Ar’Zul

INTO THE UNCHARTED NORTH

Chapter Thirty-Five

⸻

The afternoon sun hung high above Korrakai Crossing.

The bustling merchant city continued to thrive beneath the great jungle canopy.

Panther merchants bargained with Gorilla craftsmen.

Children from both clans chased one another through the streets.

The sounds of hammering, laughter, and music drifted through the air.

Life had become almost ordinary.

Almost.

But inside the council hall…

A different future was being decided.

⸻

At the center of the chamber stood a massive stone table.

Spread across its surface were hand-drawn maps of Ar’Zul.

Most of the island had been charted over generations.

The Gorilla territories.

The Panther cliffs.

The former Snake lands.

The Hollow.

The merchant city of Korrakai Crossing.

The coastline.

The underground rivers.

Everything…

Until the northern edge.

Beyond that point…

The map simply faded into blank parchment.

No villages.

No roads.

No landmarks.

Only a single word written by an ancient explorer generations earlier.

UNKNOWN

⸻

Gorak stood with both hands resting on the table—his remaining hand pressed firmly against the stone while his left sleeve hung empty against his side.

Kaela stood opposite him, studying the map with narrowed eyes.

Beside them sat Zahren.

No longer wearing the ceremonial armor of a king, he instead wore simple dark robes under the watchful eyes of two elite guards standing silently behind him.

Although still a prisoner…

He had become something else.

An advisor.

A reluctant ally.

Or perhaps simply…

The only one capable of understanding the mystery before them.

⸻

Silence lingered for several moments.

Finally, Kaela spoke.

“So…”

She traced a finger toward the northern wilderness.

“This is where the ancient text keeps leading us.”

Zahren nodded.

“I believe so.”

“You believe?”

Gorak asked.

Zahren sighed.

“I wish I could say I know.”

He looked around the table.

“But these writings were never meant to be easy to understand.”

“They hide their meanings.”

“They force whoever reads them to earn every answer.”

Kaela folded her arms.

“So we travel into a place no one has explored in generations…”

“…looking for something we don’t know…”

“…that may or may not even be there.”

Zahren gave a tired smile.

“When you say it aloud…”

“…it sounds like a terrible idea.”

Gorak let out a deep laugh.

“It does.”

⸻

His expression soon became serious again.

“But terrible ideas have a habit of becoming necessary.”

He pointed toward the northern section of the map.

“If something connected to the Tide Stone is hidden there…”

“…we cannot allow someone else to find it first.”

Kaela nodded.

“Especially if the rest of Zahren’s council is still alive.”

The room fell quiet.

No one had seen Veyra.

No one had found Narek.

No one had discovered Sura.

Three of the Snake Clan’s greatest minds had simply disappeared after the fall of the Hollow.

Whether they remained hidden…

Or had already begun searching for the same clues…

No one knew.

⸻

Gorak looked toward Zahren.

“What exactly are we searching for?”

Zahren slowly shook his head.

“I honestly do not know.”

“A shrine…”

“A ruin…”

“Another chamber…”

“Perhaps another piece of the ancient text.”

He looked down at the copied symbols.

“The northern markings end abruptly.”

“It feels as though the story continues there.”

Kaela frowned.

“So we walk into the unknown.”

“Yes.”

She looked toward Gorak.

“I’ve always hated mysteries.”

Gorak smiled.

“I’ve always preferred things I can hit.”

Zahren couldn’t help smiling.

“And yet somehow…”

“…the two of you keep surviving them.”

⸻

Gorak straightened.

“I’ll be going.”

The room became still.

Kaela wasn’t surprised.

Neither was Zahren.

Gorak continued.

“If there are dangers ahead…”

“I will face them myself.”

He looked toward Doran, who stood quietly beside the doorway.

“Doran.”

His oldest friend stepped forward.

“Yes?”

“While I’m gone…”

“…Korrakai Crossing is yours.”

Doran nodded immediately.

“I’ll keep the peace.”

“I know.”

Gorak smiled.

“Like old times.”

Doran placed a fist against his chest.

“I won’t fail you.”

“I know you won’t.”

⸻

Kaela looked across the table.

“Then I am going as well.”

Gorak raised an eyebrow.

“I expected as much.”

She smiled.

“You would get lost without me.”

“I’ve survived this long.”

“Barely.”

The room chuckled softly.

Kaela turned toward Mira.

The Panther scout stood beside the opposite doorway.

“Mira.”

She stepped forward.

“Leader.”

“The Panther capital…”

“…and Korrakai Crossing…”

“…will be under your command while I’m away.”

Mira bowed respectfully.

“I’ll protect them with my life.”

Kaela placed a hand upon her shoulder.

“I know.”

⸻

For a moment…

The room became quiet once again.

Then Zahren spoke hesitantly.

“There is…”

“…one more matter.”

Everyone looked toward him.

He shifted uncomfortably.

