Wolf Kingdom

While we take a break from the Lore of ZooKazoo, it is my great pleasure to begin to share the first and second chapters of a story being written by one of you! Congratulations to "Alexandra" for being our first contributing novelist! I hope you all enjoy the beginning of "Wolf Kingdom."

Chapter One..

My ears twitched backwards to better catch the sound of the rustling leaves in the bush behind me. A low growl built in my throat. At that precise moment the creature soared out of the bushes. I whirled around letting out a feral snarl. I lunged at the creature, my jaws wide open and dangerous. I saw the glint of it's eyes as I lunged. Suddenly they were no longer glints. They were bright lights that blinded me and I swerved off course landing in a pile of dead pine needles. What was that? But I had no time to ponder, the creature was still there. I sucked in a breath preparing to call the rest of the pack when I heard a low familiar voice in my ear. "Getting a little tense there Tecumshi?" she teased. 

"Huh?" I mumbled. I stupidly turned around to see my best friend Deaidre. If wolves could blush, I would look like a ripe strawberry right now, I thought. She laughed lightly at my expression. "What was that?" I asked remembering the bright lights that threw me off in the first place. 

"What?" she asked confused.

"That thing with your eyes," I explained.

"Oh," she looked uncomfortable. "That was a...um... Oh, I've got to go right now. I've got a message for Tom," she said quickly maneuvering out of the question. She still looked uncomfortable.

"OK, but I'm not going to forget this," I said warningly. 

"OK," she said hurriedly and darted into the trees.

I shook my head. "She is something different," I mumbled to myself. Then I slunk back to the den.

"Where were you? I sent four of your brothers to find you an hour ago," the male Alfa wolf, Daniel, demanded as soon as he saw my grey hide through the trees. 

"Sorry, I met Deaidre on the way home and stopped to talk," I said.

"Do you like Deaidre?" he asked teasingly but with unconcealed curiosity in his voice. 

"Erm... sort of ... I guess," I said sheepishly and ducking my head, embarrassed.

"Aha!" he howled with laughter. 

"What?" I asked confused by his answer.

"I finally embarrassed you," he said still chortling. 

"Yay. You finally embarrassed Tecumshi, what a great accomplishment," I said rolling my eyes.

The female Alfa wolf, Tanya, growled at the biting sarcasm in my words. "It's ok Tanya," Danile said to calm her.

I threw him a grateful glance before shooting out of the cave opening to hunt.

The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 16

Day 16 -- Our band of champions has set off to stop the destruction of Jungaloo by the evil Elf, Silvercurst. It is a strange band, indeed: A Kazoobian Princess with suction cups on the ends of her fingers and toes, an enormous tiger that can change in an instant to a harmless kitten, an apple core with amazing powers, a true warrior monkey who is one of the King's fighting favorites, and the very mysterious Daywalker -- invisible by day and winged goddess by night. Does Silercurst even stand a chance?

Today, the group has moved as quickly as they can through a very dense jungle and climbed steadily upward on a path that takes the above the lake, higher and higher, out of the jungle, through a woods, and finally on a bald trail that approaches the great gate at the ancient and very old bridge that stretches over a very deep chasm. Below the bridge and far, far down, the Evan River flows out of the lake in a treacherous rapids.

The great gate is closed, but our merry band can hear hundreds, if not thousands of feet crossing the old bridge and approaching the gate from the other side.

Your job, dear readers, is to tell me who that pack of people are on the other side of the gate and what happens when the gate flies open. It's time for action, what do you imagine? If it's trouble, how do our heroes escape and go onto complete their quest? If it's an army of the evil Silvercurst's minions, what are they like? You have already met his swarms of Dragoon Flies. They were, seriously, bad, bad, bad -- poisoned darts and all.

Just click the "Comment" button and tell me what you think. Remember to only type about 4 lines of text in one comment. But you can send as many comments as you want. I would like to give you credit for your contributions to the "Lore of Zookazoo," so don't forget to sign your Zelf's name on your comments!

One of you wanted to send us your own story. Please, Please Do! I'd love to read it and maybe publish it in ZooKazoo. You can send a whole story to us by email at Story@ZooKazoo.com.

Thanks, gang. I can hardly wait to see what you come up with!

The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 15

Hi, readers of The Lore of ZooKazoo. I apologize for taking so long to get to Day 15. It was raining and gray this week and sometimes that makes it hard for me to work on the story. But here we go. After Day 15, I'm really going to need your help and advice, so please come back and be sure to see what I leave for Day 16 on Tuesday. Here we go. . . 

