Annifer stood at the head of a long wooden table covered on the edges with a leafy and bright green fluffy moss. It stood out against the deep brown grains of the table, and the clear coating reflected the brazier fire in the middle of the table. She held her head in her hands in frustration, breathing deeply. All around the table in a circle was the Mother Moon, a council of druids made up entirely of the most powerful women of Amdesse. Some held powers of nature, able to control the vines and branches of trees; others could bind their mind to the spirits and commune with the world itself and the animals of the forest. This was Annifer's brood, Sounder of the Spirits, a rare and unique magic where one could enter a trance and communicate with the past spirits of the world, learning of the news from distant lands and offering advice and truths. It was also the reason she could hear animals speaking.
"I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying." Annifer pleaded.
"We hear you, Mother of the Woods. We hear you saying the spirits said you were tied to fate." Pliss said.
Pliss was the oldest of the Mother Moon; her almost white hair was done in braids tied in ringlets around the top of her head and adorned with tiny purple flowers. She was of the Wardens, the Druids that could use the powers of nature, and had been the previous Mother of the Woods before Annifer was selected. Her layers of animal fur robes hung loosely around her diminutive frame, making her seem thicker than she was. Her long face held an edge of defiance as her calm lilac eyes regarded Annifer.
"Then why do you deny the help I beg for?"
Annifer laid her hands on the long table and hung her head, her long brown hair limply draped over her face. She had come to the council to tell them of her visions and ask permission to gather a Druidic army, but she had been flatly denied.
Another Druid, Arlo, stamped her gnarled wooden staff into the side of the table. She was another Warden and younger by only a few years than Annifer. Her bright red hair stood out in stark contrast to her nearly black skin and piercing green eyes.
"The Druids of Amdesse have never fought in a war, let alone take a side in a civil war." She said, her voice husky and thick.
Annifer's head snapped up, and her eyes widened in shock, "I'm not asking to take a side in the civil war! This is bigger than just a province rebelling. The Gods are returning!"
Pliss shook her head at the outburst, "You are young yet, Annifer, you let emotions rule you. We do not deny the visions you speak of, only the actions you choose to follow."
Nodding, Arlo turned and faced her fellow Druid, "We do not fight; we protect. We protect that which cannot fight back."
Annifer threw her hands up in frustration and stepped away from the table; turning her back on the Mother, she sighed deeply and looked down at her feet where Bitsy stared up at her with black-rimmed eyes. She smiled at her furry friend as the small raccoon stretched and yawned. Slowly, Annifer turned around and smiled at Arlo.
"The Spirits spoke of the return of the Life Giver and the return of the Great Leveler, yet you feel that we should not take up arms?" Annifer asked.
Pliss cleared her throat, "Annifer, listen to your own words. The Spirits spoke of the fates that tied you to the resurrection of Cor."
"They did not call to action, the arms of all. They gave you a choice, Mother."
Tyanda spoke low and carefully, the fourth and final Moon Mother. She was a thickly built woman with broad shoulders and muscular arms. Her golden and chestnut hair was pulled back into a bun held together by small animal bones. She was of Annifer's brood and had been a close friend. Her dark blue eyes searched Annifer's as she continued to speak.
"We do not deny what the Spirits have divulged. For that is not our place. What we deny is the use of force, which has never been our place. Our kind has never fought a war."
Annifer wiped her hands over her face in apparent frustration, "The Gods are returning for the first time in known history, there is a war between a mad King that murders children for magic and a King that is as just as any we have had and yet you want to stand by, idle? You want to let the world's fate be decided by...what?!"
Tyanda cocked her head and smiled, "By you, Annifer. You miss the point of all this; you dance around the most important words, and if they were a snake, you'd have been bitten."
Pliss smiled and nodded, "Your emotions, dear. They rule you and keep you from the truth of the visions. The Spirits called for your help, not ours."
Annifer paused and thought, were they right? The Spirits had said it was her that was tied to the fate, not the whole of the Druids, but why? She was but one person where the Druids numbered well over three hundred in total. She looked up from her thoughts as the Mother Moon regarded her and smiled back.
