Prologue
The full moon was cast in a starry sky above the endless expanse of trees. Every star shined in the night sky like a thousand tiny lights. Despite the sky being clear, there was a storm gathered in the horizon, each flash of lightning briefly illuminating the forest.
Somewhere in this forest, a light brown buck was trotting. With a sense of purpose in his step, he swiftly moved between the thicket. Each time he took a step, a spiral of blue starry mist was left in his wake. In no time at all, he arrived at his destination: a small clearing where two other deer were already present.
The larger one was a white-furred buck while the smaller one was a russet-furred doe. The buck’s antlers were larger than the brown furred buck and he was much larger than him as well, muscles rippling under his thick fur. The doe was a different story. She was much smaller than him, but obviously had authority over the white buck.
Once he had stopped, the light-brown buck bowed his head in respect towards the two. The white buck bowed back, but the doe did not. She did tip her head however.
“Horora,” the light-brown deer said. “You called me, did you not?”
The doe nodded while the other dear said, “Ãvok, Dendar. Naragari has seen something troubling ahead. A Xakar.”
Dendar tipped his head. “What has she seen Deswan?”
“An old Kark,” Deswan said, “unwilling to pass on.”
“Why? Karks are always the fastest coming.”
Deswan looked at Naragari, who looked back silently before nodding in approval. Deswan turned to Dendar. “He refuses to leave his daughter side.”
There was a few minutes of silence as the small deer took it in. Once he understood what was said, he spoke. “What has his daughter have to do about it? He should be here and his daughter-”
“May not be able to find us,” Deswan interrupted. “His daughter is a Dur Xurkolk.”
“What?!” The stag roared. “But that’s-”
“Possible,” Deswan continued, ignoring the young deer’s outburst. “The girl has a power within, one that hasn’t been seen for a long, long, long time.”
“What do you mean?”
“She is a Khunar, a white one.”
The brown deer took a step back in surprise, his mouth open in a small ‘o’. The white deer gave a small, amused chuckle at his expression. “Now you see why he refuses to leave her,” Deswan said.
“We have to protect her then!” The deer jumped up into the air. “She could be the one! The one to free us!”
Naragari shook her head. “The Nightmares have not caught wind of her yet,” Deswan spoke for her. “She will be safe for now.”
“But the stirrings-”
“They mean nothing,” Deswan answered before he could finish. “They will stop soon.”
Dendar opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, knowing better. “Okay.” His voice became quiet and calm again. “What do we do then?”
“Nothing. We have to wait until he comes to us.” Dendar nodded in agreement. All three of them turned towards the clear, moonlit water. “We must wait for Ordello to come to us.”
Translations~
Ãvok- Yes
Horora- Hello (Greetings)
Kark- King
Xaka- Vision
