Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 59

Chapter 581

Bellum and Procella fired their crossbows and took down a gray mask with a shot, the person-like monster dropping into nothing as they were slain. Venatio was slow to head down the stairs with the others waiting for her.

Iratus: "What's the hold-up?"

Venatio: "I told you that I'm old and my body isn't at its best right now. All this work isn't good for my organs."

Confodere: "We will have to hold out?"

Procella: "Their numbers aren't that bad."

Aestus: "But that guy said some crazy things! Is he Kollektivi?"

The group slowly went down the stairs into the separate building below. With the gray masks following quickly in these hallways, it was easy to create a spear wall with Malignitas and Ignis in the front and Aestus and Confodere in the next line. Bellum and Procella continued their ranged attacks, while Iratus focused on pushing out any creature that broke through the spears.

While the gray masks swarmed in like drones, their being on the stairs was a disadvantage, as the group's spears worked well to counter their higher ground and their short arms of daggers and short swords, which were at an even greater disadvantage for their short reach, got shorter on the stairs.

Despite the party's confidence in stopping the enemy's advance, the gray masks soon began to throw themselves at the group, and their disposed clothes would start to hinder and block the party's sight.

Venatio: "Now, spit!"

Just before some of the gray masks landed on the spearman, the group split up and stuck to the walls, with Iratus moving forward to cut down the enemies.

Just before Iratus took a step back, the conduit stopped forward.

Kollektivi: "You cannot escape death. This new life is a lie that must be corrected."

The red-skinned fiend took one of the daggers, and upon wielding it, it cracked, with a glowing red light filling the cracks. The being reached out with it, and though it wasn't that close to Iratus, the heat somehow cut through his helm and made a slight cut across his head.

Iratus: "Woh! More strange powers, guys!"

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Chapter 582

Malignitas slapped the back of Kollektivi's leg with the back end of his spear, which gave a slight reaction to the conduit and was one that Iratus took the initiative on. Iratus moved forward, and the conduit lowered his blade, the heat searing into Iratus's shoulders.

With the tip of his blade, Iratus was able to slice the neck of his foe, and unlike the other gray masks, which were devoid of an actual body, this one bled. The conduit took a few steps back before collapsing on the ground, and the spear wall came back into the fight. Once the conduit stopped moving, one of the other gray masks started to convulse and break into light flames. Soon, the creature took off its cloak and revealed its clothes burning away and revealing light green skin until the fires burned it blood red and its mask was turning red, but then quickly turned green with that fiendish look now etched into the once plain mask. The gray masks had turned into the previous conduit.

Kollektivi: "From dreams I was born; from imagination I exist."

Several more gray masks were thrown to the side by the spear wall while the conduit tried once again to dive into the group, his new burning dagger cutting into Ignis's side, but two bolts slammed into the being, and one of the bolts crashed right into the creature's mask. Tearing a sizable chuck off.

Iratus tried to get a better view of the creature's face, but he couldn't really see anything. But then another small piece broke off, and with a third of the mask gone, Iratus was finally able to see something, or rather, nothing.

As if a piece of memory or time were erased, Iratus looked upon the falling clothes that used to be worn by the conduit, who now had faded and was gone. Iratus couldn't understand what happened and then looked to the blood that was from the previous body of this conduit. Irauts tried to link the conduit disappearing like any normal gray mask but also tried to connect that it bled with the blood as proof of its existence. With that thought, Iratus suffered another time lapse; a second or two seemed to have passed, and the blood was gone.

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Chapter 583

Several gunshots from far away could be heard.

Malignitas stoically: "Oh joy, the other losers are still alive."

The last of the gray masks were slain, and everyone took a second to breathe.

Aestus: "Should we try the front door?"

Iratus: "I don't see why these things would leave it unguarded. That exit is down further; we just need to find it from all of this debris."

With a few murmurs of agreement, the party continued down the building and didn't have to search far before they arrived at a tight corridor that had a door and a larger door that led to the room over.

Inside, Ignis used her flash light to look around; the lights and power only came from the hospital and this underground portion of it, and she saw a large room that was just large enough to fit a train and a few train cars.

Inside the room itself, only the tracks remained, with several empty cardboard boxes nearby. The sounds of a large group of people could be heard and were slowly getting closer.

Confodere: "Should we get out of here?"

Venatio: "This large room would be the death of us. Everyone, get back into the hallway and let's continue breaking their attacks."

Malignitas: "Despite half the stairs not looking well, it may be possible that they can come from multiple directions."

Iratus: "If that happens, then we shall huddle into the corner of the loading room."

