The night was cold, and the pale silver light of the moon washed the buildings in a dull glow. The streets were empty of the normal crowd of people that ran about their lives during the day, far from the turmoil that plagued the lands outside the walls built by Humans. Safety was such an everyday part of life here for hundreds of years, that many forgot their fear of the monsters that dwelled outside. Many shrugged off the passing memories of the older Humans as stories of times that would soon fade. Large golden beasts that tore through them like paper dolls, devouring them to the bone? Laughable. The might of the soldiers here was unrivaled throughout the world - they were untouchable. A trade center thrived, libraries were made and for the first time in recorded history, schools were established and the people were educated in the fine arts that had so often been considered unnecessary for survival. Years of peaceful solitude passed in the Great City, and the normal citizens were content in their quiet lives. It was only the highest order of the Grand City Marshals that knew of the world outside. That those silly golden beasts were still quite a threat to not be taken lightly.

It was an incident that happened several years ago that had caused the Marshals to build the walls, a beast of enormous power had made its way very close to the heart of their city, and had spent some time there- pretending to bring peace to the naive Humans of an outer settlement. In the end, their strongest regiment of soldiers were completely wiped out- and the beast had escaped. The Head of the Soldiers at the time had stepped down, and the city was ruled by a select few of the committee, until a proper leader stepped forward. One such leader had been brought forward, and would soon take the reigns of leadership.

The incident lead to the greatest stronghold of Humankind to rise up - Leben Festung. And it was in this superior fortress city that an unusual occurrence happened. In a small house in the city’s lower district dwelled a family of three. The Father was a principled man, hardworking with a particular skill in growing plant life. He spent his days in the field- bringing in the crops that helped to sustain the large city. He was a quiet man- who didn’t openly join in the easy life of his fellow city dwellers. He prefered to be at home, because it was here that his secret lay. His wife was a frail woman- their neighbors rarely saw her outside the home. She was often excused as sickly by the husband, and rested during the day in their home while the husband worked. When she was seen, she was always covered head to toe- staving off the cold that was rumored to chill her bones. The two had a small child, barely seven summers old. He was very different- and most thought this was due to the unusual circumstances of his mother- being raised almost completely indoors within the house. His hair was as white as the snow that would never fall in the city - and would shine in the dim light of night when he was seen. But even more unusual still were his ruby red eyes. It was so rare for him to be seen, that it was rumored they were as red as blood- cutting into you with what should have been childlike innocence but was marred by the chilling color. His parents kept him away from the other children- afraid for their son’s safety with his extreme differences.

That however, was not their only fear. For the family had a secret- a very dangerous secret to have in the greatest Human fortress in this world. So far the family had been able to contain the secret, but tonight it threatened to spill out- alerting the Humans around them of what was to come. The husband, named Rowin after his father, had just come home after a long day of work. As he opened the door a familiar scent hit him, making his stomach drop. Blood. The scent should not have been this strong, especially from outside their house. The street guards would be passing by in minutes, they would surely smell it as well. Rowin slammed the door behind him, grabbing a candle that was lit in the doorway. He hurried into the house, eyes scanning the dark halls until he saw a light coming from what served as the bedroom. Weeping met his ears as the smell of blood grew thicker. When he turned the corner, his eyes widened in shock. His wife was kneeling in the middle of the room, cradling the small body of one of the neighbors children that had been friendly with them. She was crying, rocking back and forth with her hand over her mouth- covered in the child’s blood. Her chest heaved and she groaned as she seemed to fight to keep her mouth covered. Rowin could make out strangled sobs of “no, no please” his wife’s normally quiet voice ripped raw with her crying.

“What have you done?” He finally was able to say, frozen in the doorway. Her eyes shot to him, wild with fear.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…..I’m sorry…..I can’t…..” For a moment her hand seemed to jerk away, revealing her blood stained face as her teeth were bared at the child’s body. “I need…...Rowin….!” She choked out a sob again, forcing her hand to her face with such a force that a slap rang out in the small room, her heaving resuming. Tears streamed down her face, turning red with the blood that was there. Rowin cursed, setting the candle to the side as he came into the room.

“A child? What were you thinking Alana? Have you lost your mind?” He knelt down, ignoring the crying woman to examine the child. She lay limp in the woman’s arms, her chest was still. “You killed her?!” He hissed. His wife shook harder.

“I can’t control it!” Alana hissed, her hand now reaching down to grasp the child’s arm, eyes wild and golden as she leaned forward.. “I need it I need it I need it I-” She was cut off as Rowin pushed her back forcefully, jerking the child from her grasp.

“You’ve doomed us Alana! After all this time, after I hid you away and protected you!” He growled in anger, putting the child behind him. He looked up, seeing their son huddling in the corner of the room, eyes large in fear as he had seen everything. Rowin froze. “Alois…..” His voice broke. He suddenly turned around, gaze burning into Alana. “And in front of our child? You are out of control!”

