I'm up on the tight wire

One side's ice and one is fire

— Leon Russell

PART ONE

The world was flat. This was intuitive. It was obvious. No one fell off. No one ever had.

On a world forever tidally locked to its sun, there ran a terminator that was a 22-mile longitudinal strip of Kapock rainforest--the Taputini. Vertically bisecting this ribbon of lush vegetation on an otherwise paradoxically dead world, precariously juxtaposed between ice and lava, was a mile-wide river running north to south and separating the two co-existing civilizations--the Tenz and the Phillippi--who each shared their respective banks of Taputini forest.

There was a single moon that revolved around this world, although it caused nary a wobble in the borders within which lay the planet's only verdancy, it's habitable zone of arable land and fresh water. The lands between the borders of this lush terminator were where that fresh water was neither ice nor processed instantly into steam, but ran melodiously so slowly that it could be caught in a cup. The water was plentiful, for the River Taputini was mighty, fed by what was thought to be a glaciated ice rim at the top of--again, what was thought to be--their flat world.

The Tenz and the Phillippi were the self-named ancient peoples of the terminator between the heat and cold, and they were quite similar. River Taputini separated their homelands, their populations, their religions, and their histories. But while these separations existed, like the river itself they were fluid. There were hardly any secrets between them.

No bridge was ever built from the Tenz to the Phillippi shores, because the leaders of both felt that good fences make good neighbors, and the river was as good a fence as could be. That is, one couldn't just saunter over bridging to get from one side to the other; thus, it was more of a process, involving a ferry and no small amount of pageantry.

Going from one side to another was meant to be a big deal and not something too easy, because it was felt that the flow between nations shouldn't be such a passive process, but an active one--one that meant something. The meeting of two peoples should be for a special reason and not for something as casual as tourism.

The Tenz occupied the Taputini Rainforest that bordered the bright, scorched west side of their world; the Phillippi people were adjacent to the east side beyond which was forever shrouded in frozen darkness. Even though both currently co-existed without conflict or drama, that had not always been so. In fact, a serious conflict had occurred fewer than 18 world-years prior which had taken a number of innocent lives on both sides.

As such, there were some aspects to their relationship that were somewhat tentative. One such item was the pending marriage of both leaders' son and daughter, which had been planned since long before their births, cancelled during the conflict, and then reinstated after their war as a commitment to keeping the peace.

This union had been foretold in the religious tomes of both peoples generations prior; as each people ticked off their pedigrees, one generation at a time, the countdown had run its course to coincide with the birth of one male child and one female child on either side of the river. This was the holy sign between the Tenz and the Phillippi that symbolized peace. Now it seemed the holy texts had come to their conclusion, and the clerics of each religion knew that this marriage would usher a new age--one that required a new encyclical to be written.

Everything would change--the interaction between the peoples of the forest and even their religions.

The Tenz and the Phillippi of the Tatupini got along for the most part. There was the usual us-vs-them jingoism on each side, mostly fueled by military thinking and martial attention to security, national identity, and ethnic labeling. It was, of course, the foretold union between the two of them that would finally forever fuse the Tenz and the Phillippi. as the prince and princess were coming of age, there was an excitement in the air--the taste of destiny. Finally, life would be able to move as one world, one flat bisected world of limited flora and fauna and water.

The two heir apparents, Tesh and Phinea, were pampered from birth for their role. They had each been sequestered away from other children. They had been relentlessly schooled in their royal duties throughout their childhood and adolescence. They had been instructed on the intended genetic union of their respective peoples by their sexual biology, presented scientifically in a way that only piqued their interest in the non-scientific aspects of their destiny.

Fertility on the world was limited, probably due to the geographical constraints that had affected hormonal physiology in some type of mind-body connection. However, the leaders felt their children, as chosen by their Gods, would not suffer being childless. How could they? The leaders themselves had been chosen so long ago!

Piqued interest has a way of winning out, and with the cooperation of trusted servants, it was easy for the betrothed to meet each other, driven by a need to know what they were getting into.

As it turned out, they got into each other.

Thus, in a manner of speaking the Tenz prince and Phillippi princess had already sealed the deal, an impromptu, passionate tryst provoked by their passionate worries over a political dissolution to their arranged marriage: they were in love. They were unfailingly, adolescently, stupidly, and forever in love. They made themselves their own heads-of-state and their edict was as final as it was consummated.

The flora and fauna on this world had evolved as a result of the unique aspects of the planet, some plants and animals favoring the warmer vertical side of the river, while others favored the cooler side. Ironically, it was the cold-blooded fauna that preferred the warm and, alternatively, the warm-blooded ones that preferred the cooler side. Alternate biochemistries linked them to their respective climate preferences. It was this gravitation of species preference which established the ritualistic differences between the Tenz and the Phillippi religions. They each had their sacred animals--symbols of fertility, bravery, and destiny.

Only one known living thing seemed to frit freely between both of these zones--the juvenile Golden Protector wasp. Although it was called juvenile, it was actually just diminutive. Although it was called Golden, it had a reddish hue, the golden only revealing itself as an accidental glimpse out of the corner of the eye of someone privileged to catch it at just the right angle. And although it was deemed a protector, no one was sure of--from just what--they were being protected. The mythos that had emerged in subtly different ways between the two peoples generally involved the insect's magical control over the planet's axis, keeping the terminator zone stable.

The Tenz and the Phillippi had no idea how correct they really were in this assumption.

This mysterious arthropod was an enigma, being only one of its kind. Forever, both the Tenz and Phillippi never knew of any other of its race and, without the concept of reproduction to consider, the wasp was felt to be immortal.

The lore grew and overlapped in both peoples--that it was the Golden Protector wasp that kept the ice from the fire and maintained the Taputini buffer between east and west halves of their flat world. And even though such a thing was deemed crucial to their survival, all attempts to capture it--if only to protect it--proved futile. Finally, it was adjudicated by treaty that any attempts to interact with the wasp stop and forever be forbidden.

There came a time, much later, when it became murmured about that no one had actually seen the Golden Protector wasp for several generations. Yet, the forest still existed, the river still flowed, and the lava and ice were still separate hemispheres. This prompted an emergency fact-finding meeting of both heads of state.

