It happened on such a peaceful morning, the moment that led to this day of blood.
Eero hadn’t expected his life to be upended that morning; he hadn’t expected much of anything to occur in those first days of Summer. That was the way Jala wanted it.
“You must slow down, Eero, ” she’d complained to him. “You are always in motion; constantly driven by your ambition. This has often worked in your favor, but it is to your detriment when communing with the Wild. And that is essential if you hope to reach Sachem. Be still for once. Silence your thoughts and listen to the world around you instead. Hear what it has to say, and you may learn to speak with its voice. Do you understand me, Eero? Tame yourself, and you may yet tame the beast.”
And so was born the most grueling of Jala’s trials yet: The horrid task of doing absolutely nothing. Eero spent the first couple weeks of that Summer doing his best to follow the elder’s wisdom, shirking all responsibility and abandoning the bustle of the city for the heart of the wild itself. Eero found life simpler out here; everything just a little bit clearer after getting himself good and lost in nature’s bosom, without a soul around to bother him. Only now, there was Shan…
Wherever Eero roamed, the massive leopard stalked in his wake, a deadly white shadow with a pair of haunting, peridot eyes. The beast was a far less comforting presence in those days, with their pact newly written, inked across Eero’s chest in the shape of four deep claw marks. The bond had not been easily won, unlike Eero’s respect for such a formidable predator. Their first few weeks of kinship Eero was never quite sure if Shan would be warm and welcoming or frigid and murderous. And so he often kept his distance, none too eager to be on the wrong side of those claws again. Those fangs didn’t look too fun either.
Tame yourself, and you may yet tame the beast.
Perhaps Jala was right. None of the elders’ kindred ever balked at orders or lashed out with tooth and claw for stepping a little too close. But this idea of sitting around and emptying his head to listen to the trees sounded like a bunch of nonsense to Eero. And how was he supposed to relax long enough to meditate and commune with the Wild with an ill-tempered brute tracking his every movement, drinking him in with those unsettling eyes that Eero could never quite read?
Fortunately, Eero was nothing if not persistent. Those first few weeks of Summer he traveled the Low-Woods far and wide, seeing everything he could of the wild frontier surrounding their home. At the end of every day he would find an appealing spot to sit and meditate, just the way Jala taught him, and do his best to make a connection with the Wild. Hopefully then he would discover common ground with the temperamental beast now chained to his soul. The way Shan watched him all the while, never blinking, didn’t promise good things should he fail…
The morning everything changed, Eero actually woke to find Shan in rather good spirits. The great big lug was sprawled out in a sun beam and looking awfully content to soak up the summertime warmth. He stretched languorously, splaying out each and every one of his toes all while giving a monstrous yawn. Eero cracked a smile at the display before leaping up to his feet and following suit, stretching out his tight muscles. As always, Shan watched him like a hawk, his eyes heavily lidded in his new-found lethargy.
After a long moment, Eero shied away from his gaze. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Yet another night of planting himself on the most comfortable stump he could find, only to spend hours listening for something Eero was growing convinced he’d never hear. He’d tried with every fiber of his being last night, sitting perfectly still for so long that he was surprised he hadn’t taken root and become part of the wild itself. And still, he found no breakthrough.
“It’s going to be hot today,” Eero commented, acutely aware of the sun beating down on his back as he finished up his stretches. Ordinarily they’d have a few more weeks before the air grew this hot and humid, but they’d come far since leaving Florana. Eero had brought them to the edge of the Low-Woods themself, very near the borders of their nation, where Summer’s grip came sooner.
“Perhaps we’ll go for a swim? There’s a lake not too far from here, if I have my bearings right.”
The leopard huffed in response, flicking his tail a couple of times as though mulling it over, before finally pushing to his feet and stretching again, with deliberate slowness. Eero waited with all the patience his meditations had developed, watching as the huge cat limbered up, yawned, then began the whole routine over again. Eventually he padded forward, even taking the lead with an impatient grumble as if he’d been the one waiting on Eero all this time.
It turned out that Eero did not have his bearings right at all. A bit of misdirection found the pair of them thoroughly lost, trundling down a well-hidden path that Eero was fairly certain had yet to be mapped. Thoughts of the lake were abandoned as they pressed on, eventually stumbling across the back of a small cottage nestled right in the belly of the woods. The sight of it stopped Eero dead in his tracks, and Shan, who’d been following close behind, to saunter up to his side, tail flicking curiously.
