FA+
Shop
494
Views
Views
0
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 78
File Size 136.5 kB
Report this content
More from maggot-mosh-pit
Listed in Folders
<<Prev|First|
A great battle ensues and Frostblight is turned into a battleground. People are reunited, and Marten launches himself into legend.
Well, this is it folks. Second novel finished. You might be wondering what I'll be doing next. Short answer: Frontier II. Long answer: to be announced in an update journal.
I have a few things to say. This novel took me three times longer to write than Frontier did. You decide weather or not that worked to the story's detriment.
Anyway, I want to ask you, reader, even if you never comment, what you thought of this novel. Be honest. Thank you.
"You're finished, Lokai! Oh, we've got your kind penned in on Cheron into little districts, and it's not going to change! You've combed the galaxy, and come up with nothing but monocolored trash, do-gooders, and bleeding hearts.You're dead! You half-white!"
"You useless pieces of bland flesh! I'll take you with me! You half-black!"
Tezar wasn’t the type to get drunk, usually. If there was something concrete to punch or stab she would have been out there punching or stabbing it. However Marten’s whereabouts were completely unknown to her, and as much as she hated to admit Zik and Zif were right, Frostblight was the most likely place for him to show up. And, the alcohol might get rid of the sound that had been playing non stop in her head for the past few days.
“Cough… ahhgg… Stubborn…hakk!”
Tezar jerked up. She had just barely slipped into sleep and the sound had came to the front of her conciseness. She shook her head and drank some more. She was only a couple drinks in, but she could feel the effects. She looked out the window at the view. The trees were thin and far between at the crest of the valley, so when a massive wave of canines and mustelids came charging the hill in full battle gear, it wasn’t that difficult to spot. A few in the middle were wildly trying to control a siege weapon of some sort as they rattled over the hill. She sprang up, slammed her knee on a table and went tumbling over. “Ahhg! Attack! Attack! Help!”
A skinny soldier who had been given token guard duty peeked around the door frame. “What’s happening?! Oh, Laroja save me!”
He darted back when he saw what was going on. Tezar scrambled up and drew her weapon, expecting them to break through the window. However, it was clear that they had scoped out the situation first, and knew that the fort was empty. Tezar took a few steps backward as they completely ignored the fort, streaming by without yelling battle-cries or anything. She turned and ran. It would be a bloody first minute of combat if she couldn’t get word as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there was no way in hell she would be fast enough.
Pil rode Drifrasa’s Dagger, paw on the brake lever. He was clutching the top of his head as though his hat might fall of in the wind. The only problem was that he wasn’t wearing a hat. “How close are we?!” He yelled.
Marten was jogging next to him, his ultimate focus on the plainly visible congregation of his townspeople. “Not yet.”
“What?! Speak up!”
“Not yet!”
“Okay!”
“Another few seconds, and we’ll be in range.”
“What?! Really?! 500 meters?!”
“Yeah! That’s what you said, right?!”
Pil slammed on the breaks and brought the entire thing to a screeching halt. The crew he had appointed to operate Drifrasa’s Tooth (mostly people too old or injured to fight) also ground to a halt. “Alright everyone! Just like I showed you, now!”
Marten squinted at the crowd. The Regent was plainly visible standing on a pedestal several feet away from the crowd. He pointed to it as the rest of the Wave of Drifrasa ran by. “Can we hit that?!”
“Yes, sir we can! Aim at that thing, boys!”
Pil and the crew loaded, primed and aimed Drifrasa’s Dagger, and by the time they were done the army had almost reached the townspeople. “Fire.”
Pil jumped up and down as the fuseman touched a smoldering saltpeter rope to Drifrasa’s Dagger. “First field test! Everyone stand clear!”
The mouth of Drifrasa’s Dagger gave a mighty report, and the resulting sound and shock wave almost knocked Marten over. He looked up just in time to see the results.
Unfortunately for Devon, Marten did not have the best eyesight. Fortunately for him, however, when the stone ball landed nearby, bounced once and slammed full force into the pedestal, both he and the Regent were thrown clear. The ball did not stop there, however, as it proceeded to travel through the investigator as well as a building behind him. The Regent scrambled up from a pile of wood and dust and looked around. Felines were fleeing past him. He sunk his claws into one. “Where the hell are you going?! And what was that sound?!”
He pointed a shaky claw at the hill. “The wrath of Drifrasa…”
The Regent flung him aside and took in the situation at a glance. “Orli, since our troops have acted with extreme cowardice we have no choice but to beat a retreat. I want you to get back there and rally everyone up, get them in line and ready to fight. GO!”
Orli nodded quickly, shouldered her axe and dashed after Frostblight’s garrison. The Regent slipped between two nearby buildings and slunk away.
Devon rubbed his head as he felt himself being hauled upright. “By Drifrasa’s loving arms that was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Halen as looking him in the eye. Devon grinned. “I did it though… what did I do, by the way? What happened?”
“I don’t know, but there’s an army here to save us!”
“An…?”
He passed out. Halen shook him. “Devon?!”
When the army reached the bottom of the valley, they lost all momentum. Most had noticed Marten running down the hill, and were overjoyed. They ran to the Wave and began to dance and cheer, hugging and thanking their saviors profusely. Ace had been running up front, and his attempts to disentangle himself from a group of overly thankful townsfolk were in vain. A lot of the soldiers joined in, and soon their entire formation was out of whack. Ace shouted over the noise. “Everyone! Please! S-stop pushing! We need to-”
“EVERYONE STOP!”
There was stillness. The townsfolk disengaged as Kathresh belted out over them. “We have work to do! The felines have retreated for now, but we need to intercept them before they get into formation! All you folks go wait nearby! Group F! Make sure they’re safe!”
Arbalest was the leader of that particular group, and he sat on the snow. Marten came tearing through the crowd until he encountered Halen. “Halen! Halen!”
Halen sprang up and jumped onto Marten. “Marten! Oh, gods it is good to see you! Oh…”
Troy and Tojenka were nearby hugging each other with joy. Marten pushed him off. “No time! The Regent, he dashed off this way, did you see where he went?!”
“N-no, but if you find him, gut him for me!”
Marten exasperatedly scratched at his fur, casting about. He glanced around the hills, and saw Zhoe there, scrambling up towards the fort. Marten patted Halen on the back. “Take care of your family. Say hello to Fray for me!”
He dashed off before Halen could say anything. Halen crouched down and helped a barely conscious Devon to his feet. “Come on, let’s join the rest of them.”
He, Devon and his family walked slowly to where Arbalest had the townspeople behind his soldiers.
Ace quickly thanked Kathresh, but took the lead from there. “A-alright! Remember what you’ve been taught! Get into line, shields up!”
The soldiers situated themselves in front of Ace. He turned to Kathresh. “Okay, we’re ready. Bring in the archers.”
Kathresh grinned and looked towards the opposite hill to the fort. “Alright. We’ve got your back. Go get em!”
She dashed towards the hill as Ace faced the concentration of buildings the felines had fled into.
Meanwhile, Orli had taken advantage of the semi-urban setting and had all the soldiers hidden out in houses, archers at every window. The rest were armed and ready to burst out at a moment’s notice. Orli crouched on the roof of one building, hoping the orders she gave to everybody would be adequate. The town square began to move, and she dropped her head lower. She observed for a few more seconds then retreated back into the building. “They’re coming.”
She quickly made her way to the foremost house, peeking her head out of the window, the three archers in that window doing the same. “Wait for my signal.”
Ace came marching proudly out front with Bronze. The troops behind them had their shield wall up, and Orli cursed. “Dammit! Fire!”
Arrows came flying from five different buildings. Ace and Bronze quickly tumbled behind the wall, Ace shouting orders. “Tighten up!”
Bronze peeked to get a look at the situation. “Ace, they’ve got soldiers in those houses!”
“No shit!”
“Well, we must get them out of there!”
“Sure, but how?”
Bronze pondered for a short time. “We bust down the doors?”
“Sounds good to me!”
Ace stood tall. “Everybody see that house with the most felines in it!?”
“Yes!”
“Yes sir!”
“Maintain formation, get shields up to our right and left flanks!”
They assumed a formation that would protect them from arrows on all sides and marched towards the house.
Orli backed away from the window, kicking over a chair. “Dammit! Alright, new plan, get out there and-”
“Here they come!”
Orli had time to look up before a group of the attacking canines broke formation and made a mad dash for their building. Orli pushed the nearest soldier towards the door. “Stop them! Hold that door shut!”
The felines piled against the door, but the momentum and strength of years of rowing allowed them to easily smash in the door. Only a couple were stricken by arrows on the way, and soon a bloody close-quarter’s fight broke out. The canines came at them, stabbing from behind shields. The felines knew these tactics, but were caught without proper equipment. Spears and swords were the only things they had, the only things they needed to keep a few slaves in check. One after the other were felled, Orli horrified at the speed and ferocity with which their opponents fought. Orli smashed a shield with he axe, quickly dismembering it’s user before jumping out an open window. Outside was no better. A few more houses had been breached, with a few holding out and scoring hits on their attackers. She yelled. “Out of the houses! Retreat! Hold them back with arrows!”
This order was carried out to the best of the felines’ ability, however the attempt
was almost in vein. Some houses had no back door, and the only exits were through the front. Orli didn’t much care if they survived or not, they were only a fraction of the feline garrison. The rest she had sent on ahead. To this group she now ran.
Ace was in one of the houses fighting alongside his comrades. Him and Bronze had a few felines cornered, bodies bestrewn about. Ace panted. “Just give up. You’re outnumbered.”
The tallest one spat. “Never! Fight till we die!”
The one standing next to him dropped his spear and held his paws aloft. “Just do as they say, Ala.”
“What?! You coward!”
The third dropped her sword. “Come on, drop it!”
Ala dropped his weapon and growled. “Damn you all to hell!”
They were escorted to where the other prisoners were being kept. Ace leaned on the wall. “This is… much harder… than rowing is…”
Bronze clapped him on the back. “We’re not finished yet. Most of them ran off.”
Ace exited the building and looked around at the army. There were many injuries, most not enough to knock the canines out of commission. He tried not to focus on the bodies. There were a lot of bodies. He drew a shaky breath. “Form up again! We must carry on.”
They did so, their energy from earlier now fueled more by anger. Ace thrust his blade forward. “March!”
Myri watched everything play out from her window. She saw the battle, and she saw Marten. He had come to rescue her. She eventually collapsed on the floor, clutching her head. “No! It can’t be real! It’s… It’s a trick! A mind game! I won’t….”
She opened her eyes and peeked over the window. The Regent was scuttling towards the door. She took hold of the bars, her arms shaking. “You…”
She left the bent up bars and threw the door open. The guard was still there, looking very anxious. “Oh, look. It’s the- AAARRG!”
Myri swiped her claws with lightning quickness, slicing a nasty gash across the guard’s neck. He fell in a pool of blood. She ignored it all, and walked quickly through the empty fort.
The Regent dashed into the door just in time to bump into Tezar. “Regent?! Are you-”
“Shut up! Shut up and get down there and fight!”
She nodded. “Right.”
The Regent once again dashed off. Tezar exited the fort and jogged down the incline. She would join the fight, alright. She would… There he was. Marten came running up the incline as well, chasing the Regent. He stopped a few meters away. Tezar grinned, giggling. “Marten. It’s you. I’ve waited a very long time for this.”
