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Those who fly at night

A thundercats fanfiction

Commissioned by: westb0und from SoFurry

Written by: CrimsonStar

Jaga found himself submerged in a deep darkness. He turned his head to both sides and he could see nothing. He could hear nothing. He could smell nothing. He looked down at his own body and extended his hands, but here again he found only impenetrable darkness. Yet as he tried to discern his hands, they started to slowly appear before him, droplets of light slowly revealing the white tint of his palms, and then his ceremonial attire became also visible, although only barely. When he looked up, there was a source of light in front of him. Four pillars cast hard shadows that disappeared among the engulfing darkness, but shadows can only exist where there is light, there had to be something beyond them. Suddenly, he found his staff in one hand and began to walk slowly towards the dim glow.

As he came closer, sound started to slip into his ear, it was like a distant echo, like people talking, muttering... When he got to one of the pillars, he realized they were chanting. He tried to hear what they were saying, but the sound seemed distorted. Suddenly, a flash of purple light flooded the room. Jaga turned his head to look as a crimson cloud rose into the air like a geyser, between a group of shadows as tall as himself. The crimson smoke lashed down in a blast and two of the shadows banished. Yet he found something much more disturbing. The "pillars" he had seen all along, were in fact gray statues, each as tall as the thunderan castle itself and each depicted monstrous beings of horned heads and blood-stained fangs. Their eyes gleamed red and they simultaneously turned their heads towards Jaga. He jumped back and began to run, but his feet sank into what seemed like tar. He tried to call for help but the air was drained out of his lungs. A statue fell over him as if the stone was trying to devour him. But just before the stone fangs sank into him, he woke up. Breathing heavily and just at the break of dawn. The twilight had started to seep into his chamber, but it remained mostly gray. He took a cup of water from the nightstand next to his bed. The water seemed to wash away the pounding of his heart.

The dreams of a cleric are always unusual. All the people they meet, all the books they read, their devotion and discipline, those are only a few of the things that make their dreams strange. Furthermore their training and their familiarity with the metaphysical mean that they rarely, if ever talk about their dreams with anybody else. They learn to take them for what they are, most of the time, they are just that, their unconscious taking the chance to slip out, but sometimes they are something more, a warning, and those always spell trouble. This time... he needed to speak with the king.

As the sun rose, Lion-O was already up and had sneaked into town. A recent traveler had told him about a machine that could clean even the dirtiest of water, he considered it to be completely a lie, but nonetheless he decided to go check up with the salvage teams down at the town. One of his friends, an old man of raggedy fur and short white beard, was usually his eyes and ears when it came to salvage. His name was Calicus and he owned a small shop near the southern wall. That part of town was never the safest, but it was always a lively one. One could see the men working on the streets and there were usually more than a handful of children running around causing some sort of mischief. That day, however, there was something a bit off. There were people on the streets but they lacked... something. There were more women than usual on the balconies and he could've sworn that last time he visited, there weren't these many guards around. He got to Calicus' shop and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Came his tired voice from inside. That was a first, he had never had the precaution of asking before opening the door.

"It's me. You know who." Lion-O answered, trying to avoid having to say his name in public. He wasn't supposed to be there after all.

He heard the lock sliding back and Calicus' patterned face appeared as the door swung open. "Come on in, come on in." He invited, closing the door after him.

"Thanks my friend, sorry for coming unannounced, it's just that I saw the chance to slip out of that dreadful castle today and I figured: better take it. All the important people were having a meeting or something."

The man chuckled and nodded. He was still wearing a pair jeweler's glasses on top of his head and his body was covered by his work apron. He had clearly been working, but he seemed more tired than usual.

"Everything alright Calicus?"

"Ah... I don't know your majesty, perhaps it would've been better if you'd stayed at the castle today."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah well... Have you heard of the children of the dunes?"

"I don't think I have, no." He remarked, while he walked to one of the nearby shelves to look at the salvaged machinery laying on it.

"Not surprisingly. They are orphans, who simply live on the streets around here. People often give them food or treats, sometimes in exchange for favors, sometimes just out of charity."

"Mhm." Lion-O blew the dust away from one of the items that caught his attention.

"But everyone knows them, you know? For better or worse. They always come and go, sometimes you see them everyday, sometimes you don't see them at all. But recently..."

"Did something happen?" Lion-O put the item back on the shelf and turned to Calicus. He was tumbling with his fingers as he spoke.

"Well that's the thing. I don't know, it's not like there is a roll call we can check to see if they are alright. But some people are saying that a few of the children have gone missing." He paused and looked through the window. And it's not just here in the town, down at the desert, sometimes a few of them would accompany the salvage teams... Few extra hands don't hurt, you know? But the last expeditions had no children in them. Even the salvagers are starting to get worried."

"What are you saying? Do you think something is happening to the children?"

"I'm saying something MAY be happening to them, but there is no way we can be sure, maybe they just decided to all run away together somewhere... It has been around two months since the rumors started. So if they did go somewhere, either they really liked it, or they can't come back.."

Lion-O pinched the bridge of his nose. "There HAS to be someone who knows something." He got an idea. "Where can I find these children of the dunes?"

Calicus chuckled. "Finding them is not the problem, the problem is them wanting to talk to you. They don't like grown ups." He opened a drawer from his desk. "Maybe you can talk to Mrs. Lynxis, she lives just a few blocks down the road from here. I heard that her daughter returned after having been with the children of the dunes for a few years."

"I thought you said there were all orphans." Lion-O protested.

"Well, some of us CHOSE to be orphans." He smiled softly and took out a pair of screwdrivers.

"But I don't understand, if she returned, isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, it may be, but that is not the question, the question is 'what' made her return." He stood up and went to a desk cluttered with pieces of metal and cables. "There are few things that can change a stubborn cub's mind, your majesty. Fear is at the top of that list."

Lion-O swallowed. "I'll go talk to Mrs. Lynxis then, and let's hope her daughter came back just because she missed her." He headed towards the door. "Thank you for the info, Calicus."

"Is that why you came here?" He asked with a confused frown.

"Oh no... I came here because of another rumour, but the one you just shared seems much more important. I'll be back later to speak about the other one."

"Lion-O." He called. The price turned to look at him again. "Thank you for listening."

The prince nodded and left the shack. It made much more sense now. As he walked down the street, he could better understand the strange atmosphere he had felt before, everyone around him probably knew about the rumours and they all probably feared they were true.

When he got to Mrs' Lynxis house, he couldn't help but notice a few ominous looks being thrown his way. He knocked the door, and a tall woman attended.

"May I help you?" She asked, her tone soft and tranquil.

"Erm... Yes ma'am I was hoping we could talk inside...? If you don't mind?"

Mrs. Lynxis eyed the curious bystanders and opened the door to let him in. "Please, take a seat." She pointed to one of the sofas in the living room, before taking a seat in front of him.

It was a humble house. The walls were covered with tapestries to help trap the warmth inside at night and there was a dainty table between the furniture of the living room.

"How may I help you?" Repeated the woman.

"Ah, yes... Well I was hoping you could tell me a bit about your daughter."

"What about her? She returned, it was a blessing, end of the story."

"Did she tell you what made her return?" Insisted Lion-O.

"Isn't it obvious? The streets are no place for a girl like her. She saw reason and decided to do what was right and logical..."

"Mom? Who is that?" Asked a soft purring voice from the stairs to a side of them. A shoeless little girl of dark brown fur had just came down.

"No one sweetie, just a curious man who was already leaving."

"No, wait. This is important." He turned to the little girl. "I need to know why you came back..."

"Because she wanted to be with her mother!" Sentenced the woman, standing up. "Leave my house, now." She pointed at the door.

"But..."

"Mom!" Interrupted the girl. "What makes you think there is something else?" The girl asked towards Lion-O.

He looked at the woman, she was furious. He took a few steps towards the door and returned to the girl. "I've heard that some of your friends may have gone missing... I just wanted to know if you knew anything about it."

The woman and girl exchanged looks. "They didn't go missing." The girl finished, her vocie breaking a bit.

"They didn't?"

She shook her head. "They were taken."

Lion-O widened his eyes. "Taken? What do you mean?"

The girl's eyes watered. "At night. Something came at night and took them. But the grown ups didn't listen. So it kept coming..." She whimpered.

"Oh sweetie..." Whispered the woman, covering her mouth. "Come here." She extended her arms. The girl ran towards the embrace of her mother.

