*The old Wolven glances up, and smiles. She beckons Zanya over to a small armchair, near a flickering fireplace. "Come, human, sit and listen. It is a long tale." In a blink, there's a cup of tea on the stand next to the chair.* -- The Library

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Date Posted: 18:47:49 10/28/01 Sun
Author: Sake
Subject: *The old Wolven glances up, and smiles. She beckons Zanya over to a small armchair, near a flickering fireplace. "Come, human, sit and listen. It is a long tale." In a blink, there's a cup of tea on the stand next to the chair.*
In reply to: Zanya 's message, "Walks in..." on 11:46:31 10/27/01 Sat

*Dressed in a flowing cloak of deep, dusty red, the greying female gives the dim room a comfortably secretive mood. "This is a long tail, my friend. You are one of the few humans on this planet - only one has survived from the first days of Terole's colonization. The rest have died." Warm golden orbs regard the young girl before her. "I will tell you the tale of the wars, for it was not only one. And it is not so much a tale of wars, as a tale of Terole's entire life. Listen well." She folds her gnarled hands, and begins.*

"Far back, when Terole was young and governed by Redwood and Oceana, Portals allowed any creature through. Redwood had not yet developed the selective system that eliminated Earthers and their look-alikes from coming to Terole. Terole was populated by various creatures, none evil, but some neared that extreme. However, they were nothing to what was to come.

Black fighterships from another system blew their way through Terole's orbital defenses and began firing upon Terole. The City of Nankampi was the main target and was partially destroyed. Many died in the flames and explosions. Redwood and Oceana were brutally killed, trying to protect their people.

But, soon after the firing began and citizens began to die, several Portals appeared. They transported the survivors to a place upon earth, called the Appalachians. There they stayed for a brief time, until something akin to a miracle happened.

A healer cat there, by the name of Chanu, revealed a hidden Coin of Worlds. With the aid of a Guardian called Collie, it was teleported back to Lavana, Redwood and Oceana's home world, and a sister-planet to Terole. A female Wolven called Kesthi found it, and attempted to convince the Olashi, the only space-faring race on Lavana, to go to save Terole. She failed and went to a Trahe, called Manata, for help. He forcefully called the Olashi's attention to Terole's plight by citing the Oath of the Madren.

Kesthi, meanwhile, became furious with the Olashi's nonchalance and stole a silvership. She was the first to fly into Terolian airspace and begin to fire upon the blackships. Later, more Olashi pilots came, and the battle was long. The last to arrive, Manata, in his redship, helped to end the fight by blowing the connections between the blackships and their homeworld.

The day was won, but Terole deserted and scarred by fire. Portals were sent for the survivors of the battle and for some creatures from a land called Shai, which had been destroyed by evil, to come home. Manata and Kesthi, a very mismatched pair, were ordered to restore and govern Terole for the time being.

They governed for a while, not keeping Terole as strictly controlled as it was under Redwood and Oceana. As a result, evil began to grow, slowly at first, then accelerating.

Then, from Shai's warring land, messages began to come, reporting death and war and fire.... and also, of one who was the true Warden of Terole. After much searching among most Terolian, the Warden was discovered to be the Ela, Sepale. She was given many priveleges, along with some responsibilities. Then, in a visit to the Labyrinth, she met Redwood's spirit. Redwood told her to take charge and she did, basically.

Later, a transmission came in from Lavana (incidentally killing four Terolians with radiation) and told of problems. There were battles breaking out for no apparent reason, and the Olashi had discovered a new planet. They had claimed it and were now fighting against an alien race to keep it. And all pilots were being recalled to action.

Kesthi and Manata left quite soon, after informing Collie, Ace, and Nyx (the three Guardians) and, of course, Sepale of their departure. Sepale was not in the least pleased, as only that night she had become a full adult. But the planet was hers to govern and rule, as Warden. This was the first time Terole had had one single ruler and not a pair.

Very few days later, it happened, the incredible and unthinkable. The old explorer Olashi, she who discovered Terole, Jamie, arrived. She came from a summon, a summon from Redwood's spirit. There was an underlying plot there. It was soon to be spoiled, but first, you must know the plot.

Redwood had heard once that one living can give life to one dead, in exchange for the living to die. She had one cub, only one son, and he had died as well, long before she. She was going to, with Jamie's consent, trade their life-forces so that her son may live again, and when he grew up he could help Sepale rule. But, although Jamie arrived, consented to do this, there was a problem.

In the Labyrinth, where the Change was to take place, was a werefox, a former Shaian, Orion. She immediately offered her life to Redwood, pointing out that Akartis (her cub) had no chance of surviving on Terole without his mother. After a few arguements, Redwood accepted the valiant offer. The Change took place without a hitch, and then Redwood and Akartis were alive, and the discoverer of Terole and the werefox healer are dead, spirits and no more.

Redwood was newly alive again, and Sepale and she were working together, albeit hesitantly on the Ela's part, to govern Terole fairly. No more would there be evil. To Redwood's great disgust, however, Terole seemed to sudden overflow with bipeds. Not only that, but Oceana reappeared.

In the Labyrinth, a black form slunk through the tunnels. No one knew what, or who, it was. Until an attack made it jump into a spot of light - Oceana. Her attacker, a Manitu called Sembar, snarled something about owing him her life. She dodged a few attacks, but was killed. Collie, Canoid Guardian, went into a rage and slaughtered her murderer. Five minutes later... Oceana sat up, very calmly. When greeted with shock, she reminded everyone that, on special occasion, a Night Cat will be instantly reincarnated, and their body healed. It seems that this had happened after the original attack by the blackships, and again here.

