Once, humans lived in peace with other creatures

Night had drawn over the lands in a heavy veil. A full, bright moon glimmered high over head, illuminating the city of Y’Dara in a soft, silver light. The night was quite, with all citizens preparing for the next day.

Tygara placed The Trials of Y’Dara onto the table beside her chair. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. It had been a long day. As a young maiden and the possible future queen, , she had to be well versed in the histories of her people. She found it fascinating. To know how much it had cost for the first Queen, Tivan, to gain freedom, was astonishing. To be able to attempt to follow her was a little daunting. To even attempt to follow Queen Avensia was even more frightening. The Queen had led many battles to freedom and to maintain freedom for her people. She had re-established relations with the Drish and had even mad tenuous contact with the Sniggons. It was incredible! The Sniggons! They were a terrible creature that would rather fight than talk. And they were good at it. According to the history book Tygara had been reading, at least. She had never come face to face with a live Sniggon before, nor did she particularly want to.

The Queen was old. She had become a wizened shell of the proud warrior that once fought and negotiated with the Sniggons. She could hardly hold her legendary blade, Mennoth let alone strike at a foe. A successor had to be found soon. For three hundred years, a queen has reigned over the Halmon. As a strength and asset to the Halmon, each Queen must be selected by Trial by Combat to prove her prowess in combat technique and the ability to think on her feet. It is a right, and an honor to be a combatant in the Queen Trials.

Little did the citizens of Y’Dara know that their world would be turned upside down during the night.

He crawled in through the open window of the Queen’s chamber. He could see her resting near the full fire that blazed in the hearth. Her scales were drawn with the fatigue of age. She would not see him, nor would she smell or hear him. He sat very still among the shadows, listening the sounds of the guards outside the door. They could do little to stop him now. He would be gone before they could be summoned.

A small blade flicked into his hands. His whiskers trembled with anticipation. To think he had been chosen for such a task! Moon light glinted off the blade as he moved farther into the room. He could feel the heat coming from the fire now. He was so close to his goal! All he had to do was knick her flesh and the poison would do the rest of his work.

The blade neared his victim. He smiled. Soon. Soon she would be gone and his master could rest peacefully. The blade pressed against the scales on her neck. Weary eyes opened at the feel of the blade. She sighed as the blade skimmed her flesh. She felt no blood.

The assassin quickly bounded from the room. He had no intentions of being around should the Queen raise the alarm. All had gone smoothly.

The sun rose, drying the dew that had settled over night. The grounds were clear of any people and debris. All, but Tygara. Her golden eyes sparkled in the sun light. Orange tinged skin, marked with black stripes glistened with sweat. Deep, black hair, tipped in orange was bound tightly with a leather thong. Light clothing covered her lithe frame and allowed free and easy movements. The leather of her clothing was the same color as her skin. She was panting hard, but smiling. She had just finished her morning work-out and began stretching out. The Trails, should they happen soon, were bound to be difficult, but she was ready.

She picked up her staff. It was light-weight and tawny brown in color, with one hidden advantage: it could be separated into two equal peices. Her opponents rarely knew what to do when her staff suddenly broke apart. They would stare and gawk at her like she was some sort of demon or trickster. In her own way, she could be both. She knew of things before most in Y’Dara. Her cousin had a hand in Tygara’s knowledge. Salma, beautiful as a mountain lion, had the ability to read the thoughts of others. The world disapproved of her ability, calling it a demon trait. Most that had the cure never spoke of it. Their lives depended on that silence.

Salma was not Tygara’s blood kin. Salma’s parents had been killed in a slaver attack in a nearby village. Queen Avensia had ordered that all survivors be brought to Y’Dara as refugees. A cub, barely alive and frightened beyond reason had been among the survivors. Tygara’s parents had cared for the cub and nursed her back to health. By the time Salma was well, she and Tygara were inseparable. Tygara’s parents took pity on the cubs and adopted Salma as their own. When it was discovered that Salma had Mage capabilities, Advisor Gryphona took her under her wing…Literally. Gryphona had the gryfalcon characteristics. Right down to the feathered wings. She had no beak, but more of a “mask” that came over her nose, beak-like in shape. Her feathers and hair were white. Rarely did bird-types have hair. Gryphona stood out like a beacon in the night when among other birds.

Tygara shook her head at the memory of Salma’s past. It wasn’t a memory she liked to revisit for fear of upsetting Salma. Tygara shrugged and delved back into her conditioning routine. She brought her staff up into a salute and then brought the top down sharply. She whirled and used her staff as a lever to get her of the ground. Her feet flew out in a kick as she landed lightly and began again. Her routine was complex, though it hardly winded her.

Tygara sighed and straightened up. This was to only thing she hated about Y’Dara, the spectators.

“Tygara!” A voice cried.

Tygara whirled, staff at the ready. Then she saw the speaker. He was tall, considering his animal: A bat. His large ears swiveled as they caught sounds no one else could hear. He flexed his arms, inadvertently stretching his wings. And he was covered in fur.

“Otto?! Don’t do that!” Tygara said as she lowered the staff.

Otto shrugged. He wasn’t here to have a pleasure talk with his young friend. He was here on business. “Whatever.” He handed Tygara a roll of parchment. Tygara took it hesitantly.

“Do what it says, and don’t be late.” Otto handed her another, “Give this one to Salma.” With that, he took flight, leaving Tygara filled with questions.

“Oh dear” Salma sighed. She had opened her letter before Tygara had. The news wasn’t of a pleasant nature.

Tygara stood, watching her cousin as disbelief filled her eyes. “What?”

Salma held out the scroll. Tygara read it carefully. It read:

The Queen is on her deathbed. All Maidens of sixteen to twenty-five years of age are to report to the council hall three hours after dawn.

Advisor Gryphona

Tygara sat down hard. The Queen was dying?! True, Queen Avensia was old, but she had been in perfect health! What did the Advisor know about it? Would she tell the competitors at the trial? There was only one way to find out, go to the Competition of the Queens.