The Cadaverous Beasts of SSARG
Dennis L. Siluk
Advance: For those who have read the stories of Siren of SSARG [the Planet of Grass], and the few stories on Tangor, Space Traveler, and the Cadaverous Planets, this might be appealing to you. Here we meet again on the planet SSARG, but this time Siren is not present, but her daughter Arallets has come by way of Tangor, and his spacecraft to the isolated planet of grass; she seeks her right as Queen of her father’s kingdom: the “Chamber Kingdom,” in the cliffs and caves on planet SSARG. Tangor, an old lover of Siren’s has given her a lift, he owes that to her mother for saving his live [which is in another story]. Here the King Rat II is still alive on the planet as well as the Viper King, Blaze II. And on the Moon, Rotma, the Prince was Yllim, is now gone, still looking for his father’s lover, Siren, and the old king has died, King Roliv, of Nay. The new generals of Blaze’s Army are: Laruz, Chief General; and Nakluv: third in command.
Chapter One:The Story
Introductory Chapter
Had I not been sitting at the El Parquetito Café in downtown Lima [Miraflores/4/25/2006: 1:36 PM/a Tuesday], eating my lunch with my wife, whom had to go for a spell and check on some business, this story would have never been written, for there is where I met the stranger (drinking a beer about twenty feet to my direct left and up a-ways; who knew me by sight: a picture I assume, and said to me, how he—while in his lab—how he listened to this story of Siren’s daughter (Arallets), first by radio broadcast, from some distant planet [later on talked to the broadcaster himself, with a hissing voice, about Arallets], and that my name was mentioned, brought up, for I had written about Siren the Great, as she is known, and a legend on SSARG (our time span is quite different of course, according to their time and our time there is a 1100-year difference). But I had not mentioned anything about her daughter. Hence, he told me what he knew, what he heard, and what they told him, as I am about to tell you what I heard, and the stranger told me: it all seems to fall in a straight line, so why make it crooked; thus, I shall tell you it without a bend, and let truth the truth lie where it may.
She was 22-years old, and shockingly beautiful, like her mother Siren, and Siren’s mother Jokaneen, was. To be frank, she did not have any qualms about who she was, and what she wanted—not for the most part anyhow; it is although up to us to find out, to find out, I suppose, how far she is willing to go to get it, perhaps a hidden agenda, or perhaps just growing pains, whatever they are, or were she has landed on the planet SSARG, hitched a ride from her mother’s old lover, Tangor, whom was on planet Moiromma, her mother’s main planet, where she had lived so many years, and the one she was taken to as a young child after her birth on SSARG. She can’t remember much on this, how she got there, but she was raised there on that cold, desolate planet nonetheless, and survived its hellish dark age of silent arctic ice, and freezing winds, long months. She had learned of her heritage, her Mother’s being Queen of SSARG, and her father being a King of some kind, for what was known as the Chamber Kingdom. Thus, she had two birthrights perchance.
Chapter Two: The Landing
The ship landed on Planet SSARG, it had been a century since Siren had been there, and Blaze II, her old friend, King of the Vipers, the ruler of them all ruled the land Ral, a village now, on the mound she had build a Fortress, build over a century ago, perhaps 140-years since them stones were placed under those two big trees; there must had been 1000-vipers waiting for the landing, had seen the ship descending from space.
The vipers had circled the spacecraft; Laruz was standing with his assistant general, Nakluv, and all kept their eyes piercing on the craft as it landed in the twenty-foot high grasslands of SSARG.
Once landed it had burned the grass leaving a wide circle around the craft so that both Arallets and Tangor could see the replies gathering outside of their vessel. They were huge, some twenty feet long, hundreds of pounds, with upper saber teeth, like a walrus. Arallets stepped out of the craft first as if she owned the planet, was the commander of the ship, as if she had practiced this over a million times, she stood erect, as her mother might have stood, as a statue of her mother was erected in the city of Ral, yet to be seen by her, “Hello, I am Arallets, daughter of the Great Queen, Siren!” And she was not quiet about it. Blunt she was, out spoken also, but right she was to be forthright.
“Then who is your father?” asked General Laruz.
Ah! She didn’t know, he was a king, was all she had heard, from the Chamber Kingdom, or perhaps it was one of the Kings servants. She was hesitant about this.
“I don’t know his name, perhaps you do, or Blaze II, King of the Vipers knows, if he is still alive; you vipers are as young as I, so you would know. But she was captured by this king, and I was born then afterwards, so it is my birthright you make me your queen and bring me to the King of this land far off!”
“We have never heard of you, but the legends of Tangor have come down to us, the great space traveler, and we know by reputation, he knew Siren, but you, you are nothing to us, and demand everything…” said, the General Laruz, adding, “we shall test your strength perhaps; see if you are half the warrior your mother was, if indeed you are of Siren the Great! And we also known of Moiromma, the arctic planet by way of your mother, but that information can be given by simply visiting our enemy, where your grandmother had an affair with the king [Roliv, King of Nay; part of Rotma: SSARG’s moon]. So you see, you could be an enemy, not our savior or Queen in the makings [and the middle aged general laughed, ha, ha, ah…].
Tangor spoke briefly, “Arallets, I have done as you’ve asked, I should be getting along, if you wish you can come with me.”
“No, I will not be going with you, but you do owe me a double favor: I mean, you gave me a ride here, but you have not put your life at risk like my mother did for you, now I demand you do, and stay with me for month, to help me settle this, or help me find my father.” Said Siren.
[Said Tangor with release of a deep breath, he was not young as he used to be and he knew it.] “Ok, I shall stay a week, no longer, and if it demands I stay longer on your behalf, I will not, I am too old to be stuck on this planet for the few days I’ve got left in life, at 165-years old, I perhaps will live another five or ten years left. I wish to visit more planets if I can. I was never quite like your mother, she knew it, I was a voyager in the universe, not a hunter, or seeker of royalties these are youthful wishes, I wish to live my days out in harmony.”
