Hulking guards took her away from the prying eyes of the sacred gathering, towards a clearing detached from the rest of the village. She braced herself, knowing that they would soon tie her down and burn her with the sickly sweet liquid then leave her to rot.
She then realised they weren’t alone. A group of six blood-crazed Felren had followed them, their eyes filled with a wild fervour their expression twisted. In the shadows, a larger figure loomed. She snarled, knowing exactly whose silhouette it belonged to.
As a powerful paw forced her down, she winced in pain.
Ralina sneered as she looked up. "Grawnash you runt! Touch me again and I'll..."
The son of Imok backhanded her and chuckled. “You’ll what? Cry louder?”
Ralina buried her face into her quivering paws. The Felren assembled around her were no mere runts of the pack. Grawnash had gathered a group of six elites from the ranks of the Chargers. The front-line fighters that were the pride of the Bloodspirit clan. War machines who were the first to kill and last to be killed.
It was a great honour to join their ranks, for only the strongest and bravest were chosen.
"And what does a white one have to say for herself?" Grawnash asked, toying with his prey.
The punishment meant she had lost everything, even her name and clan. He leered over her form and gave a quick nod to the guards standing around her. They stood in human form with a giant crudely wrought iron pot hoisted on long poles. A putrid smell wafted from the opening, while pale steam drifted from its rim.
Ralina knew what it was. Boiling paint, made from rocks found by the ocean.
Grawnash smirked at her terrified expression. The boiled lime was made for one reason. To brandish the skin and burn the fur. Not to kill, but permanently scar her as a marked one. A lesser one.
The Felren of Bloodspirit feared and hated the mystical figure the White Dragon. So as punishment, they marked traitors, burning their flesh so that they would grow no fur ever again. Forever pockmarked white in both forms.
This was to be her punishment.
Ralina's legs buckled as she fought to escape her fate.
"They were thinking of waiting to carry out your sentence, but I’ve a better idea. Haven't you always said that action’s more important than words?" Grawnash jeered.
Ralina scowled up at him.
"Think yourself so brave and powerful with these dogs here. You know nothing of action. You're no fighter. Just some crossbreed, a stupid mongrel."
Grawnash struck her in the face with a giant meaty paw, sending her sprawling and crumpled on the floor writhing in agony.
"Oh, you still have some fight, don't you, and here I was thinking you would come crawling to my bed, pleading for me to save you?"
Chuckles echoed around them as the Chargers watched eagerly.
She forced away her tears and turned to his smirking face defiantly. "Ha. Typical Grawnash. Sick and tired of getting rejected?"
He backhanded her again and roared. "Burn the bitch!"
Kicking up stones under her feet, she fought to scamper away. Thick human hands from the guardsmen held her shoulders, forcing her still.
Grubby finger forced Raina's face upwards to watch the large pot that hung above her head. She let out a whimper and struggled against their grip. A thin droplet of lime fell as if in slow motion towards her. Ralina tried to turn her face away only for her right cheek to erupt in agony.
Ralina screamed so hard her throat burned. “Stop it!” she croaked.
A flutter of wings echoed above. Ralina blinked through tears as she watched a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness.
Immediately, the heavy pot set aside as the guards turned to confront the new threat. They dived, turning mid-pounce. The dark figure bounded among them with a glistening of polished steel and a blur of feathers. The Felren snarled in pain, only to hit the ground, dead.
Grawnash's roar filled the night. “Get him!” he ordered his Chargers.
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The distinct sound of arrows loosed pervaded the air. Felren cried out in pain as a volley of golden arrows pierced the darkness, but it was not enough to slow the beasts. The Bloodspirit Felren turned and lost themselves to the blood craze. Sprinting in every direction, the six bounded into the fray with almost perverted excitement.
The scent of blood quickly filled the air and soaked the ground.
Ralina whirled about to see golden armoured Felren pounce on the much larger Blood Felren Chargers. There were at least forty of her father's soldiers surrounding them. The Sun clan's speed was formidable, but they were outmatched by the much larger Chargers.
One misplaced step left a Sun clansman crushed under the weight of a Charger, while another grappled ineffectively within its claws. Ralina watched in horror as her kin fell one after another.
“Haha! Stupid little pricks!” Grawnash shouted as he lunged for a speeding Sun Clansman. The smaller Felren dodged just in time, narrowly escaping death.
Suddenly, Lyra bounded into view in human form with a long spear. She hurled the spear towards Grawnash's throat who turned sharply. The spear glanced off his thick fur, bounced and rolled on the ground harmlessly.
With a massive roar, Grawnash lunged for her head with bared teeth only to miss by an inch. A split second later, Lyra transformed, ducking under him then darted away.
