The room fell into silence. Earth-Shaker shot one last glance at Sun-Chaser, who kept her eyes averted, then walked out of the tent.

Risha looked at Elder Kulos, who gulped under her gaze. “Find my armor.” She turned her attention to Sun-Chaser. “Follow me.”

Risha grabbed her sword and walked out of the tent after the large kobold. The wound on her stomach hurt, but she just used the pain to fuel her as she walked towards a large clearing where wolves, goblins, and spiders were gathering. Word had spread fast.

RIsha had to admit that she’d been wanting to fight the monster. He challenged and disrespected her. Just like the overseer, she wanted to see his head on a pike.

Risha slowed her steps.

She didn’t know when her thoughts had turned so dark. She looked up at the slowly darkening sky, covered in dark clouds.

There was a creature out there that had committed the ultimate sin of killing one of her children. But she had spared its life. Was that kindness gone? Where was the simple life of joy that she’d enjoyed with her fellow goblins? It wasn’t easy, but there was an innocence to it that she missed.

She thought about the Kobold that Earth-Shaker had made to challenge her. He’d sacrificed his fellow without a thought. But hadn’t she done the same? She’d chosen the fate of all her fellow goblins, and she never thought to ask them what they wanted. She’d chosen a war that they couldn’t escape from, one that was far from over.

She looked over the gathering goblins, many of whom looked at her with awe as she approached. She hadn’t asked a single one whether they wanted to evolve. Yes, they’d always been happy, but she’d never told them of the choice she made for them.

Her eyes met Earth-Shaker’s who spoke with one of his alphas.

What made her better than him?

“Thank you.” The soft comment came from behind her.

She turned to meet the eyes of Sun-Chaser.

“You told me once that we could be like you. That my brothers and sisters could be more than mindless wolves-” Sun-Chaser’s voice broke. “I didn’t believe you at first. I thought that he was right, that we had to stay this way, or we would fall apart. But then I see you. I see the way you care for your own, how you fight for your people.” Sun-Chaser lowered her head as tears rolled through her fur. “Thank you for fighting for us.”

Risha put her hand on top of the fox-like kobold’s head. She took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of the soft fur on her fingers. “Risha is the Grand Mother. But more than that, Risha is Risha. I will always fight for my people.”

Risha had spared that bird when it hunted her spiderling. Not because she was soft-hearted, but because it too fought to protect and feed its children. The reason her hatred for Earth-Shaker was so strong was because he used his people, he didn’t protect them.

“Thank you Sun-Chaser.” The fox’s ears perked up and she raised her head. “Remember that it was you who asked for my help. You are a good protector of your people.”

Risha turned away as Elder Kulos came running up with her armor. Pieces were still missing and bloodied from her fight with the Orc Chieftain, but it would have to do.

The Elder helped her put the armor on. His eyes met hers as he placed the chest piece on her. His hatred for the orcs was no secret, but there was something in his gaze that surprised Risha.

“Do not lose to the wolf.” The Elder said, then stepped back.

Risha nodded to the Elder, then turned her gaze to the waiting army.

Every goblin, kobold, and spider in the army must’ve been gathered. Even the orcs under Klu watched, some distance between them and the rest of the army. The goblins watched her with a reverence that Risha had been starting to see more and more of.

Earth-Shaker stood in the middle of the circle, his claws growing to monstrous size in front of her eyes.

Risha unsheathed her sword and handed the scabbard to the Elder. He bowed and stepped back. The sword hummed in her grip, and Risha examined it carefully as she focused her mind for the battle to come. Risha might’ve imagined it, but the notches down its length seemed smaller than she remembered.

Risha looked up, then stepped into the circle where Earth-Shaker waited.

“Hello, little goblin.” Earth-Shaker bared his teeth in a confident smile. “We both knew it was going to end like this, didn’t we?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Risha ignored the kobold’s words as she settled into the stance Klu had taught her. Energy rushed through her body as her skills activated.

There was no warning before the large creature was in front of her, her sword met his claws and she was thrown backwards by the force of his strike.

He didn’t give Risha time to rest as he jumped at her again, his large form looking to crush her under its weight.

Risha rolled out of the way, her cuts reopening as she forced her body to move as fast as it could.

Claws found her again, but this time she wasn’t fast enough to block as large gouges were drawn through her armor. She twisted and blocked the other claw. Earth Shaker growled as he pushed her arm up, exposing her throat.

His mouth came in to bite her throat out.

Risha smiled wide as her offhand moved in a familiar form. Fire burst forward, singeing the wolf’s mouth, nose, eyes and blinding him.

Risha dropped to the floor and rolled around the creature. Her sword flashed up, and Earth-Shaker jumped away a second too late, leaving a nasty gash in the kobold’s side.

