Macor the Magician
"His name is Macor, Lion clan. He's an extremely powerful mage who travels the countryside. I met him a few centur..., years ago. Was he wearing a long dark robe covering him from head to foot?"

Narin nodded and said, "Yes Sir Bruce. He was, but it wasn't as though he was trying to hide. He would uncover his head when he handed out the necklaces. He smiled to everyone who took one and his smile seemed genuine enough."

Bruce smiled too, "Yes, yes I suppose it would. The smile of the predator just before he pounces on his prey. Did you happen to get a look at his robe? Did it look old perhaps, or tattered?"

"Not that I noticed Sir Bruce," Narin replied thoughtfully, "but it did seem just a bit faded. Like a well worn favorite garment would,"

"That's it then. That's what he's after. He need a new cloak."

"This is all well and good," Queen Anara said somewhat impatiently, "but will you tell me what you're talking about? How does shopping for new clothing turn my people into statues?"

Bruce took a deep breath and started to explain, "Macor does not make his robe out of thread and fabric as we would. He makes his cloak from emotion."

"That's not possible." the Queen interrupted. "You can't make clothing from emotion. That would be like building a home with a red crayon, nothing more."

"Not to you and I Your Majesty." Bruce replied, "but to one like Macor it is all too possible and it is just what he is doing." Bruce continued, "You see, he takes the emotion of each individual and concentrates it. Much like taking a number of cotton balls and creating a string, then weaving that string into cloth. He's collecting emotion like harvesting cotton."

Narin broke in, "But why? He has a cloak."

Bruce nodded, "Yes, but not for much longer. You see, the emotion, well, once removed from the source, begins to evaporate. His cloak will look brand new at first, but after a year it's almost in tatters and he need a new one. The jewels are how he collects the emotion. Since he likes darker colors he amplified the more negative emotions."

"Is this possible? My people are being harvested for some evil magician's clothing?" asked Anara.

"Oh, quite possible." replied Bruce, "But Macor is not evil. He just cares about no one but himself. If some have to die in order for him to have a new cloak then that's the way it will be."

"That's obscene!" declared Narin. "Killing folk for clothing."

Bruce smiled and asked, "And why is that obscene? Don't some of you," he look at Queen Anara then at Narin, "kill for food?"

"Well of course Bruce, but not folk! Not sentients. Animals." Anara replied, "We have to. It's our nature. I could not survive on the food you eat, and you could not survive on what I eat. We are simply hostage to our natures."

"Quite right Your Highness. No argument there. However Macor looks at us all as animals. Far beneath him. To be harvested as you would a stag. Nothing more. Like I said, he does not care. The fact that we are sentient is of no concern to him."

Anara and Narin shivered at the same time. The red fur on the back of Narin's neck was standing upright. "That's cold!" Narin finally said.

"Yes, yes it is. That's the way he is, and always has been."

"Can this harvesting be stopped Bruce?" Anara asked, "It's been 3 days and I fear for my people. They are alive, but I fear that without food or water they will not be much longer."

"That is a real concern." Bruce said looking at the beautiful black Panther, "They are indeed alive but their body has to be replenished. In a few more days they will start dying if they do not have food or water. And yes, it can be stopped."

"How Sir Bruce? If we remove the necklaces will that stop it?"

"No!" Bruce came back quickly and Marin jumped at the suddenness of the reply and the force behind it. "Under no circumstances are you to remove any necklace." Bruce continued, "Snapping the string like that will cause something very similar to a whiplash effect, only emotional. I've seen it. Whatever emotion the fur was experiencing is suddenly amplified and it stays. The fur is driven to insanity."

The Empress growled reflexively, baring her teeth as she did so.

Bruce sighed, "He can be stopped. I have to seek him out. He has to stop collecting and then the necklaces can be removed safely."

It was Anara who now looked concerned, "How will you stop him Bruce? I mean, if he is as powerful as you say, how will you even find him, and then stop him?"

Bruce stood up and looked out one of the kitchen windows. Near it was a Rabbit clan serving girl, wearing oven mitts, holding a now stone cold pan containing what was once a fresh loaf of bread. He looked at her and wondered what was going through her mind then shook himself really not wanting to know. Then a thought came over him and he chuckled to himself. Sometimes in stressful situations Bruce's odd sense of humor took over. He thought of this Rabbit girl and how she would react if he dressed her up with a bumbershoot and galoshes before she awoke. All she would know if that she was taking hot bread somewhere and the next second the bread is cold and she's dressed as if going out into a storm. He put the thought aside but still chuckled.

"Finding him will be easy. He can't be far. A few hours at most. His collecting cannot happen over great distances. As for how I will stop him, well, I don't know."

Anara now stood and walked to Bruce and hugged him. "You have always come through for me Bruce, Always. But now I fear for you."

