually listened to Cosmo's blathering about red pandas and bamboo and the delicate existence conjoining them!
Awakening The Bane
Amelia awoke on a bamboo cot. Greely stared down at her, with a normal Greely expression on his face.
"Greely! You're alive!"Amelia shouted, tackling him in a bear hug. As usual, she punched the night out of him, and he coughed up a star.
"Jeez, Amelia, when will you ever learn?"Greely grumbled, but Amelia knew he wasn't angry. She smiled innocently.
"Let me fill you in on what happened since I was reborn,"Greely said, his face turning dead serious. Amelia listened carefully.
"Zios locked me in the cage, but Cosmo managed to get me out of the case after you came back. Sir Gilbert yanked you too hard, and you fell into a deep sleep for a week. However, since I was reborn from your heart, I will die shortly afterward you die. Be careful, Amelia, especially since we have no descendants Seth is dead, you know."Greely warned her. Amelia shuddered.
"Well, true love always ties with a destiny bond in those old Jamaa romance movies,"Amelia said.
"And after that, both lovers die. I'm serious, Amelia, be careful out there. The destiny bond still works reverse, if I die again, you will be plunged into insanity."Greely said, his tone growing more serious. Amelia nodded. With that happy note, Greely merged with the shadows as he went over the plans. Greely always did that since he was already partly insane...
"Greely! You're alive!"Amelia shouted, tackling him in a bear hug. As usual, she punched the night out of him, and he coughed up a star.
"Jeez, Amelia, when will you ever learn?"Greely grumbled, but Amelia knew he wasn't angry. She smiled innocently.
"Let me fill you in on what happened since I was reborn,"Greely said, his face turning dead serious. Amelia listened carefully.
"Zios locked me in the cage, but Cosmo managed to get me out of the case after you came back. Sir Gilbert yanked you too hard, and you fell into a deep sleep for a week. However, since I was reborn from your heart, I will die shortly afterward you die. Be careful, Amelia, especially since we have no descendants Seth is dead, you know."Greely warned her. Amelia shuddered.
"Well, true love always ties with a destiny bond in those old Jamaa romance movies,"Amelia said.
"And after that, both lovers die. I'm serious, Amelia, be careful out there. The destiny bond still works reverse, if I die again, you will be plunged into insanity."Greely said, his tone growing more serious. Amelia nodded. With that happy note, Greely merged with the shadows as he went over the plans. Greely always did that since he was already partly insane...
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Greely...
Amelia was angry. Very angry.
Since Apophis had killed Greely, she had vowed to bring him back despite what punishment Zios may lay on him for stealing Shade from his possession. Mourning his death wasn't enough, and she had to consult Harper instead of Greely now for her magic needs, which Harper didn't do as well. Once, she had prescribed a floral perfume for Peck, only for it to dye her rainbow for a week. Or was that a prank? Amelia decided to never get another perfume from Harper's vanity mirror. Her mother was just as sly, sometimes her mother would slip a sprinkle of bad-taste dust into someone's drink.
Otto was grateful for Greely's sacrifice, but otherwise the Alphas decided that they needed to piece back together his heart for revival. Amelia was ready for the quest to find his heart pieces.
"Remember the locations: Coraxese Ice Palaces, Temple Of Zios, Coral Canyons, and the Land Of the Dead. Only you can retrieve them since you are the second closest to his heart (Shade doesn't listen to any alpha except Greely, and he is dead), so do NOT bargain for anyone to retrieve them for you. Got it?" Lisa told her. Amelia nodded, and suddenly was in the pit Miroza had been hidden.
The glinting ruby shard was at the bottom, glowing with Greely's memories of his life in the pack. Amelia took it, and it shuddered. She slid it into her heart for safekeeping.
"That was easy,"she said. Suddenly, a wave of heat came over her. She was dug out, and Amelia felt the breath of summer heat on her neck.
"...and you chose now to come, Firetail..." Amelia muttered, rolling her eyes at how she thought she had found the piece so easily. Shade and Melissa were shredding Firetail's tail feather, but otherwise she had no helpers. Seth was shooting Firetail with shadow bonds to slow him, but they only aggravated Firetail. Amelia squirmed, and turned to bite Firetail's jaws. Bone cracked, and she heard the howl of the Firetail, dropping her into the snow. Amelia twisted, kicked Fireail in midair, and was whisked to where Greely's pack lived.
