Ballad of the Weapons: Fort Fire-tree Ch. 1 (this is not a song!)

The morning was cold and foggy as people gathered into the cobbled town square. When the constant pouring of people had decreased to a mere trickle of ones who were late or those who lived outside of the town there was a sudden increase of excitement. The air buzzed with the melodic sound of people warming up there vocal chords and the steady hum of peoples remarks. Finally there was no more people trying to force their way into the overcrowded square, and the song began.

It was a song filled with courage, love, hope, sorrow, war, and peace. After several minutes of listening to the music the actual story began. It always started the same way, it was an ancient myth telling of fire raining down form the sky, and of living rocks who lived in a rich city on a mountain.

But why do I explain this to you? Why don't i just write to you the actual story?

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Long ago there was an ancient civilization of rocks living in the Leoar Montain. They were gifted blacksmiths, rumored to be the children of their blacksmith god, Leoatar. They were the Lamenting Rocks, thier name came from the sad sighs they made, which caused an intense fog. This fog covered thier mountain and surrounding areas, so as to obscure it from view. Only those worthy enough could find the hidden mountain.

One day a shower of fire rained down from the heaveans, penetrating the fog and dissapating it, the mountain was no longer conceled in its blanket of fog. Nearby villages turned to watch the showering rocks and saw in amazement what the fog had been covering all this time, a beautiful city made out of gold on a mountain. The villagers soon became angry and jealous, how could they live in such splendor like kings when they toiled in the fields all day, working to survive?

Soon the villagers of all the surrounding villages had roused themselves into such a frenzy that the only way for them to get out of it was for them to control the great city.

As they were marching in the land of the Lamenting Rocks, two scouting squads saw them. They quickly gathered all of the flaming rocks from the sky in preporation of giving them to the angry villagers.

The two squads soon had made a pile four feet high and three feet wide of the fire stones. They were getting ready to intercept the angry villagers when a relatively new apprentice tripped on a loose stone and splashed all of the water he had been carrying in a bucket onto the pile of rocks.

The water had an amazing affect on the stones, it seemed to erode all of the fire rocks. But soon they beheld glints of metal coming from a strange alloy inside. When the water and dirt settled they had many metal ore deposits! Soon the two leaders of the scouting squads had come to a decision using one of their many ancient proverbs: Before peace there must come war.

NOTE: this part is optional

Next, they forged weapons according to the person they were forged for's strength. When they were done they had: three swords- Waveslicer (for an otter like [lets call them LR's now instead of Lamenting rocks] LR, leader of the first scouting squad.), Petalblade (for a flower like LR, the leader of the second scouting squad), and Lightningwraith (for a mouse like LR, one of the three apprentices)- two rapiers (for a human like LR that liked to wear dresses with long sleeves [yes it is a woman] and who twirled a lot), two short swords (for a penguin like LR who was a great strategist.), two kitchen knives (for the chef LR, of course.), a set of poison daggers (for a frog like LR, one of their best warriors.), two sets of darts ( one for a bat like LR, the other set was requested by the owner of the rapiers.), two pairs of talon strikers (one for a bird like LR, the other for the claws of a unknown creature like LR.), ninja stars (for a man like LR.), a bludgeon (for a mushroom like LR that stood.), a tail bow (which was a metal band that went on a tail and once stepped on it releaded arrows, for a squirell like LR.), a staff (for a carnivourous plant like LR.), a razor hoff (for a horse like LR.), smokebombs (for a monkey like LR.), a pair of elastic bands (for a true LR, he is a royal decendent.), three magic gems (one for a dragon like LR, the other two, a pair, for another dragon like LR.), two metal capped boxing gloves (for the ears of a rabbit like LR.), a pair of wing razors (for a beetle like LR.), and twirlers (three hard metal balls attached by a string to the top of a tree like LR.). 

NOTE: previous part was optional

Finally they were almost ready for war. Almost I say because they needed names for the two squads and their war cries. After much debate they finally decided on War clan and Peace clan.

They converged onto the mob of angry villagers and yelled their war cry to the heavens, "War, war, WAR CLAN!" and "Peace, peace, PEACE WILL COME!"

For many days they waged war, neither side giving the other much room. Finally one day the mouse like lamenting rock apprentice plunged his sword Lightningwraith into the leader of the angry mob.

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Peter listened with intent concentration to the bard sitting across the camp fire from him, telling the story of the weapons of war and peace, his favorite myth.

"And so," the bard continued "if ever there are two groups of eleven, or one group of twenty-two with two leaders, that need help, and they live in dark times, the weapons of war and peace clan will make themselves known."

"That is my favorite myth ever!" Peter exclaimed toward the bard.

"I am glad you like it, it's my favorite too." the bard said.

"If only it were true, you know it almost could be," Peter sighed.

"How is that?" the bard asked.

"Well..., every single rock you mentioned looks kind of like one of us. Plus we are two squads of soldiers, each squad having eleven people in it!

"Keep dreaming young mouse," Peter's mentor and also leader of the first squad, remarked " Even though we know the lamenting rocks exist, in evidence we are traveling with two of them, they do not sigh mist. If they did we would wake up every morning in a fog. Thank goodness you don't sigh mist, otherwise we would be smothered by it every day."

"I know master, I know." Peter said in wistful sigh. At this everyone who had been listening laughed.