Stygian Mage

Winter had already arrived. It hadn’t started snowing yet but the temperature had gone down to single digits. This was the season when many Beasts mated and many gave birth to new life. All kinds of mating and labor howls were heard in the jungle. This was the time the jungle was the noisiest. Not only because of the Beasts but also because this was the season when the majority of the Non-Initiators went to the jungle to hunt and capture those Beasts. While those Non-Initiators frequented the jungle for different purposes all year long, this season saw a huge influx in that number. And as if to complement that fact, this season also had the highest number of deaths when it came to the statistics; most of that number was made up of the Non-Initiators.

The reason for this influx was not that the Beasts had suddenly become docile, or that they suddenly became weak; instead, they were much more hostile during this time. No, the reason that those people went to the jungle regardless of the increased risk was that the payoff was also that much better. Small Beasts were born left and right during this time, and this was the perfect chance to catch them. While the body parts and Core of the Beasts were sold for a nice price, the living newborn Beasts were sold for even more. This was because many Initiators preferred to tame a newborn Beast and then perform a Soul Contract with them. While it was still possible to form a Soul Contract with an already grown Beast, it was much harder and also carried some risks. Not only that, but the newborn Beasts were also famous amongst rich Non-Initiators and low-level Initiators. Although a low-level Initiators’ soul could not support a Soul Contract with the Beasts, they could still tame the newborns and have them as their pet. Of course, once those Initiators reached Rank 1, they could form a Soul Contract at that point; given that the Beast’s soul was also mature enough to support said contract.

………

Somewhere in the Liston Family’s territory in the jungle, a black, large building existed. It was surrounded by black, high walls. The walls were there to prevent any Beast from trespassing, but it also existed to prevent anyone inside from escaping.

One cold morning of the winter, faint screams were heard around those walls. The screams sounded muffled but they were loud enough to pass the barrier of the walls. This was just the beginning though. From that day onward, these heart-wrenching screams became much more frequent. But regardless of the volume of those screams, no one was around to hear them. Trees didn’t care for it, the wind was also nonchalant. 

The only effect it had was that it piqued the curiosity of some passing Beasts. But that also lasted for only a few seconds. After all, they also had a life to get back to.

…

A few miles away from that black building, existed a skulk of white-furred foxes. They were known as Snow Fox because of their snow colored fur. These Beasts were actually one of the lowest ones on the food chain and were completely useless in combat. The only way they survived in the jungle was that they gathered in a group and faced the enemy together. They had unity amongst the group, and it was rare for any of them to wander off alone. But these Beasts who were so useless in combat actually had a very high market price. The only reason for that was that they looked adorable with the soft, white fur covering their small body, especially the young cubs. Although girls were the majority buyers of these Beasts, they were also quite famous amongst males. Not because of combat, of course; but because they made good and loyal pets; they were similar to dogs in that regard.

Of course, these foxes came under the ‘Beast’ category, so they could cultivate naturally. But their speed in cultivation was quite slow, and they also had a hard time evolving. Many people suspected that these foxes might have some powerful ancient bloodline in them, but no one could prove it to date; the reason for this thinking was that these foxes were much smarter than other Beasts. But while it was true that most Beasts had some kind of ancestral bloodline in them, these foxes seemed to be the exception to this.

Regardless of those facts though, their market value didn’t decrease.

…

In one of the caves where these foxes lived, a white-furred female fox was going through labor. Her partner, the male fox, stood by her side while constantly making noises that hid his concern in them. Of course, he couldn’t do anything apart from just being there for the mother of his unborn children; it was the mother fox that went through all the pain that came along with the birth of a new life.

The situation went on for some time; moaning and groaning voices of the female Beast were heard throughout that area. The others in that skulk were already on high alert for any intruder that could show up after hearing those voices; of course, they didn’t have any strength to protect themselves if someone did intrude at this time. Their high alert was only for the evacuation purpose. The moment they would sense someone approaching, they would run away together, trying to survive as best as they could. This was how they lived; this was how they existed; this was how they survived.

