Rampage lay on the cold stone floor beside his masterâ€™s throne. Quadruped by nature he was fine without a proper seat for himself and all in all it was fairly pleasant, unlike where he came from. Even in his suppressed form he was rather large for something that followed his lord around like a dog. Nearly the same height as Vehma was in his human suppressed form, he could lay leaning against the thrown and have his head be just under Vehmaâ€™s shoulder. Feline eyes stared nonchalantly at that a ratfaced demon held before them by two guards for judgment. The demonic lion gave a yawn at the demonâ€™s terrified expression; unlike most demons, including all of the present company Rampage could not feed off anotherâ€™s fear. Instead he feed off of their remorse and like every demon, another demonâ€™s blood. Unfortunately remorse was something more difficult to create than pain and suffering when he sought nourishment, however a with this marvelous war in place he only needed to seek out some deserters and with a bit of whispering their anguish would feed him quite well. He feed slightly off this one but in a small trickle as the rat practically stank of fear.<br/><br/>With deserters on the mind his eyes slid from the tapestry on the wall back to the pitiful demon, whining on about how he was only following a lead. Sick of listening to this lesser demon beg for forgiveness of his master Rampage gave an annoyed grunt. If this lieutenant couldnâ€™t even have his forces over take a small village then to have the audacity to flee after his defeat then there was no purpose for him in Vehmaâ€™s army. Why he master was still entertaining the notion of letting him off with life was obvious, though he was fearful now he still held onto an inkling of hope and the longer this dragged out the greater that hope grew. Once Vehma gave the order and the lieutenantâ€™s hopes dashed his fear and anguish would be intensive, feeding the demon lord, and perhaps Rampage as well as he would be sorry for running after his defeat, or maybe for even following the demon that wished to wage war on the surface.<br/><br/>Vehma heard his generalâ€™s disinterest and decided that this had gone on for long enough. Waving a human hand to cut on the still rambling demon heâ€™d curtly say, â€œThatâ€™s enough. Rampage would you do the honors?â€ The hand that waved stroked the lionâ€™s braided mane before returning to the throneâ€™s armrest.<br/><br/>A cruel smile appeared on the lionâ€™s lips at the demon lordâ€™s words and touch. Rising slowly to his full height he chuckled, â€œGladly my lord.â€ Rampage began to make his approach, the prisoner flinched and even the two guards holding him in submission seemed to want to run if their captiveâ€™s fear wasnâ€™t so filling. Both were lesser demons and their suppressed forms was imperfect, one had more of a lizard like look to it, his skin was loose and scales missing or in the process of peeling off. It seemed like he peeled them off himself or they were just falling out as the wounds were all fresh and alive with puss. The other was large and almost obese, he tried for something more human but was left with a thick fleshy snout like a dogâ€™s with too large teeth curling out and around his lips. He was bald and two small horns protruded from his skull, one broken and thus shorter than the other. The whole lot of them were ugly unlike himself or his master even if he wasnâ€™t quite fond that his lord choose a human form as opposed to something more noble.<br/><br/>â€œR-Rampage, please donâ€™t. I-Iâ€™m sorry! I will still serve and fight! You know Iâ€™m a good warrior I can be of use to you- and to our master of course! Please spare me my masters.â€ The rat like creature crooned on and on, quite a headache really.<br/><br/>Standing just before that sniveling pointed nose, he growled, his smile gone now. This was just annoying to have this weakling keep begging after his judgment had already been set in stone. There was little he could say not that would change this.<br/><br/>â€œCoward. You shall be replaced in a heartbeat with all of the demons clambering to get up here, the least you could do is die with some dignity.â€ His voice was gruff and stern. He was general and he knew what he said was perfectly true. Every single demon down below wanted up and Vehma was cruel making them swear loyalty and jump through hoops to earn a spot on the surface world.<br/><br/>Sick of hearing the beast babble on Rampage lunged forwards, his powerful jaws encircling the demonâ€™s throat. With excellent restraint he applied next to no pressure at first, feeling the creature quiver in terror all for the benefit of his master of course. After painfully slowly adding in force to his bite the lesser demon squealed out. Out of the corner of his eye Rampage saw the dog faced demon grinning widely as the fear and pain from the one in front of him surged though his body as rich nourishment just as it would be for Vehma. After sinking his deadly fangs in just before the point he would kill the beast he snapped down and torn the cowardâ€™s head clean off.<br/><br/>Too proud to drink blood that had already been spilt on the ground the lion licked his lips clean then dropping the head for the guards he returned to stand before his master. Vehma lacked any sort of expression to show he was pleased which was surprisingly a tad disappointing for the gray general, though this emotionless face was nothing new to him.<br/><br/>â€œVery good Rampage. It would seem that I cannot trust any of these weak demons to overtake even a small village. I would like you to assemble an army and lead them in full force against the pitiful city that feels they can rebel against my rule. And if you would like to venture further you are welcome to. Our dungeons are becomes empty and the soldiers are hungry.â€<br/><br/>Bowing his head at the order causing his beads and bells to clank and jingle he responded with his eyes on the floor, â€œOf course my master. I shall not disappoint you.â€<br/><br/>â€œOh, and I would like you to include the new recruits in your army. They need to be taken to the farm before you lead your attack.â€<br/><br/>â€œYes my lord.â€ He responded obediently but inside he cursed. The new recruits were weak, simple minded beasts barely able to call themselves demons. Yet it was an order and when an order was given by his master he would follow without question. With that he turned, sidestepping the feasting guards and exited the royal chamber to choose from the available forces who he would take with him.<br/><br/>--Meanwhile--<br/><br/>There sits a smaller city, almost untouched by the demon's destructive kiss. Too far off from the demon's stronghold, here in Hi'kerl they still stand strong and waiting for continuing assault. Along with their neighboring city of Yulik they their warriors had just fended off a massive army. Though the battle took many lives and ruined much of the land, Yulik was city that took almost all of the damage as the battle was waged there. Yulik's once lush forests that were so envied by the people living in the plains by Hi'kerl were completely decimated. The survivors were now given a new view of the vast twisting and turning canyons with their steep jutting cliffs, and the desolation that was left behind in the demon's warpath.<br/><br/>Hi'kerl continues to thrive, though now it's farms are tended with soldiers never too far away and keen eyed archers looking for anything that could resemble a warband. The people here know that this war is far from over yet the streets are still alive with celebration over their recent victory.