"Valerius," Elara murmured, her opalescent eyes clouded with concern as the Aethelgardian sensitive provided more details on the energy surge.
The activation was vast, spanning several star systems within the Canid Confederacy known for their ancient Progenitor ruins and strong psionic populations.
The signature was a bizarre, almost unsettling fusion of hyper-advanced technology and what could only be described as focused, ritualistic intent.
"The Star-Seekers," Eva said, frowning.
"I've heard whispers about them in the Outer Rim ports. Fanatics, some call them. Obsessed with ancient Canid glory and Progenitor artifacts."
"What would Valerius be doing that requires this kind of power?"
Elara nodded grimly.
"Valerius is a figure of profound intellect and equally profound… singularity of purpose. He believes the Canid races were destined for a greater role in the cosmos, a role usurped or forgotten due to the Great Schism and the subsequent ages of conflict."
"He seeks to 'reawaken' what he calls the 'Primal Canid Mandate' – an almost mythical state of enlightenment and power from before the Progenitors fully 'domesticated' our ancestors, as he puts it."
"Domesticated?" Bolt rumbled, the word striking a discordant note within him. The Ahna'sara was a gift, a heritage, not a leash.
"His interpretations of Progenitor lore are… selective, and often troubling," Elara conceded.
"He views the Ahna'sara itself with a mixture of reverence and suspicion – a powerful tool, but perhaps one that pacified the true, dominant spirit of the ancient Canids".
"His Star-Seekers are utterly devoted, scouring the galaxy for any artifact, any piece of lore, that might unlock this 'Primal Mandate'."
Bolt thought of the ancient, deliberate shielding he had encountered on the silver thread connecting the Dreaming Tree to the Heart of Orion.
"Elara," he began, "the interference I felt when I tried to trace the thread… it was complex, intelligent. Not the void. Not Krell.
"Could it have been… Valerius? Or an older Canid order he's tapped into?"
Elara's gaze sharpened. "That is a disturbing possibility, Seed-Bearer. The silver thread you perceived is likely a strand of the deepest life-energies, perhaps related to the very 'Primal Mandate' Valerius seeks, or something even older".
"If he is aware of it, he would undoubtedly try to control it, to harness it for his own vision of Canid destiny."
"A new wave of conflict washed over Bolt. Krell was a clear enemy, his desire for conquest an obvious threat. But Valerius… he was Canid."
His rhetoric, however twisted, touched upon legacies and powers that resonated, however faintly and uncomfortably, with the ancient core of the Ahna'sara. Was he a misguided prophet, a dangerous heretic, or something else entirely?
"If Krell is fire," Eva said, her pragmatism cutting through the philosophical haze, "then Valerius sounds like a slow-acting poison. Both can kill you."
"What's his interest in the Heart of Orion? Krell wanted to break it or use it as a weapon. What does Valerius want?"
"That," Elara said, "has always been Valerius's greatest secret. He has made pronouncements about the Heart being a key to 'cosmic attunement,' a focal point for ancient Canid energies".
"Some believe he seeks to heal it in his own way, to align it with his Primal Mandate."
"Others fear he would use its power to forcibly 'awaken' all Canid-kind to his vision, regardless of the consequences for the rest of the galaxy."
The Aethelgardian leadership in the Outer Sanctuaries, Elara explained, could monitor Valerius's energy surge, but direct intervention within the sovereign space of the Canid Confederacy, especially against a figure as influential and unpredictable as Valerius, was fraught with diplomatic peril.
"But you, Bolt," Elara said, her gaze intense, "are an anomaly. A Canid of ancient Earth lineage, touched by the purest form of the Ahna'sara, independent of current galactic Canid politics. Perhaps… perhaps you can perceive what he is truly attempting."
She guided Bolt once more to the crystalline interface, the Focusing Sphere cool and steady in his grip.
"The energy surge is still building. Reach out with the Ahna'sara, Bolt. Do not try to interfere, do not even try to communicate. Simply… listen. Observe. Feel the intent behind this Star-Seeker gambit."
Bolt closed his eyes, the weight of the galaxy seeming to press down on him. Krell. The Void.
"The wounded Heart. The Silent Listeners. And now, Valerius. He took a deep breath, sought the quiet core of the Ahna'sara, and extended his senses through the Focusing Sphere, aiming them towards the distant, synchronized thrum of Valerius's grand activation.
The psychic distance was immense, but the sheer power of the focused Canid energies was like a beacon. He touched the edge of it…
And was hit by a wave of sensation. Thousands, no, tens of thousands of Canid minds, all linked, all resonating in a vast, complex psychic network.
"He saw them in his mind's eye: Star-Seekers in trance-like states on dozens of worlds, their life energies being drawn and channeled by intricate Progenitor-derived devices".
And all of it, all this immense, focused power, was being directed towards a single, impossibly ancient Canid sigil that blazed in Bolt's empathic vision.
It was a symbol he hadn't seen before, yet it vibrated with a deep, primal familiarity that resonated uncomfortably with the core of the Ahna'sara.
It was a sigil of dominion, but not the brutal domination of Krell.
"This was older, more fundamental – a symbol representing the mastery of cosmic energies, the attunement of will with the fundamental forces of creation, the alignment of a chosen people with the perceived "true song" of the universe."
Valerius wasn't just activating technology. He was attempting to awaken a dormant power within the Canid collective consciousness itself, to reshape their very spiritual frequency, aligning them with this ancient, potent, and terrifyingly ambiguous symbol of power.
Bolt pulled back, gasping, the Focusing Sphere cold in his hand. Eva was instantly by his side.
"What did you see?" Elara asked, her voice urgent.
"He's… he's trying to rewrite their souls," Bolt whispered, the enormity of Valerius's ambition dawning on him.
"He's trying to make all Canids resonate with… with an ancient power. A power of control. It's… as vast a gamble as Krell's, and perhaps, just as dangerous for everyone else."
The echoes of war were indeed growing louder, and from directions he had never anticipated.