The house of rhapsody (Book 1 Of The Sanctuary and War Series)

Velaith

Her kind had not always been alone, it was against their very nature to do so. In the distant past they would travel in massive herds, sometimes a hundred strong, all traveling the world together as a nomadic tribe. Families would be large and diverse, from the very old to the very young, and they were known to create a thunderous sound as they galloped across the landscape. They were warriors and hunters, gifted with the bow, the sword, and magic. They kept to themselves and that was how they liked it.

But then things had changed that would destroy everything the proud and noble centaur was known for.

Herds were thinned by human hunters, using weaponry that far surpassed what the Centaur were known for. Though many fell at the hands of the half-human beasts, many more had fallen at the weapons that spit fire and metal from the humans. Hundreds became dozens, dozens became a handful. Families were limited to parents and their foals, and once when families were large, the Centaur has begun to favor single or a couple of children.

The same had happened to Velaith’s own parents. Their herd of three, if it could be called that, traveled alone. It was an incredibly rare occurrence for the trio to come across those of their own kind, as they fought so hard to keep from being found to begin with. But those rare days were some of the best of Vels’ life, when she could play with foals around her own age. And it stayed like this most of her life. It wasn’t until shortly after Vel had turned 20 that her parents and herself were discovered. They had died protecting her as they ordered her to run. And since then, she had been on her own. It was much harder to find a centaur on their own. With their magic they could blend with the surroundings, much easier than trying to disguise an entire herd. Which was why, on this very night, she would appear alone.

She had been seeking the House, a place of safety for supernaturals like herself. And she was doing a damn good job of avoiding the hunters that were lurking the forest on this night. And she might have made it to the house without incident if it weren’t for screaming in the distance. Choosing to draw her mother's bow rather than her father's sword, swinging a braid over her shoulder, the horse-woman had begun to make her way to where the disturbance had come from.

There was a distant rumbling, much like the thunder of her people, that caused her to pick up the pace. Screams died, and so too, did the rumbling after a time. She had to be cautious, because screams were universal with many species. It could be human, and it could be supernatural. Regardless, she couldn’t recklessly trot out into the open without knowing if what she was going towards was friend or foe.

The smell of blood reached her nostrils and she wiggled her nose in disgust. Human. Something had come barreling through the nearby trees, and as she followed the path of destruction she looked down to see the dead human hunter with it’s brain matter splattered all over the ground. Narrowing her eyes, she immediately came to the conclusion that a supernatural had done this, humans wouldn’t kill their own out here. Unceremoniously, she walked past the dead human, but not without casting a wad of spit over his lifeless body.

Fuck them all.

The path was easy to follow, even for the most untrained of trackers. Not to mention the sound of something being dragged alerted her long ears. Raising her head, the ten foot tall woman-beast walked through the trees, looking through foliage as she caught a glimpse of a car being dragged by something massive. It was a creature she somewhat recognized. Sheathing her bow, but keeping it close just in case, Velaith stepped out onto the pathway created by the sliding car, making sure to keep the car between herself and the Minotaur, in case the beast thought her a threat in his moment of lingering rage.

“Do you wish some assistance? I believe we seek the same outcome.” She lifted a feathered hoof, drawing a hand across her chest in a gesture of goodwill.