The Mak Toras Chronicles

Chapter 7 - Being alive

After hours of the attack, everything was silent. The mansion once foretold now was no more than a large heap of rubble along with the rest of the compound. Nothing belonging to Eterna stood present, including family and association. Everything had been decimated. From momento's to the infrastructure, the entire existence of Eterna was wiped from Remnant. The Whitefang took to their promise by killing every member of Eterna. Rounding up the bodies, the Whitefang scouted for survivors. A faunus general, which surveyed the damage, awaited a response. "Any sign of life?" The scouts reported back. "None, sir. Looks like we pulled it off. Next up are the Schnee's. With Eterna out of the way-" he was stopped abruptly by his crew member. "Let's not jump to conclusions, Drake. Rowland only wanted the Eterna family dead. We'll deal with the Schnee's later." Drake stepped back to analyze the wreck. Rowland was the master mind behind the genocide of Eterna. He was rather, than many of his faunus soldiers who were mostly crosses between cats, dogs, or bears, a tiger faunus-possesing a striped tail like a bengal tiger. Just like the spirit of thr tiger, his tenacity and will to never give up bore its fruit; for years he spent ways trying to breach the compound to end what he and his fellow faunus call 'the scum of Remnant'. Over the course of multiple attacks prior, they were unsuccessful. However, tonight won them a victory more than one hundred battles. "To hell with the peace treaty" he thought to himself, "The faunus will never stop fighting until we earn the equality we deserve." General Rowland then rallied the invasion force together once again. With their quest complete, they were finally quenched of the fire for vengeance that previously raged and bolstered their hate for humanity. "Sire!" A voice shouted, rushing to the general. "What is it now, Mulligan?" He took time to catch his breath before answer. "There's one more-the boy-he's still alive." General Rowland froze and quickly regained his hatred as fast as it first went. They let one slip away-under their very noses-setting Rowland into an angered mood. Enraged at the news, his voice steadily rose. "Well? Why are you telling me this? Go find him and bring him to me, or the leader will have your head!" More surrounding faunus joined in with Mulligan, the scout, and darted off to find the last survivor of Eterna. Only then would Eterna be truly 'eradicated' from history. The search party carried to the treeline where the boy was last spotted. "His tracks start here. From my guess, he was just here recently" Mulligan said, pointing to a constant trail leading into the forest. Although topography was off, the faunus didn't need to worry so much when it came to tracking. Animal inherited senses made up for their keen sight and smell. Following the boy's pheromones, they followed it to the city-just over the horizon. "There. We'll have him cornered in this maze" Mulligan continued. "Split up. You three, with me." Selecting his few, the followed him into the city, checking theur surroundings from time to time.

In the midst of loss and despair, Tanner kept on running. He didn't care where he went, as long as it was far away from his enemies. As luck would have it, the moon still casted its light to reveal visual of where he went. The whole time, he recalled his dream; his vision of what seemed like hours beforehand. "Prepare..." The vision had come true. It was impossible to believe that such a beautiful dream had become a nightmare of reality. He wished it had never happened, bombarded by torpid images of his reflection. Sadly, he could not stop to think indefinitely. Realizing that his life and last blood of Eterna was on the line, he kept running through the dense forest until reaching the city of Vale. From forced perspective, the lights were a saving grace. Although the people were mostly tucking in for the night, there was a portion that remained awake as if day was never ending. However, he knew not where to turn to. Only speaking jibberish was the most he could muster. Tanner's mind had been scarred by the violent and sorrowful deaths of his entire family and bloodline. Even the greatest warriors of Eterna were defeated. His brothers, sisters, parents-everyone. It was just as he feared. The Whitefang were one step ahead. Afraid for his life, he couldn't trust anyone, and merely shivered through crowds of people, who either showed disgust or felt pity towards the young boy. Ignoring concerns of the adults, he made his way forward, still in tears from earlier. Looking back, something bit him in the side upon finding familiar figures: Whitefang. They were hot on his trail. Almost immediately, Tanner broke into a full sprint in an effort to escape their grasp. However, his reaction gave him away, only to hear shouts after him. "Get him!" They shouted, along with people shoved out of way. In the city like Vale, there were plenty of places to hide, but Tanner's options were limited on the streets. His only chance resided in the chain shops which were currently closed. Ahead, he spotted an alley, taking cover within the dark path. Unfortunately, to his surprise and terror gripping his every thought, it was a dead end. Of all fears he had, dead ends were the bane of his dreams; not being able to escape a forgoing path to lead him out of harms way. Turning back was not an option. At the sight of turning around, there stood his three hunters, ready to apprehend him, and eventually, execute him. All Tanner could do in his concluded mind was to wait for the killing blow.