Thane barged into the throne room sword held high and ready for battle.  The mad King sat before him alone, on his throne of Rot, waiting for him.
	When Thane had imagined this moment he had always thought that he would shout some challenge, some claim to end the tyranny gripping the realm.  But now, all he could think of was to charge in.
	Wordlessly, the lion, despite the purple taint Rotting his muscles, lifted his own blade and effortlessly parried the young wolf's blow.  Thane struggled to maintain his balance but his sword arm felt weak all of a sudden, the old wound from that fight with the Bane acting up again.  Trying to ignore it he struck again, this time his sword bit into the King's shoulder before being thrust aside.  And then the tyrant countered with a blow of his own, if it weren't for his armor Thane would have been gutted as the ornate sword slashed across his belly.  Instead it merely cut deep enough to draw a line of red through his fur.
	Thane pressed on despite the injury, he swung again at the big cat's neck.  But suddenly, his arm felt weak and he couldn't follow through with enough strength and the blade fell to strike the King's shoulder again.  And then the King cut at his exposed legs, Thane scrambled to avoid the heavy blade but he lost his balance just enough for the corrupted King to punch him hard in the face.  Reeling, the young wolf was unprepared for the heavy jeweled pommel that struck him just before he lapsed into unconsciousness.
---
When Thane awoke he was in a cell, dark and barely padded with straw.  His wounds had been bound and he could taste the bitterness of a healing potion on his tongue.  His weapons and armor were gone, leaving him clad in nothing but a short rough spun tunic.  He didn't have long to wonder what was happening to him before he heard the clanking of a Royal Guard approaching.
	The door swung open and he could see two of the King's dogs standing outside, their golden armor glittering even in this faint light.  "Get up," one of them commanded, "the King has ordered that you are to be beheaded at dawn and it's already beginning to get light."
	Wordlessly Thane got to his feet.  If that was to be his fate he might as well meet it with dignity.  The guards manhandled him a bit roughly in his opinion, forcing heavy manacles onto his wrists and ankles.  There was no chance of him running away now.
	They led him up through the catacombs to the palace courtyards, seemingly half the capital city was gathered around a raised platform where a black-hooded dog stood next to the chopping block holding a massive axe.  It was some small comfort to Thane that none of the other Clan heads were visible in the crowd.  If the last thing he saw were to be Mercurio's smug little grin he would have had to rise from the dead and erase that rat's smile for good, head or no.  As he marched up the stairs he wondered who would lead the Wolf Clan now, with his father dead and his brother banished he was the last of the noble family.  That young ranger, River was it?  She seemed to have accumulated a fair share of followers, and better rule by a commoner than grinding under the heels of some other species' nobles.
	Thane approached the executioner, and knelt down before the block and waited for the axe to fall.  And kept waiting.  As the first rays of dawn crossed over the horizon he looked up at the hooded guard.  "Well, what are you waiting for?"
	"The law," the axe-dog replied in his gravelly tone, "the King has to give the order for an execution.  And he has not yet arrived from what I see."
	"Probably overslept after spending all night with that vixen I saw with him."  Another guard suggested.
	Figures, Thane thought to himself, he would do something like that.  I wonder how long before he kills her like his last dozen wives.  Suddenly, as the first glimpse of the sun crept out a loud and deafening roar resounded from the palace.  They'd all heard the King roar before, he always announced his daily proclamations that way, but this one sounded different, sickly and weak somehow.  And then it cut off.  Was that it?  Thane wondered, but then he heard the rapid clanks of a guard running.
	"The King is dead!"  The guard announced.  "He expired from the Rot as dawn broke."
	Thane's laid-back ears perked up in surprise.  This was unexpected.  Maybe there was some hope after all.  "So, what now?"  He asked his would-be executioner.
	The hooded dog shrugged.  "I guess we have to wait for a new King to be crowned.  However long that takes."
	"Well, if you don't mind.  Could I at least be taken back to my cell?  I'm getting all stiff holding this position here."
