One Day Before Departure
Lukas and the Lady Kaitlyn Drakos stood in front of the Kraken. He was on his knees, a smug look on his face.
He hadn't been told anything but now he knew for a fact that he would be spared from punishment. Waiting in silence must have been torture for him but the taste of potentially being free from his shackles must have been sweeter than honey.
His conditions were that he should be pardoned for his crimes. He would help them search for Rodan and when they did find him, he would be set free. He would swear another oath on the River Styx to never return to Linemall.
"Do you swear that Lord Rodan is alive and well? And that you know how to find him? And that you will tell us how and guide us to where he is?" Lady Kaitlyn Drakos asked.
"I swear it on the River Styx. And do you swear that I will be released, paronded for all the crimes I have committed against the kingdom of dragons and even after Rodan is found that the dragons will not try and take my life out of vengeance? That I will be able to live out my life for the rest of my days without being hunted by your kind?" The Kraken's eyes searched Lady Kaitlyn's own, trying to discern what was going through her mind.
"I swear it on the River Styx that you will be spared and that the dragons will not seek out revenge by taking your life. Only under the condition that you never return to Linemall and never reveal its location no matter the circumstance." Her voice, her eyes, her expression betrayed nothing.
The Kraken glanced towards Lukas Drakos yet his expression too seemed to be completely neutral.
"Very well. I agree to those terms. May Styx oversee this oath and punish those who break it." He nodded and rose from where he knelt. Lukas reached to unlock the shackles that bound his arms together, letting them fall to the floor with a metallic thud.
The mood had changed. The chaos of their battle had faded, and in its place, something quieter lingered—a current of understanding that passed between the two warriors who had tested each other's limits and survived it.
Lukas approached the Kraken slowly, his hand curled around a small pouch of deep navy velvet. "You fought well," he said, voice carrying that weighty calm only earned through victory. "Please accept this gift. I had it made specially to commemorate your freedom." He opened the pouch and revealed a pendant: a sea serpent carved from jade, sleek and coiled, its eyes set with glints of silver. The craftsmanship was intricate, delicate even.
This was no small gesture, the expertise behind its creation made its significance clear.
Kraken stared at it, his expression unreadable for a beat too long. Lukas moved closer, and without hesitation, reached up to loop it around the Kraken's neck. The giant humanoid flinched as Lukas did this but did not move away.
It settled on his broad chest like it belonged there, catching the ambient shimmer of the sea around them. "It's a symbol," Lukas said, stepping back. "Of survival. Of strength. Of respect. You fought well. In another world, you might have beaten me."
Kraken let out a low chuckle, like the bubbling of a submerged volcano. "You exceeded my expectations as well, Lukas Drakos." he muttered. "Always two steps ahead of me."
There was a silence that passed between the two before the Kraken finally spoke up.
"This… this means something, doesn't it?" He held the pendant between his fingers, a rare softness flickering in his usually stormy eyes. "We're equals now. Brothers of the sea."
Lukas smiled and it was a genuine one. No longer was there aggression and hatred in those eyes, now there was a firm admiration that could be clear to see in this Dragon's eyes; the Kraken was…touched.
"Yeah," he said, a quiet laugh under his breath. "I guess you could say that."
The Royal Consort cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable by the sudden budding bromance that had blossomed out of seemingly nowhere between Lukas and the Kraken.
She was holding a scroll that glowed faintly with the light of the ancient Draconic tongue. "We will need an official document to present to the court. This will be recorded and officially taken down as a part of the Sea's history." she declared, unrolling the parchment.
"By law and legacy, both parties must sign through an imprint of your mana." The Kraken glanced at Lukas and nodded, placing his palm over the paper. It was a confirmation of what was to come for the future. Perhaps the two of them could finally put this feud that had started with their ancestors all those eons ago to an end.
Lukas followed suit and the two allowed their magic to flow from the depths of their soul into the parchment paper.
The scroll glowed gold, then sealed with a hiss like the deep ocean's breath.
