Disruption

Disruption

Wake up.

What time is it?

You’re going to be late.

Keep safe.

If you hurry, you’ll have enough time.

Walking.

What time is it?

Could you spare some change?

Well, that’s new.

But you don’t have time.

Hello there.

What time is it?

We’re going to be late.

Come and see something new.

We have enough time.

That’s new.

But we don’t have time.

Get out of there!

Its safe.

I promise.

What time is it?

When did this come up?

I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Don’t go.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Two Sevenlings about the Hill

Sevenlings

She faced the hill as Morning Sun appeared

She glanced across the field spread so wide

She slowly walked across the grass so green

As Afternoon Sun peaked above the hill

She moved from walking to gentle jogging

And soon began running up the hill so steep

She reached the top before the Sun had set.

Evening Sun crept up behind her, rising fast.

She looked upon the world beneath the hill.

And gazed above her at the first few stars.

She sees the darkness fall across the land

She feels cold wind blowing through her hair.

She hears the distant howling of the wolves

Before the Moon arose, she descended.

Never Venture Out Alone

Hello readers

I will now post the majority of work I came up during my second year of Uni, I am also working on an update to the Tale of Animalia, and...lets just say, it might be an exciting one.

One thing they always told me: don’t go out alone and never go down to the river.

Restricted territory. They called it the eye of danger. They called it the point of no return .

But I still went down there. It was late at night and I was alone. I just needed some alone time without the group jumping down my throat all the time. I was just sick of it. I wish they’d just shut up about me not pulling my weight. Why were they the boss of me? How do they know about my life? If I wanted to go down to the clearing and take a piss, it should be fine.

I relished the open space, the freedom. For once, I had a little breathing space that wouldn’t be disturbed. No yelping or screaming going on in my ears. I wondered someday if they’ll just accept that I’m not a little baby anymore and I can do these things myself. I wished I could prove to them all that I was strong.

My thoughts were distracted by a sound behind me.

I saw it in the distance as it rapidly came towards me. It was just like the legends say, sharp knives all over. A silhouetted shape in the moonlight - It was the Claw.

One thing they always told me: The Claw feels no remorse, no humanity and if you see it, run and hide…if you can.

I had never ran as fast as I did then. It took its time, it always did. Hovering over its target until they got tired and it closed in on them; all cries for help are faded out by the thousand knives digging into their throat.

It was a good thing they always told me that I was lucky and was gifted with my speed

I was running down a long stretch approaching a clearing. Uncharted territory. Ahead of me were some more of the natives. I knew these beasts; our kind largely view them as harmless, but they are larger and much faster than us, they stick to herds and just the sight of surprise would set them on stampede that would crush anything in their way. The sight of the Claw would send them into frenzy.

The Claw shrieked behind me and as I approached the clearing, the natives were set off.

As I drastically dodged the long, deadly legs of the herd. I noticed some natives from the heights above caught up in the flurry. They were just as much at risk from The Claw as I was; maybe I could team up with them?

I ran up next to a long tailed native, I’d always liked them despite how elusive they were and thought of us as quite similar despite my inability to reach the heights. It was as if we were united for that moment…until it ran up into the green heights above, hiding within the bush and leaving me alone.

One thing they always told me: The other natives are not our kind, they possess things we don’t; distance is suggested.

I realised the herd around me had dispersed and I was running down another long stretch. The Claw was still behind me. As I felt myself start to pant, I knew that it’s time to strike would be near.

I spotted something up ahead, it was another clearing, but I knew this one. Our water hole! Somehow, I was  closer to home than I thought.

But another thing they had always told me: Always stay on one side of the river

I remembered the day I first encountered the water, the day that game of tag got out of hand. I had chased Scat into the water, and I kept going until it got too deep. By that time, it was too late for Scat. I still remember his gurgling cries for help, they stick into my head to this day.

One thing they always told me after that: We were not meant to swim, so don’t try it. Leave it to the water natives.

I dived into the bitter, freezing water. I had always observed how those water natives moved their tails deftly from side to side to move. If only my tail was as big as there’s was – The bite of the water went right through me, slowing me down. I was soon gurgling hopelessly as I started to sink.

Everything had gone to plan; I could feel The Claw starting to move in, to dive in on me. The last thing I would feel is the excruciating combination of the bitter cold and the knives digging into my neck.

Unless I could get to that patch of lilies ahead and then make it on to land!  Resisting the bitter waters, I thrashed my paws in the water as much as I could until I came straight into one. On top of the lily was another water native. I always found this one to be strange: it had small, green, huge bulging eyes and seemed to sit on these large pebbles occasionally shooting out his immensely long tongue to catch those irritating buzzing dots.

I had awoken it, its eyes struck open quickly. Too late. The killer struck, diving down, knifed feet drawn.

And without warning, it swept right past me; my sight was blurred as I was plunged into the freezing depths below. When I emerged, I saw the killer gliding above me, holding in its clutch the hapless struggling green native.

It was then I remembered two things they always told me: I had a knack for getting myself out of trouble.

I could feel myself starting to sink so I quickly thrashed through the lily pads until it was shallow enough to just crawl. As I stepped out of the water, I noticed a native staring at me below. The main water natives were wide-eyed, shy, frisky creatures. This one stared at me with that plain look of indifference like it always did.

The full reality of what just happened just hit me. I had outrun the Claw! I suppose I felt some sympathy for the poor native sacrificed but they always told me that the Circle of Life was harsh. It was only these strange mute creatures that would remember this for years to come. I wondered just what it felt in that small head. It obviously couldn’t stay long as it instantly darted away, for no particular reason that I could see.

I wish they could’ve all seen this, they’d never believe me, and they’ll make up some crap about how I’m being ‘arrogant’ & ‘delusional’ again. I hated that they always told me I was so self-absorbed and unaware to danger. I think that showed that I could make it on my own.

