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CARNIVAL WORLD CHAPTER 6

For now, we leave the lands of the Nordic Elves and the far Northern Black Dwarf Mountains and Southern Sea Cliff dwelling place of the Red Dwarves. North, over these smoky mountains of the central east west range are the northern Badlands. Huge dinosaurs and dragons rule those lands.

The southern sea has many large dinosaurs and whatever mammalian carnivores that live there on or along the sea and on the lands across that sea are much larger than on the long continent, called the Borderlands.

The Borderlands are about the size of the Great Forty-Eight, of America. The Badlands, north and south of the Borderlands are both very deadly to humans, humanoids, and normal size animals in general.

Carnival World’s mountains are the homes of the Barbarian tribes, Sabe and Cynocephs, both enhanced humanoid and beast varieties, as well as a few clans of Minotaurs, Centaurs and fauns live there.

I do not have time, now, to tell you the story of Reeve Boregard Cynoceph, who works with the Dark Lancer Advanced AI satellite, patrolling the mountains to see that the Sabe and Cynocephs do not leave the mountains or the underground citadels.

Reeve Boregard, or Sheriff Bo, has the same job I once had on earth, except that Bo was bounty hunting rogue cryptids and giants that exited the Badlands or the Underground.

Nice guy, but a veritable Sherlock Holmes, with olfactory senses better than a grizzly. Said I did not smell like a Half Elf, but like an “exotic human.” He also told me that I hadn’t seen any Sabe or Cyno, because as good as I seemed to be in the woods, they could smell and hear me, long before I would see them. He also said that they traditionally stayed in the upper band of the mountain, in and out of the tree line, while I seemed to wander only in the mid to lower range. Boregard told me that he and Rufus had followed me for a couple of days before seeking permission to join my fire.

I didn’t tell him that I had seemed to scent a doggie odor, although light, depending on the vagaries of the wind. He was well-groomed and his hair kept short. I have learned since, that the wife of a Reeve, was expected to trim her husband and children weekly as a part of her wifely and motherly duties. Of course, some of the Reeve villages, because of this, tended to residents who were better groomed than average. It was only a few less caring Cyno people and the rogue or penal colony dog men, the beastly remnant of the Monster Men invasion, of a thousand years ago, who let their hair grow long and untended.
All Sheriffs, trained with the cross bow and the axe, carry the legendary Atlanticean blue beam laser short rod. The small rod, attached to their cross bows, can be activated, with the flip of a toggle, and empowers their normal wooden bolts, which is a highly potent weapon against Cryptids, Trolls and Giants. The short rod may also be quickly detached from the Cyno crossbow, carried in the hand, and used like a wand, that recharges when depleted, in sunlight.

Like with the Atlanticean couriers, the laser only works in a selective fashion. Unless it is in the hand of a Sheriff, who has not broken his vow to serve Creator, and whom honestly and steadfastly protects the peoples of the mountain shires, the weapon simply doesn’t work. While the blue beam can be lethal to any human or animal, it stuns or slows Cryptids, Giants and Trolls.
Just talking with me he “smelled and sensed” that I served Creator, but not as strongly as a devoted Dwarven Cleric. Scarier than that, and even though he said I had a mind shield, he picked up stray mental chatter from me and guessed that I was as skilled as he at hunting rogue cryptids.

Reeve Bo is a nice guy, like I said, and the epitome of a gentleman but it is hard to keep secrets around him. As much as I enjoy his company, and unless sent on a mission by the Dark Lancer AI, he cannot leave the mountains, I tend to see him only occasionally. I have secrets that I must keep.

Strange how my thoughts wander. The memory of Charlie Girl playing her cassette tape of the Romantics, singing along to one of her favorite songs, “I hear the secrets that you keep, when you are talking in your sleep…” Bo had raised an eyebrow, but didn’t pry. Did he hear me about guarding my secrets or see a memory of my waitress and assistant innkeeper sipping a Leinenkugel, during break, and singing along with her Walkman in my inn? Or did he conflate the two memories and falsely assume that I had had an intimate relationship with Charlie Girl?

