Moments later, the small foxes had been dragged into a small, wet cave where they were bound by ropes. On guard stood several unpleasant looking crows, led by wolverines with shaggy fur and blunt claws. As time moved on, the crows became restless and wolverines more inpatient. The moment the sound of the wolverine’s snores filled the cave, the crow left the foxes to search for food. They flapped through the tunnel gossiping and laughing.

“ By my great grandpa’s bushy tail,” muttered Rook, tugging at the tight cords that bound him. “ If we reach Lightning bolt we can free ourselves!” After a while he stopped wriggling. While they lay in the dark thinking of how to get free, Rook heard a noise. Wren gave a little yell as a wolf’s snout popped out of a hole.

 “Shush now,” said the Wolf. “ We don’t want the Cavian hearing us do we?”  With a swipe of his claws, the ropes fell apart and the little foxes followed the wolf, who was called Avary, into the tunnel that had appeared. There were other wolves, badgers and even some moles blinking at the light that came from the Cavian’s  hideout. “We must get to the surface before the flood,” whispered Avary. “We’ve planned a little surprise for our buddy Sith. Everyone has been digging and scratching. We’ve dirtied the waterfall and are going to channel it down into the cave.”

 “I wonder if Sith can actually swim,” giggled another wolf and everyone started to laugh. The group of animals led the foxes through the tunnel. Slowly, they made their way through, stopping every now and then while a badger or mole ate a sad looking worm.

Finally, they made their way to sunlight and stood still to adjust their eyes to the sun. In the distance they could see the cut steep hills.“ Look,“ said Jackdaw. “ That’s where we’ll be the most safe.

”At that moment grass and turf from the hills sprayed everywhere. At the same time the waterfall had finally been directed towards the gorm camp. Water splashed everywhere right where the cavian were. Unsuspecting an attack.

 Moments later the gushing water met the hills. The hillside began to shake and animals began to bolt towards the field below. There were horses, polecats, squirrels, voles, stoats, rabbits, badgers, adders and wildcats alongside the little band of foxes who had wisely hitched a ride on a red deer with giant horns that curved into sharp spikes.

 Once everyone was far away from the hillside a few soggy looking Cavin streaked back towards their cave. The animals laughed, sang, whistled and hooted. Eagles, buzzards and ravens swooped down to pester the wolverines in great pleasure. Then suddenly the sun was blocked by something enormously large. Rook looked up and finally realised what it was. A crystal dragon! As the shimmering dragon landed with a thud. The crystal dragon gave a nod and the three foxes clambered on ,led by Wren who was the most excited of all. Slowly, they took off, soaring through the air as they clung on tightly. Rook sighed “ what an adventure we have had.” As he looked over the darkening plane. 

With a hiss, what Rook thought was a shadow rose. It was Sith, the Cavian general. His teeth dripped with blood and his armour glinted in the sunlight. Ferociously, he beat his tail on the ground. The closest Wolverine gave a mournful cry and in a few seconds thousands of Wolverines surrounded Sith, cracking their knuckles.

When the fight had ended, all the wolverines were dead and Sith was nowhere to be seen. Carefully, Rook tiptoed back to the warehouse. A cold tingle ran up his spine and made his breath heavy.

As the sun rose, Rook, Jackdaw and Wren left Wolverine Warren and headed North,West through Dark Scare Wood. The journey took nearly the whole day and they settled down just as the stars were coming out. They found a large hollow oak tree and decided to stay there for the night. Jackdaw was uncertain if they were far away from the Warren but Rook showed him the map.

Outside the tree, the wind swept leaves and moss everywhere. Inside, Jackdaw made a light out of fireflies and Wren cooked rabbit and fell asleep. Nervously, Rook unwrapped the only item his Father had given him. It was a small sharp crossbow by the name of “ Tintreach” (lightning bolt) and it was glowing red. Even Wren knew it was a bad sign.

The walls of the tree seemed to crack and splinter until with a great boom, crowds of Wolverines poured in. In a few seconds , the young foxes were  bound by tight cords that only wolverines could make. Rook struggled to hide lightning bolt.

