News of half-blood visitors and their exquisite equipment quickly reached the ears in the castle, Zegrath Goyvar, the current Lion Clan’s leader and son of the great Lion king Oyran, was more than eager to check them in person.

The next day’s afternoon, Eileen was with Diata in one of the big halls of the Lion’s Villa.

“So Therese trained you through pain?” Said the Matriarch shooking her head “Reckless as always, you could have maimed yourself”

“She trusted that I had sufficient control. She was right. I managed to quickly improve after that. Then I was only allowed to use a two-handed sword for a long time to learn how to control the mana and get a better sense of my environment. Later on, was when I started sparring with Leona”

“That’s just like her… always pushing over the edge, always doing things her way” Diata let out a sigh. “She was so promising… The lion trait was so present in her. A shame that she was just as strong as she was rebellious”

Eileen nodded “She was a great teacher for me, wise and kind. I was able to improve beyond my limits because of her. That’s why I will be forever grateful.” She looked at Diata with pleading eyes “So, please, tell me, what happened to Therese? I heard she was defeated by some student here and was taken into prison here”

Diata shook her head and sighed “Since you are her disciple, I suppose I can talk about it to you. Because I simply don’t know what got into her to do what she did and since then, she hasn’t spoken a word to me, she refuses to tell me anything.”

Eileen nodded, clearly focused on the Matriarch next words “One day, without warning, she suddenly appeared. When I spoke to her, she didn’t reply to me, she was serious and said no words. She just unsheathed a sword and pointed it towards me. She did it in the middle of the gardens, one of the young lions that saw the scene came to my defense, he didn’t know who she was and just jumped on her. Unarmed”

“Unharmed?”

Diata nodded “The fool, wanted to be captured, she had no intention of attacking me. Letting herself get caught by a young lion, she didn’t even try to resist, not even a little.

“Then? What happened?”

“She is too stubborn, she hadn’t said a word to anyone! I did the only thing available to me. I had no choice but to send her to our prison”

“So is she here? Can I talk to her?”

The matriarch took a deep breath “Perhaps, maybe a friendly face can put some sense into that rebellious lioness, I will take you to her”

“Thank you Matriarch Diata! And what happened to Leona? Her other disciple, do you know?”

Diata shook her head “I don’t know, I didn’t hear of her”

Suddenly a young lioness entered the halls in a hurry “Sorry to interrupt matriarch, but the clan leader has arrived and is with the guests in the training grounds” Surprised, the matriarch immediately began to move in a hurry.

---------------------------

Zegrath was talking to Attia and Bellica, surrounded by 20 of his personal guards, all well equipped and fully-fledged lionesses’ warriors.

“What’s going on here, Zegrath?” shouted the matriarch approaching the scene.

“Grandmother, I was just meeting these two… I heard surprising things, so I had to come and personally see them for myself” answered the Lion with his eyes on their armor and weapons.

He was a tall and strong man, his hair was brown and covered his head and beard as most old males from the Lion clan. His attire showed his high status. To his waist rested a strange sword in a scabbard made of bone pieces.

“The lion’s blood runs thin within them, they are long, distant relatives by now. There was no need for you to come and see them” spoke the matriarch approaching him.

“Nonsense, power is power… no matter how thin our blood runs, the Lion’s trait will always prevail. And all Lions must submit to power, regardless. I’d be failing my role as a clan leader if I’d not come to see these lost sisters.” He then turns to Diata “Or will you tell me that they do not follow our ways?” he then stared at their faces and bodies.

There was no denying it, both had strong lioness traits. So the Matriarch kept quiet and just glanced at Eileen with a concerned expression.

He smiled after the silence and continued “They are young and very well equipped. They might not be yet ready to be a lioness yet, but they might have great potential. Especially with these black Wyrm armors... we can’t dismiss that possibility, right grandmother?”

“They are guests Zegrath, they do not belong to the clan so you can’t order them around”

“Nonsense… All lions and half-bloods shall answer to me. And depending on their strength, I might even consider them to join my personal guard if I wish to. After all, a lioness's greatest duty is to serve their leader” said the Lion with a smug face while looking at Attia and Bellica.

Eileen looked to the matriarch.

“I don’t know what picked his interest… but I’m afraid there is nothing I can do right now.” whispered the matriarch to the princess.

Zegrath moved back and pointed to two of his lionesses personal guards “Now, let’s see how these weapons and armors fare in a real fight, let the tests begin”

Two of his personal guards moved forward and stopped in front of Attia and Bellica. They looked at Eileen unsure how to proceed.

But before any conversation could be done, Zegrath’s guards attacked without restraint.

The lionesses serving under the clan leader were very powerful and very quick on their movements. If they had fought Attia and Bellica before they met Riou, maybe they had a chance to win.

Without difficulty, both half lionesses easily and quickly disarmed their enemies, restrained them with one hand. Making evident they were even more powerful.

Eileen sighed putting her hand on her head, those two had no idea how to hold back.

Diata could not believe her eyes. It made no sense that someone with such a small presence could be powerful enough to subdue a lioness warrior with such ease.

Zegrath on the other hand was smiling from ear to ear after seeing such a display “Haha! For a half-blood you two are very effective! This gear of yours is far better than I anticipated… the rumors did it no justice!”

He pondered for a moment, approaching Attia and Bellica, inspecting them very closely once again. He looked at their faces and finally at their bodies, especially at their waist and butts. Finally smiling with satisfaction

“Equipment this good is being wasted on you two. You will give them to my guards. Regarding you two, kneel and swear your loyalty to your clan leader, I’m allowing you into our clan so you can personally serve me… I believe even half-bloods like you will be perfect for my nightly needs.”

Attia and Bellica remained in the same place, silently, not a muscle moved. Still with weapons in hand and their heads high.

Their eyes showed more than anger towards the Clan Leader after uttering such words.

Zegrath squinted his eyes “What are you waiting for? Don’t test my patience… strip down this armor and surrender your weapons! Even half-bloods like yourselves should be able to understand the honor it is to join and serve your clan leader!” he controlled his anger and smiled once again in a threatening manner “You wouldn’t want to refuse the ultimate honor that a lioness can receive”

Still the two remained unchanged.

The lion narrowed his eyes, getting even angrier than before. He was not liking their expressions one bit. Their eyes of defiance struck deep within him. “Either you are not lionesses or you do not see me as a worthy leader.” He nodded and smiled “Perhaps a lesson in humility is needed, it will help you see things in a better light” Zegrath unsheathed his sword, a dark blade with yellowish teeth like bones to its edge. Like a broken jaw with its serrated teeth. It was crudely made but menacing looking. A red smoke slowly oozed from it from time to time.

Attia and Bellica growled and showed their teeth, their eyes gleamed with a golden color, nothing like the eyes of a true Lion, but enough to show the state of their emotions, they would most definitely not acknowledge him as their master nor give him nothing.

Noticing the impending battle, Eileen quickly turned to Diata “They’d rather die than to submit, they are pledged to someone!”

Hearing it, the matriarch quickly turned with widened eyes at the princess before shouting “Stop!”

Those words of the human girl resounded on the matriarch's ears. She rushed towards Attia and Bellica, immediately going for their backs. From Attia’s neck, she pulled her armor to peek at her skin.

The face of the matriarch went pale.

It was not easy to see from that angle. But she could notice several small scars around the four lines that intertwined towards a single tattoo at its center, the ancient tribal mark of the pack leader.

The scars around the four lines were quite a few, but still, way too many for Diata to believe it. Each line should have been made by the blade of a defeated lioness. Someone that Attia has won over for the honor of being pledged. A reminder of the wish, resolve, and pain of their sisters that lost the honor, to be forever marked on her back.

The four main lines intertwined symbolized the four sisters that joined together in the pledge. An old tradition that no longer was followed to the letter. Still, it was deeply rooted within the lion society. That very ritual was the reason why a Lioness is required to serve its leader.

What once was an honorable and willing act, generated by a strong instinct and desire, now, under Zegraths long rule, was just an imposed duty.

Diata quickly went at Bellica as well, to confirm it at her back… but to her disbelief, the exact same markings were found, the same number of scars. But in the matriarch’s mind, there couldn’t be that many lionesses outside the plains. That was simply impossible.

