Tsinga's Quest- A Princess' Tale

(Note: This is basically a preview, a prologue to whet your appetite for when the real story comes. As such, feel free to comment, but know that the actual quality of the story itself may or not be reflicted herein)

INTRODUCTION: THE STORY SO FAR

They say that every great leader faces a test of his worth at some time during his rule, a trial that determines how history will remember him, an event that will create his legacy.

My father, Connell Silverfur, knew this well. Born in a small tribe of wolves, he grew to adulthood around the time of the Great Furrabian War -a conflict between the five great Furr kingdoms- in which both he and his brother, Faron Silverfur, enlisted. Fighting with the armies of the kingdoms of Furrabia and Haral, my father was forced to watch helplessly as his brother was struck down by a traitor in the ranks. Devastated, he took Faron’s sword and deserted both armies, disappearing into the forests of the Furr world. Therein, he wandered aimlessly, making no friends, owing allegiance to no king.

It was not until two years later that he emerged, but when he did, he immediately wished that he had stayed hidden. The Great Furrabian War was over, and in the past two years, Furrabia had prospered immensely. However, Haral, on whose borders my father stood that first day, had fallen on hard times. The legitimate king had died, replaced by his brother, who now taxed the furrs excessively, who passed oppressive laws, conscripted the strongest and most able-bodied young furrs into his armies. Those who showed the slightest hint of rebellion or who said even a word against him were jailed or killed.

My father had fought to prevent such atrocities, and to see them now occurring in spite of the efforts of his brother and him truly disturbed him. He began to act in secret against the king. He stole from the palace almost brazenly and returned the wealth to the neediest. In time, others joined him. They did not trust him fully, for Haral is a kingdom of foxes, who have a terrible rivalry with wolves and have since the days of our feral ancestors. Yet they also found that they had much in common with him: namely a hatred for the king, and a desire to help those most injured by the policies of the royalty.

As his group grew, my father grew bolder, harassing caravans intended to enrich the king, stealing food supplies, bringing strong, young furs into his group before the king could conscript them. Yet for all his effort, my father continually pushed without making any progress…

That all changed one night. My father had stolen a sack of money from the palace and was now fleeing the guards. He had done so many times before, and perhaps had grown overconfident, believing none could catch him. It was as he ran through the gardens that my father saw her… Haral’s true heir, a young, snowy-colored vixen named Princess Renia. Something changed in my father… He found he could not take his eyes off of her. No longer watching where he was going, my father tripped and fell; soon he was locked in the palace dungeon, where he was to await execution.

Fortunately for him, it seems that the gods had other plans. Renia- who as you may have guessed by now, would later become my mother- took pity on the wolf. Unlike the other royals and nobles, she realized that he wanted only to help the poorest of Haral’s citizens, and she shared that dream. So she stole the key to his cell and freed him.

From that point on, my father and mother worked together. Every few nights, my father would scale the palace walls to her chambers, where my mother would give him a large sack of gold to distribute to those who needed it. In time, they fell in love, but the difference in their classes and heritage prevented them from pursuing a mateship. Indeed, the king even at that time pursued an alliance with a nearby kingdom known as Animarea, through the betrothal of its prince, Roraahn,

In time, my parents realized that they could no longer allow the tyrant to rule Haral. They planned his assassination. My father would work with his band, and with prince Roraahn, who by that time had come to realize that he had been deceived by the king. They would create a diversion out in front of the palace, drawing away the soldiers and guards stationed there, while Renia, and a fox pup named James sneaked into the palace. It would be up to Renia to drive a dagger through the king’s heart and to take the throne as was her duty.

However, things went badly. My father’s group was quickly routed, and the tyrant, ever mindful of threats to his power and his life, managed to ambush my mother and her young escort. James escaped, but mother was held in the dungeon until dawn. She was then led out into the public square to be executed.

Thankfully, she was spared. Her mother, the queen, sneaked up to the king and drove a blade through him from the rear. Unfortunately, she too was stabbed by him and sacrificed her life to end him. My father intervened then, cutting the hangman’s noose. With the king dead, the conflict ceased.

