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A loud, dull thud reverberated through the stone passages of the castle, the sound a cheetah makes when she falls over.? "Help her! Somebody!" Immediately, the servants in the castle all swarmed upon the little side door to attend to this damp, scared cheetah they had never met before. "We have to carry her out of here. This is a little tight of a space. Where can we go?" "There's plenty of space in Azurik's throne room. Plus, we can bring this odd incident to his attention." Several able-bodied wolves hauled their patient into the throne room. "How did she not know she was here?" The servant was incredibly baffled.

***

The throne room of Azurik, King of the White Moon, carried through to the inside the simple, unadorned nature of the exterior of the castle. Most throne rooms were dazzling spaces accented with priceless precious metals. Azurik's had only one element of silver throughout, the crescent moon insignia on his throne. The bare, minimalist, almost austere style was a manifestation of the small size of his kingdom. Dwarfed by larger, richer powers on the west bank of the Great River, it was a comfortable seat from which to govern the central town of Blue Ridge and the small amount of land holdings around it that comprised the realm known to the world as the White Moon Kingdom.? ?Into this scene came a dazed Ramona and the king's attendants. Azurik was beyond baffled, seeing a cheetah being hauled in on a stretcher. "What is this?"? "It's a cheetah who fainted at our front door."? "What would a cheetah be doing around these parts? Some strange tidings are going on around here. First a kingdom is invaded and destroyed, then the next day I get a cheetah at my door? How did she manage to flee?" "I have no clue what this could be either, sir." "But what possibilities are there? We know she came from upriver. But how did she flee Amber Bluff when it was invaded?" At the sound of the words Amber Bluff, Ramona rustled a little bit. "Huh..." Azurik looked closely at his new arrival. "In what condition was she?" "She didn't have any wounds, though she was wet and had obviously been in the river a bit." "Can you get a Mountain Dragon out to ask our allies if they have had anything strange go on over there?" The King of the White Moon looked at one of the servants. "Let me go do that." She exited the back door, hurrying to get in contact with the royal messenger. "What am I going to do?" Azurik sighed. "You can go. This cheetah is mine, and I will care for her and make sure she recovers from this."??***

Ramona, dazed and not recognizing any of what had happened to her, woke up the next day in much better shape. She could think rather clearly and noticed she was in what looked like a personal bedroom, which had light blue trinkets on the shelves and fluttering white curtains. In the bed was a big royal blue wolf. I missed something yesterday, she thought, still very exhausted from her grand escape. Realizing she needed to wake him up, she went over and tapped him on the shoulder. Azurik, abruptly awakened, rolled over to look at the cheetah. "Hello, madam... I see you are feeling better?" He yawned. "Yes...excuse me, but...what is your name?"? "I am Azurik, King of the White Moon. And you?"? "My name...is Ramona." Azurik's eyes widened considerably.? "Ramona? Oh my!" Azurik began to murmur. "Could...it...be?" He scrambled to get out of bed. "You need to come with me."