"Did you know about this?" Asked Lion-O towards the mother.

She shook her head. "But I don't think she's lying."

"What do you mean?"

"A father from the artisan's district. He said only two of kids returned."

"And they said the same thing?"

She shook her head again. "He had four children, all of whom left..."

"Only two returned..." Repeated Lion-O in a whisper.

"They are saying that the nobles are to blame. That they need more servants in their houses so they are stealing free children."

"That's not..." Lion-O stopped for fear of revealing his true identity. "Who is they?"

"People... in the streets, at the markets... I wouldn't be surprised if it were true."

Lion-O took a step back. He needed to inform his father. "Thank you for telling me this." He nodded at the mother. He then looked down at the girl. "I promise I'll find your friends." The girls sniffled in response. "Thank you again." He finished, while opening the door and slipping back onto the streets.

The morning wind was whistling among the buildings of the city, as Lion-O scrambled towards the palace. This was grave. Not only were children missing but also the nobility was being blamed for their disappearances. When he got to the palace, however, a small crowd had gathered near the gates. As he got closer, he managed to hear what they were yelling. They... were demanding for the king to confirm or deny the rumours of missing children. Lion-O decided to enter the castle through one of the service doors to avoid the commotion.

The castle, however was also in a state of disarrangement. There were guards scrambling in every direction and the servants were carrying papers and reports in every direction. When he got to the throne room, four guards guarded the entrance outside, but they opened the gate for the prince. As he entered the posh sanctuary a table filled with maps and papers had been placed in the middle of the chamber, and seated around it, were his brother Tygra and Jaga. His father, King Claudus, was standing. The tension in the air was as thick as slime.

"About time you appeared Lion-O, this isn't the time to be playing with your metallic toys." Protested Tygra.

"Tygra." Called Jaga softly. "I think the young prince's eyes seem too heavy for someone who has been just playing."

"Thank you Jaga." Came Lion-O while he approached the table.

"We're waiting for an explanation, Lion-O." Demanded the King firmly.

"I'm guessing you already heard about the missing children?"

"What children?" Asked the King. "We have two missing nobles."

Tygra turned his head in surprise towards the king. "What do you mean father? I thought we were talking about... the merchants... Oh no..."

"Where did you hear about this Lion-O?" Asked Jaga.

The young prince approached the table, there were travel logs and security reports from all around the city laid on top a map of it. He pointed at the south-eastern wall. "Here. I talked to one of the children of the dunes and her mother"

"I thought they were all orphans." Interrupted Tygra.

"Apparently some of them chose to be." Lion-O shook his head. "The mother confirmed that at least two kids from the group had indeed gone missing. And the girl said that 'something' has been taking the children away."

"Something that comes at night." Added Tygra.

"Something that leaves no footsteps and can't be heard until it's too late." Added the King.

"So we all heard the same thing, but from different people?" Asked Lion-O.

"It seems like it..." Continue Tygra. "When did the children begin to disappear, Lion-O?"

"About two months ago."

Tygra placed an X on the map. "Father, when did you hear about the missing nobles?"

"Last week."

"And do you know where they lived?"

"Yes. Here, near the eastern wing of the castle." The king placed another marker with the pencil.

"And the missing merchants were last seen here, here, and here." Tygra put three more Xs and drew a circle. "And the first one went missing about three weeks ago, he underlined that X, it was the closest to Lion-O's mark.." He regarded the map in silence. "It would seem like whatever is taking this people came from the eastern wall, and it has been making its way up to the castle." He circled the eastern part of the city.

"Master Jaga." Called the King. "Do you think this may be related to your dream?"

"What dream?" Asked Lion-O.

Master Jaga let out a soft grunt. "A warning, I believe." He paused and softly brushed his beard before continuing, his gaze intent on the map before him. "Dreams are by nature confuse and hard to interpret, even more those that are meant to warn about to future, but I believe the message in this one was clear. This... 'something' the people talk about, is not from our world. I was forced into our realm by another."

"Is that even possible? A monster from another world? Could it be?" Questioned Lion-O.

"Jaga looked up at him. "Such magic has not been seen for thousands of years, but it undeniably existed, in a time before memory."

"Could it be possible for some of our own people to have used this magic?" Continued Tygra.

"Very few among us would have the talent, and even less, if any, the knowledge."

"But..."

"Unless..." Interrupted the Master with a low voice. "There may have been records, although incomplete, of the kind of ritual needed to call forth an alien beast. I remember seen some in the palace's library when I was younger." His eyes widened suddenly. "One of my pupils..." He quickly regained his posture. "One of our clerics approached me asking... not exactly about this, but her questioning did seem to pertain extraplanar beings. And she did mention a sacred text..."

The princes exchanged looks.

"Furthermore, my clerics are among the few that would have the discipline required for such a ritual."

"Okay." Remarked Lion-O. "Which of them?"

"All of them."

"What?"

"Except for the novices maybe... but other than that... they all receive very similar training."

"We can't interview every one of them!" Protested the young prince again. "We need a different plan. I think we should go to the city, a creature that's stealing citizens must leave some sort of traces behind. Maybe we just need to look harder."

"Lion-O!" Interrupted Tygra. "If it is a rogue cleric with such knowledge, every minute we spend risks another one of this monsters being called forth."

"If there ARE any monsters!"

"Enough you two." Interceded the King. "Tygra, you will go with Master Jaga. First I want you to visit the library, and see if such a book really exists. Then I want you to aid him in the interrogation of the clerics, do it as fast as you can, but don't let your haste get in the way of your judgment." Tygra nodded, the King looked towards Lion-O. "My son, you are also correct. An interdimensional horror that is kidnapping innocent people doesn't sound like the kind of thing that one could hide in a pocket. But I don't want you to go out to the city, it may be dangerous, if the creature is getting closer to the castle, it may have a quarrel with our family." He stopped and briefly looked at Jaga before continuing towards Lion-O. "Master Jaga mentions a ritual, if this ritual happened, it must have happened SOMEWHERE. I want you go to the Treasury, find out of anyone bought land from the kingdom in the past three months, especially in that area." He pointed towards the eastern wall. "If not... Then get a list of abandoned buildings, come back here and go with your brother to see if you find anything." He leaned in closer. "I forbid you to go out to the city on your own, are we clear on that, Lion-O?"

The young prince answered something unintelligible between his teeth and turned to leave the throne room. The king sighed when he was left. "Master Jaga, Tygra, You both know I have to leave. Postponing the visit to the eastern outpost would mean a massive loss of resources that we don't have. So I'm leaving you two in charge of this mess until I come back." He looked down at the scabbard on his arm. "Tygra, I want you have this while I'm away." He unsheathed and presented the Sword of Omens to his elder son.

"Father... are you sure?"

The King chuckled and darted his eyes towards Jaga. "I haven't seen my friend so worried in many many years, if this issue is that grave, then knowing that you have my Sword will make my worries lighter."

"Thank you father, I'll guard it with my life."

"I'd rather have IT guard YOU, my son."

The prince nodded.

"Now go you two, there is no time to waste."

Jaga and Tygra saluted the king and left with due haste in direction of the Palace's library. The building had been designed by Tygra himself, it's nooks and crannies were familiar to the prince, however the placement of the books inside was a mystery, even to Jaga the Wise himself.

"Hello?" Called the master. "Mister Wesker, are you around?"

"Yes. Yes. One second." Came a tired voice from somewhere between the rows of books that filled the tall tower.

A small cat of orange fur, wearing a pair of thin glasses came out in a hop from behind the shelves. "I'm sorry Master Jaga some vandal mixed the books on types of sand with the books on types of silicates. A vandal I say." He pushed his glasses and looked up and both men. "Oh, and good day to you too my prince. What can I do for you two today? A book on governing and taxes administration perhaps? We could all benefit from such a read."

"What are you saying!?" Protested the prince.

"I'm just saying some of these shelves are falling of age. Quite literally."

Tygra snorted. "Mister Wesker, I'm sure we could discuss the current budget for the library at a different time, at present we have more pressing matters to attend."

"You sound like King Claudus himself, my prince, you sure are fit to rule." He remarked arrogantly. "What do you need then?"

Jaga interrupted Tygra before he answered again. "We're looking for old records, on summoning magic."