The Lady Kaitlyn Drakos drew a stamp from her robes and handed it to Lukas. He lifted the Drakos Family Seal: twin sea serpents coiled into a crest, ancient and unmistakable. The Kraken watched, nodding in approval. This was history being made right here. They would finally bring an end to the generational hatred that had been passed down, dispelling this never-ending cycle of hatred.
With a single motion, he stepped forward and pressed the glowing brand onto the Kraken's forehead. There was a flash of blue fire, a burst of energy, and a sizzling hiss as the sigil burned into place. Kraken flinched, blinking hard. "The hell was that?!"
Lukas leaned in, grinning. "Just sealing the bond, brother."
When it came to forming a contract between an intelligent familiar and its master, three conditions needed to be met before it was set in stone:
1. Proof of Ownership
The subject must willingly accept or wear an enchanted item that signifies ownership or belonging to the contract initiator.
The pendant had not been a gift given out of respect. No, it was a fucking nametag. Behind the pendant, engraved were the words: "Property of Lukas Drakos – Please return to owner if lost and do not release into the wild." Thus the first condition was met.
2. Acknowledgement of Power Transfer
Both parties must leave a mana imprint on an official contract scroll, witnessed by a member of high standing or authority. This ensures the contract's legitimacy and registers the familiar bond in official archives.
This was overseen by the Lady Kaitlyn Drakos, Royal Consort and Head of the Drakos Family. Thus the second condition was met.
3. Brand of Binding
A ceremonial seal carrying the family crest or sigil of the initiator must be physically stamped onto the subject, acting as a magical tether between master and familiar. The branding leaves a permanent visible or spiritual mark to complete the bond.
The Drakos family crest—a pair of entwined sea serpents—was now magically branded onto the Kraken's forehead. Finally, the third condition had been met.
The Kraken reached up, fingers brushing the sea serpent charm, only to feel an invisible resistance. With a grunt, he tugged harder, but the necklace refused to budge. Panic flickered in his eyes as he pulled again, harder this time, his voice rising in confusion.
A soft chime echoed from the pendant as if mocking him, reacting to his defiance with a serene glow.
Lukas, arms folded and trying very hard not to laugh, simply raised a brow. "It's a leash. You are now my familiar. Do you understand?"
The Kraken froze. His pupils shrank. "...NO, THIS CAN'T BE!" He yanked again, veins flaring beneath his skin—but the pendant remained around his neck, as unyielding as the ocean floor.
Lukas leaned back against the walls of the Kraken's holding cell, arms crossed and a wicked grin spreading across his face like storm clouds over calm seas.
"Alright, who's a good boy?" he asked, savoring every syllable, "I want you to start doing cartwheels around this cell now. Don't stop until I say so."
The Kraken froze, his towering, muscled frame trembling with disbelief. "You're fucking with me." But the pendant pulsed again and suddenly, as if possessed, his limbs moved of their own accord. One clumsy cartwheel. Then another, wobblier than the last. By the third, his massive tentacle arms flailed like sails in a storm. Kaitlyn Drakos chuckled softly behind her hand, her golden eyes gleaming with ancient mischief.
Lukas was already doubled over in laughter, tears brimming as the Kraken attempted a fourth cartwheel and nearly crashed into the wall behind him.
The room echoed with the sound of Lukas' uncontrollable laughter, a deep, unfiltered roar that bounced off the coral pillars and shimmered through the magically lit waters. The Kraken lay sprawled across the floor, tangled in his own limbs, his voice a pathetic whimper as he moaned, "Please…stop this, I beg you."
"Continue cartwheeling for the next hour and remain in your cell until further notice. We leave tomorrow. I expect you to be ready then."
The pendant glowed faintly on the Kraken's neck as if mocking him for his stupidity. And as the Drakos family seal shimmered like a brand of poetic justice on his forehead, Lukas' laughter rose again, louder than before. The Kraken sobbed in defeat, but Lukas couldn't hear him, not over the sound of triumph echoing through every bone in his body.
The Kraken was now the sole property of Lukas Drakos.