Once there was a mage. Young, talented, and ambitious, the mage took a quest that was beyond her power to complete. She died and her companions perished with her. All but one. That survivor was the Speaker and there were days when she wondered if it would be better if she had died too on that horrible day. This is one of those days.

On one side was an angry Satyr flanked by a pair of Bullmen. A few years ago, the Creator released the Great Spell known as the “Nothing-Untouched-Killer-Explosion”. The spell changed a huge number of animals in the Great Kar Forest and the Keg Mountains. The Satyrs were a new race of the Kin that was created by the Great Spell. Goats transformed by the spell, the Satyrs walked on their hind legs like humans but had the ears, tail, fur, legs, and horns and a goat. They also kept certain characteristics of the goat like being surefooted and tough. On the other side were a pair of harpies. Moro and Momo were sisters and they were two of first harpies created by the Creator. The years had matured the sisters and the Speaker felt a certain pride when she saw them now. The duo were influential with the rest of their kind and the closest thing the flighty harpies had for leaders. Between the two sides was the half-eaten corpse of a goat; the source of their trouble.

“I shall kill you for this!”

“What did we do that’s so wrong? We were just hunting and she’s a goat.”

“You ate my mother!”

“We didn’t know that! To us, she’s just meat. If it’s any consolation, we killed her quick. She did not suffer.”

That was too much for the Satyr. Even with two Bullman holding him, he tried to get at the harpies. However a Bullman was much stronger than a satyr and between the two of them, the Bullmen easily held the satyr in place. Moro and Momo kept their calm, raising their wings in peace and slowly stepped back from the enraged satyr. Treznor stepped between the two parties to mediate. As the Alpha of the Werewolves, the strongest race of the Kin, her mate had a great deal of pull among the rest of the Kin but the situation was complex and the Speaker was glad it wasn’t her doing the negotiations. From what she had been told, the harpy sisters were hunting and had killed a Meat Goat that happened to be the mother of one of the Satyr. When the Creator released the ‘Nothing-Untouched- Killer-Explosion’ eight years ago, the Great Spell didn’t change every creature it touched into a Kin. The young had a better chance of getting turned into a Kin than the elderly but even the creatures that weren’t turned were changed. The Satyr’s mother was one of these creatures. A new species of carnivorous goats called a Meat Goat; she was twice the size of a normal mountain goat with increased aggression and strength to match her new size. The harpies must have thought she would be a good challenge.

As the Alpha was trying to calm the Satyr down, the Speaker decided to slip away. There was nothing she could do to help the situation and the Speaker found that she couldn’t blame either party. The sisters had done nothing wrong. They had the right to hunt. Of course, the rage of the Satyr was also understandable. Everyone would be angry if their mother was killed, much less eaten. This wasn’t even the first time conflict had erupted between the races of the Kin. The Kin still tell stories of the first incident.

When they were first created, the Foxkin went into a rage against the Ratlings when their Mother was severely injured by one of the Ratlings. She wasn’t there but the Speaker heard that it was only through the intervention of the Creator that there wasn’t more bloodshed that day. That day, one of the Unique was created. The Creator had taken the dying Mother of the Foxkin and changed her into one of the most powerful members of the Kin, the creature the Kin now called the Fox Mother. As if she was hearing the Speaker’s thoughts, the Speaker saw her. Resting at the foot of a giant tree, the undisputed leader of the Foxkin looked serene with her head and five-tails resting on the ground. Beside her was one of the Foxkin. The Speaker do not believe this meeting was a coincidence.

The Fox Mother got up and began to walk slowly away from the Speaker. She then looked back at the Speaker and with a small shake of her head called the Speaker forward. The Speaker had no reason to refuse. The Speaker easily caught up to the Fox Mother and waited for the Fox Mother to begin. Even though she respected the power of the Fox Mother, she wasn’t going to put herself in an inferior position by starting the conversation. The Fox Mother was in no rush and as the duo continued their slow walk through the forest, the Speaker began to enjoy the Great Kar.