"I see what you're saying. The Spirits didn't directly ask for the help of all of the Druids but said that it was me who was tied to the fates. I understand now, but still...I am one person. There are three armies out there. What difference could I make?" She said as she slumped against the table, folding her arms and laying her head in the crooks.
Tyanda crossed the room, her green-dyed fur robe clacking with bones of small animals tied in intricate patterns around the shoulders, "You see now. There is something to you that even you do not see, but the Spirits have. You have always been different from us, stronger and more determined. Quicker with thinking and strong under pressure. You lead us by example, and yet you remain so humble."
"The prophecy has always spoken of the Gods returning and the destruction they would leave upon the world, yet it has spoken of heroes raised along the way that would help preserve the way of Cor. Those destined for greatness should they heed the call and follow the path true," Pliss said as she also slowly crossed the room to embrace Annifer.
"We do not fight against you, Mother of the Woods. We fight for you in the belief that if the Spirits believe that you can make a difference, then so do we. For what are we but mere specks of dirt in the grand scheme of the world as it passes by each day? You were chosen before you knew life and made for this moment." Arlo softly added in as she rounded the table and put a comforting hand on Annifer's shoulder.
"I don't...I don't even know where to begin or what to do. I was given the visions, and there were no directions, maps, or anything. How do I know where to travel or who to speak to?" Annifer said through building tears in her eyes.
"The Spirits will guide you, the past ones and the present ones of the animals. Trust in the world and trust in nature. You were born of the Forest Mother, and she is more connected to Vale than anything else could be." Pliss spoke softly back.
Annifer accepted the hugs and heartfelt gestures, but she was torn inside. She had never fought anyone, yet she was the leader of the Druids. She had never had actual controversy in her life, so how was she to intervene in a war that she knew nothing about? She knew the Thanish army was in revolt and starting a civil war while the Flame Sect was vying for power and trying to take the Emerald Kingdom. Why were these things happening, though? She had no answers for that, but she knew the magics were returning in the Feral Wilds because Cor had been reborn. She knew that corrupted Gods followed behind her because of the destruction and murder of children for their gifts. Why, though...why her? What did she offer in terms of anything that could compare? She cleared her head of her thoughts and regarded each member of the Mother Moon with a warm smile.
"I understand what each of you are saying. I must travel this thread of fate on my own. I must explore what the Spirits ask of me and how I will be used for the greater good. That doesn't mean I'm not terrified or wish I had my fellow sisters by my side, but I will do this thing."
Tyanda spoke softly, tears overflowing and spilling down her round cheeks, "If ever there were a Druid to accept the responsibility of saving Vale, it would be you. The strongest woman I have ever known."
Pliss nodded in agreement, "Stronger than ever I was. More stubborn and determined than the oaks or more calm than the strongest mountains from the Great North. You, Annifer, are who has been chosen by fate, and your resolve will see you through."
Annifer's emotions threatened to overwhelm her, to drag her down into a fit of crying and desperate pleading for help, but as the leader of her Druids, she couldn't.
"Do you cry? I love you." The soft words from Bitsy came to her mind, curled around her left leg with paws stretching upwards.
"No, Bitsy. I do not cry. Leaders do not let emotions dictate their actions, and if the Spirits of this world call to me for aid, then I shall heed the call and answer my fate." Annifer said sternly.
"As it ever was, should it ever be," Pliss whispered.
The meeting broke, with each Mother Moon blessing Annifer as they left. This had been her big decision, her big call to action, and all it had done was send her on a mission where she didn't know exactly where to go or what to do. There were more questions than answers, and she would need to commune with the Spirits again. As she exited the small hut of thick branches woven together and covered with broad red leaves, Bitsy wove between her feet in a frenzied pattern. Annifer watched momentarily as her raccoon completed figure eight after figure eight.
"Bitsy? Is something bothering you?"
"Scared. Big people say we leave alone. Where Muffin? He protect. I love you." Was the reply back from her furry companion.
