The Vermin King: Chapter One

The sun shined down upon upon the world in all it's bright, beeming glory, standing alone in the cloudless sky. Somewhere bellow it, tents of all colors and sizes were set up in a great medow. All about the large camp, a great number of various vermin were going about their buisness. Over here, a rambuctious group of rats were having a drinking contest; over there, some soats were polishing their blades; and over that way, the sound of sword clashing with sword rang out in the air as a young ferret faced off with his darring rival.

The ferret had light brown fur and vibrant emerald eyes, and wore a dark blue tunic. Upon his paw was a silver ring with a singe red ruby gemstone. He was young, just barely an adult, but it was clear that he was a born warrior; his body was already marked with a battle-scar across his chest.

His opponent was a young squirrel maiden, half a season or so younger than him. She had rust red fur and hazel eyes. She wore a sleeveless green tunic and, like the ferret, had a silver and ruby ring upon her paw. Her form was lithe and nimble; her movements as graceful as a leaf dancing in the wind.

The two were evenly matched; the ferret had the strength and skill to block every blow the squirrel threw his way, but lacked the speed and precision to land any hits of his own. Light flashed off their blades as their swords danced through the air. It couldn't go on forever; both sides were starting to tire. With each step the squirrel took was a little slower, and with each swing of the ferret's sword he felt it get a little heavier. The battle would soon be decided by whoever gave out first.

In the end, it took more effort to dodge every swing than it did to block them. While side stepping out of the way of the ferret's attack, the squirrel's foot slipped. Suddenly finding herself both tired and stumbling straight into her opponent's sword, she desperately tried to twist herself out of the way. She just barely managed to avoid getting skewered, cutting her right arm on the blade's sharp edge in the process. She hit the ground, clutching her wound with her uninjured arm. The ferret raised his sword above his head triumphantly.

"Ha! Victory is mine once more!" He said, taking a moment to bask in his triumph before noticing his adversary was still on the ground, "Oh, come on. Don't be a poor sport; I beat you fair and square, just the way you like it."

When the squirrel failed to move, the ferret's smile began to falter. "Come off it Diantha. I didn't cut you that bad," He said, crouching down next to her, reaching out to roll her over.

The squirrel suddenly twisted around, lashing out with her left arm. The ferret barely brught his arms up in time to block her surprise punch. He caught her paw with his, stopping it just as her knuckles touched the fur on his face.

"Good effort, but your deceptions are still as transparent as ever, dearest sister."

Diantha pulled her paw out of his grasp, sitting up in the process. "You wouldn't win nearly as much if we were the same age, Swiftpaw. You only beat me because your bigger than me and you know it!"

"The extra experiance from being older than you had nothing to do with it, I'm sure."

Diantha had nothing to say in responce to that, choosing to huff and turn her head away from her brother. She didn't protest as he took her right arm and examined the cut his sword had made.

"It doesn't look too bad. You probably won't even have a scar after it's healed up."

Swiftpaw smirked as his sister eyed the scar on his chest enviously. His sister was a strange one, a fact he knew well. Despite always trying to find a less violent sollution to any given problem, she was very envious of the soldiers in their army and the many battles they had fought. The paradoxical behavior had been instilled in her by their mother.

"It's for the best anyways; You wouldn't want your first real scar to be from a practice injury, would you?" Swiftpaw asked as he helped Diantha to her feet.

"No, of course not," She replied, "I just wish mother would actually let me go into battle already. I'm almost just as good as you, there is no real reason why I shouldn't be able to fight."

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky and we'll have a skirmish with some rogue riff-raff when we get to..." Swiftpaw paused, thinking hard for a moment, "...Where exactly did Malion say we were going again? I seem to have forgotten."

"Some place called 'Mossbloom' or something like that. He was all excited about some stones or something," The squirrel maiden replied, "I wasn't really paying attention when he told us."

A mischevious smile spread across Swiftpaw's face. "Of course not."

His sister scowled at him somemore, not liking the implications of his statement. She turned away from him and started walking off. "Well, then we'd best go ask Malion to refresh our memories."

Her brother followed her, still smirking like a fool. "Oh, of course we must, dearest sister. Of course we must."

