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A LEAD CROWN CONTRIBUTION FOR KATE THE MARTEN

Listen well little Toby, this tale has been passed down by The People since times long forgotten, listen to the story of A-River-Between, the first of his Kind, the first to hear Their Voice, and the first to share Their Wisdom. Long ago back when the forest were still young and large, when life was abundant and Spirits wandered the world, there were many tribes who constantly moved from place to place, never staying too long in one place, for they feared the many dangers that lurked around in the world, and above all they feared the other tribes, for death awaited those that met them, leaving behind only bones.

Among these tribes there was one, it wasn't particularly large, but it had overcome many hardships and it had become strong. There lived a young buck, one of the youngest and curious of his tribe, his name was A-River-Between, but this young one was especial, for he could hear what others took for granted, and so he listened to the voices of the Spirits sharing their wisdom with him. Though A-River-Between didn't tell his tribe about this, for his tribe was always moved and had little time to listen their young ones.

It continued like this for quite a few years, with A-River-Between growing stronger and wiser day-by-day, always keeping his heart open to the Spirits and to his tribe. Soon came the time when A-River-Between became a man, yet it didn't bring happiness to him, for his little tribe had been suffering much, constants attacks from different creatures had left them tired, wounded and desperate. Seeing this tragedy A-River-Between tried to help, so he asked the Spirits for help, and They gave him a vision, of a haven for his People, not only his beloved tribe, but all those that were like him

So begun A-River-Between's journey, as he left with tribe with a pained heart looking to gather the other wandering tribes, and together bring the to the haven the Spirits had shown him. Guided by the Spirits he quickly found each tribe, and using his wisdom, he started to bring them together in the search of a safe haven for them to live.

It was a hard and long journey for everyone, 7 times the moon changed her dresses, their steps going far beyond anything they had ever known, but in the end they reached the haven A-River-Between had seen in its vision, and they called that place Home. Years passed since them, and for the first time in forever the tribes decided to stay at one place for more than a triad of days, A-River-Between shared his wisdom with his People, guiding them as he best could like the Spirits had once taught him, and so the Yew Tribe was born.

Yet A-River-Between's story didn't end here, he guided his Tribe for many years before tragedy struck again, this time harder than ever in his life. It had been a bad month for the Yew Tribe as the food and water had been scarce, the last rains had fallen long ago and there were no signs of them returning, the tribe was at a lost, their resources slowly dwindling and their desperation was the only thing growing stronger.

It was then that A-River-Between, the old shaman, moved by the need of his people went deep into the forest all by himself, looking to ask the Spirits for their help once again, he prayed hard for the well being of his People, never once stopping to eat, drink nor sleep. Seven times the sun rose and set, until at the 7th day the Spirits answered his prayers, bringing rain once again with them. Once his task was done, A-River-Between laid down on the soft grass and left this world, his soul joining the one of his ancestor. However, when life began to grow again a new fern appeared, with a clear resemblance to a A-River-Between's between image, it was the Stag-head fern, a tribute from the Spirits to commemorate A-River-Between's dedication in reaching them in behalf of his people.

¨Mum, did that really happen?¨ my little Toby asked me, curiosity blazing in his little eyes.

¨Of course it did my dear, but it happened so long ago that only a few remember¨

¨Then, why did A-wiver-between had to die?¨

¨Well little Toby, he died because he pushed himself too far and his body was old and tired¨ I replied kindly.

¨But why did he do it mum?¨

¨Because he loved his tribe so much that he wanted to protect them even if it cost him his life¨

¨So he was a hewro?¨ he asked excitedly, with barely contained glee.

¨Yes my dear, he was a hero, a great hero¨

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I was moving around the dock, my hooves making soft noises on the wooden floor while I looked for the treasure Toby had hidden, his little voice happily saying ¨Colder¨or ¨Hotter¨ depending where I moved. We had been at this for quiet a while now, and Toby was winning, he was very good at hiding things around here, though I never could figure out how he managed to find those hiding places. A couples of minutes passed like this until I saw a small hole in one of the walls of an old building, it was barely the size of my fist, but knowing Toby he could fit the treasure inside. I quickly ran towards it, sticking my hand inside as fast as I could, and feeling around for the treasure. Soon I found something and wasted no time in pulling it out. It was a small wooden box that we had found a few weeks ago, it was old but we liked it nevertheless.

¨Found it¨ I cried as I ran back towards Toby, who was happily staring at the little box like it was made of gold. ¨ You really hid it well Toby¨

¨But you still found it brother¨ he replied, with a slightly disappointed face because the game was over ¨ Can we play again? Pleaaasseee?

¨Nah, you're way too good at this, besides, don't you want to play something else Toby?¨

¨Like tag or hide and seek?¨

¨No, I was thinking of something else Toby.¨ I told him kindly ¨How about we play Pretend and we go on an adventure?¨

¨Yay, we're going on adventure!¨ he said as he practically jumped up at down in place

¨So Toby, what do you want to be? A mage? An adventurer? Or maybe a pirate?¨

¨uhm...... I wanna be like A-River-Between, or like the warriors mom always talk about.¨

¨Uh? Why do you want to be like them Toby?¨ I asked him, I knew those stories too but I didn't really have a favorite hero.

¨Because they're awesome and kind and good, they love their tribes and their tribes love them¨ he replied excitedly, almost forgeting to breath ¨They're great heroes too.¨

¨Hahahaha, I see, you really like them a lot, don't you budder?¨ I asked him, receiving a vigorous nod in return from the little proghorn.

¨But what do you want to be Rolf? ¨

¨Me? I want to be a traveler, I want to be able to see things that no one has ever seen before, I want to see the world.¨ I told him, I really liked the idea of discovering new places, meeting different people, and overall being free to roam the world, it was amazing .

¨Wow, it sounds great budder! Can I be one too?¨

¨I thought you wanted to be a hero?¨ I replied between laughs, it was funny to see how quickly he changed his mind.

¨But I could be both brother, I could be a hero and adventurer¨

¨Yeah, you can Toby, if it's you, you can do it¨ I told him reassuringly, I just couldn't say no to him, I loved my brother too much to see his sad face.¨Come one Toby, let's go have an adventure, I'll be a famous adventurer and you will be a great heroic explorer¨

With that said I quickly ran off towards the docks, hearing Toby laughing behind me as he tried to catch up with me, we still had some time before we had to go home, so we could have a long and fun adventure together, it would be amazing.