Sohum's Stories

Once upon a time, in a faraway, cold, barren tundra now known as Canada, there was a kingdom where most animals lived in peace. In this frozen expanse lived a moose named Moeric, a content and strong creature with sturdy horns and long legs. 

The Animal Council ruled over the Animal Kingdom, consisting of mythical creatures such as unicorns, pegasuses, dragons, centaurs, and phoenixes. This kingdom was the origin of all animals before they spread out across Earth. All animals in the Animal Kingdom were peaceful, but sometimes the most dangerous ones were sent out into the forest, which was outside the safety of the Animal Kingdom’s walls. Those animals were not friendly. 

One day, a worker at the water source for the kingdom, named Bernie, noticed that the supply was starting to get low. At first, the Animal Council dismissed it as a fluke, but after a couple days, when the numbers didn’t go back up, the Council could no longer ignore it. At this point, the supply was nearly depleted.

After much arguement, the Council decided on a competition. They chose their smartest and strongest animals – Moeric, a moose; Volkar, a wolf; Beavie, a beaver; and Anthel, an ant.

The rules were simple. The four would be sent out of the kingdom into the forest – the first time animals had been allowed out of the kingdom in hundreds of years. They will hunt for water and document the location.

The one who finds water shall be honored above all others, becoming an idol to their kingdom. They will dominate as the ruler of the council, leaving ordinary life behind. The losers, however, will be cast out from the kingdom forever.

“The future of the kingdom rests on your shoulders.”

Beavie was nervous. “Oh god… Oh god… This can’t be happening… I’m not ready, I can’t… I have to… But, the others…”

Anthel was calm. Under his breath, he joked “well, who would’ve known…”

Volkar was full of pride. “Ha! Well, when I get to be king of the animals…”

And Moeric?

He was in silent, in complete shock.

Moeric was restless that night. He climbed down to the river to think, before surveying his opponents aloud. 

“Volkar is one of the fastest of all the animals. He is clever and cunning, but loses his temper easily and is very egotistical. Beavie has robust teeth and is nimble, quick, and resourceful. Anthel is profitable in food, but he doesn’t have any noticable features. Hmm… he must’ve bribed the Animal Council into letting him enter the challenge in hopes of glory.” Moose sighed. “And the wild animals have probably gone mad due to being enraged at the council after being cast out.” 

As Moeric weighed his options, he heard a calm, female voice.

“what is the matter, little one?” asked the voice. 

“W-who are you?” stammered Moeric. 

“don’t you recognize your own mother? i am the moon god, of course!” the Moon exclamed. 

“Oh!” exclaimed Moeric. You see, back then, the animals worshipped the Moon as the creator of all. “Moon God, I am scared. The Council of Animals will send me into the wilderness tomorrow to find water. They will never let me back in if I don’t find water.” 

“don’t worry, my child. i will grant you a gift to keep you from harm. it is called a dewlap. just go to bed. i will do the rest.” 

Moeric climbed up the hill into his bed. He slept until the next morning when he awoke to find a small sack underneath his chin. When he felt it, he could feel something was inside, (some sort of liquid? maybe multiple solid objects?) but he couldn’t tell what it was. 

The Animal Council rounded everyone up for a final breakfast at a long wooden table. The plates were full of multiple delicious meals, catered to each contestant’s favorite foods. But everyone was too full of nerves to eat, let alone speak. Aside from one. Volkar.

“Well, you losers” – chomp – “don’t have to worry!” assured Volkar, with food flying out of his mouth. “In fact, you don’t even need to try! I’m gonna” – snarf – “I’m gonna win this within an hour!”

“Shut up, wolf.”

“Aww, screw you, Anthel. What, you’re too scared?”

Anthel didn’t respond. Smart, Moeric thought, best not to engage.

A gong sounded. It was time to leave.

At the walls, the families of the contestants waited, waving goodbye. Moeric, living alone, just studies the other’s families.

The Beavers were all hugging each other, most of them bawling.

The Ants seemed to be strategizing.

The Wolves gazed at Volkar icily. Volkar whimpered.

Then the gates began to open. Gongs sounded.

The forest was breathtaking! Lush trees and green bushes coated the ground. But there was no time for sightseeing.

Moeric quickly separated from the others. Who knows what they may do to win…?

As Moeric ran, looking for a clean, sustainable source of water, he tripped over a mushroom. Scratch that, a small mushroom house growing in a tree. This was a clear sign of Gnomes living here. Gnomes had been sent out a long time ago. No matter how cute and cuddly they looked, under the fluffy coating was a vicious demeanor. 