Back in the throne room, the servant stood by the dragon messenger, with a concerned expression on her face. "Azurik, at your request, I sent a Mountain Dragon messenger out to ask several neighboring kingdoms if they had observed any unusual activity at their castles. Two said yes: Camille from the Panthera Clan gave me notice that they had a panther show up at Forden Court early this morning, and Yuki Koyapu from up north informed me that she had a bobcat appear at Cactus Ruins." "Thank you. Were there any names...?" He whispered to himself. "This is starting to make sense now. There are three." "What does that have to do with anything, Azurik?" "Her name is Ramona." The servant stepped back, her jaw slightly open in shock. "But why are they the other species? In those cases they were transformed to blend in with their destination. That is not the case here, because I got a cheetah, plain and simple--" "Azurik? I have some more information to give you..."? "Go ahead."? "Yuki also informed me that the bobcat called herself Ximena Kizrai..."?Azurik looked down in bewilderment at Ramona as the servant continued. "Ximena? A cheetah princess? If there's a pattern here, we have one of the other two...that's it! Jazz must be with Camille, Ximena went north, and I got, well, you can complete the sentence." Ramona looked at Azurik and nodded. "We need to keep her and leave her alone for now, for her own good and safety." The attendants nodded in agreement with Azurik, and Ramona began to doze off once more.??***??Azurik opened the door. "Hello, Ramona. You seem to be gathering strength, enough to eat more meat, I see." He chuckled slightly. "I'm not used to procuring gazelle around here." Azurik took a seat next to Ramona on the floor of the throne room. The cheetah was perplexed, looking at the throne. "Don't you want to sit on...your throne, King Azurik?" "I may be the king, but that doesn't mean I'm above everybody else. I'm willing to sit down with you." "Is something wrong?" "I have some news you may want to hear. I do not know how ready you are for it. It is quite sad news and will strike at your heart like a damaging blow." "I know what it probably is. I believe Mbako, the Cheetah Queen, is probably...gone now..." The cheetah briefly cried, her eyes glimmering. Azurik nodded and turned to hug her. "Do not worry. You are the lucky one, Ramona. This is the White Moon Kingdom. It is not Alex Spirethorn's evil empire, or Simon Hyenyo's crazy land, or the decrepit country of the Kumifo Confederation. This is a land better than all that." He smiled. "Well...I wasn't expecting a visitor, but given the brutality with which Alex Spirethorn has begun to treat your kind, I guess you are mine for now. Do not worry, Ramona, I am the exact opposite of that leopard." Ramona sighed, deeply relieved. "I understand, King Azurik."

***

It wasn't long before Azurik took to his new companion. Ramona had fully regained her physical strength in two weeks, but two slow months passed as she slowly regained the emotional strength lost in her traumatic adventure, her flight from Alex. In the first year that Ramona lived with Azurik, it was not uncommon to hear her crying in the night, mourning the loss of Mbako and of her kingdom. She knew that the Cheetah Kingdom had been fettered to the machine that Alex Spirethorn controlled. And she knew she was lucky to have escaped.

***

"Alex Spirethorn dismantled the little Cheetah Kingdom like a house of sticks. What could he do to something more stable?" ran the editorial in the Hayden Castle Courier.??While Alex enjoyed being able to turn the sunny spotlight on himself and on a kingdom coming back into vogue after years of dim decadence, the leaders and thinkers of the western River Valley shivered in the cold. The downfall of the Cheetah Kingdom showed that Alex had the skills to move in on any number of neighboring states--and take them out, too. Lucian Shurco's Swampland Republic. Yuki Koyapu's lands to the north. The White Moon Kingdom, which now bordered the Central Kingdom to the north and to the west. The Kingdom of the Woven Clan far to the north.

These states huddled together, realizing that they needed to band together or face extinction. Under the auspices of the Committee of Allied States, a preexisting organization that Spirethorn and his allies already shunned, Azurik forged stronger ties with these western states. Across the river, as well, several larger states joined in. The Panthera Territory, officially neutral but clearly showing its own loyalties, was the first. They were soon followed two more large states--the Panda Valley Kingdom, whose capital city was also home to one of the River Valley's two great courts, and the Kingdom of Mountain Dragons, led by Artomis Windrunner, who carried the title Swordsmaster of the North--as well as the small Red Wolf Kingdom. In addition, the Jackal Union and Coon Ra Kingdom, two closely aligned states in the far northeast, maintained an outside interest in Azurik's grouping, though they remained mostly independent.

Against this alliance, Spirethorn too moved to bring other states together. Most of them were west and south of the Central Kingdom. The Hyentera Empire of the far west, led by the ever-caustic Simon Hyenyo, had long been aligned with the Central Kingdom, and the Kougar Kingdom, led by military master Victor Kougar, maintained its interest; while stronger connections were made with the Bull Country of the southeast, commanded by a strong headed leader named Busken; and the Kumifo Confederation of Packs, a wide-ranging group of wild dogs populating the ranges of the northeast whose longstanding rivalry with the jackals (whom they perceived to be Azurik supporters) spurred them on. In addition, a small leader hopped on the Central Kingdom's coattails when Kirma of the Crocodile Union, a king in reality but a president by title, came into the orbit of Spirethorn Castle.

