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The Beastridden: Heirarchy of Rage

The Great East Lake, 2 Months before the Rite of Carnage-

Early morning

"Jaar, son, wake up..." A rotund wolf in a light robe said, as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder and gently shook it. His son, a brown-furred wolf, roused gently and blinked.

"Mornin' Pa..." the wolf muttered.

"Today is the day, are ya ready?" he asked, and his son groaned as he shifted to sit upright.

"Ah will be... Ah hope so." Jaar said.

"Just trust your training son, you'll succeed!" his father said, beaming with a grin.

Another wolf entered, with glossy black fur, with a white underbelly.

"Howdy Uncle, cos!" he said cheerfully, crossing his arms and then bouncing around.

"Today, today!" he said, and his uncle joined in.

"Cajo's right son! Ya've been trying real hard and we're so impressed with your improvements!" his father said, ushering him out of his woven reed cot bed.

"Now hurry, your ma is making your favorite for breakfast: egg-drop stew!"

Cajo's ears perked as he heard his uncle's proclamation, turning to leave while looking over his shoulder.

"If ya don't hurry, Ah'll eat it all..." Cajo said, with a short wag of his bushy tail.

The lycanthrope named Jaar sighed, then sat up, the clamoring too much for him, having just been roused from his slumber.

"Alright already... Ah'm comin'." Jaar said, twisting at the waist before he even put his feet on the ground.

***

The Great East Lake was home to many who'd fled war in generations past, and the abundance of life the lake provided ensured those that lived there a peaceful coexistence.

Jaar's family, and many more tribes of zooanthropes all collaborated with the lake to create an ecosystem that produced a love of life. They all dined on fish and vegetables, slowly changing how they lived to harm none.

Each family helped fish and lent their skills for the benefit of the collective, and Jaar was no exception, using his slim frame to help patch the thatch-bundle roofs, or running down land game. He was his family's pride.

After he found his way outside, a large group of his fellow villagers greeted him with cheer that made him smile.

"There's my boy!" his father shouted, and the crowd surrounded him, a few bigger forms hoisted him up by his waist and carried him to the center of their settlement, where Cajo was waiting with crossed arms.

The crowd lowered Jaar to the ground, and Cajo then extended an arm to another simple building, the village mess hall.

"Either ya eat first, or after!" he said, slowly rolling his neck. Jaar shrugged: most days he just let his versatility serve him. Experience told him to avoid strenuous activity on a full stomach.

"Nah, coz." Jaar said simply, and with a grin, his cousin took a step to launch a quick jab that Jaar avoided with a turn of his upper body, and spreading his legs he countered with a hard shoulder that Cajo palmed back. Jaar went with the rotation to deliver a right hook that his cousin dodged, following up with a backfist with his left that Cajo caught. The surrounding crowd cheered, and Cajo calmed them down after he released his cousin's hard fist.

"He's eager ain't he?" Cajo hooted, and the crowd murmured an applause.

Jaar rolled his shoulders and drew his fists up in anticipation, and his cousin giggled with excitement.

"Unless ya fight at a higher level yer not gonna win!" Cajo said with a point, but his smile never lost its light.

"A higher level... Aight..." Jaar said, planting a foot and raising a knee high. Cajo's eyes grew wide as he recognized his cousin's intent.

"Come at me, cos." Jaar said, and Cajo rushed in, bubbling with excitement. The duotone wolf threw a jab that his cousin countered by aiming his heel over Cajo's shoulder in a kick. Cajo stopped short and ducked, the heel flying off to his left and advanced, when his cousin, still perched on one leg, backflipped to launch his rooted foot at his cousin's chin. Cajo balked in shock of the offensive, dropping to roll backwards as the blow arced over and away, as Jaar landed on it with his right leg still outstretched.

Cajo stopped, totally frozen. His eyes were full discs of surprise, even the audience was silent.

"G-Goddam!" Cajo shouted. Jaar drew his fists up once again, planting both feet.

"Want some more?" Jaar said, and Cajo immediately drew his hands up.

"OH HELL NO! Ah mean, haha Ah wasn't expectin' that, and Ah MEAN that! Ya've really gotten better!" Jaar lowered his hands as he heard, and Cajo began to clap, followed by the rest of those present.

"Jaar, Ah don't know how to say this, but you used yer feet! Ain't none of us carried our title that way! Cajo said, and the crowd quieted.