"How could this be?" asked the Tenz leader, Tenzor.

"I, too, ask the same question," said Phillipp III, the king of the Phillippi.

The joint council, of whose lineage were the very ones who had ratified the Golden Protector Wasp Non-interference Accord generations earlier, mumbled in confusion, no one able to proffer a rational answer.

"It must still exist," said Tenzor.

"Yes," agreed Phillipp III, "for our peoples live and thrive still, within the merciful bounties of the Kapock trees and within the protection of the boundaries of the Taputini."

"Well said," Tenson said to Phillipp III. "Perhaps, I wonder, if the wasp felt slighted by our non-interference with it?"

"It was only for its protection," added Phillipp III.

"Here, here!" and "Well said," and "It must be so," the council attendees interjected.

"Well, whatever the reason," said Phillip III, since all is well, we should just assume the wasp lives..."

"After all, the forest still lives, as do its peoples. Still lives," Tenson agreed--

"But is lost," added Phillippi. "Such is the will of God."

"Here, here!" and "Well said," and "It must be so," the council attendees again interjected. They didn't discuss which God willed it, for each people had their own. But which God was irrelevant.

There being no new business, the meeting was adjoined.

One day the leader of the Tenz called in his advisors excitedly. Once they all had assembled, he had the doors sealed shut. "I found today, in my garden, the body of the dead lost Golden Protector wasp."

"The very?"

"Indeed. Our one Golden Protector wasp. The very one. Our protector. Our savior! Oh, whatever shall we do? The scorched lands will advance and overtake us."

In an extraordinary coincidence, Phillipp III had called in his advisors to tell them that he, too, had found the body of the lost Golden Protector wasp in his own royal garden. Unbeknownst to both, the one-wasp universe lay shattered in the reality of two dead ones simultaneously appearing on both sides of the River Taputini.

"Fie! the frozen death will overtake us at any time," Phillipp III exclaimed. "Certainly we should warn the Tenz."

"Your Highness," offered one of his consuls, "perhaps this is something we should address with discretion."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean to say that our one savior, our one protector, has perished on our very own land."

"Go on."

"Won't it appear--or be assumed--that it was we, the Phillippi, who were responsible for its death? That we thwarted its protection? That we created the end of our world?"

"Which is surely coming," the king said.

"Such infamy is neither welcome nor deserved."

Meanwhile, back with the Tenz, "Shouldn't we, great Tenzor, assume the Phillippi will blame us for its death? That's why we should not report this."

Both councils, without the awareness of what had played out, felt their respective peoples would be blamed and agreed to officially swear an oath that the dead Protector, come what may with fire or ice, should be kept a secret. If both peoples had only a limited time before their deaths during a terminator Armageddon, would it not be terrible if they spent that time warring with each other?

Each member of each council--and Phillipp III and Tenzor themselves--went home that night wondering if they were to have their last night alive on their world. If they would, respectively, die screaming encased in ice or in burning fire by morning. Was it the end of the world?

Hardly.

The lost Golden Protector wasp--also--was hardly a bug.

The Lost Golden Protector wasp was an infolded 3-dimensional cross-section into our world from 11-D eternity, serving here to function as a world-axis stabilizer. In this respect, the Tenz and Phillippi were right about their worldview (i.e., their doomsday view). Even though both peoples would soon discover there were two, there were not. The dimensional infolding reduction resulted in entangled wasps of the same living being after passing through the double 3-D slit on their 11-D realm. The formula for this was large enough to fill several 12-story buildings.

Were the two (one?) entangled wasp(s) entangled dead?

Hardly.

They had retreated safely into their remaining 8 dimensions. And while they still held some sway on their world's axis, there were some perturbations.

King Phillippi III was startled to realize he was still alive and not frozen to death; Tenzor, likewise, realized upon awakening that he wasn't a cinder. Each of the leaders summoned their stewards to check the status of each wasp respectively. Each steward, almost as if they were entangled themselves, entered the supreme bed chambers wide-eyed to report that each carcass--under the protections of the Tenz and Phillippi, accordingly--were gone!

The usual crosstalk between the peoples was suspended that day. The joint fishing hunt on the river was canceled. The wedding preparations were placed on hold, and the bride and groom were each placed under house arrest to make sure there were no indiscretions.

The respective leaders convened their consuls again.

"King Phillippi," his chief consul began, "I know not the whereabouts of the Golden Protector. I secured the vault where it lay, and I stationed two guards at the entrance."

"Most mysterious," Phillippi III said. "Is there any suspicion of our forest co-dwellers in this disappearance?"

"Well," the chief consul mused out loud, "it couldn't have been any of us Phillippi. After all, they are them and we are us."

"Here, here," was launched from several mouths. Phillippi III wrapped the fingers of both his hands simultaneously on the consulate table.

"It may be time to make the announcement to the Tenz authorities?" he said tentatively, raising his voice on the last syllable, as if it were a question.

"No," the chief counsel answered. "Especially if they are involved."

"How? The vault was sealed and there were guards."

"I don't know, Sire. But you know how they are."

Meanwhile, Tenzor was investigating the similar disappearance under his own watch. "No, counsel, I don't know how they are," he said. "Tell me."

"We have no reason to distrust them except that they are very cold people."

"Here, here," from the table.

"I'd like to go with my gut," said Tenzor, "and I'd like to make a surprise visit to King Phillipp." The table went completely silent. "Make this happen, counsel."

The counselors were supercilious beyond the number of actual raised eyebrows, but their leader had spoken and the preparations began.

High above River Taputini two Golden Protector wasps danced on the breeze that blew over the forest canopy that stretched over both sides of the water. They exfolded into multiple dimensions, then shot up high into the jet stream. Below, the heat that bordered the Tenz and the cold that contained the Phillippi began to move toward the central vertical river.

Tenzor, as he ferried across the river to see his counterpart of the Phillippi, noticed something never seen before in the world. Looking coldward toward the Phillippi he saw a layer of red light on the horizon. He felt it strange, because the cold side horizon seemed to be glowing, as if with severe heat.

Phillippi III's intelligence corps was excellent, so he knew about the pending visit from the Tenz leader. Standing on the shore of his side of the river, he noticed something he had never seen before. People on other worlds might call it dawn or dusk. But with the recent scare of the dead Protector, Phillippi realized the world was in motion.

