Chapter 5
Draggar
The black vessel streaks across the bright blue sky, a tail of fiery flames trailing out behind it. My ears twitch in curiosity at the loud roar that drowns out the normal sounds of the jungle as my gaze follows the path of the ship.
What is this fiery ship doing on Laedirissae?
It looks almost like an anuroigracefully gliding down to land, but this is no feathered creature. Instead of landing effortlessly, the vessel crashes into the very tops of a stand of cupressi trees. The trees are massive and tower over the land and the creatures that call this planet home. Large tree limbs and pieces of metal tumble through the air before coming to rest scattered on the ground, but still the ship continues.
I watch from my vantage point on a hill as the vessel smashes into the ground, then bounces before soaring through the air for a few moments more, and finally coming to a stop with a deafening crash that sends a shudder through the ground beneath me. The noise startles a flock of psittas who were feeding nearby, and they take to the skies in a kaleidoscope of colors and earsplitting squawks of outrage.
I stand still, just as I would on a hunt, patiently observing and waiting to see what will happen next. I can feel my skin color change subtly until I blend in with the surrounding plant life. My ears swivel and perk up detecting even the most minute of noises and my nose twitches as it sorts through the many different odors around me.
A herd of scrof has been startled and are on the move, hurrying through the thick tangle of jungle nearby. An abandoned tiniio nest lies on the other side of the hill. The noxious scent of marca flowers flows by on the breeze and makes my nostrils burn. The blooms are fowl smelling but produce the sweetest of nectars that are prized by everyone on this planet.
Other than the large ship which just streaked into our atmosphere and crashed on Laedirissae, nothing else is out of the ordinary. After a few moments, the jungle around me settles until it is quieter than ever as if it is holding its breath, waiting to see what will happen next. I wait and watch just as I have been trained to do, knowing that patience is sometimes the best weapon a warrior can wield.
I am a Laediriian warrior after all.
We are keen observers, and we are fortunate enough to be born with heightened senses that allow us to identify threats. We spend years training those senses to be at their best. It was a lesson my father taught me from the time I was a young kitling barely strong enough to lift the wooden toy sword he placed in my hands. Through the years, that wooden sword became a spear to hunt with and then later a sword forged by the sword maker of our tribe.
The Laediriians on our planet are descended from the strongest warriors known to the galaxy, and my tribe is the strongest and bravest of them all. We are tribe Anuriix, so called because our founders slew a flock of anuroi that threatened our tribe.
Anuroi are large beaked beasts with rows of pointy teeth and talons sharp enough to pierce a warrior’s skull. Slaying an entire flock of the flying beasts was a feat we still sing songs about today, even though it happened long before my time.
There are other tribes on our planet, but only three have lands that border Anuriix territory. The Xeniiv named their tribe after the spotted four-legged furry creatures called xeno. They typically etch markings on their bodies in honor of the creatures. The Tussoll tribe was named by their first chief and in an act of self-indulgence, he chose his own name for his tribe.
Once, long ago, there was another tribe with territory near our own, but no one has seen them in at least a generation. Their village lies abandoned now, and it is rumored their tribe eventually became extinct.
Many generations ago, our ancestors came to this planet to seek refuge from their former home. They named this planet Laedirissae, in memory of the home world they reluctantly left behind. Our history tells us it was a time of great sacrifice and change for our ancestors, but they were united in their desire for a better life for our people.
We were all one people, then. Over time, tensions grew and disagreements erupted, and the unity which had bound our people so tightly together was fractured. Our ancestors decided to split apart into separate groups, and we became the tribes of Laedirissae.
The tribal chiefs led each of their tribes away from the original village near the Ancestor’s Ship to seek out new homes.
My tribe, the Anuriix, settled amongst the caves at the edge of the jungle. Over time, we used our skills and ingenuity to build a peaceful village that would make any warrior beam with pride. A village that is the envy of our neighbors, if the rumblings are anything to go by.
And now, the peace our village has enjoyed may be at an end.
Rumors have spread among some of the elders in our village that the Xeniiv and the Tussoll are preparing to attack. I have asked around and two of our warriors have reported finding footprints in the hills overlooking the plains on our territory. Could the rumors be true? Maybe the other tribes have sent scouts in preparation for an attack?
