《Xanxhin Swarm queen of Ker´xaba》


 Ch1 Heroes at the door

    Xanxhin, twin empress of Ker¡äxaba and mother of the swarm that devours, could not belive the scene that played out before her compound eyes. For 400 years she and her sister, Xoto, had ruled these lands, their once simple hive not even big enough to fit them both was now a ginormours mountain fortress inhabited by millions of their brood, yet somehow here in the middle of the throneroom were only their children, their guests or adversaries in chains were allowed stood "Heroes" and their cadre of warmongers.


    Two dozen humanoidsconsisting of humans, elves, dwarfs and a few beastmen all clad in what hade once been the most prestine of fullbody armor, now defiled by the blood and mucus of her children. The young human in front even dared point his effluvia coverd claymore at the twin insecta reginae.


    "Queens of ants and gnats I, Gustav the great, have come to deliver judgement on you and any whom side with the Devil King, surrende-"


    The juvinile leader of the "heroes" in his dragon wrought helmet and white cape did not even get to finish his insulting speech before Xoto shot forward, like a crimson javelin the queen flew throught the air, gigantic stinger dwarfing the self imposed judge¡äs claymore and poised to peirce his heart. But insted of the young human the stinger found purchase in the houndman who jumped infront of him. The stinger dug through both shield and armor, poking out of the dogmans back as if telling Gustav: You are Next.


    Xoto had spread her beautifu brightl blue wings, as if weaved from the summer sky itself, and retreated with her blood red carapace to her sisters side in the blink of an eye. The fight had been started and after a second of silence everything happend at once, the queens bodyguards and soldiers, suitors and children, charged the party of "heroes" while the intruders took their stances, getting ready to slaughter the subjects of Ker¡äxiba,


    A wolfman dressed in blue cried in wordless horror and sadness as the corpse of the pierced houndman hit the floor, the leader added his voice to the cry as they both charged into the oncoming wave of chitinous armour and clacking mandibles. Light in all colours enveloped the two "heroes" as the warmongers started casting their spells, the navyblue clad wolfman gather ice around his claws as he unleashed his own and the first of Xanxhins children fell.


    She stared in disbelief as her brood turned into shattred frozen pieces of themselvs amd whished for nothing more then to put them backtogether like some morbid puzzle. Yet Xanshin could do nothing as her warriors shed limb and antennae for her. Her huge body would surley be able to crush the intruders underfoot and her purple exoskeleton might save her from a hit or two but with her swollen abbdomen full of eggs she would just be a slow easy target. Xoto had always been the warrior, the fighter and survivor of the two.


    Over the centuries Xoto had selfagumented herself to become more waspine while Xanxhin still mostly resembled an ant yet both big elephants, or a smaller one in Xotos case. Their brood however was complied of all kinds of insectoids such as mantis, beetle, fly, and unacountible more. But the "heroes" seemed to kill them all the same with their steel and magicks. Of the two dozen butcherers only three had fallen yet the floor was hardly visible thanks to the corpses of her people.


    One of the dwarfs with a long black beard and an axe in each hand having beheded and dearmed a score of weevilmen had taken to insulting the younger queen, calling her a whore of the Devil king yet he was swiftly silenced by a Herculian-Beetleman impaling him on his horn. As the dwarf spat his life blood onto his killers similarly coloured carapace XanXhin could not help but think about the irony of it.


    The beetleman in question was infact on of the children that Xoto and the Devilking hade made together, as one of the Devilkings legal wifes it was only natural to have atleast one "clutch", most of the Devilkings children was with him in the cuntry of Mandrake but a few whised to stay in Ker¡äxaba. Both queens hade a small harem of concubines and suitors, which is a rather prestigious posistion, but Xoto has Xanxhin beat in marrying the Devilking himself and while some in his court of demons and devils thought she was jealous she was infact proud of her sister, so proud of that strenght she was never able to muster.


    Xanxhin was pulled from her short daydream back into to the bloody battle as she spied Zvazz¡äTazzar, one of her own suitors, stalking towards the backline of the intuders. The completely white mantisman practcally danced across the battlfeid as made his way towards his pray, quikly seperating one of the elven healers head from his body. Xanxhins hearts seemed to work doubletime as Zvazz lost his right raptorial leg to a cheetahbeastwoman, he quikly eluded his pursuer as he danced betwix his stepchildren making his way back to Xanxhin.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "My queen, mayhaps you should retreat to a safer location just to make sure no strayspell scratch your fine form?" The mantis man suggested, every letter like a note in a song, hardly acknowledgeing his missing limb.