“So be it,” said Arallets, with a grin.
With finality, Laruz commented: “You are not of us, but of them, he enemy, and your friend, what he has to say may bring him death, he should go in peace now before it is too late, and you will be responsible for his death, he is too old, like our King Blaze II, to be on your crazy mission.”
Nakluv, third in command, “You bring no glory to us, by telling us lies upon lies…” now the vipers started moving in, surrounding her as she stood on the ground, and Tangor in the doorway of the ship.
“Take them to Ral, to prison, if they try to escape, crush them with your mighty bodies.”
Arallets grabbed a knife, from her side belt, and went to jump on one of the vipers, but another one saw her, and leaved on top of her, crushing to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. When she opened her eyes, the viper was simply waiting for her [it is against the rules of combat on SSSARG, to take such an advantage of your pray; it would only be a cowards victory]. Then Arallets, and the viper about to rip open her rib cage, heard a voice; it was Blaze’s, the King Viper. All motion stepped, as this old, decrepit snake came into sight, Tangor, with a weapon in his hands.
“I know she is no enemy,” said Blaze, “She looks just like her mother.” Blaze was king, but he had to be careful, he was putting his two generals in the corner, and it is never wise to do that: he had learned, when one does such, they either come out fighting or become slaves, and in either case, they hold revenge.
Said Blaze with a smile at his generals, “But I shall test you like the Generals inferred, to see if I might be wrong, it is the best way, for my generals are wise and have learned from me not to trust any living thing not of our own kind; it is what your mother would demand child.”
The generals smiled, and Arallets simply held her head up as if: bring it on, that being tested was not a big thing.
“Who shall I fight,” said Arallets with a pitch toned a bit high. All the vipers were hissing now, perhaps hoping they’d be the to be able to fight to the death with Arallets. Arallets had not known, and had she known, she might not have been so stubborn or arrogant and shown a little more respect, her strength and powers were not equal, and her skill, not equal to her mother’s; she had not known, her grandmother’s voice, her residue had guided Siren along her many years on SSARG; matter-of-fact, the only ones that knew were the king and prince on SSARG’s moon.
Said King Blaze II, “We are a kind and just race, but we are deadly all the same, as Siren would have said, and I shall has you go into the Dark Woodlands of SSARG, beyond our mound fortress, here is where the Rats live; they used to war with us, then Siren made them tame, now they war with us again. They are our enemies. You must do one of two things: bring back to us the head of my old enemy, The Rat King, II, or bring us peace. If you do not bring us either, we will destroy your ship, and wait for you.” Tangor looked hopelessly at Arallets, it was not what he expected.
Said General Nakluv to Blaze “I gave my word to Tangor, he could leave in peace, should he wish to go now.”
The king looked at Nakluv, it was his chance to settle the grave dispute that might have come about, had it been handled differently, “Sure, he can leave in peace, if he leaves now.”
Said Arallets with a voice somewhat let down, “What about those cave people, I want to find my father!”
Said Blaze [kindly] “We do not know anything about that, you are lucky you are still alive, bring them both to the edge of the Dark Woodlands—Now!
And so it was.
Chapter Three: The Dark Woodlands
In a world where the sun is almost on top you, and the grass is so tall and thick one can hardly breath in it, here in the woodlands, a bleak change occurs to both Tangor and Arallets as they take their first steps into the dark, damp, world of the Woodlands.
“They will have a gathering concerning us,” says Arallets of Moiromma, as they walk farther into the woods, “…my mother used to tell me about them.” And how Blaze II can be sensitive, but is a great warrior. And when we meet the King Rat II, he will remember my mother, and then remember me, and make peace.”
Tangor [Hesitantly] “You’re forgetting something: first we do not know what happened during the time your mother left; second, the peace was brought on by force, and need, this does not exist anymore, perhaps the Rats, need food, and the snakes are food; how will you provide for them, if you take away their food. We are dealing with a whole different equation here.”
Arallets listened, but didn’t listen, she focused on ahead, what was ahead, and the path they were on; and as they got farther into the woods, the tunnel like light that guided them, was gone. At the same time, Tangor had taken his last look back at the edge of the forest, noticing several sentries, and ahead were eyes everywhere, as their eyes adjusted to the darkness.
They both stopped to rest, sat on a rope like vine [linna], and swung on it, got close to one another, youthful pride looking at old age, and its grandness; her heart started to beat faster, and Tangor’s stomach felt quay, a canopy of green overhead: green, and eyes, and brown wooded branches, no snakes here, just eyes everywhere. She sat closer to Tangor,
”It would seem…” she started to say, [unsure: she shifted her statement now] “…I should not be happy in the face of death in this woods but I am…” she finished.
“Don’t,” said Tangor.
“But why,” she commented.
“You are captured by the moment, and a brush with death, you are high off the escape, and we are in a deadly situation at this very instant!” Said Tangor.
Consequently, she moved away from him, and jumped off the vine and started walking down the path, that was becoming less of a path and more of an un-trotted trail.
The Gaunt Beasts of the Woodlands
[King Rat II]
“You don’t’ understand,” said Arallets to Tangor, we on Moiromma, do not judge our mates or men according to how pretty they look, there are no beauty contests there, we go by their reputation, how brave they are, what people say about them, victories: and 160-years on Moiromma is only a fifty, if that, of their life span, so age is not a big thing.”
They kept on walking into the deep, the heavy and dense part of the woods both getting hungry, and a bit tired.
—As they got deeper into the woods they came upon a rodent feast, these gaunt beasts were running wild, fighting one another but not drawing blood although nearly. They were running around a fire, leaping across sections of it; their must had been a thousand of them.