“They are pledged!” finally shouted the matriarch to everyone’s shock.

Eileen could see by everyone’s reaction that it was really a big deal.

The matriarch was taken aback, it was centuries since the last lioness had pledged to someone, and even at that time, it was just a symbolic act.

Still, these two pledged themselves and also participated in a pledging battle.

She remembered that such an event only happened once before in recent history. In the times of the white king and the hero of old.

Zegrath growled showing his teeth, extremely angered. He immediately turned around leaving the training grounds followed by his guards. The lionesses shown of surprise and even disbelief at Attia and Bellica as they were leaving.

The lion leader rushed through the corridors and entered his private room in the clan’s house. Away from everyone’s eyes, he punched the solid stone wall that cracked over his strength.

He burned with envy, “Grimas!” he shouted.

Quickly, a younger lion entered his room and stood straight by the door.

“Who is this that they had pledged themselves to? Do you know?”

He promptly responded “By what I heard, it must be their mercenary leader… another half-blood”

“Bah! I should've known, another half-blood… they may look like us but they know nothing of tradition and power” he paused for a moment “Is he here?”

“No, he stayed behind to guard some human trader they were escorting”

“Serving a human? Petty work… To think half-bloods would pledge themselves and even deny my invitation. They must really think he is stronger than me!” said Zegrath in envy.

Grimas nodded “They just don’t know better… they are not from here, it is even said that the human girl is the leader of the females. They have no notion of true strength.”

“I can see that… but female leaders don’t matter. What I can’t believe is how well equipped they were… Once they come to know me, I’m sure they won’t deny me a second time.”

“Do you wish to challenge this leader of theirs?”

Zegrath nodded “ I’m sure they will follow me if I show them my strength… I will show them what dominance really is”

Grimas added “Speaking of which, we received another collar from the front, if you wish, we could use it right away.”

Zegrath was not too excited. “I said I needed an Argonian mind stone. A collar won’t satisfy me anymore. I need her to tell me how to use that damn sword, the collar is useless in that regard! If her disciple can use it, there must be a secret behind it. I will be invincible with both magical weapons” an idea began to form in his head and a smile appeared on his face.

He turned to Grimas “This human girl? Is she really stronger than the other two?”

“She is clearly the leader of the three and by what we heard from our men, she is also a disciple of Therese”

Zegraths eyes widened in surprise and joy “You should have told me that first! Hahaha! First a filthy wolf and now a human… Well, they make good pets after all. Therese was always soft with the inferior. I bet she will think twice once she sees both her disciples kneeling down to me” He then smiled to himself “I just had an idea about the male, just release the dogs on him. With his death, those two will be more prone to listen to me. And about the collar, get it ready, we will be using it after all”

Grimas brought his hand to his chest before leaving the room.

------------------------------------

Diata, Eileen, Attia, and Bellica were talking in a room, privately. The Matriarch was analyzing the markings on their backs.

“Tell me, how did this happen? Were you forced or tricked in any way?” asked the matriarch, but Attia and Bellica were resolute in their decision.

“Master never forced us to do anything, he didn’t even know,” replied Bellica to her.

Diata was doubtful “He didn’t know? Are you telling me you pledge to a male that didn’t even know what you were doing?”

They nodded. Eileen seemed curious to know what happened too.

“That’s unbelievable… I can’t help but think this male has tricked you into it and has been using you. To pledge to someone, that's inconceivable nowadays!”

“No, he is not like that! He is not even...” Bellica was quickly interrupted by Eileen that realized what she was about to say “I think what Bellica is trying to tell you, is that he is so unbelievably strong that they moved on impulse on it”

Diata nodded “So you don’t sleep in the same bed as him? Does he force you to… quench his urges?” Eileen’s ears raised slightly after hearing that. The cunning matriarch immediately picked up her interest in the question and smiled.

“Of course not! He doesn't even allow us to sleep in the same house, he doesn’t even allow us to watch over him during his sleep” replied Attia.

“And the only order he really gives us is to take time away from him,” added Bellica.

Attia nods at Bellica “But we wish to stay with him at every moment, but he likes his privacy and forces us to have our own places… sometimes he even schedules time that we must do something else and be away from him.”

Bellica was about to say something else but stopped, glancing at Eileen’s menacing look, they were speaking too much already. There was no need to disclose information that was not asked.

The matriarch noticed it all, but still, she simply couldn’t understand that relationship with their master. If that was true, if they were not forced or tricked, there was no way in her mind that they would pledge themselves on their own. What could have compelled these young lionesses to do such an extreme act, willingly?

She looked at Eileen for some answers. But she just shook her head “That happened before I even met these two, I would never let them do something like this”

“Queen is too mean, want him all to herself. That’s not fair to the others!” Attia suddenly let it out, but quickly regretted her words. She puts her hands on her mouth, quite surprised herself that they even came out.

Eileen looked at her with a glaring expression. Attia shook her head not knowing how to explain what just happened. Diata looked at the two briefly and just smirked, promptly continuing on her questioning.

“But I saw the markings, there were quite a few. How many lionesses are in this village you came from? Did you really have to battle for the right to pledge?”

They nodded “All of the females that had some of the lion traits fought for the privilege, but we won.” replied Attia proudly nodding, baffling the matriarch.

“But I can’t understand it, just why would you do such a thing?” questioned Diata.

Attia looked at Bellica “We fought him and then we met him… after that, everyone just knew. There was just no one like him, we all could tell it. And everyone with the lion traits felt the same way.”

Bellica nodded as Attia continued “We gathered with the other females that very same night after meeting him. We talked amongst ourselves, we knew by tradition only 4 could do it and everyone was certain they wanted to pledge. So we had to fight for the honor. Me, Bellica, Fabilla and Gadora won and the next day we were already serving him”

Diata put her hand to her head “Four of you?” she couldn’t help but laugh at such preposterous history, she blamed their innocence and reclusion from the world for their exaggerated ways. Their village must have remained unknown for too long and lost contact with reality. The young lionesses must have been swept by a sudden sense of awe and duty when they saw a male from the outside of their community.

“You just didn’t know any better” realized Diata. “You were too naive… but it is understandable since you grew outside the clan and the plains. At least, I’m satisfied that this male hasn’t taken advantage of your innocence, so far at least”

Diata sighed concerned “But knowing Zegrath, he won’t let this slide so easily. He seems interested in your equipment at first, but now it's a matter of honor. He won’t accept it and will make a point to show who is the stronger one and worthy of a pledge. Knowing him, he will challenge your master and then he will come for you two again, I’m afraid there is nothing we can do to prevent that.”

Attia and Bellica looked at each other and laughed open-heartedly. Leaving Diata in utter surprise and confusion. She turned to Eileen, but she smiled and shrugged “They don’t think their master can lose”

The matriarch frowned “You don’t know Zegrath, he has the Jaw of Havoc, a sword that can go through any defenses, be it magic or physical. It will cut through and render all magic or mana useless. There is no winning against him” said the matriarch concerned.

Attia was still laughing “This Zegrath… he wouldn’t stand a chance even if Master fought with his arms tied to his back and his eyes closed!”

Bellica nodded vigorously, finding it an awfully funny and truthful statement. Both laughed and smiled without a concern in the world.

If the matriarch hadn’t seen their power against Zegrath’s bodyguards, she’d believe that the two were completely mad. But she knew better than that, after all, they were just too young and naive to have any idea how the world was. Unfortunately, they just didn’t know how terrifying Zegrath could be.

“Well, nonetheless I will ask for someone to bring your master here, I wish to meet him before anything happens” said the Matriarch standing up.

“Eileen, come, walk with me for a moment”

-----------------------

Walking through the corridors and halls, the Matriarch addressed Eileen once again.

“This master of theirs, must be really something else. I believe you know him well too”

“Yes” replied Eileen with a smile.

“In your eyes, how he truly is?”

“He is a good man, strong and very kind,” she replied.

The matriarch smiled “I take you are interested in him too? Is that why you follow him?”

Eileen raised her eyebrows in surprise, Diata was clearly referring to Arthas since Riou was just a trader “Not at all, I’m actually engaged with the trader that we are working with” she quickly tried to amend things.