Moeric needed to run or the Gnomes would attack. He ran, but he wasn’t fast enough. A Gnome came out of the house and started yelling very aggressively while doing jumping jacks. It started running after Moeric. 

You may not know this, but Gnomes are unusually fast, and the gnome caught up to Moeric quickly. It opened its mouth and bared its vicious teeth. Moeric’s dewlap tingled. Elsewhere, a certain Beaver felt something stir in her brain. The Gnome closed its jaw, and…

“Beavie?!” cried Moeric. Beavie gnawed at the gnome, leaving his arms ruptured and his ability to do jumping jacks deformed. Beavie had saved Moeric from harm!

Beavie and Moeric continued looking together for water until they found a cave. Since caves often have water inside, they decided to check the interior.

Rocks and stalagmites coated the walls, ceiling, and floor. Moeric saw many kinds of rocks, such as diorite, gravel, and plain old stone.

“Beavie, I guess there’s nothing he-“

Suddenly, Moeric caught the shadows move in his peripheral.

“I think… I think we should leave. Now.”

“I agree, Moeric.”

Suddenly, a diabolical hydra named Hydrak had sunk her fangs deep into Beavie’s flesh.

“GAAH!” Beavie cried. Tears trickled down her face. “Moeric… RUN!”

Hydras were the first to be cast out. The breath – and bite – of a Hydra is highly poisonous, and even the stench of its body odor is likely to sicken you for at least a week, or in serious cases can kill you.

Moeric and Beavie knew this, and they held their breath for as long as they could. Hoisting Beaver onto his back, Moeric ran, just as Beavie had suggested.

Hydrak lunged at them once again.

Beavie shrieked: “MOERIC! FASTER!” Suddenly, the walls started shaking!

“Beavie! Keep yelling! I have a plan…”

Beavie did as commanded.

The walls trembled.

“You foolsssss…! The cave will collapssssse on usssss both!!!”

Although his legs felt like they were on fire, Moeric seemed to find another gear and picked up the pace. His dewlap burned like hell.

The rocks and stalactites fell from the ceiling. One fell on the hydra’s long body and captured it in place.

“You will regret thissssss, moosssssse!” she rasped. Although it was a massive dragon with seven heads, Hydrak was now stuck in its place. Moeric jumped out of the cave with seconds to spare as the walls fell upon itself.

“That” – gasp – “was a close one,” panted Moeric.

Moeric put Beavie back on his back. Moeric kept walking, this time much slower, because he felt very fatigued. They were both starving. Moeric’s ribs were starting to show; he hadn’t eaten a single thing since the challenge started. We need to find somewhere to sleep; it‘s nearing night. I wish there was a patch of grass or a nice clearing for us to rest on… Suddenly, he heard a voice:

“…and how much can i get for twenty…”

Moeric hid behind a tree. Slowly, he peeked out: He saw Anthel making a deal with a phoenix! He was exchanging money for food.

Anthel, seemingly satisfied, walked away, whistling, with fruits and bread in hand. Moeric could feel a slight tingling in his dewlap.

He CANNOT see us… we need to report this to-

“Oh my.” Anthel had caught the two behind the tree as he was frolicking away from his. “You two look like a hungry bunch. Here.” He tossed a loaf of bread over to Moeric.

“Th… Thank…”

“No need. Just… don’t tell anyone what you saw. Please.” And then Anthel was gone.

Moeric decided to just rest then and there. He rested Beavie against the tree and lowered himself to the ground, before gazing up at the Moon and thanking it for keeping him from harm. He kept Beavie near him so Beavie could stay safe.

He needed to sleep. It had to be a quick one, because he could already see the poison of Hydrak running its effects on Beavie. Maybe just fifteen min-

… 3 HOURS LATER…

Moeric woke up to see a half-bull, half-human abomination. He recognized it as Minoskar, who is a minotaur, a centaur’s much more dangerous brother.

Minoskar gazed at them, with his mouth full of grass, before squinting his eyes and yelling, “GET OUT OF MY CLEARING!”

Minoskar charged at them, enraged and hangry, with a mouth full of plants and a mind full of profanities. 

Moeric ran for his life, with Beavie on his back, who was riding for her life. They were frightened. They feared for the future of the kingdom. His dewlap scorched.

Out of the blue, Beavie yelled “WATCH OUT, MOERIC!”