"This is how it ends," he said out loud. His ferry crew lost the color in their faces. "Stop!" he commanded. The oarsmen dutifully obeyed. "We're in the middle of the river. Whatever is approaching us from the horizon comes here last. I am your leader, and I must be last to perish."

By this time, Phillipp had concluded the episode the same way. "Fetch my daughter," he commanded. His entourage started shifting their feet nervously, otherwise immobile--otherwise not off to fetch anything. "What! Why aren't you off now? Fetch my daughter!"

"Sir," the head armed escort began, "she is currently not available."

"Why is that? Is she with the Moon?" as the quaint saying went.

"No, sir, she is with the Tenz prince."

Phillipp's face blanched, then reddened in rage. He began formulating a plan for quick and harsh punishment for his guards when there appeared in the distance a sailing vessel to the north of them ducking in and out of a rolling mist that was moving toward them. This was puzzling, because any movement issued forth from the East or the West, between the two peoples settled in the forest. North and South simply were not directions of action in their world.

Tenzor stood on the bow of his official state ferry and noted the southbound vessel, too. He listed skillfully with the boat, in amazement, as the mysterious vessel continued on an intercept course with his ferry. Murmuring ensued among the two sets of contingents. Truly this was unprecedented: someone who was neither Tenz nor Phillippi--not traveling East or West.

All life on the planet seemed to stop as the sailing vessel approached. Finally, Tenzor ordered his ferry to continue to Phillipp's shoreline; he felt whatever was coming required both of them, unified, as the stewards of their world. The mist that shrouded the mysterious boat allowed only identification of how many sailors there were on it, but not any features.

True to the novel circumstances, what finally arrived was neither Tenz nor Phillippi. It was both, for the leaders would soon be surprised to see their children.

Phillippi III's dock had received the Tenz state ferry, but there was no conversing between the two leaders. All eyes were fixed on the mist rolling in from the North.

As if to make an ostentacious entrance, the mist parted like curtains being drawn, and a rope was thrown from someone on the bow. That someone was Tesh, the Tenzor prince and heir apparent to his people. Phinea, the Phillippi princess, stood behind him smiling the smile of naïvité that came with such puerile unions.

Tenzor lowered his head and when he raised it up again, his eyes were glaring at his guard contingent. They snapped into battle readiness with the shuffle and slapping of sudden posture arrangement and grasping of their weaponry.

Phillippi just stared at Phinea in disbelief. These two children, as he regarded them, were together alone, and they had been alone for some time, all of it clandestine and in the privacy of their sailing vessel. No one else was aboard.

"Father," began Tenzor. Tenzor held up his hand, forbidding him.

"No!" shouted Phinea to Tenzor. "Hear him, sir." Tenzor's grimace didn't exactly soften, but it did reach a type of neutrality.

"I have news from the other side of the world, Father. And," to Phillipp III, "your highness."

"The other side of the world?" Tenzor blurted in disbelief. "There is no other side of the world. The world is flat. It ends to the north where the river overflows the top edge and to the south where it overflows the bottom." All in witness began laughing at how unnecessary it was to explain such an intuitive truth. It was axiomatic, figuring into the religious instruction of both the Tenz and the Phillippi.

"No," Phinea said defiantly. "That is all wrong now. We have seen it. We have sailed south from here, found the great iciness at what we thought was the end of the world, and the tide from the Moon opened a channel through it, and going farther south became for us sailing north."

"How is that possible, daughter?" Phillipp III asked in ridicule. "This cannot be true, or you would have fallen off!"

"Because our world is round, not flat."

All laughed until abruptly stopping at the upraised hand of Tenzor.

"It's true," agreed Tesh, in confident affirmation.

Tesh reached down to pick up a small box and presented it to all there. He slowly opened its lid and from it a pair of Golden Protector wasps fluttered out.

Two!

Tesh and Phinea each held out a hand and a wasp lighted on each. This was no less astounding than a religious vision. All people on the shore fell to their knees.

"Our world is saved," said one of the Tenz soldiers when all saw the two Golden Protector wasps ascend out of site.

"By this union of Tesh and Phinea," a Phillippi guard added.

The two fathers stood in silence and trembled. It remained awkward until Tenzor walked from the dock to Phillippi and extended both of his arms. The two men embraced each other tightly to the cheers on both sides of them. Then they released each other and turned to the young couple. Tenzor embraced Phinea, his new daughter-in-law, and Phillipp III embraced his new son-in-law, Tesh.

While the rest of the two kingdoms were getting more and more inebriated, Tenzor and Phillipp III sat in arduous, focused negotiation designing a new world order. The nations were now joined in sacred bonds, and the couple symbolized the new unified realms on either side of River Taputini. After two days of wanton debauchery outside their doors, they were ready to receive the new couple upon whom the entire all-encompassing document relied.

Both Tenzor and Phillipp III would sign, but so should the miraculous couple who single-handedly ushered in a new wonderful age; and the fact that they brought with them two Golden Protectors and not just one--as it was believed to be, only gave an additional guise of magic to their union. Surely the world was safe from the fire and the ice.

But what of this other side of the world?

The religious prelates of both nations had also met to issue a joint encyclical, which coincidenatlly was completed at the same time as the sovereign governing edict.

From the Clerical Council of the Church of the Tenz and the Basilica of the Phillippi:

Our great books did not say our world was flat. They only implied it by stating that the holy among us will never fall off. Truth revealed, no one has. And although the land appears flat, Tesh and Phinea have insructed us otherwise. Their tales of another realm of forest on the other side of the world can only mean we live on a sphere so big it only appears flat to us. Otherwise, anyone on the other side of a flat world would fall off, and our royal prince and princess returned intact and in the flesh. Our Supreme Being--whichever one of our two is the true One, works in mysterious ways. Nothing falls off, except the lost Golden Protector wasps, but they fall up. It is not up to us to interpret the Supreme Being, only to accept what appears to us as truth until a new truth replaces it. This is called Faith, and the lack thereof may still risk falling off this sphere, as it is. No shapes are more adherent than others. Whether flat of round. That's what we have learned by this God-given epiphany.

