By: ToeClaws
| The air inside the tribe console cover was populated with thin trails of smoke, left from the heating fire that had been set against the chilly night. The smokes trails swirled in turbulent spirals as Massic’s giant form paced through them. He held a claw to his scaly chin, thinking, while he paced in front of the silent counsel. The counsel consisted of 7 members of the tribe, each handpicked by Rothar as one with strong leadership skills. They watched their ruler, silent, awaiting his thoughts on their plan against the Hethren.
| His deep voice, suddenly filling the silent chamber, snapped everyone’s attention to him. “Even if we can move behind them with one group, there are more than three times as many of them as us. I don’t doubt our skills as warriors, but even a warrior cannot fight too many on his own.” He paced back to the table in the centre of the room, and placed a claw on a map line. “They have but one path exiting their village to the south, and one to the north, amongst these cliffs.” His claw slid upward and tapped on another line. “If we are to overcome the evil vermin, we must lure them to us in smaller numbers.”
| A round looking Zagoran named Leethan posed a question to his chief. “How would we achieve that sir? If they see us coming, the will surely remain in greater numbers, laying in wait for us. If we use the plan and attack at night, they won’t see us until it’s too late.”
| “Too late for who Leethan?” Massic’s yellow eyes locked with Leethan’s, who took a step back at his leader’s loud response. “Whether they spot us right away or not, they are still many times our numbers, and we would have to penetrate their village walls to the centre to even reach them. How well do you think we would do when they close the gate doors and bear down on us with spears?”
| Leethan lowered his head and nodded “Of course Sir, your foresight is greater than mine, I withdraw my plan.” He made a small bow to Massic, then stood back with the rest of the counsel.
| Massic looked to the other faces for a moment, seeing if there were any other ideas, then proposed his own. “Along the northern path, our runners saw that they have a small dam constructed to serve as a water reservoir for the village.” The Zagoran leader’s claw tapped on a point of the map. “Do any of your remember the sudden rains of four seasons ago?”
| The counsel nodded and another of them, a small (small being only around 6’2”) but wiry looking lizard by name of Geff stepped forward and spoke “Of course, it flooded much of are hunting lands, but I remember many of the Hethren died when their dam burst and flooded the village.”
| The look of recognition for Massic’s idea was spreading like wildfire in each of the counsel’s eyes. Massic nodded slowly “Yes… exactly. Why foolishly place our chests at their feet when we can let Sioleth take care of them itself!” Massic began running his claw along the path of the stream until it reached the marking indicating the Hethren village. “It can work for us in two ways. First, we can send a small and stealthy party to the damn at night, where they can work at loosening its structure, just enough so that it leaks badly. The Hethren guard posted there will see it in the morning, and run for help from the village. They will send at least a dozen to repair it, fearing a break. When they are there, we finish them and break the damn open as quickly as possible. Not suspecting anything, the village will be flooded unexpectedly, and many more of them will die.”
| Geff smiled his approval. “Brilliant Sir, but if there are any left, will they not come for us here?”
| “I’m quite certain of that Geff, but half of us will remain here.” Massic pointed a claw at their village, then traced a perimeter about it. We will have our spears ready for them as they come, and Rothar will be able to close the thorn bushes about us as before. They will not have the numbers left to break through.” Massic lifted the three-fingered hand away from the map, and looked at each of his counsel. “So what say you all?”
| They all began to hiss, and nod - their way of applauding, in a sense. Each wore a satisfactory smile, and after a moment, there was silence again. “Good night to you all then, we will begin preparations in the morning.” Each nodded and wished their leader well as they retired to their covers for the cool night. Massic stopped with a hand on his shoulder. “Geff, please tell Rothar of our plans before you head to your cover for tonight.”
| Geff nodded “I will Sir. Umm.. Massic, what exactly was Rothar taking with him into his cover tonight? It looked like a hairless ape that wore clothes.”
| Massic turned and went to the big meeting table, where he began to extinguish the oil lamps. He spoke while working “A human, so it claimed… and yes it spoke. It came through the gate during our offerings. Rothar believed it to be from the another realm, and sent to us with reason.”
| “Is it safe for Rothar to be alone with it?” Geff was scratching his chin in confusion.
| “Quite safe, I think.” Massic turned and faced Geff again, and held up his massive foot, wiggling the claws on his toes ever so slightly. “Nearly crushed him with this just by pinning him down. Human’s seem to be a weak bread, whatever they are.”
| With that, Geff made a small bow. “I guess there’s no worry. I will tell Rothar of your plans, good night.” Trotting briskly across the cool night sand, Geff made for Rothar’s cover.
