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Chip
and the
Quest for the Golden Acorn
Book 1
--The Tale Begins--
Chapter 1
Being of a wiser age, Friar Willum did not need to conform to the mandatory naming of Steven in the Great Oaks. Every Nameday, the men and women would go to the center of town and be Named either a version of Steven for the males, or Stephenie for the females. The older ones would relinquish that name for a new one, hence Friar Willum, not Friar Steven. Oh, did I mention they were all squirrels? Oh yes, the bushy-tailed beings are the center of this epic, and are hence to be called citizens of the Great Oaks, a stand of monolithic oak trees big enough to house the thousands of creatures that live in them. The squirrels hold the award for the most populated, however.
The good Friar strode down the cobblestone street between the abbey and the Great Hall, his fat belly overlapping the belt of rope that kept is brown robe from being trodden on by his sandaled feet. His hands - or paws - interlinked over is rotund belly and in his voluminous sleeves, his bushy yet graying tail stuck up in the air, he hummed a little tune under his breath, his nose twitching and making his whiskers quiver. His ears, even pointed forward, were alert for would-be scalawags who haunted his abbey steps.
Striding quite lazily, Willum navigated around the small fountain in the middle of the square, the statue of Saint Steven, the builder and founder of the Great Oaks, was standing heroically in the middle, one booted foot on a rock and the other below, clad in a tunic and cape, large tail raised high proudly as the metal sword in is upraised paw was, the other clenching a book to his chest just above the engraved belt about his waist. A look of triumphant look upon his scarred yet handsome face, a proud glimmer transfixed into his steady heavenward gaze. The sculptor, long since dead, was noted for putting immense detail into the statue, even putting the single hairs into his tall and proud tail, also having the water spray from the stone he stood upon made it look even better. The statue and fountain were the pride and joy of the Religious Caste, and the envy of everyone else.
Nodding his head as he passed, Friar Willum opened the large doors into the packed Nameday Special in the Great Hall. The ceaseless and excited chetter of this years graduates from the Great Oaks Academt filled the entire oak tree, each two-hundred floors packed to the max. The very bottom was reserved for the graduates, an ocean of eager faces wearing their graduation robes and hats of October orange and yellow. A large stage sat somewhat to the back of the hall, about two feet high and made of a very dark wood. In the middle sat a podium and a number of chairs, each for a representative of the three castes and the Councilors of the Great Oaks. Seven seats in all. But, of course, it was empty at the moment.
Each level of the Great Hall was another ring of the great tree, each ring a floor twenty-feet across, each with a banister seamlessly wrought into the floor itself. At odd intervals, holes in the walls allowed one to walk up a set of stairs to the next level twenty-feet above each level. Each floor was packed endlessly with all types of animals: Mice, rabbits, more squirrels, hedgehogs, and other less carnivorous beasts. All one-hundred and ninety-nine floors were stuffed and hushed just as quickly as those below. An elderly squirrel, his once golden brown fur now grayed and lusterless, a gnarled staff in his wizened paws that matches his elderly red robe, partially covering that robe was a long gray beard and bushy eyebrows that even accented his lidded eyes and wide head between his furry ears. Other squirrels - three male squirrels and three female squirrels, two wearing browns robes, two wearing purple, and the last wearing red, took their seats behind him.
"Welcome, ye faithful fellowship of beasts!!" said the Elder Nevar, raising his graying paws into the air, his face alight with a smile as the massive crowd of animals cheered at his words. They quieted at his urging. "I am the Elder Nevar, Elder Councilor of the Great Oaks. I welcome you all, both visitors and esteemed graduates, to this great Nameday Celebration. Today, another generation of our youth are once again going out into the world, bearing the blessed names of Steven and Stephenie for the future of the Great Oaks." He announced, his grizzled voice amplified by the acoustics if the Great Hall. "Let the Naming begin!!" Elder Nevar called out, arising an immense cheer once again from the enormous crowds about him.
 Lord Arimor Darkheart · Sat Oct 17, 2009 @ 10:33pm · 1 Comments |