As expected, there were some growing pains in the new world order, but over the months the unification matured peacefully. When all seemed as if it were going smoothly, portending for a glorious river civilization spanning both sides, the bottom dropped out.

"The royal couple are gone!" shouted a handmaiden. The couple had rotated residencies on either side of the river, so it was the Phillippi guards who alerted Phillipp III. He immediately was ferried to Tenzor's residence for a meeting.

When he arrived, he was shown into the proclamation room, whereupon Tenzor presented the letter from Tesh and Phinea. Although they both had signed it, it was obviously Phinea's penmanship.

Dear loving parents,

This is the hardest thing to do, since both our mothers had been killed in that great stupid war. We've come a long way, have we not? We think so. Suspicion is extinct and ill-will between our peoples is a relic of unhappier times. The Protectors live on as does our way of life between the lava and the frozen-over desert. The River Taputini is clear, clean, and replete with the swimming life that helps sustain us. The fruit is plentiful and the ground fertile. Our natural environment is stable and expectations of each day are never disappointing.

There is a whole new world. Our exploration and surveillance of the continuing river on the other side, and its own lush forests, have shown it to be uninhabited by being such as us. And the animals and plants are according to an entirely different plan. Perhaps there is only one God there, and he must be mighty. Or she?

There is a particularly lovely garden where fruit trees stand tall and plentiful. We have set out for it and wish to settle it. If we haven't returned by the time you read these words, you should assume the South passage was still patent. Although we could hardly fit past the North one when we had returned months ago. We believe this to be a once-in-a-millenium phenomenon. If it remains open, we will return with our family (I am with child now); we will visit. But we will return there, for that will be our home. Our world. Our future. We will be fruitful and multiply and fill that world. If the passages seal, perhaps in hundreds of generations our two peoples will meet.

Tenzor handed the letter back to Phillippi. "We should set out an expedition at once to retrieve them," he said. "Our unification is fragile."

"No," Phillippi replied. He could hear his daughter's voice in the written words said out loud. It was a benevolent voice and portended benevolent things.

"You are right," Tenzor said. "They are with child and that is the confirmation of their independence to act as they want. I wonder if we should confer with the clerics on this."

"Oh, no," Phillipp III blurted. "Don't involve them in anything important. If there be any catastrophic repercussions, certainly the wasps will be back. And God knows what else."

"Then we should be careful," Tenzor urged. "We've run out of sons and daughters." Phillipp nodded in agreement.

"Is it me, or is it getting cold in here?" he asked Tenzor.

PART TWO

The Old World and the New World were ready. They were poised to assume their geographic destiny. The entire globe trembled. Then it shimmied. Then it began moving in a spin. The whole process taking a world-year.

First the winds began, and the river peoples had to batten their windows and doorways. Many domesticated animals were lost and much vegetation was battered beyond salvage. Above them, the people witnessed the stratospheric meeting of fire and ice, day and night for months. High above were the explosions of mutually exclusive elements, forced into sublimation. A rosy fog covered the lands, filtering the sunlight into a moire pattern of shimmying rainbows that crisscrossed themselves, inventing new hues never before witnessed.

Next, the dawns and dusks flickered on both sides of the River Taputini. The Tenz and the Phillippi had never seen such horizons to the East and the West.

Even more miraculous was the moving of their outlying borders. The lava receded and hardened; the ice melted and water flowed over the salt beds that had lay hidden immemorial. As the lava cooled, mountains erupted upward with thunderous noise and ground-shaking; as the salt beds mixed with the melted ice, an ocean brewed.

Ultimately, dawn repeated according to the circadian rhythm of the Tenz and the Phillippi; dusk came for every day's end. An age of unaccustomed fertility ensued, and the intermarriage between the two river peoples became fashionable. Soon, an ocean lay to the East and a continent lay to the West. There would be an explosion in population with many places for them to migrate.

PART THREE: 800 world-years later

The ancient patriarch and matriarch, Tesh and Phinea, had been fruitful and had multiplied. The long-perished Tenzor and Phillipp III rest in peace in the history books. The North and South Passages had never returned to patency, now covered with miles-high glaciers. Thus, an ocean separated the New World from the Old World on one side, and a dense forest continent on the other. The way was also blocked by at the ice caps.

When maritime progress finally allowed long voyages, it was the people of the Old World who would venture to their counterpart first, as they were a millennium ahead in their history, knowledge, and even existence.

They had heard the mythos of the antediluvian Tenzor and Phillipp III, and how the Golden Protector wasps had ascended above the heads of the betrothed Tesh and Phinea, high enough to take with them the Grand Attractor that was their anchor to an unchanging hellish day and forever frozen night.

The Tenz contemporary scientists would call it an axis, for they had long separated the science from the mythology. They understood that this axis wasn't functional until whatever the lost Golden Protector wasps symbolized set the torque about it into operation. Thus, their science, far advanced from that of the New World, would measure the tilt of this axis to explain seasons.

The New World mythos, however, explained it differently, appreciating the nature of the Golden Protectors but not necessarily understanding the science. It was no matter, for it was--for the New World--that science and religion were the same.

Their Good Book's first lines read,

In the Beginning, Father Tesh and Mother Phinea came to the New World at the behest of the Golden Protectors, who had absconded to establish the VOID that then was filled with the World Motion that begot night and day. The nature of the Golden Protectors is one of the Mysteries, which we celebrate as fertility in the newly returned Warmed Months each World-Year, and from which we ourselves take part in body and in blood. Blessed are the Golden Protectors, for They allow the World to sustain our bodies while they sustain our very Souls.

There came the day that the ships from the Old World reached the shores of the New World. The ship captain, as now recorded in the history tomes, had told the seminal story of first contact:

These are primitive people, yet they possess wondrous things--novel foodstuffs, amazing beasts of burden, and precious metals. Their men are strong and can lift mightily, and their women are seducing for childbearing. This find is Our find, and we can benefit greatly by settling here in this New World and shaping its future.

It is evident that these primitives need the guidance, leadership, and direction of our Old World to steady the rudder of their journey toward our combined destiny.

