Aedus
Legacy Name: Aedus

Story

What began as an ill-advised torture chamber by Ebarelon, Archduke of the Sixth Circle, soon ended up as the scourge of the Underworld. Hellrats are rather large and ugly, so naturally, they were a ripe fit to torment the especially skittish. They also seemed to enjoy the taste of intestines, which was a plus. Unfortunately, Ebarelon did not have the forsight to seperate the males from the females.

It didn't take long for the rats to reproduce. A soul chained to the wall screamed as the ratlets broke forth from their cage, bouncing and squirming over each other in a vast moving wave out the door. He burst into tears but was largely ignored, which he supposed was a good thing, really.

At first everyone thought the plague of rats was quite amusing. But it lost it's novelty after awhile, when the rats began infiltrating the other chambers (the deluxe leather on the Dismemberment Device was completely nibbled through, costing hundreds in damages) and leaving their tiny steaming droppings everywhere. Finally, when the King found one sniffing at his throne, a royal decree was issued to annihilate them.

Aedus was among the newly-formed Order of the Rat Catchers. It wasn't a glamorous job, but it beat cleaning goo off the impaling spikes. None of the Hellcats were as agile and sharp-sensed as Aedus, and when he received the promotion his heart swelled with pride. Truth be told, he was only chosen because he was small enough to chase the rats out of nooks and crannies, but still, he fancied himself a great warrior. For the first time, life in Hell was looking up.

Still, it took a long time to thwart the swarm. As much as the Hellcats enjoyed chasing and maiming them, the Hellrats enjoyed having babies and causing trouble more. They would nestle themselves into the eye sockets of skulls and more than once Aedus had to swat them off the Archduke's crown.

But eventually—and Aedus liked to credit himself for this—the numbers whittled down to a mere two or three dozen. Hell was awash in the rodents' blood (Mind you, Hell is usually awash in blood anyway, so you'd have to look close). The Order thinned as the last of the rats were caught, and the other Hellcats retired to better things. Eventually, it was only Aedus. He had mixed feelings about their work ending. For one, he hated the Hellrats and were glad to see them gone—he would never forgive the trio that had him running around Cerberus's legs all day—but these past few months were the most exciting he'd ever known. His tails drooped at the idea of returning to his old life.

Just then, he heard a squeaking noise in the shadows nearby. Was it? Could it be? His fur stood on end and his ears twitched. There it was, the little bugger, grooming itself with miniature paws like it was nobody's business. Aedus let the saliva roll around his fangs a little, then with relish, he pounced. The rat was trapped between his claws, glaring up at him with glowing red eyes. He was about to land the killing blow when something stopped him. It was an idea. Why SHOULD he kill it? If there was at least one left, couldn't the Order continue to exist? He lifted his paws tentatively, and the rat scurried away, looking harassed. "I've got my eye on you!" Aedus called after it.

So what if he chased around a single rodent for the rest of eternity? It's a Hellcat's dream come true.