The Temple of Shael lies near the center of the country who was named after it. It is the only temple to the Architect though the other gods have shrines within the holy city. It was built shortly before the lands west of the Darkwall Mountains were abandoned. An Avatar of each of the god’s, including the heretical, gathered a portion of their followers to the site where they witnessed the Architect reveal himself to the world. It is also the only place that his blessings can be removed as it is where the peoples of this world were given it. While the temple city has an army, it has never had to fight and it is said that the Architect walks disguised as a mortal along the streets.

Lykou

When I wake I feel stiff and tired, my head hurts and I want to sleep but I know I don’t have the time for it. I look up from where I lie prone to the corpse of the bitch of a dragon who tried to steal my body and smile. All her hoard is now mine.

Even her body is now mine to eat but I don’t have time for that right now. I will an axe into my hand from Void Cache as I walk up to the corpse. My stomach grumbles as I want nothing more than to gorge on it. That moment where I almost abandon myself to the feeding frenzy, I close my eyes and think of the girls in my dream memories.

I whisper “stay strong. Restrain yourself to get your girls back. . .”

It is late into the night by the time that I exit the cave with the white dragon's kinda butchered corpse and hoard in my Void Cache. I jump off the cliff side and flap my wings to gain altitude. I barely take the time to get my bearings before flying east towards the woods.

I push myself to go faster, not the equivalent of a sprint as I have many miles to go and even as a bird flies I am not close to the village. My wings begin to have a dull ache but I only slow slightly. Hours pass before I reach a point where I think I need to land. As soon as I touch down on the forest floor, breaking more than a few branches from the nearby trees as I land, I shift back to human form and pull out my tattered and stained pants from Void Cache. I have other clothes but they are too large for me at the moment.

I start running towards the village, knowing that there is not much leeway left while I think about if I should show the head of the white dragon or not. The purpose of this trial is to show off for the females but that might be too much. Will the nest full of ice drakes be enough? Hmm, if they aren’t enough I always can pull the dragon out afterwards.

I pull the backpack I was given for the trial out of Void Cache just before I reach the village. I am the last to arrive, I know because I can see the other two youth that were taking this trial are already in the clearing. I look over to the adults that are sitting atop the roofs of the huts and wave.

When I enter the clearing itself, it seems that nearly the entire village is present; at least all of them except that I do not see any of the boys that are still part of Naliya’s class and only some of the older girls. Ragnan and his follower are standing in the middle of the circle of three to four dozen ‘adults’. They don’t have any trophies out in the open but they are holding onto a backpack that looks just like the one I have.

Those two and Ragnar frown as I walk into the circle though those of the pack that I get along with smile. As soon as I am rather close to the middle of the circle, Kylana speaks up and says “those who have taken the trial have returned and the dawn that marks the decline of this moon’s blessing has arrived. Each will present what they hunted and the pack will stand if they approve.

Tallen you shall present first.”

So that’s the name of Ragnan’s strongest yes man. Still, he frowns at being called to present first. Why? Is there some sort of meaning to the order that we are called in? The boy pulls out the skulls of a few reptilian creatures and sets them on the ground as he names them as frost salamanders and the only skull that is different he names as a winter wolf. A few of the stood up as the boy set down skull after skull but it is only when he stopped that several more stood up, roughly half but neither Ragnor or Kylana stood.

Still the boy does smile at the end, there must have been enough approval for him to pass. As soon Kylana nods at him he walks over and joins the outer circle and sits down. Those that stood up for him sit down as soon as he does.

Kylana then speak up again, “I have too high expectations for my son and apprentice and do not know which may have brought something better. They will present simultaneously.”

“You can’t truly believe he can hold up against Ragnan?” Ragnor asks and several of the others frown at the interruption while others smile. Great, more political bullshit.

“This is domestic, and you know the boy is not weak.

Now, Ragnan and Lykou will show what they managed to hunt.”

There is a sneer on Ragnan’s face as he pulls out a pelt from his backpack and calls it a winter wolf. I pull out a skull from one of the ice drakes much to the surprise of those circling us.

By the time that I have placed all six of the ice drake skulls on the ground Ragnor has a pile of pelts larger than the bag he is pulling them out of. Extra-dimensional space? My own bag is empty so I wait a moment and observe the spectators for a moment.

Ragnan tops off his pile with the skulls of two wyverns and looks at me with his 'I'm better than you' thing he always seems to be doing. I can tell that both of us brought back more than expected from the looks those around us are giving but there are two things wrong in this situation. First, that what I brought seems to be considered less than Ragnor and the second more important thing that is wrong is that six ice drakes were not enough to get my K to look at me.

