by S. K. Benton
Max hid a grin, turning away slightly, glad that Jennie was safe, but pleased that she appeared to have admitted a bit of jealousy.
As all departed the great hall, Draagh approached Max and Jennie, saying, “My friends, today is indeed a sad day, and we must never take delight in the downfall of a brother or sister.”
“Stuff it, Gramps. She was a bitch,” said Jennie, who then stormed off to her chambers.
Max looked at his grandfather and asked, “What the Hell? She really thought she would get her husband back?”
Draagh gave his grandson a pensive look, and then said, “Yes, my son. We all pine for the love of our life, and are susceptible to weaknesses of the heart.”
Max looked out to where Jennie had departed.
Yeah, don’t I know it…
There was no great celebration that night, as many in the castle had loved Alea, and her betrayal had left an atmosphere of pain, loss and regret. Draagh, Jennie and Max sat at a table, quietly eating their evening meal, when Draagh spoke to them, apparently having recovered from his former lover’s deception.
“So, my children. Tomorrow we shall enter into the final phase of your initial training. Within the week you shall both experience your first phase 3, or death form transformation, which I have heard is quite…enlightening.”
The two students gave him curious expressions as he continued, “Jennie, now that you have a new toy with which to play, I expect that you shall be practicing with the utmost intensity in order to master your skills,.” Jennie nodded as she messily chewed on a hunk of meat. Then looking at Max, Draagh said, “Max, you shall learn things of which even the highest of earthly mages never have knowledge. I suggest we get a good night’s rest, so that we may continue in the morning.”
Outside the borders of the Rhönen Dominion, and further to the north of Vladros’ now-partially destroyed home, the fugitive vampire king approached a dilapidated structure which was apparently a castle at one time, while being escorted by his remaining security team, with Siegfried and Ryder Johnson following closely behind. There to greet them at the barely-functional gate was Korlis, a minor vampire leader, who looked upon his liege sneeringly.
“Ah, it appears that you come with your proverbial tail tucked between your legs. Bit off a bit more than you were able to chew, my king? Also, may I ask why the majority of your forces are camped out in the tunnels on my land?”
Vladros look at his subordinate and hissed, saying, “Take care with your tone, Korlis, and I shall allow you yet more land on which to hunt, for I have a plan that shall rid us of the lycan menace once and for all.”
“Which plan might that be?” inquired the smaller, yet equally hideous-looking vampire.
“We assemble the nation and attack the Rhönen on the full moon, of course,” responded Vladros, who broke out into a great, sinister laugh, his ugly visage accentuated by the waxing moon that brilliantly lit the night sky.
The following morning Max woke up, and after changing into his training clothes bounded down to eat his breakfast, fully expecting to find Draagh and Jennie waiting for him. Looking around the mess hall, he saw no sight of his friends, so he grabbed his morning meal and dutifully ate away, replenishing his reserves in preparation for a day of training. He wondered anxiously what it was that he was going to learn. Draagh had given a vague reference to special things, and Max was excited, to say the least.
Finishing his breakfast, he jumped up and decided to go by the training pitch to see if Jennie was using her newly-enhanced katana to blast things to pieces. Thinking back on everything that had happened since he had left his home planet, he had no regrets. He had made new friends, met the grandfather he never knew even existed, and was developing a good, albeit complex, relationship with a beautiful and noble woman - a woman who could hold her own in virtually any situation, although she could use some lessons in table etiquette.
Entering the pitch area, he was surprised to see Jennie, not jumping over obstacles and dealing mass destruction on anything in her path, but seated on the grass with a small girl as the two chatted away. It looked like Jennie was enjoying her conversation with the cute young lycan, who appeared to be about 10 years in age and look surprisingly similar to Jennie, albeit with lighter skin.
Walking up to the two, Max greeted his counterpart with a typical, “Good morning, Jennie.”
“Hey Gunnarsson. This is Liliana. Isn’t she precious?”
