Original Sin Pt1
#1 of Original Sin
A new fantasy series I am trying to write, something different from my usual works...I think. This does contain some darker themes so be warned, it will probably only get darker from here.
This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this story are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters are of legal and consenting age, likewise if you are reading this story you should be of legal age in your respective country.
Prologue: The Kingdom of Varthraeven had known peace for nearly a century since the Great War, the ancient evil all but forgotten and only whispered about in bedtime stories to children. For a time the four fiefdom's prospered. But as usually happens, peace never lasts and minor scuffles between neighboring Fiefdom's, a growing powder keg threatening to explode into all-out war. At least that was the case until the new king Aaron took power, under his leadership peace seemed to be returning to the kingdom, tempers were cooled and the people once again settled into their mild mannered ways.
1.
It started as rumors at first, sightings of dark beings being spotted all over the kingdom from the forests of Tamir in the west, to the Swamps of Sthelis in the East. There were mutterings that the Dark One was back after all these years, but those rumors were quickly quelled when the apparent instigator finally made themselves known outside the castle gates.
A hooded robe stood alone at the edge of the stone cobbled walkway, peering up with glowing purple eyes at the closed drawbridge. The setting sun at her back casting an eerie shadow across the expanse of the castle moat. At first it seemed like no one could see the figure, the townsfolk walking around behind them like nothing was out of the ordinary, even the guards up in the towers took no notice. At least not until the figure raised an ebony furred hand and pushed back the hood of her cape.
"I demand an audience with the king!" Her voice boomed loud and clear, far louder than was natural, shaking the stones of the castle walls. The guards wide eyed stares passing between one another, unsure of what to do. Their growing nervous chatter cut short by a sharp piercing bark from the large broad chested silver wolf, the blind eye with a vertical scar causing the younger soldiers to look away as Captain Reynolds stepped past his men to look down at the ebony wolfess smirking back up at him.
"The King isn't taking visitors right now, so why don't you bugger off and go find some unlucky cunt to go have a litter of bastards with?" The old silver wolf growled out, finishing his sentence with a snort through his nose, only to spit a long strand of saliva in the stranger's direction.
The stranger watched the Captain's reply fall harmlessly into the moat below before her muzzle raised with a grin up at him. "Call your King, or else..." she began to say before being cut off by Captain Reynolds.
"Or else what? You'll stand there and shout mean words at the castle wall?" The wolf mocked, much to the amusement of his men. Laughter roaring from the tower windows.
"Or else I'll burn this entire Goddamn city to the ground!" Her voice boomed again, her paw raising before her and with a simple snap of her fingers the Inn behind her on the right burst into a roaring blaze. The screams of those caught inside soon piercing the dim light of the approaching evening. A flaming form emerging from the Inn and stumbling screaming into the middle of the road behind the wolfess, collapsing into a gurgling heap before falling silent as the all-consuming flame ate away any distinguishing features.
Captain Reynolds watched the scene in horror before turning to his men and ordering them to fetch the King at once! A young squire was given the Captains service ring to show anyone whom dared try stop him, denoting this was of dire consequence. With his heart pounding the young fox sprinted down the stairs of the tower and across the main courtyard, heading for the castle stairs with curious onlookers turning to stare at him.
Not but a few moments later the drawbridge lowered and the stranger was met by the sight of the King along with a detachment of heavily armored solders flanking either side of him. To his right was a tall goat with a long flowing beard and horns of ivory that curled either side of his narrow muzzle. Despite his obvious age, the goat still carried himself with the youth of a much younger man, the glimmer his white glowing eyes denoted him as being the King's advisor and head Sorcerer, a man of great power.
Most with any sort of magical inclination could feel the strange energy emanating from the old goat, the fact he stood right beside the King and not a little behind indicated his equal stature to anyone observant enough.
"What do you want here, witch?" King Aaron demanded with a growl, his anger blazing red hot in his glare at the wolfess.
"Surrender your Kingdom and all your fiefdoms to me, or I'll burn every last building to the ground...including every last man, woman and child" The ebony wolfess replied with a mocking smile and a sickly sweet tone, as if trying to bargain with a child.