Thought Tangor: lightening must had struck one of the trees—set it on fire, and they were trying to appease the heavenly gods (Siren had told him about this feast called ‘The Feast of the Pleasure’s,” they were going to make a killing thereafter (they always did), an offering to the gods, especially the god of thunder and storm. He pulled Arallets back as not to be so exposed, should one of the rodents gaze their way; he explained to her this is what it was, and that they’d most likely be the most prevalent sacrifice available for their gods, and seek them.
“It is best we leave Arallets,” said Tangor [restlessly], “we really need to find some food, and get out of here before that fire is completely out, it looks a bit dim right now.”
Feast of the Pleasures
“As soon as they are done with their dance, they will come and chew us to death,” said Tangor [anxiously].
“How long will the dance last?” asked Arallets.
“As long as the fire burns, which will not be long at all,” replied Tangor.
Arallets, stood erect, after having been on bent knees for a while, she was overwhelmed, started to shudder, she was scared, and Tangor saw this, it was all really too much for her; for she had thought for some reason she would be accepted as Siren’s great gift to the planet, both of them, but so far all the Cadaverous beasts on the planet were against them, and thus far it was not working out their way; consequently, she was a simply an intruder, and was being treated as one.
“Will the Beasts will kill us without a trial?” she asked.
“They are more primitive than the Vipers I hate to say,” commented Tangor.
“They have a spirit god to please…[a pause] how uncomforting,” said Arallets trying to get her proper composure back, one that showed a little more hope and courage; one that told Tangor, she’d be more useful in a moment.
They had been talking in a low voice as not to be heard as they walked away from the feast, and found an open area where light was shinning through the open sky: days were long and nights short on SSSAG for this season, this time of the year.
All of a sudden there were several rodent beasts circling them, guards, sentries for the Rodents Feast: they snapped their dagger like teeth at them. Their jaws were hanging down, wide open, and venom was dripping over their lower lips.
Said one of the beasts, “You are spies from the Vipers,” then another beast spoke, “No, they are from the moon, or its asteroid!” and then took a few more steps nearer.
“You will not leave me alone,” said Arallets, petrified.
“Now how could that be possible?” said Tangor.
These rats were all of 300-pounds, more like sows, with upper tusks like a walrus. Arallets had now put her hands over her face,
“Mother,” she cried, “I wish you were here!” It was hard for her to conceive how Siren lived among these beasts, and for so long and lived.
All of a sudden the fire had gone out, and 10,000-feet were running towards them in the woods, it sounded like thunder, the several rodents that had circled Tangor and Arallets looked to the side picking up the sounds, they had all turned their heads a bit, so their ears could make out the foot steps to be of their kind, and when they did, Tangor grabbed Arallets’ hand, grabbed a hanging vine, and with her arms around his neck, hanging on his side, he ran and the vine got momentum, and he jumped to a tree branch, a tree but a few feet away, and as thick as the thickest pillars of any cathedral in Europe. In another moment’s time, they were up fifty feet onto tree branches overlooking down at the rodents as they gathered below them, now gnawing on the tree.
Chapter Four: The Tall Trees
Sunlight gleamed into the eyes of both of them as they reached the top of the tree, overlooking a sea of green, they were 220-feet high, and it all looked as if it was a canopy of green, a plateau, a mesa, sort of, a green table, you could say. Below them, 10,000-hungry rodents were chewing on the great tree as to gnaw it down, all with red wicked eyes, eyes that had rage in them.
“If only I could talk to the King of the rats,” said Arallets [her voice had gained some more courage]. “How shall we escape these beasts?” she added.
“Through the trees of course, how else?” mentioned Tangor. Arallets looked strangely at Tangor, but she had learned to trust him, and said not a word.
During the night, as they lay back in the branches of the trees they ate papaya type fruit, until they could not eat anymore. And as soon as the sun started to rise, yet dark within the deep of the woods went to make their escape. Tangor grabbed her and a branch and swung to another, and another, and another, and to a vine, and then to another vine, and then to a branch. This went on for several hours, and then Arallets took it upon herself to swing the following four hours. Here and there, they grabbed pieces of fruit to gain strength.
Tangor was making some kind of response to Arallets, as she was about to grab a vine, and she saw what he was pointing at, the edge of the other side of the woods. And with a grab of the vine, and a leap, Arallets was in the air, on her way to the branch Tangor was standing on. He was thinking, as she was in the air: she sure has a fine body, and smooth muscles, and a handsome face, and a tough young spirit in her, she will make for a good mate, warrior for someone; but she was not Siren; that was also good he thought, Siren was too much a warrior, and not all that sensitive, or cultivated as Arallets seemed to be, Siren was more complex (in comparison). He was starting to like what she was, and what he saw in her. But she was still hurt from his earlier response, yet it was only the second day [long days], since they had arrived.
Chapter Five: Arallets: Daughter to Siren
As Arallets and Tangor waited at the edge of the woodlands, looking about from the height of the tree some 150-feet up, Arallets asked Tangor:
“How was it, that my mother originally came to Moiromma, I mean? I mean, all she told me was she left, and ended up on SSARG, perhaps you can fill in the gap?”
Tangor looked at her, she seemed most interested in her superhuman mother; perhaps because she wanted to be like her, but couldn’t, and wondered why. He was reluctant to say anything, then said, “ I know I suppose what might be considered secrets your mother told me; secrets that are really not secrets, but I suppose I can try to explain to you:
“Siren was standing on this frozen arctic planet, in silence, this ice planet in the galaxy her mother was born into. She now was born into, now with no weapons, no resources, starving: she had had imprints of all her mother’s memories, her DNA, and plus some. She was a commander for a day, in the underworld, fighting the henchman, she felt great, the henchman called Agaliarept (Commanding General): who was more prudent than what she thought he’d be, fought a good battle. Nonetheless, he gave into her, only to get rid of her, and her twenty soldiers that were doomed warrior anyways, doomed to sail in circles in the waters of the Great Gulf of Hades; and to be quite honest, wherever they went, he could careless. But he never figured on resurrection on her part, resurrection to Moiromma, and then came resurrection to SSARG.
