• I travel.

    I travel the earth.

    I travel the earth like the matriarch.

    The mother of the earth

    She travels the earth.

    She travels.

    ~~~*~~~

    When I run, I can feel my heartbeat. That is the beat of my life force. When I breath, I can feel my soul being released into Terai. And I inhale her soul back into mine, so we become one. When I move, I feel my body being moved by every particle that engulfs Terai's beauty. When we become one, I see the beauty. I see every thing She has given us. When I run, I become closer to Terai's gift.

    So I never stop running.

    I arrived at the Dry Valleys, waiting for the rain at dusk. For the rain is what brings out the K'zhi; a race of morbid rabid, but wise beasts. If anyone were to know where She was, it would be them. And I have to find Her. So I wait for the rain. It could take days, as it is the Dry Valleys, who's thirst is rarely quenched. But when it is quenched, it stays that way for a month. Luckily, I timed this perfectly so that it wouldn't be too long until She let it rain. All forms of weather comes from Her. She creates the clouds in the sky that create the rain which fills the waters, which sits atop the land of which She created. And so I must wait until she blows the clouds to the Dry Valleys, so that they may cry her tears.

    I waited.

    An hour had passed and I see them- the bearer of good tides. The dark clouds, though ominous as they were, were also the path to see Her. I waited another hour for the clouds to finally appear. And then I heard their angry rumble. And finally, their sorrowful tears. The Dry Valleys soaked the water and became rich with greens and flowers and fruits within the blink of an eye. Is this Her beauty at work?
    I laid down my knife made of the bones of Beasts and stuck it in the ground. I tied a rope to the handle and the other end around my waist. Since the Dry Valleys is covered in sand and salt, I will float to the top once it fills, but the K'zhi beasts dwell at the bottom. The Dry Valleys, which once had been dry and is now vegetative, began to make me rise, but the knife and rope kept me level. They will arrive soon. I can smell their rank and disgusting breath. At least three of them. They move swiftly, but noisily.

    Three K'zhi circled me in the water instantly, like lightning. They were all grey and swam like fish, but looked identical to Foxes; though they did not have tails, and their ears had doubled. Their fur began to quiver as they saw me, unmoved. Their red eyes darted at me as they swam, their muzzles growling low. Two of them bared their teeth and ripped through the waters to scare me, but it didn't work.
    "Just a child? A child has come to us? Shall we eat her?" One of them spoke, in a feminine tone.
    "Eat a child? Are you daft?" The second; an obvious male.
    "Will you two be quiet? Are you not curious as to why she is here?" The third- more civil- one spoke, in a light but still threatening male speech.
    "Will you tell us why you are here, child, so that we may not be forced to devour that pretty face?" The Second one spoke again.
    "Don't you know her type cannot speak without air?" The first one said, appearing to be wiser than I thought. She licked her teeth, waiting for me to run out of air.
    "Well how will we know what it is she wants?" The second became a trifle angry.
    I pulled out a piece of paper from my pocket, and written on it was my request.
    "Where is 'She' you say? How should we know?" The First one again, more coyly.
    If there is one thing I am most positively sure that I know about the K'zhi, is that they always know where She is, and that they can only talk in question. Long ago, a legend says that K'zhi used to follow Her; as they could only survive in water freshly drawn from the clouds. But from being so close to Her, their knowledge was too grand and that annoyed Her. So she only granted them the ability to ask questions and that is it. If the legend is true, then the location of Her is always close when you see the K'zhi, because they know her journey, as they stay close so they can be in the freshest of water. Knowing this I pulled out another piece of paper from my pocket. The piece of paper read:
    'I know you know where She is- I've heard the legends. My bag is full of dried meat. Tell me where She is and you may have it.'
    "She knows a bit about us, doesn't she?" The third one spoke up. "If you're so smart, then why don't you know that she's passing the Plains of Hare?"
    I smiled not letting air escape and then cut the rope I was attached to, before finishing the deal. The K'zhi tried to bite at me as I floated away- cursing and yelling obscene words in every language. If they were so smart, they would have known I had no intention of giving them anything. The female one swam quicker than the other two and bit my ankle, leaving a trail of blood. I squelched in pain but I couldn't let that slow me down, so I struggled for the surface and swam toward the edge of the lake which used to be a valley. The female K'zhi- satisfied with biting me- swam away quickly, as of not to hit the surface.

