NationStates Jolt Archive

The two Velecian men rested in their small wooden boat, the waves rocking it back and forth as they waited for the gentle tug of a fish on their crudely made cane poles... The sun drifted down behind them and all that could be heard was the sound of the ocean, and the seabirds that flew nearby...

"We'll be needing to go back soon Jerrith, the fog is starting to form..."

"Be easy old man, a few more minutes, I can feel it, the Sea God will bless me with a fat fish to fill my belly this night." Jerrith says with a bright smile...

A few minutes pass and the smoke from lighting of the night fires can begin to be caught drifting on the evening air... Jerrith suddenly stands to his feet yelling praises as he tugs wildly at his fishing pole...but then he falls backwards and drops the cane rod into the deep blue waters as both men look into the distance and spot something they have never before seen...something that howls out to them...

"By the Gods! Row Jerrith! Row!"

It is hours later when the two fishermen reach the Capital...the mighty Ivory Palace is an impressive sight to behold and an honor for any commoner to enter. The men are led in through long halls, lit only by the flickering light of the silvery torches which line the walls. The two fishermen adjust their tattered clothes, as their armored and cloaked guide leads the way into the massive Throne Room which is adorned with the banners of the Kingdom...they kneel before the mighty King who now sits on his silver throne with a curious expression on his face; his High Priest standing at his side.

"Speak, what brings you into my counsel this night.."

The armored guide looks up, gazing only a moment into the great King's eyes... "My Lord, I was riding my mount on patrol along the coast when I came acrossed these men..." "At first I could not understand them for they seemed very frightened and disturbed m'lord...after a moment they told me what I think only they can explain to you now..."

Jerrith stands...he cups his hands infront of him and looks about the room nervously... "M..Majesty..my companion and I were fishing this eve...when..we saw a beast far in the distance...a beast that looked to be made of silver...its many eyes glowed yellow...and it howled a long bellow that would make even the fiercest animal flee and hide..."

The King...and old and superstitious man rubs his white beard and considers the words of the young fisherman..

"High Priest...what do the Gods have to say of this?"

The High Priest clears his throat and points to the sky.. "Oh mighty Lord...it is a sign...just today villages in the west reported seeing a bird that seemed to glimmer in the sunlight flying high above their heads, behind it's wings were lines of new clouds being created as it flew acrossed the heavens humming a loud sound as it finally disappeared into the distance..." "These are signs...first this morning by the Sky God...then this evening by the Sea God...perhaps it is a warning..."

The old King's face now fills with worry... "All available Guards to their posts...we must heed the warnings of the Gods..."

"We spotted the natives... Here."

Professor Edwin Drake was tall, blonde and young, which contrasted sharply with those grouped around the table, all of whom were dressed in jungle pattern combat fatigues. Drake, on the other hand, looked like a sore thumb with his knitted cream sweater and straw hat. Peering over the top of his glasses, it was easy to see why he was a Professor at large. "Major, we shouldn't antagonise these people."

Major Stoker was short and with flaming red hair that was tied up in a ponytail. With a squeaky voice, people often made the wrong assumptions, assumptions which were promptly shattered as soon as she smacked some sense into them. Drake had seen Stoker make short work of a handful of drunk bikers a few trips back. "Professor, we were sent out here for a number of reasons, like to find new strategic resources-"

"And also to make friends." Drake interrupted. "Just because we need sources of titanium, platinum and scandium among other things doesn't mean we have a right to take the resources out from under these people. Need I also remind you, Major, I'm in charge."

"Yes, sir." Stoker reluctantly agreed, but then forced her opinions up. "I recommend we take no more than a squad. We can easily get to this point on foot."

"Good. Keep your armaments light, outfit everyone for two days' survival." Drake approved. "Move out in an hour."

Leodis was a very tall younger man with long golden blonde hair and striking blue eyes who commanded great respect from the legions; he was quite a sight to see in his golden armor and crimson cloak. He takes a swig from his leather water sack as he sits atop his jetblack steed, ahead of him one of the northern villages, just before the heavily wooded mountains.

"My father trusts too much in his Priests..." "What do you think of all this Captain?"

Captain Foshgarr was a big and burly man, known for his ferocity and crude mouth..He spits on the ground before him and wipes his rusty-red beard...he then speaks with a grizzly deep voice and an angry tone "I think they are all fools...the Priests that is...they make signs out of nothing." "Perhaps they would choose to interpret their signs a little differently if they were the ones charging into battle..."

Leodis smiles... and looks back to the ten men atop their mounts behind him, whose silvery armor and blue cloaks now shimmered from the morning dew which shined in the early morning sunlight... "We are not the only ones Foshgarr... I am told that a great many of our warriors have been called to scour the lands and defend the villages and cities.." "Now let us go...we have a long day ahead of us yet...and you know what lies in the mountains..."

"Could they be hiding?"

In contrast to the dozen or so troops around him, Drake stood perfectly upright. The troops gripped their P-90s as if ready to use them, crouching in a loose line formation. Drake, on the other hand, had his hands in his pockets as if he were taking a nice stroll in the park.

Major Cunningham decided to break the stalemate. "The ocean is nearby, Professor." Cunningham decided sir wasn't a respect due to him.