“He figured—during those months in the gulf waters, that Siren would be subject to and her team mates subject to starvation, they’d all starve to death, and why provoke any more problems on the docks of hell, lest Lucifer hear of it and reprimand the commanding general, when the sea would take care of them for him.
“In the plains and frozen frontiers of northern Moiromma, by the mountains of the far and grayer side of the planet, along the frozen waterways under the weary and grieving eyes of Siren, grieving for the loss of her friends left in the depths of the underworld, the deep of earth, in the Gulf Stream of Hades on a vessel, where she was drifting for months with her comrades, she drowned herself trying to escape its forbidden waters; coupled with that, she was grieving for the loss of her mother Jokaneen, who was captured and brought to the vaults of Hell, and incarcerated until she lost her existence.
“Siren was born of her mother, young yet, but full grown, and on the land called Moiromma, a planet of mostly glaciers—as you well know how it can be—land of permafrost, icy underground tunnels, where there are cells of Moirommalit’s, for the most part that is how they lived back then I suppose still do, besides a few villages spread here and there with normally no more than a few hundred citizens to the pack, or perhaps at most several hundred. But this far north, where she was, was mostly uninhabitable. I’m sure you have not been this far north; anyhow, it is where she showed up suddenly, after her death in the Gulf. “It was quiet and still there, and again it was as though her mind was speaking to her, a house inside her mind, that housed her mother—the house she built in the vaults of Hell, in the tomb she laid in, died in, with, the one she sweat in and with that same body created her daughter, produced something before she died—Jokaneen, the a great warrior, like Siren would turn out to be.
“They, both would never forget the vaults of hell, where the Manticore and his demonic assistant wrapped Jokaneen, her mother up in a cocoon like state, put her into their complimentary vault like shell and forgotten for the most part. She had to live and die a stranger in this underground earthy world. She had named her child Siren; she might have called her any name, anything, but Siren was the spoken name that emerged from what was left of her decayed body. There was an instant though, when child and mother stood face to face, the instant before she died, before her advancing decompose flesh rushed past her like a ghost in the wind. And then, then she touched Siren, and stopped—dead!...dead!
“That is how it was, how your mother came to be on Moiromma, and her death again on Moiromma, and her affair with the old man she lived with Kenaj—. She loved him dearly I do feel, even more than me. We had our adventure, but she never forgot him. He gave his life up for her you know, fought the wild giant worms of Northern Moiromma.
(SSARG’s layout/Geography; Arallets has a map of the world given to her by Tangor: in the south of the planet SSARG, is what is known as the Quiet Mound, where Siren had her fortress; to the southwest, are the grasslands of the Vipers, and by the mound area is the Forest of the Rats, more northeast. Farther north is the land of the Manticore, a rough country with cliffs and hills, more likened to canyons and so forth? Then due north, from the mound, and beyond the Mantic ore country, on the other side of the world, is the Bear country, high cliffs, where the bears live on mesas. And to its west is the Dark side of the planet, where the Talisman, and their kind live; and heading back to the mound, you would run into the Cliff Dwellers, where the king, Atok lived, Siren’s old lover who forced himself upon her; in the Chamber Kingdom)) Information taken from the graph made for the original story, ‘Planet SSARG’ [Planet of Grass] which involved Siren, written on napkins (19-chapters) written 6/2004, in Lima, Peru also on planes, etc.))
Chapter 6: To the Valley of Arrows
Arallets found herself-daydreaming in the afternoon sun, still high in the branches of a great tree, overlooking the terrain below, slightly opened eyed; curious she was to insure there were no beasts about. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and had just awoken but a few minutes ago, awoken to find herself on Tangor’s shoulder, half asleep, when she found herself in this position, she quickly turned away from him, moved backwards, she liked his muscular shoulder but she was still offended from before, his remark. Perhaps she was not good enough for him, was a thought in her mind, a thought, she thought might be circulating in his mind also.
She had had six hours sleep, days were long here, 72-hours to a day, and six hours to a night, total 72-hours. Sleep that was much needed.
Tangor knew Moirommalit’s were well known for their flat facial affects, there hardness of heart, and unemoitonalness, but she was not of that type, she must have had an ounce of her father’s blood in her. He was thinking it was King Ahta’s blood, but of course he did not know.
At this stage of his journey, Tangor simply wanted to get as far away as he could from the rats, and hopefully back to his ship before the vipers destroyed it.
Tangor, said to Arallets, with an explicit tone to his voice: “I’m very hungry for real food, protean, not all this papaya crap, I got it up to my nose, how about some of that Lomo Saltado, I had once in Peru, on earth, good rice with potatoes, and onions, and big hunks of soft choice beef.”
Arallets, knew Tangor had a good sense of direction, his instincts were excellent, he had traveled the universe over, and now her sassiness, or better put, over sense of worth in a world that cared less for her, was diminishing, and she appreciated Him. Just like arriving at the edge of the woods, Tangor knew if they continued going eastward they would eventually be at the woods end. As now they had arrived, and it was morning, Arallets saw Tangor looking about, for the umpteenth time, and then he said, “Let go!”
In The Valley of Arrows
[The Plains]
It was a considerable distance they had gone, perhaps a few hundred miles if not more in the tree world; now standing on solid ground felt good to both of them.
There was a valley in front of them, evidently they had gone quite far to the east and then shifted somehow west, for according to the map, it was the plains in front of them. And Tangor remembered in the plains was the Valley of Arrows Siren had told him about it. Now he got deliberating where or which way he was to go from here. If he went straight north, he’d be in the Bear Country, if he went northwest, he’d be in King Ahta’s domain; if he went northeast, he’d be in the heart of the Manticore valleys and rocky plains: matter-of-fact, they were closer at this point to that area than any other area. Should they go west, they’d circle around the woods and end up by the mound area again, where the Viper’s Fortress was, where they started from, and beyond that Viper Country, where his spaceship was, but circling around involved sticking close to the woods, and that was loaded with searching rats for them at the moment. His decision to be made had a lot of variables to it.