Amelia landed on a rock where Greely had seen the moonwatcher, and saw some scarred wolves slinking toward her, eyes full of joys and sorrows of hunts long ago. The alpha male emerged from the shadows, mouth streaked with caribou blood. Amelia decided that Greely's cousins loved caribou a lot.
"Why are you here, phantom-slayer and traitor-love?" he growled. Amelia was shocked by his barbaric language. She thought all Jamaasians talked English, not the old language they spoke when getting used to English.
"I have come to retrieve his heart shard,"Amelia said boldly. The male alpha threw back his shaggy head in a hoarse laugh, and she now saw his teeth were yellow and sharp, bloodstained from battle.
"He left us, my brother! Greely is a traitor, and one day he woke up shimmering like a god! The next day, he was gone! You are nothing but a scrap of his life, pretty one, and my name is Sentol. I am his brother, and phantom-slayer, I shall blast my wretched revenge on you!" the alpha cackled. Amelia guessed with that taunting voice and ugly scars, he would never woo a female alpha until he died and was replaced by a better successor. The pack cowered in fear as they got ready for battle on the red rocks..
Sentol was clearly rabid, so Amelia had no trouble to enter his swollen mind to control him, although she had to avoid his jaws. Such a wolf should have been fed to the bears when he was a pup, as Greely had told her.Amelia managed to turn him away using her mind every time he lunged with those foaming jaws, but she couldn't get a blow in either.
"Foxes are such pussycats!" Sentol snarled."They bathe in the sun all day on Giant Jamaasian Mushrooms, and pay no heed to us poor packs! Die, scum!" Amelia clawed him, and blood spilled on the rock. Greely's pack lived in the canyon below the rope bridges of Coral Canyons, where the rock was as fragile as coral, so Amelia had to avoid the crumbling rock. Some said that the rock spirits talked to them. Amelia believed no such tale, otherwise she would have heard the voices as an alpha.
Amelia bit his dirty hide, and Sentol howled in pain. However, he scratched her neck before he fell down the canyon in a bloody heap. The mists of the deep void below swallowed him, and Amelia swore she heard Moon eat him, as the Coraxese knew Moon lived in the canyon at day and climbed up the sky at night. Amelia was openminded, and decided after Shade died that the sky was big enough for Cithara, Firetail, Moon, Mira, Zios, Moko and Apophis alike.
The world went woozy, and Amelia fell unconscious from her bleeding.
Amelia woke being claw-fed (impaling food on a clean claw, then inserting in mouth carefully) cactus mush. There was a grassy hill somewhere to the south of the canyon, where the pack did all their hunting. There, Lentias the dark wolf shaman of the pack dwelt, doing dark magic to lure prey in. It was there the legends of dark wolves emerged...
"You're quite young for an alpha," was all her caretaker said to her when she woke. Amelia realized that it was Lentias himself. She remembered more.
Sentol was the omega, and he naturally hated Greely for Lentias's attention. He had forced the alpha, Orikan, to venture down into the mists, never to return. Eroko, the pack beta, committed suicide afterwards for his loyalty to Orikan, eating grass that he had used as a toilet for years. Lentias restricted Sentol's forced rule (he had Orikan swear an oath to let him become alpha after Eroko in public) by infecting Sentol's mate with rabies and making her bite him, but Sentol lengthened his survival time by drinking one of Lentias's failed rabies cures. After that...well, Amelia wrote pack history that moonwatchers would howl about for years to come. Amelia's vision came into focus.
A shaggy, black wolf that looked a bit like Seth and Greely mashed together looked at her, scars from being seared by Zios when he did magic. Amelia guessed he did magic a lot, because his skull was misshapen, his growth was erased so that he looked like an eight-mooner, Lentias's claws were barely sharp enough to cut tofu, and every patch of fur that wasn't smoking from recent magic had scars on it.
"Amelia, Sentol forced me to hide the bit of Greely's heart we received in the hill, but I've retrieved it. Here, have this for taking down Sentol. The new alpha and beta are Medenkon and Boras."Lentias said in a young voice that sounded a few hundred years younger than his appearance. He ate some cactus mush, and handed Amelia another glowing red piece of Greely's heart.Amelia put it through her flesh like it was Jell-o. Amelia winced as she felt a bit of cactus mush fall out of her rib cage.
