What is fear? Is it something tangible like hanging from a noose or being chased by a murderer? Or perhaps something more incorporeal like a vengeful thought or cruel notion? For August, it was his fourteenth birthday on the sixth day of the fourth month, in the year 815 a.c.

It had been a day like any other, he had awoken at first light to help his father in the fields while his mother went to hunt wild beasts with the others. For August it had been a sweet day mid spring filled with exploring the bounties of Selika Forest, playing in the stream with his friends, and enjoying the warm breeze flowing through his silvered tail and ears.

It was that night though that would come to haunt him. While other's would be sleeping peacefully in their beds at this time, August was awoken by the scent of rusty iron and smog. Jerking out of bed he found armed warriors garbed in black outside his bedroom door. They dragged his family out into the streets. When his father tried to resist the unknown assailants they cut him down. Blood splashed across the ground as August's mother held him close.

"It's gonna be okay baby. Mommy won't let them hurt you."

The children of Man donned in obsidian armor rode upon their ferocious beasts bringing fire and death to this small peaceful place. What once was a beautiful village in the forest, was now a sea of flames and blood littered with corpses.

August and his mother were thrown into chains and dragged away. Tears streamed down his face with no strength to run. Fear overwhelmed him, consumed him; and all he could do is what they told him to. 

Those that resisted these warriors were met with steel that cut them down with precision and no remorse.  Any who tried to run away were greeted by shields and spears before being strung up by the neck in the trees. 

However, those who surrendered were shackled and dragged through the hanging bodies to a clearing in Selika Forest.

It was here that August saw a man much larger than the others wearing spiked crimson armor covered in golden filigree. At first August thought it was actually a crimson metal that the man wore, but to his horror he soon realized what it really was. Blood. Crimson ichor dripped from corpses strung up above him, coating his similar black armor in ruby.

Once the brawny man confirmed that all prisoners were present and accounted for he pulled a parchment from within his bloodstained cloak before beginning to read.

"By order of the Kalminar Empire, all beastmen of Ashvane Village are deemed as heretics to the gods and as such are sentenced to death or enslavement. By the grace of the Empire, his majesty Emperor Calress has given you abominations two choices. Submit or die." 

He crumpled the parchment in his hand before igniting it.

"Personally my knights and I would rather kill you all here. But the Emperor has decided there is value in using you as slaves to the Empire." He spat, throwing the ashes to the ground.

"Now choose."

Blades were drawn, steel shining in the torchlight. The knights laughed at the children sobbing in terror baiting parents to lunge at them. Those that did got cut down, a look of glee and excitement across the men's faces. When they shoved their blades in August's face they were disappointed to have no reaction from him. His mind had already checked out. Fear had consumed his very being. His mother dared not move and could only watch her son be beaten, his eyes slowly becoming devoid of life.

The large man who clearly led them stomped forward to see what had his men so riled up. Upon seeing August being unresponsive he withdrew a barbed whip from his cloak. 

"You have exactly three seconds to react boy. Or I'll whip you till you bleed." He sneered, grabbing August by his hair.

"But Captain Barborus if you hit him with that he will bleed immediately!" Jeered a knight from the encircling. 

The captain threw back his head, roaring with laughter. "Right you are lad! But who cares if a man beats a devil?"

The next thing August knew the knights had tied him to a tree, his back exposed. He could hear his mother sobbing but had no idea what was going to happen to him. Then there was that strange noise. 

CRACK

  He felt something hot on his back, followed by the feeling of something running down it. Then came the pain. He screamed in agony as the captain's whip ripped flesh from bone.

CRACK

Again he felt the warmth of the strike followed quickly by agonizing pain. August sobbed, pulling at his bonds to try and escape from the tree. The smell of rust filled his nostrils as the captain kept striking. Blow after blow struck him, rending flesh from bone each time until August eventually passed out from the pain.

When he next awoke he was no longer in the forest, but in a cell. The faint sound of dripping water upon the cold stone floor filled his ears as he shook his head wincing in pain. His amber eyes scanned the cell before falling on his mother's shaking shoulders facing away from him. 

The next thing he noticed was the smell. It smelt of rot and copper with this stale filth that no matter how hard he tried not to acknowledge its existence, it forced its way through. He pushed himself off the stone and looked around the room once more. It was grimy with red stains splattered across the floor and walls.

