War - Battles of the Wild - The Darkened Moon

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: LUNA

The rest of the trip through the Wastelands was rather calm compared to the first part. We caught glimpses of strange creatures slinking through the twisting sands and crawling over faraway dunes, but they didn't move toward us. 

OJ almost stepped on a rattlesnake at one point, but his quick reflexes let him give it a good slap before jumping over it and bounding onto the cart. 

Alena laughed at OJ's puffed tail, and I smiled along with her. 

Soon enough we saw the horizon changing from sand to golden savannah grass, and we picked up our pace in excitement to finally be out of the Wastes.

"Hoy!" shouted a voice as we approached.

I looked up to see a spotted hyena. Alongside her stood two lions, a savannah cat with a purple flower on her ear, and a pangolin wearing welding goggles.

One of the lions stepped forward, a regal light beige lioness. "Greetings. We've been expecting your arrival. Please, follow us."

"Of course, Lordess," said Atlas. He gestured for us to follow.

Lordess, huh? She sure looks the part, with her powerful form and confident strides. Atlas must know her from his previous trips. 

"That is Lordess Eshe," said Atlas, turning to address us in the trading party. "She's the Lordess of the Earth Tribe sector of the Jade Allegiance, which is the sector closest to the Wastes. The hyena is the Leatherworker Taraji, the pangolin is Metalworker Jabari, and the savannah cat is Shaman Zahra. And...-" Atlas looked at the male lion- "I'm sorry, but I don't know you yet."

"Magnar," grumbled the lion, as if annoyed by the fact that Atlas didn't know him. "I'm a Warrior."

"Hi there," said the savannah cat, Zahra, slowing her pace to walk beside me and Alena. Her eyes glistened sky blue. "I can't say I've seen you two before."

"I'm Luna," I said.

"Alena," Alena greeted her with a smile. "So you're a Shaman? Is that like a Medic?"

"Something like that," she said with a laugh. "What are your jobs?"

"We're all Warriors," I replied. "Except for the grey cat, Skysearcher. She's a Clanmate and our navigator. Atlas is our Third-in-Command back in Power Clan, and our trading party's leader."

"Oh, I see." Zahra looked away. Her eyes looked almost... pained when I told her that our group was mostly Warriors. Does our clan seem too focused on war and battle for the Allegiances? 

"So, how do Allegiances work?" asked Alena. "Clans have a chain of command called the Order where there're seven leaders that increase in authority as you go up the ranks. We also have a couple Medics and Blacksmiths as well as a Runner for sending messages, and of course Warriors, who fight battles, and Clanmates, who carry out various jobs around camp. And then there's children and Apprentices. But it seems like the Allegiances are way bigger, because they have multiple sectors."

"Yes, the sectors are called Tribes," replied Zahra. "Each Tribe has a different skill of focus. For example, my Tribe, Earth Tribe, is focused on strength and close combat. There's Mountain Tribe, which focuses on jumping and moving well in difficult terrain, and Plains Tribe, which focuses on speed and endurance, as well as a few more like Forest Tribe and Water Tribe, plus Center Tribe, which I'll get to later. Each Tribe has a Lord or Lordess, and at least one Metalwoker, Leatherworker, and Shaman. They also have Warriors, also called Herders for their role in both hunting and protecting the Tribe."

"Wow, sounds complex," said Alena as Zahra took a pause to breathe.

Zahra laughed. "There's more! All the Tribes are allied under Jade Allegiance. Center Tribe is where all the children are raised and where the Chieftain, their Assistant and Elite Guards, and the Council live. They also have a highly skilled Lead Shaman there, as well as retired folks and new mothers. When the children are old enough to become Students, they are assigned to be taught at a certain Tribe based on their skills or what they want to learn. Oh, look, here we are!"

I looked around, taking in the bustling Earth Tribe camp. Large savannah animals like rhinos and elephants walked alongside wild dogs and lions. They turned to look at our group as we passed, and I held my head up high. 

"Alright," said Eshe, stopping under the shade of an unfamiliar tree. Below it was an arrangement of herbs, gems, metal, leather, and many other materials and trinkets. "This is all from Center Tribe, and whatever you trade from here will be redistributed to the other Tribes. However, folks from Earth Tribe may approach you throughout the day to trade for a few things. Feel free to set up here for the day." 

Atlas instantly set to work on making a deal for some of the metal. OJ seemed fascinated with a few bright orange gemstones.

"That's called spessartite," said Jabari, the Metalworker, coming up behind him. "I'd be happy to trade a couple for some emeralds."

"Ooh," said Zahra, poring over the contents of the cart as Alena, Maya, and I began unloading it. "Honeybell! I love the smell of it. I'd be happy to trade you for some wormwood. Or pennywort, or aloe! I have a whole selection and I see that you do, too! I can tell you what each of them does, since you're Warriors, not healers."

"You got any of that Limeberry wine?" a grizzled wild dog asked Alena. She nodded, and began digging around in the contents of the cart to find the crate of Limeberry wine.

"What happened to your face, miss?" questioned a young voice. I looked over to see a tall white bird with black feathers spreading from his head. A secretary bird, if I remember correctly. 

I was about to growl at him when a jackal pushed him past the trading set-up. "Sorry about him. He's a talkative fellow."

"S'alright." I yawned, then laid down next to the cart. People came and went, but I curled up in the shade and closed my eyes. 

It's been a long few days, and all I wanted at this point was to take a nap.