Warnings: None, I don’t think.
The Markiye Chronicles
Prologue
Markiye. A vast, untamed wilderness filled with history, wonderful people and wild pokémon. Markiye was huge and rested in the Eastern Seas. Two “arms” of the continent stretched out, one pointing west, to Kanto, and one pointing north, to the vast expanse of the North Sea and the great desert of the Pole. There was an island south of the continent called Parafral. Dotted throughout the Western Seas were small groups of islands and, one such group north-east of the continent, was called the Navidan Archipelago. The only reason it was of any note is because on one island there was a pokémon Gym and on another there was a Coliseum and on another, a Contest Hall.
There was a rudimentary Pokémon League in Markiye although it didn’t have too many challengers as Markiye was considered by many too big to traverse. It was structured differently than the other Leagues, too. Instead of fighting four elite trainers and then going on to fight the Champion, you’d fight four pairs of elite trainers in Double Battles. Then, if you were lucky enough, you’d get to face the Champion Duo.
The rules of the League state that: “Two trainers, being of sound mind and body, over the approved age of fourteen years may take the Challenge issued by the Markiye Administration Pokémon League. Markiye, as defined by the Administration, includes Parafral, the Navidan Archipelago, the continent itself and the Pole. These rules apply in these places and in these places only.”
It then proceeds to go on about approved pokémon and number of badges needed to enter the League. It also stated that only a pokémon caught in the wild or received from a Breeder was allowed as a “Starting pokémon.”
There were five fully-qualified, licensed pokémon Breeders in Markiye. Breeders Whitney and Falkner, Breeder Analise and Breeders Raphael and Courtney. Breeders Whitney and Falkner lived somewhere off the west coast of Markiye on an island, Breeder Analise lived in Tal Markiye and Breeders Raphael and Courtney lived on Parafral.
*
Two young children, about six or seven years old, one a boy and one a girl, ran through the large pine forest that covered most of Parafral with mischievous grins. The girl had long, flaxen hair that was knotted and muddied though her large grin with its two front teeth missing showed that she didn’t care about the rather sorry state of her hair. The boy, too, had a less-than-toothy smile and his short, curly brown hair was knotted and muddy.
The forest was dimly lit with a light that shot beams of gold with leaves and other things falling through the air, creating shadow. The boy and girl scrambled over a fallen log and carried on running. They eventually came out into a clearing with a large, clear-bottomed freshwater lake. There was an old, large weeping willow on the bank with a colossal trunk that arched out into the middle of the lake. It was an ideal spot for swimming and a place that the two children regularly visited to swim and to play games.
The two children quickly undressed and ran tittering into the lake. They jumped in and sprayed water everywhere and then started splashing water at each other. They began giggling and swam out to the middle of the tarn, kicking their legs idly. A few magikarp and koira fled from them and a poliwhirl croaked.
“’Hayn,” said the little girl, her hair knotty and floating atop the water, “wanna jump off the tree?”
The boy, ’Hayn, replied to her, “Yeah! C’mon let’s go climb it!” He started swimming over to the old, large willow and his female friend followed him, quickly overtaking him and clambering up the bank and onto the rough-barked trunk. A group of larkin took off when ‘Hayn’s chubby hand almost removed it of its tailfeathers. The girl soon reached the top and jumped off, drawing her knees up to her chest and held them with her hands, splashing into the water with a loud crash. Her friend followed her, whooping as he dived into the lake.
The two swam to the bank and lay there, drying off in the sun. A pidgeotto crowed in the distance and a brightly coloured draphly hovered above a berry tree, possibly pecha or leppa.
Hayn turned to the girl. “’Cor,” he asked, “will we be friends forever?” he asked innocently, turning his head to her. She looked back and him and smiled.
She said, simply, “Yes.”
*
Miles away on the vast prairie of the mainland, the sun was just setting over the pointed, uneven horizon of the Mightyena Valley, and the inhabitants of the Mightyena Camp of the Markiye were mostly eating or making sure that their tasks for the day were complete. One member of the camp, a girl of around ten years of age, sat playing with her doll, a plain, female doll with a cotton dress, no facial features, and black hair from the tail of Coyote, the camp’s resident alpha male mightyena.
“Mai!” called a strong, ancient voice. “Come. It is time for our meal.” The woman who called was tall, deeply wrinkled and had dark, dark skin. Her hair was a black-grey colour and fell about her neck elegantly. She held a long stick tipped with feathers and mightyena fur. The girl, named Mai, got to her feet and followed the woman into a tauros-hide tent where a large man with a lock of hair running down his head, a woman sitting, legs crossed, head bowed and a small child with a taillow on his shoulder.
Suddenly, the taillow flapped his wings and flew off. Tied to its leg was a piece of parchment that the by was happy to see gone.
