Nikki opens the carriage door and finds three humanoid wolves staring back at her. A long, awkward silence fills the air as neither of them moves a muscle for several moments. Skoll imagines this woman as an archer because of her hood. But she could also be an assassin sent on a mission to kill them. He readies a stick he found on the ground earlier and holds it up as if it's a real sword. "Hello." Skoll breaks the silence as part of his master plan to see if her first action will be hostile or friendly.

"They're so cute!!" Nikki happily exclaims as she tries to pet Fenrir.

Fenrir growls and pulls away from her. "I'm not a dog."

"They can talk?" Nikki's mouth falls agape as she tries to process the existence of sentient wolves. "How is this possible?"

"Keep your voice down," Thomas whispers. "Do you want the whole city to know about them?" Thomas steps off the carriage and makes his way to the door and shuts it. "I need to bring them to Donavan."

Nikki sighs before opening the gate to allow them through. "Next time you bring me some cute animals, you have to let me pet them."

"Will do." Thomas tips his hat before driving the carriage down the path and away from what he deems as a crazy woman who would kill him if she wanted to.

Thomas reaches the end of the tunnel, stopping next to a few doors. One of which leads to the headquarters of a faction that wants to overthrow the government. It is, of course, led by the man they call Donavan. Silverfalls is a city that can't be overtaken by outside forces, however, a civil war would be a cause for concern. Some think Donavan is a visionary, a charismatic leader who can do no wrong. While the rest view him as a power-hungry lunatic who never got his way.

Today changes the course of history forever. Thomas saw the full potential in these young wolves. What they will become in the future seems limitless to his feeble mind. They'll no doubt join the fight since they have a reason to want to shed blood. Thomas wants to use this hate to foster a desire for vengeance. The inner workings of his mind have been devising a plan and perfecting it when they were on the run.

Thomas walks up to one of the plain wooden doors and knocks on it. After a few moments, the door opens. On the other side stands a dark-skinned man with several scars running across his face. His attire reminds the Skoll of a rouge fighter that specializes in archery as well as hand-to-hand combat.

Thomas cowers when he sees the serious look on Donavan's face. I'm not pleased to see him in his dwelling. "Got my money?" He says with a surprisingly smooth and calm voice.

"We'll, no." Thomas scratches the back of his head. "I've got a long-term investment that should make up for it."

Donavan looks past Thomas to see the three wolves staring back at him with curiosity. "Not interested." He replies. "I like my cash upfront. That easy some jackass like you can't screw me over."

"Trust me, this isn't like last time." Thomas pleads his case.

Donavan doesn't buy it. "That's what you said last time, and look how it turned out. You're nothing but a snake."

Thomas pushes Donavan into the room and shuts the door behind him. "Even if my plan doesn't work out, those wolves are worth a lot of money," Thomas whispers. "Atraya is after them, the whole country. Imagine the price we could get for turning them in."

"You really are a snake." Donovan rubs his chin as he considers his offer. "But that's why I haven't killed you yet. Show them to their quarters," Donovan shoves him out of the door. "And stay out of my room."

"That went better than I expected." Thomas says as he walks to another door.

"It did?" Luna asks. "From here, it looked like he wanted to kill you."

"That's just how he is." Thomas lets out a nervous laugh. Then he whispers to himself. "That's just how I like it."

"What did you say?" Fenrir asks, barely unable to hear what Thomas muttered under his breath.

"Nothing," Thomas says with a stern voice. "Let's go." Thomas opens the door and leads them in. Inside is a long hallway with many doors. He opens up another door into a small room carved into the mountain just like the tunnel, except here's cheap furniture and a shit bucket. "Sorry about that, " Thomas says, and he moves the bucket into the corner. "This is the only extra room we have. And unfortunately, we can't have you living in the woods on the outskirts of the city."

"It's a shithole," Luna says as she crosses her arms. "You expect us to live in these conditions?"

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"I agree." Fenrir takes his sister's side. "It feels more like a prison. We're not dogs that can be locked in a cage."

Thomas sighs and slumps over, defeated. "It's the best we can do for now. I'll talk to Donavan in the morning and get you a better room." Thomas shuts the door as he leaves and locks it. He leans against the door, sighs, and whispers to himself. "Did I make the right decision?"

"WHAT!!" Thomas jumps away from the door when he hears Fenrir yell. "Speak up. Stop talking to yourself."

After a few minutes of getting settled into their new temporary home, Skoll tries opening the door and sees that it's locked. "That villain locked us in here. It's time for a prison break."

"Can't you take anything seriously?" Luna scolds Skoll. "I know you're doing that on purpose. But this isn't the time to be playing games anymore."

"I know." Skoll catches Luna and Fenrir off guard with the sudden mood shift. Skoll slams his hand on the door and looks at his siblings. "Creativity is a great motivator. Besides," Skoll looks at the ground. "It helps take my mind off of Mother."

"SHE'S NOT DEAD." Luna snaps at him. "You wouldn't have to take your mind off everything as long as you have a positive attitude." Luna walks over to the shit bucket. "Now if you don't mind leaving I have t-" Luna's face would be red if not for her fur. The realization that she has to share a room with her brothers while using the bathroom haunts her.

"DON'T YOU TWO DARE LOOK AT ME WHILE I'M GOING!" She snaps once again. "Mother told me how perverted guys can get.

"That's disgusting." Skoll remarks as he turns away from her. "Why the fuck would we want to see you naked?"

