Sasqua'ia
Chapter 04
Charles W Bird
[email protected]
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The story is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced by any means without the express, written permission of the author.
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From Chapter 3; The flow of refugees never became a flood, but each warm time saw a steady trickle of new talent and knowledge arriving in Sasqua’ia, enough to expand their lands with skills and talent. They were a happy people and were entering a period of new prosperity and expansion. New goods and services began appearing in their communities, new schools and services were built and whole new communities began appearing in the forest. Through all the expansion, the wolf folk kept pace and were honored citizens in the communities. The period of peace and expansion would last for many years, but like many things, there would be bumps in the road of progress and the warriors kept in mind that the evil one was not the only one of its kind.
FARM PROSPERITY
The squads continued their duty each warm time up on the Guardian, but it had become a job of assisting the trickle of emigrants wishing sanctuary in Sasqua’ia. Legends of the huge Wolf Warriors had trickled down to the outside lands and young Human and New Human boys came just to meet these fabulous creatures of their legends.
Kon’r had finally attained his full growth, his shoulders stood six feet off the ground and he weighed in at over 900 pounds, his paws were capable of smashing stones into sand.
Still, he had not lost his love for the pups of the Humans and New Humans, when he and his New Human son, Jam’il, were not on duty, there would be a line of boys and, some females, waiting to be with the huge Wolf Warrior and his human son.
When Kon’r mated, his mate, Gan’la, presented him with seven wolf pups, four sturdy young males and three females of startling beauty. One of the male pups, Forc’r, had a coat of shiny rust red, a color most unusual among the wolf folk. That would not be the only thing unusual about young Forc’r. He would grow into the most powerful of his kind to have ever lived.
In addition, Forc’r was already much larger than his litter mates and, at the age of six months he was an accomplished mind-speaker.
He and Jam’is, his new human sibling, were fast becoming a pair to be reckoned with. What one could not get into, the other could. They were not destructive, merely inquisitive, wanting to know “how” and “why” of the world around them.
Jam’is was a distance speaker and Forc’r could push his mind out almost as far, more, it was discovered that Forc’r had inherited his sire’s ability of levitation, a skill he was able to teach his brother, Jam’is.
Jam’is discovered his ability when there was a peach at the very top of the tree that he wanted. The tree would not support him climbing after that peach and, as he studied it, it suddenly appeared in his hands.
Forc’r smiled, “See, I told you that you could do it.” Jam’is offered to share the peach with Forc’r, but the young wolf said he would prefer a fat rabbit.
The two younglings grew rapidly and Jam’is insisted that Forc’r attend school with him, it was not long that the teacher made an alarming discovery, Forc’r could read!
The teacher, a young Sasqua’ia, tried an experiment, he taught Forc’r about mathematics and Forc’r could pass every test the teacher could give him.
When Tan’el reported the matter to his superiors, they refused to believe him, so they came to observe Tan’el’s class. When they left, they were shaking their heads, one said, “I saw it and I know it is true, but I cannot believe it!”
Kon’r remarked to his friend Can’tu, “What would they do if Jam’is and Forc’er lifted them over the trees?”
By the time the next cold time had arrived, the two younglings had proven to the Council their powers of mind-speech, levitation and that Forc’er could both read and he understood moderately advanced arithmetic!
Forc’r’s litter mates, while not as powerful as Forc’r himself, were also gifted. All could read and the females had the gift of levitation. His three wolf brothers could distance mind-speak and well as image projection, a skill Forc’r himself was just beginning to learn control.
His litter-mates were far enough up on the learning curve to know to make themselves scarce when Forc’r was practicing image projection. His sisters found it quite unnerving to come around a bush and find a huge cat, or worse, a sheet of fire blocking their way.
His sire shook the daylights out of him when he found a dead fish in his favorite napping place and it turned into a huge snake as the two little gremlins were watching from behind a nearby tree.
Both youngsters sported a red paw prints on their “sit upons”!
As Jam’is and Forc’r grew older, their antics took on a more sophisticated nature, those around them were never sure if it was really a huge lizard blocking their path or more tricks.
Despite all their antics, both younglings were greatly loved by all those around them, whenever a child or a pup needed comfort, both were there, when a child was lost, both hunted until the child or pup was found.
By their third year together, none doubted they were a pair and a force to be reckoned with. Playground bullies gave them a wide berth, more than one had been humiliated by being dunked in the nearby stream and then deposited, naked, in the village square, while still dripping ice cold water.
Both had developed their levitation skills and could lift object several times their own weight.
At the beginning of their fourth year, a group of refugees came running along the trail that crossed Guardian. The folk had reduced the size of the mountain squad to two individuals, usually a wolf and a Human or new Human.
In the earlier hours of the morning, both Jam’is and Forc’r woke and sat bolt upright. They called out to their family, “Someone comes and they are hurt, hurry, we must help them.”
Their family was fully cognizant of the pair’s abilities and did not waste time questioning them. A force of Humans, new Humans and three wolves was put together and they headed up mountain, trailing Jam’is and Forc’r as they raced towards the struggling refugees.
The pair collected the Mountain Squad and they made their way down the outside slope of the Guardian. About half way down, they came across two mid-teen human boys, struggling to keep a group of small children on their feet and moving up the mountain.
