Why There Are No Black Lupes

by Silver

Part One: The Spiral

Galilobo the White Magical Lupe stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down on the land of Neopia. The sun was rising in the east, and he could tell that it would be a bright, clear day. Since Galilobo was the leader of the Magical Lupe pack, this was a good omen to him: it meant that they would be successful on their evening Chia hunt. The Magical Lupes always depended on omens, as well as the different magical marks that each of them wore on their forehead. The sky was clear of clouds; far below, he could see that his fellow Lupes were still slumbering.

He sat down on the edge of the cliff, his tail thumping happily. It has been a great month, he thought. The weather had been fair with light showers to keep the air fresh and clean. The Lupes' bellies were full from the overflow of Chias. He hadn't had to reprimand anyone lately. In fact, he thought, the last time I had to punish anyone was three months ago. He thought of Shadow, and his mood suddenly darkened.

Lupe packs were usually made up of Lupes of five different colors: red, green, blue, yellow, and white. The Magical Lupe pack, however, had an extra member: a black Lupe. Since the beginning of time, black Lupes were said to cause trouble and wreak havoc on others. They were very rare, but were considered dangerous. When Shadow had dragged himself up to Galilobo almost two years ago, bleeding and begging for food and safety, Galilobo's big heart threw down the storybook doubts in the back of his mind. He welcomed Shadow into his pack. And, because Galilobo had never steered them wrong before, the other Magical Lupes were convinced that Shadow must be a good creature and treated him kindly, like an equal.

But, three months ago, something had gone terribly wrong. After sunrise one morning, the body of a little Lupe cub was found in the meadow… and Shadow was found sitting next to it. Shadow insisted that he had thought that the cub was a Chia, and had only attacked it because it was too dark to see. Questions rose at his trial. "Didn't he hear the protests and cries of pain from the little Lupe as she was being attacked?" "It was after sunrise; couldn't he see that he was eating not a Chia, but a cub of his very own species?" and so forth. Galilobo had no choice but to banish Shadow from the pack forever. Galilobo could still see the fury on Shadow's face as he turned and loped into the dark woods, vanishing from sight… and he remembered that it was said that black Lupes always got revenge.

Galilobo shook his head suddenly, bringing himself back from his nightmarish memories. Shadow is gone, he reassured himself. Nothing is going to happen. If Shadow were going to get revenge, he would have done it by now.

Below him on the ground, his pack was starting to rise with the sun. His mate, Celest, got up, stretched, and turned to nip their daughter, Petal, on the ear. Galilobo grinned as Petal rolled away from her mother stubbornly, determined to catch five more minutes of sleep. The other cubs in the pack were groaning and rubbing sleep from their eyes as their parents nudged or nipped them awake.

Time to get back, Galilobo thought. He turned and descended slowly from the mountain, being careful not to slip and fall - it was a long way to the ground. When he was halfway down, he happened to glance up into the sky… and saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. There, appearing from behind a lone cloud that had been floating lazily through the air, a spiral came into view. It was black and white, with rainbow specks here and there; as he watched, it swelled slowly until it blocked out the sun - and still it grew.

Galilobo looked down at the pack. The sunlight had left the meadow, leaving it as dark as night. The only light that shone came in all colors of the rainbow from the variously shaped symbols on each Lupe's head: stars, petals, circles, clouds, trees…. It was only then that Galilobo realized that his own lightening-bolt shape was glowing with white radiance. The scars only lit up when the Lupes were feeling extreme emotion. Sometimes it was happiness. Other times, it had been sadness. On rare occasions, anger had flashed through the meadow in the form of a beam of light. This time, though, the emotion was fear.

Galilobo rushed down the mountain and leaped into the meadow, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Everyone to Glacier Rock! Hurry!" He and the other Lupes bounded across the grass to the huge white rock at the other side of the clearing. Galilobo leaped up onto its surface as the others gathered in a half-circle around the base of the rock. Galilobo looked at them all, their foreheads flashing, their eyes shining with panic.

He cleared his throat. "I hate being the bearer of bad news, but it must be said: We are in very grave danger."

A murmur rippled through the pack, and then they were silent.