How he missed his ship! Ever since he was a kid he wanted to be a space traveler, adventurer, and have his own ship, and now he had one, had it for a very long time also, and here he was stuck on this savage and primitive planet, which his ship in the possession of some mad vipers, were ready to destroy it.
They walked a ways, collecting their thoughts, and found themselves—like it or not—in the Valley of Arrows, part of the central plains of the Planet, where it seemed every other section of the planet connect to or from—in one way or another. That is to say, if one wanted to get to another areas of the planet, they normally would have to cross this land, or perhaps go through the dark part of the planet, and that would not be prudent, for no one had—yet.
It was to Tangor, a mysterious planet, just as Siren had told him it would be, had he ever a notion to visit it. An unnatural planet to say the least, where the beasts had reason, and vocabulary, and red crystal eyes, and walked light on the ground, and was controlled somehow, by it sections. Meaning, the rats, vipers, bears, Manticore, and so forth, all stayed in their birth regions, which seemed to be the only real habitual place for them—in the long run. It was once challenged by the Mantic ore’s, to live in the Mound area with Siren the Great, only to find out, the air, or whatever it was, made them ill to the point of death, and quickly had to move back to their abode in the northeast region of the planet. And once the bears were chasing Siren, but would not leave their mesas, and thus, Siren escaped. Should they have I wonder what, but they of course did not, would not, dare not to.
“We shall stop here,” said Tangor.
Chapter 7: A Space Fish And the Wild Manticore
Here, in the Valley of Arrows, in the Great Plains of SSARG, Tangor gathered up nuts, and barriers, and found a stream of heavy water, black water, water that sucked the chemicals from the roots of plants that gave off a darker chemical, it was conducive for space fish, and caught a space fish with his spear, one that was healthy looking, for normally space fish are not; often times, their eggs migrated like insects through space, and catch onto asteroids, and meteorites and other such things, and when they break up, and land, those surviving eggs, hatch in whatever moisture is available. Most are skeletonized, looking fish, this was an exception, the Tangor speared, only in the fact, it had more meat on its perturbing bones, than bones, and Tangor could appreciate that. He quickly brought the prized fish back to the campsite, made a fire and they ate it half raw, sucked out the marrow from its bones, it was perhaps older than him. They had been on the planet perhaps some 130-hours, walked a long distance, and the sun was hot, and they were hungry—and Tangor was worried about his spacecraft, he was counting days and hours in earth time and SSARG’s time. This was the end of the day for them, and thus the meal was tasty when they went to sleep.
Diabolical Ferocity
When morning came, Arallets opened her eyes slowly to a humming noise; a creature was over her body over her head, looking at her, staring at her, face to face now. It had ferocity in its ugly face, like a large bodied cat, lion, with human characteristics to its face.Slowly she caught her breath, let it out slowly, to show it had the advantage, and she was not going to escape, she was subdued, and the creature put a grin on its face; thus, she kept that posture, lest it claw her to death before she gather her thoughts.
Tangor was a light sleeper, and as a result, woke up when he heard the sounds of the humming, almost a hiss, purring, and saw what was taking place, and said cordially, “It’s only a Manticore,” knowing the insult would disturb the half man, half lion, who had intelligence, not much, but enough to be insult, and this would allow Arallets to get a moments edge.
It was a male species, Arallets noticed. The Manticore had turned its head when Tangor insulted it, belittled, it you could say, and this was the moment he gave to Arallets to do whatever she needed or could do, and perhaps for himself to think of his next move, the creature was now a ting off guard. “Yes, I want the woman,” said the Manticore.
Arallets had learned some thinks about fighting from her mother Siren, and advanced her kill with Tangor, when he taught her (while on their voyage to SSARG); that being, some karate moves, and boxing moves, and with a swift blow to its temple, the Manticore, moved slightly, but only enough to excite it, and as it purred, and moved its head back, centering it over hers again, she struck a blow in its Adams apple [or midsection of its throat], and it choked, and coughed, and its feet wobbled, and then she took her foot and leg with an upper stroke, a very hard thrust, as hard as she could, stuck the animal in the groin area, and the beast dropped its front paws, just as Arallets rolled out from underneath the falling predator, as it whined for a moment.
The beast jumped up, choking, limping and then leaped at her, and she grabbed Tangor’s leather belt, wrapped it around her forearm, and as the beast leaped the second time onto her, she extended her forearm, and it grabbed onto it with its jaws, at which time, Arallets extended her hand upwards, as if to reach the sky, making the front of the beast exposed, and that is when Tangor grabbed his knife and lunged it into the heart of the beast.
It was the agility, and swiftness of Arallets that brought about the beast’s death, but it was Tangor that created that moment, and did the last forceful means in killing the beast, bringing it to its end; they looked at one another, it was a team, then they looked at the corpse, and had protean for breakfast.
They were at a point in their journey, they both needed one another, and each had their own agenda, and according to Tangor, he felt, his time was up. He had promised 168-earth hours, so he believed, and Arallets said it was SSARG hours, which would make it, 504-hours he owed her. And at this juncture, it had been 180-hours they’d been on this planet.
Chapter 8: Shadow of the Dark World
Twilight over The Valley of the Arrows [From: ‘The Cadaverous Beasts of SSARG…’]
The Twilight
Over the planet of jade
Turns from emerald
To a deep—and deeper green;
While the campfire flickers
A pale green glow:
Covers the foliage
In the Valley;
With grave wide eyes
Everything! —
Everything,
Turns to a dark
Greenish-blue:
In the quiet
Valley of the Arrows…!
