He was alone in the tropical wonderland. Every turn housed beauty and with that allure often came poison and death. A reassuring tap of the hilt of his sword, thankfully still in its scabbard, kept him pressing on, he had no other choice. Star cursed the backdrop of green, a never-ending colour that blended into one intoxicating wall of conformity. Thick vines plagued his every move, the occasional one proving to be a snake; of the mindless variety. Not that Star knew much of the legendary snakes. There’s was a planet no one ventured, unless they wanted a Serpent’s Blade or a death more painful than bore thinking about.
Something in the jungle laughed, a seductive laugh designed to draw Star closer. Every fibre in his body said no, and yet he shuffled over a tree stump and edged closer to the laughter, which was getter louder and deeper by the second. A powerful creature was the source of the sound.
‘Finally,’ the only word the Winter Tiger uttered before he drew a blade Star Wolf never thought to see in his life.
‘Is that a Serpent’s Blade?’ he couldn’t help but ask in wonder.
The sword in the Winter Tiger’s hand was magnificent. The hilt was a petrified black King Cobra’s head, curved in a perfect equilibrium to the razor-sharp, jagged blade. The blade itself was the snake’s spine, reinforced with iron edges, the tips of each bone encrusted with a shimmering diamond. It was the most dazzling weapon Star had ever laid eyes on, and then its savage beauty took on something impossible.
A hissing rattle emanated from the base of the weapon, the dead snake’s eyes glowed neon red, as did the iron edges of the jagged edge. The gentle buzz and crackle of electricity flowed through the weapon.
‘It is, not many left in the galaxy,’ said the Winter Tiger, swishing the blade back and forth, ‘mind you only three or four creatures remain alive that know how to make them, and I happen to have two in my employ. Have you ever been to Anguis?’
‘No! It’s impossible to travel onto the surface of Anguis, everyone knows the planet is overrun by snakes!’ said Star Wolf.
‘Indeed, and yet how does one acquire the Serpents for the blade?’ replied the Winter Tiger. The White Tiger was already charging as he finished the sentence, Star leapt right as the blade hissed through the air slicing through wet grass instead of Wolf flesh. Then the Tiger began a ferocious assault, hacking and driving Star deeper into thick jungle territory.
As Star stumbled backward it was all he could do to keep himself from falling over branches and tree trunks. Frantically he managed to draw his sword, the Wolf head pommel nearly slipping through his clammy grip. The clang of iron on iron saved Star’s life. Still the Winter Tiger drove Star Wolf back. With every retreating step Star noted the ground becoming spongy, almost sticky in parts as grass gave way to dirt and mud.
They were coming out into an opening, the treeline thinning, giving way to vast open spaces of boggy marshes, and yet still the Winter Tiger pursued. There was a vehement anger coursing through the Tiger and filtering out through his hissing blade, which was a blur of neon red flashing before Star Wolf. He’s too quick.
Star panicked, and in his desperation flung a handful of sticky mud at the Winter Tiger. The mud splattered across the Winter Tiger’s face, causing him to curse and wipe it off, which was enough time for Star to turn and run on all fours.
He didn’t get very far.
The earth beneath him collapsed and he fell into a dark chasm.
On the descent into the abyss he cracked his head against unforgiving rocks, and with the blow everything went black.
13. Lost On Ranae
An incessant dripping plagued Star’s sleep, restless he turned again and again hoping for respite from the monotonous pattering of water. No matter how much he shuffled he could neither wake from sleep nor fully give in to a deep slumber. As he lay, battling in limbo, a pleasant floral note caught his nostrils. The scent soothed his wearied mind and he fell into the sleep his body craved.
The drip returned, more powerful this time, if anything more of a flow. Damp lingered in the air, Star could taste it on his tongue, and still the floral notes crept at Star’s conscious as he tried to wake. He realised he sat in darkness, barring the walls, which flickered with iridescent, rainbow-coloured light. Star’s head spun and he winced at a sharp stabbing pain in the back of his skull, putting a paw on his head revealed blood. It had congealed, and a scab was forming.
‘How long have I been out?’ he asked the dark.
‘About an hour,’ responded the pitch-black.