He was dressed in rags with bandages across his back. His mother was dressed similarly but her clothes appeared more disheveled. She shook and sobbed quietly, her head buried in her hands.

"Mom?" August called out hoarsely, "Mom are you okay?"

His mother spun around, stains all over her rags. She wiped tears from her eyes, choking back her sobs before speaking.

"Sweetie, you're awake." She let off a faint smile before bringing herself to her feet.

She slowly got up off the floor, her leg twisted in a strange direction. A flash of pain washed over her face. She stifled it in hopes to not let her son see her in pain and hugged him tightly. Pain flooded August from pressure applied to his back. A croak left his lips before she pulled away realizing what she had done.

"I'm so sorry Aug, I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay mom.." he groaned.

Their moment together was bittersweet considering the circumstances. But it was just that, a moment. Knights came banging on the cell door before opening it. They smirked at his mother before speaking.

"Captain Barborus will see you in his chambers again tonight witch." They turned away, waiting for her and leaving August confused.

"Mom? What did they mean by that?" He asked, fairly certain he already knew the answer.

She didn't answer him. Instead she quietly got up and walked to the door. She looked back at him sadly before the door shut, leaving him in the cold damp cell alone with his thoughts.

August began to count the time while trying to maintain a sense of self. But his silence was broken short when two knights threw his mother's broken body back into the cell.

"Captain says this whore has filled her use. Time to go monster." They sneered, one holding out iron shackles.

August got up slowly. His eyes trained on his mother's body, her lifeless eyes staring up at him. "Where are we going?" He asked, his voice no louder than a whisper.

"The captain wants to see you. He says he's got a 'special' assignment for you."

Blood boiled in his veins as August stepped over his mother. He stood before the knights glaring up at them unmoving.

"The fuck you looking at boy?" The larger of the two men asked, his eyes narrowing.

August said nothing.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Put him in the chains and let's go. Don't wanna keep the captain waiting."

The other knight nodded, quickly putting August's wrists into the iron manacles. The three silently walked through the halls, August's ears twitching at the slightest noises.

After several turns and four flights of stairs, August was brought before a large dark wooden door with steel reinforcement upon it. The taller knight whom August had learned was named Marcus knocked upon the door. 

"Enter." The rough voice of Captain Barborus called out.

The doors were opened and August was shoved inside. The room was lined with shelves covered in books, trophies from hunts hung upon the wall around a single window as August's eyes quickly scanned the room. Captain Barborus sat at a desk, papers piled high upon it, a fireplace burning brightly behind him. August felt as if the lord of the nine hells was sitting in that chair the way the flames seemed to lick at him with no response.

"Ah good… you're here. You know, your mother took such excellent care of me while you were being treated. Be grateful, I could have left you to bleed out. But when she offered her body to me in exchange for your care, how could I refuse a mother's last request?" He set down his papers looking up from the desk.

August clenched his teeth, but said nothing in retort. The man's bald head shone in the firelight as he chuckled softly.

"You really won't crack huh? Well then good, you'll be my new toy now that that whore you called a mother is dead." He stood up from his desk slowly stepping around it.

Captain Barborus stopped on the other side of the desk and leaned against it folding his arms in thought. His deep blue tunic seemed almost black against the glow of the fire. After a silence that felt like an eternity to August, Captain Barborus pulled a knife from his hip and tossed it to the ground in front of him; an amused smile creeping across his face.

"Pick it up." He said, almost shaking with anticipation. 

August didn't move.

"Pick. It. Up."

August glared at him but still refused to oblige. The captain roared in anger before standing at his full height. He towered above August, a look of disgust and rage in his eyes.

"I'll say it one more time boy. If you don't do as I say, I will remove those pretty ears from the top of your head." 

He kicked at the knife, looming over August, his fists clenched.

"Pick. It. Up."

August shook his head no. He knew full well that if he tried to grab it, the behemoth of a man in front of him would break him in response. Captain Barborus let out a heavy sigh before grabbing August's face.

"Should have listened boy."

He slammed August's face against his knee. Blood spurted from his nose as the man continued to beat on him. He grabbed August by the hair and slammed his face into the stone floor. 

"Look at that. You got blood all over my floor. Looks like I'll need to teach you a lesson you won't soon forget."