"I fear also Anara." Bruce replied. "I've met Macor before. He's never harvested like this. Most times furs are given carvings or jewelry and it takes just a little of their emotion. They continue their daily routine and may be moody or snappish but never have I seen him use furs in this way. Some furs have died in the past, but it was rare, and as I said before, he didn't care. This is new."

Narin stood and asked, "How will we stop him Sir Bruce?"

Bruce laughed, the first laughter heard in the kitchen in days. "We? We? Narin, you are needed here. When this spell is broken you will have many, many folk needing care. I strongly suggest you and Anar..Queen Anara prepare rooms and areas for folk to recover. As abused as they have been they may very well collapse right where they are. They will need help and it is only the two of you. Would you abandon your Queen to that task alone?"

Narin looked shocked, then insulted. "Of course not! That is not what I meant! I simply.."

Bruce held up his hand, "No insult intended my young friend. I know your heart was in the right place. Your Queen will need you here if I am successful. If I am not, well it is better that you are here anyway."

Narin nodded and understood. "When will you leave?"

"As soon as you can saddle Neeka for me and make him ready."

"Right away Sir Bruce.!" Narin ran to the stables, his red and white tipped tail flowing behind him.

"This is serious, isn't it Bruce?" Anara asked concerned.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. I didn't recognize the problem when I arrived because I've never seen it this severe. Something is going on and I don't know what it is. The fact that Macor would sacrifice a whole village concerns me. Why does he need so much? That's the answer to this puzzle."

"You will come back won't you Bruce? You are my dearest friend in the world and I don’t want to think of it without you in it."

Bruce smiled, "I will do my darndest to come back. I don't want to think of the world without me in it either!"

They both laughed and it seemed the mood in the room lightened. Bruce watched the Panther laugh and thought it was like watching beauty moving and listening to wind chimes on a warm spring morning. He had to return.

Narin came back into the room and said, "Neeka is awaiting you Sir Br.."

Bruce interrupted the Fox. "Narin, I've known you and your family for years. Since you were a Kit in fact. And I've known Anara here longer than that. Please stop with the formalities with me. I'm Bruce. Just Bruce. OK?"

Narin's eyes went wide and he looked at his Queen and Anara simply nodded. "Yes sir Sir ...umm Bruce. Yes sir!"

Bruce laughed again then getting serious again said, "I'll be on my way. If I'm not back by tomorrow I suggest you start digging graves. You will need them."

Queen Anara nodded again and Narin walked up to Bruce and held out a paw. Bruce grasped it and Narin said, "You will be triumphant. I KNOW it!"

Bruce looked at Anara over the head of Narin and laughed again, "Youthful enthusiasm. I wish I could bottle it!"

He shook Narin's hand and said, "You protect your Queen. It's your duty."

Narin stepped back and looked at Bruce with determination and said, "She will be safe as long as I am breathing."

Bruce grinned, "I'm sure she will. I'll be back tomorrow. I hope."

Bruce turned and walked out of the kitchen and made his way to the courtyard and found Neeka waiting, not even tethered. Neeka knew, in his own way that they were leaving and simply waited for his friend to come so they could be off.

"Where?" came the though from Neeka in his own form of communication.

"Not sure yet my friend. Let's go into the country and look around."

As they left the castle they passed furs as solidly frozen as if made of marble. Bruce scanned the horizon and saw one lone peak, miles in the distance. The sky was perfectly blue, almost crystalline and a lone small white cloud seemed to hover over that peak.

"That seems a good a place as any Neeka. Let's go there."

"Follow dark lines?" Came the thought.

"Lines? You can see them?"

Neeka snorted as though saying, "Of course, can't you?"

"Yes, my friend. Follow the dark lines. Take me there."

Bruce and Neeka travelled towards the distant peak for almost two days. Their trip was uneventful but as the approached the peak, the black lines that they had been following seems to get thicker, and take on more substance. What was worse, Bruce thought that he could sense them move, writhe like snakes. Neeka avoided them as best he could. He disliked stepping on them because doing so made him feel uncomfortable, like something was being pulled from him, that somehow he was being violated.

Night was not far away on the second day and it had already been a long hard ride. Bruce was giving Neeka his head and was not paying much attention when Neeka suddenly reared back almost throwing Bruce from his back. Before them was a canyon, thousands of feet deep. At the bottom was a raging river pierced by jagged boulders. If anything survived the fall the water would sweep them away or rip them apart as then were thrown against boulder after boulder.

Bruce looked down into the canyon and then across to the other side. The peak they were heading to was not far away but they had to cross this canyon or go around it. Bruce looked up and down the canyon and thought it would take days to go around. He then looked carefully at the canyon and urged Neeka forward.

Neeka reared again and the thought came, "There???" As though he thought Bruce had lost his mind.

"Yes Neeka. There. Let's go across."

The thought came again stronger, tinged with fear, "There???"

Bruce leaned forward and stroked the great horse's neck and said very softly, "Yes my friend. There. Trust me."

Neeka snorted and while not wanting to, eyes wide with fear, stepped into the abyss.

But that's a story for tomorrow.