"Now see here, wi..." Captain Reynolds started to say, his hand already gripping the shaft of his sword handle. Before an inch of Salarian steel left his scabbard though, the wolfess raised her hand once again and with a simple wave of her paw, the good Captain evaporated into a massive blood spatter which covered those around his immediate vicinity.
As King Aaron stared slack jawed at the red splotch on the ground that used to be his most trusted military advisor and longtime friend, Herronfet the old goat beside him was already casting a spell in the stranger's direction.
Lightning crackled white hot from the palms of his outstretched fists, the air sizzling and hissing along the path the crooked beam took as it impacted the center of the wolfess chest. What should have felled a giant only knocked her back a step, looking down at the spot where the lightning had struck her, the wolfess raised a hand to brush away a little soot.
"My turn..." Her words carried a threatening growl as she raised an outstretched hand, fingers aimed skyward she began waving them slowly as a light began to form at the center of her palm. The beam of light soon took on the shape of a confused looking Herronfet, the little mirror image copying his every movement exactly.
"What is the meaning of this?" The old goat demanded, starting to trace arcane symbols in the air to summon a protective ward around himself and the King.
The only answer the wolfess would give was to snap her fingers shut, crushing the image of the old goat between her fingers. A brief cry was heard, but it was cut short as the glowing blue orb surrounding the King and Herronfet flickered and blinked out of existence to reveal a wide eyed King Aaron staring down at the crumpled and mangled form of the most powerful man he knew.
"You have until sunrise to make your decision, send a messenger to my tent outside in the open field...or don't, it's your choice" The smiling ebony wolf stated simply before turning on her heel and casually striding down the main road and out of the city.
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2.
Inside the large black tent the stranger was met by her two most trusted Generals, her former fellow students of the Dark One and whom had served her loyally for many years as they staged the events leading up to today. Their final victory at hand, they were about to do what their old master never could and take over the Kingdom of Varthraeven!
Powerful sorcerers in their own right, Varthos the massive brown Grizzly and Menos the broad chested bull could never have done what Neraza, the ebony wolfess had done. After all, their master had bequeathed her his remaining power on his death bed, bidding her to complete his life's work. A task she was only too happy to undertake, having a personal score to settle with the King and his soldiers for wiping out her small tribe during the uprisings.
"I wish I could've seen the King's face as you crushed that old goat" Varthos bellowed as he laughed, taking a deep sip from his overflowing tankard.
"I bet the King damn near pissed himself!" Menos joined in, slapping his large hands against his below as he nearly doubled over in laughter.
"I'm not so sure, there still looked like some fight left in the old Lion yet, we'll see what happens tonight" Neraza replied with a hint of doubt touching her words. They'd worked tirelessly to spread fear and panic throughout the kingdom, this final display of power at the heart of the kingdom was meant to crush any remaining fight left in the King and avoid all-out war that would ravage the lands once again. This was something Neraza hoped to avoid, but she would wipe the Kingdom from the face of the planet if it meant getting her revenge.
"Relax, you're too tense. Join us in celebration!" Varthos chided her gently before taking another deep draw from his nearly empty tankard.
"I'm not drinking that swill you call alcohol" Neraza retorted with a grin at her friend.
"That's why I got you this, remember that lovely wine land we burned down last week and you said you wished you'd gotten to taste their wine before we had? Well...guess whom found a cask just for you?" Menos chimed in as he retrieved a small expensive looking cask from his personal trunk beside his bed.
"At least one of you still has manners" Neraza teased as she held her crystal glass aloft to accept the surprise treat. Bringing the glass to her nose and taking a whiff, it smelled as sweet and rich as the red liquid inside the glass. Her tail even started to wag beside her against her seat as the taste of the wine hit her tongue. "This is the best wine I've ever tasted, I almost regret burning that vineyard down now..." the wolfess stated with a grin.
"Don't look now Varthos, but I think she likes it!" Menos said in mock surprise at Neraza.
