17 Chapter 16: The beast and warrior are one

"We carry burdens within us...the kind that are far too complex to be understood by those simple-minded who claim themselves arbitrators..."

~Tasmiya Shaik

REALM OF ETHUARIA

London

Reinhardt Villa

Monday

18:50 P.M

The spiralling vortex of darkness dissipated with the departure of the two Asharren warriors as they traversed by the agency of it's space and time. The warriors arrived within the lands of Ethuaria and the dimensional gate compressed itself into the form of a crimson glossy stone.

The older warrior retrieved the stone and returned it to the confines of his black winter trench coat that was unbuttoned, revealing his grey pullover turtleneck sweater and black jeans. His lengthy blonde hair was braided to the side and rested over the front of his left shoulder.

'Father, I daresay you masquerade all too well as an Ethuarian hume,' The warrior's son commented stolidly, seemingly impressed.

'Archid, your sense of humour is rather questionable at times,' Isarcrius arched a brow, 'I ought to blend in with the Ethuarian humes to not rouse suspicion, no?'

'Indeed father. Nonetheless you're bound to attract the attention of women and men alike.' Archid stated monotonously.

'I imagine those are the kind of words that would be spoken by the Rossi brat. You are much too immersed in his company.'

'Do you imply that Lord Andreas' company reflects a negative influence?'

'Hardly. Simply that he lacks a warrior's composure. I do not see how we have deviated into a pointless conversation, Archid. We should be on our way.'

'My apologies, father. A question before we set out. That dimensional stone...I did not believe something like it existed?'

'As far as the three realms of Archalia are concerned, something such as the dimensional stone does not exist. It is merely a convenient invention crafted by Lord Erazeal himself. It is composed with the blood of the Sinclaire and presently there are only three within existence. One was granted to the Cavendish family, the second to Reinhardt and the third to Lord Malec. The dimensional stone's greatest flaw is that it will shatter once it has reached it's limit of eight dimensional gates.'

'A strategic creation...that would explain how you were able to freely travel to Ethuaria once before without the company of a dimensional caster. How many times have you used the the stone?'

'This would be the third. We leave now, save the idle chatter for a time of leisure,' Isarcrius pulled the hood of his coat over his head to conceal his elvish ears.

Archid navigated their way across the forest, the creaking of crickets accompanied them. The bitter after scent of the fall of rain lingered in the atmosphere, a sweet remnant of the passing spring storm. A naturistic component that proved that the lands of Ethuaria had not been completely forsaken. The barks were a dark rich brown colour and the green of the leaves almost appeared emerald, magic had once weaved these lands but it's roots were now dry and unquenchable.

The fresh scent of wet grass mixed in the gelid breeze that rustled the trees, the kind of scenery an Asharren warrior would appreciate. The night sky casted a sleepless shadow over the land and apprehended the light forces radiated by the full moon. The warriors relied on the superior vision of the beasts within them to guide their way.

Isarcrius halted upon the sound of the sirens that emanated in the near distance. The foreign sound pierced the sensitive veil of the warrior's exceptional hearing sense. It wrung a spear of discomfort as he braced himself against a tree.

'Father?' Archid retraced his steps towards Isarcrius.

'The humes...they are here...do the strange sounds not affect you?'

'I have grown accustomed to it. Perhaps you should remain here and I continue ahead with Araun?' Archid suggested out of concern.

'I have paid the price for my actions...I am no longer as the other Aldari are. I cannot release Araun continuously...I will allow him control of my body,' Isarcrius inhaled a deep breath and forged an iron warrior's will to evade the pain. He would not be done in by the likes of a hume invention.

'Father...'

'It is a full moon...what of the hound?'

'It is quite...the magic of the Ethuarian moon is much too weak to awaken it...'

'I see...move on. We do not have time to waste.'

Archid reluctantly complied and lead the way until they arrived at the edge of the forest and the Reinhardt Villa came into view. Police vehicles filled the premises and several hume officers patrolled the area.

'Those are Galrik officers, it would seem they have suspected Lord Alexander and Lord Andreas...no doubt myself as well. They believe we would return to the Villa, ' Archid and Isarcrius concealed themselves behind the accomodation of the trees and communicated in a low undertone.

