Of Mice and Monsters

Beginning

"In this world of mice and monsters, one must know its history in order to understand and survive. Long ago there was two clans, the Alki who were humans, and the Valance who were shifters. Now, a shifter in this world can mean two things, the first is a human who can shift into an animal and vise versa. The second meaning is a child who is born as an animal and as they grow, they turn into a Creature-man, they will be called a shifter by their clan, but are more likely to be called a creature-man by others. The name creature would be replaced by the animal they were born as, like Mouse-man or Cat-man. The Alki feared the Valance, and for a good reason, the shifters were faster, stronger, and were more in tune to the land. The Alki held most of the land, but very loosely, the Valance had their kingdoms practically surrounded. In a successful effort to unite the clans, the Leaders had signed a treaty to unite shifters and humans. Unknown to the Valancen leaders, this did not fully cover the Creature-men and their rights. The humans saw them more as abominations, rather than a symbol of unison of man and beast. Creature-men were forcefully taken from their homes, and enslaved. Those few who stayed free were those who were important to the survival and success of the kingdoms, doctors, alchemists, and scholars were the main ones to be kept free. While many are unhappy, the kingdoms seem to thrive best this way. But under the surface of happy music, talks of war and revolting bubble under its beats of happiness."