A young Krultathan girl, scarcely 5 feet tall with snow-white fur and bright, wide eyes walked through the courtyard. She had just turned 30, the equivalent of a teen for humans, and was preparing for her first hunt with Huntress Rital Astur, a young Krultathan by her own right who managed to claim the title of Huntress in her first hunting season by taking down a Terror Grash by herself. They were large beasts, scaly and imposing, with teeth almost a foot long and standing at a height of 4 meters easily. They had a plumage of feathers around their neck used for intimidation, but should anyone ignore it, they also had long limbs equipped with razor-sharp claws 18 inches long, and a tail tipped in a bony, spikey protrusion. The closest earth equivalent would be a smaller T-rex with long arms and the tail of an ankylosaur. Few had ever been taken down by Krultathans, and usually by a large hunting party, but Rital managed the feat on her own, ripping the claw of the Grash off and stabbing it into its own neck. Varia had to admit, she became enamored with the slightly older woman who, for her part, had been very humble throughout the ordeal, saying it was her hunting party in danger that pushed her to such lengths and gave her the strength to defeat the apex predator. When Varia's own first hunt came around, only a few years later, she had practically demanded that Rital be a part of it, despite protests, and eventually, her mother agreed.
Uvok Clan were...ostracized. Many of the other clans considered their stripes and bright coloring to be an affront, especially after losing the forested lands and Krultatha becoming a dessert. The bright coloring and stripes made them stand out, marked them as different from the other clans, most of whom over time developed coats of sandy browns, with the rare except for noble clans like Zitoh, and clans with dominant genes like clan Uvra. Because of this, Rital faced a lot of prejudice directed at her, with many claiming to take credit for the hunting party's efforts even when said party vehemently agreed that she killed it on her own. Others said the Grash must've been sick or weak, and still more claimed the entire story was fabricated to try and make clan Uvra a noble clan. Normally, such rumors would fall deaf on Varia's ears, paying no heed to them, but as she grew closer to Rital, the rumors began bothering her more and more as they talked about how Rital must be trying to seduce her for favored treatment, even going so far as to call her a Sa'va'toh, a clan betrayer. Rital, however, remained steadfast and ignored it all, causing Varia to admire her even more. She saw Rital as a true Huntress, and more of a princess than she herself was. Princesses were proud, and noble, but humble as well. Skilled in combat but would not abuse their talents for the hunt, and are kind to those they care for. Rital was all of this in Varia's eyes, while she felt she was none of it.
Then, it happened. During her first hunt, a group of Krultathans journeying with her through the Sands of Eidolan to the oasis betrayed her, or more specifically Rital. They led them right into a Terror Grash nest, dropping them in its pit and running away, pulling up the few vines they could have used for an escape to prevent Rital, and subsequently Varia, from escaping. And yet still, Rital did not grow angry, she did not raise her voice, shout at the unfairness of her treatment, or beg to be let out. Instead, she took out a dagger made from the first Grash's claw and bound it to her right arm. She did not abandon Varia, instead telling her to stay close, and watch her back, treating her, Varia, as an equal, not some precious cargo, and making it clear they would have to fight together to escape. In a flash, Rital moved, jumping along the walls of the pit with such speed and precision that Varia could scarcely believe she was from a scholarly clan, moving with such elegance and grace the young girl was mesmerized, but it was then she noticed. Through the heavy clothes, the Huntress normally wore it was difficult to see, but she had just taken the majority of it off to move more freely, and Varia was able to see the crisscross of wounds on her fur, wounds that weren't from hunting, not from battles. Wounds from torture. But Rital had never spoken once about such treatment, and she was sure that the Huntress hadn't had them before when they first met right after her kill of the Grash, which meant...
Varia's realization was lost for the moment as she suddenly saw Rital pounce, her strong leg muscles leaping her forward at the neck of the first Grash, a younger one by the looks of it, and stabbing the claw dagger into its throat, blocking its windpipe. As if gasping for breath, flailing around, she used its desperate movements to propel herself towards the next one, pushing her own hand, and claws out, through its eye socket, killing it instantly. Again and again, she leaped from one to another, mesmerizing Varia with a dance of grace and death as she took on a full den of Grash by herself, armed with only her dagger and body. One by one they fell, over and over again, bright orange blood spilling on the sparse ground until finally, only the alpha was left. Varia tried to help, of course, but she was no match for the speed or ferocity that Rital had shown, so she went low, trying to take out the Grash's legs when she heard a sick sound.
The Grash had tried to hit her with its tail, and Rital had moved in the way to stop it, her face taking one of its spiked along the side. She was bleeding profusely, and Varia worried for her as Rital fell to the ground, but as the scent of her blood hit the young princess's nostrils, something...primal, came over her. Like a snapping of a button, all the anger at how Rital had been treated, all the rage over seeing her scars, over realizing what she had been enduring just for being Varia's friend, washed over her as for the first time in her life, she went into the Zitoh clan's berserker state.
"You...How dare you...You harmed...pay...paypaypaypaypay...YOU'LL PAY IN BLOOD!"
