Corrupt TE here with the introductory chapter of my new fanfic.
For those who've just clicked, although this is a stand-alone fanfic you may want to read my fanfic, FntS: Rise of the Daemon.
This is something of a sequal and you'd get a better idea at what's going on.
Anyway, usual rules apply: I don't own anything Sonic, SEGA or any of the Comics. The only things with my stamp on are the OC's and story.
Read, enjoy, ridicule.
Chapter 1: The Start of Something
His shoulders hunched against the howling wind, his moccasin covered feet ached. He trudged along the dirt road, flanked on one side by a steep cliff of dirt and stone and on the other side by a thick forest of pine trees. The light of day was fast fading and the smell of a storm was heavy in the air. His deep green eyes scanned around for a suitable shelter, finding it in a shallow cave carved into the cliff side.
He entered the shadowy cave cautiously, a hand going for the knife strapped to his waist. A quick survey found that the previous inhabitant was long gone and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Shrugging the small pack from his shoulders he sat cross-legged on the ground facing the cave mouth. He rubbed his feet through the thinning leather of his moccasins, thoughts returning to the events which had led him here.
His name was Garth, Forlorn of the Zeno clan of Echidna's. Thought dead by his clansmen after fulfilling his duty, he took the opportunity to leave the remote mountains that hid his clan from all but the most foolhardy, and ventured out into the world beyond, becoming the first of the Zeno clan to set foot off the mountainside in countless generations.
He had traded his fur cloak at the first village he had entered, receiving the pack and a few days of supplies in return.
The villagers had looked at him with a mixture of awe and of fear. Most fled when he approached but many more remained to watch him cautiously from afar. His first contact with anyone beyond the mountains and he had been treated with fear and suspicion.
With a frown he fished out a strip of dried smoked meat from his pack and began chewing thoughtfully. According to some directions he had been given, the capital city of New Mobotropolis was about three day's journey along the main road. There he'd be able to replenish his supplies and perhaps acquire something more suitable to wear and some new footwear.
He stretched out the aches in his muscles as the rains began to hammer down outside. He grunted. So much for building a fire tonight. Standing up he walked to the mouth of the cave and looked out over the area.
His hand went to the scar tissue on his left shoulder and rubbed at it in an absent minded manner. Taking another bite from the dried meat he began to wonder what he might find on his travels.
Waking up the following morning, he stretched, feeling the small clicks of his back and sighing in relief. He blinked in the morning light and sat up, stretching his shoulders and relieving the built up tension in his neck. Stifling a yawn he reached behind and pulled forward the small pack he had used for a pillow and pulled out the half-eaten piece of dried meat from the night before.
After a few minutes of preparation, Garth stepped out of the cave and set off down the dirt road.
The going was soft underfoot and there were patches of standing water where the ground was too saturated to drain it away, but the sky was clear and the air was fresh. The sun warmed his back as it steadily ran its course across the sky and by midday he had taken to walking in the shade of the trees.
Stopping by a small, clear water bubbling brook, he took the almost empty waterskin from his pack and bent down to refill it. He remembered how he would often be resorted to melting snow for a mouthful of water during the long days and weeks of training back in the mountains.
Suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he got the feeling he was being watched. His heart rate quickened as he carefully stowed the now refilled waterskin into his pack. His ears twitched at the sound of guttural snarling. Slowly he reached for his knife as the snarling got closer.
His fingers wrapped around the leather bound hilt and in a whirl of movement he had spun into a combat stance, knife held lightly in his left had and faced the snarling creature.
His eyes widened. He faced a Mobian anthro, their eyes bloodshot and red with white foam like spittle flying from their mouths. It was a young male badger, his clothes were torn to mere rags and his fur was long, dirty and unkempt.
"What in the name of-" With a guttural roar which revealed the badgers many sharp fangs, he leapt at Garth with claws outstretched.
Instantly Garth's Forlorn training kicked in and he spun out of the way. Flicking his knife to a backhanded grip he waited for the badger's next attack. Growling fiercely, fangs bared and claws flexing it circled around the echidna warrior, who tracked its movements calmly and patiently.
It charged again, intent on ripping out his innards. Garth sidestepped its wild swipe and in a swift motion, slashed his blade across its throat.
Crimson visceral blood erupted across the small clearing and the badger staggered slightly, gargling and scrabbling at the rent across its throat. Soon it collapsed into the brook with a splash, staining the waters red.
Garth breathed a sigh of relief and stepped cautiously towards the now still body. Still holding tightly to his blade, he grabbed the badger's feet, pulled him out of the brook and flipped him onto his back.
He knelt down beside the body and began to look him over. A youth, clearly not much younger than himself. Blood caked around his mouth and upon his claws indicated that the badger had killed and eaten fresh meat. He stared into the blood red eyes and could have sworn he'd seen something like this before.
Suddenly the badger screamed and lunged at him with teeth bared. Reacting purely on training and instinct, Garth plunged his knife into the badger's chest, cracking through ribs and straight into his heart giving an added twist which tore through more flesh and sinew.
The badger gaped for a moment before falling back to the ground. The red in his eyes faded away, leaving a more natural dark brown colour behind in the lifeless orbs.
Garth slumped onto the ground taking several moments to slow his heart rate and get his breath back. He stared at the hilt of his knife, still jutting from the badger's chest. He ran a shaking hand through his dreads before getting back to his knees and retrieving his knife.
He tore a strip of cloth from the body's remaining clothes and used it and some water from the reddened brook to clean the blood from his blade, before returning it the sheath at his waist. His gaze returned to the cooling body still seeping blood into the ground.
"It can't be…" He breathed as a theory came to mind. The badger's claws had receded into more natural fingers, and the multitude of fangs had been replaced by a natural set of teeth. Even his fur had become much more tamed and less animalistic. He chuckled without humour.
"I guess Rukrh was right." He reached his hand up to the badgers face and gently closed his eyelids and mouth. "Requiescat in pace."
He stood and left the clearing, deciding that forest could reclaim the badger for his transgressions. He returned to the road and set out with a new purpose. He would track down the Daemon's infesting this world, and if he could not bind them like he had done with Ashlie, he'd slay them.
For he was Forlorn, and this was his duty.
Woo! Violence!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this taster and more is to come.
Updates might be a bit irratic, but with any luck this'll be short lived.
-Corrupt TE-
