THE VROL TRILOGY

by SK Benton

  No longer required to practice only with a sword, Max reported to a dungeon for his next phase of lycan training. He found it odd, as he believed lycan skills training would happen out in the open. The funny thing was that he had no idea what was in store, nor what these lycan skills were.

  Max's trainer was a woman named Alea. She was, of course, also lycan. Appearing roughly five years older than him, she had a subdued beauty that, although not as striking as Jennie's, was still formidable. The two greeted briefly, and the woman was quite professional in her approach to the training. She started off by detailing the myriad of lycan abilities, some of which Max did not quite envision at first.

  Of course, a lycan had enhanced strength, and three transformational modes, if one counted their normal, everyday state, which was called day form. Of the other two modes, Max had already experienced one, battle form (alternatively called phase 2), and it was critical that he learn to master it so he would be able to maintain self-control while exercising his doubled strength. The other mode was that of death form, or werewolf (also called phase 3). He would transform into a raging beast, running on all fours and attacking anything and anyone in his vicinity. This would only happen for a few hours every lunar cycle, during the full moon - the reason for this would be explained to him at a later time by Draagh, who apparently knew a lot more about that world than he was letting on. Lycans also had incredibly sensitive noses and razor-sharp vision, even in darkness, which Max already knew. One thing he didn't know was they were also able to change the light spectrum they would see at night, going to a mode similar to infrared.

  Max was strapped down, shirtless, into a chair, and Alea told him to look at a placard with writing on the wall facing him. He was required to read this while being goaded into an agitated state, which would cause his transformation into his battle form.

  What he didn't realize, until it happened, was that she was going to beat him quite severely as he sat bound to his chair. When he started to read the script - the Oath of Office for lycan commanders - she punched him in the face. Hard. Max was shocked at first, but Alea, showing no emotion, ordered him to continue reading. As he did so she punched him again in the face, and followed up by taking a cat-o-nine tails whip and striking him across his bare shoulder. This caused him to fly into a state of rage, the sudden onset of this resulting in his canines growing longer, his nails converting to claws on both his hands and feet, and for hair to grow on his body in places where it did not previously exist. His limbs also elongated slightly, giving him more run and reach range, and of course his metabolism shot through the roof.

  It took him roughly two hours of being beaten by the lovely lycan female until he was able to read the commander's oath and maintain his the battle form state, all while keeping his logic and reason.

  The one thing he did not expect was what he saw in the upper-left corner of his field of vision. It appeared to be an organic readout with four horizontal lines. The line at the top was blood-red, the second one vein-blue, the third one down was a brilliant green, and the bottom one yellow in color. This apparition flashed in and out of his field of vision, but the longer he could control his state, the more stable this readout became.

  After explaining what he had in his peripheral vision, Alea detailed to him that these were his vital readouts. The top three were health, strength, and stamina, respectively, but she had no knowledge of any yellow line, and assumed it had something to do with his genetic abilities as a mage. It was critical that he monitored these three lines during battle, because if even one tanked he could pass out. When a lycan went into battle form, his or her metabolism jumped through the roof, and this also meant that his system would consume resources at a much higher rate. If he were to be hit too much, his red health line would decrease, and likewise, if he were to expend too much energy too quickly then his blue stamina line would shrink. His green strength line was affected by a combination of decreases in stamina and health, so if he were to lose any of the lines he would, for all intents and purposes, be powerless.

  Jennie had no difficulty at all mastering her battle state. In fact, she was one of the quickest studies ever in the recorded history of the Rhönen Dominion. While it was true that female lycans tended to be more adept at self-control, Jennie set a new standard upon which to complete this training, doing so in conjunction with her sword and battle efforts, which went along smoothly.

  By day three of her training she had mastered the art of the katana, and was working on ancient martial arts, while Max was just mastering being able to enter into his battle state at will (and also without being savagely beaten by Alea). He was also able see his readout (which he called his HUD, after the Head's Up Display in his helmet he left back on the Machu Picchu), and to simultaneously read ancient manuscripts and have calm discussions with his teacher. As his training was so intense, he burned through tens of thousands of calories, so he was required to eat eleven meals during each training session. Alea had him skip meals on purpose, and on more than one occasion forced him to drop into a light coma, from which she awakened him with a quick nourishment drink, administered by shoving a tube through his mouth and down into his stomach. After one of these occurrences, he awoke to find himself with his head on her lap, with the woman calmly stroking his dark hair.

  Looking up, groggy and trying to adjust his vision, he saw her look down as she softly asked, "Max, is that girl you fought - is she your mate?"

  "Um, no. I mean, yes - no, she is not. I kind of wish that could be a possibility, but she doesn't care much for me. Why do you ask?"

  Alea took her thumb and forefinger and gently rubbed the outer edges of his ear (lycan ears being incredibly sensitive to the touch), while telling him how the local leader of the vampires, Vladros, killed her mate in battle. Her husband, 3rd Captain Morgus, was an experienced and highly-valued leader in the Dominion, but he was betrayed by a lycan who had allied himself with the ghouls, and had led her husband into a trap. This made Max feel sad for her loss, as he was an emotional sort, which was a rarity for scientists, and the probable cause for him losing his temper during the mock battle with Jennie.

