The fallen inheritance

Maru de Kusanagi

Chapter one

The smell of burning leaves, ashes and the war had reached their secluded settlement.

Ignis cleaned his face and got up to look around, and then had he to close his eyes: a pounding pain crossed his brain, making him fall on his knees.

Everything had disappeared. His home, the house of the elders, the big tree were he climbed with the other cubs and watched the woods. A small line of smoke raised a few days ago in the northern side, but the elders dismissed any preoccupation: the mist would protect them and the forest will tell them when the danger were near.

But the forest couldn't speak about the humes and their machines, the metal beasts that spit fire, the soldiers and their guns. The trees feel under the rain of fire, the animals tried to run but many died in the attempt.

Ignis got up shacked by his caregiver and tried to run to deeper in the woods, were the mist was ticker and odd shadows walked. Those horrors were preferable to fall in the hands of the humes.

But then something exploded close to him and the rest, and then everything turned dark.

Strange voices came to his ears, in a language he never heard before. Big two legged creatures, that looked like lizards, were searching in the wastes, and one picked him from a leg and said something. Ignis got sick and soiled the creature paw, that screamed something like a curse and throw him at the floor. Ignis vision blurred and then everything went black again.

The second time he woke up, he was in a cage, like a simple beast. The lizard men had stopped next to a shore, and were eating next to a fire. Still dizzy, the young viera sat and looked at them, salivating. He was hungry, and even when most of vieras diet was based on vegetables, sometimes they eat meat for the nutrition.

"The little beat woke up", said one of the lizards, biting his portion of chocobo meat.

"You think it's hungry?", barked another.

"Tcht. Give it some water, and bread, not too much… we need it docile for the market in Tenebrae."

One of the lizards got up and went were Ignis cage was. It gave him a small piece of bread and some water, and the young viera scarfed it down. He watched and analyzed them: he needed to understand their language and the new world he was thrown in.

"We need to move fast. The market is in two days."

Something was in the water, because Ignis didn't remember too much of the travel to the market of Tenebrae. He remembered being loaded in a metal vessel and cross a big body of water that smelled like salt (a sea, according to the lessons he remembered). He saw chocobos, being used as working animals, and many other halflings he never expected to see.

"A male viera!", say one hume that made some interchanges with his captors. "If I didn't saw it, I would believe that only female ones existed!"

"They live deep inside the forests"

The hume looked very interest to Ignis, who crouched inside the cage.

"How much for it?"

The lizard man - Bagan, the leader of the group, barked a laugh.

"It's beyond your possibilities. This is for those rich fat asses on Tenebrae."

"You sure to take it there? That's the Lupus kingdom…"

"That's is under the Niff control."

"Still… Insomnia is moving their troops after the attack of the Mist forest. They say many innocent halflings died there…"

"We aren't under Insomnia race control or protections, so we need to look after ourselves. And this little shit was gonna die if we left it where we found it. So, if just a simple transaction."

The lizard man keep on the travel. When they reached Tenebrae, Ignis was already understanding most of their languages and his situation: even when those were half beasts like him, he was just a thing, an object they were going to sell for profits. It took some time for him to understand the meaning of that, since in the forest he was taught to hunt and eat what he needed, save the leftovers for the hard times and protect his surroundings. The idea of giving something for "money" or "making profit" was strange, the only exchange he knew was trading something like hides or herbs with other of his community. The living in the cities was too strange for him.

Finally his captors decided to let him out of his cage, but still putting a chain attached at his foot. He couldn't move too much, but allowed him to move and recover some strengths.

Tenebrae was a beautiful place, full of people coming and walking and the silleblosooms filled the air with his perfume. Some people speak about something called pilgrimage to meet the oracle. Others about going to the empire to make fortune. One day, a moogle stopped and looked at him, but the poor fella was scared away by Baagan.

Several humes, dressed with heavy clothes and arrogance stop by him and talked with the lizard men. Many were interested in buying him, but Baagan wanted to make a really high price with his exotic capture, so all the potential buyers left angry or annoyed at the creatures.

"Stupid humes and their stinginess!", yelled one of the lizard men, angry at that the days passed and they couldn't sell Ignis. "This city smells and their people are poor, we came so far and nothing has passed. We should sell it soon or may have trouble."

"They say some insomnians are around."

"Bah! What can insomnians do here? The queen is dead and the princes are in the hands of the empire, even when the princess is the oracle. This is a legal business!"

"Unless when the business is selling a sentient creature of the nations."

The lizard men turned and saw a young man dressed in white and silver, with mismatched colored eyes. The pointy ears in the top of his white hair showed that he was a lupus. A pair of dogs were with him.

"Release him."

"Who are you to speak us like that? This young here was captured in the forest after and the law say we can sell anything we hunt."

"Meanwhile is a mere beast. He is a viera", the young man unsheathe his sword and pointed the lizard men. "Release him. Don't make me repeat myself again."

The lizard men were for his weapons, but then Baagan stopped them. He had recognized the boy.

"You're… the young prince, right? Prince Ravus Nox Fleuret", Baagan kept his hands up and walked slowly towards Ravus. "I believe this is a simple confusion…"

Ignis saw the other lizard men getting ready to attack the young prince. If he was expensive, surely a prince would be more…

"Look out!"

Ignis jumped and made his chain close around the leg of one of the lizars, and Ravus avoided a hit with a club that Baagan was wielding. Ignis didn't hesitate and bited the neck of the lizard he had knocked down, thrusting his claws in the chest, looking for the soft tissue and a way to the heart. The lizard yelled and grabbed him from the ears, making the young viera scream in pain. Then something burning pierced his side, making the blood run from it. But even so, he grabbed the claw that wielded the knife and then made the blade pierce the heart of his attaquer.

Ravus had defeated the leader and the other with the help of the dogs that were with him. He turned to Ignis and with a swift of the sword cut the iron chain.

"You're free now", said the young prince. Ignis got up and looked around, a little confused. "Now you can return with your people."

"There's no place for me to return. My wood and my home are gone, under the fire of the humes." He holded the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "That's the way of the viera, those who left the wood can never return… Even when it wasn't their intention."

Ignis bowed his head, showing submission to the young wolf. "I owe you my freedom, sir. I am in debt. I will follow you until my deed is pay."

Ravus put his sword in the sheathe, looking around. Curious faces started to rise. He blowed a whistle and a yellow chocobo soon responded to the call. The prince caressed it beak and then looked at Ignis.

"What's your name?"

"Ignis, sir."

"Well, Ignis. Now you're my servant. I hope you show yourself worthy of the task."