"High Lord Bloodsand, Ruler of the all the South, owner of every dune and of all those that inhabit them. Keeper of the power, leader of the many hordes, king of all that has sun shine upon its surface."

A tall, muscular, slightly pot-bellied ferret sat listening to the young beast name off his many titles, mentally reciting them much faster than the young squire said them. He wished he could preoccupy his mind with other, more entertaining thoughts, but with an entire crowd of vermin observing him, he found it hard to let his mind wander. He sat upon the large, oak wood seat adorned with small jewels that served as the throne of the King of the South. He looked around at the crowd. Most of them lived in Yolatt, the large capitol of the Southern Empire where the trial was being held. There were a few he could point out that were definitely from other controlled areas, a slightly hairier rat from the northern most sands fanning himself, a tree dweller ambassador from the Northern territories, but for the most part it was well-dressed nobles.

"Judge of all life that can end. It is he that brings you forth to his presence to make your statements regarding the accusations made against you. You may now speak."

As his squire finished, Lord Natos of the White Dune got up from his kneeling position to stand on his paws, the rat standing as straight as his slight hunchback would allow. He was a bit on the rough side, his fur mangled looking and covered with the fine white substance his land was known for. His arched back made him seem older than he was, as did his intelligence. Despite having a thick accent and a vocabulary to be expected of a low class bottom dweller, he still knew the importance of who to be exceptionally social to, and who to distance himself from. To put it shortly, he was a brilliant brain with a poor body and mouth attached to it.

"Tis mah greatest priv'ledge an' pleasure to see yu mah lord." Natos smiled at his laughable attempt to speak at the same level as these fancy lords and ladies of the Southern court. He'd never been so out of place among vermin in all of his life.

The High Lord seemed to be equally amused by his speech, as he held up a hand and light heartedly joked, "Speak comfortably, old friend, we still understand basic language."

Natos smiled in appreciation and nodded. "I'm here cuz some folk thot I was plottin against ya, sir."

"Why would they say that?" Bloodsand's voice was a deep bass, and one could basically feel the testosterone vibrate in the air. Those who spoke to him personally knew he usually used a generally lighter and less dramatic voice for less professional occasions, but for right now, he spoke with as much power and intensity as a beast could possibly muster.

"Well Hellsgates, ifn I knew that I woulda just asked ya to let me take care of it mahself." Natos inwardly reprimanded himself for being so casual with Bloodsand. Despite not being extremely strict with conduct, the High Lord always demanded respect from the subservient when in a public matter.

"Can you name any of those that spread word against you, mate?" The Lord of White Dunes breathed a sigh of relief at his lord's casual conduct, and he surveyed the room. He knew those responsible for this whole situation would be here. Bloodsand continued. "And should they be here, would they kindly step forward."

The entire room had held a rather calm feeling until now. The High Lord surveyed the new found pandemonium with slight amusement. Beasts were abuzz, their heads moving back and forth talking to the other vermin around them, their voices hushed as not to be heard by some not far away, and their eyes worried as though they all feared they might get caught having done something. After some time of looking around, Natos returned his gaze to his superior and smiled.

"I could mi'lord." The room's new hectic atmosphere ended as quickly as it began, now returning to silence. Not a beast lacked tension in all their muscles as Natos began listing of names. "Lady Iceknife of the North Sands, Lord Steeltooth of the Yellow Beaches, and Lord Lask Sulmor of the East Swamps."

As commanded, the three whose titles were listed stepped forward to join Natos in the center of the room. A more odd combination of supposed conspirators could not have been conceived, Bloodsand noted.

Lady Iceknife, despite being of a younger age, was still one of the longest lasting ladies of the Southern Empire. A rather tall, slim ermine from the extreme North lands, her slow climb up the positions of power stemmed from being a very serious and strategic student of war tactics. She was one of the greatest close ranged fighters, with her trade mark "ice-knife" being only one of the numerous ways she disposed of enemies. She was an exceptional commander of large armies, being especially gifted in knowing how to use geography and the flora and fauna of an area to her advantage. She had been a lowly soldier when she arrived, but after a few grueling seasons of war against an army led by weasel warlord, she was the new lady ruler of the newly claimed North Sands.

Lord Steeltooth was just below Bloodsand in age, and was quite popular in the court. His handsome appearance and rather flirtatious demeanor were perhaps even bigger aspects of his character in the lands than his mysterious set of jaws that looked and felt as though they were indeed made of steel. Those who didn't know of him or his reputation would say that he was still an imposing figure despite his attractive features. For starters, he was a wearet. Perhaps the only time in the history of vermin-kind had a weasel-ferret hybrid not come out looking like a snarling monster. He did carry the extreme height and muscle of his infamous brethren, but beside that, one would hardly believe he was related to such vile abominations.

On the far right there stood Lord Lask Sulmor, the lord of all reptiles and amphibians of the Eastern Swamps. Titled similar to his fathers before him, such as the infamous Lask Maldor and Lask Ralmor, he held one of the worst reputations in court, often being affiliated with non-authorized business dealings with armies outside the Empire and occasionally making the off hand comment about his disdain for vermin and woodlanders alike. He was average sized for a monitor (so still very tall) but was rather scrawny. One thing that did make him stand from his peers was that his scales changed colors. As of right now, he was completely white, with the only differing color being his slits for eyes and his crimson colored stump where a left claw was supposed to be. The story behind that was very vague, but most guessed it had something to do with some settlement in the North, as he never ventured that way from his home, except for meetings such as this.

