Half Human

Prologue

The gentle breeze blew through the trees, rustling the banners hanging on the stone building. The castle's doors were locked, the portcullis was down, preventing anyone from entering. Inside the stone walls was the king. But even from outside, the arguing was clear.

"Sipress, my lord, what has driven you to this insanity?"

"Silence, I have already made my decision!" The king pounded his fist on the table and his general quieted. The entire hall followed suit.

"Of course, your majesty." General Ren said, then bowed respectfully. "I'll take my leave now."

Ren knew all about the gossip from the villages. Many thought their king had gone mad. It makes sense, since he had been so fair and kind before. Not even his closest servants, or his general, knew what brought on his sudden change of temperament. He wasn't married and his last known family had died before he took the throne. Most of the rumors going around were saying that the king had been possessed by a demon, maybe even sold his soul to a devil. No one was sure.

"General Ren, sir," the man was snapped back into reality at the call of a fellow soldier. He looked at the young soldier, and he immediately noticed the cat-like features. The man was only around five foot and very thin. He must be one of the new ones. "You have name, soldier?"

"Akande, sir."

"And you're an elf?" Ren asked.

"No, sir. I'm a sprite." That explains his seriousness.

"You'll fit right in." Ren told him, patting his shoulder.

"Sir, why are you being so friendly? If I may, I understand you could lose your title and position." Yes, it was true. Every since the king's madness began and he started hiring nonhumans in place of humans, he had started replacing some of the higher ranking positions. Ren knew this, and being the main general, he would be in one of the most unstable places.

"Whatever the future holds, I'll deal with it. There's no need to be callous to the new recruits." Ren responded cheerfully, hiding his slight worry. The sprite didn't smile back. Sprites never smile.

Ren took his leave of the sprite, and made his way down the winding halls. He passed by multiple rooms, looking in a few for brief seconds, curious to know what other creatures he'd be sharing the castle with.

He stopped when he saw a girl huddled over papers, mumbling to herself. He cautiously approached her, unsure if she was human or not.

"Good day," he started, standing straight and tall.

"Good morning. It's morning." She responded. "Anyways, can I help you?" She turned around and looked at him.

Rakshasa. Her hair was black, but the single strand of golden brown was enough for him to tell. Her eyes were also cold and she still had faded stripes on her skin.

"You seem to have mastered hiding in human form." He said, uneasy. A cat's gaze was at least ten times softer than the one she was giving him.

"Thank you."

"So, might I ask what you do for the king?" She stared at him for a few moments, then relaxed slightly. "I do the blueprints and other things. I'm working on his new castle."

"New castle?"

"Yes, he wants to move." A shallow answer, one that doesn't give away too much.

"Are you the main general?" She asked him. He nodded. "That's too bad," she trailed off. "I'd much rather you than any dragon."