The matriarch seemed surprised but nodded “Ahh, so that’s the connection, I was wondering about how your group ended up working with a human. He must be very wealthy to be able to hire those three and even arrange such a marriage.” Diata nodded a few times and then looked at Eileen with a smirk “I’m not too familiar with human culture, but it’s understandable to be attracted to the strong. You must have strong instincts for a human, like a lioness. So you shouldn’t be ashamed nor hide it. It’s a very natural thing to happen between males and females over here. Maybe that’s something for you to consider before moving on with your arrangement with the trader” said the matriarch.

Disregarding such a comment, Eileen quickly changed the topic “Is that why the clan leader has so many lionesses under him? I didn’t know it was a tradition”

The matriarch sighed “No, the lionesses here are only required to serve the king when he is in a battle. But he grew old and still has his loyal warriors with him. Lionesses from another generation. So he didn’t request any replacements. The leader of the clan doesn't require protection, he hardly goes to the front. But Zegrath sees things differently, he feels he is entitled because of his power and heritage. Sometimes I feel he thinks he is already king. And since he became the leader using that sword. No one can go against it… no without risking being stripped of your honor and banished into the human lands… if you are lucky enough.”

Eileen nodded, understanding the predicament “He called you grandmother, so Zegrath is...”

“His father is my son, the king Goyvar.”

“So he is the prince after all… he is indeed in the line of succession”

“He is, but mostly because he is the second more powerful in the kingdom. Since he found that weapon he is making sure he is the next in line for the crown. Forcing the lioness support by serving him is just one of his plays, he has been undermining many lions and others that could threaten that position.”

“Don’t the lionesses have any saying on it? At all?”

“No, by tradition the word of the clan leader is only beneath the king himself. And the king is fighting a war. His attention is to the frontlines and the kingdom's wellbeing. He doesn’t have time to deal with internal issues of a single clan, he hardly returns from the front either.”

“Must be tough for you Matriarch Diata”

The matriarch smiled at her “I know Zegrath all too well. He will not let this be. He will go after your pack leader and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.” she paused. Turning very seriously towards Eileen, looking straight into her eyes, “You seem to understand the world better than those two, so I wanted to ask you. Do you really think this master of theirs can win against someone like Zegrath, he is a battle-hardened, trained Lion that has a mythical weapon in his possession.”

Eileen smiled “I don’t think Arthas would lose either” replied Eileen without any concern.

Diata shook her head “That’s impossible my dear, someone strong enough to beat Zegrath would be known to all. His prowess would be told from one land to the other… he can’t just have appeared from nowhere”

“I know…” Said Eileen plainly with a smile, Diata could tell that she clearly knew much more than she let out.

The matriarch nodded looking at her, she has been observing the human girl with care since her arrival. Eileen showed elegance within every movement, her beauty rivaled the paintings in the very halls they stood and her fighting skills were the real deal. She couldn’t help but compare the human to a Lioness. She had never seen someone like her before.

Eileen was far from ordinary in every aspect. And the more the Matriarch talked to her, the better her impression of the girl became. She was clever and was clearly interested in the Lion’s tradition.

After some other topics, the matriarch nodded “Very well my dear, it’s getting late… Let’s try to avoid Zegrath for now so tomorrow, I will take you all to see Therese in the cages, it’s a bit far from here and we can use the time away from here”

Eileen was patiently waiting for that moment to come, “Thank you Matriarch! I really want to see her”

“Please child, you can call me Diata”

---------------------------

Riou was reaching the coast where the Nords had made their base. The way was filled by the sights of many different beasts. The variety of the fauna of the plains was really something.

Luckily, his concealment spell worked even better in this world and the beasts were far less sensitive. They couldn’t detect him passing by.

The temperature increased as he moved, the mild climate of the capital was long gone now. The vegetation changed and he could see the heat waves coming from the ground. The vegetation was mostly dry and just a few species of trees seemed able to survive in that environment.

Reaching the village on the coast, it seemed awfully similar to the one he found when first encountering Arthas and the others. Wood and pelt tents with mud walls.

The villagers were much different than what he expected, several different kinds of beastmen were living there. Their skin was pale, closer to a shade of gray and even green tones. They reminded Riou of reptiles, they had no hair and their skin seemed thick and some even had scales. Their suffering due to the nearby war front was evident, the village looked more like a refugee camp.

Riou estimated that as the war advanced the survivors were moving north, resulting in this village on the coast.

There were traits of lizards, snakes, and other reptile kinds. They didn’t seem to bother with Riou’s presence, assuming he was another Northman and continued with their lives as he moved through the place.

At the end of the village, he saw a broken tent away from the others. Inside that place, a few children were sharing a small piece of old bread. Looking at them, he was reminded of Leona, they all had the wolf trait as her.

they were all dirty looking, thin and frightful looking.

Riou couldn’t help but think these clans were being cast aside, shunned for some reason. There was no reason for them to be here as there were plenty of other places to relocate them closer to Khargaz.

He picked up a bunch of gold coins from his pouch and approached the tent. The kids were shocked when they saw him coming at them. Some were ready to flee by the cracks and openings on the walls.

Riou just smiled and looked at the kids, stopping by the door to not startle them. He put down his hand leaving the coins for them there, he just waved and then left.

The kids rushed to pick up the coins and piled up one on top of the other at the door, while looking at the strange human walking away, they couldn’t believe he left those coins behind.

At the edge of the village, near the coast, he could see many boats on the sea. On the beach, tents and many north soldiers could be seen.

The soldiers seemed agitated, the camp itself seemed almost empty. When a young soldier was passing by Riou in a rush, he blocked the soldier’s passage “What’s going on? What’s the rush?”

“We received news of another ambush, lord Camus was captured! We are mobilizing to bring them back!” Riou looked around, all the soldiers he could see were bandaged up, some were even bleeding while putting on their armor. They were in no condition to fight.

“Where is Thorwald?” The soldier looked at a large, improvised tent not too far away.

He went to the large tent, a field hospital, it was packed with soldiers laying down on improvised beds. Some were directly into the ground. Others were already dead, being removed to give the place to another one. The healers were rushing from one side to the other, they didn’t seem to know magic and relied on herbs, potions, and other substances for healing them.

Riou finally found Thorwald laid down on one of those beds. He was very pale and had a spear pierced through the side of his abdomen. Some healers were trying to help him, trying to find a way to remove the weapon without killing him.

Riou was trying to approach, but they were just packed around the king “Godammit… open space for me!” he shouted at them.

“What? Who are you?” said the healers close by looking at him.

Riou flashed his ring at them and forced his way to Thorwald.

“A Brahm? What are you…”

Riou glanced at his wound, the spear was keeping Thorwald alive, preventing the remaining blood from gushing out. “Prepare to remove this spear on my mark”

Riou put his hand on the King’s belly, close to where the spear had perforated. “I’m ready, pull it out now”

The healers looked at each other fearfully. Not sure if they should for that would certainly kill the king.

“He will die if you don’t do it, at least let me try to save him” The healers knew that to be true, but none seemed to want to be the one to kill the king.

“We can’t do it… we can’t kill the king like that”

Thorwald began to wake up with the commotion. “What are you all yapping about?”

“This man, he wants to remove the spear, my lord”

Thorwald glanced at the man “You… hahaha, *blergh*” Thorwald mouth fills up with blood and he spits it to the side “That damn Lucian was right after all… he told me you’d be back”

“There is no time to chat right now… we need to deal with this,” Riou pointed to the spear.

“Can you do something about it?”

“I can try… it’s certainly better than leaving it there”

“Very well then…” Thorwald prepared himself, he took a deep breath “Pull it off” he looked at the healers.

Two men grabbed the spear “1, 2…” and pulled it quickly causing Thorwald to grunt silently, enduring the pain.

Riou’s hand promptly shone in a green color as the spear was removed, closing up the wound right after it left his body, in an instant. He sighed “He lost a lot of blood, I can’t do much about that.”

The healers couldn’t believe such a spell existed and looked dumbfounded as the wound closed itself.

“You have my thanks for helping me, boy”

“I don’t need your thanks, your blessing would be enough,” Riou smirked at him.

“Eileen?” he smiled satisfied, knowing by Riou’s expression that she was well.