	"Not as stiff as you should be, traitor."  One of the guards who had escorted him to this field grabbed him by the neck he was fortunate to still have and dragged him away.
---
Once again, Thane found himself in a prison cell, this time tossed unceremoniously onto the bare straw that covered the floor.  The brutes hadn't even bothered to remove his bindings, and his arm was sore again.  It was always sore in the mornings, ever since that fight with the Bane.  He had managed to slay the beast, but his own wounds had forced him to retreat to the safety of the Clan's healers and the arm where the foul being had injected its corrupted venom had never fully healed.  Curse these short chains for not allowing him to massage the wound properly.
	He waited, hours passed, at noon a guard shoved a bowl of gruel through the door.  Thane guessed this meant that the King hadn't been slain in combat, without such a straightforward means of succession it would take them some time to figure out who should rule.  He hoped they wouldn't choose Mercurio, anyone, even that rabbit Amber would be better.  Of all the Clan champions Sana was probably the best, but she would no doubt prefer to sit in her forest and meditate.
	Night fell, and Thane still waited.  He figured he must have taken a nap at least once, there wasn't much else to do here after all.  Eventually there was a knock at the door, "Her majesty would like to speak to you now."  The guard stated, and the door slowly opened.  Thane felt a brief bit of relief, then he heard an all-too-familiar gekkering laugh.
	"You?!"  He exclaimed in disbelief as he stared at the vixen standing before him.  The King's crown resting on her bright red head.
	"Now, is that any way to greet an old friend, Thane?"  The vixen giggled as she strode into the room.  "After all we've been through?"
	Thane growled as he remembered, she had stolen something of value from a village the Wolf Clan had wanted under their sway and he had gone to retrieve it.  But she had eluded him, and he had needed to bring them under the Clan's sway with more conventional methods.  And it wasn't their last meeting.  "What mockery is this?"  He demanded.  "How can this, this Bandit be ruler of Armello?"
	The fox motioned for the guards to stand beside her and glowered at the wolf.  "I am no mere Bandit.  I am Scarlet, the Bandit King.  While you nobles were running around hunting for Spirit Stones and fighting each other, I was liberating the terrorized villages of Armello.  Half the towns support my claim, they're ready for a more roguish way of life if you get my meaning."
	Thane still growled under his breath.  "You can't be a king, you are female."  He pointed out.
	She waved a hand dismissively.  "Minor details, the Bandit Clan cares not for such things.  Though, it seems like I may have to concede to being just the Queen of Armello.  These fools seem to agree with your outdated opinion."  She turned to leave.  "I just thought you might want to know that your death sentence has been commuted.  I have no desire to start my reign with unnecessary bloodshed, instead you shall be held here until you either acknowledge my rule or I figure out something else to do with you." Scarlet left, her guards followed shortly after, leaving Thane alone with his thoughts.
---
The next day, the Bandit Queen, or King or whatever that fox liked to call herself, came again.  This time there were no guards with her.  She sat down in front of him, holding out a plate of lizard steak tauntingly.  "You like it?"  She teased, "I'll bet it's better than the gruel these guards have been slipping you these past few days."
	Thane snarled, "and what would be the price of this good meat?  Fealty to a false Queen?"
	Scarlet set the plate aside, well out of the shackled wolf's reach.  "And just what makes her false, per se?  The old King united the Clans under his banner, I united the Bandits under mine.  And I have his crown."  She pointed up at the crown resting between her ears.  "What more do you need?"
	Thane continued to glower at her.  "The King bested my father in single combat.  Can you do the same, little fox?"
	The vixen thought about it for a second.  "Excuse me a moment," she said as she exited the cell briefly.  He could hear her talking to the guards for a minute, then she came in accompanied by the two guards.  "I've agreed to your challenge, I hope you will not mind fighting unarmed, we wouldn't want any unnecessary... accidents."  She untied the belt holding her cutlass, a crude weapon with more similarity to an oversized butcher's knife than a sword, and handed it to one of the guards.  The other took a key and undid Thane's bindings.
