Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Chapter 1

"Happy Birthday, Dad!" The family of 4 was gathered at their small, round table, waiting for their father to open up his presents.

"Come on, Dad. Open 'em! Open 'em!" The younger of the two children, Kable, was really waiting for the cake to be cut. For he really loved cake, as do all children. Kable was the age of 7. He loved to help his dad work on the farm; therefore his muscles were growing faster than a normal child's. He had a mix of his mother's and father's hair, auburn. He always talked openly and never thought about what he was going to say. A courageous little kid, Kable was always ready for adventures.

"Yes, Father, open your presents now!" Lynn was the first child. Almost the age of 17, she was expected to go on little trips for the family, to provide food. She had fair, light brown hair with a few streaks of dark red mixed in, and her eyes were of a very deep brown. She had been on so many little trips for her family that her feet were callused and she was no longer afraid of much of anything. Lynn had the deepest respect for her parents. They had fought many things in the deep forests to acquire food for the family. The only thing she did not like about her parents was the fact that they were marrying her to an Iclian, the complete opposite of what she was, a Fier. She would always say to her mother, "Why, Mother? Why must I marry an... an... Iclian?! I mean just listen to the name, Mother. Ick - lee - an. Ick." Her mother would always retort back with the same answer, "Because, Lynn, all women should be married at the age of 16. You are now 17, almost too old to marry now. Besides, we have been friends with a family there for a long time now. Their son is a really nice man. I'm sure you will like him." And that was that.

"I'm coming. I'm coming. Hold your steeds. Alright, so which one should I open first? Hmmm. I guess I could decide by choosing who my favorite child is, first." He always loved to play like that. James was one of those rare humorous men. There were hardly any left within the Fiers. He was a strong middle-aged man of 50. He had fought in many battles, deep within the forest. "I'm just kiddin' now. You're both my favorite." The smile was his best feature. Whenever he smiled, there was no such thing as sadness or despair. "I'll start with..... this crudely wrapped brown one. Tsk. Tsk. Whoever wrapped this must've been half asleep." Kable knew he was kidding; he loved it when his dad played with him like that.

When Kable's present was unwrapped, James looked at it surprisingly. He didn't think his son could come up with something like this. It was a type of kaleidoscope, but if you used it just right.... James was suddenly in a trance. He didn't know how to get out of it, but it was unexpectedly calming and soothing. All of his thoughts were just drifting away, and he could think clearly now. "James!" He heard his name called from the "outside". Oh, yes. It was his beautiful and charming wife, Nara. She had the most wonderful red hair, and a kiss to go with it. She was smart and knew how to get out of tough situations. No doubt her part of the genes passed on to Lynn....

He came out of the trance, bewildered. "Wow, Tiger, how did you come up with this? It's absolutely wonderful!"

"Gee, Dad, it's just a umm? trans-fixed kli?kli? mascope thingy.? He didn?t yet know how to pronounce such big words, so he struggled to say it. ?I knew it would help you clear your thoughts when you're stressed." He smiled very happily. He knew he had pleased his dad with a great gift.

"Well, thank you very much, Tiger." James smiled back at him warmingly. "Now, for Lynn's present." As he looked at it, he could see what was in the sword shaped wrapping. It was something he had wanted for a very long time. He took the wrapping off and looked at his new short sword. "Wow!" The way he said it was the only thing he needed to say. The hilt was of shining silver, with small sterling chips in a neat spiral. The blade was magnificent. It was made of the second finest metal in their tribe. It, too, was shining silver. The tip was curved backwards slightly; the inside of the curve and the edges were very sharp, so it could cut through many things easily. There was also an inscription on the blade, but he couldn't quite make out what it said.

"Lynn," he said in amazement," where did you get the gold for this...." He trailed off, still staring at the beautiful blade.

Knowing he was going to be disappointed, maybe even furious, with her answer, she decided to take advantage of his momentary trance.

"I'll go grab the cake, Father," Lynn said. She went into the kitchen to grab the cake out of the pot. It really wasn't a cake, but a reminder of what a cake used to be. It was made from pig meat, turkey meat, and tiger blood for the frosting. Together they all made three nice layers with the frosting in the middle. Cake was banished from the Fier tribe for reasons still unknown. Some in the tribe say that it was because of a supposed shortage of ingredients when some said it was really the king taking all of them. That was just a theory of course.

Lynn returned to the table and set the cake down in the middle with the knife next to it. She picked up the knife and cut the cake into four equal pieces. She gave a slice to her mother, brother, and father. They all ate except for her father. He couldn't keep his gaze off of the blade.

"Father," Lynn said, "aren't you going to eat your cake?" Her father was still in a deep trance. It actually looked like he was....

"Father!!!" Lynn screamed.

Her father started out of his trance, a little dazed. "What... What happened?"

"I'm not sure..." Her mother let that trail off.

And then everything seemed to happen all at once. A shadow sped across their dinner room's walls, and then up to the ceiling. It was hard to explain, but it seemed to... to stretch itself downwards. It was right above her mother at that point, and she looked up and screamed so shrill and panicky, that the shadowthing seemed to withdraw itself. It moved on to her father, its next target, Lynn assumed, in the family. It enlarged itself this time, stretching down once more. But before it could do anything, Lynn's father thrust the blade deep into its shadowy bowels. Lynn would have said nothing happened since it was a shadow, but she couldn't; because something did.

The shadowthing seemed to open up a mouth. It was more like a deeper gaping hole, but it swallowed the sword whole, taking it right out of James's hand. And then the hole grew larger, expanding more than what the shadowthing was in the beginning. It leaped -- sort of, considering it was still attached to the ceiling -- and swallowed James whole. At the same time it threw up the sword from a smaller hole, and it dashed straight through Lynn's mother.