STEPPENWOLF

The man kept his head low. The swords above him clashed against each other, creating sparks that rained down over him. This man was witnessing the battle between human slaves and beastmen. In his arms was a crying human baby, his baby.

The man was careful to avoid getting struck by the swords in the battlefield. He didn't have a weapon with him, so he couldn't defend himself from the attackers that raided his village. He had to escape and find his wife. She had escaped the village earlier. He needed to find her, while avoiding getting killed by the beastmen that raided the village. He could hear them, searching for him. He heard them, sniffing the air for him.

Looking around, he saw an opening in the middle of the fighting. A way out of the burning village. He could escape and find his wife, and then he could give the child to her. That way, he could let them escape. After all, the beastmen had a bounty on his head.

He quickly made a run for it. Keeping his head low to avoid getting beheaded by the swords of the warriors. He kept the child close to avoid him getting hurt. He was almost out of the conflict. He was almost able to see his wife again.

Naturally, this couldn't last.

An arrow flew through the air and struck the man in the neck. He fell forward and dropped the child as blood leaked from his neck. The child landed in a few bushes nearby, breaking his fall. The wolves that attacked the village ran to him, growling and snarling. In the arms of two wolves, the man's wife was being held by her arms. She was dripping with blood from the cuts across her body.

The leader of the assault, a muscular wolf, approached the wife. A sword made of solid gold was held in his burly hand. He lifted her head up with his muscular paw.

"What a lovely face," he said in a low growl, "for such disgusting creatures."

Nearby, the baby was crying. The fall didn't kill him, but it did frighten him.

"Such wretched things humans are: polluting our beloved lands." The wolf licked his chops and snorted. "And yet, when you are under attack, you act as though you have done nothing wrong." He slashed the wife across the face. "You disgust me!"

The wife was weeping. "Please, let me go…"

The wolf snarled. "After what your husband has done to our people? He's a traitor to the house of Lupus!" He drew his sword. "And for what he had done, he and his loved ones must be executed!"

The man gasped as he struggled to get up. The arrow was still in his neck, so he was bleeding horribly. He stumbled closer to his wife.

The second he got close, the wolf turned around and slashed the man's head off. Blood sprayed everywhere as the wife screamed in horror.

The wolf turned back to the wife and chuffed. "Your husband's life was going to end anyway. I simply spared him from suffering." He licked the blood off his blade, then his ear twitched to the sound of a crying child. He sniffed the air while the other wolves looked for the crying. It didn't take them long to find the crying child.

A beautiful golden She-Wolf picked up the crying child. She rubbed his cheeks and licked the blood off of his face.

"Is this your son?"

The wife started sobbing. "Please! Don't hurt my baby!"

The She-Wolf smiled. "Don't be afraid, he'll be safe…"

The Wife shrieked in horror. "PLEASE! LET ME SEE MY SON!"

The big wolf silenced her with a swing of his sword. It cut across her body and she cried out in pain as blood sprayed from her wound.

"Stop crying, please," said the wolf. "It is a waste of my time!"

She coughed up blood. "You're a cruel monster…"

He sliced off her head with his sword.

"A monster? No, I am not a monster. You creatures are the ones who have invaded our lands!"

The She-Wolf looked at the baby in her arms. He was crying, so she began to sooth him. The Wolf approached her.

"Is that their child?"

The She-Wolf nodded. "What should I do with him?"

The Wolf gripped his sword. "Kill him! There is no place in these lands for more of these creatures!"

"But he's only a child."

The wolf snarled. "He will grow! He will grow up and fight back!" He drew his sword. "It is better to put him down now!"

The other Beastmen came to him and one held his hand back. This Coyote was obviously his superior.

"It is one thing to attack and kill these human adults, but it is quite another to harm a child!"

"But master…"

"Absolutely not Vinn!" She approached the baby and stroked his cheek. "He will work as a slave in the House of Lupis!"

Vinn growled. He hated this child, but his superior's word was law. He had to let him live.

The She-Wolf soothed the crying baby some more. "There there child," she said quietly, "You will make a fine slave, won't you?"