Never mind. I know I’d always remember it, and they’ll never take that away.

I set off through the long stretch back to the familiar clearing. What was going through my mind at that time 

was blurry but I seemed to be pondering that one thing that they had always told me that I had forgotten; I guessed it wasn’t that important.

I noticed a rustling in the hedges. I turned round, stopped for a second. Too long. A flash of red, some gnarling teeth, thrusted off the ground, blacking out…That night, I was food to the cubs of our greatest predator…

We even knew it by its first name: Fox.

And before my backbone was cracked by that set of knives, I remembered what that one thing I forgot was. One thing that they always told me, and every rabbit that would ever live: A rabbit is never safe.

Sandy

Hello readers

Temporary hiatus has been taken off by a stab of inspiration of being trapped indoors at New York due to the hurricane Sandy

Feedback welcome, I did this rather quickly.

What was that saying?

I want to scream

Wailing wandering words

No one knows what they mean

Or why

I want to cry

Weeping tears of ancient woe

Pounding one by one

But why?

I want to wander

They all fear my wrath

Hide away, cowering

Wondering why

Why so sad?

Why so angry?

That’s what they said

But they still don’t know why

What do they think of me?

Where do they go?

Why do they fear me?

What do they wonder?

I remember now

What they say

That Hell hath no fury

Like a woman scorned

Notice

Hello readers

As you may have noticed, this blog hasn't been updated in a while, I feel I need to take time to read books related to my project (namely 1984 by George Orwell)  and develop this further, so as a result, this blog will be on hiatus until further notice.

I return to Uni very soon, this will unfortunately take up my spare time and I will hopefully be doing some more shorter pieces of work that I will hopefully post on here soon, I will of course be working on this project and I will post updates but it needs more time than I currently have.

To all that have read my blog over the summer, thank you very much and I hope to post new pieces soon. :)

Tom

Uprising (Part 1): The Working Man

Here is the first monologue to this story, there will be a number of these overall with a final conclusion to the first part. There may be some delay in between all, but I will attempt to get them up on time.

The events happening in the first part of this story take place twelve months after the speech was made…

6:30am

The alarm goes off

‘Good Morning All, this is your leader speaking, it is the start of a brand new day, and with every day comes one day you’ll never see again, so make the most of it, live life to the fullest and have a wonderful-

BAM!

It breaks with a swing of my hammer. It had to happen eventually. There was only so much more of his shit I could take every morning.

I get out of my bed, the damaged alarm clock lying in pieces on the floor.

I open the curtains.

A grey, clouded day. Like every other day here. Although I felt a period of heavy rain coming on, something this town hasn’t seen in a while.

A raven sitting on the branch outside my house turns and looks at me for a while, before flying away into the distance.

The town looked bleak. The dark buildings stood  like statues. Black trails of steam coming out from the top, adding further darkness to the already grey sky. I hear the faint sound of car horns being beeped. Every day, I see this colourless town, I wonder if this will ever change.

I go and have a shower, bathrooms are the one place in which none of their so called ‘technology revelations’, and even this was 'under review' by the government.

Three years on since his rousing speech, the nation of Great Britain had become anything but great. There was virtually nowhere that weren’t dominated by cameras of all shapes and sizes everywhere. Every house had to have at least five, and if you didn’t have this amount, you would get a visit from Syron’s 'little friends', who would enter and put a camera up without hesitation, whatever the circumstances. Many protestors to this had ended up injured.

I come out of the shower, and go into my room.I look into my wardrobe and see the queue of blue shirts, with black trousers hanging underneath.  I put on one of each and take my black dusty shoes from the wardrobe floor, I then take my jacket from the hanger on my door. Branded or labelled clothes of any sort are no longer allowed as Syron wanted us to ‘sell ourselves as the world’s main brand' so everyone walks around in plain colours .

I head downstairs and put my coat on and remember my keys, which have a tiny sensor inside of it so it can recognise which house someone’s going into, it works to prevent burglary but can also be used to work out who’s going into their house during ‘work hours’ and are promptly paid a visit and ousted.

As I pass the installed camera on the way to the door, the temptation to say what I’m thinking is unbearable.

Locking the door behind me, I reach my car and step inside, I put my keys in the ignition hastily, the car started. All cars had been fitted with the customary camera and all run on an automatic, electric system, Syron had always made being green one of his prime concerns when running for his campaign and his first step was to eliminate all non electric cars, it seemed a good idea to us all at first, as climate change was looking like more of a threat than ever, with the previous winter never exceeding below 9 degrees centigrade and the summer exceeding thirty two degrees, we were currently in the spring which has remained stable around sixteen degrees centigrade.

But what seemed a good idea was thrown by Syron’s incompetence, electric cars were underdeveloped and could not travel long distances before breaking down and were untested and sometimes dangerous. Syron claimed that further developments would be ‘imminent once current plans have been tended to’, these ‘plans’ have been forbidden to all but those very close to Syron’s command. But it resulted in packed motorways and many accidents, where of course blame was shifted to the drivers and never once on the cars.

I was very lucky I lived just thirty minutes away from where I worked, the car could just about handle that amount of driving, but for all else, public transport had to do, and it had become increasingly packed and subjected to severe delays.

It had been just five minutes when I'd got to the end of the residential road when I see a breakdown ahead, and the driver was standing outside of the car. I see them everyday so I'm used to them, but this was different. It was Ahmar Kareem, a friend of mine who had been a noted opposer of the government from the day they started campaigning, he was clear in his views and didn’t hold back with them, and although certain severe punishment awaits anyone who opposes the government in this day and age, he still held his secret views, for he claimed, for all they owned, they could not steal his thoughts. A number of passers by are standing, watching, they seem helpless, as if they were scared to approach him. 