Time passed by as the groaning howls and moans lessened. No one came towards the group, which made all the members relax. The labor process was long and painful for the vixen, but she didn’t give up till the end.

Very soon, everything came to an end as five newborn cubs arrived in the world; three males, two females. The female Beast was extremely tired, yet, she wanted to see her kids. The male fox standing by the side was already barking in joy, but he quickly killed his voice, afraid to disturb the newborn cubs. He then helped the female fox and supported her as she looked at her kids with warmth filling her eyes.

These actions were more than enough for someone to prove that these Beasts were far more intelligent than other Beasts. Of course, one could say that they sacrificed their combat ability for this, but it was what it was.

…

Situations like this occurred in that skulk from time to time. Some time had passed since their mating season, and it was now their time to give birth. But this was also the time they dreaded the most; because this was the time that those Non-Initiators ‘hunted’ for these Beasts. These newborn cubs were their source of income, so it was obvious that they would not miss this chance.

Time passed by again, unconcerned about mortal affairs.

Those five newborns were now a few days old. Four of these kids still had their eyes closed and had to completely rely on their parents to survive, but one of them had already opened its eyes; it was one of the male cubs. Though, he still couldn’t walk properly and also had to rely on his parents. This white-furred cub, the size of an adult’s fist, was slightly different than other foxes in some cases. One of those cases was the expression in his eyes. They were filled with curiosity. The little kid looked at everything that surrounded him with eyes brimming with curiosity.

The foxes were intelligent Beasts, this fact was already proven, but they only developed that kind of intelligence much later on in their life. The cubs did not have the same level of intelligence that the adults had. They first had to grow up to that stage, only then their brains would slowly start developing towards that direction. But this little white cub was very different in that regard. Although it couldn’t be said that he already had an intelligent brain, he was much further ahead in comparison to his brothers and sisters.

……..

“You’re sure they are here?” A slim middle-aged man carrying a bow asked another person trailing just behind him.

“Yeah, I saw their tracks when I was returning to the town the other day.” The person who answered was a young man, seemingly in his late twenties, and was also carrying a bow with a quiver full of arrows on his back.

These two people were the so-called ‘hunter’ who caught and sold those newborn Beasts. Of course, this ‘hunter’ was different from the actual Hunters of the Hunter’s Association.

These two hunters were fully dressed in camouflage hunting clothes and had a holstered gun on their right waist. The gun was only for their protection though and they only used it in case of an emergency; using a gun to ‘catch’ Beasts was not feasible because of the loud noise it made. And for that reason, they preferred to use the bow and arrow which made minimal noise and got the job done. Of course, they didn’t shoot the newborns with these; the arrows were meant for the adults.

Right now, these two ‘hunters’ had their eyes set on a group of Snow Foxes. As experienced hunters, they were well aware of the price that a baby Snow Fox could fetch. For that reason, they were willing to take the risk of going against the whole skulk. Of course, Snow Foxes being completely useless in combat supported their courage.

…

The two hunters moved forward with careful and silent steps while making sure they were on the right track. By now, the older hunter was also sure that a skulk of Snow Foxes existed somewhere ahead; he had found fresh trails to confirm this. Very soon, the two of them came upon what they were looking for; a group of a white-furred fox, lying around under the warm sun of the winter.

This was their target, and they didn’t want to miss it. But it was also true that there were only two of them. No matter what strategy they used, they were not going to capture all the newborns there; they knew this fact. So, they went with a straightforward approach. They wanted to just go in with the surprise element and capture as many as they could. They were going to create chaos in the group so they could use that chance to grab as many newborns as they could. Of course, just creating chaos without any direction would not get them anywhere; they had to do it systematically. With just the two of them, their options were limited, but they still had a chance.

Swoosh!!

