Zatanar Second story

This passage is both the second and third chapters of the story I have been playing with that i have tentatively called "Tales of the Island". For the first chapter, check my portfolio - it's titled "Zatanar." (ID# 1408317)

The Animals' Story

Back again, grandchild? What is that, you will have to speak up. My hearing is not all that it used to be. You want to know more about the Island itself? I guess I could share. Keep in mind though that much of this was not told to me until I was years older, and that much of this was collected from the animal storytellers years down the line.

The island itself was elusive, for from the beginning of time no map had ever been able to chart it. No one officially explored it. It did not even have a name.

It wasn’t that people had not want to explore it. It was just that the island was kin the middle of nowhere, a lonely stretch of ocean that few ships even ever came close to exploring. Very few people even had the slightest idea that there could ever be an island in that part of the world.

For the longest time only the animals of the sea knew it existed. The dolphins told their children and grandchildren how to swim to it. Whales gave birth near its shores. Fish swam playfully in its lagoons. A flock of seagulls came to roost in the luscious palm trees, having been blown off course by a fierce storm. They took a liking to the island and never left.

The island was also dangerous. A giant reef surrounded it, a reef that was larger then even that of the famous large continent. It was a formidable barrier to getting to the island. Only small boats were able to maneuver through the reef’s treacherous tentacles. Larger vessels were caught tight in their grasp.

The reef was also dangerous because it could not be seen easily. It was an invisible hand that protected the isle from intruders, for once a ship spotted the island, it was too late, for the hands of the reef would cling to and hold fast the hold of any ship. Only the strength of a rare ocean storm’s waves could free any such imprisoned craft, but it was at the cost of that craft.

Such was the case of the so-called circus ship. The vessel had embarked from the orient laden with treasures destined for the markets of Europe. It also carried a collection of animals intended as gifts for foreign rulers. Crudely fashioned cages lined one hold of the vessel. They were full with apes, cheetahs, bears, lizards, birds and other exotic creatures anticipated to become curiosities in the aristocratic societies of Europe.

A fierce hurricane blew three days after the ship had left port, blowing the old wooden craft back and forth on the water. It rattled the poor thing, throwing cage doors open and dumping animals out as the waves tossed the ship about.

The crew was too busy trying to save the ship to notice that the animals had been released from their cages. It was not until the ship had run aground upon the reef that one of the ship’s crewmen had sounded the alarm.

The crew recoiled in terror as first the bears, and then the cheetahs and apes emerged onto the deck from the hold. The men went for their firearms, but in their haste they forgot to load them. Within minutes a majority of the crew had been killed. Soon, all that remained of human life aboard the ship were the captain and his cabin boy.

The captain was a sorcerer of sorts. He had the ability to change his form, though only the cabin boy knew of his ability. He stared at the animals from the door of his cabin, watching them as they feasted on the remains of his crew.

One of the bears turned towards the captain and stood on its hind legs. It looked at him with menace in its eyes.

“Animal friends!” the bear growled. “We have missed not one, but two of the humans that have so woefully oppressed us. Let us kill them and be free of our imprisonment.”

The animagus took his place in front of the boy, intent on protecting him, for he could understand every word the animals spoke.

The young ape, which had already established itself as the spoken leader of the small band of apes that had been captured, could sense the power of the captain. It drew back, slightly afraid of the powers of the man, but in awe as well.

The cheetah female growled. “No one touch this man, for he has shown me kindness. I had injured my paw, which had led to my capture. When I was brought on board this ship, he saw my injury and cared for it himself. It was as if he felt my pain.”

Other animals voiced their own opinions as to why the captain should be spared. Only the alligators were allied with the bear in their opposition, but fearing the wrath of the apes and cheetahs, they backed down. The bear had no choice but to concede and spare the captain’s life.

“At least let me kill the young one,” he roared. He took a step closer to the boy.

