“How did I end up on the beach?” Junipor groaned. The cool frosty air filled her lungs with each breath. The wind brushed her sensitive ears, and seemed to burrow through her tunic. She got up from the cold stone and sat upright, having to cross her arms over her chest to shield her perking nipples from the cold. Somehow, despite the frigid air, Junipor felt a warmth around her, almost like she was near a hearth fire.
The shores of Hitecross were coated with shells, and blackened rocks. Tiny crabs skirted from underneath the blanket of shells, many trying to hide from Junipor’s sight. They all looked delicious, especially after a full day of good drink. The smaller ones could be smashed and used for a soup, while the larger ones could be steamed for a wholesome meal.
At the edge of the shoreline, an axe handle caught the glint of moonlight. Junipor gazed at the elegant wood handle, and the carved engravings along the shaft. The wrappings of leather wound tightly just above the pommel. It was aged, several strips of leather was cracked and dangling in the wind. The pommel itself was bright silver, and seemed barely tarnished despite the salty air.
A song could be heard in the wind. A distant harmony that reminded her of someone. The ground drummed in rhythmic thrusts, causing her awareness to drift. Junipor focused on the silver pommel, watching it glisten in the moonlight. The symbol of the Aiverix could be discerned from its polished sheen.
The path of the Aiverix was one fraught with peril. That was the first thing the warrior priest told her the moment Junipor spoke of her intentions while at the summer solstice. She could still remember it, as if it only happened yesterday, even though it was over a year ago. The moment she passed her eighteenth winter, she went to the temple and spoke to the warrior priest. He looked down at her, with tired eyes and his greying beard covered in grease, and offered her merely a grunt. Junipor supposed it might’ve actually been a poor attempt at a laugh, but couldn’t be sure.
The Aiverix were warriors without peer, and organized into bands lead by jarls, and often accompanied by at least one warrior priest. Those rare martial prophets travelled the corners of the nation when not at war, as seemed proper with the goddess.
Begrudgingly, he offered her some advice by explaining the trails.
In order to join the ranks of the Aiverix, he explained, one must complete three tests of skill and courage. The first, was to be bloodied, to claim a kill in combat. Junipor accomplished that only too recently. It was such a simple thing, almost too easy to claim such an unworthy victim in the throes of battle. Part of Junipor wondered why the human offered so little resistance? Were all humans that…weak?
The second was a greater challenge, and often the most fatal. Throughout the northern wastes of Fanfow, there was one predator that dominated the forests. The Ursinae. Giant bear like predators that were said to hide among the trees, then descend like dragons onto the earth. Junipor had yet to see such a creature, but slaying one in single combat was the test. The warrior priest offered her one piece of advice, regarding such a beast, and that was to go for the throat.
That left the third trial. Upon delivering the Ursinae’s head to the priestess’s temple, and laying her axe as an offering to the goddess, Junipor would receive a sign from Phedona herself. Once receiving such a vision, the goddess would reveal her destiny. At least, that’s what the warrior priest had told her.
The goddess spoke only directly to her most fiercesome devote’s, while guiding the actions of all others with a subtle hand. Junipor wasn’t sure what made her ponder the warrior priests instructions. Perhaps it was the newcomers? It had been so long since she had considered leaving the island of Hitesland to the greater Fanfow landmass. She had searched the nearby woodlands, and talked to every passerby from the isle’s townships, and had yet to discover the whereabouts of a mighty Ursinae to slaughter.
Junipor knew the time would come where she would have to leave her home, in search of such a beast, but had refrained from making any such plans. If the newcomers were willing to travel across vast distances, across nations and seas, what did that say about her? Junipor feared, that perhaps she had grown far too attached to her home, and looking out over the cold ocean, she couldn’t imagine crossing it. Not alone…at least.