Wesker's whiskers shifted in surprise. "Well that's an unusual request. I think there are some..." He turned to look at the distant shelves. "But if there are... They must be buried deep below all those books without shelves. I leave the ones people never ask for there, since there aren't enough shelves, you know? And some are even falling of old!" He repeated towards the prince.

"Is that true?" Replied softly Tygra, with a slight frown.

"Yes! They are falling of old!"

"No... Not that mister Wesker, no one has taken out that book recently?"

The short cat thought for a second. "No I don't think so. I'd swear the last one who took it out was yourself Master Jaga, many years ago." He waved his hands towards the sorcerer.

The noblemen exchanged looks. "Is it possible that if as taken out of here without you noticing?" Asked Tygra.

"No offence my prince, but you designed this library yourself, the only way in is through that door and no book goes through it without me noticing."

"Could you fetch the book then?" Asked the sorcerer.

"Yes, of course, just one second Master Jaga."

The librarian took a few minutes, but alas he returned with an old tome covered in a thick layer of dust that still bore the imprints of the heavy books that had been below and above it.

"That doesn't seem like it has been read in the last three months." Remarked Tygra.

"Indeed it doesn't." Agreed Jaga. "Well. Thank you for everything mister Wesker."

"And don't worry." Added Tygra. "I'll talk to my father to make sure you get new shelves, since these ones are 'falling of old'."

"Thank you my prince." Nodded the short cat amicably.

"Master Jaga, I don't like the way this is going." Sentenced the prince as they left the library. "But mister Wesker's complaints about old things, made me remember something."

"Mhm?"

"Panthro and Grune, they went on an expedition recently and I remember Panthro mentioning an 'artifact' from the desert. Maybe he just didn't know what he really bought into the city."

Jaga hummed softly. "A possibility worth exploring. Go and see if you can find out more, I'll being the questioning of my Clerics. Meet me there if you find anything."

They both nodded in agreement and went separate ways. Tygra found Panthro in the barracks, going over basic sword fighting technique with new recruits to the city guard. It was an open-air arena, looked over by two massive stone towers and a flight of stairs where some of the new recruits that had already been brought up by the general were waiting for a second round.

"Hey! General Panthro!" Called the prince.

The other man did a quick maneuver with his legs that put the recruit to the floor in less than a second after the prince called for him. "Need to watch your footing kid, it's the third time now. Go take a break and you better be as stable as a stone when I come back." The general helped him up before walking towards the prince.

"Hey there, what's the matter? King Claudus needs something?"

"Sort of." Answered the prince. "I remembered you saying you brought something to the city from your expedition to the Sea of Sand, would you mind telling me more about that?"

Pantro grunted. "Not much to tell than what I already said. It was weird to find something so pristine in such a desolate place, but other than that..."

"But what was it, exactly?" Insisted the prince.

"Well, Grune called it an 'artifact', he said it must be really old, from before Third Earth, and really valuable, so we brought it here to see if it was."

"Yes, but what did it look like, was it like a weapon or..."

"A book." Panthro said bluntly. To me it looked just like a plain old book with pretty drawings on top. I suggested he should give it to the clerics or to mister Wesker and be done with it, but he kept making a big deal about it. Don't know what happened to it."

Tygra's eyes widened. "I need to go."

"What? That's it? Is everything alright?"

"No, I don't think it is." Before the General said anything else, Panthro turned on his heels and began sprinting his way back to Jaga. Nothing good ever came from the Sea of Sand and if this was the book Jaga mentioned...

While Tygra looked for Panthro and Jaga rounded up his clerics, Lion-O had made his way to the Treasury, a heavy building just outside the palace's walls. Gilded with fine fabrics and metallic ornaments. As he entered the building, she found a female cat reading something with a bored expression. Whether she didn't notice Lion-O had entered or willingly chose to ignore his presence, was to remain a mystery.

"Excuse me?" Called the young prince.

"Yes, what do you need?" She asked, without looking up at him.

"Ah... I need to see the Treasury logs please."

"Sorry sweetie only mister Tass can look at the logs."

"It was my understanding that members of the royal family also had access to those records."

"Well yes sweetie but unless you are..." She rose up her gaze to see Lion-O. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet. "My prince... I... I... I'm sorry I didn't know."

"It's okay." Lion-O chuckled. "Just let me see the records please."

"Yes of course, they are in Lord Tass' office, he's not here at the moment but I'll open it for you. Feel free to look at anything you need." She moved to a heavy wooden door to the left, and nervously used the keys from their waist to open the office. "Please let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you." Said Lion-O with a soft smile as he entered the office. The secretary closed the door behind him.

The office was a mess. There was a desk in the middle, with stacks of paper of top of it, then there were two drawers at each side, and two more next to those. Then there was a second desk to his left, with another pile of papers on top of it, and a nice cactus to his right. The search was gonna take a while...

At first he found only what he expected to find, papers with lots of numbers in black in and a few numbers in red. Shipments incoming from the outposts, shipments outgoing. Deals with the traders of the various districts, weapons for the guard, payments to the servants of the palace, materials for the desert ships, the selling of an old steel factory, the selling of some salvage, an excessively big but understandable supply of fur combs, shelves for the library... Shelves for the library!? Lion-O was suddenly pulled out from his boredness-induced almost-slumber. He went over the last paper he had read. 'Top quality shelves for the royal library to be purchased from Manfred the blacksmith of the merchants district.' There were no blacksmiths in the merchant's district, they all lived in the artisan's district. Not only that but why would a blacksmith make a bookshelf, that would need a carpenter. And on top of that, he was pretty sure the library hadn't received new shelves since... well it had never received new shelves at all, it was surprising they weren't falling apart because of their age. And what kind of cat name was "Manfred"?

Furthermore the amount of money spent on it was exorbitant, it was almost as much as they had spent on... weapons. He scrambled the papers to find the receipt of the weaponry for the guard. He found it, the receipt was there and archived, but the signature from the "quartermaster" looked suspiciously similar to the signature of "Manfred the blacksmith from the artisan's district". He looked more more similar signatures and he found plenty, after the sixth, it was clear that these papers had all been signed by the same person. One of the documents was of particular interest to him. A steel factory in the outskirts near the eastern wall, close to where the first disappearances had happened. The purchase was from three months ago, just shortly before the first children went missing, according to what he had heard earlier. That was also the same place where the "library shelves" had been "stockpiled for posterior delivery". Something was wrong here. He grabbed the forged documents and stormed to the door, but when he tried to open it, he found it locked from the outside.

"Hello?" He called. "Could you let me out please? I'm in a hurry."

He got no answer.

"Hello?" He knocked on the door. "Miss, I need to leave now please."

Silence.

He let out a soft groan. One more broken door wouldn't put too much of a dent on the treasury, at least not compared to what apparently had already been siphoned out of it. He took a few steps back and kicked the wooden door with all his might. Splitters came flying into the loop outside and as Lion-O came out, he found it empty. If it had been Baron Tass who forged those documents, then his secretary was probably already giving him a warning. He couldn't' let them hide the evidence, he grabbed some of the fabrics from the walls and fashioned himself a quick disguise, mostly to cover his face and hands. He looked like a beggar who had lost his clothing. Perfect.

He left the Treasury and ran towards the eastern slums. He traveled under a dying violet sun, the houses were only now lighting up with the flickering gleam of candles and soon the street lamps would be lit too. The twilight made it easier for him to travel, but it also made it more dangerous.

The streets were quiet after sundown. Most people retreated either to their homes or to the nearest tavern, but as he got closer and closer to the slums, it became more and more evident that something was going on. At first it just seemed like a bit of extra light in the distance, but what had seemed like just a small group of torches from the distance, became a full blown mob as he got closer, and they were angry. They were yelling and throwing stones and a group of guards that tried in vain to return them to their homes.

"You liars!" Yelled a woman close to Lion-O.

"Where is my daughter!" Roared a man behind her.

ONe of the guards answered back, but most his chatter got lost among the yelling. "... You have to return to your homes, it's for your own safety ..." Lion-O managed to hear him saying.

"What!?" Yelled someone else among the crowd. "Did you hear that!? They are threatening us!"

The mob roared in unison and began to clash against the line of guards who now had their backs against the wall of a pub. A man in a hood climbed up on top of a nearby wooden crate.

