Chapter 2: Death
Third Person’s POV
At the central part of the blessed land, in an open square surrounded by the burning buildings of the Blood Wolves clan, a group of men and women in luxurious attires stood in front a couple of heavily wounded individuals with indifference and greed blatantly showing in their noble and haughty faces.
The king of the Artermia Kingdom, King Regor Ark stood at the helm of the group while looking down empathetically at the fallen warriors and Priestess of the Blood Wolves Clan.
The feeling of exhilaration flowing in King Regor’s body could not be any more intoxicating as he smiled benevolently at the jade-like beauty of the Priestess in front of him.
King Regor lifted his hand to pinch the Priestess’ chin as he used his other hand to caress her soft and silky black hair. It is as if he is caressing a treasure that he could not bear to part with.
“Priestess Eva’s beauty could even rival that light of the moon. Killing such a beauty is against my conscience, so why does Priestess Eva reject this king’s offer to work together for the brand new future that our Royal Ark Clan envisions?”
The King really felt it was a pity.
The King’s voice is as gentle as the trembling morning dew, but the chilling light in his brown pupils could not hide the rotten heart hiding his ambitious thoughts.
Priestess Eva did not evade the disgusting touch of the ruler that their clan once trusted. She just looked on coldly at his actions as if looking at a jester foolishly succumbing to madness.
As the current Priestess of the Blood Wolves Clan, Eva Blood knows of every single history of their clan and the Royal Ark clan since the first generation of werewolves after the creation of Selestine.
The trust between the two clans could not be explained by mere words, but Priestess Eva could only lament of the diluted resolve of the current regime of Artemia to fall for the whispers of the devils.
Slaughtering the servants of the Moon goddess without rhyme or reason, just what do they want to do?
Priestess Eva’s eyes flashed for a second as a thought struck her. She remembered the feeling of uneasiness at the last full moon while celebrating it with the royal family of the Royal Ark clan.
At that time, the king, the crown prince and the first princess seems to be too engrossed about the stories relating to the Moon goddess and the drop of golden blood that she had given to the Blood Wolves clan.
It was the usual recollection of the past and nothing was suspicious at that time, but Priestess Eva could only deduce that their Blood Wolves Clan’s current plight might be related to those seemingly harmless inquiries.
What did they want to do with that knowledge? Priestess Eva could not guess the thoughts of the Royal Ark Clan, and the feeling of helplessness from being unable to save her clan from the killings turned her already crimson pupils into an overwhelmingly dark red color as if being doused in the blood flowing from the bodies of her clansmen.
“Why are you doing this? Do you not fear the rage of the goddess?”
Priestess Eva’s slightly quivering voice echoed amidst the crackling of the fire and the ongoing screams of the innocent Blood Wolves clansmen that are being hunted by the callous soldiers of the Royal Ark Clan.
King Regor did not answer Priestess Eva as he looked behind her to the heavily wounded main family warriors of the Blood Wolves clan. The uneasy feeling of fear and weakness while looking at the terrifying strength of the warriors of the Blood Wolves clan that could one day spell disaster to his and his family’s reign finally vanished.
King Regor could not stop the cheerful feeling of finally taking care of an itch that has been bugging him for so long.
The distrustful personality of a monarch is only a passing reason for the destruction of the Blood Wolves Clan.
King Regor’s brown eyes radiated greed and ambition as he thought of the ancient record that his son excavated from the ruins of Selestine’s first moon temple that has been buried in the passage of time.
“I am doing this for the betterment of Artemia and the rest of Selestine.” King Regor left a terrifying bruise on Priestess Eva’s chin before flinging away his hand as he turned to the wounded warriors of the Blood Wolves clan that are looking at him with eyes filled with murderous intent.
“The Blood Wolves clan has been controlling Artemia from the dark since time immemorial, and the ancestors of my Royal Ark clan might have been fooled by all of your high-sounding purpose, but I will not be chained by evil veiled as servants of the Moon goddess.”
King Regor’s serious and heroic words could not be any more ridiculous with the unstoppable smile at the corner of his lips. After this day, he will stop living in fear of being swallowed by the Blood Wolves clan, and he can also look forward to the day he could possess the treasure described in the ancient record that is connected to the mystery of the servants of the Moon goddess.
Looking forward to that day, King Regor impatiently waved his hand to his soldiers to imprison the twelve heavily wounded warrior of the Blood Wolves clan in the underground dungeon of Artemia.