Other than to say that was the most shocking Carnival World revelation that I have ever experienced to date, I will leave the meeting of Reeve Boregard and his son Rufus, for another day. Indeed, knowing that fact, about Carnival World’s Reeves and Shires, has rocked my world. Unbelievable, to find that a well-groomed variety of Jackal Head, that I once hunted as a Cryptid Team Four agent, patrols the mountains of Carnival World in the service of Creator and The Dark Lancer Satellite.

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Many of them, the Reeves, who manage areas in ten-by-ten-mile grids, called Shires, are essential to keeping evil cryptids confined to the Mountain of Exile, at the intersection of the north and south and east and west mountain ranges. The Cyno Reeves hunt wandering Badlands monsters who are missed by the lasers or Cryptid locating software of the Dark Lancer. They take oaths to serve Creator and his Son and live by the tenants of “the code:” be honest, steadfast and loyal while performing their duties as Reeves of their Shire.

I say they are like the Jackal Heads that I hunted on earth, and they are all of that. Technically though, although hairy, and with ears like dogs or wolves, much like dwarves and elves on Carnival World are human like, but not exactly “humans,” Bo and his son Rufus were human like in form, rather than beastly.

According to the Bardic accounts I have read, young humanoid Sabe and Cyno people had young women kidnapped by the Atlanticean assassin’s guild and taken to the Atlanticean genetic scientists, who modified their DNA with that of many animals, including, but not limited to, bears, giant cats, lizards, dinosaurs, jackals, hyenas and monkeys that lived in the jungle islands of the southern sea. Those offspring were in turn, cloned while building a monster men army for the mother of the current Dark Naga Queen of the Feathered Serpent Mountains.

 

The beastly forms of the animalistic dogmen, in their faces were very canine, wolfen, hyena, or jackal like. The original Cyno human, while they had more hair than humans, their faces although having a slightly canine look, were very human. For example, their noses were noses, much like a human, but the beast Cyno breeds had noses and faces that were very dog, jackal or hyena in appearance. In the same fashion, the Sabe, too are differentiated in the same way. The original stock had noses and faces that are very human like, but their feet were wider and proportioned differently than a human foot. The beast varieties of both Sabe and Jackal Heads have noses and faces that are more simian or dog like, in nature. Their feet, however, are less human like and more animal like. In general, whether we are discussing the beast or humanoid Sabe and Cyno people, their feet are less human like and generally larger than a human foot. And while the humanoid forms are modified from the beast forms, the beast forms have feet that are much more animal than human.
Did I tell you there are hyenas and jackals on Carnival World? Hyenas and jackals live in the southeast of the Borderlands and in the Badlands.

Bo, the Reeve or Sheriff of the Shire, by function combined the duties of an American Sheriff and Park Ranger, and those of his ilk were very important to the mountain ranges of Carnival World. They not only were responsible to take care of troublesome cryptids but were generally the policemen of their shires. A dozen or more of them lived in the main village of each shire. Depending on the issue, they traveled in pairs or in larger groups patrolling their shire.

Bo had sought me out to keep me from straying into the Mountains of Exile, which is just one mountain range passed Keegan and Anya’s tribe. Said he had smelled me from twenty-five miles away, while he and his son were traveling up and down the mountain on border patrol. His Shire borders the Penal Colony.

The Mountains of Exile is Carnival World’s Penal Colony for descendants of the beastly Cyno and Sabe, and other Cryptid types, both the human and beastly forms, who break the law of the land. While full humans of the Barbarian tribes were not sent to the Mountains of Exile, the Sabe and beastly types of beast men, depending on the level of their offenses, were either exiled or executed, unless simple warnings, or a night in the caning stocks would suffice as deterrents to misbehavior.
Although people being people, and having a free will, and less than sterling morality, even those Cyno and Sabe who are mostly human, may still end up being banished. Percentage wise, the beast varieties were much more prone to being banished or executed by the Reeves. And of course, the Cyno and Sabe were known to take mates from the humans of Carnival World.
While many on Carnival World frowned on that fact, I can understand why this is the case. Sabe Alpha Males, for example, owned all of the females in their tribe and unless another Sabe was willing and successful in winning the right of leadership, standard males, if they wanted to mate, even for a moment, had to find a free female. It was easier to find a human female than fight an Alpha Sabe.

