A little island just off the coast of present-day Vetonia lay in ruins- smoke rising from burning buildings and the screams and cries of war filling the air. The Ipon tribe, a nasty and fairly large subset of the enemy to the Kiillra, had launched a surprise attack on the small Jangeni village, extinguishing their tribe and burning it to the ground so they could replace it with their own fortress with which to raise an army to attack the Kiillra from the south. They had one intent- to kill everyone and leave with all their riches while leaving it to burn to the ground.
As the nasty attack calmed down, a lone infant was spotted in a crib in a small house near the far west part of the village. Two men picked her up and were about to slay her but suddenly a flash and fierce storm came upon the island and they had to leave quickly or risk being swallowed up, for they had no shelter as they had just destroyed everything. They felt compelled to bring her with them, as they noticed that she had a perfect face and would become a very beautiful and fine woman. They realized that they could use this to their advantage to keep their men happy so they carried her off to their large ship and rowed quickly to shore amongst the rising waves, landing safely at their base on the main shore and hiding from the storm in safely.
After a few days there, they decided that this infant girl, probably about a year old, should go to their capital city of Dest, about three days' ride northeast, which was fairly close to the capital of the Kiillra. The Ipon tribe was comprised of the capital and two more cities to the northeast, and a handful of posts leading southwest towards the coast. Their hopes were to take total hold of the southern coast and raise an army large enough to destroy the Kiillra and take over the land. The small girl, who they called Jeneiyl, was taken to Dest by a soldier and once there was placed in the family of the 10th Year of the Tribe.
In the Ipon tribe, from the beginning of its establishment, the highly esteemed members decided to raise children by year in a common house, led by appointed nannies. This way they would not inherit the fortunes of their fathers but instead be free to choose their own destiny based off their own strengths. A more important, and much more secretive reason why they decided to raise their children this way, was so that they could adopt children of war into their tribe without worrying about them discovering their origins. This would later prove to be a topic of much gossip among new soldiers and was obviously kept from the rest of the tribe, but slip-ups happened all the time in their drunkenness.
There were about 10-15 children in each year of this system. They were taught the ways of the tribe and life, and the boys were taught about the ways and weapons of war. All of the children looked alike, with their light hair and strong jaws, but Jeneiyl looked very different. She was one of the first children of war that was not Kiillra or Catin, but instead Jangeni, which made her skin very dark and her hair a very striking dark brown. As she aged, she began to notice this herself, and the other children would tease her for it. Something not immediately obvious was the vast difference in her personality. She was fiercely independent and often questioned things, which led to many beatings and other punishments. They were taught to accept everything on their leaders' word, but Jeneiyl refused to accept that, questioning where they got their word and so forth.
She was often threatened with death, but she was very brave and realized that they would not go through on their word. She had the ability to sway them with her words, even at a very young age, and often got out of worse punishments. They wanted so badly to destroy her but her looks were so good that they did not want to lose leverage by getting rid of her. As she aged, Jeneiyl felt increasing tension among her peers and the rest of the tribe, for she felt as though she were in the wrong place, as if she were... plucked from her own tribe...
She began eavesdropping and sneaking around the village, trying to find out the things that were so obviously kept from her. She was caught a few times sneaking out and was punished with all manner of bad things, but she was always returned to the common house because they were swayed and flattered by her words. Finally, in the 8th year of her captivity there, she snuck out and overheard officials talking in a nearby tent. The topic turned to why they raised the children collectively and as she listened the conversation turned to her. They talked about the raid of Palo 8 years prior and how she was to be killed but a storm was already underway and they had to seek shelter so they took her with them to be raised with their kin. She then learned that the only reason she was alive was because they were planning to use her to their advantage because of her looks, and sell her to the highest bidder so that they would have beautiful children.
She gasped loudly at this. All of her suspicions had been right all along! She did not care what punishment she got, she had to get out! However, before she could even move, she looked up to see the two guards looking directly at her. She had been found and caught. She knew too much. They grabbed her by both arms and cursed at her, loudly. They were screaming that she knew too much and that she was to accept her fate or die. She refused to join them, screaming that she did not belong there and knew that all along. One guard jerked her over to his foul face and whispered, "Then you must be destroyed!"
She screamed as they took her to a room that nobody talked about. It was the room for the ultimate punishments of the disobedient. She was thrown on a cold table of stone and metal, face first, and she was tied tightly with strong leather straps. Her legs were individually tied down and her bare feet exposed. Her arms were forcefully stretched in front of her and her wrists were tied to two stones, her hands flat on them. They laughed the whole time as they slapped her and beat her defenceless body. Then it was time for the real punishment. The soles of her feet were whipped until all that remained was a raw and bloody mess. She screamed with every strike but held fast to her own beliefs. As soon as she thought they were done, a strong man walked in holding a very large stone. She knew what was coming but could not escape. With the stone held high above him, he threw the stone down on her hands, several times, blood exploding from them as he did so. She could hear all of the bones in her hands breaking and the pain was almost unbearable.
