The Nian Chronicles
Chapter Seven

Linae awoke from sleep while her barracks nest was still dark. Two other females slept in the nest with her, one snoring in little grunts, and the other mumbling in her sleep. They were both younger than her, and the snoring one was curled around a soft rabbit blanket.

So young, she thought, even though she was also too young had this been a normal year.

Visions of winged lizards danced in her head, visualized from illustrations in ancient books she had read in school and libraries since being chosen as a Dancer. She really didn’t want to be one. She was so dull despite Alaene’s compliment. She was still scared even though she had stood up to the council last night. She was not competent in battle like the skilled Dancers who had abandoned them.

Deep inside, she agreed that those were the ones who should be stepping up, not her and her companions sleeping nearby.

She sat up and crossed her legs, staring out the opened window at the dull gray just painting the eastern sky. Today she had to start looking for new tactical advancements even though she had no experience with military tactics.

She pondered the catapults, the netting and rocks they threw, and the archers shooting their tiny arrows. Nians were only a foot tall. The Lizia were several feet long with thin, tapered tails. How could such a tiny projectile, or even a warrior’s four inch sword, hurt them at all?

Linae eased to her feet and tiptoed to the entrance to avoid waking the others. She peeked out of the nest, then seeing no danger she stepped onto the ledge to study the forest. She didn’t know how the commander felt comfortable sleeping on tree branches in the open, but everyone knew about her strange behavior. What the commander didn’t know was that a guard stayed close by if she was ever spotted sleeping outside the safety of her nest.

The training area was deserted this early as Linae flew through the other barracks and the offices. She headed straight for the Archive nest where most written orders and the Histories were kept. That nest was three times as great as a general house or barracks nest, and every level was filled with scrolls kept from years past. If there was anything to replace on defenses, it would be in that nest.

Linae landed on the porch and stepped past the guard on duty, who had been told of her assignment. She entered the silent nest, looking for a candle. She could see in the dimness, but she would need light to read the parchments.

When she finally had one lit, she stared at the hundreds of scrolls she needed to read through, feeling her wings droop with the burden of her task. It would take years to research all this information, much too late to affect this year’s Dance.

She pulled a scroll off a shelf and skimmed its contents, replaceing only a list of initiates from the last Induction of Younglings. She re-rolled it and returned it to the shelf, following suit with the rest of the scrolls, being mindful to keep them separate from the ones she hadn’t touched. Ledgers of expenses; lists of armor, weapons, and tools; pay ranks; and commendation records followed the first scroll down the top row of shelves. She pulled the last few with delicate fingers, sorting through very aged parchments that crackled as she opened them. One fell apart in her hands, containing notations about the number and frequency of the previous Lizian raid and the casualties.

Linae winced at the steep number of deaths; 200 Dancers and 50 civilians. She bit her trembling lips, worried that this raid would produce at least the same amount with so many Dancers abandoning the village. A tear trickled down her cheek as she unrolled the last parchment in relatively good condition, but she blinked her eyes and frowned at the unfamiliar sketches and annotations on the page. She placed rock holders on the corners to keep the paper open as she studied the markings to understand what they were.

Linae’s wings quivered as her heart sped up. She traced the faded words to be sure she was reading them correctly then let out a soft wail, “I found it! I found a solution!”

She glanced up as a beam of sunlight spilled past the door frame and hit the table, illuminating the inventor’s drawing. A clash of swords echoed through the forest, and she realized she was late for practice; even later for meeting with Alaene! She turned to the table, terrified that this parchment would disappear before she could return. With great care she closed the door behind her and turned to the guard.

“Please, do not let anyone disturb the Archives until I bring Commander here. I found something she needs to see, but it’s too fragile to move.”

He nodded with a frown, and Linae hurried to the other side of the training ground, searching out Alaene’s nest. That home was empty, so she flew back to her barracks office nest. She had to be there, and knowing the commander, she had probably slept overnight. The drawings hung like a specter in her mind, giving speed to her flight. This discovery could change the entire battle against the Lizia.