'You three have no doubt been classified as rogue agents. I assume you will be charged with the abduction of Lady Avery and her deceased parents as well as fleeing the realm. Quite troublesome...that is if they were able to travel to Alvgard,' Isarcrius winced as the sirens grew louder but forcibly regained his composure.

'Is such a thing possible?'

'There are magics in this world that we do not understand...the Narrak will utilize everything within their advantage as a counterattack...we best be prepared in every possible manner...'

Archid's gaze narrowed at the mention of the wretched creatures who once laid siege to his homeland. He would forever loathe the murderers who basked in the pleasure of mortal misery. Isarcrius placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head disapprovingly.

'Hatred breeds nothing more than sorrow...and more hatred...'

'Am I that easy to read?' Archid, unlike most Asharren warriors, did not wield a warcan spirit within him, he was no Aldari but he would not present that as an excuse for his weakness. He would fight and prove his worth to the man who rescued him from the clutches of utter despair and chaos.

'Intuition. Soran pursued the Narrak creature across the backfield of the villa, I will seek out the remnants of his spiritual energy and trace it from there...'

The patrol officers drew closer to their location, guided by hounds that trailed the scent of their desired target.

'The woman has fled! Secure the perimeter of the forest and restrain her!' An officer captain ordered his squad as they dispersed to conduct the search.

'A woman?' Isarcrius questioned.

'Lorraine...she works at the villa...it has to be her...' Archid clenched his fist and punched the bark of the tree, tiny wounds surfaced but the sting and pain were much too insignificant to rouse concern.

'Go after her,' Isarcrius ordered,' Judging by your expression, she is important to you, no?'

'Father...'Archid mumbled hesitantly. 'I will lure the hunting hounds deeper into the forest, they will soon detect our scent. They know me well and will give pursuit, I will search for Lorraine as well.'

'Very well, be careful on your way. If I should find something, I will signal you immediately.'

The warriors shared a look of agreement and understanding before they departed to their separate ways. The barks of the hunting hounds grew distant as they pursued the direction from whence the audible disturbances of rustling shrubs and trees within the forest had alarmed them.

The surrounding officers directed their attention to the hounds and mobilized towards Archid's intended location. Isarcrius seized the opportunity and stealthily navigated his way along the edge of the forest to the backfield of the villa.

He scrutinized the area and walked out into the field. He removed his winter trench coat, tossed it aside and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. He closed his eyes, kneeled down on a soft patch of grass and attempted to connect with the warcan spirit within him. He concentrated his energy to a central point and transferred his conscious into a confined orb of magical energy within him. He allowed the beast reign of his heart and mind.

The emerald of his irises morphed into a golden yellow and his eyes transformed into a long slit shape. Rune markings and symbols appeared to define his arms and face with a light blue glow. His skin embraced the appearance of the creature within him and transmutated into an animal coat of reddish-brown throughout his body. The fur was covered with rosettes for camouflage in the dappled light of the warcan beast's usual forest habitat. Razor, long claws extended from the tip of Isarcrius' fingers. The Asharren warrior and warcan beast were now one, together they were revered as Aldari.

Araun examined the arms of the warrior's body he had taken reign over and rose up from the ground.

'Your attire is rather different from usual,'The warcan beast commented. 'It is much like the fur coat of a warcan.'

~It is the attire of the humes, should I have encountered one I had hoped to blend in.~

'Blend in? You sound more of warrior of the Jagauni warcan tribes than I do. It is very much the same as my coat that blends in with the forest. It is quite befitting of you...'

~So I am told, do not idle unnecessarily.~

Soran's scent and magical energy was fading from the land and the warcan beast sought it out to the opposite end of the field.

'Isaac, blood hangs thick in the air...'The warcan beast warned.

~There is something close...~

Araun traced the scent back into the forest until he arrived out into a clearing. The sight before him immobilized him with disbelief. Several Galrik officers laid strewn across the ground, drenched in their own blood and of those beside them. They were but mutilated corpses, some headless and others had their limbs torn and scattered. Some appeared peaceful, others with expressions of terror and fear.

'What bastard would commit such a heinous crime?!' Araun roared in anger and inspected the corpses.

'What bastard, you say? Rather crude, don't you think Araun?'An anomaly from within the darkness of the forest laughed cynically as they revealed themselves under the moonlight.

'Scalivarg,' Araun growled with disdain at the creature before him.