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"Rencor, don't do this."

The hyena clad in shiny plate armor glanced backwards at the intruder. Spotting the black cat standing by the door, he sighed. "What are you doing here, Galien?"

"You know why I am here." Galien neared the hyena with a pleading look. "Word has travelled of a nefarious deed to take place on this day, and you are the center of it. Don't do it."

"Why not?" Rencor said calmly while he fidgeted with his armor. He could never understand how the other guards could wear armor so heavy.

"Our orders were to assassinate the King, no more," said Galien. "Lucifer told us strictly not to go overboard. There will be consequences for this."

Rencor raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who will stop me? You?" He turned to face Galien. "You and I both know that I am the stronger of the two of us. Do you really want to challenge me?"

"Why are you doing this in the first place?" Galien demanded.

Anger suddenly blazed in Rencor's eyes, and he once again turned his back to the cat. "Because they deserve it," he seethed.

"What?! What do they deserve?" Cried Galien, before he remembered where he was and lowered his voice. "Every kingdom has done its wrongs, that is no secret. What have the Canids done to you?"

"Everything." The hyena sat on the bed to get his boots on. His voice dripped with hate as he spoke. "The Canids are the very reason I joined the Order in the first place."

"I...do not understand."

Rencor sighed. "I grew up without a home. Where I lived the weather was harsh, and I lived off of whatever little the land gave me. Stealing from unsuspecting travelers and begging on the streets was how I made my living."

"Then the Canids arrived. They thought it apt to expand their kingdom across what I liked to call home. I went straight to the council to beg them not to take my home away from me, but they only laughed. Laughed in my face and had me thrown out of the palace. Why would they spare even a copper for a homeless vagrant such as I? People like me did not matter to them."

"And they continue to laugh. To strut around and flaunt their wealth, pompous and pretentious as always. I have even been beaten within an inch of death by their paw. They are convinced that they are above us simply by being canine." Rencor stood, his eyes boring into Galien's. "That ends today."

_ _ "I...I was not aware," Galien stammered. With more conviction, he continued. "I understand your thirst for revenge, but this is going too far. You will be ousted from the Order for this!"

"Hardly. I will be revered as a hero," countered Rencor. "Lucifer will be in my debt, for I will have achieved what none of the Order have ever done before!"

"Do you actually believe that no one else is capable? You are not stronger than any of us, you are reckless!" Galien protested. "Remember what you did to the Prince? You only needed his blood, not his...essence!"

Rencor huffed. "His false bravado was beginning to annoy me. He had it coming."

"Rencor, I am not going to let you go through with this."

"I know. You only want to look after me." The hyena stood and wandered over to a table, where his sword lay. "Which is precisely why I need you out of my way!"

He grabbed the sword and swung it at Galien, who dissolved into mist and vanished. The blade sliced harmlessly through the air, leaving the hyena stunned.

"A spectre. Clever."

Trumpets sounded outside. It was time.

...............................

"Today marks the beginning of a new era! The start of a new leader's rule over this kingdom!"

People from all over the kingdom had traveled to witness the event. Over a hundred furs stood in the courtyard listening to the King speak. Up on the balcony was the King himself, as well as Prince Atreyu, the soon-to-be-crowned, with two royal guards on either side. Off to the side, Archmage Korthgar stood in formal robes, and a grey pointed hat to complete the wolf's outfit. A fox stood next to him in similar attire; Runil the Archmage's assistant, as the second highest ranking mage in the castle, had been invited to the ceremony.

Once the King finished his speech, he invited the Prince to stand from his chair. The royal crown was brought out on a tasseled cushion, its many jewels glittering in the sun. If one paid close attention, one might find that the crown shimmered almost imperceptibly, just for a moment. All were distracted, however. All but one.

"My son," the King said proudly. "Do you swear to rule this land with fairness, selflessness, and without fear? Will you do what is best for your people, and protect them from harm?"

"I will," responded Atreyu. The wolfdog, even at twenty-five years of age, still had some of his youthful charm. "With all the goodness in my heart, I swear it."

"Then it is with great pride that I now name you..." The King placed the crown on his son's head. "King Atreyu."

"Long live King Atreyu! Long live the King!"

_ _ Up on the balcony, Rencor had his eyes on the crown. A malicious grin crept across his muzzle. "Long live indeed..."

A shudder ran through the prince's body. Before anyone could react, Atreyu spun, pulled a guard's sword out of its sheath, and plunged it into the King's stomach. The startled King fell, and the crowd went into an uproar. Korthgar swiftly grabbed the Prince before he could do any more harm and tackled him to the ground.

While one of the guards moved in to help, the other walked casually to the edge of the balcony. As he moved, his plate armor shimmered and morphed into flowing black robes adorned with dark jewels. Rencor removed his hood and smiled with glee at the commotion. Now was his time.

The hyena outstretched his arms over the crowd. Dark purple magic curled from his paws to hover over the panicking crowd. The people began to scream, not just from the obvious commotion happening above, but from the cursed charms that Rencor had placed carefully in various locations around the courtyard. The charms inflicted their targets with a terrible pain just before a swift death. A complicated curse, but powerful.

And it was certainly doing its job. The commoners were keeling over as death overtook them. Then Rencor's magic began doing its job. Several runes faintly scratched on various surfaces glowed a bright purple. As they did, the crowd started to change. Clumps of fur fell from their bodies, revealing patches of malnourished, paled skin. Their eyes became sunken and hollowed. They stumbled to their feet and stood slouched in place.

"Attack," Rencor ordered.

The newly formed blight monsters launched into the offense. Swinging and scratching at anyone who drew near. Guards who had not been hit by the curse did what they could, but sheer numbers made it difficult to tell who would win.

Atreyu came to his senses and found Korthgar holding him down muttering some strange words. Pushing the mage back, he yelled, "I'm fine, Korthgar, let me go!" He stood and surveyed the damage. First, he noticed the zombified crowd, then the dark purple magic hovering over them, and finally the all-too-familiar hyena casting it. Around his neck was a crystal pendant glowing bright green. Atreyu instantly grabbed the sword again, clambered to his feet, and charged for the hyena.

Rencor saw this coming.

The magic he was conjuring turned quickly to green as Rencor sent a spell hurtling at the prince. Atreyu only just managed to rip the pendant from around the hyena's neck before he was blasted backward. He looked up to see Rencor smirking down at him.

"We meet again, little prince," he taunted. A silver dagger appeared in his paw. "Shame we couldn't meet on better terms." Rencor launched himself at the prince, ready to strike, but there was a flash of light, and he found himself frozen mid-attack. He couldn't move.

A motionless glance to the side told him all he needed to know. Runil, in his grey mage's robes, approached him warily. "Ah, a paralysis spell. How clever." Rencor smirked knowingly. "Wherever did you learn it?"

Something glinted in the fox's eyes before he let loose another spell, sending Rencor down to the floor unconscious.

Atreyu allowed Runil to help him up. He went to the edge of the balcony and looked on in hopelessness. Their entire audience had been zombified, and the guards were slowly but surely picking off their numbers. The King - the previous King - was dead. Not to mention they now had a warlock to deal with.

Where do we go from here?