Despite this alliance activity, nobody was ready for war. Azurik's group in particular lacked the resources and infrastructure to wage war. With alliances spiraling out of control and only three de facto neutral states left, a peace treaty was signed at Murcia Cavern in the neutral, small Bat Country. In exchange for the recognition of the transfer of the Cheetah Kingdom and Amber Bluff to Central Kingdom rule, Azurik and his allies got what they desperately needed: a six-year-long peace to guarantee that the major powers did not become embroiled in an all-encompassing war.

***

Azurik, however, had a longer vision than six years. He knew that, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, conflict would break out. He also knew that a good royal was also a skilled fighter and knowledgeable in the martial arts, prepared for almost anything. Thus Azurik began to train Ramona, his new cheetah and partner. The conditioning was intense, and the activities were varied. Dead bodies of impala and gazelle were stuffed and turned into objects to be tackled. Ramona worked on her speed, which continued to improve, but also improved her endurance and built her muscles right alongside Azurik. Her strength, even when not in her native species, was quick to emerge and plentiful.

One day, Azurik took Ramona to practice fighting against a real live dhakti for the first time. Her combatant for the day was a gruff White Moon Army soldier, dressed in a navy blue uniform with a silver shining moon over the breast. He had a wide smile on his face. "Imagine if I were Simon. Or Alex. Or Victor. What would you do?" He chuckled as if trying to cackle, giving a sharp glance at Ramona. She charged at him, jumped on and attempted to brace herself to his legs by wrapping hers around them, but she could not hold her grip and fell off. He chuckled at the cheetah's attempt. "Huh. I've never seen a move like that before. But it seems it doesn't help you latch on." "I've got an idea. Azurik, watch this!" Ramona tried again, this time not just bracing her legs around the soldier but one of her arms. "I could do this with both arms, but this is cool!" "You just might have invented something, Ramona." Azurik, too, was grinning widely.

***

Three years had passed since the events of that fateful night, and by that time, Ramona had been able to travel with Azurik occasionally on diplomatic affairs. The occasion this time was a small summit of the more prominent ally leaders, held in the eastern city of Climbing Post. Among the guests present were Sunette Luana, the leader of the tiny Red Wolf Kingdom; Camille of the Panthera Clan; Cangus Chandler-Hamilton from the northern Woven Clan, a mix of wolves and huskies; and one mysteriously empty chair.??The news from the southern coast was unsettling. The Lion Valley Kingdom was traditionally the domain of the Skorma family, a benevolent ruling royal house led by Aztec and her husband Corona. But Spirethorn backed a young rebel leader, Leo Marshoda. Leo, with the support of Kougar and Central Kingdom troops, overthrew the Skorma, sending them into exile. The new King of Lions quickly did an about-face on foreign policy. He called Azurik and the wolves "a disgrace to our kind", labeled Lucian Shurco and the tigers "inferior to the real ruler of cats", and even hinted that both were a "target for immediate conquest". (Yet he was a card-carrying Central Kingdom ally, which meant that he effectively served a leopard and was an equal to the non-lion rulers of Spirethorn's allied states; when Azurik pointed this out, the others nervously giggled.)??Many of the attendees, good friends of Azurik, had come to watch Ramona develop over the years. She was maturing to be quite the leader figure, though she was not there yet. "A few more years, and she'll be a wonderful asset to our cause," Camille joked. "She's like a beautiful flower. She's going to blossom." "Indeed, Camille," Cangus reflectively added. "It is wonderful to see her. Given how she's growing up she might make a good wolf someday..." He chuckled. "She WAS born a cheetah, Cangus..." Azurik smiled and went on with his business.

***

Six years after Ramona first fell through the threshold that fateful morning, the Peace of Murcia Cavern came to a close. It had been said that the peace served no further purpose, though in reality nobody wanted to extend it. Just as some wanted, its exit from the River Valley stage was the start of a warful era--one in which blood flowed like crimson ribbons over the grasslands and the rivers, where kingdoms bickered and fought each other, and where new worries emerged for Azurik and his sister Ramona.