They spotted Jam’is standing in the trail, flanked by a huge wolf, Forc’r. One of the boys, clearly frightened almost beyond his ability to cope, asked, “Art thee of the Beast Nation? Wilt thou assist us or eat us?”
Jam’is giggled, “We are of the Sasqua’ia Nation, but we do not eat boys, especially those who are not cooked!” Forc’r lay down and invited the small boys to rest against his warm fur as he sent to them, “From whom do you run?”
A small boy sent back to him, “We run from the masters, they caught us using mind-speech and sentenced us to death. Are you going to eat us now?”
Forc’r replied, “Why would I eat you, we have much better food in our home than scrawny boy!”
Jam’is was busy getting the story from the two older boys, the first one, who called himself Pet’r, said, “We were being held for the games, all those caught using mind powers are killed in the games.”
Jam’is asked, “What games? Games are supposed to be fun.”
Pet’r replied, “No, the games are to entertain the people. The Game Masters are chasing us and they will make us return to be killed.”
Forc’r stood up to his full height and sent, “No they won’t!” and he ambled slowly down the trail.
As soon as he was out of sight, Forc’r increased his speed to a dead run, his eyes glowing bright red and his fur standing straight up on his already huge body.
He came barreling around a corner in a face to face confrontation with some overweight men carrying spears and huffing their way up the trail. In his anger, Forc’r reduced the group to parts and stains on the trail surface.
He carefully washed his fur in a nearby stream before returning to where Jam’il was comforting the children and their teen protectors.
THE GAMES
They gathered up the children and teens and slowly made their way back up to the pass, where a relief party of wolves, new Humans and Humans met them, Jam’is told them all, that they knew while the small children were tended to.
The children’s feet and backs drew the anger of the wolves, even before the others had seen them. The children’s feet were all cut up from running across the stones and rocks of the mountain trail, their backs had old and new whip marks on them, many were open sores, oozing infection and a few still bleeding.
The Mother Wolves took those children and treated them as if they were their own pups, cleaning their oozing sores.
There were enough wolves that all the small children could ride. Before they started back down the inside slopes of the Guardian, Pet’r and his friend, Rob’n asked Jam’is, who seemed to be in charge, “What will happen to us, wilt thy folk take us in? Will they allow us to remain in thy lands? We do not fear for ourselves, but nothing must hurt the children.”
Jam’is and Forc’r stood in front of the two teens and they both sent, “Your concern proves you are good folk and does you great credit. You will be allowed to live among us and become one with our folk. We are a free society, where all are equal, Wolves, Humans, new Humans and Sasqua’ia. They all will make you welcome.”
Petr replied, “What are Sasqua’ia and, are not wolves mere beasts?”
Before Jam’il could reply, Forc’r sent mind pictures of the villages and homes in the lands below the Guardian. Then he sent, “We are not the beasts, we do not whip our children, we do not kill our children, we do not drive our children out into the wilderness and hunt them as a game to entertain others!”
The teens had no answer, other than a flood of tears that ran down their faces. Pet’r hugged Forc’r and whispered in his ear, “Forgive our ignorance, thou art more civilized than we, please, allow us to join with you.”
So it was that two teen boys, Pet’r and Rub’n and thirteen small human children were added to the land of Sasqua.
They maintained an easy pace down the mountain and arrived at Guardian Farm in time to join the evening meal. They were served heaping platters of cooked vegetables, seasoned and spiced in a manner never before enjoyed by the newcomers. The children all had cups of milk with their meal and dessert was fruit compote topped with mounds of freshly whipped cream.
The newcomers had eaten themselves into a stupor and were having to groan it off, never had they eaten such foods and none of them had ever even seen whipped cream, sweetened with wild honey before, let alone having eaten it.
After the meal, dishes of cheese were put out for any who wanted a little something more. Cheese, also, had never been seen by the children or the teens.
Pet’r and Rub’n were busy talking to each other, “We must find a way to stay here. Do you think they will let us? What if the find out we are together? We will do anything they ask of us to be allowed to remain.”
Jam’is sat there “eavesdropping” on their conversation and, finally, he could not constrain himself any longer, he said to the two teens, “You are already part of us and, it does not matter if you are together or not, you have already been accepted, so stop worrying and come with me and Forc’r, there is a warm spring nearby where we can soak the trail dirt off and ease our tired feet. Come on, let’s go!”
The foursome walked a short distance to where there was a natural hot spring and they tossed their clothes onto a nearby bush. They stepped in to soak their tired and sore bodies and let the warm water ease their hurts. The rest of the blood soaked out of Forc’r’s fur, when Pet’r asked about it, he replied with one word, “Masters” and smiled so that his canines dropped into full view.
The two teens took the hint, the Masters were never going to find them!
The folk at Guardian Farm were concerned about the games the Masters were playing, if they wanted to kill themselves, that was just fine, but to treat children as forest animals and hunt them down for sport could not be allowed.
The Wolves were stomping around, their angry eyes glowing like charcoal embers, the Humans and New Humans were likewise enraged. The Sasqua’ia, being of a quieter temperament, were not displaying their anger, but they, also, were ready to join the others in erasing this abomination.
Council was held and Forc’r and Jam’is were appointed force leaders and told to select one hundred of the folk to put an end to the Master’s Games. The entire Wolf Pack volunteered as did hundreds of Humans and New Humans.
