During the first two weeks of training it becomes apparent that the Prairie Thunder clan and it's allies are preparing for war. Of course this raises questions, which are easily answered "None of your business, get back to your training."

It seems that the Rangers are being kept in the dark on purpose.

Haaro, Kobal sends to his manul cat familiar, keep your eyes and ears open.  Let me know anything you hear of what all this preparation is for.

As he sees the tribe preparing for a fight, he decides to voice, in public, his own opinion as to why they're doing it, "It looks like they've decided to attack Corflu after all." though when he catches up with the others each evening, he is strangely quiet, almost worried, about it.

Ohanzee shakes his head "Attacking an island in the middle of a bog?!"

"Can't ride there and to gain what? No grazing, water is too available to be valuable."

"More likely the Red Thorns. They control access to the Earth Temple and the prime grazing about there. They've been a thorn in the side of not just us." He smiles at his unintended pun.

"And it makes sense to keep that from us, what with the ties some of us might have, in-laws or even kin in the case of some Rangers. Doesn't make sense to keep an attack on Corflu from us, no reason for it just as there is no reason for such an attack."

He nods and seems to relax.

Kobal nods in agreement.  "What Blue Arm says makes sense.  And the Red Thorn khan questioned me on the intentions of our clans, and the Black Shields.  Perhaps he saw the same likelihood.  But what will happen to the Earth Temple?"

Voras gazes intently at the Raven braves, the light emanating from his forehead piercing the shadows about them. He turns to Kobal and speaks "The words of a Raven often seem clear to Thunderbirds, but in this case I agree."

"I do not see the Earth Temple getting involved in any such dispute one way or another. The clans can come and go but the Giant's Finger Holes must remain so wisdom would dictate that the temple elders remain neutral in all such matters."

In reply to Voras (msg # 7):

He snorts in disagreement, "They wouldn't have stayed neutral if we hadn't given that disc to the Red Thorn shaman. So there's no reason to think they will this time, they might not want to choose sides, but they can be forced to. Not that I'm suggesting we do, but I think others probably will."

"There were many things that should have been done and that were not with respect to the Red Thorns. Tada giving them a mandate to stay around the temple was an unwise decision. It might be that our three clans together believe the Giants Finger Holes should be open to all....but I doubt this is their objective." Amara watched the others. "There is no real profit to it. We have three clans united, what would they risk their survival on? The Giants Finger Holes is a holy place. I'm not convinced that it is where they intend to send braves to die."

Amara shrugged "I can only hope it is not Corflu. That place was sick and evil and I fear for any tribe wishing to have anything to do with it."

"Send braves to die?" Ohanzee responds to Amara with her own words followed immediately by a dismissive "Pfft! Send braves to victory more like."

He then vanishes into the darkness away from the fire "I'll be back before you have to throw another dung pat on the fire."

He isn't back quite so soon as the boast, but then perhaps that is because the fire is burning through quicker in this season. Hunkering down he speaks quietly to the other Rangers present "Sometimes I wish I were not right so often and this is one such time. It is the Red Thorns."

Amara gave a disdainful look to Ohanzee. "The Red Thorns can be defeated...however they are numerous. To think we can defeat them with no losses is idiocy." She left immediately after Ohanzee and returned shortly after him too.

"Indeed. The Red Thorns." Amara sat down once more "We are being kept apart as they feel we have too many connections to them. We need to make a good case to the elders if we are to join the attack" Amara looked thoughtful "I wonder if having one of us appear as Tada might make this fight easier?"

Ohanzee looks at Amara a long moment and then speaks "You speak so often of uniting the peoples but now you would have us join in clan warfare."

"Do you want me to tell Sand Fox so he can be Tada come to defend his home and family against the marauding invaders our clans are?"

Amara shook her head at Ohanzee "Like any and all typical ravens twisting my words." her lips thinned showing displeasure at ohanzee's words. "If one of us is Tada, then we might be able to broker some compromise. The Red Thorns are a stranglehold on the Giants finger holes. They are parasites, not praxians. If one of us is Tada then any who attend at the Giants finger holes need to pay attention to that." she glared at Ohanzee "Battle might be avoided...or perhaps mitigated at worst. Even the Earth Witch pays attention to Tada. Right now we're preparing for war. With Tada, we might yet force the Red Thorns into an alliance."