As he turns, I see his face. He looked livid, and all of a sudden, it all came out:

'I’m no puppet, I’m no pawn. Syron, you are SCUM! You outlaw what people say because you can’t see how incompetent a leader you are, a totalitarian government is outdated and always leads to trouble, and I hope all of you SHEEP (he points at all the passers by around him now) realise what you’ve done to this country. This is not Great Britain, this is greedy, grotesque & GHASTLY Britain and it’s your fault Syron. 'I’m sick of electric cars, I’m sick of breaking down and being late for work, I’m sick of cameras watching my every move, I’m sick of YOU, Syron, DAMN YOU! Damn you to HELL!’

His breakdown had attracted a number of passers by, and his rant had further attracted more. The looks reflected shock, but also fear. They knew what was coming.

Two full minutes pass in silence. Even Ahmar starts to look slightly concerned over what he just said.

And sure enough, two police cars roar down the road (these were the only cars that weren’t running on electricity) and out of them step two sargeants, they weren’t particularly massively built, but looked so intimidating that one glance would have you backing off. They approach Ahmar silently like wolves moving in for the kill. I’m not sure what’s going through Ahmar’s mind but his face becomes a sheet of regret and as they approach, slowly turns to desperation. And he lashes out, blindly throwing his fist at the officers and screaming, but all his might was wasted. The sergeant easily grabbed his fist before twisting it behind his back,  and dragging him to the car bonnet to throw him down. As he screams out in agony, they handcuff him, thrust him up and hurdle him into the back seat of the car. Throughout it all, their expressions did not change and though they had picked up many shocked bystanders in their brawl, they calmly stepped into the car, as if they’d just dropped off a parcel at someone’s house.

The car drives away. Silence follows. Then the pedestrians carry on as normal, going day to day

I think to myself: Where is he going? What are they going to do to him? There have been many rumours that have spread about the punishments received, none of them pleasant, some say a simple night in an enclosed jail cell, but some have said much worse, the judicial system has naturally gotten far more firm. – the government have recently announced that they were ‘considering’ instating the electric chair as capital punishment. It has not been officially confirmed, but the vicious rumours have spread with more coming out every day.

I'm sad. Not just for Ahmar, but this country. Every word Ahmar has said is right, this leader has truly led us to despair. And his desires are some that I share. Its time something was done about this, but what and who can stop this menace on our country? How can we express this other than in our private thoughts, which is the only place he can’t access. God, how I'd like to attack him, make him feel the suffering that we had, just to hit him where it hurts. To get all the suffering and pain out of him before I dispose of him. Its my one desire. But I am but one person and these are but wishful thoughts.

And as I drive on, and enter the busy main road and notice another traffic jam ahead which is most likely another breakdown, I look at my watch and realise that I'm going to be late for work. And the wishful thoughts intensify...

Uprising (Part 1): The Speech of Lord Syron

Hello, so I have started my next official project, this will be slightly longer and will be split into two parts. I will be posting part 1 of this story over the summer period, postings may not be as frequent  as I have a job that starts soon so may not have as much time for writing and need to sort of know more what I'm writing. this will reassure you that I am still working on it. Hope you enjoy it =)

There are various perspectives in the first half of the story, this first one is consisted of dialogue alone.

This is the speech following the election of Thomas Syron as leader of Great Britain. He is the leader of the totalitarian government, Redbreak:

‘Ladies & Gentlemen of Great Britain. today is a landmark day for you, me and future generations. It is not just the day in which that you have picked Redbreak as your leaders of the country. The start of a new age.

‘The recession has plunged us into dark times; we’ve been disorganised, panicking and led by an incompetent force. With Redbreak, the decisions that will be led by myself and my comrades will only be in the interests of you, the public. For you are what spurs me on, you are the catalysts. You are that slight spark which never fades, and with us, it will grow into a huge flame.

‘All the decisions that I will make will be made with you in mind, with no hesitations, debates, growing fears. I will despatch of whatever pathetic laws the previous government had in mind, to get what’s right for you, my children.

‘And we will be a stable government. Your hard earned money will be very much safe with us. I’m sure many of us are pet owners like myself, we all know that a pet is for life and not just for Christmas, and that should be the same for your government.

‘However, for us to become a force to be reckoned with, we must move forward. Because, my comrades, it is with great misfortune that I say, that we are stuck in the past. We are too centred on these old ways that have kept us in neutral for so long. We are a stalled car. But with my help, we can move this car into the highest possible gear and have it speeding along in no time, where all the rest of the World’s cars can just sit and watch as it moves so fast.

‘We believe that we must make changes, and the prime suspect is that of technology. We are in advancing times, we are not in the stone age and we, as a country, should represent that. I am sure everyone here has a mobile phone and some of you may indeed be tweeting or facebooking this speech as you type, and go ahead with that, I’d say. You are the ones embracing the technological age and you should be proud of yourselves, but we must advance this further.

‘Technology must become part of our everyday lives, we must move forward, we can’t just follow trends, but create them, and watch as other countries struggle to keep up.

‘With the creation of new technology, will come more jobs and an easier way of life for us all. An advanced, unique way of living. We will be a fully up to date and efficient country.

‘This is the start of something new, you are the generation that fought for change and succeeded. You will feel honoured to be the starters of what will be an oncoming freight train which will run way beyond where it was supposed to run and your children and your children’s children will continue to keep this train moving.

‘Now, I’m being very vague about what it is exactly I’ll be doing, but the artist must take time to construct the sculpture, the writer must take time to compose the novella, before they want the public to see him, it will all come in due course.

