Imagine finding a space ship; what would you do with it? This fictional book explores that possibility! A man and his dog gain access to an interstellar spacecraft. Next thing to do is put together a crew. You very well can't start with a want ad in the paper, so you start with your closest friends and family members. Now you have to decided what to do with the ship. being a freewheeling entrepreneur, you create a trading-type company!
Excerpt
The twin suns of Lokkii are starting to set as the seven candidates disembark from the private space yacht to this forest planet. They are to compete to become one of The Three and those that do not become one of The Three, become prey. There are four tests that will need to be passed. The first is a test of an individual’s strength; the second will be a test of an individual’s cunning; the third will be a test of an individuals Shadow power; the fourth will decide who will be The Three. Each of these candidates has shown an affinity for Shadow powers, that is why they were chosen. Being able to use the Shadow power in and of itself does not make you one with the Shadow. It takes more, much more, to become one of The Three. You must have a dark heart as well. Once The Three have been chosen, they will undergo a year of training in the Shadow Arts as well as the use of conventional weapons.
Once trained, The Three will become as one; sensing each other’s thoughts and movements. Individually they will be strong; together they will be invincible. They will serve the Shadow Master as he sees fit doing whatever he bids them to do.
After a six-hour journey into the heart of the forest they arrive at the Shadow compound. The buildings are made of what can be found in the forest; branches, twigs, vines and leaves. The floors are made from rocks.
This first night they eat and rest. When the morning arrives the candidates will each face their first trial; that of strength. Each candidate’s test will be a test for him and him alone, no two are the same. The candidates are well rested when morning arrives and with it the first trial. Each of the seven are handed a sealed parchment as they sit in a Circle facing away from the overseer. The first candidate opens his envelope and heads out into the forest. He returns forty-five minutes later carrying what appears to be a large boulder on each shoulder. No words are spoken amongst the candidates regarding what the test was.
The candidate sits in the spot that he had started at around the Circle. The second candidate heads out returns almost an hour later with a multi-hued feather. He appears to have scrapes and gouges on various parts of his face and neck. He too takes his place around the Circle.
Candidate number three opens his envelope and after reading it heads out into the forest. An hour and ten minutes later he still has not returned and it is announced that he will not be returning to the tests. Candidate number four warily opens his envelope, reads the contents and heads out into the forest. He returns carrying a small multi-legged creature. Number five follows the same routine and enters the forest and he returns with a small cat like creature.
Candidate number six opens his envelope and smiles a small, obscure smile. He has to go into the forest, climb a two hundred foot tall tree that is marked with a black star, retrieve an egg from the nest he finds in the tree and return. He feels the test is insignificant and he will return unharmed. How hard can it be to retrieve an egg from a nest in a tree? Chi’tas’ sprints into the forest and approximately ten minutes later, comes upon the tree. As he looks at the tree deciding which will be the best route to climb to the top, he notices bones and skulls laying about the ground. Seeing this he realizes this test won’t be as easy as he had thought. Not having been allowed to bring weapons with them, he looks around the floor of the forest in hopes of finding something to use as a weapon. He spies a short piece of a limb that could be used as a club. He secures it in the waistband of his trousers and starts to ascend the tree.
In a short amount of time he has been able to ascend three quarters of the tree, where he rests for a moment. While he rests he looks around him, checking other nearby trees for any predator that might be lurking about. He tries to look above, but due to the time of day the suns are directly overhead which make it impossible for him to see anything above him. As he reaches the top, a shadow passes over him momentarily blocking the twin suns. Then, he sees it! It is nearly fifteen feet long, with a body similar to a snake. It has the talons and wings of a bird of prey and a head like a bull with three horns. Two horns are curved and came out each side of the creature’s head. The third horn has a short spike coming out of the top of its head.
As it passes over, he can see that its tail consists of a large barb on the end and for about a foot it is covered with smaller spines. It suddenly turns and heads towards him and before he can react its claws scraped his back! He’s only a short distance from the nest and his prize!
Using his prehensile tail Chi’tas’ grasps a limb above his head and swings up grabbing the limb with his opposable toe feet. He is then able to pull himself up to his full height and peer into the nest. He reaches into the nest and is able to steal one of the half dozen multi-colored eggs. As he does, he notices the creature is heading back in for another attack. As it attacks, Chi’tas’ tail still has a strong grip on the limb he’s standing on, so he falls backward to avoid the creatures’ strike. It almost works except that the creatures tail strikes grazes his shoulder. Fortunately for him, the creature was unable to strike with a killing blow. As the creature moves away Chi’tas’ simply lets go of the limb with his tail and starts to fall towards the ground. With limbs and branches rushing at him he reaches out and latches on to another limb with his feet. He only rests long enough to get a good swing going and launches himself to the next tree. When he lands, he quickly moves to the opposite side of the tree and drops another twenty feet before stopping.
He then launches himself to a third tree and allows himself to drop another twenty feet, descends to the forest floor where he immediately heads back to the Circle. Upon arriving at the Circle, he returns to his position and waits for the last to finish it’s challenge.
The second test consists of entering a maze, the walls of which are ten feet high and three and a half feet wide. You must exit in the shortest amount of time. The candidates enter one at a time, when instructed by the overseer. Finally it is Chi’tas’ turn. He enters and starts following the tracks of the previous candidates when it occurs to him that it would be swifter to traverse the maze from above. He braces one leg on a wall then places his other leg on the opposite wall using his tail to help reinforce each time he moves a limb. In short order he is on the top of the walls and can see where the opening is to exit the maze.
Prior to reaching the exit he jumps down and exits the maze through the doorway. The overseer is taken aback by the short time it has taken Chi’tas to cross the maze.
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