Marten had seen this feline before. She had a quarrel with him, but he had no idea why him specifically. “Feline… how is it that you know me?”
“How… do you even know what you did?!” she screamed.
“No!”
“You killed my love! You killed him!”
As she yelled this she drew her sword and rushed at Marten. He quickly fumbled for his sword, pulling it out in time to parry her swing. He jumped back. “Your Love? I killed your mate?!”
“YES! He died dishonorably by a fucking rock!”
She lunged again, thrusting at Marten’s chest. He once again deflected it, her blade sliding an inch away from his side. Once again he tried getting out of her reach, but she kept on swinging. Marten used the techniques Kathresh taught him to keep himself alive, but he saw no opportunity to strike. “Wait! Wait a minute!”
To his surprise, Tezar stopped. She stumbled back. Marten readied his sword, but lowered it once he saw she was crying. Massive sobs shook her body, the tears falling into the snow. “We were so happy together… That man… he… he could-”
She hiccuped, and raised her face. “You see why you must die.”
Her face was red with anger and pain. Marten nearly lost his nerve, but he saw an opening. Tezar raised her arms towards the sky. “I have the hig-”
Marten lunged and slashed her leg. She toppled over with a yell. “Arg! Marten!”
She rolled over and stumbled to her feet. Marten backed up, looking at the blood on his blade. “S-sorry! I mean…”
Marten didn’t even know where the words were coming from. Sorry for what? Marten couldn’t say. Probably everything. Tezar growled and came at him again. “You’ll pay for that… Nng~”
She stopped, the whine in her throat cutting her off. She slowly dropped the sword and sank to the snow once more. “No… not here… n-not {I]Nnn~[/I]”
She clutched her stomach, and Marten furrowed his brow. “Feline… you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
She grabbed her sword with weak paws and leveled it at Marten. “Get back! I-I’ll kill you!”
Marten sheathed his sword. “Please don’t fight me. I understand your pain. Once, a long time ago, felines took my love away. She survived through my blood. Please preserve his.”
He walked past her. She swung her sword, missing and dropping it to the ground. “Come back here! I…I… Zip!”
She collapsed fully.
Orli Rounded a corner and came face to face with a mountain of a man. A scavenger no less. She pointed her axe at him. “Get out of my way.”
A sound behind her made her turn. A white fox leveled a dueling sword at her chest. “Abandoning your troops, eh?”
The large one spoke like what a rock would sound like if it could speak. “We saw you commanding this rabble. We also saw you run. Figured if we cut off the serpent’s head the rest might die.”
Orli spat in the snow. How had they gotten around he so fast? “Fools. They won’t stop fighting just because I’m gone.”
The large one shrugged. “Well, whatever. Rita, step back.”
Rita looked uneasily at the two, but nodded. “Careful, Harimau.”
Orli sized him up. Over seven feet tall and seemingly made of muscle, the hyena was unarmed save for a pair of armored gloves which would probably splatter her brains with a single hit. She took a stance, axehead pointed at him. He slowly stepped forward, paws at the ready. The standoff was broken momentarily by the canine army marching by behind Orli. This momentarily distracted her opponent, and she swung downward. Harimau backhanded the blade, and it sliced into his footpaw. He grunted, but did not miss a beat. He grabbed the handle and wrenched it up into Orli’s body, flinging her with incredible velocity into the alleyway wall. Her agility saved her, and she kicked off the wall with all fours, bringing a knife out of nowhere and rolling in front of Harimau, poised to jump. Harimau had enough time to bring the axe shaft up to defend himself before she lunged. Harimau moved with a quickness he never knew he had, swinging the pole towards Orli’s stomach. She anticipated this, twisting to avoid the strike and plunging the dagger into Harimau’s shoulder. He bellowed and dropped the axe, grabbing Orli instead. “Rita!”
He flung her to the ground and she rolled, completely disoriented. Rita leaped on top of her, dealing her a quick jab to the face, stunning her. “There.”
She looked over at Harimau. “Are you alright?!”
He put his paw around the knife, winced, then reconsidered. “It’s in deep… she’s feisty for someone so young.”
Rita left Orli reeling in the snow and ran over to Harimau. She reached up and lightly touched the bloody knife. “Alright, we’re going.”
“Rita-”
“You’re not fighting anyone with the wound. Come on. Let’s take her and put her with the rest of the prisoners, then we’re getting this fixed up.”
Harimau looked down at the wound and nodded. “Alright. Alright, let’s go then… dammit.”
Rita dragged Orli up, twisting her arm and holding her sword ready. She growled, but Rita didn’t acknowledge it. “What?”
“Nothing… I just didn’t think I’d be put out of commission this quickly. You’re a competent fighter, young one.”
Orli spat. “Brute force can only get you so far, old man.”
Harimau shrugged, a painful process. “It’s gotten me this far.”
Zik stood on the barrack’s watchtower, a small rickety structure that was never used. He could see some movement among the houses. There was no sign of Orli or any of the troops. “Things aren’t looking good.”
Zif was on the ground, making sure everyone was properly equipped. The majority of the felines retreated back to the garrison on Orli’s orders, and now were being armed with shields. Zif was lining them up in a skirmish line as well. He called back up. “What do you mean?”
“The fighting’s stopped, but I don’t see anyone coming… wait!”
A few felines dashed from behind a house. One was clutching a bleeding arm. “Help!”
“They’re coming!”
The one that was bleeding tripped over. Zif ran over and helped him to his feet. “What happened?! Report!”
“W-we were massacred! They were using our equipment and tactics, shields and low thrusts, just like we learned!”
Zif helped him back to the barracks. “Get in there and bandage yourself up.”
The other two that had escaped where sitting on the ground panting from the run. Zif hauled them up. “Where’s Orli?!”
“She…” The first one ran out of breath.
“She was captured, I think.” The second said.
Zif cursed. “Damn!”
“I saw her fighting them as I ran by. She may have been slain.”
“She wouldn’t allow that. Zik! Do you see anything more?!”
“They’re coming in full force! In a formation like our own!”
Zif put his brain to work. He was no strategist. He cursed. “Orli would have come up with a solution.”
Before he could ponder any more, another explosion resonated through the air. A second later a missile soared through the air and struck the barracks, sending stone flying in all directions. Zif shielded his eyes from the debris, and most of the felines protected themselves. However, the barracks had a massive hole punched into it, and the roof was now in the process of collapsing. “Zik!”
Zik wobbled, grabbing the sides of the wooden construct. The whole thing toppled inwards, and with a second crash the roof caved entirely. Zif pushed through the crowd and tried pushing the door. It was not budging. He ran to where the building was struck. “Hoist me in there!”
A couple soldiers came forward and helped Zif through the hole. “Help me in here!” He yelled back as he dashed over the rubble.
A few felines climbed in too. Zif ran to the other end of the rubble pile and found that the back had not collapsed. Sitting on top of the rubble, on an undestroyed plank of wood, sat Zik. Zif grabbed him and hauled him up. “Come on Brother, now is not the time to rest.”
“What the hell was that?!” Zik said as he stood shakily.
“I have no idea. Some sort of siege weapon. Maybe a ballista?”
Zif shrugged. “I saw no spear, and that noise… it was incredible.”
“Perhaps the gods have stakes in this battle after all.”
“Perhaps.”
They quickly made their way back outside, just as the first canines began attacking. They ran from around buildings and quickly formed up. After a significant amount had assembled, pikes bristling from over shields. Zik and Zif stood out front, and soon Ace appeared. Zik and Zif exchanged glances, then walked towards them. Ace held up a paw before anyone could attack. “Wait. They may want a parlay.”
Zik and Zif stopped a few feet away. “Good afternoon, canine.”
Ace cleared his throat. “My name is Ace, feline.”
“Zik and Zif. Who are you? You are wearing our armor and using our weapons.”
“We were freed by a great man and he led us here. This town now belongs to the people who built it, so I suggest you leave.”
“Who is this man?”
“Marten!”
The army cheered.
Zik and Zif’s faces immediately solidified. “We should have seen that one coming.”
Ace was slightly off-put by their simultaneous speech, and lost some momentum. “Y-yes… um… Listen, we equal in strength, and I don’t want to see more of anyone’s blood, so how about you just surrender?”
Zik and Zif silently stared at him in shock. Zik chuckled. “This is your first battle, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but-”
“This is war, child. There will be no mercy from us, and none from you.”
Ace grumbled, embarrassed. “Then get back there. I don’t have all day.”
The twins nodded and walked back to their line. They stepped behind the shield wall. “Wait for them.”
Ace stood out front, watching. “They’re waiting for us to attack. Bronze?”
Bronze poked his head from around a shield. “Yes?”
“We need to get them on our terms. Clearly there’s a reason they want us to attack. I say we bring in Kathresh.”
Bronze pulled out a red ribbon and grinned. He tossed it to Ace and he held it aloft.
Pil was looking down Drifrasa’s Dagger’s sights when he was tapped on the shoulder. “Erm-”
“Do not bother me! I’m going to land one right in the middle of them!”
“Pil, sir, there’s a problem.”
He sighed and looked up. “A problem?”
The fuseman, a man wiser than his job suggested, pointed to the saltpeter contact point as Pil came over to investigate closely. The hole was now filled in with some sticky substance. Pil smote the Dagger’s body. “Damn! I knew this might happen!”
“What is it?”
“I used a coating on the inside of the cylinder. It’s to keep the metal from getting damaged since I have no idea how many times you can fire this thing without the metal melting or cracking. Seems like it’s melted… I’ll have to make a note of that to fix in future versions…”
“Seems like it was an addition that decreased the life if this contraption.”
Pil nodded. “Yes, I know.”
He sighed again. “Looks like we can’t use it now. Let’s just hope that it won’t be instrumental.”
Myri wandered through the fort, not knowing where The Regent had gone. She headed to his chamber, as much as she never wanted to see its interior again. She stood silently at the door, hearing a frantic rustling sound from within. There was a crash as something was knocked over. “Dammit!”
It was The Regent. Myri frowned, and pushed the door open lightly, stepping inside without a sound. The Regent was digging through a chest with his good arm, throwing items into a sack. Her paw touched something, and she looked down. A brick sat on the floor next to the door, presumably to be placed in front of it to prevent draft from closing the door. She bent over and picked it up, the brick scraping against the floor. The Regent whirled around. “Who?! What?! It’s you! Listen, bitch, I don’t have time for this right now. Get out of here and…”
He noticed the brick In her paws. She stepped closer. He stepped back. “What are you doing? I order you to leave!”
She hefted the brick higher and stepped closer still. “I broke you! Leave now!”
She did not stop.
Kathresh watched the field below, waiting for the flash of colour. When it appeared, she turned around at the thirty odd archers behind her. “You’re up. Make me proud.”
There was a little chatter as everyone lined up at the lip on the hill and took aim. “Arc those shots high. Remember: do not fire if the felines attack Ace. We don’t want to hit any of our own.”
Strings were pulled taught and triggers pulled. Soon a rain of arrows flew gracefully through the air, landing more or less dead center of the feline group. At first, Zik and Zif had no idea where the arrows were coming from. “Zif!”
“I see it! Everyone! Shields up!”