Muffin was another companion that Annifer had made throughout her years in the Amdesse forest. It wasn't unheard of for Sounders to make companions, but it was rare to have more than one. Annifer actually had five that she could call at almost any time, and they would appear within minutes. Muffin was an old, grizzled bear with mostly fawn-colored fur and a graying muzzle. He dwarfed her in size but had always been so gentle with her and the other companions that he almost acted as a protector to them all.
"Muffin is around; he always is. I know you're scared; it's natural. Life is about to look a whole lot different for a while, and I can't say if it will ever go back to the days we knew before."
"Will there be food?"
Annifer laughed, that was always Bitsy's primary concern. Food and love were of equal value to her little friend.
"I will make sure to bring food, plenty for us. Should we bring the others as well?"
Bitsy stopped the figure eights, sat on her haunches, and looked up at Annifer with black-rimmed eyes. "We bring all. We need all. We leave, they leave. Lots of food. I love you."
With a smile, Annifer leaned down and stroked Bitsy's head, "I love you too. Yes, we can see if the others want to come. I won't make them, but I will ask."
After Bitsy and Muffin, there were three others; Biscuit was a small black monkey who was always full of energy and on alert; Big Girl was the second protector of the group and was a thickly built black ape with terrible allergies to most things which caused her constant breathing problems. Rounding out the group was Cheese; he was another raccoon, but he had wild eyes that stared off in different directions, and he acted as the scout of the group by always running ahead and alerting of potential dangers. It was quite the pack, indeed, and Annifer wouldn't have had it any other way. Each companion had a special place in the group, and they seemed to know it without being told.
"Come along, little one. We have many things to gather, and you need to go find our friends."
"I do it. I do it all for you. I love you."
"Yes, yes, Bitsy. I love you too."
That was just part of Bitsy's personality; just like humans had their own quirks, animals also had their own. Bitsy needed constant reassurance that she was loved and that you knew she loved you. Perhaps being abandoned as a kit had something to do with it, but Cheese was almost the opposite. He was very independent and rarely looked for attention except when it was being given to everyone else. She walked the well-worn trail back home and lost herself in thought. What was the point of the Gods coming back? What were they to gain or lose, and how could mere mortals play any part in a game involving Gods? She had many questions for the Spirits and was eager to return to the little tree hut to commune. She could ask her companions, though the answers would be much more basic. Their grasp of human language was, at best, fairly crude; they could make sentences and rational thought, but it was basic.
As she walked, the forest was alive around her, birds singing and swooping from tree to tree. There were small monkeys, like Biscuit, that hooted as they played around the trunks of the woodland forest trees. She smiled at their innocence, their love for life, and their living in the moment. That was precious, that mentality, and she found herself envying them. They didn't have to travel away from home and search for either the Taker of Life or the Creator reborn. They didn't have to make that decision with seemingly the world as they knew it on the line. If there had to be a balance to everything, then was Shathari so wrong in bringing death and disease? Something couldn't live forever because that would break the rule; it was lopsided and needed an equal. Which was disease and death, and that made sense to her. She didn't like it, per se, but it was something that seemed fair. The more she thought about the Spirit's words, the more she questioned if Cor had broken that rule and what her purpose was? Wouldn't she have been in the wrong, even if that meant thinking that way was considered forbidden? It had to be asked. She was given a choice of finding either; the Spirit hadn't said which one.
She reached her tree hut, a reed-woven hut built around the base of a massive tree trunk. It was covered in various leaves and seemed to blend into the low-hanging surrounding trees and thick moss ground cover. Its front door was covered in the scale-like bark of the tree and seemed to be part of the tree at first glance. Sitting outside the door, a thick but muscular black ape, its hair a silky onyx that seemed to shimmer in the light, lay sleeping.
"Aww, Big Girl..." Annifer said in a whisper.
Big Girl lay on her stomach in the grass before the door; her arms were spread to her side, and her legs were splayed out like a star. Her snores could be heard over the buzzing of insects and bird calls. On her back, curled up in a ball, was a small monkey with its slender and long tail wrapped around its body.
"Of course, there's Biscuit."