Everyone gave a word of agreement, and after a minute, the gray masks entered the hallway and lined up to fight the group.

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Chapter 584

The gray masks tried to be careful, but their pitiful drone-like nature only made them unable to deal with the superior range of the spears. Then, another gray mask burst into flames, and the familiar form of the Kollektivi conduit was back.

Kollektivi: "How foolish of you to grab a sliver of my attention."

A bolt landed right where his heart would be, but the creature neither fell nor stopped speaking.

Kollektivi: "I have met all of you before in the deepest parts of your dreams."

The conduit tossed a burning dagger at the group like a spear, which had such an incredible amount of force that it bounced off of Aestus's bronze breastplate with an audible thud that echoed all around, and the otter girl herself fell down.

Aestus: "Oof!"

Kollektivi: "And I deem you all filthy."

Two more bolts came in and slew the conduit with the gray masks, continually trying to overburn the spearman.

A few seconds later, the ceiling above started to crack, and Iratus turned around to see part of the hallway collapse behind everyone. A few gray masks fell in and slammed into the ground not far from the group, and the monsters would slowly get back up, with one being far more muscular-looking and wielding a sledgehammer. A bolt took the muscle gray mask down while the other two ran towards Irauts, and while he was fending them off, another Kollektivi conduit jumped down and grabbed the hammer, igniting it in flames as the metal cracked.

Kollektivi: "Real sin is refusing to die. Death claimed you, and you broke the natural cycle."

Iratus: "Blame the robots!"

Iratus was faced with the conduit alone, and he got into his standard high guard stance while the conduit ran full speed at him before lifting his hammer up and swung it down. Iratus deflected the blow, though he mostly dodged the swing and brought his weapon up, but Iratus only ended up in a clash.

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Chapter 585

Kollektivi: "Do you not remember our meeting? The scene of the stairs and the room below it?"

Iratus grabbed and threw his opponent as best he could, which was enough for him to give a stab at his foe, whose mask was durable enough to resist the blow.

Kollektivi: "You woke up to another dream."

Iratus briefly remembered that dream. He was looking into the small room under some stairs in a large house, a house from one of his looting sessions in one of the many abandoned locations. He remembered a woman saying his name, and white appeared around his vision that grew in size until he saw nothing but white and woke up from that dream. Iratus also remembered that the waking world was just another dream he woke up from when he was brushing his teeth.

Iratus: "What's your problem?"

The conduit tried to lift his hammer high again, but Iratus slammed his sword to engage in another clash, in which Iratus tried to grapple and throw his foe to the side again. The creature did well to resist Iratus, but the mouse boy kicked the conduit's legs several times, which dropped the creature. Iratus and the conduit struggled as the mouse boy tried to get a good angle to attack from, and eventually he grabbed his blade in the middle to expertly stab into the neck of his enemy, though instead of blood, there was just an empty void in the neck.

The conduit faded, and Iratus turned back to his allies, who were finishing their own fight as well. Iratus noticed he was in pain and touched his check to find it hot; the once-burning hammer was close enough to overheat his face.

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Chapter 586

Once the area was clear, the group headed into the large room and started to open the large door at the far end by pulling on a rope. As the large metal door was lifting up, another wave of gray masks came in yet again.

Kollektivi: "I've watched as the golden light steals away the vulnerable dreamers from the grasp of the others. Yet, here you all are, away from the black, from the light, and from the walls of your own imagination built by your sins."

Malignitas: "What the festering skin rot is this freak on about? What are you yapping about you red-skinned corpse licker?"

There were only seven other gray masks this time who rushed in towards the group. The conduit ran up to Iratus, this time with an almost identical longsword, but this one wasn't cracked and burning like this creature's other weapons.

Iratus was joined by Malignitas, who was walking by the creature's side.

Kollektivi: "The passionate Malignitas. I adored your self-interest, but now I need to know what happened to you."

Malignitas: "I got a new gig going; what else is there?"

Kollektivi: "You never placed effort into a society; you only stole. I ask, Why did you choose civilization?"

Malignitas: "Blah, blah, blah. Killing you now."

With that, he launched a series of spear jabs at the conduit, who was then besieged on his side by Iratus. The conduit spun the feline's spear with his sword, then brought his sword to deflect a strike from Iratus before going forward and stabbing Malignitas, with Iratus coming back in with his own stab and dealing a blow to the creature's side. Once the conduit turned to Iratus Malignitas, he stopped being staggered and stabbed the conduit's other side with two bolts jamming into him as well.

