CHAPTER 1

They were there when He made ‘them’. They were in hiding when ‘they’ ate from The Tree. And they have been in hiding ever since. Even when a new era began and they were hunted.

 They started off as one big tribe, spread over the Great Forest. They were ruled by one family, and one family only; good and bad. Many years passed and there formed a group who terrorised the tribe. They destroyed house and tortured the people. Through their terrors they got a name – the Doom Dwellers. If you were caught by them or if you sided with them, you were as good as dead. Overtime, they got bigger until they took up a half of the tribe. Now, the current king, Montello, was at the other end of his fuse with these scoundrels. It was the day He was crucified, did Montello take matters seriously. He banished them from the tribe and separated the forest – East and West. The banished he confined to the west, no longer under his rule; the remaining loyal tribe members were secluded to the east. They lived peacefully for two years. When the last Royal died, with no heir, everyone went into chaos. Seven of the eight Head Officials wanted themselves to rule. They decided to have a vote – the Official with the most followers was proclaimed king. The end result led to all the Officials having the same amount of followers. The wisest – and quietest – eighth Official, who had one-eighth of the tribe, decided to speak up. His proposal – divide the tribe into eight Bands. Two Officials objected the idea, as they couldn’t live without a high ruler. The other five out voted them, understanding the general idea – they each ruled their own people. So it was decided, the tribe was divided into eight Bands – Moonlight, Igneous, Isle, Alkali, Argon, Bauxite, Mendeleev and Brother – an Official to each. The Head Officials founded the ruling house of Merclaim, Izac, Denver, Lawrencium, Fermium, Dysprosium, Sklodowska and Koi, and the Bands to every ruling house.

 It was two months after the splitting of the tribe, did they come. It was two months when they had their first encounter. They called them Cavats. They decided to build compounds – a holding and living enclosure for both them and the Cavats. They attacked the Bands and used the prisoners as rides and a means by which they could gain more. They were humans.

 The Bands had to go into hiding and move frequently. On one of their moves, the Brother Band came across a clearing. It was late and they decided to set up camp. The next day was a Band meeting, where the eight Bands gather up with the hosting Band and trade, discuss current Band news, the attacks on the Bands and eligible women. It was the Brother’s turn. They waited. And waited. Patriarch Buck Koi, son of Head Official Patriarch Trent Koi, sent out a search party for the missing Bands. They were found miles away standing in a circle around the grove of trees the Band was hiding in, unable to navigate their way through. They had to be led through to the Brothers’. Buck saw this as a good omen and tried his luck by staying longer than usual. There were no attacks. No one but a Brother could get through. Buck took his chances again and built a settlement. Nothing happened. They were safe. No compound, human, or band was able to get in.

 It was found that, the reason why the Brothers only knew the secret route was because the forest had reasoned that they were the band to be trusted into the sacred clearing. It was also reasoned that the forest itself was alive, just like you and me. A living, breathing, organism. So it was recorded. The Great Forest was alive, and the Brother Band was a sacred Band that kept to the old traditions while others moderned themselves. And try as they must, the compounds couldn’t infiltrate the grove. Couldn’t overcome the wild they originated from.

 There was another thing that sparked interest among everyone, human and cavat. What power did the Brother Patriarchs have? They were able to control not only their people, but other Bands and their Patriarchs. It’s told this ‘thing’ was just as alive as its host. It passed down generation to generation. Father to son, mother to daughter, husband to wife. It grew stronger the more trust and respect the host had. Otherwise it stayed the same. When a couple adjoined their souls, the host – always a Patriarch or Matriarch, whatever the first born of the Band rulers was – the one without the internal being was gifted with a little piece of that thing; only half as strong as the original mass. If the receiver was a girl, then she was strongest in healing; if it was a boy, than he was strongest in protection and strength. The internal being as a whole, was alive for the protection of the Band. If a third of the Band died or was injured, than its power was depleted a third and vice versa.

 So it was, no matter how much the Band died or grew, nothing would be able to phase nor harm it in a significant way as it would only be hurt double its affects by its protector.

<A/N: Sorry for the wait guys! I've managed to sneek in a chapter right before exam week. Sorry if you guys are waiting for a chapter for my other stories but I've sort of gotten bored with them and am interested with this one. Ok. sorry again if you guys have to wait long for updates. LUV YAS!