Day 15

"The thing was smiling!" grimaced Growler. "It was grinning its evil smirk at me! All I could feel was the terror and blistering heat of the flames that Silvercurst was spreading through the jungle. Nothing was stopping him and," Growler choked and caught himself holding back tears of dread, "and, and all I could do was run. Run? How am I ever going to stop Silvercurst?" He was embarrassed showing his fear and weakness to the others this way, but he could not hold back his emotions.

"This is always the way my dream ends. It begins with the beautiful tigress and I feel so happy to see her, but then I end up terrified when Silvercurst appears. I know I have to stop this from happening, but this dream is confusing. I don't know what I'm supposed to take away from it." Growler, the fiercest member of the party, sat shivering among his new friends, embarrassed, but truly terrified.

The smallest member of the party almost seemed the most calm. "Growler," Seeds said as he stepped forward, "we will all share this burden with you. Together, we will defeat him. We all had dreams of warning last night. If what you said about Daywalker is true, I think she was trying to tell all of us in our dreams that we faced great danger and have to be careful. We know we must stop Silvercrest, and we know it will take us all fighting him together to do it."

Kazooba shifted to see and remove whatever the uncomfortable thing was that she was sitting on. "Funny," she thought, "I would never have lied down on this to sleep last night. Where did it come from?" She picked up what looked like an old gnarled branch or small tree trunk. There was a knob on one end that honestly, she thought, "looks just like the head of an owl. But at the same time, it also looks like a beautiful woman with amazing and strange eyes."

She set the stout stick aside and then stood and emptied her pack. She reached for the old bottle, but changed her mind and picked up her dagger instead. "Today," she guessed, "it would be better to have this at my waist where I can draw it quickly." She then picked up the bottle and carefully removed the map. "My dream made it very clear where we are to go and what we are to do when we get there," she said to the rest. She spread the map on the dewy grass and smoothed its creases. 

"Here," she pointed at the map. "The Evan River flows from the great lake through the deep chasm. We must somehow cross the old bridge to get over it. While the map warns us to stay off it, my dream made it very clear that I was to attempt to walk on it alone. None of the rest of you are to put even one toe on it!" Kazooba was very serious and no one questioned her statement. "If that is the case, I am unclear how we are all going to get across the chasm and stay together, but I sense that we must stay together because that is how we are strong."

Precilla spoke next. "Perhaps the 'how' will become clear when we get there. We must hurry. My grandfather was very clear about that when he spoke to me in my dream last night. And, Kazooba, he was the maker of the map, so I know we can trust it. The old bridge is guarded on this side of the river by a large gate. We must get there, get through that gate, and then deal with the bridge." Pricilla held back another thought that made her very sad. As she looked closely at the map, she realized how old it must be and was puzzled because the dream she had of her grandfather made it seem like he might have just thrown the bottle into the  river outside his prison yesterday. "But then the parchment wouldn't be so yellow and fragile." The thought stuck hard, "Grandfather has been in prison a very long time." Her realization just made the urgency of their mission even more clear.

As she pushed the thought aside, Pricilla was already moving in the direction of the jungle trail and was buckling on her armor as she went. The others got a glimpse of the magnificent sword she carried in a scabbard strapped to her back. Its hilt was covered with deep red rubies. They matched the large one that sat atop her helmet. "Seeds, are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to climb up into my pack?" She reached down as she passed him and almost flung him into her bag. "Come on everyone, let's move!"

Growler had recovered, spurred on by Pricilla's strength and urgency. He leaped and passed her and took point: his eyes, ears, nose, and whiskers alert for the slightest sign of an enemy.

Kazooba turned to head down the trail, but at the last second, ran back to where the gnarly old staff lay and snatched it up, not knowing why exactly. She ran back to take up her place behind Growler. The staff was just the right size for a walking stick and fit her hand nicely. "Hmmm, lucky," she thought. Strength like she had never felt flowed into her arms and throughout her body.

Pricilla, with Seeds hanging on in her pack and peering over her shoulder, moved to follow and keep a sharp eye on Kazooba. From long practice, Pricilla also kept an eye on the trees above. the sun glinted off one of the rubies on the hilt of her sword and cast a red glow onto Seeds. He'd never looked so handsome. But then how handsome can an old apple core look? But he looked, yes, he looked handsome indeed.

While none seemed aware, small footprints from leather boots appeared one before the other in the dust, following them all closely down the trail. Daywalker, silent and invisible brought up and guarded the rear -- and sent off one last dream message as she went.

A light breeze danced through the windows of the tree palace and into the room where King Mo and Queen Marcy sat in despair. Several days had passed and there was no news of their daughter. As the breeze swirled around them and tickled their necks, both the king and queen seemed to share the same day dream. They both heard a very faint melody. Both of them sat up at the same time smiling. They somehow knew with certainty that their daughter was fine and with friends who would protect her. They were confused about how they knew this, but they were certain. 

