p class="MsoNormal"It had been 5 months on the serpentine delta and the surrounding towns that Ahri had found it easiest to lure her quarry. She was originally born in Ionia and the morals and discipline of that general populace made it difficult to charm men without "magical assistance". Hearing of a place where the Ionian mantra wasn't preached and the ruffians were plentiful, she embarked a transcontinental sugarcane ship, towards the tropical Serpentine delta. All "free of charge", of course, thanks to the loose style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"Thus was her currency. Sex was no more to her than a massage was to a masseuse. The largest hassle perhaps was the hygiene of the clientele and the disrespect that came with the profession. She fed when it was time to feed, but she also found lodging with the higher echelon of single desperate men. It was actually funny; how young nobles and merchant sons would trip over themselves to prove their worth to her, all for a night or two of romantic facade. She even learned how to better play the game, withholding pleasure and feigning interest, all for them to return their advances with more "vigor."/p
p class="MsoNormal"But the weeks dragged on into months, and the days became a blur, and the locations had to constantly change, for rumors always spread, of a strange foxlike woman with angelic features seducing wealthy boys and disappearing poor men. And so, she eventually learned how long to stay in a town before the rumors caught up to her. She knew her time was running out. This fact was most plainly realized when one late evening when she disrobed and the man beholding her grew a pale shade of white and shouted "The Vastayan Devil! It's her! She's here! Save me, someone, help!" That was a long night of evading the hounds of the angry townsmen, something that struck immense dread as it reminded her of the fox hunters of her youth./p
p class="MsoNormal"These encounters became more and more frequent and she had to travel to increasingly remote towns. In fact, one fateful day, her doom was almost realized when she ran from the dogs of the river folk. She found herself trapped on an overgrown peninsula, all she could do was hide under a stump, knowing the hounds would eventually sniff her out./p
p class="MsoNormal"…..Thus, 2 months before the present…./p
p class="MsoNormal"The 14 year old blood hound, a veteran fox hunter, was reliving old memories, and found this chase to be the most exciting thing he had done since his retirement. Honestly, thinking by the smell, he thought it to be another fox hunt, and by the urgency of his master's voice he knew this particular hunt was the most important one of his life. He spent every single ounce of attention on finding and following the scent. He spent every single fiber of aging muscle to chase the fox. He knew this would probably be the last chase of his life. All he wanted in the world was to make his master proud one last time. He just loved him… so much./p
p class="MsoNormal""Bruno, I swear, you are the most amazing dog I have ever been blessed with." Damian was astounded by how quickly Bruno picked up the scent each time and how fast he ran for a dog of his age. The canine span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanseemed to sense the urgency of the situation and was fully and utterly possessed by his work./p
p class="MsoNormal""It seems fate is expediently leading us to her. Had only I known I would be fighting a demon this day, face to face with a maiden of death and only my sword to protect me." Charles, the young militia boy, tried desperately to sound confident but was betrayed by his wavering throat. He had several years of sword practice, but this was the day in which he knew it would all be tested, and failure against a demon was, well.../p
p class="MsoNormal"Bruno stopped and concentrated. He knew the peninsula was narrowing and it seems the prey was realizing this as well as the scent continued to zig zag shore to shore trying to find an escape. He knew it was trapped, so he stopped and caught his breath, breathing heavily and lifting his ears. Charles was about to say something but Damian shushed him knowing Bruno was listening. The full moon betrayed Ahri, and the clouds were sorely missed. Only crickets and frogs veiled Ahri's movement with their noise. Slowly the trio stalked down the peninsula, intently listening for their quarry. Ahri soon heard them and her heart froze. She didn't know how to fight, and panic was causing her breath to quicken. She became extremely light headed. The trio reached the peninsula head, a man-made rocky outcropping. This peninsula was constructed as somewhat of a harbor to protect boats from this rushing section of river. Bubbling water over rocks sounded like a dozen water fountains all at once. They knew, among the scattered boulders and fallen trees, their demon was hiding, ready to pounce. Charles drew his sword and Damian started to load his crossbow. They picked their way along the rocks, searching each crevasse for her. Until they eventually, at the maximum extent of the rocks, came upon a stump. The scent was undeniable to Bruno. He pointed to the stump./p
p class="MsoNormal"Damian looked at Charles. Charles emptied his mind. He needed to not think of the danger, he just needed to do. Charles cautiously stepped forward. He inspected the stump and was trying to peer into the roots, when from behind them, they heard the deepest growl, akin to a 500 pound alligator. Both of the men's head snapped back, fearing the worst. That the demon in fact, was the one that trapped them./p
p class="MsoNormal"They saw nothing, at least at first. What looked like a shallow rock in the water began to rise. Like the most horrifying iceberg, it grew bigger and bigger, till eventually It was the size of an enormous wine barrel, but even that wouldn't do justice. It had teeth that spanned across half of its body, they shinned white amongst the treacherous moonlight. Both men's minds were racing whether to fight, run around or start to swim./p
p class="MsoNormal""Run Charles!" shouted Damian as he leaped over rocks to the other side of the shore. Charles snapped back to reality and his legs felt like jelly but with pure force of will he hopped over the jagged rocks to follow Damian. And then all of a sudden, the beast roared, and a shockwave like thunderous lightning struck next to them. Charles's nerves burst and he tripped on a jagged rock that punched his gut. The wind was utterly knocked out of him and he desperately fought his body to stand as he painfully gasped for air. Looking back towards the beast he flinch in absolute horror. Somehow the beast traveled 50 yards in what seemed to be a second and was right on top of him. Charles smelled rotten flesh and dead fish and its teeth were as sharp as daggers. Charles reached for his sword but the beast opened his mouth and Charles was no more./p
