"Your highness, Roqur mountains and it's town." Malynn exclaimed as she tugged into Roegan shoulder and pointed her finger at a far village ahead of a set of mountains, one of the destinations pointed by the warden's map.

  "The dawn is upon us." He muttered under his lips, there was no going back from what they began.

  Around here were many tribes of lower blood who ruled and hunted in Asaroth, and so long they respected the king's rule and answered his calls, they were allowed to live as they pleased, there was a few wars between rival tribes, but the king's rule, passed down for generation, kept the damage to a minimum, for no man or woman shall send others to solve their quarrels, it was to be dealt by single combat, and if one could not fight, one could pick their champion, order was kept and Roegan was able to focus on other matters, such as ensuring that the imperials are not far too comfortable, and to one day unite the Tatarian lands, perhaps his quest could be the first step, he did not dwell any longer, as the centipede closed in to the village, and to not spook the villagers any further than he already did, he knelt down on the creatures large back and tapped it's back.

  Pak halted, the sand around them broke into dust and floated on the air alongside the wind, the beast limbs growing restless and fidgety as the beast awaited his master's command, for it did no one's but Roegan bidding, and someday one of his children.

  Once the dust and sand around them settled, the king jumped off the scales of the beast and the princess soon followed, her golden ruby earrings dangled as she landed, her feline copper eyes fixated ahead until she caught his gaze.

  "Your highness ?" she asked.

  "Nothing, I expected you would be more... Intrigued by your surroundings." He admitted.

  She shrugged her shoulder and carefully adjusted the bun of her silky hair above her head then exclaimed. "The land of Asaroth mostly look more of the same through the west your highness, and besides I am a princess... I should not be lightly impressed. "

  Roegan would laugh, but his daughter would not be too pleased, he was almost certain that she was trying to impress him, or perhaps she had felt that if she acted any other way than she was expected to, she would be looked differently upon, Yemna had no such issue, his eldest was as cold as ice, but his youngest was different, she was the same as water, vulnerable to the elements of the world and he would handle her accordingly.

  "The first time I traveled out of our home, it was with my grandfather, and to me every grain of sand looked different than the other." He told her. " it was all in my head of course, but there is no shame on curiosity... Your highness."

  "...you tease." She said as she studied his face carefully, but once Roegan smiled, she chuckled softly and added."I suppose I er... I heard from a caravan that they have a tradition of raising cubs as their companions, I know we are the bloodline of beast hunters but... "

  He lightly hummed to himself as she spoke then responded. "You want a cub of your own? "

  She was hesitant, her hands fidgeting into one another but she eventually nodded and replied. "I do. "

  "Then we shall see to it." He declared as she smiled and hugged his arm, he smiled back, for now she was back to her roots, though Roegan felt it would not be the last of her issues, she was at an interesting age, and before it would get better, it will get much worse, he would not think much on it, children grow up fast after all, he turned his face towards Pak and gestured for the ground, the centipede limbs began digging into the sand and it buried itself underneath and hid.

  Shortly after, the pair made their way towards the town only to find it void of any life, no voice could be heard and no sound could be made besides the clanking of the bone molded armor, but the absence of life was not the evidence of death, most likely the locals were hiding in their homes, peeking through the curtains they called doors, clay homes adorned with tapestries of tamers and palm leaves atop their roofs, and if his guess would be right, the larger hut would be the home of the chief who ruled here and their shaman.

  "Why are they hiding? " His daughter asked as she looked around whilst they walked.

  "They know who we are from our eyes." He answered. "They're afraid."

  "Why? " She questioned. "Have we done them any wrong? "

  "No, but perhaps they think they would be punished... But for what. " He told her, though once they reached the larger hut at the back of the village, the wind howled through the mountains and carried alongside it a reeking smell of death and feces, and while Roegan stood unfazed yet curious, his daughter covered her nose.

  "What is that smell? " she muttered

  "The end of a time and a way of life." A shaman said as he walked out of the large hut, he wore the skull of a human over his face and feathers of prey birds into his hair, in one hand he held a staff and used it as a cane, in the other he held what seemed to be a Tatarian censer, with the smoke and the smell of herbs following the shaman as he walked.

