The Kratt Prophecy

By Arthur Young

My story concerns the Leaders, of which there have been many, each of whom in their own way has either to a greater or lesser extent played their part in guiding the race of Kratts and Underkratts to their ultimate destiny.
The six leaders I have chosen for my first narrative have in my opinion had the greatest impact in fulfilling the Kratt prophecy.
The leaders I have chosen are; Eddard and Erica, (the first leaders)
Trembor and Treena, (the teachers)
Alain and Arina (the peace makers)
Due to the very long lives that leaders have, it would be almost impossible for me to relate all of the things that they had accomplished during their lifetimes. I have therefore concentrated on what I consider to be their greatest contribution to the Kratt and Underkratt race.
Unfortunately there is no written account that can testify to the truth or accuracy of what occurred, there is only the verbal accounts handed down through thousands of generations. Although the current leaders of the four Tribes have been an invaluable source of information for which I am eternally grateful, there still remains gaps in our history which for one reason or another they are unable to fill, because of these ‘gaps’ ’I have in many instances had to decide what might or might not be the truth, I have therefore taken the liberty of taking an educated guess as to what was either said or thought by all the Kratts and Underkratts in my story where these gaps occur.
I make no apologies for this and hope that the reader will still find my story interesting, informative, and fairly close to what actually occurred.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jan 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984592361

Arthur Young

Arthur Young (1741-1820) était un agriculteur et agronome britannique. Auteur de nombreux ouvrages, il eut de son vivant une grande renommée. Son livre "Voyages en France", paru en 1792, livre des informations précieuses sur la France rurale.

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EDDARD AND ERICA

(The First Leaders)

CHAPTER 1

LEADERS

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Eddard! Eddard! Come here right now! The voice was high-pitched—shrill almost. It was a commanding voice, a female voice—a voice that seemed to carry a dire warning: a warning that if Eddard didn’t obey the female’s command right now, he would be in deep—really deep—trouble.

"Eddard! I won’t tell you again; come here right now!"

This time the female’s voice was almost a scream, full of anger and menace but something else as well. It was as if there were a real sense of fear that something really terrible would happen to Eddard.

And where was this Eddard? What was he doing that could stir up such high emotions in this female?

He was watching cold white water melt—the solid cold white water that hung like sticks from the rocks and trees. He wasn’t far from his home. In fact, he could see it quite clearly from his current position. Home to Eddard was a hole in the ground just under the solid cold white water. It was not a deep hole, but deep enough to keep the really cold night air where it belonged—outside, where their enemies were; outside, where the cold white water lay, covering everything in a white blanket; outside, where they had to find their food; outside, where the cold white water was. There was no cold white water underneath the ground, it was only outside.

Oh, I suppose that I’d better go home before my mother sends one of my brothers for me, Eddard thought to himself. He stood up, waved a paw to his mother, and trotted the short distance home.

When he arrived there, his mother greeted him with, One of these days something’s going to come along and eat you, and you won’t even notice it. I just don’t understand why you have to keep looking at the cold white water so much.

I think it’s holding some sort of a secret, Mum is all he said.

If you say so, replied his mother.

Not for the first time, Eddard found himself thinking about why he had this obsession with cold white water. Was he, as one of his brothers told him, just Kratt-brained, or was it that there was something about cold white water that would decide the future destiny not only of Eddard but also his family, and the entire future of all Kratts as well? If only he could figure it out. I will, I know I will … someday, Eddard said to himself as he dropped off to sleep thinking about cold white water.

Eddard was a Kratt, one of many animals that inhabited his world. He had never seen any type of animal other than Kratts, but he was assured that they existed and that before long he would see them for himself. Most Kratts were covered all over in brown fur. Some had black fur, and even fewer still grey fur. The only parts of their bodies that weren’t furry were their long tails, which were almost as long as their sleek bodies. They had four legs. The two back ones were stronger and larger than the front two. Their feet had four claws each to make finding food and digging holes in the ground easier; they were also used for defence if they were attacked by any of their many enemies. They had two large ears on either side of their long, pointed heads and two sets of very sharp and long teeth, one on the top and one on the bottom. They had crescent-shaped mouths, and their eyes were deep brown—almost black—in colour. As far as Eddard knew, the only exception to this was his sister Erica. For some reason, she had green ones. They also had three small pouches on the underside of their bellies where they could store food or water for short periods of time.

The cold white water was melting. Why? He thought that cold white water was a permanent part of his world, like the rocks and trees. This was something new—an event he had never thought was possible. No more cold white water. He just couldn’t get his head around it. He would have to ask his father to see if he could explain what was happening.