"Kazooba's safe for now." they concluded. And then like parents everywhere, they began immediately worrying about the next thing: "If she's safe now, what is she doing? Who are these people she is traveling with? When will she get back home?" They both slumped back into their chairs and resumed their hapless stare.

The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 14

Welcome back. Remember, you can now send your own stories to Story@ZooKazoo.com. We'd love to see what you can dream up. And we still hope you will keep sending us ideas for this story about Kazooba and the Lore of ZooKazoo. Here's Day 14. . . 

Kazooba walked out of the jungle into a mist-filled clearing. A shape moved towards her, but she was unafraid, strangely strong and confident. As the form came nearer, Kazooba began to recognize her long lost and very best friend. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks. But her friend remained in the mist, always just beyond reach as Kazooba ran to her. "A dream, I must be dreaming," thought Kazooba.

Her friend raised her hand to wave, her voice like music came to Kazooba's ears, "You must be very careful but take your new friends to the old bridge that crosses the canyon over the Evan River. You will be the only one to cross. Do not allow your friends to step onto the span. You must hurry. Silvercurst is on the move once again. With another wave, her friend melted back into the mist and Kazooba began to wake.

At the same time, Pricilla felt herself frolicking in trees that were heavy with fruit. She wore no armor, just a light tunic. She could feel the air and smell the flowers all around her. Suddenly, she was aware of a very old ape catching up to her from behind -- old, but not frail -- her grandfather, Greyback. "Grandfather, where have you been? We have all been so worried as we've not heard from you for so long."

"I am a captive of Silvercurst. I know that you are on your way to me, but you must be extremely careful. I was able to make a map and put it in a bottle and fling it into the river that runs by my prison. I dreamed that Kazooba found the bottle and has the map. I know that she must be with you. You must think of her safety first and protect her against all odds. Think second of Jungaloo, it needs your protection so badly. Think of me only when all else is safe." As his image faded and Pricilla began to wake, she heard, as if a whisper, "Grandchild, I am so proud of you. I love you." Pricilla woke with tears in her eyes and a longing for her grandfather in her heart.

Seeds laughed as he dangled from a branch on a tree. Still green but plumping up nicely, he swung in the breeze among all of his tree friends. Bees buzzed merrily in and out of the branches. It was a glorious day. A butterfly of exceptional beauty landed on the curve of his cheek. She spoke in music, but her meaning was somehow clear: "This is your time Seeds. You will be a very special apple core. All that you have seen and learned from these branches and all of the memories and lessons that come to you from your tree friends will be needed to save Jungaloo. Trust your new circle of friends. You will all need each other in the months ahead. Make Growler aware of your wisdom and be sure that he considers you in the decisions he will have to make. Goodbye, Seeds." Seeds woke with a start as the final part of his dream saw him falling from his home tree and bouncing several times on the ground before his young self came to rest. Now, wide awake, he remembered the butterfly's message clearly. Few knew or understood the secret of the Apple Corps -- the reason that they made such very good spies. While he needed to protect that secret, the dream messenger had clearly told him to share it with Growler. And she had said "months," not days or weeks, but "months." Seeds felt very small and very worried at the moment.

Growler smiled and purred as the she-tiger stepped out of the shadows and onto the trail before him. He knew at once he was dreaming again. He had seen her before like this. No matter how fast he approached her, she always remained the same distance away. He longed to rub chins with her and stretch in the sun together. But way before he was ready for her to disappear, he heard a crackling sound rushing toward him like wind. He could feel waves of heat and smell smoke so thick he choked in his dream. He could almost feel his fur singe and his paws blister. He had to get away, but which direction? "Remember me, Growler," he could hear a voice like music above the sound of the onrushing flames. When the time comes, look and listen for me so that I can show you the way." Above the smoke, he could swear he saw an enormous bird with an owl-like face, still strangely beautiful, circle higher and higher above the flames. But as sweat began to roll into his eyes and he again choked on the smoke, his head turned back toward the direction from which he had come. In a panic he saw that fearsome wraith still in pursuit. Everything that touched the wraith burst into flame. Growler startled awake, still roaring his defiance at Silvercurst. All of the others were sitting up staring at him in alarm.

The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 13

We are about to begin Day 13 and learn more about Daywalker. But I wanted to mention that several of you are asking whether there is a way to completely write your own stories and publish them on ZooKazoo. 

