(USFB): Twenty-Eight: The Spy

An order to follow, to track and not engage, was not in keeping with what the jackal had come to know from his master. The lives he had reaped, the dynasties ended, and other acts of skullduggery had come and gone with ease. Yet, to follow without bloodshed was a challenging task for him. At […]

(USFB): Twenty-Four: The State of War

Returning without Ceren and Rin would have bristled Razien to the end of his wit, knowing full well what Jaium might say, but with Shah Tirasha’s allotment of warriors, he felt a touch more comfortable. If they returned to Roya when it was all over or were pushed as far east as the coastal town of […]

(USFB): Twenty-One: The Empire and The Remains

Even from the heights of the split monolith, ancient to a point in which even the most learned of scholars could not tabulate its age, the view of the ceremony was clear enough. The winds rounded about the leopard on the high ledge, his pale gray eyes unblinking against the torrent. Nothing had forced Pulzaricati to flinch […]

(USFB): Twenty: Deeper Cellars of Yesterday

A dank and mold-fettered draft wisped into the depths of the cavernous temple until it reached the desolate form of the puma. His mind danced in the void between one world and the next, trying furtively to again find purpose and strength. He clutched his digits tight to his paw pads, feeling the crusted, dried […]

(USFB): Nineteen: The Enemy Within

She owed Dulsenor an apology for cursing his name, even if she hadn’t given the comment voice. Hardly could Greshalin justify any animosity towards the puma when he hadn’t much say in the matter. The man’s lack of control among so many others whom the Yerra had bent to his will was not forgivable as […]

(USFB): Eighteen: Incursions

They had come with the night as unexpected as that lurking dark that called the flesh of the last sane caribou home. It was not without warning the Legion poured over hills and forded the Camora, but with the cries of those who thought they might escape the nightmare made flesh. West of the Spire, […]

(USFB): Seventeen: Dormant Sensations

The Jade Tower was the last in the line, nearest to the eastern section of the mountain that enclosed the town. Several stories up, Razien knew he would be looking face-to-face with an aged mirror of himself, one that was infinitely more critical of him than he could be himself. And once more, as he neared that […]

(USFB): Sixteen: Old Home, Old Faces

Duty was not something Razien feared. Whether it be to exhume a blood-tainted body from a burial ground or stand toe to toe with a Wretched call upon by the Spiritcatcher. However, his new task was something beyond his confidence. Riding to Roya through the night after an already exhausting day was a paltry request, but his purpose […]

(USFB): Fifteen: Atlai the Wyse

Jaium was a nightmare to behold; had his dark fur not been flecked with flakes of salt, he might have convinced every last one that he was taken by the tainted blood. As he set eyes on those nearest to the door, he growled low with irritation until his eyes set on Razien and Greshalin. […]

(USFB): Fourteen: Ascending a Fallen Monolith

As he yanked and came up, unable to make another step, Razien wondered if he hadn’t been caught in an ill-placed snare. The Cubs had been working on a means of defense should the line break when the invaders pushed through. It was laughable to think that anyone would place a trap of any kind […]