Gaia: Bloody Waters
Book One: Visitors
Waking up to a forest full of nature's noises was nothing new to Kimya but the unnatural sounds she heard that morning were nothing short of terrifying. She sprinted softly over a fallen moss covered long, bounded over the crystal clear creek she had slept beside that night, and landed surefooted on the edge of a boulder half hanging over a shear cliff that looked over the valley below. The water from the stream ran past her perch and tumbled its way down a great distance to a pool that looked nothing more than a puddle from as high up as she was. The stream continued its journey down the valley and eventually into the sea that could just barely be seen beyond the trees and meadows before it. Smoke was pouring its way into the sky from across the valley and the young elf could see tree after tree being felled. A line of brown nothingness wound its way through the distant forest and emptied out into a muddied open space where faint figures were erecting tents and makeshift shelters. It seemed chaos itself was being unleashed into her until now tranquil land.
"Humans?" Kimya whispered to herself. She'd never seen one before but she'd heard enough about them to recognize one when she did. "I've got to tell the others," she whispered again.
Her village, if you could call it that, was a few miles up creek. A well worn trail ran the length of the waterway, used by beast and elf alike, and although she traveled barefoot she traveled swiftly. Kimya came to the grove of ancient trees that stood watch around her home and ran through the maze of trails until she reached the center.
"Kimya!" it was her father.
"Father," Kimya stopped and caught her breath.
"How many times must I tell you not to stay out in the forest alone at night?"
"Not now father, please," she took a deep breath. "I saw humans."
Other elves stopped what they were doing when they heard the word and circled around her.
"How many child?" an older elf asked.
"Where?" her father continued.
Kimya pointed in the direction she had come, "In the valley; across from the falls. I don't know how many but there are more than a few. I saw smoke and they were cutting down trees and..."
"Slow down, child," the same elderly elf from before put his hand on Kimya's shoulder.
"And it looked like they were making a camp," Kimya finished.
"Abasi," Kimya's father spoke to the old elf. "We must alert the other tribes and call the council."
"Yes, Enzi, we must," Abasi frowned. "It's been more than two hundred years since I've seen a human."
"What do they want?" Kimya looked to her father.
"What humans almost always want, daughter; something that is not theirs," he turned to Abasi. "Shall we send a runner to the coast and alert the Merfolk as well?"
"Yes. Any quarrel we end up having with the humans will be their quarrel as well."
"How do we know they are here to fight with us?" Kimya asked.
"That might not be their immediate intention," Abasi explained. "But any interaction with humans or otherwise tends to lead to it. Now Kimya, you seek out the Valley Clan and announce our intentions to call a council. We will have the other runners seek out the other clans."
"Kimya," Enzi put his hand on top of his daughter's head and looked at her. "Avoid the humans but bring your bow and a quiver full of arrows. If your life becomes threatened, remember your teachings and do not allow yourself to be captured. Do you understand?"
"Yes, father," Kimya smiled, ran to her family's hut, and grabbed her bow and quiver before disappearing into the shadows of the forest that surrounded them.