    Instead of answering directly Xanxhin used some of her forlimbs, having several arms sized ones, to hug Zvazz close to her body locking his head in place with help of her own mandibles and a hand on his backhead as she forced a stream of "Honey" down his throat. The substance was more akin to vomit yet it looked like liquid gold or a kind of nectar, and from those whom have hade the privilage of tasting it says it was a divine taste . As she let Zvazz down from her abrupt embrace his arm was alredy regenerating, while it would be weaker than his old one it would have to do. Five of the "Heros" have fallen and we are quikly bleeding them of their power, soon enough they will get desperate and panic or....Xanxhin thought to herself....get suicidal.


    Zvazz looked up to her, still awating an answer, as she shifted her gaze to the once stain free throneroom seening Xoto, a few crimson carapaced beetles and Belzze, a jade coloured flyman serving as one of her sisters concubines, fighting agains Gustav "the great" and the wolfman using ice magic. She saw wave after wave of her brood, like flood of chitin and bright colours, break against the stalwart defense of the armored "Heroes". She made her desicion.


    "Zvazz go to my sister, I shall heed your advise and take my leave, make sure none of the transgressors leave alive" The last part of her order not directed at the mantisman but to all of the ctizens of Ker¡äxaba, and as Xanxhins sweet notes reached her subjects it was as if they had a newfound purpouse in life. The swarm practicly reinvigorated themself, what hade once been a sea of exoskeltons and sharp mandibles now became a storm, the sheer sound of the zealous insect warriors would have driven driven lesser men mad, the "Heroes" merely got frightened.


    Xanxhin raised her massive body, six powerful legs carrying her and her bloated abdomen, head held high with compund eyes drinking in the sight of the insect storm drowning her adversaries but just as she turns to leave, out of theEctognathaProcella shoots a human sized sun, or in this case elf sized, and like a bird of prey flies stright for her.


    In an atempt to stop the burning ball of fire several of her children throw themselves into it yet all it does is produce more ash. In the blink of en eye theminiature sun reaches the queen and Xanxhin can see through the flames spying the she-elf inside, how her face is twisted in a wrathfull grimace, how the elfs skin melts under her own power and how the once metal wearing woman, now clad in fire, stretches her arms out and mouthsINFERNO.


    Xanxhins world is on fire, the sun itself seems to have come just to lick her exoskeleton from her like som bizzare candy, she tries to curl into a ball yet limbs burned to charchol does not answer her call, her inside is cooking, her abdomen is boiling, having been doomed to hellfire before even getting born her eggsac splits open and spills her unborn children onto blackscorched floor, compund eyes melting and her antenne alredy burned to ash. Xanxhins mind is just a scream.


    And yet in some sick twist of fate the sac with contains her healing nectar, the one she used to heal Zvazz, the one she used to feed her babies, the one she used to heal Xoto with when they were young, ruptures and leaks out. It has always been part of her giving her an immense healing factor but now as it pools out on the floor her brood, her children, nephews, neices and lovers start using it as a crude adhesive as they start ripping healty carapace from them self to heal their queen. Carefully breaking of antennae and tearing out eachothers eyes and intsetines to replace what she lost. Some use their bodies as shields against the few remaning heroes, the charred corpse of the she-elf indistinguiable agaisnt the other deformed corpses of her victimies.


    An moment passes, or maybe it was years Xanxhin does not now, the broken queen rises again clad in tatters, a mismatched puzzle of uneven carapace and too many limbs, mind now numb to pain and only the primal instinct to flee, to live. Surrounded by equally loyal corpses and dying subjects she resumes her escape. She only manages a few steps before a strange light fills the chamber and every pair of eyes in the room turns to its source, including her own now asymetrical ones.


    The source is of the light is no other than Gustav the great himself and together with the wolfman, hands locked, they channel a spell of untold proportion. Their target is, to Xanxhins great horror, Xoto, her divine wings and most of her body incased in a massive ice pillar, Zvazzs two bisected body halves frozen mid fall slightly lower in the pillar. Xanxhin starts to trudge painfully slow towards her sister as the storm of Ker¡äxabaian citizens are more sucsessfull in reaching the pillar, some start trying to dig out their queen while other fly up to distract the "Heroes" but they are beaten back by the etherial form of the fallen intruders, the dogman with the shield, the dwarf with the foul mouth and all the other butcherers.


