The Challenger (Apollo vs Artemis)

The Challenger

Also referred to as Apollo vs Artemis is a plot line featured in November of 2017 and is currently ongoing.

The Prelude

November 19th, 2017

It begins after night falls....

The cool starry night is still, quiet. The silvery crescent moon hangs low over the snow-capped mountains, offering little of her heavenly glow to illuminate the darkness that has settled over the lands of Lunaria. But blessed are these lands, where the shadows hold only places for pups to hide and play. The guardians that watch over all, a select few guided and led by the mighty Apollo, have always performed their duties well.

The silence suddenly breaks. Laughter, high and jubilant, echoes in the night as two young Wajas dash across a snow-dusted meadow. They are exhilarated by their daring, sneaking out of their warm and comfortable caves to continue their games of high adventure at the top of the hill where they had spent the previous day.

"One day, I shall be one of Apollo's Chosen!" one declares boldly, racing his friend up the snowy slope. "Nothing will ever stand against me! I will protect all of Lunaria, and I will never ever have a bedtime!"

"Me, too!" says the other. "I will be the greatest, the strongest, the fastest, the..."

The voices stutter away, young paws digging furrows in the snow as both slide to a clumsy stop. They had reached their favorite hilltop, and now stared at the place where just hours before, a wisened old tree stump had sat. Now, there was only shards of wood and dust. They stare in bewilderment and rising grief, their favorite place to play now gone. Their throne, their castle, their mighty mountain peak.

"W...what happened to it?" one whimpers. "It...it looks like it was eaten."

A flash of sudden light turns the snow to silver. Both pups squeal in fright, their heads turning to the heavens. A swirling glow of light, blazing red and violet, outshining all else. The shadows deepen and slant as it grows brighter, bigger. The pups stand frozen in fear and awe.

And then they let out wails of fright as a shadow momentarily blocks the swirling light, spreading wide wings as it soars down towards them. They turn and run for their lives, tumbling down the hill before catching themselves at the bottom and disappearing into the distance, leaving only frightened sobs in their wake.

Clouds of snow billow out as the shadowy being lands. Eyes glisten in the light of the swirling vortex above, slowly shrinking away to a glittering point high in the sky. It gazes at the remains of the stump for several moments, until the wails of the pups are long lost in the night. Finally, it blinks, growling softly as fangs flash in the dimming light.

"So...it begins again."

Episode 1: The Challenger

November 21st, 2017

Dawn was breaking, filling the air with dazzling golden light. In the distance, the sounds of activity were already beginning to increase. Some great event was happening today. Those she passed seemed to have thought for little else. Only an occasional glance was ever spared her way as she ran.

Her mind was a raging storm of emotion. Fear, confusion, anger, determination. This place, it was so beautiful. So...familiar. This was what it had looked like once. Beauty and peace and happiness. Until...

She shook her head fiercely, bright blue and green fur rippling from nose to tailtip. She hadn't known what to expect when she had made the daring flight through the portal, but certainly it was not what she had seen. Undeniable evidence that THEY were here too. And all of the Wajas she passed, so blissfully unaware.

It would not happen here. No matter what she had to do, she would stop it. Hot breath furled in steam curls before her as she came to a stop, head high and ears sharply perked. She could sense it nearby, the same as the other three. There were others around here, more Wajas, all laughing and talking happily. The glances were starting to linger upon her. She ignored them all. It was close now, so close. Right...THERE!

---

The air of calm and focus was something that Apollo almost never lost. He was a wise, just, and generous deity, and there was none in all the lands of Lunaria who did not know his name. Night and day, he stood guard over the land and its denizens. Many moons had passed since real trouble had last stirred under his watch. He had taken to his rest the previous night quietly confident that all would be well for the grand celebration of his Chosen due to begin on this day.

But for the first time in many years, he had given pause. The light, silvery and blinding, that had arched across the midnight sky was something the likes of which Apollo had never seen before. But there had been no streak of fire, no hint that something had fallen from the sky. When the light had faded to little more than a twinkling glow hidden among the stars, silent peaceful darkness had settled once more. Apollo had chosen not to set out and investigate more closely. He had decided instead to wait, to see if it would happen again.

