Lord of Anthroan Chapter 3
#3 of LOA
King Tocar looked at himself in the mirror. At forty years of age he was still the powerfully built jaguar who had ascended to the throne twenty two years earlier. He brushed a speck of dirt of the bronze breastplate. The first emperor had decided that a crown would have been impractical, so the breastplate got created as the symbol of the emperor. Luckily he only had to wear it once a month on Petition Day.
"You are as vain as a Siamese," sounded a voice from the direction of the door.
"I have to be, in addition to emperor, I am also god," Tocar said laughing.
The voice belonged to Tocar's vizier. The Sumatran tiger had gone white with age. No one really knew how old he was, all anyone knew was that he was the oldest living being alive.
"I may have discovered who this 'Soldier' is," the ancient tiger said.
"How," Tocar cried out in wonder.
"Prophecy," the vizier answered, "specifically from the reign of the first emperor."
He opened the book he produced from the sleeve of his robe. Straightening his glasses, he searched the pages intently.
"'The human that shall end the empire's reign shall come from time. He shall bear the knowledge of a warrior. He shall be called soldier. His name will be known. For his name is Gunnery Sergeant Robert H. Michaels' the old tellers knew he was coming. This was a very unique prophecy."
Tocar was puzzled, "What makes it unique."
"It gives us a specific name," the old cat imparted to his friend, "I searched through some of the pre-cataclysm records that remain. I found out he had belonged to an old military organization. It was called the Marine Corp. He was trained in guerilla warfare and individual combat tactics. He has a very impressive service record."
"I don't care if he went to the pit and returned with the head of Mocart the Boar. I want him dead."
The vizier shook his head. He knew the fault of all jaguars was pride. Tocar's had been injured severely by this human. If only he could get through to Tocar he might instill him with some humility.
Personally, if slavery was outlawed he wouldn't shed a tear. Most anthros saw themselves as superior to humans. Sure they were stronger, faster, and in a very, very few cases smarter, but none were as stubborn as a human. None were as inventive or as quick at overcoming an obstacle. Truth be told, humans were even more resilient.
Were a cheetah to break its leg, even with the best care possible it would spend the rest of its life in a wheelchair. A human could, with care, walk again as if it had never happened.
"Tocar, you know as well as I do how many wolf packs have been decimated by him. Marines were the wolf packs of their day; they could function as a group, or as an individual. They lead the initial assault into enemy territory and stuck around to be the last to leave. He is better than any soldiers we have," the tiger hoped this would sink in.
For once it did.
"You are right vizier. I just don't understand how a human could pose a threat to an anthro. We are the ones in charge. We are the ones trained as soldiers. We are free. Have I become as docile as an animal before the cataclysm," Tocar said sitting in his favorite chair as he rested his head in his hands.
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That night as he lay in bed with a calico curled up next to him, he thought about this soldier. He suddenly appears and single handedly eliminates a wolf pack. The only thing more elite than a wolf pack was the royal guard.
He felt the calico stir beside him. When was the last time he had slept with the same woman more than once. Yet his enemy who was little more than a killer was capable of making a woman fall in love with him. It just wasn't fair.
Tocar got out of bed and pulled on a robe. He could still smell the female's juices, but for the first time he could remember he remained unaroused.
He decided he would get dressed and go for a walk. He dug into the back of his closet and withdrew a wooden box. Opening it he pulled on a gray suit he had for just this occasion. It wasn't that he was unappreciative of the royal guard, but they were overprotective. That was what you get when all of your guards were German Sheppards.
The suit had shoes built into the pants made of soft leather, so he didn't have to bother pulling on a pair of the heavy boots he normally wore.
He went to his window and jumped silently onto the stretch of eight foot high stone fence that ran five feet from the wall of the palace. He had been able to jump over this wall since he had become emperor.
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As he walked he tried to push his troubles to the back of his mind. He had been relatively easy going until this human had appeared out of the air. Then everything had gone downhill.
As he passed an alleyway he heard cries of pain. Listening closer he heard grunts of exertion. He looked down the alley to see a large rat raping a slave. Though raping a slave wasn't illegal, Tocar hated rapists.
Drawing one of the knives that were concealed in sheaths all over the suit, he silently approached the pair in the shadows. Throwing the knife underhand he hit the rat in the side of the throat. The rat silently fell backwards pulling out of the woman.
Without waiting to meet her savior the woman ran, half naked, into the night. There was gratitude for you.
Tocar hated slavery, but he could do nothing about it. In the Twelfth Emperor's reign slavery was made into an institution that couldn't be ended.
The jaguar put it out of his mind as he retrieved his knife as he returned to the palace. He stealthily leaped onto the wall and in through the window.
As he undressed he looked over at the calico that was still asleep. He decided that it was time he got married. In retrospect he should have gotten married long ago.