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Chip and the Quest for the Golden Acorn. Bk 1, Chp 1, Pg 3 |
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Page 3
The incessant smacking of wood on wood echoed throughout the valley. Near the line of trees that marked the barriers of the Great Oaks stood two squirrels. One had coppery red fur and was rather large, and the other was a motley of brown and gold, slightly smaller yet faster than his opponent. Both held large sticks in their paws, each chipped to resemble that of a sword. They battled fiercely against the other, pivoting and dancing in a pirouette of flashing wood and fur. Both were youths, around eighteen summers old and anxious for that weekend to come. It was two days until their official Nameday, and only one of them was excited for it.
Chip pranced around his foe Rad, flashing his sword-stick to and fro while his larger opponent smacked it around. It was plainly obvious who was who: Rad was the squirrel most maidens wanted as a husband; Smart, strong, polite, yet wild and free at the same time. Chip, however, was slightly smaller than Rad, was soft spoken, took to reading a lot, and was the potential mate to the most eligible maiden in the Great Oaks: Gwendolen, the daughter of the High Councilor Nevar. Rad didn't look at Gwen like anything more than a friend, since Rad was most likely either already taken or was about to be. SMACK!!! came the sound as their two sticks collided hard against one another, Chip leaping over Rad's arm as the parry turned into a wide slash at his waist. Leaping, he spiraled behind his opponent and knocked his knees from behind. Grunting, Rad rolled with the blow then sprung up, nearly boxing Chip's head with his stick. "Whoa there, beasty. Getting a bit desperate, are we?" Chip taunted, mimicking his Nana's voice and grinning widely. Rad put on an unamused look on his face, crossing his arms. "You're not very good with baiting, are you?" He asked stoically, raising a brow at his poofy-tailed friend. Chip sighed, looking ashamed. "Yea, your right. The only thing I'm good at is looking and smelling better than you...." He shook his head sadly, and ducked beneath the thrown stone from Rad. "Was only tellin' the truth, mate!!!" He exclaimed, scampering up a tree to defend himself against his suddenly very angry friend.
Rad growled loudly. "Your lucky I can't climb your silly tree, Chip, or your tail would soon be lying on the ground next to your head..." He smacked his large paws against the tree, getting more laughter from his small friend. "Oh, that's rich. Come up with that yourself, or did you ask your mother to help you?" Chip replied, grinning widely. Rad laughed, shaking his head as he stepped away from the tall tree. "You try too hard to be of much use when it comes to pounding. You just laugh and laugh while your brains become mush." He commented, then growled at Chip's reply: "Oh, so much like yours then? We can be twins later if you want, go and drool somewhere by the Well of Wishing." Chip laughed, then scooted down the tree. He was about to attack again when they heard a bell. "Oh bugger. The summoning bell has been rung..." He said despondently, looking fondly at his stick, then ducked a thrown swipe from Rad from behind. "THAT, my friend, was close. I almost felt that one." He added dryly, then laughed with his behemothian friend as they raced back towards the Great Oaks.
It has been almost ten years since Chip and his friends were on Cherry Hill, watching the graduation of that years students. Every year was the same, but now he got to see his own. Yet, unlike the rest of his friends, he wasn't overly excited about it. Becoming another of the named masses was something he didn't quite get. He liked diversity, he liked being different, but many just wanted to be another Stephen or Stephanie. No one wanted to stay Robert, or Jim, or Chip anymore. He was grateful he shared that philosophy with his friends. Gus just wanted to become a baker, Gwen wanted to either be a councilor or a Shield Maiden - both were very prestigious roles, and Rose just wanted to be Rose. Didn't help that Gwen had very strong feelings for her life-long friend Chip, and he for her. He remembered when she was just the chubby-cheeked munchkin from years before, grumbling about not being able to wear pants when they first met. They hit it off well: She threw rocks at Chip when he tried to introduce himself. He finally did, and proved he was rather fleet of foot. Now you see a golden squirrel with dazzling eyes, almost perfect to look at if you get past the tomboyish persona and her need for wrestling other boys. She matched Chip in height, and was considered the most beautiful squirrel maiden to have come to the Great Oaks. Gus, of course, was still considered the pudgiest yet nicest guy around, and Rose was..... Well.... Rose.
