NEW BOOKS BY ERIN HUNTER!

[Badgerstar]

ok all of us on this site should know about erin hunter well this is her new book the start of her next series!



it said to be as good as the warriors seires!

[(~Silentstar~)]

i once had a dream that there was another series of warriors, and it was awsum, but sorta weird....


and i had another that there was warriors, but with horses!

[Badgerstar]

cool!

[Badgerstar]

i ones had a dream of warriors but it was MONKEYS!!!!!!!!!! And one with DINOSAURS!!!!!!!!!!

[Bear]

Emen didn't get a chance to see her family before the next stage of the Festival began. She scanned the crowd for their faces but couldn't find them. The remaining children and their Enders were gathered to the side of the stage waiting for their turn to prove their magical ability. Most seemed too interested in Lario to be nervous about it, some even neglecting their own Ender to pay attention to him. He didn't mind, he preened and stood quietly letting them all admire him and his beautiful soft fur. No Ender had Fallen so late in the history of the Festival, no wonder they all found him so interesting.
Emen wondered what had happened. No one knew precisely where Enders came from - other than the sky - so the reasons behind him Falling late were a complete mystery. She promised herself she'd do as much research into Enders as possible if she passed the next test, no matter how dry and boring the books would be.
It wasn't long before the Elder called the first child to the stage. The magic test was done numerically, with the youngest child performing first and the oldest last. The first child was the same girl who'd gotten the first Ender of the year, Elasse. She climbed the stage confidently, her golden hair held in an intricate pattern with lots of flowers. Her white wolf followed silently. In the centre of the stage stood a small stand with an apple on it.
"This is the magic test. Elasse Archer, to pass this test you must manipulate the fruit with your magic. Any sign of magic is enough to pass you. Just do something to it, around it, near it, please," he explained with a light smile. Beside him sat an old woman with white hair crouched over a table with a scroll laid upon it, a quill in hand. Emen recognised the woman as a Detector, someone with emotion magic who could detect it in others and announce their element. If the woman couldn't detect any magic the child would be considered Halcyn and sent away.
Elasse nodded and looked at the fruit for a few seconds, her young face scrunched up in concentration. It wasn't long before the fruit seemed to hop off the stage and roll across the floor.
The Detector scribbled frantically for a few seconds before saying something to the Elder who grinned widely and announced, "wind!"
Elasse and her wolf left the stage smiling. Both were safe and would be allowed to remain in Everything for as long as they wished.
The next to the stage was another young girl with a little robin perched on her shoulder. The apple had been retrieved and replaced on the stand. The Elder repeated his instructions and everyone waited. Almost as soon as he'd finished speaking the apple set on fire.
"I don't think I need the Detector to know that's fire," the Elder joked.
The girl and her bird left to be replaced with a boy followed by a spotted grey horse. The apple was replaced with a rock and the instructions repeated. Emen wondered if the Elder would have a sore throat by the end of the night.
Dozens of children proved their magical ability while Emen and Lario waited. She had plenty of questions for him but was slightly intimidated, and decided to wait until they were alone before saying much to him. She focused on the tests instead, an endless display of fire, water, wind and earth, easily the most common varieties. There were also a few rarer forms of magic. As she watched one boy with a pale but solid grey dragon created a strange shimmering shield around his carrot and was announced as a barrier mage. The boy would have a great future with magic such as that. Another boy followed by a green and brown lion healed a bruise on a peach and was announced as a life mage. There was even one girl with a big black owl who made her feather disappear, she was detected with dark magic which, along with light was the rarest kind.
Finally it was Emen's turn. The Elder called for her and she took to the stage, Lario padded along by her side like an overgrown dog. A large white feather tinged with gold rested on the stand in front of her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, keenly aware of every person staring at her.
"I'm sure you're as sick of my voice by now as I am Emen Delaass. Do something to the feather, anything and you'll be passed," the Elder said. His voice was definitely quieter now than it had been at the start of the Festival.
