Prey
novel, fantasy (synopsis only)
Pitch
When was the last time you read high fantasy that was not set during the Middle Ages? Prey takes the reader back to hunter-gatherer times, when people and animals still live off the earth, society and technology are yet unnamed concepts, and the greatest challenge is survival. The fast-paced free-for-all is like Game of Thrones, but with sword and shield replaced by wits and bone.
Blurb
The Canines, Felines, and Avians have lived with a tentative peace for years. Ever since Talloak became chieftain of the Avian flock, the greater species have kept a fragile balance of power. But Feline land on the delta is limited, and Canine prey in the mountains is scarce. Both Iris and Blackfoot, the Feline and Canine chieftains, are eyeing the Avian forest as their means of ensuring survival. But just as they circle in, the stranger Alvarek shatters the peace by setting the forest on fire.
Stats
- Version history
- Idea conceived 2006
- First draft completed 2016 (NaNoWriMo)
- Second draft completed 2017-2018
- Word count
- ~73,000
- Auxiliary word count (notes, outline, etc.)
- ~7,000 + map
Table of contents
- Prologue
-
Book 1: Forest
- Outlanders
- Felines
- Outlanders
- Canines
- Outlanders
- Avians
- Surds
- Canines
- Outlanders
- Felines
- Avians
- Outlanders
- Felines
- Canines
- Outlanders
- Surds
- Felines
- Surds
- Coda
-
Book 2: Mountains
- Canines
- Outlanders
- Avians
- Canines
- Surds
- Felines
- Canines
- Felines
- Avians
- Surds
- Outlanders
- Avians
- Surds
- Felines
- Canines
- Outlanders
- Avians
- Coda
-
Book 3: Plains
- Outlanders
- Avians
- Avians
- Felines
- Outlanders
- Surds
- Canines
- Felines
- Avians
- Canines
- Avians
- Surds
- Outlanders
- Outlanders
- Coda
- Epilogue
Preview: Prologue
The low murmur of human voices was familiar, but it still made the magpie nervous. He flitted from branch to branch, flashing a pattern of black and white against the dark green.Here.
The thought stopped him from flying, and he rustled his feathers in protest. He shrugged the familiar mind away.
Come here, the human repeated.
The magpie opened his beak in a silent caw. Then he dropped from the leaves to a waiting hand, swooping the last few wingspans. He pecked at the hand, but there was no food.
Stay, the human told him. Food soon.
Talloak stroked the magpie's neck, keeping him calm. The bird wasn't any happier to be here than he was.
"They'll just hunt us down," Swiftwing was saying. "We've got nothing protecting us here."
Food, the magpie insisted.
Talloak sent him an image of the winter seed store. It had more seed in it than a magpie could eat in a lifetime. Soon, he promised. Listen.
"We've dealt with four-legs before," Twistedtree replied dismissively. "It'll be the same as every summer. They'll come here, sniff around, decide we're too tough to swallow, and then leave."
"What if they don't?" Swiftwing shot back. "What if this is the time they stay?
"Look," she continued. "The riverlands are dying. The mountains are dead. But our forest is alive and well. How long do you think it will be before they decide to risk everything?"
"We'll be ready for them," Twistedtree insisted.
"No!"
Swiftwing pounded the greattree.
"The only way we're going to get ahead of this is to go. Go now, and fight on our own terms."
Her urge to fly nearly sent the magpie off again.
Where are you going? Talloak asked him, amused. Listen.
The magpie couldn't understand the human speech, but he could feel their emotions. Talloak wanted that insight for himself. The council was too busy arguing to pay any attention to the bird right now.
"You said it yourself," Oakheart said, "the forest is alive. Why should we leave it? We can thrive here and get stronger. Right now we have fewer hunters than both of them."
"We can make up for that," Talloak spoke up. "They underestimate us. And we have Alvarek's weapons."
"That man is trouble," Twistedtree spat. "He's more likely to get us killed than all of them combined. We already have weapons that don't have to be butchered from people."
There was a rumble of agreement around the council.
Talloak shrugged and kept his reply to himself. He returned to listening, sharing thoughts with the magpie.
The argument continued, with the words lost on both the magpie and Talloak. The humans chattered like jays and fought over food, except that there was no food. The yellow-furred one snatched what the others had, even if it wasn't food. Nobody had any food.
Swiftwing, Talloak offered. Her name is Swiftwing.
Female crow, the magpie replied. Talloak couldn't tell if that was good or bad.
And Twistedtree? The tall thin one.
Also crow.
Interesting. Not a jay?
No jays! The magpie squawked in protest.
There was a moment of quiet in Talloak's mind.
The round one is a rat.
Talloak shifted a bit in surprise. How do you know what a rat is? he asked the magpie.
Big. Tasty. Claws that fight. Eats rats.
Who eats rats? Talloak asked, confused.
Crows! the magpie crowed, suddenly elated. He took off and flew around the greattree.
Talloak jerked himself back into his own mind and examined his council. The magpie was right—Swiftwing had talked down Twistedtree and Oakheart. Or maybe just Twistedtree, Talloak amended. Oakheart looked furious.
"This is your own death that you're creating," he threatened. "I'll have nothing to do with it."
He stood and left the cover of the greattree, disappearing into the forest. The others muttered a little at the outburst, but soon enough they turned to Talloak.
Without Oakheart the vote was easy: seven in favor of war. All the other council members wanted to fight. Talloak looked at them and wondered if he would vote the same way, given a vote. But in the end the council spoke, and the remaining task was his.
