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The Black Road

Chapter 1 - Law

Altamos Law: Those who do not consume meat shall always outnumber those who do. Those who consume meat shall only consume the latter who have passed. Allowing for peace to reign.

"Yeah right" I huffed to myself. Rolling my eyes at the professor lecturing at the front of class. We've all heard this bullshit since we were in kindergarten. Herbivores and carnivores are essentially different, that's the long and short of it. These old laws and stuff all went out 200 years ago. We've got meat substitutes, protein powder, healthy crap to keep the peace now. Looking around the room everyone looked just as enthused as I was. Staring blankly at the dry erase board covered in writing.

Glancing down the professor he even let out a soft yawn under his breath. The old elephant looked pretty good for his age. A streak of grey shooting across his messy brown hair. His trunk writing as he pushed his glasses back up. "Can anyone answer the question I asked from yesterday?" He asked suddenly. Everyone quickly moved and looked like deer in headlights. I didn't even remember what he asked.

Narrowing his eyes, he sighed and turned around. Setting the chalk down as he adjusted his polo shirt against his muscle gut. "I asked, why was Altamos Law being instigated in the early bronze age such a important part of history?" He pulled his glasses off. Rubbing them with a small cloth from his desk. Nobody really raised their hands but to hell with it. My hand moved up a little and the professor eyes moved to me. "Yes mister?" He asked softly.

"Derik, sir." I pointed out to him. "Mr. Derik tell us." He put his glasses back on.

"Well, if Altamos hadn't introduced his law so early in history aggressions between early carnivores and herbivores would have gotten worse." I gave the text book answer I had read. "Close but not exactly correct, you see if you remember our discussion yesterday Altamos pronounced his law when he found a carnivore village. The village had devoured all the surrounded herbivore villages and we're dangerously low on food. He found carnivores had begun eating each other. You see if Altamos hadn't proclaimed his law many early carnivore societies may have run into this same fate. Destroying many histories, we now study." He pointed out so matter of fact. There was a soft rumble around the room. It seemed to raise from a small group of women near the left wall.

"You really don't expect us to believe that do you? I mean we're just supposed to think if this law hadn't been implemented that carnivores would just have eaten everything till they killed everyone?" Some little tigress popped her chewing gum. Her hair dyed multiple colors as she sat back looking so smugly. "No I'm not assuming that at all, but the few census' we have from that era showed herbivores in major decline with many species rendered extinct by that era show that there was a major problem on the way, maybe it was one carnivore seeing a problem and fixing it before it became an issue." The professor responded to her so calmly. She huffed and sunk down in her chair allowing me to let out a soft chuckle.

"Now before class is over, remember to read chapter 8 and 9 before Monday and finish your assignment on redacted laws." The professor laughed a little just a few seconds before the clock chimed. The ruckus of everyone collecting their items and leaving soon filled the room. I let out a soft whimper as I stretched out. I hated reading chapters on the weekends. Between practice and all my other classes it always ate up most of my time. Getting up I popped my neck with a soft sigh. My canine body slipping easily from the seat.

I headed towards the exit with a soft growl. "Mr. Derik can I have a word." I heard from behind me suddenly. Looking back my bright wolf eyes met my professor. He smiled at me from his desk and motioned me over. "Yes sir?" I turned and walked back towards him. "I know you were talking to a few people earlier about looking for some quick cash." He asked putting his laptop away. "Oh yeah I just wanted some spending cash for spring break." I nodded. I had been talking to a few of my football buddies earlier about spring break. We were heading down to a party beach and some quick cash would go a long way to pay for booze. "Well if you know how to hand out drinks on a tray I have a formal event I'm attending tomorrow night. It's always looking for servers to just walk around and hand out booze." He smiled over at me.

"How much?" I asked.

"1000 bucks for 3 hours." He spoke. My eyes went wide and my grey and black fur stood on edge.

"1000?! For serving drinks? Shit yeah! Oh I mean yeah sure! Um do I need to dress up or anything?" I was a bit flabbergasted. "Oh no just come here, they'll give you a uniform and you don't need to worry about anything. Expect being on your best behavior." He handed me a small piece of paper. Looking down I read the address out to myself quietly. I knew this place it was someone in the city. Some high-end club near the west side. With a soft gulp I looked back up and he was already gone. I was suddenly alone in the room making myself a little uncomfortable. I rushed out after with only the idea of dollar signs circling my mind.

