Prologue:

Vaspier. Lykos. Ephemeral. Three races on one world, one half of a world. The Blasted Waste was not something that anyone could live on, especially not Vaspier. They got one hell of a tan whenever they were caught in the light of their star for a few minutes, let alone the hellscape on the other half. Seared by a powerful, massive sun for three days straight, whatever life was there was life designed to live on basically nothing. The planet’s abnormal rotation caused extended night on one side of the world, and extended day on the other, not that the Vaspier complained about the night, that allowed them to act without worry of having their sensitive dermals ignited by the merciless touch of the star. They were creatures of the night, and the Lykos were adapted to at least survive extended night, by taking advantage of the sun when it was around, in the most efficient way ever seen in the universe. Unfortunately, the Ephemerals were a new breed, and yet to be able to live in such darkness, slowly dying as soon as they were born, giving birth to their name. But there was a small blossom of hope, as the oldest Ephemeral alive right now was 37, an age all but unheard of in the Ephemerals a century or two ago. They were adapting to the night, but until they adapted entirely, they were dependent on the Vaspier’s assistance to live as long as they did. Pharmaceuticals and targeted dietaries were made to allow them to be less sick while dying, and to die slower. In return, the Ephemerals made up a servant caste, since both Pharmaceuticals and their very precise food requirements were both expensive, and no Ephemeral lasted long enough to get rich. But this delicate balance, was not to last, if recent events were anything to go off.

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Like teenagers with no adult to advise or guide them, the Ephemerals raged. Feeling the state of affairs to be completely unfair, as if they should be given such life-extending assistance for nothing. With mass uprisings across the planet, the police force was overwhelmed. The most they have ever had to deal with was drunken louts and overenthusiastic Lykos. They had neither the training, the equipment, nor the numbers to deal with such a large scale upheaval. And the War of Fur and Fang was a long time ago. This gave rise to an increasing number of Bounty Hunters, and more prominence to the ones that currently existed. Justicars and special law-attached units that would hunt down more dangerous, martially minded targets. This cultural shift, was were the pair Sarasagi and Alric entered the picture. Simple hunters, they saw this as an opportunity, to get out of the scruffy clothes and shammy building that they called home and finally make something of themselves. And besides, criminal Ephemeral were fair game for being turned into dinner