“Mai,” said the man. “Sit. Eat. The harvest was plentiful,” he said.
“I shall, Father, and may it be so every harvest,” she answered with the customary reply. She sat and began to eat with her family. The little boy spoke.
“Papa,” he said, “when will we be moving camps?”
“When the swellow fly south twice, there is your answer, child,” answered the old woman before the man could get to it. He did not seem surprised that she did this; everyone knew that the old woman could pick the thoughts out of your head and speak them herself. The boy looked to his father for confirmation. The man nodded.
“Gentlefeather,” began the younger woman, “where shall we go next? Our lands are … diminished,” she ended.
“We shall go where we have always gone,” she replied sagely.
“But much of our land now belongs to White men,” said the woman, “including where we set up camp.”
“We shall go where we always go, Bluefeather,” said the old woman, and that was the end of the discussion. The family continued eating until a well-built, bare-chested young man lifted up the tent flap. Above his left nipple there was a tattoo of a mightyena’s footprint.
“Cokuum!” he said. “You are needed at the corral! A pack of houndoom is attacking the miltank!” Cokuum rose to his feet, touched his son’s head and exited the tent. Moments later a fierce, chilling war cry echoed about the camp as Cokuum mounted his noctallion and sped towards the corral.
*
Hundreds of miles away, atop a large, weathered rock face, two feminine figures stood. They seemed to be conversing about something that was rather important, or at least was to them.
One was tall and slender, the other small and bulky. The moon shone down on them, illuminating their forms. The tall, slender one had an ethereal beauty to her; she looked graceful, elegant, and her looks just commanded attention. Every inch of her face was defined; her eyes shone brilliantly and were large, round and stunningly blue. She was dressed in a simple, brown cotton dress but somehow she managed to make it look striking.
The other had an earthy look about her. She was beautiful, though in a very unconventional way, and her chubbiness only enhanced her. Her jet-black hair shone brightly and her eyes were round and expressive with a green shine. A few bug pokémon chirped and a noctowl hooted.
“What are we to do, Sumartal?” asked the short one.
“Nothing, Springah. We wait, and see how events play out.”
“But surely, if we do that then all can be lost,” answered Springah. Sumartal nodded grimly.
“We must confer with our sisters,” she said and began walking away from the rock face. Springah followed her, a look of grim determination in her face.
_
Again, revised, with all of the errors fixed. Chapter 1 –should- be up soon.
The Markiye Chronicles
Prologue
Markiye. A vast, untamed wilderness filled with history, wonderful people and wild pokémon. Markiye was huge and rested in the Eastern Seas. Two “arms” of the continent stretched out, one pointing west, to Kanto, and one pointing north, to the vast expanse of the North Sea and the great desert of the Pole. There was an island south of the continent called Parafral. Dotted throughout the Western Seas were small groups of islands and, one such group north-east of the continent, was called the Navidan Archipelago. The only reason it was of any note is because on one island there was a pokémon Gym and on another there was a Coliseum and on another, a Contest Hall.
There was a rudimentary Pokémon League in Markiye although it didn’t have too many challengers as Markiye was considered by many too big to traverse. It was structured differently than the other Leagues, too. Instead of fighting four elite trainers and then going on to fight the Champion, you’d fight four pairs of elite trainers in Double Battles. Then, if you were lucky enough, you’d get to face the Champion Duo.
The rules of the League state that: “Two trainers, being of sound mind and body, over the approved age of fourteen years may take the Challenge issued by the Markiye Administration Pokémon League. Markiye, as defined by the Administration, includes Parafral, the Navidan Archipelago, the continent itself and the Pole. These rules apply in these places and in these places only.”
It then proceeds to go on about approved pokémon and number of badges needed to enter the League. It also stated that only a pokémon caught in the wild or received from a Breeder was allowed as a “Starting pokémon.”
There were five fully-qualified, licensed pokémon Breeders in Markiye. Breeders Whitney and Falkner, Breeder Analise and Breeders Raphael and Courtney. Breeders Whitney and Falkner lived somewhere off the west coast of Markiye on an island, Breeder Analise lived in Tal Markiye and Breeders Raphael and Courtney lived on Parafral.
*
Two young children, about six or seven years old, one a boy and one a girl, ran through the large pine forest that covered most of Parafral with mischievous grins. The girl had long, flaxen hair that was knotted and muddied though her large grin with its two front teeth missing showed that she didn’t care about the rather sorry state of her hair. The boy, too, had a less-than-toothy smile and his short, curly brown hair was knotted and muddy.
The forest was dimly lit with a light that shot beams of gold with leaves and other things falling through the air, creating shadow. The boy and girl scrambled over a fallen log and carried on running. They eventually came out into a clearing with a large, clear-bottomed freshwater lake. There was an old, large weeping willow on the bank with a colossal trunk that arched out into the middle of the lake. It was an ideal spot for swimming and a place that the two children regularly visited to swim and to play games.