"First they take our loved ones!" Yelled them man raising one fist in the air and pointing the guards with his other hand. "Then they threaten us! We mean nothing to them. We are just more fuel for the engines of their greed! They must have taken our loved ones to work on their mines. I heard the King himself left today to survey a new dig site!" He brought out a stone from one of his pockets and threw it at the guard. "This has to end!" The man jumped down from the crate and the mod crashed right into the guard line. The guards were using blunt weapons, but the people had brought whatever tools they had at their disposal, pitchforks, machetes, hammers... Lion-O though to reveal himself and try to talk to the people, but when he was about to remove his disguise, he noticed that the hooded man, along with a second person, rather than participating in the riot they had just started, were fleeing the fight, towards the eastern wall. There wasn't much in that direction except for a few abandoned houses and an old exit to a nearby forest. He left his guise in place and dashed behind the running figures, trying to remain concealed by the shadows. He chased them through the still-awake streets for several blocks, once he turned left and twice right, but when he went around the last corner, he found only an empty street, even the lamps were still waiting to be lit up there.

"Whiskers." He whispered.

But as he prepared to turn around, he heard a couple talking in the distance. He flattened against the wall veiled in shadows and stepped closer to the source of the sound. It was coming from the second floor on one of the wooden houses. There was light coming out from the windows, but it was very dim. The people inside didn't seem to be whispering, but they were talking in a low voice. It was hard to tell which voice was who's and even harder to tell them apart one from the other.

"... as planned, the saviors are ready..." He heard. The low volume and the distance made it difficult to understand clearly. "... It's still on its own, but it seems to be filling it's purpose..." Again he lost track of the conversation. "... locked in the office..." Silence. "... no suspicion, the castle is next..."

When he heard the word 'Castle' Lion-O decided that whatever those people were talking about, was worth looking into. He quickly scanned the building and planned a way to climb onto the window from the outside. He jumped on top of a barrel, grabbed the protruding edge of the building's second floor, and swung himself up with a jump. He ten pounced into the building through the window, rolling as he landed and raising to his feet using the momentum from the jump

"Don't move!" He yelled.

The hooded figure further away from him tackled the door and jumped outside the room down the stairs. The second figure scrambled to the door. Lion-O threw a tankard he found on a nearby table to its feet and send it tumbling towards the wall next to the door's umbral. The figure tried to get back on its feet but Lion-O scrambled the door and used his rags to restrain the person's hands and feet. He then used the dim candle that remained on the table to light a pair of lanterns in the room, bringing light and revealing a familiar face with him inside the room.

"You!?" He jumped in surprise. "You locked me in that office!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please don't hurt me." It was Tass' secretary.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but you're gonna tell me everything you know about what's going on."

"No please... If I say anything he'll kill me..." Her eyes were crystalline with tears.

"If you don't answer my questions, I'll hand you over to my brother and general Panthro, and they won't be so nice."

"No please... Alright... Alright... Just... Promise you won't let him get to me. Promise they won't send that thing after me..."

"What thing? What are you talking about?"

"You haven't seen it? Do you even know what you are chasing? Oh no. Oh no, no, no."

"Please miss, calm down."

"No you don't understand, you shouldn't have come here. Master Grune will..."

"Wait, Grune? What does he have to do with anything? Was he with you just now? I thought it was Baron Tass."

She shook her head. "He told us it was a guardian." She continued, looking down. "He told us it would protect us from the abuses of..." She looked up and away. "Of the nobles. That with it around we would have nothing to fear again, that we would move out of the slums..." Her voice trembled. "But I've seen it. It's not a guardian of any sort. It's monster. A monster!"

"What? Who? Grune?"

"No! The thing he called. He needed blood to summon it... and it needs blood to survive."

The pieces fell into place inside Lion-O's head, and it felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water had been thrown on top of him.

"The Baron didn't want any part of it after he saw the creature, but it was too late then... we were too deep already. Too deep and too late. We wanted to live like royals... not... not this. You have to help me, please."

"Okay..." Lion-O pinched the bridge of his one. "Where can I find this monster?"

"I don't know... No one does. Master Grune lost control of it, but it continued to work in his favor... It kept killing."

"I need to go and warn my brother." Continued Lion-O. "I'll send send the guards to pick you up, I'll tell them to keep you safe from the monster."

"If the rumours are true, I may be safe from the monster..." She whimpered. "But Grune will kill me."

Lion-O bit his lip, shook his head and opened the door towards the stairs, he jogged the flight down and opened the exit door. Then he felt a sharp pain on the back on his head and a stream of dancing lights flooded his vision. He felt his legs turning into sand and then heard the loud bang of his skull hitting the wooden floor.

"A fool... Like all of you royals." He heard in a familiar low voice. "You should've listened to the snitch upstairs, she tried to warn you, my prince."

Back at the castle, Jaga was almost done with the cleric's interrogation. A young female cleric, of brilliant yellow hair had just been questioned and so she stood up and left the small office where the questioning was being conducted. Jaga checked another name on his list and he walked outside, where his clerics waited in meditation.

"Lyxana. Please come forth." He called. No one answered back. The clerics remained in place, their eyes closed and their bodies immutable. "Luxana?" He called again. Scouring the room with his eyes. She had been present until she called that las cleric. "Students!" He called. The alumni looked up at him. "Has anyone seen Lynxana?" They exchanged looks with each other and a few shrugs came in response.

"Master Jaga!" Stormed Tygra into the room.

"Tygra. What is it?"

"You need to see this."

"Return to your exercises students. You are not allowed to leave this room until I return." Jaga walked briskly to join Tygra and closed the door behind him. The prince led him to a nearby infirmary, under the moonless starry sky. They entered the stone building and passed through a cream linen veil. Lanterns had been placed all around the body. As he crossed, Jaga instinctively covered his nose, expecting to feel some some or putrid smell, but soon he realized there was no stench, even if there was a corpse on top of the slate in front of him.

"What is this?" Asked the sorcerer.

"Well..." Tygra took a deep breath. "This is Baron Tass."

Jaga looked down at the rings on the corpse, those were indeed Baron Tass'. "Did he die in the desert?"

"No, look at the top of his shirt." Jaga moved in close too look at the body. The corpse looked like anything but a cat. It was thin and skeletal. The eyes had shrunken into yellowish raisin-like remains. The skin of his face had receded and stretched making his yellowing teeth evident. His skin looked like cheap leather, his extremities were gathered in fetal position and his fur was missing in patches. He still wore his green and yellow fine clothing and it was mostly intact, except for the area near his neck, where a stain of red blood wetted the garment.

"It looks fresh." Jaga said, half in a statement, half in question.

"It is still fresh."

"That's impossible."

"I'm afraid I have even more bad news." Continued the Prince. Jaga rose his eyes to meet his. "I talked to Panthro, they found an 'artifact' in the desert. He said it looked like a book to him."

"Oh no..."

"He also said that Grune showed particular interest in it."

Jaga brushed his beard. "We need to warn Lion-O, I'm afraid whatever is happening probably goes beyond just magic."

"Wait, he wasn't with you?"

"Lion-O? No, I thought he was still in the treasury."

"I went there, the guards said he left well before sundown... Oh no. That fool!"

"And one of my Clerics seems to have fled the interrogation..."

"Wonderful..." Tygra grunted. "Damn it. Master Jaga, I'll go look for my brother, can you look for the missing Cleric?"

"Yes Tygra."

"Alright, If I'm not back by midnight... I don't know... Just do something assuming the worse. If I'm not back by midnight, you're in charge of the kingdom."

The sorcerer nodded and Tygra stormed out of the room. He started asking the guards in case anyone had seen his brother. No one had seen him, but they informed him of the riots in the eastern slums. Tygra figured that if there was trouble, that was probably the best place to look for his brother. He made his way to the slums, but the streets he found were very different from what the guards had described. 'There was fighting, and a lot of arrests.' They had said, yet as Tygra got closer, the city only got quieter and quieter. When he got to the small pub where the riots had started according to the guards, the streets were completely empty, except for a few contingent of guards, some of them were bandaged, and except for the rubble on the floor, there was little signs of any other disturbances.

"Good job containing the riots." Congratulated Tygra.

"Prince Tygra." The four guards saluted him. "I'm afraid this isn't because of us sir."

"What do you mean?"

The men exchanged looks. "The people were scared sir, not of us, but of... something that began jumping on the roofs. We all heard it but we could only see its shape in the darkness."

"What did it look like? Do you know what it was?"

