Chapter 147

Lykan

Family Ties

Taking out the guards were one thing as they were little more than lumbering lummoxes. Easily dispatched with swift concise movements. Now this new group, they were hard to detect as they were completely devoid of mana. Also, their tolerance to qi seemed to be high, as they seemed to ignore the static pulses of qi that Lykan subtly produced.

The traces of qi weren’t much but were often enough to warn would be predators to stay away. These were of course controlled measured pulses of qi. No sooner would he take a new step then the amount of qi expelled would have replenished itself. These pulses of qi were often enough to send most people and monsters moments of hesitation. These hesitations are needed as this makes it so apex predators don’t constantly have to kill every creature that enters their lands. The fact that several creatures are willing to leave without conflict is often good enough.

In this case however, there is a difference. In this case, the predator traveling through is releasing a warning of death. To non-qi-infused creatures this would be more of a warning. Even to most qi infused creatures this would be a sign to his potency and mastery of the alien power source. Still most qi infused creatures would find these pulses nearly irresistible, which in turn only made Lykan want to use this process more. Rather than having to hunt for the creatures, he would lure the monsters to him, at which time he and Brenna would kill them for their cores and infused meat.

This same process of luring out qi infused monsters was how they intended to power Kosha through. However, their plans were put to a sudden and unexpected halt by not one, but two different groups hunting them and stopping their progress through the woods.

“That is far enough.” A female voice called out.

A quick use of Master Analyze showed minimal information.

Name: Frenna Vita Race: Human Class: Tracker (Null) Age: 28

Seeing the information, it was almost too much to comprehend. For a second Lykan wondered if his skill had somehow misfired, or misrepresented the information being presented. As Normally he only got the name and race. This time he got the entire name header. He was also surprised to see that his skill also increased.

Skill Increased. Master Analyze: Novice -> Beginner

At his sudden understanding and recognition of what was happening, Brenna turned from her protective stance around Kosha to make eye contact with him. The movement caused him to look back at her.

Their eyes met for a moment, in that one look, an entire conversation was spoken. Then with a nod, Brenna broke eye contact to cover her sector once again. The message at the end was clear, I trust you and will follow your lead. Seeing her unwavering confidence in him caused him to take a deep calming breath. A lot of things were in motion currently, but one thing was for certain, Brenna would have his back. That meant more to him than any worldly possession he had ever held.

When Lykan looked back to the woman who held his last name, he saw that she too looked shocked.

“Brother?” Her voice asked, a quavering note to her word. She took a step forward, and on reflex more than anything Lykan raised his staff in a defensive form. While he didn’t feel any forms of mental manipulation at play, he still could not rule out such an effect.

At the movement, the attacker, this Frenna paused. To her it was clear she missed the movement, only noticing that something had changed about Lykan’s form.

“You can Analyze me? I see that you have the Master Analyze skill. That should give you my basics, Lykan Vov’Vita.” She said and put particular inference on the ‘Vov’ part of his name, the part that noted him as a Veteran of Valor.

Almost to emphasize this, Kosha was seen leaning forward and asking Brenna “what does a Vov’Vita mean?”

“It means he is a Veteran of Valor, one who served so admirably in the military that even the Gods noticed his contributions.” Brenna said, pride and warmth flowing from her words.

“So, he’s a hero?” Kosha asked.

“You bet he is.” Brenna said, nothing but pride raging in her voice before she continued. “In fact, the only reason these assailants aren’t dead right now, is that one could say he is almost too much of a hero.” Brenna suggested.

“We cannot let you take the girl.” The woman Frenna said, her voice calm as if trying to calm down a raging bull.

Lykan just stared at her. Their eyes met and it was clear that she flinched, slightly, but it was there all the same. With that she stopped, simultaneously the group of others who had gone with her stopped as well.

“I had heard about you little brother. The lost one. The one who got away.” Frenna said.

Lykan for his part just stared at her. His only motion was the tightening of his grip on his staff. Still, even such a small movement was captured by Frenna, who wisely took a step back. Going so far as to hold up a hand to her subordinates to also take a step back.

“You might recall Aren? She was one of our agents. Your grandmother placed her with you. She followed you to the jungle basin. Then we heard that you two met up in Ajimal’s territory. Never thought I’d see you on a freedom run.”

“Freedom runs?” Lykan repeated as the words seemed to make no sense.

“Yes, see before all this. Before Ajimal found a purpose for us Nulls, we had to tend for our own. Your great-great-grandfather founded us, the Cerusians.” Frenna said, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t be telling you like this, but I know we couldn’t capture you if we tried. So, I want to tell you enough to make you at least listen.”

Lykan looked at her, then back to Brenna. As he turned Brenna seemed to know once again what he was thinking as their gazes met. Brenna nodded confidently, and that was enough for Lykan.

“My partner seems to think you are telling the truth. At least what you believe to be the truth.” Lykan mused.

“You could come with us?” Frenna offered.

Lykan shook his head.

“No, I didn’t think you would go for that. Given your past I fully understand brother.”

Hearing that word Lykan bristled.

Brenna for her part, turned to add her perspective to the conversation. “He doesn’t like the term brother, not from you.”

“Oh. He likely thinks it is a name thing. No, I was referring to the fact that we were both at one point in time Nulls. Cast out of communities, seen as the bane of civilized societies.” Frenna said.

“So, it is your way of saying I’m a member of your secret society?” Lykan asked.

“Yes, though we could do a test to see if we are in fact related. I find it curious that we both have the same last name. My parents died shortly after I was born, well my mother did at least. She eloped with another man and was not seen again.” Pain filled her words, as she recalled the memories of her past. She was either telling the truth, or an expert liar.

