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Revelations
We stared at the amulets for a little while. They floated
to the ground and remained still. I slowly picked up the sapphire one. It felt
warm to the touch. I let it slide around my neck. It was soothing, and almost
familiar. Topaz reached for the other one and put it on too. A bright light
surrounded each of us, mine green, hers blue. And then I knew why we had these.
The whole story was laid out before me. Ancestry, hate, corruption, and destiny
were in our past, present, and future. I was filled with knowledge. Topaz and
I looked at each other, and we knew.
The light faded. Nighthawk walked up to us.
"What happened?" she asked.
"We know why the attacks have been happening
over the years," Topaz said.
"Bring over the book that you got from the library,"
I said. I pointed to Nighthawk's sack, which she brought over. She placed it
on the ground. Topaz and I placed our hands on it. It began to glow. It faded
after a few seconds. We opened it up, and began to read.
{}
I side-stepped the Lupe and swung my staff at his head. He jumped away and
threw the dagger at me. Fool, I thought. Never give up your weapons in a battle!
I ducked the dagger, then pulled my own from
up my sleeve. I spun it in my paws, then charged at him. Before I rammed into
him, I rammed my staff into the ground. I pushed forwards and vaulted over him.
I landed right behind him and stuck the dagger in his back.
He gurgled and pulled it out of his back. He
looked at me one last time, then fell to the ground.
I grabbed the sword and began to hack away at
the wood. I got out, and the fight began.
I fought Lupes left and right. I heard hoof
beats, and Ruby galloped into view, with both our petpets. She drew her sword
and began attacking the Lupes.
The mothers grabbed their children and ran off.
I saw the Lupe who had helped me before, running with her young son, whom I
recognized as the one that I had kicked before. I allowed them to pass, thanking
them quietly for their gratitude.
The few survivors ran away. The son of the chief
paused as he ran. "Someday we will be avenged!" he cried before running after
his pack. I shuddered at the ominous word, and knew he had made a promise.
Ruby and Emerald brought the pack leader back
with them as proof. The king granted them their rewards. Another Starfrost was
born the next year, and another Hoofbeat a year after. But the threat remained.
And the curse had been laid on the clans forever.
Ancestry
"So," I said, "we had ancestors that defeated an entire Lupe clan because
they were attacking other pets?"
"I guess so," said Nighthawk.
"But what does this have to do with us?" asked
Sapphire.
"I think I can answer that," said Lamen. We
all looked at her.
She sighed and rose into the air, her green
Shoyru wings flapping. She paced and began to talk.
"Now, you've run into that pack a couple of
times. They also had an encounter with you when you first came to Neopia, right
Nighthawk?"
Nighthawk nodded. We all knew that Nighthawk
had a dark past. She had told us that she'd had an encounter with the pack when
she was twelve and had just entered Neopia. She said that was where the scar
on her cheek had come from, but she didn't say what happened. You could tell
she was dark anyway. She always wore black, and had quite a cynical personality,
which sometimes got her into trouble.
Lamen continued. "Now we know why. That pack
has sworn revenge on what your ancestors did to them hundreds of years ago.
They had their revenge on your family, Topaz, by defeating all the members,
save you. They took Sapphire's brother, they tried to destroy Nighthawk, and
now I fear that they will go after your family Sapphire. I also think they will
go after Nighthawk's friends and family because you took them in and cared for
them. That means the whole guild could be in danger!"
Raven and Nighthawk gasped. They were friends
with everyone in the guild. Their pets knew that they would never let any of
their friends be hurt, that they would sacrifice themselves first.
"So what are we going to do?" I asked.
"We're going to stop them. I don't care how,
but we will stop them," said Nighthawk.
"Do you think we could stop them alone?" asked
Jin. 'There have got to be at least fifty Lupes in that pack! We'd be butchered.
Why don't we lead them to the castle and the knights can help us destroy them?"
"By then it may be too late," said Stalker.
We all turned to look at him. He rarely spoke, but I realized that this might
be hurting him, because he's a Lupe too, though a red one.
He got up from the fire and began to pace as
well. "The pack is cunning. It can pick us off, one by one. Besides, I don't
think the council would let us do this without proof."
"But then what will we do?" I repeated.
"We go to that camp, and wreak havoc. And we
bring in the big weapons,," he said, looking at our necklaces.
I grasped the jewel in my hoof and looked at
it. Power seemed to be radiating from it. But what could a small necklace do?
How could it hold so much power as to stop a huge, ferocious pack? Then I looked
at Nighthawk's own necklace, the Flame Pendant. It enabled her to sprout fiery
wings and a fiery tail. It also enhanced her fire abilities. I realized that
if that small thing held immense power. I looked over to Sapphire. She seemed
to be thinking hard about something. She looked over at me and nodded.
Pace suddenly spoke. "We hit tonight," he said,
in his growling Gelert voice.
Powersurge
We packed up and left, entering the forest between Meridell and Neopian Central.