"No." Answered another. "It looked... It looked like a demon sir. Like the ones they scare you with then you are kid." The other guards nodded, they were clearly scared.

Tygra nodded. "There is no sense in staying here if such is the case. You may also go home if you want, this is probably a time to be with your families."

"Really? Sir..." Their leader asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I'm just looking for my brother, prince Lion-O, perhaps you've seen him?"

There was a moment of silence. "No, but I saw some strange people heading for the abandoned steel factory just outside the city this evening." Commented the youngest guard who had been silent so far. "They were very aggressive and refused to give any explanations when I asked them what they were carrying."

"How did you see this?" Inquired Tygra.

"I'm stationed at the Eastern Gate sir, I was called here because of the riots."

"Yeah, and when the fights broke out, one of my men mentioned some sketchy people heading in that direction. Not sure if your brother, I mean... I don't know if prince Lion-O was here, but if he was, he may had been taken there. The people were... Angry... at you nobles." There was a hint of anger in his words.

"I see... Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate your help. Could you please send a messenger to the palace? Let Master Jaga know what you just told me."

"Yes sir." Agreed their leader.

"Thank you, and stay safe."

The men remained in silence. The leader then spoke, looking away, just as Tygra was about to leave. "Well sir, there is something else..."

The prince turned back. "Yes? What is it."

"The riots didn't start just because, sir, there is something else."

"What?"

"I think it would be better if you saw it yourself."

Tygra frowned. "This better be important, I fear my brother is in danger."

"It is important sir, but I don't think it will make you feel any better."

"Show me."

The leader nodded, he signaled his men to wait and then proceeded to walk up the street to the pub he had seen earlier. It was a wooden three-floor building. Looking at it closer, Tyra noticed that the windows were broken and the walls were blackened by fire.

"Did the rioters do this?" Asked Tygra, while the soldier looked for a key in his belt.

"We think so... But before the riot started."

"Before?"

"We had just sent a messenger when the riots started."

"What messenger? I came here on my own."

"I noticed... I hope he's alright."

Tygra swallowed. The wooden door screeched as the guard pushed it inwards. The inside was lit by a few candles. But the candles were the only thing that wasn't utterly trashed inside. The tables were flipped and many had been split in two. There were pieces of chairs all over the floor, many were covered in dry blood. The bottles, jars and tankards that were made of breakable materials were scattered in piles against the walls, and those that were made of metal laid as deformed husks in between the shards of furniture. The walls were covered by thick yellow drapes and the stairs that led to the upper floors seemed to have been smashed to smithereens.

"What the hell happened here?" Asked Tygra.

"We... are not sure. We were called here because of a pub fight, nothing usual, you know? But when we got here it was like this. There were several wounded and many of them were delirious. It seems like the drinks were spiked with something."

"Did they say who did this?"

"Well... Their accounts are not very reliable. Some of them were convinced it was sandworms."

"Sandworms?"

"Yes. Whatever poison was put in their drinks made them hallucinate."

"So we can't trust any of the witnesses?"

"Well... There's the barkeep. He says he didn't drink today. But he said that it was one of his patrons."

"A cat did this?"

"No... Yes... Well... He said it was a young girl, who had been drinking. He said that after a few tankards she started panicking."

"I mean sure... but was she the size of a wall or something?"

"The barkeep was very scared. He said that when she got angry she started to change..."

"Change?"

"He said the young girl transformed into a demon, like the one people have been talking about." The guard looked around and walked towards one of the walls covered in drapes.

"Oh give me a break..."

"That's the same thing I said sir." The guard rose his hand to the drape next to him. "Then I saw this." He pulled the fabric back and revealed the scarred wall behind.

Tygra grabbed one of the nearby candles and moved closer. "Please tell me a bear did this..."

"My father was a huntsman sir, and I'm sure if he had ever seen a bear this big, he would've told me about it."

The wall had five deep cuts on it, together they were as tall as Tygra himself and as wide and the two men standing next to each other, it was clearly the mark of a claw.

"Take me to the barkeep." Ordered Tygra.

"As you wish."

Tygra turned around towards the main gate, but the guard went the other way, he was heading to the kitchen. The prince felt a heavy weight on his chest. The soldier led him to the kitchen, which was in a similar state to the rest of the pub. As he entered, he noticed the floor had been cleared of debris. There were two bodies in the center, covered with dirt-stained cloth. The guard cocked his head at the corpses. The barkeep is to the left, the guard I left with him while we handled the riot outside is to the right.

"This happened while the riot raged?"

"They were both like this when I came back. When I left, they were sharing a cup of tea." He pointed towards the metallic cup that stood behind the window that looked out the herb garden behind the pub.

Tygra's eyes wandered to the door that led to the garden. The padlock lay on the floor nearby and the door was half open. He walked towards the corpse of the barkeeper, and pulled the cloth away from his face. It looked just like Baron Tass' corpse. Drained from all liquids, shrunken eyes and exposed teeth. He was missing patches of fur and the whiskers from the left side of his face were gone. He repeated the process for the guard's body, but his was perfectly intact, there were no patches in his fur nor cuts on his skin.

"He looks young for a guard." Observed Tygra.

"He was a new recruit. I left him here hoping he would be safe."

Tygra grunted. "Did you tell their families."

"The recruit's, yes. The barkeep had none, apparently he lived here with his mother until just a few months ago when she passed away. And he never got married. He said this tavern was his wife."

"I see." Tygra nodded. "I need to find my brother. Send notice to the Palace like I asked. Tell them I'm going to the steel factory. This is worse than we thought."

"Yes sir."

"And please be careful, we've lost enough good people today."

"Same to you sir." Replied the guard softly. Take this, you'll need it. "The guard handed him a lantern." They walked together out of the pub, and Tygra headed for the edge of the slums as he had planned while the guard remained behind to lock up the tavern.

The streets were still dark. Those in charge of the lanterns had been delayed by the riots, and then they had probably chosen to hide just like the rest of the villagers. While the starlight allowed him to see the general shapes around him as he walked, the dark was still an inconvenience, especially as he got closer to the forest and the shapes of the trees began to block the sky light. As he was debating whether to turn his lantern on and risk losing the surprise factor, he heard footsteps in the distance They were coming from a side of the street, just where the steel factory should be. He sneaked closer, and he noticed two heavily armed people standing guard near the main door of the rusted building that was probably the steel factory. Last time he checked, however, most factories didn't need armed guards in the entrance this late at night.

Tygra left the unused lantern on the floor, grabbed his whip from its holster and used it to become invisible. He carefully sneaked out of cover and began to prowl towards the gate. The guards seemed bored with their duty, the one to the left was fiddling with the strap of his shield, while the one on the right leaned against the wall while looking up at the sky. Both had their faces and body covered in some sort of scaled armor. Tygra noticed that the door had a small gap between the floor and its lower end. He grabbed a small pebble from the floor nearby and expertly sniped for that gap. The pebble entered the building and hit something inside. The guards suddenly returned from their distractions and exchanged looks.

"Did you hear that?" Asked the one from the right, she was female.

Tygra threw a second pebble in, this time he threw with harder and he hit something metallic on the inside. The guards yelled something and opened the door before storming in. Tygra took the chance to sneak in. He had to pass so close to the guards that one of them turned to him, but he was still unable to see him. After locking the door, they began scouting the room. It was essentially a massive warehouse with old steel furnaces lined at the sides. Metallic rusted beams held the structure in place and it seemed like it hadn't been used in at least several years. He began moving in deeper, towards the center of the warehouse, there was a number of crates and various pieces of metallic scrap spread around the room, but nothing really suspicious about it. The room was lit by a number of torches emblazoned to the walls that had filled the room with the pungent smell of oil smoke.

"You think it was nothing?" Asked the female sentry in the distance.

"Yeah, if one of them had escaped we'd be screwed by now. Maybe a rat or something." Answered the other, he was a male with a rather high-pitched voice.

"Let's go back outside, this place reminds me of my grandma's attic." Finished the first.

He then heard the main door opening and closing again. So there WAS something else besides old metal in that warehouse.