"Sorry, Amelia, my claws are mush-stained. Good pup Leko brings me mashed cactus every day to sustain my life, since I have no apprentices or successors. Greely was going to be mine, but he left. I also like krill shipped from the ocean." Lentias said, licking his lips.Amelia got up, crawled out of the narrow burrow, and stepped onto fresh,green grass. Flowers danced among the blades of grass, and the fresh canyon wind was refreshing. Caribou grazed silently on the hill, drawn to some sweet scent, and a few pups including Leko stared longingly at their prey. Amelia, however, was thrown into darkness as she was whisked away to another shard.
Amelia arrived in the small rock shelter Shade had once lived in. Little trinkets and doodles hung on the walls, caked with old dust. The two rocks had Greely+Shade
etched with a sharp claw on them, but the words had been covered with moss. Birds and trees were abundant in the jungle covering the temple, but they stopped around a ring of blood near the cave. The blood was of Shade's, mixed with Greely's tears, both so full of grief that no living thing could live beyond it.
"Where is the stupid shard???"Amelia muttered as she pushed aside Seth's pup toys. After hours of searching, she found a glowing red shard with the ancient dark wolf legends acting out in it. She inserted it into her heart, not before blowing off the dust it landed in, and walked outside. Nothing happened.
Amelia was about to teleport back to the Alpha hut to ask for someone to cast the spell to enter the Land Of the Dead, but then she heard a hissing noise. Was Apophis near? A club spike, then a smelly foot, then a bell-shaped solid head appeared. A troll.
The troll reeked like a mountain of dirty gym socks, with yellow blank eyes, and a leather hide sort of toga-thing. The ears had aplenty of ear hair, and earwax poured from them more often than Amelia would like. Amelia used a spell to block her nose from the stink, and to protect her from smelling like the troll. Amelia stripped its skin off, and beheaded it. Smelly flesh, blood and organs spilled everywhere, and the smelly head of the troll landed on the bloodline. Amelia winced at the dissipation of the troll. She charged through the forest, and broke through behind the Temple of Trivia.
Amelia went to the river, and drank from the murky depths despite the mythical poison flowing in it. Her wards would protect her from Miroza's memories and Zios's tears. Suddenly, a wind swept her off her paws, sweeping her upward, upward, upward...
Amelia landed on the empty shore of the stars, and a sparkling star bridge in front of her formed over the Milky Way as she got used to being high above Earth. Amelia blew with all her might, and was blown past the dead spirits,- you can describe what the land of the dead looks like, since it caters to your beliefs, but check the Greely And The Dead stories if you are baffled-, right into the gates of Zios's palace. The floating mask was playing poker with a shabti, also playing chess with it at the same time. Without paws, Zios used the air to bend the pieces and cards to his will, which many specters did, making Amelia feel uneasy.
"What?"he growled at Amelia as he froze the shabti midmove. Zios was grumpy today, so Amelia asked him where Greely was nicely. Zios didn't seem happy, but told her:
"Look for the cage of bronze, and take him before the tubes suck his being out,"Zios told her angrily. Amelia was suspicious of what he meant.
Amelia walked down a new corridor Zios had revealed in the wall, and she went down it. However, Amelia vowed for revenge as soon as she saw Greely.
Greely was in a cage if bronze ice, and still a statue. Plastic tubes dug into his casing, bloody water flowing out of him. Amelia yanked the tubes free, and smashed the cage to pieces, chanting a quick spell to send him into his room, where she could revive him.
"Zios, Father Sky, and Creator-Of-Cosmos, I curse you to lose every poker AND chess game you ever play!"she shouted. Amelia was plunged into a sleep as Sir Gilbert yanked her back to Jamaa with magic.
To Be Ended...
Since Apophis had killed Greely, she had vowed to bring him back despite what punishment Zios may lay on him for stealing Shade from his possession. Mourning his death wasn't enough, and she had to consult Harper instead of Greely now for her magic needs, which Harper didn't do as well. Once, she had prescribed a floral perfume for Peck, only for it to dye her rainbow for a week. Or was that a prank? Amelia decided to never get another perfume from Harper's vanity mirror. Her mother was just as sly, sometimes her mother would slip a sprinkle of bad-taste dust into someone's drink.
Otto was grateful for Greely's sacrifice, but otherwise the Alphas decided that they needed to piece back together his heart for revival. Amelia was ready for the quest to find his heart pieces.
"Remember the locations: Coraxese Ice Palaces, Temple Of Zios, Coral Canyons, and the Land Of the Dead. Only you can retrieve them since you are the second closest to his heart (Shade doesn't listen to any alpha except Greely, and he is dead), so do NOT bargain for anyone to retrieve them for you. Got it?" Lisa told her. Amelia nodded, and suddenly was in the pit Miroza had been hidden.
