A millenia ago, the man who became our god king, Therun Perun Taloc, roamed the world. He crossed the ocean from lands unknown on the back of a lightning serpent. With him came the beast peoples, Lizardmen and snakemen, who perished on this continent. Werewolves and felinids came as well, crossing the oceans on floating islands.

The werewolves were great warriors, each one of them greater than a dozen knights. Though their race had no magic to speak of. They were His vanguard, fighting alongside Taloc himself, the only mortal beings capable of such a feat. Many died during the war, some say they went extinct, but we sages know the truth. How the werewolves procreate unnaturally, growing in number with blood rituals as Taloc demands. I believe King Aldric’s Blade is one such creature, for he is a knight of unparalleled prowess, even among the knights of the royal guard.

But strength and skill was never enough to fight the old gods. Magic was required to match their tempests, and their hordes of shamans could only be matched with greater numbers. To this end, Taloc altered the feline races of his homeland, molding them in the image of elvenkind to father the Eclipsiarchs we know of today.

They have an inhumanly long lifespan, able to endure this world for centuries. In spite of their endurance he gave them the felinid’s early puberty and litters of four or more children. His aim was clear, drown the enslavers in a tide of magical kittens. Very fearsome.

It took centuries, but with the immortal Taloc the tide had shifted against the beings that were. As King of Lightning he could slay any man, defeat any army, and even wound the gods themselves. But he still slept, and ate, and fought one battle at a time.

First he culled humanity, then he occupied their fortresses with his races, using their numbers to creep across the world. As they multiplied several distinct lineages split off, Pardanites in the jungles of the distant south, they are a crossbreed of werewolves and Eclipsiarchs, difficult to raise, and slow to age, but peerless warriors. Unlike the common Pantherians who were bred for numbers alone to conquer the land.

They are the most diverse and adaptable of the feline races, living alongside humanity, and the only acceptable race of slaves. Amongst the forbidden races are the Umbraquinns and pureblooded Eclipsiarchs, both capable of wielding divine classes.

Umbraquinns are universally born with the dark affinity, while Eclipsiarchs may possess any magic and pass on their magical affinities to their children. Similarly to how human nobles may pass on their powers.

Under Taloc’s bloody millenia humanity was freed from the old gods and shielded by the feline races. Though there was a grievous cost. For every human saved a dozen pantherians gave their lives. In the end, the old ones servants were mainly human and over the centuries Perun Taloc ground them into submission. The old gods fled this land, maybe even this world, and Taloc assumed their mantles of power.

Nonetheless he refused to stay, he once again took the inhuman races and left the continent, never to be seen again. Humanity exploited his absence, enslaving their conquerers on the night of his departure. Tens of thousands lost their lives that day, ending the bloodlines of Eclipsiarchs and werewolves. Without their rulers or their champions the felinids died. The snakemen and lizardmen went extinct, and the Pardanites vanished.

A dominance Humanity exploited fully, for recently freed slaves power is a force of corruption; rotting them to the core. Within fifty years humanity had erected the Fulminonimbus and enslaved all beastial races. Purging all the mages and neutering the vast majority.

By royal decree all Felinoids must be castrated or registered as breeding stock. None are to be freed. Any Felinoids showing magical affinity are to be slain and their execution to be confirmed by public vivisection at the royal college of magic.

The current record is twenty three hours under the surgeon’s knife. Although that is hotly contested since the subject stopped responding after eighteen hours, with only their tears continuing for five more hours.

—

Liam listened to the story with growing interest, fascinated by the absurdity of elven cats somehow creating black magic cats. The whole tale seemed a bit fanciful, possessing qualities of being retold a thousand times and growing ever more implausible. Though his mood soured at the ending. Humanity owed everything to this lightning God and his servants. To castrate their liberators seemed downright evil, cartoonishly villainous. Except, Baron Green knew it was true. Deep in the wrinkles of Green’s brain he recollected the same tale, this time from a man who drank too freely, and left his bishop’s raiments cloistered.

Violent dreams sprang to Liam’s mind when he heard of the unthinkable abomination that was vivisection. He had worked in an anatomy lab, where he had been party to human dissections. Generally sourcing cadavers from alumni who donated their bodies after passing on. To further the study of medicine in a way few people could. Dissection was the scientific disassembly of a corpse. Whereas a vivisection was the scientific disassembly of a living, breathing, screaming human being.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I’m going to end this world.” Swore Liam.

Rhendal looked to Nyota, then back to Liam.

“Will you leave us behind in the ashes?” He asked, tone strikingly neutral.