It was hard to suppress the twinge of regret, even in his mighty heart. His wings were spread wide as he glided low and swift over the lands slowly coming alive with the rising sun. The Wajas hailing him and the four members of his Chosen that followed behind him were not the first ones he had seen today. The first hour of this day had been deeply troubling. Wajas coming to him, telling him of the damage they had found. A matronly Forest with her garden torn bare. Two Corsie brothers who had a long task ahead of cleaning their cave after the flood of water had spilled in, brought upon them by the sudden breaking of the old beaver dam that had for years held back the water of the neighboring stream without fail. And the tiny Imp pup, crying into her father's chest, while the elder spoke of their barn, inexplicably reduced to shards of wood and sawdust, the animals scattering. The young pup's prized pet lamb had not yet been found.

Apollo would have taken the time to offer a word of comfort, and guide the pup to the place where he could sense the lamb was safely hiding. But the frantic Tempest running up to him, and the words she shouted in fear and panic, distracted him entirely.

"The Park, my lord Apollo! The Wajas Park! Something is happening there! You must come, quickly!"

And so Apollo and his accompanying Chosen were now making haste towards the Park, pausing only to tell the Imp pup's father where to find the lost lamb. And the closer he flew, the more he could see that something was indeed wrong. The happy voices were fading away, turning to cries of shock and fright. Dust was rising into the air. He swooped down and landed before the gates, his great wings clearing the air around him, allowing him to see. A long moment of silence passed, as for the first time his expression of calm broke into one of astonishment.

"Oracle," he said at last, glancing over his shoulder at his Chosen Earth. "Make haste. Gather the others to me, quickly!"

Oracle nodded and was gone in scarcely a blink. Apollo turned back around, focusing on another Earth that was running towards him. Familiar green and yellow fur and a mane of orange were all dulled by dust.

"Peace, my friend," Apollo said sagely, seeing the wild look of fear in her eyes. "Did you see anything? What happened here..."

"Still here, my Lord Apollo!" the snack stand keeper panted. "Still here! It's...it's..."

A sudden gale-force gust of wind blew over them, forcing the shop keeper to stagger. Even Apollo had to squint as dust flew past him. But then the air was clear again, and everything was in view. The broken gate to the park, branches torn from trees, the snack stand in near ruin, wisps of smoke still curling up from smoldering remnants. And in the shadow of the ruin stood...

The Chosen standing with him did not speak. All of their eyes were upon the figure. All could see what Apollo saw. His exact height, the same aura of strength, great wings spread wide as the last of the dust settled back to the earth. The Waja was a mirror of his own image, and yet...she was not. Instead of calm, her expression blazed with determined anger. Her teeth were bared and her eyes flashed as she raised her head high.

"So it is you that has marred the peace of Lunaria this day?" Apollo said, his tone calm but firm. He could hear the rapid approach of the rest of his Chosen. "Explain yourself, stranger. Who are you?"

The Waja did not flinch, but stared back fiercely. She paid no heed to the rest of his Chosen forming a circle around them, but strode forward until they were scarcely inches apart.

"Can you not sense that we are one and the same? I am the bravest of my kind, the first volunteer. I am the defender of the once proud lands of Solaria." The Waja looked around, growling at the destruction she had caused. "I came here hoping to find salvation. Instead I find doom. I know not your name, and I do not care. If you and your followers are the ones meant to defend these lands, then I have grave news." She growled again. "My name is Artemis, leader of the Artemis Corps."

"And you have failed."

Episode 2: Great Plague

November 24th, 2017

Absolute silence fell. Only Apollo kept a determinedly calm expression. The rest of his Chosen, the gathering crowd further beyond, and the speechless snack stand keeper were all staring at Artemis with various ranges of shock. Artemis growled sharply, her fur bristling.

"Well?!" she barked. "Can you not sense what is right in front of you? Are you and your Chosen just going to lay by and let this land fall to ruin?"

"What ruin? The only ruin that has been seen on this day was by you!" his Chosen Forest snapped. "If not for the celebrations today necessitating an early start, lives may have been lost when you broke the beaver dam. And what of..."