"Why, you want a swim?" Drake smiled then continued on: "I know. Almost every urban city in history owes its location to one of three factors and we have one of them. Come on, this way."

About an hour passed in stony silence when the group reached the ocean at last. "Let's stop for a while and have a rest." Drake suggested. Cunningham looked annoyed at being given such a direct order, but kept her peace. Awkwardly, the troops knelt awkwardly as they chewed ration bars.

"What do we do if we find them? The natives might not be so friendly. I lost an ancestor when the Americans found the American Indians." Cunningham asked privately.

"We'll find out right now, won't we?" Drake broke the moment and stepped forward, his arms at his side as he watched the people approaching. "Everybody take it easy. Don't raise your weapons, but stay alert." Still smiling, he continued walking forward until about a hundred meters separated the two groups. "Hello."

The two young women approached slowly...their fishing nets thrown over their shoulders, their hair was pulled back with tattered cloth and their dresses were long and flowing yet quite dirty from their fishing duties...

"Amash'day e'lana..." The young fair skinned brunette woman says to Drake with a curious look as she walks to him and begins touching his sweater, all the while the second woman is yelling to the young brunette excitedly from a distance...

"I don't think they understand you."

Drake heard the smirk in Cunningham's voice without even bothering to turn around. "English isn't the only language on this planet, Major." He kept smiling. "I wonder if they speak polari..." Digging into his pockets, he managed to find a piece of paper and his trusted pen.

"What makes you think they're intelligent enough?" Cunningham kept her fingers interlaced with the trigger in her sidearm, as well as her distance.

"The nets and dresses. If they were hunters and gatherers, they would be wearing loincloths. But the fact that they can spin and weave fabrics, as well as make fishing nets puts them higher on the technology scale." Drake smiled as he handed over the paper, which had pictures of huts campfires and people around them. He then pointed at the blonde woman on his arm and then at the picture, praying they'd get the message.

"Liani! Oshka Liani!" The young brunette woman pulls on Drake's arm as she beams a smile...pulling him through the plains with his team trying to keep up...

After about fifteen or twenty minutes they reach the small village which has small stone buildings, a great hall, a palisade wall, silver torch-posts, a guard tower, and at its center a statue meant to represent the Sea God, patron of this small village.

"Miana drex, folay'dara." She says holding Drake's arm tightly as she brings him to the Great Hall, inside are ivory spires adorned with precious gems and golden writing in the Velecian tongue. The young girl walks up to an older man and curtsies him, he is wearing a very fine emerald colored robe trimmed in ebon, around his throat lies a silver necklace with a symbol that can also be found on the spires, as well as the banner which hangs from the ceiling.

"Who are they? And, why have you brought them hear Bria?" The headman says, nervously eyeing the strangers...

"They did not try to harm us m'lord Gerant, and look they seem peaceful, better to have them here to learn more...am I wrong?" Bria grins like giddy child whose just discovered something new and brilliant.

Gerant waves a servant over and whispers to him...all the while watching the newcomers...the servant bows and rushes away...

"The Guardians will not be pleased when they return Bria..."

"Do not be angry with me Gerant...I thought I was doing what was right...We can learn more this way...they speak a strange tongue, perhaps they are sent from the Gods...you know the rumors Gerant, you know thats why theyve sent the Guardians and the Legionaires out into the lands..."

"Precisely child...to keep evil from getting in here...as you might have just brought right to our door..."

Servants emerge from the back room carrying plates of food, mostly fish and vegetables, and silver goblets filled with mead...they seat the newcomers as Gerant puts on his best fake smile to play host to these strange visitors...

"I thank you for your hospitality." Drake said formally and bowed. While the natives might not speak English, he hoped certain gestures and movements would be familiar.

Beside him, Cunningham sat awkwardly, keeping her gaze level. Four of her troops were standing roughly backs to the wall at ease. Ironically, she noted her troops and the native guardsmen had the same wary expressions. Four more were just outside the Great Hall's entrance, with the remaining four carefully making a survey sweep of the settlement. Leaned closer, she began talking sotto voce: "Professor, I definitely don't feel we're very welcome. That Elder or Chief or whoever he is-"

"If our circumstances were reversed, you wouldn't trust him either." Drake said quietly, sampling the feast. "This is quite good." Drake smiled broadly as he saluted with a goblet of mead.

"But it's also not getting us anywhere." Cunningham insisted. "For all we know, they could be cannibals fattening us up so they can eat us."

"Then I hope you leave a bitter taste, Major." Drake chuckled as he reached into his pockets. Taking two empty bowls, he ripped open a bunch of little foil sachets into them. Reaching into his pockets again, he removed a small thermos and emptied it into two goblets. "Garlic roasted peas and cold borscht soup." He carefully placed a bowl and goblet in front of the elder as he sipped his own soup and ate some of the peas.

"Soup and peas, Professor? We're going to need more than that for trust." Cunningham pointed out, one eyebrow raised.

"Good point." Reaching into his pockets again, Drake piled on the ground a cricket ball, a battered journal, an umbrella, a calcuator, a rubber chiken and a box of CDs before he found his wallet. "This might work..." Carefully, he placed in front of the elder a picture of him, his wife and daughter.