#1229 4/29/06 [#1]
They had ventured farther into the Valley region they thought, farther than they had cared to, but did nonetheless, perhaps wanting to get as far away from the stray Manticore as they could in case there were more like him about: in a like manner, racing to get away from the rats, and vipers: the whole darn place was nothing but a beastly hell, dominated by cadaverous creatures that could think halfway think, straight; they had some sort of formal reasoning.
“They are Mantic ores, and their inhabit is normally in the northeast part of the planet, a large section I think, funny they have strayed so far over here, but I suppose they are looking for anything stray as well, this way they need not jeopardize their lives so much, by trying to invade the Rat country or the Viper country, which they would not survive with their air, plus the odds of a one on one fight was slip, they’d be torn apart by many. I think the Valley, or plains is adaptable by all living creatures of this world, for a long period of time, but not too long, its creator evidently did not want any creatures straying too long, too far out of their habitats.” So said, Tangor.
“I have never seen one of these creatures before,” said Arallets.
“Neither have I, but I’ve heard of them,” said Tangor, adding, “Even the rats and vipers fear them.”
Twilight was descending. “You do realize Arallets, no one to my knowledge has entered into this dark side of the planet, I hear there are ghosts, kind of like ghosts with strange powers there, and do not like intruders.”
“Yes,” said Arallets, “we hear many things, and there is truth to most legends, but most legends are exactly that, lore, and not all truth, and if we are to get to your ship in the next 140-hours, we best do it as quickly as possible.
“You are right, it must be that we venture into this world.”
Death Awaits
Said Arallets with a little more courage than she had the past few days, “The creatures in the dark world may even be kindlier than the vipers and rats, and surely more than the Manticore, god forbid, they are not.”“Perhaps,” said Tangor, “but let us sleep and enjoy this last twilight, if indeed it maybe our last, and if not, they are quite beautiful anyhow, and I enjoy them.”
And hence, the sky turned green, and the valley filled with bluish green mist, and the fire flickered with its orange and reds, and the heat from the fire warmed their skin, and the sounds of the flickering of the fire, made them feel they were not deserted in the plains, as nearby the dark world was readying themselves for the couple, so Arallets would dream. (It was now the end of the 4th day, 280-hours into the planets week, and a count down for the vipers to destroy the ship in seven SSARG days.)
—When morning came they were refreshed and regenerated, especially Tangor, with his old muscles and needing regeneration. Next, they both ventured off towards the dark side of the planet, as if sleep had provided the great dose needed to fight the elements of the dark.
[In the village of Ral, where the vipers lived on the mound, the process of deliberation was going on, the two generals were fighting over whose army would get to destroy the ship, and was trying to figure out what kind of a contest they would have to see which one got the prize; they didn’t want to offend Blaze II, the king, but he was ill, and should he get in the way, that could make for another variable in the contest.
On the other side of the mound, the rats were trying to figure out if they could invade the city of Ral, it was really a holy city and both wanted it; both remembered the Great Siren, and she was almost a god like figure on this planet, and especially in the city of Ral. And if the vipers were busy they could take the mound, by surprise. When Arallets proclaimed to be the daughter of a god, likened to Siren, it was too much too much for the vipers to accept.]
While Arallets was sleeping, Tangor had made her a spear, both having one now, as they headed onto, and into the dark side of the world, its shadow.
Shadow of the Dark World
On and on they went, until they found their selves in the shadow of the dark world, at its rim, you could say. It was now the 5th day, the end of the 5th day. The great sun, its ball like form was no longer hanging over their heads like a lantern. Bat like creatures with long necks, heavy looking heads, and shadowy forms, whizzed by, perhaps four feet in length. Somehow though, it seemed a bit more peaceful than what they both expected, no direct challenges thus far. But Tangor thought, deeply thought, everything on this planet is a mixture of carnivorous beastly genders; that it would only be a matter of time before the challenge came about.
They had walked several hundred miles to get to this location, it was a direct route, and they did not go the route Siren took which would have taken weeks, and if with an army, months.
Tangor did not once look back, he waned to make it though this area in two days, or a bit less, perhaps 134-hours would do.
As they stepped beyond the shadow, or rim of darkness, there came a disturbance, a sound of wings flapping, Tangor gripped his spear in one hand, his hand pistol in the other.
Chapter 9: The Forbidden Zone
[The sound of war is developing with the rats, as they gather together from all regions of the woodlands, all 150,000 of them, to make a raid on the homeland of the Vipers, especially the holy city of Ral (as the Vipers are in a quarrel on who should get the right to destroy the ship; a scout rat has brought back this information). They are at the present, at the burnout campsite where they had done their war dance, feast, a few days ago, and had no sacrifice to offer the god of thunder. Now King Rat II, and his Son, Whimper Rat the III, who is not the bravest of all rates, but is very shrewd, will commence in a few hours to the mound area, second in command. He will lead the troops in surrounding the city, and invading it.
At this very moment, both viper generals are thinking of a way how to avoid a confrontation with their king, and at the same time, thinking they should kill him, and both rule the 20,000-vipers together, and bury the king, say the two invaders came in the middle of the night and slay him, consequently, a good reason to destroy the ship when due.]
Sweet Shadows
[From: ‘The Cadaverous Beasts of SSARG…’]
She hears echoes in the shadows
“Come follow, come follow”
Leave Kings to Kings
And Queens to Queens
That will bring
Sorrow and laughter
Tomorrow.”
The wild shadow bears a hum,
Sunlight passes making to tremble
Veils of gray;
As they softly, shyly undo
[Stirred]
The dark, —
And say, “…here I am!”
(Now hurry over the darkness
And Pray!)
#1330 4/29/06 [#2]
Perhaps Arallets’ fear was blocked by the instinct in her to exhibit her braveness before another person, Tangor in particular, she had shown weakness before, and Tangor had magnesium, something about him she liked. Who may know, it was as it was; what prompts one person’s actions is a stranger to another. Tangor kept his spear hand alert, hand gripped tightly against his side, as they walked through the shadowy zone of the dark world.
