"Are you sure, Ka'bal?" questioned Kelemak, the only female Grell, "I see no signs of battle. Even the snow under our feet remains in tact."

"These...Dread Whispers," Hamaer began, "came down upon my Aelo from the trees. They even pulled a few of them back up into them." And with that the members of the Aelo-Protection Bureau looked up suspiciously and began to back away from the frozen winter trees.

"Still," said Kelemak, "There still should be something left here. Spread out everyone, surely we can find something."

The Aelo-Lorinthians left the formation and left to look around in all directions, none of them by themselves but no longer as one group. Hamaer Ka'bal and Kelemak remained where they are and continued to look around.

"I found something, Isba," said an Aelo-hunter after a few moments. Hamaer and Kelemak walked over to help with the investigation. An odd shaped foot print and a piece of a robe worn by an Aelo-hunter. The three stared at the two clues.

"Why is there only one foot print?" asked Kelemak. Hamaer bent down closer and brushed some snow away next to the foot print. Another foot print shown imprinted in the snow that had been filled with placed light snow.

"Because they are covering their tracks," answered Hamaer Ka'bal.

"That's unlikely. How do animals know enough to cover their tracks like this?" asked Kelemak.

A scream was heard from an Aelo-Lorinthian. The three Lorinthians turned and ran in the direction of it. They soon saw the cause of it, a grey, hairy, creature that could only be the described Dread Whisper was viciously attacking a Lorinthian. Fortunately, there was already two Aelo-hunters prying the vermin off the prey with bladed sticks. The two Grell grabbed their weapons ready to help too. But then two more Dread Whispers fell from the trees so silently that the Lorinthians were unaware of their danger. One slashed out at Kelemak and she fell to the snow. Another scream was heard as another group was having a similar experience. Then a fourth Dread Whisper ambushed Hamaer from under a pile of snow where it had been hiding the entire time. This was the best described sequence of events which happened before total chaos broke out between Dread Whisper and Aelo-Lorinthian.

As the Dread Whisper threw Hamaer Ka'bal to the ground he was able to get his snare crossbow pointed directly in front of his enemy. The crossbow was designed to snare Rotangas but not knowing much of the enemy Ka'bal could not decide upon a more efficient weapon. He fired the crossbow at the Dread Whisper on top of him and a net threw it off of him and captured it on the ground. The Dread Whisper twisted wildy and slashed the net to get free. Hamaer took this opportunity to finish it off, he flung out a small knife and started stabbing at the contained creature. Gray hair went everywhere. He then stopped as he heard the sound of a whisper and felt something sharp slap him from the left side of his C'dowe knocking him back. A Dread Whisper appeared in front of him and stood up straight momentarily doubling its height before diving upon the Grell. Hamaer Ka'bal was the Grell of Security and the most powerful warrior in the colony, if such a thing as a warrior existed among the Aelo-Lorinthians. He was barely able to defend himself from the Dread Whispers as they ambushed him with unfair numbers. As the Dread Whisper dived at him he maneuvered and grabbed it by the long hairs on its back and threw it hard into a tree sending chunks of ice everywhere.

Meanwhile the other Lorinthians were doing even worse. Aelo-Lorinthians were not trained to fight, especially a race of creatures unknown to them. Their weapons were designed for trapping and snaring specific creatures rather than combat. The Dread Whispers were not strong physically but they were much faster. The chaos and confusion of the battle was not something Aelo-Lorinthians were familiar with either, and it was their worst disadvantage. Many of the Aelo were being slain much faster than Dread Whispers, and this battle was being lost.

Kelemak sliced off the lanky arm of a Dread Whisper with a stringed blade as it attacked a lone Aelo-Lorinthian with three other Whispers. It shrieked and fell to the snow squirming in pain, shooting red-purple blood on the white snow. Without hesitating the Grell of Astronomy tackled another Dread Whisper before it could slit the stomach of its Lorinthian prey.

The Dread Whispers fought with vicous speed, biting and clawing with lightning speed. The Aelo-Lorinthians were afraid of the horrid vermin but they tried their best to defend themselves. This carnage continued for some time, the Aelo-Lorinthians spent a great deal of time trying to organize themselves and retreat.

"This must be the place," Old Tideme said staring at dry bones left over from a waylez, "He didn't waste a thing, all that's left are bones."

"Well, let's hope it is gone." Galeb said looking around. Galeb R'ef, Old Tideme, and just about half a dozen other Aelo-Lorinthians were all that made up this much smaller group. Galeb lead them to the place where he witnessed the Dread Whisper just that morning.