"Peace, Antheia," Apollo said firmly. "I do not think Artemis is unaware of the trouble she has caused. She is fortunate there has been no lasting harm."

"No lasting harm?? No lasting..." Artemis stuttered off, seemingly too incensed for words.

"My lord Apollo, the Park!" the stand keeper protested. "All of this mess could take weeks to fix!"

Apollo did not respond to the stand keeper, no longer hiding his confusion. He could sense no danger anywhere. The damage he could see around him was nothing that could not be repaired in time. The land beneath his paws breathed the same as it always did, a comforting presence that had been the tie to the power he wielded to guard Lunaria from harm since time immemorial. It told him no concern, not even from Artemis. This was what kept his tone calm as he spoke again.

"Artemis, explain," he said. "What is going on? What do you sense? If there truly is danger, then we will quell it."

Artemis gave a single derisive snort. And then she raised a hind leg and kicked viciously, sending one of the smoldering snack stand displays tumbling over onto its side, where it instantly cracked into pieces on the grass. The stand keeper let out a wail of shock, but Apollo did not hear it. He was staring at the display remnants. On the outside, the wood looked normal, if charred in places. But within, it was the dry gray color of cold ash. Artemis turned towards it and raised a paw, knocking aside a few broken shards, clearly searching for something. Finally she raised her head and glared at him.

"There," she growled coldly. "See it now? Take a good look, all of you."

A single small insect had been revealed, crawling feebly over the burned and decayed wood. It did not seem abnormal at first, but then Apollo saw its strange rippling golden color. He blinked slowly, and then raised his head, meeting Artemis's gaze. The anger in her eyes slowly faded as a silent understanding passed between them.

"The great plague," he said grimly.

"The great plague?" The tone in the voice of his Chosen Divine was skeptical. "My lord Apollo, how is that possible? Legend says that the great plague will only rise from below when the living force of the Pear Tree begins to wither."

"What what is the great plague?" the Chosen Corsie asked.

"Legend long claims it is a destructive menace held at bay by the great power of the Pear Tree," the Divine explained. "It is an old story, but it is said that the Pear Tree itself is what binds the lands of Lunaria together. Should its power fail..."

"The lands will crack and shatter as they are devoured from below," Artemis said bitterly. "When the Pear Tree of Solaria withered, it left almost nothing behind. It is a desperate struggle to keep the remaining infestations from taking what is left." She growled again. "So now you see, oh mighty Apollo. What happened there is happening here. This is proof." She suddenly lashed out with a snarl, crushing the little insect into the ground. "I could sense the infestation the instant I arrived here. I have taken out all of the nests I could find. This...this one was the biggest, but for now, it is the last one. But there will be more. Thousands more, millions more."

"Pear Tree is fine," Bill said simply.

There was a brief pause as everyone momentarily glanced towards Bill.

"But what ARE they?" the stand keeper asked, having backed well away from the wreckage of her shop.

"They are known in Solaria as isopterons," Artemis answered. "For lack of a better word, they are termites. Termites capable of devouring the foundations of the earth itself."

Apollo nodded slightly. It was starting to have a strange sort of meaning now. He took a deep long breath, feeling for the warmth of the Pear Tree's embracing roots. It was still there, ever constant and unmarred.

"I think I see," he said aloud.

"See what, my Lord?" Oracle asked.

"What is happening here." He gave Artemis a calm smile. "Artemis, there is hope yet. I could not sense these creatures burrowing into my lands, but now I know why. It is the same as you, who seems to be unable to feel the warm embrace of our living and breathing Pear Tree. These creatures, these...isopterons...are not the plague of Lunaria. They came with you. Either ahead of you, or following behind. You have my thanks for stopping them before they could spread further."

Artemis looked at him for a long moment, clearly struggling to decide whether he could be trusted. Finally, her stance seemed to relax.

"If your Pear Tree is truly alive, then I want to see it," she said.

"I will take you there myself, but not yet." Apollo glanced up at the sky, now a clear cloudless blue. "Last night, I saw a great silver light flash across the heavens. I know now it signaled the moment you crossed into our world from yours, as you call it, Solaria."

