-Chapter I-

 

     

 

 

    She found him by the water.

 

 

 

      The sounds of the creek rested against her filling the home of her inside.  Warm summer's sun cascaded itself about, cradling the blue-green aura with releasing rays of sunshine.  White lines spread themselves around in majestic sighs reminding the three tadpoles on the left side that they were not alone, seeing her through the gloss and darting underneath an old willow tree's roots.  She released it torwards the bow of the tree with a soft smile as it sprinted out of her hand into the luscious brown mud.  The cloud it formed quickly dissolved itself with the wash of cold, crystal water found on the morning sun's catch of stream hue.  Her eyes, too, were dark with quiet regard.  Moss of child's breath lined the quicksilver banks holding itself up against the mist, cool soft rainbows forming and disappating.  Each color rested itself into her skin with tranquil dissulution, touching, and the passing.  A trout scouted out beneath a large piece of quartz with a conglomeration of slate and shale beneath it.  This formed a relatively large natural swimming hole which it took for granted, grabbing a lazy baby dragonfly in its wake.  Its underbelly flashed a quick silver resting color of silent brilliance before retreating to the bottom.  Hmmmmm.  It, too, knew that she was there.  It gradually climbed to the top edging closer to her left leg, kissing her toe with a sudden nip causing her to laugh before pinching its tail between her toe and fourth finger toe.  Equilibrium carried it over above its liquid, clear cave where she effortlessly caught it in her hands.

 

   "Be good."

 

   The sun's rays brushed the rainbow from it, with a patch of cloud. Bowing to the temptation, the trout relaxed under her hold.  Letting it rest on one palm, she brushed its underbelly counting the scales then slowly returned it to the creek surface.  It sunk a little  in stillness, then darted to the left going upstream towards a small patch of everin moss which held a relatively comfortable rest area out of eyes view.  In the distance a krehkwhol released its song in various chatters and high-low harmonies.  It was getting warmer.  As if in affirmation of her thoughts, it flew overhead continuing its melody on down the waterside, spreading news in tongue cheek.

   Krehkwhols, unlike ravens or crows, had their beaks extended forward, in a straight line, with no curves to mark its passage.  Although, at first it might appear that it be the latters of such(for their radiant blue-black feathers caused one to misdirect their indentity), they, upon closer examination, had a small sepia birthmark on their left side for females, and an indigo mark on their right for males.  This, with their beaks and chatter(she had even gotten one to say hello, among other things), made them veriably likeable, and sellable, in the Tyzaneth market place, along with rare spices, exotic food, clothing, and Bahklah slave girls from across the border.  They also could become extremely large in size, as most often did.  This one, however, was not.

   Being born the half of spring it spritted about with a carefree attitude, hence returning back up the waterway.  It was not as big as...but perhaps...She called it down from its height from which it came, delivering itself beside her right shoulder.  It held her stare with one short squock and jiggled its throat.

Cute.

   A yellow oak leaf blew around the middle of the rock pool before being rifted upward in the morning heat.  The twist carried it to an onward bank which held some blue traisia sand.  It landed there with a quick flow from a soft sindling sidewind, leaving a small imprint before carrying itself in a half circle towards the foot of an old popular's knarled roots.  The scratch slowly healed itself with deterent certainty, each dark grain falling into the barely visible gap, a small touch at time's end, until only mist inlaid sand lay. 

       He squocked again.

   The leaf passed back over the water, the trout had grown weary of hiding, then lifted itself onto land again.  Hooking in the creak of the popular's root, it whittingly locked a silent barking squirrel out of its home.  In its confusion it sniffed around, checking its scent, and then pushed the corner of yellow.  By now, the fish had reached the center of the pool.  As for the squirrel, it slipped from view with a half chewed acorn, disappearing into its newly found entrance.  After seconds released  themselves from their echoes the little creature bounded from its hole and percieved to do some more 'gathering'.

 

   This time, he chirped.

 

   She caught her breath.  The trout was gone.

 

   There was a man at the bottom of the slate. 

 Eyes closed, lips still, thin naked body with dark brown hair.

   Obviously harmless, if not dead.

 

Releasing her breath after several seconds she peeled off her clothes and slid into the icy, cold water.  It was a long walk home.

 

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      The Empires from the north, last heard from Shagal, through Druhvdall on the Eastern Gates, were moving beyond the borders of the Drehmondes Plains.  It was said that Eirena the Faithful was sacrificing her priestess clan in blind madness, hacking her lifelong friend mates into pieces, drinking their blood and eating the meat raw.  It was also said that the demon hords held once to their domain, were free and plagueing the far neighboring Dwarf Kingdoms and their countrysides.  As it was also whispered in dark corners that all the elves and their Western Forest Kingdoms of Kern, were destroyed, through mynde death, hunting, or burnt to the ground with foul magical fire; slaughtered from their beds on their eve of solstice.  And stranger was the odd scistic green glow coming from the far Southern Kingdoms of Magi, Sorn and Lahc to be seen at night even at this distance.  Or blately even forsakenly still(as if the times changing were not enough) the countless religions springing up brewing death with their forbidden forlorns and dark magics that legends older than time have held to protect in nameless cruelty, springing up in larger cities.  Casual spirits of dried blood.

 

   This did not bother the young boy named Tuhc that much(since those places were many, many secps away from his quiet village) as much as the tall stranger who walked into the Blue Griffin Inn with a hooded cloak about his face and a musty smell of earth.  Sleeping on the ground did have an overkill to it, and since it was nightfall it probably meant bedside manors, perhaps meals, drink, and more than likely stalewart conversation or lack thereof.  This one had the air of silence about him. 

   Shagal was no longer here, gone to The Shaikc Plains last week with armfuls of supplies to help King Ohlen's army in gaurding the lower trench of Dreeh.  The preparation was for many weeks ahead, for the alleged spoken demon hordes that were sweeping down from the North like rapid rainfire on a syp tree - were still mihns away.  But such was the way of the Kingdom of Ohlm, to be equited prepared  for any such disaster, no matter