There was a mob of young Sasqua’ia also demanding to be included in the force.
Jam’is and Forc’r felt the only fair way to choose was by lottery, they would choose thirty-three individuals from each race and then there would be one bonus member selected by a drawing.
By mid-day, all had been chosen, except for the bonus member, but before they could draw a name, Pet’r stood up and said, “I claim the bonus position as my right to correct this terrible wrong.”
He was shaking like a leaf as he continued, “The small boy who died as we approached the Guardian Mountain was my baby brother, Jon! I WILL avenge him!” No one argued with the angry teen, who by now, had burst into angry tears and was being comforted by his partner, Rub’n.
The force trained for a week until they thought they were ready, Forc’r had told Jam’is about the overweight masters he had turned into chunks of blubber and they both figured that, if the rest of the masters were like that, it would be over very soon.
Rub’n and Pet’r agreed that the next Master’s Games would be held at the full of the moon, that gave them four days to get there and make ready. They left the next morning.
At the last minute, Rub’n begged Jam’is to allow him to accompany his Partner, Pet’r, and Jam’is relented; he could not bear to split up the two.
They headed over the Guardian and down the far-side trail. At the bottom, Pet’r directed them across two small rivers and out onto the meadow beyond, where he said the Games would begin.
Both Pet’r and Rub’n agreed, the Masters would give the children a candle of time for a head-start. Pet’r described the candle and they guessed at its duration.
The games were to start the next day as the full moon was rising while they stood there. The most likely direction the children would run would be across the shallow part of the creek and into the woods beyond.
Jam’is spread his forces out along a line, twenty strides into the dense forest. He told them all to bed down and make no noise as it was likely the Masters would cheat and place some of their men along that path the children were expected to take.
He told them all, “No Master is to survive these last games!”
It was a grim force that settled down that night, their anger kept them alert all night long.
The next morning, there were a few muffled grunts as the cheating Masters met their end.
They waited until the children had been gathered and then sent rushing into the trees, presumably to meet their fate. What did face them were the smiling faces of those from Sasqua, their arms open and all sending visions of love and care.
The frightened children collapsed into the waiting arms and were hurriedly carried away from harm’s way, while the remainder of the force waited to meet the charge of the Masters. The fleeing children were collected as they ran by, many struggled in their fear, so great was their freight.
The wolves and many of the new Humans waited for the pursuing Masters to arrive, when they had completed their task, all that remained were heaps of body parts and gore seeping into the thirsty forest soil.
They had collected forty-five children, ranging from six years old to mid-teens, it took several hours to calm them down and to convince them that they were not going to be killed.
Packets of food had been carried, so that the children could have a meal before the long trek back over The Guardian to Sasqua.
It was still early morning when they departed that terrible valley of horrors and began the climb upwards, towards the pass that led to Sasqua. They left a dozen Warriors to augment the Squad in case there was pursuit, and they made it back to Guardian Farm just before dark.
The place was lit by lanterns and the tables were filled with hot food, waiting for the children to eat their fill. The children, not yet realizing that they were free, were hesitant to ask for seconds, but hunger overcame fear and children hesitantly brought their bowls back, asking if they could have a little bit more.
Their eyes bugged out when the mothers refilled their bowls, heaping savory food to the brim, then laying a piece of warm bread, slathered in butter and berry jam on the top.
Just when the children though they could eat no more, a group of young Sasqua’ia came trooping in. They carrying tubs of freshly made ice cream and huge bowls of toppings.
The children forgot their fright, seeing beasts bring food, as they were served a desert none had ever seen before nor had they ever heard of such a treat!
Pet’r and Rub’n came to Jam’is and Forc’r and knelt before them, Petr said, “Jam’is, Forc’r, you have helped us and guided us, you made it possible for my baby brother, Jon, to rest easy in his grave. May we join with you and be part of your family, we would claim no other?”
Jam’is replied, “Will you love and protect the children? Will you keep the secret of the Sasqua’ia? Will you love and honor each other, attend school and be a credit to our community? If you will do all these things, we accept you among us.”
The two teens held hands and promised to do all those things and anything else that needed to be done.
Kon’r, now Pack Leader of the Wolves approached the four and sent, “You are welcome here and I urge you to start a family, for in a family comes happiness and contentment. Pet’r and Rub’n looked with awe at the giant wolf, parent to Forc’r and Jam’is, leader of all wolves in Sasqua. The two boys hugged each other and, for the first time, they dared kiss each other in public.
A gaggle of juvenile wolves had followed Kon’r and they howled as the two kissed. The boys’ faces turned bright red, but they saw no disapproval on the faces of their audience, in fact there were several young wolves who clearly displayed envy.
Both Pet’r and Rub’n felt they should do something to earn their keep and they asked permission to start a pre-school for the youngsters who had been salvaged from the Masters. Kon’r assured them the Council would approve their idea and told them to go ahead.
They gathered the fifty-five small children who had either run from the Masters or had been rescued from their games and began morning classes for them under the cool shade of the trees.
Soon, they had young wolves and Sasqua’ia children, as well as Human and new Humans children attending. They had so many, they had to split it into morning sessions and afternoon sessions and they had to recruit other teens to assist them, in less than a week’s time, they had nearly two hundred students!