While most Sabe males were absolutely formidable, at eight to twelve feet tall and several hundred pounds minimum, an Alpha was usually fourteen to fifteen feet tall and absolute mountains of strength and savagery.

For the wild Cyno, the situation was different. On the full moon night of each month, any single dog man, not from that village, could enter any other wild Cyno village, unless a known enemy. And of course, Lycanthropic Dog Men, were a completely different humanoid, and always considered an enemy. The Cyno could not change between wolf and human form like werewolves. The discerning nose could discern between the scent of a werewolf and a Dog Man, but many noses were incapable of that feat.

Of course, some Mating Moon Cynos were attacked by predators, cryptid or not, and never returned to their village. The Alpha Male, by clan custom, of the Mountains of Exile, could only reserve his Queen, and her daughters, from the ritual. Although, if those daughters were of age, by clan custom, they had the right to volunteer. Otherwise, just as with the beast Sabe, all females of the clan village were considered owned by the Alpha male. By lot, a temporary mating was allowed, for the young Cyno women considered adults, but not too old to be mothers. Any offspring, male or female, were raised by the clan and served either as guards or as hunter gathers, or general workers for the village.
High Clans of the mostly human Sabe, by genetics, of which there was one for each mountain, were different. High Clans of the Sabe, like the Orc Clans, allowed men of influence and standing to have one wife. While independent, the other more human Sabe clans of a mountain, did honor the elders of the High Clan, which was not ruled by an Alpha. Thus, the High Clans were ruled by an odd numbered group of the wisest elders, male and female, rather than a strong male. The size of that council was determined by the population of the village.

Generally, the more human Alpha males, while not giving up rulership of their clan, did honor the elders of the mountain’s high clan.

The more beastly Alpha males tended to ignore the elders of that mountain’s High Clan, but even the most beastly, did not want a visit from the elders, especially if accompanied by a Reeve, which meant that the Dark Lancer was monitoring the meeting. If the cold blue beam laser short rod of the Reeve wouldn’t stop the Alpha male in his tracks, the long blue laser lance of the satellite, launched with extreme accuracy, from high above the planet, could drop him like a blackjacked ox.

Both the beastly Sabe and the more human Sabe could speak in their fast paced, no-pause-for-breath, Samurai chatter. The human Sabe just knew more languages and had larger vocabularies. In any event, the tales of belligerent alpha Sabe and Cyno troublemakers, who drew the wrath of elders and Reeves, were plenty and had been verbalized in the rumor mills of many clans for almost ten centuries.

The Reeves of each shire operated like Sabe High Clans. Most of the problems in the clans of both the Sabe and the Cyno happened because individuals disobeyed enough rules that they were banished from the tribe. If they did not wander solitary, after that, they often joined small groups of rogue bands, who behaved like small gangs of juvenile delinquents. Rogue groups tended to be more aggressive and prone to troublesome behavior.
The Reeves, even though they looked slightly canine around their faces, were humanoids, with muscle and bone strength and density three to five times stronger than humans. The Cyno and Sabe were genetically humanoid. However, the dark or monster men, were more beast than human. The monster men, especially in their faces, portrayed the animal genetics that had been programmed into their bodies by the Atlanticean scientists.
When the dark ones die, they leave a taint behind, like that left by dead Nephilim back on earth. And while binding demons may work when dealing with the beastly Sabe and Cyno, as Padre and I have found, in general it has little effect on the more human varieties. And I didn’t say none. I said little. I said what I mean, and I mean what I say.

The “good” mostly human members of the Sabe and Cyno, having the ability to mind-speak, would just be insulted that we would think them not to honor Creator. Padre and I have found humans and humanoids that seem to have demonic manifestations, but it seems to be not quite as prolific as the issue is on earth.

Much to the benefit of the rest of Carnival World, the Dark Lancer can teleport those demons, back onto the Mountains of Exile, and does so, unless the carrier wants them present. If Carnival World has a Hell, Exile Mountain is it.

