A/N: The song for this chapter is Chasm by Wolfheart.

So. I am in the final stages of relocating. By that I mean that there probably will be a lack of updates for at least a week or two more. Or not. I don't really know, but this was the reason that kept me away from writing. As well as the fact that I rewrote the whole chapter after I nearly finished it. I really hate it when the chapter doesn't respond to the story and I don't do half-hearted pieces just to keep up with the schedule. I wait until I get the flow of the story and I feel like it's the way I want it to be.
Anyways. At AO3 (the same story name as here)I am going to attach a link to my drive folder for you to see the hand drawn time line for this story so that maybe it is easier to understand. BUT. You will have to suffer through decyfering my ineligible penmanship. Do that at your own risk, I am not responsible for any of your reactions.

Howleys.

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The round table, standing in the center of the old watchtower's main hall was currently a stage for a very heated hare's irate tirade. Reason? A gray bunny buck in his middle forties, if one were to judge by his outward appearance, dressed in lizard-skin armour with a chainmail, hidden under a thick brownish cloth-robe. What distinguished the buck though were the iron helmet he wore and a sheathed curved longsword standing by his side.

- You are insane if you think that even one of us would actually believe your story. - The white hare, sitting between a water buffalo and a gazelle told with a loud scoff. Jackson Savage was not known for his cool temper, which is why he and Tyranus Bogo got along so well (while constantly fighting each other). Though, it was the presence of Gazelle to calm them down and be the voice of reason when needed, that allowed for their lands' alliance to actually happen and survive for as long as it did. The Forest Cantons got a reputation of a land that had just rulers and welcomed all kinds of mammals as long as they were willing to pay imposed taxes and obey the law. Still, Stuart, former head of clan Hopps, was greatly astonished and amused by the fact they were able to function while having three separate opinions on a single matter.

- Tyr here has made sure Fenrir could no longer harm anyone and got his hand bitten off for that! And you want him to go, seek out the loony wolf, just to take off the chain and set him free to rampage again?! - The shrill voice of the hare was slightly grating on Stuart's nerves, since he was not really used to the fact his information was questioned, especially by those apparently operating by either extremely outdated or perversely misrepresented facts. As well as the fact this hare, in spite of his long bunnylike ears, apparently wasn't listening to the buck's story at all.

The buffalo, Tyr, was looking in contemplation at his artificial metal right arm, connected at the elbow to his own flesh. Being a master smith, he used a complex series of manipulations to connect the intricate mechanisms inside the elaborate substitute to his own nerve and muscle tissues. The metal arm served him just as loyally as his fleshy one did, if just a bit sluggishly.

- How do you know of Gleipnir, rabbit? Its name was and is hidden. Aside from me, there should be no one left alive to tell you that tale. The wolf have seen to that. - The buffalo's brows were drawn together in concentration and effort to remember all the partakers of that foul creature's enslavement undertaking.

It happened not too long ago, only a bit over four centuries have passed, so the talk of Tyr's deed was relatively fresh. The buffalo, known as the god of justice among prey mammals, was at that time approached by an ewe oracle, who has foreseen a tragedy for all kinds of mammals from the hands of a wolf known as Fenrir. Tyr knew that name since long ago and knew what the wolf was capable of. The oracle told Tyr that the only way to stop the disaster would be to restrain Fenrir with an unbreakable chain. The buffalo would have to be the one who did it though, as there was no other prey mammal Fenrir would allow to challenge him.

Both gods have fought each other immeasurable number of times, and while Tyr held a deep resentment towards the wolf's methods, he couldn't deny the fact Fenrir was straightforward and simple when it came to the reasons. Still, there was only room for begrudging respect of strength between the two.