King Regor did not want to waste the warriors of the Blood Wolves clan by killing them off. He will find a way to control them as puppets to be obedient protectors of his kingdom.
The soldiers followed their King’s command, and the only ones left in the bloodied and ruined square of the Blood Wolves clan is the King, Crown Prince, First Princess of the Royal Ark Clan and Priestess Eva.
King Regor exchanged glances with his son before nodding in determination.
Crown Prince Rogeus Ark did not dare to tarry as he took out a coldly shining dagger made up of black steel before walking in front of the slumped Priestess Eva.
“Take out her heart without damaging it.” King Regor commented on the side as he watched the bursting hate on Priestess Eva’s pupils with indifference.
Crown Prince Rogeus nodded as he took out the ice jade box that was especially made for this very moment. It is especially crafted to contain the heart of the Priestess which will be one of the key to unlock the treasure of the ancient record.
First Princess Regina Ark smirked in derision while looking at the otherworldly face of the Priestess of the Blood Wolves Clan. As the hailed number one beauty of the Artemia Kingdom and pursued by known leaders of many of the werewolf clans living in the kingdom, Regina have always hated the feeling of jealousy while facing the impeccable faces of Priestess Eva and Asha.
One is the current Priestess and the other is the heir. Princess Regina could only grit her teeth in hate, but she did not think a day like this would come. Knowing that the source of her jealousy would cease to exist after this day, Princess Regina felt an unprecedented rush of pleasure.
Princess Regina was about to help his older brother to gouge out the Priestess’ heart when a soldier arrived to whisper something in her ears that made her malicious eyes brighten. She did not hesitate to follow the soldier with a nod of his royal father.
And it did not take her long to arrive in a grassy slope wherein five of their soldiers are surrounding the slender and trembling figure of Asha Blood, one of the thorns in her heart.
A deranged laugh spilled out of the beautiful face of Princess Regina as she jumped down the slope with a push of her soles. As a royal blood of the Ark Clan, Princess Regina is a werewolf that could fight without losing against her own powerful royal guards.
Pinching the slender neck of a still green heir of the Priestess like Asha Blood would not even let her break a sweat.
In the current era of Selestine, its inhabitants are governing their own clans and kingdoms with the rule of the strong.
The only one who could stand as leaders and ruler of their own territories are those with unbeatable strength that could compel their subordinates to follow them with undying loyalty.
But, the Blood Wolves clan is not the same. The chosen Priestess holds the golden drop of blood of a god, the goddess of the moon, and it contains unimaginable power that changes in accordance with the uniqueness of the Priestess.
Priestess Eva Blood is a priestess of great intelligence and the gift of power given to her by the golden drop of blood is to see blurry bits and pieces of the future that could affect the balance of Selestine.
But she failed to foresee the very own destruction of her beloved clan.
A cry of anguish broke through the chaotic noises of the ruined blessed land as Crown Prince Rogeus’ dagger stabbed and cut open the chest of the remorseful Priestess.
Death IIThird Person’s POVPriestess Eva’s bloodcurdling scream pierced through the darkened sky filled with smoke. And the escaping clansmen of the Blood Wolves clan shuddered in horror as they looked back to the central square.Indignation and hate clouded their visions, and their escaping figures did not hesitate to go back to where the scream is coming from while disregarding everything to fight to the death with their pursuers.They might fear the sickle of death, but they could not let anyone taint their clan’s honored Priestess without retaliation.The Blood Wolves clan’s population is only less than five hundred individuals, and half of them are the old that are long past their prime, and children that are still unable to defend themselves from adult soldier werewolves of the Royal Ark clan that has been polished to endure the cruelty of a battlefield.Discordant cries of unwillingness continued to ring in th
Death IIIThird Person’s POVThe moonless night allowed the darkness to deepen, and even shadows could not be seen to the scattered soldiers of the Royal Ark Clan that are now cleaning up the breathless bodies of the clansmen of the Blood Wolves clan.Each cold body of the children, women, elderly and the warriors are piled up like small hills at the central square where Priestess Eva’s body lays.The trail of blood and the burnt down buildings around the central square added to the gloom of the darkest night that have ever happened to the peaceful-loving Blood Wolves clan.The sounds of bodies scraping the ground seems more prominent as the blessed land quieted down with the last bouts of killings to those member of the Blood Wolves clan that have managed to escape to the edge of their lands but were unable to leave due to their intense loyalty.Soran curled down on the rough ground of the dark tunnel as he tried to clutch at th