Unfortunately only the first few rows of felines were equipped with shields. The rest tried wedging themselves in, but they stayed exposed for the most part. A few seconds and another volley later Zik and Zif make to the same conclusion at the same time. “Dammit! We must attack. Charge them!”
The felines situated themselves and began trotting towards Ace’s group, swords out, pikes at the ready.
Ace chuckled. “First battle. Alright boys! Let’s give them a fight they’ll never forget!”
Seconds later the two sides clashed with a roar and a wave of bodies pressing against each other. The front lines was pandemonium. Both sides had knocked over a large portion of the other, and now leaped on one another, stabbing and slashing. Pikes found targets from behind shields, and tactics were generally thrown to the wind. Ace found himself beset by a feline who had already received a nasty cut to the chest. He swung wildly and rabidly, and Ace easily knocked the weapon from his paws and slew him. As the feline slid to the ground, Ace felt a rush he had never experienced before. He looked up, saw the combat raging around him and yelled. “FOR FREEDOM!”
He plunged headlong into the battle.
Kathresh sprang up. “Alright, toss those aside, you won’t be needing them. Draw your weapons, we’re going to hit their right flank.”
The archers, being equipped with melee weapons as well, drew their steel. However, most looked terrified at the sounds and sights below. Kathresh smiled confidently at them. “Your friends need help. Come on!”
She vaulted over the valley mouth, half running half sliding down the incline, massive sword in paw. The others watched her, then, inspired my her fearlessness, jumped after her.
Zik and Zif couldn’t tell what direction the battle was going, even if they were observing from the rear. “Maybe if we tried flanking them? Their left flank seems to be in shambles now.”
“Indeed, If we had reserves-”
“Look out!”
The cry from the right was quickly silenced as Kathresh sliced into the feline column. Zik and Zif drew their weapons and dashed over. “It’s a single canine!”
“Look! It must be the ones who were shooting at us!”
They had no further time to ponder this as they were soon face to face with the wild woman. Beautiful and deadly in equal measure, she pointed her sword around the semicircle of felines who were now backing away from their three dead comrades. She spotted Zik and Zif, and her eyes snapped to them. Redder than blood, her eyes were truly something to behold. “You two. I remember you. Come out here.”
Zik and Zif stepped out. The rest of the archers arrived, and Kathresh held out her paw. “Stay back.”
She gripped her sword with both paws and circled the twins. “Where’s the other one?”
Zik was about to answer but Zif nudged him. “No, brother. She is trying to anger us.”
She lunged abruptly at Zik, but he was ready, stepping out of the way as Zif attacked. His arm didn’t get far enough before he was kicked back with a mighty strike, toppling him to the ground. Zik slashed down, but Kathresh swung upwards and knocked his blade back with a clang. Zif stumbled to his feet and charged Kathresh’s exposed back. Zik looked up and saw Kathresh’s face. She knew. “Zif! No!”
He jumped, blade pointing right at her back. She swung her body low, Zif’s sword scraping her back as she slammed her body into him, flipping him over her and into a heap on the ground. In the same motion she brought her sword in a wide arc, slamming the blade into the ground. Blood splattered. Zik screamed. “ZIF!”
But Zif was still alive. He sprang up, clutching the place where his ear used to be. “You crazy canine!”
Zik ran over and grabbed Zif. “Zik! What are you doing!”
He dragged Zif away without a word. Kathresh scoffed. “Tch, my aim was off.”
She turned her eyes to the felines. They backed up a step. “Come on, boys.”
The archers, bolstered now more than ever, charged the felines.
Marten hadn’t been in the fort for years. He could not for the life of him remember where anything was. He had been wandering for a solid forty minutes. Eventually he came across someone. A feline soldier who was ransacking the treasury. He shoveled handfuls of Katches into a sack and muttered incomprehensibly to himself. Marten drew his sword and let the point fall onto the back of the feline’s neck lightly. “Don’t move.”
The feline froze and dropped the gold coins, spilling them all over the ground. “Ah! I-I-I was j-just-”
“Save it! Just tell me where The Regent is.”
“The Regent?! How the hell would I know?!”
“Where is his room then?!”
“Um… Go right, up two floors at the stairs, then it’s the room at the end of the hall.”
The man shivered. “You’re not going to tell him, right?”
There was no answer. He peeked, but there was no one there.
Marten dashed down the hallway, up the stairs and towards the door. He slowed as he approached it. The door was only slightly ajar, and the interior dark. It wobbled slightly, most likely from a draft of some sort. He was about to push the door open when a sound made him jerk up. It sounded strange, like someone had dropped a slab of stone onto a thin layer of wet mud. He pushed the door open and stepped inside carefully. “H-hello…?”
The open window silhouetted a figure on the floor. Marten could not tell who it was. He moved towards the edge of the room and approached from one side slowly. “Who’s that? Myri? Is that you?”
The figure’s arms came up. It was holding something. The figure let their arms drop, and whatever they were holding - presumably a chunk of stone - slammed into the floor with the same sound as earlier. Marten furrowed his brow in confusion. He walked forward quickly to get a look at who it was. “Alright, don’t make any… AHHH!”
Marten screamed and stumbled backwards. It was Myri. She was straddling the Regent’s corpse. He barely recognized her. Her face was empty, yet filled with purpose. What made Marten scream was her clothes, at first. They were covered in blood, shards of bone and gray chunks of something. As his eyes traveled lower, he became more horrified. Under the brick that Myri clutched in her shaking, bloody paws, was the sorry remains of the Regent’s head. Precious little remained. His skull was bashed into a thousand pieces, the largest one lying nearby with a grotesque soup of blood and brain fluid coating it. His jaw had been broken in two at some point, and now sat in a pile of scattered teeth against one wall. Perhaps the most sickening thing were the patches of skin and fur that had been pounded to a pulp under the brick, and now sat in a mashed pile in front of Myri. Marten shuttered as his breathing heightened to a lofty rate. Myri hefted the brick once more, preparing for another strike. He scrambled forward and grabbed Myri’s paws before she could. “Myri! Myri, stop! It’s me, your father! Marten!”
She tried pushing down, but Marten did not allow it. He tried not to look down. “Myri… please.”
Her jaw parted slightly. “No…”
Marten wrenched the brick from her paws and tossed it aside, then pulled Myri off the Regent, tugging her up and across the room. They stumbled through the door and collapsed against the wall. Marten quickly took hold of Myri’s face, holding her in front of him so he could study it. “It’s really you. Myri, I missed you so much…”
Myri’s cold eyes focused in on the face before her. As she slowly took in his features, feeling began to seep back into her body. Pain, sorrow, joy and relief. Shame, guilt and heartache. Fear. “…Father…?”
“Yes! It’s me! It’s me!”
He pressed her to him as she began to cry. He felt the blood begin to soak into his clothes, but he didn’t care. Myri was alive. He teared up as he wrapped his arms tighter around her body. “Father…! Y-you’re… alive!”
“Shhh… just cry now. We’ll talk later.”
He sniffed. Having her in his arms again was well worth the ordeals he had gone through. “You’re safe now.”
As Myri’s mental desolation dissolved, she wept harder than she ever had before. Marten stroked her fur comfortingly. “Safe…”
Arbalest was bored. “Protect the townsfolk. Guard some prisoners. Bah! This isn’t work for a warrior.”
Harimau winced as Civy bound up his arm. “This is ouch! exactly what warrior work is.”
Rita nodded. “Not that it really looks like they need the help.”
Behind them, the townsfolk had gathered the tools of their trades and were watching the captured felines intently. Arbalest sighed. “It sounds like they’re having so much fun…”
Rita’s ear twitched as another scream rent the air. “Fun? You have a funny idea of fun.”
Arbalest chuckled. “Yes. Yes I do.”
Harimau looked at him sideways, then spotted movement on the hill. Someone was approaching. Harimau stopped Civy and stood at his full height. “Hey! Sit down you big lug, you’re going to ruin my bandage!”
Harimau ignored her. “You! Identify yourself!”
They all noticed her. A feline was walking towards them, unarmed. “I am called Tezar.” She said.
Rita drew her weapon. “What do you want?”
Petal walked over from the crowd of townsfolk. “Who’s that?”
Tezar held her paws up disarmingly. “I wish to surrender.”
Rita cocked her head. “Just like that? I thought you felines didn’t surrender without a fight.”
Petal placed a paw on Rita’s shoulder. “Don’t berate her if she wished to come peacefully.”
Harimau frowned. “I would like to hear the reason.”
Tezar took a deep breath. “…I am with child.”
Rita’s expression softened. “Oh…”
Harimau looked over at Petal. “Take her with the rest. See to her needs.”
Tear followed Petal, and gave Harimau a dirty glance. “I’m not that far along, canine.”
Harimau was embarrassed, and Rita chuckled. “…Oh, s-sorry.”
They lapsed back into another period of nervous silence.
Myri had stopped crying as hard, and Marten had stopped petting. “Daughter? Look at me.”
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Tell me… What happened when I was gone?”
“A lot of things.”
“Such as?”
“A little bit of a revolt.”
“I see.”
Marten gulped. “Did… did anything happen to you?”
She didn’t respond, and avoided his gaze. “Myri, did the Regent do anything to you?”
She gave a short nod after a long pause. “Oh, god… I’m so sorry, Myri, I shouldn’t have left-”
“No!”
He jumped a little. She was looking at him again. “Please, this wasn’t your fault. If you had stayed, you would be dead. But now you’re back.”
She pressed her head against his chest. “I’m so glad you’re back at last.”
“I’m sorry for making you wait. Listen to me. All this is behind us. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
There was another long silence. “Thank you.”
Marten stared at the wall. He was listening. Listening to the sounds of combat. Screams, clangs of steel and shouts wafted through the Regent’s open window. Marten looked down at his brood, covered in the blood of the man she had killed. “Myri.”
She stirred and looked up to meet his eye. “Y-yes?”
“We need to go.”
“Okay.”
They stood and began to walk. They slowly made their way through the fort, Marten keeping his gaze solidly ahead, Myri not even looking. They exited the fort, and Marten could see the battle. It was chaos. He had no idea who was who, and the dead were visible even from the great distance. He quickened his pace towards them, but stopped. He looked down to Myri. “Let’s get you to a safe place.”
She did not respond. He turned towards where Arbalest’s group was. Pil was nearby as well. Marten met up with him. “Pil.”
He looked up from scraping black residue from Drifrasa’s Dagger. “Marten! What they hell happened to you? Are you injured?”
He shook his head. “No, Pil. And Neither is Myri… Oh, this is my daughter.”
Myri nodded to him. “Hello.”
Her voice was weak. Pil nodded in return. “I suppose that’s the blood of your enemies.”
“More or less. I’m heading for the square.”
“Right, I’ll stay here. I’m glad you found her.”
“Thanks. For everything.”
Pil nodded again. “No problem.”
Marten moved once again towards the square. He walked through the streets, looking fondly at the buildings. As he reached the square, a few people shouted his name. He reached them, and looked up. Harimau, Rita, Arbalest Civy, Cul and Petal all looked at him. “Marten? Are-”
“It’s not our blood.”
He tried standing up straight. “I would like you all to meet my daughter, Myri.”
Their faces lit up. Arbalest’s smile was genuine. “You did it, Marten.”