    As the "Heroes" finish their spell, a gigantic lance of ice, light and the very souls of their comrades, driving it down towards the head of the crimson empress of Ker¡äxaba, Xanxhin reaches out with all her limbs trying to stop the blow and screeches in panic at her sisters immediate demise. But Xanxhin is impossible far away from the magical lance and her soul scarring cry does nought to stop it and her voice echos painfully as Xotos head and body gets disintigrated by the "Heroes" spell

 Ch 2 Retreat

    Zala¡älaixa watched in horror as his mother and queen turned into nothing but dust and memories, her very soul destroyed by the invaders horrible spell. The heart wrenching screams of his aunt making the scarabmans blood red carapace vibrate with sorrow.


    As Xhanxhin mournfull cry finally ended and the shock of losing her littlesister sent her body to the floor, Zala with his right side seared by flames and arms turned to cinder sprung into action.


    "PROTECT THE QUEEN, CARRY HER TO THE TELEPORTATION CIRCLE!" His deep singing voice echoing in the throne chamber, spurring his bretheren to action.


    However as the insect men started to ferry their remaing queen¡äs body towards the back of the room, the four remaining "Heroes" begun their own treck towards the unconcius brood mother. The dragon helmeted leader and blue clad wolfman making their way from the remains of the ice pillar while an elf with burning hair and a dwarf completely covered in blood and guts were making headway from where the insectoid tide hade swallowed most of the other intruders.


    The elven sorceress with flames for hair and metal staff bore her emerald green eyes into Zalas oil like compund eyes, he could see her tears turning into steam as her own magic prohibited her sadness, opening her mouth to say something, But the scarab turned away, not wanting to hear her accusations. Insectmen are not able to cry the same way as the humanoids but he feared he might lose his conviction if he stopped to listen, letting his emotions catch upp with him.


    As Xanxhins body was being carried towards the teleportation circle the Devilking had let install, a security measure they never thought to be necessary, a few of the dead boiled egg dribbled out of her abdommen creating a grisly trail of Zala¡äs unborn cousins. Had he been human he might have retched. He could hear his fellow citizens throw themselves at the invaders in attempts to slow them down, even for just a step.


    When they reached teleportation chamber Zala was relevied to see several of his sisters had alredy started the activation incantation in preperation. The small caravan laid their precius cargo in the middle of the circle and then took up defensive positions around it. Some, including Zala, opted to stay inside with the queen as an extra measure of security while other simply dropped to the ground, exausted or dead.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The dwarf broke through into the chamber, swining both her hammer in one hand and what might have been shield (now broken beyond all recognition) in the other, the rest of the "Heroes" right on her trail. The quartet of butcherers flinched for millisecond as they realised that the queen was about to be teleported away. In a last ditch effort both sides threw themselves at eachother.


    The wall of chithin and zealus fevour holding against the assult of the "Heroes", but just as the teleportation spell finished and Zala could feel his body being dragged away he spied the elf mage desperatly casting something to disrupt spatial spell. As kaleidoscopic light and infinite shapes assulted his mind Zala felt as something was fundamentally wrong.


    <hr>


    Xanxhin groggy and cunfused slowely rose on unstedy legs, it took her a another split second before she remebered the events that led to her current prediciment. She fell, her leg unable to support her heavy form as sorrowfull thoughts shook her body.


    Xoto...... my Xoto.............my beloved and only...........Revenge. I shall avenge you with all that I can.


    It only took a few moments for the queen to rise again with new vigour and pourpuse.


    But first I need to figure out where I am, Xanxhin thought to herself finally taking in her surroundings.


    She was no longer inside her mountain hive of Ker¡äxiba nor in its surrounding landscape. Instead of the flower fields and jungles of her home she was in what seemed like a birch forest with the occasional oak and pine scattered about. And in her more immidiete surroundings lay the corpses of her brood, two of her sons were even stuck in the trees, yet no sign of life could be seen from them. A few looked like they hade been cut by the sharpes blade imaginable, completely down the middle or at strange angles where exo skeletons should have protected yet offered none,  or more likely a spatial spell of some sort.