***
| Eric had just finished his meal. Rothar called it Jeilnesh, and it was apparently some sort of bush rodent. Whatever it was, it tasted great! He had also made some sort of vegetable that had the texture of a potato, but tasted more like corn. Eric was quite relieved that the meal was not only edible, but also tasty as he had thought that he might get something still moving on his plate! “Rothar, that was excellent…thank you again for the meal.”
| Rothar smiled and nodded “As I said, we seekers learn many things. I’m glad you like it.”
| The large wooden door echoed with a sudden knocking, which startled Eric. Rothar looked up from his plate, then stood. He went to the door and opened it to see who had come. Standing in the doorway was a smaller Zagoran - just slightly taller than Eric. “Ah Geff, do come in. You bring word from the counsel, I imagine?” Rothar motioned Geff in with his hand.
| Geff entered and seated himself at a chair by one of Rothar’s reading tables. “Aye - a new battle plan against the Hethren that is sure to wipe out their village.” Geff looked over at Eric with a quizzical gaze, then back at Rothar.
| “Our new friend here is probably as confused as you are about him.” Rothar picked up another chair and brought it over near Geff, seating himself with a good view of both his guests. “This is Eric McColm, a human from a realm called Canada. He came through the gate at the offering.”
| Geff looked back at Eric, getting a good look from head to toe of the strange new creature. The human was clothed in strange materials, and wore some sort of armour on his feet that laced up the front. He slowly nodded “Well then… I am Geff, counsel member and aid to Massic. I often see to things when he is not in attendance at the village.”
| Eric did his best to be cordial. “Nice to meet you sir. If neither of you mind me asking, what exactly are the Hethren - I keep hearing them mentioned and other than the obvious such as them being your enemies, what are they?”
| The human’s speech was surprisingly good to Geff. It seemed hard to fathom that a creature much like an ape could learn such sophistication as a complex verbal language. “Remarkable - you speak as well as any of us.” Geff beheld the human a moment longer before shaking his head as if to clear the awe.
| Rothar turned his pale gaze to Eric and tried to explain, despite Geff’s staring. “The Hethren are one of the scores of evil cast upon Sioleth that we must confront. They are the fiercest foe our kind has yet faced. If ever a plague had form, the Hethren would be it. They move in tribes, as we do, but they plunder the land of all its bounty - crops, wood, animals, even us, when they first appeared.”
| Eric nodded in acknowledgement “But what are they - are they reptiles like you? Something different?”
| Geff looked slightly offended by the question. “Ha… like us. I would hardly say those... things are like us.”
| Rothar looked back at Geff; his pale gaze unnerving even to his fellow lizard. “I’m sure that’s not what Eric meant - his question was of species, not mentality.” He smiled and looked back to Eric “I’ll try to give you as accurate a description of them as I can. It would be easier if I had one of your pictures to show of them.” Geff raised a scaled brow, wondering what Rothar meant. “They are reptiles… of a sort, at least. Their forms are far more twisted than ours. Their scales are black and shiny, and they have sharp claws just before every main body joint. They have wings, though they are too small for flight. Their heads are more elongated than ours, and they stand more on their toes at their feet - like a cat.” Rothar lowered his voice a little “Perhaps the most disenchanting aspect is their eyes - blood red, glowing faintly within their night-like faces.”
| Eric felt a tingle traverse his spine. They certainly sounded evil - even a bit daemon like. Despite his misgivings, he still found a thought momentarily lingering on what their feet must look like. Geff sighed and rapped a claw on the table a couple of times “Yes - that’s them. Unlike the evils of the old, they are more sophisticated - thinking creatures. They build villages and structures, and use them in their depletion of Sioleth.”
| “For many generations have we fought against them - tribes that dot the land, as we do, and for many years have we pushed them back, but now things are beginning to change.” Rothar stood and walked over to a water skin near the stove that he had laid down earlier.
| Eric watched his wonderful soles rise and fall for a moment, then darted his head back to look at Geff. “Why are they changing? By the sounds of things, your kind has fought for many generations and always won, or you likely wouldn’t be here now. What’s different this time?”