The captain grabbed the sheathed blade and called for the two knights waiting outside to come in. When they entered he ordered them to hold August down. With him pinned down Captain Barborus sneered, grabbing his ear with one hand and the dagger with the other. 

"Let's make sure you hear me properly next time." 

August began to struggle, trying to get himself free, to fight back, anything. But all he could do was scream in agony under the weight of the three men, his ear slowly but surely sawed off by the captain. Blood streamed into his eyes, burning them as he glared up gritting his teeth in pain.

"I'll tell you what Captain, the boys got grit. Almost makes me not wanna kill 'im." Marcus scoffed, pushing his weight further into August, "ALMOST."

Barborus let out a booming laugh letting go of August. He got up before dropping the bloody blade in front of him.

"Last chance boy. Pick it up."

Barborus waved his hand motioning at the others holding down August. The other two knights got off him slowly, placing pressure on his shoulders before finally releasing him. August sat there staring at the blade intently, thoughts of how best to fight or flee crossed his mind but the reality that there was such a small chance steadied his hand.

"Are you gonna pick it up? You want to kill me don't you? After all, I killed your family. I razed your village to the ground. I even used your mother like my own personal toy."

August slowly rose to one knee, his eyes not moving from the dagger. His teeth grinding at the words the man before him spoke. The captain smirked at the sight of August visibly shaken, blood still pouring down his face. He brought himself down to August's level and whispered softly. 

"You know… your mother… she begged for more by the time I was done with her. I'll never forget the taste of her, as long as I live. She was delicious. Too bad she broke." 

August snatched the dagger up before he could think, slashing across Barborus' face. Blood poured out as the captain clenched his cheek, the flesh now flapping in the cold air of this unknown keep. The knights rushed forward but the captain waved them off. 

"S-stay back!" August shouted pointing the blade at anyone who came near.

Captain Barborus held the bloody flap of skin to his face. His grunts of pain quickly subsided as a faint glow of yellow pulsed from his palm. The goliath of a man lowered his hand to reveal the skin slowly pulling itself back together.

"I'll skin you alive for that. Luckily the gods granted us healing magic, unlike you heretics." He licked the crimson ichor that had run down his face from his lip.

"Time to see if you can bite your owner again with no teeth."

August backed towards the window looking for an opportunity to jump. But when his eyes moved away from the captain for just a moment, the large man kicked away his only means of defense. Barborus slowly stepped ever so closer with hands clenched so tight, his nails had begun to dig into his skin. Crimson orbs dropped to the floor ever so slowly seeming to move just as slowly as he did.

A boot collided with August's temple knocking him to the ground. His vision grew fuzzy and dazed, as the captain's heel dug into the side of his head.

"Get up boy. I'm not going to let you die just yet. I want you to feel true overwhelming power before I snap every bone in your body and finally feed you alive to your starved fellow beasts."

His boot crossed August's bloodied face with a heavy kick.

"Get up!" He roared in anger.

"I'll… kill you." August spat, slowly struggling to his feet.

"How amusing.." Barborus leered.

“I'll tell you what pup. You'll be the last to stand, last to bleed. First to die a witness-less martyr. The storybooks will make a monster of your people. For all who were the wiser will lay breathless, bloodless and broken at the foot of my Emperor's ascension."

August stood there, staring at the man through his broken eye socket. Amber orbs filled with hatred towards this man, towards, all, the children of Men. Blood filled his vision as he threw a weak punch at the captain.

"Come now boy, let us rest your weary heart where it belongs: the monumental peak. I’ll have you as the garnish on this pile of corpses, I'll bleed you and present you like a fine dish for the Emperor. So very many of your people have failed to stop us. Instead they have granted us a feast of despair that we will dine on into eternity greater and beyond all of your kinds petty ambitions of peace and tranquility."

Barborus slowly made his way towards the now shaking boy in front of him, a hint of amusement across his face. Heavy footsteps fell upon the stone as August slowly backed away.

"You call us Heretics, monsters, abominations. But the only monsters I see here are you.." August could feel his consciousness slipping as he spoke in slurred words.

"We are brimstone! We are the crashing sky! You creatures are NOTHING but the gravel that tumbles and trembles beneath our mighty stride!” Barborus roared, snapping his fingers.