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Chapter 587

The conduit was not falling, and instead his skin was becoming black and rubbery. His arms and legs were also growing longer as the conduit became ever more monstrous, and soon its clothes broke off from the conduit, becoming a lanky giant without the heat from the previous versions of itself.

Once the gray masks were slain, everyone focused on the conduit, with the spearman surrounding him and attempting to get some hits in. When Aestus stabbed the creature's side, it slammed an elbow into her, and when Iratus tried to get closer, a wave of the monster's hand slapped the poor boy to the ground.

Many bolts were starting to appear on the creature as the two crossbow users landed good hits on the conduit, but the creature still would not yield. Malignitas moved into its blind spot, but before he could attack, the head of the conduit, which was now on an elongated neck, turned to face him.

Kollektivi: "Why don't you wear a seat belt?"

Then the feline dropped to his knees and stared off blankly, as though he were in a daze. Iratus came in once more, and this time when the conduit swept his hand to knock him down, he dove under it, countered, and left a deep cut in the conduit's wrist.

The creature took a step back, right into the spear line forming behind him, and then everyone started to close in at the same time, so they started stabbing the creature until it stopped moving. Once everyone was tired and started to move back, the conduit lifted its head.

Kollektivi: "You've made a mistake, for I have one more conduit working for me."

He turned his head towards Malignitas, who started to shake his head and stand back up.

Malignitas: "Is that thing still talking? Just kill it already."

Kollektivi: "How?"

And then the conduit died with its body not fading—a corpse like all the other conduits.

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Chapter 588

Everyone took 10 minutes to just catch their breath, and then some of them, like Iratus, realized just how long of a break they took.

Iratus: "Hey, are there no more gray masks?"

Confodere: "I guess we won; play the fanfare."

Venatio: "I wonder what I would find to cut open that corpse."

Ignis: "Surely, you should find secrets that define Kollektivi."

Venatio: "That's the idea."

Iratus: "Should we go back inside then? I don't want to lose all those wires."

Procella: "The only problem is that there is that other group."

Bellum: "They seem to be hyper-aggressive too."

They started to get around and got their equipment ready.

Iratus: "My vote is to go back in."

Confodere: "But do they still have ammo?"

Malignitas: "But what if they don't? Easy pickings."

Confodere: "It's still a bit weird to just say things like that."

Procella: "Then they shouldn't have attacked us."

Confodere: "Like the cat?"

Procella: "He was lucky."

Iratus: "And we have been over this before. Until they surrender, we shoot to kill."

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Chapter 589

The party headed back up the stairs and stayed on high alert as they ventured back to the roof of the building. Iratus tried to sniff out anything but couldn't find any recent scents. At the roof tops, Iratus halted the project in favor of taking another stroll through the hospital, which everyone agreed to.

The group looked over the hospital rooms and came to the conclusion that they had made a dash for the front entrance using several clues. By the time they got back into hooking up the solar panels, the power from the backup generator died out, though it came back on as Venatio hooked up the power source.

With power back on, Venatio led the group to several different rooms in the hospital. The first was something like an X-ray machine that she and Ignis used to figure out the problem inside Iratus's and the hyena's bodies.

Venatio: "First try. I thought there were machines stuck inside of you guys. Now I just need to figure out how to operate on the two of you."

Ignis: "Ah, I've encountered something akin to this before, though not in such a literal sense. With the aid of the X-rays and the revelation of these pins, I daresay I possess the wherewithal to extract them surgically."

Given a few hours, Ignis would perform some surgery on the two, using various drugs brought by Venatio to help with the pain, and remove the metal pins. The two saw immediate results, with their wounds no longer constantly bleeding. Venatio and Ignis also saw over some other wounds that the others had, giving disinfections and other treatments.

After that, the solar panels were collected, and everyone headed back home.

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Chapter 590

Back at the tower, Iratus made sure everyone knew that there were dangerous strangers running around out in the wilderness.

Iratus: "I know we have been doing things differently to avoid being ambushed by the gray masks, but we still need to follow these rules until we figure out if they leave our part of the wilderness."

Resonantia: "Could you not track them with your noses, Venatio?"

Venatio: "Once I was paying attention, I got a whiff at the base of the mountain, but I couldn't tell you where they went. Ack, I also have to replace the lock. Luckily, I got several."

Victoria: "I have to see this secret stash you have. What else are you hoarding?" She finished with a playful grin.

There was some laughter, and then everyone decided to get some food, with the tower girls cooking up another small feast for everyone present.

Iratus: "Are we out of meat already?"

Victoria: "We still have some deer left, but yeah."

Procella had already returned the crossbow and left, while Malignitas was convinced to stay.

