Prologue

Some stories don't make their way to the final draft.

On a desolate island land, there is a tower that rises towards the sky, made of stone, majestic in stature but in a daunting, hellish way . Despite its refined architecture there didn’t seem to be any detectable entrance to it. 

Nevertheless , some people are seen- riding towards it on horseback. They are clad in military getup.  Upon reaching, the one in front extends his hand and mutters what seems to be an incantation and the wall opens up revealing a giant chasm. From where they stood, there was a path that led to a staircase that sprouted from the middle.  

This structure is a prison with levels both up and down. Each level seemed to house cells although every chamber that the soldiers passed seemed uninhabited  (save for the occasional skeleton, decaying away). That said, an eerie wailing was audible, albeit ever so slightly, almost as if the souls that died in the Forsaken were still wailing, begging for an end to their suffering that continues- even after death.

Our small army makes a long climb down the spiral staircase built within the tower.Upon reaching the bottom most level they stop in front of a cell.

The leader calls out, “Aite, Sinhabahu, you know how this goes. Face the wall, hands where we can see ‘em”

“Of course, Commander Gemunu.”   A friendly voice responds, a stark contrast to the terror induced aura the place radiated, “ It has been some time since I saw the you Gemunu. It was starting to get a little lonely. I see some new faces.. You have let a few more numbers into our little secret then ?”

A hulking figure turns to face the wall, a massive mane facing the soldiers.

Gemunu ignores the last remark and  continues , “ Your meals for the next five days.” He gestures to a soldier to place the parcels at the entrance of the cell .

“Could last you six if you ration properly . Which I suggest you do - there’s a party happening at Raksha this week ; might not have much to go around for filthy  war criminals after all the festivities hahahaha” the soldier says with barely contained venom in his voice .

“Tissa that is enough,” Gemunu cautions .

“That’s fine Commander . He knows not what he speaks. I have always had Raksha’s best interest at heart , my friend. Why a year before we declared war - I was hailed a hero of justice in the King’s Court. Imagine that”

“You dare speak of the King’s Court after what you did ? Murderer!!” 

“Tissa..”

Sinhabahu sighs before responding. 

“I regret it deeply . Tissa, was it ? Were you close to King Ravana?”

“Liar. You don’t regret nothin’. You don’t regret killing our King ” another soldier from behind calls out. 

“I do regret it. But Ravana was a weak ruler,  who often forgot that he had a responsibility towards ALL of Raksha’s citizens. I fear he never saw the beasts..my people… as anything more than other. Second priority. I made a peaceful offer to him, let me take over. I’ll run a kingdom where all of our country’s people were not divided by petty things like how we look  and a place of equal opportunity for both human and beast . But he refused.  War was not what I wanted, friend. But your king made it necessary ” 

Another soldier (Migara)  with greying hair and bushy beard spits, “ A Beast rule over humans?! That is prepostero-

There is a crack sound, a shockwave that beamed past everyone and in a split second Migara’s head ejects from its body and propels onto a wall, splattering like jelly. 

A roar. The human soldiers twirl swords out, ready to attack. What faced them was a monstrosity- a terror the human civilisation had not faced in 3 years. 

A Savaging beast. It stood over 2.8 metres tall. The body was a mix of muscle , bones and flames - a gaping mouth . The force of its presence caused rubble to float around it - almost like the beast was a source of gravity itself . It lets out another roar and grabs at some of the rubble that was floating around it -hurls it onto the soldiers that it faced against. This time however its opponents were prepared and scattered to either side avoiding any impact. 

“ WE ARE BEING ATTACKED!” Tissa bellows and lunges towards it  . 

“Tissa no !” Gemunu yells. 

Too late . The beast opens its mouth- wide and with a chomp devours the human, blood splattering everywhere . 

Gemunu lets out an involuntary gasp but there was no time to dwell on the shock.

The beast hurls a heavy fist at him. In a shift movement Gemunu’s Mantra blade is out and  he slashes at his opponent. The sound of their collision echoes through the hollow chamber. Metal against bone 

The Mantra blade glimmers a golden hue, dazzling with tremendous power. Gemunu coughs out some blood- the cost of that impact- which felt like taking the full force of a rock onto his face. His right eye was bruised and his vision was getting blurry. He drops onto one knee- his body absolutely hacked. 

SHiiiiiing. The other Raksha soldiers dart at the monster- mantra blades out. There is  a flurry of lightning slashes  and red punches. Some cuts do land, leaving a trail of green aura with each impact. There is a roar. Pain. Anger. The behemoth rotates its entire body, arms extended. Its appendages connect with every soldier within range, sending them flying into many different directions. 

“ 

Gemunu is still trying to recompose himself. He could vaguely hear the noise of bones scrunching against the stalactites there. 

Just. Enough. Strength.

“ RETREAT!” he bellows with all the strength he could muster.

There was no response. 

He repeats the command again but only silence answers back.

“I am sorry, old friend.” 

It was Sinhabahu. For the first time since he arrived at the Forsaken the Beast finally has turned to face him.  Tall, ruggedly handsome and majestic- the lion was.

The monster on the other hand seemed to be…rapidly solidifying, turning into….. Stone. A huge cloud of smoke was being emitted at the same time. The monster, gradually, but quickly enough to be considered an instant (almost) becomes what can only be described as a stone statue.  A crack appears at the foot. It expands causing some particles to crumble, leaving an opening . From it emerges, another beast- a monkey this time-  the rider of the Golem. 

“I noticed you were a little sluggish with your steed, Wuzuqi” Sinhabahu offers, “ the commitments of peace makes practise a little hard to come by?”

“Glad to see your sense of humour has withstood the years, my lord. If you will bear with me, I will release you from your shackles in a moment but,first - what do we do with this guy ? He seemed somewhat level headed compared to the rest of the human scum- didn’t seem fair to just do him in, aye?  ”

The lion beams, “I am grateful for that. Gemunu and I go way back, matter of fact. My best friend back in the Royal Army days ” 

He then turns and inspects the fallen human , “ Do you perhaps have some ointment to tend to his wounds?”

“I don’t want your mercy, Sinhabahu!”

Sinhabahu smiles sadly, “And neither did I from you, Gemunu..and yet here we are. Do you regret sparing my life now ? ”

Gemunu tries to get up, but he falls back down. 

“Damn… you”

He faints