“Now I just need to find Elise”

Riou shook his head “No need to, both are safe and sound in Allard. And the plague is gone too, Elrik and Hanna are also alive and well, they must be taking back the kingdom by now”

“What?” Thorwald widened his eyes in surprise “You are not lying to me? That can’t be true… I heard they were sick and that nobody could resist that plague!” He pondered for a moment

“I’m not lying, you should go there and see for yourself”

He nodded “Did Lucian send you?”

Riou smiled “He did, indirectly… just like he likes to do things”

Thorwald nodded and his mood had greatly improved. He sat down, the pain was gone and the hole in his abdomen was completely healed. He looked at it, almost not believing it himself.

“See? Everything can be cured in this world. Now you listen to me. Pull back your army, get back to your kingdom, and recover your strength. Your fight can’t end here, we are far from ending Argos”

“I can’t! We need to win this war!”

“Old man… listen to what I’m saying. Your army here is only helping Argo’s plans. You are dancing in their palm. You lost most of your men already, your tactic isn’t working. You need to ally yourself with the beastmen or leave this place at once.”

“Ha! Those treacherous scoundrels? They’ve been robbing our supplies for months! They flee the front when they see we are attacking! They leave us alone to die! We can’t trust them, there is no way we can ally ourselves to that kind of honorless bastards.”

Riou sighed “I don’t care what happened so far, the fact is, if you continue this way, you will all die and your kingdom will fall once Argos defeats the beastmen. They are not being held back as you believe. Argos is just waiting for you to be weak enough to pass through the beastmen and go after Allard that will be alone to defend itself.”

The king pondered for a moment “Is that true? Can Argos really break through the Beastmen front at will?”

“They most certainly can, I just don’t know what they are waiting for, but judging by their capabilities so far, it’s a very safe assumption. The mages I’ve seen so far had many powerful spells and I think they still have many more. They haven’t shown their hand yet.”

“Dammit! But we can’t leave! Camus is still there, he stayed back so we could escape… I can’t leave him behind”

“Where did this happen?”

“To the south, on the front near their fortress. Those Argonians have taken many of our men to that fortress.”

“Very well, prepare to leave this place, I will go save him”

“You? How?”

“I have a very good beastmen mercenary team that I hired, they are specialized in infiltration and rescue. Don’t worry, I will get Camus back… in the meanwhile. Get everyone ready to leave this place. Return home, learn from your mistakes, and be prepared to fight again. ”

Thorwald finally nodded “Save Camus and we will leave...” Riou nodded and was about to leave when Thorwald grabbed his arm.

“If you save him… you will have more than my blessing”

Riou smiled “If he is alive, I will get him back, don’t worry”

Without delay Riou started his travel to the southwest, his goal was to follow the mountain ranges to the south and he would reach the Argonian lands.

A small forest to his right was the last of green vegetation he could see from the savannah, for the terrain began to change into a desert as he moved farther south, smaller thorny bushes, cactus, and leafless short trees were the only sight now.

The weather was getting even warmer, a war done in such conditions would be harsh to the soldiers’ energy and ability to recover. Water sources were vital for an army to survive there.

Crossing those lands, Riou could see what hundreds of years of war had caused in the place, armors, weapons rusting away. On the soil, a permanent stain of blood could be seen, the earth was of a dark red, blackened, and lacking all life. The war graveyard that extended itself until his eyes could see in the distance

Skeletons were still left inside their rusted armors upon the bloodstained earth, an eerie vision that certainly affected the morale of the troops that fought on it.

He continued on his way and finally found another clump of mountains. Luckily, there were no signs of the Argonian Army anywhere nearby. Riou had no idea where they were at that moment and decided to take a look from above to gather his bearings.

As he reached the mountains, he quickly found tracks of a recent party that moved nearby.

He moved quickly through the stone terrain, following the tracks upwards, they were many and very easy to spot. The path led quite high and deep into those mountains. He looked on the terrain below, but was still unable to see any signs of the enemy army close by, just the massive graveyard.

After a while following the tracks, Riou began to sense movement, there was someone nearby and directly in front of his path. Adopting a more stealthy approach he went to take a look.

He saw soldiers moving about wearing the Northmen armor and weapons. He smiled to himself, he seemed to have found some survivors.

He was about to appear to them when something caught his attention. For survivors, these soldiers were quite well. No wounds or signs of fatigue, they seemed well fed as well while their armors seemed quite tattered and bloodstained.

Using his stealth spell he continued, passing undetected through the guards and their improvised camp on the mountain. Deep within their defenses, he stopped, concerned by what he saw.

Waiting inside a cave nearby, soldiers in black armor and undead lurked about.

“An ambush, to whom?” Riou investigated a bit further, and noticed many crates and barrels, carefully set to be easily viewed from the surroundings being guarded by Northmen.

“I’m not liking this.” With silent and deadly movements, he approached one of the Northmen that was standing away from the others. With a touch of his finger the man fell down to the ground without alerting the others nearby.

Riou pulled the helmet and some of the clothes on his chest. On his skin, there was an Argonian rune carved on his flesh. Nothing like the crude ones he saw in Allard, this was perfectly done, seamlessly added to the body.

Completely unnoticed, Riou sneaked to the cave once again. There, he created a barrier that quickly closed the entrance up.

“Cloud of Fire” he spoke. Inside of the cave a cloud of a white substance formed and instantly it ignited with fire. Burning intensely and expanding. From the ceiling to the ground and to every single crack and cranny. Everything was taken by a fire that burned quickly and at a very high temperature.

There was no escape from it, everything inside the cave was burnt to a crisp, undead or not, in a matter of instants.

Once the threat was silently dealt with, it was time to take care of the remaining forces outside.

“So… care to tell me what is going on here?” he simply asked, approaching the crates.

The soldiers spoke in an intelligible tongue, Riou deduces it was Argonian “Great… just great, you guys don’t speak the common tongue or beastmen?”

“Who are you?” asked one of the soldiers pulling his sword.

“Ahh… good, now we can talk. Care to explain to me what’s going on here?”

The guards rushed to attack Riou, “Watch out, I’m in a fiery mood today” he blasted them with fireballs. Eliminating all attackers but one that talked in beastmen tongue.

He watched as his companions died in flames, instantly, right by him.

Riou moved towards the supplies and looked inside

“Grain?” He opened the other ones. It was all food supply for the armies.

“So you are the ones stealing food”

“Heretic! You will die a thousand deaths by the hand of our God!”

“Sure… sure, now answer me. What’s the point of all of this? Why are you holding out the war?”

The man smiled and began reciting some strange chant. Riou immediately constricted his throat for him to stop.

“What’s the reason for dragging it out like that? I know you could have taken Khargaz by now… so what’s the goal here?”

But the man just smiled, he was resolute, he put his hand on his chest. The rune carved on his flesh began to glow at a very quick rate, his body began to inflate rapidly.

“Fuck...!” The moment Riou put up a barrier, the man exploded in a green flame that consumed everything around him turning it to ashes. The food, the camp, and even the stones nearby.

“Goddammit… this shit is strong, they could wipe out dozens of soldiers exploding like this on a battlefield. No wonder the beastmen are struggling.”

He looked around at the damage. “These Argonians aren’t messing up, I won’t be able to collect intel like this.”

Riou went down the mountain and back to the massive graveyard. He moved south looking for the frontline of battle. It was probably a bit more south from there.

Following down, he found a small oasis, even the water was reddened. Still, water was a rare resource. He notices a lot of recent movement there, lot’s of horse footprints and footsteps on the dirt near the water.

Following the tracks to the south, he hoped they would guide him to the right place.

---------------------------

The tracks continued, following the mountain range and then turned slightly east. They were heading towards the Argonian fortress city. The stepping stone for the Argonian invasion on the beast lands.

Finally, he had found everything he was looking for. He could see the fortress in the distance and a massive encampment of beast men, very far away from the Argonian city but on top of the stained soil.

Between the two, clear signs of recent fights.

Riou looked at the two and decided to take a look at the fortress as he had no business with the Beast men for the moment.

As he moved stealthily towards it, he realized the terrain advantage it had.

“Shit… everything in front of this fortress is a kill zone'' thought Riou as he watched the high black walls of the fortress with plenty of view of the nearby land. There was no place to hide or take any shelter. Mages and archers could descend hell upon any invading forces that dared to come close enough.