The kobold growled and shook his head.

Risha stepped forward to press the attack, but a piercing howl pushed her back.

“I’ll admit. You are strong, Risha.” Earth-Shaker said, the wound in his side rapidly healing. The fur around his face was singed, but he looked at her with clear eyes. “But you are young.”

Risha cried out as she felt a sudden sharp pain in her side. She looked down to see the claw marks on her armor had expanded, puncturing deep into her ribs.

Her armor barely applied enough pressure to keep her blood in, as it started to drip down her side. A strange energy flooded into her from the wound, and Risha felt her energy leave her.

Risha whimpered as she put her hand to her side and stumbled. Her eyes unfocused before focusing back on the approaching form of the large Kobold.

He towered over her as her energy fully left her and she fell to her knees.

“I told you, you will die like the lowly creature you are. Whimpering in pain and looking up at me.”

Risha’s grip on her sword tightened as she refused to look away from the eyes of the large beast. He raised his hand to the air.

“You are just like the orcs.”

The kobold paused his strike.

Her gaze was unwavering as she forced the words out of her mouth. “You look down on me. You enjoy my pain. You are a tyrant.” Risha stood, her feet unsteady.

The kobold took a slight step back as he watched her, expecting some trick. She simply raised her sword. A war raged inside her as [Mother’s Ferocity] fought back against the strange effects of the poison in her system.

The kobold sneered and slashed at her with its claws. She blocked the strike, and was thrown by the force of the strike.

She rolled on the ground onto her back. The kobold didn’t move as an echo of the strike hit her sword again and slammed her into the ground.

She coughed blood into the air as her breath was knocked out of her.

She wheezed as she returned to her feet, blood trickling down her mouth. The kobold still hadn’t moved, but he grinned.

“The orcs were a plague on this land, just as you lowly goblins are. Do you know what your people were like before you were slaves?”

The goblins in the crowd shifted at his words, but didn’t dare to interrupt the fight.

“You were brainless monsters that pillaged and hurt anything you didn’t understand. You were worse than the orcs. Mindless. Barbaric. Pests to be exterminated.”

The kobold disappeared and Risha blocked a feint, only for the claws of his other hand to cut into the armor of her left arm.

Risha landed a strike in response, cutting into the kobold’s shoulder.

The echo of his attack cut through her armor, drawing ribbons of blood from the arm. Her arm hung loosely from her side, leaving only her sword arm.

The wound she’d left on Earth-Shaker healed before her eyes.

“You were a plague.” Earth-Shaker walked up to where she barely stood, and spoke his next words in a whisper. “I enjoyed slaughtering your people. Watching you little pests die. I felt good making the world a better place.”

Risha screamed and swung her sword. Earth Shaker stopped the strike, but Risha let go of her sword and jumped onto the monstrous beast. Her energy fought back against the poison inside her as [Mother’s Ferocity] filled her muscles with strength.

Claws raked across her back, but she didn’t care as she forced her injured arm to work and swung around the kobold onto his back. Her teeth bit deep into the fur of the kobold and he howled. Risha ripped out a chunk of his meat and swallowed, blood filling her vision as she lost control.

Her claws, while weaker than the wolf’s, found the wolf’s eyes and punctured deep. The kobold attempted to fall onto his back, but Risha just swung around and scraped his stomach with her claws. Risha felt an echo attack on her back, drawing a spray of blood, but she didn’t care as she bit down again. She swallowed, reveling in the pain of the kobold as he rolled again in an attempt to crush her.

Her teeth found the back of his neck, and she bit down, mustering every last ounce of strength in her body. Then she pulled. Snaps echoed out as the large kobold stopped moving beneath her.

But she wasn’t done as her teeth and claws tore the wolf apart.

Finally, dripping with blood. She stood up and looked down at the mangled corpse. She spat out fur, her vision going in and out of darkness.

She looked up at the shocked crowd of kobolds and goblins. “Risha is a monster! Risha will be a monster! Risha will do anything for her people!”

Risha showed her bloody teeth, then collapsed to the ground.

The crowd didn’t move for a moment, shocked by the viciousness they’d just witnessed. Tya was the first to move as she ran up to the severely injured Risha.

Finally, Sun-Chaser stepped forward and howled. She got down and bowed to the unconscious goblin. “Sun-Chaser presents herself to the new alpha.”

Howls followed hers as the gathered evolved kobolds bowed in respect to their new alpha. Many of them weren’t happy with the change in leadership, but Sun-Chaser would change their minds, or they would join their old alpha.

Sun-Chaser looked over all of the unevolved kobolds, incapable of basic speech. She wouldn’t let her people stay mindless beasts.