Too late! A shadow made its way into the hollow oak tree and even the wolverines shrank back. Sith sneered at Rook. “ Going anywhere?” he spatt through his steel mask. “ Right now I don’t think you are!” he added, smacking his tail twice on the ground. Immediately, Wolverines scurried forwards, bundled them through the forest and into a cave. In it was where the Cavian waite in there millions safe and preparing for war. Terrified, Rook looked at Sith. It looked like the army was waiting to attack the one place the foxes thought safe – the Cut Steep Hills. 

The sun had just risen, when Rook woke up with a jump. Someone was scratching at the sheet. A dark eye peered through the hole and Rook let out a sigh. It was Fire bloom the badger messenger, with news sent by their mother to say the Cavian had completely destroyed Timber Claw Town. The last time they had been seen the Cavian were following their tracks. They had to move fast. Fire bloom helped Jackdaw  pack up and with his help the little pack headed through the marsh away from the smellud.

As they moved on, the plain was lifeless. There had been a downpour last night and cold dew was everywhere. Mist was all around them so you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. The wind was unbearable. Rook knew the cavian would track them through the mud and it was impossible to not leave a trail. By the afternoon, they had spotted an outline of Wolverine Warren. Maybe we could hide here, thought Rook.

A few hours later, the shivering pack of young foxes found themselves looking for a way into the mighty Warren. Steely looking Wolverine guards strutted around the gate, claws glinting in the sunlight. So Rook, Jackdaw and Wren looked and found  a little tunnel where a tasty rabbit burrowed a hole.

As they jumped in, the smell of sweaty rabbit engulfed them as they ran through the darkness. At last they reached the other side. Rook, who was very confident about being leader, led the way past warehouses and across the street. Finally, they found a deserted warehouse. It would be the perfect place to stay the night while the cavian passed by. Outside, the wind howled. Inside, Wren was hungry and Jackdaw was worried about “ Mummy”. Soon Wren was asleep. 

Rook slipped away into the cobbled street. They needed food. Deep in the alleyway he heard the howls and growls of two Wolverines as they fought each other and onlookers picked sides. Just across the road he saw one catch a mouse, let it free and catch it again with great delight. Rook shuddered. The cavian were bad ( the Wolverines were maybe worse).

From an abandoned shop he stole a loaf of bread, lamb, fish, berries and a carton of milk. At least hunger would be the last thing on his mind.

Just then he heard a shout behind him. “ Hey, what you think you’re up to?” A grizzled looking face leered at him. His claws were sheathed. Rook froze. Something was coming closer. A blood shot eye stared out at him. Each of the Wolverines picked up a sword and moved closer. Rook waited hoping he wouldn’t be seen and tried not to think about the sword moving ever closer towards his heart …

Finally, they were ready to leave.

Just before the sun had gone down, Firebloom, a badger messenger, had come to tell the foxes that the Cavian were coming to Timber Claw Town! Everyone would be in danger. The burrows had been built many years ago and were too crumbly and  weak. It would be easily crushed. The Cavian would destroy it all.

So it was that the three little foxes Rook, Jackdaw and young Wren, left their hole. It would take two weeks to get to safety but before that they would have to pass through the Smellud Marsh, Dark scare wood to finally get to Cut steep hills. Even the Cavian could not pass through the many ***** traps that had been set around the perimeter. Once the foxes reached the hills they would be safe. Other vixens and foxes wanted to go to the hollow hideout but their mother said the hills were better. Too old to travel, she had hidden in the timber claw tavern.

Clutching their weapons, the small pack of foxes ran across the rickety wooden bridge towards the smellud marsh. Burnt gorse ahead they followed the map and hoped they weren’t going in the wrong direction. Cautiously, Rook took the lead. Wrapping his cape around him he trudged forward as the september fog fell about him like frosting on a cake. Everywhere he looked he imagined the sharp  talons of eagles, faces of trickster stoats and the poisonous fangs of the cavian.

Following behind Rook, Jackdaw held onto baby Wren’s paw. Tiredly, they tried to follow in the footsteps of their older brother. Jackdaw told Wren they were going hunting for mice but soon Wren realised they weren’t and Jackdaw could feel her shivering. As the sky grew darker still, he made Rook stop so they could set up camp. All together, they pulled a giant sheet over some dead gorse and soon they had started a fire. Rook covered the ground with warm moss and Jackdaw rolled out the sleeping bags.

That evening, they devoured rats, berries, deer and water their father had packed for them. Wren and Jackdaw were soon asleep, which only left Rook and his thoughts.