Star shuffled backward until there was nowhere to go. He was trapped in a small cave he realised, a pocket within the rock, full of crystals in the jagged surfaces. As he squinted his eyes and breathed deep, trying to adjust to the dark and fusty conditions down in the caves, he remembered fleeing the Winter Tiger, to his shame, and falling down a sinkhole out on a marsh.
He wasn’t alone in the cave.
A glimmer of rock crystal showered the Winter Tiger in light.
This time it was Star who reacted first, charging on all fours, full tilt at the Tiger. He leapt into the air, crashing hard and collapsing in a heap. He’d hit another, near-invisible rock-wall at which the Winter Tiger chuckled, not in a rude or malicious way but how a parent might fondly laugh at their young attempting to walk.
The Winter Tiger was sat, cross-legged, in a separate cave, another pocket within the rocks.
‘What the hell?’ asked Star Wolf.
‘Ah, yes well you had a little accident and fell into a crystal pool, rather unfortunate for you.’
‘And what are you doing down here?’
‘Keeping you company of course, I couldn’t have you starving to death on your own could I.’ He laughed a little. ‘No, I’m afraid your error above collapsed half the marsh land and sealed both of our fates. It seems like you and I are destined to be intertwined until the very end.’ said the Winter Tiger, calm personified, which given they sat in rock caves no more than half-a-dozen Wolf lengths wide seemed odd.
Star Wolf pounded his paws against the clear crystal wall blocking him from his goal. To be so close maddened him, especially given how nonchalant the Tiger acted. So much death lay on the Tiger’s shoulders and yet here he was relaxing. Despite his impending death. For a time Star scratched, punched and gnawed at the crystal, which though much smoother than the rocks proved to be impenetrable.
‘When you’re quite finished shall we have a chat? I don’t fancy spending my last few days in this galaxy watching you pummel yourself to death. Come, sit, reserve your energy you might need it yet,’ he said as he switched on his Serpent’s Blade, only for a moment. It was a rather unsubtle reminder that he possessed a weapon far too powerful for Star Wolf.
Star huffed, glad to sit down and lick his battered front paws.
‘So, what shall we discuss - you being a murderous tyrant? Your blatant disregard for The Council of Worlds and our rules? The fact that you tried to kill me, on multiple occasions.’
‘Multiple?’ enquired the Winter Tiger.
‘Well, let’s start with today, back on Lupus, perhaps not by your hand but from your orders, and likewise on Alces and Equus.’
‘Very good,’ agreed the Winter Tiger.
‘So you don’t even bother denying the assassination attempts? I’m sure Gold Fern and Willar will back me up!’ Star knew they wouldn’t. ‘What’s to stop me right now heading to The Council of Worlds and finally outing you for what you really are?’
The Winter Tiger gestured with both of his arms at their current situation.
‘Fair point, but still why reveal the fact to me now?’
‘Because you’ll be dead in two days.’
‘As will you.’
‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that.’ The Winter Tiger pulled a small device from the pocket within his thin robe, a tracking device no less. ‘Look familiar? Did you really think I didn’t know you were tracking me? I’ve been at this far longer than you have.’
‘I don’t understand.
If you knew I was tracking you why allow me to follow you here?’
‘I like to converse with my enemy, before announcing it to the galaxy, and what better place to chat in private than on a beautiful tropical planet.’
‘But the Wolves can follow the signal, they’ll find me.’
‘Ah yes.’ The Winter Tiger smiled. ‘There were two signals, weren’t there?’ He pulled another tracking device from his pocket, both no larger than a golden coin.
‘But one of the signals was the other side of the planet?’
‘Yes, a decoy to see what you’d do, now they’re both accurate and both the Tiger and the Wolf knows where we are.’
‘You’d gamble your life like that?’ Star Wolf wagged his left paw furiously at the Winter Tiger. How could such a legendary warrior play with his life so fast and loose?
‘Haven’t you?’ responded the Winter Tiger. ‘And I assure you the Tiger will arrive first.’
‘And then you kill me?’
‘Perhaps, it depends how our conversation goes now. I like you, Star Wolf.’
Star’s eyes narrowed and a slight growl escaped his drenched muzzle. Thankfully the cave pools they were stuck in were full of trickling water and puddles. Perhaps I can outlast him.
