Neopian Takeover
The sun shone brightly upon Roo Island as a few wisps of clouds scuttled across the azure sky. A young black haired Kyri walked alongside the newly built parapets of his new castle walls. His yellow eyes flashed in the sunlight as he gazed upon his newly acquired kingdom. The Island's residents had fought uselessly as the Kyri marched his soldiers into the capital, slaying or imprisoning those who got in his way. His eyes flashed in irritation as one of his red Gelert lackeys approached and bowed before him.
"Not a single neopet or person has escaped the Island M'lord Keragal." The Gelert said bowing again, his gravely voice rippling with surprised joy.
"Excellent Jerdai. The Pant Devils and other evil creatures of Neopia should be capturing The Haunted Woods, Mystery Island and The Lost Desert as we speak." he growled looking into the direction of each place mentioned as if he could see the battles being fought. "Use the Island's inhabitants to mine that ore we talked about and send the rest to the dungeons. Make sure none escape." Keragal growled before starting off towards the keep.
The Gelert rushed off to do what he was told his red eyes sparkling with malice. He'd do as he was told but he would take a select few to attend his every need. He had a score to settle with one of the prisoners.
....... Two Months Later.......
Pain flared along a young, yellow Kougra's back as the tassels on the end of Jerdai's whip sliced into his flesh. His hind paws where tied to steaks hammered into the ground and his hands tied to bar of steel supported by a few more bars sun into the ground; restrained as he was he couldn't defend himself as another stripe was added to his back. He gritted his teeth and stood there while blood trickled through his fur and down his sides just underneath the sack clothing all slaves wore. His friend and master stood helplessly on the sidelines, along with two Lupes, and an Eyri, Jerdai's soldiers holding daggers at their throats as they where forced to watch.
"Two out of fifty!" Jerdai bellowed, a wicked smile on his face. "I bet now your regretting helping that slave and killing one of my guards, Sir Kougra." Jerdai growled.
"Three of fifty!" he shouted adding another bloody stripe.
Pain sent his mind back in time to the incident that brought him to this...
A young, green, female Shoyru had been carrying a bushel of wheat when one of Jerdai's Techo soldiers decided to relieve his boredom. Using a pole axe he tripped her, sending the bushel rolling across the dirty cobblestones. Another guard, this one a Kyri, saw her fall and picked up his whip. Under King Keragal's rule slaves who could not perform their duties would be whipped and sent to the stockades for three days without food and water.
The whip uncoiled and writhed through the air like a snake towards the supine Shoyru before Sir Kougra snatched it out of the air. It hurt his paw but the pain was nothing compared to the anger that coursed through his veins.
"You dare interfere, slave!" the Techo hissed yanking on the whip to no avail. "I'll teach you to interfere with my authority."
The Kyri that had tripped the Shoyru came over, pole-axe resting against his shoulder in an intimidating way. The silver axe head gleamed in the afternoon light before it turned pale gray as a cloud covered the sun.
The two charged with a unison yell. The whip hit the dust and the sound of steel echoed eerily in the common where they stood. Onlookers stared in mixed horror and glee as the fight unfolded around them. The pole-axe whistled through the air and bounced off the cobblestones with a dull clunk as Sir Kougra twisted out of the way. The dull hiss of steel filled the air as the other soldier drew his sword and attacked the slave himself. The blade moved with a snake like grace through the air seeking a victim. Sir kougra hissed with pain as the blade sliced into the flesh of his right arm. His round ears heard the soft whistle as the pole-axe descended through the air, whispering the promise of death.
He twisted around, the sack cloth rippling with his movement before he caught the axe's shaft in his right paw. Spinning the pole-axe with an expert touch he removed its previous welder's head from his body. Sir kougra's vision went black after the other guard hit up upside the head with the flat side of the blade and more soldiers poured into the street from a small castle.
"Don't kill him! I do not want any martyrs springing up over his death!" a gravely voice said somewhere off to his left. "Tie him to the flogging post and let me know when he comes to." Was the last thing Sir Kougra heard before unconsciousness claimed him....
"Forty-nine of fifty." Jerdai's voice called out above the crowd's sympathetic murmur.
Pain nearly sent him into unconsciousness again as the last echo- crack of the whip faded away and he was carried off to the slaves quarters. They two Scorchio's threw him against the wall, punching him in the stomach and ribs before leaving him curled up on his dusty, hay-strewn cot and leaving.
Night ad fallen when the other slaves trudged in through the dark brown door, their shoulders slumped from another hard days work. Two Lupes, a human and an Eyri stood beside Sir Kougra's cot.
"You alright?" they chorused together each one looking concerned as they sat on his cot.
"I'm ok. I just need to sleep." he said shivering slightly.
"Let us know if there's anything we can do." a Lupe by the name of Sasha said before going to her cot.
"Aye, and next time don't fight without me" the other Lupe, named Were said.
"And me, one can always win with air superiority." The Eyrie, named Kelvrin said, forgetting his wings are useless until a spell is lifted.
"Get some rest then. I'd heal you but given our condition I can't get so much as a drink of water nowadays." the human said before they all retired to their cots.
"Alright Wolf." Sir Kougra said before drifting off into a pain filled sleep.
He awakened sometime in the night to a slight scuffling sound nearby. He heard a stone slide into place and a short while afterward the sound of someone whispering in the ancient language filled his ear. The skin on his back tingled before it stretched over and closed the wounds. Blood within his body regenerated to replace that which he had lost. It took a few minutes for the healing process to stop but when it did nothing remained to tell of his lashings.
"Thank you, whoever you are." he said weakly, one of the drawbacks of using a healing scroll.
"No, I should be thanking you for preventing those...those... jerks from causing Mica any harm." the soft feminine voice said before Sir kougra fell into a peaceful slumber.