It was a labor of love for Pet’r and Rub’n as they started their own family by adopting two small boys and a female human. All three had been badly abused and suffered physical handicaps.
In subsequent raids against the people of the Masters, the wolves brought back several additional children who had been physically maimed and the two young men took them in also. They became fathers to a family of six boys and four females.
Pet’r and Rub’n built their own house not far from where Jam’is and Forc’r lived and there was always a litter of human children and wolf pups romping and playing in their yard. An occasional young Sasqua’ia would be seen among them.
Lunch was always a mob scene, neither Pet’r nor Rub’n ever knew how many children they would be feeding for lunch, only rarely was it just their own, and most of the time, the number exceeded thirty!
It was good times for those of the Sasqua Nation, food was plentiful and the Squad kept those who would harm them from crossing the Guardian. It was, then, a shock when Tim’br, a young wolfling from a litter parented by Kon’r and Gan’la, mind-sent a message that there were strangers coming from the Northern Forest.
THE H’PEE RETURN
Young Tim’br proudly led a group of Humans and New Humans into the Guardian Farm compound. Tac’li and Ban’al, Patriarch Fathers of Guardian Farm, met the newcomers and made them welcome. The leader of the group mind-spoke to Tac’li and Ban’al, “Sir, our ancestors were the H’pee and they foolishly left this area in hopes of finding a better place. Sir, there is no better place, could you find it in your hearts to allow our return?”
Tac’li was transmitting to the Council and they urged him to accept the newcomers, they were a folk that held a special place in the hearts of all Sasqua’ia.
Tac’li and Ban’al made them welcome and told them to bring forth their folk, who were hiding in the forest.
Tal Hunt’r, the H’pee spokesman, waved his hand and his people slowly left the shelter of the tall trees and came to stand beside him. When all had come, they counted sixteen adults, ten teens and twenty-five children. Tal Hunt’r said, “This is all that remain of our people, had you not accepted us, sure we would not have lasted another cold season,”
The folk of the Sasqua looked at the newcomers, their pinched faces and ribs showing, even under their ragged clothing. The children had festering sores of mal-nutrition and their thin hair was falling out.
Mothers of all the races gathered up the children and took them into their own homes to feed them and get them cleaned up.
Pet’r and Rub’n were horrified, the teens were in worse condition than the children, they gently led the teens to the warm water pool and assisted them in bathing.
Forc’r ran between the homes gathering clothing in his massive jaws and brought the clothing to the pool. He and his fellow wolves stood by to assist any teen who was having trouble walking, their bodies and limbs abundantly displayed the effects of little food and the difficulties they had endured to get there.
Forc’r counted the H’pee, there were fifty-one out of the hundreds their legends said had departed generations ago. The huge wolf discovered he had the Human ability to cry.
Food was brought out for the newcomers and the children were allowed all they could eat. Some of them teens ate until they could hold no more, then they went to assist their parents in caring for their younger brothers and sisters.
Before long, there were Mother Wolves stretched out in the warm grass, cuddling small children and teens alike.
Pet’r and Rub’n assisted Forc’r in gathering additional clothing and had it ready when the teens began to awaken; they were so weak and stricken, that neither the teen girls nor the teen boys felt any shame in their nakedness.
It would be days before the folk of the H’pee were able to do much more than sleep and eat, and by that time, all had been housed in the homes of the several races of Sasqua’ia.
One little H’pee boy child took a liking to the giant wolf and he followed Forc’r around, wherever he went. When Forc’r would curl up for a rest, the child would snuggle up, between Forc’r’s legs and stomach.
The child told Forc’r that his name was Blu Rob’n and he had no Mama or Papa.
Forc’r thought about the little boy, day and night, he couldn’t get the child out of his mind. He knew that his own sire had adopted his Brother, Jam’is and he wondered if he could do the same.
He went to his sire, Kon’r and asked his advice. Kon’r took him directly to council and when they returned, Forc’r had permission to ask little Blu Rob’n if he wanted a Wolf Papa.
The little boy just sighed and snuggled up closer to his huge protector. So it was that a huge wolf became the proud Papa of a small six year old H’pee boy.
Tim’br looked on the proceedings and planned his own adventure with a H’pee child, within days Tim’br had adopted Be’r, a five year old boy, who also had no parents.
While Tim’br was somewhat younger than Forc’r, they became close friends and Jam’is built them both a house next to his own. Some of the local children called the new house, The Kennel, but never in the hearing of either Tim’br or Forc’r. They knew better than to antagonize a nine hundred pound wolf, whose teeth resembled the rock spires on The Guardian!
Things quieted down for the Sasqua community, but it was not to last. The strange leavings from the bombs dropped during the Human’s Great War created different beings, descended from both the humans and the animals that lived where the bombs had been dropped.
Most of these altered beings had died out, but the most hardy of them survived and harbored a hatred of all other beings different from themselves. The folk of Sasqua had no knowledge of the Ka’aa, their Sasqua’ia forebears had shielded them from that awful knowledge. That would prove to be a grave error.
There were troubled times coming, soon and new horrors would be visited upon the folk of the forest..
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TBC
There are troubled times ahead, mutant creatures threaten to over-run the folk of Sasqua and most of those creatures are cannibals.