	The wolf rubbed his sore wrists for a second, then locked eyes with his opponent, who had already assumed a fighting stance and looked ready for battle.  He didn't waste any time, he lunged forward both fists clenched.  She caught both hands and held him there, he would have bowled her over with ease but pain shot through his arm again.  With the pain distracting him he couldn't maintain his force and faltered a second, long enough for the fox to land a kick squarely where it hurt most.
	Thane drew back, bent double in pain.  At least one of the guards shuddered in sympathy.  The wolf managed to gasp out "You... cheated," before collapsing to the floor.
	Scarlet snorted in derision.  "No, I was practical.  I couldn't expect to out-muscle a big strong wolf like you, so I improvised."  She seemed to notice his arm clenching in pain even as his other pain incapacitated him.  "What's wrong with your arm?"
	The wolf glanced at the limb in question, "hurt, fighting a Bane.  Never fully healed I guess."
	The vixen's eyes grew wide, but only for a moment as she regained her composure.  She looked at her own hands in interest and surprise.  "Ah, so that's how it works."  She motioned for her escorts to leave with her again.  "Maybe next time you'll be more amenable to my proposal, see you tomorrow, Thane."  And the Queen of Armello left.
---
That night, Thane was sitting on the floor with the remnants of the meal Scarlet had left, thankful that at the very least they had neglected to shackle him again, when he heard the jingling of keys at the door.  Wondering what new torment the fox had in mind for him, the wolf was none too relieved to see it wasn't her.  And dismayed to see who was there.
	"Mercurio."  Thane growled.  "What?  Did the Bandit Queen give me to the Rat Clan as a favor from one scoundrel to another?"
	The rat chuckled derisively.  "Oh please, you don't think Bandits are a problem for the Merchant's Guild too?  Trust me, they're no friends of mine either."
	"They why are you here?"
	"Why?  To rescue you of course."  At Thane's incredulous expression the rat continued.  "The Wolf Clan is at war.  Your brother showed back up and claimed he was the rightful head of the Clan, while that Ranger friend of yours has been leading a resistance movement backing your claim.  Really disrupting trade in the area, just when we thought things were going back to normal we get this little spat over succession among our less civilized neighbors.  Rather inconvenient don't you agree?"
	Thane considered the rat's statement.  "If what you say is true, then I am in your debt.  How do you expect me to repay you?"
	Mercurio waved a hand dismissively.  "Oh no, the rewards of restored trade are payment enough.  Although."  Of course, rats never gave up the chance to swipe an extra pawful of gold.  "We would not be ungrateful if the Wolf Clan happened to support the Rats in a claim for the crown.  Neither of us wants a thief on the throne, and the Rabbits have been sucking up to that Fox since she stole the crown and the Bears don't seem to care.  How about it?"  He held out a paw as if offering it to shake.
	Thane thought that Mercurio would be just as much a thief as the fox, but anything would be better than this cell.  "Very well then, I agree to your terms."  He grasped the hand firmly, as if to crush it, and shook.
	"Excellent," Mercurio stated, carefully extricating his paw.  "Now, we had better leave before the guard I bribed changes shifts.  I grabbed your sword from the armory though, just in case..."
---
The escape from the palace catacombs was uneventful, though Thane wished the rat had grabbed a belt to carry his scabbard or some armor along with his blade.  Not that he expected the rodent to carry so much heavy metal for something so quick.  As they slipped out the city gates, Thane spied a familiar set of standing stones, with an odd glow to them he'd seen only a few times before.
	"Wait a second."  He said to his erstwhile ally.  "I will need to heal, it's been a rough few days."  Holding his sword and scabbard in one hand he began to trudge up the hill.
	Mercurio rolled his eyes in response.  "Make it quick, we don't have all night you know."  He shrugged and went into the forest to hide.
	As Thane climbed the hill to the stone circle and its healing energies, he thought he detected a familiar scent.  Drawing his sword he continued cautiously up, crouching low to the ground.  Sure enough, Scarlet was in the center of the circle, sitting in a lotus position with her eyes closed and her blouse removed.  Thane raised his blade to charge as he had before, but paused as he saw what the fox's clothes had concealed.