The flame from within the fireplace slowly slithered across the stone before coming to a head. Great Serpentine fangs of flame gnashed towards August. The other two knights let out low whistles and two hounds made of obsidian and stone crawled out of the floor. The two hounds moved to block August against the window as the flaming serpent moved closer, its jaws agape.

The flames licked at August's skin burning him as it got closer. The pain was sharp allowing August to regain focus for but a moment. He pushed open the window to jump. Before he could, however; a hand lashed out and grabbed him. Captain Barborus dragged him back into the study, throwing August against his desk. With a sickening CRACK August lost consciousness, his head having collided with the abnormally large man's desk.

"Take this little shit to the gallows. I'll hang him by his toes for a week in front of the others to make an example of him." The Captain ordered before waving the knights out.

The faint droning of time August could feel was one filled with pain and agony. Every bone in his body screamed in a writhing symphony of anguish. He'd broken several ribs and had lost far too much blood for an average person. He swore he could feel someone touching him but his eyes were so swollen he could not see. Every time he felt the touch it was painful, yet gentle. A sweet scent would fill the air at these times but he couldn't place it. It smelled of his home. It smelled of the forest he grew up in. It smelled of safety. But just as quick as the scent would appear, the scent of rot and filth would overtake it once more in the cells.

After several days had passed, his vision had begun to clear. The knight known as Marcus was standing in the corner watching him carefully. August froze, uncertain of what to do. 

"You're finally awake I see." Marcus spoke out, his face clearly showing signs or irritation.

"I don't get why the captain wants to keep such a filthy mongrel alive. If it was me I'd say slit your throat and dump your body in the river."

"What difference does it make?" August groaned painfully.

"What difference does it make? You get to breathe the air given to us by the gods for just a little longer. Be grateful that we allow you to live for now, slave."

August grit his teeth at the lanky knight's words. He couldn't fight back even if he wanted to.

"So if I'm not to be put to death, where will I be going?"

"Wherever the fuck we decide to throw you. Even if it's a hole and we decide to throw away the key."

August had nothing further to say. He could tell the man had no interest in talking to him. He laid there, his eyes shutting slowly as he drifted to some pitiful semblance of sleep. Hopes that he would wake up and everything would have been just a horrible nightmare was all that kept him from insanity…

August jerked up in a cold sweat. He had dreamt of that place again. His heart was pounding like a drum as he threw the covers off. When he turned to look through the curtains he could see just the beginnings of the sun cresting over the horizon of his fields. There was no way he could go back to sleep now. Not after that nightmare. 

He turned towards a lamp by the bedside and flicked it on. After a moment of adjusting to the sudden brightness, he pulled himself out of bed, trudging towards the bathroom dropping his sweat drenched clothes on the floor as he made his way into the shower. August turned on the water and stepped into the shower, cold liquid hitting his face to wash away the residual senses of pain and despair.

As the cold water poured down his skin washing away the sweat; August couldn't help but think about the nightmare he'd had. He didn't know why it was coming back. August had tried everything from seeking the help of magicians from the local Guildhall to taking tonics offered by the Apothecary to strip those memories from his mind. His heart began to race as flashes of that scene appeared in his mind. A glint of metal, a splash of blood, the sounds of a whip cracking. He began to hyperventilate as everything around him faded away. He eventually lost all oxygen in his brain from the hyperventilation, passing out abruptly.

An hour passed before August could make out the obnoxious screeching of his rooster crowing. As he dragged himself up painfully he heard someone banging heavily on the front door of his farmhouse. He slowly pulled himself out of the now overflowing tub, reaching to the handle to turn off the flow. He grabbed a cloth wiping away the water as he looked in the small mirror. He touched the jagged portion of what was left of the ear he had lost all those years ago in remembrance before shuddering. After examining his body in a twinge of pain August found a dark bruise had begun to form along his back and left side.

"Least it covers some of the scars." August chuckled dryly to himself before going to see who was banging at his door this early in the morning.

When August opened the door, he found himself face to face with an elven girl carrying a large bag filled to the brim with fresh produce from the market. Her emerald eyes shone like gems as her golden hair laid shoulder length upon her pale skin. She looked him up and down, the bright smile she had when he first opened the door quickly disappearing.

"You had another panic attack, didn't you?" She asked him with a slight frown.

August sighed, shaking his head as he motioned for her to come in. "Nice to see you too, Aeris."