Prologue – Where it all Began?
It can not be denied that the events of one's life affect the future. Cause and effect is always present, no action is without consequence. Sometimes the actions are outside of your control and other times conscious decisions are made. Whatever the outcome though one thing is always certain, you can never change what has already been done.
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Three figures slowly emerged from a building. Inside the sounds of music and talking could be heard accompanied by the occasional shout or happy cry. Small lanterns sat on the window ledges, their flames casting flickering patterns on the drawn curtains. One of the three figures suddenly stumbled, falling against one of his companions. He was pushed away quickly, nearly falling over again as he slowly regained his footing.
"Hahah! Well you know what they say, one's as good as another."
"Aye, no doubt."
"Where now then?"
"Malaki's place, if Hina is going to kick us out then we gotta find somewhere else to drink."
"Yeah, can't be past eight yet, best part of the evening is still to come."
"Yeah, besides, Malaki's place is always full of fun!"
"You're a dirty minded runt Jester."
"Must have got it from you Pirio."
"Shut up you two."
The trio stumbled on heading away from the bustling inn behind them. A moment later they passed by a street lantern, its flickering candlelight enough to illuminate their faces for a moment. Each was covered in fur, two of them having large black noses at the end of a pointed muzzle. The third had a shorter face, and a pink nose set between pair of whiskered cheeks. It was obvious that the trio were not human in nature, yet they walked on two legs. If you didn't know better the sight might alarm you, yet this was normal for the world of Mianol, a world where humans had never evolved and others had taken their place. The three stumbled on, aimlessly shouting and talking about whatever came to mind as they crossed the small town on their way to the other inn.
"How much you got Jester?"
"Enough for tonight, you still owe me for last week Sirano."
"No I don't, you still owe me for that shipment two wee…"
"Shh! What was that?"
A crash to their side had drawn their attention, all of them looking in the direction of the noise, a dark and quiet alleyway between two larger buildings. Even through the gloom of the gathering night it was possible to make out a shape. It stood on all fours like a wild animal but it was much bigger than the native wildlife; a long tail raising high into the air above it, its ears pointed directly backwards, and its face obscured by long strands of hair. In its mouth hung a chunk of something, the light from a nearby lamp showing a large open wound in the side of the object.
"What in the name of…?!"
The trio stepped back, fearing that it could be something dangerous. The shape didn't move though, it simply stood there completely still and stiff, its eyes watching them from behind the hair that covered them. The three watchers stopped their retreat also, waiting to see if it ran off or not.
"What is it?"
"Looks like a wild animal, it's been in with the chickens see."
"Damn vermin!"
"Say if we caught it maybe the mayor would reward us. We've had chickens going missing for weeks! Maybe this thing is what got them all."
"You could be right, let's gut it and bring it in eh?"
Two of the trio reached inside their cloaks, both pulling small daggers from a sheath inside. The third didn't have one but he raised his hands and extended a rather sharp looking pair of claws. Together they approached, slowly advancing towards the creature before them. The creature didn't move though, not even its head moving as they approached.
"Alright, you wait there Pir, if it moves, stab the sucker. Jester and I will pin it down."
"Got it."
Two of the three slowly started to approach the creature, blades drawn and ready to strike. As they neared they slowly began to see what it was before them, the light was still poor but what they saw was enough to make them stop. The creature wasn't a wild animal, it was one of their own kind. Tattered clothing covered her body, all of them stained with mud, grime and blood and behind the strands of violet hair falling from its head was a pair of hazel brown coloured eyes.
"What the hell?! A girl!"
"What?! You've got to be kidding, is this some sort of joke?"
It was at this point that Jester moved just enough to the side to allow a ray of light to fall on the girls face. Her eyes were burning with a fire that few had ever seen. Jester stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth hanging open slightly.
"No way! That can't be possible…"
"What can't?" asked Sirano sharply, edging slightly closer as he did.
"Look at her eyes! They're the same as…"
What happened next was too quick for two of the three to follow, only Pirio was unfortunate enough to see it. With a fluid motion the girl rose from the ground, her hand drawing something from her head as she did. A crack and the ripping of fabric sounded a moment later as a large needle like spike was pushed up from the base of Jester's jaw and through his head. There was barely time for him to scream before the spike impaled his brain and cut his life short almost instantly. Sirano was next, another fluid movement bringing the girls teeth round to bare on his neck. Her teeth sunk into his neck, Sirano giving a blood curdling scream as she ripped his jugular open and spat out a chunk of flesh. His screams were promptly cut short as the blood filled his throat and he fell to the floor choking.
"Oh my god!"
Pirio didn't wait to see what happened next, he turned tail and ran. The girl fell back onto all fours and snapped her head to follow him. Reaching to her side she pulled a circular disk from a clip on her side and rose to her feet. With the skill of an expert she hurled the disk after him, barely a moment passing before it struck him in the back, imbedding itself in his spine and knocking him to the ground. He screamed as he fell but was silent before he hit the ground.
The girl stood silently for a moment looking around at what she had just done. Her face showed no emotions, no sense of remorse or guilt. She shuffled over to Jester's corpse and pulled the spike from his skull. His body gave a twitch as she did causing the girl to watch him for a moment to ensure he was completely dead. Slowly she slid the spike back into her hair, a few strands being stained with the blood covering the spike.
Just then her ears perked backwards sharply, she had heard something; voices, lots of them! Her ears flicked the other way, her expression turning to fear as she looked around again. Finally she dropped to all fours again and took off at a run. As she passed Pirio's body she pulled the disk from his back, clipping it back onto her belt and then continuing on her way.
Moments later the approaching group showed up at the scene. Even some of the men in the group looked visible sick by the sight. A number of women screamed, one actually passing out. One of the men quickly pushed his way to the front of the group, an elderly looking mink with a torch. He stopped dead at the sight, as stunned as everyone else by the carnage before them.
"…What happened here…?"