	Rot.  Her chest was covered in the sickly purple glow, it snaked down her arms and almost up to her neck.  But as he watched it seemed to recede, to flake off and float away.  What was going on?  Intrigued, he walked up silently.
	The fox's eye opened, sighing she stood up and pulled her cutlass to her side.  "I assume you want to fight me again?"  She stated casually.
	Thane's mind began to become clouded by doubt, even blade to blade was he a match for this creature?  She was Rotted, that was for sure, like the King had been before her.  But her Rot had been receding, how?  "What are you doing here?"  He asked instead, letting his sword arm lower a little.
	Scarlet began to draw her blouse back on as she spoke.  "I first acquired the Rot fighting Banes, the same way you did."
	The wolf snarled defensively at this accusation.  "I do not have the Rot!"  He proclaimed.
	"Oh?"  With one swift stroke of her sword, the vixen sheared away a patch of fur on Thane's arm, right where the Bane had wounded him.  The skin beneath glowed purple.  Shocked, Thane tried to brush it away, thinking that the fox's blade had left it, but he could see more Rot under the fur to either side of the shaved patch as well.  At his forlorn expression she continued.  "After saving that first village from a Bane, I found that further fights with those foul beasts became harder, foolishly, I began to seek out artifacts that would allow me to fight more proficiently.  I found a pair of wicked-looking gauntlets made of jagged metal, but they Rotted me more, and I found it even more difficult to fight Banes.  Eventually, I thought it might be best to fight the Corruption at its source..."
---
Earlier...
Scarlet slid through the castle corridors like a ghost.  She had heard the King had been gravely wounded in a fight with that young wolf lord, a pity really, she'd thought him kind of cute for an arrogant noble who felt he needed to compensate with a long sword.  But no matter, that just meant the tyrant would be easier to slay.  The vixen made her way to the throne room, he was still there despite the late hour, sitting on his throne while the Rot warped him further.
	She crouched low on all fours, clinging to the walls and darting between columns seeking to avoid his gaze.  But as she watched in horror, his nose twitched and his solid, purple-tinged eyes slowly slid open.  "I smell you," he said, "I know you're there, assassin!"
	Her cover blown, Scarlet saw no other way but to draw her cutlass and pounce.  Her heavy curved blade descended from the heights to strike down the tyrant, only to be struck from her paws by the King's own sword.  She hit the ground hard and slid away from the King, and her weapon.  She struggled to get back to her feet as the lion strode towards her, but he simply forced her down again.  Scarlet tried to move out from under his heel, but the Rot in her yielded to his superior corruption and she stayed down.
	The King grabbed her tail and lowered his head to sniff her.  "I can smell you," he said again, "You, I think, will be more useful to me alive, for now."  He picked her up and dragged her over to his throne as the meaning of his words dawned on her in horror.
	She had forgotten the calendar before she decided to embark on this foolish quest.  She had thought it inconsequential at the time but she was in heat.  Scarlet struggled in his grasp, she could not, would not bear this diseased monstrosity's cubs.  And that was even assuming he didn't get bored with her and killed her like his other wives.  He returned to his throne and sat back down upon it, the King hiked up his armored kilt and dropped the vixen in his lap.
	Scarlet tried to break loose, but he grabbed both of her arms in one meaty hand and forced up her skirt with another.  She felt his clawed fingertips feel her snatch, just beginning to swell and already sensitive to a male's touch.  His manhood began to rise beneath her, seeking a hole to deposit his foul seed in.  With a movement that spoke of long years of practice, he forced it in.
	The fox let out an involuntary gasp as he shoved the thick member in.  He was easily twice as wide as any man to previously grace her tent, save for that bear whom she simply took one look at and declared "That'll never fit."  It hurt, she swore she could feel her guts squish as he slid it in, inch by inch.  At the very least, her canal was smart enough not to squeeze around it she thought.