A silent arrow flew at a high speed from a certain direction and stabbed a fox right in the stomach. A loud painful howl resounded in that area as every fox in that skulk was alerted. Just then, another arrow flew at them, but it missed its target this time. The foxes were already starting to run in small groups by now. The male foxes protected the female, while the female vixens carried their newborn children in their mouths and on their backs; these children were the ones who could not walk or had even opened their eyes yet.

But their actions were already predicted by the two hunters. This was the plan that they had come up with. One of them was going to shoot the foxes from a certain direction to make sure the foxes run towards the opposite of that, while the other one was going hide in that direction and wait for the foxes to come towards him. Of course, it was not possible for him to stop or kill all the foxes by himself, so all he had to do was shoot as many vixens carrying the newborns from a hidden place. After all, the foxes had the advantage in the number. If they all decided to attack the hunter, he would not even survive a few minutes. But with this strategy, they could still get many newborns. The only thing they had to pay attention to was to make sure that they did not hit the little foxes; no one would pay for a dead fox pup, after all.

…

The foxes ran for their lives but they did not abandon anyone. But as they were running out of the range of the first hunter, another arrow flew towards them from their front. As intelligent as they were, they still could not predict the hunters’ plan. The arrow hit a female fox right in the head as she slid on the ground due to momentum. The pups that she was carrying fell on the ground while making weak howling sounds. They could not see their mother’s death so they didn’t know what had happened but the fear of being alone in the ‘darkness’ still encroached upon them. Their father didn’t even have enough time to let out a mourning howl before another arrow flew toward his head, ending his life. The other foxes, while trying to stay united, still couldn’t help these pups. They had to make sure their own kids survived this ordeal, after all.

Not far from these pups, another female fox was running while carrying her five kids. The only difference she had compared to others was that one of her children had already opened his eyes. This little fox was the one with curious eyes. He was currently lying on his mother’s back as they all ran for their lives. He could feel his mother’s rapid heartbeat as she gave her all to run through the dense jungle; he could also see the fear and worry in his father’s eyes. These feelings, these emotions, they were something that he was not familiar with. But somehow, even after seeing the fear of death around him, the only thing he had in his eyes was curiosity.

The next moment, an arrow flew towards them, cutting the wind with its fletching. The arrow was aimed at the female fox’s stomach, but as the arrow was about to pierce her, the father jumped forward and shielded them with his body. As for the price of such action, he paid it with his life. The arrow stabbed his neck and pierced through, dyeing his snow colored fur completely red; it was a quick death. The female vixen couldn’t even let out a howl after seeing his death so as to prevent the pup in her mouth from falling. But her eyes reflected everything she was feeling; it was filled with sadness, grief, and anger.

Blood splattered on the female fox and the pups, but she didn’t stop; she couldn’t stop. She kept running while making sure her kids stayed safely on her back. She could only carry two of the pups in her mouth, so the rest of them were on her back, prone to falling down.

The little fox whose eyes had already opened witnessed its father’s death upfront; his eyes, though, didn’t contain any sadness. He simply couldn’t understand the concept of death right now. But as they kept going further away from his father’s corpse, confusion filled his eyes. He looked at his mother and then looked at his father; he didn’t understand why they had to leave his father behind. He didn’t like this; he wanted to stay with both of his parents. He thought that his mother had forgotten about his father, so he howled, with all his power; as a result, a weak and child-like howl came out of his throat. It was extremely weak, so much so that his mother who was only focusing on running away couldn’t even hear it.

The little fox continued to howl with his weak voice, trying to remind his mother that she had left his father behind, but it was completely useless. He was very small right now, and couldn’t even walk with his own limbs. But even so, he tried to move his body so that he could drop down and then attract his mother’s attention.

Alas, the moment he looked at the moving ground, his body froze with fear. His mother was running at a high speed right now and if he tried to drop down at that speed, it would most likely be certain death for him. While he didn’t understand what death meant, its fear came from deep within his core. Unable to do anything, the little fox just kept looking at his father’s unmoving figure getting farther and farther away.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------XXXXX-----------------------------------------------------------------------------