I snuck ahead and blended into the trees, hiding from sight. I had done this
often, so I had no problem reaching the Lupe pack. They were nestled around
a fire, all asleep. I silently snuck to the nearest one. Drawing my sword, I
prepared to attack.
I was thrown down by something from behind.
I hit the ground, and my arms were immediately pinned. I looked up as the camp
sprang to life. The Lupes jumped up, and began to prowl around me. The alpha
walked up in front.
"So, you though you could come waltzing in here
to stop us? Well you were obviously wrong. I sentence you to death!"
"Wait!" called a voice from the crowd. One Lupe
pushed his way out as my friends ran up to us. "Woa!" said a Lupe guard, pushing
them back. "Come any further and your friend is flayed."
The Lupe finally pushed his way through the
crowd. I gasped when I saw who it was. He was a lot more bruised and than I
remembered, but still…
"You!" I said. This was the Lupe from so many
years ago. He had stopped the pack from killing me, and had given me my fire
sword, and also my scar. The Lupe pinning me down jumped off, and I slowly got
to my feet.
"Yes, me," he said. He turned to the alpha.
"Mojaven, this must stop. This feud is ridiculous. Can we blame the descendants
of two who were only protecting their people from our pack?"
Mojaven growled. "It does not matter. Who are
you to say what we should do anyway, Evernet? You are not alpha anymore. When
you spared this pathetic girl eight seasons ago, were you even thinking about
the safety of the pack?"
"I was thinking much about the pack, by not
making enemies," Evernet barked, now mad.
The two faced off, attacking each other. It
was a mass of fur. Topaz and Sapphire ran past the guards towards them. "STOP!"
the yelled.
The meadow was cast into silence. The only light
was from the two jewel necklaces, now glowing brightly. Sapphire stepped forward
and began to speak in a voice not of her own.
"This feud must end. Too many generations of
hate have gone by. This ends now."
It began pouring as soon as she finished. The
rain beat down upon the fields, soaking into the ground. Topaz stepped next
to her sister.
"How much longer will it take before you see
where this is leading Mojaven? What will stop you from your mad quest. Will
you stop at nothing to defeat us? You will create a world of fear if you do.
Stop this madness now!"
Mojaven howled. He launched himself at the two.
They side-stepped and drew their weapons, Sapphire her Short Sword, and Topaz
her Seeing Wand. Topaz aimed and fired a blast of magic, while Sapphire cut
at him with her sword. He jumped back, growling.
"Sapphire sheathed her sword. "We do not wish
to fight you. You must stop this."
"I will never quit!" he screamed. "Never!"
As they fought, they did not realize the amount
of rain that had fallen. The dam up the valley was straining, for it had been
raining a lot that season. A drop too many fell in, and the dam broke. The water
gushed down the hill, straight for them.
Renewal
A rumble was heard throughout the valley. I looked up to see a wall of water
rushing down on us. "Run!" I screamed.
We headed to the hills. I grabbed Topaz and
Sapphire, sprouted my wings, and took off. Raven came behind, pulling her pets
along. The Lupes were running up the side of the hill, trying to get out of
the way of the water.
I reached the top of the hill, landed, and ran
down to help Raven. We got up to the top, the Lupes right behind us. Mojaven
was at the back, right behind Evernet.
The water came, gushing down the hill. Sapphire
and I ran down, helping the other Lupes up. I grabbed Evernet as the water came
on him, pulling him up. Mojaven was almost swept away, but Sapphire grabbed
his paw.
"Come on!" Sapphire cried. "You're almost there!"
"No," he said. "I won't be helped by a foe."
He struggled by himself, but was too exhausted, and slowly slipped under the
water.
The flood was gone. We all slowly walked down
the hill. The forest was devastated. Trees were pulled out by their roots, mud
was slicked over the forest floor and the ground was saturated. It was a disaster.
"I turned to Evernet. "What now?"
"We will rebuild. And this feud will end. I
am tired of this fighting. Because Mojaven is gone, I will become Alpha. I am
officially ending this feud. We will work together to rebuild. And maybe, somehow,
we can repay you for all you have done." He turned around and whistled to the
Lupe near him. He ran into the forest, and returned carrying something a few
minutes later. "This is all I can offer you for now. It will take time for the
whole pack to accept the end of the feud, but in the end, we will finally be
at peace." He handed the parcel to me.
I placed it on the ground and opened it. It
was a green egg. I gasped when I realized that it was a Draik egg.
It began to wiggle. A crack appeared in the
top and a snout poked through. We all kneeled around the egg as the shell cracked
in half. A small green Draik popped out. It opened its eyes and looked at me
curiously. I picked it up in my arms. It cooed and snuggled in, falling asleep.
I looked up to the smiling pets before me.
A new generation of friendship had been born.
The End
I'd like to thank a few people. First, Raven for the permission to use
her character. Second, all of my guild, including child_dragon, sabreur, meratocat,
hiker52, neohero00, drake_da_dragon, and so many others. Third, all my in real
life family and friends for always supporting me. Look for my next series in
the times soon!
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