"Hmm. I don't see any foot prints here," said a Lorinthian.

"Yes, but I'm sure this is the place," Galeb replied.

"Hey, look at this," said another Lorinthian. He pointed up at something hanging from a tree. It was round and green with little yellow dots around it.

"What do you suppose that is?" somebody said.

"It looks like a fruit," said Galeb.

"That is not a fruit," said Old Tideme. He stepped closer and examined the strange growth. It appeared slimy and rotten. "I think this is some kind of pod."

"A pod?" a Lorinthian said, "Do you think it's from one of those Dread Whispers?"

"I do not doubt it at all," Old Tideme said, "Now I think I remember this. Dread Whispers reproduce by laying pods. A very simple way to populate the species."

"What if it hatches?" said a younger Aelo.

Old Tideme reached up with his old Lorinthian arm and picked the pod off of the tree branch. "We won't have to worry about that now, I just aborted its birth."

"Now we can study it and find a weakness to these things," Galeb said.

"Perhaps, but first lets check the area for more of these. The Tashmine could be full of these things which means when they hatch we'll have an even larger problem to deal with."

All the Aelo-Lorinthians stopped moving and listend as they heard a whisper creep through the trees. Suddenly several Dread Whispers came at them from the left.

"Run! They found us! Run back to the colony we are no match!" shouted Old Tideme as the eight Aelo-Lorinthians started to run.

They could hear the whispering sounds of pursuit as Galeb heard this morning. But, it was dark now and the Aelo-Lorinthians could barely see who was in front of him. They each concentrated simply on running as fast as they could back to the Diamond Falls. Chaos grew, a few screams were heard and Galeb could not see the rest of the group. Then the young Aelo felt something hairy brush across his C'dowe. Startled he slipped and fell into a creek and hit his head on a rock. He did not know what was going on, then all went black and he fell unconcious.

"Catastrophe." That was the word the Galome of the Aelo-Lorinthians of the Diamond Falls colony in the Western Lands used to describe the devestation left behind from the rampage of a Dread Whisper attack.

Moments earlier Hamaer Ka'bal, Grell of Security, Kelemak, Grell of Astronomy, and the surviving Aelo-hunters returned to the colony after an unorganized retreat from a Dread Whisper ambush in the Tashmine forest. What awaited them back at the colony was a far worse disaster.

"Isba. Please tell us what happened, " asked Kelemak reassuring the frantic Galome.

"I, I don't know. It happened so fast." the Galome could barely speak.

"They came in while you were gone," Gildur Etrask, the Grell of Foreign Affairs, began gravely, "They ignored the Lorinthians... and went straight for the Hibernation Apparatus. Somehow they knew."

"We would have been better off if they attacked, but they just came in, took out the Apparatus and left," the Galome said.

The Hibernation Apparatus was an immensly advanced machine which carried out countless tasks the Aelo-Lorinthians could not do during the hibernation season. Without it they would surely perish, and much faster than by any direct attack by the enemy.

"It happened so fast, we couldn't stop them," the Galome said aloud to himself.

"Well, how did they get in?!" shouted Hamaer.

"The gate was open."

"That's impossible. I closed it before I left!"

"Could they have somehow opened it?" asked Kelemak.

"No. It can only be opened from the inside...and only a Grell knows how to open it."

"What are you implying, Ka'bal?" asked Gildur.

"Nothing. It just doesn't make any sense. They could not have gotten in by themselves, someone must have let them in."

"It sounds like you are implying something Hamaer," said Kelemak. "Are you suggesting that a Grell let them in on purpose?"

The most astounding trait of the Aelo-Lorinthians was their ability to get things done by working together without selfishness on anyone's part. There was absolutely no corruption. Never was there a possibility of betrayal in the Aelo-Lorinthian colony. Until this point.

"No, I didn't say that. It just...seems unlikely with the misinformation we've been receiving about all of this."

All were silent and Hamaer Ka'bal continued, "How did these creatures know to attack only the apparatus? How did they know to attack during our most vulnerable time during the hibernation season? How did they know how to hide their tracks and ambush us?"

"It was Old Tideme who told us that the Dread Whispers had only animal intellignece, " said Kelemak, "Since that is obviously not true, perhaps, maybe he is hiding something?"

"That's outrageous!" argued Gildur, "If anyone should be suspected of treason it is you, Ka'bal! You're the Grell who is supposedly making routine security checks of this environment. How could you possibly miss a horde of these demons?!"