Grawnash turned in pursuit only for his path to be blocked by the shadowy figure.
Grawnash’s eyes met the yellow eyes of the intruder whose human form betrayed his formidable bearing.
“Now!” commanded a familiar voice.
Ralina looked up to see a large column of heavily armoured mounted Sun clan warriors astride their own kin, armed with long steel pikes. The skirmishing kinsmen still in the fray retreated to the flanks while the new arrivals charged down their larger blood-soaked foe.
Ralina clutched at her cheek where the paint had burned her as she watched, frozen in place.
Grawnash roared.
"How dare you interrupt me, you filth!" He turned to face the soldiers all around him.
The Chargers bellowed in excitement and ran towards the mounted warriors.
A glint of fear registered in Grawnash’s expression as he realised their deadly mistake. He roared to change direction, but it was too late. It was over in an instant. Pikes pierced flesh, and blood splattered the ground. The larger Felren were outnumbered and were cut down like wild animals against the trained soldiers.
Grawnash wailed in pain as a pike buried itself in his flank.
"How dare you touch my daughter!" A man shouted among the soldiers.
Elder Drell stormed forward in his human form, clad in the heavy Sun Felren armour coated in golden plates and lined with embossed sun-bleached leather. Drell flipped open his helm's visor and eyed the young Felren. He looked ready to skin him alive.
Ralina looked up in surprise. “Father?”
The injured Grawnash lunged forward to attack the Elder only to find himself frozen in place by one arm. The dark figure with distinctively sharp yellow eyes blinked in disgust. He was dressed in nothing but black and his skin perfectly reflected the moonlight above. Yet, a green gem set in a ring on his hand glowed, sending a shimmer of power through his limbs.
"Thank you, Kraid," spoke Elder Drell. He tore off his golden helmet to reveal a short honey brown beard. "Your help, as always, is most welcome."
While effortlessly restraining the large Charger, the man bowed the top half of his body and twisted his free arm in an open salute. The gesture was that of utmost respect.
"The honour is all mine, Elder."
Grawnash struggled under the grip of a man who, by all laws of size, shouldn’t have been so easily able to control him.
Drell paused before Grawnash and with deadly calm said, "You dare to harm my flesh and blood. My daughter! My heir!" Drell's jaw clenched in rage as he searched Grawnash's eyes.
"She was ordered to be whited. You filthy scum," he spat back.
Drell leisurely wiped away the spittle, then snatched Grawnash's snout. "Who ordered this?" Drell looked down at his daughter's face and then back at Grawnash.
"Mother did."
Drell's eyes widened with expanded fury. "Kraid. Do it."
Drell swiftly knelt down, extending a hand to help his daughter to her feet. As she rose, a group of Felren women emerged from the darkness, their bows slung across their shoulders. They quickly surrounded Ralina, enveloping her within a warm blanket, offering comfort.
Meanwhile, Kraid stood firm, keeping Grawnash restrained, his powerful grip preventing any escape. The men who had dropped their pikes approached; their attention now focused on the large cast-iron pot. With coordinated efforts, they lifted, then twisted the pot, causing the vile acrid concoction to spill over the lip and onto Grawnash's writhing form.
Grawnash's anguished screams echoed through the night, a haunting sound that echoed among the trees. Despite his struggles, Kraid held him in place, ensuring he wouldn't escape the excruciating punishment. The acrid mess splashed in all directions, but the men deftly avoided the fluid, their movements calculated and precise.
After what felt like an eternity of dread, the men discarded the now empty pot and retreated, leaving the shrieking white creature to writhe in agony alone. Steam rose from his boiling skin as he convulsed on the ground, a sudden retribution amidst the shadows of the forest.
"Ralina. Kraid informed me what you’ve told the Blood clan. Is it true?"
Tears welled up in Ralina's eyes as she gazed at her father, her heart heavy with a mixture of pain, anger, and sorrow. A prominent white line marred the left side of her face. Drell held her tightly in his arms, his embrace offering solace and a sense of protection in the face of the unimaginable. "We’re so sorry we were late. Lyra had to run like lightning to gather us all in time."
Lyra moved to Drell’s side and saluted.
Ralina sniffled and searched the clearing. "It's all true, and he's out there. Somewhere."
Drell looked from his men to the shaking form of the Whitened Grawnash.
"The saviour has come! Let all Felren of the Sun know. The time has come for us to serve the true Lord."
Ralina looked up at her father in confusion.
"Lord? The Dragon?"
He smiled down at her and held her tighter. An all-knowing look overcame his features as he spoke softly to her.
"We of the Sun clan now come out of the shadow cast by his kind." He gestured towards the shivering Grawnash. "This Karn. He has come to set us free."