It’s the start of the warm time, Eddard’s father replied when Eddard asked if he knew.

I have never heard you or anyone talk of the warm time before.

For very good reasons, said his father. It’s the time when all the cold white water disappears, the time when everything turns green, the time when our enemies are at their strongest and we are at our weakest. I have not spoken to you about it before because you would have worried about it all through the cold time, but now it’s different. The warm time is upon us, and we shall all have to fight to stay alive. It has always been so, as far back as anyone can remember, so no more lying on the ground and staring into the sky for you, young Eddard; you will be too busy trying to stay alive!

During what everyone called the cold time, the cold white water provided some sort of protection, no matter how slight that protection might be. But not now. Now all they had was a hole in the ground—and not a very big one at that. The only way to stay alive was to be quicker and more aggressive than one’s enemy. That’s what Eddards’s father told him. It was the only advice he could offer.

Eddard felt really depressed. Is that it then? All I can look forward to for the rest of this warm time is being attacked? By what? He realized he didn’t even know who his enemies were or what they looked like.

Anything that doesn’t look like us, his father said.

Well that really helps, he thought to himself. I don’t know what to expect when we get attacked, but I suppose I’ll find out.

He found out much quicker than he expected—later that same day, in fact.

The first Eddard knew that they were under attack was when he heard someone shout, The black furry things are attacking! Eddard had never seen a black furry thing before, and by the end of that day he never wanted to see another one ever again.

The black furry things were one of the most feared enemies of the Kratts, and for very good reasons. They were indeed black and furry, but they were also without mercy towards Eddard and his kind. Fully twice as large as most Kratts, they had much larger bodies and more rounded heads with two small ears on either side. Their mouths were not as long as the Kratts’, but they still contained very long and sharp teeth that could kill a Kratt with one bite. Their four legs were quite thick and longer than the Kratts’. Their feet had three claws similar to Eddard’s—not quite as thick but still capable of inflicting nasty wounds.

It was the eyes and smell of these enemies that Eddard found most repulsive. Their eyes were a dark red in colour and were full of what seemed to Eddard to be pure hatred and evil. And the smell! Eddard had never smelled anything so horrible in his life. It made him feel sick. He would never forget it as long as he lived, though how long that would be he had no idea, given the scene that lay before him now: Kratts and black furry things as far as he could see, thousands fighting for their lives. And the Kratts were losing.

Will I survive this day, or even the next day or the day after that? Eddard asked himself. Am I destined to become someone’s meal, and that’s it? No! I won’t accept it, and nor will I accept it as the future for my family or fellow Kratts either.

It was at that moment that Eddard almost got himself killed.

His mind was elsewhere, not concentrating on what he should have been concentrating on: his survival. Directly in front of him stood a big black furry thing ready to pounce—ready to kill him. It was only because Eddard had superb reflexes that he managed to avoid the big black furry thing’s initial attack. As the furry thing leapt at him, Eddard jumped sideways, his mouth open, ready to sink his teeth into this enemy’s throat, but his enemy was fast—very fast. Somehow it bent its body in the air and extended its claws, aiming for Eddard’s eyes. Eddard just managed to move his head at the last moment, but not fast enough if the pain in the side of his cheek was any indication. The furry thing landed on the ground and glared at Eddard, its red eyes full of pure hatred. As it prepared to attack him again, Eddard’s father leapt on the furry thing’s back, closely followed by his brother Edic. Between the three of them, they managed to kill this particular enemy.

Eddard had survived his first fight. More by luck than anything else, he thought to himself. As he looked around to see if there were any more enemies to fight, he realized that the fighting was coming to a close. There was the odd furry thing and Kratt still intent on killing each other, but nothing like the intensity of a few moments ago.

The furry things were leaving. Many had been killed or injured, but nowhere near the amount of Kratts that had been either killed or injured that day. Eddard knew that there was no way they could survive another attack by their enemies. The only thing to do was find somewhere to recover; it had to be somewhere safe, somewhere he could take his family where their enemies couldn’t follow. But where? Where? He looked around that terrible place of carnage more slowly this time, looking at which direction the black furry things had taken. They certainly couldn’t go that way, so which way? Any further delay in leaving this place increased their chances of being attacked again, so speed was vital, but which way?

Then he had the answer. He knew exactly what to do and how to do it. First of all, he spoke to his father about his plan. All his father said was it sounds like a good plan; let’s go for it.