Far away in other dimensions, a pair of Golden Protector wasps circled this discovery of the New World by those from the Old World and re-envisioned an axis stayed in its rotation; re-imagined the impurities of the age purged by fire and ice. High in the stratosphere, they fluttered their wings in indecisiveness: whether to tidally lock this world in termination of fire and ice.

Note: The story is from the perspective of the bolded labels

Ren of the Bumblebee Elves

Appearance: A combination of a humanoid bumblebee (https://milk-magazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/melissa-bee.jpg) and an elf (https://www.worldanvil.com/media/cache/cover/uploads/images/a6a7885913ce2ded96bbae49894da9b0.PNG)

Clotted clumps of yellow fuzz stick to the clear, sticky substance that is violently splattered across the tree trunk of the Great Kapok Tree. The two thin hairs that stuck out from the lightly wrinkled bark of the tree are all that remain of the juvenile’s legs. The mutilated remains of the young Golden Protector seared into all of our minds. His name was Amal.

Image of Great Kapok Tree: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/kapok-tree-profile-1-400x400.jpg.optimal.jpg

Kai of the Fire Ant Orcs

Appearance: A combination of a humanoid ant (https://www.reddit.com/r/characterdrawing/comments/3zwyuz/rf_humanoid_ant_for_udas_lizardman/) and an orc (https://assetsio.reedpopcdn.com/its-not-easy-being-green-a-brief-history-of-orcs-in-video-games-1580836292361.jpg?width=1600&height=900&fit=crop&quality=100&format=png&enable=upscale&auto=webp)

The Fire Ant clan erupted into absolute chaos the moment the news reached us.

A Golden Protector murdered within the forest? Impossible.

I’m pushed forth by the powerful wave of fellow Orcs against my will. As I ride the wave that is rushing towards the Great Kapok Tree, I peel my ears and do my best to gather bits and pieces of information traveling along with me.

“The Golden Protectors are bound to their promise to protect us from the styga. But can they truly do so if they cannot even protect themselves?”

“There’s nothing we can do, endless creatures of darkness lurk within the shadows and can only be vanquished by the power of the Golden Protectors.”

An elderly Orc pitched in, “It’s true, those Golden Protectors may have been tasked with protecting all of us from all those uncivilized monsters who refused to sign the contract of peace, but now all they do is fight styga and guard the borders from those pesky Termites.”

Ah, styga. Those troublesome parasites live in the shadows with no physical form until they find a living creature to spiritually bind to and control. Luckily, Golden Protectors can prey on the spiritual essence of the styga to purge them. Even the arrogant Bumblebee Elves are all buzz and no bite; they can’t do a damned thing when it comes to fighting shadow styga. Then again, neither can we.

At last, I can see the magnificent glow of the Great Kapok Tree radiating from my end of the crowd, the only light with the ability to penetrate the uncomfortably thick tension filling the air. Despite being part of a three-way peace contract, there has always been an undeniable sense of distrust and rivalry amongst the three strongest clans of the Taputini Rainforest: the Fire Ant Orcs, Bumblebee Elves, and Golden Protector Wasps. Naturally, our clan, along with the Bumblebee Elves’ is among the primary suspects for the murder of the juvenile Golden Protector. Even so, there is a sense of respectful mourning shared amongst us all. After all, whether or not we like it, we are all irrefutably under the protection of the Golden Protectors.

The golden rules of the Taputini Rainforest, engraved in the Great Kapok Tree, look more ominous than usual:

Never harm another being without good reason

Hunting for game is forbidden, but hunting for food with moderation is allowed

Major clans are forbidden from killing outside of their designated territories: Ant Orcs are restricted to the roots of the Kapok trees and Bumblebee Elves are restricted to the canopies of the Kapok trees

ALL beings are FORBIDDEN from harming Golden Protector Wasps in exchange for their protection

ALL beings are FORBIDDEN from harming ANY trees of the Taputini Rainforest

Violators of this contract will become shadows with no physical form, cursed to live forever in the darkness

Addition: Termites require special permission from Golden Protectors to enter the Taputini Rainforest

That’s right. The styga are creatures of our own making; violators of the golden rules. Nobody had expected for the styga to end up being such problematic monsters. Personally, I think the Golden Protector was killed by a styga, but I suppose it’s hard to believe since it’s never happened before.

I crane my neck up to witness the rare sight of countless Bumblebee Elves gathered in the canopies of the Kapok trees surrounding the Great Kapok Tree alongside just as many Golden Protector Wasps. The three great clans are nearly never found gathered together in the same area at once. It truly is quite a rarity. Slowly, I lower my neck and upon seeing them, I enter a further state of shock.

The Termites. Those disgusting fiends. It’s really no wonder they are banned from the forest. Those monsters are all the same. In fact, they are no better than styga. All they know how to do is steal wood from the Taputini Rainforest. If they were a part of our contract, it’s no shocker that they would violate it immediately; it’s simply impossible for them to resist their innate desire to scavenge wood. What are they doing here?

Though it is near impossible for us Ant Orcs to witness a large gathering of Bumblebee Elves and Golden Protector Wasps, it is even more impossible for us to witness a large gathering of Termites. Wait… Termites require permission to enter the Taputini Rainforest, which can only mean…

The booming voice of Rue, one of the Golden Protector clan leaders, suddenly rings in the air, “Thank you all for arriving on short notice. Now that we have you all gathered here, the meeting shall commence”

A crisp silence sweeps through the air, as the three Golden Protector clan leaders join their clan gathered atop the Great Kapok Tree.

“It is with great sorrow that we, the leaders of the Golden Protector clan, must regretfully inform you all of the death of a young Golden Protector, here at the Great Kapok Tree. This honorable location is a fitting memorial for the final resting place of such a brave, young wasp. Amal truly was an exceptional fighter, and he was always a defender to the very end. Amal, we all hope that you can rest in peace knowing that you did your best to protect this forest. Unfortunately, not much is known yet about his cause of death, but we are currently conducting an investigation in hopes of finding out the culprit soon”

All eyes drift towards the Termites, who are trying to penetrate our ranks. Then, our eyes drift over to the Bumblebee Elves whose gazes had shifted to us as well.