The little girl appeared to blush and instantly rose to her feet, curtseying politely.
“Master Gunnarsson, it is a pleasure to meet you. Jennie was telling me of your adventures. They sound so… cool.”
Max’s eyes grew a bit in surprise, having heard the young girl use a term that was not part of the common vernacular of that world.
“Liliana, it’s nice to meet you too. I haven’t ever seen you before. Are your parents close by?”
The child’s face suddenly turned to perplexed sadness, as Jennie whispered, “Hey, she’s an orphan, just like I was.”
Max got an awkward look on his face, but recouped by saying, “Well then Liliana, you have a great family here, and we are proud to be part of it, so please call me Max,” causing the girl’s eyes to light up a bit. “So, what are you two lovely ladies up to?”
Jennie ruffled the girl’s hair a bit and said, “Oh, just girl-talk. Liliana said she is going to watch me train and then join me for lunch.”
Max looked at both the girls while saying, “Well, that sounds pretty neat to me! I gotta go. I’m sure Draagh is waiting for me in the training hall. See ya!”
That having been said, he simply disappeared via a 3D slip to the training hall, leaving the two girls alone. Liliana stared off into space with an astounded expression on her little face.
“He is so cool!” she said breathlessly.
“Yeah, I guess he is,” said Jennie, agreeing with her little friend, feeling a bit of a tickling sensation in her tummy.
Draagh was seated at his table, various books and manuscripts laid about, when Max appeared next to him with a small popping sound.
“Ah, my son, it seems you are mastering local slips quite well, quite well indeed, but have they an effect on your timeout meter of which we spoke?” Max concentrated for a moment.
“The meter does deplete when I use a few in rapid succession, but this one barely moved the dial.”
“Excellent! As you learn further, your skills shall improve and you will find that you are able to avail yourself more of these energies with less downtime.”
“Sounds good to me,” stated Max, and continuing, said, “So, last night you mentioned something about knowledge that earthly mages don’t possess. I’m ready!”
Draagh had a pleasant look on his face, the light from the flickering candles causing his great, blue eyes to sparkle.
“My boy, there is so much more to the science of the universe than you know, and although you will learn much today, I can dare say that one could spend many lifetimes mastering it all. So, that being said - let us begin!”
He pulled out a manuscript and showed it to Max, explaining that not only could a high-level mage navigate worlds and time via The Hub, but also enter into parallel versions of worlds, of which there were infinite numbers. This could be beneficial, but also dangerous, as there were many parallel worlds where magic did not exist at all, being completely devoid of magic particles, or nanobots, as Max called them. Further, there were worlds where magic did indeed exist, but only partially. In these worlds – those with only partially-functioning nanobots, and those without any at all, a mage was required to have his staff, which carried with it sufficient numbers of bots in which to perform cantuses, and even escape the worlds, getting back to the hub.
Once done with the majority of his explanation, which included how one could not simply travel back in time and change something, creating a paradox, he took Max to a small number of the so-called parallel worlds, one being an Earth where man had concentrated le
ss on the tools of war, and more on the development of electronic communications. In that particular world, the governments had managed to implement a pure democracy, where the will of the majority reigned supreme.
As he gazed out at a landscape of death and utter desolation, Max had a look of confusion.
“If a pure democracy was created here, why is the planet so trashed?”
“My boy, a pure democracy simply lets those of the greatest numbers rule over all, with the wishes of the monitory never being taken into consideration. As there were numerous poor and uneducated, they simply voted to give themselves riches, without ever having to earn them. The end result was this society’s crumbling to dust.”
Max looked around in all directions, seeing only decaying structures, with the random person climbing over piles of rubble.
“Why wouldn’t they vote for what was right for their world? It’s hard to believe.”
Draagh sighed and placed his hand on his grandson’s shoulder, saying, “My boy, there was a wise individual in Earth’s past, his name long-forgotten, who once said Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.”