"Siblings tend not to have an attraction towards each other. Most people find the act disgusting." Fenrir points out. "Besid-"

"Stop talking and let me do what needs to be done." Luna cuts him off in a calmer tone since she can't hold in her bodily fluids anymore. She removes her lower garments and squats over the bucket letting her body relieve itself.

Fenrir and Skoll stand facing the wall, the humiliation they feel is insurmountable, especially for Fenrir. He becomes angry at the idea of being forced to live through this humiliation. Being treated as lesser beings, like dogs. Death would have been a more welcoming option for him. However, his anger turns into delight. This kind of suffering gives him an excuse to kill those who have wronged him and his siblings even more. He's starting to enjoy this like a masochist. A smile creeps across his face as he becomes increasingly humiliated by this situation.

Fenrir starts salivating. He returns to his senses once he realizes he can't let the other two see him like this. They might get the wrong idea. That's a form of humiliation that even he wouldn't want. Besides, he recognizes that they are more similar to humans than they are to wolves. At least when it comes to aging. Normally wolves in the wild grow faster and hit puberty much sooner. Since they haven't reached puberty yet, their bodies are on pace for a human-like experience.

The next day after filling up the bucket even more, a knock is heard at the door. The three wolves are filled with joy about the possibility of getting a new room that has a private bathroom. When the door opens, Donovan is waiting for them on the other side. The serious look on his face tells them a different story than the one they were hoping for. "If you want a new room, you'll have to prove you're useful to me." He motions for them to follow.

Down the corridor once again, the siblings can only wonder how they can prove themselves useful to what they deem to be captors. An assortment of ideas rush through their heads, some of them on the sinister side. However, once they reach their destination, their fears are put to rest. "This is where you'll be training," Donovan says as the three wolves walk into a large cavern with other people practicing magic. "Don't mind the stone walls, reinforcement magic ensures they won't break."

The siblings are thrilled that they can be free to stretch their legs after all this time. However, Donovan keeps giving them a stern look. They realize that this won't be fun for them. They have to prove to him they belong here. "Thomas! Get over here." He yells.

Thomas comes running over and greets Donavon whose demeanor never seems to change. "Don't worry. I've got a plan to whip them into shape by the end of the month." Thomas gives Donavan a salute.

"Whatever." He says while he walks away not expecting them to meet his standards.

"Alright then," Thomas says enthusiastically. "Let's begin."

The first thing Thomas wants to do is to check where the wolves are at their current level. The first test is archery. Skoll is the first one up, he ends up hitting the outside of the target, missing the bullseye by a mile. Next up is Fenrir who's confident that he can do better than Skoll. However, he's shocked that he missed the target completely. Skoll lets out a chuckle followed by a slap on the back of the head by Luna.

Luna steps up to the challenge and fires an arrow directly into the bullseye. She smirks at her successful attempt and gives herself a pat on the back. Thomas claps for her wonderful display of talent and congratulates her for such an accomplishment.

The next test is a measurement of combat skills. The siblings will be fighting against other members of this organization. The siblings are nervous, as they should be. The unknowns of battle still elude them, as well as the strength of their opponents.

This time, Skoll is the first one up. His opponent uses enhancement magic to make himself stronger. Skoll meets this challenge head-on, matching this human's strength. However, raw power is no match for magical enhancements. The human overpowers Skoll and sends him flying against the stone wall.

"Impressive." Thomas claps. "Even without magic, you were able to withstand his strength for a short while. So why don't we fix that."

"We know the basics." Luna points out. "But our mother never taught us to use anything we could use to fight with."

"What a waste." Thomas thinks for a moment. "Alright, let's teach you the basics of combat before we try this again."

....

A city turned to cinders and rubble lay before the Atrayan army. A large but poor city in Zephyria was laid to waste. Dead bodies litter the ground, a river of blood flowing outward into the forest.

Cries of the survivors lined up and ready to be executed haunting deaf ears. Kell stands in front of them as their judge. Her armor stained with the blood of their friends and family members. A mother holds her child tightly in her chest, her back turned to her enemies wanting to protect the innocent child.

Soldiers stand behind Kell, waiting for her command to kill the rest of the villagers. Kell wants to prove her loyalty to Atraya. She wants to kill them herself. She unsheaths her sword and plunges it into the mother's back, impaling the mother and child as one. She pulls the blood drenched sword out of their corpses and cleans off her blade with a dirty rag. Kell commands the soldiers to kill the rest as she heads into a nearby house to get away from everyone.

Once inside, she takes off her helmet and pukes onto the door. Emptying her guts as she recalls the screams and cries for mercy of those whose guts she spilled. 'How does Bertal do it?' She asks herself as she wipes the stomach contents off her mouth. 'That man has no soul. He's the demon king's incarnation.'

Kell takes a deep breath and relaxes. 'No, he's only doing what needs to be done. For the good of Atraya, I will slaughter all the heathens without remorse.'

Kell makes her way over to her soldiers and tells them what happened. "I can not be allowed to show any remorse for these heathens." She says while she takes off her armor and top garments, revealing her breasts. "Whip me until you see fit. I must be punished for my sins."

The soldiers look at each other in shock, none of them wanting to hurt their commander for fear that she will kill them after. However, one brave soldier steps up to the plate and takes the whip from her hand. He does not hesitate to hit her, and he uses all of his strength to whip her as hard as he can.

She whimpers every time the whip makes contact with her soft skin. Cutting into her flesh like paper, blood runs down her backside.

After the deed is done, she puts on her clothes and asks the man his name so she can properly thank him for doing their god's work. "Cloven." He answers. Cloven is a twenty-year-old skilled soldier who joined the army three years ago. His dedication and talent are the reasons why he was selected for this assault.