“If…”

“If you truly intend to follow the ancient text…”

“…I believe I should accompany you.”

Neither Gorak nor Kaela answered immediately.

Zahren continued.

“I know I remain your prisoner.”

“I understand why.”

“But I am still the only person alive who can properly interpret these writings.”

He looked toward the scroll.

“If another chamber exists…”

“…or another language…”

“…you may need me.”

The guards behind him remained perfectly still.

Waiting.

⸻

Gorak looked toward Kaela.

She met his gaze.

Neither needed many words anymore.

A simple nod was enough.

Finally…

Gorak faced Zahren.

“You’ll come.”

Relief crossed Zahren’s face.

“But…”

Gorak’s voice hardened.

“You remain a prisoner.”

Zahren nodded immediately.

“I understand.”

“You will travel surrounded by guards.”

“I expected nothing less.”

“You do not leave our sight.”

“I won’t.”

“If you attempt to flee…”

Zahren finished the sentence himself.

“I know.”

“I’ll be killed.”

Gorak gave a single nod.

“Good.”

⸻

Kaela rolled another map across the table.

“We shouldn’t travel with an army.”

“No,” Gorak agreed.

“Too slow.”

“Too loud.”

Zahren added quietly,

“And whatever waits in the north…”

“…may not appreciate visitors.”

After several minutes of discussion…

A decision was reached.

The expedition would consist of only nine people.

Gorak.

Kaela.

Zahren.

And six elite warriors.

Three from the Gorilla Clan.

Three from the Panther Clan.

The strongest.

The smartest.

The most experienced trackers the alliance possessed.

Warriors capable of surviving weeks away from civilization.

⸻

Gorak pointed toward the calendar carved into the stone wall.

“We leave in five days.”

Kaela nodded.

“That gives us enough time.”

“Food.”

“Medicine.”

“Rope.”

“Climbing equipment.”

“Hunting supplies.”

“Replacement weapons.”

“Water skins.”

“Camping gear.”

Doran added,

“I’ll prepare enough supplies for at least a month.”

Mira folded her arms.

“I’ll send scouts to map the safest route as far north as anyone has ever traveled.”

Zahren quietly looked toward the ancient scroll.

“And I’ll spend every remaining hour studying these symbols.”

⸻

The meeting lasted until sunset.

Assignments were given.

Messages were sent.

Armor repaired.

Medicinal herbs gathered.

Experienced hunters prepared preserved meat for the journey.

Blacksmiths forged replacement spearheads and climbing hooks.

Every member of the expedition quietly understood one thing.

Once they crossed into the northern wilderness…

There would be no help.

No villages.

No friendly patrols.

Only whatever had survived untouched for centuries.

⸻

Five days later…

Morning fog drifted across the jungle floor.

The expedition stood assembled beneath the enormous northern gate built long ago by forgotten Gorilla ancestors.

Beyond it…

No roads continued.

Only towering ancient trees.

Dense vines.

Dark undergrowth.

Silence.

Doran adjusted one of Gorak’s supply packs.

“Everything you asked for.”

Gorak nodded.

“Take care of home.”

“You worry about coming back.”

Nearby, Mira embraced Kaela.

“Don’t stay gone too long.”

Kaela smiled softly.

“I’ll try.”

⸻

The six chosen warriors checked their equipment one final time.

Heavy packs.

Coiled rope.

Torches.

Medicine.

Spears.

Axes.

Curved Panther blades.

Everything ready.

Zahren carefully secured the ancient text inside a waterproof leather case.

He looked north.

His expression was impossible to read.

Fear.

Curiosity.

Hope.

Perhaps all three.

⸻

Gorak stepped forward first.

His single hand rested upon the handle of his newly forged war hammer.

Kaela walked beside him.

Zahren followed between two guards.

The remaining six warriors formed a protective circle around them.

Together…

The expedition crossed beyond the final border of known Ar’Zul.

Into lands no living member of the three clans had ever explored.

⸻

Only a few hundred yards beyond the border…

Kaela suddenly raised a hand.

“Stop.”

The entire group froze.

Silence settled over the jungle.

Even the birds had gone quiet.

One of the Panther trackers slowly knelt beside the muddy ground.

His ears flattened.

His eyes widened.

“Gorak…”

The Gorilla leader stepped closer.

“What is it?”

The tracker pointed ahead.

There wasn’t just one trail.

There were dozens.

Massive claw prints.

Enormous paw marks.

Hoofprints larger than a man’s chest.

Deep gouges where something with gigantic talons had dragged across the earth.

Broken trees.

Fresh scratch marks.

Signs of creatures unlike anything found in the southern jungle.

Kaela slowly surveyed the forest ahead.

“This isn’t hunting territory…”

She whispered.

“It’s a kingdom of predators.”

A low growl echoed somewhere deep within the uncharted wilderness.

Grrrrrrrrrrr…

No one moved.

The northern jungle had noticed them.

And the expedition had only taken its first steps into the unknown.