  "Do you know whom you speak to? " The king demanded an answer, for he would not play a game of words while an urgent task awaits him, and not with scent of danger looming around the mountains.

  "The king of Asaroth, lord of the desert lands, master of Pak the great centipede, tribesman of the beast hunters since the age of the nameless men. " The man answered as he bobbed his head down.

  "Then tell me, what came of this place? What happened here? How haven't we been welcomed properly by your people and where is your chieftain? " Roegan asked.

  "This place is broken, and so is the tribes that lived amongst one another here, your highness, there is no one but women and children, all the men, and some women, alongside their animal companions traveled to the mountains, and never came back... Save for the smell of their doom." The shaman explained, but the king was left unsatisfied by his half answers.

  " Why did they leave their village for the mountains, what's in there?" Roegan voiced his wonder.

  "A monster... " The shaman uttered, his hand clinching tightly into his staff as he added. "It came not too long ago, it did not come to the village, nor did it harass us, but it's presence, it made all of our prey flee our land, gazelles, canines, birds of all kinds, not even insects remained... And our animal companions grew restless, restless and scared, some ran away and some even went as far as... Biting their tongues off, it was odd, bizarre, we sent a letter to your highness but no response arrived, not until now that is... When our children starved, our patience ran thin, and we figured that the monster was the cause of it, so the warriors set out alongside what sane companions we had left... The rest of what happened, is what you can see, smell, and hear. ."

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  "No letter arrived... " Malynn noted.

  "Indeed." Roegan uttered, he felt unease, but he told himself that letters in Asaroth often lose its way in the deserts, birds of prey would be distracted by food or die in a sandstorm, or be hunted by bigger birds, and messengers had to avoid the Gahrak and bandits, Roegan would not give the thought any more attention, he had other issues at hand.

  "Nonetheless. " the shaman exclaimed. "You are here, your highness, with one of your kin, I urge you to help us, what remains of us are defenseless and cannot live with nothing to eat."

  Roegan listened to the man but had no reply, it happened under his nose, his people starved and killed, he felt humiliated and infuriated, and he will not let the creature trespass any longer, that and other things among his thoughts, he turned his face to Malynn and told her. "We leave now, on foot. "

  He turned to the shaman and added. "Prepare for your departure, the city of bones welcomes every Asarothian in distress. "

  The shaman nodded, and Roegan set out to the mountains alongside his daughter, the mountains were bronze sandy rocks and soils, and with every wind that passes them, the reek of carnage became stronger, so dense that Malynn had to cover up her nose with a scarf, and as for Roegan, he did not mind the smell, for the imperials had showed him what atrocities a human can preform on a lesser and weaker human.

  "Gods... " His daughter whispered under her scarf in shock, and he could not blame her as they halted, as ahead of them was a cave, with an entrance as tall and as wide as a fortress gate, and next to it paid a pile of human and animal bodies and weapons so high it exceeded the cave entrance itself, there the smell was the strongest, and being this close, Roegan had realized that there was never a wind howling from the mountain, it was a breath, the breath of the celestial beast in the cave, his heart skipped a beat and his blood boiled, the call of the hunt echoed in the back of his mind as he almost drooled.

  His senses quickly returned as he gazed down towards his daughter, whom was less excited than he was for the journey seeing what she saw, with a smile he set his hand on her shoulder, he would reassure her, but not in a way that would harm her pride.

  "Listen, the beast is inside, and there I will fight him but you cannot come with me. " He said.

  "Wait, w-why? Father I cannot let you go in there alone, I made a promise, is it because of how I'm acting about the smell? If so I assure you I will not—" She tried to explain but her father was quick to cut her off.

  "No, you misunderstood, I simply do not want anything sneaking up on me from the outside, you will serve as a sentinel in this battle, same as our guards commander Xao, he would not have my back harmed in a battle would he? "

  "No... " she muttered hesitantly.

  "Then trust me, I need you here outside, do not let anyone or anything through." He told her.

  "As you wish... " She gave in. "But please be careful, if you need me just call my name, I will do everything and anything I can for you, your highness. "

  "I know, keep your saber at the ready... I will be back shortly. " with that said, he made his way to the entrance, though with every step he made, the air became denser and humid, and eventually what was a distant breath became a sound of a gigantic living creature hiding in the cave, it took away Roegan's breath, he had not felt the thrill of the hunt since he challenged the scorpion of sands, and even then, it was different than what he felt, as even the strongest of the bone molded plate armor did not give him any form of comfort.

