Catfolk Suns

“There are just too many!” Jamil shouted.

“Retreat!” Kihana ordered. The catfolk warriors backtracked up the stairway. And Kihana kept at the back, keeping the shades at bay. Why wasn’t the light effective anymore! The suns greeted them outside, and the shades watched from their dark shadows, eyes gleaming with hatred.

Now that the threat wasn’t pursuing, some of the warriors were quick to cry out in pain. Jamil and the others began treating them. Her ears flicked in disappointment and confusion. This was one of their captured ruins, why were there shades here? And they were much stronger than the ones they hunted. She looked skywards and pled to the Healer that her warriors would live, and wished for their success.

“Look out!” Jamil shouted before barreling into her. His grunt of pain alerted her to the attack. Her eyes quickly grasping the situation. An arrow. One of their own? She recognized the make and looked in the direction of where it came. She barely caught the sight of a fleeting tail. As she landed, she ordered some of her men to pursue before turning to Jamil.

“Are you unharmed?” Jamil asked.

“Be still.” She remarked, shifting around him to check the injury. It was deep, but not deadly. Jamil jerked away as she touched it.

“Don’t touch it. It’s poisoned,” he growled. Kihana’s eyes flew wide. Leave it to their most skilled to detect the poison so quickly. Jamil moved his tail to wipe the arrow, keeping his fangs showing as it stung.

“Now,” he groaned, giving her permission. Kihana looked around, making sure there were no other attacks before she moved to remove it. The arrow came out, and she staunched the spot and then called on the powers granted to her from Healer. With the suns above, she channeled the light, and Jamil’s expression eased.

“Thank you,” he grunted. She nodded, refraining from speaking as it would ruin the ritual. When she was done, she moved to the others and began the same thing, prioritizing the most injured.

The shade attacks were deeper, and they were hard to contain. This only grew the unease of the group, and she moved quickly.

“Kihana,” Jamil said, and she looked up at him. “It’s no longer safe. I can sense them. What we faced was only the tip of the hoard below.”

She nodded and finished healing before calling a full retreat from the area. As they left, they loaded the injured onto the merlants and headed to the temple. With all these new changes, they needed to get back alive to give a report. Bard’s warning was ringing in her ears. How had he known? She needed answers.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back at the temple, Kihana kept as calm as she could as she approached the orb of light. She knelt down and then began to move her hands in the manner she had been taught. The orb responded with a flicker, and her eyes grew wide in relief. Healer was nearby. She then moved her hands to convey her report and the orb flashed twice, signaling it was received. At this, she grew disappointed. That was all? Just an acknowledgement of her report?

She was led back out and Jamil waited for her.

He caught her gaze and shook his head.

It was almost expected, but not exactly the most welcome news. Once they were off the temple grounds, Jamil spoke, his voice still weak from his recovery.

“Figures. Well, I’ve got a load to take back to Bard. Want to join?” he offered. Kihana felt torn. She missed that kitten, though according to Jamil, he wasn’t a kitten anymore. She wanted to see his growth. At the same time, the shades growing numbers and the loss of more of their warriors left her feeling conflicted.

“I need a healer to accompany us,” Jamil said, sensing her hesitance. “The roads have grown more dangerous and with the sunstones loosing their efficacy, well, I need to report this to Bard and those at Sal Shefa.”

“Our priority is Paradise, and the temples,” she countered.

“Sure, but I expect a temple to be built there someday,” he remarked, and Kihana was surprised. Jamil let out a long sigh. “Bard may not agree with our ways, but he is still respectful of it. With the growing number of our people who want to stay there, it’s only a matter of time.”

“I see.” Kihana said quietly. There was so much going on down there, it amazed her time and time again.

“Kihana, please,” Jamil whispered, pausing, his tail grabbing hers. She stopped and looked back at him. It was rare for him to say that. His simple plea tugged at her heart.

“Trust me. I want to. But since the ascendance…” she began.

“It’s been long enough. You’ll break at this rate. Besides, what about our people in Sal Shefa? You could argue that it's for them if it helped you feel better.”

Kihana smirked. Leave it to him to craft an excuse for her to get away from it all. Her wings glistened as she shifted in place.

“An escort mission? I’ll run it by my father,” she said, and Jamil’s grin widened.

“Already ahead of you,” Jamil grinned. She heard some footsteps and then turned to see her dad ahead of her with a few friends.

“If you’ve made your choice, who am I to say no,” her dad chuckled. Kihana moved her hand to her forehead, the realization dawning. Then she drew it down her face as she realized she had played right into his hand.

“Still as cunning as ever. Did you really mean that ‘please’?” she teased Jamil. He looked dead serious.