The thought didn’t fill Star with much joy, killing someone by not starving to death as quickly as they did wouldn’t rank highly in the ways to kill a creature.
‘I’m flattered,’ he said, aiming for an aloof tone of his own. He suspected it sounded a little agitated.
‘We’re not so different you and I,’ started the Winter Tiger, everything about him exuded serenity and Star Wolf couldn’t help but crave a bit of that himself. ‘You want what is best for the Wolf, yes?’
Star nodded, which seemed to please the Winter Tiger.
‘As it should be, and I am no different for the Tiger.’
‘And yet I don’t kill to further the Wolf cause,’ snapped Star Wolf.
‘I saw a handful of Frogs who would disagree.’ Thinking on the gore Star left in his wake back at the Poison Dart made him shudder. ‘And here’s the real similarity, neither of us enjoy killing innocents.’
‘Try telling that to Earth,’ said Star.
‘A Council order, one I didn’t agree with.’ the Tiger sounded genuinely sad to Star Wolf, he spoke slow melancholic words.
‘Another lie. The Tiger voted in favour of destroying Earth.’
‘True.’ The Winter Tiger sighed, rolling onto his side to lie flat as he spoke, ‘but I do not cast the Tiger vote, that is the Elders.’ The word appeared to stick on his tongue and came out bitter and twisted.
‘You don’t approve of the Elders?’ Star Wolf tried to fish.
‘Ha, very good,’ clearly reading Star’s intent the Winter Tiger continued, ‘I wouldn’t go that far. Without Elder Law our race wouldn’t be the powerhouse it is today. Without the Elders the Apex Wars would’ve been lost before they started.’
‘And why did they start?’ asked Star.
‘An excellent question, and one I fear the annuals of history have lost the answer to over the millennia. If I had to guess I’d suggest the same base reasons any creature, touched by the Universal Beacon or not, carries out actions.’
‘Which are?’
‘A selfish desire to live, success, greed, lust and pride, and even the last one can be found in the most mindless of beasts. Have you ever been to the open plains of Ceratotherium and tried to cross a Rhino’s territory, that is a creature beyond primal. Such a shame their numbers dwindled, those touched by the Universal Beacon were a formidable foe.’
‘So, you and the Tigers are blowing up planets for what? Pride? Greed? Lust? I don’t follow, what’s the point of it all?’
‘Ah, a question for the finest of philosophers, and yet one no one in the history of the galaxy has ever been able to answer. Not even those jumped up humans could fathom it,’ he spat on the rocks.
‘You didn’t answer my question,’ barked Star Wolf.
‘I did, but I will elaborate if you need me too,’ he stood up and tapped on the crystal wall entombing and separating them, ‘pay attention Star Wolf. As you may want to use this as a blueprint for when you lead the Wolves, in the not too distant future.’ Star didn’t like the way the Winter Tiger raised his eyebrows. ‘No matter how much you, or I, or any other predator species tries there is an innate desire to hunt, conquer and feed. These primal desires have only been refined, and in the most part buried by the Universal Beacon, but they still exist. I am a Tiger, backed by numbers you can’t fathom, who embraces what it is to be a Tiger.’ The Tiger gripped at his chest with real passion, ‘I am true to myself and my species, do you have no idea how painful the past twenty years have been? Smiling and waving to The Council of Worlds when all I wanted to do was open throats. The Tiger is meant to rule the galaxy. I am meant to rule the galaxy.’
‘Why did the Tiger end the Apex Wars? You were winning weren’t you?’ said Star Wolf, a mixture of emotions ran through him. Awe for the greatest warrior in living memory, revulsion for a creature hellbent on murder and curiousity at how it would feel to be that powerful and that sure of your goals in life.
‘The Elder Tigers are wise, and all knowing,’ said the Winter Tiger, an edge void of his usual smoothness, ‘we drew back to replenish the galaxy. A conservative move for longevity, and the Tiger legacy.’
‘And you didn’t want to cease hostilities?’ asked Star.