"Aye," says Kobal.  "I don't think the Earth Temple would choose sides.  But one side or the other may try to force or cojole them to choose sides.  Both sides will want to be able to claim that they have the support of the Earth Temple - it will shore up their claim to control the oasis."



"No, I agree with Ohanzee," says Kobal.  "The secrecy of our clans suggests it's the Giants Finger Holes at which they are focused.  Perhaps some of those who have stepped up recently to join the Wandering Rangers but have not yet been initiated may have heard whispers...

"The only other threat I can think of at present is the massing of the morokanth.  But still the Red Thorns make more sense.

"Either we consider Amara's suggestion of the intervention of Tada, or we look for a common threat that might cause the two sides to put aside their differences, at least temporarily.  The Lunars.  Or Chaos."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:13, Mon 17 Oct 2016.

"Spilling blood round the Finger Holes will not help the greening of the land. For all that the Red Thorns are wrong in claiming it, it seems a waste to shed blood over it when there is still so much chaos or the Lunars to fight. Trying to use Tada to bring a peaceful resolution seems better for all that the Red Thorns need to be shown their errors."

ohanzee is about to respond to Kobal and Amara when Henal speaks. He listens and then after a moment speaks again "Using Tada to bring about a peaceful resolution is would be good."

"But if the Red Thorns still refuse to move then what? Will Tada remain neutral? Will he stay out of any fight?"

"Kobal-Tada has already bid the Red Thorns remain and guard the place, so will the next Tada, which ever Ranger it may be, tell them to leave and if they do not do as he bids now turn on them? Would you make Tada and the Wandering Rangers into liars and deal breakers?"

"Or would you protect the place and Tada's own chosen guardiens, the Red Thorns and in so doing turn against you own clans?"

He sighs looking at Kobal "There is a third option, we do nothing, just like our clans want us to do."

"Because any move made by us to get them to leave or to fight them, especially if done so by Tada or in his name, will be taken by our enemies as an example of the how we break deals and side with uor own." He shrugs looking at his finger nails "Not just by our enemies, as a Raven I'd recognise it as such."

Then looking up at Kobal again he adds "Every action has repercussions and the bigger the action" he leaves the rest unsaid.

When it seems that people have paused a while to think about what Ohanzee said, Temush gives his opinion. "Though I don't know all the ins and outs of how we come to this choice, it seems to me that we would need top notch grounds to fly in the face of your clan in their choice of war or peace. While we see fit to ask them to train us and to live on the land that they hold, the most that we can do in good faith is to ask the Khans to try out some plan short of war that we may come up with, and how we would sell them on that I don't know. Before you came back to camp I did hear some talk that there might be a plan to fight the Red Thorns, of course not all talk at the camp fire turns out to be true."

He takes a deep breath and blows it out before adding "While they don't tell us what their plan is, I guess that may leave some room to act and claim that we did not know that we were in the wrong. Not much though, if we did not think they meant to move the Red Thorns out, why would we send word or aid to them? Tribes have always fought to take charge of the wells for some span of time. We would need a lot of clout to change that, and I don't think that we have it right now."

"Hey," protests Kobal, "that wasn't me - it was Akala!  Remember?  I was the one most upset when Akala gave that speech at the Giants Finger Holes, and he had to placate me afterwards.  Just because we're both so much bigger than you doesn't mean we're the same!"



Kobal turns to the Ostrich rider. "That was my thinking too.  Which is why it seems to me at present that something which forces the two sides to act together might be the best chance to prevent a war.  If Tada can do it, so much the better, but I don't know exactly how we could achieve that at present."

Melock sits quietly watching and listening to the others, his eyes flicking to whichever Ranger is talking while nervously chewing his bottom lip.

"One great lunk looks just like another to me and I thought it was too daft an idea for a Sky Watcher so natural mistake" Ohanzee says with a grin, then "Well they don't want us involved and I'm not going to get involved. Besides, more than enough to keep me busy here!"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Mon 17 Oct 2016.