The Great Oaks was a marvelous place. One giant tree in the middle made up the Great Hall, another to the west made the Academy, and to the east was the Abbey. Most other trees were housing for the other creatures, going up thousands of feet to house almost everyone. The Academy was a large place as well. Over fifty stories high, each level holding different levels of education, from the small children at the bottom, to the soon-to-be graduates at the top, giant bridges spanning the breadth between the Great Hall and the Academy, constantly being walked upon as the near thousands of students came and went from the legendary school. Chip helped Rad push the large cedar doors of the Academy open, revealing the austere main hall where every age congregated for the last lessons of the day: History. To learn of the Saints and the formation of the Great Oaks, taught by Councilor Nevar himself.
Nevar sat on his old red lazy chair in the middle of the hall, the floor covered by numerous children who were excited to hear more of the marvelous tale. Most others sat in chairs, against the wall, on one another's laps, or hanging from the rafters - these are squirrels, after all, can't have EVERYBODY in chairs, now can we? - or some were even sleeping. Chip easily spotted the gorging Gus and the pretty Rose, but couldn't spot the almost glowing Gwen anywhere. He trotted to his friends after he bit good day to Rad - whom went off to his other large friends - and sat beside Gus. "Where's Gwen, you know?" Chip asked, getting a vague pointing from his obese friend. He turned, and spotted Her Radiance from all the way over here. Her tender-hearted demeanor, her fierce pride and loyalty, and the way she looked at you as if you were the person she had wanted to see all day. That was Gwendolen, and she had, in front of most of the class, said that she belonged to Chip, the quiet scholarly youth with the weird fur and sparkly eyes, his tail still keeping it's young puff. To be promised to the most lovely being alive was Chip's dream almost, yet Gwen saw him not as the whimpy scholar, but the dreamer.
She stood talking to one of the other Councilors, wearing her normal red robes of the student along with everyone else. Chip admired her for her tenacity and ferocity when arguing, especially about regulations regarding female dress. The firefights from those..... Chip thought, shaking his head in wonder as he felt her comforting presence next to him. No words were spoken, just a knowing glance and a fond smile. They had been friends since forever, and had had strong feelings for one another since forever as well.
"Our great city of Great Oaks was formed, as you all know, by two people: Stephen the Valiant, and Stephanie the Wise. They were brother and sister, you see, both embodiments of what the beasts who would soon occupy this place were to become. They fought many foes back then, starting with the Mighty Zann, the wildcat warlord who had once held this place under his boot. Zann had a mighty army of cats at his command, plus rats, ferrets, and foxes as well. So many, in fact, it took more than just the two bravest and strongest warriors of that age: They had the Golden Acorn, a fabled artifact capable of granting invincibility while in combat, and great wisdom when not. After Zann was destroyed, the beginnings of the Forsaken began. The Forsaken, as we all know, were those few foxes and stoats who were once part of his band, yet had never lifted a finger against those poor souls under his boot. Instead, they worked in secret to free them, but Zann had his sorcerer curse them: Forever will they walk, nameless except for a few names they remember, and be forsaken to all those they meet until one day true innocence returns to the world. No one recalls why they said that, but they did. Since then, the Forsaken have been murderers, assassins, and thieves because they are forever unknown by all. After the Forsaken came the Badger Lords, the great warriors and wise-badgers of their mountain halls who had pledged their protection on the growing oaks. After that, there has been little more strife to come to us since then, the oaks growing up for miles and miles, grazing the sky with their branches." Nevar began, his voice raspy yet built for storytelling. He looked at them all, patting his seat arms aimlessly. "But the Golden Acorn, our symbol of unity and strength, was lost to the land, swept off by fate and destiny to be found by some would-be adventurer on his way to glory, to save this place from destruction and famine. But yet, there has been none. Here we sit, with the greatest warriors next to the Badger Lords in our halls, our larders thick with food and drink, and our halls filled with the laughter and joy of youth. Some disbelieve these words, but many see them to be true." He said cryptically, looking at them all for the longest time before sighing heavily. "Yet I fear we are soon to be touching those times..." He whispered to himself, shaking his head as the babbling began.
Lord Arimor Darkheart · Sat Oct 31, 2009 @ 10:46pm · 0 Comments |
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