The two children quickly undressed and ran tittering into the lake. They jumped in and sprayed water everywhere and then started splashing water at each other. They began giggling and swam out to the middle of the tarn, kicking their legs idly. A few magikarp and koira fled from them and a poliwhirl croaked.
“’Hayn,” said the little girl, her hair knotty and floating atop the water, “wanna jump off the tree?”
The boy, ’Hayn, replied to her, “Yeah! C’mon let’s go climb it!” He started swimming over to the old, large willow and his female friend followed him, quickly overtaking him and clambering up the bank and onto the rough-barked trunk. A group of larkin took off when ‘Hayn’s chubby hand almost removed it of its tailfeathers. The girl soon reached the top and jumped off, drawing her knees up to her chest and held them with her hands, splashing into the water with a loud crash. Her friend followed her, whooping as he dived into the lake.
The two swam to the bank and lay there, drying off in the sun. A pidgeotto crowed in the distance and a brightly coloured draphly hovered above a berry tree, possibly pecha or leppa.
Hayn turned to the girl. “’Cor,” he asked, “will we be friends forever?” he asked innocently, turning his head to her. She looked back and him and smiled.
She said, simply, “Yes.”
*
Miles away on the vast prairie of the mainland, the sun was just setting over the pointed, uneven horizon of the Mightyena Valley, and the inhabitants of the Mightyena Camp of the Markiye were mostly eating or making sure that their tasks for the day were complete. One member of the camp, a girl of around ten years of age, sat playing with her doll, a plain, female doll with a cotton dress, no facial features, and black hair from the tail of Coyote, the camp’s resident alpha male mightyena.
“Mai!” called a strong, ancient voice. “Come. It is time for our meal.” The woman who called was tall, deeply wrinkled and had dark, dark skin. Her hair was a black-grey colour and fell about her neck elegantly. She held a long stick tipped with feathers and mightyena fur. The girl, named Mai, got to her feet and followed the woman into a tauros-hide tent where a large man with a lock of hair running down his head, a woman sitting, legs crossed, head bowed and a small child with a taillow on his shoulder.
Suddenly, the taillow flapped his wings and flew off. Tied to its leg was a piece of parchment that the by was happy to see gone.
“Mai,” said the man. “Sit. Eat. The harvest was plentiful,” he said.
“I shall, Father, and may it be so every harvest,” she answered with the customary reply. She sat and began to eat with her family. The little boy spoke.
“Papa,” he said, “when will we be moving camps?”
“When the swellow fly south twice, there is your answer, child,” answered the old woman before the man could get to it. He did not seem surprised that she did this; everyone knew that the old woman could pick the thoughts out of your head and speak them herself. The boy looked to his father for confirmation. The man nodded.
“Gentlefeather,” began the younger woman, “where shall we go next? Our lands are … diminished,” she ended.
“We shall go where we have always gone,” she replied sagely.
“But much of our land now belongs to White men,” said the woman, “including where we set up camp.”
“We shall go where we always go, Bluefeather,” said the old woman, and that was the end of the discussion. The family continued eating until a well-built, bare-chested young man lifted up the tent flap. Above his left nipple there was a tattoo of a mightyena’s footprint.
“Cokuum!” he said. “You are needed at the corral! A pack of houndoom is attacking the miltank!” Cokuum rose to his feet, touched his son’s head and exited the tent. Moments later a fierce, chilling war cry echoed about the camp as Cokuum mounted his noctallion and sped towards the corral.
*
Hundreds of miles away, atop a large, weathered rock face, two feminine figures stood. They seemed to be conversing about something that was rather important, or at least was to them.
One was tall and slender, the other small and bulky. The moon shone down on them, illuminating their forms. The tall, slender one had an ethereal beauty to her; she looked graceful, elegant, and her looks just commanded attention. Every inch of her face was defined; her eyes shone brilliantly and were large, round and stunningly blue. She was dressed in a simple, brown cotton dress but somehow she managed to make it look striking.
The other had an earthy look about her. She was beautiful, though in a very unconventional way, and her chubbiness only enhanced her. Her jet-black hair shone brightly and her eyes were round and expressive with a green shine. A few bug pokémon chirped and a noctowl hooted.
“What are we to do, Sumartal?” asked the short one.
“Nothing, Springah. We wait, and see how events play out.”
“But surely, if we do that then all can be lost,” answered Springah. Sumartal nodded grimly.
“We must confer with our sisters,” she said and began walking away from the rock face. Springah followed her, a look of grim determination in her face.
_
Again, revised, with all of the errors fixed. Chapter 1 –should- be up soon.
Last edited:
