Author's Note:
Salutations all! I am the author of this book, I have been working on it for a while, and decided it was best to get it into people's hands for Beta Reading!
So please enjoy your stay!
Prologue
Opera
From the window view of the train, one could only see the dull blankets of fog rolling upon the edge of the lake, a procession of melancholic phantoms limping atop the earthly canvas. Ritter considered the sight dispossessed of any appealing qualities but found within it a much desirable reprieve from the empty sleeper car he was seated in.
Sage
Above him a Hololight display projected "2:19 until Katamuri Town" in large holographic print with a small, simplistic green Glyph behind it. Aside from him a lone attendant was to be found standing at one side of the car near the back door, patiently awaiting Ritter to call him over.
Opera
But such a request would never come.
But among the many unpleasant sights within the train car was the picture grasped tightly in Ritter's hand, a picture of both warm comfort and hollow dread. A picture that filled his mind with memories of a simpler past and the dark future that awaits.
Sage
A photograph taken when he became an Inquisitor of the Order of the Moon and finally acquired his own Lupin Arm. Beside him stood Maxwell Mars, his teacher, confidant, friend, and the man he has resolved himself to kill.....
Opera
Tiring of these empty sights within and outside the Train car, Ritter chose to rest his eyes and potentially get some sleep, hoping to still the turbulent waters of his mind. He grabbed his Holo Eye and activated it, a brass colored Glyph lit up and a display menu with many options appeared, Ritter navigated to the Time functions, and synced an alarm to the train’s display to ring five minutes before he got off.
Ritter then took the picture and his Holo Eye and put them in his pocket. Ritter then reclined his seat, and closed his eyes, trying to put his restlessness aside and find some measure of peace in slumber. Though, how can one hope to escape the troubles of the mind while it’s prisoner?
Chapter 1
Sage
The Beast House. That’s what those who lived in fear of unnatural death by tooth and claw knew it as. A small yellow house buried deep within the wilderness of a forest of little worth, inhabited by beasts, Werewolves. The people around knew about it, a kind of open secret whispered in hush tones around the various townships. Some spoke of it as a distant threat, looming in the far off side of a widely impenetrable forest of no value. Some claimed to have heard howling and vicious snarls coming from its direction during the full moon. Some claim to have even seen the place, yet could tell no discernable details save its general details of size, color and remote existence by a lake.
Opera
This place, divorced from the consistent rhythm of civilization, was the only place Ritter had ever known. A place where he was loved, where he was part of the Pack, a part of a Family with his mother and many others, well, supposedly. They resided in a simple lifestyle far away from other people not of their kind, far away from the beating heart of human decency, far away from the dangerous gaze of the Empyreal Orthodoxy, those cursed enforcers of human divinity, who made Ritter and his kind their enemy, Ritter was told.
Sage
Ritter stood alongside his mother, awaiting the Leader’s judgement with dread and patience. Ritter had failed to awaken his Wolf, or so they claimed, but Ritter didn’t know what they meant. Just a few hours ago they brought Ritter to a dark room in the house’s basement and forced him in there. Ritter had thought he had displeased the Leader, why would they trap him in this dark room? What had he done to deserve this? Ritter was scared within that room, he felt the complete lack of other beings within it, and it was horrifying. “You’re never alone within the Pack” he had always been told, as one of them, he would never know loneliness, a gift they called it.
But now here Ritter was, locked in this lightless room, suffocated by the sheer darkness that enveloped him. He reached out with his small hands to try and touch something, anything, yet the room only returned the cold and rocky surface of the walls.
Ritter, weakly
Mom? Luzzanne? Kyra?... Anyone?...
Opera
Yet the room returned only silence. Ritter sobbed gently into his arms, he hated this feeling, he had never known the bitter sting of solitude before. Even in the early hours of the mornings when he would occasionally arise from his slumber unprompted he could always find someone else awake to ease him back to sleep, but not this time, this time, for the first time in his life, he was alone. A prisoner of this horrible place that seemed to envelope his very soul, the silence of endless and hollow dark his only companion.
Or so he thought, within that darkness something strange came into view, a truly unusual sight. A wolf, trapped behind iron bars appeared from thin air before his sight. At first this newfound presence promised him a break from the destructive loneliness, but soon the excitement turned to fear beyond even his initial one.
