Chapter One
Lyria the archer of the tribe of Keleth of the world of Daak'rmin
was resting at her campfire on the plains of Sileth when a man rode up on a rheiah, which is like a cross between a large cat and a bear. "Ul'mi, what do you want?" she asked the man, who was her mother's cousin.
"We need your help against a sorcerer! He is lurning our men out of our camp and turning them into reptiles!" he said, in great panic. "Perhaps they are being eaten by wild rheiah's when they leave the camp to relieve themselves." she retorted, not wanting to believe such a story. "We would have seen the bodies and we have not even found a single bone, besides I saw the sorcerer shift one of our men into a reptile at a distance when I was hiding behind a holy spike. (a "holy spike" is a revered rock that juts out of the ground, the sharp spikes were due to a volcanic phenomena.) She looked up at the three moons and swore an oath to the goddess. "Fine, I shall investigate." she said evenly. He gave her a look of relief and rode off to a larger camp to the east. She suspected that the men were hallucinating from the poison plants that would be gathered for the rituals but at the same time she really wanted to see for herself what kind of man could wield such power.
She put out the fire and gathered her few belongings and started across the plains to the now abandoned camp. When she got there, she saw nothing amiss except for the campfire was now simmering in the coals. She checked the D'lmid-hide tents and saw no bodies, not even a crying infant so she guessed that all the women and children fled. She looked for footprints and saw one set that did not match the others, she followed them out of the camp and out into the plains.
The slow and careful hunt, using a torch, lasted all night when she finally came to a set of mountains and cliffs. She knew of several caves there but had never deeply explored them because her people used the caves as tombs and even temples. The sacred temples were always guarded by shaven-headed priests of the goddess and they were known to fight with primitive magics and enchantments. "Perhaps a rogue priest was to blame for this." she said out loud to herself. She peered into one dangerous-looking cave and saw bones of men. 'This must be the killer!' she thought and she went about disguising her location by scrambling up a nearby hill and waited for the killer to return to his lair. She waited until daybreak and then she saw a priest painted entirely in white walk into the cave, and he was carrying a skull of a gar'inga. She silently slid off the rock to confront him but he ignored her and started his ritual. The gar'inga trans-morphed back into a man and just before he delivered the fatal blow, she stopped his hand. "Stop! What madness is this! This is blasphemy to the goddess!" she cried. The priest said nothing and he left. She went to follow him and he stopped by a tree and began a chant. She blessed herself by the goddess expecting that he was going to smite her but he simply ignored her. A man appeared out of thin air and then he changed his chant and it transformed into something else. He stopped and it vanished. "Did you change the men of my village into animals?" she asked the seemingly mute priest. He finally looked at her and pointed his finger to the west. "Laisoon the evil priest did this." he finally said. "Was that your cave?" she asked. "Laisoon's cave." he answered, still looking steadfastly to the west. "Will you join me?" she asked. "You kill Laisoon? No, I cannot kill. Goddess prohibits me from murder but I will trap him instead and when he is trapped he will no longer torment you." he said.
She gave him a confused look. "Can I come with you?" she asked. "I am priest, you are warrioress, you must protect villages and I must do what I do." he said. He gave her a smile and gestured with his old arms. "This way, the journey will not be long." he said. They then began to walk to the west and after some hours of walking past grass and gnarled trees they came to a very deep rock gully canyon where the water had been carving a narrow and winding cut in the land for centuries. She jumped over the gap and she turned to help her old companion over the gap and they both made it over. After walking upstream of the narrow gully canyon they came to a camp and saw an evil-looking man sitting around piles of skulls, both of men and beasts. "Laisoon!" cried the priest. "You are no more!" and the old priest opened a gourd-like flask and the evil priest screamed and a demon came out of the evil priest. The demon seemed to resist as the old priest chanted and threw white dust at the demon until the demon wearied and lost it's form and went into the flask. The priest immediately cast the flask into the fire and a long scream was heard. The "evil priest" got up, as if coming out of a long coma and blinked. "I am sorry grandfather!" he cried and fell at the feet of the old priest. "You are saved from the evil, now return with me and learn the right ways." said the old priest. The other priest got up and destroyed his abominable camp and joined the older priest and Lyria and they came to a great tree. "Farewell." said the old priest simply to Lydia and both priests vanished into the night. "Amazing." she said under her breath. "Goddess" she said as she realized that the priest had left her a gift of two water flasks and some food.
