Cri'ru - Chapter 1

Weary and dazed, Kameilo opened her eyes to see the warm red campfire dancing and sparking in front of her—the same she had started earlier this morning before sunrise. She was no longer dreaming, and was back in the forest trenches of the Nahali Valley—not the snowy mountains of the North.

“It couldn’t have been the Oca,” Kameilo said to herself, her young bewildered voice breaking the silence of the morning. “Not that time. The Oca can’t become so distraught. They know Neako’s future, its past, and the secrets of the present. Nothing catches them off guard,” She wiped her eyes with her four-fingered hand. “It must only have been a nightmare.”

She breathed, taking in the fragrance of Nahali pine, which filled the air. Turning her eyes to the east, she saw the sun was peaking over the cliffs, though veiled by the morning fog. The fog dense it was hard to see past her hut and hammock close by. The air was cold as well as wet with dew. It chilled her skin and dampened the paper-thin olive fur that covered it—tattoos from her islandic culture carved into her face, arms, back, stomach, and legs. Locks of dazzling white hair adorned her head like a wild mane. She was meant for warm, tropical weather from her deceased island villages, or the sunny Nahali gorges.

The Lacoan tribe, a race of white furred and calloused handed people, had told her the Nahali was always warm and temperate. She wondered if it had all been an excuse to get her away from bothering the monks in the monastery in the bordering rain forests. She was, after all, supposed to mind her own business on planet Neako.

“The Lacoan tribe,” Kameilo muttered to herself with a feral growl through her teeth. “They cheated me, saying the climate was always bright and warm here. I know they did.”

She folded her arms across her chest, leaning in toward the campfire. If the Lacoans would let her into their village today, first thing she would do was buy a blanket.

The first deep caw of a morning bird resounded overhead behind the cloudy mists. Kameilo's sensitive ear twitched at the sound—pleasant though it was. The distant rumbling voices of large wild garune beasts followed shortly thereafter as they prepared to graze on tough ferns. As the creatures hailed the morning, the child jethi hoped for a warm sunrise.

“Kameilo!” screeched a voice from behind.

Her ear twitched at the sound and she darted upright swiftly.

“Is that Nukoo?” she asked herself.

“Kameilo!” the screech came a second time.

Her winged friend seemed to be in some distress. His voice was distant and faint, but she could emphatically feel his dire need. Furrowing her brow, she moved swiftly, dousing the campfire with a clay jug of water. Before going after Nukoo, she snatched a curved bludgeoning tool she carried with her—a Talni, which her people fashioned from the bones of whales.

“Kameilo! Kameilo!”

She followed Nukoo's call anxiously, her long ears tuned to his voice. Sprinting nimbly, she weaved her way through the coniferous trees of the valley, her mind blazing with furious reflexes.

“Nukoo! What's wrong?!”

Nukoo did not call back. Instead, Kameilo's voice was answered by another creature, the roaring of an angry Garune close by.

Kameilo jolted erect in alarm. Barring her teeth, she sprinted toward the source of the beast's roar.

“Nukoo knows better than to aggravate those beasts,” she thought worriedly. “Why doens’t he fly away?”

After coming to a thick patch of ferns and parting them, she found Nukoo lying on the ground on his side, trembling before a Garune readying a charge.

“Nukoo,” Kameilo whispered. “Don't move.”

The winged Nukoo eyed her briefly. The lower jaw of his pointed snout quivered. He was holding his breath and his muscles were tense.

Kameilo moved steadily out of the ferns, carrying herself with a strong, sure stride in front of the garune—which she saw was particularly unusual. The beast was larger and bulkier than most, and fastened with loose leather and bone armor. Whatever exposed skin it had was either scarred or painted with rough sigils—which were too worn away to be recognizable.

“Leave,” she told the beast assertively, her eyes glaring wildly as though she was a beast herself.

The garune turned its eyes in her direction and snorted, shaking its head in disdain. The creature was maddened.

Kameilo barred her teeth, her long ears pulled back and the skin of her nose crinkling.

“Get away from him!” she hissed insistently. “Go back where you came from!”

But the Garune opened its huge maw and grunted furiously. Its breath stank of blood, drool oozing from its tusks. It was not intimidated by Kameilo's elven size. She could normally discourage most wild garunes, but this garune was not going to back down from any stance she could take.

Shaking its head furiously, the beast charged her with brute speed.

Kameilo planted her feet firmly in the ground and clasped her hand around her Talni, timing her blow.

“Kameilo, no!”  Nukoo called out worriedly.

Soon as the beast was just beyond swinging distance she flexed the muscles in her arms, shoulders, and back for the greatest force. She swung the broad side of her Talni and bashed it against the front of the garune's skull!

The Garune's armored skull rang as her blow deflected it.

Kameilo's body recoiled from the force, which strained her back. An average garune would have been knocked out cold. This beast was woozy, but still able to fight. Staggering in place it readied another charge, but veered off to the side and uprooted a sapling instead.

Drawing an obsidian tanning knife, Kameilo somersaulted onto the war garune's back and drove the blade under the fleshy skin of its throat. The beast cried out in anguish and regret, but Kameilo knew the garune was better off finished now. It tried ramming against the trees and boulders to shake her off, leaving a trail of blood in the dirt and grass where it ran.

Kameilo rode the war Garune until it was staggering weakly. Then, wheezing and croaking, it fell on its side limp and dead.

Exhausted, Kameilo hopped off the huge thing and caught her breath.

“Are you all right, Kameilo?” Nukoo asked, trembling wretchedly.

“I'm fine,” she answered, cleaning her tanning knife in the grass. Afterward, she ran to Nukoo's side where he lay in the grass.

“Nukoo, what happened?” she inquired, holding his face in her hands. “And are you all right?”

Nukoo caught his breath, but was anxious to speak.

“Kameilo. I was staying with the Oca prophets atop Galoa Peak. They sent me to fetch you.”

Kameilo winced quizzically.

“Me? Now? Why?” she asked. “What's wrong?”

She dared not believe the dream this morning had been genuine.

“I don't know!” Nukoo said. He peered his head up from where he lay on the ground and checked his surroundings. “I've never seen them so afraid. I came for you as fast as my wings could carry me. On my way, I was met with two Rikiti on a mountainside. They slung at me from where they hid and then set that war Garune on my trail.”

“War garune?” Kameilo asked, looking over her shoulder at the fallen beast.

A gentle breeze picked up, blowing the mists steadily.

At this, Nukoo gasped frightfully.

“There it is again!” he screeched pitifully. This time, he changed his language to speak in Taona.

Kameilo looked around, but she hadn't heard or spied anything suspicious.

“By the demigods, why is all this happening?” Nukoo asked himself.

“Why is what happening?” Kameilo asked.

“Shh! Speak only in Taona. And speak quietly. That's what Elder Rasku told me before sending me off. He was the only one left who was able to talk...but he was still-”

Nukoo tried getting to his feet, but his left leg gave out. He let out a cry in pain in his pitiful krahn-voice.

“Careful now. Lift your wing,” Kameilo said sternly in Taona.

Nukoo sulked. “I'm fine, Kameilo,” Nukoo said, folding his wings in. “You need to get to Galoa!”

“I want to see where you're hurt, first, Nukoo. Now lift your wing.”

“Ugh.”

Nukoo relented and opened one wing to reveal a bleeding hip where an arrow had hit him.

“Why did you try hiding that from me?” she barked sternly. “Come with me, I'll bind it.”

“You shouldn't waste anytime on me, Kameilo!” Nukoo insisted.

“I’m not leaving you like this. Here, I'll help you up.”

She put her arms around Nukoo and helped him walk toward her hut.