Lykan had seen skills and people possessing skills capable of hiding their real information from Analyze. The fact that she had her own form of Analyze, meant that she might also have a way to conceal her true information from others. After all, knowing how a particular skill worked was often the precursor needed to learning how to defend against such a powerful skill. This thought made Lykan want to learn to improve his Master Analyze skill faster, but he also hated the idea of being perceived as dishonest. Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, Frenna spoke.

“At the very least, we would like to take the girl with us.” Frenna said. “I do not believe you intend to harm her. And I am willing to swear an oath to the gods themselves right now that we will take her and care for her to the best of our ability.”

Hearing that Lykan relaxed his grip. Almost instantly a palpable wave of relief could be felt as many of the trackers with Frenna also relaxed their stances.

“I cannot give her to you. At least not today.” Lykan said, this time from a fully standing position, his tall thin frame showing off easily under his threadbare clothes.

“What do you intend to do with her?” Frenna asked, somewhat confused.

“We intend to increase her standing with the gods. To give her accolades of accomplishments.” Brenna cut in.

“Is this what you did with the boy, Marsh?” Frenna asked.

With that Lykan looked at her.

“It was no surprise that people spoke about the beautiful strangers who came in and offered the boy to a couple of farmers who desperately wanted a boy. Then not only do those same farmers suddenly have money to buy tools and supplies, but the boy turns out to be beyond blessed by the gods. Yes, people take notice and spoke of such events. Then when we found your trail of bodies, trails of soldiers who were expertly knocked out, rather than slaughtered. We had to find out who you were. To see that you were our lost child finally found, is nothing more than an extreme blessing.” Frenna said. “That said, I need to report this to your grandmother or else she will have my head.”

Hearing that, Lykan’s eyes grew wide as he took in her words. The entire thing still seemed too good to be true. How could they possibly know his grandmother?

Badump. Badump.

His heartbeat wildly at the thought, even if it was false hope it was still hope. He had never known his mother, not truly. Still, he didn’t want to be taken in by flowery words.

“You seem to know a lot about me. While I still know nothing about you. Other than you claim to be part of an organization of assassins.” Lykan said. “Also know that I will not let you turn this girl into a killer.”

After saying that, Lykan could feel the eyes of the little girl on him. He would be willing to kill everyone if they forced such a life on a child so full of hope and spirit. The bruising on her face and arms showed that she had that drive to live that, so few people seemed to possess now. A spark of life that Lykan wished to continue fostering in the next wave of children. Children that would inherit the problems that still plague this world.

“We don’t always have to kill. But in some cases, we do promote the quelling of monsters before they get started.” Frenna said.

“This all sounds too good to be true. So, I must ask, why here, why now?”

Hearing that Frenna nodded. “The truth is you are a hard man to find. We had heard word of a Ghost of the North. Some of our analysts claimed that these sightings were you, but whenever we went to investigate, we could not find any sign of you.” She paused, then seeing that he wasn’t going to respond she continued. “We looked for you. Sometimes we could find traces, but whenever you entered the ancient crypts, we lost track of you. We have found that while many of us can enter the ancient crypts, many of our tracking methods are not effective in such places. Also, the dangers posed by such places are often well beyond us.”

Hearing this, Lykan’s eyes glowed as he realized something. “You are all nulls?” Lykan asked.

“Mostly. There are a few normal children that for one reason or another, find their way to use. But mostly our recruits come from following the awakening ceremonies and their processions.” She said. “We used to stay a day or two behind, but now we have found that with Ajimal’s forces capturing our kind, we have to act quickly.”

Hearing this Lykan nodded, but his mind was already alight with the idea of groups of trained and talented individuals who could already enter dungeons. This would make the tasks before them so much easier to accomplish. Especially if he could convince more to focus on saving the world from external invaders, rather than focusing on the petty squabbles of dictators.

Seeing his way forward, Lykan made a peaceful gesture. “We will meet back here in two weeks’ time. During that time, we will strengthen Kosh so regardless of what happens, she will be capable of making her own decisions about her future. Then I would like to speak to your leaders about possibly working together.”

“Two weeks, here?” Frenna said, her mind and voice getting excited by the good news.

Hearing her excitement caused Lykan to get defensive. With that, he gave a final warning. “Know that if you have malicious intent, I will crush you and any opposition you bring.”

“I promise with the gods as my witness, that when we next meet, it will be under good faith.” Frenna said, as she spoke a golden hue appeared around her.

This was good, as it meant her Power Attribute was high enough to invoke the gods. This meant that she had likely managed to kill a few qi infused monsters. Lykan assumed that she likely killed a few dragons, but the dhampyrs were also something new to be considered as well.

Tap.

With that Lykan tapped his left foot. Not much, but it was enough to signal to Brenna that they were about to move. Then on three, Lykan oscillated his core to make him turn invisible. All the while he quickly turned, grabbed Kosha, and took off. Brenna for her part was already running and charging quickly away through the stunned soldiers.

Kosha for her part struggled for a second but stopped once Lykan’s qi ability allowed her to oscillate at the same frequency as his own body. Thus, the two were hidden in plain sight, while flying through the night sky.

`Their eyes locked for a second, and with a quick nod, Kosha relaxed long enough to look around and realize that she was flying. For the first time in her life, she was lifting high in the air, high above everyone.

`From the look of amazement on her face, she felt both completely safe and full of enthusiastic awe. The awe that only children could possess. It was that look that Lykan wanted to protect most, which was why he wanted to make sure she would be able to proceed without his and Brenna’s help in the future.

`Baby steps. One person, one day, every day, try to make the world slightly better.