I found myself at practice shortly after. The crunching of shoulder pads and helmet clattering filled the field. I was only at college because of my high school football carrier. My brain wasn't exactly my best attribute. A lot of coaches said the fact I'm built like a brick wall makes me more than useful. Smiling wide I loved the sport. Just pure alpha male testosterone beating the hell out of other guys. This was the best stress relief I could imagine. Only the idea of all the hotties I was gonna meet at the beach. Just me and the bros cruising up and down the beach hitting on every hot single lady we met. That 1000 dollars would pay for a lot of drinks to get them wasted.

I got lost in my thoughts again and suddenly someone across from me plowed into me. The big polar bear slammed into me hard, knocking me to the ground with a loud sudden thunk. "Oh damn, I'm sorry bro!" He got up quickly off of me. I let out a grunt as I shook off the birds flying around my head. "Heh no problem, my head wasn't in the game." I laughed a little. He reached his big paw down and I grabbed it. With a yank he suddenly lifted me up onto my feet. He patted my back and we got back into practice. I won't deny I checked him out a little as he did. Big, bulky, strong, powerful... wait. Nah I'm not gay it's just you know a guy can check out another guy. I mean he did have a nice ass even if it was crammed into his pants. Yeah, I'm not gay it's just knowing what makes a guy hot.

Anyway after practice I crashed back at my dorm. Everything was lining up for a great spring break. At least that what I hoped for. The next day was pretty uneventful. I just caught a ride into the city and had a friend drop me off. It only took a few hours to find the place. Some big skyscraper towering up into the sky. A small corner at the buildings base was concaved out where the main entrance sat. A large modern statue/fountain sat just outside the concrete and granite entrance. Catering trucks sat just down the street carrying boxes and trays inside a side entrance. Two apes rolled a nice red carpet out to the valet station.

This was some expensive shindig, no wonder it paid so much for a server. Walking across the busy street I made my way to the entrance. Entering the tall open atrium of the building my toe claws clacked on the marble floor. The offices above us were completely empty. A big collection of orb lights hanging high above. Seeing a small group of other people all standing around the far glass elevators. They all wore normal clothes and looked as lost as I did. As I approached a few of them nodded to me.

"Hey this the place for the server job?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, that's why I'm here." A jackal answered me.

"Yeah I'm here for that too." A short lizard spoke next to him.

"Cool must be in the right place." I let a little sigh of relief to have found the right place. We all mingled for a second before someone stepped out from the nearby door. An older goat approached us with a knowing look. "If you boys are here for the server position follow me." He yelled over the group of us. He immediately drew everyone attention and we all followed. Heading up a stairwell in the atrium we went to the third floor. The glass elevator opened at the far side of the hall where the stairs ended. A velvet rope extended across the staircase to show it's a no entry way. Down the hall from the elevators stood two sets of massive wooden doors. "Alright boys and girls this is the main entrance, Guest will take the elevator from downstairs to the main hall. Once there in the main hall your job is gonna be to serve drinks, food, whatever they need got it? If they ask for something you ain't got you find whoever has it and direct them, understood?" He spoke very plainly. He was used to giving orders and everyone in the group nodded. He lifted the velvet rope and led us across the hall to a large door. Opening the door, we found we were in the servers' quarters. The elegant glass and stone were suddenly changed to tile and chrome. Here lockers lined the walls for everyone to put their things. A few racks of uniforms still in their dry-cleaning plastic.

"Find your size and get changed we're all adults no one cares what your underoos look like, if your bashful head to the bathrooms to the left." He ordered. The group quickly split apart heading over to the racks. Pushing through the few I found one my size and lifted it up. It was pretty basic service stuff. I saw people wearing stuff like this at a casino once. A white shirt, black khakis, black vest, and a bowtie. Everything seemed pretty straight forward. Everyone spread out from there to the lockers. Opening them with loud clacks and twangs we soon became the rustling of clothes. I was pretty used to this from practice. Just shedding off my cloths pretty quickly and tossing them in a locker. Sliding on the shirt and vest I moved to my pants. Pulling my jeans off I got a few stares from girls and guys as I stood there. I was the only guy in a jock. My bubble butt completely exposed as the pouch clutched my sheath. I felt a bit of red hit my face under my fur. I worked quickly to put on the pants so the stares would stop.