“Please do not point fingers until the matter has been more thoroughly investigated. We hope that this incident will not serve to form a divide within the union of our clans. We must remain strong and put up a united front in the face of adversity. Speaking of which, we have a new guest here today: the Termites”

Rue pauses for a moment as if waiting for applause, only to be met with an awkward moment of silence.

Rue clears his throat, “As of now, we are assimilating the newly officiated Termite clan into the Taputini Rainforest. They will follow our customs and abide by our rules, but will not officially sign the contract until their loyalty has been proven. That is all. This meeting is dismissed.”

Tori of the Termites

Appearance: A humanoid termite (https://www.deviantart.com/csvanstromer/art/Termite-humanoid-483518383)

I look down and try to ignore the piercing stares boring into us from every direction, full of distrust. Not that they’re wrong to distrust us. We may have been wrongly accused before, but after what we did to get into the Taputini Rainforest…

Not that we had much of a choice. Since we were banned from the forest, we had to resort to… other… methods of obtaining food. We depend greatly on the fibers of wood, but with limited access to the Taputini Rainforest, neighboring villages are suffering severely from dangerously high rates of famine and malnourishment.

At last, we have been granted full entry to the Taputini Rainforest. Though being excluded from the contract may appear to be a form of probation from the outside, in reality, it is a gift. By being left out of the contract, we Termites are free to take wood from the trees of the Taputini Rainforest without falling victim to the curse. Before, the only thing keeping us from entering the Taputini Rainforest was the Golden Protectors bordering the forest. All of us were too weak from malnutrition to have a fighting chance against the well trained wasps. Now, things are finally starting to change.

I slowly lift my head and look at the Golden Protectors huddled by the tree with pity. I can see a battle between sorrow and fear playing out in each of their eyes.

Those poor wasps. They don’t even know that the culprit is hiding in plain sight, standing right before them.

Ren of the Bumblebee Elves

I aggressively kick a pink flower hanging down from a Kapok tree, “Damned Termites, I can’t believe they had the nerve to show their faces at the ceremony like that.”

Images of Kapok tree flowers: https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1329156851/photo/blooming-cotton-tree-with-red-yellow-flowers.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=5mpBrKqIk21ndXlfxdFvkwmWgcsuXWDG8VQPinVZf24=

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6T06bsmyjk/VP3R7whvlAI/AAAAAAAAO7w/rtmIu6I_K8w/s1600/lapok_flower.jpg

“Yeah, I can’t believe those filthy creatures managed to make their way into here. If you ask me, they’re the ones who killed Amal,” Kyo, my coworker, pauses to stare at me, “Bro, if you kick the pollen like that, it’s not gonna stick.”

“Right, sorry,” I lightly brush my legs against the fuzzy anther of the flower, and ponder for a while, “Not that I would put it past them, but why would the Termites want to kill anybody?”

“Revenge, obviously. Who are the ones keeping all those pests from getting into the sacred Taputini Rainforest? Who are the ones securely guarding the borders of the forest from threats like them? In fact, the new leaders of the Golden Protector clan just sent out a fresh batch of newly trained recruits to the borders in response to the incident with Amal.”

“Oh, really? Huh, those new Golden Protector leaders are quite capable. It’s only been about a week since they’ve replaced their predecessors, and they’re already handling the situation so well.”

“True, it’s really quite a shame that the Golden Protector clan just lost their previous lil’ trio of leaders to old age. The timing is nothing short of inconvenient.”

“Actually, it seems a little bit too convenient, especially for the Termites. It can’t be a coincidence that they were granted entry immediately after the murder of Amal. Maybe this was all a part of their plan!”

“Huh, maybe you’re right. Now that I think about it, despite their competence, the new leaders of the Golden Protector clan really are quite the fools for sanctioning the entry of those rascals.”

I hear my boss’ voice call out from the distance, “When you’re all done for the day, head back to the hive to drop off any pollen you’ve collected and pick up some scoops of nectar. Today’s delivery day, so we’re going to be trading a few scoops of nectar for wasp venom at the Golden Protectors’ nest.”

Tori of the Termites

I listen as the other two leaders of our newly formed Termite clan laugh amongst themselves while lounging upon the roots of a sturdy Kapok tree, “Haha, I can’t believe our luck! They’re fools, all of them! Only a few days ago, we were out in the wild, begging woodpeckers for bits and pieces of wood. Now look at us!”

“That’s right, if we hadn’t witnessed the murder of that little brat, we never would’ve been able to strike such a great deal with the Golden Protectors!”

“Golden Protectors, my a**! More like Golden Devils! Those poor little wasps have no idea what they have coming for ’em!”

“It’s almost funny how little those fuzz balls know about their leaders. The kiddo shouldn’t have threatened to expose his leaders on the spot. What was his name again? Amal, was it? Yeah, that kid was too honest for his own good.”

Finally, I sigh, “I pity the kid. He’s got more morals than all of his leaders combined. If he hadn’t found out about how the leaders of the Golden Protector clan are just styga hiding in the skin of young wasps, then he never would’ve been killed.”

“We’re lucky we were eavesdropping with him, though. I’d say all of this wood is worth the price of our silence.”

Sigh… We aren’t much better than the leaders of the Golden Protector Wasps. I am only able to hold the title of “clan leader” now because I chose to prioritize the lives of my fellow Termites over the life of a wasp I had never seen before in my life.

Around a week ago, desperate to maintain their position of power, the elderly leaders of the Golden Protector wasps killed a small group of protestors who rebelled against the rule of their leaders. Perhaps they thought they would be excused for their actions on account of their contributions to the Taputini Rainforest. At any rate, for breaking a golden rule, all of the leaders were sealed out of their bodies and transformed into styga on the spot. In a moment of desperation, they tried to re-enter their bodies, and somehow managed to pull it off. But their brief moment of success came at a cost: they were forced to endure excruciating pain as long as they tried to remain in their corpses. Eventually, they decided to write a will including the names of each of their successors. Then they staged their deaths, making it seem as though they had all passed on from old death. At that point, each of them were free to exit their corpse and possess the body of their chosen successor. Mission successful. Anyone who raised suspicions regarding the deaths of the clan leaders were killed by them in secrecy, and the “new” clan leaders only had to claim they were sent off to guard the borders of the forest (we were able to find out their entire plan a while after Amal’s death, only after piecing together what we knew about styga and the corrupt rule of the Golden Protector clan leaders, and of course there was some guesswork involved as well).

