the war of the new world
#1 of Mentablood
The sun breaks the surface of the earth as day approaches all those on the planet. A new form of intelligence roams the earth as the human race slowly dies off. Animals have once again taken their rightful place as the rulers of the world. Over the past 30million years they have evolved into a race of humanlike creatures, varying in species. Many of the original species still exist while many new ones are being discovered. The original species are divided into tribes that specialize in a single aspect of life, for example: science, agriculture, armory, government, etc. The new species are divided into many primitive tribes that tend to be very sensitive to their home land and would do anything to prevent outsiders from approaching. Since these new inhabitants of earth are unable to call themselves humans due to the scattered remnants of that ancient life, they've named themselves furs.
This brings us to the eastern plains at dawn; most of these lands are inhabited by the archers, which is a new species to the world. This section of land separates two tribes. The northern tribe is that of the avians and consists mostly of rodents. They specialize in the art of war and weaponry. The southern tribe is the Plafe tribe and consists mostly of felines and canines. This tribe specializes in the scientific field and therefore is not prepared for war.
Why is this important? Because these two tribes are at war over the western half of the eastern planes, The No-lands.
Here we will encounter Mentablood, the night guard for the Plafe tribe.
He set up his guard post in the middle of Archer territory for a number of reasons. The most important reason was because it gave the widest perspective of his surroundings, allowing him to notice an approaching fur or piece of machinery from the north. The archers would never allow this if they knew he was there. They are a vicious tribe and would stop at nothing to kill intruders. Mentablood, however, got away with it because he was unnoticeable. His large feline figure and instincts allowed him to blend with the territory, hiding beneath the blades of grass. The way his post was set up also helped. It was dug 8 feet below the surface of the ground and was covered with a canopy that greatly resembled a dirty patch of earth; that's what it looked like from far back: a patch of bare ground. Mentablood had numerous areas of the canopy to look out from so that he could keep watch for approaching enemies. He happens to be very intent on one this morning.
He keeps his eye to the peep hole, scanning the approaching machinery from afar. It was still too far away to make out any details regarding whether or not it was an enemy tank or a Plafe probe, even for his keen eyes. He waits another four minutes before he is able to make out a small object on the back of the tank-like machine. It is a flag. Filled with excitement, Mentablood grabs the pair of binoculars on his right and holds them to his eyes. He grins as he recognizes the flag of their tribe. This is a probe returning from one of the Varsion camps. And since the flag was raised, that means that there is some valuable information on the tribe itself. Noticing that the sun was now fully in the sky, Mentablood heads back for the main campus with his discovery.
He's on all fours as he runs below the grass blades, wind flipping his long cheetah fur all around. He loved it. He was the fastest of his species, which was the fastest species of all. Of course, this is only what he was told in his childhood. He hasn't seen another cheetah for nearly a decade. It was easy for him to believe because there are other oddities with Mentablood. His fur is one of them. He had much longer fur than most other cheetahs which caused his spots to fade into and darken his fur greatly. If it weren't for the black stripes under his eyes, he would have been considered a new species. His stripes were even different. As they neared the inside corner of his eyes, they spread out and connected with the outside corners of his eyes. The oddest thing about Mentablood was his eyes. While most other furs would have a darker color like brown or a deep red, Mentablood had eyes like the sky at noon with no clouds: a vividly bright blue.
He reaches the edge of the forest in a matter of minutes. Pausing, he looks behind him back out onto the plains, stretching out as far as the eye can see. He then chooses the nearest path and enters his own territory.
He approaches the tall wall of the campus in thirty seconds. Calling up to the top, he requests entry, "Hey, Sern! Are you up there?"
A large grey wolf peeks over the top of the wall and calls back down, "Ha! Mentablood, is that you again? Stay there. I'll bring down some garments for you and then I'll open the gate."
Mentablood waits patiently as his friend disappears from the wall and then reappears with some clothing, "Throw these on and come up!" a short moment later, the large wooden gate blocking Mentablood from his home opens up. He quickly pulls up the shorts that were thrown down so that they covered his nude parts and enters the gate. He had to roam the plains in the nude in order to maintain his stealth with his camouflage fur. He turns left and climbs the stairway until he reaches the top of the wall and glances around for Sern.
"Looking for someone? You know, you wouldn't have to prance around in the nude all the time if you decided to join the retrieval crew rather than sitting in a hole all night," Sern remarks as he approaches Mentablood from behind.
"Ha! Are you still mad about that? Sern, you know I can't stand half the furs on that team. Besides, I like what I do. It allows for some alone time. Anyway, I have to go, Sern. I seek immediate conference with commander Gonvail. And don't be getting too comfy up here; you and your retrieval crew may get busy today," Mentablood replies with a smirk.
He turns and walks past the startled wolf, who stares as Mentablood climbs back down the stairs and runs up the street in the direction of Gonvail's hut. He climbs the front steps of the building and knocks on the door. "WHO IS IT!" shouts a deep angry voice from inside.
"I am Mentablood, sire. I guard the eastern plains at night and I bring urgent new for you." The door opens and a thick paw gestures for Mentablood to enter. He slips inside the cracked door and is confronted by a tall, muscular lion. His body was mostly exposed except for the towel around his waist. His fur is damp from his recent shower which gives the room a very musty smell.
Mentablood finds himself in a living room consisting of a chair and a fire place. Next to the chair is a side table with numerous books on it. On the other side is another, less comfortable chair. Gonvail gestured for Mentablood to sit in the larger chair and sits down in the smaller one.
"What news do you bring for me, Mentablood?"
Mentablood glances at Gonvail's long mane and responds, "One of our probes is returning from the northeast and its flag is raised. It should enter Archer territory within the next two hours." He is surprised at how quickly Gonvail can change from a grumpy old lion to an excited young cub. Gonvail hopped out of the seat and hopped over to Mentablood, grabbing him and lifting him out of the seat.
Clapping him on the back, Gonvail exclaims, "Good work, boy! Very good work! How would you like to join Sern and the retrieval crew today?"
"It would be a great honor, sir!" Mentablood couldn't possibly grin wider.