Chapter 135: Beyond the Cage

Chapter 135: Beyond the Cage

The war council chamber had fallen quiet after Baron Silverfury’s words. The generals, men and women who had bled on the walls of Tallowshade, looked uneasy. The baron’s proposal made sense—painfully so—yet none of them were the type to simply accept gifts and grand speeches. The offer of supplies and crystals was tempting, but the price, a new alliance forged in defiance of the old, was a frightening gamble.

A wolfkin general leaned forward, his scarred muzzle curling. His eyes were hard, full of the suspicion that had kept him alive in countless battles. "Forgive me, Baron," he said with a restrained caution, "but men like us have seen enough to know nothing comes without a price. Supplies, crystals, promises of truth—why now? Why you? What do you gain from it?"

Murmurs rippled through the others. A scaled saurian general grunted agreement. "We are soldiers, not merchants. We’re not used to charity. If you have a goal, speak it plain."

Baron Silverfury didn’t flinch. Instead, his golden eyes glowed faintly in the dim firelight, unsettling the room. He didn’t answer their question directly, but posed one of his own, his voice calm but heavy. "Tell me, have any of you ever wondered what lies beyond the valley? Beyond the Spinebride peaks and the fortress of orcs you’ve fought all your lives?"

The question silenced them more than any threat could. The generals exchanged glances, their minds racing to the endless rock walls that defined their world. A ramaris goatfolk coughed into his fist, his horns scraping against the back of his chair.

"We’ve pushed into the cliffs before," he said, his voice hesitant. "There’s nothing but jagged stone and endless mountains. The valley is the only road, and it’s choked with orcs."

Another added, bitterly, "Even if there was something beyond... the Alliance always said it was worse. That the valley was our only refuge."

The Baron’s lips curved, but it wasn’t a smile. "Yes. That is exactly the tale they’ve told for generations. That beyond the walls of this prison is nothing but death. That fear has become your truth. That safety has become your chain."

The wolfkin general frowned, his ears twitching. "Prison? You speak as though we are trapped."

"Are you not?" The Baron’s golden gaze swept the table, and Ruhk felt as if those eyes cut through bone and thought alike. "For centuries you have bled against the orcs, never advancing, never retreating, only circling the same ground. My grandfather sought to push past the valley, to see what lies outside this cage of stone and blood. He failed—not for lack of will, but because the Alliance chose stagnation over sacrifice. They made peace with containment."

The generals stirred at that, exchanging unsettled looks. It was an accusation that resonated with their own quiet doubts.

The Baron pressed on, his voice deep and unyielding. "And in that peace, the spirit of exploration died. It was replaced by fear. By propaganda. By the convenient lie that this valley is the only world that exists. But ask yourselves... who benefits from that lie? Who profits from generations of soldiers fighting and dying over the same strip of land?"

A saurian general growled low, his scales clacking. "You’re saying the Alliance kept us penned here. Like livestock."

The Baron’s golden eyes softened just a fraction. "I am saying... you were contained. That is why I act. That is why I offer you supplies, crystals, truth. Because my family’s legacy is not to keep you fighting over patches of dirt, but to seek what lies beyond the mountains, beyond the fear. To know whether there is more than this endless slaughter." His words struck them hard—a truth too dangerous to ignore.

The chamber smelled of sweat, iron, and burnt oil from the lamps. Baron Silverfury’s words still lingered in the air, like smoke no one dared to fan away.

At first, no one spoke. Then the wolfkin general with the scar across his jaw slammed his hand on the table. "So what are you saying, Baron? That we should gamble everything chasing rumors of some ’world beyond’ instead of keeping our people safe here? Do you want us to throw open the gates and march to our deaths?"

A kobold general leaned forward, his chin resting on clawed fingers. His eyes, small and beady, gleamed with an unreadable light. "And yet... he’s not wrong. We’ve fought the orcs for generations. We kill them by the thousands, and still they come. We never move forward. Never move out. Perhaps this valley is a prison. A comfortable cage, but a cage nonetheless."

The wolfkin bristled, his fur rising on the back of his neck. "Better a cage that keeps our families alive than a graveyard beyond those mountains."

