Eritopia

Facing the Enemy

Bear walked on as the mist cleared and the sun rose. To his left, the snowy peaks of the Crystal Mountains glinted in the sunlight.

Animals came alongside, some looking like they wanted to talk. But Bear wasn't feeling sociable. He was worried about Anja, Calypso and the others. Why couldn't he find them?

A herd of zebras plunged past, a few carrying smaller animals on their backs. Birds still massed in the skies overhead. Land opened up in front of him. The ground became firmer underfoot, and the trees thinned. He could see a great silver snake of a river in the distance. Patchworks of green and brown spread across the slopes behind it. Further up the incline above them, a grey vista opened out.

That must be the City, he thought.

He watched a teeming mass of figures move on the far side of the river. Light flashed on metal as they meandered along the lanes and alleys. They moved down to the river, as Bear stood and watched them across the fields. The river snaked across the plain, to further reaches of the Outside. He looked across to the mountains. Were there more adventures to be had there, he wondered?

He saw the grey whippet again to his left and walked toward her.

'What's going on over there?' he asked.

'It's the army of the City,' she replied. 'On the move. I've heard they are far less organised than us. The King has told them an invasion is imminent and they have to defend their homes. Promised them food and drink to celebrate their victory, even a little money. Poor creatures.'

She moved off. Bear thought how easy life had been on the Inside. Then he remembered who had set up that life and made it possible to live in peace. Reed, a man, who had led the animals into battle once before.

'Life would be different without Reed,' he said, to no one in particular. He vowed to fight hard in the coming Battle, although scared, and not at all sure how it would end.

By afternoon the animals had gathered behind the line of Riders. Some were anxious yet confident, chattering away. Some whooped in nervous anticipation. The majority were quiet, waiting for their orders. The front line of Riders stood motionless, holding the line, their leader prominent. Behind him, other horsemen were ranking the animals by size, moving larger ones to the front. They would be in the first wave of attack with the Riders. The Riders would try to break the mass of the men into smaller parts. Behind them dogs, foxes and wildcats stood ready; their brief was to run about the legs of the men and knock them over. Then monkeys and squirrels - anything with bright ways and sharp teeth - could torment them as they lay. 

All the while the Black Rider Berithon stared motionless across at the army of the City.

'Is he Reed?' Bear asked something near him, it was one of the Kelsey Badgers, who laughed.

'He has known him.'

'But how can that be,' Bear continued, 'When Reed has been dead for generations?'

'The Riders are older than that.'

It was true that men lived longer than animals, but not that long. Yet if it were true, Reed might still be living with the Riders across the Mountains.

'He is everywhere,' a water rat told Bear, as it squirmed through the crowd to take its place.

'Reed is a puppet of the Elders, brought out to keep up the spirits of the weak.' This answer came from a lame old donkey. Bear wondered how she had managed to get all the way from the Inside.

'Did you walk here?' he asked.

'Walked, hobbled,' the donkey said. 'With a little help from others. I actually came from a settlement on the Outside. There are still some of us who don't need the guidance of men,' she snorted.

Bear knew she was referring to the Elders. ' How do you survive?' he asked.

'Quite well,' she replied. 'The occasional attack from ruffians doesn't help.' She winced and stamped a leg, 'but there are few of them nowadays. The King needs everyone in the City.'

'Why are you here if you don't believe in Reed?'

'Do you believe?' the donkey asked him.

'Not really,' Bear said.

'You are here nonetheless. Well, it is the same with me. I'm not saying I don't believe, but I think for myself. If it's a worthy cause, I'll support it,' she added and drifted away into the throng.

Other animals pressed Bear on all sides now. Some motioned him forward, to take his place with the fierce and imposing on the front line. That was not how he viewed himself at all. Who was going to help him? How would he fight? Did he even want to? The purpose that led everyone to this spot didn't seem to apply to him.

He only knew he needed to find Not-Bear.