Denya and the Ants

By T.A. Rodrigues

Welcome to the Lilibene Village, home of the bean people. They share a border with the Redbelly ants, who are on the brink of civil war within their hive. Denya, a young bean with an adventurous spirit, is trying to find her place in the world. When she and her friend Paylo wander over the border of their territory, they find themselves dealing with the ants.
A coup d'etat catalyzes a state of war between the ants and the bean. Having wandered into the Wilderness, Denya is unaware of these events. However, she may hold the key to saving both the Lilibene Village and the Redbelly Hive. But first, she must learn who she is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312714922

Book preview

Denya and the Ants

Denya and the Ants

Denya and the Ants

T.A. Rodrigues

Published by T.A. Rodrigues

201

Copyright

Copyright © 2014 by T.A. Rodrigues

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2014

ISBN 978-1-312-71492-2

Published by T.A. Rodrigues

795 Meadows Road

Jefferson, NH, 03583

Prologue

On an Island off the coast of South America there lies a lush jungle teeming with life. No human has ever set foot upon this island but this island is not without its inhabitants. It is the home of the tribe of the Lilibene people. This is my home and it is my hope that these scrolls will record the history of our people so that we do not forget the need for peace between the Lilibene tribe and the Redbelly Ant hive.

I have tried my best to record the events of this history. I have interviewed many of the older beans and ants who were involved. Some of who regularly tell stories of the great adventures they have had. As a young bean, I used to listen to these stories nightly and dream of such adventures. I now understand the dangers that these adventures could pose to the rest of the tribe. I satisfy my longing for adventure through these scrolls.

I am privileged to be born in an age when we have relations with other bean tribes on this island. However, this story begins at a time when the people of our tribe had very little awareness of anything outside our own territory and that of the ant hive who share our border. We are at peace with the ants now and they have become like brothers and sisters to the Lilibenes. This is not how it always was.

Before I was born, there was a great war between the Lilibenes and the ants. It was a war so destructive that it almost brought about the end of both our people. It was a war which ended in a terrible disease known as the darkness. This feared disease was named the darkness because that's exactly what it was. It infected the mind. It cast darkness and madness over the eye. It did not discriminate between ant and bean. Nobody knew exactly what caused this mysterious disease but it seemed to attack those who engaged in battle most of all. Fear of this disease eventually led to the end of all disagreements and wars between the beans and the ants. Fear of the darkness helped our two people keep a longstanding peace treaty.

It was found that the Water of Life, a special substance made by the Great Tree, could cure this disease. This was good news for the Lilibenes, who were privileged with exclusive access to this water. However, the ants were helpless. Let it be known that the Lilibene Tribe is not so heartless as to let the ants be destroyed. Some of the Water of Life would go to the ant hive to help those ants afflicted with darkness.

To avoid further war between our people and ensure peace, a line was drawn clearly marking the border of our territories. Ants were strictly forbidden from entering Lilibene territory and we were forbidden from entering Redbelly territory without permission of our leaders. Violations could and would be enforced with lethal force.

In these dark times, when tension was at its highest, our tribal leader Tal-Lon, formed a line of defense known as the scouts. The scouts were commissioned to patrol the border of the territories and make sure no ants got in and no beans got out.

But I am getting ahead of myself now. These scrolls were not written in our sacred language but the more universal language of the ants, which all our people also understand. It is my hope that they may also be read by ants and translated for other types of people, who do not know who the Lilibenes are. Therefore, before I continue, I feel obligated to explain who our people are.

Lilibenes are the creation of the Great Tree. Although it is believed by some that the beanfruit trees are all capable of producing living bean people, very few of them do. The Great Tree, Galgul, is the first. Other tribes of beans which have come to exist elsewhere on the island are created by the direct offspring of the Great Tree. Therefore, directly or indirectly, all the bean people are children of the Great Tree and we should give our thanks and praise for our very lives.

We are not plants and we are not insects. We are something in-between and something entirely different. Like many animals we form family units. The men and women of our tribe will fall in love and pair off and these units raise children. The children are a blessing from the Great Tree who gives them to us. When a pair of Lilibenes adopts a child from the Great Tree it is a most beautiful thing. They live together and form a loving family.

But the couple cannot raise their child alone. It takes the entire community to do so. Everyone in the tribe takes care of the children to such an extent that even the children without families will feel loved.  The whole tribe participates in educating the children and Lilibenes believe strongly in a firm education. We do not have the advantage that the ants have of being born with a station and all the knowledge of that station. Education is necessary so that our tribe might mature and prosper.

Our school teaches children about the Great Tree and His love for us. We teach how he protects us and listens to our concerns. It should come as no great surprise to you that the Great Tree is the center of the Lilibene Territory. He stands there lovingly watching over all the beans.

