Long ago, in a faraway land, two kingdoms were at war. These two kingdoms, Gomag and Iny, were preparing to fight one another, and leading their respective armies to a large field for battle. This field, named Bellax, was located in between the northern mountains and forests of Iny, and the southern deserts and swamps of Gomag, and a flowing blue serpent carved through the ground to provide the border between the nations.






Saru, an officer in the Iny army, was off foraging and hunting with a large amount of his men, in the area where Bellax field met Iny forest. He knew that the Gomag army would not attempt an attack, as they were too far away for such a feat. Later, as he and his party were approaching the edge of the large field of Bellax, he saw some of the men he had left to guard the camp running fear. Saru did not know what could be happening, but he knew it was not an attack, since the camp was not ablaze. He ran up to one of the panicking soldiers, and asked him a question. “What’s happening?” he asked. The soldier stopped running, and responded to Saru’s question.











“A bear wandered into the camp. We tried killing it, but there aren’t enough of us.” Saru then drew the sword he always carried with him, and ran into the camp. As he charged through the arrays of tents, followed by his men, he saw the bear. He ran towards it, and the bear began to run. As the bear ran, she came across several other soldiers. She knew that she could not stop, and continued running, knocking them over with her large claws. As Saru continued after the bear, he stopped for a brief moment to check on the soldiers the bear had knocked aside. She had struck them both on the head, and the warriors had no pulse. Saru, angry at himself for letting such a thing happen, though of how he would make the bear pay for what she had done, how he would avenge the ones she had slain.









Later that night, while majority of the camp made repairs, Saru wandered off into the woods. He spent some time tracking the bear, before finding her asleep on a small cliff that jutted out of a mountain. Saru drew his sword, and slowly approached the beast, knowing that for his task he would have to be silent as a falling leaf. When he was close enough to the bear, he made his move. He stabbed the large beast in between the shoulder blades, a continued driving his blade in long after the bear reacted. She swung her paws at him, but Saru saw the claws even in the night, and stepped back. The bear ran, fearful of her life, and as she did, she tripped and flew face-first into a large stone on the ground. She moved a little while afterwards, then she fell over, dead. Saru walked up to the corpse, and pulled his blade out of the bear’s back. He then began his walk back to the Iny camp.
As Saru entered the camp, he saw that most of the campfires had been doused, and there were minimal soldiers on duty. He went into his personal tent, and fell asleep.











As Saru slept, he dreamt things that disturbed him. He saw the camp, but it was daytime, unlike when he had entered. He heard shouting, but he could not make out what the noise was. He turned his head to see what was making the noise, and saw a group of Iny soldiers running at him. What shocked him most was the leader; it was him, but, where his eyes should have been were twin red, fleshy orbs. Saru tried to run, but he was unable do so on his hind limbs. Saru took time to allow the Iny troops to get closer to him so he could inspect what was wrong with his body. He looked down at where his hands should be, and gasped; in place of his hands were two large brown bear paws. He continued examining his body, hoping to find some human flesh, but to no avail. He could not take his fate, and let out a mighty roar. The Iny soldiers stopped their attack. Saru, desperate to find tranquility, charged at them. He forced them to make room for his massive form, but as he passed them, he felt something cut his flesh. It was his human body, hacking away at the bear’s torso with his sword. Saru attempted to save himself, but he was too clumsy in his new body. Within seconds, he had been killed.





The brown eyes of Saru opened up, as he sat upright to remind himself that what he had seen was just a dream. It was still early, and he felt that he could afford to continue resting, after the time he had spent tracking the bear last night. He was about to lay back in bed, when a soldier poked his head into the tent and called to him. “Saru, sir we need your help. Our sentries have spotted the Gomag army, they’ll be here in about an hour, we’ve gotta get ready.” As the soldier left the tent, Saru thought about what the coming battle would have in store for him. He was too tired to do battle with the Gomag army and survive. Nevertheless, he got up, and began dressing himself for battle. A small part of him felt it was for the best.