[email protected]
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The story is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced by any means without the express, written permission of the author.
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From Chapter 3; The flow of refugees never became a flood, but each warm time saw a steady trickle of new talent and knowledge arriving in Sasqua’ia, enough to expand their lands with skills and talent. They were a happy people and were entering a period of new prosperity and expansion. New goods and services began appearing in their communities, new schools and services were built and whole new communities began appearing in the forest. Through all the expansion, the wolf folk kept pace and were honored citizens in the communities. The period of peace and expansion would last for many years, but like many things, there would be bumps in the road of progress and the warriors kept in mind that the evil one was not the only one of its kind.
FARM PROSPERITY
The squads continued their duty each warm time up on the Guardian, but it had become a job of assisting the trickle of emigrants wishing sanctuary in Sasqua’ia. Legends of the huge Wolf Warriors had trickled down to the outside lands and young Human and New Human boys came just to meet these fabulous creatures of their legends.
Kon’r had finally attained his full growth, his shoulders stood six feet off the ground and he weighed in at over 900 pounds, his paws were capable of smashing stones into sand.
Still, he had not lost his love for the pups of the Humans and New Humans, when he and his New Human son, Jam’il, were not on duty, there would be a line of boys and, some females, waiting to be with the huge Wolf Warrior and his human son.
When Kon’r mated, his mate, Gan’la, presented him with seven wolf pups, four sturdy young males and three females of startling beauty. One of the male pups, Forc’r, had a coat of shiny rust red, a color most unusual among the wolf folk. That would not be the only thing unusual about young Forc’r. He would grow into the most powerful of his kind to have ever lived.
In addition, Forc’r was already much larger than his litter mates and, at the age of six months he was an accomplished mind-speaker.
He and Jam’is, his new human sibling, were fast becoming a pair to be reckoned with. What one could not get into, the other could. They were not destructive, merely inquisitive, wanting to know “how” and “why” of the world around them.
Jam’is was a distance speaker and Forc’r could push his mind out almost as far, more, it was discovered that Forc’r had inherited his sire’s ability of levitation, a skill he was able to teach his brother, Jam’is.
Jam’is discovered his ability when there was a peach at the very top of the tree that he wanted. The tree would not support him climbing after that peach and, as he studied it, it suddenly appeared in his hands.
Forc’r smiled, “See, I told you that you could do it.” Jam’is offered to share the peach with Forc’r, but the young wolf said he would prefer a fat rabbit.
The two younglings grew rapidly and Jam’is insisted that Forc’r attend school with him, it was not long that the teacher made an alarming discovery, Forc’r could read!
The teacher, a young Sasqua’ia, tried an experiment, he taught Forc’r about mathematics and Forc’r could pass every test the teacher could give him.
When Tan’el reported the matter to his superiors, they refused to believe him, so they came to observe Tan’el’s class. When they left, they were shaking their heads, one said, “I saw it and I know it is true, but I cannot believe it!”
Kon’r remarked to his friend Can’tu, “What would they do if Jam’is and Forc’er lifted them over the trees?”
By the time the next cold time had arrived, the two younglings had proven to the Council their powers of mind-speech, levitation and that Forc’er could both read and he understood moderately advanced arithmetic!
Forc’r’s litter mates, while not as powerful as Forc’r himself, were also gifted. All could read and the females had the gift of levitation. His three wolf brothers could distance mind-speak and well as image projection, a skill Forc’r himself was just beginning to learn control.
His litter-mates were far enough up on the learning curve to know to make themselves scarce when Forc’r was practicing image projection. His sisters found it quite unnerving to come around a bush and find a huge cat, or worse, a sheet of fire blocking their way.
His sire shook the daylights out of him when he found a dead fish in his favorite napping place and it turned into a huge snake as the two little gremlins were watching from behind a nearby tree.
Both youngsters sported a red paw prints on their “sit upons”!
As Jam’is and Forc’r grew older, their antics took on a more sophisticated nature, those around them were never sure if it was really a huge lizard blocking their path or more tricks.
Despite all their antics, both younglings were greatly loved by all those around them, whenever a child or a pup needed comfort, both were there, when a child was lost, both hunted until the child or pup was found.
By their third year together, none doubted they were a pair and a force to be reckoned with. Playground bullies gave them a wide berth, more than one had been humiliated by being dunked in the nearby stream and then deposited, naked, in the village square, while still dripping ice cold water.
Both had developed their levitation skills and could lift object several times their own weight.
At the beginning of their fourth year, a group of refugees came running along the trail that crossed Guardian. The folk had reduced the size of the mountain squad to two individuals, usually a wolf and a Human or new Human.
In the earlier hours of the morning, both Jam’is and Forc’r woke and sat bolt upright. They called out to their family, “Someone comes and they are hurt, hurry, we must help them.”
Their family was fully cognizant of the pair’s abilities and did not waste time questioning them. A force of Humans, new Humans and three wolves was put together and they headed up mountain, trailing Jam’is and Forc’r as they raced towards the struggling refugees.
The pair collected the Mountain Squad and they made their way down the outside slope of the Guardian. About half way down, they came across two mid-teen human boys, struggling to keep a group of small children on their feet and moving up the mountain.
