The largest country in the content had a tradition. To show you were ready to command the household, you must show gentleness, tenderness, and care through raising a cat. You reared it while it was young, slowly feeding it milk. Than you help it grow.

You watch it till it dies of old age.

This has lead to the nickname of the royal family being Purrlers, a pun off the word ruler.

Princess Elizabeth sets her cat that she raised form the age of five in a small coffin in the royal family crypts. Her small frame sobbing as her best friend has died from simple old age, peacefully in his favorite resting place.

Her parents help her morn, the father have gone through the same thing around her age. Some go peacefully, some are much kinder to be put down.

The family leaves the crypt. No priest blesses the remains. A small black cat emerges from the coffin, purring. Its tail split into two near the tip, green necrotic fire dances around its frame. The unholy aura of its undeath rises the corpses around it. Great kings dressed in blessed runic armour. Queens in beautiful dresses.

They lumber out of the crypt, and with hate for the living kill everyone they come across.

This, was the start of the worse necromancy incident that the capital has ever seen. The very capital grew unhallowed, a breeding pit for the undead. The birth of this cat had so much necrotic magic fallout that the capitol fell, the royal family fed. Noble families bloodlines were ended. Countless commoners loss their lives to others and the undead. The old left behind. The sick killed in their beds while the house were alit a flame as a mercy to their soul.

Countless knights died as blunt weapons had no effect of the runic armours. Bladed weapons did nothing to the armours or harm to the body underneath. Fashions once loved grow taboo as they reminded the victims of the shambling, once loved beautiful and wise queens. A small army of undead cats pour the streets, hunting for food to fill there ever present hunger.

A black cat with a split tail returns to the castle. It walks unhindered through the empty halls. It paws at the Princess door and lets out a few short meows. Noises it always make to be let in.

Noone opens the door.

Hours go by. The cat walks out of the castle, knowing its territory very well.

It walks outside. Past the corpses of some guards and nobles.

No human he sees is alive.

He hunts birds in the meantime. Ravens and crows scavenge the dead. The cat, unmoving. unbreathing, without smell to alert the birds or foot falls. It hunts like it body tells it to. It leaps, claws out like countless daggers digging into the large crows flesh. The cats mouth bites on the neck. But that is where instincts stop. Its mother never taught it how to kill.

A strange new feeling. Like water running down its throat. A odd feeling of feeling something rush through the body. The cat does not panic, it is new, but not painful. The feeling rushes out. threads of awareness connecting to the dead. It ignores them as well. The cat bites the neck of the bird harshly, and feast.

Without rest. He hunts the empty fields. Without mercy he kills and consumes, littering the gardens and grand roads in the castle. Corpses of birds, squirrels, rats, other cats, small dogs. Anything his claws and teeth can end, the ground has a body of that animal.

The world grows cold, but he does not feel the bite of the wind.

The wind grows warm, and he sees a human for the first time, in what feels a very long time.

He walks up to it, rubbing his face on its legs while purring to his heart content. The robes the human is wearing reminds him of his bed. He looks up and meows. Humans always solve the hunger. He hungers. Killing the animals helps. But no more comes.

The human jumps, they do that when he rubs on their legs without them seeing him first.

“Liz! What is wrong!” I look to the loud other human. Some are just loud. The ones in the shiny stuff that hurts to look at in the sun are always screaming or in complete silence. No inbetween. Some pet me, there hands almost as big as my back and they are very gentle.

I look up the human whose leg I was marking. I purr lightly as the human looks down, “Jason...This is a royal empurror….But it is black and it looks like the poor things tail is messed up. I think it is the first living thing I have seen in the royal capital since the disaster. .” The human in the robes bends down and picks me up. Yay, it is one of them with the lumps on the chest. The comfortable lumps that are perfect to nap or rest in.

“We should head back and report than...It must be a pretty powerful beast if it could live here among the undead and stay as healthy looking as it does now.” I know, I am beautiful. I have been called that since I was born. I relax in the human’s arms. I wonder for a moment where the human I always knew was.

I meow to be fed, “Liz, try to keep it quiet. We do not need a horde on us.” The one in the shiny stuff whispers to the one holding me. The human holding me gets out a piece of something. I sniff, then lick it. It is good, better meat than the flapping things. Or the shambling things with the odd smells.