***

A short while later, the two found themselves standing outside a large grey tent. As they moved to enter, the tent's flap oppened, and a number of creatures stepped out.

At their lead was a beautiful ferret, with lustrous brown fur, wearing a black tunic with a green cloak. Atop her head was a golden cirlet with three blood red rubies set into it, the center one being twice the size of the other two. At her side was a heavy saber, an illustrious work that featured an ornate, golden hilt. This was Trizah, the Vermin Queen, Warlord of the east. Many settlements had fallen before her tactical genius and sheer strength and skill over the many seasons of her life time.

Directly next to her was a weasle wearing a sky-blue cloak and maching tunic, with a pair of spectacals perched on his snout. He had orange-brown fur and a white underbelly, with icy blue eyes. Strapped to a black leather belt he wore around his waist was a finely crafted rapier, with a silver basket handle and a single saphire on it's pommel.

Behind the two, a wildcat and a vixen stepped out. The former of the two was a large fellow, with bluish-grey fur. One eye was a bright yellow color, while the other was covered by a patch and a scar. He wore a chain-mail over a tunic of his own, and carried two large, single blade axes strapped to his sides.

By comparison, the Vixen was far less physically imposing. She was slender, with golden fur and mismatched eyes; The left one was a vibrant green, while the right one was a stony grey. She was dressed in a black cloak that covered most of her body. Know one knew what was under that cloak, besides her beautiful form.

As the four of them exited, Trizah spotted Swiftpaw and Dia, and a soft smile found it's way onto her face.

"Finally done with practice I see. Judging by the grin on his face, I assume your brother beat you again, Diantha?"

"Only just barely, Mother; I'll get him next time for sure." Diantha replied, before truning to the weasle and giving a polite curtsie. "It's good to see you, Sir Malion."

The weasle responded with an elaborate bow. "Always a pleasure, Princess Diantha."

Dia's face erupted in a bright crimson blush and her brother snickered with amusement. She swiftly put a stop to that by sharply elbowing him in the ribs. Finding the punishment sufficient, she returned her attention to Malion. "If you have a moment, I was wondering if you could help me inform my Brother as to why we are headed to this Mossbloom place."

"Mossflower," The weasle corrected, "And it would be my distinct pleasure to help you with that, Princess." He turned to Trizah, as the blush on the squirrel maiden's face reddened. "By your leave, your majesty."

The queen nodded and, after a quick bow, Malion headed off with her children. She watched them go, smiling to herself, the rest of the world forgotten for a brief moment.

"I still don't understand vhy Malion vastes 'is time pandering to bushtail's every vhim."

Her fist clenched tight, as Trizah slowly turned to face the two creatures standing behind her. The wild cat had spoken, and her eyes shone with a dangerous light as she glarred at him. She responded, her voce covered in an icy cold edge."Watch your tounge, Svyato; that is my family your speaking of."

"In the same vay mouse vould claim pet bug is family."

"No, in the way that she is the child that I raised from an infant, and continued insults will result in your death."

The one eyed giant of a wildcat met Trizah's frightening gaze and held it. "You vould not kill me; you need me too much."

"You are useful, without a doubt, but I do not need you. You only live because your strength impressed me enough that bending you to my will was worth more to me than forcing you pay for your  crimes. Make no mistake though; I can still end your life just as easily as I took your eye."

Svyato's gaze faltered, as a small amount of fear and hatred seeped into it. Trizah's assesment wasn't wrong, and he knew it. The large feline turned and walked away without a word, heading off to his tent. The queen's eyes followed him, never once blinking, before speaking to the patiently waiting vixen.

"Lumira, I want one of your hunters to keep an eye on him. I don't like the way he keeps forgetting his place in my queendom. I also want you to send a scouting party up ahead to make sure we have a clear path to this quarry Malion found. I'd hate to for our forces to get ambushed; it would make me look bad."

The vixen gave an ellogant bow, responding with a voice like the softest velvet. "It will be as you command, oh Vermin Queen. If Svyato tries to plot against you, he will die without ever knowing what killed him."

The golden vixen turned and walked away, leaving Trizah to stand alone with her thoughts.