"Changing of the Guard"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

The great badger turned and let Ebony be. Skulking toward the mound where the fox and snake looked down upon him, the badger lowered his head, a low growl resonating form deep within the beast's chest. The fox and snake appeared unconcerned. Ebony slowly pulled himself from his shell to watch the exchange.

 

"He does not seem to have heeded our warning, Rasp," the snake said to the fox.

 

"No, indeed," Rasp answered.

 

Ebony perked up when he heard the fox's name. Emerging fully from his shell, the great snail gazed upon the red fox with the blue jay feathers in his tail and wooden pegs in his ear. All of the adornments were new, but the voice was unmistakable. This was the fox Ebony had driven from his cave.

 

The badger snarled at the newcomers and stopped in his tracks.

 

"What do you want from me?"

 

"For you to leave," the snake replied.

 

"Unlikely."

 

The snake flicked his tongue, his clouded eyes unfocused but seeming to look right at the badger.  Turning his head to Rasp, he whispered, "End him."

 

The badger's gaze fell on the fox, and the fox stared hard at the badger. In a moment's flash, there was a wet, cracking thud, and everything was still. The badger stood like a stone, a long wooden spear protruding from his forehead. He emitted a soft exhale, then collapsed in a heap on the ground.

 

Ebony stared at the badger's body in disbelief. Only moments after he thought he would die, his enemy lay dead only feet from him.

 

His companion Snail Lords emerged from their protective shells and looked about, startled by the sudden change of events.

 

The black snake with his sightless eyes turned to address the small gathering.

 

"You are free to move on, but do not return to the Crystal Caverns," he said in his smooth, dangerous voice.

 

Ebony considered arguing the point, but a glance at the bleeding badger, whose body was beginning to cool and grow stiff with death, changed his mind.

 

Without a word, High Lord Ebony and his friends slowly crept along the path to the south, leaving the territory of the Crystal Caverns behind, apparently to be ruled by a blind snake and a red fox with a very deadly aim.

 



"The Watchers"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

The massive badger crept forward on large, wide paws. Ebony's comrades ducked into their shells and suctioned themselves to the earth. But the great badger had no interest in them.

 

Ebony continued to flash warning colors as the badger edged closer. Believing all was lost, the great snail ducked inside his shell and secured himself to the ground as his companions had done. The badger reached him and sniffed all about. Taking a great paw, the badger pried at the High Lord's shell where it was secured to the earth, trying to dislodge him. And the great beast would have succeeded had not two voices called to him.

 

"Be still," ordered the first voice.

 

"Or you will surely die," said the second. The smooth, sinister ribbon of his voice chilled every soul present to the very core.

 

The great badger turned his lumbering frame slowly about to see who had dared interrupt his meal.

 

To the side of the path, the land sloped upward into a low mound dotted with young trees. In a little clearing among the trees stood the red-orange form of a fox with wooden pegs drilled through his ear and blue jay feathers braided into his tail.

 

Beside him lay the source of the second, unnerving voice--an enormous black snake as large around as a sizeable limb.

 

A snake blind in both eyes...

 



"Stranger in a Strange Land"

(As told by Queen Sapphire to her adopted son Sky.)

 

High Lord Ebony and the three Snail Lords crept away from the Crystal Caverns, leaving the bodies of their comrades where they died. The flood had brought nothing but sorrow and death in its waters, and the caverns were tainted forever with the stench of death.

 

They inched along a path that led away from the flooded stream. Ahead of them in the center of the trail lay a soggy, miserable-looking creature with silver fur caked in clumps across its body and a black and white striped face. It was large and muscular and looked to be as large as the Snail Lords themselves.

 

"Stay here," Ebony said.

 

He crept forward to investigate the creature. The stench of wet fur filled the air the closer he got to the beast. Ebony approached carefully and bent low. The creature's muzzle twitched, sniffing the air. Slowly, its eyes cracked open, focusing on Ebony.

 

The great snail backed away slowly as the creature lifted its head, clearly exhausted but possessing a strength that was tangible.

 

Ebony's shell glowed warning shades of yellow and red, and the other Snail Lords began to back away in response.

 

The beast struggled to its feet and stood low to the ground on four dark, shaky legs. It lowered its head so that its back hunched in an aggressive posture, which alarmed the great snail. It turned to face Ebony fully.

 

The High Lord glanced at his companions. "Duck!"

 

A thick, raspy voice growled behind him. "No. Badger."