Prologue.

The 7th Clan had its home in the Colorado forest. Named after a large sign that had survived the Last War and wasn’t buried like most of the things from the Old Days. The Colorado forest was made of tall trees that were around 5 to 7 stories high. Most of the trees had tall trunks with wide branches further up, which served as a great sanctuary from the creatures on the ground. The weather was mostly sunny, but the winters were long, and the dry seasons were too. The trees that were there had mostly pine needles as leaves since the other trees couldn’t grow as high, some that did were large oaks at sizes of apartment buildings, and they were usually used for temporary camps. 3 villages were occupying the clan, but they weren’t small. They had a core, where they even lived on the ground. Tall walls had been built around them, keeping them safe and the only entrance was from above, or through large gates that rarely opened. People traveling through the 7th Clan knew best not to travel through the bottom of the forest. Up in the trees, the villages were built both high and low, connected by bridges.

The 7th Clan didn’t only have the forest, but also large hills where they grew corn. In their forest, small streams would run through coming from one river that originated from the mountains. The river separated the 7th from the 5th Clan. Above the 5th was the 4th Clan, besides that the 6th and above the 6th the 3rd, which were by the mountains. The 1st Clan was far from the others, but the 2nd was the closest and it lied west of the 7th clan.

Every village had a Master in the 7th Clan. Only one Chief served as a representative that traveled to the 1st Clan whenever they had issues. A well was located in the core of every village, and when it grew dark and you stood by the well, you could look up at a starry night. Yet it wasn’t stars, but lights that lit up the bridges throughout the roof of the forest. At summer the men worked in the fields, taking care of the harvest, which they shared with the surrounding clans, receiving goods that only those clans could give.

The 7th Clan’s people were unique. Usually, they had dark hair, their skin mixed in color, but their built was often lightweight. They traveled through the forest like no other clan could do. Swinging from branch to branch and balancing on the narrowest surfaces. People who saw them from below said they were flying. As free as birds in the sky, the top of the woods was their home.

What they were hiding from was something called a Wrou. It was once a typical Rox. Animals that survived the Last War and the radiation it left behind. They were only ghosts of what they once had been. The Wrou had become a species as they bred and they were wicked beings. They were mostly wolf-like, but they were tall and had long arms that ended in hand-like paws with long claws. Some of them could climb, but they were too heavy to stay up and didn’t have the balance it took. In the first 3-5 meters, you wouldn’t be safe, they would easily jump up and drag you down. They travel in packs of 3 or 5, having one alpha leading them. None had dared to see where they lived, but people suspected the underground caves.

The 7th Clan were also great archers and did well with a scythe, which they used for harvesting. The only pets they ever had were cats that were much larger than what they once had been, and they had to be kept at bay. Few of the cats learned to live in harmony with the people and so they weren’t hunted.

The epidemic was harsh on the 7th Clan. After a group of travelers went through one of the villages the decease spread quickly. It took the elderly and the youngest at first. Families grew smaller and kids become orphans.

Then the worst thing happened. With the few rules that all the clans lived by, they were faced with the biggest challenge.

The dead woke up.

And