She twirled in mid-flight as a guard yelled out a warning. Nians of all colors buzzed around the north edge of the practice clearing as lumbering shadows moved among the edges of the trees. One of those shadows stepped into the dappled sunlight glinting though the forest, and Linae breathed out in wonder.

Dancers encircled the creature, but it only flapped its tail or shook its huge rack of antlers as if they were no more menacing than a swarm of flies. Several more animals followed the first, eagerly ripping at the grass in the meadow. Their teeth ground like rocks as they chewed, and Linae shuddered, glad these animals were herbivores.

“Leave them be!” Ramal commanded, buzzing around the forces. “Someone get the commander.”

“I will!′ Linae shouted and waved. “I was on my way to see her anyway!”

She turned and zoomed straight for the office nest, her heart pounding in her chest. The grazers and predators always came first, and the Lizia followed soon after.

Alaene woke to a frantic jangling of her office bell.

“Commander!” Youngling Linae called from the floor above her in the nest. “There are new animals in the meadow and forest! Come and see!”

Alaene jumped up in alarm. Not even bothering with her appearance she leaped through the hole between the two floors of the office nest. Linae danced eagerly on the porch, her head turned away from Alaene.

At the entrance of the nest she froze next to the younger female and stared at the four footed animals under the barracks nests. Similar to deer but much taller and with a larger rack of antlers, their powerful teeth devoured every green plant in sight. Gaunt ribs and hips protruded through slack, brown-furred skin.

“What are they?” Alaene asked.

“Elk,” Linae answered. “They come from very far north. Their grazing lands must have dried up.”

Sergeant Ramal noticed them and hurried over to Alaene. “What are your orders concerning these animals?”

“Have they damaged anything in the village?”

“No,” Ramal replied. “The nests are too high for them to reach, but there’s not much left of the meadow!”

“So much for gathering more food,” Alaene sighed. “They’re just hungry. Tell everyone to stay away from them, and I’m sure they’ll move on in a while. How are the food supplies at the shelter?”

“We have enough to provide for everyone in the village for a month.”

Alaene tapped her fingers on the side of the nest. “Try to get enough for two months, if you can, just to be on the safe side.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Linae nearly bounced as she watched the grazers moving through the forest. “This must be another reason the Nia haven’t migrated farther north into the grasslands. It’s too hard to replace food after these go through.”

Alaene snickered. “Yes, but I now see why we hang our nests so high in the trees.” Finally noticing the burning sun, she rubbed her arms and looked to the clear blue sky without a hint of clouds in any direction. “It’s going to be hot today,” she muttered.

After refreshing herself and getting a bite to eat, she and Linae began their daily tour. The Younglings were training, and Linae joined them. The youth were putting their whole hearts into training, and she was proud of them. She only hoped they didn’t lose any in the coming battle.

Linae returned after training on the verge of tears. “I can’t do this!” she wailed. “I’m too slow!”

Alaene touched her shoulder. “It’s alright, Linae. Just do the best you can. Knowing the drills will help you not panic and think clearer in battle.”

Linae lowered her eyes. “Commander, I just. . .” she started then faltered. “I’m scared! The Lizia are twice to three times as big as the Nia! How do any of us stand a chance?”

“Because,” Alaene explained, “they are just animals looking for food. We are sentient beings, capable of planning and thinking and strategizing to survive.”

Linae shivered and gripped herself. “But thousands of Lizia come! They Histories say they make the sky black.”

Alaene inhaled to calm herself. Thinking about it made her want to panic, but she had to keep a clear head in order to keep everyone else calm. “We have a thousand Dancers who have not abandoned the village. Those that have left may come back when they see the danger.”

“What if they just run away?”

Alaene stared in the direction of the new colony, her heart clenching for Zabor. “If they take to the skies and run, the Lizia will still chase them and not the families, which will serve us almost the same as if they stayed to fight.”

“But they might get eaten!”

