98 Phase 85: Back

Satrox stayed behind at Forest Village.

"I'm going to have a talk with Professor Jijin." He told them. "You guys go on ahead."

Colin was a bit suspicious about that. "Did you do something to one of Lynn's Comrades too? Like Iylara's Kraken?"

"Something like that." Satrox said evasively.

Colin, Katrin and Shiro went deeper into the Forest of Legends, Katrin's Comrades trailing behind them. The Wilds of this forest, like the Wilds back at Lamico, seemed happy to see him and most of them stopped by to say hello.

Colin greeted them in turn. Some of them, especially the Sonic Wolves, loped alongside, joining them for a short while as they headed towards the Heart of the Forest.

Katrin looked nervous. "Are you sure they won't attack?"

"They're friends, Katrin." Colin told her.

"How do you do that?" Katrin whispered.

Colin shrugged. "Ask Lynn to make you a Forester, then see for yourself."

Katrin shook her head. "What, and get left behind the next time you head off? No way. I'm coming with you."

It was about three a.m. when they finally arrived at the Heart of the Forest, with about twenty Forest Wilds just tagging along for the fun of it. The moment Colin stepped up into that cluster of branches, a green streak knocked him over.

"Colin!" Katrin gasped.

Shiro, having leapt away in time, saw Colin bowled over backwards with that green furry being growling and barking all over him, and let out a laugh. "Yip!"

Katrin, however, was panicking. She called her bears. "Gera! Rall!"

"Don't!" Colin held out a hand, laughing himself. "Kat, it's okay! It's Sonia!"

"Sonia…?" Katrin took a closer look.

Sonia was a good bit bigger than she'd been, last they had seen her. She was a lanky 4th Stage Juvenile, now, but quite sleek despite longer legs and a sharp nose. She had that wide grin, a new three-point star on her head and those cute ears that somehow balanced out the pointy-ness of her face and retained a fleshed out look.

Or maybe she just didn't look so awkward because she was a 4th Stage Juvenile instead of a 3rd Stage.

"Yip!" Shiro greeted her.

"Au." She greeted him back.

"Yip." Shiro said patiently, expecting her to try and imitate him.

Sonia didn't. Instead, with a scolding bark, she shot him with a Hypersonic Bolt.

"Yip!" Shiro barked in surprise, stopping it with a H-bolt of his own.

Sonic Wolves around them howled with laughter.

"She's not quite a cub any more, Shiro. You should treat her with respect." Colin told him. "She seems to expect it from all the other Sonic Wolves here and they all seem to think she deserves it."

Shiro glanced around, realized Colin was right, and sighed. He let out a sad whine.

Sonia barked her own laugh, and led Colin deeper into the Heart.

Lynn was waiting for them, with Fenrix, Lord of the Sonic Wolves, and Nightwind, Lord of the Shadow Hawks. The Forest Princess let out a soft smile when they arrived. "Colin. Katrin. It's been a while."

"Not too long." Colin said.

Lynn turned straight to Katrin. "My offer still stands. This is Colin's Home Base and it always will be. You can make yours here as well."

"I'll be killed." Katrin said. "The Forest Wilds…"

"I assume you're going to help Colin with his work?" Lynn cut in.

"Of course." Katrin said.

"Then I will place my mark on you. The Forest Wilds will not attack you."

"You're going to mark her for safety?" Colin asked.

"Something like that. My mark, however, will not fade with time." Lynn told him. "Until the end of my rule."

"The end of your rule…?" Colin stared. "You mean, you won't rule forever?"

"No one rules forever." Lynn told him. "Well, Katrin? What say you?"

"Uh…" Katrin glanced at Colin, then at Lynn, and said, "Okay."

She set the Heart of the Forest of Legends as her Home Base, like Colin had, and Lynn touched Katrin's badge. It twitched and shimmered, and then there was a little mark of a tree and a crown on the upper left side.

"Not quite the white shield of safety." Colin observed.

"Come, Colin. Let us talk." She told him. "Kat, feel free to explore. You're safe here, and you should get to know your Home Base."

"Of course." Katrin said, already looking around speculatively. She didn't remark on Lynn using the short form of her name.

She led him and all those with him to the other end of the Heart and said, "Colin, do you notice anything new about Sonia?"

"You mean that three-point star on her head?" Colin guessed. "It wasn't there before. I suppose you're about to tell me what it means."

"It means she's a noble, Colin." Lynn explained.

"How is that possible?" Colin frowned.

"She was adopted by Fenrix." Lynn told him. "She's like Eclipse, one of the Lord's own family. If he chooses to retire, with her capabilities, she's got an excellent chance of becoming the next Lord."

"Wow…" Colin paused. "Does this mean she should stay here?"

"No." Lynn shook her head. "She should Travel with you, the way Fenrix Traveled with me. I still call on him now and then. It's possible for you and me to bond the Lords of the Wilds, you know."

"It is?!" Colin jumped.

"Actually, Fenrix was my Comrade before he became the Lord of the Sonic Wolves." Lynn said. "It's the same for Sonia. She's already your Comrade. I don't think you're going to abandon her, or vice versa, so there's a chance you'll end up bonded to the Lord of the Sonic Wolves one day."

"Oh." Colin paused. "What about bonding those who are already Lords? Is that possible?"