"A portal, a gateway, I know not what it was. It appeared in the night sky without warning. I came, because I could see no other option."

"But where did it come from?" his Chosen African asked. "My lord Apollo, I fear it still does not make sense."

"There are still many questions to answer," Apollo agreed. He looked around, his gaze sweeping across the crowd of nervous Wajas standing in the distance. Then he turned back to his assembled Chosen. "My friends, I am afraid our celebration must wait. The infestations may be gone, but there is still much cleanup to do. I will not be long in returning." He beckoned to Artemis. "Come with me."

"And were is it that we are going?" Artemis asked warily, but she mirrored his movements as he spread his wings and leapt airborne.

"To see the only one in all of Lunaria who might know anything about portals in the sky and the sudden appearance of strange creatures." He glanced back at Artemis and allowed himself a slight grin. "We are going to see the Mad Scientist."

Episode 3: The Mad Scientist

November 25th, 2017

The pause of the gathered Chosen lasted only until Apollo and Artemis had vanished into the distance. In one moment, the snack stand keeper found herself surrounded by fourteen quiet and impressive figures, their fur glistening with the Mark of the Chosen. The next, she was standing quite alone, the Chosen spreading out as if their actions had been planned, though the stand keeper could not recall any conversation of the sort passing between them. The closest to her now was the Chosen Corsie, who had approached the gathered crowd and was now beckoning for their attention.

“There is work to be done,” he said. “Be not concerned, for the Lord Apollo has things under control. What has been damaged will be repaired with haste, but we need assistance. I call for any and all willing to volunteer. Let us start here, in the Park, and work our way out."

There wasn’t a breath of protest or complaint. The stand keeper stood breathless with pride and gratitude as Wajas gathered and began to clear away and clean. She was still loathe to go near her ruined displays, but she soon found a suitable task overseeing the gathering of what product was still salvageable.

“You know, you do not have to eat them to know if they are still good,” she chided a pair of young Aerial pups reaching into a box of pretzels. They froze and looked up at her, eyes wide and shining. The stand keeper held her stern expression for only a few moments longer. Then she smiled widely and nudged forward a box of fresh cookies. “But these, I daresay, could use a good taste testing."

The pups squealed in delight as the stand keeper handed them each a cookie. But she had turned back towards the stacks of product still left to be checked for only a few moments before she saw someone run by. She looked up as the Tempest slid to a halt, panting for breath.

“Sir, you must come quickly!” he gasped, looking up at the top of the sign over the entrance to the Park, where the Chosen Aerial was expertly perched. “The party meadow, the stage, it has just collapsed! Collapsed into dust!”

“Oh no, there’s more?!” The stall keeper gasped in horror. “What are we going to do?? They could be everywhere!”

“Squish them,” said Bill.

---

The Murky Forest lived up to its name. Even on the brightest, coldest days, the dark foreboding trees choked out the sun, and a haze of heavy wet warmth hung permanently in the air. Normally the Wajas who dared to venture here were accosted by the many shadowy creatures that dwelled in the mossy undergrowth, but Apollo and Artemis’s passing was uninhibited. The Mad Scientist had found refuge here since being expelled from his laboratory two years prior. Apollo had taken pity on him at the time, gifting him with one of his own wingfeathers to act as a protective ward while he attempted to rebuild some of his old experiments. He had heard scarcely a whisper about him since that time.

Artemis had remained silent during the rest of their journey, clearly deep in solemn thought. Apollo wondered if it was proper to ask what she was thinking. But before he could speak, Artemis had suddenly jerked her head upright, her eyes wide.

“More of them!” she had barked, and Apollo had needed no further explanation.

The Mad Scientist’s new “laboratory” was little more than a sturdy wood and stone shack in the lonely heart of the swamp. Apollo could hear shouting as it came into view through the fog, the silhouette of a figure with arms thrashing about visible through the dirty windows. Artemis ran ahead of him, her wings fanning before her a great wind that burst the door open as she reached it. Apollo could see the Scientist running wildly about, trying to scoop the little gold insects into a glass jar, and then giving another high shout of surprise as the jar shattered in his hands, the bugs spilling once more onto the floor. The force of Artemis’ power knocked the man flat on his back, and all of the bugs swirled into the air, forming a swarm of glittering gold before being thrown into the fireplace. There was a few loud pops from the flames, a belch of purple smoke, and then silence once more.