That night, my mother was proclaimed queen of Haral, but an issue still remained. In Haral, the queen is a voice of wisdom, yet she wields no real power, no authority to settle legal matters. A king was needed. Prince Roraahn had grown to love my mother, but in his time with my father, he had grown to see that perhaps the young wolf was far more equipped than he to return Haral to its former glory. He stepped aside, and only a day later, my father and mother were mated officially, and my father made king over Haral.

Many struggles followed, for the nobles, some of whom had been hand-picked and supported by the previous king, loathed my father. Some tried to deceive him into passing bad laws just as oppressive as those of his predecessor. Some even tried to have my mother and him assassinated.

In spite of this, however, my father proved himself a great leader. He passed laws that lightened the burdens on Haral’s citizens. He lowered taxes and sent home those unwillingly conscripted into the royal army, decreeing that they would only be conscripted again should it be necessary to defend their homeland. Punishments for the rich were now just as harsh as those on the poor. Haral prospered.

Soon, my parents were able to turn their attention to happier things, for it was during this time of prosperity that I, Princess Tsinga Silverfur, was born.

Still more trials followed. My mother and I were kidnapped by one of my father’s former allies, forcing my father to abdicate the throne temporarily in order to rescue us. Not long after, a second great war began, this one against creatures known as Humans, who came from across the Great Sea. It took some effort, but my father managed to unite the Great Furr Kingdoms in that desperate hour, and together our kind drove the humans back from whence they came.

Since that time, my father has been hailed as the greatest of our kings. True, conflicts still sometimes arise, but never has there been one yet as threatening as the Humans, and always my Father has managed to guide the kingdom through whatever trials faced it, guided by my mother’s wisdom… and by the wisdom of his brother, who still seems to watch over him even through death.

I thought there would never be anything my father could not overcome… But I was wrong. Sixteen years after the war with the humans ended, Haral would face the greatest of its trials… And I would be the one to be tested.

I'll read this a little later man... looks interesting..

Thanks Ashen. In truth I have to wait a little while before I go farther because neither Tsinga nor Renia belong to me, and I'm still getting permission from their creator. Connell and the rest ARE mine.

And yes, the first part of this story was inspired by Robin Hood, but as you can see, things went quite a bit differently.

So your using other people's characters? woah. I've never tried that before.. seems like a lot of work to try and be faithful to their intended traits, etc...

Hehe. Well, Renia/Tsinga's owner has written quite a bit of the back story WITH me. I just hesitate here because we're not sure exactly what Tsinga will be like yet... We do know that she is as beautiful as her mother, but with her father's burning spirit. She's more of a diplomat than he is, but being raised in the environment she has, she's had to learn how to protect herself.

I won't say what the trial mentioned in the prologue here is.. but needless to say, it takes her father out of the action... permanently if she's not careful.

Makes me think of the Dragonlance series.. sine it is a collaboration of two writers.. and I definitely love alot of their books.

Hehe.. You'll see I do quite a bit of that Ash. I have a couple I'll probably writing on my own. Just not sure whether I want to post them publicly because I have plans to have them published.

The first is called "One of the Pack," and it deals with the relationship of four ordinary children (NO, it is NOT like Narnia. The 4 children is the ONLY similarity, but these are friends... not siblings) with a small family of wolves they find living right in their own city.

The second, called "The Network" dons a semi Matrix-like story. In the not-so-distant future, technology has evolved to the point where the human brain can now directly interface with a computer. Thousands of people all over the world personify themselves in a fully-realistic online "Network," taking on a fantasy/roleplay life there, along with their "real" lives in our world. That one should be quite fun to do.

awesome.. i like the sound of the futuristic one...

So do I. I'm not even sure what's going to happen in that one yet.

Well, the good news is I now think I have the names of the kids in "One of the Pack" down pat... And I have an idea of how the opening chapter or two will go. Now I just need names for the wolves. Ash, you wouldn't be able to find any links to celtic/english dictionaries, would you?

I don't know,, But I have an Anglo Saxon (Old English) dictionary.. but that's probably not the language you want?

Plus there is two important Old English Runes that can't be found on our keyboards.. haha.

Hm... Anglo Saxon you say... Could be useful. I'll haves me a look.