The Peoples Of The Graft

No one knows where the virus came from.  It was a weaponized strain, and a state that poured much effort into such a thing would have had to have the resources needed, which limited the list of suspects, to, well, half the world.  What is known is that from the mid-east outward, countries began to fall silent.  Certain of the major powers had advanced BioWep facilities, and this is where the story of the Graft begins.

The mortality rate was 100% to humans, with symptoms horrible to behold.  The worst thing is that it took so long to kill the victim.  Transmission was airborne, immediate and all encompassing.  All mammals were affected to some degree.  Civilization came to a halt, as the shivering, skinless victims entered the last stages of the sickness, unconsciousness punctuated by bursts of extreme terror.  Some communities were able to implement the Masada solution, but most were incapacitated by the scourge before any organized response could be implemented.  This is where the bio labs saved the human race.

Sorta.

It was discovered that the human genome could be grafted to various animals, and a virus proof organism would result.  As humanity died around them, these labs fought to accelerate a graft program intended to save the cerebral cortex, if nothing else.  Many different species were used, and the monstrosities and suffering that ensued are beyond the scope of this writing.  Suffice to say that all these attempts were placed into nature to evolve and survive.  It was discovered that 3 species worked the best at combining human and animal features in the anthropomorphic goal desired.  The canines, the felines, and the family leporidae.  Of course, after the placement of these creatures into the environment, the researchers had no way of knowing how successful they were, what with all known humanity dead by then.

After millennia of natural selection, the dogs and cats and rabbits formed civilizations.  As might be expected, the dogs and cats formed warrior based hunter gatherer clans.  The rabbits were pastoral and by their very lack of specialization became rather advanced with tool making.  The rabbits were also delicious.

 After years of getting nowhere in the constant Rabbit Wars, a coalition of Cats and Wolves has emerged and are demanding total acquiescence on the part of the Lapin tribes.  This includes hostages, tribute, and free passage of bunny lands.  The Wolves want this war over fast, as their allies are as untrustworthy as they are cruel.  While the Wolves and the Cats have the edge in size and strength, the rabbit population dwarfs them both, and combined with the bunnies' superior strategic ability this effort must be regarded as one of desperation on the part of the Carn Alliance.  The two emissaries above are typical of the Alliance, meeting the Bunnies at a critical pass alone and lightly armed. Carn arrogance is beyond all belief.  The rabbit behind the bunny leader is the commander of a picked company of archers hidden among the rocks.  The Bunnies have been predated on since the Graft, and their recent battlefield dominance has come as a nasty surprise.

Oh, and a band of Cats who were supposed to slip in under the cover of the negotiations and slaughter civilians as a terror tactic are being chopped into hamburger by the ever cautious rabbits.

Two can play the surprise game.

But the rabbits are literate and have been diligently excavating the old ruins, and have discovered something which may end this war in their favor.  Soon the Carn Alliance will find out just why those troublesome rodents wanted that worthless stretch of desert, the one with all the sulfur.

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