The glinting ruby shard was at the bottom, glowing with Greely's memories of his life in the pack. Amelia took it, and it shuddered. She slid it into her heart for safekeeping.
"That was easy,"she said. Suddenly, a wave of heat came over her. She was dug out, and Amelia felt the breath of summer heat on her neck.
"...and you chose now to come, Firetail..." Amelia muttered, rolling her eyes at how she thought she had found the piece so easily. Shade and Melissa were shredding Firetail's tail feather, but otherwise she had no helpers. Seth was shooting Firetail with shadow bonds to slow him, but they only aggravated Firetail. Amelia squirmed, and turned to bite Firetail's jaws. Bone cracked, and she heard the howl of the Firetail, dropping her into the snow. Amelia twisted, kicked Fireail in midair, and was whisked to where Greely's pack lived.
Amelia landed on a rock where Greely had seen the moonwatcher, and saw some scarred wolves slinking toward her, eyes full of joys and sorrows of hunts long ago. The alpha male emerged from the shadows, mouth streaked with caribou blood. Amelia decided that Greely's cousins loved caribou a lot.
"Why are you here, phantom-slayer and traitor-love?" he growled. Amelia was shocked by his barbaric language. She thought all Jamaasians talked English, not the old language they spoke when getting used to English.
"I have come to retrieve his heart shard,"Amelia said boldly. The male alpha threw back his shaggy head in a hoarse laugh, and she now saw his teeth were yellow and sharp, bloodstained from battle.
"He left us, my brother! Greely is a traitor, and one day he woke up shimmering like a god! The next day, he was gone! You are nothing but a scrap of his life, pretty one, and my name is Sentol. I am his brother, and phantom-slayer, I shall blast my wretched revenge on you!" the alpha cackled. Amelia guessed with that taunting voice and ugly scars, he would never woo a female alpha until he died and was replaced by a better successor. The pack cowered in fear as they got ready for battle on the red rocks..
Sentol was clearly rabid, so Amelia had no trouble to enter his swollen mind to control him, although she had to avoid his jaws. Such a wolf should have been fed to the bears when he was a pup, as Greely had told her.Amelia managed to turn him away using her mind every time he lunged with those foaming jaws, but she couldn't get a blow in either.
"Foxes are such pussycats!" Sentol snarled."They bathe in the sun all day on Giant Jamaasian Mushrooms, and pay no heed to us poor packs! Die, scum!" Amelia clawed him, and blood spilled on the rock. Greely's pack lived in the canyon below the rope bridges of Coral Canyons, where the rock was as fragile as coral, so Amelia had to avoid the crumbling rock. Some said that the rock spirits talked to them. Amelia believed no such tale, otherwise she would have heard the voices as an alpha.
Amelia bit his dirty hide, and Sentol howled in pain. However, he scratched her neck before he fell down the canyon in a bloody heap. The mists of the deep void below swallowed him, and Amelia swore she heard Moon eat him, as the Coraxese knew Moon lived in the canyon at day and climbed up the sky at night. Amelia was openminded, and decided after Shade died that the sky was big enough for Cithara, Firetail, Moon, Mira, Zios, Moko and Apophis alike.
The world went woozy, and Amelia fell unconscious from her bleeding.
Amelia woke being claw-fed (impaling food on a clean claw, then inserting in mouth carefully) cactus mush. There was a grassy hill somewhere to the south of the canyon, where the pack did all their hunting. There, Lentias the dark wolf shaman of the pack dwelt, doing dark magic to lure prey in. It was there the legends of dark wolves emerged...
"You're quite young for an alpha," was all her caretaker said to her when she woke. Amelia realized that it was Lentias himself. She remembered more.
Sentol was the omega, and he naturally hated Greely for Lentias's attention. He had forced the alpha, Orikan, to venture down into the mists, never to return. Eroko, the pack beta, committed suicide afterwards for his loyalty to Orikan, eating grass that he had used as a toilet for years. Lentias restricted Sentol's forced rule (he had Orikan swear an oath to let him become alpha after Eroko in public) by infecting Sentol's mate with rabies and making her bite him, but Sentol lengthened his survival time by drinking one of Lentias's failed rabies cures. After that...well, Amelia wrote pack history that moonwatchers would howl about for years to come. Amelia's vision came into focus.