  Once he was inside the cave, he expected it to be dark but instead what he found was a hole in the very foundation of the mountain itself, allowing the light to pour through and lit the center of the cave, and there it was, one of the celestial beasts, Roegan gripped into his chest as his heart pounced against his armor, he had seen nothing of the sort in the entirety of his life although he been told tales before by his grandfather, even that could not prepare him for such a sight.

  It was taller than a tree, chiseled with muscles and meat, with gray scales all over its upper body, it had the head of a rhino, though unlike a normal one, it had three golden eyes on each side of its face and three horns instead of one, it's lower body was that of bear with its furs and hooves instead of paws, but what concerned Roegan the most, was the fact that the beast had a silver gauntlet of a sort on its right arm, the more Roegan looked at it, the more he stepped forward by instinct, in a moment he would realize that his heart beat was not of fear, but of thrill, the thrill of a feline seeing it's prey.

  "The bodies were a warning, if I was you, I would turn back, mortal." The celestial beast left thunder claps at the sound of his words as it echoed through the walls of the cave back and forth and into the gap at the ceiling, Roegan however was caught by surprise and froze, he known beasts to not be able to speak, Pak was a celestial as well and never did.

  "You speak our tongue? " Roegan shouted.

  "Many of us do, some chose not to, the mortal tongue is... Unintelligent. " The beast replied. "When I spoke to the bodies outside... Before I turned them into nothing but bodies, they attacked in a panic, or a frenzy, yet here you are, able to communicate...what's different about you? "

  "I'm a king. " Said Roegan, he would not tell the creature his secrets but he would play along for as much as he could. "Do you have a name? "

  "Egor, and you? " The celestial beast answered.

  "Roegan... " The king was barely able to respond, as he recalled from the retellings of his people the name of Egor, he was a creature far older than the age of tyrant mages, devourer of lands, they called him. "Why are you and the other celestials migrating?"

  The celestial huffed, he began stepping forward, each step shaking the very heart of the mountain as his breath grew faster and his thunderous voice sharper. "It is none of your concern, mortal, but since you have the common decency to speak, I urge you to leave my place of resting alone, and once you do, leave with what you care about from Osward to another of the four continents, else you will die, either now, or soon enough. "

  "Leave? " Roegan repeated in mockery, though he did not dislike the thought as Egor stood a few meters away from him, the king had to look up to see the celestial eye to eye, any sane man would have taken the offer, would have thanked all of the gods and the all creator for saving his life, yet Roegan not only had a duty to the people whom this beast killed, but to all Asarothians, and to his blood as well, the blood of the beasts hunters, even if his bone molded armor and weapons did not bring him any comfort, the king known that past this time, there will be no ego and no arrogance, there will be one thing that all mortals stood equal in, death.

  "I am not going anywhere—" Roegan attempt to respond was disrupted by the Egor reaction, the beast had raised his unshielded fist and punched the king down into the ground, crushing layers of the floor beneath them as rubble flew to all corners of the cave, Roegan coughed up a sum of his blood, yet through it all he could not help but grin in both pain and joy, for the king had unsheathed his bone great sword in time and shoved it into the beast arm, the man had ignored his pain and blood, and instead he looked at Egor bleeding arm, then declared . "I fear no creature that bleeds the same blood as I do. "

  The celestial six eyes widened as he stepped backwards while Roegan pulled out his sword, both injured, however the celestial spoke as he was more disturbed than the human. "You... Your armor did not break, but that punch should have torn your lungs... It did tear your lungs... What manner of man are— you... You are a Guthmahrok tribesman, the eyes, I did not see them until now... Beast hunter, I almost let you go, but knowing who you are and what your ancestors did, I will rip you from limb to limb! " enraged, Egor smashed his paw into the ground and roared, preparing his charge.

  Roegan quickly stood into his feet, his hand clinching into his great sword as he exclaimed."Say, my daughter wants a pet, ever thought about wearing a leash? " and while he made mockery of the celestial, Roegan knew that the battle would be long and challenging.