Curumbasa::Island of Secrets (Prolouge-Chapter One)

My first story that has made it past one chapter. To be exact, it

has forty seven pages. Now, in the beginning, it might be kind of boring,

but further through the story it will have more action in it.

Critique is good here! Unlike another site I go on which people just

say, "I like it! More please!" I need critique on this story because I am

hoping to publish it one day, I will get an editor and all that stuff, but I

like help from other people as well.

This is a story about a pack of creatures that live on an island

called 'Curumbasa Island'. If you find something confusing,

which you probably will, I have posted some information,

such as the ranks at the bottom of the page. I have also included a map

to show you where everything is.

Here is the prologue and the first chapter.

All characters and content of this story is copyright to me, do not steal!

---

Curumbasa::Island of Secrets

Prologue. -- Two pages

Moonlight lay over the valley like

water, covering everything in its silvery

glow. The storm was over, everything was

covered in water, which shone like stars

in the moonlight. Silence followed afterward,

not a sound of prey or even the ancient

waterfalls that spilled over each side of

the island. Not even the wind made a

sound. Suddenly, a bird uttered an alarm

call as pebbles rolled into the water. Slowly,

three large black wolves walked up to the top

of the hill. The glowing tips of there fur waving

in the wind. In the middle stood a muscular,

yet scrawny, wolf. His fur glowing blue at

the tips.

He wore a piece of a skull on his head,

strapped on by leather straps. He had no

fur on his muzzle, it was all bone. No lips

covered his teeth, and the bone stuck out

oddly on each side of muzzle. He had two

large fangs that grew almost as long as his

claws. He had blue, blue markings on his

left hind and front leg. His tails was long,

it had blue fur hanging of the underneath.

The wolf that stood to his left had purple-

tipped fur. His tail was short, a lot like a

deers but with longer fur.The fur on his

cheeks was long and straight. His tail

was short with long fur. The third wolf, who

stood to the right, had green-tipped fur. He

wore a strap around his bottom jaw, and

another on his top jaw, and one around

the base of his tail. His tail was much like

an ordinary wolfs, only it was longer. The

three wolves made their way down the

hill, eyes of blue, purple and green glowing.

Leaves crackled under the large black paws.

The wolf that wore the skull leaped forward,

his hind quarters almost vanishing into the air.

He swept right through a young deer. It looked

confused, and a heartbeat later it fell onto its

side, dead. The wolf let out a triumphant howl,

his fur glowing even brighter now. The wolves

crowded around the young deer. They knew

they needed to be strong to fight.

After they had finished, the three strange

black wolves started their journey once

more. They had set off on a mission, a

mission for power, for strength. Losing

was not an option for these wolves, they

would fight with all the strength they had.

The leader of the three-wolf pack, the one

who wore the bone, let out a blood-curdling

howl, and they all bounded off into darkness.

Although stars glittered in the sky, and

the moon shine brightly, a storm was on

its way, it would bring terror, anger and

bloodshed.

Up high, in the black sky, the Stars were

watching. Many starlit figures crouched

around a pool of shining water. They had

watched as the three black wolves killed

the deer. Danger was coming for their

beloved island. The creatures who had

gathered around the pool stared with wide

eyes. "A warning must be sent through a

vision. We shall show the Leader of the Pack

what we have just witnessed, or at least, as

much as we can show." A phoenix, her feathers

glowing brightly, said from the far side of the

pool. A muscular dragon with bright white

scales stepped up to the very edge of the pool.

"You are right, FlameSoul. Tonight, when the

moon reaches its highest peak, is when we will

send out the warning. I do not want to watch our

beloved Pack being slaughtered for no apparent

reason. These strangers just want to have power."

The white dragon sat down and closed his eyes

in thought. Putting out his hand, a ball of sparkling

lights appeared. "If this light dies, the Pack is lost

and there will be no hope of it coming back. We will

vanish, and no one knows where we will end up."

FlameSoul spread out one golden wing and touched

the surface of the water, throwing up more of the

sparkling light. "We shall see what happens in

the morning, MoonLace."