Bitsy spun a circle before Annifer and raced for her friends, jumping on Big Girl's head and licking her ears. Big Girl and Biscuit sprung awake and began hooting and screeching in joy. Running circles around Big Girl, with Biscuit jumping up and down, Bitsy yapped with delight.
"Hi, Big Girl and Biscuit!" Annifer called out with a laugh.
"I Big Girl!" A baritone voice called back in Annifer's mind.
"Yes, you are Big Girl. Were you waiting for me to come back?"
"Yes! We wait, we sleep. Sun feel good, make tired. What people say to you?"
Annifer walked up and stroked Big Girl's head as she sat back on her butt and let Biscuit climb onto her shoulders.
"They said I have to go alone. I have to decide whether I find the reborn Cor or Shathari."
Big Girl winced at the mention of the Great Equalizer.
"I know. It should be cut and dry, but it's not. To me, I'm confused because of the rules of the world. There must be balance, and balance is life and death. Cor tricked Shathari for a reason and imprisoned him with her very being for a reason. Was she greedy, or was his every intention to wipe us out completely for the sake of his very essence of being?" Annifer said as she leaned against the door with one hand.
"I not have answer. I was not alive when they were. I just Big Girl."
Annifer laughed and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. How she envied their innocence and wished to have a simple life compared to what she was facing now.
"You're a sweet girl. You are as well, Biscuit, a sweet little girl. Have you seen Muffin and Cheese?"
Biscuit raised a hand and danced back and forth on Big Girl's muscular round shoulders.
"I have! They sleep inside, Muffin know how door work. He smart guy. He big guy. I like Muffin. I sleep on Big Girl. She warm." The voice inside Annifer's head came like a high-pitched but soft voice, spurted out in a frenzy. Almost too fast to pick up each word, this was Biscuit.
"They're inside sleeping? Both of them?" She asked.
"They sleep when we sleep." The baritone voice replied back, Big Girl.
Annifer ran a hand over her head and smiled, then reached for the door and opened it. Muffin lay on his side, with Cheese curled up almost underneath him. The sound of the door woke them up, and Cheese immediately began yapping and running in circles. Muffin sat up, stretched, yawned, then nudged Cheese with his graying muzzle.
"Hello. Waiting for you, we sleep. Naps are good. What do people tell you?"
This was the slow, rumbling voice of Muffin. A tired drawl to each word, as if his tongue was dragging through honey while trying to speak. Annifer smiled and then looked back outside to her other three companions.
"Balls, there's no good way to say this. I might as well just rip the scab off. The Mother Moon said I have to travel without their aid. This mission is mine because it's my fate tied to the world. Basically, I have to choose between Shathari and Cor, and I'm just not sure who to side with. There has to be more to the story, and there has to be more to why they're returning. I want to commune with the Spirits before I leave, and guys...this is the important part...I want to know if you'll join me? We are heading south into a land that is in the middle of a civil war and an invasion. It won't be safe."
Muffin stood up, towering over her, and roared, bearing his teeth and growling. At his feet, Cheese stood up and tried to roar but only squeaked, and then he growled as well. Looking back up at Muffin, then sitting back down.
"Muffin and Cheese say we go with you. Always. We protect."
Big Girl sauntered into the room, using the knuckles of her hands to move forward instead of walking; she blew a wad of snot out of her nose as she did. Biscuit held on to her neck and backed her face away from the booger, looking disgusted.
"Big Girl, join. Biscuit come too, who else carry her? She tiny Girl, I Big Girl."
Annifer smiled and then laughed at Bitsy, winding around and between her feet.
"I love you. I go where you go. I love you. Big adventure, lots of friends, I love you. We bring food, we bring friends, we bring love."
Tears formed as she looked at her companions, pack, and now traveling and adventure friends. They didn't know the implications of this adventure or realize the trouble that could be found, but they knew that she was going and just wanted to go with her. She envied that innocence again, then pushed it aside. She was a leader, and leaders did what needed to be done without question.
"Then it's decided. I will burn an incense in the Spirit Brazier and commune before we go. I still have some questions to ask before deciding who we are looking for."