Malignitas: "Sure. I will go ahead and take the free food."

Iratus: "Call it a work bonus. I am just so happy that you went from trying to kill us to fighting with us in such a short time."

Malignitas: "I'm just here for the food. It really is easier than scavenging out there."

Aestus: "Oh, Malignitas, the conduit guy said you became a conduit too. What was that about?"

Malignitas: "Yeah, that was weird. I was simply too angry to be recruited into that guy's army. Some people give a holy then thou façade to defeat their demons; I just scream them away."

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EPISDOE 59: END

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(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(A very long time ago) Kollektivi kneeled down next to a primitive human in the tundra, the human wearing nothing but skins and holding a stone spear. However, Kollektivi had blue skin, a mask that, while still findeish-looking, was a lot more primitive in its construction, and his clothes were similar to the man.

Kollektivi in the human's language: "You should not die here. How is that fair?"

(Back even further.)

A terrifying battle waged as two armies clashed; both were of some kind of otterfolk. A young girl in a white but greatly dirty dress crawled away from the battle and tried to find a hiding spot in an apartment building. The gunfire slowed as more and more soldiers on both sides found their location to be different from what it was a few seconds ago. The girl opened a door where Kollektivi was waiting. The girl jumped back, but once the green-skinned man held out a box of snacks for the girl, she slowly came back. This time Kollektivi wore an ornate mask that looked scary but also looked like it was made for theater play with how overexaggerated it was.

Kollektivi in the otter girl's language: "Remember the home that was stolen from you? Your mother said it was time to end the bloodshed and that you should forget your home. I think that's stupid. Your home is yours, and no one should deny you your home."

(Back further, even more.)

The monstrous black rubbery form of Kollektivi was once again gunned down. The creature fell down after trying to get back up. Several heavily armed scavengers circled around the creature, with a wolffolk giving orders to stay back.

Kollektivi: "You are too cruel. What makes you think you can call yourself the Virtue of Diligence?"

Diligence: "I don't; it's all you monsters and those summoners that call me that."

Kollektivi: "And yet you still create diligence; you disgust me."

Diligence: "And now you're dead."

Kollektivi: "I cannot be slain, for I am forever, always watching your thoughts and dreams."

At first, the wolffolk rolled his eyes, but then an idea sparked in his mind.

Diligence: "Why don't you educate me? Put some real fear into me and tell me, Just what are you?"

Kollektivi: "Someone could draw a big, scary snake and claim it to be the devourer of those who sleep in the dark. However, such a claim is meaningless, as whatever thought people assign to the snake is what is true, a truth unique to each person. Now this artist goes to sleep and dreams of sleeping, and then yet again sleeps within this dream. Sooner or later, they find themselves in a whole new reality. There they can find that snake they drew and meant what he wishes. When he presents the new drawing, whatever someone else's truth is means nothing to the mind, for the concepts in this other world are both real and not. They are infections of imagination, and once you see the drawing, your imagination becomes infected, and you will find this snake in your room when you wake, and a hazy daze clouds your vision. You will see it come after you."

The conduit took another deep and haggard breath.

Kollektivi: "I too was once a concept that infected the imagination of others—a mask of a devil, a thought about an eternal monster and deal-maker. The summoners, as you call them, and their reality-warping machines detected this infection on my mask and thought I was supposed to be a real person. Now I live."

The creature turned its head to face the wolffolk and slowly tried to get back up.

Kollektivi: "You see this mask? Even just knowing me or reading about me is enough to infect your imagination. I live in your mind; your mind makes me real—a being that does not exist. When you dream, you may find me. When you think about me, I may appear. What you see isn't real; I am not real, but you make me real."

The others in the group fired a few bullets to put the creature back down, which killed it instead.

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Episode 59 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 16
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet, delicate gold chain with a small pendant shaped like a lion's glare, flashlight, bronze breastplate
Weapons: long sword, 3 knifes, short sword, hammer, 1 dagger
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 5 copper coins, 1 small silver bricks, 20 silver coins, 30 gold coins

Wounds: several minor back wounds (light stab wounds), a leg cut (moderate stab wound), shoulders (deep stab wounds, left sholder slight burn), face (tiny cut), several bruises

Relevant Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, 2 glass jar, 12 bottles, 1 fish net, primitive sewing kit, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, a large barrel, writing material, 68 cloaks and other clothing materials, some fabrics, 4 carts, 4 stitched tents, skin drum, beautiful arts of tropical scenery, floatation devices, wildlife figures, lots of tropical clothing, ancient era hyenafolk clothes, gas generator, four flood lights