So as Rook fell into a slumber, he dreamt of the sharp hiss of the cavian, the bite and the thud. Would they ever reach the cut steep hills.    

Have you ever thought of having an amazing animal in your house? If so this is the guide for you. You must read really carefully though. Otherwise you will be facing a giant bird that can shoot shocks of lightning.

You will need

A large garden area, blanket, shield, 2 pounds of raw meat, thunder water, tracker, ivo med.

1) A thunder bird loves to stretch its wings so letting it out in your garden is a good thing to do. You must have a tracker around its leg just in case it gets lost and you know where they are.

2) The thunder bird must have at least 10 drops of thunder water in the morning (any more will make it go wild). 2 pounds of meat will need to be fed to your pet everyday around 12:00 to 1:00.

3) Before bed, your bird will be very energetic and may shoot sum shocks of lightning. In this case a golden shield is vital. Now if it gets too out of hand make sure to give it a snack which may calm it down.

4) Make sure your pet at night has a blanket which goes over its back while it’s perched on its favourite branch. This will charge up its powers and help with its mood in the morning.

5) But if your thunder bird is sick what do you do? Ivio med sorts out all your bird illnesses in a few days.

Word of warning

These majestic and beautiful creatures are lovely pets but my word of warning is that too much meat will make it eat you!

The Rock Pegasus

There are lots of unicorn breeds from the volcana horned horse to the ocean unicorn but

the most amazing is probably the rock pegasus. Not much is known as it is too deadly to get close to as it can absorb power.

Now these creatures can be hard to spot so you need to know what they look like. The rock unicorn has strong armour on its skin the color of cement. Its eyes are as black as night and it has a small horn on its nose. Its hooves are quite plain but when threatened they turn into the sharpest of claws. Like most unicorns it has a horn on its head and powerful legs. It really is the rhino of the unicorns.

Unicorns are ravenous creatures and love their food but different unicorns have different tastes. Obviously, the rock pegasus eats meat but unlike some unicorn kind they eat meat full time. As they live in the savannah they have learnt to eat larger creatures than other unicorn and pegasi. They mostly eat zebras and deer, rodents if nothing else and other predators if starving. Curiously, there has never been a time when a rock pegasus has killed another rock pegasus.

It was thought that the rock pegasus lived on desert islands but now we know that was the shape shifter unicorn. The rock pegasus lives in many african savannahs.They bring up their young in holes they make underground preferably near water. Though very surprisingly some rock pegasus live on the island of volcana were the volcana horned horse calls home.

How do you know if a unicorn is angry or not? Many unicorn kind have protective stuff but the rock unicorn is armoured to the teeth. When threatened they curl up and use all the power their enemy is striking on them and absorb that power. Interestingly, they have a very strong bond with the volcana horned horse.

If you see this unicorn I would drop anything that looks dangerous and move away.

The Rock Pegasus

There are lots of unicorn breeds from the volcana horned horse to the ocean unicorn but

the most amazing is probably the rock pegasus. Not much is known as it is too deadly to get close to as it can absorb power.

Now these creatures can be hard to spot so you need to know what they look like. The rock unicorn has strong armour on its skin the color of cement. Its eyes are as black as night and it has a small horn on its nose. Its hooves are quite plain but when threatened they turn into the sharpest of claws. Like most unicorns it has a horn on its head and powerful legs. It really is the rhino of the unicorns.

Unicorns are ravenous creatures and love their food but different unicorns have different tastes. Obviously, the rock pegasus eats meat but unlike some unicorn kind they eat meat full time. As they live in the savannah they have learnt to eat larger creatures than other unicorn and pegasi. They mostly eat zebras and deer, rodents if nothing else and other predators if starving. Curiously, there has never been a time when a rock pegasus has killed another rock pegasus.

It was thought that the rock pegasus lived on desert islands but now we know that was the shape shifter unicorn. The rock pegasus lives in many african savannahs.They bring up their young in holes they make underground preferably near water. Though very surprisingly some rock pegasus live on the island of volcana were the volcana horned horse calls home.

How do you know if a unicorn is angry or not? Many unicorn kind have protective stuff but the rock unicorn is armoured to the teeth. When threatened they curl up and use all the power their enemy is striking on them and absorb that power. Interestingly, they have a very strong bond with the volcana horned horse.

If you see this unicorn I would drop anything that looks dangerous and move away.