"Here I thought she didn't like anything in this world!" Varthos jested, sloshing his tankard in her direction with a broad grin.
"I like you two enough... enough to let you live at any rate" Came her dry response as she took another sip of the wine. Oddly this didn't bring any laughter from the two large males whom were now watching her intently as she drained her glass.
"What, why're you two staring at me like...that...my head...spinning..." Neraza said in a panicked voice, trying to raise her hands and cast a spell, any spell! But her body refused to move, she was paralyzed and her vision was fading as the waking world slipped from her grasp.
"Quick, get the sigils while I draw the syphoning pentagram!" Menos hissed to Varthos, their blurry shapes moving rapidly around their tent. Their voices and the clattering of objects fading away into nothingness as the inky blackness consumed her.
Neraza would fight and claw against the darkness, her eyes fluttering open a few times to glimpse scenes of her former cohorts kneeling either side of her, chanting an ancient language and holding aloft a glowing orb in their left palm. Wisps of something were being drawn out of her, making her feel weaker and somehow heavier before the darkness claimed her again.
The next time she awoke she felt a pain between her thighs, deep in her core as something kept ramming at her insides. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she saw the grinning visage of Menos looming over her, grunting as he bucked and thrust his turgid length up inside her. Thankfully the darkness claimed her again within moments, only to be pushed away again as she snapped awake, trying to gasp for air, but unable to. Her eyes struggling to focus on the object before her, it looked brown and fuzzy. Then she felt it, something hard and thick was stretching her jaws painfully wide and blocking her throat. As her eyes rolled back into her skill she briefly caught a glimpse of Varthos grinning face staring down at her. Just before she passed out again, he pulled back just enough to let her breathe, but not before slapping her harshly across the cheek and jerking her head to the side.
"Wake up, bitch!" He snarled down at her. Pulling his cock from her mouth before tossing her up onto the bed. Neraza weakly raised a hand to draw a sigil in the air before her like she'd done countless times over the years, expecting the bear to disintegrate just like Captain Reynolds had. Instead he remained standing before her, nude and grinning while a large hand stroked his slick cock.
"Not so high and might now without your power" Menos said from somewhere above her, turning to look up at him sitting nude at the head of HER bed! Again she tried in vain to cast a spell at him, any spell, but nothing came. "You've squandered the Masters gift, Neraza. You've only been focusing on one worthless little Kingdom all these years. You don't deserve his power!" Menos snorted before painfully kicking her in the face, his hoof splitting her left cheek almost to the bone.
"Your power is ours now, so is this delectable body you've kept away from us all these years!" Varthos growled from behind her. Neraza feeling the bed shift and groan under the large bears weight. Her tail grabbed and roughly yanked up high before the bear brutally hilted himself beneath it. Neraza cried out at the flash of pain, but her cries where silenced by Menos gripping her by the ears and forcing her mouth down over his still hard length. For the next hour her torment would continue as the two large males took the wolfess in every way imaginable, until they got bored with her.
"What should we do with her now? Kill her?" Varthos asked Menos once he lay panting on Neraza's bed, his cock finally unable to rise to continue any further.
"I have a better idea..." Menos replied with a cruel grin as he began to wave his hands around, drawing symbols in the air while staring intently at the unconscious wolfess. Her form starting to lift from the ground, turning and bending over into a kneeling position with her tail raised high over her back and her muzzle opening as a silver ring formed just behind her fangs to keep her jaws open. A wooden box began to take shape around Neraza, sealing her inside with only her mouth and her rump exposed.
Shooting the bear a grin, Menos called for the Captain of the guard to come into their tent. Within moments the clattering of heavy armor was heard outside before a large battle scarred boars head poked through the flap to the tent.
"Dear Captain! You and your men have been working so tirelessly for us these last few months, Varthos and I decided to give you all a little treat this evening! Inside this box is this Kingdom's most voracious harlot, you and your men may use her as you see fit, but do not open the box, that is an order!" Menos expounded with a flurry, waving in the direction of the object in question. A grin spreading across the Captain's snout as he eyed the shapely rump exposed out one side of the box. Calling over two of his men to come help haul their entertainment from the tent.