| Geff met Eric’s gaze, still working out in his head what to make of the human creature, who was certainly as inquisitive as Rothar. “It’s not this one time that is different, it has been the last few generations in which things are changing. Since the Hethren, our kind has had to devote much of our time to the Right of Sioleth, lest we be overrun and defeated by the foul creatures. In the relentless strive to eliminate their evil, our young become fewer every generation, since there is less and less time to tend them.”
| Rothar returned with 3 silver mugs, and filled each with water. He corked the water skin and returned to this chair. Eric shook his head in disbelief “So you’re basically fighting so much that you can’t have kids around.”
| Geff and Rothar looked at each other a moment with a confused look on their brow. Rothar looked back at Eric “A strange term for young ones, if that’s what you meant, but yes - that will likely be our undoing, if we cannot change the tides of things.”
| “Does that mean that everyone fights - males and females in your tribe? That no one’s left to raise young ones?” Eric jumped at the sudden laughter from the Zagoran.
| “Females!” Geff managed to get out through a deep-throated laugh. “What kind of beasts do you think we are? Hahaha!” He leaned back in his chair, and held a claw to his scaled belly in laughter.
| Rothar was chuckling too, through not quite to the extent of Geff. “Eric, heh heh… I didn’t know humour was another of your strengths!”
| Eric looked from one to the other, rather confused. “Umm… it wasn’t meant to be funny guys… don’t you have any females here?”
| The laughing faded abruptly, and Rothar suddenly looked ashamed “You have females… in Canada?”
| Geff was still smiling, but was saying nothing. Eric nodded slowly to Rothar “Um… of course we do. How else could we have… young ones.” He felt like slinking of his chair with the look of shock both lizards gave him.
| No sooner than it had stopped, Geff started snickering again “By the Right, he’s not joking! Hahaha!”
| Rothar ended the snickering with a loud slap of his clawed hand on the table. “Geff! This obviously means our views on gender are wrong - Eric is obviously no beast!” Geff seemed almost frozen as Rothar’s angered gaze seemed to hold him in place. Rothar held his stare a moment longer, than looked at Eric in a more apologetic way. “Forgive us Eric, but we had thought only beasts had gender - that higher creatures were freed of gender and its limitations.”
| Eric rubbed between his brows and held his head a moment as if trying to fathom the concept, then looked back to Rothar “Okay… there’s no females, so exactly how do you have young ones - is that another use of Jantra?”
| Rothar at least smiled, glad that they had not greatly offended Eric. “No no… Jantra cannot create life, just aid in it. When two Zagorans care enough for one another, they mate and bond by Dar Souljeth’s law. When bonded, they may decide to have young ones, usually taking turns with the births.”
| Whoa! Okay… they must just stick it to each other. Weird! Eric lingered on the thought a moment longer, then remembered that a good number of species on Earth were asexual. Perhaps they had evolved here on a greater level than gendered species. “Um… I… see, well… how do I refer to you then? Do I use he, she, him, her?”
| “Him and he would be fine - I suppose that’s what we’ve always used” said Rothar. He lifted the cup to his mouth and took a couple sips of water, then sat the cup back on the table, returning his gaze to Geff. He sat, quietly now, not daring to bring about Rothar’s angered eyes again. “Geff, tell me of Massic’s plans so that we can all part for the dream realm this night.”
| Nodding, Geff began to lie out Massic’s plan to eliminate the nearest Hethren village. Eric thought it was quite good - leading them astray and forcing them into corners from which there was no escape. It sounded simple, but neither of the Zagorans seemed to be enthusiastic about it. Eric listened for a time, then leaned back in his chair, finding it hard to concentrate when a glimpse down revealed Geff’s Feet crossed under the table just below him. They were a little smaller than Rothar’s, but still wonderful to behold. On one leg, a thick leather shin guard extended from ankle to knee cap, and seemed to add a decorative effect to Geff’s feet.
| “So it is done then - we prepare tomorrow Eric.” Eric’s head snapped up to meet Rothar’s gaze. “For now, let us soon walk the dream realm.” The pale-eyed Zagoran turned to Geff and rose from his chair.
| Rising as well, Geff extended his clawed hand, and Rothar took it - each clasping the other’s forearm. “I’ll see you with the counsel tomorrow’s midday. May the realm be peaceful and revealing this night.” He turned from Rothar, nodded at Eric, and left.
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