by SK Benton
Then looking at Alea he said plainly, "My dear, you have created quite a mess, and I am afraid that it is not myself to whom you must answer."
Alea continued looking at the dungeon floor. She was so panicked over being told that her husband was alive that she didn't stop to think it could have been a trap or a lie. She chose evil, and one who chooses evil never wins in the end.
"Leave her there," commanded Draagh, "I shall retrieve her upon my return."
The four searched all over the castle, but could find neither Siegfried, nor Vladros. They had both fled, as evil is generally masked cowardice. Many of the lycans returned to the outside perimeter of the castle via their hastily made tunnel, but Max made sure that Jennie was out first and then had a good time 3D slipping four of them, running back through the tunnel after each slip to get another. As he had done this without the use of Draagh's staff, his timeout meter was depleted and slowly creeping back up, keeping him from using any more magic for at least a minute.
Maintaining defensive positions, as the sun had already set, they waited until the team had completely arrived, along with Alea as their prisoner. There were no losses, although one lycan soldier had suffered a hellcat bite that, unfortunately, was painfully poisonous.
"I didn't even get to use my sword," complained Jennie, with Max giving her a look of complete disbelief.
"Jennie, you were kidnapped and beaten. Can't we just go home?"
"Home," she said softly, "I like the sound of that."
Chapter 22 - Banishment
The castle's great hall was filled with all the lycans from the Rhönen Dominion, every single one standing at attention, as Krynos, king of all he surveyed, addressed the crowd. Directly in front of him was Alea, the traitorous woman who assisted in Jennie's kidnapping.
The lycan leader gave her gaze of detest, and then looked out at the crowd, saying, "Brothers and sisters, as we are a nation of laws and nobility, we must always adhere to the written rules upon which we live our daily lives. We have suffered at the hands of betrayal, and with great sadness we turn our backs on Alea, who was a valued member of our family. In most cases, these circumstances would result in the instant execution of the bearer of ill-will. But as Alea did serve the Dominion well for many years, and also due to the fact that she was betrayed by her cohorts, believing that her husband, the greatly-missed Morgus, was alive and held captive by Vladros, I have determined a modified punishment for our former sister. Alea, you are herewith banished from the Rhönen Dominion for the rest of your natural life, to wander the wilderness and perhaps come to grips with the crimes of which you are convicted. This is the will of your former king."
Krynos looked at the honor guard that surrounded Alea and nodded for them to escort the woman out of the castle. Everyone in attendance maintained stoic expressions, except for a lycan major named Kangor. A tear rolled down his cheek as he watched the woman he had known for decades. As she turned to leave, she gave Draagh a look of anguish, knowing that she had indeed ruined what was a good life, and had almost destroyed the life of another. Draagh glanced at her and then looked away. He had many lovers during his long life, and it was not the first time he had been betrayed by the fairer sex.
Max and Jennie stood in the crowd and quietly watched the procession lead the woman out, with Jennie giving her a glare of contempt.
"You never liked her, did you?" asked Max.
Jennie looked at him and plainly stated, "No, I always thought she was a bitch."
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 children, 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," Jennie growled, before storming 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 gaze, 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 left an atmosphere of pain, loss and regret. Draagh, Jennie and Max sat at their usual table, quietly eating their evening meal, when Draagh spoke to them, 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 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, "And you, my boy, shall learn things of which even the highest of earthly mages never have knowledge. I suggest we all 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-destroyed castle, the fugitive vampire king approached a dilapidated structure, which was also a castle at one time. He boldly entered the property with his remaining security team; Siegfried and Ryder Johnson following close behind. There to greet them at the broken gate was Korlis, a minor vampire leader, who looked upon his liege while wearing a crooked sneer that betrayed his status.
"Ah, it seems 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, "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," responded Vladros, who broke out into a great, sinister laugh, his ugly visage accentuated by the waxing moon that lit the night sky.
###
The following morning Max awoke excited, 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 tried to imagine what he was going to learn, as Draagh had given a vague reference to special things.
Max finished his food and jumped up from the table. He decided to go by the training pitch to see if Jennie was using her new, enhanced katana to blast things to atoms. 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.
As he entered the pitch area he was surprised that Jennie wasn't jumping over obstacles and dealing mass destruction on everything in her path. Rather, she was seated on the grass chatting with a small girl. It seemed she was enjoying her conversation with the cute young lycan, who appeared to be about 10 years of age, and looked as if she could have been Jennie's relative, albeit younger and with lighter skin.
He walked up to the two, where he 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 r
ose to her feet, curtseying in polite fashion while frantically brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"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 turned to perplexed sadness, as Jennie whispered, "Hey, she's an orphan, 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." This caused the girl's eyes to light up a bit. "So what are you two lovely ladies up to?"
Jennie reached over and ruffled the girl's hair a bit, saying, "Oh, just girl-talk. Liliana said she's 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!"
He had barely finished his last syllable when he disappeared with a light pop, 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 cooed.
"Yeah, I guess he is," said Jennie, agreeing with her little friend, and feeling a bit of a tickling sensation in her tummy as she said it.
###
Draagh was seated at his table, various books and manuscripts laid about, when Max appeared next to him, preceded by a small popping sound.
"Ah, my son, it seems you are mastering local slips quite well, quite well indeed, but do they still have an effect on your timeout meter?"
Max concentrated for a moment, squinting his left eye as if he was straining to see something. "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 he could also enter into parallel versions of worlds, of which there were infinite numbers. This was beneficial (i.e. a deceased person's DNA was required, and a living doppelganger still existed on an alternate plane), but also dangerous, as there were many parallel worlds where magic didn't 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 those so-called parallel worlds. One was an Earth where man had concentrated less on the tools of war, and more on the development of electronic communications. In that particular world, global 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 wore an expression of confusion and astonishment.
"If a pure democracy was created here, why is the planet so trashed?"
"My boy, a pure democracy 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 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 nothing but 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 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. Oh, and Benjamin Franklin actually became quite an accomplished minor-mage - once he was taken to a place where he was able to 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 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, nor had the Vrol ever attacked, resulting in a still-existing, but unstable society that teetered on the brink of annihilation - and had 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 and avoiding moving targets, decimating each one with her katana, while 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 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 privately thought that Jennie should be with Max. Lycan children tended to be quite opinionated, and often possessed 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. Taking Liliana's hand, she 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 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 clumsy
attempt at proper table manners.
For the little girl, he thought to himself, when he was 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 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 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 - within the castle walls. We will need for you to 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 out of his mind that their sleeping quarters were so close together. 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 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 as 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!"