This surprised Eddard, as he had thought his father would say something about him being too young and inexperienced and it being only his first battle or something like that. His father’s reaction lifted Eddards’s spirits to no end and gave him confidence to carry out his plan, no matter what the eventual outcome might be.

The wound in his cheek almost forgotten, Eddard set about putting his plan into action. First of all he raced about that place of carnage, telling everyone who would listen that if they remained where they were, they would almost certainly die. But if they followed him and his family, they had a chance of surviving. Once again Eddard was surprised by the reaction he received; almost all of those who had survived the battle said they would do as he said and follow him.

Next he organized the Kratts who had escaped that onslaught relatively unscathed into a defensive ring around the more critically injured survivors. It didn’t matter whether they were male or female; they were all in this together. Then he started them walking in the direction of some distant hills that would take them away from this place of death where he had grown up.

For two days they walked: two days that saw half their number die from their injuries, two days with hardly any food or water, two days of endless moaning about Eddard and his plan. But as Eddard pointed out on endless occasions, there were no further attacks by their enemies, and with every paw step they were getting closer to safety.

Finally Eddard found what he was looking for—the largest hole he had ever seen. The hole was not in the ground like his old home; rather, it was in the side of a very large hill—large enough for all of them to enter and disappear into. Perfect. Without hesitation, Eddard went inside and motioned for everyone to follow him.

As they passed through the entrance into the side of the hill, Eddard sent six of the fittest and largest Kratts ahead of them (his father and his brother Edic included) just in case this particular hole was already occupied. He also sent a dozen more to watch their rear in case any enemies were following them. Meanwhile, Eddard and the rest of the survivors remained just inside the entrance—far enough inside so as not to be seen from the outside, but close enough to the entrance to make a hasty retreat if needed.

At last Edward had time to sit down and assess their situation more critically and decide what to do next. The top priority was to find food and water; the second, an area that was dry within easy reach of an ample supply of the all-important food and water. The area needed to be easily defensible in case of attack, have an escape route, and be large enough to allow a huge growth in the current Kratt population without too much overcrowding. Simple!

Eddard was deep in thought when he heard his father say, As far we can tell, there are no enemies anywhere in this hole. However, we didn’t go that far in because this place is so huge. How did you know it was here, Eddard? You have never been this far away from home before. At least as far as I know you haven’t.

You’re right, replied Eddard. I never even knew this place existed before today. I suspected we would find something like this here, but I wasn’t really sure. However, even here we aren’t safe; we have to find a place that has everything we need to survive and prosper before we can say we are secure. I can’t do that on my own, so I suggest we work together to ensure that happens as quickly and smoothly as possible. I’m still fairly young, and I certainly don’t have all the answers to what seems to me is going to be a very long and difficult time ahead of us, so I suggest that we have something that, as far as I know, Kratts have never had—a supreme leader or leaders. What do you think?

Eddard’s father was the first to speak. What are you talking about, Eddard? We already have leaders—family leaders. We have always had them. The oldest male of every family is the leader of that family, the same way I am the leader of our family.

I’m not talking about a leader of a family said Eddard. I’m talking about something completely new—a leader of thousands of Kratts. Let’s call them a tribe of Kratts. It doesn’t matter if the Kratt or Kratts selected to lead the tribe are male or female, or even if they happen to be young or old; they should be the most able to lead the tribe—the most suited to the task of ensuring that the tribe survives and grows stronger. That’s what I mean by a leader.

I always thought you had something about you, Eddard. Eddard’s father couldn’t hide the pride in his voice that he felt for his son. We knew you were something special, just like your sister Erica, but we didn’t know how special until now. Even when we saw you sitting out on the solid white water, apparently just staring into space, your mother and I knew that you had a brain and that something was puzzling you, but we didn’t interfere, because we knew that you would figure it out eventually.

Eddard couldn’t believe his ears. What his father had just told him told took Eddard completely by surprise. His father and mother knew that he had a problem that he couldn’t quite get the answer to but that he would eventually, and they had said nothing to him! What was going on here? This was something completely unexpected. And his sister Erica—how could she be involved in all of this? He hardly ever talked to her. There were some very serious questions Eddard had to ask his father. He hoped that he would be able to answer them. The answer he received from his father took him by surprise again and shook him to the core of his being.

There is a very old prophecy, Eddard’s father began in answer, that says the race of Kratts are destined to be the masters of this world and that they will be led by very intelligent Kratts who shall also be blessed with extra skills to enable them to lead the race of Kratts to their true destiny. They will be known as leaders, and they will reveal themselves in the time of greatest need. It states, ‘You shall know them by the leaders’ marks, green-coloured eyes, and a circle of white fur under their right eye, and they shall always be brother and sister.’ When and by whom this prophecy was made, no one knows; its origins have been lost in the mists of time.

