Chapter 2

After leaving the forest, her first stop was the village of Taly, near the edge of the forest. The village of Taly had once been a place of warmth and laughter, nestled against the edge of the forest like a cozy blanket. But now, as Lily approached, the acrid smell of burnt wood and charred earth assaulted her sensitive nose, mingling with the salty taste of fear. The smoke rising into the sky was a dark omen, a stark reminder of the horrors that had claimed this once peaceful sanctuary. She quickened her pace, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the streets.

When she reached the village square, she was met with a scene of devastation. The people of Taly were gathered in hushed whispers, their eyes downcast and their shoulders heavy with grief. A burned-out house stood like a silent sentinel, its wooden skeleton a grim testament to the fire's brutality. And at the center of it all, a woman knelt, cradling the lifeless forms of a man and a child with bear-like ears, both cut down in a brutal manner that showed no mercy.

The woman's sobs were raw, her body shaking with each painful breath. The little girl's eyes were open, staring up at the sky with a vacancy that betrayed the light that surely once shone within them. The man's fur was matted with blood and his hands were clenched into fists as if he had gone down fighting. Lily's gaze fell upon the dagger still embedded in the girl's chest, and the rage that had been simmering within her boiled to the surface. The emblem on the hilt was unmistakable: two black swords crossed over a bloody crown on a golden roundel, with the words "Sacrum Humanitatis Imperium" etched below. The Scarlet Empire had been here.

Fists clenched at her sides, Lily's human disguise trembled with the power of her emotions. She knew she couldn't let this stand, not when her own people were being slaughtered like animals. She had to act, she would slaughter the bastards responsible for this atrocity.

"Where are those Empire bastards?" Lily asked, turning around to face a young man standing behind her, a murderous glare in her eyes.

The young man swallowed hard and stepped back, his eyes wide with fear. He had not expected such a violent reaction from the girl with the moonlit eyes. "They... they have a camp just outside the village, on the other side," he stammered, pointing a trembling finger in the direction of the setting sun.

Without looking back, Lily strode through the streets of Taly, her heart pounding with a mixture of rage and disgust. Every step she took brought her closer to her revenge against the Empire. The sight of the woman's agony and the lifeless forms of the Bearkin family burned into her soul, filling her with the determination to make the Empire suffer. The village was eerily quiet, the usual sounds of daily life replaced by an eerie silence.

As she approached the camp, the smell of burning wood and the sound of laughter grew stronger, fueling her hatred. The camp was a disorganized mess of tents and makeshift barricades, surrounded by a palisade of sharpened wood. The guards patrolled with a lazy confidence that could only come from a belief in their own invincibility.

When the first two guards approached her, their eyes filled with suspicion. "What are you doing here? This is Empire territory!" Lily's smile widened, a hint of malice playing at the corners of her lips. "I have come to rid this land of some vermin," she said sweetly, her voice ringing like a silver bell in the night air.

Their puzzled expressions did not last long. With a flick of her wrist, her human disguise fell away, revealing her true form. The guards gasped and reached for their weapons, but it was too late. Earth spikes shot up from the ground with a thunderous crack, piercing through their boots and into their legs, pinning them down like a hunted animal. They had no time to scream before the shadows around them grew thick and dark, wrapping around their throats and silencing them forever.

With a fierce snarl, she dropped her veneer of sweetness and let her rage show in her eyes. The camp was thrown into chaos as she began her rampage. She was a creature of the night, a living embodiment of vengeance, and the soldiers of the Empire had no answer to her power. Flaming arcs of wind tore through the air, leaving a trail of screams in their wake. Men were burned alive, their armor a prison of fire. Others were dragged into the shadows, their cries for mercy swallowed by the darkness.

The guards were unprepared for the onslaught of a Foxkin, especially one with the power of a full moon behind her. They were mere mortals facing the wrath of a goddess, and they fell like wheat before a scythe. The camp grounds became a maze of pain and fear, the very earth turning against them. Lily danced through the chaos, her movements fluid and graceful, a stark contrast to the horror she wrought.

The commanding officer's tent stood tall, a bastion of arrogance amidst the carnage. The flaps fluttered open as the guards outside were torn apart by unseen forces, and Lily stepped inside. The commander looked up from his maps, his beady eyes widening at the sight of the creature before him. He had heard the legends of the Foxkin and their powerful magic, but never in his wildest dreams did he think he would ever face one, and this one was out for blood.

He tried to sneer, to regain some semblance of authority, but before he could utter a single word, a sharp pain sliced through his legs, making him fall backwards. Looking down, he realized that his legs had just been severed by sharp blades of wind, leaving him staring at the bleeding stumps in disbelief.

Panic set in as the guards outside his tent were silently killed, their screams swallowed by the very earth that had once supported them. The tent was filled with the stench of fear and blood, the air thick with the promise of a slow, painful, and brutal end. He watched in horror as the Foxkin woman approached, her eyes glowing with the cold, seething rage of a predator who has cornered her prey.

"You dare attack the Empire?" The commander sneered, his voice trembling. "You are but a demi-human, a beast! Humans are the true rulers of this world!"

Lily's eyes narrowed and she leaned closer, her breath hot against his sweaty face. "Humans like you are nothing but parasites, feasting on the world and each other." With a flick of her wrist, flames danced around her hand, the heat making the Commander's skin sizzle. "Your kind brought this destruction upon yourselves. And now you will taste fear, pain and destruction."

The Commander's eyes bulged with terror as the fire grew, licking at the edges of his clothing, his fat sizzling like a slab of meat on a barbecue. He thrashed and screamed, desperately trying to break free of his earthly bonds, but the spikes held firm, digging deeper with each struggle. His cries grew weaker as the fire consumed him, his flesh charring, his screams turning to whimpers, until finally there was only silence.

The camp was eerily quiet, the crackling fire the only sound breaking the silence. The stench of burning flesh filled the air, mingling with the scent of fear and blood. The once proud banners of the Scarlet Empire lay trampled, their crimson fabric stained black by the soot of vengeance.

Tired but satisfied, Lily transformed into a small fox and settled down near one of the still burning campfires. The warmth licked at her fur, a stark contrast to the cold fury that had fueled her earlier. She closed her eyes, her breathing calm and peaceful. Her thoughts turned to the girl she had set out to save, the future that awaited her. She had taken the first step on a journey that would lead her through the treacherous landscape of war and deceit at the end of which the Empire would be no more.