Chapter Two
The King of Mintec was an arrogant man who enjoyed seeing the defeat on the faces of his enemies and he enjoyed the glint of gold and silver even more. His entire city was built from stone, the surrounding wall was ten stories high, all built from square blocks of stone. The farms and fields surrounding the city all belonged to him. One million humanoids dwelt in his city and his men of science were his secret weapon, they worked on new inventions and new weapons, making his city the most advanced on the world. The King had respect for the goddess but he worshiped the other gods as well, although many claimed that the gods were simply outward expressions of the goddess. He had heard the tale of how Lyria of the Keleth tribe witnessed the banishing of an evil spirit and he wanted to speak with her further, he also had another purpose, he wanted to establish friendship with her tribe so he could open a trade route so his merchants could trade for goods with her tribe and in the long run her tribe would become his vassals. He was clever, he never used his army except in self-defense of the city, he used his priests and merchants to expand his realm.
He spoke with his priests and they went out to the plains to seek her. Once they found her, they explained that their King wanted to see her and ask her about the exorcism. She cautiously agreed and went with them. During the journey they asked her about her skills as an archer but she said nothing. Then they pressed her about the goddess and she said alittle and they used that opening to brag about how wealthy and important their city was. "No. the goddess does not care about that. She cares about love and peace." she said, remembering what her mother taught her as a child. The priests were surprised at her retort but said nothing. They came to the city and she was escorted to the Royal Palace where the King and his many wives lived with his many children. The King received her with gladness and put a fancy robe on her back and clapped his hands so that the court musicians would play a light tune to lighten up the atmosphere. She marveled at the court and his power and was surprised to see that he was not like the chieftains and Grandmothers, all of them serious all the time. Her instinct was telling her to be careful around him and she heeded it. "So, you have come to the great city of Xiatong. My great-grandfather was the first King of this city. I am King Mintec." he proclaimed. "You wish to hear of the exorcism?" she asked. "Yes, I do." he said. She recounted every detail and left nothing out. He was fascinated with the story and he began to admit he admired the strength that she projected.
"I am glad to hear that a demon that would have created much suffering for my city is gone." he said. "You have done everyone a great service. By my right as King, you are free to enter and exit the city at any time and I give you the right to own property within the city and you are to be known forevermore as a noble of this city." he said. She was quite surprised that this King was rewarding her for doing her job and she suspected he had a hidden motive. "You wish closer relations with my people O King? Speak with our grandmothers, they rule our tribe. I am merely a warrioress." she said. The King considered this. "Then be my mouth to them, I offer trade goods and medicines." he said. "And I offer many other trade goods besides." he said. "Go now, I shall call for you in the morning." he said, dismissing her. She walked out of the Royal Palace and a woman escorted her to a wealthy house and she was given a bed to sleep in as an honored guest. "Be careful of the King." warned a woman. "He marries all women that please him and the ones who refuse are expelled from the city." she said. "I am a protector of my tribe, I will not marry him." said Lyria simply. "What does the King do to people who murder?" asked Lyria. "They are fed to the Kith'gar. It is a terrible death but the families receive comfort that their tormentor is taken away from them." said the woman. "That is just. This is indeed a wise King." said Lyria. "Thieves are hit in the buttocks with a rod and same with those who create a public riot." said her husband. "The King takes very little in tribute from us and we thrive and grow because of his wisdom." said the man. "I am Gan" said the man. "I am Lasa" said the woman. "I sell fruits in the marketplace and I hire a man to collect the fruits for me from the nearby jungles." said Gan. "I am a scribe." said Lasa. "We have always had writing of some form but because of paper and pens we can now record transactions for the official records." said Lasa. "You work at the Palace?" asked Lyria. "Yes, I also teach the children in the city how to write and do math and keep records. The King has a vision of knowledge and not of war." said the woman, almost radiant with joy. "I am impressed, my people write on skins but we rarely have the chance to use that art because we are busy with survival." said Lyria. "Our city trades in skins, we often need skins for leather." said Lasa. "Then perhaps I can speak with the King about an agreeable trade, our children need medicines. They cough and die because of an unkown illness." she said. Lasa nodded her head in sympathy. "Perhaps our doctors can help, ask the King for such a trade and I know he will say yes." said Lasa.
