Sat upon them were four Lykans.The elders, second in power only to the king.
Nyxanthe Erebassa sat at the far right. She had raven black hait that flowed in waves to her waist, her skin glowed like starlight. She had eyes the color of ember which did well to reflect the firelight in the chamber. To her left sat Damon Agathonis, he wore a blank face with his sandy brown hair tied in a warriors knot. Golden irises sat in his sockets, warm but calculating. He wore a tailored black suit which fitted him perfectly with a ceremonial dagger at his hip. Perhaps a family heirloom from times past. To his left now sat Thaleia Aristrea a woman petite by Lykan standards but was known to be the most viscious of the four. She had silver white hair braided tight in a warriors pattern, woven with iron rings marked by Lykan runes. She had deep green eyes the colour of moss under the moonlight. She doned leather clothes with a white wolf's fur cloak over one shoulder. The last of the elders sat at the far right a man named Aesom Themis he who burns with fire.
He was massive even by Lykan standards. With a broad frame, he had clean shaven head with a thick beard he kept well groomed. His eyes were greyish-silver his favorite colour.. He too wore a tailored suit but in grey. Around his neck sat a necklace with a silver pendant.
"Welcome" Nyx said her voice calm and welcoming. "Mr Aman, Mr Vollen you grace us with your presence"
"Thank you for the welcome" Tariq replied "Your city is indeed breathtaking"
"It is indeed" she replied " Even after all these years I am still amazed by its beauty"
"Now I believe you know this was no social call, you must know the reason as to why we requested your presence"
"Not at all" he replied " Perhaps its is because I nearly burned one of your subordinates to ash"
"Is that so" she said with a smile on her face, a twinkle in her eyes.
Alric stood to the side his eyes glowing with menance towards Tariq but this only made him smile.
"Two days ago you encountered a giant wolf accompained by a powerful Witch as you were transporting a highly valuable prisoner" Damon said " Have you any idea of who they might be?"
"No" Tariq replied " Prior to this incident I had never seen nor heard of their existance"
He nodded slowly " I see. The wolf is our primary target and has been for the past millenia, but still till this day we have failed to capture him"
"How could a creature of such size evade you for so long?"
"He is not just a wolf my boy but a man as well, but unlike us he is a werewolf"
Eirik frowned" what joke is this?. Werewolves do not exist. We lykans are gifted the strength, speed and power of a wolf. Though we may partialy change our form to mirror theirs none can truly transform into one"
"I assure you Mr vollen this is no joke. You saw the beast for yourself did you not?"
He had but what they were saying was impossible, his brain still refused to accept the possibility.
"In theory indeed such creatures cannot exist even among beings such as us. Lycanthropy is the ability to change forms between man and wolf, though we are unable to fully do so we maintain balance having a human-wolf hybrid form. Our forms merge to produce a humanoid wolf-like beast" Damon said.
"Whereas werewolves can fully shift from one form to another. What makes the concept of werewolves impossible is not their ability to do so but the requirement" Thaleia continued.
"Which is?" Tariq asked.
"Two souls" Alric replied.
"Correct Mr Kessler" Thaleia replied.
"I don't follow" Eirik said " What do you mean two souls?"
"To become a werewolf one must posses two souls. One of a man the other of a wolf. This is why they are called werewolves. They are literally part man and part beast. But no body can posses two souls in harmony and therein lies the predicament"
"Thay would make sense" Tariq said " But how does this one exist. Is he some sort of anomaly?"
"Indeed he is, but we suspect like our king his existance is by divine hand".
"That would explain his power but not his size. Surely he is no giant"
"No that would be absurd. None can be of two species. Even if one was to have offspring with a different species they would only gain access to one side of their heritage. The other would lay dormant"
"But it could speak as well" he continued " Not even you are able to do so when shifted"
"Aye its possesess many abilities that are quiet astonishing to say the least. This beast threatens all that we have built and seeks to destroy us. That is why he must be stopped" Damon said.
Tariq crossed his arms " And what of the Witch you held prisoner in the Null box? Why violate the Accords? You know none should imprison one of a different faction especially not as long as you clearly held that one"
"That Witch was our prisoner long before the Accords" Aeson replied with cold eyes " His crimes against us far preceed any laws you believe apply"
That would mean he had been their prisoner for about two thousand five hundred years. What crime would require such a long sentence.
"And why was he imprisoned?" Eirik asked.
"As I said before" Alric began " It is none of your...."