---

Chapter One--Twelve pages

Sunshine filtered into a small den.

The night before had brought rain and

thunder, all of what had happened seemed

to have vanished like mist. A young she-wolf

with black fur blinked open her amber eyes.

The sun felt warm on her back after the icy

cold rain. She smiled and extended her paws

in front of herself in a long stretch. Not realizing

how hungry she was until the smell of prey

engulfed her. The Evening Island Patrol must

be back and they must have hunted. The she-wolf

shook herself and then pushed through the ivy that

hung down in the entrance of the den.

She squinted as she came out into the sunlit

clearing. Looking around the hollow, she saw

the patrol reporting to the leader, WhisperingWind.

She called a greeting as she headed for the Prey

Storage, which was a hole in the wall of the hollow

which was also partly in the ground.

Settling herself down in a sunny spot by the

prey-storage, she pulled out a plump rabbit and

began to tear into it.

"Good morning, ColeHeart." A voice spoke up

behind her. Twisting her head around, she saw

the stone-gray fur and glittering blue eyes of her

brother. "Good morning," ColeHeart replied as her

brother sat down beside her. Taking another bite

of the rabbit, ColeHeart barked. "How was the

Dawn Island Patrol go, StoneHeart? No trouble

I hope. And it seems as if you've brought back

a good amount of prey." The gray wolf pulled out

a hawk for himself and tore of its brown, feathery

wing. "It was good. No trouble except for

GreenBreeze’s over excited StarTrainer, GaleStorm,

getting himself into trouble." StoneHeart sighed.

ColeHeart laughed quietly. "What did he do?"

StoneHeart tore of the hawks other wing.

"He climbed up to the highest point of the

SkyRock and almost leaped off. If it weren't for

GreenBreeze, he'd be dead, since the rest of us

were still walking ahead, now knowing that he

was even on the SkyRock." StoneHeart stretched

and yawned. Nodding a farewell to his sister, he

padded off to the StarSpeaker’s Den to check up

on GaleStorm.

ColeHeart lifted her head to sniff the air.

A sweet scent drifted over her and she

looked over to the StarSpeaker’s den to

see her friend, Cody, pushing her wait out

through the brambles. She must be going

to get some more herbs. ColeHeart thought.

She rose to her paws and padded over to Cody.

"Hello!" ColeHeart greeted as she came up to

the tilagon.

Cody turned around to face ColeHeart, the

spikes swaying on her back. "Hello, ColeHeart."

She meowed happily, her blue eyes shining

in the early morning sunlight. "Where are you

headed to?" ColeHeart sat down, wagging her tail.

Cody sat down as well, and then meowed.

"EchoSong sent me to get some more herbs,

some of our stocks are running low."

ColeHeart nodded slowly, tipping her

head to the side in thought.

"Would you like to come...?" Cody purred.

"Yes!" She barked joyfully. "I was just going to

ask you that!" ColeHeart trotted to the Stone

Tunnel and waited for Cody, who had gone to

get a bag for prey in case ColeHeart wanted to

hunt.

ColeHeart looked over her shoulder to see Cody

sniffing at a bunch of blue four petaled flowers that

had silver stripes through the middle of the petal.

ColeHeart padded over to help. Cody gently bit the

stem of one of the flowers and ColeHeart followed.

When they had enough of that herb, Cody brought

ColeHeart to the river, where they would find the

next batch of herbs. "So what are we looking for

now?" ColeHeart asked. "You know those gold

flowers that are in the den?" Cody mewed, her

head low to the ground as she searched.

ColeHeart nodded as she remembered the golden

flowers that she had seen in stocks, but she had

never actually seen how they were used. "Well,

that’s what we are looking for. So far they have only

been found here, by the river since no one has ever

explored further." Cody craned her neck to look over

some tall grass that grew at the edge of the lake.

"Come on, they are across the river."

ColeHeart launched herself into the water, jumping

up and down as if to stay as well out of the water as

she could. As she made it to the pebbly shore, she

saw Cody digging up the gold flowers. "Don't you just

have to bite them?" Cody looked up from what she was

doing. "Actually, if you bite them, your tongue will burn for

days. They have some gold colours liquid in the stem

that is used for infected wounds."

