MotherMother • Alyss • FemaleChildhoodEven in childhood, Alyss was a bit off. She was used to hearing the hushed whispers of the adults who eyed her in concern, and the discomfort of her mother who pretended not to hear. The whole village whispered silently, like trees ruffling in wind, they shivered with excitement for any drama in their droll lives.
"What are you doing, sweetie?" Asked a mother without trying to hide her condescending tone, ignorant that a child could possibly detect it.
Alyss happily ignored her arrogance and responded, "Watching the fungus grow." She expected further questions that could spark a detailed conversation about the specific characteristics of this fungus, and interesting tidbits of information she'd collected and stored away in her brain for later use from nature books.
She was disappointed when the mother grunted pathetically, shaking her head and pitying the kit before turning away, pursing her lips to whisper to her entourage.
Alyss turned back to the little mushroom and stroked it softly, admiring the rubbery texture and springiness. It was such an intriguing little thing. Quiet, resilient, it's own umbrella when it rained. She felt as though she could relate to the little fungi.
She always felt out of place. She belonged in the jungle, with warm moss hugs, surrounded by supportive trees and curious creatures, big and small. She didn't have many friends in school. The parents who whispered, whispered to their children too, and didn't want their precious little kit's to pick up any strange habits from a loner.
Maybe her lack of attention as a child was what drove her to abandoned her family and clan.
Teen years
Alyss was a rebellious teen, though she truly didn't mean to be. She simply didn't feel the way others felt, nor agree with their ideologies or interests.
Most of the time she was a bit too honest. If her mother ever asked her nicely if she'd like to help the village collect this season's squash harvest, she'd reply with a "well, no, not really."
This response never sat well with her mother. But at least she would be soothed when Alyss continued with what she'd rather do, such as join the hunters on their next trip.
For Alyss's mother, all that mattered was that her daughter found something she could both enjoy doing as well as use to contribute to the village.
And as "rebellious" as she was, Alyss liked to make her mother proud.
Adulthood
It all started when Caleb, a skilled hunter and good friend, finally acknowledged Alyss's talent in the practice of stalking and capturing prey. She was so adept in fact, that she could capture an animal without harming it, and bring it back to the village alive for farming.
The most popular species for this were chicken-like animals called russags, which had a fat bulbous body, reptilian tail, long kinked neck, bulging eyes, and a brooding beak at the end of their small head, which couldn't carry much of a brain. Their most interesting feature, however, were the double set of wings poised atop their backs, which had elegantly long feathers which served absolutely no purpose other than attracting mates seeing as they were completely grounded and unable to fly. A cruel mistake on nature's part, leaving these russags the butt of many mocking jocks that were blurted out round the tribe's nightly fire.
Though it would have been nice if this cherished memory took place on an excellent day, it was quite the opposite. Unfortunately this meant any time Alyss so dreamily reminisced about that fateful day, it was always bittersweet, for it was the day she had viciously fought with her mother.
By then she had already left the nest, and lived in her own structure a few tents down from ear parents'. Living separately relieved a lot of the tension that had built up over Alyss's growing independence, but also caused some anguish within her mother.
She felt sad. Lonely, really. Upset that her daughter had seemingly forgotten about her.
It should have been a tender moment, one with love and hugs and tears when they reunited and expressed how much they missed one another. But as life would have it, it didn't follow the ideal path. Quickly her mother noticed that Alyss did not feel the same separation anxiety that she did, and it made her feel angry, jealous, and unappreciated.
They argued before Alyss stormed away, snatched up her bow, and marched towards the group of Kalons she hunted with nearly every day.
It wasn't until the group was deep into the jungle and brushingspiderwebs out of their faces when Alyss realized that in her blind rage with her mother, she'd forgotten her arrows.
Caleb gave her half of his with a sheepish grin.
She wished the hunt would have gone better. Light was low, and it was hard to distinguish moving prey from rustling leaves on such a windy day. Nonetheless, Alyss's hunting eye pinned down some waterfowl gulping up some water with a tip back of its luminous head.
She pulled back the arrow after nocking it onto her bow, and closed one eye.
A larger tribemate who was never really on good terms with her remarked that she was aiming too far to the right. Alyss ignored him and let the arrow soar.
The waterfowl plunked down from a clean shot. Alyss grinned, "Did you forget that it's windy?"