“I think we’ve taken a wrong turn,” he said to his companion, whose ears flattened in annoyance. They were quick to spring back up at the sound of an approaching woman’s voice, however. The first voice Eero’d heard since leaving the city. That didn’t excite him in the way it would in most. Instead the pair of them shot off into the brush, taking cover just off the path before they lost the element of surprise.
Eero hunkered down in the shrubbery, clutching to the axe he’d drawn just before springing to cover. Shan crouched at his side, his eyes focused and intense as they spied through the foliage. Who could it be? Eero wondered, his fingers tightening around the haft of his weapon. While similar to Floranian design, that cottage definitely wasn’t built or maintained by his people. Had they somehow crossed the border without realizing it? Or was there really someone foolish enough to homestead on the land of the savages?
The enemy Eero was picturing never appeared. Instead came a visage of beauty; pale skin and raven hair, with eyes every bit as intense as his Kindred. Eero felt like the wind was knocked out of him upon the sight of her, and not just from her beauty, but the very way she carried herself. Everything about this woman spoke of strength, like the earth made way for her very steps. He knew at once she was royalty; such refinement could be little else. Just as telling was her attire. The sight of that flowing dress of soft silk had a pit of nostalgia forming in Eero’s stomach. His mother had owned articles just like it.
Could it be? Did she really come from…
Eero couldn’t explain the feeling that overcame him as he watched this beautiful stranger wander through the glade, completely at ease and unaware of the young man and the large predator taking in her every action. It was like he’d gone weak in the knees, his heart set to racing and his mouth coming up dry. He wanted so badly to come out of hiding and present himself before her, but the very thought of it seemed ludicrous. Not just ludicrous, but terrifying.
Eero had never been afraid of anything. Fear was the first trial he’d conquered, and he met every other challenge the elders presented without pause. He’d proven himself as one of the best among their tribe, even earning his place in history as the youngest warrior to ever bond a Kindred; and such a powerful one at that. So why now did the mere thought of being under this girl’s scrutiny unnerve him so?
She would think I’m weak, Eero decided, glancing down at the bandages wrapped around his chest. The youngest to bond a Kindred, perhaps, yet he could not do so uninjured. To say nothing of his lack of control. What woman would respect a man so untalented in the ways of the Wild? Eero couldn’t bear the thought of her eyes roaming over him in judgment; the sneer that would surely mar her exquisite face at the sight of his failures. Better a woman look upon a man’s scars than his wounds.
For all these reasons and more Eero could not bring himself to come out of hiding that day. Nor the next day, or the one following that either. But he and Shan returned to the cottage every day, where the two would spend hours watching over their mysterious prey, two stalwart, silent companions of which she was never made aware. With each visit Eero’s fascination grew, but so did his apprehension. The more he hesitated the more sure he became that immediate rejection awaited should he make himself known. But he had to know more about her. Who was she? Where did she come from? The beautiful stranger burned her way into his every thought, completely disrupting his meditations and making him all but forget about his duty of communing with the Wild.
After a week of this building obsession, Eero learned enough of her routine that he was able to take things a step further. One morning, after she left the cottage to walk the glade, Eero quietly slipped his way inside, Shan on his heels. The two stalked silently around the small home, exploring everything they could in the short time they had. It was especially fascinating for Eero, who’d always been hungry to know more of the world his mother came from before finding a life with their tribe. And the more he saw of this girl and her belongings, the more he was certain she came from the same country his mother had fled.
Eero’s mind was swirling with the multitude of it all as he wandered into her bedroom, where he shamelessly rummaged through her belongings, admiring her luxurious silks and handsome collection of jewelry. He took particular interest in a ring box he’d discovered on the large vanity by the window. It was ornate and beautiful, a one of a kind piece and unfortunately kept locked with no key in sight.
“A bit odd, isn’t it?” He asked of Shan, who’d busied himself with testing out the bed, making a mess of the sheets as he rolled around in them, getting the girl’s scent all over his snowy coat, and his snowy white coat all over her sheets. “A locked box when she’s left the whole place open to the world?” To be fair, who would expect to be found out here in the wilderness? Not for the first time, Eero wondered at what she was doing out here so far from home, mulling it over as he savagely smashed the ring box against the corner of the vanity, breaking off the lock in one brutal strike. He pried the piece open and eagerly scooped up the object inside: an intricate gold ring.