I want to encourage anyone who wishes to send their own original story to ZooKazoo to do so by emailing it to Story@zookazoo.com. We'll happily read submissions, make comments, and find a way to publish them for the other players in ZooKazoo. I'm excited that creating stories seems like a fun thing to do. That's why I can't wait to bring you Day 13, I'm having fun, too. 

Remember on Day 12, our gang was a bit mystified by Growler's announcement. So let's begin Day 13 . . .

"Daywalker?" asked Growler, "how about a demonstration or two to convince our friends that you are very much alive and very much in our midst?"

Growler suddenly vanished into thin air! His friends gasped, but they were drowned out by Growler's belly laughs. First his paws reappeared. Then slowly, as if a curtain were being raised, his legs, then torso, and then all of him came back in sight. For a moment, the tip of his tail seemed to float in space, but then it too looked firmly connected to the rest of Growler.

Seeds kept it to himself, but just before Growler had disappeared, he'd caught a surprising sight. From his vantage point low to the ground, he'd caught just the briefest glimpse of what must have been Daywalker's feet and lower legs, or rather, the tightly fitting laced boots that he or she wore. Seeds uttered a guess: "Daywalker is wearing a large cape. It makes her invisible, and for a second, she must have held it over you, too, Growler."

With a laugh, Growler just said, "Good guess, Seeds. That same cape will hide you and all of us from our enemies."

The company sat around in good humor, sharing stories, eating more breadfruit, and just as Growler had promised, with Daywalker among them, they all felt safer and calmer than they had since this whole thing had begun. Daywalker, of course, was nowhere to be seen and silent as a stone. As the sun slipped below the horizon and night came on, the original four began to feel sleepy, very sleepy. Huddled together, warm, safe, yawning — they all fell into a deep and restful sleep. Growler had forgotten to mention that Daywalker could also carry you off to la-la land in a blink of a tired eye.

Now in the darkness, Daywalker had changed form. Her magic cape had turned to wondrous, snow-white, long-feathered wings with which she covered her new friends and kept them hidden from prying eyes. The graceful curves of her wings joined together over powerful shoulders. Her straight and strong back rose to a short neck on which sat her tightly feathered and noble head. Her eyes were huge, like an owls. But the soft buff and white feathers that surrounded her face and small upturned nose, plump lips, angular cheeks, and somewhat pointy chin melded together into a face that was, well, simply beautiful. 

It was sad that no one was left who could see her this way. She walked the world in the day on two feet and wrapped in her great cape, invisible. At night she transformed into her magnificent self and soared the heavens, calling her strange, melancholy song. No one could see or hear her in this form either. Kazoobians who knew the very old Jungaloo myths told their children of a mysterious and mostly invisible force for good who walked the world during the day and flew the skies at night. But little Kazoobians knew that if they watched carefully on nights with a full moon, they might catch just a glimpse her silhouette if she happened to fly across the moon's brightly lit face.

Alone or not, Daywalker, was content. A very low and gentle cooo bubbled from her throat. Her friends were safe, protected beneath her wings. To any spies afoot, all they would see if they stumbled into this meadow was a field of lush grass. No one would have guessed that four individuals who were incredibly important to the future of Jungaloo slept here, beginning to dream -- beginning to dream Daywalker's dream.

The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 12

Soulja Girl. Please read today's chapter and let me know if I got "Daywalker" about right. I added somethings to your character and there will be more on Day 13. Daywalker is really going to add a lot to the story. Thanks again! And now, the coming of Daywalker -- Day 12 . . . 

"Did we enjoy the breadfruit? Sure it was the best I ever ate." They all said just about the same thing at the same time.

Growler's mischievous smile only got wider. "Well, then, we should say thanks to whomever brought it."

They looked from one to the other and Seeds spoke up first: "None of us brought it, did you?"

"No. But don't worry about it. Gee, have another piece." The woven-leaf tray, again loaded with fruit, appeared to float up from the ground and passed among Seeds, Pricilla, and the Princess. This time, they focused on the strange sight and each took a giant step back from the basket as it hung in the air. "Uh, no thank you," they said again in chorus.

Pricilla was first to catch on. "Growler, you said a new member of our party had just arrived," as she looked all around the meadow. "Does that levitating basket have something to do with the new member of our group?"

"Judging by where the basket is hanging in the air, I'd say or latest arrival is standing about three feet in front of you." Growler was enjoying the looks on his friends' faces -- confusion, surprise, disbelief. They'd look first at the basket then at him and then back at the basket. "Too much fun," he thought.

"Friends, I would like you to meet and welcome Daywalker. Daywalker will take some getting use to, but believe me, in the end you will be very happy Daywalker joined us. In fact, it was Daywalker who brought us all together. I'm not even sure if Daywalker is a he or a she. You can't talk directly to him -- or her. You can't see him or her, unless in a dream. And if you do see Daywalker in a dream, he or she will appear differently to everyone, never the same, always a person or animal that is special to the person who is dreaming.

