The Revolutions of Time | Page 5

an opening. From the newly opened hole was then thrust out a head,
hairy and with a short snout-like edifice for a nose and mouth. Its eyes and the furry hair
which covered its face were brown, and a few wily whiskers protruded from its snout.
With a look of utter surprise, as if it had not expected me as much as I had not expected it,
it eyed me closely for a moment and then looked anxiously from side to side and told me

to come in.
When those words passed its lips, or whatever artifice it spoke from, a great weight fell
from my shoulders. After a short moment, quickened by my relief, a door appeared in the
trunk of the tree, its edges previously hidden behind the thick mosses. Swinging inwards,
it opened and revealed the creature standing there, beckoning me to enter. I did, and the
door shut behind me, leaving me in the darkness of the hollow tree.

Chapter 3
: Zards and Canitaurs

My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and once they did I saw that the trunk was
hollowed out to the extent of eight feet in diameter, with two stairways, one up and
another down, filling either corner of the small entry room in which I found myself.
Observing that my vision was returned enough to see, the strange creature which had
greeted me led me down the descending staircase for a short way, until we came into a
cavern which was delved beneath the roots of the tree.
The walls and floor of the cavern, or more accurately, the sitting room, for such it
appeared to be, were paneled with a thick, heavy wood with an almost artificially
symmetric grain, and the ceiling was done in diagonal boards of the same. Sitting in the
center of the room was a brick-laid pit in which burned an illuminating fire, and around it
was placed an odd covering frame that caught up the smoke and channeled it via
underground passages to some distant wilderness, where its sightless remnants would
dissipate into the atmosphere unnoticed. On the near side of the fire was a round table
flanked by four large, comfortable chairs, padded by cushions made from the same
material as the various carpets and tapestries around the room.
There were two more of the strange creatures seated at the table, called Canitaurs as I
later found out, and as they are closely entwined with my story, being prominent
participants, I will describe them in some detail here. They stood erect like a man, yet
were quite contrasted in appearance. Their skin for one was covered in a thick,
impenetrable coat of hair, much like a dog or a bear's. Their hands, also, were less
distinct in the fingers, though but slightly, and their limbs were a little longer and thicker
than a man's. The two most notable differences, however, were the formation of their
shoulders and chest, which were very pronounced and muscular, and their faces. The
latter's features were brought to a point in the short snout, or muzzle, that formed their
nose and mouth, taking their chins with it and leaving a long line from their neck to their
chest open. Humanity prevailed in the rest of their features, though, giving them the look
of a man and canine hybrid.
By then I had overcome my initial perplexion at the sight of the Canitaurs, and I
endeavored to put a strong check over my emotions in order to prevent another outbreak
of panic and to remain cool and candid, come what would. Yet it was, ironically, the
product of my rashness that I had found their habitation at all. This I successfully did, and
as I entered the room, led by the Canitaur who was on watch, the others stood politely
and greeted me with an apparent intrigue.
Our conversation proceeded at follows:
"I am Wagner of the Canitaurs, my friend," said the one who appeared to be the leader,

"And these are Taurus and Bernibus," the latter being the one who had led me down.
"Welcome to Daem."
"I am Jehu," I told them, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Indeed, and under such circumstances as well. Tell me, how did you come to be here?"
Here I smiled nervously, and replied, "I am a traveler from a distant land, and came here
by the advice of a friend."
At this somewhat false answer, more in character than in content, Wagner looked at me
wonderingly, as if detecting my falsehood, but did not follow his look with any probing
questions, to my great relief. In order to steer the conversation away from this point, I
added quickly, "I am not at all disappointed, either, for the landscape is