"I'll admit it sound unlikely, but it hardly makes sense that I would be working with the enemy when I was nearly killed by them! What about you, Gildur? You went all the way to Malgaria which lies straight through the Tashmine forest. You mean to tell me you did not encounter anything, nor did the Malgarians speak of such monsters?"

"That is correct, Ka'bal. Which I too admit is unlikely. Still what of Kelemak?"

"What?!" the female Lorinthians was startled by the sudden accusation, "How could you possibly suspect me of treason?!"

"You were missing throughout most of the Aelo-Gibbus meeting last night. Who knows where you could have been?"

"That's absurd! I was recording celestial rotation as I do every night Gildur!" shouted Kelemak.

"She has a plausible excuse for absence, Gildur" stated Hamaer, "But where is Old Tideme now, while we are blaming each other? Surely he, if anyone, is the traitor."

"Stop this madness!" the Galome finally interrupted, "We are Aelo-Lorinthians! None among us are corrupt! This pointless bickering is not our way!"

The Grell fell silent, "Now it seems this common enemy of ours is winning against us. We, the Aelo-Lorinthians, are losing and total extinction appears inevitable. And the Grell, the wisest of the Aelo, can do nothing about it but blame each other. This is the most shameful moment I have ever witnessed."

Realizing their sins total silence fell over the Grell of Aelo-Lorinthians. All looked down in shame. But as their heads fell, they each cast a glare at their suspected traitors.

I am dead. Galeb R'ef thought this to himself as he opened his eyes after hours of unconciousness. At first he could only see white but as he lifted his head off the ground he could see the snow covered ground of the Tashmine forest. Or am I?.

He pulled his knees close to him trying to keep warm. Shivering he recollected his thoughts on what had occured last before he lost awareness. The Dread Whispers missed me? I escaped? It appeared to him this way. The young Aelo praised the Moon for his great fortune. With new found confidence he raised himself off the ground onto his feet despite complaints from his weary body.

After Galeb heard a noise he found himself back in the snow as sudden reaction to it. He lifted his head to peer up. He saw a frozen stream in front of him. He could hear a tapping sound of claws on ice. There was a single Dread Whisper clawing its way across the stream. Galeb immediately sank back into the snow to avoid being seen. It appeared he was not already spotted by this creature of the enemy. As eternal moments passed Galeb looked up again to see if the beast was on its way over to where the Lorinthian lay hidden. Indeed it was, and in seconds Galeb would be seen by the Dread Whisper and attacked. Galeb once again sank back into his snowy outline. The Aelo cursed the Moon for teasing him with survival.

Galeb R'ef could only anticipate the idea of fleeing. But such action would only lead to his discovery by the predator and his own quick extermination. Galeb knew all too well that his Lorinthian feet could not outrun the swiftness of the Dread Whisper. But what else could he do? Another idea manifested into his Aelo mind which appeard first as a joke but somehow grew in him. Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance at taking this Dread Whisper. One Dread Whisper and one Aelo-Lorinthian. It does seem possible. And also, Galeb had the advantage of the initiative because he had not been seen yet. With moments left Galeb R'ef made the fateful decision to ambush the dreadful monster which by now already seemed like a natural enemy to his species.

Galeb felt anger brewing inside him as he thought of the pain these cruel beasts had already caused him and his people. His breathing became ragged as Aelo adrenaline flowed through his body. Sanity left the young Aelo as he was engulfed in hatred for his enemy. Warlike hatred, that stemmed from the nomadic Tideme Lorinthians and even deeper to the ancient barbaric Basanthar Lorinthains. Galeb R'ef felt the hidden Aelo power of thousands of lost generations of cruelty. I don't care what you are, he thought to himself, you will pay.

Galeb reached for a stick next to him on the ground. He sprang up from the snow face to face with the Dread Whisper. The Dread Whisper had only a moment of a surprised look on its face before the Lorinthian jammed the stick into the grotesque beast's beady left eye socket. The shreik that folllowed was more then Galeb aniticipated and he was rattled back into his cautious and logical Aelo-Lorinthian ways. Of course, this Dread Whisper quickly developed some hatred of his own. It shot out a hairy arm and grasped the Lorinthian by the neck. Then the wily beast dived on top of him and wrestled Galeb in the snow. Galeb felt a surge of pain as he felt the Dread Whisper bite a portion of flesh from his arm. As young Aelo struggled the two battlers rolled through the snow onto the frozen stream. With Galeb on top now the Lorinthian slammed the Whisper's head into hard ice cracking it slightly. But the lanky creature was too swift and it rolled with Galeb across the stream. Galeb used both his hands to push the hideous monsters jaws away his face as it lunged for another bite. He struggled so violently that they both rolled off a drop in the stream and fell. They both fell a dozen feet off the side and crashed backed onto the stream. The force of their fall caused the ice to shatter and the Aelo-Lorinthian and the Dread Whisper splashed into the beyond frigid waters.