  "Max, my dear young student," she continued, "As our sessions here are near an end, please know that you can count on me for anything. Any questions, please call on me, and if you have any needs, such as the comfort of the company of a woman, you only need ask."

  Max gulped, awkward as ever, and nodded to his lovely instructor.

  ###

  After completing the third day, Draagh approached Max and said they would begin an introductory course in the ways of magic. Max was excited about this, although he was longing to train more with Jennie, knowing he wouldn't turn into a homicidal maniac.

  That evening, as the three ate their supper and the two youths excitedly recounted stories of their training, Draagh informed Jennie that once Max was done with his magical training he would also teach her some of the magical arts.

  Max looked at Draagh and said, "Hey Pops, didn't you say that Jennie wasn't a mage?"

  "I did indeed say that, did I not? But as we go on, my son, you will learn that there are magical objects, and they can be handled by non-mages who have received training in their various uses. It will be necessary for Jennie to have knowledge of these things."

  Jennie smiled at Draagh, and then gave Max a cocky grin, believing he wouldn't have that much more knowledge than him at the end of it all.

  As they sat there talking about Jennie's favorite training, which was the ancient Japanese art of karate, Alea strolled by and leaned down, whispering something inaudible in Max's ear. He looked at his compatriots, and noticed that Jennie's face contorted slightly, but she regained her composure immediately, hoping he didn't notice. Max blushed a brilliant shade of red, blood filling his cheeks.

  "Thank you, Alea. I appreciate it, and I'll… I'll let you know."

  Draagh had a mildly surprised look and said, "Max, it does appear you have gained the admiration of so
meone, hmm?"

  Max turned away from the two in an attempt to hide his blushing face, when Jennie abruptly stood up and strolled over to a table filled with men who were all having an animated and lively discussion regarding the proper way to behead vampires. Two of them scooted to either side, making room for her to sit down. Once she was placed at the table she turned back to see both Draagh and Max with shocked expressions on their faces. She then casually turned back to her new tablemates and accepted a shot glass of some sort of distilled liquor, joining in their merry festivities.

  Draagh looked at his grandson, studying the young man's face and said "My boy, fret not. This is what women do when they become jealous."

  The young lycan/mage grabbed a piece of cold beef and started gnawing on it, wearing a face of disdain. But what amazed Draagh the most was not that Max was perturbed by Jennie's actions; it was that he ate with his bare hands.

  ###

  The following morning Max woke up and looked out the window of his bedchambers, watching the rain drop gently from the sky. It rained frequently in that part of the world, but they had been rather lucky to arrive at a time when it was dry outside. Battle training in the mud generally took longer, so they were able to shorten their training period by a few days. Dressing into his training clothes, he exited his room, seeing Jennie sitting on the ground in the hallway outside her door. She looked and smelled like she was hung over from the booze she drank the night before, so he approached her, figuring she was in a significant amount of pain. Max was one to always think of others, and most certainly so in Jennie's case.

  "Jennie, are you ok? Do you need anything?"

  "Why would I need anything from you?" she blurted out, jumping up, storming into her room and slamming the door behind her.

  Max had little experience with girls, but this was something most men never figured out anyway. Knocking on the door, he said, "Jennie, is it ok? Can I come in? Hey, I'm your friend. At least I would like to think I am."

  She opened the door for him, a melancholy look lining her face. Then, after allowing him to enter her room, she suddenly started beating him in the chest with her clenched fists, poking and punching him out of total frustration.

  "Who the hell do you think you are, Gunnarsson? You steal our most advanced technology, fly off to Earth where you meet this weird old wizard, and then practically kidnap me, taking me to this place full of dog people in the middle of future nowhere! To make it worse, you beat me in battle. You bastard! You're just a science dweeb! How can do all these things while it's so hard for me? It's so freaking hard!"

  Jennie began to sob, dropping to her knees right in front of Max, head hung low and throbbing in pain due to the unfiltered libations she had consumed the night before.

  Max kneeled down and gently lifted her face by her chin, looking into her beautiful, tear-filled eyes.

  "Jennie, what is it? How have I wronged you? We aren't here to compete with each other - we're here to learn so we can go back to Azul and kill the Vrol. Didn't you watch the vids on them? They're pure evil, and our planet will die if we - and that's both you and me - don't get our acts together and learn everything possible."

  Jennie fell forward and rested her face on his shoulder, wetting the fabric of his tunic with her tears. He had never seen her cry like this, and it killed him inside. Still, having her so close caused an intense, warm sensation to fill his empty stomach.

  Max stood up and gently took her under her arms, lifting her, and then brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Hey Jennie, come with me and let's go learn magic. You're already awesome with swords. We can do this together, and if there's some way you can learn more I'll be there for you, ok?"

