In a marsh without name that covered a hundred kilometers, life flourished. The land was wild, full of plants and creatures, both big and small, normal and demonic. This large marsh was ruled by three opposing demonic beasts, the land, above and below, was ruled by the Cormic Rat. Vermin that spawned in great numbers and wielded exceptional speed, Cormic Rats attacked in fast and ferocious vermin tides, capable of uprooting forests and splitting the earth. The inhabitants of the air all gave way to the Verro and its progeny whom ruled the skies with overbearing strength and speed, able to fly faster than any bird and shatter rock with beak and talons. The rulers of the waters were the mysterious Zin Frogs, who wielded neither immense strength nor tidal number, but the most horrid of all weapons, poison.
In the depths of the great marsh was a horrifyingly putrid bog that stretched for kilometers. Secluded in the depths of the ominous bog was an old and withered tree that was evidently wracked with sickness. It was one of the largest trees in the marsh, almost thrity meters in diameter and with roots stretching to the edges of the putrid area. The tree gave off a wilted appearance as it rotted from the inside, leaking a chilling viscous liquid from its cracked skin, with ominous mushrooms sprouting here and there, accompanied by small, dark violet flowers that gave a sickly-sweet stench, both of which could be easily recognised as poisonous if anything were to wander by.
On a horribly thunderous day, when the winds were howling, and the rains were lashing, a foot-long rat rushed through the putrid bog. The rat had fur that bore a mostly light brown colour with dark brown roots that contained a metallic sheen. The rat’s beady eyes glowed red in the pitched storm, its long white whiskers shed thick droplets of water and its centimeter-long claws dug into the water lodged mud, propelling it into a blur on its mad dash.This lone creature was in fact a Cormic Rat, with a physical strength and defence that were by no means outstanding among the demonic beasts of the marsh.
This rat was in a poor state, it had deep gashes along its back and flanks leaking blood, it was even missing a good third of its tail. This Cormic Rat was in such a state because it was an outcast, a lower member of the vermin tides that had broken a taboo. With the loss of the greatest strength of its species it now used its second greatest strength, speed, to race the harbinger of its destruction. A piercing cry tore through the ferocious pounding of the storm, competing to be heard with the deafening thunder. The hairs on the Cormic Rat’s back stood up as the wretch was engulfed in a killing intent that held an unbridled hate, emitting from an ominous figure that raged in the roiling storm clouds above.
Battling the howling winds above, a solitary Verro raged as it tried to catch the little vermin in the storm. The Verro was a domineering avian that boasted a wingspan of two meters, as well as long sharp talons and a menacing hooked beak. The Verro’s dominating nature was paired by a majestic aura given off by its lovely baby blue plumage, complimented with bright crimson primary and tail feathers, the colour also scattered across its head. The fleeing Cormic Rat had been part of a colony, that, during a time of hunger, had raided the nests of some Verros for their eggs.
The Verro’s wrath was swift and brutal, the colony was attacked by a flock of Verros, thirsting for blood they tore open the ground and a bloody slaughter ensued. Because they had provoked the Verros they were neither aided nor sheltered by the neighboring colonies, leaving this last wretch surviving on only its dwindling luck. With the Verros vastly superior speed constrained by the storm the little Cormic had a fair lead, however as exhaustion began to take its toll it arrived before a large ominous silhouette in the depths of the putrid bog.
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As the Cormic drew closer the silhouette became a huge wilted tree, ignoring all sense of danger the rat sprang among the roots searching. Under mounting pressure from the nearing Verro the Cormic found what it had on some level been hoping to find. In the roots and mud surrounding the base of the tree was a small hole, only a couple centimetres in width, this hole lead deep into the tree’s roots. With terror flooding its mind the Cormic abandoned all caution and began widening the hole, with strength beyond any normal creature of its size it quickly dug out a tunnel as it dove into the earth.
In a hollow deep within the ground a rumbling sound began to shake the walls and form ripples on the stagnant surface of a small moat. In the hollow, which was no bigger than a human chest cavity was the body of an infant snake, half of which was submerged in the unspeakably grotesque liquids that formed the moat. Its scales were dull and almost gray, with a body withered to almost half the size it should be,jowever, unbeknownst to all, a spark of life remained within the body of what was a Softscale Snake. With the rumbling of the hollow, a mysterious force that could only be described as a chill began moving within the baby’s body, stirring the last breath of life left within.
As the rumbling reached a crescendo, a rodent head came through the wall of the exit, its glowing red eyes quickly scanned the hollow only to land upon the corpse of an infant Softscale snake. Sensing an aura of danger that no Softscale had ever had before the Cormic rushed over to destroy the thing. Easily grasping the small body within its grasp, the Cormic squeezed, evoking disturbing popping sounds from the body as bones where shattered, however, just as the Cormic relaxed to asses its surroundings a chilling pain bloomed in the paw holding the baby snake.
The snake had only stirred internally, when it sensed a presence moving toward it, without sight or much strength the poor creature was helpless as it was grasped by an unknown thing. After being picked up a dull throbbing spread through its body, accompanied by an audible cracking and popping. The Softscale Snake was generally, a pathetically weak creature, it was a normal beast that was not particularly fast and did not have the size nor the strength to constrict, it did not wield venom either. It could only eat insects, sometimes dirt or vegetation and the rare creature even weaker than itself, with a meal provided by luck every now and again. With such weak heritage, the only instinct in the little creature’s mind while being crushed was to stick down its head and bite. Surprisingly, the underdeveloped fangs of the baby managed to indent the skin and prick into the skins upper layer. What would have shocked any being capable of basic thought was that the chill filling the babies body reacted. Sensing the reaction within its body, something suspiciously close to an idea, vaguely formed in the little snake’s mind once more, and the chill, directed by a simple, infantile will, poured into the aggressor.
The Cormic Rat could no longer feel its paw and shrieked in terror as an insidious chill spread up its limb, a scant energy in its body rose to fight the chill but was quickly crushed as it spread to repulse the chill emanating from the ground, air and the bite. The little snake was dropped as the Cormic began losing muscle control which soon fell to the ground shivering and thrashing. The little snake, despite its efforts truly was near death and manipulating the chilling energy had worn its mind, the only thing keeping it conscious was the chill in its body and an intoxicating aroma that filled the air.
The aroma was emanating from the gashes along the Cormic’s body that slowly oozed blood, its attention caught, the little snake neared the rat, its body now twitching as it was ravaged by the tyrannical chill. The baby neared the gash on the Cormic’s back and placed its head into it, opening its mouth only to have it filled with a wonderfully warm and tasty liquid. The little snake drank more and more blood, its size growing with it as well as the dull pain from its shattered bones, however, the little snake disregarded it all, moving further and further into the gash, opening it more and more in its quest for the wonderful liquid. In a short time, the tail end of a pump yet withered infant snake disappeared into the body of the Cormic Rat, and for the first time in its life it was gloriously warm.