"That said... Ah'm interested t'see how ya do it! Congratulations, to the newest Knuckle of our homeland's fist!" Cajo said, and Jaar's ears lifted as he processed what his cousin had told him. He had succeeded, he passed his test. Now, he was a warrior.

***

Later that night...

There was excessive celebration; the carolling villagers all dragged Knuckle one way or another, to toast him with craft ciders, or feed him with meals he loved. Hours had passed since sunset and he found himself under the stars and crescent moon in the cool night air.

He sat near a bundle of thatching, his head swimming from the variety of ciders he tried and the satisfaction of a full stomach.

"Hot damn... Ah'm...a Knuckle now!" he said, grinning from the excitement of the day.

Shortly after, Cajo found him and sat by him, an arm over his shoulder.

"How d'ya like it?" Cajo asked his cousin and Knuckle nodded tipsily.

"It's all... All Ah ever wanted!" he said, cheer highlighting his eyes and cheeks.

"Ya think ya can handle more, or do ya wanna go to bed?" Cajo asked. Knuckle sat still for a moment, then stood with a sway that Cajo followed to steady him.

"Bed sounds good..." Knuckle said with a drunken smile.

"Let's get you to bed then." Cajo said.

As the two wolves began to walk away, clouds had gathered from nowhere, and released a single rumbling peal of thunder. Cajo stopped to look, turning to see the dark cloud seem to draw in the moon and starlight.

"Huh?" he asked, and Knuckle turned to see for himself.

The cloud let a seething ball of light fall from it, and Cajo felt a surge of anxiety as he saw the event.

The ball of light swirled to a stop on the ground, then charged toward them with the snarl of a predator.

"Wha-" Knuckle grunted, and when the ball of light approached them, Knuckle shoved his cousin aside, and turned his body to throw a hard kick to the phenom, drunkenly attacking the unknown matter.

The ball of light dove for it's target, landing on Knuckle's groin with a bundle of claws and teeth that tore into him, each fang and claw burning into a black mark that rang with cleansing agony.

"Aaa-AAAAAAAARGH!!" Knuckle screamed as the light burned with the sensation of an undying flame within him as the energy spread throughout his body. He collapsed to his knees, holding his groin with tears in his eyes, his teeth bared.

Cajo sat up as he could see what fate had befallen his cousin; arcs of vicious energy briefly leapt from his body and burned into the surroundings.

"C-cos??" Cajo asked, and Knuckle groaned hard as he found his feet.

"Ugh..." the brown wolf panted, until he stopped.

"What... happened to ya?" Cajo asked fearfully.

"Ah... Ah don't know..." he said, rubbing his head as he realized he was completely sober, and a little hungrier.

"Whoa!" Knuckle cried as he noticed his arm had doubled in size, and how big his bicep was.

"Knuck, yer shredded!" Cajo said, as he stood up to look his cousin over. Checking himself out Knuckle noticed that he was bigger all over. His chest, shoulders, legs and rear, his torso, even his back and feet coursed with strength.

"Whoa..." the wolves both said, with Cajo touching one of Knuckle's arms. The brown wolf reflexively lifted it and flexed it for his cousin.

"W-wow, cos..." Cajo whispered, his throat dry as he found the sight deeply indulgent. He watched his cousin check every muscle he could feel, even when his hands dipped into his trunks to check his junk.

"Whatcha got?" Cajo asked, and his cousin smirked with sport.

"Let's see..!" he said, pulling his shorts down to reveal his enlarged balls and manhood. As they both looked, Jaar's scrotum glowed with a series of runes arranged in a circle, and a bite mark.

"Lucky!" Cajo cried out, urged to extend his hand and feel for himself, which made Knuckle shudder.

"C-cos, we said we.. wouldn't no more once we grew up..." Knuckle said with a gulp, as Cajo tenderly observed and checked his cousin over.

"Don't worry, Ah just... Wow..." cajo gasped as Knuckle released his shaft, which began to throb in Cajo's hands.

"What a shaft, cos..." Cajo said breathlessly.

Knuckle began to pant, the sensation too good to resist as Cajo then began to lick and suck his cousin's member.

"O-oooh, fuck..." Knuckle panted, his big arm flexed as his hand crushed into a beam above.

Cajo was moaning out as he compulsively fellates his cousin, who in turn released his unease and went along with the treatment, until...

"SON, CAJO, WHAT?!" Knuckle's father shouted at the scene before him. His nephew and...

