[The wild one]

"C'mon, Shy! We're almost there!"
"What do you want to show me?"
"You'll see when we get there, Shy."
Two young Cainid pups were racing each other across the softening earth. They were Narrian children, some of the last purebreds of their kind. Their brownish-grey colouring was paler than what was normally accepted, but no one cared anymore. Ever since the Narrians' enslavement all those years ago, no one had cared.
Shylo and her friend Kalleri were far too young to have been around during the Dark Years. That had happened nearly four generations ago. They had heard stories of how the last remnants of their tribe had been rounded up by the last Fear's army and used as breeding and work slaves, but that was it. Just stories, nothing more. The Dark Years were rarely spoken of anymore because of the tragedy they had brought with them. It wasn't just the Narrians who had suffered, the more northern inhabitants had as well. They were killed off without mercy by the Fear's ruthless soldiers, just like many of the rebellious Narrians had been.
"Are we almost there?" panted Shy. Her legs were shaking with exhaustion, and her lungs had a deep, painful burn that flared with each inhale.
"Just over this hill," Kalleri said. She had no problem running this far. She was used to it, as she had often gone hunting with her parents from an early age. Shylo, on the other hand, was a sheltered child. She didn't get out much.
They crested the small hill and both pups froze at the sight of the giant statue.
The monument was made of titanium and had been painted to look like the Cainid it was dedicated to. It was at least twice the size of what he would have been, but the creators had wanted him to look as powerful and as majestic as he had been when he was alive.
"Wow," murmured Shylo. "Is that what he really looked like?"
"Yeah, Shy. He really looked like that," Kalleri said softly, reverence coating her voice. The pups moved closer to the statue so that they were right in front of it.
He was standing as proud as ever, his hind legs outstretched, his tail lifted up above his back. His head was beyond his shoulders and staring towards Cainis City, which was just over the next hill. His once vivid colours had faded from the sun's constant light, but that didn't make him any less god-like. This Cainid was a legend; he had saved the Narrians from certain extinction, and gave his life to them in the process. The tribe was forever in his debt for what he sacrificed.
Kalleri exhaled slowly as she spoke her next words. "Bloodstone, we will always remember what you did for us."

Some of you may remember that I said that Bloodstone died of old age. Heh, turns out it's not true >=). He was killed in a fight with the Fear, but he managed to take the Fear with him, so all was not lost. He was about 360 or so years old when this happened, so he sure didn't die young. But he managed to get himself a place in history for what he did along with a statue that sits out near the Cainid capitol city. He and the First King both have statues there, but they aren't side-by-side like some people would have liked them to be.

Bloodstone, characters, events and everything to do with them belong to me.

[Dahlstrom]

Awesome! Cool story!