    The sand felt hot under me, as I laid in pain from the bite. But its worth it. It brought me closer to Her. I must go to the Plains of Hare so that I may find her there- and hopefully I won't be too late. I mustered up enough strength to take out my map of Terai. I am at the Dry Valley and the Plains of Hare are to the east. After I figured that out, I passed out from the pain of the bite.

    ~~~*~~~

    The journey of a traveller is a hardship. Who are they? Where have they come from? What is their task? Why do they travel? And so on. In the case of Salim Wabe, hers was a task that she must complete. This is the story of a traveller looking for Her- the mother of the land, the saviour, the breath- so that she may save her country of starvation. It was after the 6th War. The 6th War had been the greatest war of all time. It claimed many countries lives and left civilized Terai desolate and dead. The countries that did survive are now on the verge of dying 100 years later. The country of Tin has asked Salim to find Her, so that their land may flourish again...

    "What happened?" Salim groaned. Her head was throbbing so much that she couldn't open her eyes.
    "You passed out." A voice appeared out from nowhere. Salim immediately jumped up awake and ran her hand to her side to find her knives- but nothing. "I took away your weapons, just in case..." A anthropomorphic man with an elephants head, stood across the run down room. Cracks of the sun peaked in through holes, as it was made of shabby wood. He was shockingly round, but it fit. His clothing was dusty- a pair of loose pants of exquisite fabric and a black coat of velvet that draped down to the floor. His skin was grey and wrinkly like an elephant, but his body was that of a man. On his head, was a crown made of gold and metal, and trails made of leaves. His ivory tusks curled and jutted threateningly
    "W-who are you? Where am I?" Salim stuttered in fear.
    "You are in the Hare Plains. I... am Hare." He smiled, his trunk stood up in triumph and his black beady eyes squinted in peace. Hare put out his hand to shake, but Salim didn't take.
    "Wait... How long have I been here?" Salim immediately looked out a peephole of the wooden shed. On the walls of the shed were many fancy jewelry boxes and trinkets. They shimmered when the sun hit them.
    "My dear, you have been here less than a day. I found you at the Dry Valleys, passed out on a hill. You seemed to have been bitten by a K'zhi." Hare said in a caring manor.
    "Has She passed? Is She here?"
    "Child- if She were here... you'd know."
    "Dammit! They lied to me!" Salim cursed- Hare winced at the sound.
    "Please do not say such lewd words. She WAS here. But you missed her. By less than a day." He covered his ears as he said it.
    "Do you know where She went?"
    "She travels where She is needed." Hare started to dust his trinkets, in a tranquil matter. He studied one carefully. It was a blue jewel on a tiny gold chain with a crescent-shaped gold piece that held the chain at each point with the jewel in the middle.
    "What does that mean? Ah-!" Salim tried to walk over to Hare, but her foot held her back. The bite hadn't seemed to heal. It still looked fresh.
    "Have you ever heard the legends of the K'zhi... What was your name?" Hare turned to her. Salim cautiously waited and then let her guard down.
    "I am Salim Wabe from the Tin Country. I have been sent to find Her so that She may save our country." She said with Valiant pride.
    "Salim. Have you heard the legends?" He now stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes studying her carefully.
    "Yes. They live in fresh water and only speak in question." Salim confusingly spoke "So what?"
    "Did you know that once the waters dry from the Valleys, the K'zhi die? They do not follow Her. They are born in the waters from the Vegetation she lays. And they die with them. Did you know that?" He tilted his head down to better look at her with knowledge.
    "...No. The legends never said..." Salim was now attentive. Her eyebrows furrowed.
    "Thats just it Salim. They are legends. Legends never tell the full story. The K'zhi also have another property that is not known by many." Hare became serious. Salim seemed to understand, but not enough.
    "When one is bitten by the K'zhi, one has been cursed. The K'zhi are known to kill with one bite, but if someone survives that bite-"
    "-Then they die?" Salim interrupted, worrily.
    "Hahaha. No." Hare's baritone laugh rumbled the floor. "No not at all. You are cursed with the blood of K'zhi..."
    "-So I'm a werewolf?" Her tone even worse.
    "You have quite an imagination Salim. No, not a werewolf. Salim- you can create the K'zhi's flower and summon the K'zhi at your will. They are your servants now. Until that scar disappears." Hare smiled the same smile as before.
    Salim was speechless. She did not know how or why this happened to her. All she knew, was that this must be a gift from Her.