Drema: The Crimson Moon (Version 2)

Her First Battle

The orange radiance of the rising sun cast its comforting glow across the grassy expanse. Silvery puffs of mist decorated an oceanic sea of grassy blades. A mountainous hill extended beyond its verdant surroundings. The rise's titanic existence produced a foreboding swath of soothing shadow.

An orange and black feline stood in the umbral embrace. A series of interwoven hides protected the youthful warrior with their leathery thickness. They contoured to the powerful musculature of her lithe extremities. Between the broad digits of her hand-paw she clutched the hilt of a rare weapon. Its silvery curvature swooped towards the ground in a metallic arc.

The scent of the opposing force invaded Lilly's nostrils. Her pink nose was unaccustomed to the odor of the gathered elk. She observed their intimidating formation with eyes that glowed like viridescent coals.

Beside her stood three imposing figures. A grizzled lion, with a braided mane was farthest from her. A rawhide patch concealed his empty left eye socket. He had been fortunate the assassin had only stolen what lied within it. His weapon was a powerful axe, its head possessing matching blades on either side of its wooden shaft.

Between Ironfang and Shatterspear, the jaguar chieftain Grasspaw, observed the battlefield. He was the tallest and most muscular of the three felines. Instead of bearing traditional armaments, his right hand-paw was encased in an iron gauntlet. As a jaguar he already possessed impressive claws, and this gauntlet accentuated them well.

The third figure frightened Lilly most of all. Her father's exposed torso was decorated with innumerable scars. He loosely held a scimitar; whose silvery blade was of an unrivaled length. His cold gaze and blazing eyes struck fear into the tigress's heart like nothing else could.

"We shall charge them when I give the signal", Ariam commanded. His rich voice possessed the mysteriousness of jungle mist and the coarseness of its dangerous beasts. He turned to his fellow chieftains Grasspaw and Ironfang, who nodded in unison.

Oranges, yellows and shades of brown battled for dominance in a miasma of warriors. The tigers of the Bloodspear Tribe, the lions of the Scorchpaw tribe and the Jaguars of the Junglefang tribe jostled against one another in eagerness.

From their forefront Ariam raised his scimitar into the morning sky. The polished magnificence of his curved sword captured the sun's warming glow. Throughout the feline horde weapons were readied and gripped tighter in anticipation.

The tigress observed their opponent once more. A short distance away the Mountainhoof tribe remained prepared for battle. Their front lines consisted of a menagerie of boney projections that twisted forward in dangerous patterns.

Lilly shifted the pupils of her strained eyes towards the brawn of her father's stature. The direction of his stout muzzle indicated that he continued to remain fixated upon their hooved opponents. The tremors coursing through his daughter's spasming flesh went unnoticed to his distracted mind.

A series of thoughts bubbled to the forefront of the young feline's mind. Their horrifying nature helped to ensure the calming of her agitated muscles. Only minute shiveres continued to plague her extremities with their disconcerting presence.

A bloodcurdling roar echoed from the depth's of Ariam maw. Its sinister timbre assaulted the ears of all felines and ungulates present. The guttural display waned as he thrust his weapon forward to signify the battle's start.

The intimidating bulwark of the feline army lurched towards the Mountainhoof warriors. Their thunderous footfalls shook the moist soil of the viridescent ground. Lilly bounded ahead of the force with her unintentionally powerful strides. An anxious undertone plagued her breathing with its indiscernible inflection.