FREE USE in Primitive World

He was too thoroughly, pathetically terrified to construct a lie under the shadow of the death.

”If that’s not her,” Sol said, his voice turning into a dangerous, freezing tone, ”then where is she? You took her from the Veynar to be your wife. And claimed that it was Lumi.”

”She isn’t there! She was never there!” the prince yelled, the words spilling out of his mouth in a frantic, uncoordinated rush. He was so eager to save his own skin he didn’t even look toward his father, Chief Vane, for permission.

”It was indeed meant to be her! My father... the elders... we had been wanting to sacrifice a young girl from a rival tribe to the Ancestral Swamp Spirit to bless us! We brought her back to our main settlement, but... but just as we took her into the ritual hut, the whole sky went dark!”

Gorr paused, swallowing a thick knot of dry throat fluid as he stared at Sol’s unblinking eyes, desperately trying to find the words to save his life.

”A beast tide...” the prince continued, his voice trembling, his eyes wide with a lingering, primal horror as he recalled the memory ”A violent, massive beast tide suddenly attacked our tribe.

”It wasn’t a normal tide! They weren’t the standard low-level beasts. They were all powerful, ancient beasts from the deepest, darkest zones of the Great Orrath. Giants... monsters we’ve never even seen before! They broke through our outer wooden defenses in moments, destroying half our tribe!”

Sol stood perfectly still, his mind running through the details of the story with doubt and suspicion.

A massive beast tide from the deep zones attacking a tribe on the edges made absolutely no sense.

”And then?” Sol demanded, nudging the tip of the Dreadwing Blade closer to the prince’s throat, that instantly created a red line and blood started pouring out.

”If they broke your defenses,” Sol said, ”why are you still alive? A deep-sector beast tide would have turned your huts into an empty grave.”

”That’s the thing!” the prince screamed, his hands shaking as he pointed toward the southern horizon, a cold sweat running down his neck.

”The warriors who were guarding her hut were trampled into paste. But strangely... After breaking through our walls and slaughtering our outer guards, they didn’t start devouring our people,” Gorr continued, his voice trembling violently.

”They ran straight through the tribe, ignoring our meat drying on the racks, ignoring our people. They found and just... surrounded the central ritual hut where Lumi was being held, forming a massive, silent circle of claws and teeth.

The prince’s voice trembled, as he took a ragged breath, his eyes wide with a lingering, ancient fear as he recalled the memory. His eyes looking straight at Sol’s face to ensure the black reaper didn’t think he was weaving a fake story to buy time.

”And strangely, those beasts didn’t continue attacking. None of them growled, or charged, they just stood there bowing their heads toward the ritual hut like they were waiting for a master!”

The prince swallowed a thick, dry lump in his throat before his voice rose in pitch.

”And then...” Prince Gorr whispered, his voice trembling as he struggled to speak under the crushing weight of Sol’s Golden Dominion, ”a powerful beast... a colossal monster unlike anything we had ever seen before emerged from the jungle.”

He paused, eyes distant with lingering fear.

”It was colossal. Its sheer size made the ancient trees of the Orrath jungle look like mere saplings. Standing taller than the highest canopy, its massive shoulders brushed against the upper branches, causing leaves and broken limbs to rain down with every step. But it wasn’t just big... it was regal... almost divine in its terror.

Majestic in a way that made every other creature in the jungle seem like crude, primitive savages by comparison.”

Gorr swallowed hard, his cracked lips trembling.

”Its body was covered in sleek, midnight-black fur that shimmered with an iridescent, otherworldly sheen... as if starlight itself was trapped within every strand.

Powerful muscles rippled beneath that glorious coat, each movement radiating raw, overwhelming strength.

Two enormous, curved obsidian horns crowned its head, and a long, whip-like tail swayed behind it with grace. Its eyes... those eyes glowed like burning red embers from the deepest abyss, intelligent and ancient, filled with a wisdom and power far beyond any jungle predator.

Unlike the savage, primal beasts of the Orrath jungle... those brutish, overgrown predators driven purely by hunger and instinct... this one carried an aura of ancient divinty.

Elegant crimson-gold patterns traced along its powerful shoulders and spine like divine markings.

The prince’s voice dropped even lower.

”We had never seen anything like it in the Orrath jungle.

We had never seen anything like it. The moment it stepped forwards, the entire jungle seemed to bow.

All the other beasts instantly lowered their heads in complete submission. They flattened their ears, tucked their tails, and backed away hurriedly, clearing a perfect, reverent path.

Not a single one dared meet its gaze. It was as if they were in the presence of a living god.”

Sol raised his eyebrow, his cold expression shifting for the first time since the interrogation began. A rare flicker of genuine surprise crossed his face.

It was his first time hearing about a beast like this. Even the most detailed records of the Veynar clan held no mention of anything on such a massive scale. In this world, size was never merely impressive... it was a direct, undeniable reflection of raw power.

The larger the creature, the deeper its connection to the primal forces of nature, and the more overwhelming its strength and dominion over lesser beings. A beast capable of towering over the ancient canopy wasn’t just rare.

It was legendary.

This is definitely no ordinary jungle predator, Sol thought. This is something far older... far superior.

Not noticing him deep in thought, Gorr continued in a shaky whisper.

”But that wasn’t even the most terrifying... or strangest... thing...”