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Chapter 1: The Downfall

Sar'Kal ran down a large, brightly lit hallway. The setting sun shone through the large windows to his left, illuminating everything with is blazing red light. The giant stone pillars and the smooth stone walls seemed to glow as if on fire. In the distance there were the terrible sounds of fighting; Swords clashing, men yelling and screaming, women and children crying out for mercy.

Sar'Kal kept running down the corridors, unable to go and help the innocent people being killed outside the castle. His heart seared with anger at the enemy that was attacking, however, he had a destination and he needed to get there quickly. He couldn't stop for anything. He turned right down one of the larger main corridors; he paused for only a moment at the sight that lay before him.

Lying strewn across the floor were the bodies of about fifteen royal guards, their polished silver armor glistening with the fiery red glow of the setting sun. None of them appeared to have suffered serious injury; however upon a closer inspection he could see that each of them had a single knife wound to the back of their necks that had severed their spine. Sar'Kal immediately recognized this wound and realized what it meant; he quickly looked around and then sprinted off at a greater speed than before.

As he continued to run, he witnessed more groups of guards all slain in exactly the same way; though none of the groups were quite as large as the first. Eventually as he got closer to his destination, and the halls got bigger and more beautifully decorated, the groups of bodies ceased to appear. As he turned left into the grandest hallway yet, he stopped. He looked ahead past the high walls and rows of great arched windows and his heart lurched.

Ahead of him at the end of the hall, the great Oak doors that led to the throne room were thrown open wide. Sar'Kal rushed onward, fear gripping his heart. All of a sudden there was a deafening explosion and Sar'Kal felt the castle tremble beneath him. He didn't stop, but cursed and continued running toward the throne room. He approached the doors and drew his sword and dagger and prepared himself for what he might find. He rushed across the threshold and into the giant circular chamber, but stopped in his tracks.

Inside there were bodies of more royal guards strewn everywhere, the usually pristine walls and columns were spattered with blood, and across the room the large marble throne was toppled over. In the center of the large circular room, two figures stood facing each other about ten paces apart.

One of the two was immensely larger than the other; his massive, well muscled feline form was heavily armored. His glistening chain mail was blacker than charcoal. He was covered from head to toe in this shining black armor, and he was wielding a large curved scimitar. His black furred face was contorted in a grimace of concentration as he stared at the smaller figure about ten paces in front of him; his tail twitched slightly, and his shining yellow eyes were locked to those of the fox. His ears flicked in Sar'Kal's direction as he entered the room but his eyes never left his opponents'.

The other figure was about three feet shorter then the massive panther king and very lightly armored. He wore studded leather armor on his chest legs and feet, and wore a leather bracer on each forearm. The brown leather chest piece had a long cut in it that was obviously evidence of a deadly attack that had barely missed. The fox's red furred arms were muscled and lean, as was the rest of his body. He looked like a person that did a lot of running. The expression on his face was almost unreadable, although Sar'Kal could swear he saw the slightest look of worry in his green eyes. In his right hand, the fox was wielding a long slightly curved dagger about the same length as his forearm. His ears too flicked toward Sar'Kal but his eyes were locked on the panther king.

"Well now... it would seem we have some company your highness." The fox's voice was cold and calm. "Once I have finished with you, he shall be next, and then nobody will be able to stand in the way of Worliman as it crushes this pitiful country beneath its march."

The great Black Panther's yellow eyes flashed with fury. "You shall not touch him Feneric! You shall not be the one who claims victory this day! So long as a black panther of the Umbra'Kahn lives, your king's twisted dream will never come to pass!" growled the king. His voice was deep and strong as it rang off the high domed ceiling. Sar'Kal saw anger and irritation flicker in the fox's face.

Then in the blink of an eye the king rushed at Feneric with a speed that was not natural considering the amount of armor he was wearing. However, Feneric too was unnaturally skilled and he jumped out of the way of the panther's sword and jabbed with his dagger. The blade missed as the king spun around and slashed with his ebon sword at the fox's head with lightening quick reflexes. Feneric ducked just in time and slashed upward at the king's throat as the sword swished overhead. The king leapt backward just in time as the dagger missed his throat by an inch.

Another explosion sounded and the castle shook violently knocking all three of them off balance. The king managed to keep his footing and lunged again at the fox who had not recovered so quickly. The ebon sword flashed and sliced into the fox's left leg, leaving a deep gash. But then the fox moved with such extreme speed that Sar'Kal hardly saw what happened. The fox thrust with his dagger as the king sidestepped to avoid it, but the fox's speed was too great and the dagger hit its mark with a resounding thud.

The opponents backed away from each other, staggering from their wounds. The fox's leg was badly wounded however it was the king that dropped to his knees. Protruding from the left side of his ribs was the hilt of the fox's dagger, its shining silver hilt in dire contrast with the ebon chain mail. It had not hit the king's heart, but it had pierced the armor and punctured a lung and the king was now on his knees, his breathing strained. His eyes met Sar'Kal's and he gazed at him with a look of extreme sorrow on his face before falling backward with a thud.