“Oh, uh. That’s not what I meant. Vivisections are evil, uh slavery too ya know, so I uh.-” Stuttered Liam, mind racing as he tried to find the words to convey his actual intent.

Nyota chose that exact moment to pounce, dropping herself into his lap with the delicate grace of a cat. Pinning him to the wall with her hips.

“Take meow with lord!”

Did she just actually meow? That’s kinda cute—

“—I didn’t mean I would literally destroy the world! I meant that this kingdom is super screwed up! You can’t be doing vivisections on people just because they were born! That shit is pure god damned evil! A twenty three hour record? Tell me what was learned during that torture? Nothing, because you have no cellular theory or microscopes! Internal organs are less understandable than literal bloody magic!” Liam shouted.

“You are a single man. A lone baron. Do not speak of treason when you have more enemies than you can manage.” Advised Rhendal.

Liam covered his face and screamed into his hands, startling Rhendal and Nyota. The later making herself as small as possible without leaving his lap.

“Feck!” He shouted, falling silent as Nyota’s fear tamed his rage.

Slavery began with strength of arms, it can end the same way. Rhendal is right. If I want to change things for the better I need to be careful about my actions. Survival should be my first priority, a landless Baron can’t do anything, but a Baron with a thousand soldiers… No, I can’t even get a hundred soldiers! Where am I going to find a thousand— Wait, he said they have kittens— I mean, kids, quickly. I am having a crisis of not enough people, could I purchase enough of the cat people to repopulate and build an army? Damnitall! I’m already forty. Fifty is about as long as people live in this world, I’ll die before I can change anything…

Nyota’s tail flicked nervously, fluffing Liam’s face.

No. I can’t think like that. A civilization endures when old men plant trees whose shade they will never see. I have to leave this world better than I left it, which I can do. My lightning can be a force of change.

“How do they have so many kids?” Asked Liam, swatting at Nyota’s tail.

She kept using it to tickle his face. Just like a cat who decided your keyboard was the perfect place for a nap.

“We aren’t like you humans. Six is average, but my largest litter was twelve.” Said Nyota.

“Huh? Nyota you’re a MILF? I mean a MOM! Holy crap twelve kids?”

Nyota flicked her ears, giving him a toothy grin. Rhendal chuckled knowingly, somehow already in on the joke, and drawing a glare from Liam.

“You really aren’t the baron are you.” Giggled Nyota. “My kids are why all my fur has gone gray. Stressed the color right out of my coat, lost track after the sixth litter.”

Liam’s eyes bugged out of his skull. Six litters? No, she had lost track after six so at least seven litters and her record was twelve. Nyota was putting the Mormons to shame on having a big family. Thirty six kids was beyond human ability but she had well over forty kids.

He would have fallen off the wall if Nyota had not been on his lap.

Nyota had never appeared as a teen or a girl, but her hair was platinum white. Not speckled gray like an aged woman. Her face was weathered, and the faintest hint of wrinkles were beginning to form at the corner of her eyes and mouth. Though her unusually sharp teeth stood in perfect alignment, giving her a certain alluring quality. Especially since having all your teeth was above average here.

“I thought you were a maiden to be honest.” Blabbed Liam, sticking his foot in his mouth without realizing.

Rhendal lost it, laughing so hard he rolled off the trunk and fell into the bushes, howling like a hellhound with laughter. Nyota’s ears flicked back and her face fell.

“Oh. I see. Uhm. Sorry that I’m not what you wanted mew lord.” Said Nyota softly.

“Ah! No, uhm, ah! That’s not what I meant. You are a lovely woman-”

Rhendal’s laughter redoubled.

“Am I not what you want?”

“What I want? Nyota, you’re amazing, its’- I’m engaged.”

“Oh. If that’s all, Felinarians can’t have human children, nothing to worry about.” She said matter-of-factly, as if marriage or engagements meant nothing to her.

Rhendal was gasping for air now, struggling to breathe between his howls of mirth. Tears were flowing as he waved to Liam, trying to catch his eye.

“I know Baron Green was a scumbag, but I promised my fiance- Sarah. I’m not— I can’t cheat on her.”

Nyota’s face went blank. No anger or joy, just a neutral blankness. As enigmatic as the sphynx of egypt.

She stood abruptly, retrieving Rhendal from the bush he was entangled in, and patting him on the back until he caught his breath. Then she made herself scarce, scrupulously avoiding Liam’s gaze.

“We should be on our way now m’lord. I hear shouting in Petra.”

Aw hell. Why do I feel like I just broke up with her?