They spotted Jam’is standing in the trail, flanked by a huge wolf, Forc’r. One of the boys, clearly frightened almost beyond his ability to cope, asked, “Art thee of the Beast Nation? Wilt thou assist us or eat us?”
Jam’is giggled, “We are of the Sasqua’ia Nation, but we do not eat boys, especially those who are not cooked!” Forc’r lay down and invited the small boys to rest against his warm fur as he sent to them, “From whom do you run?”
A small boy sent back to him, “We run from the masters, they caught us using mind-speech and sentenced us to death. Are you going to eat us now?”
Forc’r replied, “Why would I eat you, we have much better food in our home than scrawny boy!”
Jam’is was busy getting the story from the two older boys, the first one, who called himself Pet’r, said, “We were being held for the games, all those caught using mind powers are killed in the games.”
Jam’is asked, “What games? Games are supposed to be fun.”
Pet’r replied, “No, the games are to entertain the people. The Game Masters are chasing us and they will make us return to be killed.”
Forc’r stood up to his full height and sent, “No they won’t!” and he ambled slowly down the trail.
As soon as he was out of sight, Forc’r increased his speed to a dead run, his eyes glowing bright red and his fur standing straight up on his already huge body.
He came barreling around a corner in a face to face confrontation with some overweight men carrying spears and huffing their way up the trail. In his anger, Forc’r reduced the group to parts and stains on the trail surface.
He carefully washed his fur in a nearby stream before returning to where Jam’il was comforting the children and their teen protectors.
THE GAMES
They gathered up the children and teens and slowly made their way back up to the pass, where a relief party of wolves, new Humans and Humans met them, Jam’is told them all, that they knew while the small children were tended to.
The children’s feet and backs drew the anger of the wolves, even before the others had seen them. The children’s feet were all cut up from running across the stones and rocks of the mountain trail, their backs had old and new whip marks on them, many were open sores, oozing infection and a few still bleeding.
The Mother Wolves took those children and treated them as if they were their own pups, cleaning their oozing sores.
There were enough wolves that all the small children could ride. Before they started back down the inside slopes of the Guardian, Pet’r and his friend, Rob’n asked Jam’is, who seemed to be in charge, “What will happen to us, wilt thy folk take us in? Will they allow us to remain in thy lands? We do not fear for ourselves, but nothing must hurt the children.”
Jam’is and Forc’r stood in front of the two teens and they both sent, “Your concern proves you are good folk and does you great credit. You will be allowed to live among us and become one with our folk. We are a free society, where all are equal, Wolves, Humans, new Humans and Sasqua’ia. They all will make you welcome.”
Petr replied, “What are Sasqua’ia and, are not wolves mere beasts?”
Before Jam’il could reply, Forc’r sent mind pictures of the villages and homes in the lands below the Guardian. Then he sent, “We are not the beasts, we do not whip our children, we do not kill our children, we do not drive our children out into the wilderness and hunt them as a game to entertain others!”
The teens had no answer, other than a flood of tears that ran down their faces. Pet’r hugged Forc’r and whispered in his ear, “Forgive our ignorance, thou art more civilized than we, please, allow us to join with you.”
So it was that two teen boys, Pet’r and Rub’n and thirteen small human children were added to the land of Sasqua.
They maintained an easy pace down the mountain and arrived at Guardian Farm in time to join the evening meal. They were served heaping platters of cooked vegetables, seasoned and spiced in a manner never before enjoyed by the newcomers. The children all had cups of milk with their meal and dessert was fruit compote topped with mounds of freshly whipped cream.
The newcomers had eaten themselves into a stupor and were having to groan it off, never had they eaten such foods and none of them had ever even seen whipped cream, sweetened with wild honey before, let alone having eaten it.
After the meal, dishes of cheese were put out for any who wanted a little something more. Cheese, also, had never been seen by the children or the teens.
Pet’r and Rub’n were busy talking to each other, “We must find a way to stay here. Do you think they will let us? What if the find out we are together? We will do anything they ask of us to be allowed to remain.”
Jam’is sat there “eavesdropping” on their conversation and, finally, he could not constrain himself any longer, he said to the two teens, “You are already part of us and, it does not matter if you are together or not, you have already been accepted, so stop worrying and come with me and Forc’r, there is a warm spring nearby where we can soak the trail dirt off and ease our tired feet. Come on, let’s go!”
The foursome walked a short distance to where there was a natural hot spring and they tossed their clothes onto a nearby bush. They stepped in to soak their tired and sore bodies and let the warm water ease their hurts. The rest of the blood soaked out of Forc’r’s fur, when Pet’r asked about it, he replied with one word, “Masters” and smiled so that his canines dropped into full view.
The two teens took the hint, the Masters were never going to find them!
The folk at Guardian Farm were concerned about the games the Masters were playing, if they wanted to kill themselves, that was just fine, but to treat children as forest animals and hunt them down for sport could not be allowed.
The Wolves were stomping around, their angry eyes glowing like charcoal embers, the Humans and New Humans were likewise enraged. The Sasqua’ia, being of a quieter temperament, were not displaying their anger, but they, also, were ready to join the others in erasing this abomination.
Council was held and Forc’r and Jam’is were appointed force leaders and told to select one hundred of the folk to put an end to the Master’s Games. The entire Wolf Pack volunteered as did hundreds of Humans and New Humans.