He gestured the magpie back to his hand.
"This is to the lakeside flock, then eastern, then back. Not deepforest." He paused to make sure the magpie understood. "Call for hunters. Call for hunters. Call for hunters. At summer's peak we move for war."
The magpie cawed loudly. He had his message. He knew the way. He squawked with pleasure, and the humans told him, Fly!
He took off through the greattree's branches and entered the forest, weaving through the trees. He had his message. He knew the way. Call for hunters. At summer's peak we move for war.
He flew swiftly, but he didn't go far before a glimpse of a familiar face caught his attention. The memory of good seed and stroking fingers brought him around to investigate. But with those memories came caution. The face belonged to a stoneman.
The magpie circled closer and thought, Food.
The stoneman was silent. It had no thoughts or memories. But it extended a branch, and in its hand it had the good seed. The magpie circled and watched the hand until his hunger was greater than his fear. Then he swooped to claim the seed for himself.
He snatched at the food and scattered as much as he ate. Then he pecked at the stoneman's hand. More, he thought.
When the stoneman didn't understand, he cawed at it. The hand moved underneath him, and he saw the stoneman's face again. It made a human sound, then it reached up with its other hand. The magpie investigated it eagerly for more food, but it held nothing. Instead it came around and pinched his neck painfully.
The magpie cawed in protest and flapped away from the hand. But it came back and clutched him even tighter. Though the magpie struggled, it wouldn't let go.
No more! he whined. He pecked at the stoneman with his beak and his thoughts. With a wild caw, he demanded, Free!
But the stoneman had no thoughts, and it wouldn't understand. Its fingers tightened around his neck, and they twisted more and more painfully. With a tiy snap, the magpie's thoughts became still as stone.
Varek slung the limp bird onto his waistband and dusted the seeds from his hands. He knew the magpie by its notched beak, which Talloak himself had pointed out to him once. Its presence meant the council had decided on war.
But Varek already knew they would. All the Avian chiefs were the same: obsessed with prey, the other species, and themselves. Not one of them remembered a time of war, but they all salivated for it anyway. It was fitting that they chose it now.
Varek checked for winged watchers and waved the others in. They appeared as a group from the bushes. They knew what his plan was and, more importantly, how not to interfere. They all looked at him with the same determined expressions. Then Ezre went wide-eyed.
Varek spun around to face Yellowleaf, one of the young messengers that was always afoot. She was brandishing a child-sized stone spear that only trembled a little at the tip.
"What did you do to the magpie, surd?" she demanded bravely. "He had a message. Why'd you kill him?"
Varek cursed his own stupidity. The bird must have sent a distress call. He sould have anticipated that and been ready.
"That's not your concern," he snapped at the girl. If he was lucky, the right tone would send the youngster scurrying. "The chieftain didn't want the message, I act on his orders."
He wasn't lucky with this one. "Liar!" Yellowleaf accused him. "Talloak would never ask that of a surd."
She spat the last word at him like it left a bad taste in her mouth. Varek looked back at her flatly. The hatred was nothing new, but for some reason it bothered him more than usual this sun. He distracted himself by thinking about how long it would take for the girl to wise up and call for help. Maybe she already had.
That thought spurred Varek into action. He casually sidestepped the spear and grabbed Yellowleaf by the shoulder. She barely had the chance to protest, "Hey!" before he slammed his fist backhanded into her forehead. The stone that he held dented Yellowleaf's temple, and she crumpled to the floor.
He left her where she fell and waved the others forward. Without glancing back, he took off through the forest. He was making up for lost time now. They weren't far from the greattree, and they all took up their positions silently. Varek shot Ezre a final look and took the leap. He stood straight and put a grin on his face. Then he drew a long, thin knife and stepped into the clearing of the greattree.
He had caught the council as they were leaving. At the sight of him, they all stopped and turned to glare. Varek ignored them all and walked right up to Talloak. As the chieftain extended the standard greeting, Varek slapped it aside and brought up his blade. It gleamed whitely against Talloak's throat.
"Your messenger is dead," he announced calmly. "Send a new one for me."
The council seemed at a loss for what to do. Talloak made a lot of half-sounds in his throat but couldn't seem to find any words.
"That's okay," Varek answered him as if he'd spoken. "I'll tell you what to think. Just send a bird with a spring flower, and we'll all walk away from this."
Talloak's eyes went wide, but he still didn't respond.
"Die, surd!" The cry came from somewhere behind him, and he rolled his eyes at the man's stupidity. Before Twistedtree could get his hands on Varek, Jina appeared from the undergrowth and intercepted him. In a quick movement, she punched the councilmember in the stomach and disappeared again. Twistedtree doubled over and moaned in agony.
"Sorry," Varek called, "I lied. None of you will walk away from this. You really shouldn't have put us in charge of skinning prey."
As he spoke, he backed Talloak up against the greattree. On the other side of the enormous trunk, Ezre was working away at a stone and a bed of needles.
"I can see none of you are going to be useful for this," Varek said. "In that case we'll just take what we need."
Varek looked around. Twistedtree was still moaning on the ground. The others were staring at him. Swiftwing was clutching her stomach in horror. Talloak stood very still under Varek's knife.
"Jina, grab the tablets," Varek called. "Get ready to go."
He ignored the scene and backed Talloak around the greattree and away from the council.
"Why?" Talloak managed to croak out through the knife on his throat.
"Because you sent that message," Varek answered. "And because you have a weakness."
As he leaned into the knife at Talloak's throat, the first tendrils of smoke wound their way up from the base of the greattree.