Prologue: Dirge for the Lycans
"Apocryphal has always been a world bathed in bloodshed. Humans were never the dominant species, however. We were..."
A horrible roar echoed into the snow-covered night as a pack of ravenous WOLF-BEASTS rushed across the open terrain of the tundra; a vivid memory snipped from history. These voracious monsters ranged in size from as small as a Jaguar, to as large as a horse, with various fur colors ranging from dull brown, to darker than shadow, to pure white like the falling snow—this stampede of beasts numbered in the thousands; it was an army of teeth, claws, and hunger for war...
At the forefront of this army of Lycans galloping across the tundra was a Lycan who'd make history. He was a muscular, bear-sized, silver-furred Wolf Beast with fiery blue monochromatic eyes that gleamed with unnatural Primal Energy. His fur shined under the moonlight, and his muscles bulged with strength in every gallop. This beast effortlessly kept his lead over the others, guiding them towards battle; their final one meant to end this war for good.
"In the olden days before the Extinction War... Lycans ruled Apocrypha as its Apex Predators..."
"Under Fenrir's Blue Moon, our strength was absolute. Our howling cacophony of roars imbued with the Blessing of our God-Eating Deity, Fenrir, giving us insurmountable strength as a Pack. We were undefeatable, for we were too many, and our Brotherhood was too strong..."
"We were without a doubt the dominant species of Apocrypha..."
... ... ...
"Or, we were, anyway..."
The Blue Moon suddenly pulsed, then flickered like a dying flame before expelling a massive blast of energy that brightened the sky before it all turned red. The army of transformed Lycans quickly came to a halt, then whined in confusion; what's happening? The leading Lycan tensed, ignoring the confused noises of his army as he looked toward the sky and saw the once Blue Moon bleeding red, then he sees it vanish in front of his eyes. A sense of dread quickly overtook him and his army. Then, it happened...
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Their downfall…
"The moment the moon vanished, the fate of all Lycans had already been decided. Fenrir's Blessing was stripped from us..."
Within seconds of this anomaly, the massive army of Lycans simultaneously reverted to their humanoid forms; it's a chilling hint of the carnage to come. It was at that moment, that the leading Lycan, now torn of his strength and humanoid once more, like his kin, knew the fates of his people were sealed. He gazed into his pale-colored hands, barely able to see them in the darkness, nor hear his thoughts through the panicking of his allies. They'd realized the situation at the same time as he did, though. It was all over.
The leading Lycan calmly closed his eyes and exhaled; he'd already accepted his fate. The look in his now defeated blue eyes matched his worn and saddened expression. It stung being so close to victory just to fall short. What could've happened that allowed this!? It shouldn't have been possible...
He suddenly realized...
"We were..." the Lycan trailed when the realization hit, but his attention quickly turned to the others when a flash of blackish-crimson energy tore a rift across the fabric of space near the tundra's horizon. All of the Lycans settled their eyes on the first entity stepping out of the rift; He barely recognized Her distinguishing features. However, They all very quickly remembered who She was as well, but there was another sight that forever burned itself into the last moments of their lives. It was more destructive than the army that appeared behind Her with that prolific figure...
"The person we saw..."
"Was someone I never should have trusted..."
"They caused our genocide..."
The Lycans were slaughtered, and bled dry. Their numbers dwindled to less than a third of their population in the span of one night. The few that managed to escape were hunted down over generations afterward, pushing them to the brink of extinction. Now, Lycans are nothing more than urban legends...
Yet, one must wonder what all happened that night. Because although They went on to dominate Apocrypha, over the generations they too faded into obscurity. The absence of both Lycans & Them gave rise to the explosive expansion of other supernatural creatures, as well as the expansion of the next most predominant race on the planet...
Humans...
Only time will tell what happens next...
Next Chapter: The Last Lycans...