The moon shone bright between bouts of heavy rain that night. Men and beasts rushed through the drenched trees of the forests.

“Catch him!”, a woman ordered, “Get him before he reaches the town!”

Suddenly a howl erupted from the trees.

“Shit! He’s getting worse!”

A beast stood in the clearing more than 3 men high. With a crunch, the beast broke the bones of a man.

“Where are the tamers from the Magic Council?”, the woman screamed.

“They’ve been delayed, my lady! The beast destroyed the infrastructure to the west”, a woman answered.

“Damn it! What caused him to go berserk?”

“We got word! His family, his wife and children, were captured and tortured to death by King Henry of the Tiln Kingdom for fun. He went mad, killed everyone in the palace, and burned it to the ground."

“We may not be able to call him down!”, another shouted.

“Herongolde…”, the woman looked at him pitifully, “We have to try! Before the hunters from the Beast Guild get here and kill him!”

Suddenly, the sound of a horse approaching from behind drew her attention.

“Ilm?! What the hell are you doing here?”, she yelled over the rain.

“You really think I’d let my pregnant wife go out to tame a berserker all on her own? “, her husband said.

“You cannot be here!”, she cried.

“Mi Lua. I know”, he caressed her shoulders, “Whatever fate befalls me, so be it. As long as you’re safe”

“What of the children!?”

“I got those monstrous children to calm down, mostly. It’ll be alright”, he smiled gently.

Ilm pushed her behind him, adjusted his daggers, and approached the beast.

“Herongolde, old friend”, he said softly, “I know you’re in a lot of pain, but you have to calm down now or they’re going to put you down”

The beast let out an ear-splitting growl as it struggled against the chains holding him down. Ilm drew closer, but the woman pulled him back shaking her head in defiance. Softly, Ilm removed her shivering hands from his shirt and stepped forward.

“Herongolde… It hurts to see you like this. We’ve been friends, brothers, and family for over twenty years. I don’t want to lose you this way”

Herongolde’s breathing began to slow and color began to return to his irises. All seemed to calm and Ilm backed away to give him space. The woman sighed with relief and caressed her heavy belly. She moved forward and covered her face, then released a sleep gas in the air to calm him. As Herongolde sunk to the ground, she comforted him.

“You’re okay now, Herongolde”, she cooed, “Just sleep for now”

As his breathing slowed, his clouded eyes looked at her full of tears. Her soft silhouette brought forth images of his wife. Suddenly, he roared his wife’s name while staring at the woman and a rip of anger coursed through him. He lashed crazily, throwing the warriors that were holding his chains several feet in all directions. His sharp, protruding claws lunged at the woman, but Ilm jumped in front of her just in time. Blood poured from his chest as he fell to the ground.

“Noooo!”, she screamed.

Ilm collapsed into her arms.

“No! Please! Please don’t leave me!”, the woman cried as he bled in her arms.

He smiled and caressed her face, “It will be alright… you’re safe now, that’s all that matters”

“No, no! Please!”, she wailed.

Weakly, he took his dagger and cut his braid; a sign of death. The woman’s heart sank.

“Mi Lua…My E-Eleadora”, he said softly, “I don’t regret this”

He handed her his braid with a smile. She screamed through her tears. Herongolde shuddered, and his body began to shrink to normal size.

“I-Ilm”, his voice shook as tears flowed from his eyes.

Disbelief, shame, and grief washed over him. He shifted again and took off running. She painfully watched him go as she held the body of her husband, her best friend.

“My lady…”, a warrior approached sorrowfully, “Wha-what should we do now?”

She looked down at Ilm’s still face tearfully, “Capture him alive… before the hunters get to him...”

The woman nodded as though to convince herself that was the right path to take at that moment. She wrapped Ilm in his cloak and placed him on a wagon to return to the city. Bracing herself with one last look at him, she made chase in the direction Herongolde had gone in. As she ran, uncontrollable tears escaped her eyes, and then a shock of pain like no other ripped through her body.

“No”, she breathed, “Not now baby, please”, she begged her unborn child, “Be nice to momma”

It was no use, as the cold rain mixed with warm fluids flowing from her body. She huffed, trying to stop herself from going into labor.

“My lady?”, a warrior turned, realizing the woman was no longer behind her.

“Don’t mind me! Keep going!”, she huffed, “I’ll catch up!”

The warrior nodded unsurely and left. The woman held onto a tree as the pain grew worse. The child seemed to be clawing its way out. Unable to control it any longer, she dropped to the ground and screamed as she went into labor. She clawed at the grass and soil, trying to calm her breathing; this wasn’t her first child, but it still wasn’t easy. She untied her underclothes and forced them down as her contractions worsened. Focusing her mind, she steadied herself into a rhythm until she felt her baby slowly emerge between her legs. Gently, she pulled them the rest of the way and cut the umbilical cord with her knife. She looked at the child, a baby girl. Tears flowed wildly as she looked at her, but she knew she couldn’t stay there. Dragging her aching body from the soaked ground, she tied the child in her cloak like a harness. Pulling out a whistle, she blew it to call her horse, who soon came trotting towards her through the trees. Agonizingly, she tried to climb atop her horse, but couldn’t. Sensing her owner’s distress, her horse kneeled to help her onto her back.