Once more, Oceana and Redwood ruled side by side, with the Warden in the background, watching. This peace did not last long. Strife in Lavana called Redwood away many times, and Oceana fell to the habit of solitude. Messages about war in the Tri-System came in almost on a daily basis, and once, Sepale had the horrible timing to be in the 'room' atop the mountain when a message arrived. She was deafened, and sank into something akin to depression.

One day, a ship crashlanded in the Expanse. Redwood, Sepale, Oceana, Collie, Shaekara, and Seleth (an elder ambassador) approached it. Strange beings staggered out, begging for help in removing unconscious companions before the ship exploded. Redwood, the only one visible to the aliens, refused, and simply told them to hurry up. Sepale, however, in her kindness, went to assist, ignoring Redwood's yells. The creatures attacked and killed her. Oceana sprang to assist, only to be captured and hauled roughly inside the ship. The rest of the Terolian group rose and attacked, but the ship lifted off quickly. Several civilians attempted to stop it, two even getting inside before knocked off the ship again. The few creatures left on the ground were slaughtered.

Redwood swore revenge, and soon afterwards left Terole, leaving her full-grown son, Akartis. She did not, however, decide who would lead Terole in her absence, and after much fuss, Collie, Elder Guardian, decided that he and Akartis should balance the duties of leading among the two of them. Akartis was not pleased. A week or so went by without news, not even from the mountain-top receiving station.

Then, the unthinkable happened again. News came to Terole that the blackships were overpowering Tri-System defenses. A call for help was circulated. Immediately, Akartis, Collie, and Seleth -the Canis acting as ambassador- went through a Portal to Raob�, a far-away planet that was honorarily part of the Tri-System. Talking to the Original of the space-faring race there was fruitless, but the younger pilot called Dewyed, who was Of that Line, agreed to send ships and fighters to help out. Returning to Terole, Seleth was proclaimed a wonderful ambassador and the entire planet relaxed a little.

This was not to be the case. Dewyed's forces were many and good pilots, but barely managed to hold back the blackship forces. It appeared that the blackships had allies - the ones who had landed on Terole a month or so earlier. They took the name of the greys, and their ground troops, an entirely different species, were called rocks. Lavana and the other planets of the Tri-System were defended.... but not Terole. Terole, a fugitive's planet, had no orbiting satellites, no space defense system, and the only ships were the wrecked ones in the Expanse, with few exceptions. The day would come when the people of Terole would have to fight. Immediately, Collie began to organize everyone into troops, mechanics, etc. Those who didn't sign up to fight were sent to a place on Earth called the Appalachians. Even so, Terole was sorely outnumbered.

The day of death came, and the battle was long and hard. Many Terolians died, and few of the enemy were even slowed. Frantic, Terole sent out pleas of help to it's people's myriad home planets, including the besieged Lavana. Help came from few sources, however - a common thought is that the communications just never got through. But, two things did happen. A Jaer called Crossroads brought around two hundred of his people from Lavana, and they fought valiantly. By the end of the battle, their numbers were halved. Then, miraculously, Shaekara and her crew appeared, single-handedly pushing back the blackships in only one ship. Just as two odd ships landed on the Expanse, the enemy forces pulled out.

In the torn-up ship was Dewyed, who quickly gathered the Terolians around. He informed them his people were distracting the forces gathered around Terole, giving the Terolians a week's rest. In the other ship, however, was a Vareshin called Hredit. He coldly bargained for their freedom, thinking the battle lost already. He informed them that he had his battle-forces in orbit around Terole, and if they would not bargain, he would attack. The consensus of the Guardians was to laugh in his face and keep an eye on him. Hredit tried to get back to his ship, but was stopped. Thankfully, they took the week, using the time to eat, sleep, and try to heal. Akartis gathered everyone around the Kantune Mountains and made Mystery Deathsong, female Dagaan, a Guardian. After the week ended, news came that the enemy had been destroyed by some strokes of luck from the good guys. However, they still had Hredit to deal with. Losing him, they kept his ship under guard while not knowing where the crett himself was.

Terole was devastated, most of it's inhabited surface marred by crossfire and crashed ships. Akartis looked at his adopted planet and sighed, gathering all his people together. With a quick 'spell', he put them all to sleep, and worked. And worked. Ignoring his own physical needs and untended battle wounds, he did not stop until Terole had been remade. Most things were cleaned, aside from the newest scrap in the Expanse, and he had opened up several new areas in Terole. Akartis, though, had used the ancient magic to do this. It was his by right of blood, but it shattered him. After he woke his people up again, he went to the Desert to die. But this was not to happen, again. Several Terolians found him, kept him semi-alive, and took him to the Sanctuary. He is now healed."

*Sake holds out her hand, and a cup of steaming tea appears, fresh. She sips it, eyes watching the human listener. "There is trouble afoot, my friend. Portals and galactic storms, spirits gaining power and Korat assassins. Please, make friends quickly. This is not a soft planet." She pauses and sips her tea again. "You may come here at any time, to rest, and the Sanctuary to heal." She smiles warmly, her greying muzzle and once-spooky appearance seeming completely normal and even safe now. "Need you know anything else, child?" She waves her hand, inviting more questions. She does get lonely with no one to talk to, you know.*

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Replies:

Thinks... -- Zanya, 16:39:36 11/08/01 Thu
- *She smiles gently. "You may stay as long as you wish, child. Simply tell me if you need anything." (NT) -- Sake, 11:58:58 11/10/01 Sat