Myri waved weakly. “Hello. Are you friends of Father?”
Rita nodded. “Yes we are.”
There was a shout from the crowd. “Myri!”
Troy came barreling through and skidded to a stop. Her voice suddenly becoming shrill. “Myri! Did you-”
“No, Troy. I’m fine.”
Troy grabbed her arm. “Come to my house, lets get you into something less bloody.”
Troy dragged her off. Rita looked to Marten. “She looked terrible… What happened to her?”
Marten turned away. Arbalest whispered into her ear. “She was sexually assaulted.”
Rita gave a small gasp. “Oh…”
Halen was next to push through the crowd. “Marten…”
“Halen, my friend. Where is Fray? I need to speak with him.”
“Fray…”
Marten turned and faced Halen straight on. “What is it? Why do you sound like…”
“I’m so sorry, Marten… He’s dead. I-It’s my fault, I-”
“Do not.”
Halen stopped. Something inside Marten snapped. He began to walk towards the fight. “Bring everybody.”
“What?” Harimau asked.
“Everybody. Bring them all, please.”
And so Marten, soaked in blood, led a stream of former slaves, townspeople and prisoners along with him.
Myri stepped out of Troy’s room wearing one of her outfits. Troy jumped a little. “That’s better! Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe!”
She nodded. Troy’s smile faltered. Myri still wasn’t the same. “Myri, I-”
“Don’t apologize, Troy. I should be. I feel… I shouldn’t have given up.”
“No one can blame you. But listen, all of that is behind you now.”
She nodded, and tried a weak smile. “Marten said the same thing. I’ll be okay.”
She looked out the window and spotted Marten walking past. She ran for the door. “Myri? Where are you going?!”
Troy followed her.
Marten marched through his own soldiers ranks without acknowledging them. He pushed his way to the front, where the combat was. He stepped between two combatants. “Stop.”
The canine did, but the feline swung at Marten. Marten grabbed his arm and held it there. He met the man’s eye. “Stop.”
The feline backed off. He looked to his left. “Stop!”
He looked to his right. “STOP!”
Heads turned, but not many people stopped. “Stop fighting, NOW!”
Zik heard the shouting from the rear of his group, just as he was bandaging his brother’s head. He stood and they went to it’s source. He knew it was Marten. “Stop this right now!”
At this point Marten was grabbing weapons and pulling them out of people’s paws. Zik yelled over the din. “Do as he says! Stop this now!”
That did it. Everyone stopped fighting. Marten looked around at them. Most were bloody and beaten. “Look at you.”
He stumbled towards a feline, who backed away from the crazed old man. “Look at yourselves! What the fuck are we doing here?!”
Harimau was the first to arrive from the square. At this point everyone had allowed Marten space. People peeked from around one another to get a look. Marten met the eyes of as many people as he could. “Just… look at us.”
Someone from the crowd yelled. “What the hell are you going on about, old man?!”
“YOU! I’m going on about you! And me!”
He fell to his knees. “Atrieans. We’re Atrieans! The life blood of this world! We can’t do this! We can’t kill each other like this! It’s Barbaric! It’s sick!”
He looked down. A feline lay dead at his feet. He dragged the body up, and cradled the man’s head. “This Atriean was young… I… I can see it in his eyes. He had so much potential in his life. It’s gone now.”
He dropped the feline. Some people looked down guiltily. Myri pushed her way to the edge of the crowd and watched. Someone else yelled. “That’s war for you! This is necessary-”
“Necessary?! Because an old book says we should kill each other we do it?”
The someone did not respond. Marten stood and walked around the field of bodies and rubble, continuing. “Does anyone know why this conflict started?”
If anyone knew, no one ventured an answer. “I want to share with you something I learned over the past weeks.”
He crouched and grabbed the arm on one body, then dragged it over to another. He pointed at someone in the crowd. Molkka stepped forward. “W-what?”
“Look at them.”
He did. Looking over the two bodies was difficult. Their faces were mangled. “What’s the point of all this?”
Marten pointed to the face of one. “Do you know who he is?”
“No…”
“Do you know if he was Canine, Feline or Mustelid? Or maybe a Scavenger?”
“No, I don’t…”
Marten pointed to the other. “What about her?”
“I don’t know.”
The two corpses’ eyes stared into space. Marten pointed to them. “Do you see their eyes?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who are these the eyes of?”
“I don’t-”
“WHO?!”
Molkka was flustered. He didn’t know what Marten wanted him to say, so he used something that couldn’t be wrong. “Atrieans?”
“Yes.”
Marten stood again. “It’s time for a break. We’re all tired, and we’re all angry.”
The crowd started to get what Marten was trying to say. A feline stepped forward. “Peace has been tried before, you know. Then you canines double cross us.”
Ace jumped from the crowd. He looked like he had been through hell and back. “No! It’s you felines who end up breaking the pacts we make!”
“Shut up, both of you! This is what’s wrong with you people! Always blaming the other one for their own mistakes!”
Marten paused to take a breath.
As he did, a little ways away from Frostblight, a feline ran flat out towards the town. He ran between the first two buildings, heading for what he assumed to be some feline gathering. When he ran into the first body, he knew something was wrong. He pushed through the crowd of Felines, looking for someone in charge. What he found was himself being pushed accidentally into the circle. Marten spotted him. “Who are you?!”
“Ah! Uh… I-I’m a messenger from the Capitol!”
Zif approached him. “Speak your message.”
“But-”
“Do it.”
The messenger looked to Marten then gulped. “Okay. The canine army has arrived, sir. They’ve besieged the city. By Laroja’s beard there were five times more than we expected!”
Zik patted the man on the back. “Good work.”
“What’s going on here?”
“Just watch.”
Marten nodded. “Right now there’s a massive battle about to take place. I’ve seen the capitol. It’s huge. So many people are in danger. If the canine army makes a breakthrough and invades, there will be a bloodbath to rival anything we’ve seen so far. We…”
He looked to the felines, then to the canines. “…can stop it.”
The crowd started muttering skeptically. Zif and Zik exchanged glances, then stepped into the circle. “He’s right.”
Zik looked at his brother. “This war was just to me at one point. Then I experienced it. My brother, a part of my soul, died because of it. And Zif here nearly lost his head.”
Molkka spoke up again. “What about the Regent? He won’t agree to any of this!”
Myri raised her voice. “He’s dead.”
There was a gasp from the crowd. “I killed him. You all know what a disgusting person he was. You all hated him. I know it.”
Silence then prevailed. Zik was shocked to learn this, but not at all saddened. ”Then command falls to Orli. Is she still with us?”
“She is.”
Orli came forward. “You’re all talking nonsense, I hope you know. I’ll have nothing to do with this. Zik, Zif?”
“Yes?” They answered.
“I relinquish my command henceforth. I’m getting out of this crazy town.”
She turned on her heel and strutted away. Zik and Zif turned to Marten, then the crowd. “We’ll be heading to the capitol. Dress in casual wear and bring only what weapons you need to hunt and defend yourselves.”
There was mutterings among the felines. Someone piped up. “Sir… The barracks are destroyed. All or things are under all that rubble.”
Zik pondered this, but Tojenka raised her voice nervously. “Um… E-excuse me!”
They looked over. “We have clothes. Just simple things really… You all can feel free to change in our homes. R-right?”
There was a lukewarm response of agreement. Some of the felines grumbled, and one shouted. “I ain’t wearing any of their stinking rags!”
Another one yelled. “Hey, shut up you idiot! We might not have to fight anymore. Who knows? Maybe we should go along with this.”
“The text of Laroja-”
“Is very long! I doubt you’ve ever opened it!”
The voice that had spoken out against the idea of receiving a change of clothes was silenced. “Fine.” He said, after a while.
The crowd began to move towards the houses, the nervous energy still high. The canine soldiers and feline soldiers walked together, still eyeing one another.
Marten cast about and turned away. “Come, let’s go back home.” he said, to Myri.
She nodded and they walked through the town. Myri looked up at him. “Father, can we trust the felines?”
“Yes. I believe so.”
“Okay. I’m not sure, but I trust you.”
Eventually they came to Marten’s house. It was untouched. He pushed open the door, and they entered. “It’s just how I left it.”
Myri was shocked. “It’s destroyed!”
He chuckled. “Yes. I was very cross when you were taken.”
“That’s an understatement.”
He walked through the house and to his chair. He righted it and lowered his weary body down into it. “Let’s take a little rest, Myri.”
She found her chair and sat in it. Before either could nap, Bronze came bursting through the door. “Marten.”
“What is it?”
Bronze ran over. “I just…”
He spotted Myri, nodded to her, and looked back at Marten. “What you did out there-”
Someone else pushed through the door. “Marten! You understood what I was saying! It’s been a long time since that has happened!”
Pil sprang across the room and shook Marten’s paw vigorously. “I am very proud of you!”
Bronze chuckled. “Yeah. That’s what I was going to say too…”
Arbalest and Kathresh also came through the door. “Marten, this plan is crazy.”
Kathresh poked him. “No, it’s not crazy. Stop saying that!”
“It’ll never work!”
“Stranger things have happened.”
Arbalest looked at marten. “I don’t care if you’re mad or not, I want in.”
Marten opened his mouth, but there was a bump at the door. “Ow!”
Harimau had not ducked his head enough. Rita giggled at him. “Marten, we like your attitude, but we had a few things we wanted to bring up.”
Rita said. Harimau continued. “The Canines are geared for war. It’ll take a lot of convincing to get them to talk peace. General Khol was the highest ranking official assigned to this battle, and I was his closest adviser.”
Rita’s voice was slightly strained. “And I’m his daughter.”
“We think we can use our influence to… Hey, Marten?”
“Marten?”
Kathresh chuckled. “He’s asleep.”
Chuckled resounded around the room. Bronze opened the door. “we should leave him be, and probably get some sleep ourselves. There’s a long journey ahead of us.”
They began to file out of the house. When they had all left, Ace poked his head in. “Hey, why is everyone… oh.”
He closed the door. “Thanks, Marten.”
Myri stood and prepared a little fire in the hearth. Once it was going she pulled her chair next to Marten’s and sat, placing her paw atop his. She didn’t say anything for fear of waking him. Nothing was the same, though. A lot of people were dead. She tried not to think about it, but couldn’t help wishing that Redrick was there to share the moment. Her eyes watered once again, but she willed herself not to cry.
Marten opened his eyes. He was very young. He sprang up. “Myri? Myri? What’s…”
He gasped. “Kyr!”
His mate smiled from next to the hearth. She was holding a cub, feeding her a little chunk of meat, which she tried her best to chew with her tiny baby teeth. Marten rushed over and embraced both of them. “Kyr… what is this? Am I dead?”
“No, my love. You’re only dreaming.”
“Oh.”
“Do not sound so disappointed.” She laughed.
“Sorry.”
He looked down at young Myri. “These were the days, weren’t they?”
“Yes, that they were.”
He looked at Kyr’s face. They kissed. “Marten, you have so much more to do. Please take care of our child along the way.”
“Of course I will.”
“For now, come. Sit. Enjoy this little reunion.”
They all sat down by the fire. “Kyr?”
“Yes?”
“You’re a lot more poetic than I remember.”
She laughed and leaned against his shoulder. “I’m just part of your imagination, dear.”
“I know.”
