Tribal Instinct - CH 3: You must go back to your sky

I. “Someone’s watching me…”

“Eyes of the forest

Eyes of the dark

Eyes of the evil

COME OUT AND FIGHT!”

Sunstorm slammed a bush with her greatsword.

“Come on now, we might miss him if we don’t hurry up.” Spring Night turned around at her, swinging her tail impatiently.

“Aya, I’m coming!” Sunstorm ran to catch up, dragging the greatsword behind her, leaving a little groove behind her.

As they approached the entry of the Warriors Camp, Spring Night called out:

“Fuzz!”

After a short period of silence, a soft trotting could be heard from behind the gate and soon a young colt came through the gate.

“Spring Night! What’s up?” He greeted her friendly.

As Spring Night started explaining their situation, Sunstorm got distracted by some movement in the bushes surrounding the camp. She went to see what it was, and when she got ready to shake the bush, Silver Wing’s head popped out of it. She pulled her tongue out at her, then jumped out of the bush followed by Zephyr who was with her in the bush and the two kids started running across the training grounds, causing protests from the warriors as their training was interrupted.

“Were they eavesdropping on us?” Sunstorm wondered.

“Sunstorm!” Spring Night called her. She quickly trotted back to them and decided to forget about the kids. “Do you mind telling Fuzz what you saw in that prophecy please?”

“Oh, of course. 

It wasn’t something I saw, but I felt it, I knew it, like you know something in a dream without seeing it or hearing it, you know it’s true. That’s how I knew something big, something dark would come. It felt like that prophecy was not meant for me to see. But maybe I was the only one to see it. 

A voice spoke, it told me: 

“Don’t forget the past

For it might come back to feed on you.

On the day between spring and summer

The past is closest to the present

And the future is being set in stone.”

During the time the voice spoke I saw the seasons come and go twelve times. And I felt that it was not talking about anything good. I may not have been the one who had to see this but I know it’s true. I know that if I’m the one who saw it, it is my duty to prepare for it, and warn the grifix about it. But they don’t believe me. I’m worried. I felt that might be the end of us. I don’t want it to be so. Please help me save the village.”

Spring Night turned to Fuzz: “It happened three years ago, and the seasons changing twelve times could mean that it would happen after three years, so in other words this year... And yesterday was the Spring Equinox. From now until the Summer Solstice it may happen anytime, if she’s right. I have no way to confirm what she’s saying, but if it’s true, something evil is coming. And you have the eyes to see it.”

*

“Eyes of the forest

Eyes of the dark

Come out and

Stab the king in the back!”

The rabbit grifix sang, slashing the bushes around her with her scythe. She then stopped and stood still for a moment.

“Ehehehe, someone’s watching me…”

* * *

II. “We must steal the Star Seeker”

He stepped through the corridor of trees. A small glade opened in front of him. Three grifix stood around a campfire. The fire was small, yet spread shadows all over. With the corner of his eye, he saw as if they were shadows of many grifix, yet when he would look at them they would disappear. 

On the left, closest to him, stood a grifix colored in many shades of brown and grey, with the resemblance of an owl. In the middle there was a dark grifix, with green mane and burnt skin in various places of his body - his lips were completely burnt off, revealing his teeth, making him look as if he was grinning, yet his eyes revealed nothing but sadness, misery and melancholy. His wings were completely gone, in their place being left only burns. On the right there stood a small grifix, with a rabbit mask. Her pink mane was tied up in two high pigtails. Near her, on the ground, there was a scythe, the high area of the handle being covered in many sculptures of rabbits, and the blade coming out of the mouth of a bigger rabbit head, with sharp fangs. 

When Forest Fang walked in, the Owl smiled warmly at him. The Rabbit grinned. The dark grifix barely raised his eyes to look at him.

“We must steal the Star Seeker”, said Forest Fang.

* * *

III. “Will you be able to repent your failure?”

The night fell over the camp. The lights lit up from the magic in the air. The grifix we’re getting ready for sleep, packing up stuff so they could leave as early as possible in the morning. In the peaceful atmosphere, no one could sense a thing. But eyes were lurking in the shadows.

The king was looking at some reports from the scouts in his tent. He didn’t tell the grifix about the recent findings, so they wouldn’t get too excited. It was important to keep the calm in the tribe for as long as possible. He only told them they would be moving the camp tomorrow. Suddenly, he felt as if he was being watched. Rapidly, his eyes flew to the corner of the tent, his sphirix getting up, alarmed, growling. He saw a pair of eyes in the dark. Then he heard a giggle. Next moment, a small grifix plunged towards him, swinging a giant scythe towards his head. He dodged it easily, the scythe breaking the table in two.

“Ha ha ha, I missed!” The small grifix spoke, a giant grin covering her face.

The king pulled out a knife with his magic and sent it flying towards her face, but she blocked it with a swing of her scythe, sending it flying sideways.

“Ayayay, mister King, that’s dangerous!” 

She then plunged towards him again, but he dodged her once more and she ended up just slashing the fabric of the tent.

*

In the middle of the camp, the grifix started getting agitated. A few guards went to see what was going on. A dark silhouette was sitting in the middle, where the fire was supposed to be. The fire had been put out and all lights around him seemed to shut down. He looked as if light was repelled by him. The guards surrounded him, pointing their spears at him. Then he smiled. All of a sudden, darkness spread from him, covering all around him, surrounding the guards and causing them to panic.

“My sphirix! It’s gone!” One of them shouted. Panic broke out.