It took a long moment for the Mad Scientist to push himself upright. And then he was slammed right back down against the floor as Artemis planted a paw to his chest. Apollo quickly pushed his way inside the now very crowded hut, as the single room within it was cluttered with strange gadgets and lab equipment on rough wooden tables, with a tiny living area in the far corner. He was reaching for Artemis to pull her back, but then he realized that the Mad Scientist was laughing in delight.

"It worked, it actually worked, my theory was correct!" he was crowing in delight. "You look just as I predicted you would. Please, please let me up, I will explain everything."

Artemis growled, but she seemed as equally surprised by the man's reaction as Apollo was, and she grudgingly let him go. He scrambled to his feet and pointed to a strange object on the closest table. It looked like an oval mirror, but its surface flickered with a dim swirling glow that obscured the reflection. As Apollo glanced at it, he saw the image shift completely, briefly revealing an island of rock floating suspended in a fiery red sky. The Mad Scientist was beaming in pride.

"My greatest discovery," he declared. "For years and years I have seen hints of it, little glimpses that there is something hidden just beyond the veil of our world. A sister world, a mirror world, exactly the same and yet entirely different. Oh, it would take me days to describe it, the endless research, so many failed attempts, and..." He froze, his eyes widening as he turned from the mirror to Apollo, startling as though he had just realized he was there. "My lord Apollo, it is you who gave me the means to succeed. Your feather was the perfect..."

"Feather?" Artemis interrupted, her hackles on end again. "What feather?"

"The feather, one of my own wingfeathers, that I gifted him to act as a protective ward when he sought refuge here." Apollo's expression darkened as he looked at the Mad Scientist, whose smile slowly faded. "You wasted my gift on an experiment?"

"Not wasted, my Lord!" the Scientist protested. "I was able to send it through. My first breakthrough! I made the portal, and I sent your feather through to the other side. I saw it drift away. The portal only lasted seconds, but it was enough. I found the way to open more, for longer! Bigger! Last night was my greatest success yet. See, my Lord! See!" He gestured towards Artemis.

"I see her," Apollo said firmly. "I also saw the isopterons that almost devoured your home."

"Isopterons? Is that what they are called?" The Mad Scientist glanced towards the fire. "How fascinating. I wonder...oh!"

He spun back towards the mirror, whose glow had now grown much brighter. He fiddled with the stand it sat on, his eyes widening.

"Look!" he said again. "So strange, so beautiful in its strangeness."

Despite himself, Apollo stepped forward for a better look. The mirror's reflection now showed the floating rock island very clearly. But it also showed something else, something that made even his great heart turn cold. The twisted dead form of a tree, its bark as dull and gray as ash.

"It did not always look like this," the Mad Scientist said, his tone solemn now. "When I first glimpsed it, it was a beauty as equally breathtaking as anything to be found in Lunaria."

Apollo sighed, turning to Artemis, whose gaze was downcast. It was clear she could not bear to look at the dead remains of Solaria's Pear Tree.

"Artemis, what happened in Solaria?" he asked softly. "How did your Pear Tree fail?"

Artemis was silent for a long moment, her expression one of deep pain. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.

"It...failed...because of me."

We interrupt this broadcast...

November 27, 2017

Psst! Is the narrator still around? No? Good! This is Artemis (yes, that Artemis,) and I want to tell you how it really went down. We'll start with Lunaria, shall we? Beautiful Lunaria, happy home to millions of Wajas of every size and shape and colour imaginable. To its inhabitants, it feels like a true paradise, where the sun always shines and the sacred pear tree bears its colourful fruit in abundance. Lunaria wouldn't be Lunaria, however, without the divinity Apollo, who watches over every Lunarian Waja from the smallest pup to the oldest Breedless. Apollo is all things to all Wajas, and his shape is that from which all other Waja breeds are descended. Aiding him are his legion, Apollo's Chosen, whose thick green fur and powerful wings mark them out as the strongest, smartest and bravest on the planet. To be one of the Chosen is to embody all the virtues of one's breed, be that the loyalty of the Normal, the good humour of the Corsie or the wisdom of the Divine.