“Yes.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

“What’s the report like?” Jamil asked as he walked into Kihana’s tent. He had seen the messenger leave earlier and bided his time, trying not to seem eager.

Kihana shook her head.

“The strategies are sound. The mirrors and reflective materials in the ruins are being gathered to redirect the sunlight inside the underground, and it’s proving effective,” she muttered. Jamil breathed a sigh of relief.

“Though, it seems the numbers are too large. Every night it refills, and we are pretty defenseless other than the high grade sunstones that protect the walls and caravans,” she leaned back, putting her hands on her tail to keep them from touching the ground. “And we still don’t know what the difference is, other than the majority of those high grades were given to us from the suns palace.”

“Well, I’m glad there is still some protection,” Jamil said, settling down nearby. “And I’m sure I’ll be able to wring a few favors from Bard this time.”

“Oh?”

“I procured some of those high grade sunstones at his request, and now they are in high demand. Sal Shefa is surrounded by them, so it’s one of the other few strongholds out there, besides the forest with the Elders. Though, I’ve heard those haven’t been holding up as well lately.”

Kihana’s ears flicked, and she looked down in disgust.

“There’s one other thing. We’ve found them,” she said.

“Them? Wait…. They really exist?” Jamil asked. Kihana nodded, her gaze settling on him.

“Tomorrow, when we meet with Bard, I’ll explain everything.” She clutched at her heart. How horrible. This was all because of their complacency. She only hoped Bard would be willing to forgive them.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bard waited by the lake. The birds had warned them of the encroaching shades, and then news of a large caravan had caused him to stay up all night. Despite the lack of sleep, he didn’t feel too tired. It was most certainly Jamil’s caravan. Any others didn’t have the funds to make the journey. Bard heard Kai’s happy barking and looked back to a sight he hadn’t expected.

The caravan came, but many were guided to the direction of the infirmary. A few very decorated catfolk approached. He recognized Jamil by the color of his fur, but what made him freeze was seeing those wings of light.

“Kihana?” he muttered, waiting patient. He wasn’t some fledgling leader, and the way they approached felt too formal for him to greet his friends the way he wished to. Elvira excused herself with Ruegar and Bard asked for a report when they had a chance. Elwood came over, having been summoned. Amir, like normal, was waiting with Bard, a strong and reassuring presence.

Kihana had the others pause before she cleared the distance. Then, uncustomary, she knelt before him and touched her wings to the ground. Some of the catfolk nearby were shocked, their voices carrying.

“What is this, Kihana?” Bard asked, trying to stay calm. He wasn’t sure about the significance of her move, but he didn’t need to know all the details.

“Suns above, my healer, protect you and this place. Forgive us,” she said, her voice breaking. Bard felt a shiver run up his spine as she continued to stay on the ground.

“Kihana?” Bard said, kneeling on one knee in front of her. She looked up, and he could see the tears in her eyes. Jamil came over and helped her to her feet. Bard rose on his own.

“Come, sit,” he motioned to the side and the two catfolk nodded. When his eyes met with Jamil, his friend looked just as shocked and confused about this, meaning he wouldn’t have the answers he needed. Sen approached and Bard moved his hand. She nodded and dashed back, recognizing his motion he made when he wanted something to eat. He had a feeling this would go long.

Jamil helped Kihana sit before staying near. Bard’s suspicion began to grow, but he didn’t voice it. Instead, he went after the root of her words.

“Forgive you?” he reiterated, and Jamil seemed a bit surprised.

“Yes,” Kihana managed to say. With a heavy heart and much effort, she began to detail their findings about shades nesting in the ruins. This was nothing new to Bard, but he listened, trying to understand why she was apologizing, letting her lay out what context she wanted.

“The shades are becoming immune to the sunstones,” she said. Whatever words came next, Bard hardly heard as the folks who had surrounded them started to panic. Bard whistled and Kai rushed over. Bard motioned to the guards and had the area expanded so that they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Immune?” Bard started the conversation again. This time Jamil was the one to respond.

“Other than the high grade sunstones that surround Sal Shefa and Paradise, low grade ones are no longer effective.”

Bard hummed in contemplation. They hadn’t seen this, but it wouldn’t make sense to lie about this. Unless… he narrowed his eyes.

“This isn’t an elaborate story to sell more goods,” Bard accused, and Jamil’s ears flattened in anger. So, no, it wasn’t a lie.

“Your hesitancy is justified,” Kihana spoke up, quelling Jamil. “But, we don’t just bring you news of the growing strength of the shades. There is… another issue.” Bard waited, grateful he was used to Amir’s deliberate and tedious conversations. Jamil however squirmed. He likely had no idea what was coming next.

