It was a strange birth.

Everyone in Kurkan was talking about the creation of this being that no one had ever seen before. The sorcerers spent three days wrangling over the problem and eventually came to one inescapable conclusion.

It was a child of the ancient species.

For many Kurkans, it would be cause to rejoice. This was a child of legend, a creature that could only be found in history books, born again. But no one dared to celebrate openly. This child was not pure Kurkan. Half the blood in its veins was human.

It should not be possible. The child was nearer to the essence of beasts than any other, it should not be possible unless it was from the purest Kurkan bloodline. They could not understand it. Those Kurkans who prided themselves on the purity of their blood could not accept it. The existence of this child was proof of their own unremarkable nature.

And so, he should be killed.

In the conference hall of the royal palace in Kurkan, they took their places at the long table with fury in their faces.

“We have to kill him!” shouted one young Kurkan.

“He will certainly bring calamity,” said another.

“Please choose wisely, King.”

The Kurkan King, who believed in the supremacy of blood, knew that something must be done with this child before the rest of the Kurkans discovered it. But if they killed this child here, it would only concede that he was a threat. They could not admit even that truth.

Besides, he could not afford to publicly slay a Kurkan child. It would make it seem that he feared the creature, and his throne was still unstable. He could not afford to show the least weakness.

After long reflection, he spoke.

“Listen.” His deep voice silenced all discussion. “It is impossible for a half-breed to be a child of the ancient species.”

His words caused a commotion among the Kurkans. They were quite sure that this child was of that mythical breed, but they could not contradict their King.

“How can you honor him with such a claim? He is only half a Kurkan,” the King said to his bewildered people. He waved a dismissive hand. “Sell him as a slave. If he is truly of the ancient kind, then he will survive.”

The stiff expressions of the purists at the table softened. There was their King, who faced this creature without fear, and found the wisest course. The King looked down at the child and smiled.

“Come back if you can, and take the throne.”

Laughter erupted at the King’s challenge. But the child remained expressionless, even as they shackled his wrists and gagged his mouth. Soldiers dragged the child away, and the meeting was ended.

All of the Kurkans who had been worried about the appearance of a Kurkan of the ancient breed left with smiles on their faces. Except for one.

After leaving the hall, the King discreetly visited a slave trader. He often traded with this man, selling him half-breeds as a way to remove them from Kurkan without dirtying his hands. He had selected several half-breeds to sell already, and among them was the child whose death had been under discussion that day.

“King!” The slaver smiled broadly as he took the child’s chains in one hand. “He’s a pureblood? You’ve never given me a pureblood before.”

Before the grinning slaver, the King’s face distorted.

“He is a half-breed,” the King said, without hiding his displeasure. Even the experienced slave trader mistook him for a purebred Kurkan. The disquiet in his heart grew, and he revealed his true intentions.

“Kill him.”

The slave trader’s eyes widened.

“But…”

The King looked piercingly at him, and the slaver swallowed his protests and said the words the King wanted to hear.

“…Yes, I will kill him.”