I close my eyes and nap in this human’s arms. It’s lumps are soft and warm. I am content.

~~~

Brother and I are going to get so much money in commission! We found the first sign of life returning to the unhallowed wreck that the priest are trying to reclaim!

Gods be praised, your holy priest are doing a wonderful job on ridding the bastard magic form the land and water. This is easily one of the most friendly cats I have ever held. It just let me pick it up and I think it is asleep right now. I am surprised as well how quick it ate the ration that I gave it. Usually this breed is kept only by Royalty, or nobles in the good graces of the king and queen. Some heros were given a kitten from the rare litter. It is one of the highest honors.

And I am holding one! Gods, thank you for making something with fur this soft.

It must be sick, it is so cold. So I hold is a bit tighter. I hope we are not too late, at least have it live long enough to escape the unhallowed earth so its spirit may rest in peace.

Brother and I work down form the noble district. Careful and quietly, like two thieves in the night we escape the city with practiced ease. The undead seemed calm. Something I have never seen before. They were calm and we practically walked right by a few… Something to report as well.

I think this kitty is going to be a good luck charm. I kiss the top of its head. I can feel it purring in my hands. We walk up to a tent a bit closer to the gate of the capital that we came out of. About 300 feet away from the tent is a cluster of tents where all the adventures, priest, logistics and fun stuff like that are being housed.

“Team Beautiful, Intelligent, Graceful Sister and Just Brother has returned!” I beam at the cheerful attendant behind the desk outside of the check in tent.

“I still regret letting you sign us up.” My too serious brother sighs. He takes off his helmet and removes the pouch of lavender that he breathed through while wearing his armour. The tent area smells like the incense that the priest burn during their lectures. They say it helps keep the rot in the air at bay. I just think so everyone has a smell to focus on besides decay.

“Hello Liz, what is that you got in your arms?” The attendant behind the desk is a close friend! She helped us rise form F-tier all the way up to B-tier adventures!

“A living cat! A LIVING cat! A royal empurror to boot!” I hold the small cat out at arm's length. It is adult size, just a bit on the small size.

“Liz...Don't royal empurrors have a tortoise shell pattern with white chest and socks? I mean it’s face is a dead match for one, but the colors are off and its poor tail.” Miranda takes the cat out of my hands and sets it down on the table.

It lets out a small meow and I let out a long aww. Even my stone willed brother breaks a bit and pets the little guy. I think. Yup those looks like balls. Two little marbles in a fur lined pouch.

The cat lies down on its side. Sunbathing. It’s tiny chest… not rising? But it is purring… It can not be undead! No! Was I too late?! “Brother...I think the poor thing passed…” My brother’s eyes go to its chest, drawing his sword. Miranda practically trips out of her chair to get back.

The cat looks up at us. Its ice blue eyes looking right in mine. Purring. It stands up on the table. Not even coming up to my chest but there is a small bit of dread that takes over my soul as two evil fires alight on the mangled tail. Brother charges. I ready a spell.

Brother falls. So do I. We fell… asleep…

~~~

The two humans are on the ground. Odd. The other human woke me up from laying in the sun. It was so nice. I look to the new...Not humans. Smell is off. One remind me of the still ones on the ground. Its chest do not rise. Its hearts do not beat. It gives no signs of being alive, while it moves. Wrong, but familiar oddly.

“This the nekomata?”

“Apparently. Its appearance it down to the dot, besides its eyes.” Another human that smells like the orange things I hunt has bent down and is looking me in the eyes. I bat her face. It laughs, “Aw its cute. How long till it starts to understand us?”

“A few years. It is going to be a odd process. Unless you kitsune, they do no inherently understand languages. But are intelligent enough to. We are going to have to teach it through treats that our words are now just its equal to a meow.” I meow back. She said something. My old human loved to fed me when I meowed. They do not. So I meow louder, my noise growing louder.

“Why is it making that noise?” I watch as they… draw something in the road with some white stick that gets smaller as they go.

“I think it is hungry. I mean, there as A LOT of bird corpses. Someone in the kingdom should study how wild animal populations are doing with such fierce hunters on the prowl and being the kingdoms nationally recognized animal.” The end bit of her speech was high tone. How most humans speak while they grab my paws. I dislike that.

One of them takes out a piece of meat. I jump off the table, and rub on the kinda human leg while purring. Marking them, my food dispenser. They set the piece of meat on the ground and I eat it while purring. So good. I am happy. The sun is warm, I have food, and humans are caring for me again. Even if they are kinda weird and not right humans.

The one who fed me picks me up. I do not like how it holds me so I squirm. The other one, the grumpy sounding one that is still but still moves holds me to a point I feel comfortable, “Wow Damenic, did not know you were a cat person.”

“When there is a cat in every household of the land. You learn.” I feel that seastion of water and blood. That cold hot feeling around me. In a flash of light, the empty plains are replaced by a forest. Small but close homes are what I see.

The other human bends down with a wide smile, “Welcome to Refuge little guy. Home of the monsters of myths, and you.” It boops my nose, “Are our newest resident!”