 CHAPTER 7

The mountains separate the Borderlands from the Badlands in the north. To the south is the great southern sea, with scattered islands, large and small. That sea separates the Borderlands from the Badlands. Many islands, large and small, great chains of them, mostly jungle lands, lie like a great tropical barrier that separates the Borderlands from the bottom continent called South Antari.

On some days, especially before the rare storms, the island channels become as roiling as the famous Drake Passage of Earth. No one sails on the seas anymore. Well over a thousand years ago, the Sea Elves sailed heavily armored merchant, and passenger boats the size of aircraft carriers, built by style like Noah’s Ark, structurally slow but exceptionally stable.

Not so much for the rough seas, but because the Octo Siren Queens, Krakens, and large dinosaurs, as well as dragons, commonly attacked anything smaller than themselves floating on the sea. Exceptions were made, but most monsters, unless they were hunting in a pack, erred on the side of caution unless starving. While any weapons of significant power may deter, injure or kill such sea monsters, all marine monsters and dragons especially feared the LRAD sound cannons, commonly employed on Sea Elf and Atlanticean Air or Ocean crafts. The ancient Sea Elves are presently, in their original and independent forms, extinct, but have become one type of primitive Wood Elves who live on the coastal lands of the Borderlands. The Marine Kingdom on Carnival World was considered a Forbidden Zone, but distinct from the landmasses of the Badlands.

The Island Chains are the lands of the small dinosaurs, the wyverns, jackals and hyenas, drop bears, speckled Smilodon cats, and the great congresses of monkeys, apes, and baboons. Pongidae on Carnival World had winged and unwinged varieties.
They were powerful predators, and while most natives to Carnival World understood just how dangerous they could be, most citizens of earth, visitors from the original home of the Conner family, were blissfully unaware of the fact. If you tried to instruct them on this miniscule bit of trivia, they would look at you, as if you were a lost village idiot missing in action. Most, if you told them that apes, monkeys, and baboons were extremely quick and densely muscled fighters, much stronger than most humans, were quick to dismiss your opinion.

The great land mass at the north, and the one at the south are much the same, as Earth’s uniced Antarctica, as found on the Peri Reis maps, both in size and environmental features. It is a great land of jungles and savannahs teaming with larger than normal animal and avian life.

Separated from the lower Badlands by another smaller sea, called the Green Sea, is North Antari. Only the topmost mountains of North and South Antari have snow. The lands at the foot of those mountains are covered by great expanses of jungles and savannahs. Unlike the Smoky Mountains and Misty Mountains ranges of the Borderlands, that are taller ranges, the snow line is much higher. The lower elevations carpeted in green like jungle islands, are very oxygen rich environments, until you reach the snow lines. The snowy peaks of the Antari mountains, north and south, are difficult to climb without oxygen tanks.

Those jungles and savannahs of north and south Antari are covered by ancient crumbling ruins of great pyramids and cities that resemble the famous Angkor Wat temples of Cambodia of Earth.

Long empty of human and humanoid life, except those used by giants and trolls, those ruins, now covered by vines and grassy tree yards, are scattered hither and yon. I almost said scattered like toys in a giant sandbox, ladies and gentlemen, but that would be technically incorrect. As far as I know there are no deserts on Carnival World, but some scholars opine that one day the savannahs, if the springs dry up, may began to reveal infantile desert lands. According to Bardic legend, those cities, on North and South Antari, were ruins even during the time of the Atlanticeans and the Nordic Elves who emigrated from a far planet, after helping the angels of Creator in a cosmic battle, when one of His princely angels rebelled.

To the northeast of Carnival Theme Park City is the goblin camp near the old road that winds up the mountain into the Goblin Caves.

Most of those goblins were either banished from the Goblin Caves, or just decided to leave the mountains, in that area, and move south closer to the Star Portal Edifice.
Goblins are smaller versions of the Hob Goblins.