Sar'Kal couldn't speak. He ran over to the dying king and dropped to his knees, forgetting that the fox was still on the other side of the room. He was only worried about the great king now lying on the bloodstained floor. He lifted the king's head in his arms and removed the ebon coif from around it. The king looked up at him and smiled.

"Aww now that is truly touching," said a cold callous voice. Sar'Kal jumped to his feet and spun around to face the injured fox. "Well your highness I guess it was I that won the battle, now wasn't it? Fortunately for the young boy here, the wound you gave me will stay my hand this time. I dare not fight a black panther of the Umbra'Kahn with such a wound; Even one as young as him. Oh, but I'm not worried. I don't think he has any hope of getting out of here alive. Your castle is ours now and getting out past twenty five thousand soldiers would be tough for even you your highness." He laughed a malicious laugh at the dying king. "So with you dying and the castle taken, I have completed my mission. Therefore I will take my leave."

With that he gave a loud whistle, and turned toward the largest window behind the throne. An instant later a beast the likes of which Sar'Kal had never seen flew in and landed on the cold stone floor. It had a body similar to that of a large four legged cat, but it had two leathery wings and a tail like that of a scorpion. Its face was grotesque and distorted so it was unrecognizable, and it had two horns in the top of its head. Feneric climbed up onto the beast's back and gave another whistle and the beast kicked off the floor and flew off, bearing its rider off into the distance.

Sar'Kal turned back to the dying king and knelt once more next to his head. The king was now shaking as the wound took its toll. The wound was bleeding profusely and Sar'Kal knew there was nothing he could do. He did not remove the dagger for he knew that doing so would shorten the king's life even more. Finally the king spoke.

"I am... glad that I could see you again before I die. It has been a while since we spoke last and I did not want my last words to you to be so unkind." "...I was a fool that night Sar'Kal and I regret very much what happened between us." The king gave a grimace of pain and began to cough. He spat up a fair amount of blood before he continued speaking. "I have little time left in this world and you need to escape. Do not worry about revenge, Sar'Kal. It will only make you more like him and endanger your life and the lives of those around you. Go and find a peaceful place to live and stay there. You have to live and carry on our blood." His body gave a shudder and then he spoke more quietly. "Take my bracer Sar'Kal; as long as one of our people holds it in their possession the secret cannot be unlocked." he spoke as if in a haze. Sar'Kal did not understand what he was talking about, but he obeyed the dying kings wish.

He reached over to the king's right arm and unlatched the black metal bracer. Sar'Kal took it and attached it to his own forearm. As he did so he felt a sort of warmth flow up his arm and into his body. Once again the king spoke. "Good...good... now use the secret exit and head for Shar'Kahn. Do not look back and do not stop. Worliman is a threat, and the Shar'Kahn need to know. Tell their king what has happened here. Go my son, go and live a long prosperous life. I love you." he gave a large shudder and laid his head down. "I will give your mother your warm regards." he said softly. A single tear fell down his face and he closed his eyes and breathed for the last time.

Sar'Kal could not speak. He stared at his father's peaceful face and leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "Rest in peace father, now you can be with mother." he whispered. "I love you." A tear ran down his black furred cheek as he stood up.

Another thunderous explosion sounded directly overhead. Sar'Kal looked up to see the ceiling being blasted apart and a large piece of stone come hurtling towards his head.

******

Sar'Kal awoke with a start and sat up in bed. For he was in a bed. He was in a familiar bed in a familiar house with a familiar hand rubbing his back and a familiar voice speaking softly.

"Sar'Kal... its ok... you're here with me." He looked to his left and saw a familiar white tigress in the dim candlelight, her name was Tian'shal, and her face was filled with worry and sympathy. "Did it happen again? I could hear you making noises and moving around in your sleep." she asked with a worried tone in her voice.

"Ya...it happened again. It's been coming back a lot lately." he responded in a whisper. "I just wish I knew why it's started all of a sudden. I know it's an actual memory of that day. I guess I should be glad to have any memory at all considering it's the only thing that's come back to me." He finished speaking and turned to see Tian'shal smiling at him.

"Well that's true. At least you can remember your father." she said sympathetically.

Sar'Kal smiled. "Ya... I'm glad I can remember him again, even though it is his last moments. I guess I shouldn't worry about It." he said again.

Tian'shal leaned over and embraced Sar'Kal in a hug and smiled. "Well I guess you should get back to sleep. It's going to be morning in a couple of hours."

He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek,

"Thank you Tia, I'm glad I ended up here with you even if I don't remember how it happened." They both gave a little laugh and she got up and headed back to her own room, taking the candle with her.

Sar'Kal sighed and lay back down in the dark room. He thought of the memory he had been reliving for the past few weeks and wondered why he wasn't as happy about his memory returning as he thought he would be. Some time while he was pondering this question he fell back to sleep and this time he slept peacefully for the rest of the night.