Lyria appeared the next day before the King and proposed the trade: One hundred skins a month in exchange for doctors and medicine. The King rubbed his chin and said; "Agreed!" and he dismissed her and she left the great city and returned home. When she got back to the main camp, which was arraigned like a giant wheel, she saw that some priests from the great city had arrived ahead of her. She spoke with the aged elders and they nodded at her request. "It is wise to have such a valued friend, although we shall not become his vassals" said the old women. The ruling was final and she spoke with the visiting priests who agreed to take the news back to the King. After that, Lyria took to hunting the predators that stalked the plains and sometimes took the old and weak from the camps. Within the month, a few tradesmen from the city came to the camp and set up their tents, which where better in size and structure and sold their goods from the tents for simple things like animal meat and gemstones. The priests from the great city came to the camp and set up their tents and installed their idols, asking only for food and water donations. Within the year, Lyria was trying to find any excuse to leave the growing camp because the extreme poor of the plains heard of the new prosperity of the camp and the camp was quickly becoming a real town with stone huts and merchant stalls and a real temple and even the grandmothers where built a real hall for government.
Lyria began to wonder why she even met the King to begin with and worried about these sweeping changes that were happening to her tribe. One night, she had a dream, a night vision of the old priest taking her on a journey to a massive and strange city. It had towers and the towers had lights and the sight took her breath away. "This, my daughter is the future. Consider it wisely because we cannot stop it." he said. The dream ended and she went and told the grandmothers about the vision. They believed her, having no reason to doubt her. "The old priest speaks truly. Great change is coming. Our people must never forget who they are or they will lose themselves." said old Fanya, the chief elder of the grandmothers.
The End. (for now)
Lyria the archer of the tribe of Keleth of the world of Daak'rmin
was resting at her campfire on the plains of Sileth when a man rode up on a rheiah, which is like a cross between a large cat and a bear. "Ul'mi, what do you want?" she asked the man, who was her mother's cousin.
"We need your help against a sorcerer! He is lurning our men out of our camp and turning them into reptiles!" he said, in great panic. "Perhaps they are being eaten by wild rheiah's when they leave the camp to relieve themselves." she retorted, not wanting to believe such a story. "We would have seen the bodies and we have not even found a single bone, besides I saw the sorcerer shift one of our men into a reptile at a distance when I was hiding behind a holy spike. (a "holy spike" is a revered rock that juts out of the ground, the sharp spikes were due to a volcanic phenomena.) She looked up at the three moons and swore an oath to the goddess. "Fine, I shall investigate." she said evenly. He gave her a look of relief and rode off to a larger camp to the east. She suspected that the men were hallucinating from the poison plants that would be gathered for the rituals but at the same time she really wanted to see for herself what kind of man could wield such power.
She put out the fire and gathered her few belongings and started across the plains to the now abandoned camp. When she got there, she saw nothing amiss except for the campfire was now simmering in the coals. She checked the D'lmid-hide tents and saw no bodies, not even a crying infant so she guessed that all the women and children fled. She looked for footprints and saw one set that did not match the others, she followed them out of the camp and out into the plains.
