Fantasy Wisps of War

[Casey Jewels]

Kala sat high up in a tree near the outskirts of the Miokee tribe’s territory. Not that she was allowed this far out, and certainly not alone, but that hadn’t stopped her from slipping away from her people, wanting some time alone.

Her back rested against the tree’s trunk, and she stared up through the leafy green branches, to the bright blue sky beyond, and she absentmindedly munched on the fish she had caught from the nearby river. Her parents had married young, had done so as strangers, for the sake of their tribes—and their marriage had resulted in a strong bond between said tribes. Then wasn’t it her duty as a Chief’s daughter to do the same? Ick. Not that she was ready for such a thing.

Kala shook her head, her shaggy brown hair rustling against the tree’s bark. She started at that and swallowed down the bit of fish in her mouth. Oops. Another stupid mistake. Hopefully none of the patrols would catch her scent here later, or she would be getting a lecture about it. Not that she didn’t understand the need for caution—this war had taken her brother’s, Naim’s, life, among many others; she didn’t need to become the next casualty through stupidity.

Still, that didn’t stop her from continuing to sit there, munching on the fish as she stared up at the faraway sky.


--


Anoki slid his hunting knife along the waterstone in even strokes, sharpening the blade. He sat in a green tent, seemingly ignoring the world around him as he focused on the menial task. Outside, a few of his warriors went about their own tasks, though the noise was minimal. They were still within their own territory— Toeluith—but they were drawing near the threefold border.

There was a safer path to the Miokee Tribe, but the Waskin Tribe had been getting quite bold in pushing back against him, so this trip had a twofold purpose—a peaceful visit to Miokee in hopes of persuading them to his terms for an alliance, but also to ensure his border was still secure against Waskin.

He paused in his strokes, to wipe a cloth against the blade, and then he started back up again.

 

[TheSpeck]

As Marco approached Miokee, he let his gaze slide around and examine his surroundings. It was new here, definitely not like a majority of the foxkin tribes, but it wasn't a bad place to be. He lightly swished his tail back and forth slowly, arriving at the entrance with the rest of his group. After explaining their presence and being let by, he continued to search around.

It was probably best if he learned his way around the tribe, since he was going to be there for a while.

 

[Casey Jewels]

The Miokee warrior Keefe broke off from his patrol unit, to join Marco's group as both a guide and a watchdog. Skugga did have an alliance with Miokee, but he certainly didn't trust them, not with how quickly they were known for breaking an alliance. It would be good to keep an eye on them for a bit. His presence would also help to ward off any potential mishaps, letting anyone else from Miokee know these foxkin were part of an allied tribe.

"The forest is pretty dense in these parts," Keefe said. "It's one of the reasons we've been able to survive this long." He grinned at the foxkin, showing off his sharp canines. "It's hard to beat an enemy you can't see."

 

[Hazmat44]

Adl slunk low to the ground on all fours, eyes fixed on the prey before him. Great trees rose around him, knotted trunks scarred with the marks of countless prior tribes, and their green canopies rose high into the sky, muting the sunlight to a dull emerald tint. The ground beneath his paws was swampy, muddied water stretching beneath the trees with nary a fern to send a ripple across their mirrored surface.

With one movement, Adl launched from the water and brought his jaws crashing around the grazing buffalo he'd been watching. It lowed in shock, trying to lunge away, but Adl hadn't eaten in two days. His hunger lent him strength as he wrapped his arms around the buffalo's torso, twisted, and hurled it into a tree.

The buffalo smashed into the trunk with an almighty crash, sending birds in panicked escape from their skyborne homes, and the snap of breaking ribs followed. The buffalo slumped to the ground, hooves weakly pulling at the swamp water as it tried to escape the hungry Ybbr.

Abl loomed over it with a bloodstained grin. Placing his hands on its head, he put one leg over it and planted his feet. With a single, violent motion, he snapped its neck and put the animal out of its misery.