"Son, what happened to ya!?" he asked, while they scrambled to separate, and for Jaar to pull his own shorts up.

"AW SHIT, PAW!!" he exclaimed, shock and guilt weighing his head down.

"What is goin on here son, we heard you scream!" Jaar's mother asked, and to Cajo and Jaar's terror many of the villagers and their neighbors were there to lend support to their newest guardian.

"Son, you're both males, and you're family! And Cajo, would your dearly departed folks wanna see you like this??" Jaar's father despaired, and more of those that arrived began to murmur.

"Paw, please, Ah- No son! This is such a disgrace to us! Living like you and your cousin ain't how we survived all this time!" his father said, and Knuckle shook his head in shame and disappointment before he retreated a step, then took off in a sprint that no one realized even happened.

"Coz! Coz, wait!" Cajo shouted with sorrow into the darkness, into the fading dust cloud his cousin left behind him.

***

Present Day-

"Boss! Boss, wake up! Boss!" Futoranda cried, shaking Senryul until the hybrid master awoke with a startle.

"GAH!" Senryul shouted, then sat up. His upper robe was in shreds, and as he remembered...

"Where are the boys?" he asked, concerned for his son. The bear only shook his head, and Senryul looked around to see the area he was in.

The hybrid was amongst rubble along the lip of a crater that could become a decent pond in future days. He found he had retained the grip of his sword, the edge of which was mildly marred, but missing it's fang-like tip just five inches down.

"Where is the otter!?" Senryul exclaimed.

The bear again shook his head.

"Boss, I only found you. Did you see who did this??" Futo asked, and Senryul scowled.

"Yes. A new player. One with a power I've not seen...heard before." the master said, taking his footing and sheathing his damaged sword "Sunderer" standardly.

"What of Dzuruuk and Taurem?" the hybrid asked the bear.

"They said they would be here boss, but..." the bear began.

"But?" Senryul continued, turning to face the bear.

"On the way here, I saw... They were with your enemy, that wolf. They destroyed your troops boss... You're on your own." Futo said, unsure of his master's reaction.

To his surprise, Senryul turned and stepped away.

"Now there is space for my ambitions to grow." he said, turning back to the bear, kneeling with him.

Futo gulped when his master put a hand on his shoulder.

"'Randa, I recognize you now, as a Beastridden of the greatest danger." Senryul canted, and a steepled crown of crackling electricity burst into existence above the bear's head. Stunned with the concussion of energy the bear lied there while his master looked around.

The bear heaved, wide-eyed as his power ventured and explored the connection to the greater whole.

"I will create a new Council, in MY image. For my son...and my designs." Senryul said, pulling his sheathed sword from his belt, the embers of rage silently dancing in his eyes.

"Shiriya must know." Senryul began, with a hard swallow. Looking to the sky to learn the direction of his mate, he rocketed away with a Beastridden sprint.

"Boss..." Futo said with a sad sniff, as he watched his master run.

***

-The Rite of Carnage, 7:06 pm-

Cajo sat against the wall of the makeshift shelter a pocket of surviving guard built as the many Beastridden destroyed Hornstrel.

Having lost his hand and most of his power he was left with little option other than to wait, and worry.

"Message!" the armadillo shouted as he joined his fellow soldiers. The mammoth took the letter and read it, passing it to the badger. All three began to re-don their armor in practiced sequence, and Cajo voiced his building curiosity.

"What's up?" he asked, his drawl strained with weakness.

"Another group of us has intel: the one the others follow has left, after an anomaly." the badger said.

"What!?" Cajo cried, gripping his quivering stump.

"They saw your cousin with two others." the mammoth softly added, applying the whole of his armor.

"Take me to him.." Cajo started, groaning as he steadied himself in a kneeling position, then taking to his feet with a sharp exhalation.

The armadillo and badger both helped the wolf stand, with the mammoth approaching to look him in the eyes.

"We have a shrinking opportunity to regroup and mount an offensive." the mammoth began.

"We planned to let you go your own way, since YOU have a grasp on what's happening here." the woolly sergeant said, and Cajo's ears fell.

"Please?" the wolf said, small and broken.

"This is my fault anyway... Ah got our friend high on the idea of bein' with my cousin in the first place..." Cajo said, sorrow and the words themselves painting his tongue with a terrible flavor. The badger gripped Cajo's arm, wary of his wound, and jerked his face to his by his chin.

