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Post by Foxpool on Dec 21, 2009 16:44:38 GMT -5
Wolves of the Valley Book One: Hunted Summary: Four wolf packs have lived in a beautiful forest for countless years, undisturbed. However, one day, a strange new creature comes to the forest, standing on two legs, with no tails or fur. They bring with them weapons of rock and bone, as sharp as a wolf's claws. It will take a strong and brave heart to lead the wolves to a new home over the savage mountains of Rulendai. Cover Art
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Post by Foxpool on Dec 21, 2009 17:27:15 GMT -5
~Prologue~
Ripplepelt peered into the snow. Sometimes she saw things in the snow, things from the present or the future. Right now, she was seeing something that made her hackles rise and a chill through her blood.
A strange animal was making its way through the forest. The details were blurry, but Ripplepelt saw that it walked on its hind legs. Could it be a bear standing? They did that sometimes. But no...the creature was raising a strange thing in its paw, a stick with a sharp rock attached. The animal flung the stick, and Ripplepelt watched, helpless, as the stick buried itself deep in the side of a wolf. Blood spattered the night.
Ripplepelt shut her eyes. Still she was haunted by the wolf slumping to the ground, the snow around it turning red. Ripplepelt opened her eyes. I must tell this to Goldenpool! she thought. Turning on her heels, Ripplepelt raced through the forest, paying no heed to the briars that tugged and scratched at her fur. She flew over fallen logs and boulders, paws a blur. Snow was flung up in her wake, and squirrels and other small creatures scampered out of the way. Ripplepelt gritted her teeth, forcing all her energy into speed. She arrived at her camp's pack within minutes. A couple wolves glanced up as she breezed through.
"Where's...Goldenpool?" Ripplepelt panted at the nearest warrior, a solid grey male called Rockclaw. Rockclaw pointed to the leader's den, a cozy niche between two boulders. Ripplepelt quickly rushed to the entrance.
"Goldenpool? I must...speak with you...it's important!" She took deep gulps of air, her sweat-soaked sides shuddering.
~*~
"A healing plant can take many forms," Goldenpool said cryptically when Ripplepelt had finished. Ripplepelt was confused. What did healing plants have to do with a wolf-killer?
"I...don't think I understand, Goldenpool..." Ripplepelt said, shaking her head. Goldenpool smiled and his tail twitched in a brief spurt of amusement.
"You will someday," the leader turned and walked back into the farthest reaches of his den.
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Post by Foxpool on Dec 25, 2009 18:40:41 GMT -5
~Chapter One~
A wolf stumbled through the snow. Blood seeped from a deep gash in his side. I was hit by a Fang Bird*, the wolf thought. The Tail-less One made it fly with its Fang Bird Caster**. The wolf stumbled again. His name? What was his name? Had he had one? Why was the word "H'rashiri" going through his head? Had that been his name? It sounded strange on his tongue. He couldn't remember. All he knew was that he was a pure black wolf with strange eyes, a wound from a Fang Bird causing him to lose strength. He knew of the Tail-less Ones, of Fang Birds, of this word "H'rashiri", and of a beautiful, deadly plant that could also save lives if used correctly. The nameless wolf collapsed in the snow.
~*~
"Shush, Eaglepaw! You'll wake him! And don't touch those cobwebs! You'll open the wound!" a voice said. The nameless wolf blinked open his eyes, and looked into the yellow eyes of a grey wolf with rippling streaks of blue coursing through her pelt.
"Now look what you've done, Eagle--" there was a sharp intake of breath from the rippled wolf. She was staring at his eyes. The nameless wolf sighed. Of course. Everyone stared at his eyes. They were purply-black, but in each one was a strange red chip. They could be deadly in battle, for they transfixed the enemies, allowing the nameless wolf to attack. But they were more beautiful than the brightest summer flower.
"I-I'm Ripplepelt," the rippled she-wolf stammered. "Who are you?"
The nameless wolf froze, then blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
"H'rashiri!" he shouted. Ripplepelt took a step back.
"H'rashiri?" she blinked. The nameless wolf frowned.
"No...I don't think that's it...I can't remember..." he trailed off. Ripplepelt looked at him with sympathy.
"Poor dear. Bad wound you have there. Great loss of blood, and a nasty bump on the head must have caused you to lose your memory. For now, I'll just call you Night, okay?" Ripplepelt smiled. The nameless wolf managed a smile back. So for now, his name was Night. He liked that. It might have been part of his name, once. Shades of Night. That's what he would call himself privately. What was the name of that deadly, beautiful plant? For some reason, Shades of Night connected this plant with himself. But why? Did he share names with it? Was there a plant called Night? Shades of Night twitched his muzzle to clear his head, which was buzzing with thoughts.
H'rashiri... the word whispered in his mind. Calling to him. He remembered this word for a purpose. If only he could remember why. And also, why was he here, in this wolf pack's territory? He'd come for a reason. Why?
H'rashiri... the word whispered again.