‘We will do all this for you, all that we ask of you is to honour us and follow our rules, for good leading can never not come at a price, and all we ask is your patience, respect and clarity in return for what we promise to be a massive step forward for this country. And we know that you will abide by us and respect us, for what reason would there be not to for a nation as ambitious and dedicated as you are?

‘So my fellow minions….Mark this day in your calendars, for This is a day to celebrate, cherish and remember for years to come.

For This is the day in which endless fighting for change paid off.

This is the day where a new beginning is formed.

This is the day where this small spark became a blazing flame.

This is the day where we stand tall, proud and honoured when we…are called GREAT BRITAIN!!!

A Secret In The Forest

Apologies for the gap, this is one of my writing exercises that I submitted for another of my assignments, I attempted to use a setting to form a story. I also have another piece relating to trees that I should post shortly.

Before me stands the great forest. Those mighty trees that have stood tall for generations, the setting sun drains them of colour and make their giant shadows shade down on me from a great height. The forest is quiet, the low cheeping sound of a cricket and the shrill call from a jay.

The forest has been abandoned for years. No one dares come here any more. I’ve heard the stories, the myths, strange occurrences have been reported in this forest and there are rumours that the lost souls that are buried here rest in the trees and take their revenge on any of the living. They are all false and you know it, just stupid myths. You know very well that when someone dies, they are gone.

As the light begins to fade away, I realise that time is running out. I step forward into the undergrowth.

It starts to rain. Light rain, nothing more. But later, the wind starts to howl, getting stronger and stronger in screeching gusts, hurling itself at me in anger. As I plod on, the leaves crackle beneath my feet; it gets deeper and deeper as I go along, eventually; my feet sink below the leaves and I can feel them sinking into soft water, I fight against the grip of the water but its putting up a good fight. The rain soon starts to pound down harder, followed by fierce hailstones.

 Its just the poor weather. its late November, of course the weather would be bad.

Anyway, its time to stop soon.

Up ahead I see a clearing and the mud starts to get shallower until I can move my feet above ground. 

I approach carefully, but there on the branch I notice I'm not alone. An owl sits on the branch, its two big yellow globes stare down at me, but in them were not the look of anger or lust towards its prey, they were the look of surprise and discovery.

I couldn't take any chances, I pulled up my gun and shot the bird square between the eyes, it fell backwards and out of view. I heard a soft thump a few seconds later and then nothing. I can't have any witnesses here.

You know you just shot an owl? what exactly is that gonna do? how would that spread the word exactly. Idiot. Just get on with it.

The skeletal trees surround me as if I'm in a boxing ring. I hear a deep rumbling of thunder and a sharp flash of lightning close to me. I get to work. I take my shovel and start digging. My clothes absorb the water like a flannel and my skin is soon freezing. I can’t give up. I eventually dig deep enough. My hands are bleeding. In agony, I take the body out of the bag, and fling it in. I take one last look at his motionless face. No one would find him here. How could I lose. There’s no way I can lose. No one can see me here.

Without further ado, I step back into the dark forest, I hear something behind me and I turn back. I really wish I hadn't.

 .

Flash fiction

In some cases, less is more and Ernest Hemingway originally wrote a story which is considered one of his best works, with the words just being: 'for sale, baby shoes, never used' the emotional power that it generates just couldn't have been emphasised with further words

Here is my first take on flash fiction, in just six words:

Why so sad there, my son?

Fire In Your Eyes

Continuing with the poetry theme, this is a sestina which involves you using six stanzas consisting of six lines each, and the same six end words for each one. Summed up in three final lines at the end. This is my first attempt, its certainly not perfect but its a start

Picture comes courtesy of psd.tuts, which has some beautiful pictures of eyes which is definitely worth a look

I see the fire in your eyes

A flame still ignited after many years.

A blazing desire of hate.

A murderous passion of a thousand lies.

A storm that centres around your heart.

All the fires of hell cannot come close to the fury of you    

Yet, I still remember you

as a bright cheerful soul with shining blue eyes.

Only sweetness and love occupied your heart,

and your intelligence strayed beyond your years, 

you were hurt by the mere thought of hate.

Dead and buried is where that person now lies.

It was when you uncovered the bed of lies

that ate away at you

until it would turn your sweet love to savage hate.

tears came streaming from your eyes

for days, weeks, months, years

it was only sadness that occupied your broken heart.

But now black is the only colour of your heart

you would avenge all those lies,

wait for if you must, thousand years

to kill your fiend that killed you.

You could strike them dead before your eyes,

but you know that they are not the only one you hate.

It is also the World that you hate.

The wide, whirling world in which you are right at the heart.

Within it, you can see nothing but scorn through your eyes,

for your life has been filled with this World's lies.

All the glory that was promised you

and the many happy years.

So here you stand after all these years

Your face drawn with hate.

Now I see that I barely recognise you.

You hold your hand to your heart, 

drop to the floor to lie

and look at me directly in the eyes

In your heart, you see after many years

That it was not the lies that sparked your hate,

it was but You that lit the fire in your eyes.

(not sure why the first few lines are highlighted, sorry!)

                          

Revival

I've been absent the past few days, but I'm back now, I'm going to be posting my first attempts at poetry, this was a free verse poem I wrote in class, I will be posting other types of poems shortly.

Darkness

Eternal darkness

No light

Nothing

I see…

Nothing

But I remember seeing

That place

Her

Him

Falling

That last view

Of the seething sun

Then blackening out

Darkness

No Light

Nothing

I hear…

Moving

Scuttling ants

Slithering worms.

But I hear…

That shot

That scream

That thud

The last thing I heard

Before darkness

No Light

Nothing

I taste

Dirt

Dry

I want, I want…

Blood

I liked that taste

I remember

Her skin

Her heat

That taste

I want more than this

More than darkness

No Light

Nothing

And I smell it,

Blood

Running, wasting

My own.

