Coralzane's head began to throb, he had been beaten.  The creature continued to mock him.  pointing out each and every one of the obvious signs he had picked the wrong target.  He was furious with himself, frustrated that he had missed the simple and blatantly obvious truth; the girl escaped.<br/>Failure had never been an option, and although he despised thinking of it, he knew he had failed.  Or had he?  For sure this Feral meant something to the girl, otherwise they would not have met.  Not to mention they both shared the same oddly patterned fur.  Perhaps he could get revenge for his loss after all.<br/><br/>With a smile, Coralzane watched the Feral struggle to even do the simplest of tasks, like speak.  He had apparently done well in wounding him.  Maybe he would win after all.  Before he could destroy the beast for it's insolence, it leapt at him, knocking him off balance.  The Feral grabbed at the feeble plug he had made, twisting and turning it in an attempt to free it.  The plug held fast at first, giving him an opportunity to kick the Feral off of his chest.  Standing, Coralzane felt an odd pressure in his chest.  The build-up of bodily fluid behind the metal  plug had begun to leak, the pressure intensifying inside of him.  Coralzane looked down at his chest, and then at the Feral boy.<br/><br/>"Feral, you tricked me well today, but even now you struggle to stand.  Blood spill from your wound like a waterfall.  Are you pleased?  Did you say your farewells to your family? Do you have a family?  But the real question is... Where are they now?  Today you stand alone, no one here to help you.  No siblings or parents.  Just yourself.  It is because of this, Feral, that you will be forgotten.  Another speck of dust in the desert.  Me?  I will become a Martyr.  Highbreed will hear my name and remember how I died destroying Lowerbreed like you."  Coralzane chuckled softly, the pressure building to an unbearable pull.<br/>"Feral boy,"  he said.  "Do you love your kind?  Because soon, and I mean very soon, there won't be any left."  Coralzane swung his scythe onto his shoulder and charged one last time.  Leaping high into the air, he wrenched the plug from his chest, releasing a sickening neon goo into the air.  Through the blanket of blood, he burst, swinging his scythe down onto the Feral's head.<br/><br/>The ground where they had fought their last battle was stained with the blue blood of the Highbreed.  No corpse was found, but it was many days before the Feral residents even approached the area.  and much of the liquid had caught aflame in the attack, and burnt the square to ashes.  Whether one, both, or either survived, no one would ever be able to tell.<br/><br/>*******<br/><br/>Crane stood upon a grey rocky perch, one that overlooked the miles of barren stone ahead.  The land around Mt. Hephaestus was barren and dark, covered in small volcanic spouts which erupted fresh lava every few hours.  In the far distance, Crane could see the towering volcano, Mt. Hephaestus.  It continuously erupted with burning lava, scorching the land ahead, and steaming the ocean behind it.  Because of the constant flames and eruptions, the sky had turned to a bleak grey color, blocking all sunlight no matter what time of day it was.  The Barren, as it was called, was almost never traversed, in order to avoid the constant rain of flames an ashes in the air.<br/><br/>"Alright," spoke Crane, "Looks like this is my stop..."  Crane took one final breath before ascending into the ash filled air above.<br/><br/>*******<br/><br/>Alvira opened the door to her hovel, calling into the night.<br/>"Come my dears, this place is safe!  Come have a drink!"  Alvira rubbed her eyebrows, preparing herself for the mentally draining exercise ahead.