Eun Hwa bit his lip to stall the tears that threatened to fall from his brown eyes, his fingers clutching at the iron bars of the cage he was currently locked in. He looked desperately around him. What he saw didn’t help make him feel better. Instead, the haggard looking men and women chained together on the slave yard only made him feel worse. Eun Hwa clenched his small hands, the metal cuffs around his wrists felt heavy. He could hear the booming voice of a slave trader, screaming at some captives, somewhere in the vicinity. To his left, he saw another slave trader whipping a fallen man who openly cried and begged for his life.

He cursed his own stupidity. If he only obeyed his father and heeded his sister’s warnings, then he wouldn’t be in this dire situation, held captive by a band of slave traders. Just a week ago he was a free child, happily running around in the savannah, no worry in mind.

He had no one to blame but himself. He could still recall his sister’s warning to stay close to her, to not wander off on his own. But he was never one to follow instruction, and before long, he found himself being cornered in a dark alley by three men. Two men grabbed him, while the other one placed a sack over his head. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in the back of his head before blackness engulfed him.

Before his capture Eun Hwa was part of a nomad tribe, The Blood Beast clan. True to its name, his clan was made up of warriors –the best in the empire-, men and women alike. Other people called them the Berserker, because once they give in to their Rage, they changed into a creature of pure destructive instinct with only deaths of the enemies as their goal.

What other people didn’t know was that the Rage, and the transformations following it, didn’t come automatically like many believed. It was cultivated and trained throughout their childhood. Yes the potential was inherent in their blood, but not everyone can manifest it. Those who can were called the Fangs, while those who can’t, were called the Keepers.

When a Fang give in to their Rage, their outer appearances will change. Their hair and eyes will turn to blood red color, hence the Blood, while their teeth turned into fangs and their nails into claws, hence the Beast.

Unlike popular belief, a Fang wasn’t totally mindless when they changed. True, the instinct to obliterate their enemy took up most of their thinking capacity, but some small part of their brain still maintains human logic. That part, called the Calm, is what allowed them to return back to their original state. The Rage also give them strength, speed, and reflexes far superior than average human being, but it was the Calm that can help them control their significantly improved abilities to suit their needs.

There was a third category, unknown to anyone outside the clan, the Fallen. Once a Fang succumbed to his Rage and unable to maintain his Calm, they’d never be able to return to their former self. They’d forever changed into violent creature. Those who Fell will be immediately killed by the other clan members. No sense in keeping them alive, their humanity was lost and the dangers they pose to other people were just too high.

Being a nomad tribe, the Blood Beast clan never stayed in one place for too long. They usually travelled from region to region, going wherever the wind of war took them. Their abilities made them a sought after warriors. Kingdoms throughout the continent all wanted to recruit them, for they made the best fighters. At the moment, the clan was roaming the southern part, where the kingdoms Han, Wa and Tae were involved in three way border disputes. The disputes hadn’t blown into a full war, but judging from the escalation of skirmishes, an all out war wasn’t long in the future.

The clan came to the conflicted areas, hoping to get hired by the highest bidder. The money wasn’t the top priority, the chance to challenge themselves in battles was. But no one could deny that money was a necessity. Food and supplies didn’t exactly fell down from the sky after all. And as the Fangs spent most of their time training, the daily task of running a clan was placed upon the Keepers.

They were the ones responsible for providing food and clothes for everybody, making sure that the makeshift abodes weren’t leaky during rainy season, that there’s enough blanket during snow season, that the horses were well fed and groomed, that there’s enough medicine and herb for the sick and injured. When they ran low on supplies, the clan would travel near a town, and then send a small group of Keepers accompanied by one or two Fangs to shop.

On the fateful day of his capture, Yoo Mi – Eun Hwa’s sister- along with few other Keepers, were sent to shop. Eun Hwa begged his father to be allowed to join his sister, but his father adamantly refused. On a small town so close to a conflicted border like this town, kidnapping wasn’t so uncommon. There were only a small number of police officers. Most of the army personnel were sent out to patrol the border, only a handful were left in the city as rear guards. Since the security was pretty low, slave traders saw it as an opportunity to snatch unsuspecting victims and took them back to the capital as slaves.

 Usually, the slave traders weren’t a trouble for the Blood Beast clan member. Even without transforming, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. But in Eun Hwa’s case, the reason for his father’s objection was obvious.

Compared to other younger Fangs, Eun Hwa was weak. Really weak.