    The sun was going down on the horizon and Xanxhin could not afford to stand idle, she was alone and lost and she had enemies out for her life. She would first of all need shelter to rest her broken body, anntenae of diffrent size and mismatched coumpund eyes, her once beautifull chitinus armor of night tinted purple now a mockery of pea green, dirt brown, a rosey she could swear she had never seen before and other clashing colours.


    The queen garbed in tatteres drove powerful legs angrily into the ground as she made her way to a cave in a small hill, the bear that inhabited it reacted with a roar as the broodmother entered its den but was quikly shut up as Xanxhin crushed it underneath her and started ripping tasty chunks of flesh from it with her mandibles. With food in her belly and some semblance of shelter, the light breeze anf rusteling of brich leaves lulled her to sleep.

 ch 3 Trail

    Zala¡älaixa, crimson carapace still tainted with black ash, found himself in a peculiar prediciment. The sun was high in the sky and he was approximateky 15 meters of ground, stuck in a tree, with little recolection of how he got there. The last thing he remebered was the teleportation spell going of. But instead of the the Devilkings, his father¡äs, black castle where the spell should have taken them, he was now in a forest of trees he never bother to learn the name of. Some were white and black striped while others had the darker shades of bark he at least recognised, all however had green crowns witch he found comforting.


    With a heavy thud he jumped down from the high branch he woke up upon, the foreign ground cracking in protest as his huge frame kissed it for the first time. Small branches and leaves falling around the chitihn clad insectoid. Zala looked around and found nothing, no enemies in metal armour with swords raised high nor allies redy to patch him up. He observed that some of his exoskeleton was partially melted. Ugly in his opinion, but better then the alternatives.


    He needed to find out where he, if there was any citizens of Ker¡äxaba he could regroup with and most importantly find his queen. His one queen now. A deep sorrow filled his mind at the thought of his deceased queen, at the thought of his dead mother. The twin empresses had never been very motherly to their brood in the eyes of the humans and their like, but the swarm they led they had been benevolent godesses, gracing this land with their presence. The way Xhaxhin would thank them for bringing her food or the way Xoto would congratulate them for fine sparring session meant the world to their subjects.


    Of course the queens could be strict to, ordering the slaves or misbehaving swarmmembers to go construct forts right in enemy territories or simply crushing them with legs, mandibles or stinger. Yet most thought fondly of the twin rulers. The crimson beatles that were Zala¡älaixa and his siblings even more so, having been dotted on thanks to their blood ties to the Devilking. And now several scores of his lifelong brothers were now dead, some entirely oblivirated. A mournfull sigh escaped Zala¡äs mandibles.


    After a moment Zala took a deep breath and braved into the unfammiliar forest, in hope of simply finding anything. His wish was soon fullfilled as he found a doe grazing on the forest floor, a meal to strenghten him. In speed that seemed unfair to the doe the insectman sprung through some bushes and buried his left arms deep in her neck, breaking it and killing her instantly. As Zala munched on the raw red flesh of his victim he felt uncomfortable, and not only beacuse of his missing right arms. He missed his Ball, his weapon and constant silent companion. The ball was bigger than him, almost 3 meters in diameter, and made up of his queens enimes¡äs corpses. Human, elf, orc, wyvern and insectmen alike were grafted into his masterwork. Over decades had he worked on the rolling graveyard with his very own special secretions acting as an adhesive. Sadly Ball was probably still in the throne room of the montain hive, left behind after the burning elfs hellish fire burned both him and his queen, another casuality of war.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Zala clicked his mandibles dissappointedly as he rose from his eating position, he had not eaten the whole doe but wishes he could, but his sense of urgency and disorientention did not allow it. In semi-high spirits he coninued his aimless treck through the forest, yet it was not untill nightfall that he found anything, at first he thought his antenae was pulling his leg or that his daydreams had started seeping into the real world, but he found a trail. And not just any trail, a pheromone trail. A pheromone trail smelling of his comrades. He quickened his step as the trail grew easier to follow, the closer he got the faster he went. After a while he could see a cave in the distance, an obvius place for his allies to take shelter, his heart felt lighter at the thought of them being safe and sound whoever they were. As he reached the cave entrance he felt fear for half a heartbeat but then he fell to his knees in relief as he spied his queen¡äs ragged form, limbs raised high and ready to strike him down had he proven to be someone that wished her harm.