"Focus. If there's anything you can do for your family, concentrate on making this right then. However you can."

At this Cajo thought. Jonas was enamored with Knuckle, and despite a reality he couldn't handle, faced his fear with grace.

Cajo saw his friend's finest battle with his farsight, and saw how hard he fought before he fell.

"Knuck don't even know yet... He... We were gonna take little Jonas home so he wouldn't get hurt around us. Ah screwed that up cuz Ah was greedy...and horny..."

The three soldiers all silently consulted one another, then the mammoth motioned to the armadillo, who unsealed the portal with a wide swipe of his rocky claws.

The mammoth tackled the wall down to ready their route, and with a drilled finale, the badger ran off with Cajo over his shoulders.

The run was an impressive display of mundane stamina, and the badger was also accommodating enough to spare the injured wolf a rocky trip.

"I believe you." he said, and Cajo's ears perked.

"My family is safe, but they're hiding. I have to get them out before that guy comes back with more troops, and I would do anything to protect them so I need that level of strength." he said.

"What's yer name?" Cajo groaned.

"Corporal Urraz." he said, with a quick smile.

"You would have to fuck me. Or get fucked by another Beastridden." Cajo said flatly, and the badger was silent as they ran a few more yards.

"I take you to your cousin, then I screw your brains out. My wife and I are on a...thing right now, so I can get away with it." Urraz said. Cajo silently agreed, nodding over Urraz's shoulder.

"It ain't what you think it is..." Cajo whispered.

"I know that I could keep my family safe, if I was a Beastridden." Urraz said, as they rounded a few more alleyway corners to reveal Dzuruuk and Taurem standing amongst gore and viscera, towering over Knuckle.

The two fanged council members turned their heads to assess the new arrivals, and Dzuruuk smirked at Cajo, licking his icy lips. Knuckle's breathing calmed and he looked up, meeting his family's eyes. He was at first shocked to see his injured cousin, but relaxed when he saw the soldier carrying him, and relieved overall.

"Knuck..." Cajo began, already wary and carefully thinking his next words through.

Knuckle took one more deep breath.

"Yeah, coz." he said.

"You ain't found Jonas yet?" Cajo carefully asked, his voice cracking in his throat.

"Not yet. Ah just got a... boost from these two. This'll help me beat Senryul's head inside out." the brown wolf said, clenching his fists.

"We lost him, Knuck... Ah saw it..." Cajo said sorrowfully.

"What do you mean?" Knuckle asked, with a mild shake of his head.

"He got into it with Senryul. They threw down, too..." Cajo said with mounting fear, and a tremble in his tail.

"How the hell could Jonas "throw down" with Senryul?" Knuckle asked, his brow furrowing as it didn't make sense to him.

Dzuruuk and Taurem both began to smile evilly at the revelation, and Knuckle's question. Urraz set Cajo on his feet and backed away a bit, but nodded at the two-tone wolf.

As Cajo was about to speak, Dzuruuk stepped past Knuckle to look Cajo over, smiling dangerously.

"Jaar, how did YOU fight Senryul?" he asked, and Cajo gasped in horror.

"Ah could barely fight him with the power AH had! Beastridden, BARE MINIMUM!" he cried, then he stopped. Cajo gulped, and Taurem sighted Urraz and began to salivate, his massive member growing in instinct. His second set of arms sprouted from closer to his back, and Urraz shrieked in shock and fright.

"Are you sayin' Jonas was a Beastridden!?" Knuckle cried.

"How!? Did a shard find him?" Knuckle said, with growing fear of his friend's fate.

"Nah Knuck... After ya passed out, we...did our own thing..." Cajo confessed. His ears fell as he forced himself to look his beloved cousin in the eye, almost cringing. Dzuruuk's smile morphed into an open-mouthed scowl of joy, and his pupils scattered into many more along his eyeballs.

"You, you mean you..." Knuckle said, with a grunt of mounting frustration.

"You fucked him! Ah told you to leave him alone and you went and fucked him anyway! Why the fuckin hell was AH run off from our home when YOU get to do whatever the fuckin, goddam, hell you wanna do!" Knuckle shouted, his eyes watering in anger.

"Kn-nuck..." Cajo whimpered. Taurem released a crackling laugh.

"Puny muzzzle... Yooou wannnted to bury your speeear innn the small bite fiiirst buuut your blllood beat you tooo iiit... I TOO WOULD BE SO ENRAGED!" Taurem said, shifting from a strange mutter to a laughing jeer at the wolves, before returning his attention to the badger.