3.
Well into the next morning the soldiers were still taking turns with the trapped harlot in the box, her fur so mattered and covered multitudes of climaxes from the men, it was hard to tell what the original color of her fur was. The stench of semen coating both the person inside the box as well as the box itself, so much so that the messenger from the Castle would wrinkle his nose at the sight and smell of it as he entered the tent to hand over the letter confirming the Kingdom's surrender.
"W...where is the wolfess?" The young page stammered upon entering the tent and seeing only the large bear and bull seated at a small table enjoying their breakfast.
"She's indisposed" Varthos grumbled around a mouthful of salty scented meat, seeming irritated by the interruption of his meal.
"She's inspecting the troops" Menos chipped in with a smirk as he held out a hand towards the page "I'll take that..." he started to say, but the young boy clutched the scroll to his chest and shook his head.
"I was...was told only to give it to the wolfess!" He tried to sound brave as he spoke up. Menos just sighed and snapped his fingers, in a split second the young page screamed as he erupted into a ball of flame, collapsing into a pile of ash on the carpet where he stood. The bull waving his fingers and willing the scroll into his hand. Breaking the royal seal he read across the proclamation with a grin.
"The Kingdom is ours! Next the world!" The bull snorted with satisfaction.
"Let's go see our new castle!" Varthos smirked, wiping his face with the tablecloth before rising to head from the tent with the bull to head into the city.
A few paces from the tent, a nervous looking young white wolf approached them, pointing back over his shoulder at the box. "I begon yer pardon me Lords, but the Cap'n asked me to fine out wha you wanted done with the 'arlot?"
After a brief annoyed glimpse between the bear and bull, Menos sneered at the youngster to just "Get rid of her, we have no need for her anymore!" before they continued down the stone road heading into the castle.
The young wolf nodded and headed back the way he came, waiting for the last of the men to finish with the harlot before he did as told. Hauling the box up onto a little wagon before dragging her away from the camp to dispose of her.
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4.
"So I says to the beaver, well damned if you do, damned if you don't!" The small fox said with a laugh up at his large travelling companion, laughing at his own joke. Meanwhile the large white bear barely cracked a smile.
"Lighten up won't ya, Frosty my man! For someone with such bright fur, you're a rather dark fella, aintcha!" The fox laughed again, elbowing the bear on the hip as they walked side by side along the riverbank.
Frosty suddenly stopped and squinted at something at the water's edge, pointing at a pile of debris collected against a rock. His other hand grabbing the fox by the head and physically turning him to look where he was pointing.
"What'sa matter Frosty, finally found your sense of humor?" Seemingly the fox was the only one that found this funny as he laughed at himself again. Frosty rolled his eyes in exasperation and made his way down the bank into the shallow water where the pile of debris bobbed in the gurgling rivers edge. Pushing aside planks and other detritus, the bear leaned down to scoop up something from the water. The fox couldn't quite make it out from the short distance, but when the bear got close enough he could see it was a snow white canine of some sort, not a stitch of clothing on her.
"Trust you to find a woman in a lake, couldn't find a sword that'd get us a kingdom, no...gots to fish out a drowned mutt from the river" The fox scoffed up at the bear whom raised the canines muzzle up beside his ear to listen for signs of life. Satisfied that she was breathing, he shot the fox a hard stare and nodded down river towards their destination, a small town where they might be able to find help. Frosty cradled the limp nude form against himself, making sure to keep her tail tucked up between her legs and her chest against his to shield her away from the prying eyes of his companion.
"At least she's a looker, gotsta give you that one Frosty" the small fox commented as he tried to get a better look at her goods while the bear just rolled his eyes and sighed again, picking up the pace as he trotted off towards the little town, the small fox having to jog to keep up.