He sighed, closing his eyes.
“I know.”
FIN
A great battle ensues and Frostblight is turned into a battleground. People are reunited, and Marten launches himself into legend.
Well, this is it folks. Second novel finished. You might be wondering what I'll be doing next. Short answer: Frontier II. Long answer: to be announced in an update journal.
I have a few things to say. This novel took me three times longer to write than Frontier did. You decide weather or not that worked to the story's detriment.
Anyway, I want to ask you, reader, even if you never comment, what you thought of this novel. Be honest. Thank you.
"You're finished, Lokai! Oh, we've got your kind penned in on Cheron into little districts, and it's not going to change! You've combed the galaxy, and come up with nothing but monocolored trash, do-gooders, and bleeding hearts.You're dead! You half-white!"
"You useless pieces of bland flesh! I'll take you with me! You half-black!"
Tezar wasn’t the type to get drunk, usually. If there was something concrete to punch or stab she would have been out there punching or stabbing it. However Marten’s whereabouts were completely unknown to her, and as much as she hated to admit Zik and Zif were right, Frostblight was the most likely place for him to show up. And, the alcohol might get rid of the sound that had been playing non stop in her head for the past few days.
“Cough… ahhgg… Stubborn…hakk!”
Tezar jerked up. She had just barely slipped into sleep and the sound had came to the front of her conciseness. She shook her head and drank some more. She was only a couple drinks in, but she could feel the effects. She looked out the window at the view. The trees were thin and far between at the crest of the valley, so when a massive wave of canines and mustelids came charging the hill in full battle gear, it wasn’t that difficult to spot. A few in the middle were wildly trying to control a siege weapon of some sort as they rattled over the hill. She sprang up, slammed her knee on a table and went tumbling over. “Ahhg! Attack! Attack! Help!”
A skinny soldier who had been given token guard duty peeked around the door frame. “What’s happening?! Oh, Laroja save me!”
He darted back when he saw what was going on. Tezar scrambled up and drew her weapon, expecting them to break through the window. However, it was clear that they had scoped out the situation first, and knew that the fort was empty. Tezar took a few steps backward as they completely ignored the fort, streaming by without yelling battle-cries or anything. She turned and ran. It would be a bloody first minute of combat if she couldn’t get word as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there was no way in hell she would be fast enough.
Pil rode Drifrasa’s Dagger, paw on the brake lever. He was clutching the top of his head as though his hat might fall of in the wind. The only problem was that he wasn’t wearing a hat. “How close are we?!” He yelled.
Marten was jogging next to him, his ultimate focus on the plainly visible congregation of his townspeople. “Not yet.”
“What?! Speak up!”
“Not yet!”
“Okay!”
“Another few seconds, and we’ll be in range.”
“What?! Really?! 500 meters?!”
“Yeah! That’s what you said, right?!”
Pil slammed on the breaks and brought the entire thing to a screeching halt. The crew he had appointed to operate Drifrasa’s Tooth (mostly people too old or injured to fight) also ground to a halt. “Alright everyone! Just like I showed you, now!”
Marten squinted at the crowd. The Regent was plainly visible standing on a pedestal several feet away from the crowd. He pointed to it as the rest of the Wave of Drifrasa ran by. “Can we hit that?!”
“Yes, sir we can! Aim at that thing, boys!”
Pil and the crew loaded, primed and aimed Drifrasa’s Dagger, and by the time they were done the army had almost reached the townspeople. “Fire.”
Pil jumped up and down as the fuseman touched a smoldering saltpeter rope to Drifrasa’s Dagger. “First field test! Everyone stand clear!”
The mouth of Drifrasa’s Dagger gave a mighty report, and the resulting sound and shock wave almost knocked Marten over. He looked up just in time to see the results.
Unfortunately for Devon, Marten did not have the best eyesight. Fortunately for him, however, when the stone ball landed nearby, bounced once and slammed full force into the pedestal, both he and the Regent were thrown clear. The ball did not stop there, however, as it proceeded to travel through the investigator as well as a building behind him. The Regent scrambled up from a pile of wood and dust and looked around. Felines were fleeing past him. He sunk his claws into one. “Where the hell are you going?! And what was that sound?!”
He pointed a shaky claw at the hill. “The wrath of Drifrasa…”
The Regent flung him aside and took in the situation at a glance. “Orli, since our troops have acted with extreme cowardice we have no choice but to beat a retreat. I want you to get back there and rally everyone up, get them in line and ready to fight. GO!”
Orli nodded quickly, shouldered her axe and dashed after Frostblight’s garrison. The Regent slipped between two nearby buildings and slunk away.
Devon rubbed his head as he felt himself being hauled upright. “By Drifrasa’s loving arms that was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Halen as looking him in the eye. Devon grinned. “I did it though… what did I do, by the way? What happened?”
“I don’t know, but there’s an army here to save us!”
“An…?”
He passed out. Halen shook him. “Devon?!”
When the army reached the bottom of the valley, they lost all momentum. Most had noticed Marten running down the hill, and were overjoyed. They ran to the Wave and began to dance and cheer, hugging and thanking their saviors profusely. Ace had been running up front, and his attempts to disentangle himself from a group of overly thankful townsfolk were in vain. A lot of the soldiers joined in, and soon their entire formation was out of whack. Ace shouted over the noise. “Everyone! Please! S-stop pushing! We need to-”
“EVERYONE STOP!”
There was stillness. The townsfolk disengaged as Kathresh belted out over them. “We have work to do! The felines have retreated for now, but we need to intercept them before they get into formation! All you folks go wait nearby! Group F! Make sure they’re safe!”
Arbalest was the leader of that particular group, and he sat on the snow. Marten came tearing through the crowd until he encountered Halen. “Halen! Halen!”
Halen sprang up and jumped onto Marten. “Marten! Oh, gods it is good to see you! Oh…”
Troy and Tojenka were nearby hugging each other with joy. Marten pushed him off. “No time! The Regent, he dashed off this way, did you see where he went?!”
“N-no, but if you find him, gut him for me!”
Marten exasperatedly scratched at his fur, casting about. He glanced around the hills, and saw Zhoe there, scrambling up towards the fort. Marten patted Halen on the back. “Take care of your family. Say hello to Fray for me!”
He dashed off before Halen could say anything. Halen crouched down and helped a barely conscious Devon to his feet. “Come on, let’s join the rest of them.”
He, Devon and his family walked slowly to where Arbalest had the townspeople behind his soldiers.
Ace quickly thanked Kathresh, but took the lead from there. “A-alright! Remember what you’ve been taught! Get into line, shields up!”
The soldiers situated themselves in front of Ace. He turned to Kathresh. “Okay, we’re ready. Bring in the archers.”
Kathresh grinned and looked towards the opposite hill to the fort. “Alright. We’ve got your back. Go get em!”
She dashed towards the hill as Ace faced the concentration of buildings the felines had fled into.
Meanwhile, Orli had taken advantage of the semi-urban setting and had all the soldiers hidden out in houses, archers at every window. The rest were armed and ready to burst out at a moment’s notice. Orli crouched on the roof of one building, hoping the orders she gave to everybody would be adequate. The town square began to move, and she dropped her head lower. She observed for a few more seconds then retreated back into the building. “They’re coming.”
She quickly made her way to the foremost house, peeking her head out of the window, the three archers in that window doing the same. “Wait for my signal.”
Ace came marching proudly out front with Bronze. The troops behind them had their shield wall up, and Orli cursed. “Dammit! Fire!”
Arrows came flying from five different buildings. Ace and Bronze quickly tumbled behind the wall, Ace shouting orders. “Tighten up!”
Bronze peeked to get a look at the situation. “Ace, they’ve got soldiers in those houses!”
“No shit!”
“Well, we must get them out of there!”
“Sure, but how?”
Bronze pondered for a short time. “We bust down the doors?”
“Sounds good to me!”
Ace stood tall. “Everybody see that house with the most felines in it!?”
“Yes!”
“Yes sir!”
“Maintain formation, get shields up to our right and left flanks!”
They assumed a formation that would protect them from arrows on all sides and marched towards the house.
Orli backed away from the window, kicking over a chair. “Dammit! Alright, new plan, get out there and-”
“Here they come!”
Orli had time to look up before a group of the attacking canines broke formation and made a mad dash for their building. Orli pushed the nearest soldier towards the door. “Stop them! Hold that door shut!”
The felines piled against the door, but the momentum and strength of years of rowing allowed them to easily smash in the door. Only a couple were stricken by arrows on the way, and soon a bloody close-quarter’s fight broke out. The canines came at them, stabbing from behind shields. The felines knew these tactics, but were caught without proper equipment. Spears and swords were the only things they had, the only things they needed to keep a few slaves in check. One after the other were felled, Orli horrified at the speed and ferocity with which their opponents fought. Orli smashed a shield with he axe, quickly dismembering it’s user before jumping out an open window. Outside was no better. A few more houses had been breached, with a few holding out and scoring hits on their attackers. She yelled. “Out of the houses! Retreat! Hold them back with arrows!”
This order was carried out to the best of the felines’ ability, however the attempt
was almost in vein. Some houses had no back door, and the only exits were through the front. Orli didn’t much care if they survived or not, they were only a fraction of the feline garrison. The rest she had sent on ahead. To this group she now ran.
Ace was in one of the houses fighting alongside his comrades. Him and Bronze had a few felines cornered, bodies bestrewn about. Ace panted. “Just give up. You’re outnumbered.”
The tallest one spat. “Never! Fight till we die!”
The one standing next to him dropped his spear and held his paws aloft. “Just do as they say, Ala.”
“What?! You coward!”
The third dropped her sword. “Come on, drop it!”
Ala dropped his weapon and growled. “Damn you all to hell!”
They were escorted to where the other prisoners were being kept. Ace leaned on the wall. “This is… much harder… than rowing is…”
Bronze clapped him on the back. “We’re not finished yet. Most of them ran off.”
Ace exited the building and looked around at the army. There were many injuries, most not enough to knock the canines out of commission. He tried not to focus on the bodies. There were a lot of bodies. He drew a shaky breath. “Form up again! We must carry on.”
They did so, their energy from earlier now fueled more by anger. Ace thrust his blade forward. “March!”
Myri watched everything play out from her window. She saw the battle, and she saw Marten. He had come to rescue her. She eventually collapsed on the floor, clutching her head. “No! It can’t be real! It’s… It’s a trick! A mind game! I won’t….”
She opened her eyes and peeked over the window. The Regent was scuttling towards the door. She took hold of the bars, her arms shaking. “You…”
She left the bent up bars and threw the door open. The guard was still there, looking very anxious. “Oh, look. It’s the- AAARRG!”
Myri swiped her claws with lightning quickness, slicing a nasty gash across the guard’s neck. He fell in a pool of blood. She ignored it all, and walked quickly through the empty fort.
The Regent dashed into the door just in time to bump into Tezar. “Regent?! Are you-”
“Shut up! Shut up and get down there and fight!”
She nodded. “Right.”
The Regent once again dashed off. Tezar exited the fort and jogged down the incline. She would join the fight, alright. She would… There he was. Marten came running up the incline as well, chasing the Regent. He stopped a few meters away. Tezar grinned, giggling. “Marten. It’s you. I’ve waited a very long time for this.”