Suddenly, Moeric stumbled on a ditch! He fell, hitting roots that stuck out from the walls, or rocks fastened in the mud. Wait- MUD!

Moeric quickly brought himself up, with Beavie riding shotgun, and looked around.

“WATER!”

The large pond, in fact, not much smaller than a lake, looked like liquid heaven to Moeric. He smiled from ear to… er, antler to antler.

“Beavie! We found water!”

Beavie, still injured, muttered – or, to be more accurate, tried to – “nice one” before falling back into her deep sleep.

Quickly, Moeric jotted down the location of the pond onto his parchment. Then, they rushed to get back to the Kingdom

But they were lost. Moeric kept running in hopes of salvation.

“RAAAAGH!” Minoskar had finally caught up to them. Moeric ran faster until he heard a shriek below his feet.

He had almost stepped on Anthel, who had paid somebody for a map of the wilderness.

Anthel was also running, but unlike Moeric and Beavie, Anthel was running from Volkar. Volkar was chasing after Anthel to try and get the map from Anthel by any means possible. 

Anthel crawled up Moeric’s leg. “Go, moose!”

Moeric dashed as swiftly as he could, with two animals on his back – Beavie and Anthel. Volkar chased after. Moeric could feel the now-familiar sensation return to his dewlap.

“You stupid moose! Why are you-“

“LEMME IN THE KIN’NOM!!!”

“Oh.” Volkar did a double take. “TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!”

Volkar joined the party and ran. Moeric thought he could see… The walls!

When the animals returned, the guards quickly stopped Minoskar from getting in. Minoskar’s rage was only contained by the walls of the Animal Kingdom, as he pounded, fist after fist, on the stone walls.

The Council collected the subjects together to ask who found the water. 

Moeric didn’t confess that he had discovered a water source because it meant saying goodbye to his new friend, Beavie.

Beavie stared at him blankly, with a dead look on her face. Suddenly, Moeric’s dewlap throbbed.

“Moeric did,” wheezed Beavie.

There was a silence. But then Anthel broke it.

“Well, would’ja look at that. The moose found water.”

Moeric was silent, already understanding what this meant.

Anthel quietly laughed to himself. He was either in shock, or he genuinely just found the situation funny.

Beavie remained silent. Moeric thought she was simply exhausted. The others thought the same. Nobody realized Hydrak’s poison had already finished its work. Beavie was gone.

But Volkar was enraged. All he had ever worked for his entire life was being thrown away with those two words.

“NO!” Volkar cried. “This can’t be happening!” Tears filled his eyes. “My parents were supposed to…” he coughed them back, regaining his composure, before rage quickly filled his face once again. “I was supposed to find the water! Not that STUPID MOOSE!”

Volkar, now maddened, saw red and was blinded with rage. Unbeknownst to Volkar, he had swiped his claws at Moeric’s face, although due to being blind, he had missed and instead hit Moeric’s dewlap. Bright, burning stars leaked out and spread across the night sky. The once glorious sack was now just a little flap of skin under his chin.

From then on, the course of the universe was never the same.

Many argued over whether Volkar’s attack had been justified. Old rivalries resurfaced. Friends accused friends, and trust dissolved.

The Council of Animals fought greatly against the cast-outs, and they all became extinct, although many lost their lives in the process. This is why legends of unicorns and other mythical creatures exist.

Anthel and Volkar were banished.

Anthel recruited his fellow ants and they started a new kingdom, named the Colony, where Anthel reigned as the king, though eventually his daughter overthrew him and the Colony became a gynarchy.

Volkar did the same, but without the resources that the ants had, were forced to only be a “pack” instead of a kingdom.

Both groups ended up splitting into multiple colonies and packs.

Moeric always blamed himself for the outcomes of the other contestants. He believed that if he had never found the water, Beavie would still be alive, Anthel would still have a home, and Volkar would still have a family. The guilt weighed on him heavily, and though he wore a crown upon his head, his heart remained burdened.

Beavie was planned to have a grand funeral. But on the day of the funeral, the casket was empty.

Eventually the Animal Kingdom fell. But the dead kingdom’s name remained… in a different way.

Volkar’s wolf pack howls at the Moon. We can’t speak their language, but, if translated, you will hear them ask the Moon God to help them fix their amends and for the once glorious Animal Kingdom to return.

And Moeric?

He was crowned king of the animals.

And then he brought that very kingdom to ruin.

THE END…?