The slow and careful hunt, using a torch, lasted all night when she finally came to a set of mountains and cliffs. She knew of several caves there but had never deeply explored them because her people used the caves as tombs and even temples. The sacred temples were always guarded by shaven-headed priests of the goddess and they were known to fight with primitive magics and enchantments. "Perhaps a rogue priest was to blame for this." she said out loud to herself. She peered into one dangerous-looking cave and saw bones of men. 'This must be the killer!' she thought and she went about disguising her location by scrambling up a nearby hill and waited for the killer to return to his lair. She waited until daybreak and then she saw a priest painted entirely in white walk into the cave, and he was carrying a skull of a gar'inga. She silently slid off the rock to confront him but he ignored her and started his ritual. The gar'inga trans-morphed back into a man and just before he delivered the fatal blow, she stopped his hand. "Stop! What madness is this! This is blasphemy to the goddess!" she cried. The priest said nothing and he left. She went to follow him and he stopped by a tree and began a chant. She blessed herself by the goddess expecting that he was going to smite her but he simply ignored her. A man appeared out of thin air and then he changed his chant and it transformed into something else. He stopped and it vanished. "Did you change the men of my village into animals?" she asked the seemingly mute priest. He finally looked at her and pointed his finger to the west. "Laisoon the evil priest did this." he finally said. "Was that your cave?" she asked. "Laisoon's cave." he answered, still looking steadfastly to the west. "Will you join me?" she asked. "You kill Laisoon? No, I cannot kill. Goddess prohibits me from murder but I will trap him instead and when he is trapped he will no longer torment you." he said.
She gave him a confused look. "Can I come with you?" she asked. "I am priest, you are warrioress, you must protect villages and I must do what I do." he said. He gave her a smile and gestured with his old arms. "This way, the journey will not be long." he said. They then began to walk to the west and after some hours of walking past grass and gnarled trees they came to a very deep rock gully canyon where the water had been carving a narrow and winding cut in the land for centuries. She jumped over the gap and she turned to help her old companion over the gap and they both made it over. After walking upstream of the narrow gully canyon they came to a camp and saw an evil-looking man sitting around piles of skulls, both of men and beasts. "Laisoon!" cried the priest. "You are no more!" and the old priest opened a gourd-like flask and the evil priest screamed and a demon came out of the evil priest. The demon seemed to resist as the old priest chanted and threw white dust at the demon until the demon wearied and lost it's form and went into the flask. The priest immediately cast the flask into the fire and a long scream was heard. The "evil priest" got up, as if coming out of a long coma and blinked. "I am sorry grandfather!" he cried and fell at the feet of the old priest. "You are saved from the evil, now return with me and learn the right ways." said the old priest. The other priest got up and destroyed his abominable camp and joined the older priest and Lyria and they came to a great tree. "Farewell." said the old priest simply to Lydia and both priests vanished into the night. "Amazing." she said under her breath. "Goddess" she said as she realized that the priest had left her a gift of two water flasks and some food.
Chapter Two
The King of Mintec was an arrogant man who enjoyed seeing the defeat on the faces of his enemies and he enjoyed the glint of gold and silver even more. His entire city was built from stone, the surrounding wall was ten stories high, all built from square blocks of stone. The farms and fields surrounding the city all belonged to him. One million humanoids dwelt in his city and his men of science were his secret weapon, they worked on new inventions and new weapons, making his city the most advanced on the world. The King had respect for the goddess but he worshiped the other gods as well, although many claimed that the gods were simply outward expressions of the goddess. He had heard the tale of how Lyria of the Keleth tribe witnessed the banishing of an evil spirit and he wanted to speak with her further, he also had another purpose, he wanted to establish friendship with her tribe so he could open a trade route so his merchants could trade for goods with her tribe and in the long run her tribe would become his vassals. He was clever, he never used his army except in self-defense of the city, he used his priests and merchants to expand his realm.
He spoke with his priests and they went out to the plains to seek her. Once they found her, they explained that their King wanted to see her and ask her about the exorcism. She cautiously agreed and went with them. During the journey they asked her about her skills as an archer but she said nothing. Then they pressed her about the goddess and she said alittle and they used that opening to brag about how wealthy and important their city was. "No. the goddess does not care about that. She cares about love and peace." she said, remembering what her mother taught her as a child. The priests were surprised at her retort but said nothing. They came to the city and she was escorted to the Royal Palace where the King and his many wives lived with his many children. The King received her with gladness and put a fancy robe on her back and clapped his hands so that the court musicians would play a light tune to lighten up the atmosphere. She marveled at the court and his power and was surprised to see that he was not like the chieftains and Grandmothers, all of them serious all the time. Her instinct was telling her to be careful around him and she heeded it. "So, you have come to the great city of Xiatong. My great-grandfather was the first King of this city. I am King Mintec." he proclaimed. "You wish to hear of the exorcism?" she asked. "Yes, I do." he said. She recounted every detail and left nothing out. He was fascinated with the story and he began to admit he admired the strength that she projected.
