1. The Islands of Birdpoop

Pin was tasked with planting an entire new garden before the day was over. He couldn’t wait any longer, for it would mean thousands of animals were cursed to go without food for weeks. Food was already lacking.

The penguin repeatedly wondered why they’d chosen him as gardener. He didn’t even eat plants and was far better at fighting.

If I don’t find food soon, thought Pin, I might just start eating plants anyway out of desperation.

All around him the brown earth was dry and hard as stone. He had to force his spade into the dirt with all his power just to get a tiny hole for a tiny plant. He’d been doing so for a week, and anything he’d planted had died. Plants had to eat and drink too, and this patch of land had nothing to offer.

But hope shimmered on the horizon. Hope in the shape of a ship laden with a curious material they called guayn.

“Thank the godchildren!” Pin yelled. “The Islandseekers are back!”

The ship was received as if it indeed contained the legendary godchildren. But those were long gone, of course, with many not even believing they ever existed. Pin had joined the side of this war called the Godesweets which still fought for the same ideals as the original gods.

Not because he enjoyed fighting a dangerous war. No, because the Southern Icesheets didn’t contain enough food to sustain him. His parents had to send him away because they couldn’t “feed another beak” on their tiny iceberg.

Hmm. An iceberg would be tasty too now, he thought.

A row of animals disembarked. They carried chests that were immediately plundered by the gardeners. Hundreds of soldiers had been commanded to grow the extra food—and they were all standing closer to the ship than Pin. They opened the chests, took out white clumps hard as diamonds, and ran back to their own little garden.

By the time Pin touched the ship, all guayn had been handed out.

Fortunately he could always count on his best friend.

Dannis, an orange-black antelope, left the ship after a delay, holding the final chest with his antlers. He did so on purpose, even if the entire army called him the Delayed Deer by now.

Pin tugged at Dannis’ legs until he followed back to his “garden”. They threw the entire contents of the chest upside-down, onto the dirt.

Pin stirred up the earth with his spade; Dannis did the same using his strong antlers. Soon they’d put all pieces of guayn safely into the ground. To finish it off, they filled the chest with water several times. The gray sludge that appeared was also spread over the garden.

“You arrived just in time”, said Pin. “Remember how many animals lived here when we arrived all those years ago?”

“Erm, a few thousand, right?” Dannis flattened the dirt further with his hooves. He had to smile. “We hesitated, unsure if we were even on the right island. We sought the major continent of Elwar, but thought we’d found a small island somewhere in the Caribean!”

“The commander just said this island holds ten thousand animals now! Where in godchildren’s names are we supposed to get all that food!?”

Dannis’ mouth became a line. “Don’t know. We could barely snatch this island of guayn before the Freethieves got it. It might take a while before we conquer the next one.”

“Don’t talk like that, deerfriend. You’re the best Islandseeker I know.”

“I am the only Islandseeker you know.”

“Feathers and fables, feathers and fables.”

Pin waggled back to a sliver of shadow looking out over the ocean. He hit the water several times, aiming for a tasty fish. His only response was his own reflection, rippling in bright blue waves.

Mmm. I could eat MYSELF by now, his rumbling stomach thought.

Dannis leaned against a palm tree, exhausted. “Do you think guayn also works its magic on Casbrita?”

Pin raised his wings. “You’re the expert, deerfriend. I’m just a soldier. I guess it works, because Casbrita can feed enough soldiers to keep stealing half our ships.”

“True yes, true yes. I just thought … maybe we could go home again.”

“Go home? But—”

“If I have a way to grow enough food, maybe my family would let me …”

Pin’s beak opened wide. He leaned forward and whispered. “You’re planning on stealing our supply of guayn? We were already cast out of our homes. You want us to be cast out of the army too!?”

“No! But if I … if I become the best Islandseeker ever, and find numerous islands like that …”

Pin shivered. “They’ll never let you have it. It’s too valuable. Besides, we have no idea why the Guayn Islands appear, or where.”

Pin spoke the truth about every single thing.

When they woke up the next day, Pin’s garden had already started growing. That guayn, that white material, almost seemed a magical medicine. As if Eeris, goddess of nature, had designed this and spread it all over the world to help the Godesweets. As if the Heavenmatter of Darus, the Stone of Destinydust, had decided to put its full magical power to use on Pin’s garden.