	Then he moved his free hand up to her shoulder, and with a swipe his claws tore open the front of her blouse, exposing her swelling nipples.  Barely peaking from under her fur this early in the week they perked up at his touch.  He grasped them in his strong hands, squeezing, fondling, they were putty in his paws.  Against her better judgment Scarlet felt her snatch begin to tighten around his rod.
	"No, no, nooooooo!"  She moaned as he thrust again, and again, for what felt like hours.  After what shamed her to be two or three orgasms he got bored with that position and forced her down to the floor, mounting her from on top like a feral beast.  She felt his fluids running down her thighs and a few times she seemed to black out, finding herself in a new position she hadn't remembered being forced into.
	Finally, someone opened the doors to the throne room, but they barely had time to inquire "Your Highness?" before his bellow of "GET OUT!" scared them away.  Looking up, as far as he would allow her, Scarlet spotted the first glimpses of dawn through the palace windows as if it were hope taunting her.
	But then the King screamed in pain as the dawn's light struck him, and before Scarlet knew what was happening he slumped forward, motionless.  Trapping her beneath his immobile body.  His grip finally loosened and the fox saw her chance to escape, wriggling out from under his huge body.
	Just as she freed herself two guards stormed in, halberds in front of them, demanding to know what had happened.  Scarlet looked down at the motionless King, he wasn't moving at all and a foul stench reached her nostrils.  She looked down at her naked body, dripping with semen and other fluids.  She thought fast, "I... guess the honeymoon was too much for him."
---
Thane snorted as he suppressed a laugh at Scarlet's story.  "You... You told them you married him?"
	The vixen stared at him.  "It seemed the best way to avoid joining you on the chopping block.  And for all I know, and fear, I may be bearing his heir."
	The young wolf examined her, Scarlet's belly didn't seem to be any bigger, her teats seemed a little rounder but she would still be in heat this soon.  "By the Wyld, I hope not."  He commented.
	"Oh, this is pathetic."  They both heard a voice from the shadows of the woods before them.  Mercurio stepped out in full view.  "She's naked, at your mercy, and you don't even have the courtesy of running up and running her through when you have the chance?"  The rat drew out a vial full of a dark liquid.  "Creatures of true nature, come forth!"  He yelled as he swung the vial upon the ground.  The liquid splashed and the ground heaved as the skeletal black spectre of an enormous bird burst from thin air.
	"Bane!"  Both canids shouted simultaneously as the monstrosity glided towards them.  Without a word more, Thane charged in, sword swinging.  His arm hurt again, and with the fur shorn he could see the glow, but he ignored it as his slash tore off a feather-studded wing-bone.
	The Bane glanced at him, then shoved him aside as if he were nothing but garbage, beneath its notice.  Then it saw the cutlass-swinging fox as she cut off another piece of its wing, and bore down on her.  Claws reaching for her, serrated beak grabbing for her throat, she barely held it at bay with her sword held out in front of her.
	Thane could see her weakening, he remembered what she had said about fighting these monsters becoming more difficult as became more Corrupted.  And that he was far less tainted than her.  He charged again, not aiming to simply slash this time but he shoved his full weight into the Bane.  They both tumbled, going partway up the hill and touching the edge of the circle.  The Bane's wing touched a stone, and it recoiled as if it had touched a open fire.  Thinking fast, Thane charged again, sword held in front of him like a spear.  It impaled the Bane square in the center of its chest and he forced them both into the circle.
	The manifestation of the Rot screamed as its flesh dissolved in the energies that bathed the stone circle.  Within moments, it was gone, and Thane was alone, his blade held out striking into nothingness and the forgotten gash across his belly completely closed.  He heard something coming up behind him and spun around to face his new assailant, only to find Scarlet standing there, cutlass sheathed.
	"Clever," she stated.  "Forcing the Bane into the standing stones, where the Wyld energies would destroy it."
	Thane dropped his sword.  "I had just thought of it, really."  He replied.  "I just meant to get it off of you and it seemed to feel pain when it touched the stones.  So I figured..."
	Scarlet grinned, showing the tips of her fangs.  "Ingenuity and devotion, you might make a good vassal yet."