Caleb threw his head back in laughter, as the large brute stuck out his lower lip in a "ha-
rumph."
Later on, as the hunt progressed, Caleb quietly took hold of Alyss's arm and pulled her aside, waiting for the rest of the tribe to continue on out of earshot until he spoke.
"We could use someone like you," he said firmly, looking her in the eye.
"What?" She asked, feeling off-balance.
"You know. For the war. Don't tell me you don't know about the True Path."
She held her breath. "You're part of the True Path?" She'd heard storied about them before. A small group of elite warriors, fighting against the evil regime of the Bloods, who thirsted for power and territory over the jungle.
"Yes," he spoke softly. "But the others are not. They mustn't know." He nodded a heard to the rest of the hunting party. "Raine will be pleased to have a member like you in the True Path. We could use you."
For the first time in her life, Alyss felt important. She finally had purpose, she finally belonged.
It was an interesting initiation. The robed croup pushed her uncomfortably close to the grand fire in the center of camp, chanting and wafting flames over her. Strangely, she was not burned.
She was assigned to Caleb, who would be her mentor. As an apprentice, she had much to learn about the True Path way.
Caleb instructed her to select a burkua to ride into battle and be her war companion.
Burkuas were horse like creatures with long, slender noses and fluffy fox ears. They had six legs, giving them a smooth gait and a pleasant trip for any rider. They were mostly domesticated, but many remained in the wild jungles of Agraiy.
She looked down upon the purple hued Haven. Barkuas whinnied softly, tossing their heads up as they munched on lushious luminous grass, their curly manes bouncing like springs and shining in the rainbow mist of a real nature spring, bubbling and gurgling as it glided over stones and smoothed out ancient pebbles into perfect skipping stones.
She had to pick one. A foal would be perfect. Her eye caught that of a small aqua baby, wandering from its protective mother. It's long, slender snout sniffed succulent flowers which dripping with nectar, and it's long hummingbird-like tongue poked inside to lap it up.
In the same way she captured live russags, she crept quietly near the edge of the herd, in ambush until the foal strayed too far from its mother.
Birds fled the trees as an ear-splitting shriek emmiting during from the wriggling foal, kicking in the burlap sack as it was swung over her shoulder and quickly hauled away. It's mother stomped and snorted and chased Alyss, who lifted off into the air with the birds.
Training did not go well, and the goal would not respond to any of her treats and promises of well being. He missed his mum. He missed the wild. She could see it in his eyes.
The foal withered away over the course of a week or two, but when he wouldn't even lift his head to look at her with big, scared eyes, Alyss realized she must return him to his family.
And so off they went, with the aqua foal dragging behind her on a rope, back into the lush jungle and to the spot she had kidnapped him.
She thought she would miss him as she let him go. But truly, in her heart, she knew she was wrong to steal a young foal from his mother. She smiled as the mother galloped to her foal and licked her baby all over, getting rid of that pesky Kalon scent and making him wild again. The mother looked at her with black eyes, unforgiving for what she'd done. Alyss felt a pit in her stomach. The mother should be grateful that she returned her baby!
No.
Alyss should have never taken him in the first place. The mother should not be grateful for what the Kalon did.
She couldn't help but feel horrendously guilty for what she'd done. She decided she wouldn't dare kidnap a foal again, but as she searched for any loner burkua to befriend the
right way, she found none.
However, as she pushed away the leaves, she stumbled upon a herd of Cariis. They were short-tempered, bull-like creatures with ugly features and a wobbling gait. They were unpleasant to ride, if you could possibly manage to befriend one. Instead of six legs, they had six creepy eyes, and horns no one would dare touch.
She gasped when she realized how close she was to them. They were known for their tendency to charge without warning. She hoisted herself up a tree and clambered up until she felt somewhat safe. She looked down upon the herd and noticed she was surrounded.
As she looked for any opening, or another tree to swing into and escape from, she noticed an old brute looking up at her from the tree. She stopped herself from shooing it away, fearful of it's quick temper.
But the brute looked up at her with old eyes. His body was scarred but muscular. Other Cariis stayed away from him. He was an outcast, like her.
She took a chance. Slowly, she crept down the tree, and stuck out a paw for the animal to sniff. She felt her heart jump as his bristly lips brushed her paw, and felt the hot air puffing out of her nostrils.
As intimidating as he looked, he was old. He was lonely. So lonely, in fact, he felt abandoned by his species and sought out the companionship of another.