The wolf gnashed its teeth and growled violently at Ritter, confusing him greatly. He had been around wolves his whole life, even the wild ones that lived outside the house allowed him free agency to pet and play with them. As Ritter grew more and more frightened by this caged beast’s intrusion, the wolf began to violently bark, standing briefly on its hind legs while doing so, and snapping its jaws at it. Truly what is this Beast that barks before him?
Sage
Ritter did the only thing he felt he could do, he cowered down into his own lap and held his hands over his head. Soon the barking stopped, and the door opened revealing the Leader, Ritter was elated at the end of this cruelty, yet the Leader looked at him only with disappointment and disdain.
The Leader
You have failed.
Opera
The Leader spoke the simple three word damnation and walked away. Confused, Ritter walked after him, yet he was stopped by his mother. With a mix of worry and knowing fear, she held Ritter tightly in a hug.
What fangs would be bared in this den of hounds?
Sage
A short time later in a silent room of religious signs illuminated by torchlight, stands The Leader, Thaddeus, adorned in a ceremonial robe with implications of claw marks adorning it. A traditional robe worn by Wolf Shamans for ages, dating back to around, roughly 3300 AC.
Opera
Getting back on topic, from the mass of the Pack, Vierna and her son Ritter step forward.
Thaddeus
Vierna, you know what must be done now.
Vierna, distressed, clutching Ritter
Thaddeus, please, there must be some other option.
Thaddeus, demanding
Do you question my authority? Ritter failed to Awaken, this is the law, the law that has protected our kind for centuries. You’d really abandon those principles as soon as they inconvenience you?
Vierna, looking at Ritter, sadness in her eyes
It’s just…. He’s so young, I didn’t Awaken myself until I was Nine, I don’t see why he must be…
Thaddeus
He is your son, so I cannot say I don’t understand why you feel that way Vierna, but I told you when you joined that the laws would be enforced. The degradation of our values that allowed you that leniency of extra years is the same that had led our precursors to ruin. That led my Father’s Pack to death.
Sage
You see, this law, long abandoned by Werewolf society…
Opera
Well, what can be considered Werewolf society.
Sage
…. This law, to exile failures, Runts as they call them, fell out of favor about 5960 AC, considered a barbaric practice no longer tenable in the era, this has followed mostly through up to 127 PR.
Opera
Unfortunately, some feel the need to dance to the beat of their own drum against the grain, Thaddeus was such a man…
Thaddeus, gripping Vierna’s jaw between his thumb and index
Would you want to see our house, our Pack, slaughtered by those Dog Traitors of the Orthodoxy? See your son’s Fangs torn from his mouth to turn him human? To live as a kind of puppet gesture of humanity? Tell me Vierna!
Vierna, sobbing
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No! No! Please Thaddeus, I’m sorry, I should have known better…
Sage
From the silent mass of the Pack, A woman and child, Luzzanne and her daughter Kyra, approach the three.
Vierna, hopefully
(aside)
It’s Luzzanne, she’s a mother as well, maybe, maybe she can help, maybe she can see how unreasonable Thaddeus is being…
Luzzanne
Ritter failed?
Opera
Sadly, Luzzanne looks at Ritter in a surprised manner. Ritter did not respond. As if he’d know what to say, supposing he even understood what’s happening.
Luzzanne, Shrugging nonchalantly
Well I guess that’s that.
Kyra, ignorant and bewildered
Wait, what’s going on Mama? What’s happening?
Luzzanne, Clutching her Daughter close, away from Ritter
Well Kyra Deary, Ritter failed to Awaken, and now he has to go away for a little bit.
Kyra, distress in her voice
What do you mean go away? We… We weren’t done playing.
Luzzanne, unconcerned
Don’t worry Deary.
Opera
Luzzanne looks at Vierna with some kind of concern in her eyes, wondering what she might consider doing.
Luzzanne
You’re not thinking of anything brash, right Vierna?
Vierna, Tears slowly streaming down her face, shocked by the accusation
No, why would you ask that?
Luzzanne, crossing her arms and glaring
Well he is your son, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find you both missing tomorrow.
Vierna, appalled
How could you say that Luzzanne!? What if this was Kyra?