I might have been able to put up with not being the best but this is to show off for the girls and if I don’t even catch the eye of the one I want I’ll just have to go further. I look right at K before willing the decapitated head of the white dragon to appear under my hand.

I don’t notice anything else as I watch K look at the head then to me and back again multiple times. Each time there seems to be a glint in her eyes that was not there when I left on this trial. Only after several seconds do I look at what others are doing.

Ragnan is pissed and his father is the same but Kylana seems to be daydreaming. Analais, Alana and Naliya seem to be following everyone else in just being surprised. A moment later Kylana stands and walks up to the head and touches the still wet stump.

“How?” she asks.

“Fight smarter not harder” I answer with a grin and Analais chuckles.

“The boy must. . .” Ragnor begins before Kylana cuts him off.

“Ragnor, the head is still bleeding. And even if all he did was sneak in and kill the beast in it’s sleep, it is still more than either of the other boys.”

She then pauses for a second, “who stands for Ragnan?”

Everyone is standing within seconds before Kylana continues, “and for Lykou?”

Almost everyone remains standing save for Ragnor, Ragnan and the boy Tallen. Can they seriously not admit that they’re wrong about me? Whatever, I’ll enjoy beating him down for his sister right before the night of the next full moon.

I glance at the other females, those that don’t seem to be mated to anyone yet and several of them are frowning at my young body. At least I’ve started getting my grown body back and with a whole great wyrm white dragon to fuel my growth I should be adequate when the time comes.

I touch the dragon's head and pull it back into Void Cache, before doing the same to the drake skulls. Analais and Alana walk over to me and I finally take the time to notice that her belly is no longer bloated with child. Ragnor and Kylana walk over to Ragnan while most of the others disperse to do whatever it is that most of the village does during the day.

“I can’t believe you went and killed a dragon” Analais says softly.

“She was dying of old age already, and it wasn’t a physical fight. Anyways, congrats on your kid” I say only for both of them to frown.

Luckily rather than having to deal with whatever landmine I just walked into Kythia enters the conversation and says, “Lykou, mother is about to start her lessons on magic.”

“Sorry, I have to go” I say to Analais and Alana before Kythia leads me towards the clearing in the woods.

After we leave earshot she says, “all of their children come out still born. It makes it a sore subject for them, Analais already gets judged for being a runt even though he is very skilled. And Alana used to be one of the strongest in the pack but she’s tried to give him pups every year since they became a mated pair.”

“You seem different. What happened?”

“Mother made me fight Analais yesterday, I couldn’t hit him. How did you kill that dragon?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Just tell me.”

“She was dying of old age and tried to steal my body.”

“What? Why? How?”

“She killed herself and stuffed her soul into my body and then lost the mental battle.”

“Are you okay, you seem different.”

“I’m fine, just starting to remember some things from before is all.”

“Like what?”

“Some stuff about what I am but mostly how to do some things.”

“Like what?”

“A bit of shapeshifting, a little bit of instinctual magic and this. . .”

I quickly move to my tip toes and pull Kythia's head down with a hand on the back of her neck. My lips touch her own in a kiss for two maybe three seconds before I move out of arms reach just before she reacts, her face beat red in embarrassment.

She tries to slap me but I’m too far away and she almost yells, “what the hell are you doing?”

“I like you and I’m going to make you my mate.”

“You’re too young and weak” she says with a slight uncertainty and more than a little upset over what I just did.

I just grin before saying, “a lot can change in a month.”

Kythia doesn’t say anything in return and the two of us reach the clearing we use for sparing and magic practice.

At the end of the day I walk into Alana’s hut to see both her and Analais waiting for me.

“Lykou, how did it go with Kythia and Kylana?”

“Well, but I managed to upset Kythia and she took it out on me during the spar we always have” I answer and somehow that brings a smile to their faces.

“Oh, what did you do?” Alana asks.

I don’t say anything. I know Alana would gossip over it. Kylana might too if Kythia tells her but I’m not starting this.

Seeing that I’m not going to answer that question, Analais smirks before asking a different one. “Did Kylana tell you all the things you'll need to do as a recognized adult?”

“Just that I would need to participate in the Paring Howl.”

“Of course, the only thing she would tell you is about setting you up with her daughter” Alana comments before Analais begins to inform me on the other things that will be expected of me. . .