Part 2 is here! By the time you read this, it'll most likely be my birthday. Here's to another year of stories, and may the good ones never stop coming!
Arcus 86 - Terra feles
I spent the entire night uncovering more information about the beastly trials. So far, I've learned that they take place in a collection of realms separate from the one I had familiarized myself with. It's as if the beastly trials, the human ones, and any other versions that might potentially exist, are occurring simultaneously across an infinity of pocket dimensions within The Entity's domain.
With that new theory in mind, I can no longer surmise that humans are The Entity's favourite supplement. Many more beings, capable of even stronger emotions, could be trapped in its clutches as well. Besides, when the buffet is endless, can there even be such thing as a main course?
As for the feline survivors, they once again led me down an unexpected path of discovery. Using The Auris to explore their memories, I soon confirmed that they were not just pets or alley dwellers that had wandered too far into the fog, but rather, they had once belonged to organized clans that were populated solely by wild cats.
The dynamics of these feline communities tend not to vary with each Terra Feles- a name that I will be using to categorize the worlds where the clans are present. The power of rulership is given to a leader, followed by an appointed deputy, and then to warriors who pledge their loyalty to the clan with their lives and the mentorship they offer to the younger generations, which are referred to as apprentices until their coming of age. There are also medicine cats who are tasked with treating the wounded and the sick, as well as interpreting signs in the stars and supposed visions sent by the clans' ancestors, like shamans. The whole system mirrors tribes and kingdoms from the medieval eras so closely, I would've written it off as too mundane to deserve further study, had it not been put together by creatures that I once assumed to be incapable of entertaining the concept of society in the first place.
Like all civilizations, each clan has its own set of traditions, teachings and history that sets them apart from one another. However, there is one set of rules that is followed by each and every single one of them, even across multiple terras. The most common name for these rules is "The warrior code". In summary, the code dictates that a warrior must always put the benefit of their clan above their own interests. Every mouse they catch, they give to the old, the young and the sick first. Every battle is fought to defend or expand their hunting grounds, so the clan can remain strong against its adversaries. Every outsider or member of a rival clan must always be regarded with hostility, lest a lowered guard allows them to become a threat.
Every single cat that I investigated has memories of Terra Feles. This suggests that The Entity's only interest in the feline species is in claiming clan warriors, for they are more than mere animals ruled by their survival instincts. I've witnessed first-hand how they are capable of feeling empathy, loyalty and faith. As such, it is easy to picture the feast that could be made from a warrior's emotions when being subjected to a trial of despair, dread and death, only to be repeated time and time again, and onto a harrowing infinity.
I cannot help but pity these survivors. Their comradery and intellect surpass that of every animal I've ever studied, but it is also the cause for their inescapable imprisonment in The Entity's realm. It reminds me of a book from Terra 723 that I read not so long ago, which claimed that, where there is a blaze of brilliance that allows some to evolve and rise beyond their species' limitations, there is also a great darkness waiting to seep in, corrupt and snuff the kindle back into obscurity.
I don't think there is much more left for me to learn about the clans. I will compile some of the memories that I've collected overnight, and then I'll move on from the beastly trials. I might be used to watching people get butchered and maimed with no mercy, but I would be lying if I said that it doesn't disturb me to see these cats experience such cruelty as well.