Read The New World (The Last Delar) for Free Online

in his blankets, resting in the log canoe, floating deep into the darkness of the forest.  The stream becomes shallower as the strength of the current dies. It eventually empties into a wetland covered in finger trees whose roots strangle the thick begrimed floor.  This part of the forest is a muddy plain that is flooded during wet periods.  The tree roots desperately combat each other in a tangled battle for better access to the nutrient-filled mud.  Oskeau’s canoe floats under one of these trees and halts in the soft mud.  The slithering creatures of the forest call this place home.  Constricting snakes, lizards, and other forms of primitive life scavenge for existence here.  Oskeau, now alone and vulnerable, would be a quick and life-sustaining meal to many of these beasts.
    A small, humpbacked creature burrows its head into a muddy puddle, feeding on shellfish.  It is a Muddler, a short bottom-feeder that survives in the swamps of the forest.  Muddlers were once human, but in the Age of Darkness they were enslaved and transformed into hunchbacked diggers and miners.  They became short, weak shadows of themselves, forced to work in the mines and dark places of the world.  Once the darkness vanished, many Muddlers escaped the mines and scattered, becoming a broken species, devolving into skittish scavengers.  They developed a tough leathery back that they use for protection against predators. This slothy Muddler, who calls himself Puddle, waddles his way to the tree where Oskeau lies and begins to dig into the mud.  The Muddlers’ digging and plunging into the ground scares Oskeau, and he wails loudly, disturbing the stillness of the forest.  Puddle shoots up from hunting and stares at the small wooden canoe.  He wipes the muddy water from his face, and Oskeau cries out again at the creature’s strange look.  Instantly, the Muddler curls into a tight ball hiding under his protective leathery back.
    The child continues to scream, and Puddle shakes rapidly, cowering in his protective position.  Sobbing, the Muddler cries at the child, hoping to quiet his bawling.  Soon Oskeau tires from yelling and becomes calm.  When he feels the danger has gone, Puddle timidly uncurls himself.  He looks down at the abandoned child and licks his lips at the sight of the small infant.  He thinks about how lucky he is to have found such an easy meal and picks him up and holds him in the air.  The Muddler swings the child upside down, holding him overhead by one foot.  He opens his gaping mouth and is ready to consume him, but a shining light distracts him.  The child starts to laugh and giggle, remembering how his father used to play with him.  The Muddler's stare becomes more intense, and his breathing heavier.  His eyes dilate as they follow the swinging necklace that dangles before his face.  A voice suddenly echoes in his head:  "Yes!" while chomping his teeth, "a slave for Puddle.  Puddle could be the master.  Little son of the tall deceivers would have to do everything I say." Puddle jumps up and down, "Yes, yes, yes!" Puddle moves closer to the necklace, mesmerized by its beauty. "What must I do with the tall walker?" The necklace shines again, brighter than before and pulsing with life.  "Find shelter.  Yes, yes, I have shelter.  I will show you."
    The necklace dulls as quickly as it began to shine, and Puddle shakes his head.  He cradles Oskeau in his arms and runs into the forest.  As Puddle clumsily trudges between the trees, he is lost in excitement.  When he arrives to his shelter, a dead tree with a hollowed-out trunk, he is pleased with himself.  Puddle sits down, placing Oskeau outside the tree, and he begins to sway back and forth.
    "What to do, what does Puddle do now?" Puddle says as he caresses the long coarse hairs that run down his face. Oskeau's necklace glows, shining in Puddle's eyes. "I have seen one, a large cave, it be a good place . . . but a dangerous Long-Tooth lives