Being the son of the Head of Clan, Eun Hwa was groomed to be the next leader since the time he could walk. But Eun Hwa never liked his position. He’d rather be a Keeper like his older sister, rather than a Fang like his father and mother. Whenever it was time for his training, he’d just snuck out of the camp, stole one of the horses from the makeshift stable and ran away.

He’d roam the savannah, as far as he dared without the fear of getting lost or getting caught by the unlucky clansman who was tasked to fetch him back. He’d only return when it’s nearing midnight and knew that his parents, especially his mother, were too distracted by worry to properly punish him. His habit of running away made his manifestation a slow one. Personally, Eun Hwa thought that all of his running away weren’t completely useless. He’d developed an excellent riding skill. His ability to evade pursuer was not a joke either. Too bad his parents didn’t value the latter as much as him.

Usually, the Beast Blood children first manifested Rage at the tender age of 7, while Eun Hwa only manifested his at 9, a relief for his mother, but a shame for his father. After the first manifestation, which was the red eye –most often occurred when a child is throwing a tantrum-, the children will then learn to build and maintain the Calm, before cultivating their Rage further. It was no small feat. Hard work, discipline, and intense training were a must. That’s what made the Blood Beast’s Fangs a formidable force. They mastered the basics of being a good soldier at tender age, while other armies only started training their soldier at much later age.

Eun Hwa never had the drive, patience and persistence needed to cultivate the Rage and the Calm, so he was always behind other children his age. While the other could fully transformed and gained the physical prowess by the age of 10, all he could do was change his hair and eye color, and turned his nails into claws, useful for scratching someone’s eye out, but useless against the sturdy metal currently cuffing his wrists and held him prisoner.

With a resigned sigh, he plopped down and rested his back against the bars. He remembered how his father had refused to let him go with his sister, demanding that he used his time to train instead. He remembered how he stomped away angrily, pretending to go to the archery range when in fact his small feet brought him to the far side of the encampment where the horses and carriages were kept.

He remembered the giddiness he felt when he stealthily made his way to one of the carriage that was being prepared for the shopping trip, his relief when he was able to sneak into one of the empty barrel already inside the carriage.( He might not be strong, but he prided himself as the stealthiest and sneakiest young Fangs around.) He remembered letting out a small squeal of delight when he felt the carriage moving.

He remembered his sister shocked face when he jumped out of the barrel once they reach the town, her long suffering sigh as he begged her to let him stay with her instead of being escorted back to the encampment. He remembered her small smile as she gave in to his puppy eyes and her tinkling laugh as he kissed her cheeks.

At first he was content to walk beside her sister, accompanying her from stall to stall as they roamed the market. Her sister was responsible for buying and stocking the food and produces. The other members of their group were scattered to different parts of town, each had their own task to make the trip faster and efficient. The Fangs were waiting by the carriages, guarding the horses.

As Yoo Mi haggled and bargained for the best price, Eun Hwa started to get bored. That’s when his adventurous side got the better of him. Slowly he walked away from sister, intending only to look at the nearby stalls but the bustle of the town amazed him. He had never seen a place so colorful, full of people wearing bright clothes. Not to mention the delicious smells coming from different directions. His curiosity got the better off him and he forgot himself as he was lost in the sea of new and brilliant things.

His wandering eventually brought him to the grittier part of the market. He noticed there were no more loud sellers, only empty stalls and closed shops. There weren’t many people around, those who were there were sinister looking. He quickly retraced his steps, eager to return to his sister’s side when out of nowhere three men approached him. He had a bad feeling about them. He could see their eyes scanning him from top to bottom, the gleam in their eyes reminded him of a predator stalking a prey. He gulped and tried to run past them, but they swiftly blocked his path. Turning around, he quickly walked away while searching for another way to get back to his sister, but the strange men kept following him.

Fear started to creep up on Eun Hwa, he wanted to scream but his voice stuck on his throat. He tried to keep his distance from the men, unconsciously picking up speed as they neared him. Nervously he turned to a side alley and ready to run, only to stop short when he realized he had nowhere to go. He unknowingly turned to a cul-de-sac.

And as they kidnapped him, his only thought was of his father’s stern voice, ordering him to go practice.

I didn't really like the flow of the story, but I don't want to spend too much time editing it. Other wise, I'd ended up deleting the whole thing. Chapter two will be posted tomorrow, as I planned to upload a chapter a day.