??? - Aethes
The morning sun was approaching the peak of its daily journey, bathing Aethes with its light and warmth. Even though most of the city was gathered near the fortress to hear the Tenko's speech, some eccentric citizens took the opportunity to search the ruins with hopes of finding a hidden treasure amid the ruin. One unfortunate soul had picked today to search in the wrong place at the wrong time. One man was searching through a small pile of debris when he heard faint clicking noises from a tunnel made from the walls of a building that had long since collapsed. The scavenger, a Miao, gazed into the passage, straining his ears to hear what was approaching. The light of the day prevented his gaze from piercing the darkness as well as it normally would have. It would turn out to be his demise. The incredibly faint sounds of breathing could be heard as the thing drew closer. The clicking sound grew louder and louder along with the sound of heavy footsteps. Had he been able to see into the passage, he would have noticed two white eyes that glinted in the darkness. "H-h-hello?", the man stammered. No reply came from within the darkness. His hair stood on end. Every instinct told him to run, and yet he stayed. Silence. The footsteps had stopped. A roar exploded from the tunnel. The man had no time to flee before a massive mutant charged him and knocked him to the ground. A short scream was all that he could manage to get out before the massive mutant ripped out his throat with its massive claws. The mutant began to dig into its most recent victim before it stopped to smell the passing wind. Food... That one thought crossed its mind before it stood upright to find the source of the scent.
The shambling mutant closely resembled a grizzly bear, but that was a stretch. It easily stood at nine feet tall on its hind legs. Its short dust-colored coat was stained red with the aftermath of its recent victim. It's long paws (more similar to hands than paws) were covered in blood and its three inch long claws were eager to draw more blood. The massive canines that protruded from beneath its lips had a faint sheen from the creatures saliva. The creature was born to end lives.
The beast had managed to follow the scent trail all the way to the open ground where the majority of citizens had gathered for the speech. As it entered the area, only one woman noticed its entrance. Her eyes widened in terror as they met with the white eyes of the mutant. It was a moment that seemed to last for an eternity. The moment was shattered as the beast roared and the woman screamed at the same time, sending the crowd into a panic. The crowd ran in every direction possible, trying to flee as fast as they could from the monstrosity while at the same time trying to not get trampled. As they scattered, the mutant dropped to all fours and charged into the crowd to claim its meal. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in its path were knocked over and maimed. Darvo was one of the unfortunate ones. As the crowd scattered, he had just enough time to turn around to see the mutant charging towards him. Before he could flee, the massive mutant slammed into him, launching him a short distance before falling flat on his back on the ground. There was no time to properly recover before the mutant returned. One swipe of its paw left four ragged gashes in Darvo's midsection. Shock set in immediately as Darvo saw his blood spray across the dirt in an arc. Two more swipes to the stomach and chest sent more blood splashing in the dirt. An oppressive weight seemed to settle over Darvo's limbs. He knew death had come to claim him. The mutant's roar sounded muffled and far away, as if it was at a great distance. The last thing he could feel was the creature sinking its massive jaws into his neck and twisting sharply. Then blackness...
The mutant roared in triumph at its successful kills. It eagerly ripped chunks of flesh from its most recent victims and began to feast. Blood smeared its front and dyed its light brown fur a dark crimson. Another triumphant roar was sounded as it moved onto the next victim. The only sounds that could be heard were the wet squelches as chunks of flesh were eaten by the mutant.