Marten had seen this feline before. She had a quarrel with him, but he had no idea why him specifically. “Feline… how is it that you know me?”
“How… do you even know what you did?!” she screamed.
“No!”
“You killed my love! You killed him!”
As she yelled this she drew her sword and rushed at Marten. He quickly fumbled for his sword, pulling it out in time to parry her swing. He jumped back. “Your Love? I killed your mate?!”
“YES! He died dishonorably by a fucking rock!”
She lunged again, thrusting at Marten’s chest. He once again deflected it, her blade sliding an inch away from his side. Once again he tried getting out of her reach, but she kept on swinging. Marten used the techniques Kathresh taught him to keep himself alive, but he saw no opportunity to strike. “Wait! Wait a minute!”
To his surprise, Tezar stopped. She stumbled back. Marten readied his sword, but lowered it once he saw she was crying. Massive sobs shook her body, the tears falling into the snow. “We were so happy together… That man… he… he could-”
She hiccuped, and raised her face. “You see why you must die.”
Her face was red with anger and pain. Marten nearly lost his nerve, but he saw an opening. Tezar raised her arms towards the sky. “I have the hig-”
Marten lunged and slashed her leg. She toppled over with a yell. “Arg! Marten!”
She rolled over and stumbled to her feet. Marten backed up, looking at the blood on his blade. “S-sorry! I mean…”
Marten didn’t even know where the words were coming from. Sorry for what? Marten couldn’t say. Probably everything. Tezar growled and came at him again. “You’ll pay for that… Nng~”
She stopped, the whine in her throat cutting her off. She slowly dropped the sword and sank to the snow once more. “No… not here… n-not {I]Nnn~[/I]”
She clutched her stomach, and Marten furrowed his brow. “Feline… you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
She grabbed her sword with weak paws and leveled it at Marten. “Get back! I-I’ll kill you!”
Marten sheathed his sword. “Please don’t fight me. I understand your pain. Once, a long time ago, felines took my love away. She survived through my blood. Please preserve his.”
He walked past her. She swung her sword, missing and dropping it to the ground. “Come back here! I…I… Zip!”
She collapsed fully.
Orli Rounded a corner and came face to face with a mountain of a man. A scavenger no less. She pointed her axe at him. “Get out of my way.”
A sound behind her made her turn. A white fox leveled a dueling sword at her chest. “Abandoning your troops, eh?”
The large one spoke like what a rock would sound like if it could speak. “We saw you commanding this rabble. We also saw you run. Figured if we cut off the serpent’s head the rest might die.”
Orli spat in the snow. How had they gotten around he so fast? “Fools. They won’t stop fighting just because I’m gone.”
The large one shrugged. “Well, whatever. Rita, step back.”
Rita looked uneasily at the two, but nodded. “Careful, Harimau.”
Orli sized him up. Over seven feet tall and seemingly made of muscle, the hyena was unarmed save for a pair of armored gloves which would probably splatter her brains with a single hit. She took a stance, axehead pointed at him. He slowly stepped forward, paws at the ready. The standoff was broken momentarily by the canine army marching by behind Orli. This momentarily distracted her opponent, and she swung downward. Harimau backhanded the blade, and it sliced into his footpaw. He grunted, but did not miss a beat. He grabbed the handle and wrenched it up into Orli’s body, flinging her with incredible velocity into the alleyway wall. Her agility saved her, and she kicked off the wall with all fours, bringing a knife out of nowhere and rolling in front of Harimau, poised to jump. Harimau had enough time to bring the axe shaft up to defend himself before she lunged. Harimau moved with a quickness he never knew he had, swinging the pole towards Orli’s stomach. She anticipated this, twisting to avoid the strike and plunging the dagger into Harimau’s shoulder. He bellowed and dropped the axe, grabbing Orli instead. “Rita!”
He flung her to the ground and she rolled, completely disoriented. Rita leaped on top of her, dealing her a quick jab to the face, stunning her. “There.”
She looked over at Harimau. “Are you alright?!”
He put his paw around the knife, winced, then reconsidered. “It’s in deep… she’s feisty for someone so young.”
Rita left Orli reeling in the snow and ran over to Harimau. She reached up and lightly touched the bloody knife. “Alright, we’re going.”
“Rita-”
“You’re not fighting anyone with the wound. Come on. Let’s take her and put her with the rest of the prisoners, then we’re getting this fixed up.”
Harimau looked down at the wound and nodded. “Alright. Alright, let’s go then… dammit.”
Rita dragged Orli up, twisting her arm and holding her sword ready. She growled, but Rita didn’t acknowledge it. “What?”
“Nothing… I just didn’t think I’d be put out of commission this quickly. You’re a competent fighter, young one.”
Orli spat. “Brute force can only get you so far, old man.”
Harimau shrugged, a painful process. “It’s gotten me this far.”
Zik stood on the barrack’s watchtower, a small rickety structure that was never used. He could see some movement among the houses. There was no sign of Orli or any of the troops. “Things aren’t looking good.”
Zif was on the ground, making sure everyone was properly equipped. The majority of the felines retreated back to the garrison on Orli’s orders, and now were being armed with shields. Zif was lining them up in a skirmish line as well. He called back up. “What do you mean?”
“The fighting’s stopped, but I don’t see anyone coming… wait!”
A few felines dashed from behind a house. One was clutching a bleeding arm. “Help!”
“They’re coming!”
The one that was bleeding tripped over. Zif ran over and helped him to his feet. “What happened?! Report!”
“W-we were massacred! They were using our equipment and tactics, shields and low thrusts, just like we learned!”
Zif helped him back to the barracks. “Get in there and bandage yourself up.”
The other two that had escaped where sitting on the ground panting from the run. Zif hauled them up. “Where’s Orli?!”
“She…” The first one ran out of breath.
“She was captured, I think.” The second said.
Zif cursed. “Damn!”
“I saw her fighting them as I ran by. She may have been slain.”
“She wouldn’t allow that. Zik! Do you see anything more?!”
“They’re coming in full force! In a formation like our own!”
Zif put his brain to work. He was no strategist. He cursed. “Orli would have come up with a solution.”
Before he could ponder any more, another explosion resonated through the air. A second later a missile soared through the air and struck the barracks, sending stone flying in all directions. Zif shielded his eyes from the debris, and most of the felines protected themselves. However, the barracks had a massive hole punched into it, and the roof was now in the process of collapsing. “Zik!”
Zik wobbled, grabbing the sides of the wooden construct. The whole thing toppled inwards, and with a second crash the roof caved entirely. Zif pushed through the crowd and tried pushing the door. It was not budging. He ran to where the building was struck. “Hoist me in there!”
A couple soldiers came forward and helped Zif through the hole. “Help me in here!” He yelled back as he dashed over the rubble.
A few felines climbed in too. Zif ran to the other end of the rubble pile and found that the back had not collapsed. Sitting on top of the rubble, on an undestroyed plank of wood, sat Zik. Zif grabbed him and hauled him up. “Come on Brother, now is not the time to rest.”
“What the hell was that?!” Zik said as he stood shakily.
“I have no idea. Some sort of siege weapon. Maybe a ballista?”
Zif shrugged. “I saw no spear, and that noise… it was incredible.”
“Perhaps the gods have stakes in this battle after all.”
“Perhaps.”
They quickly made their way back outside, just as the first canines began attacking. They ran from around buildings and quickly formed up. After a significant amount had assembled, pikes bristling from over shields. Zik and Zif stood out front, and soon Ace appeared. Zik and Zif exchanged glances, then walked towards them. Ace held up a paw before anyone could attack. “Wait. They may want a parlay.”
Zik and Zif stopped a few feet away. “Good afternoon, canine.”
Ace cleared his throat. “My name is Ace, feline.”
“Zik and Zif. Who are you? You are wearing our armor and using our weapons.”
“We were freed by a great man and he led us here. This town now belongs to the people who built it, so I suggest you leave.”
“Who is this man?”
“Marten!”
The army cheered.
Zik and Zif’s faces immediately solidified. “We should have seen that one coming.”
Ace was slightly off-put by their simultaneous speech, and lost some momentum. “Y-yes… um… Listen, we equal in strength, and I don’t want to see more of anyone’s blood, so how about you just surrender?”
Zik and Zif silently stared at him in shock. Zik chuckled. “This is your first battle, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but-”
“This is war, child. There will be no mercy from us, and none from you.”
Ace grumbled, embarrassed. “Then get back there. I don’t have all day.”
The twins nodded and walked back to their line. They stepped behind the shield wall. “Wait for them.”
Ace stood out front, watching. “They’re waiting for us to attack. Bronze?”
Bronze poked his head from around a shield. “Yes?”
“We need to get them on our terms. Clearly there’s a reason they want us to attack. I say we bring in Kathresh.”
Bronze pulled out a red ribbon and grinned. He tossed it to Ace and he held it aloft.
Pil was looking down Drifrasa’s Dagger’s sights when he was tapped on the shoulder. “Erm-”
“Do not bother me! I’m going to land one right in the middle of them!”
“Pil, sir, there’s a problem.”
He sighed and looked up. “A problem?”
The fuseman, a man wiser than his job suggested, pointed to the saltpeter contact point as Pil came over to investigate closely. The hole was now filled in with some sticky substance. Pil smote the Dagger’s body. “Damn! I knew this might happen!”
“What is it?”
“I used a coating on the inside of the cylinder. It’s to keep the metal from getting damaged since I have no idea how many times you can fire this thing without the metal melting or cracking. Seems like it’s melted… I’ll have to make a note of that to fix in future versions…”
“Seems like it was an addition that decreased the life if this contraption.”
Pil nodded. “Yes, I know.”
He sighed again. “Looks like we can’t use it now. Let’s just hope that it won’t be instrumental.”
Myri wandered through the fort, not knowing where The Regent had gone. She headed to his chamber, as much as she never wanted to see its interior again. She stood silently at the door, hearing a frantic rustling sound from within. There was a crash as something was knocked over. “Dammit!”
It was The Regent. Myri frowned, and pushed the door open lightly, stepping inside without a sound. The Regent was digging through a chest with his good arm, throwing items into a sack. Her paw touched something, and she looked down. A brick sat on the floor next to the door, presumably to be placed in front of it to prevent draft from closing the door. She bent over and picked it up, the brick scraping against the floor. The Regent whirled around. “Who?! What?! It’s you! Listen, bitch, I don’t have time for this right now. Get out of here and…”
He noticed the brick In her paws. She stepped closer. He stepped back. “What are you doing? I order you to leave!”
She hefted the brick higher and stepped closer still. “I broke you! Leave now!”
She did not stop.
Kathresh watched the field below, waiting for the flash of colour. When it appeared, she turned around at the thirty odd archers behind her. “You’re up. Make me proud.”
There was a little chatter as everyone lined up at the lip on the hill and took aim. “Arc those shots high. Remember: do not fire if the felines attack Ace. We don’t want to hit any of our own.”
Strings were pulled taught and triggers pulled. Soon a rain of arrows flew gracefully through the air, landing more or less dead center of the feline group. At first, Zik and Zif had no idea where the arrows were coming from. “Zif!”
“I see it! Everyone! Shields up!”