This definitely called for an immediate truce as both combatants put getting back onto dry land as their top priority. They both managed this. Galeb R'ef shaked violently and became delusional due to loss of body heat. As the hypothermic Lorinthian tried to warm himself he could see the Dread Whispers own outcome. Unlike the smooth skin of the Lorinthian the Dread Whisper was composed of mostly hair. That gray hairy body acted like a sponge in the frigid waters and the beast was drenched in it. Galeb set his own pain aside and watched the effects their swim had on the Dread Whisper. The young Aelo could see how small and wiry a Dread Whisper really was with its hair wet down. It looked like just a little gray snake squirming in the snow. It tried to shake its hair free of the water but was already too frozen and death was inevitable. Yet it did not give up trying. Galeb watched its futile squirming. The Dread Whisper did not appear ferocious anymore. This menace looked like any animal struggling to survive. Galeb R'ef thought it looked so sad with its hair all wet down and a fearful look of death on its face. He actually felt sorry for it. He must be in so much pain. The Dread Whisper stared up at the young Aelo-Lorinthian as life eventually escaped it. Just before it stopped moving completely, Galeb heard a voice that seemed to come from the defeated monster. Although he knew these animals were not near smart enough for speech he later thought that the voice was a delusion.

"....all shall be...with......us..."

Haunting as it was, Galeb R'ef did not know what this meant at this time. But the Aelo-Lorinthian had learned something else that was crucially important. He had discovered a weakness to the enemy.

"Now that you mention it, I believe I did," an Aelo farmer Lorinthian replied to Kelemak's question.

"You did see a Grell enter the gatehouse?!" Hamaer Ka'bal asked the same question to make sure.

"I think so. I'm not real sure. I know I should have been inside my home like Mr. Ka'bal had told us but I needed some water for my family. I thought I saw the outline of a C'dowe on the arches of the gate. But I don't know if it was a Grell. It could have been any Lorinthian with a large C'dowe." the humble farmer explained the best he could, "am I going to get in trouble for this? I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"It had to be a Grell," Bulmer, Grell of Finances, said. "Only a Grell can get into the gatehouse to open the gate.

"No, you won't get in any trouble." reassured Kelemak, "thank you for your help." The Lorinthian acknowledged by nodding his C'dowe and left.

"So there definitely is a traitor among us. We should tell the Galome," Hamaer said.

Meanwhile, Ismet, Grell of Aelo-Religion, Gildur Etrask, Grell of Foreign Affairs, and the Galome of the Aelo-Lorinthian colony were in the Administration Tower preparing for departure.

"Isba please! You mustn't give up all hope yet!" pleaded Ismet.

"I am not giving up hope, Ismet," said the Galome, "This is the only hope we have left for survival."

"What if the Tuskagaries will not help us?"

"Tuskagaries are actually quite generous for humans," said Gildur Etrask, "I am sure they will help us, and they are much closer than the Malgarians."

"Yes, that is why you are coming with me Grell of Foreign Affairs." the Galome said to Gildur.

"But I fear for your safety, Isba. It's too dangerous for two Lorinthians to go out alone now."

"Be at peace, Ismet. The Dread Whispers are in the Tashmine forest to the west, we have to go east over the Diamond Mountains to get to Tuskagau. We should be fine."

"But Isba..."

"Ismet. I need you to stay here and protect the colony while I'm gone. I'm counting on you more than the other Grell," the Galome comforted the Grell of Aelo-Religion.

At that moment the Grell of History, Old Tideme, and the young Aelo-Lorinthian, Galeb R'ef entered the Gibbus Hall.

"Galeb!" Ismet shouted, "I'm so pleased to see that you have survived the attack in the Tashmine. Old Tideme told us what happened and we feared the worst."

"I'm alright, Isba," said Galeb, "Just a little scratched up."

"After a bath in the hot springs he was as good as new," said Old Tideme, "He's a tough kid, but this young Aelo has some important information to share about the Dread Whispers."

"Please share this with us," the Galome asked, "and this time we will give you full credibility."