They might have actually been able to pull off their plan, if Amal hadn’t gotten himself involved. The poor guy caught his clan leaders murdering several wasps in cold blood after returning to his nest late after a long night of patrol duty. The clan leaders must've been trying to silence another group of rebels. Instead of running away as fast as he could to inform some other clan leaders, Amal foolishly marched forth and confronted them. By the time he realized the reality of his situation, it was too late. He only made it as far as the Great Kapok Tree before he was murdered as well. Little did the Golden Protector clan leaders know, three Termites (myself included) on their way to appeal for more permits of entry had been inside the hive at the moment.

The three of us, now clan leaders, took a young wasp hostage and followed the four wasps to the Great Kapok Tree. We, along with our hostage, were able to witness the gruesome murder of Amal by the hands of no other than the Golden Protector clan leaders. At the moment, I was too focused on trying to save my family from starvation to consider the immorality of my decision to simply stand by as a young wasp was brutally murdered by his own kind. But now, his death haunts me to no end.

Slowly, the three of us (along with our hostage) approached the three wasps with caution. One of us kept an arm tightly wrapped around the neck of our hostage and another hand tightly clasped over the hostage’s mouth. The young wasp, helpless in the deathly tight grip of the termite, had already given up on trying to escape by then.

One of the Termites announced, “It is nearing daybreak. If you were to attack us now, you would not be able to finish us off along with our hostage before it is time for everybody else to come out. Even if you were to try to attack us, there is nothing stopping our hostage from running back to your nest to inform his fellow wasps about your misdeeds.”

The clan leaders were trapped and had no choice but to listen to the Termites’ demands. In exchange for the witness and the Termites’ promise to keep the entire incident a secret, the Golden Protector clan leaders signed a contract (separate from the contact engraved on the Great Kapok Tree) agreeing to openly announce permission for all Termites to enter the Taputini Rainforest. Quite the trade indeed.

I heard a little later that the hostage was taken away by the Golden Protector clan leaders, then quickly killed and buried before the ceremony announcing Amal’s death. Official news has it that the young wasp suddenly went missing the night of Amal’s death, and that his disappearance may have something to do with Amal’s death, but nothing is confirmed since no body has been found.

The Bumblebee Elves were also supposedly the first to discover Amal’s body after his tragic death.

Gasp.

In the corner of my eye, I can see a faint light reflecting off of what appears to be the wing of a Bumblebee Elf peeking out from behind a nearby tree root. I start to dash towards the light and get ready to stop them from escaping, but then I stop.

I suddenly remember the way the life slowly seeped out of Amal’s once bright, shining eyes, the way the pure faith he once had in his leaders was mercilessly crushed along with his body and soul.

And I let the Bumblebee Elf go.

Ren of the Bumblebee Elves

"...If he hadn’t found out about how the leaders of the Golden Protector clan are just styga hiding in the skin of young wasps, then he never would’ve been killed," I hear a distressed sigh full of pity and remorse.

My eyes widen and I lose control over my body, causing my nectar to slide out of my hands and slowly trickle down to my toes.

Who on earth would say such a thing?

“We’re lucky we were eavesdropping with him, though. I’d say all of this wood is worth the price of our silence.”

I flutter down to the roots of the Kapok trees, and I snuggle myself in between them.

Of course it's the Termites. We should never have given them a benefit of the doubt. But the Golden Protector clan? I refuse to believe that they were involved as well...

I slightly peek over the root blocking my view, and I freeze.

Damnit, I've been caught.

Without a second to lose, I break eye contact with the traitorous Termite, but not before I catch a glimpse of what appears to be... relief?

No, I must be imagining things. There's no way a Termite would be relieved that they've been caught.

But as I turn my head to look back one more time before I take off, I am shocked to see the Termite's back facing me. I can't help but crack a small smile as I zoom off and mouth words to the air that I pray the wind will carry to the Termite: thank you.

Tori of the Termites [One Year Later]

The day I let that Bumblebee Elf go, the truth about the Golden Protector clan leaders spread like wildfire. Golden Protectors immediately detained their clan leaders and went out to search for evidence of their crimes. By the next day, all three of the styga were eliminated. The body of the young wasp who was taken hostage on the day of Amal’s death was later found and given a proper burial.

Eventually, all of the clans in the Taputini Rainforest were officially dissolved, and all the beings in the forest agreed to live together in harmony as one. To ensure that no more beings would become styga, the contract between the three formerly greatest clans was officially terminated.

Up until the incident with the former leaders of the Golden Protector clan, nobody believed that anybody within the forest would actually be possessed by styga. After all, everybody had complete faith in the Golden Protectors’ power to protect us all. However, we have all come to learn from our mistakes.

As it turns out, many styga who managed to possess a living body had actually been living among others in the Taputini Rainforest undetected. Golden Protectors underwent additional training to learn how to determine which beings had multiple spiritual presences living within their body. Other species learned how to use the venom of the Golden Protectors to force styga out of their hosts. All beings living within the Taputini Rainforest worked together to defeat the styga until they were all eliminated.

Tori of the Termites [Two Years Later]

"Mama, look I can fly!," my precious daughter yells in delight, happily zipping around in the sky.

"I'm so happy for you, dear! But be careful, there are Wasps working up there today," I call out, hoping she will heed my warning, "Maybe if you stay on the lookout, you'll be able to catch your Papa in action!"

It took a long time, but we Termites were eventually pardoned for conspiring with the styga posing as clan leaders. Our efforts to get rid of styga alongside the rest of the forest gained widespread recognition, allowing others to realize that we had only worked with the styga to fight for our survival at the time.

It's been three years since the incident with Amal, and I have finally attained my long-desired life of comfort and peace in the Taputini Rainforest. I have even found the time to settle down and start my own family with Kyle, a kind and caring Golden Protector Wasp who saved my life during our battle against the styga. Ren, formerly a member of the Bumblebee Elf clan, is now my one and only daughter's godfather.

