Tsalinai Woods

"Tsalinai Woods was an enchanted forest, hidden in one of the last wild places.

A stream, with water up to a human's knees, running over brown pebbles, wound through the woods, and glowed a pale blue at night. Crystals of all colors grew along the stream's banks.

The trees were more ancient and wild than any others, and bore moon-fruit that made the juiciest orange seem dry and the softest pear seem hard.

This place was inhabited by fox-like creatures known as tsalinai, after which the forest was named. A tsalinos resembled a normal fox, but the main difference was color. A fox had a reddish coat, pointy ears, and short, fluffy fur.

A tsalinos, however, had long and silky fur the color of the sky, and the ears could be either large and pointed or long and droopy, the latter like a dog the humans call an Afghan Hound. In sharp contrast to foxes, tsalinai had seven quite foxy tails with the trademark long, silky blue fur, except the rounded tips, which were yellow in females and red in males. They had long, dark blue legs, and serrated claws that ended in sharp points.

And most importantly, tsalinai were born with the gift to speak to all animals, even humans. Some even claimed to have communicated with plants. These blue foxes also posessed magic. Not as much as a seasoned mage, but enough to cast protective barriers on forbidden parts of the forest, and to enchant vines into making domes for housing.

These fox-creatures ensured all was in harmony in their woods, so hunters, loggers and the like were not tolerated. No ill-meaning human had ever entered the woods and come out in one piece. The tsalinai made sure of that. Under their rule, the forest was a safe and prosperous place.

Was. Past tense.

Several months ago, strange things had begun to happen. Magical barriers had begun to weaken, allowing humans through. The tsalinai's magic had become weaker, making it harder for them to banish intruders. The Jeweled Stream's waters turned poisonous and stopped glowing. The trees were afflicted by mold. Many moon-fruits blackened and withered every day. The vine domes that the tsalinai grew rotted.

But tsalinai were suffering from more than just weakened magic. A disease known as Shadecough, strange as it was terrible, was taking hold.

When afflicted with Shadecough, a tsalinos' long fur would turn ragged and darken in color until it became black. The tail-tips, regardless of gender, turned blood red. All this was accompanied by a fever and stages where the tsalinos would appear to not recognize even family, and spout cryptic warnings such as " The dark pearl is taking hold.... run, tsalinai, before the pearl claims you too...... RUN!" When the sick tsalinos, or the Shaded, woke up, all trace of the spasm was gone, replaced by fever and difficulty moving. Symptoms would worsen, until the tsalinos went into delirium again, this time with red eyes and black acid dripping from the mouth. In the final spasm there were no cryptic warnings, only an urge to attack all those in the diseased one's line of sight and a lot of strength. The sick tsalinos would fight their way out of where they were, and run away, never coming back. There was no cure.

Shadecough spread of it's own accord- tsalinai seemed to catch it at random. No one knew who would be next.

Eventually it had been determined that the "dark pearl" was the source of the illness, and if it could be found and destroyed, Shadecough (and whatever was happening to the forest) could be cured.

Many tsalinos trackers had tried to get to the heart of the forest, where all sick tsalinai went during their final spasm. None came back. They died trying or joined the ranks of the Shaded.

Alarii, a young female tsalinos, had made it to the heart of the forest, and was standing in front of a nightmare. A black tsalinos larger than any she had seen was standing on a dais, staring at a glowing black orb the size of Alarii's head.

Around the large tsalinos, hundreds of Shaded prowled, dripping their deadly acid on the ground below, making it blackened and withered. Alarii had to get to the dark pearl and shatter it, or bit by bit all tsalinai would adopt the soulless eyes and black pelt of the Shaded.

The only question was how.

Alarii had heard tales of the power of the Shaded --- how one had felled a tree by swatting it with his tail, how their black acid could burn through stone. It was suicide to fight one. But she had to, or every tsalinos would fall under the control of the Shaded Emperor and his thrice-cursed pearl.

She had an idea. All Shaded had one key weakness. They loved withered moon-fruit. Alarii pushed at the nearest tree with all her might, until it fell and all the withered fruits broke on contact with the ground, releasing their odor.

At once, hundreds of Shaded turned their heads to their emperor. The Shaded King laid a paw on his pearl and gave the command:

- Feast, subjects!

As one, the Shaded ran at the fallen tree, moving with that eerie synchronization that marked them as under the control of the emperor --- playthings without free will. As soon as the Shaded were distracted, Alarii leapt onto the dais, and before the Shaded Emperor could react, or command his army to do anything, she knocked the pearl down. It fell and shattered. The Shaded turned back into normal tsalinai, and the moon-fruit regained its color and sweet smell. All that remained of the emperor was fine black dust.

Shadecough was vanquished at last."

The mother fox finished her tale and looked fondly at her little cubs as they slept, dreaming of magic forests and brave tsalinai. And who knows?

Maybe the mother fox's story was more than a fairy tale.........