Grumblings from the tribe’s self-appointed seer, Jaran and his son, Vrok, that we should attack the other two tribes before they attack us have not helped ease the anxiety.
It is not hard to deduce Jaran’s motives. He is past the age of being eligible to seek the title of chief, but his son is not.
His son is only slightly older than me and the same age our current chief was when he obtained his position. My gut tells me Jaran would do anything to see his son installed as the new chief of our tribe, even cause dissent and discord among our tribe and push us into a war just to see it happen. Anything to suggest that Chief Daggir is no longer effective as a tribal leader.
Which is why I find myself today on top of a hill in a clearing in the jungle. I set out before sunrise this morning to see if I could determine if the rumors are true and if they are, why the other two tribes have decided to attack.
My task is one of secrecy, and I feel a moment of guilt that I did not speak to the tribe’s chief before embarking on my quest. Instead of asking his permission, I snuck out of the village before dawn, like a thief. But sometimes, a warrior must do what he feels is necessary to protect his tribe, and the clench of my gut tells me that this is of the upmost importance.
The lands of Laedirissae have changed so much since the days of the Ancestors, and even more changes have occurred since I was a kitling.
I think back to the sense of camaraderie that was present among Laediriians when I was a young kitling. We may have been divided into tribes, but we were still one people.
We celebrated that unity by joining together in celebrations as often as possible. Our biggest celebration was the annual proving games, when the young males who had not yet attained warrior status and the even younger kitlings would come together to compete against one another in games designed to test their skills and senses.
Then, our common enemy, the Pugj began attacking the tribes during the games.
The Pugj live on the very top of the tallest mountain, and until then, they had only carried out raids on our food stores, avoiding encounters with our males. But then, something changed and they began targeting us during their raids. Many young Laediriians died in the attacks, and the tribal chiefs decided it was too risky to gather for the games anymore. The tribes became more insular and isolated, and the Pugj used that to further divide us, spreading their attacks to our patrols and hunting parties.
Now, it appears even more change will be coming to our planet.
For a moment, I wonder if the other two tribes have something to do with the crashed ship, but then I decide that would be impossible. The Xeniiv and Tussoll are just as wary of outsiders as my own tribe. I cannot envision any of their males willingly making contact with beings from another world. It is unheard of.
Except. . . Havvor, the chief of the Tussoll has always been a little too foolhardy for his own well-being, but even so, I have a hard time imagining him doing something so risky.
Laedirissae is located in an isolated section of the galaxy, and the Ancestors chose to settle on this planet for just that reason. We value the protection our isolation provides, and no Laediriian would jeopardize our safety by inviting aliens to our world.
I debate whether to travel back to the village to inform the chief of what I have just witnessed, but I discard the idea. Chief Daggir has aged beyond his years over the last two seasons. Ever since. . . I shake my head and try to push those thoughts out of my mind before the dark cloud can descend upon me.
I do not want to place unnecessary worry upon him. His wide shoulders already carry so many burdens and if I can, I would save him from carrying more. Right now, there is not much to tell him – only that a strange vessel has crashed on our planet. I do not know why it has crashed or who is on it. I will find out more and then return to the village.
Still, it will be risky to approach the strange ship by myself without another warrior to be on the lookout.
Before I can stop it, my mind flashes back to an easy smile and a booming laugh that could be heard throughout the village.
My brother, Danir, should have been by my side. He would have placed his palm on my back and with a cocky grin challenged me to a race to see who could reach the crash site first.
He was the best of the two of us. He was intelligent, charming, and quick with a joke for the males in the tribe. The aching grief his absence causes shoots through me and makes my throat feel like it’s being constricted with a knot. I force myself to swallow and square my shoulders as I push down the memories until I can again turn my entire focus back to the crashed ship.
I will journey to the spot in the distance where the vessel crashed and observe it to see if any otherworldly beings survived. If the Universe finds favor with me, any aliens on the ship will have perished and they will no longer be a threat to Laedirissae.
And if they are still alive and I decide the newcomers are a threat, then my sword will make them wish they had perished in the crash.