Arriving in the little town too small to bother with naming themselves, the unlikely pair made their way into the only building that looked big enough to pass as an Inn. They were lucky enough to find they could rent a room and the Innkeepers daughter had some basic medical knowledge and would help with the still unconscious canine. With the fox relegated to waiting downstairs and enjoying a mead, the Innkeepers daughter and Frosty tended to their patient, slowly and gently cleaning her fur and looking for any obvious signs of injury. Aside from a cut on her cheek, they couldn't find anything else wrong with her, no broken bones and no puncture marks anywhere on her body to explain her current state.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if she wakes up" the young tawny colored feline said as she gently patted Frosty's hand. Leaving the large bear sitting beside the unconscious canine laying in the bed, he would watch over her throughout the night. Pressing a damp cloth to her forehead every time she stirred, or gently soothing her with low rumbles and brushing her arm as she seemed to be having bad dreams. The second day was much the same as the first, the ivory furred canine remained unconscious in the bed, but Frosty never left her side. His eyes glued to her face as he watched her eyes twitch and flutter behind her eyelids, her lips curl in a snarl or part in a panicked whimper.
Some point during the second night Frosty couldn't stay away any longer, leaning back against the wall he finally dozed off and fell asleep in his chair beside the canine, her hand gently clutched in his large mitt. Waking to the sounds of the birds chirping outside, the white ursine would lick his chops and flex his aching jaw, apparently having slept slack jawed the entire night. Feeling a slight squeeze in his hand, he peered down and saw the canines fingers flex in his grasp. His gaze slowly raising, following her graceful arm, up to her shoulder and her parted lips. His eyes meeting her crystalline blue eyes as she sat staring back at him, panting nervously as her other hand clutched the bed sheet to her chest.
"Oh, she's awake..." A female voice stated from the doorway, both the canine and bear turning to see the young tawny feline standing with a tray of food for breakfast. Setting the tray down on a small table, the feline smiled reassuringly at the canine before sitting beside her on the bed, leaning in close to inspect her for any lingering injuries. "Well, you look to be in good health, all things considered" was her final declaration before letting the rooms occupants dig into their breakfast. Frosty despite his size would only eat an apple as he saw how the canine scoffed her food down like she hadn't eaten in days. Sitting back beside the young feline, they'd wait for the ivory canine to get her fill before starting to question her.
After a rather fruitless interrogation, the tawny feline declared that the canine appeared to be suffering from amnesia. The only thing she thought she could remember that her name might have been Zerana, but seeing as they had no way of confirming this, that's what they would call her for now. They'd also located some clothing for Zerana to wear, a pair of ill-fitting and baggy pants, along with an even baggier tunic. Much to the fox's disgust as he thought it was a crime to hide those curves he'd barely gotten a peek at the day they found her. His comments making Zerana blush visibly beneath her fur, her arms folding to cover her breasts from the foxes lustful stare at them, though she would smile at Frosty as he shot the fox a withering glare that sent him scampering from the room with his tail between his legs.
The next couple of days were spent building Zerana's strength back up, not sure how long she'd been unconscious for, her limbs felt weaker than straw. But after a few decent meals, or as decent as they got in these dark times, Zerana would be on her feet and stumbling around the Inn and getting to know people. Sadly no one seemed to know a thing about her, as much as she tried to find some glimmer of information about whom she was or where she might've come from, even passing travelers offered no insight. It seemed her past was as blank as Frosty's vocabulary, Zerana noted one night while sharing a meal with her only friend, the mute large white bear.
Later that evening in bed as Zerana was skirting the edge of her troubled dreams, she heard the screams and shouts of people she didn't know. Smelling the acrid smoke of houses on fire, her ears twitching as they focused on something not in her dreams. The angry voices were coming from downstairs, the smoke wasn't in her dreams! Sitting upright in her bed she heard the Innkeeper arguing with someone, someone demanding money. Money that he didn't have so...so they were going to burn this place down? Zerana frowned, wondering why someone would do such a thing. Slipping from her bed in nothing but her tunic, she curiously made her way downstairs and stopped at the landing facing the open room. Her paws clasping over her muzzle as she witnessed a large beast of a man with curved tusks hoisting the Innkeeper off his feet into the air before sinking a sword through his gut and up into his chest. Blood gurgling from the struggling felines open mouth before he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor into a lifeless pile.