*

In her tent, Eclipsa could hear the ruckus outside. She looked as if she was sleeping, but in fact she was only resting her eyes, as the tent walls were not a very fascinating sight and the monotony was tiring. At least the darkness of her mind could reveal far more interesting sights to her. She lifted her head though, when she heard the screams outside, out of curiosity. The grifix they brought some time ago was lying on the floor, his limbs tied up, with a blindfold on. His mouth was free, yet he didn’t speak a word since he came. He wasn’t moving, yet she could see his ears lifted up, alerted by the sound outside. “At least he’s conscious”, she thought.

Suddenly, she started hearing hoofsteps on the hallway. A grifix was running towards her room. In the dark, she saw the silhouette of a female, big yellow eyes scouting the room. Not a guard, or any usual visitors.

“Interesting.” Eclipsa thought to herself.

The mare looked at Eclipsa, and flinched as if she wasn’t expecting to see anybody there. She then turned towards the grifix lying on the floor as if she decided to ignore her, and untied his legs, then pushed him up on his feet. Confused, he stood up. She then ripped a hole in the tent with her magic and ran outside, dragging him after her.

Three guards then came running in the room.

“Hey, what happened here? Where’s the prisoner?!” The leader shouted,

“Ah, you should’ve tied him up better… it barely took him any effort to untie himself!”

“Quit lying, why is there a hole in the tent then??”

“Rats.” She replied ignorantly.

The guard narrowed his eyes, obviously not believing her, but gave up and ran out through the hole, followed by the other guards.

“Ahh, I truly wonder what’s going on…” she spoke to herself.

*

The king turned around to dodge her slash and caught her with his magic, throwing her through the fabric of the tent. When she got up, she noticed she was surrounded by warriors.

“Ayayay, you had to spoil the fun, didn’t you?” She told him.

A large green firework exploded over the forest. Her eyes quickly ran towards it, then she turned again to him.

“Aha! Time to head off!” She then slashed through the warriors with her scythe, opening a path and ran into the forest. 

The King turned towards the terrified screams in the middle of the camp. Healers and other grifix were standing as far as possible, looking terrified to the place where the fire should’ve been. There, warriors layed collapsed on the ground, surrounding a familiar figure of a grifix. His eyes looked straight at him, teal, intense, full of spite. Then darkness covered his figure and he was gone.

“You let the Star Seeker escape. Will you be able to repent your failure?” A loud voice filled the tribe. All grifix bowed in front of the priestess. The king, after a momentary hesitation, bowed as well.

* * *

IV. “Star Seeker, you must go back to your sky.”

Star Seeker opened his eyes. He saw woods like he had never been to. The seasons flowed, the moon and the sun ran on the sky, the shadows of the trees moved around quickly, revealing shadows of grifix that weren’t there. Then the scenery changed. A dark cave, with a pond in the middle. The cave was filled with an eerie light, coming from the water. A figure sat near the pond, with her back turned at him. Her head was crowned with long antlers that spread shadows all over the walls. The then suddenly turned her head, and looked straight in his eyes. Her eyes were an intense blue, as if they gathered all the light in the room inside.

“Star Seeker, you must go back to your sky.” She spoke.

Then he woke up.

But opening his eyes, he found himself in the same woods as before. Then in a blink of an eye, he was back in the cave, her sitting with her back turned at him. Then she turned her head again.

“Star Seeker, you must go back to your sky.”

He once again felt as if he woke up, only to witness the same scene again.

“Star Seeker, you must go back to your sky.”

The fourth time he opened his eyes, he found himself in a different forest. He felt like he had walked in there before. Perhaps that was reality, he thought. Four grifix stood around a campfire. The closest one to him smiled:

“You finally woke up!”

Still, those words kept echoing in his mind:

“Star Seeker, you must go back to your sky.”

* * *

V. “Death will also spread over the stars.”

“I left the village some time ago, and asked a water spirit for guidance. I had no clue of who I was, and home felt wrong, cause none of them knew where I came from. The Queen raised me with other orphans in the castle, but it all felt empty. Their smiles, their love, despite being true held no meaning to me. I wanted to find my family. The water spirit pointed me towards the tribe, and so I followed the south cross here. But I can’t tell what she wanted me to find here. I thought I was done for. And I still have no clue of who I am.”

“Oh, so you’re looking for your parents?” The rabbit grifix spoke. “Truth will reveal itself at once, but now it’s all irrelevant. You and your village are in far greater danger now than they’ve ever been before.”

“If that village you are talking about is what I think it is, it is done for.” A tall stallion with a long mane and green markings of his coat spoke. “In fact it’s irrelevant what it actually is. Important is what they believe it is. And now it’s definitely done for. They have one reason to live, and that is to kill all grifix outside of the Tribe. They’ll trace back your magic trails, and find it. They’ll kill everyone there.”

“Ahhh, what’s with this atmosphere now, we didn’t even introduce ourselves!” The grifix who smiled to him when he woke up spoke. “I’m Owl Fluffs! This is Forest Fang…” she said pointing to the long manned stallion. “…this is Haru…” she pointed towards the rabbit grifix. “…and this is Jedaite.” She lastly pointed towards a dark grifix with burns all over, that stood quietly by the fire.

“I’m Star Seeker…” he replied, but he got interrupted by Jedaite who suddenly raised his head:

“She told you to go back, didn’t she? The mare in the dream. You must listen to her.”

A few moments of silence followed, then Forest Fang spoke:

“We’ll escort you back to your village, but things will not be over by then. This is a war they will begin, and death will spread over your loved ones. But the greatest evil doesn't lie in this world. Death will also spread over the stars.”

* * *

Go south, Star Seeker, and find the lost ones.

For you were born from forbidden love.

And it’s not even love what it was,

For it was hatred and malice,

Yet here you are.

And the Stars will deny your existence

And they will try to erase it

And they will fail, your your existence

Is their only salvation.