Terradox 1: Leaving the Monastery

By R.A. Rex Draco

Planet Tier was a world blessed by twin moons. According to legend these moons were once a pair of Witch sisters who had sacrificed themselves in order to bring an end to a cataclysmic event that threatened all life on the world.

It had been millenia since that day and the oral tradition had long since become myth and part of religious doctrine. The majority of Tiernans have abandoned the faith and seek to live their lives outside the societies traditions that once kept peace among the races.

Derick Luup was a Raven Tiernan. As with all Tiernan his body was controlled by the phases of the Moons Hecate and Selene. For Raven Tiernan when Hecate was waning and Selene was waxing, they could take their Therion Shape, becoming massive beasts with immeasurable powers bestowed by the moons.

Derick lost his family when a band of Wolf Tiernan raided his village. Having managed to stay safe thanks to his mother's quick thinking: Derick escaped the ruin of the village and traveled. With no food, money, or proper identification to enter a city he joined a monastery. After being accepted into the brotherhood he abandoned his secular name.

Taking up the mantle of Pandora, a lowly missionary from the Temple of Hale, he was chosen by the head monk of his monastery to travel the world to proselytize as many non-believers as he could by any means that he could. The monk had seen a vision of the world coming to an end in a sea of Demons that rained down from the sky. The only way they could hope to defeat them was if the races once again came together.

So Pandora Hale sets out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.A. Rex Draco
• Release date: Oct 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798987764978

R.A. Rex Draco

I am an Illustrator and writer who has been in love with storytelling since we were a wee dragon. I am a member of the furry community with friendships within the LGBTQ+ community so I understand the need for being inclusive and as such these are often represented in my stories as part of my greater worldbuilding. I write comics, light novels, and other types of unique genre models that represent myself and the communities I am part of.I love science fiction first and foremost, romance, action and monster stories so those are usually the primary genres I focus on with subgenres focus such as Adventure, War, Romantic Comedy, Historical & Dramatic Romance, Psychological, and Heist/Crime stories. Please look forward to my work and I hope everyone has a day~!I have ADHD and sometimes I am a bit scatterbrain so if there is something I have misrepresented, or missed in my stories: I am always open to discussion and learning about new cultures and subcultures![Concerning my Erotica. It is only labeled as such for site genre purposes but all my books are [genre-bending] stories, meaning they are undefinable as one genre and include multiple genres within its universe.]

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Terradox 1: Leaving the Monastery

Copyright 2023 R.A. Rex Draco

Published by Rex Draco at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Glossary

About the Author

Other Works by Rex Draco

Social Media

Disclaimer

This book is a work of fiction. Characters and events in this novel are the product of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Prologue

Planet Tier was a world blessed by twin moons. According to legend these moons were once a pair of Witch sisters who had sacrificed themselves in order to bring an end to a cataclysmic event that threatened all life on the world.

It had been millennia since that day and the oral tradition had long since become myth and part of religious doctrine. The majority of Tiernans have abandoned the faith and seek to live their lives outside the societies traditions that once kept peace among the races.

Derick Luup was a Raven Tiernan. As with all Tiernan his body was controlled by the phases of the Moons Hecate and Selene. For Raven Tiernan when Hecate was waning and Selene was waxing, they could take their Therion Shape, becoming massive beasts with immeasurable powers bestowed by the moons.

Derick lost his family when a band of Wolf Tiernan raided his village. Having managed to stay safe thanks to his mother's quick thinking: Derick escaped the ruin of the village and traveled. With no food, money, or proper identification to enter a city he joined a monastery. After being accepted into the brotherhood he abandoned his secular name.

Taking up the mantle of Pandora, a lowly missionary from the Temple of Hale, he was chosen by the head monk of his monastery to travel the world to proselytize as many non-believers as he could by any means that he could. The monk had seen a vision of the world coming to an end in a sea of Demons that rained down from the sky. The only way they could hope to defeat them was if the races once again came together.

So Pandora Hale sets out.

Chapter One

Pandora! A voice called out from across the open market. 

It was early in the morning. The open air market of Akh, a village at the edge of the Red Water river, was full of busy people trying to take advantage of the arrival of fresh produce and fish from down the river. A young man garbed in traditional monk's attire, which consisted of a white tunic with a cropped red, long sleeved top. This young man was an Avius Tieran.

Tier was a planet full of inhabitants known as Demi-Humans or Beastkin. They had human-like features mixed together with beastly figures. In the young man's case he had a humanoid upper body with the expected head and arms, but instead of a full hominid body he had bird-like legs. From his muscle dense shoulder blades hung a massive pair of black and silver wings. The anthropomorphic form was a consistent one seen in Tieran natives, but not the only one to be had. 

Upon hearing his name called, the young man, seemingly named Pandora, came to a stop. The wedge shaped tail feathers that hung from his rump tightly folded closer to his body as he tensed up. 

There you are Pandora! Rushing towards the man was a rotund fellow with a heavy gut,  wearing the same religious garb. The man had a fuzzy head and thick, curved claws on the tips of his fingers and at the ends of his paws, on which he wore a pair of sandals. The head monk was looking for you!

The blue-haired Avius was reluctant to respond to the mole-like Rodrus. He had spent the past hour in the market running his morning errands, avoiding the dread of the coming day. Today he was twenty-two and as was custom at the Monastery a member of the brotherhood was sent out into the world to teach others and live a squalled life of seclusion. He wouldn't mind the life of seclusion but living in poverty seemed excessive. 

Turning his head slightly to let out a tired sigh he would adjust the cloth bag in his arms before putting on a fake smile to greet the Rodrus.

Sinclair, I didn't expect the head monk to send you. The raven-like Avius sighed. 