How many of these leaders have there been? Eddard asked.

None as far as I know, replied his father. Until now.

What do you mean, ‘until now’? Eddard asked his father suspiciously

Well, let me put it this way, said his father. No Kratt has ever been seen with the leaders’ marks until now. There are two Kratts in my family with those markings. I think you know who one of them is, don’t you?

Erica has them! replied Eddard. Who else?

You! said his father.

Me! What do you mean ‘me’? The disbelief in Eddard’s voice was evident. I’m not one of these—what did you call them?—leaders. For a start, I almost got myself killed a couple of days ago because I was daydreaming instead of concentrating on staying alive. I can’t even look after myself, let alone look after a lot of Kratts. All I have are ideas. Who knows whether or not they will work. I certainly don’t know, and besides, what if this prophecy you spoke of is just a load of old rubbish? You would look pretty silly letting Erica and me try to lead what’s left of the race of Kratts, wouldn’t you?

Eddard, now listen to me, said his father sternly, "a lot has happened in the last two days, we have been attacked and almost wiped out by one of our worst enemies. We have left our home to come to this place because what you said is true; if we had stayed where we were, we would have all been killed. We trusted you, and you led us here. You also said that we had to change and appoint leaders—leaders, Eddard, something you said. You said they could be either male or female. Where did that come from? You also said that if we were to survive, we needed to form—what did you call them?—hmm, tribes, I believe you said. That to me is a sure sign of someone who is much more intelligent than I am. Face it, Eddard; your sister and you are the first of the leaders who were foretold of so long ago."

Eddard had never seen his own face before, so he didn’t know whether he had the leaders’ mark or not; he could do nothing else but trust his father.

But what are leaders supposed to do? Eddard asked his father, mostly in frustration at not yet grasping what his father had just told him.

Who knows? Lead, I suppose was all the answer he received.

Not knowing what to make of this revelation about his sister and himself, Eddard decided to find Erica as soon possible and tell her about the prophecy.

Yes, you certainly do have a circle of white fur under your right eye. Do I? Erica asked in reply to Eddard’s question.

Yes, said Eddard.

So what are we supposed to do now then? enquired Erica. This is the first time I have ever heard of these so-called leaders.

Me too, said Eddard, but Father seems to know something about them.

It was the first chance that Eddard had had to talk to his sister since their trek to the hill. He had not really talked to her much since they had been born; after all, there were another eight brothers and sisters to talk to as well as Erica. Even their parents had never let on that he and his sister were somehow destined to be the first true leaders of their race.

So much has happened in such a short space of time that it is very difficult to take it all in, said Erica.

Eddard was surprised that Erica was thinking the same as he was. Perhaps they really were these leaders. If so, they had better start leading.

I know, said Eddard. But we haven’t got time to think about that now; what we have to do is come up with some plan that will enable us to survive in this place, the priority being to find a sufficient supply of food and water that will sustain all of us.

For hours Eddard and Erica talked about what they should do next. What they didn’t realize at the time was that they were creating the first set of rules for the race of Kratts.

Erica and Eddard decided to ask all the Kratts to meet in one place so they could tell them what they thought would be the best way forward. Two hours later, Eddard found himself addressing the survivors of the Kratt race. He felt nervous about what he was about to suggest to them but knew that for them to survive as a race they had to learn to live in an entirely different way than what they had been accustomed to. So he began.

Welcome to this, the very first time in Kratt history that all Kratts have been gathered in such a small place. I have been told by my father that you believe my sister and I are leaders and are destined to lead the race of Kratts. Indeed we have been told that we are the very first of these mystical leaders. In all honesty, we do not know if this is true or not; however, we have been asked, for want of a better phrase, to lead you, and Erica and I have decided to do just that.

A small cheer went up from the assembled Kratts.

Thank you, continued Eddard. As you are all painfully aware, we as a race are almost extinct. You have entrusted my sister and I to prevent this from happening, and that is what we fully intend to do. Another small cheer went up. "However, in order to achieve this, it will mean that we have to completely change the way we have lived since our race first appeared on this world. If we don’t, then the race of Kratts shall, without a shadow of a doubt, die. So my sister and I have some proposals to put to you that we believe will help us to survive. Home to us can never again be a hole in the ground, and certainly not outside, so our first proposal is that home for the race of Kratts shall from now on be in