"I am glad to hear that a demon that would have created much suffering for my city is gone." he said. "You have done everyone a great service. By my right as King, you are free to enter and exit the city at any time and I give you the right to own property within the city and you are to be known forevermore as a noble of this city." he said. She was quite surprised that this King was rewarding her for doing her job and she suspected he had a hidden motive. "You wish closer relations with my people O King? Speak with our grandmothers, they rule our tribe. I am merely a warrioress." she said. The King considered this. "Then be my mouth to them, I offer trade goods and medicines." he said. "And I offer many other trade goods besides." he said. "Go now, I shall call for you in the morning." he said, dismissing her. She walked out of the Royal Palace and a woman escorted her to a wealthy house and she was given a bed to sleep in as an honored guest. "Be careful of the King." warned a woman. "He marries all women that please him and the ones who refuse are expelled from the city." she said. "I am a protector of my tribe, I will not marry him." said Lyria simply. "What does the King do to people who murder?" asked Lyria. "They are fed to the Kith'gar. It is a terrible death but the families receive comfort that their tormentor is taken away from them." said the woman. "That is just. This is indeed a wise King." said Lyria. "Thieves are hit in the buttocks with a rod and same with those who create a public riot." said her husband. "The King takes very little in tribute from us and we thrive and grow because of his wisdom." said the man. "I am Gan" said the man. "I am Lasa" said the woman. "I sell fruits in the marketplace and I hire a man to collect the fruits for me from the nearby jungles." said Gan. "I am a scribe." said Lasa. "We have always had writing of some form but because of paper and pens we can now record transactions for the official records." said Lasa. "You work at the Palace?" asked Lyria. "Yes, I also teach the children in the city how to write and do math and keep records. The King has a vision of knowledge and not of war." said the woman, almost radiant with joy. "I am impressed, my people write on skins but we rarely have the chance to use that art because we are busy with survival." said Lyria. "Our city trades in skins, we often need skins for leather." said Lasa. "Then perhaps I can speak with the King about an agreeable trade, our children need medicines. They cough and die because of an unkown illness." she said. Lasa nodded her head in sympathy. "Perhaps our doctors can help, ask the King for such a trade and I know he will say yes." said Lasa.
Lyria appeared the next day before the King and proposed the trade: One hundred skins a month in exchange for doctors and medicine. The King rubbed his chin and said; "Agreed!" and he dismissed her and she left the great city and returned home. When she got back to the main camp, which was arraigned like a giant wheel, she saw that some priests from the great city had arrived ahead of her. She spoke with the aged elders and they nodded at her request. "It is wise to have such a valued friend, although we shall not become his vassals" said the old women. The ruling was final and she spoke with the visiting priests who agreed to take the news back to the King. After that, Lyria took to hunting the predators that stalked the plains and sometimes took the old and weak from the camps. Within the month, a few tradesmen from the city came to the camp and set up their tents, which where better in size and structure and sold their goods from the tents for simple things like animal meat and gemstones. The priests from the great city came to the camp and set up their tents and installed their idols, asking only for food and water donations. Within the year, Lyria was trying to find any excuse to leave the growing camp because the extreme poor of the plains heard of the new prosperity of the camp and the camp was quickly becoming a real town with stone huts and merchant stalls and a real temple and even the grandmothers where built a real hall for government.
Lyria began to wonder why she even met the King to begin with and worried about these sweeping changes that were happening to her tribe. One night, she had a dream, a night vision of the old priest taking her on a journey to a massive and strange city. It had towers and the towers had lights and the sight took her breath away. "This, my daughter is the future. Consider it wisely because we cannot stop it." he said. The dream ended and she went and told the grandmothers about the vision. They believed her, having no reason to doubt her. "The old priest speaks truly. Great change is coming. Our people must never forget who they are or they will lose themselves." said old Fanya, the chief elder of the grandmothers.
The End. (for now)
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