No wonder why the Beastmen could never take that place without mages.

Riou moved to the walls unnoticed and quickly jumped on top of it. Strangely, there were no watchers, so he looked at the place below.

Soldiers were everywhere. Weapons and armors being moved in bundles from one place to another. Dead bodies were piled up in the open field while some mages were turning them into undead.

Some of the undead were moving around and carrying resources from one side to the other. Hundreds of them just stood still in lines with weapons in hand, waiting for a command while close by the entrance gates.

The buildings were all of a dark gray and brownish color. They looked roundish in their corners and were rather simple looking from the outside. Round holes as doors on the large buildings inside of its walls, the only thing smaller were the many underground entries that could be seen everywhere. Round trapdoors on the ground that opened and closed on their own as someone approached them.

Riou moved on top of the walls trying to have a better look at the place. But soon he noticed strange red spheres held by spiked supports, they were everywhere, deeper into the fortress.

He approached one with care, and suddenly, the orb began to glow brightly in a red color. Riou instantly moved back, hiding himself completely.

Moments after, two undead with red eyes landed near the glowing crystal. They were strong-looking and all stitched up, they were not rotting away like most of the undead below. They were made from beastmen parts and they seemed well taken care of despite the grayish skin tone. Both were well equipped with armor and weapons. They were actively looking for an intruder.

The crystal began to turn back to normal and they just jumped down the walls, returning to whatever they were doing.

A loud metallic noise was heard from down below. A huge carriage was leaving one of the big buildings. It was taking metal cages outside. Strangely, it had no wheels but it floated right above the ground while being pulled by undead horses.

Inside of the large cage, Riou saw many human soldiers, prisoners that were being taken somewhere else.

---------------------------

The prisoner carriage moved fast, the undead horses were at an astonishing speed heading south. No driver nor anything was guarding it. The Argonians were probably confident that past the fortress, no enemies would dare to enter.

The carriage went southwest towards the other mountain range there. Tall and old mountains that stretched themselves far away into the distance. When they were far away enough from the fortress, Riou made his move.

He rushed, accompanying the speed of the carriage and then jumping on top of it, startling all prisoners.

With a shot of light from his fingers, the undead horses became just corpses once again and the carriage slowly stopped.

He jumped down and broke the lock, freeing the prisoners.

“Come on, you are free now!”

One by one the prisoners came out, they were wearing what remained of their clothes after their armors and weapons were taken from them.

As the last prisoner jumped out of the carriage, Riou smiled and saw who it was. The Northman quickly spoke to Riou after seeing his ring “You’re a Brahm? That’s impossible, only Lucian and his son wears these rings”

Riou smiled seeing the prisoner in front of him “Well, it seems I got lucky, finally… This will speed things up, I was just looking for you, lord Camus”

“You know my name?”

“I know your daughter too, Elise. And I can tell you she is safe and sound, waiting for your return in Allard.”

“She is?! But how...” Camus was even more relieved to hear that than to have been saved from captivity.”

“I’ve seen her before coming here and yes, I’ve already talked to Thorwald as well. You are to return immediately, I want you to leave the beastmen plains at once and return home to recover and rebuild your army. The fight will only get worse from now on and you can’t fall here.”

“I can’t return… Most of my men are in captivity in that damn mining camp. I need to free them!”

“What mining camp?”

“South from here, it's the place where they take all live prisoners to, we have to free them”

You and 20 prisoners, in rags and without a single weapon, against a mining camp dominated by Argonian soldiers? I don’t think so”

“Damn, but there must be something we can do… Can’t you do something? I saw you moving… you even opened that lock made of that strange metal. You can fight like a beastmen, don’t you? Perhaps you can convince some of them to attack the mining camp and free the prisoners. They have their people there too.”

“And there it goes my luck. Damn, fine, I will see what I can do, if you promise to get out of here. Go north and stay clear from the Argonian fortress… you will reach the Beastmen camp if you follow this direction. There is no battle going on, for now, go there and ask for their help, I will meet you there later.”

“The beast men camp? They will never help us!” Camus was reluctant. “No, we can help you take down the camp”

“You can’t do anything the way you are right now, you need to rest and recover these wounds. Go now”

Camus looked around and nodded “We can help take down the mining camp! If we go together we might have a chance, we could distract them and...”

Riou suddenly pointed his finger up, a stone left the ground and levitated to right on top of it. Suddenly it was surrounded by water, then lightning began to zap around within, and then it just caught on fire.

He quickly pointed it to the ground nearby and shot it with such speed that it seemed the stone vanished into the ground, creating a hole that went deep within the earth.

“You were saying?” Riou smiled at Camus.

“You are a mage?” Camus nodded in a mix of defeat and surprise “You can move like the Beastmen and also use magic? How is that even possible?”

Riou nodded “You better off returning, I can take care of everything on my own… you would only hold me back”

Camus finally nodded “Fine, we will ask the Beastmen for help as you instructed, but I don’t think they will help us. They will lock us down and sent us back to Khargaz to their dungeon”

“Still better than hanging around here. Don’t worry too much. Just tell them to wait for more prisoners. I will bring them when I’m done with the mining camp. They will be more helpful if they see we freed their kind as well”

“I don’t know how to thank you… what’s your name, noble mage? And what’s your connection to the Brahms?”

He smiled “My name is Riou, and I am a Brahm, well, adopted. You know, you were there when it happened, uncle Camus”

Camus widened his eyes “That can’t be… that boy is gone, he died back in Thanes. You can’t be him!”

Riou showed him the ring once again “Did Lucian adopt anyone else? This ring should be proof enough… Or better yet” Riou pulled his black dagger from a hidden sheath beneath his clothes.

Camus looked at it and nodded with a surprised expression “This dagger… it can’t be, is it really you!? Damn, I don’t know where you were or what you were doing all this time, but you really appeared at a good moment just now”

“You were lucky, you better thank Eileen. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her request to come to these lands. Now go, we aren’t far from the beastmen camp, a couple of hours in that direction will get you there. In the meanwhile, I will see if I can find that mining camp and destroy it once and for all.”

“Wait… do you have news of Eileen? What about Allard?”

Riou smiled “Eileen, your sister, and your daughter are all well and waiting for your return”

“Elise? You found her?”

“She should be in Allard’s capital with king Elrik and Hanna waiting for you. Everything has been taken care of… even the plague is being cured”

Camus' expression lightened “Thank you Riou, I won’t forget this. I will repay you somehow!”

“Just go and make sure to return to Thorwald. You can repay me by helping your father to leave this land and get you all back to Thanes. Enough lives were lost here unnecessarily”

--------------

After a long way south, near the western mountain ranges, Riou finally found the mining camp close to the desert entrance, deep carved into the mountains. The desert entrance was between two mountain ranges, like a giant open door into the white sands.

The mining camp was huge, the mining clearly went on for centuries and most of the mountain where it was located was gone. Its entrails were eaten up completely. There were many tunnels everywhere, like a parasite eating it’s way through the earth, searching for its meal.

As Riou was told, there were many prisoners there, Northmen and beastmen alike. Some beastmen were very old, older than anyone Riou had ever seen in the cities before. They seemed to be mining crystals and ores from the rocks, taking them to the front where it could be easily gathered and taken elsewhere.

Outside, in the open ground there were places with tools, wheelbarrows, and wood beams.

Hundreds of prisoners could be seen working on the mining camp under the constant watch of the Argonian undead guards.

Riou notices the camp went around the carved mountain and wanted to check the other side before making a move.

He moved higher through the nearby mountain, searching for a good spot to observe the camp. He found an unnatural plateau near the top of the place, like someone carved a corner into the stone of the mountain, leaving a flat wall and a flat ground. Riou used it to better move around.

But as he was walking on top of it, he suddenly felt a presence nearby. The shadows on the stone wall right next to him seemed to move briefly, gathering on their own, catching his attention immediately.

Riou observed it cautiously until a large red eye appeared in the shadows, looking straight at him. He sighed in relief “It’s you… don’t startle me like that” he said, recognizing the spell, but suddenly, the shadows from beneath him quickly wrapped him completely, everything went black for a moment and then they vanished on their own.

Riou looked around as he realized he was not in the same place anymore.

