Arise

Chapter 1- Clans

It was funny how man had unadapted back into these times of clans and tribes. Though the Solar and Luna were the strongest, many still tried to rival us. Hell everyone seemed confused on how we managed to stay as equals to one another. Truth be told, it was the marriages and the food we gave every four years. The strongest men would compete for the most beautiful women, the top three got to marry the woman of their choice. The losers would either wait another four years or just marry someone in the clan. Though considering half of us were related, that was the odd way out of being romantically alone. Though there are some adopted babies when we feel the need to try and add onto the clan. Yet the Lunar women, they make me feel so strange. They look at me with wild yet cold eyes whenever we switch over from day to night. So I try to give the same response, which only makes them more pissed off. Not like I wanted them anyways, if anything my job would to be marry a man. Though I was talking to another of the Solar girls, her name was Nou. She was directly named after the sun since she was the daughter of the clan leader.

"Were you paying attention Tala?" I shook my head, I had zoned her out thinking about mindless things. "I'm sorry Nou, tell it to me again please." She sighed and I looked down at the ground as we walked. "I said that the lunar men looked very attractive! I want Kenta to win this year so he can pick me. Which reminds me, will you be able to pass messages again tonight for us?" I nodded as I shook my head. These two were destined to become a couple, Kenta ment attractive and strong. Which means the Javars, or clan leaders, wanted them together. This also means the competition could be rigged. It's happened sometimes in the past, my grandmother once told me that the generation of leaders will cheat no matter who really deserves to win in order to have the best children for the years that would come. "I'll get the messages between you two don't worry. Thats one of my jobs after all." I smiled a bit, though not very happy on the inside. My mother was a servant and my father was the 'froth' of the lunar group. That meant he was like a low life because of his eyes, they were green and blue. If you were born with odd traits, you weren't suppose to get married yet my parents defied laws and had me. Yet that's why they're not here today. They were put to death for breaking the laws of the clans. Yet they keep me around and an example for other people trying to gather up their courage. I show off my eyes a sign of a mistake, and like my mother before me I was servant.

I thought it was odd how others saw one another and it made me want to know how the other clans saw one another. No one else had the eyes that my father and I had. I still ask myself why I stay loyal to this place, in my honesty, I have no clue. Maybe it was because death was a constant threat for disobedience. As night came around I saw Nou go inside her cave,the Lunars started to appear. I wasn't suppose to be seen at night, nor was I supposed to even be passing messages between the oddly romantic couple. I did it anyways because Nou requested it. If I said no I would be dead anyways. I hid in the same tree I always did, waiting for Kenta to show himself. It wasn't hard though, he had beautiful white hair and blue eyes that resembled a high ranked Lunar man. Only the high ranking men and women had the pure white looking features. The other men seemed to carry strong yet they had darker hair, the same for the women. Though if a child was born from a weak family and had the pure look, it was assumed that the wife had cheated and was put to death. Though if the Javar didn't have an heir child they would take the newborn and make sure the parents stayed silent. Cheating was also assumed when a Javar's child lacked the pure look. The resembling father would be put to death another with Javar's wife. The Javar had total power over his clan, he was alpha. So he was able to take any wife he wanted without waiting four years.

After a while I saw Kenta appear and I jumped down, ready to hear my first message to pass along to Nou. "I miss you my love, the day of fourth is almost here. I have been training to so that I could come in first, I hope to win without my father cheating." Once he was done I slipped into the shadows of night and the trees, I took my normal route to Nou's section of the big cave. The place was full of many different sections and sectors, which created rooms. The main room and other rooms were full of furs and a fire pit to keep everything warm, yet safe. You could never tell where it was at night, since the fire was normally all the way in the back at this point. Up close I saw the glint of the flames from behind the strange vines and waterfall before I entered. I had to enter quietly so that I didn't wake anyone up. One time I did this, it was an older man. He had tossed me out of the cave to sit in the small river that was made by the waterfall. I was mad, but I couldn't do anything. So what I did was lay in the bushes near the cave, I was covered and it was summer at that time. So I was happy to be cool in the heat. Though this time it was just about spring, there was cool air and odd weather. I didn't want to be wet during this time of the seasons. So I finally made my way quietly to Nou and repeated the message. She blushed hard and giggled softly with excitement. "Tell him this, tell him that I believe in him. Also that he'll have to be sure he's ready, there are other clans competing this year." She said in quiet excitement. I was a bit shocked, we had never seen another clan besides raider ones. Before I left, I had to know more myself. "What clans? I've never heard about this...Are they new allies?" Nou nodded and smiled widely. "Not only that, but they're from the west and south sides of the country." That was even odder. We were the east side, thus controlling the east border. The west was known for being useful in hunting and they're clan is huge, rightfully named Theron. Then the south was known for being very upper class and yet stealth killers.Thus their name Rune. "Why though? Why the sudden change?" Nou frowned now, seeming annoyed with me. "Why would a servant girl want to know? You won't even need to worry, no man from their clans would want you. Now go tell my message already!" She said with her voice raised, her being the daughter of the Javar, no one told her to shut up. I flinched a bit but I nodded and snuck back out to relay the message to Kenta.