The soil had become fertile once more. In a while, this would create a pile of food for the pile of hungry soldiers.

Mmm. I wouldn’t mind a bite out of a pile of soldiers, he thought.

Pin was also right about how clueless they were. The white islands just … appeared. One day there was nothing but ocean, the next day a shining white island was visible from the beach. Both armies—the Godesweets as well as the Freethieves—employed large groups of Islandseekers for that reason. They had to discover new islands first and then deliver the message swiftly.

Fortunately, the Apes had invented the Telephone by now. But, well, there were Apes on both sides of the conflict, so their enemy could do long distance calls too.

What to think of the Apes? They were the reason his home was destroyed; they took all the fish around the Southern Icesheets. But they did it to feed this army and fight for peace around the world.

No matter how much truth Pin would speak, though, Dannis was undeterred. Before noon he pulled Pin upright and stalked to the commander, a large gray ape that some called the Ape Lord.

“I ask permission to start a new expedition to seek islands.”

“You’ll join the others, Dannis, like always. The ship will be ready to depart in a week. Didrik thinks he saw a new one near the Caribean.”

“It’s too slow! We lose nine out of ten islands to the Freethieves! We must learn to predict where they’ll appear.”

The Ape Lord shook from laughter. “As if we haven’t tried that for decennia. And? Discovered the secret?”

“Not yet, but I will discover it when you give me a squad and weapons to—”

“Explore all you want. But my weapons stay here.”

Dannis flattened the dirt around the tent, even though it was already hard as stone.

“Fine!” he yelled back. “I am going to do research!”

He turned to Pin to start a convincing speech, but that was obviously unnecessary. Pin had already jumped on his back and made a face to the Ape Lord.

Dannis sprinted away from the army camp as fast as he could. He felt safe and free to explore the entire island, even without weapons.

Because the war happened mostly on Origina, not here. The Freethieves—made up of Doveland and Hungerbee—felt locked in by enemies a few years ago. So what did they do? They violently took more countries around the poorly defended Ghostlands. Out of revenge, the Godesweets had killed an important member of them, and that’s how the misery started.

“Erm, what now?” Pin whispered in Dannis’ ear.

“Remember how Didrik told us that several Heavenly Objects are still lost?” Dannis whispered back, even though they were alone.

He trudged through a forest at the heart of the island, aiming for a beach on the other side they rarely visited. Through the trees he could already spot an empty shoreline. No island, no ship, not even fish.

“I, erm, am praying real hard that the Stone of Destinydust is somewhere around here.”

Pin hit his forehead with his wing. “Dannis, what do you think are the chances of the most powerful Heavenmatter just happening to—”

A flock of birds whizzed overhead. Pin rapidly put on his helmet—and just in time. Large droplets of bird poop went splat on the metal. Dannis was less fortunate and received some white spots in his fur.

“Deerfriend! Always take your helmet with you. And your weapon!” Hmm. At this point, I wonder what a helmet would taste like.

Dannis didn’t hear. The broke through the tree line and ran onto the beach.

Where a small island made of guayn shone in the sunlight.

“All the godchildren,” Pin mumbled.

“Am I going insane, Pin? Am I mad?” Dannis whispered.

“Well, yes, deerfriend, if you really want to know—”

“Or wasn’t that island there just a few moments ago?”

Pin pulled the strap of his helmet even more taut and grappled for his weapon.

All animals in the army had received weapons especially designed for their species. His gun was a wooden tube he could fill with arrows and place in his beak. By blowing into it, he could shoot anyone in a large range.

“No. That island wasn’t there last time we looked.”

“The birds,” Dannis squeaked. “They make the islands. I don’t know how, but they do.”

“You mean … that guayn … the material I’m touching all day … is bird poop?”

Dannis and Pin fell silent. What they hadn’t spotted was the arrival of the enemy; a handful of Islandseekers that wanted to claim this island first.

“Halt! Stay away! That island is ours!” Dannis yelled.

Pin placed his weapon in his beak and send a few warning shots. They mostly split coconuts in half.

If only he had brought a second helmet for Dannis. And he wished for a tasty piece of meat for energy and strength. Oh, but maybe he should really wish for reinforcements right about now.

They had brought one antelope and one penguin to the fight. The enemy had brought ten beavers.