Luzzanne, her face marked by offense
Kyra wouldn’t fail.
Kyra, Unaware of the peculiar words the adults speak of
Fail what Mama?
Luzzanne, gently picking up Kyra
You’ll find out soon Kyra Deary. Soon you’ll realize that certain people just don’t deserve your attention, like Ritter.
Thaddeus, impatient with this interruption, holding his left hand up firm
Enough of this, it is time for Ritter to be brought to the wall, of course, the law is merciful, should he Awaken hereafter, he shall be welcomed back.
Opera
The Pack silently watches and obeys, for Thaddeus has spoken, and Thaddeus is the law. And what good is it for one to challenge the law?
Sage
Ritter remembers his mother hugging him and apologizing profusely, Ritter was somehow more terrified now then when he was in the dark room. He was dragged away from his mother, screaming for her to help, only for suddenly, Thaddeus to leap forward with unreal speed and slash him across the chest with a single finger.
Thaddeus, unconcerned
Quit you…
Sage
He dictated to some of the others. Ritter, silently sobbing from the pain caused by Thaddeus’s attack, made no attempts to escape or anything else.
The sound of his Holo Eye’s alarm jumped Ritter awake, the memory that occupied his dreams had dashed any hope of a peaceful sleep. Why had he suddenly thought about himself failing the Awakening test? He had put those memories away long ago, trapping them in a black box within his mind, so how or why did they re-emerge? Ritter didn't know, but what he did know was that the event stung him in slumber as much as it stung him all those years ago, his chest, long healed, swelled with horrid pain.
Ritter quietly grabbed his bag, and stepped out of the opulent Victorian styled Sleeper Car onto the clean, urban station of Katamuri.
Opera
Twas.. Let’s say a little after 500, the Sun had just barely begun to rise against the peaks composing the distant landscape. Countless invisible hands of its light reached through and began to caress the city in its warm embrace, while on the other half the dark tendrils of night hadn’t yet relinquished grasp of the city's alleyways and wayward crevices.
But Ritter was still ensnared by the twilight perception between dreams and reality, perhaps he should have thought to bother the attendant for a cup of coffee before he got off. Knowing his hunt will be less burdensome if he is fully awake he starts making his way from the elevated train platform towards the city.
Sage
Before he left, he looked around the sparse station looking for an Tama, that rather benign Cat Goddess of Trains, as eternal Stationmaster of all Trains where her amulet was hung, Ritter thought it important to pay his respects.
Opera
Yet, neither Goddess or Amulet became known to Ritter after a swift but methodical sweep, Ritter felt it was rather strange for an Amulet to not have arrived yet, so Ritter made a note of it to mention it in his report. Well, at least someone can remember to file their reports.
While slowly advancing towards the center of the city to where he was told the Public Security building was, Ritter became burdened by the thoughts that hadn’t died since before he departed on the train. He had overcome his past, he was sure of it, it was perfectly fine where it was, locked away where it could not harm his every day thoughts. Just as worrisome was the horrible implication It might come back…
Sage
Ritter once again pulled out his Holo Eye, it lit up and several windows of options began floating about the display Glyph. Ritter went into the Locations function and looked at the map of Katamuri he obtained before he departed, knowing in advance Katamuri was a small town and without extraordinary merit to any passerby. Resting by a mountain to the north and a lake to the south, Ritter supposed that it had enough of a pleasant vibe to explain its population size. Ritter looked for a Cafe nearby, took note of one he found, and then began walking to it, he decided he would get a beverage to wake up fully before going to the Public Safety building.
The town of Katamuri was rather quaint compared to the kind of booming metropolis and concrete jungles Ritter had wandered as a Inquisitor, but it was far more modern then the remote villages that had also known his prowl. A simple place really, twas a township about ten years ago, with it only recently instating a Public Safety Sector as of three years earlier. The town was quiet, not quite like there was something terrible to silence the noise, but the kind of quiet that was attained only through virtue of small size and intimate civility. It was a town you might retire to after a long and successful career.
Opera
Or, if one were to be more cynical, the kind of place you’d want to hide, where one could run away from authorities, families, or even themselves.
Sage
The buildings were a mix of older style remaining from the Township days and newer styled buildings. They clashed roughly, the sleek and shiny symbols of the modern age seemed out of time compared to the angular brick houses and wooden lodges that predate them.