"Kill the girl and burn this heap to the ground...I'll take care of that one" The pig snorted as he licked his lips spying the partially dressed ivory canine standing trembling at the foot of the stairs. Zerana turned on her heel and bolted up the stairs, slamming the door to their room shut and waking the slumbering Frosty with a snort.
"Men...downstairs...killed Innkeeper...coming..." She stammered in a panic as she tried to crawl into a ball in the corner of the bed farthest from the door. The large white bear was on his feet in an instant, standing ready for whatever was about to come through that door.
"Come out, come out where ever you are little girl!" The pig called menacingly from the opposite side of the door, which suddenly burst open to reveal a large angry bear. The pig never had time to register his mistake as two large hands clapped down hard either side of his head and began to squeeze, thumbs digging into and through his eyeballs until with a sickening crunch his skull caved in. With a low growl Frosty stormed out of the room and headed towards the stairs as Zerana called out from behind him "Wait! They'll kill you!" When Frosty didn't return, Zerana quickly left from her bed and dashed after him.
Downstairs there was no sign of the Innkeepers daughter or the other soldier, only the lifeless body of the Innkeeper laying in a pool of his own blood. Zerana caught up to Frosty and clutched to his arm, following close by as they stepped outside to the small town on fire and the few townsfolk living there being murdered by more soldiers.
"Zerana! Help!" came a cry off to their left, both Frosty and Zerana whirling around to face the direction the panicked cry came for. The Innkeepers daughter was struggling against the soldier gripping her wrist as he battled to unsheathe his sword. The large bear growled as he made for them, only to be tackled to the ground by more soldiers, roaring in pain as one of them managed to stab him in the shoulder with a dagger.
Zerana whimpered as she spun around, watching the killing and fires burning, screams of agony from her memory starting to overwhelm her. Someone calling her name cut through all that, opening her crystalline eyes again she saw Frosty fighting off the soldiers, red starting to stain various parts of him as a few of them managed to land blows with their blades on him. Looking past him she saw the soldier gripping the Innkeepers daughters' wrist finally unsheathe his sword and raise it high over his head, preparing to strike. As his arm swung low, a single word would be heard, loud and booming as it sent shockwaves out around its source.
"STOP!" Zerana yelled as she clenched her fists into balls and collapsed to her knees. Shockwaves emanated out around her, washing through the soldiers whom turned to dust where they stood. Frosty and a bewildered tawny feline girl struggling against thin air suddenly, sitting upright and looking around in confusion. It was as if the soldiers had never existed, puffs of dust being blown away in the air as Frosty got to his feet and stumbled over to the young feline to make sure she was okay. Both of them looking over to where Zerana knelt trembling and sobbing, her arms wrapped about herself as she rocked back and forth.
5.
"Blimey, I leaves you lot alone for one day and you burn down the bloomin town!" the fox yelled as he walked into the Inn the next morning. The looks of the remaining three survivors however so dire they even managed to shut him up for once. Deciding it was best to make a hasty retreat after discussing the events of the night, they feared what might happen if they were found alive in a town that was meant to be burned to the ground by the Black Army. Packing only what supplied they could carry, the four travelers set out with no real destination other than "far away" in mind to put some distance between themselves and the town.
"She...she really evaporated all them men...with just a single word?" The fox asked the young tawny feline with disbelief.
"Yeah, she saved me. She saved all of us" The feline noted with finality.
"With power like that, maybe she could take on the Black Queen I reckon"
"No, she's not a fighter. You didn't see what it did to her, how broken she was after..." A look of concern on the felines face as she stared after the white wolfess ahead whom was almost clinging to Frosty's one good arm like a child.
"I'm Dindy by the way, don't think Frosty introduced us" the fox offered with a smile as he tried to lighten the mood.
"Nice to meet you, Dindy. I'm Indira, our new white wolfess up ahead is Zerana" Indira noted with a nod at the pair up ahead.
"Wolfess you say? Don't look like no wolfess I ever done seen" Dindy noted matter of factly.