    "My queen, Zala¡älaixa high executioner of Ker¡äxaba, reporting for servi-" Before the scarlet beatle could finnish his sentence Xhanxhin had scooped him up and forced her healing honey down his throat, golden nectar spilling over his mandibles and down his front armor. Before he was even let go the healing properies of the queens divine ambrosia had started regrowing his lost arms and molten carapace. Zala coughed a bit as he was again allowed to move freely, taken back by the sudden procedure, his gaze however quikly found its way back to the queen infornt of him as she spoke.


    "Zala¡älaixa, I am thankfull and impressed that you have found me with such haste in this obsecure land, but after everything that has transpired I must rest,"  The queen¡äs uneven eyes met his own, and he could almost physicaly feel how tired she was.


    "Would you honor me with standing guard so that I could sleep safe and soundly for the night, high executor?" She continued.


    "I live to serve my queen, I shall stand guard untill the end of time shall it prove necessary." The scarabae answered, relived that his queen¡äs nectar also had reinvigorated him. Xanxhin relaxed her body and quikly fell asleep.

 Ch 4 Demotion?

    Xanxhin awoke from her slumber with a groggy mind and exhaustion filling her body, so she felt slightly better than when she took to the land of dreams. As she rose the bear carcass she had been cradeling fell to the ground, its bones even more crushed and in tatters after a night spent in the queen¡äs restless embrace. However not a fly nor worm or mite had as much as looked at the decomposing feast, no insects dared get close to the queen without her permission, but if she wished it a good portion of the forest¡äs insectoid inhabitants would rush to do her bidding. Conscious about it or not such was the queen¡äs power.


    The sun had risen by the time Xanxhin made it to the cave entrance where Zala quickly bowed and wished her a good morning, the warrior hardly having moved from the spot were he started his vigil. During the night nothing really happend but it did give him time to think, and sensing that his aunt was not in too foul a mood he asked a question.


    "My queen, this servant of yours is unaware of where he is and wondered if his queen might know" With his head still bowed down he waited with baited breath for an answer and after a moment a sigh was heard from the former ruler of Ker¡äxaba.


    "If I had not recently had most of my sensory organs replaced I might¡äve been able to discern our posistion with help from the stars," she rose her compound eyes of different size and colour, her antennae twitching, towards the blue skies above in what might have been reminiscence as she continued "but now all I can do is guess."


    After a few moments, she answered Zala¡älaixa second question before he could ask it.


    "If we are lucky we are in the kingdom of Mandrake, the Devilking¡äs land, and we simply need to make contact with his forces to get some help, if we are less fortunate we might be in Ceedar or Tryffle or any other of allied countries that has banded against the Devilking, where we will be deep in enemy territories and a force ready to kill us might apear without notice"This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The queen paused before continuing, tearing her eyes from the skies andchoosing a fewbirchtrees as a new target for her dream like stare.


    "And in worst case scenario we are in another world." Xanxhin said, dejected.


    "I do not understand, my queen, how could a world without any possible enimes be the worst case scenario?"Zala asked, having raised his head to do so but swiftly regretted it. The queen almost headbutting him as they locked eyes.


    "Beacuse, High Executioner, I.Would.Be.Unable.TO. GET . MY . REVENGE!"The venom in the queens voice almost visible to Zala, whom felt stupid for angering his queen and dared not to move.


    The queen, in her rage, had opened the carapace on her back baring her wings, unconsciusly making them vibrate in annoyance. Small, almost pitiful little things that usually stayed hidden, the ends now frayed and crumpled, were a good reflection of howshe looked. The royal sisters wings were both the same colour of divine blue however Xanxhin¡äs were alot smaller. While Xoto¡äs big wings seemed massive enough to encompass the heavens her sister¡äs wings seemed so pathetic, Xanxhin hade not flown for centuries and in this pace never would.


    A simple "Forgive me, my queen" would hardly be enough quell her fury and taking his own life in shame would hinder her. As they continued their impromtu staringcontest Zala¡älaixa was at a loss of what to do, but luckily his queen knew.


    "As you are all that I have, High Executioner, you will sadly have to function as both Soldier and Hunter at the moment, I have only a few eggs left inside me, a final gift from Zvazz, that need my immediate attention. I will need alot of nourishment and you WILL secure it for me. Is that understood High Executioner?" The insectiod ruler practically spat out the last few words, but the crimson beetle was already too eager to please his queen to notice.