—Down! Came a haunting shadow. It shouted: “Attack is immanent, turn back!”
Moirommalit’s do not run easily, or avoid combat, it is not part of their make up, should anyone study their habits, and history. Bu forward she walked, in defiance.
“Who are you?” the voice said, a moment’s hesitation, Arallets did not speak, “and who comes so bravely into our land?” said the voice again.
“I am Arallets, daughter to the Great Queen Siren, who once ruled this world.”
“Oh, I do know of her, but she did not rule this side of the world, I assure you.” Said the voice; “and you are from Moiromma than?”
“Yes I am,” said Arallets [feeling kind of brave, and powerful as her mother’s reputation soaked into her skin.
“In this land you are either from the hive, or a stray from the dark world. This is the world of the dead, where all creatures come to when they die here on SSARG. Some go to the hive, others remain in the dark shadows doing penitence. We are area of two forms as you can now see…see me…” and the being showed himself. He was about four feet tall; white, with white wings, a bee stinger on his back end, and a bat like body, with a human type head, long neck.
“The only difference between us, and them, is they are black, and have no stinger. But not all of them care to do repentance for their evil deeds they did while in the physical (they were in a milky-misty form). They’d not like the hive, too may rules, like: no eating one another, or no fighting, or no raping, you know, the normal every day hideous sins we used to enjoy while alive.”
Said Arallets with a joy to her tone: “Then you believe me, who I am?”
“Yes,” said The Bee-bat: White-Guiar], who lived in the holy hive, “yes, I do, why not, if you lie here it would cause a disturbance.”
“We are seeking a route to our ship in the Viper country but fear the rats will harm us, should we take the route around the forest,” explained, Arallets.
“Perhaps I can help,” said White-Guiar.
“That maybe be difficult,” said Tangor, “it is quite a distance I think.” “That it is, indeed it is,” commented Guiar, and this habitat is made for the dead of this planet, not for the living. And you cannot go to the hive, it is forbidden, until you die that is, and should you die in this land, I will put a good word in with the Great Holy One. On the other hand, you cannot remain in this world, there is no food, or places to sleep, it is just space, darkness, milk like darkness, and a permafrost ground, with sinkholes in areas. Again I repeat myself: it is for the dead. We have evil ones here, evil warriors, that care not to go to the holy hive, we call them: the gnome-bats: Black devil bats they live in the dark shadows. Many of us here were vipers and rats and all such creatures, and did not like ways of the many, I will permit you to go your way, and perhaps try to help if I can, but even I could get lost in this dark world.”
Then out of nowhere appeared an evil warrior, a black devil bat blocking the path in front of Arallets: “Lucifer is my name,” said the devil bat, four feet tall, with crooked sharp teeth, and a long neck.
“The name sounds familiar,” said Tangor, we got one of those on earth, but I suppose the name is popular throughout the universe.”
“You make fun of me,” said Lucifer.
“Oh no, to the contrary, you are dangerous, and I just wish to step beyond you, get out of your way, leave you alone and get to my ship.”
With his wide-open mouth, his teeth grinding on top of each other, the teeth of the bat became physical, and the teeth lunged at Tangor, but came short of touching him, as Guiar had interceded, and halted him, by pointing his stinger at his face.
“So that is how it will be?” said Lucifer.
“For the moment, yes,” said Guiar. “He is one of the trouble makes here, be careful of this one. But I have an idea on how you can shift quickly through the currents, the wind currents of this world, it would be a flash, if it works.”
As they stood there for a moment, Guiar chanted: “Old blood with new blood, old flesh with new flesh…and they should turn into shadows.” Guiar had transmitted his blood, his essence, his residue into Arallets frame, and likewise, into Tangor’s, and they had turned into a shadow form, “catch onto a current of wind now, and follow it, and you will be at the end of the darkness within minutes, and once you are, once you see light, chant these same words backwards.”
And they did, they turned into shadows, caught onto a wind current, and Lucifer and they were on a race to the light, his teeth garnishing behind them, trying to catch them at every turn, and just as Lucifer had caught Arallets, she had chanted her words, and to her dismay, she had fallen out of the darkness to light, with Lucifer, he was hanging onto her during the transferring process.
This world was knew to him, He had not seen light in over 20,000-years. And she thought as she stared at him: what have I done. And then Lucifer so engrossed with his new abode, walked aimlessly about leaving Arallets to herself, trying to figure out what new powers He hand outside of the dark world. Tangor now joined her, and as they started their long walk to the Mound area, they saw Lucifer walking into the Valley of Arrows alone, a smirk on His face.
Chapter 10: The Battle of Ral [And the spacecraft]
[They were now heading to the Mound area, out of the Great Plains, the Flatlands]
“I remember once,” said Arallets, “my mother read me a poem by King Moir I, of Moiromma, and it is how I feel I suppose as we head back here to the mound; the Great Mound of SSARG, it brings back all the memories my mother used to talk about, but here is the poem”:
Sickly Sentimentality
I have sought out friends
Only to find rawness
Of their passion;
And the uniformity
Of their vision.
Who out there can know
My cerebral verve?
(Only the long dead)
By King Moir I [Of Moiromma]
[The Beasts of SSARG] Liker her mother, Arallets could speak and somehow be understood by the beasts of this planet, and other planets as well, for yet to find out (Tangor like his friend Rognat, and Siren’s friend also, had learned this capability, but Arallets was born with it): as there language was grunts and gestures often. In the dark world it was more distinguishable. Siren interpreted it inside her head (like Arallets), a phenomenon it was, and as strange as it was, it was but a way to understand the universe more: a gift given to her at birth, as I repeat this.