‘Of course not, I was winning, I was about to crush the Lions once and for all. Instead I’ve spent twenty years with schemers, plotters and politicians waiting for this, and now to my delight I have a worthy adversary in you. We’re going to have so much fun warring, assuming we don’t die here in the next few days. Anyways, that’s enough for one day, good night young Wolf. Let’s talk again in the morning.’
The Winter Tiger padded, on all fours, to the farthest and darkest corner of his
rocky cell and curled up into a ball on the damp, smooth rock surface. Star Wolf spent the next five minutes hurling questions and banging on the dividing wall only to be ignored and eventually giving up.
Star too opted to curl up and go to sleep, there was no where to climb and no way out. Conserving energy was the only smart play to make.
He mirrored the Winter Tiger’s position, making sure he could see the Tiger, before drifting off into a deep sleep.
STAR’S EYES SNAPPED open, at a thunderous roar bellowing from all-around. The intrusive sound startled him up onto all fours, teeth bared ready for action. Once the animal roar subsided laughter took over, the Winter Tiger stood through the crystal prison with a wide grin.
‘Good morning, how did you sleep? You were out like a light, did you know you talk in your sleep? And my what shocking revelations you uttered during the night.’
Stars face went wide with fear.
‘I’m joking, though you do mumble in your sleep. Rather annoying actually.’ said the Winter Tiger.
‘Hilarious.’ Star Wolf stretched his aching limbs, a few of them crunching in protest.
‘Oh dear, you’re not faring too well in here, are you? You don’t look so good, I suppose a pampered pup like you isn’t used to exploring the wilderness. A few nights out in the wild will do you the world of good, assuming the Wolves ever find you. Shall we have some breakfast?’ The Tiger’s chipper mood infuriated Star Wolf and it was all he could do to bite down on his upper lip and not start scratching at the rock again.
‘There’s no food in these caves,’ said Star Wolf.
The Winter Tiger sighed, a heavy and theatrical movement.
‘You really have no idea do you? I hope your lack of experience will be made up for through youthful zeal and energy, otherwise the war to come is going to be a rather one-sided and bland affair. Observe.’
The Tiger pulled a small blade, a few inches long, from an ankle strap and proceeded to gently slice at his left forearm. As the blade moved crimson blood followed in its
wake, and no sooner did he make the incision did he put his right paw across the blood and began rubbing it against the rock above his head, spreading drops wherever he could.
‘And now we wait,’ he said as he moved into the corner of his prison, he became nearly invisible in the dark. The only indication he was in the cave was a pair of fiery eyes; demonic balls of yellow boring into Star’s very soul, until they shut.
STAR HAD LOST TRACK of time, but the fact the sun had been and gone indicated a significant passing of time. His stomach growled more frequently now, and drinking the fusty water wasn’t dissipating his need to feed.
The Winter Tiger’s prison cell remained eerily quiet, with the failing light Star had to squint through the opaque crystal wall to get a slight glimpse of black and white fur, concealed in the most part by a crimson and gold robe.
A waft of rodent caught Star’s nostrils.
Soon accompanied by the patter of small, scurrying feet.
An animal approached from above. Star breathed deep, turning his body to stone, in preparation to pounce. If a creature entred his cave he would attack, no matter the species, mindless or not. His necessity was too great to be picky.
Three rats emerged at the surface, a good thirty feet overhead, in the dim moonlight
they cast shadows long and deep into the caves below. They entered the side where the Winter Tiger resided, sniffing the air all the while, they were reluctant to move into the underground rock pool. They would be able to smell the Tiger for sure, but the more they sniffed the air the surer they became, edging further downward. As they moved they licked at the rock surface, following the trail of blood emboldened them. They think he’s dead.
Death found the cave, in a flash of black and white.
The Winter Tiger leapt from the dark depths of the cave and with one elegant swish of his Serpents Blade, which he turned on mid-jump, he cut all three rodents in half, their limp corpses splattering on the rocks. They were dead before they even knew it. Star couldn’t help but cower back gazing upon the Winter Tiger, blade hissing in his hand, with dead animals sprawled out around his hind legs. The glow of his blade only heightened the murderous rage etched upon his face. If Star squinted he would’ve taken him for a Werewolf, crazed and full of bloodlust.
Star Wolf: A Space Opera Fantasy (Songs of Star & Winter Book 1) Page 12