This continued all through the night and when early morning fell her crippled body was thrust on a horse, behind a guard so she could not see the way, and was bound to him. Another guard also mounted a horse and they were instructed to take her from Dest to the first post to the southeast where she would ultimately receive her death, for the leaders of the city could not bear to see her execution. Jeneiyl was numb, her hands and feet hurting so badly that even breathing made them hurt. She felt beaten of all of her fierce spirit but still accepted her death. On the back of this horse, along with the other, she rode with them for several hours through the wilderness to the post. Even when it seemed impossible, she felt like she was not meant to die yet and her life did not flash before her eyes, which surprised her. She closed her eyes and held her breath as they rode on, for each bouncy step caused her hands and feet to hurt with fresh bloody pain.
They came to a forest and rather than go around it they decided to go through it, for it was closer to the post and faster, and they had not yet mapped out the bottom of the forest. It was the winter months so daylight was short and it was already past noon. Once in the forest it grew very dark, as it was very dense and sunlight barely reached the floor through the damp mossy trees. Still they rode on, navigating quickly, and were on their way through it before they would turn south towards the post, which was still another couple hours away. Jeneiyl began to wonder with what little strength she had what her fate would be when she felt the rope that held her to the guard slip and fall off. Almost immediately after that she heard a very strong voice in her head that seemed to yell with amazing power, GET OFF. She had no idea who said it but she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and, leaning to the right, quietly slipped off the horse.
She landed on her side and rolled a couple feet, smashing into the side of an immensely tall tree. This caused her hands and feet to bleed again and caused another wave of pain and she was frozen for a moment, biting her lip as to not cry out and cause her captors to hear her. She could see them riding off, somehow oblivious to the fact that she had jumped off, but knew that they would discover soon enough and come back for her. Once she knew they were out of range she cried and in a panic, tried to scramble around to hide herself. However with her hands mangled and useless and her feet exposed to the bone and unable to bear weight, she could not climb over the massive roots. Suddenly, she could hear the sound of the horses coming back, for they had discovered that she had fallen off somewhere. The sound grew louder and louder and she feared that she would be found so she bowed her head and awaited her discovery so that they would just draw their swords and end her life.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling from the north and looked over to see the dark and shadowed figure of a man in robes. He was coming for her! She did not recognize anyone with that stature or clothing but he clearly knew she was there. She gasped as he quickly approached her but he held out his hand and bade her speak not. He then gingerly picked her up and carried her a few feet back, where she could not be traced by her blood. She could feel an amazing power, beyond words, that flowed through her as he touched her. She did not know what it meant but knew that he was a man of great power. She could not see his face but could see his long, black hair and knew he was for good. He set her down gently behind the tree she had landed near and held out a thick blanket that had the likeness of moss.
Stay here and speak not, for good men will find you. You are a good woman and your death will not come soon.
Jeneiyl nodded, her eyes wide, and curled up into a ball as he placed the blanket over her. She could see through it, barely, but enough to realize that this man had an ever so slight, light blue glow to him, one that could easily be missed. She silently cried and closed her eyes and when she opened them again just a moment later the figure was gone. She lay there, silently crying, as she heard the two evil men come for her. She could see them casting their lanterns around, looking for her. They sniffed the air and detected her blood. They began inspecting the area where she had landed, for her blood was all over the roots. She held her breath and one of them walked right up to where she lay under the blanket. She could see his evil eyes looking around, observing every detail. He reached out his hand as if to touch the blanket but was stopped by the other guard.
"She's not here. She must've fallen prey to the beasts of the forest. I've searched high and low and I'm tired. We must go back and tell the chief what has happened."
With that, the other man grumbled and reluctantly turned, joining him. As they left she could hear them arguing over whether to tell the city that they lost her and was possibly alive or that she had died or was killed along the way. When they were gone Jeneiyl took the blanket from off her head and cried, wondering when she would be found and who would find her, if ever.
Meanwhile, three men of the Kiillra were riding west towards the forest, having just left the city of Dest victorious in capturing it and killing all of its inhabitants. It was a surprise attack from the east, for they had gone up around the Ipon boundaries and attacked from the other side with a massive army from Tensk. They had sent spies many times and knew that there were only three cities up this way- the capital and two more. They had just missed Jeneiyl and the two riders by 20 minutes. Their army had devastated the three evil cities and they took no survivors. The battle had lasted all day but they caught them all by surprise and they easily overpowered them. The leader of this victorious army was a Man of Osai named Stallion Warrior, who was led by Osai and was told to destroy everyone with no exceptions. He was also given in vision the locations of these cities and when to attack.
As the army of Tensk began to burn the bodies of the extinguished Ipon race and take over the cities as their own Stallion Warrior and two of his men, Falcon Frey and Canyon Knight, rode back to Tensk to report to the leader of the Kiillra of their victory in totally defeating the Ipon subset of the enemy uprising. Unknown to the Ipon tribe, they had taken over the posts southeast a week earlier and had taken over the original island years before that. With this victory there would be peace in the land for many years until the next wave of evil, which was foreseen by Stallion Warrior to be a few years away yet.
