Blood

Chapter 1: Blood

Third Person’s POV

Rings of incessant dark smoke swirled haphazardly as the burning abodes in the paradise-like clearing issued mournful creaking sounds. But it is being drowned by the wanton laughter of madness and screams of despair echoing in the closed-off walls of the now bloodstained land.

“Lady Asha, please follow me obediently and don’t look back! We can’t afford to let the Blood Wolves Clan be wiped out without a single bloodline.” A rough but honest voice drilled into Asha Blood’s hazy mind and ears filled with the broken cries of her clansmen.

She dazedly looked up to the worried and anxious face of Soran, her personal guard that has been following her since she was given the title of heir to be the next Priestess of their Blood Wolves clan.

Asha’s bloodshot eyes blinked rapidly as beads of tears fell one after another on her pale cheeks.

She is still rejecting the reality that is in front of her. How can she believe that the mournful cries of pain and slaughter that she is hearing are from the clansmen and relatives that had just been celebrating her step into adulthood?

Soran did not wait for her to answer as he pulled her hard to duck under the eaves of the dilapidated huts in the outskirts of their clan’s hidden land. The shadow of the setting sun served as their cover to successfully escape the mad killings at the center of their clan’s blessed land.

The clashing of steel swords, the tearing of flesh and the beastly howls coming from the center of the Blood Wolves land punctured Asha’s ears as she wordlessly stared at the now burning paradise.

Soran could not wrap his head around the current plight of their clan, but he did not have the time to ponder over the reason of the killings as he tightened his hold on the trembling hand of Asha.

The feeling of fury and grief deepened as Soran tried to cut off the unending wails of his clansmen. Blood dripped at the corner of his mouth as he gritted his teeth to stop himself from going back to fight to the death.

Soran is not afraid of death, but their lady Asha needs to survive for the future of the Blood Wolves clan.

Crouching under the almost broken huts, Soran looked past the one hundred meter distance of open space that leads to the only entrance and exit of the blessed land. There are actually no soldiers guarding the place as if to look down on them, as if to say that they will not be able to even approach that place.

Helplessness and overwhelming pain assaulted Soran, but he pushed it down to clear his mind and think of a way for their lady Asha to escape. But the sounds of strong footsteps along with the growls of a dozen of werewolves disrupted his thoughts.

Even at his wolf form, Soran could only simultaneously deal with four others, so how could he face the coming dozen or so werewolves at his weakened human form?

He did not know what they mixed with the food that they ate in lady Asha’s coming-of-age ceremony, but the mighty warriors of the Blood Wolves clan were directly weakened at their human form, and could not even change into their wolf forms.

 Such a blow helped the perpetrators in dealing with their best warriors without any huge casualties.

Asha managed to come out of her melancholy as she felt the coming individuals that are surely seeking to kill them. She might be drowned in her own grief and confusion, but Asha did not forget to erase the trail of their scent while trying to escape at the edge of their land’s territory.

Asha did not want to leave her clan’s land. She did not want to leave her relatives and clansmen to die while she escapes with her life. But she did not want for Soran to also die because of her.

Remembering the faces of her cousins, uncles and friends that rushed to shield her amidst the rain of arrows and swords their way so that she can leave their land intact, Asha only felt bubbling hate and despair.

The hate simmering in her heart made her eyes darken in red hue as if tinged with blood.

What did they do to deserve this? Why did their loyalty and service amount to slaughter and bloodshed?

The Blood Wolves Clan has been serving the Royal Ark Clan with utmost sincerity and almost manic loyalty since time immemorial, so who can answer her why did they end up like this?

Why did their clan ended up being pushed to the end of the abyss like this?

“The Royal Ark Clan…” Asha’s soft voice inaudibly uttered as her gaze sharpened while remembering the amiable and generous faces of the Royal Ark Clan’s King, Crown Prince and First Princess.

The Blood Wolves Clan and the Royal Ark Clan could not be separated in the thousands of years of history since the creation of Selestine, the land of the wolves.

The former is regarded as the holy servants of the Moon goddess blessed with her drop of golden blood and a hidden paradise filled with verdant spiritual air that is said to be similar to the lands of the gods.

And the latter is the royalty of the Artemia Kingdom, the ruler of the central parts of Selestine with the most populous number of werewolf clans living in harmony and peace.

As the servant of the Moon goddess, the Blood Wolves Clan abided by their teachings to maintain the balance of Selestine while destroying wars and strife for the land of the wolves to prosper for generations to come.

The Blood Wolves Clan has been acting as the advisor and helper of the Royal Ark Clan to bring peace and prosperity to the hundreds of werewolf clans in Artemia, while also existing humbly with the rest of the forces in Selestine.

The ancestors of the Blood Wolves Clan chose the Royal Ark Clan’s ancestors for their known straightforwardness, and the honesty that riddles their prideful bones to quietly achieve the words of the Moon goddess. And the two clans worked hard for generations to fulfill such balance without straying from the right path.

But, it seems like anything can be muddled with the passage of time.

The belief and purpose of the Blood Wolves Clan did not waver, but their life-long partner seems to have made a deal with the devil to betray the thousands of years of peace for their own gains.

What would they get from doing such a treacherous thing?

Asha did not have the energy to delve in her thoughts as she heard the nearing sounds from the fallen leaves being trampled on the ground.

 The heavy footsteps of the incoming werewolves scattered into three groups to go after the other escaping Blood Wolves clan members, but half of them seem to be heading straight at Asha and Soran’s hiding place as if they could track them even with their scents erased and gone.

Asha’s heart thumped wildly, but she did not forget to lighten her breathing to an almost nonexistent sound. Pulling Soran’s sleeve to gesture for the two of them to back up in another fallen wall of the dilapidated hut.

Asha nimbly moved without making any sounds, and Soran followed her swiftly while taking into account the distance of the werewolves that are surely part of the Artemia Kingdom’s royal soldiers.

There is a grassy slope behind the hut and there is a hidden tunnel that leads to the huge hollow boulder next to their land’s exit. Soran planned their course of escape in his mind.

He used his fingertip to write his plan on Asha’s palm quickly, and he did not bother to get her response before pulling her down to the slope while trying hard to make the littlest noise as possible.

The sun has already set far off in the horizon, and the darkness of the night that can calm Asha in the past is now pushing her already fragile state of mind to the line of inescapable dread.

The terrifying wails of her clansmen, and the wildly burning homes behind her chilled Asha to the bone.

The farther she is from the slaughter of her own clan, the colder her body feels, as if she is plunging in the depths of hell.

She should have been feeling unbearably hot from the rigorous and nonstop running, but the fear of surviving alone felt so chilling as if she is a cold-blooded individual that cared for nothing but her own life.

Soran did not notice anything wrong with Asha as they ran hastily to the mouth of the tunnel, but due to his speed and sole focus on escaping, he did not see the upcoming terrain.

Soran fell headfirst before rolling down inside the tunnel that is only filled with darkness. The sharp stones on the ground punctured his arms and legs as he tried to protect his head, and it took a few minutes for the ground of the tunnel to even out, and for him to stop in place while panting heavily with stinging pain spreading all over his bloodied body.

Soran wiped off the blood on his cheek before stiffening in place. He looked down at his hands as horror shrouded his already pale face.

When did he let go of lady Asha? He was clearly clutching her wrist tight enough to bruise her so that he would not lose her.

Trying hard to think of the few seconds before he fell, Soran felt suffocated and frightened as he remembered the feeling of being pushed from behind while they were desperately trying to flee.

“Lady Asha…why…?”