At once there was a ferocious growl. The man doubled over and landed on all fours, his body changing rapidly from human to another form. Within a few seconds the man no longer stood in front of the boy, but a brutal, muscular tiger. He positioned himself in front of the bear and let out another fierce growl.

“Lay one claw on the boy and you will pay with your life.”

The ape fell to the ground in revered fear. “Lord Shinglesh,” it whispered.

The Tiger Lord stood before them.

The other apes and the cheetahs followed his lead, as did many of the other animals. Only the bear remained standing, though it had lowered itself back down onto all fours. It glared at the tiger as it backed away, trying to remain ever defiant, even though it was fearful for its own life.

Lord Shinglesh crouched down and allowed the boy to mount his back. With one leap he soared over the side of the ship and landed in the water with a graceful splash.

Upon touching the water, the boy himself began to morph. His feet fused together in a single powerful limb. His hands and arms became sleek and efficient for swimming in the water. His body grew in size until it was as large, if not larger, then that of the tiger. He took a great breath and then submerged completely into the water, finalizing his transformation into the great dolphin king Opsindino.

The ape looked at the bear. “You would have killed a lord!” he shouted.

The bear glared at him and turned, walking away from the side of the deck, where the animals stood mesmerized as they watched the lords swim away. The tiger swam to the deserted isle whilst the dolphin swam to join his kin in the lagoon.

After both had disappeared from the animals’ line of sight, the ape organized them into a rescue party and proceeded to lead them off of the ship, for it was beginning to creak and shift as if it were about to fall apart. Those that could not swim or fly away were loaded onto the backs of those who could and carried to shore. For the extent of the rescue operation, it appeared that the animals could work together in harmony.

The spirit didn’t last long, however. Once they were all safely on land, the animals scattered. The smaller ones ran in fear of their lives. Some of the larger ones smacked their lips in anticipation of a snack after their swim and went chasing after them.

Only the cheetahs and the apes remained on the beach once the majority of the circus ship spread out. They stood on the beach, watching the waves pull the ship off the reef and into its watery grave.

Once it disappeared, the cheetah female turned and bowed low to the young ape.

“You are very wise for one so young,” she said.

The ape bowed in return. “Thank you, dear friend, but I am not so wise. I have merely paid attention to the elders of my clan.”

The cheetah smiled. “Even still, you are wise, for you have chosen to listen to them. Because of you, we have recognized a lord of the land and a lord of the sea. Because of you, we all have survived the great wreck. I am honored to be in your presence.”

With that she bowed again and offered her friendship.

Now normally cheetahs and apes would not be friends, but rather mortal enemies. But on that mysterious island, they not only became allies, but fast friends who would eventually be willing to die for each other.

It is lunchtime now, child. Let me eat and gain a bit of my strength back, and then I shall continue to tell you the story of how the clans became established.

***************

Now that lunch is over child, let me tell you the tales of how the animal clans came to be. I will start with the ape clan.

The leader of the apes was the young one, Grom-hak. He was born in the jungles of Africa, the son of the ape lord’s favorite mate. He was among the youngest of the clan and the last of the ape lord’s children.

Unlike his brothers and sisters, Grom-hak loved to learn the old stories. The elders of the clan would gather to groom and gossip whilst the young ones played. But Grom-hak would sit in the clearing near them, listening as they spoke of the old animal lords, the half-men, half-animal beasts that had the power over the jungles and the streams where he lived. One was the great ape lord, who had gone on to the spirit world, his body nourishing the land they walked on.

Another tale was that of the unknown lord, a solitary figure with great power who preferred the company of no one, spurning both animal and man most of the time. The old ones clucked their tongues and shook their heads as they spoke of him, but always they spoke in reverence, even in their disbelief over such a lord’s mysterious ways.

Grom-hak loved listening to the old tales. He would memorize every word, and then he would go on to tell them to his mother every night. She would smile as she rocked him to sleep, listening to him chatter away and retell all of the ancient stories in his child-like way.