Max winced at the notion of wolves being the antagonists, but Draagh cut him off before the young man could say a word.
“My boy, the person whom I am quoting did not carry the recessive lycan gene, thus his completely irrational choice of animals in which to make his analogy. I believe a more accurate selection of creatures would have been two hyenas and a kitten. Anyway, although he was a normal, he was quite a brilliant one. Yes, quite brilliant indeed. As we are on that subject, did you realize that most of the founding fathers of the former United States of America carried the recessive lycan gene? Yes, it is true, well, with the exception of Benjamin Franklin, who actually became quite an accomplished minor-mage – once he was taken to a place where he could craft his skills, while on sabbatical of course.”
Max started laughing, knowing well the history of Earth’s past, but of course never having learned that particular factoid in school.
Ben Franklin traveled to a world where he learned magic… sounds about right.
They then slipped to a couple more parallel worlds - one where dolphins, and not man, had evolved as the dominant species, and another where quadrinium had never been discovered and the Vrol had never attacked, resulting in a still-existing, but barely stable society which teetered on the brink of annihilation – and of course, no Exodus to Azul. They then returned to their training hall and delved further into Max’s lessons.
Out in the training grounds, Jennie sailed over obstacles while avoiding moving targets, decimating each one with her katana, taking care not to deplete her resources by using a methodical combination of skills and magic. Liliana sat on the grass off to the side and watched, clapping her hands with delight, as her new friend impressed everyone (mostly males) in attendance. Although the majority of lycans who fancied the beautiful young warrior had resigned themselves to the rank of mere spectator, there still remained those who had the courage to approach her and ask for her hand. Of course, they were immediately shot down, much to the laughter of their fellow soldiers – and Liliana, who quietly thought that Jennie should be with Max. Lycan children tended to be quite opinionated, and often had a wisdom that surpassed their few years of life.
As lunch hour approached, Jennie took a towel and wiped her face and arms in an attempt to remove some of the disagreeable scent that had built up during her intense training. She then took Liliana’s hand and walked with the young girl to the mess hall, where they found both Max and Draagh seated.
“Ah, Jennie! I see you have brought a friend!” exclaimed Draagh. “And who might this lovely little lady be?” he asked with a great smile, looking at a beaming Liliana.
Curtseying as she had done when she first met Max, she responded, “I am Liliana, kind sir. Are you not the great mage, Lord Draagh?”
“Why yes I am, although I have been known by many other names, such as…”
Draagh then started gurgling and clicking something in an odd, alien-sounding language that only he understood. It was so comical that all four burst out in laughter, with bright-eyed Liliana giggling uncontrollably and bouncing in her seat.
As they sat at the table, eating their meal, Max noticed that Jennie was actually using a fork and a knife, making a relatively clumsy attempt at proper table manners.
Most probably for the little girl, he thought to himself, when he startled by a voice in his head that responded, “Yes, my son, those are her innate maternal instincts coming into play. She will make a fine mother one day.”
Max was nearly shocked at hearing Draagh’s voice in his head, but thought back to him, “You can hear me and I can hear you? Whaaat? What else do you know?”
“Fear not my young one, as you are my grandson we share a genetic connection, but I will not pry, as your mind is quite active, and I can mostly only do so with your permission. As you remember, magical objects can also facilitate the same connection, and that is how I located Jennie in Vladros’ castle. However, without the aid of an object, our connection is only available in a small radius – roughly within the castle walls. We will need for you to eventually study a blocking technique, as there are some who command devastating mental powers from which it will be necessary to defend yourself when in enclosed spaces.”
Max sighed in relief, and then tried to push the fact that their sleeping quarters were so close together out of his mind. He also made a mental note to not think about Jennie so much at nights – and most certainly not imagine the two of them together, which he would frequently do when his mind drifted off to lazy sleep.