A ramari bleated nervously, wringing his hands. "My uncle once tried to climb the cliffs years ago... he never came back. Maybe the Alliance was right. Maybe there is nothing but death outside."

"Or maybe he found freedom," the saurian hissed. "Maybe the Alliance wanted him to vanish."

The tension thickened. Two ursarok generals shifted uneasily, their heavy frames making the wooden floor creak. One finally grumbled, his voice like gravel. "We are soldiers. We keep our people alive. That is our duty. Exploration is the business of dreamers, not warriors."

"Is it?" Baron Silverfury finally spoke again, his golden eyes catching the lamplight. "Or is it precisely the duty of warriors to cut a path for their people—not just to survive, but to live?"

His gaze swept across them, and Ruhk felt as if the baron had looked directly into his chest. His heart raced. The wolfkin general growled low, his voice a strained mix of anger and doubt. "You speak of dreams when we barely have enough food for the month. Do you think soldiers under my command want freedom? No, Baron. They want bread. They want their pups to sleep without fear."

Another voice rose—a younger lupen general with bright, defiant eyes. She stood abruptly, fists clenched at her sides. "And what then? Do we keep fighting the same war until our grandchildren’s bones are buried under this same cursed soil? If this is all there is... then why do I feel sick at the thought? Why do I feel chained?"

Silence fell at her words. The older ursarok growled. "Because you are young. Youth always burns for adventure. But when you’ve seen enough funerals, you will understand that safety is worth chains."

The younger lupen glared back. "And when you’ve seen enough chains, old bear, you’ll remember why we fight at all."

The table erupted in mutters, arguments clashing. The chamber’s noise level rose and fell like a stormy sea. Baron Silverfury lifted his hand, and despite the chaos, they quieted. His golden eyes seemed to pierce them all.

"I do not say abandon the valley. I do not say march blindly to death. I say see. Look with your own eyes at what lies beyond, instead of swallowing the Alliance’s fear like stale bread. Choose your path—do not let it be chosen for you." His words hung like a blade suspended above them, equal parts promise and threat.

Ruhk swallowed hard, his thoughts tumbling. Safety or freedom? Survival or truth? He didn’t know. None of them did. But for the first time, he felt the chain around his own neck, heavy and cold.

The generals’ arguing grew louder — claws tapping the table, fists pounding, voices overlapping with anger and doubt. Some shouted for safety, others for freedom. It was chaos.

Through it all, Yulena sat silently beside her husband, golden mane spilling over her armored shoulders, her heavy arms crossed. She watched them with a gaze that carried neither anger nor amusement — only pity.

When their bickering rose to a peak, her voice rolled out like a drumbeat.

"Do you really want to know what lies beyond the valley?"

The chamber froze. Every head turned toward her. Her voice was deep, steady, carrying the weight of something older than the valley itself.

Even Baron blinked, taken aback. He turned to her slowly."...What do you mean by that, Yulena?"

Her golden eyes flicked across the table, as if measuring each of them. She did not rush. Finally, she leaned forward slightly, her mane casting her face in shadow."Tell me... have you ever seen another beast as large as me? With a body like mine?"

The generals exchanged uneasy glances. She was right — even among ursaroks, she towered above them, her presence pressing on the air. They had always dismissed it as a rare bloodline trait.

Baron’s brow furrowed. "You are an ursarok," he said firmly, though there was hesitation in his voice. "My wife, my kin. Of course."

Yulena smirked, the corner of her mouth tugging upward, but it was not a smile of comfort. It was a scoff."That’s what you thought."

The table erupted in murmurs. Confusion rippled through them. If she was not an ursarok... what was she? The only possibility chilled them: she came from outside.

Yulena spoke again, slow, deliberate."My name is Yulena. My family lived on the mountain peaks near gryphon territory."

The hall shook with outrage."Impossible!" one wolfkin general barked."No one survives the peaks — the cold, the storms—" a frogkin snapped."Lies," muttered another.

Yet none of them moved. Her presence kept them silent, as if their instincts warned them not to bare fangs at a predator greater than themselves.

Baron’s golden eyes narrowed, searching her face, his gift straining — but he found nothing. No core, no aura, no truth. As always, she was hidden from him, a wall he could not peer through. For the first time, he truly wondered: Who is the woman I married?