*Fang Bird-what Shades of Night calls arrows. **Fang Bird Caster-what Shades of Night calls a bow. Tail-less One-a human.
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Post by Foxpool on Dec 26, 2009 10:44:27 GMT -5
~Chapter Two~
Shades of Night stepped into the sunlight. He'd been with this wolf pack, known as Waterfall, for a week now, and his wound had all healed. He was an apprentice now, and his name was Nightpaw. Shades of Night figured that it would be nicer to call himself Nightpaw, so he stopped calling himself Shades of Night.
"Nightpaw! Goldenpool would like to speak to you!" Rockclaw called to Nightpaw. Nightpaw padde over to the leader's den an poked his head in.
"Yes, Goldenpool?" he asked. The leader was sitting in a beam of sunlight, his golden fur bright and fluffy.
"Do you remember how you were injured?" Goldenpool queried. ightpaw shut his eyes. Would they understand what a Fang Bird was? he thought.
"Well...a Tail-less One threw a Fang Bird at me with its Fang Bird Caster, and although I plucked the Fang Bird out, the wound continued to bleed. I--" Nightpaw was cut off by Goldenpool. "What is a Tail-less One, a Fang Bird, and a Fang Bird Caster?" he demanded. Nightpaw scrunched up his brow, trying to decide a way to describe it.
"The Tail-less One is a strange, fur-less creature that walks on its hind legs. Its claws can move independently, and it has no tail. It has a random patch of fur on its head, but the rest is peachy skin. It wears skins of other animals on its body to make up for the loss of fur, and it hunts prey with Fang Birds. A Fang Bird is a stick with feathers at one end and a sharp rock at the other. The Tail-less One makes it fly with the Fang Bird Caster, a curved stick with a string connecting the two ends of the curved stick. The Fang Birds can travel fast, and bury themselves deep in a wolves' side," Nightpaw added.
"Do you...remember anything else, from when you were stumbling around in the snow?" Goldenpool asked, his face taut with worry at the mention of the Tail-less One.
"I'm sorry...the only things I remember are: I am a black wolf with strange eyes and a wound from a Fang Bird in my side. I remember, for some reason, the word H'rashiri and a deadly plant that is also beautiful, but can save lives if used correctly. I also remember that I was coming near here for a reason, what it was I do not know..." Nightpaw shook his head. Goldenpool was interested.
"A deadly, beautiful plant, you say? Could you perhaps be speaking of nightshade?" Goldenpool's eyes were curious. A jolt rocked through Nightpaw.
"NIGHTSHADE!!! That was my name!" Nightpaw cried.
Goldenpool suddenly remembered his words to Ripplepelt: A healing plant can take many forms... Nightshade was a deadly plant at first glance, but if used correctly, could cure a terrible disease. Was this wolf, Nightshade, meant to heal the four packs? Could it be that this wolf could save them from the worst disease to ever hit the four packs--the disease of Tail-less Ones? Only time would tell...
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Post by Foxpool on Dec 29, 2009 15:21:06 GMT -5
~Chapter Three~
Nightpaw was only an apprentice because he did not know the ways of the four packs. Now he learned everything about their life, and, finally, as flower-time neared, Goldenpool decided he was ready for a ceremony graduating him to warrior. "Wolves of Waterfall!" Goldenpool howled. Wolves came running from all directions, snapping and play-fighting as they went, frisking about in the melting snow. "I stand before you today on the Howlstone to bring you a new warrior!" Howls of cheer rose from the gathered wolves.
"Nightpaw, you have learned well the ways of the four packs and the Wolf Code we live by. Do you promise to defend your pack with your life, and become a member of Pack Waterfall?" Goldenpool asked.
"I do," Nightpaw said solemnly.
"Then from this day forward, your warrior name shall be Nightshade," Goldenpool barked. Nightpaw dipped his head, and Goldenpool lightly nipped his ears, then stepped backward.
~*~
"You must now spend one night in silent vigil on Moonblaze's Pawprint."
Nightshade stared at the frothing river. This was where the river was strongest, and rapids leaped like cubs. In the middle of the river was a rock lashed by the rapids and covered in wet moss. What was strange about this rock was that there was a spot where the rock was hollowed out and filled with soil, and from this soil a tree grew. The tree's roots formed an interesting, dry hollow shaped exactly like the main paw pad of a wolf's foot. No one knew how this happened, so they dubbed the rock Moonblaze's Pawprint.
"I have to swim across that?" Nightshade choked. Goldenpool smiled and shook his head.
"No. Come back at sunset and you will find something interesting has happened."
~*~
Nightshade glanced back at the wolves gathered on the shore, and then ran across the rock bridge connecting Moonblaze's Pawprint to the shore. During the rest of the day, the rock bridge was covered, but at sunset, the water level receded so that the rock bridge rose out of the frothing river. It stayed like that all night, but as soon as the sun rose, the bridge disappeared under the water. Nightshade settled into the dry hollow, from which he could see, farther down the river, it crashed down in thousands of mouthfuls of water in a waterfall that cast shimmering rainbows at dawn. Beyond that, Nightshade could see to the end of the world, the harsh mountains of Rulendai. They rose up tall and forbidding, stretching on in either direction as far as the eye could see. Straight across from the wolf territories, more mountains circled inward. Nightshade thought that maybe those mountains guarded the Spirit World, but when he came to the Packs, they said that the spirits lived at the top of Spirit Mountain. This mountain was taller than any other, and its peak was always hidden in clouds. When those clouds were gone, you could see the peak, very high up and far away, snow blowing off it in the constant wind.