p class="MsoNormal"Legends of the River King are well known among the river folk. Some towns make offerings of deer and goats to sate his hunger. Those towns that don't offer tribute soon find that such lack of generosity could be… grievously detrimental./p
p class="MsoNormal"Thus was her currency. Sex was no more to her than a massage was to a masseuse. The largest hassle perhaps was the hygiene of the clientele and the disrespect that came with the profession. She fed when it was time to feed, but she also found lodging with the higher echelon of single desperate men. It was actually funny; how young nobles and merchant sons would trip over themselves to prove their worth to her, all for a night or two of romantic facade. She even learned how to better play the game, withholding pleasure and feigning interest, all for them to return their advances with more "vigor."/p
p class="MsoNormal"But the weeks dragged on into months, and the days became a blur, and the locations had to constantly change, for rumors always spread, of a strange foxlike woman with angelic features seducing wealthy boys and disappearing poor men. And so, she eventually learned how long to stay in a town before the rumors caught up to her. She knew her time was running out. This fact was most plainly realized when one late evening when she disrobed and the man beholding her grew a pale shade of white and shouted "The Vastayan Devil! It's her! She's here! Save me, someone, help!" That was a long night of evading the hounds of the angry townsmen, something that struck immense dread as it reminded her of the fox hunters of her youth./p
p class="MsoNormal"These encounters became more and more frequent and she had to travel to increasingly remote towns. In fact, one fateful day, her doom was almost realized when she ran from the dogs of the river folk. She found herself trapped on an overgrown peninsula, all she could do was hide under a stump, knowing the hounds would eventually sniff her out./p
p class="MsoNormal"…..Thus, 2 months before the present…./p
p class="MsoNormal"The 14 year old blood hound, a veteran fox hunter, was reliving old memories, and found this chase to be the most exciting thing he had done since his retirement. Honestly, thinking by the smell, he thought it to be another fox hunt, and by the urgency of his master's voice he knew this particular hunt was the most important one of his life. He spent every single ounce of attention on finding and following the scent. He spent every single fiber of aging muscle to chase the fox. He knew this would probably be the last chase of his life. All he wanted in the world was to make his master proud one last time. He just loved him… so much./p
p class="MsoNormal""Bruno, I swear, you are the most amazing dog I have ever been blessed with." Damian was astounded by how quickly Bruno picked up the scent each time and how fast he ran for a dog of his age. The canine span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanseemed to sense the urgency of the situation and was fully and utterly possessed by his work./p
p class="MsoNormal""It seems fate is expediently leading us to her. Had only I known I would be fighting a demon this day, face to face with a maiden of death and only my sword to protect me." Charles, the young militia boy, tried desperately to sound confident but was betrayed by his wavering throat. He had several years of sword practice, but this was the day in which he knew it would all be tested, and failure against a demon was, well.../p
p class="MsoNormal"Bruno stopped and concentrated. He knew the peninsula was narrowing and it seems the prey was realizing this as well as the scent continued to zig zag shore to shore trying to find an escape. He knew it was trapped, so he stopped and caught his breath, breathing heavily and lifting his ears. Charles was about to say something but Damian shushed him knowing Bruno was listening. The full moon betrayed Ahri, and the clouds were sorely missed. Only crickets and frogs veiled Ahri's movement with their noise. Slowly the trio stalked down the peninsula, intently listening for their quarry. Ahri soon heard them and her heart froze. She didn't know how to fight, and panic was causing her breath to quicken. She became extremely light headed. The trio reached the peninsula head, a man-made rocky outcropping. This peninsula was constructed as somewhat of a harbor to protect boats from this rushing section of river. Bubbling water over rocks sounded like a dozen water fountains all at once. They knew, among the scattered boulders and fallen trees, their demon was hiding, ready to pounce. Charles drew his sword and Damian started to load his crossbow. They picked their way along the rocks, searching each crevasse for her. Until they eventually, at the maximum extent of the rocks, came upon a stump. The scent was undeniable to Bruno. He pointed to the stump./p
p class="MsoNormal"Damian looked at Charles. Charles emptied his mind. He needed to not think of the danger, he just needed to do. Charles cautiously stepped forward. He inspected the stump and was trying to peer into the roots, when from behind them, they heard the deepest growl, akin to a 500 pound alligator. Both of the men's head snapped back, fearing the worst. That the demon in fact, was the one that trapped them./p
p class="MsoNormal"They saw nothing, at least at first. What looked like a shallow rock in the water began to rise. Like the most horrifying iceberg, it grew bigger and bigger, till eventually It was the size of an enormous wine barrel, but even that wouldn't do justice. It had teeth that spanned across half of its body, they shinned white amongst the treacherous moonlight. Both men's minds were racing whether to fight, run around or start to swim./p
p class="MsoNormal""Run Charles!" shouted Damian as he leaped over rocks to the other side of the shore. Charles snapped back to reality and his legs felt like jelly but with pure force of will he hopped over the jagged rocks to follow Damian. And then all of a sudden, the beast roared, and a shockwave like thunderous lightning struck next to them. Charles's nerves burst and he tripped on a jagged rock that punched his gut. The wind was utterly knocked out of him and he desperately fought his body to stand as he painfully gasped for air. Looking back towards the beast he flinch in absolute horror. Somehow the beast traveled 50 yards in what seemed to be a second and was right on top of him. Charles smelled rotten flesh and dead fish and its teeth were as sharp as daggers. Charles reached for his sword but the beast opened his mouth and Charles was no more./p
p class="MsoNormal"Legends of the River King are well known among the river folk. Some towns make offerings of deer and goats to sate his hunger. Those towns that don't offer tribute soon find that such lack of generosity could be… grievously detrimental./p