Opera
Katamuri as a whole seemed like it was bleeding from all points in time, Ritter half expected to see a Horse Drawn carriage.
Unbeknownst to Ritter several unsavory characters happened to see him use the Hollow Eye, and their own eyes hollow with greed, began to tail him. It took not but a few seconds for Ritter to notice the three brigands that were following him, Ritter was able to determine general features by listening to them move. One was a large man with a slight limp, another a skinny man with an irregular gait and the leader seemed to be rather ordinary all around. From the corner of his eye he spotted an empty alleyway that he walked into, knowing the brigands would follow.
The Leader
You must not be from around here Fella…
Opera
Ritter turned to see a brigade of hooligans, between the lot of them, they possessed, Hmm… Let’s generously say three braincells, staring down Ritter, and his fancy gizmo.
Ritter, condescendingly
No I am not in fact, do any of you men know the location of a good place to get coffee? I don’t know if the place I’m going to is any good.
Opera
Ritter held in his tone a voice indicative of someone who knew the Men’s true intentions.
Skinny Man
How about instead of that, you just hand over that fancy doohickey you got, IDs are worth a fortune around here.
Ritter, continuing the gag
Is that so? I suppose that explains the lack of Web support.
Opera
Ritter knew how this would all turn out, but he felt an urge to drag it out a little.
The Large Man
You think of yourself as some kind of Wise Guy?
Ritter, trying to hide a slight giggle
No, but I AM the kind of guy who can beat y’all to a pulp..
Sage
Offended by the implication of three being bested by one, the group charged, but they would quickly come to regret that decision. Ritter was swift, an open palm strike sent the large man tumbling back, gripping his stomach with pain. Conserving his movement Ritter then stepped forward behind the other men and spun a little before kicking the skinny man in the head, he went flying forward.
The Leader, only just now acquiring the ability to collect his senses, tried to throw a punch. Ritter, offended by the sloppy form, decided to humiliate him a little. Ritter deflected the punch with a flip kick and went into a handstand. Noticing the skinny man rising back up, he kicked into each of the Leader’s sides, getting a grip on him, with one fluid motion he flung him over his body straight into the skinny man, knocking them both to the ground.
The Large man came rushing towards Ritter, with his arms spread open in an attempt to grapple Ritter, but Ritter was too swift, as he jumped over the man and leapt to the alley wall. Ritter then leaped down towards the man and wrapped his legs around the neck, a rain of blows felled the Large man to the ground.
Ritter surveyed the area, the other two were still in fighting condition, but not for much longer, Ritter was rather annoyed at this point, wanting to end this quickly enough to avoid serious injury to the brigands. The skinny man leaped forward and kicked at Ritter with his entire body behind it, a mistake Ritter capitalized on, first by delivering a powerful elbow thrust into his now defenseless sides and then grabbing his leg to maneuver his body and slamming him into the ground. Ritter delivered a quick punch to the face, knocking him out.
Ritter dashed at the Leader and before he could react hit his neck with a powerful chop and slapped his face nigh instantly after. Alternating between slaps, chops and punches Ritter beat the thug a lot harsher than he knew he should have but felt the necessity to do so as to make sure the man was dispatched quickly. The man could not hold any longer and after a final gut punch the Leader slipped down on the wall, his eyes weakly closing.
The large man had finally gotten back on his feet, by the time he came to his companions had been utterly incapacitated. He let out a rageful yell and quickly strode towards Ritter, putting all his weight into a mighty punch. Ritter simply placed a single finger up and halted the attack without struggle.
Opera
It was at this particular moment that the large man saw the jacket underneath Ritter’s Greatcoat, a white and red garment with a number of stylized elements with a singular recognizable part, a symbol of a hand holding a spiral, the insignia of the Empyreal Orthodoxy. “What” and “How” were the man’s only thoughts, they had picked a fight with an Orthodoxy Inquisitor? He had known for a long time that even the most ordinary of people could be turned into unbelievable warriors under the Orthodoxy’s training but for him to have seen it up close filled him with awe and terror he had never experienced before. Finally noticing how outmatched he was, a simple whimper left his mouth as he stared at Ritter’s unimpressed face.