There was a mob of young Sasqua’ia also demanding to be included in the force.
Jam’is and Forc’r felt the only fair way to choose was by lottery, they would choose thirty-three individuals from each race and then there would be one bonus member selected by a drawing.
By mid-day, all had been chosen, except for the bonus member, but before they could draw a name, Pet’r stood up and said, “I claim the bonus position as my right to correct this terrible wrong.”
He was shaking like a leaf as he continued, “The small boy who died as we approached the Guardian Mountain was my baby brother, Jon! I WILL avenge him!” No one argued with the angry teen, who by now, had burst into angry tears and was being comforted by his partner, Rub’n.
The force trained for a week until they thought they were ready, Forc’r had told Jam’is about the overweight masters he had turned into chunks of blubber and they both figured that, if the rest of the masters were like that, it would be over very soon.
Rub’n and Pet’r agreed that the next Master’s Games would be held at the full of the moon, that gave them four days to get there and make ready. They left the next morning.
At the last minute, Rub’n begged Jam’is to allow him to accompany his Partner, Pet’r, and Jam’is relented; he could not bear to split up the two.
They headed over the Guardian and down the far-side trail. At the bottom, Pet’r directed them across two small rivers and out onto the meadow beyond, where he said the Games would begin.
Both Pet’r and Rub’n agreed, the Masters would give the children a candle of time for a head-start. Pet’r described the candle and they guessed at its duration.
The games were to start the next day as the full moon was rising while they stood there. The most likely direction the children would run would be across the shallow part of the creek and into the woods beyond.
Jam’is spread his forces out along a line, twenty strides into the dense forest. He told them all to bed down and make no noise as it was likely the Masters would cheat and place some of their men along that path the children were expected to take.
He told them all, “No Master is to survive these last games!”
It was a grim force that settled down that night, their anger kept them alert all night long.
The next morning, there were a few muffled grunts as the cheating Masters met their end.
They waited until the children had been gathered and then sent rushing into the trees, presumably to meet their fate. What did face them were the smiling faces of those from Sasqua, their arms open and all sending visions of love and care.
The frightened children collapsed into the waiting arms and were hurriedly carried away from harm’s way, while the remainder of the force waited to meet the charge of the Masters. The fleeing children were collected as they ran by, many struggled in their fear, so great was their freight.
The wolves and many of the new Humans waited for the pursuing Masters to arrive, when they had completed their task, all that remained were heaps of body parts and gore seeping into the thirsty forest soil.
They had collected forty-five children, ranging from six years old to mid-teens, it took several hours to calm them down and to convince them that they were not going to be killed.
Packets of food had been carried, so that the children could have a meal before the long trek back over The Guardian to Sasqua.
It was still early morning when they departed that terrible valley of horrors and began the climb upwards, towards the pass that led to Sasqua. They left a dozen Warriors to augment the Squad in case there was pursuit, and they made it back to Guardian Farm just before dark.
The place was lit by lanterns and the tables were filled with hot food, waiting for the children to eat their fill. The children, not yet realizing that they were free, were hesitant to ask for seconds, but hunger overcame fear and children hesitantly brought their bowls back, asking if they could have a little bit more.
Their eyes bugged out when the mothers refilled their bowls, heaping savory food to the brim, then laying a piece of warm bread, slathered in butter and berry jam on the top.
Just when the children though they could eat no more, a group of young Sasqua’ia came trooping in. They carrying tubs of freshly made ice cream and huge bowls of toppings.
The children forgot their fright, seeing beasts bring food, as they were served a desert none had ever seen before nor had they ever heard of such a treat!
Pet’r and Rub’n came to Jam’is and Forc’r and knelt before them, Petr said, “Jam’is, Forc’r, you have helped us and guided us, you made it possible for my baby brother, Jon, to rest easy in his grave. May we join with you and be part of your family, we would claim no other?”
Jam’is replied, “Will you love and protect the children? Will you keep the secret of the Sasqua’ia? Will you love and honor each other, attend school and be a credit to our community? If you will do all these things, we accept you among us.”
The two teens held hands and promised to do all those things and anything else that needed to be done.
Kon’r, now Pack Leader of the Wolves approached the four and sent, “You are welcome here and I urge you to start a family, for in a family comes happiness and contentment. Pet’r and Rub’n looked with awe at the giant wolf, parent to Forc’r and Jam’is, leader of all wolves in Sasqua. The two boys hugged each other and, for the first time, they dared kiss each other in public.
A gaggle of juvenile wolves had followed Kon’r and they howled as the two kissed. The boys’ faces turned bright red, but they saw no disapproval on the faces of their audience, in fact there were several young wolves who clearly displayed envy.
Both Pet’r and Rub’n felt they should do something to earn their keep and they asked permission to start a pre-school for the youngsters who had been salvaged from the Masters. Kon’r assured them the Council would approve their idea and told them to go ahead.
They gathered the fifty-five small children who had either run from the Masters or had been rescued from their games and began morning classes for them under the cool shade of the trees.
Soon, they had young wolves and Sasqua’ia children, as well as Human and new Humans children attending. They had so many, they had to split it into morning sessions and afternoon sessions and they had to recruit other teens to assist them, in less than a week’s time, they had nearly two hundred students!