He was now inside a massive open cave, many open holes on the ceiling and the sides that let him see the blue sky. Inside of it, many stone arcs of all sizes made an exuberant and intricate pathing within the large cave.

The sun shined through the many large holes on the ceiling and walls reflecting on the smooth stones that created the place.

He felt the unusual cold breeze and frowned as he looked around the place.

The stones inside the cave were smooth, there were no rough edges anywhere. The rocks seemed dense and polished, having a white, cream color to them. Wherever the sunlight touched, it shined brightly which helped to keep the whole place illuminated.

The cave was massive as were the stone structures holding it in place. Riou couldn’t tell if that place was natural or not.

But he also knew he was not alone, he could hear movement nearby, things were approaching him from all directions.

Dragons suddenly appeared, walking and landing into the cave. They all stared at him, taking a place on the arches and stones.

Big, small, old, and young. Many were their colors and tones, brown, golden, green, gray, red. After all of them had seemed to arrive and filled the cave with their presence, one more came from the darkest corner. It was black as the night and way bigger than any other dragon there.

Riou smiled but soon his expression changed as he realized from its eyes. That dragon was clearly not the one he was expecting. They were reddish and golden in color.

“Hello?” said Riou trying to measure the situation.

“Silence human, you will speak only when spoken to” one of the dragons from his side spoke in a deep and resounding voice.

The Black Dragon raised its big head showing its long neck while looking at Riou from above “Can you all smell the black flame within the human?” asked the black dragon.

All the others looked at Riou in silence.

“The thief has returned and shall be dealt with” said another dragon to his other side.

Riou raised his hand “Wait a moment, what do you mean thief? This is the first time I’m here… I didn’t steal anything”

The Black dragon’s head turned to Riou “You dare to speak again? Do you even dare to lie? We can smell the black flame within you”

Riou smiled “I didn’t say that all I’m saying is that I never stole anything and that I’ve never been here before, that’s the truth.”

“The flame was stolen centuries ago, but you will pay for your kind transgression. As it is clear you have partaken in its possession” said the black dragon as a black fire briefly appeared from its nostrils.

Riou raised his hands once again “Okay, I get where you are going with this… and it really doesn’t look good for me, but if you let me explain...”

“There is nothing to explain!” the black dragon lowered its head and began to approach Riou slowly, “You think so highly of yourselves, expanding your borders, breeding without control, killing our food and desecrating our mountains! You don’t even realize just how lucky your kind is… we should take the land back from you, eradicating this plague called humankind.”

“That promise must be broken!”, “He didn’t have the right to speak for all of us!”, “Let us feed on the human flesh once more!” several dragons spoke their minds over the place.

Riou tried to calm down the black dragon “Come on, there is no need for this, right? I didn’t know humans couldn’t have the black flame when I asked for it. Obviously, I was not warned about it. I’m sure we can talk and reach a civilized resolution”

“That’s enough talking!” Said the dragon for Riou’s surprise. “There is no escape from this judgment”

Riou shook his head “No, I won’t escape but I won’t die either… I mean, I’d rather avoid fighting dragons whenever I can.”

“Silence! I shall pass your death sentence now!” the dragon lowered his head and showed him his teeth, approaching him full of intent to devour him whole.

Riou showed his palm, urging the dragon to wait. He quickly while he pulled the dagger that was hidden inside his clothes.

The black dragon was close enough to smell it. The dragon suddenly seemed very confused while looking at the dagger for a few moments, but when it saw the purple flame dancing within its metal it quickly moved back and away from it.

“This can’t be… where did you get this flame?” the black quickly asked steps away now.

“I said it already, I was given to me by a dragon”

“Preposterous, the owner of that flame would never surrender it! You must have stolen it as well!” the black dragon said it, and all the other dragons seemed to agree with it.

“I will kill you and then destroy this abomination of a weapon!”

“Wait, wait, wait! What kind of trial is this? You just say that I’m in the wrong but I can prove my innocence!”

The dragon squinted its eyes and let out a bit of flame from its mouth “You can prove?”

“Yeah, look at the enchanting, it’s dragon enchanting. No human can do it”

“That only means you stole this weapon!” shouted one of the dragons from above. “Humans lie, death to the thief!”

Riou once again addressed them “Come on… at least look at it!”

“Nonsense! No dragon would get near such a foul weapon!” another one spoke. “It’s a trap! The black flame cannot be restrained by no metal! It will break free the moment we get near it!” said the other one.

“Oh boy… you guys are making a mistake here. I’m telling you, I’m innocent. I can prove it, let me call...”

“Enough!” shouted the black dragon. “Very well human, let’s put your claim to vote. Anyone here wish to vouch for this human plea? He claims the black flame was given to him, willingly while he crafted a weapon capable of restraining it” said the black dragon looking at others there.

No dragon moved or said a word.

The dragon nodded “Unfortunately, it seems we all can see through your lies. For all we know you have stolen this weapon, and using or possessing the sacred fire of dragons, is a crime punishable by death” said the dragon devilishly approaching Riou from the side, trying to avoid the dagger in its hand.

Riou smiled back at the dragon, “So… let me understand this, are you saying that a dragon could vouch for me? Any dragon would do? Right?”

The Black dragon squinted its red eyes unsure of what he was planning, curious it replied “Yes, if any of us speak for you, I won’t eat you.”

“That solves our problem then...”

The black dragon twitched its head “All dragons are here and we all have heard your plea. Nothing else you say will change our judgment”

Riou looked around “No, there is definitely one missing… where is Noctis then?”

“What!?” the black dragon was shocked to hear that name.

“You know, the Shadow Bringer, firstborn of the Dragon race… blah, blah, blah, something else that I don’t remember, there were so many titles, you know? Is there a need for that many?” he said to everyone’s surprise.

“How do you know that name?”

Riou looked around and didn’t see the black dragon appearing “Come on, Noctis Ardwing!” he shouted looking into the darkest corner of that cave.

Every dragon froze in place when they heard that name, their fear was evident on every scale of their body. Some ducked down, others slithered away into hiding.

The black dragon with red eyes stood up shouting furiously “You dare speak that name in these sacred chambers?! Death will not be enough to atone for your transgressions!”

“Really? That too is a crime here?”

But from the back of the hall, in its darkest and biggest wall, the shadows began to swirl and a massive purple dragon eye appeared, much bigger than the red one that Riou saw before being brought there.

All dragons began to move even further back from it as quickly as they could.

“It can’t be… you came here to answer the call of a human?” said the black dragon, noticing the presence entering the room.

The eye vanished and the shadows took over the whole place, obscuring even the sun. A humongous black dragon’s head began to emerge from the wall, covered in shadows.

It was the first time Riou saw that form on Noctis.

He was at the very least twice as big as the other black dragon, full of sharp scales on its head, he looked very old and very mean.

Riou now realized the tooth piece he got in Thanes was nothing more than a small scratch on the tip of one of his teeth.

Noctis wouldn’t even fit inside the great abode of stones if the rest of its body came out of the wall. He’d destroy the place with his sheer size if he wanted to.

After his head passed through completely, his eyes roamed the room, slowly looking at every dragon there.

He then looked at the black dragon, everyone was in complete and utter silence.

The giant head became a black shadow that slowly turned into Lucien, the human form of the black dragon. He was now able to walk inside the halls properly and went towards Riou and the red-eyed black dragon.

“How long has it been since my last visit? It’s just how I remember it, nothing seems to have changed” said Noctis stopping beside Riou.

The red-eyed black dragon squinted its eyes and looked from above at the two “I didn’t think I’d live to see the mighty Noctis answering to a human call”

Noctis just smirked “You look well Umbra,” the red-eyed black dragon went furious.

In a very quick movement she approached Riou and Noctis with its large head. It could swallow both of them in one bite without even having to chew them. Riou was amazed by the size dragons could get, even more now it was so close that he could see its scales from up close.

“Don’t you dare to talk to me like that, I’m the leader of our kind now!” spoke the red-eyed dragon raising its head once again, looking down at them both.

Noctis held a laugh “Within all this time, you still haven’t changed one bit… what a waste.”

Umbra spouted fire from the nose in anger right above the two “Spare me your lecture, you dare to come here after what you did to all of us… you dare show yourself to save one insignificant human? I should kill you both where you stand!”