“G-good girl, Inin”, she said, bracing herself as she painfully lowered onto the saddle.

Shakenly holding onto the reins, she clicked, commanding Inin to rise and move forward. Slowly, she made her way to the nearest civilization she could find in the middle of the forest, the Kingdom of the Elves. As she approached the gates, guards yelled at her to stop.

“Pl-please”

“Who are you!?”, the guard growled.

“I am Eleadora Aniceta, Matriarch of the Eastern House”, she said weakly as she shakenly revealed her Elven pass.

He looked at it and nodded, “What can we do for you today, my lady?”

She clicked for Inin to kneel, and she slid off her back. Dragging her heavy body, she approached him and fell to her knees on the wet ground. She held out her newborn child to him.

“Please… watch my child… I must complete my mission”, she begged, “I-I will return once I succeed…”, she breathed laboriously as tears began to well up in her eyes, mixing with the unending rain.

The guard looked at her, unsure of what to do, he turned and yelled to another guard to go get someone of higher authority than him. She cradled the child to her bosom as a few minutes passed. Finally, an elf draped in ornate robes came to the gate and looked at her curiously.

Eleadora began to beg as soon as she saw him, “Great King Myavin! I beg of you! Please care for my daughter!”

“Eleadora? What is this?”, he said bringing an umbrella to cover her from the rain, “You’re soaked, come inside”

She shook her head furiously, “I can’t! I must continue my mission!”, she cried.

Myavin looked down at her waist at the braid of hair tied to it. He then understood why she was so determined to go.

“I see”, he said bending down to help her up, “I will do as you ask”

He took the child from her arms and bowed.

“Would you like some assistance, I can send a few guards with you”, he offered.

“No, it is better if the Aniceta handle this”, she said sorrowfully.

Myavin nodded as she hobbled back to her horse and left in great haste. Looking at the child in his arms, he was perplexed.

“This child”, he said wide-eyed, “Was just born a few moments ago”

The guards and servants looked on in horror at his words as he retreated into the inner sanctum of the Elves.

Eleadora raced to stop Herongolde. Her horse skidding to a stop, she spotted the flag of the Beast Hunters in the brush. Her eyes widened as she clicked Inin into a sprint. Finally, she happened upon Herongolde and the Aniceta warriors, locked in an exhaustive stalemate.

“The hunters are here!”, she yelled, “Quickly! We have to calm him down!”, she panicked, trying to think of a way that would knock him out.

The sleep powders won’t work and may only make him go berserk again. The only other option is to inject him, but getting close is nearly impossible.

“Herongolde… I need you to calm down now”, she pleaded through her tears, “please”

Eleadora shifted her weight looking for an opening. A deafening silence overcame the group as time to save him from certain death was fading quickly. The beast of Herongolde was becoming sluggish, but still on high alert. With a slight tap, Eleadora ordered a distraction from the other warriors. As they pulled his chains to the right, she sped left and raced around to his back. Using the chains wrapped around his body, Eleadora garnered the last bit of energy she could muster, then climbed until she reached his neck. Swiftly, she stabbed him with a large syringe, pushing the sedative deep into his bloodstream.

As he began to thrash at her like a buzzing fly, she jumped down and raced for cover. Everyone began to back away as he huffed and sank to the muddy ground. His eyes darted wildly as he could no longer control his body. Finally, he collapsed into a deep sleep,

“Well…”, a voice said as a group of rough figures emerged from the brush, “Aren’t you lucky?”

“Captain Bansel”, Eleadora greeted breathlessly, “As you can see, we no longer need the Beast Guild’s assistance”

“Yes, it would seem so”, he said coyly, “We’ll still need to take the beast anyway. For safety purposes of course”, he grinned with a filthy look.

“Like hell you are!”, Eleadora roared at him, whirled around, and shouted at the Aniceta warriors, “Load him up!”

She glared at him while clenching her daggers.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, Bansel”, she hissed, “You will not be killing him today”

The Beast Guild makes money for every kill; the harder the beast, the more reward. The prized head of a shifter capable of crushing countries could run the guild for years. Eleadora knew this, thus making a defensive ring around the cart carrying Herongolde.

“Have a good day, Bansel”, she sneered as she followed the procession of tired warriors.

“Shit”, he spat on the ground as he waved his hand to signal his men to move out.

Even if they could win, a fight with the Aniceta would only mean a lifetime of court and prison for breaking the pact between them.

Quickly, the Aniceta returned to Haon. They gently placed Herongolde back into his home with a barrier around the grounds to prevent him from leaving. Word was sent to the Magic Council tamers with the exact coordinates for them to teleport, so that they may tend to him and place a stronger barrier.

As the dawn sun began to shine, Eleadora returned to the estate, collapsing as she entered the doorway.

“Mama!”, her teary-eyed children cried in unison.

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