ColeHeart began to dig at the base of the flowers

"EchoSong, we got enough to last till Gold-Leaf!" Cody

called to the StarSpeaker. Soon, EchoSong appeared

from his den, his eyes glittering proudly. "Well done,

Cody." EchoSong praised. Cody sat with her chest

puffed out. EchoSong pulled the herbs out of the bags

and carefully placed them in the herb storage. "Cody, I

think its about time you come with me to the Lunar Garden."

ColeHeart had been to the mushrooms once before, when

Cody had become a StarTrainer. She glanced over at the

tilagon, who’s eyes were as wide as the full moon. She

seemed lost for words. "R-really, EchoSong?"

EchoSong nodded. "Your training is almost complete.

You are only about half a moon away from being a

full-fledged StarSpeaker."

ColeHeart watched as Cody took a deep breath

and bowed her head. "Thank you, this is an honor."

ColeHeart rose to her paws and dipped her head.

"I will be off now, I haven't yet seen MorningStar’s

new litter." EchoSong nodded in acknowledgment

and then headed to sort out the rest of the herbs.

Cody followed ColeHeart to the entrance of the den,

meowing her thanks for helping with the herb collecting

and then heading back to help EchoSong sort out the

rest of what they had collected.

ColeHeart padded past the stone that separated the

Elder’s den from the nursery. As she entered the

dimly lit cave, she heard the mewling of cubs.

ColeHeart heard the dry moss crackle as MorningStar

moved into a sitting position. "Have you come to see

the pups?" She asked tiredly. Padding closer, the

coal coloured she-wolf nodded and blinked her shining

amber eyes. MorningStar smiled and introduced her

cubs. "This here is GingerFoot-" She put her paw on

the back of a white female cub that had ginger-coloured

paws. Next she placed her paw on the back of a male

who had very pale green fur around his eyes and muzzle.

"This is MintMask. And this one-" She moved her paw to

the smallest of the litter. "-Is LilyPad."

The gray cub with green toes and pink legs squeaked

as her mother touched her back. ColeHeart sniffed the

pups. "They are beautiful!" She breathed.

MorningStar yawned. "And they tire me out."

ColeHeart let out a growl of laughter. "Really?

They can't be to much trouble at this age, can they?"

"You'd be surprised." MorningStar meowed as

she began to wash MintMask's face. ColeHeart

remembered what it felt like when she was a pup.

Laying in a warm nest by her mothers side, food

not far away. ColeHeart's ear twisted back as she

heard someone calling her name. "I have to go,"

MorningStar nodded. "Thank you for coming to

meet my cubs." ColeHeart turned and padded

out of the nursery, calling over her shoulder.

"Thank you for introducing me to them!"

ColeHeart looked around the clearing for a

moment, wondering who had called her. She

then gazed up at the rock that rose from the

ground outside the leaders den and saw

WhisperingWind crouched at the top, looking

down towards her. "Did you call me?"

"Yes, I did." WhisperingWind rose to his feet.

"Come to my den, I have something to tell you."

ColeHeart shrugged and followed her leader. All

was dark for a moment as she entered the den,

but when ColeHeart arrived in the center sunlight

shone through a hole that was in roof. That must

be the reason why the leaders den is here,

Glancing at the floor she spotted a second hole.

And that explains why the StarSpeaker’s den is

where it is. She guessed it must be so it was

easier for the StarSpeaker and the Leader to speak

to the Stars. Her gaze slipped to Whispering Wind,

who was sitting to the side of the hole in the floor.

Dipping her head, ColeHeart padded forward a little

and sat down. "What is it you wish to tell me?"

ColeHeart tried to stay calm even though her heart

was beating so fast and so hard it felt like it would

burst out of her chest.

WhisperingWind studied her for a moment, gazing

into her amber eyes. "You are now seventeen moons

old, yes?" WhisperingWind waved his large tail around.

ColeHeart drew in a breath and replied. "Yes, I am."

WhisperingWind was nodding thoughtfully. "And what

battle have you recently been taught?" The cat-dragon

leaped ahead. ColeHeart realized she was supposed

to attack him. Leaping onto his shoulders, the black

she-wolf bit into his scruff and, while standing on her

hind legs, pulled back hard, flipping the silver-furred

leader onto his back while she was standing a little

ways away. WhisperingWind pushed himself up,

panting. "Your training is coming along well, judging

by how you handled that move." He meowed proudly.

ColeHeart shook herself, throwing off the dirt that

clung to her fur after her tussle with WhisperWing.

"You have one more battle move left in your training,

and after that, your moving to the StarFighter’s den."

ColeHeart was trembling excitedly, she had just

returned from her final battle training, and her mentor

was discussing her training with WhisperingWind.

She stared towards the entrance of the leaders den,

waiting for some movement. Finally, the shrubs

quivered and WhisperingWind padded out. ColeHeart

watched as he leaped gracefully up to the top of the

stone. ColeHeart's mentor came out a couple of

heartbeats later. "Pack of Curumbasa, I ask you

to come sit beneath the stone!" WhisperingWing

let out the familiar summon. Slowly, the Pack

emerged from their dens. First to arrive was the

StarSpeaker, and then her mother and father.

Soon the clearing was crowded.

ColeHeart caught her parents proud gaze and

smiled. Shuffling her weight from one paw to the

other, she waited patiently as the last of the Pack

came to the clearing. WhisperingWind stood at the

very edge of the stone. "ColeHeart, come forward."

ColeHeart walked up to the edge of the stone, her

legs shaking with excitement. She glanced up to

the sky and prayed she wouldn't mess anything up

at her ceremony. WhisperWind swung his head

around to face ColeHeart. "ColeHeart," He meowed.

"You have now completed your training and will are

ready to carry the title of a StarFighter. From now

until you retire from your duties, you will be sleeping

in the StarFighter’s den," WhisperingWind paused for

a moment and ColeHeart realized she was supposed

to be dipping her head. Slowly, she lowered her head,

heart pounding. WhisperingWind smiled and meowed.

"May the Stars watch over you for many seasons to

come, and may they protect you for the rest of your life."

A cry of joy filled the air. ColeHeart leaped off the side

of the rock, her Packmates coming to congratulate her.

"I almost messed that up." ColeHeart barked shakily.

CloudFoot, ColeHeart's mother, pushed her muzzle into

her daughters fur and then licked her cheek joyfully.

"Its alright, you did fine." She barked in between licks.

ColeHeart's father was the next to come up and

congratulate her. ColeHeart leaned on her father,

half of her face disappearing in his thick golden fur.

FlameStar licked the black wolf's head affectionately.

"Now I can't wait to get a StarTrainer!" ColeHeart

barked jokingly. She could wait, she wanted to have

a few moons that had nothing to do with training.

FlameStar jerked his golden head in the direction

of the prey storage. "Come, you must be hungry."

ColeHeart nodded, licking her lips at the thought

of sinking her teeth into a juicy rabbit. She trotted

over and sat beside her father. She pulled out a

couple pieces of prey until she found a rabbit.

ColeHeart grabbed the neck of the rabbit firmly

in her jaws and pulled it out of the pile. Her father

had gotten a large bird that ColeHeart had never

seen. "What is that?" She asked, poking the weird

brown and black bird with her claw. FlameStar

shrugged. "I caught it out on an Island Hunting

Patrol this morning. I didn't recognize the scent

either, so I'm guessing it came from the other side

of the island somewhere." The golden wolf barked,

twitching his black ear. ColeHeart looked at the

bird for a moment longer and then began to pull

the fur from her rabbit. As she bit into it, her

mouth watered with satisfaction.

"So, was there anything in particular you wanted

to talk to me about...?" She asked her father after

a moment of silence. When FlameStar turned to

place his amber gaze on his black-furred daughter,

his eyes were shining . ColeHeart suddenly stopped

licking at her rabbit, her tongue sticking out. "What?"