Suddenly a deafening, deeper dragon voice erupted from Noctis that assumed a few of the draconic features while still in his human form. Dark Scales appeared in his face and his teeth became sharp as his eyes showed the purple glint of his fire.

“Do not forget whom you’re speaking to... Child” his voice trembled the walls and shook the very ground they stood.

Once again, a dread silence took over the hall.

Riou was impressed, all the dragons looked like children that were scolded by their parents, even Umbra that tried to defy Noctis wasn’t so confident now.

Noctis sighed, calming himself down, returning completely to his human form “If you were mature enough, I’d not even have bothered to come… Daughter of mine”

Riou widened his eyes in surprise, looking at Noctis and then the black dragon in front of him. “Daughter?”

Noctis nodded to him and continued addressing her “You rely too much on your narrow vision of the world, you are blind to the true nature that hides within it. Your lack of experience one day will be your downfall, daughter of mine”

Umbra was doubtful “What can’t I see, Father?” sarcasm could be felt from her tone.

Noctis raised his hand towards Riou “Take this man in front of you for instance. Surrounded by the all-mighty dragons, capable of devouring him, burning him whole with a single breath. And yet, do you sense a single drop of fear in his body? Do you even smell him sweating? Can you see him trembling?”

Umbra remained silent.

Noctis nodded “Did he not speak to you as equals? What human would do such a thing while facing this court”

“Humans are masters of lies, why should we bother or care about what they feel or say?” replied Umbra.

“That’s why he is not a human, not in the sense you know them,” said Noctis.

Umbra was getting angrier again “He looks like a human, he smells like a human… What makes him so important that you even came yourself to save him?” Riou could sense a bit of envy in her tone.

Noctis sighed. He continued in a disappointed tone “You are blind… and words won’t break your resolve to remain wrong.”

“Wrong? I’m not wrong… you are the one that made that pact, you abandoned us to live amongst them and now you come to save them from us! It’s very clear where your allegiance is. You even gave him your flame! Didn’t you?”

“You are wrong”

Noctis walked towards her, menacingly. His face became full of black scales, his eyes showed the purple flame, and even wings sprouted from his back as he stared down into her eyes “The only reason I came here, was to save your sorry scales from your own blind stupidity. You and these poor excuses that dare to call themselves dragonkin” bursts of purple and black fire came out of his mouth as he spoke.

Umbra and all other dragons could not understand what he was saying, nonetheless they didn’t dare to reply to Noctis in that state.

He shook his head, calming down once again and returning to normal “He even showed you his blade, you’ve seen and smelled its flames… and yet, you remained blind to the picture that was painted before you”

“So it’s true, you surrendered your flame to a human?! You are no longer a dragon! You lost your pride! To give such a weapon to a mere human is inconceivable!”

He stared at Umbra “It was a gift” he then smiled at her “After all, what use has a fancy knife to those who have even sharper swords?”

The dragon seemed not to understand what he was talking about.

He sighed “I had so much hope for you Umbra… but after all these centuries you still remain the same. Well, I can’t blame you too much, I once was just like you”

“There is nothing to understand, I should have killed this human the moment I brought him here!”

“You reckless fool!” Noctis’ voice echoed in anger once again “Let me make it very clear to you, to all of you.”

Noctis smiled showing his dragon teeth “You are still alive because of his oddly good nature and the fact he knows me”

Umbra could not accept those words and was about to argue once again. Noctis turned to Riou “Release your presence completely, teach them a lesson”

Riou looked at him “Are you sure? All of it?”

“They can take it”

Riou shrugged “Ok…” and took off his scarf.

And as if the waters of a giant dam had been released, an overflowing pressure suddenly involved the whole dragon chambers. Umbra and the other dragons could feel it on their scales and skin, pressuring them from all directions, an absurd amount of mana was present within that... thing… they were now sure he was not human.

The smaller dragons passed out. The others looked in a mix of fear and astonishment at the being releasing such fearsome power that could rival even the firstborn of their race.

Noctis nodded at him and Riou stopped it, putting on the scarf once again.

“Do you understand now?” asked Noctis.

Umbra couldn’t take her eyes off Riou, she couldn’t believe what she had experienced. “What form of being is this?”

“Now that everything is settled, I will be leaving.” He turned to Umbra once again with a smirk on his face “Daughter of mine, my last invitation still stands. You are welcome to visit me whenever you feel like it, I believe there are a lot of experiences like this that you are missing out on while locked up here. My pact was to not attack the human cities, but that doesn’t mean we need to stay away from them.” And with those words, Lucien began to walk towards the shadows, vanishing in the dark.

“Wait!” shouted Riou, “I could use a ride back!”

“I’m tired… maybe another time” said Noctis disappearing in the darkness.

Riou was left alone once again amongst the dragons. “Damn… that dragon.” he turned to Umbra “Well, that was... interesting. So, nice meeting you all, but I was in the middle of something and I really need to get back at it, so if you excuse me...”

Umbra was still looking, trying to understand what kind of being he could possibly be.

Riou smiled awkwardly at her staring and waved before moving towards one of the holes in the walls, he could feel the gaze of all dragons on his back.

He looked outside “Oh fuck…” he was above the clouds, far too high to be able to identify where the hell he was.

He couldn’t see any landmarks properly through the clouds either. Only a massive chain of snowy mountain tops above the clouds in all directions.

He turned to the dragons once again with a smile “Can someone give me some directions? How do I get to the Beastmen’s plains from here?”

As no one spoke to him he turned back to look down “Well, I guess I could try to find it on my own it shouldn’t be that far” he was about to jump when Umbra called.

“Wait!” She pondered for a moment before continuing “I can take you there, but before you go… I’d like to talk to you”

------------------------------------------------------

Arthas sat alone at the tavern, his concern was evident to what could be happening at the clan’s villa. Barnar was with friends on another table, making loud noises and chatting without end.

The half-lion was drinking, constantly looking at the door. It has been a while since Riou had left. Such a small distance should be easy for him to cover.

Arthas asked another mug of the spirit he was drinking, it was getting late but he was still hoping that Riou would return at any minute.

The tavern was almost empty at that hour, just a few patrons drinking and washing their sorrows away.

A strange man entered the place, he wore a cape and hood but his sword and armor could still be seen. Arthas didn’t pay much attention to him after the first glance, but the stranger approached him with unusual interest.

Barnar, noticing it as well, stood up and shouted “Is there a problem here? Wolf?”

“Nothing that concerns you, I have a message to the half-lion,” said the man.

Arthas looked at him with more care, the man was indeed from the wolf clan, the smell, the eyes, and the hair was unmistakable. He was an older man, gray hair, and scars on his face showed that he was a warrior. “What do you want?” Asked Arthas.

“Not here, too many ears” said the wolf.

Arthas looked at the almost empty tavern and checked the man’s weapons once again. And compared to what he saw in the city, the wolf had unusually good gear compared to the others he saw that day.

“May I know what’s this about?” said Arthas

“You will have to follow me for that” replied the wolf “I’m sure it’s of your interest to hear what I have to say.”

Arthas smiled “Well, I was just killing time anyway” he stood up making the wolf make space for him. And with a smile he looked at Barnar “It’s fine Barnar, just be sure to be here if the trader comes back, I won’t be long gone”

Barnar didn’t like the situation, but he nodded and sat down once again, watching the wolf following after Arthas.

As they were moving outside, Arthas passed by a blond archer on the table near the entrance, “I’d be careful around this guy if I were you, mister Lion. Wolves can’t be trusted in this city” whispered the archer as he passed by.

Outside, Arthas followed the man through some dark streets and finally into an alley with a large wooden door at its end.

“There” said the wolf to Arthas.

Arthas nodded and with a smirk, he walked towards the door in that dark and narrow corridor.

“It’s closed,” said Arthas, turning and looking at him unconcerned. The wolf had already moved back to the alley’s entrance, taking distance from Arthas.

“I know” replied the wolf.

“Is this supposed to be an ambush? It’s a very bad one”.

The wolf then stepped aside, giving passage to another cloaked person that emerged from the corner of the street,

“Oh I see, so this is the one supposed to attack? Took you long enough” Said Arthas taking a deep breath and stretching his arms a bit “It’s been a while since I had some exercise”

The person began to walk in his direction, increasing in speed as it approached the lion. Finally running at him at full speed. Arthas could not sense much from this attacker, which was weird to him and caused some uneasiness as something was not right, he became cautious to his attacker.

