Life Story
Page 1
A ship glides into the harbor of a distant coastal frontier, its deck crowded with children-beastfolk slaves. As they are herded onto the docks, they keep their heads low, avoiding disdainful glares from the gathered onlookers. But among them, only Galba met each hateful look head-on, his sharp eyes glaring defiantly at the humans.
Sold to that nation as a beastfolk slave, Galba was but ten years old. Even as a child, his powerful frame and agility allowed him to outmaneuver grown men, and consigned him into the battlefield as a slave soldier. Galba relished the battlefield. Obeying humans galled him, but nothing compared to the pleasure of crushing his enemies and seeing them driven before him.
One day, during a clash with barbarians, Galba threw himself in the path of a crossbow bolt aimed at the king. His action was not driven by loyalty to the king. He only wanted to prevent his army's defeat. Nevertheless, the king was deeply moved by Galba's deed, and began to favor him greatly.
Page 2
Having been saved by Galba, the king took him into his service as a retainer. He was granted unfettered access within the palace. Furthermore, he was given an education in culture and warfare, as well as in statecraft.
Many warned that favoring a lowly beastfolk would diminish the king's authority, but he paid them no heed.
One day, Galba posed a question to the king.
"What makes a king?"
"The one who rules the country and makes it prosper.
Thus, a king must be the strongest and the wisest."
Years passed, and Galba matured both as a beastfolk and as a knight. However, humans still shunned him-all save the king. Realizing that command of soldiers might prove a challenge for Galba, the king appointed him to his elite guard.
That very night, Galba took the king's head. By the former king's own words: a king must be the strongest and the wisest. And so, Galba reasoned that he, a powerful beastfolk, was more deserving to sit upon the throne than a feeble human.
Page 3
From the day he came to covet the throne, Galba had been gathering beastfolk allies in secret, amassing the strength he would need to seize the throne by force. At the very moment Galba beheaded his king, his fellow beastfolk sprang into action, striking the heart of the royal court. The fallen king's retainers and his young son were taken alive by the beastfolk and cast into the dungeons beneath the keep.
Some among the beastfolk urged him to slay the royal family and their servants, but to Galba, the only enemy worth slaying was the former king. There was nothing to be gained from bloodshed. He kept the humans under his thumb, if only to keep the nation functioning. Galba then appointed his most skilled confederates to positions such as Knight Commander and Chancellor, ensuring the nation's core was held by beastfolk.
The usurpation of the throne by the beastfolk army led by Galba quickly became known throughout the country. Some took up arms, refusing to submit to mongrels, but they were routed at every turn. Bit by bit, resistance waned, until there were none who stood against him. And so, Galba became king of the frontier nation.
Page 4
Having slain the former king, Galba took the name Galbadus and, as king, indulged in evrey pleasure. Village girls were taken from their homes and brought to the palace for his pleasure and, when his blood ran hot, he waged endless war against the barbarians, plundering as he went.
When defeated nations retaliated, he met them with full force. Every battle waged by Galbadus was a spectacle of sheer power, a brutal reminder to his people of the king they served.
Years passed, and under Galbadus's reign, the beastfolk, freed from oppression, gave the king their unwavering loyalty. Meanwhile, the humans were forced into squalid dwellings, their days spent in backbreaking labor, stripped of rest and freedom. People shot venomous glares at any passing beastfolk, cursing the name of King Galbadus.
Those at the heart of the beastfolk-run government prospered, while, with each passing year, the suffering human populace swelled, simmering discontent ready to boil over at any moment.
Page 5
One day, upon return from campaign, Galbadus found the gates of the capital held fast. An then a rain of arrows came down upon him from the outer walls. Discontented with their king, the humans had risen in rebellion, denying him his triumphant return.
At the forefront of the uprising stood the fallen king's son. With Galbadus away on campaign, the lighter defenses had allowed his rescue from the palace.
"It is We who is king!"
The people met the raging Galbadus with words of their own.
"You, who are not even human, are not the stuff of kings!"
The humans made no move to open the gate. The roar of a lion resounded, enough to rent the air itself.
Galbadus and his retinue attempted a siege. But, hearing that Galbadus was suffering rebellion, the peoples of the defeated countries launched an attack on the beastfolk, not wanting to lose their opportunity. Galbadus was forced to break off. From then on, however, there are no tales of Galbadus vanquished, and none who know of his whereabouts.