The three knelt in the traditional procedure, and held blank expressions, though their eyes continued to alternate between Natos and Bloodsand.

"Lady Iceknife, Lord Steeltooth, Lord Sulmor, you three have spoken out against Lord Natos?"

Steeltooth was the first to speak up. "I have indeed spoken out against Natos, for he has been unfaithful to the great Southern Empire."

"I haff also spoken against zee rat for zee same reasons, High Lort." Added Iceknife.

Lask merely nodded in agreement.

Natos scowled at the three, each noticing but not responding with any reaction of their own.

"Have you any evidence that Natos has shown treachery?" Bloodsand asked.

"Indeed, good keeper of the power." Steeltooth stood up, towering over the rat who stood beside him by about double his height. "In fact my trusted friend Gnash has some very special documents procured from Lord Natos' personal messenger. If we could ask him to come forward as well?"

"Granted." The high lord watched a gold colored cat saunter up to where the center, which seemed to be filling with quite the variety of his subjects. Gnash, though lacking a title, seemed to be very well known through the court, for about the same reasons as his good friend. It was public knowledge the two were close as kin, and they shared many similarities in personality. The only difference came in Gnash being less amorous, and a bit wittier, than Steeltooth. He was also less well built. Not scrawny in any means, but definitely no powerhouse stacked with muscle. His face was adorned with well groomed fur and a nicely cut beard. His face also adorned a grin that almost never seemed to leave. Bloodsand never found himself to be thankful when the beast graced him with his presence.

"How goes it, yer grace?" The cat asked with his usual accent. Bloodsand was surprised the beast had enough tact to remember the 'your grace' at the end. Usually it was a rather annoying nickname, or an insult... or both.

"I've got news from Hunch's favorite servant that you might like to see." He casually tossed a scroll at the High Lord.

His squire, who had been standing in silence, growled at this and moved forward. "Perhaps you'd do well to remember manners and not assault His Grace in such a way!"

"Oh, you're right," smirked Gnash. "don't want to accidently injure the good owner of sand with a piece of paper. Might accidently brush his fur the wrong way."

His squire, a young fox with reddish-orange fur by the name of Hish, glared daggers as he stepped back to his original spot. Bloodsand viewed the scroll, hoping to easily call it a fake and have this entire incident cleared, maybe even manage a slight punishment for Gnash for lying and causing such a stir in the first place. As he went on, however, he found that might not be an option. The message was clearly in Natos's handwriting, bore his seal, used the parchment of the White Dunes, and did in fact state intentions against the High Lord, in Natos's usual way with words. Bloodsand looked up to address Gnash, noting a very worried looking Natos still standing at the other end of the odd lineup.

'If this arrogant little degenerate somehow gets the best of Natos here in the courtroom...'

"Where would this messenger be?" he asked.

Gnash's smile dimmed a bit, though his voice didn't lose any cheek. "He'd be in the jail here in Yolatt. In which cell, I couldn't tell ya now."

"And why'd Hammerpaw be in prison, cat?" Natos demanded.

"Some items were found along with the scroll. It'd appear you hired quite the thief to be in your employment."

Bloodsand figured if they didn't get this over with quickly, Natos was likely to beat the cat to near death. 'Not that it would be a bad thing to see.' The ferret thought to himself. 'But let's not do it in my court.' He still wasn't overly convinced Natos was guilty, but with the evidence brought forth, it seemed like the trial would take longer. He looked out the window to see night had fallen over the land.

"We will continue this meeting tomorrow, in which I want the messenger brought here, as well as those who captured him." The High Lord stood, his voice clear and pleasant, while still being loud enough for everybeast in the massive room to hear. "I, the Lord of all Sands, conclude this court. May you all return now to your homes. And the sun's sister watch over you all."

"Praise be the sands and sun." Everybeast sounded back, and they all began to migrate towards the exit.

Bloodsand turned his attention back to the four in the middle. "As for the five of you, with the roles you play in this, you'll be staying in the castle for the night. I'll have guards escort you all to your rooms." The five nodded, exchanged glances of various emotions, and departed.

Hish approached the Lord with a bow. "Highest Lord, most of the guests have vacated. The bush-tailed one seeks short audience with you. Also, a few messages came in from the North Sands. Apparently they're under attack from an unknown army, and one by the name of Captain Fen requests that Lady Iceknife return with haste."

"Couldn't have picked a better time." Bloodsand rubbed his forehead. "Alright. I'll meet with the tree beast and then inform Lady Iceknife about the trouble. Hopefully we can just agree that one of her subordinates can take care of this matter."

"You know how the Lady is, my King. It is doubtful anything less than an order will still her paws and knife."