She was the same.
They bonded quickly.
Caleb was surprised to see her come back riding a Carii, everyone was. But no one questioned it. If there was one rule in the camp, it was that you didn't ask questions.
Training went well. Agari, whom she'd named the Carii, responded well to her commands and enjoyed the attention he received from her. They both felt loved and appreciated by each other, more than they'd ever been by there own families. There was something beautifully sad about their friendship.
The first battle was a disaster. As Alyss crept behind a Blood, he pretended not to notice her but sprang at her before she realized he knew. She was bound up an had a bag thrown over her head, and Bloods tried desperately to control Agari. As she was dragged away screaming and fighting, she could hear the screams of Bloods, who were thrown around by the heavy horns atop Agari's head. She couldn't help but feel satisfaction in that at least he was fighting. At least he'd get away.
She was thrown roughly in a wooden chair and the bag ripped off her head. Blood soldiers surrounded her, but were pushed away as a man stormed through.
"Move, move!" He ordered with a gruff, booming voice. The leader of the Bloods, Theoire, stood before her.
"My god, untie her! Now!"
Soldiers quickly cut the ropes at her wrists and ankles. Theoire knelt in front of her, hands clasped together.
"I'm sorry. These buffoons don't know who you are." He held out a hand and helped her up. Then he brushed off the dust off her shoulders and presented a hand for a handshake. She reluctantly accepted.
Theoire was a clever man. Tying up Alyss and pretending to be her hero as he swooped in to save her, and protect her from his own savage soldier. It was a nearly flawless plot to get her to join the Bloods. But she was more clever.
She underwent a second initiation process, to become on of the bloods. But she knew her heart lay with the True Path. She could use the Bloods' trust to gain life saving information, and report back to the True Path once she escaped.
Theoire seemed to sense her plans.
"What did they ever do to deserve a warrior like you," he asked in his charming voice. But his eyes grew dark and menacing. "They never took care of you. They turned their backs on you. Look, they aren't even searching for you now!" He laughed softly.
"I know." Alyss said. "I'm not one of them. To hell with the True Path. I am a Blood, now and always."
Theoire smiled. "Good girl," he said, and moved off to bark orders at other soldiers who ran round camp, preparing for the next battle.
There was a bit of truth in her words. She never quite fit in with her clan as a whole. Sure, the True Path was kind to her. But the Bloods showed it even better. She ate a king's meal with Theoire every night, and even had the power to give out her own orders. Theoire must have really liked something in her.
She stayed with them for months. She had plenty of chances to sneak off to the True Path and never come back, but for some reason, she always stopped herself. It wasn't out of fear or getting caught. Somehow, she liked it better with the Bloods.
It had crept upon 5 months when Alyss was commanded to use her secrecy skills to assassinate Caleb.
She hadn't seen him for a long time. He was a good friend, but never did much for her. Just gave her a smile when she felt lonely. Was a smile as good as the power she had at the Blood camp?
She went alone. It was strange to return to the camp she had trained in, with her childhood classmates. But no one she could call her friend. Now Caleb was nothing more than a target. He was not important to her.
As she crept silently close to the post Caleb guarded, she narrowed her eyes. Closer, closer...
She readied herself, fingers poised above her machete. She saw Caleb turn his back to southwest side of camp. Alyss smirked, and felt the tension build up in her legs, coiled springs ready to pounce. She leaned forward, and...
Stuck out a warm hand. Caleb turned round with surprise, but quickly recognized Alyss. He grasped her hand and shook it firmly, then tugged her in for a tight hug. His voice broke as he gasped, "It's you!"
Alyss bit back tears. She could never hurt him. Her heart nearly burst as he gave her that smile, that smile that always saved her.
The True Path had a grand celebration that day, and relished in all the information she'd brought to them. but what shocked her was that they didn't care when she spouted out the Blood's plans. They just wanted to hear about her wellbeing, what on earth they did to her, and how she managed to survive. She told them everything. She even told them, in raw honestly, about her doubts, and thoughts of joining the Bloods.
That was the day Alyss realized she was worth something. Everyone cared about her. When she was gone, they missed her, they suffered. She realized her life had meaning, and she felt more inspired than ever to fight for what's truly right, with the True Path.
She reunited with Agari, and they went on countless adventures together. All was well.
She was finally happy.