At last, I am full of everlasting warmth and joy. At last, I can look at the Taputini Rainforest not as a faraway dream, but as a place I call my home. At last, I am able to smile with pride as I reflect on my role in how far this forest has come.

ADDITIONAL BACKSTORY:

Rango (aka Rue) of the Golden Protector Wasps (approximately a week before the start of this story)

I am glad it has been long since we Wasps have suffered under the oppression of those tyrannical Termites. All those who live under our protection in the Taputini Rainforest have finally learned to place their trust in us, rather than their contempt and suspicion. It seems they have long forgotten the old ways of this forest…

A voice calls in from the entrance of the nest in a loud, booming voice, “We request an audience with the leaders of our esteemed clan!”

“You may enter,” I try to reply in the strong, commanding voice of a leader and I sigh when I realize how much weaker my voice has gotten from old age.

I am shocked when I see that there are not only two to three but over twenty Termites marching into the nest, fully dressed for battle, but unarmed. I glance at my fellow leading Wasps and seek some form of understanding but I am met with nothing but equal parts confusion and fear.

What on earth is going on?

“We are here to call for an end to the clan system. We request that you dissolve the union of the three greatest clans, to let all of the beings within the Taputini Rainforest live as one,” announced who appeared to be the leader of the bunch.

Suddenly, I think of the bruises once tattooed into my back and arms from flying shards of rocks launched with the intent to keep us wasps out of the forest. I hear the taunts of all those who once ruled over my people ringing in my ears, “You filthy wasps. You are nothing but useless scum mooching off the rest of us in this forest. Keep yourselves and your venom out of our sacred home.”

I was a weakling who knew nothing beyond an empty stomach. The current generation has no idea how hard we have worked to come this far. How hard we have worked to alienate the filthy Termites. How hard we have worked to establish the contract of the unions.

I refuse to allow this forest to slip out of my hands, back into the past.

I feel anger boiling in my blood, and I struggle to hide the burning fury in my eyes as the innocent, young wasps bow their heads in respect, a sign indicating their hope that we leaders will consider their suggestion.

I try to calm myself down, but then I turn my head to my left and see that my fellow leaders of the Golden Protector Wasps share my sentiments, and so my burning passion returns, securing my resolve. I lock eyes with them. I can see that they understand what I am planning to do, and they nod in agreement.

The poor, young Wasps misunderstand our gesture and their eyes shine with gratitude, “We truly thank you for your careful consideration. You won’t regret th-”

The three of us charge forth together and slit all twenty of their throats without missing a beat. Remorse sends a chilling tingle down my spine, but for no longer than a moment.

I had no choice. It had to be done, for the good of our entire clan. And then I remembered… the golden rules.

How could I have been so blinded by my emotions? Despite being Golden Protectors, we are not exempt from the consequences of the contract. No, perhaps we are exempt. We should be exempt. After all, we have saved so many lives from the horrendous styga lurking around everywhere…

*Gasp*

I suddenly feel myself slipping out of my body like water sliding down a smooth rock. I frantically turn to my partners in crime and give them a panicked glance, but they are too occupied to notice, as they too are experiencing the same problem.

It can’t be. I can’t have turned into a styga.

I find myself reduced to a puddle of darkness, chained to the shadows of my nest. I refuse to accept this reality. I am not bound by my own rules.

I concentrate on the essence of my spirit, then I lunge forth in an attempt to return to my body. To my great surprise and relief, I have returned to my body without so much as a scar. I see to it that my companions do the same.

All of a sudden, I feel lava running through my veins and my entire body feels as though it is burning in flames, “AHHHHHHHHH!”

I scream in agony, and I pray that nobody else in the nest hears my pained cries. Before the others meet the same fate, they quickly slip out of their bodies and return to the shadows. But I refuse to give in.

I ignore the agonizing pain that comes with each step, and I get myself out of the nest. I have no time to seek a more suitable body, and therefore have no choice but to dig a hole while in my own corpse. The burning sensation eats away at my mind with each and every single movement I make, and yet I persist. Eventually, the others eventually follow my lead. The pain leaves me begging for a blissful death but we manage to hide all the bodies in the ground in time. Within the past hour or so, I had also managed to come up with a plan to recover from this… minor… setback.

By the time I finish explaining my plan to the others, we don’t have much time left to prepare. But we manage to draft a will by the time the sun comes up and the young Golden Protectors emerge from their resting places.

“My dear Golden Protectors, my pride and joy, please gather forth,” I call out with all the strength I can muster, then I slowly sit myself down to calm my trembling legs.

“We, the leaders of the Golden Protector clan, are now announcing our official retirement from our positions in this prestigious clan”

I try to smile through my grimace of pain as I bear witness to the wistful sadness brewing in the misty eyes of my loyal followers.

“Fear not, for we have selected three very capable candidates as our trustworthy successors. Marcus, Rue, and Tengi, will you please step forth and accept your new role as the worthy leaders of the Golden Protector clan?”

I hear roars of approval and rigorous applause, and I feel satisfied with my decision. The three Wasps called forth come to us and bow their heads in acceptance of their newly given roles.

Their presence confirmed the quality of our decision… These three truly are the perfect choice…

I give them a nod of approval and they reclaim their positions in the crowd.

“There is one more announcement we must make. It is our honor as the Golden Protector clan of this forest to increase the effort we place into our avowed roles in this forest. As such, we have sent a dispatch of approximately twenty of our strongest fighters to the front lines around the borders of the forest. May we purge all the styga once and for all!”

Cheers fill the nest and slightly dull the raging pain of my curse, but I know that I cannot last in this body for much longer.

I immediately shoo everybody out of the nest except for Marcus, Rue, and Tengi. Such young bodies, thriving in their prime.

I grin at the eagerness twinkling in their eyes and tingle with anticipation, “Forgive me dears, but I can’t wait for much longer.”

Without waiting for a reaction, I swiftly slide out of my body and I hear the thump of my corpse hitting the ground behind me as I lunge into Rue’s strong, healthy body. As I strangle Rue’s spirit to take over control of his body, my actions don’t summon even a tiny sliver of remorse.

Perhaps this curse is but a blessing in disguise.

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind, the lifespans and activities of the fictional characters/life forms in this story are not 100% accurate to their real-life counterparts.