She asked, tipping her head to one side. FlameStar

let out sigh of happiness. "Your mother is pregnant."

ColeHeart was thrilled that her mother was going to

have more pups, but for some reason she thought

there was something bad about this.

"ColeHeart, what’s the matter?" FlameStar asked

worriedly. ColeHeart shook her head to clear it,

pushing the bad thought to the back of her mind.

"Its nothing..." She barked, taking a bit out of the

rabbits flank. FlameStar was silent, nodding slowly

in thought. Rising to his paws, he walked to the nursery

without saying a word. ColeHeart didn't feel much like

eating anymore, so she pushed the rabbit to the side

and stood up, heading to the small river that ran through

the camp. She lowered her head and lapped up the

crystal-clear water. She laid down at the side of the

river and tucked her muzzle under her paws. Was her

father angry with her or did he just have something else

on his mind? ColeHeart started thinking about the feeling

she had had when her father told hr that her mother was

pregnant. Was her mother in danger? The unborn pups

maybe? Or was it something to do with her father, FlameStar?

The questions ran through her mind as she tried to fall

asleep. Closing her amber eyes, she slipped into the

darkness of sleep.

ColeHeart woke with a start as she felt something

poking into her side. She lifted her head and glared

angrily. Turning her head around she saw that it was

ShimmerPad, one of the oldest StarFighters, prodding

her on the side with one large paw. "Yes, what is it?"

ColeHeart growled. ShimmerPad sat down and meowed.

"Island Hunting Patrol, are you coming?"

ColeHeart looked up at the sky to see that the sun

had barely moved. She obviously hadn't slept for long.

She decided to try and cheer up, this was

her first Island Hunting Patrol as a StarFighter,

so she wasn't being taught how to hunt anymore.

She was happy that a voice wouldn't be somewhere

in the background telling her how to hunt right.

"I'm ready when you are." She barked. ShimmerPad

nodded and went to tell the rest of the hunting group

that she had gathered. The Island Hunting Patrol was

made up of ShimmerPad, DawnFlight, GaleStorm and

ColeHeart. ColeHeart guessed GaleStorm hadn't been

punished for trying to fly off the SkyRock, considering

he was on the patrol. Amber eyes glittering happily,

ColeHeart prranced over to the group, waving her tail

in greeting. ShimmerPad had just come back from

talking with WhisperWind. "Alright, so we are going

to be hunting along the river today." She meowed.

"Why not by the SkyRock?" DawnFlight asked.

"Because we don't want to have another accident."

ShimmerPad's eyes flicked to GaleStorm. The young

griffin narrowed his eyes angrily. DawnFlight nodded

in understanding. "Alright, if everyone is done talking,

we have a hunt to get on with." ShimmerPad padded

into the Stone Tunnel and waited on the other side

for the rest of the Island Hunting Patrol to follow.

ColeHeart moved in slowly on a deer. Glancing

across the clearing she saw the muscular golden

body of ShimmerPad, who was coming up behind

the deer. ColeHeart repeated the plan over and over

in her head. ShimmerPad would run after the deer

first, if it ran forward ColeHeart would leap at it. If it

ran to either side, GaleStorm or DawnFlight would

attack it. ColeHeart had agreed, seeing as it was

a good plan to catch a deer. She knew how fast

they could run and they were unpredictable as to

which way they would flee.

ColeHeart watched as ShimmerPad put one large

golden paw in front of the other, slipping through

the tall grass silently. The deer’s ears twisted back

as ShimmerPad stepped on a twig. ColeHeart held

her breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Soon enough, the deer went back to eating grass

and ColeHeart gave a sigh of relief. ShimmerPad

began to pad forward again, this time her eyes kept

flicking to the ground in front of her to make sure

there were no more twigs. ShimmerPad leaped out

from her grassy hiding place, she had gotten so close

to the deer that in one leap she could sink her claws

into the deer’s hindquarters. ColeHeart jumped forward

and dug her claws into the deer’s shoulders. ColeHeart

growled in frustration, every time she tried to bite into

the deer’s neck it kicked and swung its head around,

fighting as hard as it could to live. GaleStorm flew out

from the tree he was in and DawnFlight pelted into the

small clearing. the deer was tired, ColeHeart could tell

as she felt it swaying back and forth under the weight

of the while hunting group.