We were all soon dressed and ready, putting on the little clip-on bowties that made us all look professional. I smiled as the goat nodded. He soon showed us the ropes. Showing us how to carry the trays, where to go for refills, the menu so we can tell everyone what we're offering. We all looked pretty clueless. Obviously, none of us had been in the service industry before. In fact, none of us looked older than 25. I took a second and let my eyes wander around some. Looking at the group seeing everyone watching so intently. We were all young, relatively attractive, and carnivores. Except for the old goat at the head of the room. Every single person in the group would be considered a carnivore. It was weird but I just chalked it up to coincidence. We were soon led into the kitchens which were already in prep mode. Getting trays ready, glasses filled, and other necessities prepared.

Just outside the room we could hear the music starting up. The sounds of the bartenders finishing their set ups on the bar. An odd scent of tobacco and cherry wood from a professional humidor being set up. I could only imagine who would be at this party. Some of these wines I had never seen before. Still in their crates surrounded by straw. Just one of them was probably worth more than my college education. The goat suddenly stepped up to each one of us pointing at a tray. Telling us that whatever's on that plate is our responsibility for the rest of the night. Once he got to me. He handed me a small silver tray with six tall champagne glasses. "You're running Champagne kid, keep an eye around you and don't bump into anyone. Keep six glasses on the tray, anymore and they'll fall and if you don't want to pay for a 10 grand dress then keep it to six." He ordered me. I could only nod and lifted the tray.

I stepped out into the hall. It had only been a few hours of quick training but the room was quickly filling. The center of the room was open beneath a large chandelier filling with mingling crowds of extremely well-dressed couples. The sides of the room had large leather lounge seating. Tables, chairs and seats already filling with people. The bar sat directly to the left of the entrance. Across from it a large cigar vendor offering expensive stogies. All this led to a large stage at the far end of the room. Currently having a small band playing some soft jazz music to match the atmosphere.

Gulping I started my way out. My and the others all walking out into the building crowd. My tray quickly emptied leaving me to retreat to the backroom. Upon returning there were even more people that when I left. It was like a mad house leaving me to make quite a few trips before I could make one good pass with most of my glasses intact. I took my time while everyone seemed to have a drink. Looking around the crowds I made sure not to meet anyone's eyes. Most of these people were actors, actresses, politicians, CEOs etc. I recognized a lot of them from TV, hell even a few of them were from my favorite movies. Everything was tight suits, elegant dresses, powerful men, and beautiful women, I was completely out of place.

"Mr. Derik?" A familiar voice cut through the room. I turned seeing my professor standing at the edge of the crowd. Holding a glass of wine and a large cigar. The tip of the cigar burning softly as he took a nice long drag. A tight green tweed jacket hugged his large fatherly form. "Oh hey professor... Um I don't know who you hang out with but this is one hell of a party." I smiled lowering my tray a little. "Oh this isn't even the fun part yet Mr. Derik." He smiled and chuckled. Looking down at the shorter male I felt his eyes wander. Something started to wash over me, something deep inside my stomach told me something wasn't right in this.

The room went soft as the guards at the doors proceeded to shut the entrance. Stopping everyone from leaving. With a soft gulp I felt the professors hand come to my shoulder. "Hey relax, it's all part of the fun, this is a private affair and no need for the press outside to see anything." He reassured me. I did feel better with his hand on my shoulder. "Tell me what you see." He asked me. I looked back at him, I didn't know what he was talking about. However, taking a second to look around I did start to take it in.

Most of the room was herbivores. All of these big powerful men and women were herbivores. Yet all their dates I didn't recognize were carnivores. "Um is this some herbivore only party?" I let out a small uncomfortable chuckle. "You could say that." He smiled and a hush came over the room. The lights suddenly dimmed and at the main stage lit up. The band stepped away and a tall slender white rabbit walked up to the microphone. I had seen him in plenty of movies. He was an A list actor and I couldn't help but stare in a little star struck. "Hello everyone, good evening." He spoke with a cool clear tone over everyone. "Welcome to the Habreon Society Annual Dinner, It is my pleasure to introduce your host. Mister Andreas Darkserpent the head of our organization." He brought his hands up. Clapping softly as a new figure stepped out from the side of the stage.