I want her scent

That same perfume

On her bare skin

That fresh scent of

Running blood

I crave more of it

No more Darkness

No Light

Nothing

I remember everything on that day

They think I’m long gone

They think I’m buried for good

They’re wrong

………

………

………

………

I feel…

Life

Icy veins recharged

Heart beating

Moving Slowly

But steadily

Vision blurry

But visible

Memory faint

But Clear

What they did

I remember

Brightness.

Lights.

Revival

The Tale of Animalia (Part 5 & Epilogue)

Here is the final part and epilogue of Animalia, what will happen to the war torn kingdom, read on:

Filo had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. He had been spared the death between an alligator and a shark, but was about to be eaten by the main predator of the rabbits. He looked up at his assassin.

A sense of shock flooded Filo as the two eyes he was staring into were those of Orleé’s.

‘Ah, Young Filo, even the greatest of hero’s needs support.’ 

‘H-h-how did you know I’d be here?’ asked a flustered Filo.

Orleé explained to Filo how he had been watching everything that happened from a safe distance, he hadn’t flown in to help though as he admired how adamant he was and wanted to let him solve the problem independently, only jumping to help when it was needed. ‘You have truly impressed me, young rabbit, I wouldn’t find many other mammals that do not swim regularly would’ve taken that on, but help from others is needed sometimes, I shall take you to the island, it is not far now.’

Orleé did not seem remotely remorsed with his leader’s death, nor that of Leonardes. Whilst he stood loyal to his species and shared their disdain for Leonardes, he was never a fan of the aggressive, hateful ways of Eglé. He was a rather cold creature despite his great caring for those less advantaged than himself, he always put logic before strong feelings.

‘Well, young rabbit, I have passed Platypus Island in my many solo adventures before, it is just along here. Best of luck, you have the whole kingdom in your hands.’

Eventually, the water ended at a small island. He had reached Platypus Island.

The two of them landed softly and Orleé released Filo from his grasp. As he stepped forward, he instantly saw them – dozens of the duck billed, webbed footed creatures called ‘platypuses’ gathered round, they were not defensive, but were certainly intrigued at this small, long eared stranger. One stepped out of the crowd. There was nothing that distinguished him from the others, but he looked far bigger and intimidating and it was easy to see he was the dominant platypus. He addressed Filo:

‘What is your business here, long eared animal?’

Filo explained to the leader what had happened: ‘and the king would like to ask you to take the throne for Animalia.’

The leader was less than enthusiastic: ‘So he kills one of us merely because we expose him for what he is. Good riddance. He expects us to step in just so we can ‘forgive’ him for what he did? Pah! He can watch his kingdom fall from hell.’

‘But our land is falling, we need your help, you’ve managed to set up a community well here and we need your superior methods to repair this damage that our fallen king has caused.’

‘We have our own community; we care only for our own kind, not you foolish and weak minded animals. You have no more business here, please leave.’

Two of the platypus by his side moved forward to usher Filo back to the river, but he wasn’t about to give in:

‘But…but…but’ the platypuses started to shove at him with their beaks, until Filo blurted out: ‘YOU’RE ONE OF US’

Everyone turned round; Even Orleé looked surprised. The lead platypus was intrigued. ‘What are you saying, you wretched creature?’

‘How can you say you don’t care for us when you are one of us yourself? You have fur just like a mammal, you swim just like a beaver, you have a beak & webbed feet just like a duck, and you need water to survive just like fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. How are you any different from our kingdom? You can run from it, hide from it, deny it as you will, but however unique, you regard yourself, you will always be an animal, just like us. Why would you watch all of your own kind fall, that is more selfish & arrogant than Leonardes ever was!’

At this the two ushering platypus flinched and looked set to attack him but the leader warned them off, possibly because he knew what Filo was saying was true. ‘You are right young rabbit, we are in fact, mammals just like yourself and Leonardes, We don’t hold any grudges against the rest of the kingdom, but your king drove us away. He was an arrogant fool that believed he was more equal. He clearly thought animals shouldn’t be mixed and should keep to their own kind, he drove us away, why should we help him?’

‘Because you can build on the mistakes he made, not just your own kind, but the whole kingdom will benefit and you can be a part of it again.’

'You are what Leonardes never saw -  proof that we are all related.’ These were Orleé’s words, it was the first time he’d spoken since they landed.

After a prolonged silence, the leader spoke: ‘I am going to discuss this situation with my colleagues, please wait here.’

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting of what were only a few minutes, the leader came back to them:

‘We agree to take up the throne’

And with that, they all went back to the war torn island of Animalia. Filo was carried back once more by Orleé, whilst the platypuses used their adept swimming to he saw the whole kingdom at his feet: He knew it would take a while to repair the damage, but for the first time in weeks, things were finally starting to look up.

Epilogue

Word and shock spread throughout the kingdom at the sudden death of the two fallen leaders and a shock change of throne. The animals were shocked that a mere rabbit had managed to do all this for the kingdom; he was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to his family, in which all including his sick brothers had survived.

The strange creatures weren’t welcomed warmly, and received some disdain from Leonardes’ wife & sons, it was eventually seen that the kings orders were those to be followed and when they learnt about the venom of the platypus, they gave way.

The platypuses elected Filo & Orleé to help them decide plans of how to make Animalia a better place for everyone. It was discovered that the world had many individual islands that were almost the size of the main land. It was eventually decided that each species would get an independent land on one of these islands to prevent arguments over who should get priority on one land. The species will primarily own that island and look out for their own species, however, other animals are always allowed to come and go on the islands as they please. There would be an elected leader that would look out for their own species only.

It was also agreed that no species would receive special treatment and all herbivores must agree to be ready to be killed by a carnivore as that is their only way of surviving, at the same time, the carnivores must not bother the herbivores unless they need to eat.