ColeHeart spotted her chance and she dove in,

sinking her large white teeth into the deer’s neck. The

deer looked around wildly before hitting the ground with a

loud thump. ColeHeart opened her jaws and released her

grip on the deer. ShimmerPad lay down, resting against

the deer’s brown-furred flank.

"That was harder than I thought it'd be." She panted.

"Its going to take a while to get it back to the camp. . .

and we haven't been out very long, so we should keep

hunting. But look for prey that will fit in your bag."

ColeHeart nodded at that, if they tried to take down

another deer they'd have to come back into the forest

to get it.

ColeHeart rose to her paws, after a little rest

she felt as energetic as she was when they had left.

"Anyone ready to start hunting again?" She asked.

ShimmerPad stood up, she still looked a little tired

but she still nodded. GaleStorm and DawnFlight were

the next to get up. "We have to cover the deer first or

some other creature might come and take it away."

ShimmerPad meowed. Biting into the back of the

Deer’s head, she started to pull it towards a bush.

After they had hidden the deer the Island Hunting

Patrol moved on further down the stream. ColeHeart

padded to the edge of stream and gazed into the

shining water. "We should try to catch some fish."

She suggested, glancing over her shoulder.

ShimmerPad looked at the stream for a moment

and then replied. "Okay, but your carrying them,

I don't want my prey bag smelling like fish."

GaleStorm came to stand at ColeHeart's side with

his foot in the air, ready to strike down and kill a fish

as it passed. ColeHeart had her muzzle close to the

water, using her own fish catching technique.

ColeHeart saw a shimmer in the water, she guessed

that GaleStorm saw it to. He scooped up the fish,

killing it was a kick from his hind paw.

"How many are we going to catch?" GaleStorm asked.

ColeHeart shrugged. "As many as we can, I guess."

-----------------

INFORMATION

Leaders den--Further into the den, shrubs grow, covering the entrance but can be pushed through. In the roof of the

den is a hole where the moonlight can shine through. There is also a hole in the floor which lets moonlight shine into the

StarSpeaker's Den. Nest is made of moss, feathers and grass.

StarSpeakers den--Brambles overhang the entrance further in. The den goes underground. A hole in the roof lets

moonlight shine through. Nests are made of fur, feathers, moss and dried grass.

StarFighters' den--Ivy hangs down further inside the den. Nests are made of moss, grass and feathers.

StarTrainers' den--Heather makes a wall further inside that can easily be pushed through. Nests are made of moss and feathers.

Nursery and Elders den--A stone seperates the underground dens. Nests are made of pulled out fur, feathers and moss.

SunStone--A stone covered in crystals that shines in the sunlight.

SkyRock--A small mountain on the edge of the island.

Ancient Stream--A stream which leads to the ocean that surrounds the island.

Ancient Oak--A giant oak that has been on the island since the beginning of the Pack.

Lunar Garden--A gathering place. A giant, luminescent mushroom stands in the clearing with many smaller mushrooms on either side of it.

Gorge--A large hole in the ground, it now has a stream running through it. If a creature were to fall into the gorge, they would die or be paralyzed, if they didn't land on one of the ledges that stick out.

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Leader--The leader of the Pack. Does not carry the title of "Star"

StarFighter--A fighter, a protector and a hunter.

StarTrainer--A young creature training to be a StarFighter or StarSpeaker.

StarSpeaker--A healer who uses herbs and magic to heal. Uses magic for other purposes as well.

Elders--Elderly creatures that can no longer fight or hunt.

NurseryMoth--The mother of a kit, cub, pup or hatchling.

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Curumbasa--The largest of the three islands. A large, lush green island inhabitated by a large pack of creatures.

Sisumebasa--The smallest of the islands. Believed to be inhabitated by a small amount of creatures. The land is covered by mountains & waterfalls and a few forests.

Himunbasa--A snowy island. Very few creatures live here.