Aeson raised his hadn to stop him which he did, causing Tariq to smirk and whisper 'Dog' clearly knowing that Alric would pick up his words with his hearing.
The Witch sides with our enemy and that is all you need to know"
"Why go through so much effort to transport him? Why risk even moving him knowing he might be rescued?" Eirik asked.
Nyx leaned foward eyes glinting." That Witch is even older than we are. Had he been at full strenth, no rune-etched box could have held him. I believe you saw what his wife did with just a flick of her wrist, and believe me when I say this he is even mlre powerful than she is. Together they are literally gods"
Eirik had noticed a flicker of emotion on her face when she saw him. Twenty five centuries seperated from your loved one, but why?. They weren't telling them everything. Eirik could see they were being told only half truths.
"Now with the couple united with the beast they could scry the location of our city and destroy us in retaliation" Damon said.
"You have yet to tell us why the beast would want to seek your destruction" Tariq said.
"Now that" Nyx said " Is not for us to disclose to our guests"
"So why tell us any of this?" Eirik asked his voice tense "I left this kingdom and all it entails centuries ago. I earned my freedom from your reach. Your politics do not concern me"
Damon leaned back " Because we require your services. We all know how good you are at trackimg and eliminating targets. Few in the world could hold a candle to your skill Mr Vollen. I must say I am queit proud of you"
"Spare me the false praise" he replied " Why employ us again when we failed to complete the previous assignment?"
"We expected it to fail" Damon said " Though we had hoped by some small chance we would succeed. The Witch's cell was failing. The more we age the more stronger we become and this applies to witches as well. Though frail looking his magic had become too powerful to be contained even within a Null box. Although physically weak when compared to other factions their strength also increases with time. I bet his strength would be equal to that of yours Mr Vollen without any magical enhancements."
That would be absurd. Witches were not remotely even close in physical stremght to that of a Lykan, Vampire or the majority of any other factions that did not dabble in magic. But given how old this man was said to be Eirik believed it mighy be true, but he still wanted no part in their war.
"You have your dogs for that, surely they can step up to the task. I am done taking orders from you. I only accepted this job for the pay which you have still yet to do. Do not waste my time again, I want no part in your senseless quarells. Tariq let's go"
In the blink of an eye Eirik was pinned to a stone column, cracks spider webbing out behind him, Thaleia's arm around his throat.
"You forget yourself pup" she said calmly but her voice was cold " You may have left our kingdom to live your fairytale life but you still answer to us. Our word is your law"
Her eyes began to glow." You may have your quarells with your superiors but we tolerate no disrespect. I could end you with a simple thought"
Tariq had known the elders to be powerful beings but this was crazy. He hadn't even blinked before he heard the stone column crack behind him. Her speed was astonishing, had she wanted to end him unlike Alric she would have succeeded before even knew he was dead"
"That wasn't necessary Thaleia" Aeson said chuckling " Now he is less inclined to take on this task"
Thaleia released Eirik, letting him fall to the ground gasping and calmly returned to her throne as if nothing happened.
"Oh but he will" she replied settling back into her seat . She gave him a fanged smile. "Conplete this task and perhaps we'll help you with a certain problem of yours regarding accessing your other half"
Tariq knew what this meant for his friend. Though he would never admit to it Eirik never felt whole, always less. His borth parents had abandoned him as a baby having deemed him weak sensing that he could not fully take to his lykan form or so he was told. Lykan society revolved around strength and weakness was unwelcome. Eirik had learned that the hard way. He was outcasted, treated as less than and mocked for his so called disability. But he did not let that hold him back, for he trained for years to harness what power he could access. Though unable to fully transform he still had acess to his strength, speed, heightened senses, regeneration, fangs and claws though they paled when compared to that of a fully turned Lykan. Fur offered protecttion against sharp object such as claws, fangs, swords and daggers.
The shift boosted physical strength, agility and speed. But despite this Eirik trained to match his peers. To be able to fight and come up ontop despite his handicap. But still they did not accept him, having seen this he completed impossible dangerous tasks, one after the other in order to attain his freedom from them for good and he did. Two centuries had passed since then. It was he who taught Tariq how to battle Lykans. Their weakpoints, strenghts and weaknesses. It was why Tariq despised them so much for how they had treated his friend. He too was no stranger to the discrimination of being different.
"We accept" Tariq said.