The five lands are Terra Mammalia (mammals), Terra Avium (birds), Terra Serpentium (reptiles), Terra Amphibian (amphibians), Terra Piscium (fish) & Terra Insecta (insects & invertebrates).

The platypuses decided to still stay together rather than go to Mammalia, but still are responsible for the whole kingdom and would never abandon them. They kept the main land and renamed Kyers Rock to Platys Rock, but the majority was also open to all species as a leisure space.

And that is more or less where our story ends, but what became of our heroes and villains?

Filo is now a worldwide hero, even in the land of Avium, and is granted an official place on the panel of Mammalia. The lions agreed to step down and instead gave way to the powerful bears, led by the huge, powerful grizzly, Baran. Whilst Filo is something of a celebrity on any Terra, he prefers to remain with his woodland friends and lives a quiet life, he chose not to have immunity from predators and whilst they remain reluctant, he remains fiercely adorned to his previous life. A memorial still remains on Mammalia for Leonardes.

Orleé was elected new leader of the land of Terra Avium, he remains widely respected and acclaimed to this day, and with his help, the birds have become a far less violent and more co-operable with the other species.

The same can unfortunately not be said for the reptiles, the newly elected Savril the snake took the lead from an injured Alguarve. Whilst they have accepted the new rules and enjoy to be running their own island, they are reluctant to interact with other animals and don’t often mention Filo, they remain silent and still quite opposed to the other species.

Matra, the sting ray took over from Xatlhu for Terra Piscium and dropped all allegiances with Serpentium - the two species are very unlikely to bond nowadays.

The Amphibians can finally live in peace, however the war did make them tougher and that is reflected in their newly elected leader, Tolbye, a fierce Cane toad. 

Bermuda the butterfly currently rules Insecta, they are now valued as part of the kingdom despite their size and have even formed relationships with a few of the smaller mammals.

And that is how it remains to this very evening, but one thing that will always stay the same which we haven't covered in our tale - the great, overbearing shadow of Platys Rock, over 1000 years old, it has seen the rise and fall of the dinosaurs and dominance of the animals, it will foresee their time here and whatever happens beyond that. The true ruler of Animalia.

I'd like to thank all of you who have read or followed the story, my views are on the increase so this is only positive, feel free to leave comments about if it worked/didn't work or how it can be improved, I shall post more work shortly.

The Tale of Animalia (Part 4)

Here is part 4 of the tale of Animalia:

Filo made his way to the riverside, where he first saw the strange beast that started all of this. He was overwhelmed, he had no idea where this island was and, crucially, he couldn’t swim. Filo’s late father, Jaspin once went down to the river and ventured out into the shallow depths – only to be snapped up by a crocodile. Since then, his mother had always taught him that rabbits were not meant for the waters and advised them to stay away. Now he was about to venture deep out into the waters, where the battling of carnivorous fish and marine reptiles took place, in deeper currents with high traffic of travelling fish. If he forgot to breathe or slowed down at any point, he would drown. The odds were against him,.

Filo slowly took small steps towards the water, it was bitterly cold and every time he looked down at his reflection he saw how utterly terrified and small he looked under the great blue sky. He paddled for a while as the ground slowly fell from under his feet until he was floating in water.

He decided to head in the direction which he remembered the creature coming from and headed north. He had never swam before, but he imitated the style of many reptiles by moving his legs backwards and forward, to his surprise, he found himself moving efficiently, and he encountered very few problems throughout the first leg of the journey.

As time went on, Filo still saw no sign of any sort of island; as he swam the water got stronger and deeper. He was getting tired, his arms and legs were already strained from his battle with Eglé, he soldiered on, he was approaching the depths where the underwater predators lurked, and they would find an easy lunch with him. The impending sense of hopelessness clouded over him – he was like a frog trying to fly, he just didn’t belong there.

Then in the distance, he saw something coming towards him, it looked big, and was moving very quickly. Suddenly, something bumped into him, followed by something else and again. And he realised too late, it was a frantic, scared shoal of salmon, he was soon surrounded by cursing, panicking fish, he hopelessly tried to get out of the way but another would just bump into him from another direction. The worst thing was that he knew was happening – they must’ve seen a predator and it was coming this way.

Filo saw no choice and ducked underwater below the fleeing shoal. He held his breath, he was now in danger of drowning and underwater. He frantically ran against the floor of the sea. To his relief, the last salmon passed him by and the area was then clear. He quickly bounded back to the top, once there he noticed something else coming towards him in the distance, but this filled him with a sense of dread. Those two yellow, menacing eyes were unmistakeable. It was Alguarve the alligator, leader of the reptiles and one of the most fearsome predators on the planet.

Filo rapidly swam away, still underwater and holding his breath. He knew it was no use, he could picture those fearsome eyes lighting up as that long snout opens revealing those two rows of deadly teeth that could crack his spine with a bite. He looked back and found that Alguarve wasn’t alone.

Alongside him was the ferocious Xalthu the shark. It was a clash of the titan, Xalthu constantly launched himself into Alguarve, while Alguarve lashed out with his teeth and drove him back. This repeated continuously while zooming through the water, they seemed to be oblivious to what was ahead of them. And they were heading straight for Filo.

Filo quickly resurfaced and swam back as fast as his tired legs could carry him, but the predators were strong, could move at great speeds beyond his capabilities and the sheer weight of them as well as their deadly teeth would kill him instantly. Before he knew it, He was blasted into the air.

As he flew up, the two giants noticed what they'd hit and stopped fighting; both opened their jaws wide to be prepared to fight for an easy meal. It didn’t matter which mouth he’d fall into or neither, they would kill him easily. For that brief millisecond, time seemed to stop and Filo was hanging in midair, he took one last look at the sun and then gravity came into effect and he shut his eyes as he fell to his inevitable death, he wouldn't give in and scream.

