The towns of Larylia bordered a humid jungle. Trees taller than castles, and thicker than a carriage, with a cornucopia of exotic plants and fungus growing at their base. The air smelled far different from the usual forest. The heavy moisture seemed to enhance the aromas of the plant and wildlife. Aurelia enjoyed the experience immensely, as did her future husband Zinjo.
The pair hadn't intended on making a foray into the jungle, but the attack of man-made magical creatures made them answer the call of action. Aurelia secretly admitted the usual socialite itinerary no longer held much interest for her. After her trek across the kingdoms near Shadowfen, what could a tea party possibly provide? Zinjo used his partisan like a walking stick and strode shoulder to shoulder next to Aurelia, "Tiberius is growing more and more agitated the further into the jungle we go. He knows more than he is telling." Her hDeep in the rainforest of Larylia, a seaside kingdom a plan is being hatched. Thanks to the order of the Gentle Tower, an organization dedicated to creating animal hybrids to serve the occupants of Larylia. Like all things wrought by human hands, the Order survived long enough to lose control of their creations. Unlike most humans, the Order continued their horrid experiments in a secret location. All of this went through Auerlia's mind as she watched Zinjo gather up flowers and other items with an unsavory smell. A soldier volunteered a helmet to help brew vile concoction over a flame. Aurelia held her nose, against the paint peeling odor, "I'll assume there is a point to this vile brew your making?" Zinjo grinned and threw some berries into the helmet, "Back home we use stink beetles to confuse the senses of snakes and lizards, we use a special stone to, extract the poison of such animals, and use them for hunti
Back in Larylia, a group of warriors returns from the jungle just beyond their own. The dark cloud of defeat released a bitter rain. It soured them on the man, but not the woman. Aurelia believed they could stop the sword beasts, but needed a new tactic. She saw the despair in the faces of the men and shook her head. Time was of the essence at least for Aurelia and Zinjo it was, in four days they would leave. Aurelia hated to leave anything unfinished or undone. Aurelia jumped on the edge of a gorgeous marble fountain in the center of town. She donned the mental Catsuit in her mind and became the lioness. Her tail swished back and forth, and she roared loud enough to have people come out of their homes. She remembered how horrible the hopelessness felt, and what it was like to be sorrow's companion. She refuses to give into it any longer. "Are you guys done?" Aurelia asked in a voice that mocked them. Zinjo b
The morning proved to be fruitful in the ideas department. Tiberius had taken them to a warehouse where he stood next to a barrel, "I present to you our valiant steed to victory," Zinjo and Aurelia crossed their arms, and the guard captain's face fell. "How is a barrel going to secure victory?" Zinjo asked in a dubious tone. He sniffed the barrel and balked, "This is worse than my stink bombs." He backed away from the barrel and hid behind Aurelia. "The stick proved to be an effective weapon, but I felt we could do better." He motioned them to the practice yard; he whistled and the men formed up around him. "Henshaw, a demonstration please." Henshaw drew back a curious arrow with a round bulbous tip. The sharp twinge of the bowstring drew everyone's attention to the target and the other end of the field. A loud band and the target were blown to the underworld. "We spent most of the ni
Dawn came to the small Kingdom of Larylia. A lot is on the line today, the very future of the kingdom to be exact. Aurelia kissed the naked form of Zinjo awake, "It is too early to be awake, dark princess. Come back to bed, I have something more interesting than fighting monsters in mind." Aurelia giggled and straddled him, "I would love to stay in bed all day with you, but promises were made and as a ruler, you will be expected to keep your promises." She kissed him and reached for the lacy undergarments. "I suppose we should make an appearance," Zinjo said glumly as he pulled the loincloth over his treasured possession. The sight of it fueled Aurelia's imagination for a brief ten seconds. She shook her head and began to buckle the armor on. "Do you think we'll win?" Zinjo frowned and adjusted his shoulder guard. "I hope so. These people deserve a reprieve from the terr
After the last two adventures in the jungle, Aurelia was quite sick of the thick groups of plants that grew by the minute. Even with the map, it took forever just to make a little progress, or at least that is the way it seemed to Aurelia. Zinjo studied the paper and twirled it around, “I understand the usefulness of this paper but how does one read it?” He flipped it around a couple more times, and Aurelia giggled and turned it around to the correct position. “You see the arrows with letters, each one represents a direction. North is the guide,” Aurelia pointed to the map, “We were here next to the swamps yesterday, and it says here the order of the Gentle Tower wasn't too much farther away.” &nbs
As stated before the people of Larylia were known for their high fashion designs. In all the ruins Aurelia and Zinjo explored all they found were crates of perfectly preserved clothing. They found twenty crates and brought Gael to examine their find. He frowned and then looked in the crates held up a gown and ran his hand down the fabric. He smiled and threw his bandana in the air, “Larylian clothing is big with the royalty of the world. People still talk about the pageantry and the designer wars.” He paused and shot a shrewd look in their direction, “You need more time don't you?” “The mission has a complication,” Aurelia said in a weak tone. The cracked lips of Gael curved upward, “Do
The twisted humans formed a circle around the cage of the Al' Miraj, they shrieked and chittered around it with maniacal fervor. The man known as Isaac Harbinger pointed to Aurelia and ran his thumb across his throat. It spurned the grotesque assembly on. “Today I will fulfill the promise I made to you people all those years ago. Today we will become as we were meant to be. No longer will you have to live with your twisted limbs and half transformations. Today we will ascend, today our reign begins.” The familiar tickle of Zinjo's breath caused Aurelia to squirm, “What?” she asked in a testy tone. “I have a feeling this man is more sinister than we initially thought.” He massaged her shoulders, “He
As vicious as the Al' Miraj could be, a childlike innocence also presented itself once it was on the boat. It sniffed everything and everyone, it decided at first meeting who it liked and who it didn't like. It seemed to like Gael an awful lot. As soon as it saw the veteran sailor it refused to leave his side. “I have a ship to run. I don't have time to babysit a feral animal..gah” Gael started to speak until he turned and saw the Al' Miraj perched on his shoulder. “By the rolling waves of Lemuria, what is this creature's interest in me?” Zinjo paced around Gael and studied the Al' Miraj, “I think it is an omen we cannot ignore. Despite its animal appearance the Al' Miraj is a divine creature. Why it chose you I cannot say. Keep an eye on it, and never forget such creatures do