Knuckle grimaced at Taurem, then turned back to Cajo.

"So what then!? Where is Senryul!? Ah'm 'bout to- Our pockets of reconnaissance say he was attacked after that... unfortunate event. His son and squire are missing as a result. He has presently fled-" Knuckle grabbed Urraz by the armor and hoisted him, shaking him around.

"HE'S GOT OCEANS OF BLOOD ON HIS HANDS, AND HE CAN'T TAKE A LOSS!?" the wolf roared, setting the agitated badger back on his feet.

Urraz fell to his knees, dizzy and unsettled from the ease he was handled.

He placed his large claws on the ground and began to sob.

"MAKE ME A BEASTRIDDEN! PLEASE!" he shouted.

Dzuruuk and Taurem both angled their heads at him, and Taurem snarled as energy began to arc and leap from his chiseled form. With all four hands threateningly spread, he gulped and told Urraz

"You will not enjoy this!" to which Dzuruuk responded

"He might...".

Dzuruuk then knelt before Cajo who was shaken and fearful, on top of the disturbing and savage nature of the fanged council members.

"You're so bad, I love it." the white monster said, before he took Cajo's nape in his grip and gave him a frosty kiss that opened his eyes with shock. His bare stump of a wrist iced over a great deal, then shattered to show his hand had regrown.

"Oooh mama..." Cajo gasped, as his vitality was restored.

"We have a special place for all of this to be done." Dzuruuk said, dragging Cajo by the scruff of his neck, and Taurem pounced upon Urraz as the space around them decayed into a jagged hole.

"You're coming with me..." Dzuruuk said, and Taurem lifted the squirming Urraz above himself with a triumphant roar.

Dzuruuk turned to look over his shoulder at Knuckle, who was fuming to himself.

"Love or hate, Jaar. But... I get you might want to let your rage climb." he said, with a decidedly empathetic nod of his head.

The hole around the group closed and Knuckle found himself alone. He hissed a string of curses, and began to walk away, his thoughts fading to silence as he trudged on through the rubble.

*\ **** ***

That evening, 8:08 pm

Senryul's footsteps were silent as he walked back through the cave tunnels his wife lay awaiting him in.

She expected him to be full of life at the success of his attack on Hornstrel.

She sat up as he entered the chamber, but when she saw his eyes she paused.

"Dear?" Shiriya asked, and Senryul knelt by his lady.

"My beloved, I return with...news." Senryul said, drawing his sheathed sword from his belt, and setting it on the earthen floor.

"Where is... Where is Kera?" she continued.

Senryul closed his eyes a moment before he drew his sword, slowly revealing the damage his famed tool sustained. Shiriya gasped as she saw the broken blade, and asked her mate again "Where is our son?".

Senryul sniffed.

"Those that resist me... My love, there is a new force at play. I know not where they lie on the line of friend or foe, but... The power of this new player has taken our son from us. My squire is likely lost as well." the hybrid said, and Shiriya began to sob, with Senryul taking her in his arms, their foreheads pressed together as the master sniffed and heaved for his lost treasures.

With a kiss, Senryul whispered into Shiriya's ear: "My dear, I recognize you now as a Beastridden of the greatest danger."

The lynx gasped out as a gentle crown of light formed above her head. Senryul held her still in his arms as she wondered aloud at the soft light.

"Those that would have stood with me have turned their backs. Now I slash them open." Senryul said, as he and his wife held each other.

"I will create a Council of Broken Fangs." he said to her, both silently, passionately grieving.

***

Some time later...

"We thank you for bringing us the news..." a muscular, green-robed otter said to Knuckle.

"The one that did it might come here if he feels y'all would put up a fight in the future. So..." the wolf started, kneeling.

"Let me stay here, and protect you." he said to the otter sadly.

"If Ah didn't fail in my task then Ah wouldn't be here for longer than a teary goodbye.." Knuckle said.

The abbot nodded.

"We understand."

***

Knuckle sat alone in his dark space, a spare storage room that had been condemned by the Flow.

Once alone, he could obsess and fantasize over his hate, and his pain of loss.

Once alone, he could free the frenzied roars of anguish, his howls.

Finally alone, he cried out into the night, cursing his heart for crossing paths with Jonas, and the path that led him to his hateful fate.

So alone, Knuckle embraced his rage, and made peace with his clenched, bloody fists.