Korg Silverback's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Korg Silverback wanted to rule every ape tribe in the jungle, but no tribe would follow an ape who lived in a hollow log. He crouched at the edge of the clearing and watched the great treehouse fortress instead. It rose around a giant tree in stacked wooden platforms, rope bridges swaying between them, thatched roofs bright with hanging banners. A leader lived there once. Now it stood empty, and Korg meant to make it his. He had asked three chieftains to back his claim. All three laughed. "A high chieftain needs a den that frightens challengers," the oldest told him. "You sleep in mud." So Korg chose the fortress. Whoever held it held respect. He climbed the lowest ladder and pulled himself onto the first platform. A growl stopped him. Below, a tiger padded from the ferns, orange fur cutting through the green. It had claimed this tree as hunting ground. Its eyes fixed on Korg. It coiled to spring. Korg did not run. Running told every watching ape he was prey. He tore a plank loose from the railing and roared back, beating his chest until the platform shook. The tiger leapt. Korg swung the plank and caught it across the jaw. The cat twisted, snarled, and dropped to the dirt. It circled once, tail lashing, then slipped back into the ferns. Korg stood alone on the platform, chest heaving. He had won the tree. He climbed higher, past the reinforced walls, to the top where the banners hung. From here he could see the whole clearing. This was a den worthy of a chieftain. His plan had worked. But the noise had carried. Apes gathered below, drawn by the roars. They pointed up at Korg on the high platform. Among them stood chieftains who had laughed at him days before. Now they were silent. One shape did not stay silent. A titan gorilla pushed through the crowd, twice the width of any ape there. His shoulders rolled like boulders. The gathered apes stepped back to let him pass. He stopped beneath the tree and looked up. "That fortress was mine before you were weaned," the titan said. His voice was low and even. "I left it to hunt the far ridges. I did not leave it for you." The apes turned from Korg to the giant, waiting. Korg understood at once. He had won a den, and the den made him seen. But being seen had drawn out the one ape strong enough to take it back. The chieftains would not follow him now. They would follow whoever won this. Korg gripped the railing and looked down at the titan gorilla. He had wanted respect. He had gotten a rival instead. "Then come and take it," Korg said.