He was tall, dark, and made my tail coil down between my legs. With a gulp each step he took let out a loud heavy clack. His hooves sounded like they broke the stage floor. I wasn't the only one to react to the completely ebony bull making his way from backstage. Every carnivore in the room shuddered a little from just his footsteps. Coming to a stop he lifted a cigar to his lips. Taking a long toke before letting the smoke burst from his nostrils. His horns curled upward as two ivory spires from the ashen black body. The one thing that stood out so prominently from him was his eyes. Each one was a ghostly blue as they stared back at the crowd. It felt like he was staring into each of us and planning on how to take us apart.

"Good evening friends, colleagues, and others of our society." He spoke in a deep calm voice. It reverberated in the ears. Each word making my fur stand on end as he tapped the ash from his cigar. His pin stripe suit clinging to his large imposing body as grabbed the mic from the stand. "It's been another year, and from what I can tell our secret has held even firmer as we all have worked our ways on the system everyone so desperately clings to... To start us off we begin with a moment of silence to recognize the ancient lord Altamos and his wisdom." He spoke. Something clicked in my brain a little. Maybe the professor invited me because this had something to do with what he was teaching. After a moment of silence, he continued.

"And of course, to our founder; Altamos' general, Lord Habreon." A soft round of applause came from the crowd.

"Who in his infinite wisdom murdered his king to put into place the law that has moved our hands since time in memorial, and of course we all know but for our young new recruits let us remind them." He stopped and the crowd suddenly spoke with him. Speaking as one their voices drowned out any thought. "Those who consume meat shall be kept uneducated, dependent, and subservient for their own protection." They spoke. I shivered at those words. I had never heard that but the idea of it was terrifying. I was suddenly trapped in a room with herbivores who thought I was beneath them. The professor gripped my shoulder a bit. "Easy boy, just listen and keep your mouth shut." He whispered softly and patted my back. I didn't move, I was too afraid to since I didn't know what they were doing to do.

"Now not to offend all the lovely creatures who accompanied us tonight, we do not think the carnivore is stupid do we?" He smirked.

"No!" the crowd screamed.

"Do we think they are useless?" He continued.

"No!" They cried in response.

"Of course! All carnivores serve their purpose. To serve... to be kept under foot and hoof. To be seen and not heard. Like diamonds they stand as guards, as soldiers, and as playthings for their protectors... as without us... without the advancement herbivores have made for them... they would still be waiting outside of funeral houses to bid on the bodies of our fallen in hopes of getting a mouthful of food." He spoke so clearly. The room leaned into every word he spoke. Even the carnivores around the room seemed to hang on every syllable.

"200 years ago this company produced the first protein alternative, allowing carnivores to be free of their needs for meat. But with this came what?" He slowly began to pace along the stage. Every eye in the room clung to him tightly. "War!" someone suddenly shouted out from the front of the crowd. "The great war of 1810, fought between two carnivore nations over what? Farming rights that belong to a kingdom not within their borders!" His voice became louder. Speaking clearly with engaged enthusiasm that kept everyone attuned.

"So our lovely friends from the east introduced those kingdoms to their little friend called opium. Calmed the mind and body making them complacent and ending the bloodshed, of course this didn't end the wars did it? Of course not, 18 wars waged between armies, nations, blood and bodies wasted all because carnivores lost the need to hunt, the need to consume, the need to survive... they are killing machines without a purpose, so we gave them one... with one hand we offer them education, improved policies, and peace and with the other we suppress everything that makes them carnivores." He chuckled and stepped back. From the side of the stage a tall Liger walked towards him. His towering muscular form crammed into a soft tan suit. A mane of red with black and gold highlights surrounding his face. His yellow eyes never leaving the bull as he held up a box for him.

Reaching into the box the bull lifted a sealed vial. Completely full of a thin yellow dust as he turned holding it to the light. The room stared in awe and I noticed the carnivores began to change their demeanor. They became weak at the knees as they stared forward. "Aurea Pulveris Orchis, the Gold Dust Orchid... or as the farmers who grow them call it, Carnivore Bane. A powder derived from the dried leaves suppresses the natural instincts of carnivore's bloodlust, without this the alternative proteins we've produced for the past 100 years would never have led to this near perfect peace. In high doses it leads to euphoria and compliance among other things in carnivores. This single vial could render every carnivore in this city completely useless for the next 48 hours." He smiled.

Raising his hand he crushed the glass in his palm softly. Then opening he blew the thin pale gold dust across the crowd. It traveled far and fast with the air conditioning keeping the room cool. Wisping around to every edge of the party. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, it faded to black.