Armory: 40 short swords, 34 knifes, 19 daggers, 26 metal spears, 4 arming swords, 4 long swords, 2 extra gambeson, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), 3 hunting traps, 6 snares, 12 backpacks, 3 katanas, 3 short katanas, crossbow, several pounds of C4
Aestus: gambeson, bronze breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, 2 knives, short sword, bronze long sword.
Victoria: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, 2 daggers, flashlight
Resonanita: steel breastplate, gambeson, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, 1 knife, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar, 1 knife

Treasure: 13 copper coins, 2 silver coins 12 iron coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, bronze lantern, bronze idol, some jeweled trinkets, iron lantern

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools, glue, sandpaper), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools, first aid kit, plenty of medicine and equipment), Children's Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding, sensual antfolk sculpture), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding)

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in), Tool Shed (fishing gear and supplies, trowel, woodcutting axe, woodworking tools, lots of rope, rope ladder, plows, hoes, sickles, rakes, shovels, scythes, chisels, anvils), Wooden Wall, Small Cabin (Venatio), Large Cabin (Winter Winds), Large Cabin (Dark Sky Family), Gravestone

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Bathhouse Reviewers (entire 80 book series), cards, Fractura's Notes, Tempestas's Notes, 12 survival guides, 3 technical manuals, 46 fiction novels, 11 encyclopedias, 4 dictionaries, 22 cookbooks, 2 gardening guides, 3 crafting books, 20 educational textbooks, 5 religious texts, 4 diaries

Year 2, Day 15

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TOWER FOLK:
Iratus of House Lionheart
mouse, male, blonde fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'6, age: 16, b day 350
-
Victoria Mother of House Lionheart
raccoon, female, gray fur, black hair, brown eyes, 6'3, age: 16, b day: 5
-
Aestus of clan Riversinger
otter, female, red fur, red hair, blue eyes, 6'1, age: 15, b day: 99, (preg 20 days)
-
Ignis Yang
red panda, female, reddish-brown/white fur, black hair, golden eye, 6'4, age: 16, b day: 344
-
Resonantia Diamond Heart Steel
shark, female, blue-gray hue skin, white hair, blue eyes, 6'5, age: 16, b day: 2, (preg 49 days)
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CHILDREN:
Negligere Lionheart
shark, male, steel gray skin, white hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 2
-
Ruina Lionheart
otter, female, orange fur, vibrant orange hair, blue eyes, age: 1, b day: 330
-
Gula Lionheart
red panda, male, brown fur, dark brown hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 340
-
Tenacitas Lionheart
raccoon, female, silver fur, dark blonde hair, amber eyes, age: 1, b day: 345

Frustra Lionheart
raccoon, male, gray fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, age: 0, b day: 338
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NEIGHBORS:
Venatio of Wise Storms, Mother of House Black Jewel
fox, female, red fur, red hair, brown eyes, 6'6, age: 72, b day 299
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WINTER WINDS CLAN:
Studium of Winter Winds
fox, male, gray fur, black hair, blue eyes, 5'8, age 13, b.day 190

Fuligo Leaf Shadow
otter, female, black fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'6, age 13, b.day 245

Bellum of House War Knuckles
cheetah, female, blonde fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'11, age 14, b day: 91
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DARK SKY FAMILY:
Salvos Dark Sky
wolf, male, black fur, white hair, copper eyes, 6'8, age 26, b day: 66

Leitmotif Schlange
snake, female, yellow and red scales, naga bodied, gold  eyes, age 24, b day: 229, (preg 64 days)

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(farm)
UMBRA OCEAN FAMILY:
Procella Ocean Drinker
weasel , female, blonde fur, black hair, green eyes, 6'5, age 22, b day: 207

Iter of Sanguinem Umbra
goat, male, white fur, blonde hair, brown eyes, 6'7, age 20, b day: 334
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(farm)
THE COBALTS:
Commercium Jade Blue Cobalt
rabbit, male, white fur, black hair, gray eyes, 6'8, age: 25, b.day 221

-
Abrasione
hyena, female, tan fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'5, age: 20, b.day 4, (preg 103 days)

-
Kuxatura
hyena, male, tan fur, black hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 284

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LAST MISTAKE
Deficio
lion, male, gray fur, rich gray hair, green eyes, 6'6, age: 46, b day 111

Confodere Oculi Acuti
hyena, male, dark brown fur, black hair, gold eyes, 6'9, age 26, b day: 239

Malignitas of House Brokensand
feline, male, light black fur, light black hair, brown eyes (single eye), 6'7, age 29, b day 343.