As the three men rode they came across the two bickering men who were returning to Dest. At once Stallion Warrior received a powerful flash in his mind that these two were Ipon men and that they were to be destroyed. He called his two men to attack and they descended upon them, slaying them both before they had time to draw their own swords. With the last two Ipon members dead, the three gave them proper rest before they continued along the edge of the forest. Night was beginning to fall and the sun was setting over the hills. They continued to ride west, careful not to look into the sun's bright evening rays.
Out of nowhere, the image of Jeneiyl in the forest flashed into Stallion Warrior's mind so strongly that he shouted, "HALT!!" The three of them stopped abruptly and they were very confused and wondered why Stallion Warrior had suddenly received a powerful vision of Osai.
"There's a girl in the forest! She's hurt! We need to go find her and bring her to the city!"
They were curious and asked if she was of Ipon. He answered them with a loud "NO!" and began to run his horse closer to the forest's edge. The others followed and stopped at the edge. Stallion Warrior dismounted his horse and told Canyon Knight to do the same and follow him. He told Falcon Frey to wait with the horses, saying they would not be long for he knew right where she was. With that, they ran on foot into the forest, Stallion Warrior's eyes lit with Osai's Gift and able to see perfectly even in the darkness. It took a couple minutes but they soon found the spot that was burning so brightly in vision. They could hear the cries of a young girl and quickly found her. Even in the dim light, Stallion Warrior could see her mangled hands and feet and her eyes wide with fear. He knelt down beside her and said,
"I am Stallion Warrior, a Man of Osai. I was led to you by his power and we are here to save you."
With those words he bade Canyon Knight to come and carefully wrap her hands and feet in cloth. He asked her of her name and she whispered, "Jeneiyl." When Canyon Knight was done, Stallion Warrior gently lifted her up and they ran out of the forest, back to where Falcon Frey was waiting. When he saw them he gasped. This girl was not an Ipon at all, but was a Jangeni! They quickly got her up on the horse and began to ride on. She was beginning to be faint from lack of food, water, and her own blood, so Stallion Warrior pulled out a flask of water and she drank. They rode on and Jeneiyl, though increasingly weary, marveled at the events that had taken place in the past day's time.
It was late and the sun was down when they arrived in Tensk. They shouted for the doctors and nurses to be ready for they had found a girl in the forest who they were meant to adopt as their own. Jeneiyl was handed over to the head doctor who took her to the hospital while the three rode on to tell their leader of their victory. The nurses there were very sweet and examined her wounds. All of her fingers were crushed and broken, the skin open and bleeding everywhere. Some of them were starting to turn black with death and they knew they must act quickly. They ordered two buckets of snow from the nearby mountains and prepared them with water. With one bucket they unwrapped her feet and dipped them in, numbing them by cold. In the other they placed her hands to help numb them while they got the tools for stitches ready and were busy fashioning some splints for her hands.
She was scared and screamed as they began to pull her mangled fingers straight and stitch up the soles of her feet. They order some special potions to be made and asked her if they should go ahead with tryint to mend her up. She nodded through her tears and did as much as her body would allow before the potions were ready. She drank them down and their effects calmed her and took away the majority of her pain. Soon she was barely aware of what was going on as nurses and doctors worked tirelessly through the night to amputate the dead areas of her fingers, try and set the bones back, and stitch closed the broken skin. Another doctor was busy repairing the small tendons and skin of her feet, sewing them closed. She had lost much of the skin of the soles of her feet so they had to sew on some animal skin until she could heal enough for it to be removed. Finally, after several hours, her hands were tightly and firmly bound in contraptions and her feet were stitched up and wrapped. She finally slept and continued to sleep for a whole day's time so that she could heal, waking only a few times to eat.
As she healed, she quickly gained the popularity of many because of her unique story and personality. For the first time she felt like she truly did belong. Her incredible story began to unfold and it became apparent that she was meant to do something amazing, seeing as the hands of both Terabi and Osai had saved her. Stallion Warrior was told by Osai that he and his wife, Autumn Alie, were to raise her as their own, which they did. They gave her the secondary name Alihi, which meant the beauty of nature, because she was found in the forest. As she recovered from her wounds, her hands healed crooked and almost useless, save a few fingers that she could work with. Her feet finally healed and she was able to walk again for the first time in the early summer months. She would forever walk flat footed and was known for her crooked hands, but she was not made fun of for it and instead was admired for them because it signified her past.
As she aged she went to school like everyone else and had many close friends. Because of her gift she was able to resolve tensions and convince people of her word. She used it for good and was very respected.In the years to come she did many great and wonderful things and was very loving and sweet. When the young Bedan was elected and crowned the first King of Kiillana (the new name for their land and tribe), he asked Jeneiyl Alihi to be his wife and the Queen. She was overjoyed and served her role well. They had several children, one of which would later become Tania Balthor of Jadali. In her time as Queen she would personally witness Dragon-Dodger's famous ride to Tavener and back, the ultimate defeat over the Enemy Uprising, the calling of the Original 13 of Jadali (one being her daughter), the organization of the land Tensk and its capital Tevernid, and the dedication of the land Bedan in the southeast with the capital Alihirae named after her.
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