Eero bounced the treasure in the palm of his hand, testing the weight of it, before running his hand over the marvelously wrought head of an avian that made up the band. His eyes roamed over the inscription written on the inside, but it was beyond his understanding. Looking at it, though, he was reminded of something his mother once told him: An old custom of her people, where a man would present a ring to the woman of his interest. If accepted, the two would be mated for life. It seemed such an odd concept, far different than the ceremonies his people participated in, but Eero couldn’t help but wonder what if…
He didn’t get long to consider the thought before Shan alerted him to the girl’s return. Eero jumped into motion, quickly pocketing the ring before he and his Kindred escaped out the rear entrance, gone before she could spot them but leaving plenty of trace behind.
Eero dared not enter the cottage again; not that it would have been so simple after their first break-in. While they were careful not to be seen, the break-in had alerted the dear object of their fascination. She wouldn’t be so trusting and naive now, but Eero was a born hunter, and aside from his one act of theft, his presence was otherwise never known. Day after day he returned, watching her all through Summer and into the early Autumn, when she would finally make the trek back home.
Eero had never felt such a void as the one that formed in the pit of his stomach the day she left, seeming to take all the life of the forest right along with her. In her absence Eero felt a profound emptiness, like all the world had gone still. But in that stillness, Eero finally heard it; the voice of the Wild. When he met the eyes of his Kindred, it rang through him like a song, filling him with with a sense of protectiveness and a shared thought:
She is ours.
It took years before he was ready to return the ring he’d stolen, but now, the day of blood had finally come.
A cocktail of excitement and nervousness coursed through his veins as Eero stood upon the rocky precipice overlooking his future kingdom. The city itself was little more than a hazy outline on the horizon, a sleepy visage that displayed nothing of the chaos sweeping through its streets. At this distance the bulk of his forces appeared as a smudge on the skyline, with the vast majority of them remaining outside the city walls. They would soon surmount that obstacle, whether by spilling over it or plowing through it. Eero merely bided his time, waiting to see which would be needed.
He didn’t have to wait long for his answer. One of the elder’s Kindred came swooping in, fighting against the gusting wind before settling on the shoulder of one of the women at Eero’s back. The Circle was fanned out behind him, a crescent moon of wisdoms all eager to guide him in this endeavor. Eager, and perhaps a little worried. Jala had taken issue with this obsession of his more than once, but much had changed in the time since Eero first discovered the woman who snared his fascination. Now when Jala approached him, she did so with the proper reverence suited for one of his stature.
“The Wild fights with us, Sachem,” she told him, coming out of her low bow once Eero turned to face her. She may have greeted him with proper reverence, but the old crone’s wizened, hazel eyes were fierce as ever when she met her leader’s icy blue gaze. Kabir, her obscenely large flying fox Kindred, clung to her back as usual, his great leathery wings draped over her shoulders like a shawl. Eero had never known a lazier beast; he could probably count the amount of times he’d seen him awake and active on one hand.
“The walls have been breached,” Jala explained, “And our prey flushed out of hiding. The time has come for our Sachem to join the hunt.”
Eero felt his heart pump faster at the prospect. He’d lost count of the summers he spent dreaming of this moment, lingering at the door of his heart’s desire yet never daring to knock. Now, he would knock so hard there was no chance of being ignored.
“Very good, Eldest. Give word to the other fliers. Now, the whole of our clan joins the fray.”
Jala gave a stiff nod before throwing back her thin, silvery hair, and whispering into Kabir’s ear. The huge bat twitched his nose a couple of times, clearly annoyed, but unfurled his wings and took flight to deliver the message. As if to spite my thoughts, Eero mused, watching with disbelief as the sloth-like Kindred soared down to the valley below. Jala smirked at the incredulous look on his face.
“Come, Eero,” she said, slipping out of formality as she beckoned him closer, in the same mothering way she used to. “Before the Sachem goes to war, he must receive the blessing of our people.”
Aella came forward to join them, bringing with her a large pot of ochre they’d prepared for this moment. Eero, too, was prepared. He didn’t don the heavy armor that other, weaker men favored these days. His armor was light and loose fitting, sturdy, fur-lined leather, with the occasional metal plating for added defense. His shoulders and forearms were well protected, but his toned chest was left bare, a blank canvas to be painted with the protection of his elders instead.