Hish excused himself as Bloodsand went to converse with the squirrel. She looked very out of place, an emerald dress draped over chestnut fur, her tail standing at an odd angle and exploding in excess fur. The sight was near comical, but Bloodsand had far too much respect to laugh. As he came closer, he noticed she was much taller than he originally guessed, nearly standing eye level with him. Her eyes matched her dress, and those very eyes seemed to be examining him, as well.

"Good day, My Lady."

"Greetings, High Lord. I apologize that I came here when things seem tense."

Her voice was lower in tone than he would've suspected, and had a bit of a gravely sound to it.

"Think nothing of it. A possible treachery is a common occurrence. In fact, the only cause of worry is that it's been nearly a season, and we've only had three such threats."

The squirrel smirked at the jape, and bid his lordship good day. She made to advance down the halls.

"Would you like a guard to assist you to your quarters, my lady?"

The squirrel paused, turning to face the king. "I believe I'll be able to find my way. Also, I carry no title. You don't have to bother yourself with adding, 'My Lady' to the end of everything."

"Duly noted. Pleasant dreams to you, ambassador."

"Likewise." With a word and a nod, she was gone. Bloodsand watched the bushy tail bob up and down as she walked, smiling to himself.

He then remembered the task at hand, and made his way through the maze like hallways to Lady Iceknife's room. He found two Northern Sand guards standing guard, but they quickly stepped aside for him. One knocked knocked gently.

"Who is it?"

"Zee High Lort Bluedsand, Mine Lady." Came the reply.

"Let him in, then."

Bloodsand entered the room, finding Lady Iceknife in a state of undress. She looked as though she were just getting ready to rest when he had come.

"Greetingz Lort Bluedsand. Vat can I do for you?"

'Put on some clothes.' The ferret erased the thought for requesting modesty from his mind, and instead got right to the point. "Your land is under attack by a northern army. One of your captains has asked that you return immediately to assist."

"Am I to be at two places at zee zame time, mine lort?"

The king sighed, walking toward the window and staring outside, whether to view his grand city or to be able to stop looking at a scantily clad noble one could not be sure. "I would rather you stay here for the morrow, until we can get this mess sorted out. Would this be a problem?"

"No."

The blunt response made Bloodsand do a double take. His reaction got a chuckle out of the lady.

"Zat iz to zay, I beliefe I am needed more here zan over zere. Mine captain most like was just trying to find an excuse to get me out off court faster. I haff no doubt that he vill fend off vatever enemy is troubling my land."

The high lord stared out the window, silently thanking the sun for the blessing of instant cooperation and assurance. He turned, thanked the lady, exited the room, and finally made his way towards his own bed chambers.

'The Summer is finally upon us, and I can certainly feel the lengthening of the days.' He thought groggily as he approached his guards. They both nodded, opening the doors for their weary ruler. He nodded back in gratitude and made no diversion in his course towards his mattress of feathers and silk. He landed with a plop and a feather or two ejected into the air, fluttering back down onto the lord's head. He felt too exhausted to even remove them. Sleep found him without trouble.


Hish awoke early the next morning, with the sun's light and warmth breaking through the curtains to his window and showering him with comfort and energy. He quickly dressed and headed towards the Wing Tower. He ascended the numerous amount of steps with ease, and entered the nesting room. Three ravens were sound asleep in beds of straw, twig, and odds and ends, a fat crow resting in another. He checked their legs and nests to find no letters.

'Thank the Sun, the High Lord won't have to have any excess worries on top of the court today.' He sighed in relief and then quietly exited the room. Descending the large spiral mass of stairs, he quickly made his way to the king's chambers.

Immediately, he sensed there was something wrong. The space that was usually filled by two guards was void of anybeast, and their was a strong odor coming from behind the door. Cautiously, Hish approached the door, putting his ear to the door.

Silence.

Now Hish knew there was something wrong. High Lord Bloodsand's snores were loud enough to hear a hall down, let alone right outside the door. Even when he wasn't sleeping, he was usually muttering to himself or making some noise.

Hish pushed the door open and was greeted by the scent of blood forcefully invading his nostrils. He opened wide the door to view the single greatest horror he had witnessed thus far in his young life. Two rats clad in the armor of the castle guards were lying in a pool of red liquid which clung to their fur and stained their suits. Not that either one would notice at this point. But worse yet was what lay beyond that, on the king's very own bed.

The king's very own severed head.

Lord Bloodsand's body lay slumped by the foot of the bed, gashes decorating every inch of his arms, legs, torso, everywhere. The depth varied, but a few in the chest seemed to go straight through. Blood completely soaked the carcass. The head lying on the bed was also covered in red, though les in number and in depth.

"Guards! GUARDS! THE KING IS DEA-" Hish couldn't finish his frenzied scream as he had to pause to retch.


A/N: I wanted to put these at the end, because any time I put these at the beginning, I always jinx myself and never finish the chapter.

(Small rewrite happened. Doubt you'll notice where, but it'll be important later on, so... yeah, shift happens.

Alright, so a while ago I made this story called Southern Words, but I didn't like where it was going so I scrapped it. This was originally meant to be a part of that story, but instead I decided to have this be its own thing. So, for those who know me, expect the next chapter to come out sometime before 2017. Thanks for reading.