That’s when something grabbed and closed around him, taking him away from the water and further into the air, the two predators below looked angry and then carried on in their battle. Filo had no idea what was happening and then feared to see that closing around him were a pair of talons that could only be a bird of prey…

The Tale of Animalia (Part 3)

Here is part 3 of the tale, I noticed my views went up from 44 to 74 just a day after I posted part 2, so I hope that means you're all enjoying it!


The final conclusion and epilogue will be posted in the next few days!

That afternoon, the sounds circulating Animalia were not the cheeping of the cricket, the groaning of the elephant or the shriek of the jay, but the dying cries of a fallen leader. Leonardes had been looking in vain for Filo, but could not find him and when he even came close to a family of rabbits, they hid before he had a chance to explain himself. Despite the throbbing pain of the platypus venom, he made no more screams so as not to draw attention to himself. He hopelessly lay on the grass , just praying to die in peace.

Yet, in the grass, just metres away, sat the target of his search. Filo had heard him coming but whilst his clan hid, he was curious of what was happening. He wondered just why he was so weak and it looked like he was dying. Whilst many would rejoice, deep down, Filo was sad. Though he clearly had his flaws, He had always admired Leonardes’ caring nature towards the smaller animals and how he always looked out for them. Indeed, he made sure the rabbit’s predators were only killing out of hunger and they should otherwise be left alone. Leonardes had a vow to never hurt smaller animals of his own species and he never stopped in his attempt to always help out and ensure they were safe. Whether it was because they could never intimidate him and weren’t a fellow predator or prey was debateable, but Filo was distraught to see such a great ruler go down, yet just didn’t have the courage to step forward, what could he do? Why would the king have time for him? He was a small, weak mammal, he had no power. He would never change anything.

But Filo's and the kings hopes of a peaceful death were all but obliterated when he heard a shrill shriek from above, the unmistakeable mocking call of Eglé.

This sight delighted the bird of prey, he had been waiting all his life to have the last laugh at Leonardes, and he swooped down. ‘So the king of the land, the all mighty power of the lion, the proudest, noblest king falls while Eglé still stands. I must know who got you, was it a bird? Was it one of Alguerve’s or was it a petty poison dart frog who you weren’t careful with?’

Leonardes used all his remaining energy ‘I didn’t fall to one of your filthy fighters that I know’.

‘Ah, Leo, still in denial as ever I see.' He said, pecking provocatively all over the fallen lion, Leonardes was determined not to give in and held in his cries. 'When will you accept that we birds are the rightful rulers of Animalia? I wish we could’ve sorted out our differences but you were always a failure to this land, and just so you will always know who boss. I’ll make this quicker for you.’

Eglé jumped and landed on Leonardes’ neck, digging his talons in deep. The king could hold it no longer and screamed out in pain. Eglé used his talons to move Leonardes’ head towards him, so he truly was the last sight he saw. He grinned as the struggling king started to go still.

‘Long…live…the king’

And that was when Filo struck, he used the only defence that a rabbit could; his agile feet, jumping out of the grass, he flew through the air and landed straight on Eglé’s face, temporarily blinding him and knocking him off Leonardes. 

He clutched onto Eglé’s head, the two of them wrestled. He knew he couldn’t stay like this. Eglé stumbled around blindly, protesting angrily, still not quite sure what happened. He flapped his wings to attempt to take off, but he couldn't without his optimal vision

Filo held on with all his strength, he had not necessarily thought this through and the odds were against him. Once he loses his vantage point, Eglé 's knife like talons and beak would kill him in a second or he could drop him from a great height. He frantically thought of what to do next,  he had to get there first and get him where he’s weak. He let go of the eyes, fell and clutched hold of Egle’s neck and bit into it.

Eglé screeched with pain, his wings stopped flapping and he moved slower, Filo dug deeper, it hurt his undeveloped teeth just as much but he held on. Eventually, a deep wound formed, he moved slower and drew his wings back. At this point, Filo let go and bounded down, Eglé attempted to attack but Filo’s wound had gone too deep and was fatal. He stumbled hopelessly and soon  ‘weak…foolish….imbecile’, until heis windpipe gave in, his face went still and collapsed in a heap on then floor. For the first time ever in Animalia, a rabbit had just killed an eagle.

Filo stood there a while, unable to believe what he’d just done, then quickly remembered just why he did it and ran over to Leonardes. Thankfully, Eglé’s wound wasn’t enough to finish him off completely, but it was clearly just moments before it came.

He murmured with all the remaining effort he had in him: ‘Are you…Filo?’, Filo nodded. ‘That was…very brave of you, I…am…truly honoured...Thank You’, Leonardes coughed ‘Young rabbit, I am sorry I have let you and all your kingdom down, but could you spare me….one more favour before I die’, Filo nodded vigourously, ‘earlier I killed one of the…platypus…whom I believe….saw you too. Go to their island across the river from here….and tell them…that I give them rights to be the rulers of…Animalia’.

Filo was shocked; it was within the king’s rights to give anyone the throne once he died.  But the king had made it clear was always going to be Leonardes’ son that takes the throne. Never did he imagine that the king would be offering to someone who wasn’t a lion. But he was more shocked to hear about how he killed the creature. Filo was flustered but he honoured the king to the end and took a bow, something which the king had always liked. Leonardes managed a smile and then went still immediately. That smile was different to his usual smiles though, it was supportive and reassuring.

Filo stood in the clearing, around him laid the dead bodies of two of the most fearsome predators in the kingdom. And he, a small rabbit, had the whole fate of Animalia in his hands.

The Tale of Animalia (Part 2)

Here is part 2, bit longer than the other one, this is now looking like a four parter!