Reeve Bo was instrumental in teaching me about the mountains of Carnival World. I did pick up some information years later in historical texts, especially about Badlands or North and South Antaria mountains, but the Cynoceph sheriff/mountain park ranger, is responsible for the lion’s share of my knowledge of the Borderlands mountains. I am thankful to Bo’s sharing. I can say, that for a summary level, my knowledge of the Borderlands mountains, east and west and north and south, was important for me, not only to share as a bard, but helped ingratiate me with the advanced team, when they first came through the Star Portal to Carnival World.

During the Reeve’s lesson, I discovered that there was a nearby set of mountains where the Naga Queen reigned over a mountain lair of Snake god worshipers. The Feathered Serpent Mountains are south of the Mountains of Exile and west of the Dark Naga upper mountains. That is, the White Naga ruined city is in the western side, but the Dark Naga mountains are at the tree line and extend over onto the eastern side of the mountains.
The name Feathered Serpent comes from the small, beautifully colored and feathered flying serpents that hang around the mountain fruit tree groves, especially in the Southern White Naga mountains. While a few flocks of the serpents haunt the fruit groves of the middle mountains, larger groups of them live in the foothills and low elevation areas on both sides of the highlands.
They are very territorial, but if you approach near the grove and do not enter the grove and offer a shiny object, like a gem or silver or gold coin, or even a ball of aluminum foil, one will bring you one fruit in trade. Flying Serpent fruit is very valuable in that when consumed, one fruit will heal all wounds and negate such conditions as weak, fearful, cursed, dazed, slowed or poisoned. However, such fruit only has the medicinal effect for twenty-four hours, and then decomposes rapidly. They do not speak much but seem to be able to learn language like a parrot. Legends say they are highly intelligent, but unless they learn to trust you, they are aggressive and territorial.

The flying serpents resembled the long lizards, like Chinese dragons of earth, but could spit balls of acid fire or electric jell blobs. That is to say, they were not like the gigantic dinosaurian dragons of the Badlands.

The Crystalins although they resemble the Naga and Flying Serpents are a totally different species. They are a Crystal gem life form. They start out looking like a Chinese Snake Dragon but grow either into a human with scintillating microscopic scales or a full dinosaur like dragon. The Crystalins live in caves or high in the treetops along the eastern and western coastlines.
However, like the Skels, Sabe, and Cynocephs, they are able to travel into a different dimension, after they become adults, to a land which looks like the island chains of the southern sea. It is a land of peace and safety. There are no dragons or giant serpents. Only large and tiny blue whales, both a one hundred foot plus giant and a yard-long variety with a white ridged underbelly. The blandly colored, brown, gray, blue, black and green mini whales are delicious and safe to eat, but the brilliantly colored coral munchers are toxic. Small fish, tiny birds, and dwarfed animals fill the islands. Even the elephants, muskox and rhinos of that land are tiny, the size of a dog, and all are friendly unless attacked. Small cats and dogs, friendly like most of the other animals, run and walk throughout the villages. Some of these felines and canines are so small, that as an adult, they will literally fit in a coffee cup. Rhesus monkeys, but of good temperament, also live in small colonies throughout the trees. Animals that develop bad tempers are captured alive and flown to a faraway large island surrounded by coral reefs.

While a Naga could, if sick or dying, turn into their opposing form, to cleanse their body of toxins, or regenerate wounds and lost flesh and blood, the change is painful, so unless absolutely necessary, the Naga avoids changing. There is only one way for a Naga to become painlessly and permanently human. They must reject the snake gods, ask to be transformed, and sincerely give their allegiance to Creator.

The Crystalin, upon becoming an adult, which can take as little as several weeks, must decide whether to be a human or dragon form but could not change once their transformation became permanent. Crystalins, while generally helpful and good-natured beings, are very proud and independent creatures. While they respond well to suggestions or requests for help, they do not like to be ordered about or treated like pets. Most Crystalins have photographic memories and are highly intelligent, quickly learning new languages, especially animal or insectoid languages.
Another type of Crystalin takes the form of a Wood Elf or a Manta insect. These crystalins live in a different set of island chains than the dragon variety. Unlike the peace-loving Dragon Crystalins, Manta Crystalins at least once per year, after reaching their sixth molting, enter a ritual battle to the death to mate. Winning Manta warriors and knights meld with fallen mantas and become a new one which is a new and larger combination of the victors and the losers.