Varia launched herself, far more forceful than she ever thought she could, at the Grash, her claws sinking into its scaled hide as she ripped chunks of flesh off its back. Its arms couldn't reach here, nor could its tail, so it bucked, trying to shake her off, but this seemed to only anger her more as she resorted to even biting the large beast in a frenzy, climbing as best she could further up its back to get at its softer neck, with the Grash doing everything it could to stop her. Heavily wounded, it gave one last great heave and managed to toss Varia off its backside along with another chunk of its flesh, still held by the young princess's fangs. Landing on her feet, claws dug into the ground, Varia stared directly at the Grash alpha as she took the piece of flesh from her mouth with a paw, and then ate it, right in front of him with sadistic glee. She wanted it to fear her, she wanted it to know it was her prey, she wanted it to understand the penalty for hurting Rital, just as the others who hurt her would once she was finished here. Rital was kind, she was nice, and treated Varia like a person. She would not allow anyone to harm her and live, nor even threaten her and live. They will pay back every error a thousandfold, starting with this beast.
With a primal, dominating roar, she launched at the Grash much as Rital had, finding her way to its throat this time as she dug her claws in and ripped chunk after chunk of its flesh away with her fangs, over and over with reckless abandon. She didn't stop when it fell, nor when it gasped its final breath, she didn't even stop after the last twitch of life left its body. Only when Rital herself came to pull Varia away from it, did she stop, her bloodlust finally being sated as the comedown from the Zitoh clan's berserker state settled in, leaving her feeling weak and weary.
There was much surprise when they returned, with the claws of each of the Grashes they killed, coats covered in their blood. There was even more surprise when Varia walked to the hunting party who betrayed them and bit their throats from their bodies, leaving one alive for just a moment to tell her who put the marks on Rital. Rital, for her part, had already collapsed but watched Varia defend her from her attackers, and silently looked at the matriarch of Clan Zivtak, the one who had done so. Varia instantly understood and walked towards the Matriarch.
"You, You did this to her, to Rital?! You tortured one whom I've taken to?! ANSWER ME"
Her Uvra vassal clan started to move to defend her, but their own leader, Ti'Chal Uvra, stopped them.
"A vassal we may be to Zivtak, but they have wronged the First daughter, an even higher offense. We are loyal to Clan Zivtak as vassals, but we are Beholden to Clan Zitoh as subjects. And I have seen Matriarch Zivtak's crimes for myself, she is guilty. My utmost condolences, First Daughter, we are but a vassal clan, and had no say in the matter, If my testimony can atone even a small bit, please take it and my life in the stead of my clan."
Varia looked at the Warrior's expression, finding it honest, and turned her gaze to her anger's new target, Clan Zivtak's matriarch.
"As First Daughter, you will be remanded into my custody, where every pain and suffering you've inflicted upon Huntress Rital of Clan Astur. You will be stripped of title and nobility, your firstborn daughter shall take head of your clan and pay taxes to clan Astur for forty years. Once you have paid in flesh and blood for each mark you have wrongfully placed on one under my care, only then will I allow you to return to the sands of Eidolan. You will wander the desert with no food nor water, for we will spare none for you until you too become a part of the desert. This is your fate."
She then turns to look towards the crowd that had gathered at the spectacle of the white-furred princess covered in orange blood.
"And should any of you raise your hand against Rital or any of clan Astur, who I, by right of Nobility, who has claimed her first hunt, who has seen the sands and returned, claim them as vassals, then you too shall suffer the same fate!"
No one in the crowd objected, and none went to defend the former matriarch, for all remembered that day why Clan Zitoh was the Clan of Queens.
Their blood ran rich with the berserkers of old and was by far the most powerful of Krultathans, and the most bloodthirsty when provoked, and none would dare challenge one who had gone through the berserker state at such a young age and still maintained her sanity.
Several decades later, through many hunts, and sharing many intimate moments, Varia and Rital did something that seldom happened with Krultathans. While they were more flexible in their intimacy, claiming another official as a mate of the same sex was rare, rarer still for a noble to do so, and even rarer to make them the leader of one's harem, before even having a harem. Yet so strong was the bond between the Huntress and Princess, that they did this without a second thought.
-------
Krultathan doctor's notes
It is most curious how the Zitoh clan evolved in arctic climates, and while their coat of fur has reduced dramatically, they still retain their "Berserker state". This particular quip of evolution was thought to evolve from their fierce rivalry with the now-extinct Brudoros, a creature white outweighed them several times and had a ferocious nature, scavenging food from other predators. The particulars of this berserker state are somewhat known, as their hearts increase their rate, increasing blood flow throughout the body, and introduce a chemical known as Zithatirus, which causes their nervous system to turn pain signals into that or pleasure, as well as increasing the number of platelets in their blood, causing it to uncharacteristically coagulate, as long as the blood flow isn't unreasonable. The few who have experienced this state, and have tried the class 5 illegal battle stimulant known as C₉H₁₃NO₃, have described it as a much more muted form of the illegal stimulant, but with slightly different properties, such as the previously mentioned transfer of pain signal to pleasure signals.
It's also worth noting that members of Clan Zitoh are the only ones known to have tried the class 5 battle stimulant and have a chance of surviving at a rate of roughly 1/3, compared to the rest of the galaxy with a chance of about 1/122. Many attribute this to the similarity of the berserker state to its effects, but unfortunately, this speculation cannot be confirmed nor denied at this point.