Birth of a new Reign

Long before the mighty demons conquered the land; and before many battles were to be fought, there was vast land. Though just beyond the maple leaved trees and over rushing rivers laid the land owned by the dog demons, a place which was inhabited by the thousands and mighty of all demons. And though young in age, a silvered haired child sat beneath the birch tree, staring at his own reflection in the water. He was quiet, a loner, with a heightened sense of security. Being young in age could not match up to his abilities of a dog demon.

His golden eyes studied the contour of his face from the rippling river. The reflection of a serious face stared back at him from below as he furrowed his brow.

"So here you are," A voice rang from behind him. His eyes slid to the right and gave a glare behind him. Three other Inugami*1 stood behind him. Dressed head to toe in Haori*2 and Hakama*3, hair tied up out of their faces and glowing orange and gold eyes.

After much silence the sitting dog demon gave a reply, "What do you want?".

The three Inugami smiled at each other, showing their fangs and looked back down at him.

"I'm sure you know, we all get to take part in attacking the Tenju*4 in the southern part of the woods." The one spoke as he began to circle around behind the young yokai*5. There was then a pause and the Inugami stopped moving and looked back down.

"Feeling scared…Taisho?"

Taisho, still sitting on the ground, scoffed at his notion and smirked. He stood slowly to his feet and turned to the three. He moved and walked past them, whispering, "Don't test me…"

Taisho had been born from one of the 3 great dog demons. And being the son of one he had always been the lone one. Many of the other Inugami thought of him as a stuck up mongrel that was too good for them. He didn't mind however, he was happy to be on his own, it gave him time to think and to just listen to the land: knowing he would have to rule the lands one day. But for now, the focus was on the battle that was to come. The Tenju, true enemies of the Inugami, were on the attack. They had sought the dog demon lands for thousands of years and as time passed by the dog demon territory had been depleting.

Taisho stopped walking and looked up at the sky. Dusk had fallen and the war cries of both Tenju and Inu whisked through the air. Howls emerged from the depths of the dog demon bodies as their transformation into the great beasts had begun.

War was a normal for him ever since he was just a pup, and now he had transcended into the world of the Inugami war and as such needed to take part in giving his strength to destroy their enemies.

He was told that he was out there to not just gain glory for himself, but to protect what was left of the dog demon population. As most females and small children stayed behind on the fighting. Taisho was the only line of defense for the clan.

He looked down the mountain side and saw, standing at the edge of the mighty cliff was his father. Though not having any emotional attachment to him, Taisho only saw his father as the demon that raised him to fight: no more, no less.

He leapt down the Cliffside transforming himself, following straight behind one of the great three. He stayed on his father's tail as the sounds of the battle came closer and closer. Soon, he came to the bloodbath. The shredded remains of the feathered Tenju were scattered around the clearing as their feathers hung from the mouths of the Inugami. And as such, the mountainous bodies of the Inugami piled on the ground. It was a sight no child should have to see, but was one that Taisho had seen many times over. Null to the fact he could be killed, he leapt into action, shredding the Tenju with his massive paws: biting and breaking their necks.

He hadn't been fighting long before there was a long howl from the distance. This caused the three great dog demons to lift their heads from the battle. Taisho had lifted his head as well and looked at his father. He could see the terror in his eyes, which puzzled Taisho because it seemed as if there was nothing on that earth that would have ever fazed him. Taisho took the time to smell the air and swung his head towards the direction of the clan.

It was a setup. The Tenju had lured the three leaders away from the main clan and had attacked the clan. This caused all three of the dog gods to become angry and began a rampage back to the village, killing anyone and anything that decided to get in their way. Taisho and most of the other demons stayed back to pick off the rest of the Tenju that were there.

From what Taisho could hear from the far off village, his father and the other two lords had gotten there and the battled raged on.

"This isn't right, we need to go and kill those bastards!" one of the Inugami spat as he crushed the skull of a dead Tenju.

"You heard what lord Kashi said, we need to stay here to fend off any other enemies!" another chimed in with a deep growl.

Taisho ignored the snarling of the Inugami and kept his attention towards the village. Something didn't seem right to him. He had a suspicion that the Tenju that were attacking them in the clearing were not strong at all. And from the sounds of the village, the ones that had attacked there were just the same: weak.

It was then that a large rumble could be heard from miles away and the ground beneath the hound's feet begun to shake.

Taisho was the first to jump off of the ground onto a higher elevation. No sooner had he done that the earth broke beneath the feet of the dogs and swallowed them whole into the crevasse below. Taisho, and two other hounds escaped the rumbling ground, but it was not over yet. The splitting ground headed its way towards the village as well. Taisho followed at high speed.

But it was when he got there that he had stopped dead in his tracks. The village was in desolation, with fires raging, children crying and the bodies of the dead lay at his feet. Taisho switched from his dog form to his human form and ran through the village. He looked around for anyone who may have been alive, but it did not seem so.

It was then that he heard his father's voice. He raced to the village edge. Peering from behind the trees he had witnessed a demon that he had ever seen before. A green scaled dragon, one that was at least three times the size of his fathers dog demon form, Rising from the ground below and reeking of the the blood of his clan. There was an exchange of words, which taisho was unable to hear, and a sudden jump from all three leaders attacking the powerful beast.

Looking around him, Taisho had come to the realization that everyone was dead. And that he, his father and the last two leaders were the only ones standing.

Watching in horror as one leader fell to his death and then the other: It was then a showdown between his father and the dragon. With Kashi fighting with all of his might, it was all in vain. His father had fallen in defeat as well.

Taisho waited until the dragon left, he was smart: knowing he was no where near powerful enough to take on the dragon on his own, it would have been a suicidal mission.

Running to his father's body, he could hear the short breaths of his body, and with a weak voice he pulled Taisho close to him and whispered into his ear, and with that last parting he died.

Taisho sat alone next to the dead body of his father. There were no more cries, no more howls and no more enemies, nor allies for that matter. He seemed like he was alone, like he was the last one standing. Only the wind through the night sky could be heard whistling through the tree branches.

Taisho had never faced a defeat so horrific as this one. His entire village and clan had been destroyed in one night. And the one to blame was not the Tenju, but the rise of that dragon demon: as he remembered what his father's last words were.

"Ryukotsei, the dragon demon…don't engage in battle with him as you are now. You are weak…get stronger first….dont be a fool like we were."

Taisho clenched his fists. The blood of revenge was bitter sweet and he hoped he could taste it. But all he could do now was wait.

As he stood in the clearing overlooking his fallen comrades, he couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes looking at him from up in the trees. He looked up and came face to face with a demon, that would help him change his destiny.

I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter. This is a prequel to my other story, "I found my happiness". Please leave me a review of what you thought of the first chapter. I promise the send one will have more detail, I was just tired.