Dusting his hands off, Adl sat himself down and got to eating. There was no point in wasting food or time, especially since that crash had probably alerted unwanted attention.

That was okay. He could eat fast.

 

[TheSpeck]

Noticing a warrior from Miokee approach his group, Marco made his way back in case they were telling them something important. He made it in time to hear what the man was saying, and Marco smiled lightly, though it was hidden under his mask.

"This place is pretty nice, very cozy." Marco said since most of the foxkin warriors were silently judging the Miokee warrior. It wasn't obvious that they were judging, but Marco knew, he was used to being around warriors from Skugga and when they go silent you better know they're judging you.

 

[Rcticwolf]

Jenny wandered the forest looking for herbs to add to her recipes, despite the fact she couldn’t use healing magic like the woman in her old tribe, she still sought to help others. Unlike the healers of tribes, she relied on herbs to do her work, which proved to be a hard thing to learn, however keen senses (and dormant magical abilities) was able to smell which herbs would be useful and which would be harmful. Today’s journey however took her close to one of the other wolf tribes in forest, the Miokee Tribe to be exact, for she was on a delivery to make for one of the tribes healers. She groaned to herself “why do they keep bothering me, don’t these tribes have healers? What do they need my herbal remedies for?” She asked herself as she approached the edge of the tribes territory.

TheSpeck Casey Jewels Hazmat44

 

[Casey Jewels]

Keefe laughed at that, though the sound was low, him not wanting it to carry. "That's the way I used to think of it, when I was younger. A thousand places to explore, to find shelter." His voice grew more serious. "Now it's just a thousand places for an enemy to hide." Not to mention for the Motus Ring to be hidden. He still wasn't sure he believed the Ring had anything to do with his tribe, but what mattered was others believed it--and that they were willing to kill for it.

TheSpeck

 

[Hazmat44]

Adl wiped his mouth clean of the buffalo's blood, lowering himself to the swamp floor once again. Sinking into the mud and water, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. It reminded him of home.

At the thought of the Ybbr tribe, his pleasant expression soured. He'd just remembered why he was out here to begin with.

Rising with a sigh, Adl began caking mud over his fur, pulling great pawfuls of the sludge onto himself. He left nothing uncovered except his eyes and his nose, and in only a few minutes he was utterly unrecognizable; a brown colossus with a vague outline of limbs.

In such a state it was nigh impossible for anything to smell him, which was perfect. Adl went on all fours, lurking through the forest like a giant monster, his slow and predatory gait an unmistakable characteristic of a prime Ybbr.

He knew he was near to the Miokee borders, and knew that sooner or later a group would go out searching for the Ring, the Curing Artifact of the ancient Miokee tribes. Perhaps they and their warriors would have used it for war, but he had no such plans for it.

The Ybbr had suffered from nightmares for decades with no explanation. Whether the spirits of those long dead came to their dreams to remind them of past failures, or whether one's worst fears came to pass in their sleep, no Ybbr had slept a whole night through. It made them impossible to ambush, as over a quarter of the tribe was always awake for some reason or another, but it meant the majority of Ybbr were understandably irritable. And when an eight-foot-tall creature of fur and claw and tail was irritable, few living things felt comfortable conversing with it.

Adl came to the edge of the forest-covered swamp, steadily swimming through the water with nary a sound to mark his passing. He could smell living creature up ahead, and they did not share each other's scent. Miokee... and another tribe. Another party to hunt the Curing Artifact.

They were hunters of the artifact, but he would just as easily be the hunter of them. He would wait for them to find the trail for the Artifact. He would follow from a distance, waiting until an opportune moment.

And if they happened to notice him, well...

His gauntlets were polished and his teeth were sharp. He would likely not win, not against superior numbers. His death would be unfortunate, true, but if he failed to die for the Ybbr, it would be shame that greeted him when he arrived at the Great Tunnel.

He would not be ashamed.