"Fight or make room for those who will." ~Sejuani, The Fury Of The North
Birthday chapter!
You get an extra one tomorrow!
I'll add the pictures soon.
Also writing the previous chapter was very hard. But I want Gregori's identity to be revealed in a better setting. And there will be a better setting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Footsteps echoed through the empty corridor.
Gregori's heavy but purpose filled footsteps followed by the following noble woman's hurried and panicked footsteps.
"Tell me everything you know about this." His words were sharp and to the point. The enemy was already present, there was no time to waste.
The woman tried to push herself to match his pace. "I am from House Fortis. We are a warrior family priding on our strength." Her words were accompanied with a lot of huffing and puffing but it also had desperation behind it. "House Fortis is special among all the families because of our responsibility. The responsibility to guard something. To keep it from ever being touched. It was given to us as a gift... but we quickly found out its true nature. It was a curse."
Gregori knew of the Fortis family. They were righteous. It was what drew people to them. They stood against anything that seemed wrong in the slightest. Lots of ploys failed simply because a Fortis stood against them.
The family was attacked many times. But none could beat them. Their strength was a sight to behold. Near inhuman. But that strength kept the enemies fearing. It kept them away.
But there was something worse for the Fortis.
A family given a Darkin weapon to guard. A truly sad fate.
"What does the weapon look like?" Gregori asked. More important matters came first.
Not even a second passed since the words left his mouth, before Lady Fortis replied, "A shield. An Aegis. The body is white with a red gem slotted in the center. The shield is long with spikes that jut out like.... like the spine of a creature."
Gregori took a sharp breath.
"Joraal." He muttered.
She looked at him questioningly but there was a semblance of hope in her eyes.
"That is the name of the one in the weapon. Joraal. The barrier between life and death." Gregori answered.
"It controls life and death?" Lady Fortis asked with a horrified gasp.
"No." Gregori increased his pace. "It cannot. It was the title given to it for protecting its people from guaranteed death." Every Darkin had a title. Naganeka had exclaimed hers as she was beaten. One who shot the sun and speared the earth. The names weren't literal but they were symbolic.
"It.... protected...?"
"Long long ago. Before the rune wars." Gregori answered.
She gasped at the thought of something from the days of the wars.
"Now.... they are but corrupted relics of the past seeking annihilation." Gregori ignored the guards at the entrance as he shot past them, they did not turn to him, their heads stuck facing the horizon where a pule of smoke arose. "And it is I who will grant them something close to that."
"But my son..-" Lady Fortis started. The initial shock of the information had worn away leaving nothing but worry for her baby boy.
Gregori raised a hand in her direction, halting her speech. "Wait." He reached for a wrapped spear on the back of two ferocious looking beasts. Grabbing the spear, he turned tot he guards. "Do not let anyone leave the castle. It is going to become dangerous. Any guards outside need to prioritize sabing the citizens."
The guards looked confused but did not move to do anything.
Sighing, Gregori turned to his spear and started unwrapping it.
Lady Fortis let out a gasp on seeing the spear. It looked similar to the godforsaken gift. The way she looked at the man in front of her changed instantly. He was dangerous.
"Hmm?" A voice spoke in his mind. "Found my other half already?"
"No." Gregori answered. "Feel the energy yourself."
The spear shook. "Joraal!" It vibrated more. "Well, I guess you have your work cut out for you then Greggy."
He pointed toward Lady Fortis. "Her son is currently using the weapon. Can he be saved?"
"No man can hold back the Darkin. His mind is probably already gone." Caalyx replied.
"How old is your son?" Gregori asked her.
Lady Fortis stared at him.
"HOW OLD IS YOUR SON?" Gregori repeated, his voice rising.
"T...Ten." She blurted. "He is ten years old."
Caalyx sighed, "Definitely dead. A man cannot fathom the weight of a Darkin's mind and memories. How do you think a child would fare?"
Gregori did not reply, instead he stared at Lady Fortis. He kept seeing himself in her. The anger. The helplessness. She was barely holding everything in.
"How long?" He asked.
She looked at him confused.
"How long have you had the gift?" Gregori asked.
She answered immediately, "Many many generations."
He turned to his spear. "They could have adapted being this close to a Darkin for all these years."
"The child is ten Gregori." Caalyx spoke. "Even if they adapted..... maybe a fully grown adult could have the chance to survive the ordeal."
Gregori shook his head. "No. I mean to say that they may have adapted the way I have. More permanently in fact."
Caalyx contemplated.