No one had ever explained how this worked. The focus was solely on getting an Ender, always, no one ever told her how to use her supposed magic. She assumed it was meant to be automatic. That she'd just know, just be able to do it. Yet she felt nothing, she stared at the white feather and instead of setting it on fire, or blowing it around or creating rain or doing anything with it, she wondered what bird it had come from. Noticed the individual barbs that made it up and all the slight variations in the colour. She was acutely aware of everyone looking at her, of the seconds passing by like minutes and still nothing happened.
Lario nudged her hand and she looked down at him. An Ender's markings held clues to their element, she looked as his muddy yellow stripes...or were they gold? and wondered what element that was. She'd never known an Ender with colours like it. Yellow was light magic, but his stripes didn't seem...yellow enough. They looked more like gold, but gold didn't match any element.
"Come on Emen, we need to see something," the Elder said softly, gently.
Panic began to set in. Emen had no idea what to do, nothing was happening to the feather and she didn't know how to do any magic. She looked up and saw Heran pushing his way to the front of the crowd. Desperation was clear in his eyes. Everything was hopeless. It took her eight years to get an Ender and after all the time spent worrying she was going to fail on the easiest test. The thing no one paid any attention to.
Please gods, please help me. Don't let me fail at this, don't do this to me, she prayed, but still nothing happened.
The Detector woman wrote something on her quill and leaned to whisper in the Elder's ear.
He shook his head and looked pained. With a sigh he turned to the crowd.
"Halcyn," he said with a choke.
It was over. She was going to Rend. She'd waited so long for her Ender, watching her friends get theirs and leave her behind. Everyone assured her she'd have her moment, she'd stay in Everything. But here she was, tomorrow she'd leave with the Renders. She'd never see her family again. Never watch her sisters at their Ender Festival...
Someone helped her off the stage but she didn't know who. She wasn't even sure it was a person, it could have been Lario pushing her with his big soft nose. She was numb to the whole thing. The Elder continued through his Festival speeches, Emen already forgotten. After all, there were dozens of others tonight, all happy and celebrating.
Suddenly she felt arms around her as Heran pulled her into a hug. He didn't say anything but she could tell he was upset. She kept quiet too, worried she'd burst into tears if she spoke. She'd miss Heran the most, he'd always been around to take care of her, someone she could talk to who'd be ready with advice and help.
"I will visit you, I promise," he said into her ear before releasing her. They both knew it was an empty promise. No one ever visited Rend. She had no doubt many planned to, it just seemed that none ever got around to actually making the weeks-long trip.
"Oh it's a lion!" a voice squeaked suddenly and one of her sisters ran up to Lario and buried her face in his fur. Her other sister quickly followed, almost an exact replica of the first, and tried to jump on his back, much to his discomfort.
Her younger sisters were near identical twins. Cotia and Tyfia were balls of energy and mischief always causing trouble yet their mother never seemed to punish them. She'd miss them too, slightly. They'd grow into interesting women and she'd miss it.
"I hope mine is a lion," Cotia said, stroking Lario's fur and pulling one of his ears.
"No, we're having wolves," Tyfia responded, wrapping his tail around her neck like a scarf.
"Wolves are boring, we can have a pet dog any time we want, lions are much nicer," argued Cotia. Twins were rare and there was nothing to suggest that the pair would get the same kind of Ender, but no one told them that.
"Yes, look at his mane. We could braid it and tie ribbons around his tail. Oh I do hope we get lions," Tyfia gushed.
"Please don't do that," Lario shook gently to dislodge the girls then took refuge behind Emen's legs. "Don't let them braid my mane." Emen felt sorry for their future Enders, no matter their form.
Heran scooped up the girls, one in each arm, and sat them on his shoulders.
"I think you should leave the poor thing alone, though you can braid my hair if you like," he told them. His curly black hair was always tied with ribbons and braids by Cotia and Tyfia but he never seemed to mind, Heran lived to keep his sisters happy. He carried them away, heading back towards their parents and Emen and Lario followed.
They searched the crowd for a while, filled with happy children. It was strange for Emen to think that despite her own situation there were dozens of others celebrating the most important day in their life. It felt wrong. Everyone should be as sad and empty as she felt.
