During
the run out to the Railing, Kaelish Nelmos' mind was divided. While
he paid attention to his path and surroundings, he also delved within
his memories. The kellen shared the plains with the Krendaarri though
the latter had built the first Railing more than a thousand Rings ago
to help keep the migratory animals from the portion of the plains the
Krendaarri required for their own food needs. Migrating southward as
the seasons cooled, then northward again as the weather turned warmer
once again, the migratory kellen followed the cycle of the grasses.
They were large, generally docile and slow-moving and the Railing was
more than enough to keep them on the westward side of the stone and
wood creation. Krendaarri would roam the Railing's length, keeping it
mended and watching for herds of kellen that might accidentally
wander through a breach or perhaps come too far eastward before
coming to the Railing itself. When this would happen, the Krendaarri
would keep watch to make certain they did not come too far east;
carefully guiding and coaxing them back closer to the Railing. They
were careful because the kellen were quite a bit heavier and, while
docile, they could be roused to stampeding with little provocation
and their long, sharp horns were a formidable challenge to anyone
seeking to bring such a stampede to an end.
But
as the kellen roamed, so, too did the hlesskssaa. They preyed on the
herds, easily singling out individual animals and running them down.
Though they were lighter than the kellen, the hlesskssaa could run
almost as swiftly as a Krendaarri on the large, muscular hind legs;
their bodies balanced by strong, heavy tails. Sharp, hooked claws
tipped front and rear paws and teeth, just as sharp, filled their
long mouths. Dusty brown fur covered their bodies and let them blend
into the tall, partially dried grasses of the plains during the drier
times. And, unlike the kellen, they could easily leap over the
Railing, chest high to a Krendaarri, to hunt those smaller, misplaced
herds.
They
also were not above preying on the Krendaarri when the chance arose.
It
had been the responsibility of Kaelish Nelmos, his parents and
ancestors, as well as a few other families, to act as defenders of
the rest of their race from such attacks since before the first
Railing had ever been erected. Through the Rings, they had learned
how the hlesskssaa moved, studied how they would attack, singly and
in packs, and learned to both defend against that but also to fight
back and drive the hlesskssaa back. Over the rings, many a Krendaarri
had died in this defense, but only seldom, with great reluctance and
remorse, was ever a hlesskssaa killed.
“We
must protect ourselves,” Kaelish Nelmos' parents had told him many
times, “yet we must not become like the hlesskssaa. As Zaal crafted
us all, they have no less right to live than you or I.”
Thus,
the Dancers, as his family and the others were called, would carry
zaalsestri to use as weapons, but these were rounded and blunted
instead of the bladed tools the Krendaarri used to harvest grass from
the plains. They could strike, and strike hard, a hlesskssaa yet only
the greatest of mischance would they be able to pierce the thick,
furred hide. They, and the Dancer's skills in shifting and weaving
and fighting, were enough.
Three
hands of Turns ago had been a very dry summer and the grasses were
very brittle as the kellen herds made their way southward. Lightning
had struck in the plains and the resulting fire spread panic and the
kellen stampeded, breaking through the Railing in several places.
Kaelish Nelmos and his father, Nelmos Viraane, had been watching
along one such area where the fires had also grown close and a pride
of hlesskssaa also came through. Father and son managed to drive them
southward as other Krendaarri worked to calm and contain the kellen.
They struck and threatened with their zaalsestri, keeping the
snarling predators at bay until they reached an area where a river
had halted the fire's spread though it still burned on the northern
side and had the wood in the Railing ablaze. The hlesskssaa dashed
through the river where it cut an opening in the Railing but the
prides leading female stumbled against one of the smaller males and
fell against the burning wood; gaining the large burn that gave her
her name of Scarflank. Roaring in pain and rage, she circled about
but Nelmos Viraane, with relentless blows of the zaalsestri, managed
to at last drive her through the opening as Kaelish Nelmos wove river
stones to fill the breach.
The
fire and the pain had done something to the hlesskssaa, however, and
each turn since, she had lead her pride over the railing. Each time,
she was turned back but, over the next hand of turns, the pride had
killed almost two hands of Krendaarri. The number of Dancers
patrolling the railing increased over the next hand of turns and,
while she and her pride were often spotted close by, they did not
cross the railing again. A hand of turns ago, Kaelish Nelmos' father
was patrolling. Under the cover of night, as he slept, Scarflank had
leaped over the Railing and had killed him in his sleep. Yenaali had
found the pride, still feasting on his body, the next sunrise.
She
struck with a fury few Krendaarri could match yet, even so, she drove
the pride back without killing them.
Now,
a hand of turns later, Kaelish Nelmos had nearly lost his mother to
the same pride.
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