Tygra moved closer to the crates and began to examine them closely, but they seemed either empty or filled with metallic clutter, nothing related to what he was looking for. As he tried to peek inside the crates, one in particular drew his attention. The dust in the floor had drag marks around that one and the wood it was made from was clearly much newer than some of the others. He dispelled his invisibility and grabbed one of the nearby torches to look at it. He recognized the packing, he had seen crates like this one before, in the palace's armory. He pushed the top lid off, and as he expected, he found several blades inside, rapiers and sabers mostly, with a couple of spears buried below them. It made sense to find some in a steel factory, perhaps they had hired a smithy to turn some of the steel produced into weapons for extra profit, nothing illegal there. But how did they produce the steel without using the machinery around him? He put the lid back on and scanned the furnaces with his gaze. A couple on the left drew his attention, they had more black grime on them than the rest. As he came closer he also noticed that there was a different smell in that part of the room. It still stank to burned material, but this was not oil... He moved closer and opened the door of one of the furnaces, he brought his torch lower and threw a bit light inside, it was filled with ashes, when he was about to close it and move to the next one, the noticed something gleaming between the ashes, he moved in closer. It looked like a piece of gold. He put his hand in and brought it out. His stomach churned. It was a golden fang. He let it fall to the floor and looked more closely inside, the ashes were saturated with fragments of charred bone and teeth. They weren't smelting steel. He closed the door and took several steps back. As he did, he noticed his own footprints on the dust of the floor, he began to follow the dust, looking for areas where it seemed to have been disturbed. There was an almost clear trail, leading to a small room next to the first smelted of the row, as he came closer, he noticed the footsteps of the guards also centered around that area. As he entered, however, he found only a small office, probably the foreman's. There was a desk on one side and a small shelf next to it, along with a painting of Mount Felix, from Thundera. Tyra looked around the room, there were scratch marks on the floor, but no chair. He moved his hand to the underside of the desk and began patting it, when he got the the edge of it, he found what he was looking for, a small level he used his weight to push it down and the stone below his feet parted to reveal a staircase leading down, contrary to the rest of the building, the stairs were clearly a recent addition. He used his whip to become invisible once more and descended the stairs.

The passage was well lit wit by the same style of torches as he had seen before upstairs, but as he went lower, the air grew colder, and the faint smell of blood began to mix with the smoke of torches. His heart began to race whatever waited for him below wasn't going to be nice. As he continued to go down, he came into what looked like a storage room, filled wall to wall with crates similar to the one he had seen above. There were weapons not only in the wooden boxes but also spread on racks though the walls. Along with full sets of armor like the one the guards above had been wearing. It seemed to be a stockpile rather than an armory. The room had two visible doors, one that continued straight from the way he had come, and one that was to the left. The path straight had a door with metallic bars, which hinted at an appropriate place to look for a missing person. He could see the end of that corridor but there was no one in sight.

He was getting tired, sustaining his invisibility placed a tremendous strain on his mind. But he pushed forward towards the iron door. He tested it, it was locked with no visible padlock. He took a few steps back and grabbed the sword from his belt, whatever there was beyond that gate, once he crossed, there was no coming back anyways, so he might as well save himself some of the effort. Plus it was a great moment to test his father's legendary sword. He pulled it out slashed the air with a quick cut. The blade grew to the size of a longsword, but it remained as light and as balanced as it had been the moment before. He took a deep breath and slashed the bars with all his might, he knew the Sword could could through even the hardest metal, he had seen his father in combat, but wielding it was a completely different thing. The blade passed through the iron bars as if he had been cutting some meat. He had to double check to make sure he had actually hit them. He put the sword back in his belt and used one of the steel blades nearby as lever to spread the cut bars aside, just enough so that he could pass through. He entered the room, he discovered it was a dungeon. To his sides there were a number of cells and the noise from his cut and metal bending had drawn the attention of some of the prisoners, he could hear whispers. He grabbed one of the torches next to the door and crept closer to the cells. Inside he found a number of people from the city. Cats and dogs mostly.

"Hello?" He called. "Are you alright? He dispelled his invisibility.

"Look!" Called one of the younger cats inside the first cell, just a cub still. "It's prince Tygra! He's here to save us!"

"What? price Tygra?"

"The prince is here?" Echoed other voices from the more distant cells.

"Shhhh." Called the prince. "I'm here to help you, but I need to find my brother first. I've sent word to the castle and help is coming." There were whispers between the prisoners. "Prince Lion-O, have you seen him?"

"I saw him!" Came the same kid from earlier. "They took him away..."

"But people rarely come back after they take them away." Added a young man from a cell opposite to the one Tygra was looking at. "And if they do, they are monsters... Like... Like that thing." A low mumble filled the room again.

"Prince Lion-O said they are not monsters!" Protested the same kid.

"You know nothing kid."

"Enough." Called the prince. "I'll open the locks for you, but you have to remain here until it's safe. I'll find the monster and my brother and then I'll come back for you. Do you know where the guards are?"

"There is something big going on." Said a woman from a distant cell. "I heard a lot of them going down just a little bit ago. They must all be down there, but they'll probably return soon."

"If I don't return soon, then you'll have to be brave and make your way out by yourselves. There are only two more guards above, so if you all work together, you should be able to make it."

"Even if we escape, the monster will come for us again." Complained someone from the last cell to the left.

"It won't I promise. After I leave, count to three hundred, slowly, If you hear nothing from me, then just make your way out." He looked around one last time before unsheathing the sword. "Okay. Step away from the cell doors."

One by one Tygra smashed the locks using the Sword of Omens. Each cell had more people than the one before, and each time they told him stories of how many had already been taken away. They all repeated, however, that those who returned from being taken away, were never the same. Some said that they became evil, corrupted, while others simply asked for mercy and compassion. None of them admitted to being a returnee, but it was clear that the must have been at least a few among them. Tygra decided to follow his gut and his brother's judgement and treat them all equally, at least until they were safely outside the building.

After the last lock was opened he repeated the instructions, making sure everyone heard and he designated a stern dark furred female as 'official' counter. They would escape on her mark.

"Look for him in the deepest chamber." Sentenced the man who had called the returned people 'monsters'. "That's where it feeds." He finished.

Tygra nodded and snuck back to the stockpile room, the pushed the other door in the room. This one was unlocked but it was much heavier. This one opened to a second flight of stairs leading down. This one however, seemed have open sides. He cloaked himself again and proceeded to walk down. To his right, he saw what looked like an amphitheater, that's where all the people were. Probably around fifty soldiers, in the armor he had seen earlier were sitting in a semi-circle made of wooden stairs. And in the middle, he recognized a familiar silhouette. It was General Grune, he was flanked by tall slender woman in what seemed to be ceremonial robes. To his left, there were some sort of barracks. Rows after rows of beds, each with it's own chest and armor stand, only a few people remained there and they were dressing up in armor probably getting ready to join the ceremony. It didn't seem as if it had yet started, as the people on the stairs were chatting with each other. Tygra continued to walk down and past the umbrals that led to the rooms he had seen before, until he reached what was left of a wooden door that seemed as if it had exploded from the inside. There were scratch marks, like the ones he had seen at the tavern earlier and splashes of black blood all round it. He swallowed and pressed in.

The chamber inside looked reminded him of the throneroom of the palace. It was a massive room with beautiful carvings on the walls depicting heroic tales. There weren't torches in this room, but there was a wide beam of light falling down from the center of the room. For a moment he thought it was sunlight filtering from outside, but soon he remembered the starry sky that had accompanied him when he entered. Under the white light he could easily see that there were four massive marble pillars in the room that extended tall towards the ceiling, they probably held in place the entire factory on the surface. And they were covered with flags that depicted heraldic symbol similar to that of the Royal Family, but it clearly belonged to some other group. The flags were the only thing with color in the entire room, they shone as red as fresh blood. As he got closer, he could feel the Sword of Omens getting heavier in his belt, he instinctively brought it out and wielded it in his right hand. In the center of the room, in front of something that resembled a stone throne adorned with golden filigree and gemstones, there was a small stone pedestal with a book on top. The text had a white cover and it showed some winged creature engraved in gold.

He moved closer and extended his hand to touch the book, but as he was about to touch it, the Sword of Omens became so heavy that it jerked him back a few steps before returning to its usual weight. He grunted and raised the sword. This entire room was out of place.