After all, rule number one was to never underestimate an enemy.

Suddenly the mysterious attacker vastly increased its speed and in a blink of an eye closed the distance, quickly unsheathing its sword and readying to take a swing at him.

*Swoosh* an arrow crosses the alley forcing the mysterious person to deflect it, stopping its attack before it could reach the lion.

Arthas looked up from the direction of the arrow. The blond archer was standing on top of the roof of one of the houses with a smile “I’d look forward if I were you, I heard that sword is no joke”.

Arthas’ attention switches immediately to the attacker once again.

His eyes widened, all it took was a glance at the glowing runes and the metal of the blade for him to recognize them. It was an older variation of the enchantments, but the unmistakable letters and the mana signature on it. The intensity it pulsed and the powerful enchantments were undeniable. Arthas knew, without a shadow of a doubt that it was his master’s work.

“How do you have this weapon?” said Arthas, getting serious and unsheathing his own sword.

The mysterious one remained silent, covered in its mantle and hood, ready to attack once again. The speed and strength were outstanding. Against the end of the alley, Arthas was forced to block the attacks.

The impact of the blades echoed on the alley, the enchantments between the blades reacted at each other, bursting in a shockwave that pushed both of them back.

The lesser metal on Arthas sword was a problem. His sword would not sustain a long battle as it was already dented, the metal would not resist it.

Another fast attack, but Arthas deflected it to the side and moved out of the corner. As the attacker came at him once again, with more space to move, Arthas quickly avoided the swing and went to grab the attacker's arm in a quick movement.

An attempt to stop its movements and try to overpower the assailant avoiding the sword completely.

As if predicting what was his intention, the mysterious attacker suddenly jumped back before he could be reached. Despite its read on Artha’s intention, the jump back was not fast enough.

The lion was able to move forward by reflex and get a hold of its cloak as it jumped back. Arthas quickly held tight and pushed down.

But the attacker quickly twirled and let the cloak go. Landing back, at a good distance from the half-lion that was left holding the cape.

Uncovered, Arthas could see a woman with a ponytail and scar on her face, she was clearly from the wolf clan as well and was wearing a strange collar, tightly strapped to her neck. A thick metal with several green stones ornamenting it.

Arthas looked at her with confusion “Aren’t you Therese’s disciple, the wolf Leona? I’m a friend of a friend.” Said Arthas, remembering his master tales of a mighty weapon created of legendary metals.

As if she wasn’t even listening, the attacking resumed. Ferociously as before, she was clearly not playing around and was aiming for his life.

Arthas couldn’t understand why she kept attacking. Doubt filled his mind on who this person was. But there couldn’t be any mistake, her appearance, and his Master’s enchantments on the weapon left no doubt of it.

She was attacking without end, Arthas was focused on dodging and blocking all of the attacks, he was on the defensive as he could not risk hurting Leona.

The wolf girl stopped to catch some breath, the moonlight shone brightly at her.

Was then when he finally noticed her eyes.

Her mind was absent, her eyes were empty of any spark of consciousness or will, “Are you an undead?”

The half-lion squinted his eyes and pumped his mana to his body, overpowering it completely, vanishing instantly and appearing right behind her. He quickly grabbed her arms and held her up so she could not attack anymore.

She was breathing, sweating and he could feel her pulse… there was no doubt, she was alive. Something else must be at play, she was clearly not herself.

He needed to subdue her somehow and take her to his master, but he didn’t know what to do with the sword since he would not be able to carry it. The wolf took the opportunity of indecision and forced her body to roll forward, hitting Artha’s in the chin with her heel, forcing him to release her.

Once again, she attacked him. But now that Arthas was understanding the situation better, he was able to get more serious. He was preparing a spell, but he looked up and the archer was still observing them.

He sighed and instead just reinforced his body once again, it would be better to capture her physically.

But the wolf’s battle senses were too sharp. She noticed the great increase in the mana used and promptly took more space. She knew if she got caught again she would be done for.

The male wolf seemed to understand that as well and whistled loudly making Leona rush back, fleeing away from Arthas.

The archer from above once again addressed them “Oh, I forgot to tell, but I told the guards something shady was going on here, I believe they are finally coming too” he then jumped down the roof landing behind Arthas.

“Wait! We are not done yet!” shouted Arthas to Leona.

The male wolf threw something on the ground near Arthas that moved back to avoid it and both wolves dashed away from the place.

A brown smoke covered the alley exit, the smell was atrocious and brought tears to Artha’s eyes making him stop the chase.

The archer approached the half-lion not too phased by the smell. “Are you ok?”

Arthas coughed and moved back, away from the source of the smell.

He looked at the alley entrance but they were long gone.

Arthas then looked at his sword, it was barely holding up, completely dented and cracked after that fight.

“Shit… they are gone and my sword is about to break. I really messed up today”

“What are you saying? I have never seen someone move like you. You made it look so easy, that assassin really was on the defensive, even with that crazy weapon! I’m truly impressed” Said the archer excitedly.

“Do you know who that was? And what do you know about her weapon?” said Arthas still looking towards where they fled trying to find some tracks of them.

The archer looked as well “There were stories of the wolf assassins, but about a year or so ago another rumor appeared. A female wolf with a cursed sword appeared. They said she sacrificed her soul to be able to handle it… a dire cost for a great power. And they blamed her for a lot of murders”

“That sword is not cursed,” said Arthas.

The archer smiled “I don’t know what’s what, I’m just telling you what I heard… but by what I saw just now, I’d say it's more of a true story, than not. That assassin… man, did you see her face? Those eyes were remorseless; she had no soul for sure!”

Arthas pondered for a moment “Thanks for the warning, that arrow helped me put my senses in order”

The archer nodded “Don’t mention it, I knew something was up when that guy entered the tavern… he didn’t look friendly at all, well most wolves doesn’t”

Arthas squinted his eyes turning towards him “And why did you follow me?”

The Archer was surprised, almost insulted “I’m a man of justice, I couldn’t stay put after my senses screamed danger”

Arthas just looked at him not buying any of that.

“The archer smiled awkwardly “The truth is I saw your group. You are with those three gorgeous women. I thought they could be in danger too... and man, they are too pretty to die. So you know, if I help you out… maybe I could get to know them a bit better… become friends, right?” he then went to a more serious tone and continued “Are they in danger too?”

Arthas shook his head “I don’t know. And I’d advise you to drop this quest of yours. They aren't for someone like you”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that... it's stronger than me. So, why would the wolves want your head?”

“I don’t know why I was attacked, there is no reason for that”

“There must be something…”

“Do you know for whom the wolves work for?”

“Well, there are a lot of rumors... But to me, these assassins answer to the lions, especially that shady clan leader of yours” said the Archer.

“I’m not part of the clan”

“No? But you are a lion aren’t you?”

“Half Lion… tell me why you think that he controls them?” Arthas urged him to answer his question.

“Well, since that assassin with that sword appeared, it targeted mostly people that were opposing him. People that pissed him off ended up dead… so, did you do anything to piss him off?” questioned the Archer curiously.

Arthas shook his head “Not that I’m aware of… I don’t know this clan leader, but the girls have been in the Lion’s clan for the past two days.”

The archer raised his eyebrows as if he got all the answers he needed. “Well… Lions are a loyal bunch and you are their leader, right? Maybe someone wanted to get rid of you to take them over, usually, that’s how it goes with you lions.”

The half-lion pondered a moment, if that was right the girls might be in danger. “I need to go check on them.”

“Well, if you accept my help, I know a guy that can get us inside. If you are interested, that is” said the Archer.

Arthas pondered for a moment “What’s your name?”

“Galan”

“Galan, can you really get me inside?”

“I can”

“What do you want in exchange?”

“I told you, I just want to meet those three gorgeous things one more time”

“I don’t like your reasons… but I need your help. I will be watching you closely, so you better behave or you are a dead man”

Galan smiled “See? It’s like we are best friends already”

Arthas sighed “Let’s get back to the tavern… given the circumstances I will have to have a talk to Barnar before we can go to the clan’s villa” Galan was still smiling and nodding, following him back to the inn.