Cry of the Creatures |Short story|

Cry of the Creatures

    The sound of clanging metal resounded throughout the small patch of forest. With each strike, sparks danced around the air like scattering fireflies. The setting sun glinted off of the gleaming swords as they clashed with each other, shrouding the knights in a bright orange glow.

"You're getting good at this, Akame," one of the knights said through swings.

"No, you're just getting worse," Akame retorted.

    The other knight took a step back, letting his sword clash with the ground. He bent over, resting his hands over his knees.

    "I think that's enough practice for today," he panted.

    "Oh come on, Jean, It's barely sundown," Akame whined, gesturing to the clearly dropping sun behind her, almost below the horizon. "We can still get some more practice in."

    Jean sighed, slightly irritated. "You know it's not safe out here after dark. Not to mention it's a full moon tonight."

    Akame groaned. "Who cares? I could obviously take care of a few wolves," she said matter-of-factly, waving her sword around carelessly.

    "I'm sure you could, but I'm not going to be the one responsible for your guts ending up on the forest floor. You'll get some more practice in tomorrow."

    Defeated, Akame gave in, sheathing her sword and trudging out of the forest behind Jean. Just before the first howl of the full moon echoed in the distance.

---

In the year 1478, just below the setting sun, laid a blood-stained meadow. Wilted flowers were scattered around fallen allies and foes alike. Chipped swords and broken bows laid loosely in the hands of the deceased. A group of spared horses whinnied at the edge of the meadow, as if they were mourning the losses of their riders. In the forest nearby, wolves were howling, waiting impatiently for the full moon to rise. A faint breeze fluttered by, ruffling the crimson grass. The few knights that were left were walking around in a daze, checking to see if any of their fallen foes produced a pulse. The war had been brutal and bloody, only giving a select few mercy. The opposing army had been vicious, but the creatures that disrupted the fight were nothing less than merciless.

Ogres, wolves, ursas, and giant ophidians made sure to let nothing stand in their way. They pounced out from the darkness of the forest and into the raging battle, not caring about who they left in their wake. Ogres were seen decapitating groups of knights at a time, wolves were shredding the necks of their opponents, ursas forcefully clawing at their victim's chests, and ophidians effortlessly snapping ribcages with a single squeeze. These creatures were more commonly known as Sadins. However, their ranks didn't stop at the ophidians. To this day, more and more are being discovered, their numbers never stopping. Surprisingly, a select few are tamable, like dragons and unicorns. Sadins have been around even longer than humans, but the humans quickly adapted to the harsh creatures.

Following the war, the colonies decided to come together to form one large kingdom, with a king and a queen ruling. Since the kingdom grew more and more every day, they were able to obtain many resources, such as wheat, oil, and lumber. Because of the kingdom's new size, its defenses grew along with it. They were stronger than ever, and were able to keep the Sadins at bay in the forests beyond. After the immense amount of people lost in the war, the rulers decided that war in itself was no longer necessary, and that they didn't need to lose any more people to something so trivial. Henceforth, the kingdom has been in a time of peace ever since. With a kingdom spreading as far as an entire continent, and defenses the size of 3 militaries put together, there was nothing that could stop them.

Almost.

In the year 1512, the border received a devastating hit as a large group of Sadins decided to attack. The front lines were greeted with the piercing fangs of ophidians and the sharp claws of manticores. They almost didn't stand a chance. However these new knights were smarter and faster, and were able to fend them off. But in order to do so, they had to sacrifice a few of their own. Because of this, part of the kingdom's border became almost vulnerable, and few people are willing to step up to train to become a knight.