"Sword of Omens." He whispered. "Help me break the spell that blinds me." He swung the sword and it grew in size, it's edge glowing red. "Dispell this illusion!" He commanded while making a two-handed cut down at the book in front of him. As the blade struck the codex a blast of energy shook the entire chamber accompanied with a gust of wind that seemed to erode the beauty and splendor of the room. As the light above him faded, so did the state of the room. The brilliant white light turned to a dim red glow. The white pillar in front of him turned to a mass of putrid flesh and bones on top of which rested tome bound in chains and made of what seemed to be rotten leather. The room itself seemed to growl in pain and the pillars or marble became spiked beams with a number of skeletons impaled on its sides. The stench of rotting flesh suddenly flooded his nose and mouth, making him cough in disgust. Only the red flags remained untouched. On top of what had appeared as a posh stone throne, he could now see a cat, hands and arms bound by spiked metal, mouth gagged but awake. And he seemed to be trying to speak. It was Lion-O. Tygra took a step towards him, but then noticed that the growling that had started when he broke the spell had never stopped. And he could now hear it closer. He barely had time to duck and jump to a side before a creature two or three times bigger than a caravan cart landed claws first on top of where he had been standing. The beast was so heavy that as it landed the stone floor shattered below it. It's skin reminded him of a skinned animal, it was hairless, slimy and covered in what seemed to be blood. Its eyes were black orbs with a few orange spots in them, it's rear legs reminded him those of a goat and its forelimbs were connected by a thick membrane with the rest of its body.

Tygra stood as still as he could, covering his mouth to avoid making any noise and relying in his invisibility to confuse the creature. The beast roared towards the red light above him and began pacing the room. Lion-O squirmed and made noise as the beast moved but the monster seemed to ignore him. The creature suddenly became silent and began to scan the room, when it turned to Tygra, it pulsed its conical muzzle. Sided its head and lunged again with full force. Tygra scrambled to a side and began running straight towards his captive brother. With a quick swing of his sword he fred Lion-O's arms, he then swung himself to the front and with another quick slash he freed his legs.

"Run!" The younger brother yelled after removing his gag. "It can smell you and it can sense your blood."

Once more the creature slammed against the floor, each brother jumped in a different direction and they began to run in opposite directions. The beast jumped onto the pillars and began swinging itself between them, keeping its eyes locked on the now free Lion-O. When Tygra got to the door, he found it locked from outside. He prepared to strike it down, but a screech of pain made him turn to look at Lion-O who had been pinned down by the beast. He was using one of the pillars as cover but it had managed to scratch his arm and part of his chest.

"Father didn't give me this sword to run away." Tygra muttered to himself. Before charging towards the creature attacking his brother.

The beast spun on itself and clawed at the second brother, sending him flying against one of the walls. Tygra shrugged the pain and stood back up. Just in time to dodge to a side as a row of stones fro the wall almost fell over him. The beast had just given him an idea.

"Lion-O! The thing is after you! Run clockwise, now."

The young prince frowned at the command but nonetheless obeyed, trying to stay behind the pillars with the beast on his tail. Meanwhile Tygra ran to one of the black spiked pillars and rose the Sword over his head.With a scream he lowered the sword, sending a red blade of energy through the pillar. The metal began to wail as it twisted and bended below the weight of the factory above. He then ran to the next, Lion-O was just about to get there. He again struck down the pillar but this time the stone ceiling above began to creak and pieces started falling down.

"Quick! To the door!" Yelled Tygra, directing Lion-O in the opposite direction. He braked with great effort and turned around. Lion-O turned and jumped over the beast, stepping on its muzzle to propel himself, while Tygra ducked and slid below it, using the sword to maul at its rear leg as he passed through. The monster roared in pain and fluttered the membranes on its forelimbs as if they were wings, trying to lift himself up, but as he did, the pillar Tygra had struck first ceded under the weight of the ceiling, and came crashing towards the monster. It tried to move but it's wounded leg sprayed a gash of blood and soon a shower of stone and rubble fell over it while the brothers ran to the safety of the main door's umbral, with half of the ceiling falling down to pieces behind them, the beast buried below the twisted maze of metal and stone.

"Lion-O?" asked Tygra, trying to catch his breath. "Are you alright?"

"Just a scratch." He said. "Please tell me you have a plan, there is an army out there." He pointed at the closed door. "And they probably heard our little party.

Tygra looked up. "Well, maybe we could climb..."

A slow clapping sound interrupted them as the door swung open to reveal General Grune and his army behind him.

"Thank you for getting rid of that thing. It had far outlived its usefulness." Said the General, finishing his clap.

Tygra clasped the Sword while taking several steps back. Lion-O was holding his bleeding side and also moved away from the General. Behind him, there were too many soldiers to count, each wearing a matching set of armor and the weapons Tygra had seen upstair. They carried torches and lamps, and some of them wore tabards with the very same symbol that adorned the pillars of the chamber.

"Sadly you have now seen too much and caused enough trouble." He flicked his fingers. "Kill them." The soldiers poured into the room and charged towards the brothers.

Suddenly, a boom shook the room, bringing a few more stones crashing down from above, and creating a small crater in the center of the room. As the room dispersed, a familiar figure appeared standing between the brothers and the army. Wearing his blue battle garments and his staff held high.

"You didn't think killing the royal princes would be so easy, did you old cat?" Taunted Jaga.

"Old fool!" Growled Grune. "You've got nothing."

"I've got an army of my own." He lowered his staff and a number of ropes showered down from the roof above, along with members of the Royal Guard in their gleaming gold and red armor. Even then, the tunderan nobility remained outnumbered, at least two to one. Even if the Royal Guard was the elite of thunderan warriors, they still would have a hard time under those conditions. "Stop this now Grune. No more blood needs to be shed. You will face fair trial, and the pleas of those you allegedly represent will be heard by the King himself."

Grune burst into laughter. "I... We don't want the King to listen. He had the chance and refused. We want him and his bloodline to die! And I will lead our people into a better, brighter future!" The General extended his right hand, and a cat in rags moved in to deliver spiked black hammer as tall as himself.

"Can you fight?" Asked Jaga in a lower voice.

"Yes. Answered Tygra, firmly."

"Yes." Echoed Lion-O as a member of the Guard handed him a sword and a shield. "The real question is, can we win?"

Jaga chuckled. "There is always the possibility of winning Lion-O, and as remote as it seems, it is our duty to do everything we can to reach it, that way, even if we fail, we'll be at peace."

The young prince chuckled.

"Kill them all!" Yelled Grune. A roar flooded the room as the separatist army charged the Royal Guard. Metal clashed against metal. The chamber echoed with the sharp lashing of metal against metal, the dull boom of weapons hitting shields and a number of pained screams as soldiers fell down in each side. The Royal Guard fought with utmost discipline and efficiency, while the leaders talking, they have formed a line behind them, while the separatists clashed into the in a cloud of chaos and anger. The separatist were many and they were well equipped, but they were farmers, artisans, hunters, they used their weapons clumsily and each fought on his own. While the Royal Guard acted as a single cohesive unit. Every soldier covered himself and the flank of the brother or sister beside them. When one was wounded he was pulled back and the gap immediately replaced by the one behind him. When one of the separatists was wounded he was trampled by his own allies.

The only ones separated from the clash of armies were Jaga and Grune. The general had charged him almost ass soon as he had given the order to attack, but the Sorcerer had moved away from the fight with almost supernatural speed, baiting he General away from his already disorganized troops. The towering man had chased him as expected, but now the sorcerer found himself against a wall, fighting was inevitable.

The princes came behind Grune. "Surrender General, you can't defeat the three of us!" Demanded Tygra.

The General let out a mocking laugh and slammed the ground with his hammer. A cloud of dust and debris gushed out from the hit. The heroes coughed and a swing of the mighty spiked hammer caught them off guard. Jaga and Lion-O dodged by jumping up, while Tygra guarded himself with the Sword. The strength of the hit alone, however, was more than enough to send flying back against one of the pillars. The blade arced with magical lighting when it was hit, and Tygra landed on one of the metallic spikes. Jaga jumped and tried to slam his staff but Grune grabbed it with his free hand and plunged Jaga against the wall. Lion-O thrusted his blade at Grune's back, but the General kicked him to a side and whirled his weight around to bring down his hammer on the younger prince. Lion-O barely managed to roll out of the way. As Tygra was trying to get back up, the General again brought his hammer down on the floor rupturing the earth below and forcing a spike for stone out from the floor below Tygra's feet. Jaga used his supernatural speed to get the prince out of the way, but he was tired, and the prince's wound was dire and he could no longer fight. Tygra helped him down to the floor.