Unfortunately only the first few rows of felines were equipped with shields. The rest tried wedging themselves in, but they stayed exposed for the most part. A few seconds and another volley later Zik and Zif make to the same conclusion at the same time. “Dammit! We must attack. Charge them!”
The felines situated themselves and began trotting towards Ace’s group, swords out, pikes at the ready.
Ace chuckled. “First battle. Alright boys! Let’s give them a fight they’ll never forget!”
Seconds later the two sides clashed with a roar and a wave of bodies pressing against each other. The front lines was pandemonium. Both sides had knocked over a large portion of the other, and now leaped on one another, stabbing and slashing. Pikes found targets from behind shields, and tactics were generally thrown to the wind. Ace found himself beset by a feline who had already received a nasty cut to the chest. He swung wildly and rabidly, and Ace easily knocked the weapon from his paws and slew him. As the feline slid to the ground, Ace felt a rush he had never experienced before. He looked up, saw the combat raging around him and yelled. “FOR FREEDOM!”
He plunged headlong into the battle.
Kathresh sprang up. “Alright, toss those aside, you won’t be needing them. Draw your weapons, we’re going to hit their right flank.”
The archers, being equipped with melee weapons as well, drew their steel. However, most looked terrified at the sounds and sights below. Kathresh smiled confidently at them. “Your friends need help. Come on!”
She vaulted over the valley mouth, half running half sliding down the incline, massive sword in paw. The others watched her, then, inspired my her fearlessness, jumped after her.
Zik and Zif couldn’t tell what direction the battle was going, even if they were observing from the rear. “Maybe if we tried flanking them? Their left flank seems to be in shambles now.”
“Indeed, If we had reserves-”
“Look out!”
The cry from the right was quickly silenced as Kathresh sliced into the feline column. Zik and Zif drew their weapons and dashed over. “It’s a single canine!”
“Look! It must be the ones who were shooting at us!”
They had no further time to ponder this as they were soon face to face with the wild woman. Beautiful and deadly in equal measure, she pointed her sword around the semicircle of felines who were now backing away from their three dead comrades. She spotted Zik and Zif, and her eyes snapped to them. Redder than blood, her eyes were truly something to behold. “You two. I remember you. Come out here.”
Zik and Zif stepped out. The rest of the archers arrived, and Kathresh held out her paw. “Stay back.”
She gripped her sword with both paws and circled the twins. “Where’s the other one?”
Zik was about to answer but Zif nudged him. “No, brother. She is trying to anger us.”
She lunged abruptly at Zik, but he was ready, stepping out of the way as Zif attacked. His arm didn’t get far enough before he was kicked back with a mighty strike, toppling him to the ground. Zik slashed down, but Kathresh swung upwards and knocked his blade back with a clang. Zif stumbled to his feet and charged Kathresh’s exposed back. Zik looked up and saw Kathresh’s face. She knew. “Zif! No!”
He jumped, blade pointing right at her back. She swung her body low, Zif’s sword scraping her back as she slammed her body into him, flipping him over her and into a heap on the ground. In the same motion she brought her sword in a wide arc, slamming the blade into the ground. Blood splattered. Zik screamed. “ZIF!”
But Zif was still alive. He sprang up, clutching the place where his ear used to be. “You crazy canine!”
Zik ran over and grabbed Zif. “Zik! What are you doing!”
He dragged Zif away without a word. Kathresh scoffed. “Tch, my aim was off.”
She turned her eyes to the felines. They backed up a step. “Come on, boys.”
The archers, bolstered now more than ever, charged the felines.
Marten hadn’t been in the fort for years. He could not for the life of him remember where anything was. He had been wandering for a solid forty minutes. Eventually he came across someone. A feline soldier who was ransacking the treasury. He shoveled handfuls of Katches into a sack and muttered incomprehensibly to himself. Marten drew his sword and let the point fall onto the back of the feline’s neck lightly. “Don’t move.”
The feline froze and dropped the gold coins, spilling them all over the ground. “Ah! I-I-I was j-just-”
“Save it! Just tell me where The Regent is.”
“The Regent?! How the hell would I know?!”
“Where is his room then?!”
“Um… Go right, up two floors at the stairs, then it’s the room at the end of the hall.”
The man shivered. “You’re not going to tell him, right?”
There was no answer. He peeked, but there was no one there.
Marten dashed down the hallway, up the stairs and towards the door. He slowed as he approached it. The door was only slightly ajar, and the interior dark. It wobbled slightly, most likely from a draft of some sort. He was about to push the door open when a sound made him jerk up. It sounded strange, like someone had dropped a slab of stone onto a thin layer of wet mud. He pushed the door open and stepped inside carefully. “H-hello…?”
The open window silhouetted a figure on the floor. Marten could not tell who it was. He moved towards the edge of the room and approached from one side slowly. “Who’s that? Myri? Is that you?”
The figure’s arms came up. It was holding something. The figure let their arms drop, and whatever they were holding - presumably a chunk of stone - slammed into the floor with the same sound as earlier. Marten furrowed his brow in confusion. He walked forward quickly to get a look at who it was. “Alright, don’t make any… AHHH!”
Marten screamed and stumbled backwards. It was Myri. She was straddling the Regent’s corpse. He barely recognized her. Her face was empty, yet filled with purpose. What made Marten scream was her clothes, at first. They were covered in blood, shards of bone and gray chunks of something. As his eyes traveled lower, he became more horrified. Under the brick that Myri clutched in her shaking, bloody paws, was the sorry remains of the Regent’s head. Precious little remained. His skull was bashed into a thousand pieces, the largest one lying nearby with a grotesque soup of blood and brain fluid coating it. His jaw had been broken in two at some point, and now sat in a pile of scattered teeth against one wall. Perhaps the most sickening thing were the patches of skin and fur that had been pounded to a pulp under the brick, and now sat in a mashed pile in front of Myri. Marten shuttered as his breathing heightened to a lofty rate. Myri hefted the brick once more, preparing for another strike. He scrambled forward and grabbed Myri’s paws before she could. “Myri! Myri, stop! It’s me, your father! Marten!”
She tried pushing down, but Marten did not allow it. He tried not to look down. “Myri… please.”
Her jaw parted slightly. “No…”
Marten wrenched the brick from her paws and tossed it aside, then pulled Myri off the Regent, tugging her up and across the room. They stumbled through the door and collapsed against the wall. Marten quickly took hold of Myri’s face, holding her in front of him so he could study it. “It’s really you. Myri, I missed you so much…”
Myri’s cold eyes focused in on the face before her. As she slowly took in his features, feeling began to seep back into her body. Pain, sorrow, joy and relief. Shame, guilt and heartache. Fear. “…Father…?”
“Yes! It’s me! It’s me!”
He pressed her to him as she began to cry. He felt the blood begin to soak into his clothes, but he didn’t care. Myri was alive. He teared up as he wrapped his arms tighter around her body. “Father…! Y-you’re… alive!”
“Shhh… just cry now. We’ll talk later.”
He sniffed. Having her in his arms again was well worth the ordeals he had gone through. “You’re safe now.”
As Myri’s mental desolation dissolved, she wept harder than she ever had before. Marten stroked her fur comfortingly. “Safe…”
Arbalest was bored. “Protect the townsfolk. Guard some prisoners. Bah! This isn’t work for a warrior.”
Harimau winced as Civy bound up his arm. “This is ouch! exactly what warrior work is.”
Rita nodded. “Not that it really looks like they need the help.”
Behind them, the townsfolk had gathered the tools of their trades and were watching the captured felines intently. Arbalest sighed. “It sounds like they’re having so much fun…”
Rita’s ear twitched as another scream rent the air. “Fun? You have a funny idea of fun.”
Arbalest chuckled. “Yes. Yes I do.”
Harimau looked at him sideways, then spotted movement on the hill. Someone was approaching. Harimau stopped Civy and stood at his full height. “Hey! Sit down you big lug, you’re going to ruin my bandage!”
Harimau ignored her. “You! Identify yourself!”
They all noticed her. A feline was walking towards them, unarmed. “I am called Tezar.” She said.
Rita drew her weapon. “What do you want?”
Petal walked over from the crowd of townsfolk. “Who’s that?”
Tezar held her paws up disarmingly. “I wish to surrender.”
Rita cocked her head. “Just like that? I thought you felines didn’t surrender without a fight.”
Petal placed a paw on Rita’s shoulder. “Don’t berate her if she wished to come peacefully.”
Harimau frowned. “I would like to hear the reason.”
Tezar took a deep breath. “…I am with child.”
Rita’s expression softened. “Oh…”
Harimau looked over at Petal. “Take her with the rest. See to her needs.”
Tear followed Petal, and gave Harimau a dirty glance. “I’m not that far along, canine.”
Harimau was embarrassed, and Rita chuckled. “…Oh, s-sorry.”
They lapsed back into another period of nervous silence.
Myri had stopped crying as hard, and Marten had stopped petting. “Daughter? Look at me.”
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Tell me… What happened when I was gone?”
“A lot of things.”
“Such as?”
“A little bit of a revolt.”
“I see.”
Marten gulped. “Did… did anything happen to you?”
She didn’t respond, and avoided his gaze. “Myri, did the Regent do anything to you?”
She gave a short nod after a long pause. “Oh, god… I’m so sorry, Myri, I shouldn’t have left-”
“No!”
He jumped a little. She was looking at him again. “Please, this wasn’t your fault. If you had stayed, you would be dead. But now you’re back.”
She pressed her head against his chest. “I’m so glad you’re back at last.”
“I’m sorry for making you wait. Listen to me. All this is behind us. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
There was another long silence. “Thank you.”
Marten stared at the wall. He was listening. Listening to the sounds of combat. Screams, clangs of steel and shouts wafted through the Regent’s open window. Marten looked down at his brood, covered in the blood of the man she had killed. “Myri.”
She stirred and looked up to meet his eye. “Y-yes?”
“We need to go.”
“Okay.”
They stood and began to walk. They slowly made their way through the fort, Marten keeping his gaze solidly ahead, Myri not even looking. They exited the fort, and Marten could see the battle. It was chaos. He had no idea who was who, and the dead were visible even from the great distance. He quickened his pace towards them, but stopped. He looked down to Myri. “Let’s get you to a safe place.”
She did not respond. He turned towards where Arbalest’s group was. Pil was nearby as well. Marten met up with him. “Pil.”
He looked up from scraping black residue from Drifrasa’s Dagger. “Marten! What they hell happened to you? Are you injured?”
He shook his head. “No, Pil. And Neither is Myri… Oh, this is my daughter.”
Myri nodded to him. “Hello.”
Her voice was weak. Pil nodded in return. “I suppose that’s the blood of your enemies.”
“More or less. I’m heading for the square.”
“Right, I’ll stay here. I’m glad you found her.”
“Thanks. For everything.”
Pil nodded again. “No problem.”
Marten moved once again towards the square. He walked through the streets, looking fondly at the buildings. As he reached the square, a few people shouted his name. He reached them, and looked up. Harimau, Rita, Arbalest Civy, Cul and Petal all looked at him. “Marten? Are-”
“It’s not our blood.”
He tried standing up straight. “I would like you all to meet my daughter, Myri.”
Their faces lit up. Arbalest’s smile was genuine. “You did it, Marten.”
Myri waved weakly. “Hello. Are you friends of Father?”
Rita nodded. “Yes we are.”