Their parents had returned to their home and they found Elocaro cooking while Risuro had disappeared to his forge. Their father worked as a blacksmith, making tools, armour and weapons to defend their town. Heran apprenticed with him, though blacksmithing had never been his passion and he was convinced he wasn't very good. Heran had always enjoyed painting, but their father had discouraged that. Everything had no use for pretty pictures, but everyone always needed weapons, armour and tools. It had not discouraged him, just served to force him to get creative. Instead of painting Heran used any leftover metals to create different sculptures. Even so, twice a year Emen saved up all her extra money and bought him some small glass jars of paint and wood panels for him to draw on.
"I was going to pack your things, but you already have," her mother said. She didn't sound very pleased. She barely even glanced at Lario as he sat beside the warm stone hearth.
"It's a good job I did I suppose," murmured Emen with a shrug.
An awkward, sad silence filled the room as no one knew what to say. To spare her family Emen left for her room, Lario following like a lost puppy. It made her feel better that he seemed even more uncomfortable than anyone else, though the thought also pricked her guilt.
"This is all your fault," she said when he sat down beside her bed. He looked around her plain room with interest, though Emen didn't find it interesting. No one in Everything was very wealthy, and although Emen's family could often afford to eat each winter, her room still held no luxuries. She had a simple bed in the corner covered with a hay-stuffed mattress and a few sheep skins. A big wooden chest stood at the end of her bed filled with her clothes and few personal possessions. Beside the small window was a now empty wardrobe that had only a few spare pieces of too small clothing hanging in it. As well as the wooden chest, she also had a large backpack filled with extra clothes and other items mainly used for the trip to Rend, missing a slot for her sheep skins to keep her warm on a night. Her whole life packed into two objects. Anything she left behind she'd likely never see again.
"How is it my fault? I didn't ask to Fall anymore than you asked for an Ender. It is not my fault we don't have any magic, and I don't know why that is. It's also not my fault that you and your humans hate those without Enders or magic," said Lario, looking hurt. She thought it was hurt, it was hard to tell on his face. She wondered if reading him would get easier, and if everyone had the same problem with their Enders. Animals expressed themselves differently to humans, yet an Ender had a very definite human quality and only resembled an animal on the outside.
"Magic is meant to come from you, so where is it? I'm being sent away from my family because of you! You have nothing to lose, not like me. I'll never seen Heran again, never watch my sisters grow up and get their own Enders. I'm going to spend the rest of my life away from everyone I care about," she shouted at him.
"You'll have me."
Emen began to speak then paused. She was angry, but it was unfair of her to take that out on Lario. He hadn't done anything wrong, and she'd be a lot worse off if he hadn't Fallen for her. At least there'd be one person she'd know at Rend. Enders were always there for their Bonded partners, they lived and died together. She'd never known anyone to hate their Ender. They would be lifelong friends, he would be part of her family no matter how far away her brother and sisters were.
She shook her head, threw up her hands and sat on the bed. "Are you always going to be this annoying?" she said, mostly to herself.
"I genuinely hope so," a hint of smugness entered his tone and he began to lick his paw.
They remained in silence for a while before Emen spoke. "Where did you come from?"
Lario paused in his grooming and blinked at her, looking thoroughly confused. That one, at least, was a very obvious expression. He pushed his little ears back and stared at her with a very human raised eyebrow and wrinkled muzzle. "Come from? I didn't come from anywhere. I don't think I did, anyway."
"You must have come from somewhere. Where were you before you Fell?"
Lario paused, thinking deeply. "I don't know. I don't remember being anywhere. All I know is I was falling through the sky, and then I saw you. Do you remember before you were born?"
"Of course I don't, but you weren't born," Emen shrugged.
"I know. Where did your parents come from? And their parents, and their parents' parents? Where did the first parents come from and who were their parents? Maybe, back when the first parents existed, they fell from the sky too, and they don't remember what happened before that. You don't remember before you were born, and I don't remember before I Fell."
Emen could see the conversation preparing to turn in circles and she was feeling slightly confused to begin with so she decided against questioning the lion about his Fall any further.
"I am sorry this has happened to you," he said in a small voice.