The group began to relax and were now simply curious. Could they believe Growler? This was his most preposterous story yet. "In my dreams," Growler continued, "Daywalker joins me as the most beautiful lady tiger I have ever seen." He began to purr, then stopped, looking a bit embarrassed. Was Growler blushing?

"Daywalker is beyond language. She will always hear and understand us, but you will only hear her or him in your dreams. But she has promised to always stay with us, watching, guarding, feeding us when we're hungry, healing us if we are injured, and adding to our strength at the most important times."

"Daywalker was old when I was just a cub. Where she comes from, or exactly what or who she is, I've never known. I just know that when she is with me, I feel calm, and safe, and never alone. I can see that you are all still troubled and not quite believing me."

----There is more to come about Daywalker on Day 13!

The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 11

I've wanted to add one more main character to our brave little Jungaloo band of four. But I've had a hard time figuring out who or what that character should be. Yesterday, Soulja Girl wrote to me with a really great idea for a new character. I'm so excited about the idea, that today's story will begin to set the stage for the new member of the team. As Growler fills us in on "What's up?" watch for something that doesn't quite make sense. It just might be the first clue about the nature of their new partner. You'll meet that new character on Day 12.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. In today's chapter, our characters look into the eyes of Growler. Have you ever visited a zoo and gotten close to one of the big cats and had a chance to stare directly into its eyes? If you have, you'll understand a bit more about today's chapter. Here's day 11 . . . 

"Well Growler?" a very demanding and impatient Pricilla asked again.

Growler didn't look bothered in the least. He'd been leaning back, and now, slowly sat up to look directly at Seeds, Pricilla, and the Princess. Each of them had turned to face him and as Growler gathered his thoughts, they each sat as if expecting a long tale. Growler flicked out a long curved claw on his right front paw and tapped it on one of his rather large and scary fangs. The sound it made was much like a note from a musical chime. Growler made the gesture often when he was deep in thought.

While the rest waited, each was struck by Growler's eyes. They were huge. Their shiny black centers were made to look even darker by the yellow irises that surrounded them. But there was something about looking straight into the center of his eyes, a feeling that you were looking down into a well with no bottom. That depth was a clue to the life Growler had led. It must have been very long and filled with experiences beyond each of their wildest dreams.

As if a curtain had been pulled across those windows into Growler's soul, the opportunity for insight was suddenly gone. Growler was ready to begin and said, "Why don't you each help yourself to a couple of these lovely bread fruits?" None of them turned their gaze from Growler, but each took a piece of the wondrous fruit as it was passed among them on a tray made from a very large and shiny green jungle leaf.

"I have to tell you all that I am much older than I appear," Growler began. "The princess knows that I can look almost any age when I wish to change. I have been wandering the trails and roads of Jungaloo from the time when our beautiful trees first began to grow -- a time when Jungaloo extended much further than it does today. We can climb trees or trek to the top of hills to know that Jungaloo stretches as far as we can see in any direction. But our view is actually blocked by the thick mist to the south and by the the mountains that border the east, north, and west.

"Until recently, you could climb to the top of those mountains or walk for days into the mists and still see oceans of green and lush jungle extending out before you -- seemingly never ending. But that's not true today. Particularly from the mountains in the east, you can see a terrible cancer at work on our forests. There is an area that stretches off to the very horizon in the east that is entirely blackened. Dead trees. Dead plants. No birds or butterflies. No animals of any kind. No sounds!"

"Like a wave of death, that area is spreading to the north and coming our direction too. Year by year, we are losing more and more of our beloved Jungaloo to this plague. This past year and for the first time, like the flicking tongue of a monstrous snake, the first signs of the cancer can be seen creeping out around the feet of the eastern mountains. The eastern rivers that once flowed blue and clear are beginning to turn murky and carry a foul smell. It is definitely coming our way."

"Pricilla, this is 'what's up,' this is why we have been brought together. You have each been chosen. I was not only waiting for the Princess that first day, but for you Pricilla, and for you, Seeds. My mission to lead you in this quest came to me in a dream that turned to nightmare. This is our destiny and our time is now. There can be no thought of any of you returning to the palace and just going on with your lives. There is not a moment to lose."

Growler took a long, deep breath, exhaled, and said, "We were waiting for one more member of our band to join us. But he or she -- it's difficult to know -- has arrived."

Then with one of his most devilishly smiles, Growler chuckled and said, "Did you enjoy the bread fruit?"