These Manta Crystalins start out as a tiny manta insect with two sets of humanoid arms and two manta arms. Every time they do battle, they molt and become a larger version. Once they reach six moltings, they must decide if they are going to assume a human form or a manta form, if they are male. A humanoid female always becomes a red, blue, yellow, green or red wood elf. Either male or female becomes a Manta Knight. Once a male Manta Knight becomes insectoid, it only becomes humanoid briefly to mate with his female humanoid Manta Wood Elf mate.

From molt number seven to nine, any metal weapon or armor of one pound or more will do. After becoming a knight, they must consume an Orc item or Atlanticean small weapon or small armor to molt into a stronger form. And the last Knight level requires an Atlanticean item, active or inactive. Inactive Atlanticean metal can sometimes be found at the Carnival World Smith shop or items that have lost their charge, only usable by Wild Fey, can be found for sale at ten percent of value.

Every time they molt, a Manta Fey will disappear for at least twenty-four hours, into the island dimension and engage in ritual battles and feastings with their tribal clans. It takes four more moltings to become a full-size Manta Knight. The first two moltings may use either star metal, including Orc Steel, but the last two moltings must be started with the consumption of an Atlanticean star metal object of at least one pound weight.
The bite of an adult Manta is stronger than that of a Hyena and can eat and digest even the most dense and powerful Atlanticean metal.

Both Crystalin varieties started out as memory shards that grew in stone outcroppings on land or in cavern walls.

They were used by Atlanticean scientists to develop a sentient crystal that could be used to store information and interact with humans and humanoids. I believe that Nayana Zazazi’s sentient computer and medical bed system has such a crystal as its AI system. Possibly the Dark Lancer has a Crystalin at its brain core as well. In any event, one of the scientists made an AI chess game out of the Dragon and Manta Crystalins, and they played for the scientist’s gaming club for a short time, then shifted into the island dimensions, never to return to their Atlanticean masters. While the Manta Crystalins continued the chess game as a cultural ritual for the right to breed children, the Dragon Crystalins totally expelled ritual battling from their cultural festivals.

Like many humanoids, Crystalins kept small cat and canine pets. Naga favored feathered snake lizards for pets. The Naga was a variety of humanoid that could assume two forms upon reaching maturity. They could grow into a scaled humanoid, but the scales were microscopic like those of a catfish, or they could grow into a large version of the feathered snake, but with two human arms with hands, and diamond like scales that stunk like snake oil.
The Goblin Mountains are just west of the Mountains of Exile. The Goblin Mountains are to the South while the Hob Goblin Mountains are high, even up to the snow line. Only the Antari mountains, North and South, have higher snow lines, than the Misty, Smoky, Naga, the White, Black and Red Dwarf Mountain ranges, and the Nordic Elf range, which is in the center of the Borderlands and west of Irish Pub City. The Naga Mountains, also known as the Feathered Serpent Mountains, are east of Carnival City and North of the Nordic Elf mountains. South of the Nordic Mountains are the Red Dwarf Mountains. The Shire of Bo and Rufus is just between the Mountain of Exile and the Goblin Mountains. The Goblin Mountains are west of the shire and the Exile Mountains are east of their shire. Reeve Bo had mentioned the mountains of the Naga and the Imp Lords, which is also called the Goblin Cave Mountains, but only in passing, as he and his son had sat by my fire.

The map was quite detailed, and most mountain areas he mentioned only by name, adding details only as he considered important. He promised, if we met again, if I visited his village, if he was on duty locally, to go into greater detail, if I had questions. Reeve Bo had used a stick to draw me a map in the ash and sand around the fire as he explained each mountain area and who was generally friendly and which areas to avoid. Bo said that he and his son and his wife had run to the large trading post of Cordova the Barbarian Trader and his humanoid Sabe friend. While most villages, whether Barbarian, or Porcine, or Orcinian forts, if you won their trust, did some trading. Few villages, however, were large, well-stocked trading posts like the one run by Cordova’s wife. That trading post was well known over all of the Borderland mountains, even in the three Dwarf Clan Kingdoms.