Chapter One



Morning had just arrived, and the sun was shining cheerfully. However, not everyone was as cheerful as they should have been.

"Stop disappearing like that, Valsa!" yelled Salise.

"Oh come on! You're just jealous that you can't do it." Valsa argued. The two girls started arguing back and forth about who was more jealous of whom. They finally reached an agreement, causing Valsa to reappear, as Salise was getting irritated at talking to a voice in the air. They continued their walk through the forest, until they came to their landmark, the old oracle stand. They rested against it, laughing at each other's ragged appearance from the fir tree branches. After laughing themselves silly over a joke that Salise had told, they sat down and dozed, oblivious to the passing time.

A couple of hours later, they woke up, hungry and ready to go back home. As they started to walk off, they heard cries coming from the trees.

"Who, or what, is that?" whispered Salise.


"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's coming our way," Valsa whispered back. They stood stock still, listening.


"I think we better hide," Valsa whispered.



"Yes, I agree," Salise replied. Valsa gently disappeared into the foliage and Salise hid beside a tree, making sure that she could still talk with Valsa. They watched as four beings came out of the trees.


"What are those creatures?!" Salise whispered, utterly transfixed by what she saw.



"I don't know, but they certainly don't belong here in Menathin*," Valsa replied. They continued to watch the beings as they looked around at all the trees. One of them said something and all six went in the direction that she pointed. Valsa and Salise waited until they could no longer hear them, and stepped out into the clearing.


"Should we report to the Queen or just let someone else take care of it?" Valsa asked.


"Well, we should first find out more about these odd creatures," Salise replied, "Maybe if we look through the Queen's archives, we could find something." Valsa agreed, then closed her eyes and started to hum a haunting melody, swaying her body in a rhythmic pattern. Salise began to do the same. Slowly, their bodies began to change shape and size. Iridescent black feathers sprouted from their arms and body, while their feet morphed into claws. Then, cawing raucously, they flew off in the opposite direction of the four creatures.


***

Now, most fellow creatures would think that Valsa and Salise are human. They walk on two legs, they talk in human speech, they even act like humans. However, Valsa and Salise are not human. Their race can be loosely translated into "shape-shifter." They come from the two greatest families of their kind, the Sin'Dorei* and the Stem'Ari*. Valsa from the former, and Salise from the latter. The Sin'Dorei are a terrifying family who protect their lineage with a fierceness akin to the wolves, but they are also known for their warm manner, if they like you. The Stem'Ari are a mystery to the Menathin world. They are said to come from the sea, but no one knows exactly what their history is. Most just accept the Sin'Dorei and Stem'Ari for who they are; two families of mysterious beings who sided with the Queen of Menathin for honor and acclaim. Will they actually gain honor and acclaim? Or will Fate give them another path to walk?





Pronunciation Key:

Menathin - men-ah-THEAN

Sin'Dorei - Sin-DOOR-ay

Stem'Ari - stem-AHri

Note: Apologies for some spacing on this chapter. I was having trouble getting it right, so if there is a part of the chapter(dialogue, paragraph) that doesn't look right, please ignore it and it should not happen again(so long as blogger co-operates). Please leave me comments!

Renwen