The Great Kar Forest was widely considered to be one of the greatest and oldest forest on Ioplon and the Speaker enjoy being in it. The forest reeked of age and since the Great Spell, it even held a level of mysticism to the Kin. The Great Spell of the Creator changed the living and the forest was a living thing. The Kin are discovering strange new types of trees, plants and roots almost every day and some members of the Kin had even formed an informal society to discover and catalogue these new creatures and plants. These Kin call themselves ‘Rangers’ because they intend to range far and wide to discover everything that had changed by the Great Spell. The Speaker, like most of the Kin, approved of these ‘Rangers’. She even heard that the Demons of the Red Creator had formed their own smaller Ranger society. The further into the forest they went, the more relaxing it was for the Speaker. It had been too long since she went on a walk like this, free of worries and responsibilities.

“I heard about the incident but how is the situation now?”

It was the Foxkin who spoke but the Speaker had no doubt every word belonged to the Mother. The Fox Mother couldn’t speak, so there was always one of her ‘children’ present to ‘translate’ for her.

“The Alpha is with them,” when speaking to the leaders of the other Kin, the Speaker always uses Treznor’s title. “It’s a sad situation but I believe the Alpha would calm everyone down in time.”

“Good. I had hoped that your mate would be able to do that but soon I fear even his power and your Werewolves would not be enough to keep the peace.”

“The Werewolves are with him. They, and I, belong to the Alpha.” The Speaker did not miss the subtle hint at who was the real power behind the Werewolves and as always made sure everyone knows it was not her. “However you are correct about one thing Mother; things are going to get worse.”

“We need to do something soon or the Beastmen might break off from the Kin.”

“I rather you not call them that. Calling the newer creations Beastmen instead of Beastkin just encourage a difference among us. It is unnecessary.”

“Yet it is also true. There is a clear difference between us.” To the Speaker it seems that the Fox Mother looked kind of sad but the Foxkin continued on. “The Kin created by the Great Spell cannot change between their animal and human form. They are stuck in the existence of being half-man and half-beast. The name Beastmen actually fits perfectly.”

“We are one race. We are all created by the Creator. We do not need such division.”

“Yet we are different and we are stronger with those differences. Different kind of Kin has different abilities and with those differences, we are stronger as a whole.”

The Speaker could only nod in agreement. It was an argument she had heard before. “That does not help with the problem we are currently facing.”

“True. For our current problem, we need something else.”

“Mother, I take it you have an idea.”

“I do in fact. For the problems between the Kin, we need a cause.”

“A cause?”

“Something everyone to rally around...,” The Foxkin speaking for the Fox Mother hesitated for a moment and the Speaker caught him giving the Fox Mother a surprised look. Then he continued. “Or someone.”

“Someone?”

“We need three things. We need a dream, a goal and an enemy. We need a dream every member of the Kin can strive for. An immediate goal we can try to achieve and an enemy. A big and strong enemy who is stopping us from reaching our goal; an enemy all the Beastmen and Beastkin must rallied against.”

They arrived at a clearing. The trees had fallen away and in the distance was the entrance of the Creator. The Speaker knew what the Fox Mother was proposing and despite herself, she was intrigued.

“Thousands would die.” She said softly. “Even if we succeed, thousands of Kin would die.”

The Fox Mother gave the Speaker a sad nod. “And with their deaths, the rest of us would grow stronger. We would grow as one people; one kingdom; one species.”

“There are other ways…”The Speaker’s heart raced and plans swirl within her mind as she spoke unconvincingly.

”Maybe but this is the best way and I believe you know it.” The Speaker did and she hated herself for it. The Foxkin continued with a whisper. “You must convince it to give the order.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You are both the Speaker and the Prime of the Kin. Only you can do this. You must convince the Creator. You must convince it to go to war.”