It was a labor of love for Pet’r and Rub’n as they started their own family by adopting two small boys and a female human. All three had been badly abused and suffered physical handicaps.
In subsequent raids against the people of the Masters, the wolves brought back several additional children who had been physically maimed and the two young men took them in also. They became fathers to a family of six boys and four females.
Pet’r and Rub’n built their own house not far from where Jam’is and Forc’r lived and there was always a litter of human children and wolf pups romping and playing in their yard. An occasional young Sasqua’ia would be seen among them.
Lunch was always a mob scene, neither Pet’r nor Rub’n ever knew how many children they would be feeding for lunch, only rarely was it just their own, and most of the time, the number exceeded thirty!
It was good times for those of the Sasqua Nation, food was plentiful and the Squad kept those who would harm them from crossing the Guardian. It was, then, a shock when Tim’br, a young wolfling from a litter parented by Kon’r and Gan’la, mind-sent a message that there were strangers coming from the Northern Forest.
THE H’PEE RETURN
Young Tim’br proudly led a group of Humans and New Humans into the Guardian Farm compound. Tac’li and Ban’al, Patriarch Fathers of Guardian Farm, met the newcomers and made them welcome. The leader of the group mind-spoke to Tac’li and Ban’al, “Sir, our ancestors were the H’pee and they foolishly left this area in hopes of finding a better place. Sir, there is no better place, could you find it in your hearts to allow our return?”
Tac’li was transmitting to the Council and they urged him to accept the newcomers, they were a folk that held a special place in the hearts of all Sasqua’ia.
Tac’li and Ban’al made them welcome and told them to bring forth their folk, who were hiding in the forest.
Tal Hunt’r, the H’pee spokesman, waved his hand and his people slowly left the shelter of the tall trees and came to stand beside him. When all had come, they counted sixteen adults, ten teens and twenty-five children. Tal Hunt’r said, “This is all that remain of our people, had you not accepted us, sure we would not have lasted another cold season,”
The folk of the Sasqua looked at the newcomers, their pinched faces and ribs showing, even under their ragged clothing. The children had festering sores of mal-nutrition and their thin hair was falling out.
Mothers of all the races gathered up the children and took them into their own homes to feed them and get them cleaned up.
Pet’r and Rub’n were horrified, the teens were in worse condition than the children, they gently led the teens to the warm water pool and assisted them in bathing.
Forc’r ran between the homes gathering clothing in his massive jaws and brought the clothing to the pool. He and his fellow wolves stood by to assist any teen who was having trouble walking, their bodies and limbs abundantly displayed the effects of little food and the difficulties they had endured to get there.
Forc’r counted the H’pee, there were fifty-one out of the hundreds their legends said had departed generations ago. The huge wolf discovered he had the Human ability to cry.
Food was brought out for the newcomers and the children were allowed all they could eat. Some of them teens ate until they could hold no more, then they went to assist their parents in caring for their younger brothers and sisters.
Before long, there were Mother Wolves stretched out in the warm grass, cuddling small children and teens alike.
Pet’r and Rub’n assisted Forc’r in gathering additional clothing and had it ready when the teens began to awaken; they were so weak and stricken, that neither the teen girls nor the teen boys felt any shame in their nakedness.
It would be days before the folk of the H’pee were able to do much more than sleep and eat, and by that time, all had been housed in the homes of the several races of Sasqua’ia.
One little H’pee boy child took a liking to the giant wolf and he followed Forc’r around, wherever he went. When Forc’r would curl up for a rest, the child would snuggle up, between Forc’r’s legs and stomach.
The child told Forc’r that his name was Blu Rob’n and he had no Mama or Papa.
Forc’r thought about the little boy, day and night, he couldn’t get the child out of his mind. He knew that his own sire had adopted his Brother, Jam’is and he wondered if he could do the same.
He went to his sire, Kon’r and asked his advice. Kon’r took him directly to council and when they returned, Forc’r had permission to ask little Blu Rob’n if he wanted a Wolf Papa.
The little boy just sighed and snuggled up closer to his huge protector. So it was that a huge wolf became the proud Papa of a small six year old H’pee boy.
Tim’br looked on the proceedings and planned his own adventure with a H’pee child, within days Tim’br had adopted Be’r, a five year old boy, who also had no parents.
While Tim’br was somewhat younger than Forc’r, they became close friends and Jam’is built them both a house next to his own. Some of the local children called the new house, The Kennel, but never in the hearing of either Tim’br or Forc’r. They knew better than to antagonize a nine hundred pound wolf, whose teeth resembled the rock spires on The Guardian!
Things quieted down for the Sasqua community, but it was not to last. The strange leavings from the bombs dropped during the Human’s Great War created different beings, descended from both the humans and the animals that lived where the bombs had been dropped.
Most of these altered beings had died out, but the most hardy of them survived and harbored a hatred of all other beings different from themselves. The folk of Sasqua had no knowledge of the Ka’aa, their Sasqua’ia forebears had shielded them from that awful knowledge. That would prove to be a grave error.
There were troubled times coming, soon and new horrors would be visited upon the folk of the forest..
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TBC
There are troubled times ahead, mutant creatures threaten to over-run the folk of Sasqua and most of those creatures are cannibals.