Kenta was just as shocked as I was when I got back to him, there were six clans of the strange nation. Normally they only looked out for themselves or only wanted one ally. Solar and Lunar are perfect examples of that. "I didn't think my father was serious about us meeting up, which means it's not just the two other clans coming. The knowledge clan from the north will be here, along with the healer and the absolutes." If there was anything that had a higher rank than the Javars, it was the absolutes. The fact that they even have children amazed me, rumor has it that if they didn't show signs of greatness at birth they were left to die in the cold snow of their homeland. The clan name said it all about them, they had power. For the healers, they were known as Heka. As for the all knowing or knowledge, it was Pervade. "Why though? Why this sudden gathering of all the clans?" Kenta looked away from me as he began to speak again. "My father got a message from the Emperor of the absolutes. They said it was time to have his son find a woman, thus not only men are competing this year. Woman are as well, the top three from each clan will be able to choose from one another. Anyone of our legal age can enter...I ask a favor of you Tala." I still couldn't believe this, mixing clans and the Emperor wanting his son married off to a lower class? All of this just seemed so impossible. "..What's your request Kenta?" He put a hand on my shoulder as a sign of friendship, which meant this task was going to be something near impossible for me. "This year enter yourself and Nou to the competition. Help her win to the top three, the Emperor's son will chooses first yet I have faith that Nou and I will be together."

What he asked of me, would be the hardest task I ever had to do. Yet a chance for me to possibly show that I can be more than an example of failure and regret. "I'll bring your message to Nou.."I take his hand off my shoulder, yet as I move into the shadows, I smile and look at Kenta for a moment. "And I'll take your task." He smiled back as he moved quickly back to where the crowds were gathering, probably to tell the news about the clan gathering. This also meant I didn't need to come back out for the night. I moved quietly and quickly back to the cave and into Nou's room, who seemed even more agitated that I took so long. "It better be a long message or else Tala." I sit next to her and nod. "He told me that it's bigger than you think, the Emperor commanded a clan gathering..Of every clan in the nation this year for the four year competition." She looked more excited now than agitated. "So does that mean his son or daughter will be there?" I nod and gain confidence to now look her in the eye, yet when ever I did this I was suppose to close one of my eyes out of respect. A misfit of two different eyes had to do this only. "Rumor says he only has a son, which means his wife wasn't a very fertile woman." Nou then grabbed my hands, looking with determination. " Forget Kenta then! I'll hope for the Emperor's son to pick me!" I felt disgusted with her, she just wanted the top. "To do that you would have to enter, woman this time must prove they are strong in order to be chosen from a different clan. Kenta asked that I entered with you and helped you in the competition." Nou now slid her hands from mine and gripped them tightly onto my wrists. "You? You couldn't help me besides not being in that competition. You know what? I'll let you enter, only because I want you to realize that you're nothing more than the servant and lowlife that your parents were." She then tossed me from the fur mat to cold floor, smirking at me. "You go to your place Tala, because it seems that you're slowly forgetting your rank in our clan." By that she meant closer to the entrance of the cave, where it was cooler. In the cold seasons, the lower ranked slept there. In the summer they slept closer to the fire pit. Some died from hypothermia and some died from a heat stroke, it was the same in every clan but the absolutes. They had built houses made of wood because they had the material, they had nicer clothing made of silk because they were better. Yet because of their child code, there wasn't many of them.

I made my way into my own small section of the cave. It was cold since I was nowhere near the warmth of the fire. I was shivering even though I was on my own fur mat. I then curled up into a ball, feeling a bit warmer than before. Before I knew it I was sound sleeping. Though it didn't feel like sleep. I was having this dream, I saw a figure with red eyes. In the dream he gave me the look of a predator, which caused me to jolt awake to green eyes instead of the hungry red. It was Nou. "About time you got up, everyone is gathering to meet in the center territory. Seems the competition is going to be held there." She then grabbed me roughly and pulled me out by my hair. It was painful but from how much she did it, I was able to ignore the pain. She then held my head under the waterfall for a few seconds before pulling me back. "Now that you're awake, you'll be ready to leave." She says, finally letting go and heading to her father. Once she turned her back I smiled a bit, there was no way I was going to lose to her. For once, I wanted to do something that meant changing my life. I wring my dark hair out and catch up to the rest, I would say the walk to the center territory was a good three to four hours. We were tried and it was the first time the Lunar clan and Solar clan had walked side by side. We were so different it was crazy, though I also looked between Nou and Kenta. Nou put on her fake love eyes and batted them at him every now and then, It annoyed me. I was glad the walk was over, though seeing two clans already there made me nervous. It was the Theon and Rune clan, seems the north was taking their time. The people of the west seemed very happy to see us, they had dark hair colors. Though they're Javar and his children stood out. They had hair of auburn. The south not only had light to dark hair, but they were tan to dark skinned. The Rune clan seemed the opposite of the Theon, they just seemed to wanted to blend and study us. Again the leader and his children were easy to see, they had hair like everyone else but their eyes were this dark blue. Almost like a jewel's kind of blue. We took our place on our side of the center territory, the woman and men of the clans were looking over one another. I refused to look as if I wanted to win a prize, all I wanted out of this was recognition. I saw one of the people from the south look me in the eye, they seemed disgusted and yet a man from Theon looked at me. He had a red color to his face before turning his head away, that was odd honestly. It seems that I can different reactions out of different people. Maybe my mother and father should have left Solar and went to Theon, seem like they would accept me. Though just in case, i'll prove to other clans that I'd be worthy. After all, after I prove myself. I'll be leaving Solar.