Tellius Year 632<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m home, Ma,\u201d Petrine said, as she stepped into her family\u2019s dwelling, through the front door. The inside was a wide open space, with only a round wooden table separating the entrance from the kitchen, which consisted of a small fireplace and a black pot boiling over it. On the far right side of the space was a set of stairs, which led their personal rooms. Natalya looked up from the hunter\u2019s stew as her green-haired, red-eyed daughter set a hunting spear against the wall and began to take a pack off of her back.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was the hunt?\u201d Natalya asked, smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as good this time,\u201d Petrine said, as she opened the pack and pulled out two wrapped bundles of meat. \u201cSomething has the deer spooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA bear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d the hunter admitted, with a shrug. \u201cThat wouldn\u2019t be so bad. We\u2019d have a new hide for winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you know how your father loves bear meat. Thanks, hon,\u201d Natalya said, as she took the bundles of meat and unwrapped them to check their size. They had already been chopped into smaller pieces, so she turned around and poured the meat into the pot one bundle at a time, stirring the stew as the pieces fell in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, about going into town tonight,\u201d Petrine began, as she began to head towards the stairs.<\/p>\n
Natalya\u2019s smile vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo fight in King Ashnard\u2019s tournament? Hon, you know how I feel about him,\u201d she said, frowning. \u201cEspecially since your father\u2019s a la-\u201c \u201cI know,\u201d the girl said, \u201cbut I\u2019m the best spear in town, and if I can get into the army, Pa won\u2019t have to travel so much!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Well, I can\u2019t stop you, but at least wait until Al\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Ma,\u201d Petrine said, as she started to go up the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd stay out of our room. There\u2019s a surprise in there for your birthday tomorrow.\u201d This demand was met with a grunt, as Natalya\u2019s daughter resumed her ascent. The woman sighed and looked out the window, to a still empty road. Alexei was supposed to have returned from his trip to the Ertz Mountains hours ago. Had something happened?
\n***<\/p>\n
The sun hid itself behind the clouds as Alexei, a laguz man with black hair, grey cat ears, and red eyes, finally appeared on the path passing by his dwelling with a long dagger in hand. He wasn\u2019t alone, however. A dozen hooded men followed him like shadows. Natalya was the first one out of the dwelling, but stopped as soon as she saw the men.<\/p>\n
\u201cAl, what\u2019s going on?\u201d the woman asked, gesturing to the hooded men. They weren\u2019t expecting<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve found a way to become whole again,\u201d Alexei said, with cruel eyes, just as Petrine came running out. \u201cAnd there she is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPa?\u201d Before Petrine could ask what was going on, the strangers tore their hoods off and fell down on all fours, shifting into grey tigers.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome here, girl, and give me back my claws,\u201d her father continued. \u201cIt\u2019ll only hurt for a little while.\u201c<\/p>\n
As he said this, he walked closer to the hunter, only to be stopped by Natalya. \u201cMove, Nat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDog\u2019s breath Al, what are you saying? That\u2019s our daughter!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s no daughter of mine,\u201d he snarled, pointing at the mark on Petrine\u2019s chest. \u201cThat Parentless wretch stole my claws. All I have to do is kill her, and we can go back to how it was before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Natalya shook her head, tears streaming down her face. \u201cNo, I won\u2019t let you. Run, Petrine!\u201d she said as she tried to tackle her husband. Instantly, Alexei stabbed the woman, his dagger piercing through her backside in a single blow.<\/p>\n
\u201cMA!\u201d Petrine screamed, just as the cats began to run towards the Branded girl. Terrified, she spun around and ran back into the dwelling.<\/p>\n
The last thing she saw before she closed the door was two of the cats jumping onto her mother\u2019s bloody, unmoving form.<\/p>\n
Once she was back inside, Petrine pulled the table towards her and threw it towards the door, hoping to slow the tigers. Then she sprinted upstairs, to Ma\u2019s room. There was a window up there, so maybe if she was lucky, she could slip out there and get away before the cats could find her.<\/p>\n
Her heart sank as Pa- no, the monster- stared into the window, knife in hand. It was no use, she was trapped.<\/p>\n
Petrine closed the door and scanned the room, trying and failing to figure out some possible way to get out of this nightmare. That was when she noticed the birthday surprise: a red spear with an orange flame as its head. The Branded girl remembered looking at it in the town smithy once with her mother, thinking that if she could bag enough game, maybe one day, she could save up enough to buy it. This must have cost Ma most of her savings, Petrine realized, as she picked the lance up. It was warm to the touch.<\/p>\n
Her thoughts were interrupted by a huge claw smashing through the bottom of the door, swiping at air. The girl jumped off the bed and backed herself against the window, pointing the flame lance shakily at the splintering door. Time was almost up for her, but there was so much left for her to do! She wanted to travel Tellius and become the strongest woman in the land. And if not that, at least prove that she was more than just a worthless Branded. Not die like this, to these sub-humans!<\/p>\n
\u201cI-I don\u2019t want to die!\u201d she yelled, as the spearhead lit itself and she thrust to meet the attacking tigers.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
It was raining now. Ashnard hated the rain. It dampened a man\u2019s appetite for battle and washed all the blood away. But, at least it snuffs out some flames, he admitted grudgingly, as he waited outside the ashes of a commoners\u2019 shack.<\/p>\n
The royal procession to Terin, had come to a halt by the sight of the still-burning dwelling and the mutilated body outside. The corpse had been a woman, but her face had been mauled too badly for anyone to recognize. At this, the Mad King ordered the Black Knight, his newest Rider, to search the building as he waited outside. That way, if there was a serious ambush, any attacker who got past the knight would be worth his time And so here he was, waiting for his general to return with Gurgurant in hand, in the hopes of some excitement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell?\u201d he asked the Black Knight, as the latter returned, with a girl covered in blood and ash over his shoulder and an orange lance in his right hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThirteen beasts dead, one man and twelve cats. All slain and scorched, Your Majesty,\u201d the Rider said, coldly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir killer,\u201d the knight said, lifting the spear up. \u201cI found her senseless, with this spear stuck in the beastman\u2019s chest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashnard whistled. \u201cExcellent, from a peasant this age. We will bring her with us, Black Knight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026As you will.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Black Knight walked away from his king, returning to his position at the back of the royal train, with spear and serf in hand.<\/p>\n
The King of Daein returned to the royal carriage, his bad mood mellowed by that turn of events. This delay hadn\u2019t been so bad, after all. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tellius Year 632 \u201cI\u2019m home, Ma,\u201d Petrine said, as she stepped into her family\u2019s dwelling, through the front door. The inside was a wide open space, with only a round<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":37005,"menu_order":14,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full.php","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"yoast_head":"\n