The plan proposed by the ewe left a foul taste on the buffalo's tongue, but her reasoning was so sound he couldn't deny her plea for help. So Tyr met Fenrir and challenged him to a contest of strength. The giants would hold their right hands together, clasped near elbows, with two chains being wound up around them, that was the wolf's demand. Once the time came, the god of justice easily made away with his bounds. While the wolf seemed to be giving his all to the task, muscles straining and veins bulging under his raven black fur, Gleipnir held. Then, something went wrong. Tyrants Bogo couldn't recall much beyond his initial surprise at the fact the wolf in front of him started shrinking in size and the following excruciating pain he never before knew in his life. With a vicious snarl, Fenrir chopped off the buffalo's right arm at the elbow, his peerless fangs easily cutting through both meat and bone. Bogo woke up to a scene of a dozen slaughtered cadavers of prey mammals that accompanied him, with Fenrir nowhere to be seen. And to be not heard of ever since.

- How I know of it, should not be of your concern. The very fact that I do know, should though. As well as the fact that what has already happened twice, will happen again. And once more two thirds will lose their lives if you do not correct the mistakes you have made, just Tyr. - The accusation, no matter how subtle, was easily felt by those sitting at the table. Everyone reacted in their own way, with Tyr setting his hard gaze upon the rabbit, Jackson gaping at the greyfurred offender, and Gazelle calmly observing.

- The Raman Empire was but a repetition of what is to come. And Dawn Bellwether, the one pulling strings behind the Lionheart's ambition and expansion, will see her plan coming to fruition. This time though, the tables might very well be turned against the armies of predators. She seems to have found a way to… shall I say, turn their savage hearts against themselves. - Stuart didn't only hear the rumors. He witnessed what was the basis for them. The buck still tried to find out what was the reason behind those poor predator's going savage, but it was shrouded in so much darkness, that neither his network, nor his gift were able to locate anything pertaining to it. After all, Dawn Bellwether has been playing this little game of hers quite successfully for more than half a millenia now. Unfortunately, the hare was ignorant, like most mammals. For he launched another of his tirades.

- That monstrous wolf, under the service of the oh so revered Red King, who was just another conniving fox, has slaughtered, murdered, killed without a second thought, disposed of, what other words should I use for your apparently lacking brain to understand, millions of mammals, both prey and predator! Literary! Innocents and… - A sharp edge of Stuart's longsword, pressed to a white throat, has efficiently silenced Savage. The grey buck was standing on the table, his grip on the blade reversed, expression thunderous.

- There are no innocents amongst those who rejected the Path and the Creator. They have all aided in the genocide of truth and those who lived by it. We didn't start this. But we will never again be the ones who simply try to reason with those who cannot be reasoned with. The creature they call Allfather wishes for the mammalkind to be erased and they willingly aid him in achieving his goal. If your wish is to be culled, do as you please. But don't force your misguided nobility upon us. - There was no mistaking the steel and conviction behind the words Stuart said. Tyranus Bogo, the one most mammals thought of as a leader within the small council that governed over the Forest Cantons, put his hoof over the hare's shoulder, stopping him from any tries to retaliate, while the grey rabbit returned back to his seat.

- Speak, Stuart of clan Hopps. Let us hear all you have to say. And then, Gazelle will pass judgment on your request. After all, among us she is the only one who knew the Red King, whose return you tell us of, and his "sword", the wolf Fenrir, personally. - As the buck astonishingly looked to the doe sitting with the hare and the Buffalo, across from him, for the first time Stuart registered what it was so odd about her that seemed to trouble his mind.

Above her kind smile, her eyes were hidden under a familiar black silk eyecover.

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Gazelle sought peace amongst mammals most of all. Unlike many other of her kind, those who called themselves prey mammals, she didn't need to be convinced of the fact that all mammals were equal. No. She has seen it each and every day from the moment she was born into the world. But even she was troubled by the departed buck's request for Tyr to seek out his long time nemesis, Fenrir, and set the wolf free from the chain that kept his powers sealed. And there was a reason for it.

Only a small number of mammals knew of her predicament and the time spent in her youth under the tutelage of one other individual with similar affliction.

