Spirit
I wrote this forever ago. Considering returning to it.
P.
Before light touched the world, there were the Three Divines. Earth, Sky, and Balance looked down on Spirit, a hardened ball of matter bearing nothing. Earth took pity on the mass and created mountains, forests, valleys, and barren deserts. Sky painted the sky with a sun, large and yellow in the heavens which gave way to the twin moons at night. Balance filled the ocean and set the ecosystems in motion. When it came time to put life on the planet, the Three decided to each create three races each to inhabit Spirit.
From the soil, Earth created Man. From the trees, Earth created the Bears. Out of the mountains, Earth created the Wolves.
Sky created the Angels out of the rays of the sun. The Cats were born of Sky's favorite moonlight. From the clouds, Sky made the Fae.
Balance observed the races the other two had made and feared there would be many wars. In order to prevent genocide, Balance bargained with the other Divines. One of the three races promised, in exchange for power to meddle with all races. Thus, Balance set aside the Cycle of Sages. Each race would, at certain times of either great peril or great peace, be given a Sage to guide them. Under the same guidelines, the races would also be provided a Champion and a Protector.
Earth and Sky agreed to the terms, knowing that this was the correct course of action. Balance then proceeded to create the Naga from the oceans and the desert, designating a tribe to reside in each. Lastly came the Dragons, in order to secure the top of the food chains and thus setting the final piece of the ecosystem.
The Three Divines wrote down their actions in a tome and set it aside in a valley, hidden at the top of the world, where it waits for the children of the Divines to find.
And thus the world was set in motion and life was given to Spirit.
1.
Lana sat at her table in her hut, weaving a basket from the grass she had carefully dried the day before. The going was tough due to the cold, when she tried to wet the reeds to move them around each-other, some of them froze and snapped; one of the disadvantages that came from living in the northern tundra. Another reed snapped, Lana swore, this was becoming too much.
The wolf tribe of the Wexah had always inhabited the tundra, but there was just no getting used to it. And winter was lasting longer than usual. Lana pulled her cloak tighter around her white fur, praying that the wind died down a bit.
"Lana!" she heard her name from her door. Fahsal, her friend stood, leaned against her doorframe, panting, clearly tired. "What? What is it?" Lana had been more paranoid than usual lately. Every time someone came running she immediately feared the worst. Fire? Accident? War? Still gasping Fahsal spoke. "Rekob had her cub! It's a male," Fahsal's eyebrows rose slightly and her tone hinted at a huge secret, "and I think you'll want to see him for yourself."
Still fearing the worst, Lana rose to her feet, clutching her own swollen belly. She could not get used to being pregnant, though she was happy for the child she bore, the strain was getting to her. She moved slowly to the open door and outside where Fahsal waited for her. Fahsal was going crazy over the recent increase in pregnancies in the pack. Maybe she was jealous she hadn't been one of the lucky few from Te-ran's harem to be chosen. Lana didn't need to worry about that. Even though Te-ran was the Alpha of the pack, Lana preferred her partner, Forte. Forte wasn't the biggest or strongest among them, but he cared for her and was the first to offer his help to anyone. Today he had gone with the hunters to search for game. The population of Ferals was beginning to dwindle and the hunters needed more help if they were going to track and kill anything.
"Come on! We're going to miss everything!" Shouted Fahsal, "I swear, ever since you got pregnant you lost some of your sense."
"Hey!" Retorted Lana, "Don't you yell at me! It's not like I can help it. I'm sure Rekob was the exact same way."
They walked slowly over to Te-rah's tent, Fahsal complaining the whole time. Te-rah's tent dwarfed Lana's little hut. Being the Alpha, Te-rah had many advantages, one being the giant tent. Servants, his choice of mates, the best of the food, and the finest of all things in the village were his. Te-rah let no one forget it either. Walking through the opening, the first sight that caught Lana's eye was the giant portrait of Te-rah, standing on the peak of Mount Kali, looking down on the world. The tent was crowded with people, all of whom, Lana assumed, were here for the birth ceremony of Te-rah's newest son.
"Excuse us!" Boomed Fahsal, "Soon-to-be mother and personal friend of the current new mother, coming through!" Lana put her hand to her forehead.
The crowd gradually shifted itself enough to create a path for them. They walked through a division in the tent into where the harem lived, trying to locate Rekob as quickly as possible. It wasn't that difficult, the bed she occupied was surrounded. They broke into the circle of onlookers and saw Rekob holding her cub, wrapped tightly in a blanket.
"Lana!" She cried, "I'm so glad you made it! How are you?"
"I'm fine, just fine." Lana replied, "What about you? You did just give birth after all."
"Oh, that's long over. I'm fine, just really tired." Rekob seemed full of energy, like she was excited about something. "Lana, it's amazing! Me! Out of all the possible mates, ME!"
"I'm not sure I understand exactly what is happening here." Said Lana, confusion playing across her brow.
"I was confused at first too. I thought for sure you'd have yours before me, but here I am, and that's not even the best part. Look!" Rekob held the cub out for Lana to see.
Lana gasped, she couldn't believe it. They only showed up when they were needed, when a hero would soon lead all the Wexah through crisis of some kind. Lana fainted. Luckily the crowd was so thick that they caught her. Soon they all saw what she had seen and there was a silence throughout the group. The cub in Rekob's arms, was blacker than night, streaks of vivid red throughout his coat.