"You all remember," he continued, trying to keep his voice from trembling, "when, three months ago, I was forced to banish Shadow for the murder of Granite and Tide's daughter, Riverbed." He nodded sympathetically toward the couple. Riverbed had been their only cub, and at the memory, Tide buried her nose into her mate's neck ruff and began to sob. Granite comforted his mate softly, then looked up at Galilobo, tears gleaming in his eyes as well, and motioned for him to proceed.

"It was a horrible event," Galilobo continued, "and Riverbed's death was cruel and untimely. Still, life goes on. Unfortunately, Shadow was so angry when I ordered him gone that I am afraid he wishes revenge. If you don't know the story of the black Lupes, it is very simple.

"At the beginning of time, Element, the first Lupe in Neopia - and the only Rainbow Lupe to ever exist - decided that he wanted company. He created more Lupes, and each one had a specific color and personality trait that made it special. There were the Red Lupes - they are known for bravery. There were the Yellow Lupes - they are known for cunning. There were the Blue Lupes - they are known for their generosity. There were the Green Lupes - they are known for their optimism. There were the White Lupes - we are known for our wisdom. And there were the Black Lupes - they were known for their evil.

"It sounds strange that Element would create five good Lupes, and then one bad Lupe; but he felt that it was necessary to somehow balance the scale of good and evil in Neopia. Luckily, there aren't many black Lupes left in the world today. It was to our great misfortune that Shadow found his way into our Pack. For, you see, that spiral up there" - Galilobo motioned upward with one paw - "means that he is back, and is here to get revenge."

The elders of the pack gasped; the little ones whimpered and hid behind their parents' legs.

"The black in the spiral," Galilobo explained, "symbolizes Shadow. The white in the spiral…" He gulped, then forced himself to say, "The white symbolizes me. He is enraged that I banished him. It is I upon whom he wishes to seek his revenge.

"Now, normally, I would decide to leave you all and go into the woods to battle out this evil on my own, so none of you would be hurt."

He heard a sob. He turned and saw Celest burst into tears. The thought of her brave, strong mate leaving her and their daughter to lose his life in combat was more than she could bear. Leaving Petal, she vaulted onto the rock and licked his nose. "Please don't go!" she wailed. "Please! We'll get through it together, somehow!"

Galilobo licked her back. "That's exactly what we're going to have to do," he murmured to her. He rose his voice and spoke to the pack. "Unfortunately, I cannot leave you. The rainbow sparks in the spiral mean that he is angry with you all, too. Not half as much as he is at me, but still, it means that he wishes harm upon you, however slight."

A large green Lupe stepped up to the rock. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "We have nowhere to go! This meadow is our home, and it always has been our home."

"Au contraire, Blade," replied Galilobo. "You have yet to meet my pet, Silver Keeper."

"Yes!" spoke up Celest, who brightened suddenly. "She is friends with my pet, Anna. She makes very strong magic. She can shelter us all!"

A cheer rose up from the pack. "Yay!" "We're saved!" "Our rescuer is here!"

Blade had to yell to be heard over the happy barks of the pack. "What if her magic isn't strong enough to protect us?" he shouted. "Or her home not big enough to accommodate us? What then? Where will we go? What will we do?"

The other Lupes listened closely, then nodded severely, their momentary euphoria shattered by these grim possibilities.

Galilobo sighed. The one pessimistic Green Lupe in Neopia, and he chooses to join my pack, he thought to himself humorously. "Do not worry so much, Blade!" he chided down to his packmate. "She traveled back in time to be taught by Element himself, so her magic is the strongest magic there is. And she lives in a cave carved out of a mountain - her home is large enough to house four packs of this size!"

"Hmph," grumbled Blade. He sat down again.

While the Lupes had been talking, the spiral had grown darker and greater still. "Come!" Galilobo cried. "We must not tarry! Silver's home is three days' journey west, into the setting sun -"

"Which we can no longer see," muttered Blade. Galilobo ignored him. "Elders, gather your children! We start out immediately."

With that said, Galilobo jumped down from Glacier Rock and trotted toward the trees. Celest called to Petal, who ran up to her mother. The two walked on either side of Galilobo. The rest of the pack rose as one and followed, the ominous spiral at their backs.