"Wait Tariq" Eirik said rubbing his neck. Damn that woman had a strong grip. " I haven't agreed to this"
"I know how much this means to you my friend and I know your pride. For your sake I will accept for the both of us"
Eirik looked at his friend deep into his golden flecked eyes and he knew that Tariq was one of the few people in the world that truly cared for him, that truly loved him as a friend. He had mever judged, abandoned nor deemed him broken. For two centuries their friendship had stood. He recalled the day they had met, so many lifetimes ago deep in the heart of what is now Tanzania. He'd been travelling the world nor longer as a soldier but as a free man. In a quiet coastal village of what is now Dar es salaam, he met the young man. Fierce eyed and wise beyond his years he descended from a long line of powerful shaman. He had just witnessed the man perform his ceremonial hunt. One that all men were required to perform to be accepted into adulthood.
Hunt any one of the Big Five.
Considered to be Africa's most dangerous beasts this was no small task. But Eirik had witnessed him take out a large male lion all by himself with nothing but a spear and a club. He raised the severed head of his prize over his head for his father to see who smiled on proudly at his son's accomplishment. This man intrigued Eirik. Having faced such danger despite the fear he reminded Eirik of himseld as ge foughg and defeated Lykans older amd stronger than he was. Power made people arrogant thus he had use his wits to defeat them since he could never do so in a contest of strength.
He recalled what Tariq's father had told him when he had asked why they undertook such dangerous trials. The wise man had replied " What makes man the most dangerous creature on this planet is not his strength for he has none. A man cannot hope to outrun a cheetah, nor outswim a crocodile. Have more stremght than an elephant but where he excels is in his intellect. The mind has made us even the playground."
Traps helped capture and fell stronger and more powerful creatures. They made weapons amd tools to fight ferocious creatures such as lions and he acknowledged this for it was his intellect that had helped him outclass his peers despite their physical advantage. Five years he stayed with the village learning their language, culture and tradition. They traded and interacted with many other tribes and people from as far as India amd Arabia. Here he was accepted among them for he was and not what he was. He and Tariq bonded quickly,two people from two different worlds. It was he who told Tariq of the Velari and that if he studied magic as he clearly could use he could become a powerful being and even protect his people from any possible threat. Reluctant at first eventually he accepted and Eirik showed Tariq a world beyond his simple village.
Since then their bond had only deepend having saved each others lives countless times. Tariq was not only his friend but his brother, the only one he had.
And now they stood infront of the very people who had cast him aside. Here his brother offered to help to attain the one thing he knew he desired.
"If you will do it brother" Eirik said his voice quiet with resolve " Then I see no reason to refuse"
He turned to face the dias " However that will not be enough"
"Oh?" Thaleia arched a brow " Getting greedy are we!"
"You will grant Tariq anything he desires as well. I see no reason as to why I alone should be paid for this task"
Thaleia inclined her head " A reasonable request. We will grant the spellcaster any wish he may ask of us that is in our power to grant upon completion of this task. Agreed?"
"Agreed" They said in unision.
"And the task?" Eirik asked.
"You are to track down and kill both witches and the werewolf" Damon said " The werewolf being your priority of course"
"I see...." Eirik's jaw ticked " You make it sound so easy"
" If it were " Aeson said rising from his throne " We would have done it centuries ago. You witnessed but a glimpse of its power, but we have full faith that you will go to any lengths to achieve your prize."
Damon smirked " Oh and by the way, Mr kessler will be assisting you on your quest"
Tariq groaned outloud " More like a hidnrance"
Damon's smile thinned " Perhaps you should refrain from angering our commander any further. I've tolerated the disrespect for long enough spellcaster. It wouldn't be wise to have a divided team now would it?"
"Certainly not" Aeson added with a lazy grin, clearly enjoying the tension. But he had developed a deep respect in the interaction for the commander. Despite the known rage that plagued their kind he had held himself fairly well from acting on the urge to rip the spellcaster limb from limb." We all want this mission to succeed, so play nice"
Nyx rose now clearly bored " Go rest and enjoy the city before you leave for your hunt. Surely Eirik you must miss our cuisine"
Indeed he did. Lykans were known for their culinary prowess. Having a heightened sense of taste, they prepared food with the most explosive of flavours. For all the suffering and scorn he had enfured in this city, the food... the food had always been divine.
"And the Witch we came with, Sera levesqué?" Tariq asked.
"She should be done with her debriefimg by now" Damon replied " I'm sure Alric will see to your reunion"
Thaleia gestured elequently " Now go, you leave soon. Rest while you can"
Without another word, Eirik and Tariq turned to leave, Alric trailing silently behind.
The hunt had begun.
.