Jala was the first to task, dipping both hands in the jar of ochre placed at Aella’s feet before stepping up to her Sachem and pressing her stained palms firmly against his pectorals, right on the jagged, claw-shaped scars gifted by his Kindred. The Eldest’s hands were dry and thin, weathered from her many years, but filled with great warmth. She spoke her prayer to the Wild, begging for its bounty and protection before stepping away and allowing Aella to take her place. The entire circle followed their sisters, each and every woman coming forward to lay her hands upon her Sachem, until there was no part of his torso that was not colored in earthy handprints.
When the job was done, the group of women stepped back and admired their handiwork. “Go now, Sachem. Prove your place among our clan, and claim what is rightfully yours.”
Eero took a steadying breath as the circle parted way for him, clearing the path towards the irascible, bloodthirsty wyvern that looked like it was as likely to tear a limb off as it was to carry a man into war. But Eero approached it all the same, showing no fear as he thought of his heart’s desire and the future that awaited them.
I’m coming. Keep her safe until then, Shan…
The great white leopard was none too pleased with the situation he’d been put in. Being split from one’s Kindred was distasteful at the best of times, but leaving one in the middle of a warzone had to be a new low. Eero’s plan of using Shan to sniff out the queen and guard her amid the ensuing havoc made sense in theory; one never could tell what would happen in the perils of war. Even if their target didn’t act foolish enough to get herself killed, men often lost themselves in battle lust, becoming worse beasts than some of their Kindred could be. If the queen fell here, then everything was lost.
All well and good while their Sachem sat cushy on the tallest rock he could find, watching his Kindred and the other warriors do the wet work. Shan had already bloodied himself, claw and fang, when their forces broke into the city, tearing apart their ‘defenses’ in little time at all. It took one blooding for their warriors to realize that these people were no fighters, and what was expected to be a thrilling challenge quickly evolved to an outright slaughter.
Ravek was a particular menace once he came crashing into the city streets astride Bjorn, his gargantuan bear Kindred. The two carved a gruesome path deeper into the metropolis, Ravek impaling those Bjorn could not reach with fang and claw. Shan was quick to break off from the violence, killing only those necessary before leaving the battle behind him in search of the woman he’d been sent for. Fortunately the denizens were too busy to notice a huge leopard darting right by their windows, or there might have been another panic. Instead he was free and clear to search at his leisure, giving him the time to sniff out that unmistakable scent of the girl he’d been watching for years.
That scent was easy enough to pick up, but tracking it was another story. It was all over this city, and most of it fresh! She must have been running all over the place, frantic in the preparations for the coming invasion. Little good it did them, the Kindred thought, following the strongest scent trail he could find even as Eero and his fliers came soaring in, heralding the end of what promised to be a short battle once the rest of the Sachem’s forces rushed in his wake.
Upon arrival Eero landed his mount directly in the middle of the conflict, slamming down on her majesty’s forces with the full weight of the grey scaled wyvern he rode. The winged lizard spat and hiss, lashing out with its barbed, whip-like tail with enough force to cave in the nearest wall. Ravek and Bjorn reared back as the ill-tempered reptile raged in front of them, bringing a halt to their charge.
“These are not the warriors you promised us, Sachem!” Ravek roared up at the man placed before him, gesturing at the fleeing civilians with his bloody spear. “They are only lambs for slaughter!”
Eero sneered at the rebellious man sitting atop his monstrous bear. They were a formidable pair, yet paltry compared to the size of the monster before them now. He guided his wyvern a step closer, emphasizing the point as they towered above.
“They are no longer your lambs to slaughter,” Eero told him, ignoring Ravek’s sneer. “The city is ours. Where is their queen?” Was this truly all the resistance she is capable of putting up? This spoke nothing of that strength he’d seen in her. Where was the cunning he saw in those eyes? Where was the fight she promised? Where was she at all, for that matter?
Shan? Eero sought the wild, reaching out for his Kindred.
“Wherever she is,” Ravek said, smirking up at the Sachem, “You’d best hope your little kitten finds her before my men do.”
In fact, they’d found her at the same time, the great white beast lunging completely out of nowhere to disrupt the queen from whatever she’d been doing, just in time to stop the ambushing warriors who’d come for her life. At once they shirked back from the snarling leopard suddenly between them and the queen. Shan never did much care for being between a rock and a hard place, but that’s exactly what it felt like as he displayed equal parts ferocious to both parties; the men if they got too antsy and thought about testing him, and the queen if she did anything stupid like try to free the situation she’d just landed herself in. He held them there for as long as it would take for Eero to come flying in and alleviate the situation; or worsen it, knowing that one.
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