    "I shall stake mylife on it my Queen." As Zala scampered of into the unfammiliar forest to hunt he continued the scentence in his head: "...or give it to you shall it be needed."

 Ch5 The gladiators son

    "Daltos I have a request for you," his father said, letting muscular hands guide his little clay tea cup to rest on the hardpacked dirt floor "for you and Eiya."


    Daltos drank the last slurry of his own tea, some of it now stuck in his mustache, before giving his father an acknowleging nod. The calm but comfortable evening mood now replaced with something more serious. His father, an old accomplished grizzled gladiator hailed as "Ulvar the Unbeatable", did not often ask for help. While he had now been retired for decades he was still in good enough form the wrestle a bear as a stretching excercise.


    "I know it is ill-mannered of me to ask this of the two of you when you¡äve come all this way to visit your old parents, but it would put my mind at ease knowing you were on the case." Ulvar continued, bowing sligthly with his whole body at the end. Daltos looked at his father, bald but with a beard that would make dwarfs envious, more scared tissue than skin and muscles that could fit on a statue, what could it be that had this old warrior in such a tizzy?


    Daltos threw a glance at the other side of the little shack that was his childhood home, spying his mother trying to teach both his wife and daughter how to sew. Eiya, her long brown hair ussually well kept now dishelved with frustration, seemed about ready to blast the thread and needle into oblivion with a fireball spell or something similar while their daughter, Vira, was so focused on her grandmother¡äs teaching she did not even notice her tounge sticking out of her mouth. The comic scene of his daughter¡äs tounge wiggling in sync with her grandma¡äs needle going up and down and the sheer speed of it made Daltos chuckle.


    "Ofcourse we will help, what else did you did you have me for?" Daltos answered as he refocused his attention on his father. Ulvar seemed relived as he rose again, 2 pairs of brown eyes full of determination focusing on eachother as Ulvar begun his explention.


    "Thank you Daltos, thank you" He started, before taking a deep breath in preperation for his request. "I would like for the two of you to inspect the forest. And before you come with some snide remark; no not all of it , only the part closest to the village." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Daltos who was just about to tell his father that it would be impossible for just him and Eiya to survey the forest of Djupskog, wich was as big as a small country with a literal elven country int the deepest part of it, by them selves as there are limits to adventure¡äs capabilites, even as good as they were, "harumphed" in faked grumpiness but continued to listen.


    "A few days ago some of the village hunters found strange tracks to the south-west, unlike any they had seen before, and then they started complaining about feeling unsafe and vulnerable in the forest so yesterday Grimholdt and myself took it on ourselves to find this beast but we are not directley well versed in the art of tracking..."


    Ulvar coughed nervously but Daltos understood, a retired gladiator and a old city guard turned pig farmer was not the ideal hunting party for a beast. If they did happen to stumble upon the beast, even a Manticore or Chimera, would fall before the prowess of "Ulvar the Unbeatable" and "Pegleg Grim" but if they could not find it there was no real point.


    "After a whole day of searching all we found of the beast was a grove of broken trees and some boar fur. All we know so far about this beast is that it has a strange two toed foot print, courtesy of the hunters description, it hunts boars,which is just speculation, and that it is powerfull enough to break trees." After finishing Ulvar almost felt angry that he could not provide more information.


    Daltos took a quick glance at Eiya to confirm that she had overheard the conversation and he had made up his mind.


    "On behalf of the adventurers¡äs guild I accept your quest." Daltos said as he bowed with overdramatic flair. But before anything else could be said his mother intervened.


    "Now now, adventuring will have to wait for the morrrow. This little lady here needs to sleep and so does the rest of you." The old lady said as she gently stroked Viras¡äs head, a big yawn escaping the little girls mouth. Daltos¡äs mother, an old wrinkled womman by the name of Matilda, was not someone that either her husband or son dared to argue with. With wrinkles and her gray hair, some of it framing her face some of it up in a bun, she looked like time hade taken its toll but her bright blue eyes and big smiled told another story. She had a neclace made of old ivory and animal bones that Vira was fiddeling with while her parents and grandfather started making preperations for the night.


    "And who knows, with the extra energy you gain with a good night¡äs sleep mayhaps you will catch a boar for me to prepare for tommorows dinner."