"Your husband was able to show feats of strength never before seen right?" He asked Lady Fortis.
She nodded. "Every child of the family has shown feats of strength that the ordinary person cannot hope to match."
"Every child?" He intoned.
She understood his asking, "My son as well. He started showing it once his father, my husband passed."
"Caalyx." Gregori told the spear. But he did not need to continue. The spear understood what he wanted to convey. Further words were unnecessary.
The spear shook. "It..... It could be possible." Caalyx spoke while in thought. " If their bodies were altered by the presence of blood magic. The original kind, the one we created. And naturally. It..... is possible to create an ideal host, a permanent one. One different from you. One who is both human and Darkin. One who could handle the memories. A full proper union. But this is still a child...."
Gregori looked at him. "But there is a chance."
"Yes. But-"
"As long as there is a chance, I will try Caalyx. No matter how infinitesimal it might be." Gregori cut off resolutely.
He was a parent. And he felt as if all Darkin related problems were his responsibility to solve. It was his purpose. The one that had anchored him as a child and the one that would keep him going as an adult.
"This woman. Caalyx." Gregori turned to Lady Fortis who stood silently looking at Gregori with increasing hope. "This woman has lost her husband and is on the verge of losing her son. Doesn't that...." He sighed. "Doesn't that remind you of someone?"
Caalyx did not reply.
Gregori spoke to her, "I will bring your child back." No more. No less. The child might not be the same after the ordeal. If he survived. But he would bring him back.
"Then we need to do this properly Gregori." Caalyx's words echoed in the back of his mind as he spoke the words.
Lady Fortis collapsed to the floor in a heap of tears.
Gregori placed a hand on her shoulder but it pushed her to cry harder. "What is it Caalyx?"
"No stalling." Caalyx's words sounded in his ears. "We have to end it as soon as possible.... not because of you dying but the child. Every moment you stall, the chances of losing the child increase."
"Then-"
"Then we have to hit hard and fast." Caalyx spoke. "This is all considering the fact that Joraal is neutral. A human host is the prime material for a Darkin Gregori. We are more suited to it. Joraal will be beyond anything you have ever faced. And this is before he can create a sword to accompany the shield."
"A sword?" Gregori asked. "For the aegis?"
"Joraal uses both. In his Darkin state the more blood he consumes, the more the gem in his shield glows. Eventually the gem and the absorbed blood, create a sword. And when he has a sword in hand....our battle becomes worse."
Gregori gripped the spear, skin making contact with the bare almost muscle like structure of the pole. "Another reason to end this quickly." The wrapping fell to the floor. "Hold onto this." He told Lady Fortis.
She nodded and grabbed the wrapping.
Closing his eyes, he took a breath.
As he inhaled, he felt his body grow. Then the pain hit. Bones lengthened. Tendons snapped. Muscles stretched. Flesh split. But strangely, not a single drop of blood fell. The stretched skin hardened into a more armor like state, taking on a silver hue. Horns sprouted from the back of his neck and side of his head. The ones on the side of his head were hollow. His shoulders grew bigger with hollow ends on either side.
His body rearranged itself. Muscles grew stronger. Bones became denser.
Gregori wasn't human anymore.
He was a Darkin.
"This is how much you can do currently with only half of me Gregori." Caalyx's voice sounded from around him. "Rely on your magic."
"No. I'm going to do something better." Gregori answered.
"What?"
"Watch."
The guards that had turned toward them as he had begun to transform looked on in horror. Their hands shaking.
Lady Fortis looked up from the ground in shock. Her teeth clattered.
The giant that was just a man a few moments ago looked down at her. "I WILL bring your son back."
FWOOOOOOOOO
Red fire erupted form his shoulders.
The sound from the erupting fire grew sharper and higher.
FWOOOOOWEEEEEEEEEEEE
Blue spurts flew out of the fire.
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The fire turned blue completely, condensing into a smaller more compact form on his shoulders.
Gregori raised his hand calling his shield. As it flew toward him it grew in size.
Lady Fortis could smell her hair singe despite the fire being far above her. She was still in shock at the words from the creature. No. The man.
She blinked and frowned. The man was gone.
BOOOOM
Then the sound and wild came sending her and the guards flying into the palace.
Her head spun as she pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes widened as she took in the destruction in front of her.
The ground was cracked in concentric circles. Some parts of the earth sunk into the ground. Trees and bushes had flown away, uprooted at the sudden force.
She looked toward the smoke. Toward her territory.
He would bring her child back.