Until one day, Filo snuck down to the river to get a drink; as the youngest, he was the most vulnerable. But what he noticed at the river was not a predator but an oddity. Initially, he thought it was a beaver, and was worried he’d get discovered by a predator. ‘Hello! Excuse me sir, but I’d recommend you don’t come out here, you may be killed!’. It came closer to the shore; Filo couldn’t believe what he saw. It had the build, fur and tail of a beaver, but had the bill and webbed feet of a duck, he had never seen anything like it in his whole life. The thing spoke: ‘I may be killed, you say, young rabbit? I have not been involved in this land for many months, we platypuses tired of the endless selfish quarrels that bestowed this power corrupted land. We have since been exploring and found an island of our own, here we live in spacious harmony so we can raise our eggs in peace.

‘We have always kept out of the way of this land, and so I doubt your followers would’ve seen us before. I must dash, for I daren’t stay too long here.’

Filo was lost for words as the thing swam away, there were so many other questions he wanted to ask this strange beast. He dashed back to his friends and spread the word, at first, no one believed it, they laughed at his youthfulness and despite his protestations, they soon scolded him to stop telling lies and focus on surviving. What he had heard had given him brief hope, he went down to the river every night unbeknownst to his clan and looked for the creature, but it never showed up and the war continued with no sign of stopping.

‘Keep trying, young rabbit, your day will come’. Filo overheard one night, it was Orleé, the great owl who was widely respected throughout the kingdom and one of the few birds of prey who was friendly with other species, he watched over Filo and his family daily, though times were tough,  Filo still trusted Orleé’s words.

The war went on brutally and the clan struggled to survive, Jiltan & Heath had fallen ill and one of the ducks had already passed away. All species were starting to fall into critical condition and high death rates, with no sign of any clear winner. Although it was tough, The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to just abandon his family and friends and go and live with the platypuses, they seemed to know how to live, unlike his current kingdom.

One morning, Leonardes went down to the river to nurse his wounds and something caught his eye. At first, he thought it was a beaver. He could not afford to lose any more mammals, especially when Eglé was on the prowl, he roared, an ear piercing sound that no mammal can ever question. But it didn’t respond, Leonardes wasn’t used to this, he roared again, louder, but still the creature moved slowly, no urge at all. Leonardes shouted at the top of his voice, ‘YOU! CREATURE! COME TO THE SHORE THIS INSTANT OR YOU WILL BE KILLED ON THE SPOT!’ That seemed to do the trick, the creature came on shore, what he saw was an oddity - It looked like a beaver, but had webbed feet and beak of that of a duck. In all his years, the king had never seen anything like this, he demanded to know what it was and why he had never seen them before. The creature remained calm: ‘your majesty, it is a pleasure to finally meet you after all these years, I am Palu and I am a platypus, We live across from this land it is big enough to accommodate us, we are forced down here sometimes though to look for water insects’

‘You haven’t seen us before as we try to avoid coming up here all we can; we do not consider ourselves a member of your kingdom. It is no wonder there is such a brutal war here when you can’t all realise you are all related in the same way. I have fur just like a mammal and swim just like a beaver, yet I also have a beak and webbed feet so my eating habits are like that of a bird, I also lay eggs just like a reptile or amphibian and insects are my food source. May I ask where I would fit in within your kingdom?’

‘It’s not possible that you can be like this, it’s just not. You look more like a mammal to me so you should be on outside, if you can fight, you and your whole species should report to Kyers Rock now’ Leonardes demanded.

‘And that is your great flaw, you are consumed by power, you still see yourself as more dominant than them, all animals should be equal.’

‘Some animals are more equal than others’ Leonardes made clear; it had always been the motto amongst them.

‘But your great pride has blinded you to seeing that they need different ways to survive, it is no surprise that the birds and reptiles have developed such a grudge, they have become selfish and power hungry due to your influence, your delusion that you are better than them has separated them from you, you have become oblivious to your kingdom’s survival, and as a result, a protest was always coming.’

Leonardes couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he bellowed: ‘Do you know who you are speaking at, pathetic creature, I AM THE KING! I always look out for the safety of my kingdom; so long as they respect us, Egleé & Alguerve have always been out to get me and this is just them trying to dethrone them, We will win this war and prove who is still dominant’

‘I have no doubt that these are rather hateful creatures that are out to get you but with all due respect sire, you have brought it on yourself. You are a failure’

And with that, Leonardes aggressively swiped Palu, the blow hit him straight across the face and knocked him out. Leonardes jumped on him, growling manically and gave a bite across Palu’s belly.

‘Don’t say you didn’t earn it’ Leonardes said, savagely. Palu was clearly dying but he remained calm: ‘and in your anger, you have just killed a defenceless member of your own kind – for I am a mammal sire.’

Leonardes stopped in his tracks, he had never before killed a defenceless mammal, although he had to feed, he had only stuck to the agreed sacrifices of the gazelle and antelopes, it was his oath though to never kill a smaller mammal as he was against it. Until now.

‘And you have endangered yourself as well, for I am also venomous, of course, I would never have attempted to give it you, but you have just given yourself it as you couldn’t control your anger’

Leonardes couldn’t speak.

‘In your last moments, I would recommend searching out a young rabbit who feels like he does not belong here, I saw him the last time I came here, go and listen to him and his demands, I feel he could bring peace to the land, he could convince you further to do the right thing in your final moments, I hope I have at least started in mine. Good bye your majesty.’ Palu’s face paled and the life drained out of him peacefully.

Leonardes was still motionless, he had been gone a while, his pride would be wondering where he was, but he couldn't cry or get angry at this point, he couldn't do anything but sit in shock. And then the pain started to kick in, hard, Leonardes groaned and stumbled away from the pond.