The sound of gentle waves beating against the shore was soothing for her sensitive ears. Although a steady grunting noise could still be heard in the wind. Junipor sat on the flat surface of a granite slab along the edge of where the tundra met the rocky beach. A light mist came to drift just over the shells. Stars were just barely visible in between thick cloisters of clouds. Salty sweet air filled her lungs, reminding Junipor of when she and her siblings built bonfires along the beach.
The winter chill barely fazed Junipor as she snuggled with her fluffy tail, letting it wrap around her waist so that the tip brushed against her nose. She was wearing a bear pelted parka, one typical of the Aiverix clans, although not of the Ursinae variety. She had crafted it herself after purchasing the pelt from a traveling merchant. Facing the ocean breeze, where the wind was constant, it helped to keep her warm.
Firelight from the village faded behind her, it was a lone spark nestled between a tiny gap in the rising mountain chain. Before her, the blackness of the ocean was frightening. Yet, just at the horizon line, Junipor could make out a slight deviation. A ripple that only her sharp eyes could make out. It was one of the reasons why few travelled to the island, or ventured across the oceans to begin with. Only along narrow channels, was travel permissive because of the great serpents.
A serpent’s head could be seen gliding just underneath the dark waters firmament. Junipor watched as the beast moved against the ocean currents, a slight fin cutting through its surface.
“Why did you let a human ship pass unmolested?” She asked the drake, knowing it wouldn’t hear, or care for her words. Of course it was doubtful the human came from the south, likely he and his little blight born companion travelled across the greater Fanfow landmass, and crossed to the island from the north. But Juniper knew that would mean they’ve been traveling openly across Pharine cities without molestation this entire time. The fact that disgusting, and smelly, humans could travel so openly without question disturbed her.
As the moonlight broke through the clouds, the massive drake ventured below the surface, disappearing from Junipor’s sight. With nothing else to see, she picked up a tiny fleck of stone and tossed it into the oncoming wave.
According to the old sagas, the drakes were the last remnant of the old world, the one before the times of legend. It was during that lost age when Titans were said to walk the earth. Mighty Goliaths, of bone and flesh, who’s stride could encompass miles at a time. They buried the old gods under their tread, and stamped the lesser ages from memory. Junipor wished something similar would happen right about now to the humans.
It was hard to believe that far beyond horizon, humans were packed in their overgrown cities. Junipor could only imagine the smell of so many filthy humans, unwashed and uncaring, in such a confined place. She knew nothing of humans other than they reeked, and had invaded her home when she was but a pup in her mothers arms. What more was there to learn?
Junipor sighed, letting the nightly frost cool her temper. Her legs felt cramped as she got up on her feet, but no sooner had Junipor taken her first step that a wave broke against the current. The mighty serpents head overshadowed her tiny form as it rose from the oceans depths. Junipor looked up, in amazement and horror, as the beasts head reached towards the clouds. The scales of its neck were a glossy black, like a polished obsidian stone.
Its massive jaws could swallow cliffs, its teeth could grind solid earth, and its eyes seemed to burn out the light of the moon. The serpent looked down at Junipor from on high, for a moment the Pharine felt like little more than a nat standing before a god.
“Pick up the axe…and do me harder…” Its voice was…somehow the exact same as Seldeis.
Junipor awoke with a cold sweat. She was gasping for breath as the dream slowly faded from memory. She was curled up under linen sheets and cuddling against her tail. Her private room was just large enough for a bed, a writing desk, and a wooden cabinet. Candle sticks sat unlit in the corners, but she could tell it was morning judging by the smell of morning dew. The ground was still vibrating with eerie pounding thrusts, and a pair of voices coming from her neighboring room made Junipor growl.
Why am I not surprised? Junipor wondered. She leaned out of bed, her head groggy after last nights festivities, and put on a fresh robe. Her tail needed grooming, and she wanted a strong cup of tea to warm her stomach. Strangely enough, Junipor felt like she had an appetite for crab stew.