“We found traitors among our people, and they have joined the side of the shades,” she said. Jamil’s reaction was more explosive than Bard’s, but mostly, Bard had questions that began to swim around in his head.

“So they are shades?” Bard asked.

“What she means is that they are helping the shades grow and working with them,” Jamil clarified.

“Working with them?” Bard asked. How was that possible?

Kihana did her best to explain, but Bard couldn’t understand. Shades were dumb, unless they ran into light or were guided by those alpha shades. The way she described them didn’t seem to fit what he knew. Hiding behind stones and shapes to avoid light, he could understand, but weaving in and out and using the terrain to their advantage? It sounded like a nightmare. Even with Jamil backing her, he struggled with this new information. If that was the case, how would they defend against that? All the shades had to do was dig a hole in the ground and tunnel under their walls.

Kihana provided an answer.

Mirrors, reflections. The light of the suns could be reflected into dark places, and would still wipe them out. She theorized that the light from the high grade sunstones would also work. Amir called for the craftsman to get to work on the concept, but that didn’t help Bard understand why she was asking for forgiveness.

The Kihana he knew, fixed her mistakes and then asked for forgiveness, not the other way around. She may ask for a bit of time to work on the challenge, if it was a big case, but this…

“Kihana. I’m afraid I don’t understand,” he said at long last. Kihana looked at him with a tilt of her head. Her tail up as she questioned him.

“You asked for forgiveness, but I don’t see a reason to find fault here.”

“But we didn’t take out the shades and our people-”

“I should have realized your disinterest in our religion would play an influence here,” she said, and Jamil seemed to understand something as well.

“Bard, You do know what the purpose of our religion is?” Jamil asked and Bard shrugged. Jamil closed his eyes as he threw his head back, uttering a long groan.

Kihana stilled him before answering. “Our purpose, as ordained by the god of the suns and his children, is to eliminate the shades.”

“Eliminate them? I mean, I do recall you saying that, but, I thought it was some sort of… holy war?”

“Ah! Bard! You can be such a pain sometimes,” Jamil groaned. “I told you that too, or did you forget.” Kihana glanced at Jamil who froze up and then tucked his head, his tail coming around as his eyes fixated on it.

“Apologies, Chief. He won’t speak out of turn like that, again,” Kihana said pointedly. Bard smiled and shook his head.

“No. I do miss those days,” he said softly, reminiscing. “That said, what exactly does it mean to eradicate the shades. They are growing in number, and by your account in strength.”

“That…” Kihana started then looked down. “That is an answer we don’t know ourselves. The shades are not supposed to exist on this land, and we are to destroy them. We are the bearers of light, and we believed we had been keeping their numbers down, but when the Dryads of the north came to us, and relayed how their entire forest and the neighboring one had turned into shades, we began to investigate.”

“Are you referring to that place?” Jamil asked all of a sudden. Kihana looked at him confused, and Bard felt non the wiser. “Ah, according to some of the caravans, the mountain clusters have caves that are connected to one another. A few went down there, but those that returned only conveyed something horrific was down there, something they referred to as an Empress of the shades.”

“And you are only bringing that up now?”

“Well, I heard it often enough that it seemed like an old wives tale meant to scare us at night.”

Kihana looked aghast. Bard however was interested.

“Why would you-”

“No, I want to hear this one,” Bard said.

Kihana moaned before closing her eyes as Jamil explained. The stories did seem like wives tales, or spooky stories one would tell around the fire. But, they all had a similar sentiment. A dark being that shifted shapes, sometimes appearing human, though far more sinister, other times appearing like a beast with a purple glow.

“Satisfied?” Kihana asked. “By the way, Bard. You ran through the shade woods to the north.”

Kihana drilled him on his experience, and Bard was loathe to retell it. He showed the tokens and Kihana was shocked at the dark tokens. When he mentioned the intelligent shade that had chased them, he brought up the purple glow, distinguishing it against the blue-eyed one that had attacked the human settlement that Holger ruled, and the green-eyed, Dryad-like shade that had driven Sen’s people here. Kihana seemed far more intrigued about the tales from Jamil, and he was eager to retell them.

After their talks went on, Bard felt hungry and Sen came with food. They ate, and her guards were dismissed to fish the lake and eat. The meal took on a simpler tone, discussing new cooking recipes, with Sen taking the lead, showing off her newfound skill. Jamil however proved to be quite the competition, fueling Sen on. Kihana was more subdued.

Once the meeting was adjourned, Bard invited Kihana and Jamil, along with a few guards, to stay at their place. The rest were asked to take up places in the hall, or among the catfolk districts with the familiar tents.

Kihana was relieved to be in a structure, having grown accustomed to life around the temple. Jamil didn’t have much to say on the matter.