The Battle of 504
When they arrived at the Mound, there was a great battle going on between the Rats and Vipers, and many were running down the mound to the spacecraft, the two generals had made a pack to destroy it, and even in the process of war, it did not leave their vengeful spirits. It was on the very day, on the very last hour: the 504th hour when they arrived, Tangor and Arallets had left the mound and quickly ran to their ship.
End Chapter: Part I Tangor and the Giant Viper: Hagar Quin
Tangor creeps up to his ship, is wanting to leave this planet once and for all with Arallets, and sees this Gigantic Diabolic ferocious snake, three thousand pounds, sixty feet long, tusks like elephants, an ancient snake called, Hagar Quin, one powerful snake guarding the ship, while the generals and other creatures (everybody) running down to the ship to get the two hero’s.
How can he get to his ship, he is by it now, he thinks, its body the body of Hagar Quin, has circulated the ship, but there is an opening, a small one by its head. Its head is as huge as an elephants. His gun will do not good, nor spear, only one thing he feels can kill a snake like this: decapitation, anything less, he leaves the snake desperate, and angrier for a killing, and must do it quickly for the snake alone can break the ship apart, but that old snake skin is think and between its lower, its thickness is hard to penetrate, perhaps four feet at its narrowest [circumference].
Thus, he creeps up to the snake, and with a shovel like object, one straight, and sharp, he puts it over the snakes neck, and pushing a half foot into its skin, it wakes up, flips about, wildly, gets entangled into the ship as it tries to get free its neck, thus, its long body cannot slap Tangor about. But the shovel-knife more like a battle ax he made while traveling back from the plains, two feet long/wide, cannot, will not go through the vipers internal fleshy tissue as Tangor expected, it would should he get into a battle with the vipers; or have to use it at night to sneak up upon them; and it jumps, yet Tangor keeps his body weight (and pressure) of perhaps 200-bounds, and his six foot frame embedded into the top of the shovel, its tree like stem, shoving its end piece into the snake, now it is a foot through the flesh (and the horde is now down the mound area and closing in on them), and the snake is still jumping. It tries to smash the ships bottom section, hoping it can, so Tangor will not take off (and has somewhat damaged its propulsion system ((driving force)) under the ship), as it fights the only way it can, by trying to rotate its head back and forth, side ways to loosen the grip Tangor has on its neck, before it is decapitated.
Twenty minutes have gone by and the snake has lost its strength, the sun has disappeared under rain clouds, and night has fallen, just in time, for Tangor has also lost his strength, and needs to replenish his body with protean if he is to continue this struggle, then all of a sudden the shovel hits dirt, the snake is decapitated. And Tangor falls backwards, and the rest of the snake’s body jumps out of impulse.
Ending Chapter: Part II Rognat’s Surprise:
Rognat’s ship was circling the planet of SSARG, he had been in the pursuit of the planet Toso, for many years, and had found it. He was given the task of doing this on planet Hipparchus, a planet he named, and it was at one time called the planet of Aging. He had met Siren there, and they had become lovers. She couldn’t stay on the planet, it made her blood boil, and thus, they became travelers together. He had talked to Tangor many of times on his vessel: ship-to-ship, in planetary pursuit. He once was even to Peru, at the Laguna de Paca. As I was saying, he was now circling the planet, and had in focus Tangor’s ship. He simply followed a lead, looking for Siren, who had died some 20-years, ago, in his place when attacked by space insects that had circled his ship and was eating their way into it, when Siren gave up her life to save him.
As she saw Tangor, he lowered his ship, his ship had a locator on it, and it was a while since he had talked to him, and the fact that he left his locator on, and his communications system open, and he was not answering, meant, he could be in trouble, and here he was seeing at first hand, a horde following him, and his ship slightly destroyed, it would never be fixed in time for takeoff. And behind him was a battle going on, and snakes and rats running toward the ship, and Tangor and Arallets running to it likewise. They would never make it, Rognat knew, so he lowered his space craft as low as he could without landing distance, perhaps 100-feet, and like a vacuum cleaner, sucked them up into a bubble like container, ripping their cloths off, and all dirt lift and such matter was sprayed out of the container, and the container then went into the ship.
“Glad to see you Rognat,” said Tangor in disbelief; ‘let me introduce you to Siren’s daughter, Arallets!”
She looked at Rognat; he was perhaps in his late 50s, handsome.
“So did you know my mother?” she asked, “everybody seems to know my mother, but few believe she is my mother.”
“Oh, I believe you, that you are Siren’s daughter.” Said Rognat.
“Oh, why is that Mr. Rognat.” She asked.
“Because I saw you in her womb before you were conceived.” He said.
“Now how could that be?” she said quickly, harshly and without thinking. Then she caught her breath, almost melted to the ground, got goose pumps all over her body, tears came from her eyes, she couldn’t hold her lips from quivering: “Father!” she said.
“Yes, that is the correct word: daughter, is the other one.” Tangor almost flipped.
“And I was falling in love with your daughter,” they all started laughing as Rognat and Arallets hugged each other. While below the snakes and rodents became friends for the moment as they chewed away the ship, chewed it into pieces and hissed and shouted at the drifting spacecraft, then like a flash, it was out of sight.
Note: Chapters one thru three were written 4/25/2006; chapter four was written on 4/26/2006, all chapters written out during my lunches at El Parquetito (outdoor café, in the sun), in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. Chapter’s information taken from parts or Episode #28; 29: “The Cadaverous Planets”; chapter 6, ‘Diabolic Ferociousness,’ written 4/27/2006, at EP, lunchtime. End Chapter written at home, 4/27/2006 “Tangor and the Giant Viper: Hagar Quin.” [9:230PM] Chapter 9, ‘The Forbidden Zone,’ written at EP, 4/29/06, and #2, poem, after reading Chamber Music by JJ. Chapter 8, written at EP, and Poem #1, after reading Chamber Music by JJ. End Chapter Part II, “Rognat’s Surprise,” 4/30/06, completed at home, Lima, Peru.