The Red King, as the fox was known during those times, took the doe and her parents under his wing, after a chance meeting. The tod and his closest retinue infiltrated deep into the prey territories, wreaking havoc and spreading seeds of terror in the wake of a large war that was years in brewing between the rather young predatorian Teutonic Kingdom and union of prey fiefs and towns. They were about to burn down the village near which Gazelle's family resided, when the doe fearlessly approached the host. Despite her being considered a cursed woman, the village mammals were kind enough not to throw her family out, like others did many a time during her twenty years of life, and being trained by her father in the art of wielding a battle knife, she sought to protect the village to repay the kindness. Gazelle heard enough rumors about the predators of the North and their respect of strength only. She demanded to be brought to their leader and, to her perfectly hidden surprise, they obliged.

Gazelle was sure of her abilities. She was feared and shunned by other prey as a deathseer, but the doe never thought to hide her knowledge or feared to use it in fights, both mock and real.

All living things were equal in her eyes, all being marred by the lines of death. Gazelle saw them, and was able to exploit them. She could even say when the person was going to become sick, whether they were going to die soon, and she could easily cut through anyone and anything, no matter how sturdy, just by following those lines. The doe was ready to challenge anyone to a duel, demanding the host not touch the village should she win.

But then, she saw them. The fox with a black silk eyecover. The bearsized wolf standing by his side with a cross-shaped staff. And as she was drawn closer to them, her resolve started to wane. Instead, a new kaleidoscope of feelings bloomed in her chest. Pain. Anguish. Joy.

When she was stood in front of them, both creatures facing her, Gazelle couldn't hold it all inside anymore. Her eyes burned for the first time in years, and the doe's knees failed to support her anymore. She knew she was making a fool out of herself, but she didn't care the tears streaming down her muzzle or the soil dirtying her skirt. For the first time in her life she saw beauty and for the first time in her life the doe knew true despair.

- You have no lines. I… I c-cannot win. - Not a single line ran over the fox and the wolf. There was nothing for her to exploit. With that realization being said out loud, the weight seemed to hit her heart like a charging rhino once had tried to, but failed. With hands clutched to her chest and heavy sobs shaking her body, Gazelle gave up all hope she had before.

The first one to approach her was the wolf. He crouched in front of her and took several sniffs. While expecting anything from the ragtag host of predators, this was not something she imagined would happen to her. After what felt like eternity of scrutiny, the wolf just stood upright and with a shake of his head went back to where he stood before.

When Gazelle felt calmer, her despair seeming to abate and mild curiosity coming back to her, the outwardly indifferent fox finally turned his attention to her. She knew who the tod was. The Red King was the one to lead this assembly of canines, his closest and most trusted warriors, heldogs. He moved haphazardly, one day razing everything that stood in his path, the other helping villages to ward off wild lizards and birds. There was no way to understand what ruled his whim. But when the tod came close, Gazelle realized one important thing. The source of her despair was this red fox. And, despite being prepared to die, she dreaded to know what would happen to her now.

- Tell me, youngling. Do the lines you see can be cut by you, no matter how impossible it appears to be? - The tod seemed to not be hindered in any way by the eyecover he wore. His paws easily found the battle knife the doe wore on her waist as he took it from her. In response to the question, fearful of what might happen should her answer be found disrespectful, the young gazelle nodded.

- Do you see them on everyone? - Again, she just nodded.

- Would you like to be able not to see them? To let your soul rest from the constant reminder of how brittle life truly is? - With pain clutching at her heart once more, Gazelle couldn't remain silent no longer.

- Yes. B-but, how? - Her voice was barely above whisper, but it seemed to be enough for the tod, who reached behind his head. His deft paws unbound the cover on his eyes and then reached out to put it over her eyes and tie it behind her head. For the first time in her life, the doe could feel the warm embrace of darkness enveloping her, allowing her not to see the hideous lines that haunted Gazelle even when her eyes were closed, even when she slept. With a gasp, she reached out, her hooves touching the smooth surface of the eyecover.

- I will teach you about your curse and how to turn it into a gift, if you will follow me. - The fox proposed in a calm and even tone. And, without thinking, Gazelle answered.

- I will.

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A/N: I want to get to the more actionfilled parts for this story ASAP but it keeps diverting...