  Jennie gave Max a weak smile and they both left her room. Once in the hallway, he said, "Draagh has an excellent hangover cure. Would you like one?"

  She again nodded her head enthusiastically and responded, "Don't ever let me drink that shit again, ok?"

  "I promise," he said, and smiled as they walked down the hallway.

  ###

  Many hundreds of kilometers away, in a decrepit, disintegrating castle that was barely held together by earthen cement and the blood of unfortunate, murdered lycans, three pale, grotesquely twisted soldiers, all dressed in dried-out black leather, half-carried/half-dragged a man into the dank, musty antechambers on the first level. Rotten, gangrenous patches of skin hung from his exposed muscular tissue, having nearly been burnt off from the sun. He appeared to be dead at first glance. The leader of this group cautiously approached his king and kneeled before speaking.

  "My Lord, we found this in the western forest, near a clearing. He is vampire, though he does not yet understand his change."

  Lord Vladros sat behind a massive, gothic desk, looking at the wretched creature they had just dragged inside.

  "Does he speak?" asked Vladros.

  "Yes, my liege. He said his name is Ryder, but is disoriented, most probably from the death orb, and he seems near the end of his life," responded the same soldier.

  Lord Vladros looked at the man a little further while flicking away some dead skin from his pale, twisted face.

  "Ryder? That name does not sound like one of strength. Throw him in the dungeon until I decide his fate."

  The soldiers bowed and backed out of the antechambers, dragging the near-corpse with them.

  "Oh, and give him some blood. I want him alive for questioning later."

  Chapter 15 - Let's Learn Magic

  Max and Jennie met Draagh in the main hall, where he was seated at a massive, wooden table, put there specifically for their use. He had a number of manuscripts on the table, as well as two lit candles, and assorted, ordinary-looking objects.

  "Good morning, my children!" shouted Draagh, causing Jennie to shudder, her headache having increased in intensity. "Here, my young friend, drink this. It is a little concoction I invented some 23,000 years ago to help a particular-"

  "Shut up!" wailed Jennie, interrupting the old mage. "My head aches."

  She sat down and threw back her head, chugging Draagh's potion, as the wizard gave Max a wink and a mischievous grin. Within seconds she gained a look of relief, the ill effects of her night of drunken revelry instantly disappearing. Feeling much better, she showed Draagh an embarrassed grin along with her apt attention.

  Draagh looked at the two and gave them both a glowing smile.

  "Jennie," he said, "I was going to hold off on teaching you the ways of magic, as your practical application of the art will be limited in comparison to Max. This is because he has most of the genetic qualities required of a Primulus-caste mage. What changed my mind was the fact that our young friend had a little discussion with me last night at dinner. You know, when you were partying like it was the end of the universe with those amazingly handsome lycan soldiers."

  Jennie went red in the face, not only because Draagh had pointed out who she was with, but also that she had no idea Max had spoken to Draagh regarding her studying magic along with him.

  "So, I have decided that we three shall study together," he continued, while wearing a grin of complete satisfaction. Draagh then went on to explain the very basics of magic.

  "Magic is made possible by energy. Well, not exactly energy, but we will call it that as it certainly fits my explanation of what magic is - or of what it is not. Anyway, I digress. It is a specific form of energy which enables beings that are attuned to it to call on a variety of functions that are, for the most part, called cantuses. These are also archaically known as spells. There are varying types of cantuses - some simple and others more complex. Just as the structure of a language provides for simple and compound verbal conjugations, so does magic for cantuses. Now one need not know a whole lot for the simple cantuses, except how to call them. Then, ambient energy in the air, in the form of sound waves, calls on these forces to do what is requested."

  Both Jennie and Max watched Draagh with great interest as he continued. "Depending on where you are in the univer
se, the cantuses will be in different languages. Of course, we could not expect the Kartovians to have any effective form of magic, as their words are extremely long. I could build a house by hand, with hammer and nail before a Kartovian minor-mage, if one existed, could recite the cantuses to perform the very same task. The cantuses you shall use are in a form of the Latin language. So, for example, Max, I want you to say graveincantatio liber, while holding your hand out, palm facing upwards and feel the pressure of gently lifting up this book. You must concentrate on the book."

  Max did as Draagh instructed, and proceeded to throw the book out of the room, prompting both Draagh and Jennie to burst out laughing.

  "I could feel it! It was like a light pressure on my palm! That was amazing! Oh, was that book important?" asked Max.

  Well, only if you wish to further your studies, as that was your basic lessons book," stated Draagh, prompting all three to snicker.

  "Ok, my son. I shall correct your errant cantus. Watch closely." Draagh then held out his hand and the book went flying back into the room, with the spine landing perfectly in his palm. Max and Jennie both sat stunned.

  "Draagh," asked Max, "how is it that I have to say words, but you don't? Is it because you're as old as dirt?"

  Draagh gave the two a silly grin and said, "Much older, my boy. Yes, much older indeed. So let us continue. Jennie, now it is your turn, but for you, this little device is necessary."