The air in her den was still a bit chilly, especially in the hallway. Pharine’s preferred to build their homes underground, with a narrow staircase leading to the surface door. Routinely they would construct their homes with spacious living quarters, and several bedrooms to house large families. Junipor’s den was a small dwelling towards the edge of the village. At first it only had one private bedroom, along with a small living area for a hearth fire. After rescuing Seldei, Junipor and her brothers carved additional rooms for their newfound friend.
Seldei was beyond grateful to have a place to stay with relative warmth and safety. What Junipor wasn’t expecting, was how…open Seldei was to entertaining male guests.
Junipor thanked the goddess for ensuring Zakinae and Pharine’s weren’t compatible for procreation, otherwise Seldei would most certainly be carrying someone’s child by now. Junipor could only wonder who her foreign companion had smuggled into the den, but it must’ve happened sometime in the middle of the night.
“Haiy me Ion aiee ailn ji czek hardill!” Seldei’s voice bounced down the narrow corridor. Junipor had grabbed a small hatchet before leaving her room, and held it firmly with one hand. She approached the Zakinae’s door with every intention of grabbing the male by the tail and drag him outside.
Junipor took a deep breath, allowing the tension in her shoulders to ease. Her throat was dry, and her stomach was grumbling. Goosebumps decorated her skin, and the hair on the back of her neck was stiff.
Seldei’s voice continued from the other side of the door. “Thetz oen, hife czek steile, hife czek travayor!”
Junipor didn’t bother to knock. The door wasn’t even locked. She swung it open and marched inside. She only meant to scare the male, and then have a strong word with Seldei about her routine of bringing males over. What she didn’t expect was to see her own younger brother over Seldei’s body, waving a stick in the air as if it were an axe.
“I’m coming!” Alder's words were slurred and wet.
“Alder!” Junipor’s tail straitened, her fur was standing erect.
“Sis!” Alder halted mid-thrust, embarrassment written all over his face.
With clear frustration, Seldei wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to get him to move. It was enough, and Junipor watched as her little brother gasped with orgasmic delight. It was perhaps the most horrifying thing Junipor had ever seen, watching her brother engage in sexual congress with Seldei, then collapse next to the Zakinae on the bed.
An awkward tension simmered in the room as the two of them laid panting on the sheets. The stick Alder had been wielding but moments ago fell harmlessly to the floor.
“You’re a pig,” Junipor scoffed.
Seldei just moaned silently to herself, then rolled over to her side. The Zakinae’s breasts were large and supple. Her cherry red nipples were practically glistening in the candle light. “Good…morning,” Seldei’s voice stuttered trying to frame the words.
Junipor bit her lip, sat the axe against the wall, and strolled out of the room. She had been so preoccupied with the noises from Seldei’s room, Junipor hadn’t noticed the other man sleeping on the couch next to the burnt out hearth in her living room.
“By the gods, I wanted to do something but had no right to intrude.” Junipor froze as the humans voice shocked her. She turned her head slowly, her hand gripping at open air where there should’ve been an axe handle. Junipor cursed, wishing she hadn’t left it in Seldei’s room.
Caius was shivering under a pile of thick blankets, all of them belonging to Junipor, and he seemed to be poking the ashes of the hearth fire pit with a metal stroker. “You wouldn’t happen to keep any firewood around, would you?”
Junipor jumped back into her room and slammed the door. She could feel her heart pounding beneath her breast.
“What the hell is a human doing in my home!” Junipor screeched, hoping Alder would hear.
“What the hells is all that racket?” A new sultry voice spoke from behind Junipor.
Junipor spun around, and gasped at seeing the Tiefling Domitilla laying in her bed. Her dark hair was disheveled from the rough pillows, and yet her beauty remained untarnished. It was hard to tell from beneath the sheets, but Junipor desperately hoped the woman wasn’t naked.
“Come now darling, I urgently require that fluffy tail of yours to get nice and comfy.” Domitilla’s voice was somehow electric, and terrifying at the same time.