He had not joined the Chapter out of choice, but rather necessity. He could starve on the street or pray to a deaf deity. 

Oh come on! The mole laughed, rubbing his hand on his shaking belly. I know you're nervous! This day always feels so far away!

Couldn't it have been further? Sure Sin. Pandora smirked. I never thought this day would come. He hoped he was gone before it came. 

He wasn't a holy man. He was barely okay, but everyone in the Monastery expected him to do great things. He surpassed his peers in martial training, yet he barely could read two verses out of their book with the literacy of a child. They had done their best to teach him, but he never took to it. 

I don't know Sin. Pandora worked hard to keep his pessimistic outlooks inside. The other members of the brotherhood felt uncomfortable when he made his concerns known, so he learned to keep it locked up. Am I ready?

The mole waddled over. He was half Pandora's height, but twice his weight so when he raised his paw to slap the man's back encouragingly Pan tumbled forward, some of the goods falling from his bag. A heavy pair of thumping noises sounded. Pandora turned his head away, Sinclair narrowing his eyes at the chunks of meat lying on the ground. 

Unfortunately for Pandora, meat was not allowed for members of the brotherhood, but lately he's felt the desire to eat meat grow more and more. He's tried on many occasions to sneak some into the Monastery, but the head monk was sharp. 

Oh Pan... Sinclair sighed. We should head back...

Pandora sighed. .... right. He took a step, but paused to look back at the meat. He raised his talon, tempted to grab the haunch.

Pan... Sinclair had started on, but stopped to look back at the man. 

Pandora slowly lowered his claw and followed. The men made their way through the markets. They began uphill towards the Monastery, which sat at the edge of the Red Ridge. It was a humble building that, unlike the village buildings which were half timber houses on stone bases, the Monastery was a wooden temple painted a sunset red so that when the sun fell beyond the horizon it would vanish before returning under the light of the moons. 

... are you gonna tell the head monk? Pandora would sigh. 

Sinclair laughed. No, no... not this time. I don't want to spoil your send off.

"I wish you would..." He grimly thought as the two made their way towards the Monastery's doors.

Chapter Two

The Monastery was called the Hale Monastery, because it was built on Red Ridge which overlooked Hale Valley. It was over two hundred years old and built just around the turn of the century as an order of reformation on how Monasteries were expected to operate was passed. In the past these places were built for the sole purpose of housing ancient books and relics belonging to the Tieran polytheistic religion of selenolatry, simply known as moon-worship. The natives of the world have long since worshiped the moons as it affects the everyday life of all kin on the planet. The moons were known to alter the biological systems of the natives and they all suffered from a type of macro metamorphosis condition which caused them to shapeshift under certain lunar phases. To the average Tieran this could be a blessing or curse. Some shifters had the ability to change at will into 'Hybrid forms' known as Ti. These forms were recognized as fully beastial visages common to Beast Races on other worlds, but others could only shift under the light of the twin moons that circled the planet. These forms were called Er, but these changes were often seen as more dangerous than the average Ti shifter.

With this in mind they had worshiped two goddesses and often prayed to hasten change or reduce it as some could become dangerous, leaving many to often misuse their abilities. Little over half of the population could shift, leaving many with their meager forms to survive the dangers of the water-bound territories of Tier.

Pandora hurried behind Sinclair as the mole entered the temple doors. The two men were greeted at the main entrance which was a wide open room flanked by two great columns which were carved in the Old Tongue with prayers dedicated to Hecate and Selene, the two moons of Tier. The ground was solid stone and the men were expected to walk barefoot along the surface as a sign of conviction. Sinclair leaned his paw on the wall and would raise his feet, one by one, to the side to remove his sandals, setting them aside on a rack with the various footwear of other members of the brotherhood. The wide-eyed mole looked over to Pandora's bare claws, his scale covered legs and long, curved talons bare as could be.

I really wish you would wear sandals sometimes, Pandora... I always worry you will grow ill tracking the unwashed streets. Though Sinclair's worry was genuine, Pandora couldn't help but feel it was a little sarcastic. Maybe it was just his viewpoint after living so many years without ever lashing coverings over his talons. This made his pads hard and darkened his claws with travel.

Don't worry so much, Sin. He assured the man. I never liked my feet covered anyway. It just feels wrong, you know? He looked over to the rack which had various flat foot coverings with straps made to wrap around the ankle and heels of the digitigrade feet, but as an Avius they had very different feet as past their ankles their shin region was more flexible than most. Besides, if anything was going to happen to me I'd just pray to the moons and it'd all be good --ita! He grunted when Sinclair firmly whacked his shoulder with his sandal, which was still in hand.

Don't let the head monk hear you saying that nonsense. While the moons protect us from many things, our own negligence isn't one. He set the sandal onto the rack and raised his hand, Pandora rubbing the superficial damage. Don't get your feathers ruffled. Even though you'll be leaving today, isn't this what you wanted? As far as I remember, ever since you were young, you wanted to see more beyond the hall's walls, right?

Tsk, sure, but I figured I would have had a job, some money, or something. He complained, following the mole into the inner parts of the temple.

Hahaha! Sinclair laughed. You know our orders do not allow for that. It would be like cheating, you know? When out there they don't want you to forget the struggle and live off the charity of others to remain humble. You must practice what you preach. 

Soon the two men made their way into the temple's antechamber. On the way they passed many other brothers who greeted the pair and wished Pandora luck, knowing he would be departing on his journey today. Passing the library they would make their way to the study of the head monk. Sinclair stood in front of the door with his hands clasped together, his paws tucked into his sleeves. He looked back to Pandora and smiled, eyes pinching closed. "And Pan, don't think this will