His father was also very happy to hear of his love for the old ways. He was heartened to hear that one of his children had not turned his back on the past, as had all of Grom-hak’s older brothers. The ape leader’s only wish was that his eldest son, who was destined to for leadership upon his death, would learn to love the stories as well.

It would never happen.

The ape lord died when Grom-hak was almost a teenager in ape years. Grom-hak’s oldest brother challenged for and won the position of ape-lord. His name was Jubal-al and he was very jealous of the attention that had been lavished on Grom-hak by their father.

His first action as ape-lord of their clan was to drive those who had dared to challenge him out of the clan. While his youngest brother was not even old enough to have committed such a crime, Jubal-al personally saw to it that he was cast out of his home along with his older brothers.

Because Grom-hak was his father’s favorite son, the rest of his brothers also shunned him out of jealousy. They had organized the rest of the outcast into a new clan, and ultimately turned their backs on the young ape.

Rejected and alone, Grom-hak wandered the jungle. At night, he contemplated his life sorrowfully. Not even the old stories could offer him solace on these nights. He could barely sleep, could barely eat, and could barely bring himself even to remember the tales.

Hunters caught him the third week. He had never seen a human before, having only the tales the elders spoke of as examples, so naturally he was a bit curious. Soon he found himself in a cage in a horse-drawn cart.

For days they traveled, feeding the ape occasionally. Often it was only enough to keep him from starving to death. Grom-hak was extremely frightened and scared, and he was lonely too. Most of all, he missed his mother, his home, and even his brothers.

Finally the cart reached civilization. The hunters brought him to a small city, and then to a port, where there were a number of animals in cages, all of them as afraid as Grom-hak. An older man stood on the deck of a large, old ship, watching intently with golden eyes as the cages were loaded into the rickety wooden vessel.

In total, there were eight apes aboard the ship. They had stories of capture that varied, and at the beginning they were hesitant to trust each other enough to share. As the days went by and the ship stopped at port after port collecting goods, the apes began to chat and become friends. By the time they arrived at the mysterious island, they had become a clan of their own.

Grom-hak was a natural leader; that was evident by the way he spoke and carried himself, though he was humbled when they offered him the position without a challenge. He didn’t want to become leader of the clan, but when urged he finally accepted the position. He took a new name, Ark-tur-hak. He would be the father of the ape-leader Hak-ka-ri.

Pretty neat story, was it not? Ark-tur-hak and my grandfather were fast friends for many years. Another fast friend was the first lady of the cheetah clan.

She was a young cheetah captured on another safari in Africa. Unlike Grom-hak, however, she was not an outcast from her clan, but rather a curious young tyke who did what her mother bade her not to do; she ventured too far from the dwelling. Her name was Hashwanu.

Six other cheetahs had also been captured. A caravan took them to a foreign port many, many miles from their native savannah. Here they were loaded onto an old rickety ship under the watchful eye of a stern captain.

Hashwanu cried herself to sleep just about every night. She was still a baby in many ways. She was both the youngest and smallest of the cheetahs captured, but she was a fierce fighter when challenged.

The eldest of the cheetahs was a male named Cumanta. He was still young in terms of cheetah years, but nevertheless he was the eldest of the captured clan. He would watch in awe as this little cheetah would fight off the others. Amazement washed over him as she demonstrated her prowess and skill, and he was very impressed by the amazing sense of balance Hashwanu showed. But what had caught his attention most was the strong sense of pride the little cub had within her; her spirit was strong. She bowed to no one, not even the cheetahs that defeated her in sparring matches.

Hashwanu noticed he was watching her and glared at him as fiercely as she could. “Do you wish to fight with me as well?” she asked, crouching low and getting ready to pounce if necessary.

The older cub laughed. “No, I do not wish to fight you. I was merely admiring the cunning with which you fight. Whoever taught you your skills has taught you well. “

Hashwanu was taken aback by his words, for it was the first time anyone had spoken to her with kindness since she was captured. She bowed low to him in graciousness to his comment and smiled. It was the first time she had smiled in a long, long time.