Nightshade wanted to howl at the rising moon, but that would be breaking the vigil. Instead he watched the other territories he could see. The moors of Illusion were easy to spot wolves in, because they went after rabbits. It was hard to miss a wolf streaking across open moor in pursuit of a rabbit. In Shadow territory it was harder. Their pelts were mostly greys and blacks, because their territory was rocky and harsh. Nightshade didn't see any wolves there, but he saw an Illusion wolf go after a rabbit. Nightshade marveled at the other wolf's speed and grace. The rabbit shrieked, and Nightshade winced. A rabbit's death shriek is loud.
Turning again to Shadow territory, Nightshade saw something emerge from behind a boulder. Several somethings, in fact. Nightshade silently crossed the rock bridge and ran back to camp, not howling for fear of giving himself away.
"Tail-lesses are on Shadow territory!" Nightshade whispered in Goldenpool's ear. The wolf sat bolt upright.
"What?!" he barked, a little louder than he meant to.
"Tail-lesses. They are making fire on a rock in Shadow territory!" Nightshade growled slightly on the word "Tail-lesses". Goldenpool stood up and shook himself.
"We must warn the other Packs. Nightshade, you know exactly where these creatures are. You must go fast, and silently, to warn Heatherpool. I will send Ripplepelt to Illusion, she knows the healer there. And Falcondive will go to Lightning. He's the fastest in our pack. Hurry, Nightshade!" Goldenpool urged him.
Nightshade took off into the night, running at top speed, crossing into Shadow territory. He skirted the Tail-lesses, observing them briefly before moving on. They were putting a grouse in the fire! Nightshade curled his lip. Stupid things. Didn't they know that grouse didn't grow back from the ashes like plants?
Nightshade ran on, glancing nervously over his shoulder. Something crunched in the undergrowth. Nightshade ran faster, streaking over the rocky ground like an Illusion wolf. He tried to put the paw-fall pattern out of his head, but it drummed itself into his brain: One-two. One-two. One-two-one-two-one-two!
Great Spirits! Nightshade thought. I'm being hunted!
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Post by Foxpool on Mar 14, 2010 11:59:39 GMT -5
~Chapter Four~
Falcondive sped over the ground, racing along through the brush. The Gathering place was behind him now, and his breath was coming in ragged gasps. He had never ran so fast and hard in all his life. Several hundred yards from Lightning camp, Falcondive was stopped by a patrol. He recognized Dovefoot and Laceheart from the last gathering.
"What are you doing so far into our territory, Falcondive? You look as if Xia herself was chasing you!" Laceheart exclaimed. Falcondive took huge gulps of air.
"I...had...to come...to warn...you...strange...creatures...with no tails or fur...camped in Shadow territory...able to kill a wolf with...Fang Birds..." Falcondive wheezed.
"What's a Fang Bird? Are you playing tricks on us, Waterfallian?" growled a big male with brown and black brindled fur.
"No," Falcondive shook his head, "Fang Birds are long claws that fly through the air! They can kill a wolf from long distances!" he howled. The male raised an eyebrow.
"Darknose, look at him!" Dovefoot snarled. "He has clearly run all the way from Pack Waterfall to warn us of these creatures!" she bared her teeth at the brindled male.
"Calm down, everyone," Falcondive had regained his breath. "Let's not fight. Like I said before, there are these strange creatures that walk on two legs--all the time! Even bears don't walk around like these things do. They wear the skins of mountain lions, because they have no fur except for a matted patch on top of their heads."
Darknose was making a choking barking sound. Then Falcondive realized the other wolf was laughing.
"It's true!" Falcondive protested. Dovefoot ducked her head to the ground and with expert precision, scratched the big footpad of Darknose's paw with her fangs.
"Ouch!" Darknose yelped. "What was that for?!" Dovefoot merely gave him a disapproving glare. Darknose muttered something and went into a stony silence, ignoring Falcondive.
"And they have these...things...these curved branches with spider thread between them, that can be used to throw these straight sticks with feathers at one end and a pointy rock at the other..." Falcondive scrabbled at words to describe what he had heard of. Dovefoot nodded at Falcondive. Laceheart had drifted away with a chuckle or too when Falcondive had first mentioned Fang Birds.
"I will tell Flowerpool your news. Thank you, Falcondive. I would offer you to come speak to Flowerpool yourself, but many of the pack members would not like it, I suspect. Good-bye, Falcondive. Moonspeed!" Dovefoot waved her tail good-bye as Falcondive sped through the trees and out of sight.
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