She hissed at him, sitting up with eyes blazing with as much anger as him. “I’ve told you, I can’t control this! I’ve tried and it never works!” Her gaze landed on the lifeless form of the child and she seemed to battle with hunger and guilt. Her voice fell to a broken whisper. “She was...so kind to Alois…..I…” Her shoulders shook. She covered her face, sobbing into her hands. “I felt it coming and tried to get her to leave…..she wouldn’t though….they were playing together…..” She peered out of her hands at her husband, eyes shining in tears. “She….she said Alois had the most beautiful eyes….”

Alois jerked at the sound of his name. He finally seemed to see the sight in front of him, the limp body of his only friend sprawled behind his father. His stomach lurched a bit at the thick smell of blood. He remained still, biting his lip to keep it from quivering with his unshed tears. He didn’t understand why his mother had tried to send his friend away, or why she had suddenly picked the girl up and bit her until she stopped screaming. It happened so quickly, Alois could only hide before his father came in.

Rowin smacked his hand onto the wooden floor. “Enough. That doesn’t matter now, because she’s dead. You killed her. And now the guards will come and kill us.” He ran his hand over his face. “You betrayed us….” His anger was as thick as the blood on the floor beneath him, staining his pants from where he knelt. “You’ve killed us Alana.” As he finished speaking, pounding could be heard on the door down the hall, the alert voices of soldiers muffled by the thick wood, demanding entrance.

Alois whimpered at the sounds, attracting his father’s attention. The man thought quickly. “We can spare Alois though. Listen to me son.” He reached forward but stopped when he saw the blood on his fingers.. He let his hand fall to his side. “You need to go to your room. Hide under your bed. Do not come out until the soldiers go to find you. Tell them you don’t know what happened, and that your mother was acting funny. Do you understand?” He waited until the boy nodded quietly. He was such a honest boy, well behaved and always listened to instructions. He sighed, gaze growing soft. “I’m sorry. But you need to go now, and stay very quiet.” Alois stood shakily, casting a shifting gaze between his mother and father. He tiptoed past when his father urged him once more to hurry, and slipped into the darkness of his room across the way, shutting the door. He padded over to his bed, slipping underneath quietly as he had so many times before, playing hide-and-seek with his mother.

There was a brief moment of quiet, then the sound of the front door crashing down shook the small house, as the soldiers stormed in. “There’s an Icchorian in here! Alert the inner city! Evacuate the district!” Their voices rang loudly in the night, the thundering of orders and footsteps causing the boy to shrink further back under the bed. He heard them storm down the hall, voices raising further alarm upon finding the bloody scene inside the room.

“Rowin and Alana Engbrecht! You have been found guilty of being Icchorian! This is a crime punishable by death without trial!”

Alana’s sobbing pleas filled the air after this announcement, begging for the life of her child. It wasn’t long however that anger colored her voice and it seemed to change her. Growls filled the night air, and the soldiers reacted immediately. The sounds of their attacks were loud, and a beastly roar mingled with their cries to stop her. Rowin’s shouts joined them, telling his wife to stop and accept her punishment. She refused.

“You betray me even now Rowin! I gave up everything for you!” The beast growled, no longer a voice that could be called Human. “I left my home and my people, I’ve hidden away in this house and loved you more than my own freedom.” She lashed out, and Alois heard a dull thud as the sound of his father’s pained cry rang out. There was a crashing sound, wood splitting as the outer wall of the home came crashing down under a fierce weight.

“She’s going outside! Contain her!” There was the sound of a tremendous struggle, and Alois clamped his hands over his ears. It was several long moments before everything grew quiet again and Alois lowered his hands. “She’s dead. Take her carcass out to the square and let the sun take care of it. As for you Rowin, it seems that the crime of harboring a known Icchorian has come around to destroy you. Yet still, you are guilty of hiding her here, despite being Human. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Rowin’s gaze was on the bloodied floor for a moment, watching as his own blood seeped from the fresh wound that had been ripped through his side. His blood mingled with that of his own wife, boiling for a moment before seeping into the wood floor. His gaze was soft and broken until he looked up at the Captain. “Spare my son. He did not know. That was not his real mother, merely a replacement I hid here with him. He is Human.”

“You do not beg for your own life.” The captain stated, impressed by the man.

“I am not a fool. I knew what I was doing marrying her. But my son is innocent, and does not deserve to die for our crime.”

The captain was impressed by this man’s resolve. “I will heed your request, he will be taken to the city’s orphanage until a place has been found for him in society.” The man waved his hand, and one of the soldiers stepped forward, sword raising and falling in a swift motion as Rowin fell, his head separated from his body. “A quick death for one so sure of his sins.” The captain murmured. “Find the child. Bring him to me outside.”