The four finished their meals and were preparing to depart, when Draagh asked Liliana, “So my dear, are you off to your studies, or are you going to watch Jennie create more work for the men and women who build the targets and obstacles for training?”
“Neither, my Lord. We must prepare for the coming moon.”
Jennie’s expression lit up and she quickly asked, “Liliana, are we going to change with you? We could be in facing cells and watch each other and howl at the moon!”
The beautiful dega then leaned her head back and let out a mock howl, fully expecting laughter from the little girl, but instead was startled by the girl's puzzled look on her face.
“No Jennie. I do not change.”
“You don’t?” asked Jennie.
“We do not change until we come of age. Did you not know that?” to which she started giggling.
“Come of age?” Jennie inquired, looking a bit perplexed.
Max put a hand up, attempting to block Liliana’s view, and with his other hand formed a circle with his thumb and forefinger, and then made up and down jerking motions. Jennie continued to look a bit confused, while Draagh nearly snorted his afternoon tea out through his nose. Even Liliana apparently got the joke, though Max immediately quit, as he found it a bit disturbing that a little girl would understand such things – or maybe she just thought Jennie’s confused look was silly.
They all got up to leave, with the little girl bowing to the other three, and thanking them, especially Jennie, for being so kind to her. Then she jumped over to Max, and motioning for him to bend over, whispered into his ear.
“I accidentally saw a boy do it once. He had a look of pain upon his face, and it was quite disturbing. I do not look forward to coming of age.”
This in itself caused Max to get another of his usual awkward looks on his face. She then ran over and gave Jennie an affectionate hug around the woman’s waist, and skipped off to help in preparations for the full moon. The three then walked out of the mess hall, with Max trailing slightly behind.
Draagh and Jennie appeared to be discussing something quietly, when she suddenly turned and blurted out, “Max! Oh God! That’s terrible!” She then stormed off to continue with her training.
Max stood there with a look of disbelief. “She… she called me… Max,” he stammered.
>
Draagh smiled and patted his grandson on the back as they continued on to the training hall, where they spent the rest of the afternoon going through all that Max had learned in the prior week, with the young lycan mage performing cantuses while utilizing his katana, all in an attempt to find proper balance on his HUD.
After finishing for the day, Max went back to his quarters to get cleaned up for dinner, only to hear giggling coming from Jennie’s room. He walked down the hallway, creeping up slowly, trying to avoid detection as he listened to Jennie and Liliana, who were apparently playing with Jennie’s power gauntlet. He surmised that that young girl had somehow gotten out of her chores so she could spend more time with her new friend. As Max stood by the door, he heard what sounded like an electrical shock and a cat shrieking, apparently causing the two girls inside to burst out in laughter. He was about to walk away, when Jennie’s door suddenly opened, with Liliana standing there - hands on her hips, and an expression on her face that seemed to say oh boy – you are in SO much trouble.
“This is a girls-only club, so says Jennie!”
The little girl then playfully stuck her tongue out at Max and slammed the door shut, the room yet again echoing with the sounds of giggles and electrical shocks. (*17*)
Damn, that kinda sounds like fun, thought Max as he walked to his room.
Chapter 23 – Wolftime!
Donus joined Draagh, Max and Jennie for dinner, as he was to assist in preparing the two youths for their first phase 3 transformations.
“It is a bit painful, but nothing of an overwhelming sort,” said the lycan commander, “so rest assured, the majority of us shall be locked away, as most lose their ability to reason, and we do not desire to do Vladros’ work and deplete our own numbers.”
Jennie looked at him curiously and asked, “Deplete our numbers? Do we attack our own?”
Donus gave her a sullen look. “Yes, dear girl. Only a few can maintain their identities in such a state. It is they who guard the castle when the moon is full, along with a number of normals from the nearby village that you had the good fortune to visit with my recon team. I happen to be one of those who maintain sapience, so I will check on your well-being throughout the night.”