"Well… I've never actually tried. You and I don't need to, of course. We can just ask them for help. But I guess it should be possible. They have their standards and their own sense of dignity, and I bet they'll never let anyone Tame them, but being what you are, you might be able to bond one without Taming it."

"Is that possible?!" Colin stared. "I thought I needed to Tame a Wild to bond it."

"Usually, you have to fight a Wild, defeat it, and if they're willing to follow and bond you, they'll accept your touch and become a Tame. You take it to a Comrade Home and register to bond that new Comrade." Lynn agreed. "But tell me, do the Lords of the Wilds accept your touch?"

"Accept it? Sometimes they're the ones touching me." Colin said. "They offer me lifts and shake my hand with a paw, and nudge me in the side... all sorts of things."

"You never fought them or Tamed them, yet they'll touch you and do what you ask… as long as they agree." Lynn nodded. "I think it's possible to bond Comrades without fighting and Taming them."

"Have you tried it?" Colin asked.

"I never bothered." Lynn shrugged. "I never bond Comrades for the sake of bonding them, Colin. Just a few is enough for me. I command entire armies because of who and what I am, but I don't bond many Comrades."

"And you're saying it's the same for me." Colin realized.

"Exactly." Lynn nodded. "I don't want you to bond too many Comrades, especially not for the wrong reasons. To most Travelers, bonding Comrades for the sake of power is necessary. But you don't need that kind of power. You can already command whole armies when you need to. Your Comrades should be bonded on trust and friendship, not out of greed. If I could, I'd ask you to release most of those Comrades you still retain, but I don't have the heart. You've already bonded them, and they expect more from you now."

"But Lynn… I won't be a Forester forever." Colin winced as he said it. "I won't have that kind of power all the time."

"Trust me." Lynn told him softly. "You won't need the powers of a Forester. For Comrades to truly be Comrades, you must not have too many. A few close ones are best."

That sounds like Satrox. The fewer there are, the faster they grow…

"Katrin might need them." Lynn turned away. "But you…"

"I'll give them to Katrin." Colin said softly. "But not all at once. Not yet."

{At least I won't go down a ranking. I've touched the Purple Heart. I'll remain at Purple no matter how few I have.}

Then, Colin's head lowered. "Lynn… I think I might have been abusing my powers."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Getting to Purple Badge… destroying villages and towns…" Colin trailed off. "I don't even know if that was the right thing to do."

"Colin." Lynn said simply.

"Hmm?"

"Come here."

Colin stepped forward, wondering what she wanted. "Like this?"

Lynn sighed. "I shared your memories, remember? I know what happened at Lakeside."

"I was… so angry. I saw them and I knew those men were just… I saw the Wilds, and they were so…"

Kyubia had been screaming, seeing her family trapped, fighting to free each other, only to be more and more trapped. She attacked wildly, trying to reach her kids, but…

"Stop it!" Lynn dashed forward and put both arms around Colin. "Stop it! Don't! Just don't…!"

"Lynn?" Colin stared.

Lynn was crying. She tightened her grip around him. "Stop. I can't bear it."

{She shared my memories.} Colin realized. {Even when I think back, this close to her, she can see them too… she can feel what I feel.}

{If she had been there…}

Colin had a moment's image of the entire continent going up in flames.

And then another image came to mind. Another night… another forest. Another Lynn, before she came to power.

Another hunt, and another army of men and their forces.

{"Fenria!" Lynn screamed. }

{The old Sonic Wolf struggled, and Lynn struggled, and all the Wilds of the Forest of Myths howled and tried to break free, but trapped as she was, Fenria was struck again and again, until at last, she fell, whimpering, at the feet of men.}

{Laughter. Men moved forward to touch and Tame the Lord of the Sonic Wolves.}

{But Fenria would not be Tamed. She surged forward again, still trapped, and was struck down once more. Again, and again, struck down, while Lynn screamed and the forest cried out, but could do nothing…}

{And at last, the once-noble eyes turned red, and the darkness that filled the land held no forgiveness. Fenria howled with a fury that made the ground itself shake, and the world knew what it meant for a Lord of the Wilds to turn Frenzied.}

Colin gasped, slipping out of Lynn's memories. "What…? How…?"

"I couldn't reach her." Lynn cried. "I couldn't reach her in time."

Fenrix came forward and closed his eyes. Bowing his head, he touched it to Lynn's gently.

{Fenria was Fenrix's mother.} Colin realized. "That place…"

"The Forest of Myths is no more." Lynn said softly, still crying. "That land is now known as the Uber Marshes."

The land overrun by Frenzieds.

"The heart of those Marshes is the Howling Forest." Lynn told him. "And the heart of the Howling Forest is…"

"Fenria." Colin concluded grimly.

"Colin…" Lynn said softly. "You saved the forest. You saved Kyubia. Thank you."

Colin said nothing. He just held her gently as the Forest Princess cried into his hair.

Katrin came forward.

For a moment there, Colin froze. {She's going to explode. Or run. Or do something crazy.}

But Katrin didn't. Her eyes were wide, but she didn't seem angry or upset.

{Wait. How long has she been there? How much has she heard…?}

Katrin took another step forward, but Fenrix stepped in her way. He didn't growl or strike, but he looked at her with those fiercely protective eyes, and she stopped.

"Yip." Shiro told Colin quietly. [I'll handle it.]

He went over to Katrin, stretching out to full size and tugged at her hand with his teeth. Katrin glanced at Colin, then nodded slowly, following the wolfcat to a safe distance.