	"It was nothing, really."  Thane tried to save face.  "We were fighting as a pack and you said that the Rot weakened you more.  You don't leave packmates out to dry."  He glanced around at the surrounding area.  "Where's Mercurio?"
	"Ran before his monster could turn on him I suspect."  Scarlet replied.  "I doubt we'll catch up to him before morning."  She glanced at Thane's still Rotted arm.  "The Rot doesn't just weaken you, you know.  Against certain opponents it can make you stronger as well."
	"What?"  Thane perked an eyebrow quizzically.  How did that make sense?
	"When we fought in the dungeon, I felt a rush of strength, not the weakness and pain I normally felt when fighting other tainted foes.  I figured that it was because you were the first tainted opponent of mine who was less Rotted than myself instead of more so."  She sighed.  "It's like the Rot has a hierarchy, the less tainted submit to the more corrupted, and the greater the Rot the more you feel the urge."
	Thane supposed that made some sense, the more powerful a subordinate was the greater the threat to one's rule.  If you could not trust your vassals.  "This Rot, is more serious than any petty kingdom, isn't it?"  Scarlet reluctantly nodded.  "I am barely afflicted, I bet that if you taught me how to purify myself as you were, I could become whole and the Corrupted would have no power over me."
	"And then what?"  She asked, "take the throne for yourself?"
	"No," he replied.  "It would be hard enough work keeping just the Wolf Clan together.  I'll leave that to you, or your child as it were."
	Scarlet snorted.  "I don't know if there even is a child.  That King was so Rotted I would barely expect his seed to bear fruit."
	"Who says it has to actually spring from his loins?"  Something about the Wyld magic in this place was getting to him, Thane decided, the simple scent of a female in heat couldn't possibly be enough to get him this randy.  Though the scent was strong, it seemed she was at her peak already.
	Thane drew Scarlet close, breathing her scent in deeply as he found himself reaching underneath her skirt.  He pulled it up one-handed as his other hand worked to unfasten her top.  She responded by feeling under his tunic for his manhood and gently massaging it until it began to stiffen in her grasp.  His cock stuck straight out, poking the shorter vixen in the stomach before she pushed him to the ground.  He didn't even try to resist.
	Scarlet straddled the wolf as he lay there helpless on his back.  She didn't even need the Rot domination to get him to comply, he was all too willing.  With his help she pulled her skirts out of the way to give Thane a clear view of her vixenhood, already wet and swelling in anticipation.  Slowly, she lowered herself onto the wolf's dick, taking it an inch at a time before finally giving in and thrusting herself down on him.  Thane howled in ecstasy as she pushed down on him, again, and again, before his knot caught in her snatch and they were bound together.
	Both exhausted at that point, Scarlet collapsed onto Thane's chest, rubbing her fluffy neck into his while canine biology did the rest of the work.  Thane stroked her as he considered what the future might have in store for the two, or three, of them.  They were so preoccupied with each other that they didn't notice the smoke drifting away as their Rot receded and vanished.
---
Thane returned to the Wolf Clan lands shortly later, backed up by a platoon of the King's Guard he made short work of his brother's attempted coup.  Afterwards he led the Clan to war with the Rat Clan, as it so happened, the other Clans had noticed the growing Corruption in the Rat leader and had no desire to relieve the experience of a Rotted King so they sent token forces of their own to aid the Wolves.  Caving in to pressure from his Clan's elders, Thane then married River, the Ranger who had distinguished herself so profoundly in the Succession Crisis and the rebellion.  By most accounts, he left most governance of the Clan to his wife and spent most of his time roaming the kingdom questing and slaying Banes, coming back only a few times a year to keep up appearances and sire the necessary heirs.
	Queen Scarlet gave birth to a grey-furred fox kit.  She claimed that his coat was silver to the father's gold but few believed that, even if they found it convenient to pretend otherwise.  In any case, her son displayed a boldness few associated with his mother's kind, tempered with her cunning and charisma he expanded the borders of Armello twofold and forged a dynasty that has reigned for centuries.