A shaggy, black wolf that looked a bit like Seth and Greely mashed together looked at her, scars from being seared by Zios when he did magic. Amelia guessed he did magic a lot, because his skull was misshapen, his growth was erased so that he looked like an eight-mooner, Lentias's claws were barely sharp enough to cut tofu, and every patch of fur that wasn't smoking from recent magic had scars on it.
"Amelia, Sentol forced me to hide the bit of Greely's heart we received in the hill, but I've retrieved it. Here, have this for taking down Sentol. The new alpha and beta are Medenkon and Boras."Lentias said in a young voice that sounded a few hundred years younger than his appearance. He ate some cactus mush, and handed Amelia another glowing red piece of Greely's heart.Amelia put it through her flesh like it was Jell-o. Amelia winced as she felt a bit of cactus mush fall out of her rib cage.
"Sorry, Amelia, my claws are mush-stained. Good pup Leko brings me mashed cactus every day to sustain my life, since I have no apprentices or successors. Greely was going to be mine, but he left. I also like krill shipped from the ocean." Lentias said, licking his lips.Amelia got up, crawled out of the narrow burrow, and stepped onto fresh,green grass. Flowers danced among the blades of grass, and the fresh canyon wind was refreshing. Caribou grazed silently on the hill, drawn to some sweet scent, and a few pups including Leko stared longingly at their prey. Amelia, however, was thrown into darkness as she was whisked away to another shard.
Amelia arrived in the small rock shelter Shade had once lived in. Little trinkets and doodles hung on the walls, caked with old dust. The two rocks had Greely+Shade
etched with a sharp claw on them, but the words had been covered with moss. Birds and trees were abundant in the jungle covering the temple, but they stopped around a ring of blood near the cave. The blood was of Shade's, mixed with Greely's tears, both so full of grief that no living thing could live beyond it.
"Where is the stupid shard???"Amelia muttered as she pushed aside Seth's pup toys. After hours of searching, she found a glowing red shard with the ancient dark wolf legends acting out in it. She inserted it into her heart, not before blowing off the dust it landed in, and walked outside. Nothing happened.
Amelia was about to teleport back to the Alpha hut to ask for someone to cast the spell to enter the Land Of the Dead, but then she heard a hissing noise. Was Apophis near? A club spike, then a smelly foot, then a bell-shaped solid head appeared. A troll.
The troll reeked like a mountain of dirty gym socks, with yellow blank eyes, and a leather hide sort of toga-thing. The ears had aplenty of ear hair, and earwax poured from them more often than Amelia would like. Amelia used a spell to block her nose from the stink, and to protect her from smelling like the troll. Amelia stripped its skin off, and beheaded it. Smelly flesh, blood and organs spilled everywhere, and the smelly head of the troll landed on the bloodline. Amelia winced at the dissipation of the troll. She charged through the forest, and broke through behind the Temple of Trivia.
Amelia went to the river, and drank from the murky depths despite the mythical poison flowing in it. Her wards would protect her from Miroza's memories and Zios's tears. Suddenly, a wind swept her off her paws, sweeping her upward, upward, upward...
Amelia landed on the empty shore of the stars, and a sparkling star bridge in front of her formed over the Milky Way as she got used to being high above Earth. Amelia blew with all her might, and was blown past the dead spirits,- you can describe what the land of the dead looks like, since it caters to your beliefs, but check the Greely And The Dead stories if you are baffled-, right into the gates of Zios's palace. The floating mask was playing poker with a shabti, also playing chess with it at the same time. Without paws, Zios used the air to bend the pieces and cards to his will, which many specters did, making Amelia feel uneasy.
"What?"he growled at Amelia as he froze the shabti midmove. Zios was grumpy today, so Amelia asked him where Greely was nicely. Zios didn't seem happy, but told her:
"Look for the cage of bronze, and take him before the tubes suck his being out,"Zios told her angrily. Amelia was suspicious of what he meant.
Amelia walked down a new corridor Zios had revealed in the wall, and she went down it. However, Amelia vowed for revenge as soon as she saw Greely.
Greely was in a cage if bronze ice, and still a statue. Plastic tubes dug into his casing, bloody water flowing out of him. Amelia yanked the tubes free, and smashed the cage to pieces, chanting a quick spell to send him into his room, where she could revive him.
"Zios, Father Sky, and Creator-Of-Cosmos, I curse you to lose every poker AND chess game you ever play!"she shouted. Amelia was plunged into a sleep as Sir Gilbert yanked her back to Jamaa with magic.
To Be Ended...
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