In the following scrolls I will tell the story of how Queen Issa came to power, ruling over the Redbelly Ants. Although this story is ultimately about her, she is barely in it at all. This story can only be completely understood by knowing the beans who made it happen. So this is also the story of how two young beans found their place in the world.

It should be pointed out, although it may be obvious, ants are very different from beans in many respects. For starters, ants live in a caste society. That means they are born into jobs. It is rare for female ants to be born to the royal family, so when one is, it is a huge deal and an occasion for celebration. Most ants are born as common workers, fighters, scholars, scientists, or organizers. The knowledge of these jobs is stored in the very egg from which they are born. Just like the Great Tree is the center of our territory, the royal family is the center of the ant hive. It is their very reason for existence.

We begin our story in the Lilibene gathering field. This is an area where the Great Tree drops the beanfruits. The beanfruits are life for our tribe. They are also highly sought after by many other creatures and therefore we must be fast to claim them ourselves. After all, these beanfruit are a precious gift from the Great Tree.

The gathering fields tend to be the focus of many conflicts and danger as the gathering fields have a secret underworld. This underworld consists mostly of fiercely competitive worms known as toothworms. As their name implies, they have a bite which is feared by all. They seldom attack other creatures but they sometimes will fight for the fallen beanfruit.

The toothworms wait below a grassy field for the beanfruit to drop. It is difficult to navigate as the grass is taller than any beans and ants. This field forms the southern border of the territory. Any Lilibene working in the field must be of the bravest people. As they look up, waiting for the beanfruit to fall, they must be aware of the toothworms below and other insects on the surface. They must be sharp and aware of their surroundings.

Being a beanfruit gatherer is considered the most dangerous occupation a Lilibene can have, outside of the scouts. It can involve sitting peacefully for hours, even whole days, but in a moment’s notice it might turn into a life threatening struggle over the precious beanfruit.

Chapter 1: An Intruder

Passo crouched in the tall grass of the gathering field as he did every morning. His sharp wooden spear was relaxed in his hand but ready to be used. His eyes reflected his wisdom and age as they fixated in an upward position. He was silently waiting in solitude to be the first to grab any beanfruit that should fall. Passo knew that the beanfruit was distributed by the Great Tree. Even school children were taught this. However, his limited range of vision left him wondering how the beanfruit was dropped.

Unable to see the beanfruit maturing and falling, he was left with only his imagination to fill the details. Were there winged creatures that flew around dropping beanfruit? No Lilibene would dare disrespect the Great Tree by climbing the branches to learn the answer.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and with almost no activity. He had plenty of time to imagine such things. As he wondered and imagined his eyes remained fixed. An onlooker might confuse him for an artistic statue of a Lilibene beanfruit gatherer. Passo stood so still, one might think he was more plant than other Lilibenes. In truth, he was simply so focused on his task that he was in a kind of meditative trance.

As a beanfruit gatherer he had to be fast and focused. There were many things that liked to try to take the beanfruit. He had lost beanfruit before. Once to a bird who swooped down and grabbed the beanfruit with Passo's spear still in it and another time to a toothworm who beat him to the beanfruit and pulled it underground. The toothworms could be fast but mostly hunted at night when the Lilibenes slept. Although they almost never attacked a Lilibene unprovoked, they were feared, because they were invisible underground. Yet, they could sense things happening on the surface. They were fast and powerful enough to kill a Lilibene and could come up on one without notice. Out of fear and respect for these underground hunters, the Lilibenes left the toothworms alone. No experienced Lilibene would use his spear to defend a beanfruit from a toothworm. Although on occasion some inexperienced Lilibenes became foolishly brave and tried to fight a toothworm. This lesson might cost a limb or even a life.

Experience had made Passo fast and accurate with his spear. Very few beanfruit escaped Passo. The beanfruit represented, in essence, life for the bean civilization. The bean inside would become a baby Lilibene when the Great Tree breathed life into it. Thus, the continuation of the Lilibenes relied on the beanfruit gatherers. The fleshy outer fruit that was not alive, was an additional source of sustenance for the bean village.

One watching might be surprised to see this statue of Passo rise to its feet as his spear raised into the air. Passo spotted a falling beanfruit and instinct drove him into action. However, he quickly realized the beanfruit was falling closer to Kaku who was crouched within visual distance from Passo.

Passo relaxed and watched as Kaku leaped into action, spearing the beanfruit through the center. Without hesitation, Kaku hoisted the beanfruit onto his shoulder and started walking toward the village at a fast pace. Younger gatherers always walked faster when carrying beanfruit. They were filled with stories of toothworms jumping from the ground and insects pouncing from the sky. More experienced gatherers, like Passo, were more relaxed. Once