She had found an ally.

But the friendship was not destined to last long. A few weeks later, Cumanta managed to find a way to break free from his rickety cage. Unfortunately, the watchmen had come down to check the cages just as he accomplished that feat. He was shot once through the head and died before his body had a chance to hit the floor.

Hashwanu’s rage grew, but because she was securely locked in the cage she shared with one of her adversaries, she could do nothing but watch as his body fell helplessly to the floor.

The captain of the ship came down into the hold to inspect the damage. He became angry at the man who killed the cheetah. That much any of the animals could tell. But since none of them were able to understand the language of humans, they could not understand what was being said.

Cumanta’s body was removed from the hold of the ship. As the men who had come down to look started to file out, the captain stayed behind for a while. He looked over each cage, checking the locks and inspecting each animal. He paused when he got to Hashwanu’s. cage. He looked at the lock, checking its strength and looked at the other cub in the cage. He then turned his attention towards Hashwanu.

The man stared deep into her eyes with an intensity that made her shiver a bit. His eyes were dark brown with golden flecks that seemed to change in the light.

Hashwanu felt as though he could feel her pain by staring into her eyes.
She felt as if he could feel her pain. His eyes were so caring, so gentle. It was almost as if he were of a different spirit then the other humans.

He reached in and gathered her up in his arms, cradling her very tenderly against his chest with weathered, strong hands. Very carefully he carried her across the hold and placed her in the empty cage, which was filled with Cumanta’s scent. Hashwanu curled up in the cage, closed her eyes, and mourned the loss of her friend as the captain slowly made his way up the ladder and out of the hold.

Two days later the storm hit. The animals cried and screamed in fear in their cages as the ship was bucked back and forth on the turbulent waves. They were hurled to and fro in their cages as the vessel was tossed numerous times.

Hashwanu’s cage was one of the first to be opened by the motions of the ship. One wave that crashed against the ship knocked the lock lose. Another wave made the door swing open. A third wave caused her to be dumped from the cage. She was deposited on the floor, landing on all fours.

Animals around her started to yell, clamoring for release themselves. Her eyes darted back and forth over the faces of her petitioners. Her heart was racing with both fear and adrenaline, and she was overwhelmed by the entire situation at hand. Between the noise of the animals and the fact that the ship was still rolling and bucking with the storm, Hashwanu’s mind started to shut down in defense.

Suddenly there was a loud crash. The entire ship jolted as if it had crashed onto something. Cages were flung open by the force of the sudden stop and a number of animals were hurled from their temporary abodes.

The others released those that had not been freed at once. Miraculously, not a single animal had been killed.

The lowly crewman happened to descend down the ladder at that point. One of the cheetahs attacked him as he tried to sound the alarm. The battle was on.
Hashwanu searched out and took down just one of the crewmen; the one who had killed Cumanta. After his death, the battle ceased to exist for her.

When the bear called for the slaughter of the captain and his cabin boy, Hashwanu sided with the apes. For her part in this, she was also rewarded. Lord Shinglesh let it be known that she was respected and favored.

The other cheetahs came to respect her, but not until she challenged and defeated the main dissident. She became the ruler of the cheetah clan, and ruled with grace, wisdom and a ferocity no one could top.

Hashwanu lived a long life, and she remained a great friend and ally of the ape clan. Upon her death, the young Kanisha was chosen as leader, for her fierce loyalty and agility were a close match to that of Hashwanu’s. She had learned much from the elder cheetah, and it was said that upon the passing of the great leader, Hashwanu’s spirit came to rest upon Kanisha.

Well child, it is time for my nap. If you would like to stay and hear more, that is fine. However, I must rest now. You’ve got to go? All right. Will you be back again soon to hear the story of the bear clan and why they’ve hated man for so long? Good, then I shall polish that up from memory and serve it to you the next time we meet. I love you too.