Erased Third Person’s POV In a place far away from Artemia, inside a small room with only a small wick of candle as the source of light, a tall and noble-looking man stumbled as he supported his weight on the table next to him. An inaudible groan escaped the man’s thin lips that is turning paler by the second followed with his own complexion. A hint of confusion flickered on the pupils shining with the light of the candle in the dark as he seems to be clueless of what is happening to him. The feeling of weakness came over his entire body without any signs, and it almost swallowed his reasons as the pain that followed seems to be coming from the depths of his soul. It is similar to the feeling of death, but the man could not guess the reason of his body’s sudden strangeness as the weakness and pain also disappeared as quick as it came. At the flash of dawn, the chaos in the blessed lands of the Blood Wolves clan finally abated, but the
LifeThird Person’s POVSoran mourned for Asha and the rest the Blood Wolves clan members that have lost their lives unjustly in just a night.He carried Asha’s cold body to the temple of the Blood Wolves clan that is especially built for the Priestess. The temple’s position is at the peak of the only mountain of the blessed land.And it is for the Priestess to be closest to the pure light of the moon that feels the same as the origin of their existence.Soran trudged up towards the rough terrain while carrying Asha on his back. Sweat trickled down his pale and haggard face as he single-mindedly continued his trek with pupils blended in darkness.The warm touch of the morning sun did nothing to alleviate the coldness that is currently occupying his heart and soul.Soran has never felt so useless and pained. He could not protect Asha, and he is alive while the rest of his clansmen are dead.He could not even se
Life IIThird Person’s POVAnother day passed, and it has been two days since the destruction of the Blood Wolves clan. King Regor is currently seated on his throne as he looked down at the officials of the kingdom and werewolf clan leaders of the of the thirty strongest clans in Artemia.The full moon is approaching in less than a week, and it has been a tradition of every werewolf living in Selestine to celebrate the night while giving respects to the Moon goddess in the plane of the gods.King Regor’s neutral expression does not show any of his thoughts, but he has long felt the discontent of needing to worship someone who is not even living in this land.“Your majesty, our clans has already started to cooperate in accordance with the celebration ritual of worship, and even the precious herbs to be used lighting the moon flames are now on the way to be delivered here from the deep canyons in the south.”One of the
Change Third Person’s POV Selestine, the land of the wolves is a vast and verdant land filled with towering mountains and snaking forests. The Moon goddess created his beloved werewolf race while allowing them to occupy Selestine with freedom to slowly build their own civilization. Four kingdoms gradually emerged from the nomadic and scattered tribes of the first werewolves, and they individual clans formed as the kingdoms progressed to the right track. Artemia Kingdom is situated at the central part of Selestine, Fressia Kingdom that was made up of the Arctic wolves rooted themselves up in the north, and the west and east is the territory of the Black and White Kingdom that adheres to their own beliefs without much love for their creator. But, the two kingdoms still follows the inherent celebration of the full moon while worshipping the Moon goddess along with their own invented gods. The Black Kingdom in the west is a kingdom filled with wild and ag
Change IIThird Person’s POVFour days passed in the blink of an eye and it is already the time of the full moon celebration for all of the werewolf clans in Selestine. The hot rays of the sun did not diminish the enthusiasm of the citizens of Artemia as they prepared for the worship ritual by following their ancestors to fill their homes and roads with lamps designed like small moons and stars.The light of the day could not fully show the breathtaking beauty of these lamps and lanterns, and it will shower Artemia and the other kingdoms with shimmering brilliance as soon as the night descends.But all of the joy and enthusiasm of the full moon celebration does not include Asha.It has been four days since she left the blessed land of the Blood Wolves clan, but she is only at the outskirts of the south of Artemia Kingdom. Asha’s current plan is to go to the Fressia Kingdom of the Arctic wolves to create her own force, but she needs to t
Full MoonThird Person’s POVWind whistled past the carriage as it ambled swiftly through the dust-filled road accompanied by the rushing hooves trampling down the scattered grasses of the capital city’s outer periphery.It has been five hours since Asha sat inside the narrow space at the back of the carriage that is full of secured wooden crates. She could not even feel her own body anymore due to the numbness, but her mind is not even focused on the pain that used to be unbearable to her on a daily basis as it floated faster than her to the capital where the Royal Ark clan’s ancestral home is situated.A ball of regret could not be diminished in her heart as she thought of the fact that she is unable to do anything when her enemies are just close at hand.A sudden stop caused the carriage to shake as the sounds of neighing rang loudly in the air with the boisterous voices of the middle-aged uncle and his subordinates.&ld