Grune roared and laughed at the heroes. "You have lost. Look around you."

Even with their iron resolve, the Royal Guard was being pushed back. The wounded keep piling behind the front line and the reserves were almost completely exhausted now, while more than half of Grune's men lay dead or disabled, the other half showed no intention of slowing down.

"Tomorrow the people of Thundera will wake up, to the news of the royals murdering the innocent workers of a factory in the slums, and your reign will have ended." Gruned rose his hammer again and walked menacingly towards the wounded prince. "You have nothing left."

"You're wrong!" Interrupted Lion-O. Grune turned his face towards the young prince. The wound on his chest had only gotten worse, and blood dripped between his fingers. "We have friends." Lion-O pointed towards the skies.

Tygra had noticed some strange shapes above them. Shadows that seemed to anxiously move on the border of the gaping ceiling. But the longer he stared and the more his eyes adapted to the dark, the more familiar those shapes became. At first they seemed like more guards, they looked like cats, but suddenly and giving out red flashes of dim light, their shape had changed, turned into something different, something that looked more like the demon the had vanquished earlier than like tunderan people.

"What is this?"

"The demon you called may maybe twisted their bodies, but it didn't corrupt their hearts Grune. They know who the real monster is."

From the shadows above, a number of winged creatures descended down. They shared some similarities with the demon form before, but they were evidently animals like everyone else. They were covered in fur that ranged from black to light brown, but their arms were connected to their legs by skin which allowed them flight. The fell down directly on top of the separatist troops plunging them into chaos and commotion.

"Royal Guard!" Called Lion-O. "These people are thunderans, they will help us. Protect them as you would any of your brothers."

"Lion-O!" Called Tygra, but stopped before saying anything else. He turned to the soldiers. "Guards, spread out, let our allies take the center, you take the flanks."

Grune turned to finish Tygra once and for all, but a slew of javelins rained down on frim from above, he rose his hammer and threw it at the creatures flying above him, but they dodged it without any effort. Jagga took the opportunity to dash in front of Grune and thrust his staff onto his belly. Lion-O growled and slashed down his sword on the general, splitting the fur of his side in two, while Tygra, with one last effort if willpower. Plunged himself forward, sword-first into Grune's chest.

The fall of their leader pushed the separatists into fear and despair, the once implacable wave of people began to slow down, and with the aid of the winged creatures both fighting side to side with them and hailing javelins from above, it was only a matter of time before the enemy troops were completely obliterated. Where there had once been determination and bravery, the separatists clearly began to question their motives, furthermore, a number of them, who later admitted having being following the General out of sheer fear and threats, were among the first to drop their weapons.

In a matter of minutes the rumble began to calm down, the remainder of the troops began to drop their weapons and those that didn't run or lay dead between the rubble, surrendered and were captured by the Royal Guard. The creatures that had flown in from above, gathered in a small cluster, throwing nervous glances at the guards and nobles. After finding a gauze to put on his wounded abdomen, prince Lion-O walked towards them and extended a hand.

"Thank you." He said, puffing his chest. "You saved us all, and the entire kingdom."

One of the fliers stood forward and shook the prince's hand. "Someone told us we were not monsters." She said, and the voice that came out for the creature's lips made Tygra's ears perk in surprise. He moved closer.

"I remember that voice." Informed Tygra, incorporating into the moment.

"We would have come earlier." A second flier added. "But someone told us to count to three hundred."

Tygra's gaze bounced between the fliers. Open mouthed he continued. "You are the prisoners... We met earlier."

"Those who do not die in the hands of the beast are turned into this." Continued the first.

"But we are not monsters." Came the high-pitched voice of a smaller flier.

"No." Continued Lion-O. "Today you became heroes, and we'll make sure the entire kingdom knows that."

"But you look so different..." Tygra still had his mouth open.

"This is what we really look like. The demon used its magic to hide our appearance so we could blend in back into the city. They wanted to use us as spies. Like Syberius."

"But it wasn't his fault." Came a woman from behind the crowd. "I know Siberius, he's my brother. He would never attack anyone."

"I know." Assured Tygra, with a hand extended forward. "I already knew this transformation didn't affect your minds."

"How?" Inquired Lion-O.

"At the pub, I'm guessing that was Siberius. The place was trashed, but the barkeep mentioned that all drinks had been spiked. The damage was too chaotic to have been intentional, not only that but some people believed it had been sandworms, so I'm guessing it was some sort of hallucinogenic drug, it just happened that Siberius was the easiest person to blame. Grune's plan no doubt. The victims of the pub had been killed by someone else. The pub itself was completely trashed, no order or logic in its destruction. But the guard and barkeep died in the kitchen. Things had been torn around and there were signs of fight, but only one of them seemed to have been involved in it. The other one had no traces of having fought, which makes me guess that one of them already knew who the assailant was when he saw it." Lion-O sighed. "But I agree with my brother. What you did here today has made you all more than thunderans, you've become heroes and you will be recognized as such. And we will prevent something like this from ever happening again, I will set up a series of audiences with my father so you can bring your complaints forth to him."

There was a small murmur coming from the fliers. "Thank you, my prince." The leader of the fliers finished.

"Let's go back to the surface. We still have a lot of cleaning up to do."

The rest of the night was tinted by a strange mixture of joy and regret. While dozens of the missing thunderans had returned home, although changed, dozens more had been lost either in the fight or as prey to the demon. When Jaga and his clerics went back to the site looking for the cursed book, it had disappeared completely, leaving only the chains that bound it behind. The steel factory had been operating as a separatist hideout for almost six full moons now. During that time, around twenty-five percent of the Royal Treasury had been siphoned to it by Baron Tass forgery to equip the separatists and sustain their rebellion. However with a new treasurer appointed, the money influx was now directed towards improving the life of those in the slums and towards renewing the Palace's Library. Mister Wesker, was ecstatic. While calm returned to the empire as a whole, there was still something out of place. The Cleric that had aided Grune with the ritual was never found. Jaga knew full well who it was, as she was the only missing Cleric, but trying to rack her proved futile, the sorcerer speculated that she had left the city as soon as the demon was vanquished and feared that she may one day return with even darker magic, but they would be prepared if that day were ever to come.

The morning after the battle, a communal funeral was held in the name of those lost to the failed rebellion. It was held in the palace's amphitheater and it was full with people. Much to their dismay, Jaga had both princes speak to the audience in place of their father, who wouldn't return until several weeks later. But they both managed to eloquently inspire the assistants. Together they celebrated the bravery of the fliers and told the tale of how they had saved the entire city. Afterwards they awarded them badges of honor in the name of the army and the nobility. Then Tygra spoke of the reforms they would make to the current economic system of the city. He promised to revise the current work conditions in the slums, and to increase the number of guards that frequently patrolled them. He even invited the lieutenant he had met outside the pub as an advisor to consult on matters of security and comfort for those living in that part of the city. Furthermore, an invitation was made to the children of the wind to become an informal part of the city guard, acting as eyes in those places where "grown ups" had trouble going.

In turn Lion-O talked about the social difficulties they had to face and differences between those who lived in the city, but made emphasis on their similarities, reminding them that horrors like those Grune had called forth, made no discrimination between its victims.

That last part, however, had been only partially true. After talking to the victims and further consulting ancient texts, Jaga found out that the common thread that joined all the victims, was something rather unexpected. Apparently the demon called forth needed blood to sustain itself, but not any kind of blood. It required the blood of virgins, people untainted by the most basic of carnal pleasures. This news filled the palace with laughter thanks to Tygra pointing out that prince Lion-O had been about to be devoured when he had found him.

Months had to go by before the news of the younger prince's 'purity' stopped being an inside joke for the nobles, but even then Tygra wouldn't hesitate to tease him whenever he remembered such fact. Even if it often evoked the younger prince's anger, it also marked a new stepping stone in their relationship. Having been together in the battlefield, made them grow closer as brothers, and having had to face the hardships of ruling a convulsed empire in their father's absence, gave them a clear perspective on the roles they would have to take on some day, when the King passed on the mantle.

And so life went on in the kingdom, but the "Red Night" as it would come to be remembered in history books, ensured that things in the empire would never again be the same, and scholars would argue for years whether or not Grune had consummated his objective, after all, the way of governing did change, and many of the empty promises he made to the poor and the sick, did come to be, even if they required the sacrifice of dozens.