There was a shout from the crowd. “Myri!”
Troy came barreling through and skidded to a stop. Her voice suddenly becoming shrill. “Myri! Did you-”
“No, Troy. I’m fine.”
Troy grabbed her arm. “Come to my house, lets get you into something less bloody.”
Troy dragged her off. Rita looked to Marten. “She looked terrible… What happened to her?”
Marten turned away. Arbalest whispered into her ear. “She was sexually assaulted.”
Rita gave a small gasp. “Oh…”
Halen was next to push through the crowd. “Marten…”
“Halen, my friend. Where is Fray? I need to speak with him.”
“Fray…”
Marten turned and faced Halen straight on. “What is it? Why do you sound like…”
“I’m so sorry, Marten… He’s dead. I-It’s my fault, I-”
“Do not.”
Halen stopped. Something inside Marten snapped. He began to walk towards the fight. “Bring everybody.”
“What?” Harimau asked.
“Everybody. Bring them all, please.”
And so Marten, soaked in blood, led a stream of former slaves, townspeople and prisoners along with him.
Myri stepped out of Troy’s room wearing one of her outfits. Troy jumped a little. “That’s better! Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe!”
She nodded. Troy’s smile faltered. Myri still wasn’t the same. “Myri, I-”
“Don’t apologize, Troy. I should be. I feel… I shouldn’t have given up.”
“No one can blame you. But listen, all of that is behind you now.”
She nodded, and tried a weak smile. “Marten said the same thing. I’ll be okay.”
She looked out the window and spotted Marten walking past. She ran for the door. “Myri? Where are you going?!”
Troy followed her.
Marten marched through his own soldiers ranks without acknowledging them. He pushed his way to the front, where the combat was. He stepped between two combatants. “Stop.”
The canine did, but the feline swung at Marten. Marten grabbed his arm and held it there. He met the man’s eye. “Stop.”
The feline backed off. He looked to his left. “Stop!”
He looked to his right. “STOP!”
Heads turned, but not many people stopped. “Stop fighting, NOW!”
Zik heard the shouting from the rear of his group, just as he was bandaging his brother’s head. He stood and they went to it’s source. He knew it was Marten. “Stop this right now!”
At this point Marten was grabbing weapons and pulling them out of people’s paws. Zik yelled over the din. “Do as he says! Stop this now!”
That did it. Everyone stopped fighting. Marten looked around at them. Most were bloody and beaten. “Look at you.”
He stumbled towards a feline, who backed away from the crazed old man. “Look at yourselves! What the fuck are we doing here?!”
Harimau was the first to arrive from the square. At this point everyone had allowed Marten space. People peeked from around one another to get a look. Marten met the eyes of as many people as he could. “Just… look at us.”
Someone from the crowd yelled. “What the hell are you going on about, old man?!”
“YOU! I’m going on about you! And me!”
He fell to his knees. “Atrieans. We’re Atrieans! The life blood of this world! We can’t do this! We can’t kill each other like this! It’s Barbaric! It’s sick!”
He looked down. A feline lay dead at his feet. He dragged the body up, and cradled the man’s head. “This Atriean was young… I… I can see it in his eyes. He had so much potential in his life. It’s gone now.”
He dropped the feline. Some people looked down guiltily. Myri pushed her way to the edge of the crowd and watched. Someone else yelled. “That’s war for you! This is necessary-”
“Necessary?! Because an old book says we should kill each other we do it?”
The someone did not respond. Marten stood and walked around the field of bodies and rubble, continuing. “Does anyone know why this conflict started?”
If anyone knew, no one ventured an answer. “I want to share with you something I learned over the past weeks.”
He crouched and grabbed the arm on one body, then dragged it over to another. He pointed at someone in the crowd. Molkka stepped forward. “W-what?”
“Look at them.”
He did. Looking over the two bodies was difficult. Their faces were mangled. “What’s the point of all this?”
Marten pointed to the face of one. “Do you know who he is?”
“No…”
“Do you know if he was Canine, Feline or Mustelid? Or maybe a Scavenger?”
“No, I don’t…”
Marten pointed to the other. “What about her?”
“I don’t know.”
The two corpses’ eyes stared into space. Marten pointed to them. “Do you see their eyes?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who are these the eyes of?”
“I don’t-”
“WHO?!”
Molkka was flustered. He didn’t know what Marten wanted him to say, so he used something that couldn’t be wrong. “Atrieans?”
“Yes.”
Marten stood again. “It’s time for a break. We’re all tired, and we’re all angry.”
The crowd started to get what Marten was trying to say. A feline stepped forward. “Peace has been tried before, you know. Then you canines double cross us.”
Ace jumped from the crowd. He looked like he had been through hell and back. “No! It’s you felines who end up breaking the pacts we make!”
“Shut up, both of you! This is what’s wrong with you people! Always blaming the other one for their own mistakes!”
Marten paused to take a breath.
As he did, a little ways away from Frostblight, a feline ran flat out towards the town. He ran between the first two buildings, heading for what he assumed to be some feline gathering. When he ran into the first body, he knew something was wrong. He pushed through the crowd of Felines, looking for someone in charge. What he found was himself being pushed accidentally into the circle. Marten spotted him. “Who are you?!”
“Ah! Uh… I-I’m a messenger from the Capitol!”
Zif approached him. “Speak your message.”
“But-”
“Do it.”
The messenger looked to Marten then gulped. “Okay. The canine army has arrived, sir. They’ve besieged the city. By Laroja’s beard there were five times more than we expected!”
Zik patted the man on the back. “Good work.”
“What’s going on here?”
“Just watch.”
Marten nodded. “Right now there’s a massive battle about to take place. I’ve seen the capitol. It’s huge. So many people are in danger. If the canine army makes a breakthrough and invades, there will be a bloodbath to rival anything we’ve seen so far. We…”
He looked to the felines, then to the canines. “…can stop it.”
The crowd started muttering skeptically. Zif and Zik exchanged glances, then stepped into the circle. “He’s right.”
Zik looked at his brother. “This war was just to me at one point. Then I experienced it. My brother, a part of my soul, died because of it. And Zif here nearly lost his head.”
Molkka spoke up again. “What about the Regent? He won’t agree to any of this!”
Myri raised her voice. “He’s dead.”
There was a gasp from the crowd. “I killed him. You all know what a disgusting person he was. You all hated him. I know it.”
Silence then prevailed. Zik was shocked to learn this, but not at all saddened. ”Then command falls to Orli. Is she still with us?”
“She is.”
Orli came forward. “You’re all talking nonsense, I hope you know. I’ll have nothing to do with this. Zik, Zif?”
“Yes?” They answered.
“I relinquish my command henceforth. I’m getting out of this crazy town.”
She turned on her heel and strutted away. Zik and Zif turned to Marten, then the crowd. “We’ll be heading to the capitol. Dress in casual wear and bring only what weapons you need to hunt and defend yourselves.”
There was mutterings among the felines. Someone piped up. “Sir… The barracks are destroyed. All or things are under all that rubble.”
Zik pondered this, but Tojenka raised her voice nervously. “Um… E-excuse me!”
They looked over. “We have clothes. Just simple things really… You all can feel free to change in our homes. R-right?”
There was a lukewarm response of agreement. Some of the felines grumbled, and one shouted. “I ain’t wearing any of their stinking rags!”
Another one yelled. “Hey, shut up you idiot! We might not have to fight anymore. Who knows? Maybe we should go along with this.”
“The text of Laroja-”
“Is very long! I doubt you’ve ever opened it!”
The voice that had spoken out against the idea of receiving a change of clothes was silenced. “Fine.” He said, after a while.
The crowd began to move towards the houses, the nervous energy still high. The canine soldiers and feline soldiers walked together, still eyeing one another.
Marten cast about and turned away. “Come, let’s go back home.” he said, to Myri.
She nodded and they walked through the town. Myri looked up at him. “Father, can we trust the felines?”
“Yes. I believe so.”
“Okay. I’m not sure, but I trust you.”
Eventually they came to Marten’s house. It was untouched. He pushed open the door, and they entered. “It’s just how I left it.”
Myri was shocked. “It’s destroyed!”
He chuckled. “Yes. I was very cross when you were taken.”
“That’s an understatement.”
He walked through the house and to his chair. He righted it and lowered his weary body down into it. “Let’s take a little rest, Myri.”
She found her chair and sat in it. Before either could nap, Bronze came bursting through the door. “Marten.”
“What is it?”
Bronze ran over. “I just…”
He spotted Myri, nodded to her, and looked back at Marten. “What you did out there-”
Someone else pushed through the door. “Marten! You understood what I was saying! It’s been a long time since that has happened!”
Pil sprang across the room and shook Marten’s paw vigorously. “I am very proud of you!”
Bronze chuckled. “Yeah. That’s what I was going to say too…”
Arbalest and Kathresh also came through the door. “Marten, this plan is crazy.”
Kathresh poked him. “No, it’s not crazy. Stop saying that!”
“It’ll never work!”
“Stranger things have happened.”
Arbalest looked at marten. “I don’t care if you’re mad or not, I want in.”
Marten opened his mouth, but there was a bump at the door. “Ow!”
Harimau had not ducked his head enough. Rita giggled at him. “Marten, we like your attitude, but we had a few things we wanted to bring up.”
Rita said. Harimau continued. “The Canines are geared for war. It’ll take a lot of convincing to get them to talk peace. General Khol was the highest ranking official assigned to this battle, and I was his closest adviser.”
Rita’s voice was slightly strained. “And I’m his daughter.”
“We think we can use our influence to… Hey, Marten?”
“Marten?”
Kathresh chuckled. “He’s asleep.”
Chuckled resounded around the room. Bronze opened the door. “we should leave him be, and probably get some sleep ourselves. There’s a long journey ahead of us.”
They began to file out of the house. When they had all left, Ace poked his head in. “Hey, why is everyone… oh.”
He closed the door. “Thanks, Marten.”
Myri stood and prepared a little fire in the hearth. Once it was going she pulled her chair next to Marten’s and sat, placing her paw atop his. She didn’t say anything for fear of waking him. Nothing was the same, though. A lot of people were dead. She tried not to think about it, but couldn’t help wishing that Redrick was there to share the moment. Her eyes watered once again, but she willed herself not to cry.
Marten opened his eyes. He was very young. He sprang up. “Myri? Myri? What’s…”
He gasped. “Kyr!”
His mate smiled from next to the hearth. She was holding a cub, feeding her a little chunk of meat, which she tried her best to chew with her tiny baby teeth. Marten rushed over and embraced both of them. “Kyr… what is this? Am I dead?”
“No, my love. You’re only dreaming.”
“Oh.”
“Do not sound so disappointed.” She laughed.
“Sorry.”
He looked down at young Myri. “These were the days, weren’t they?”
“Yes, that they were.”
He looked at Kyr’s face. They kissed. “Marten, you have so much more to do. Please take care of our child along the way.”
“Of course I will.”
“For now, come. Sit. Enjoy this little reunion.”
They all sat down by the fire. “Kyr?”
“Yes?”
“You’re a lot more poetic than I remember.”
She laughed and leaned against his shoulder. “I’m just part of your imagination, dear.”
“I know.”
He sighed, closing his eyes.
“I know.”
FIN
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 78px
File Size 136.5 kB
Comments