"I am not what you think I am," Yulena said, her voice rising. "I am not an ursarok with a strange gene. Nor was my family one. We came from outside."

The generals stiffened. Her words were not a boast — they carried the ring of truth.

"There is a vast land beyond the mountains," she continued, her tone cutting through their disbelief. "A continent greater than this valley, where beastkin of many kinds live. They struggle, yes — but not like here. There, you can choose where to live. There is room enough to carve out peace."

Her words struck like a hammer to their hearts. The harefolk general who had argued for freedom earlier leaned forward, breath caught in her throat. The wolfkin, once so quick to bark, now stared wide-eyed, silent.

"Outside..." whispered the ramari general, his hooves tapping nervously. "You mean the Alliance... lied? We are not the last? Not the only haven?"

Yulena’s mane shifted as she straightened her back."My people are called leonin

Gasps and murmurs filled the chamber. A frogkin’s throat croaked in fear."An empire... of beastkin? Stronger than ursaroks?"

Even the old ursarok generals stiffened, as if a weight had dropped on their chests.

Baron Silverfury sat frozen. He had suspected Yulena was not ordinary. But this? His own wife tied to a people beyond the valley, to an empire he had never known existed... He kept his composure, but his heart pounded.

The silence in the chamber was suffocating. The generals stared at Yulena as though she had spoken blasphemy. Even Baron, ever composed, leaned forward, his golden eyes narrowing, straining to pierce her nature — and failing.

Yulena let them sit in their doubt before she continued. Her voice rolled slowly, each word heavy, undeniable.

"Beyond these mountains... lies no void. No cursed wasteland. No endless war against orcs. There is a continent. Vast, green, and alive. Larger than anything you can imagine."

Her mane shimmered faintly under the torchlight as she leaned forward."You think yourselves the last survivors? You think this valley the only haven? No. Outside... there are nations. Kingdoms. Tribes. Empires. Races you have never seen, who build, trade, and fight like you do. But unlike you... they are not trapped in this cage of stone and fear."

The ramari general’s hooves tapped nervously on the floor. "What... races?"

Yulena’s amber eyes softened for the first time. "Beastkin. Like you. Like me. But not only wolf and bear and frog. Beyond, you will find the Taurak — bullfolk whose horns carry crowns of steel. The Tigran, striped hunters who bend jungles to their will. The Ophari, serpents who walk upright, their tongues whispering secrets older than empires."

The wolfkin general swallowed hard, his hackles raised. Yulena went on, her tone like a storyteller by a fire.

"There are the Avirokh — winged folk, not gryphons, but beastkin with the sky in their veins. The Antlaren, deerfolk whose courts are hidden among forests, their antlers carved with runes of power. The Leporin, rabbitfolk quick as arrows, clever enough to outwit even the Tigran hunters. The Saurak, scaled lizardfolk who thrive where others would starve, in deserts and marshes. The Simarak — monkeyfolk — who weave empires of rope and stone in the jungles, their tribes fierce and proud, their hands as skilled with tools as they are with blades."

The frogkin general croaked quietly, eyes wide.

"And above the peaks," Yulena’s voice lowered, carrying a shiver of awe, "the Drakari — wyvernkin. They do not mingle with others. They live as kings of the high mountains, a shadowed people, proud and untouchable. Even gryphons give them distance."

The chamber was utterly still.

Yulena sat back, her mane brushing her shoulders. "Some live in tribes. Some build cities. Some gather into empires. My people, the Leonin, forged the Rakoum Empire. Vast. Disciplined. A lion’s paw upon the plain. Yet not all of us bend the knee. Some of our kin live free, as tribes, choosing peace over conquest."

Her words sank deep. The image of a world alive beyond the valley took root in their minds — a world of civilizations, choices, and possibilities.

The harefolk general whispered, almost reverently: "All this time... we thought the world ended at the mountains."

The ursarok commander clenched his fists, jaw trembling. "Then why... why have we been told nothing but lies? Why were we caged here like animals in a pen?"

Baron Silverfury turned his gaze toward his wife, his golden eyes glimmering with something between awe and suspicion. Even he, with his bloodline’s gift, could not read her truth.