Alaene shivered as she remembered a similar conversation with Talek. What had he said? “That’s a risk all the Dancers face, Linae. We know that. Better us than the old ones or the Hatchlings. Sacrifices will always be made when Dancers stand up to protect their people. I wish it wasn’t so. Just be glad it only happens every few centuries.”

Please let Zabor not get eaten! Alaene thought as she looked around the forest. Most of the herd animals had moved through, but the vegetation from their head level down had been trampled or devoured. It was going to be a long summer.

The Elk had bypassed the shelter caves, but even there people buzzed about the strange animals. “If the grazers are here,” Kimar warned, “so will be the predators. Be aware of your surroundings and don’t go anywhere alone. Stay together in groups and post a guard.”

Alaene looked around in trepidation. She had already met an eagle and a bobcat; she had no desire to meet any others. “What kind of predators do the histories talk about?” she asked Linae.

“Eagles, wolves, bobcats, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, hawks . . .”

“Oh!” Alaene gasped and shook her head. “And to think I was only worried about the Lizia!”

“They’re the worst. The others are infrequent enough and easy to avoid by staying out of reach or out of sight; but the Lizia can fly, so they hunt us out more easily.”

Alaene nodded. “That is why we have the shelters. They can’t get into them. They’re too big.”

Linae brightened. “And speaking of which, I think I found something last night at the archives that I'd never heard of! I forgot about it with the elk passing through.”

Alaene put up her hand and motioned for Linae to follow her. “We will talk about it in the Archives.”

There wasn’t any need to get people worked up about something until Alaene knew it would work.

When they entered the ancient Archive, Linae pointed to a yellowed scroll laid out on the table. “This information is about five hundred years old but has been put away this whole time.”

“What is it?” Alaene asked.

Linae touched the notes on the parchment spread on the desk. “It seems when this parchment was made, the Nian scholars had noticed the weather changing less frequently. They had more time on their hands, and an inventor planned a new weapon. His notes indicated that he intended to build a test model, but for some reason never did. I’m assuming the plans were stored here until he could finish it. No mention of it has been made since.”

“What was it called?” Alaene asked.

“A spear launcher!”

Alaene stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

“It was designed like a catapult,” Linae continued. “But with an advantage. A catapult throws a rock, which arches up and down.” Linae gestured in an arch with her arm. “You can’t aim to hit a specific target, just a general area. The Lizia are fast and can evade rocks if they see them coming.

“A spear launcher, on the other hand, can shoot a spear at a specific target like an arrow but stronger and with more accuracy. The Lizia have tough hides, but they have weak spots in the eye and under the neck. A spear with a sharp point thrown by one of these machines could easily kill a Lizia without much trouble.”

“Why on earth weren’t they put into action, then!?” Alaene demanded.

“I haven’t found out, yet,” Linae said. “By the date on this scroll, the inventor had died by the next attack and his manuscript filed away. No one remembered, apparently. Or maybe no one knew about it.”

Alaene scanned the ancient script on the scroll. The launchers were light, easy to build and assemble, and the spears were easy to make in large quantities. Their solid metal points could easily penetrate the hide of the Lizia.

“And all this time this treasure was buried right here in the office!” Alaene dashed to the opening. “Sergeant Ramal!” she bellowed. “Come at once!”

The sergeant flew as fast as he could. “Commander, what--”

“Look! Look what Linae found!”

Ramal read the manuscript, his eyes bulging. “Do you know what this means?” he gasped.

Now Alaene was bouncing. “We have a new weapon to replace the Dancers who have abandoned us! I want work started on these immediately! And when you have one built and ready to test, I want to be there for it!”

“Yes, ma’am!” he assured, and exited with the delicate papers.

Alaene turned and hugged Linae. “You are gold!” she praised. “You see? You do have value.”

Linae blushed. “I didn’t invent them!”

“No, but you found the scroll. That’s just as good, as far as I’m concerned!”

Linae smiled. “Thank you, Commander.”

Alaene dismissed the girl for lunch and flopped into her desk chair. Finally, she was beginning to think they might have a chance, after all.