You know this, however. You've been indoctrinated by that big fuzzy green jerk. You know Lunaria, and chances are that your Wajas have never known anything else.

What you might not have been aware of, however, is that Lunaria has a sister world, a parallel place kept hidden only by the gossamer-thin barrier that separates one dimension from the next. This world - my world - is Solaria, and once it, too, was a place of unending beauty. That was long, long ago, however, back before the Isopteron plague, back when our sacred Pear Tree grew strong and healthy, its roots holding together the very ground on which we stood. After the plague? Yeah, not so much. The tree's basically bug chow now, and my homeworld? Let's just say that when you live on a series of floating islands, these wings come in pretty handy.

I'm honestly not sure how we'd have coped without our friend the Heroic Scientist and her assistant, Nicholas. They've been working their backsides off to try and find a way, any way, to keep our world in one piece. They were the ones who travelled from island to island, searching for that one tiny spark of inspiration that might make all the difference. They were the ones who found the hole in the sky, and the single green and blue feather that fell through it.

I should probably explain that what follows is what I've managed to piece together over past weeks and months; with Solaria the way it was - is - it's been far too easy to lose track of time. The Heroic Scientist told me that she recognised immediately that the feather was an object of great power, and immediately returned to her laboratory to take a closer look. I can't pretend I understood the words she used (frankly, I'm not even sure she did), but she thought it was from another world. I scoffed, of course; said the Isopterons had started eating birds and were spitting out the indigestible bits, but she gave me a Look and told me to shut up and mind my manners.

The Scientist speculated that the feather came from some sort of otherworldly superwaja, and that if it was processed correctly, it might yield what she called "a highly complex DNA modifier that would enhance the finest qualities of any waja to whom it was administered". She sent Nicholas out again to find any brave Waja who might be prepared to volunteer to participate in such a radical experiment. He returned, eventually, with a representative of every breed, asking the group which of us was ready to go first.

That, in case you hadn't guessed already, was where I came in, specifically into a laboratory full of stuff that looked like it'd been made by a glassblower with hiccups. I'll spare you the gorier details, but yes, there were needles, and yes, there was a special table with bits that locked in place in case I thought I wanted to escape.

Spoiler: I really, really wanted to escape.

Luckily, though, I couldn't, and eventually I emerged a new waja, faster, stronger, allegedly smarter and with far nicer breath. The procedure, in other words, was a success.

Others followed me, but the Scientist was testing dosages with me and so they got a smaller and presumably less agonising dose. They became the Artemis Corps, and like me, they each had a wrong to right and something to prove. We all fought day and night to try and reclaim our home from those accursed bugs, although I never dared tell anybody why. We were the warriors, while the Heroic Scientist was tireless in her efforts to find out more about the feather and its world of origin. I think she was hoping to learn about the place, to open a portal like the one that brought us the feather in the first place.

In my heart of hearts I thought it was nonsense, but I was in a bad place back then - how could I not have been, knowing that full responsibility for the Isopteron plague lay on my fluffy little shoulders? The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that I'd doomed everything I'd ever known to a slow, painful extinction. Oh, the Scientist was trying, we had to try, but was there really any hope left for us?

That was when I saw the flash of silver light in the sky; it was blinding, so bright that I thought at first my eyes were tricking me when I glimpsed the portal it left in its wake. After a second, though, I realised that no, it was real - maybe the Scientist really had succeeded! There and then, I knew exactly what I had to do (yep, poor impulse control - again); I used those huge shiny wings and flew myself up higher than any Waja had ever flown before.

By the time I reached the portal, the air was so thin I was half-frozen and dizzy, but the moment I glimpsed Lunaria I knew I'd done the right thing. I rammed myself right through that filthy great hole in the sky, and felt the sun on my face for the first time in years...