Flight

Even in a deep sleep, Cayna felt the cold air as the blankets were ripped off of her. She sat up, already more awake than asleep. Her mother was there, blankets bundled in her arms. Her father was in the doorway, already dressed, with an anxious look on his face.

"Cayna, the wolf hunters are here. We must flee!"

Cayna jumped off the bed, quickly throwing on her travel clothes while her parents readied their travel provisions. She joined them in the living room of the small apartment. She was handed one of the bags and they gathered by the door. Cayna's father made the door transparent with a control dial and all three of them looked out into the dark, grimy street. It was a poor section of the city, messy, with living units stacked on top of each other in steps stretching upwards towards the better sections of the city which glowed with pretty light and vibrant life.

There were no signs of anyone who didn't belong. The people out and about at this time of night were gang bangers and drugged out homeless persons, shuffling aimlessly, looking more dead than alive.

Her father gave the okay sign and they emptied from the apartment, making their way to their vehicle. It was half hidden underneath a makeshift pile of trash which they quickly cleared off. Once inside, they looked around one more time to make sure the coast was clear.

"Okay." Her father said. Then the vehicle moved, hovering and completely silent down the street. People moved out of their way, assuming that they would not stop regardless of who was in the way. That assumption was right.

They continued down the trash strewn alleys and derelict buildings towards the predetermined escape route for when the Sycadians finally caught up with them again.

Despite her racing heart, Cayna couldn't help but want to go back to sleep, as she never slept well even when they were sure that no one would find them for a while. She had dreams and they tortured her in her sleeping hours. These dreams were always only partially remembered and none of them had any sort of coherency in them. Yet she felt as if they were important. Still, they made it so she couldn't sleep properly.

They approached the edge of the city, which had become a series of industrial sectors of automated machinery that worked night and day endlessly. They were like giant mechanical monsters trapped in the darkest pits of hell, digging their way towards a salvation forever denied them. Cayna tried to turn these thoughts off, knowing that she should be paying attention, not indulging in her morbid imagination.

It was hard to do though. Their time in Aeghai was longer than most and she had almost felt the semblance of a normal life start to settle. Cayna hated running, always looking over her shoulder, never being able to make friends and it was impossible to explore romantic options. Her parents not only discouraged friends and romance but outright forbid her to create any sort of bonds with others while they were in danger. She understood their reasons, sort of. Anybody who gets close to them could be interrogated by the wolf hunters and her parents were not shy about reminding her how ruthless they are.

The thing of it is, Cayna has never heard once a direct reason on why they are on the run in the first place. She used to ask as a little girl but soon realized that her parents would never under any circumstances reveal the true reason for their life on the run. All she could do was be their good daughter and follow their instructions, which she always did.

It was hard to be obedient. Other girls wanted to be her friend. Boys wanted to date her. People wanted to help them, but Cayna and her parents turned everyone away. Getting by with odd jobs in the few skills they picked up as drifters. Cayna's parents had once been professionals before they were forced to go into hiding. In what, Cayna was never told. With how effective they were at avoiding their pursuers, she imagined them to be in some sort of secret intelligence work, like spies or something. They could be like ghosts if they wanted to, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Which would startle Cayna every time.

South of the city of Aeghai was a vast, thick forest that stretched all the way into the distance towards the mountains that separated the Sycadian kingdom from the rest of Eldyon. If it had been possible, Cayna and her parents would have escaped beyond those mountains long ago, but the security of the kingdom had all exit points locked down tight. One would have to grow wings and fly over the oppressive mountains to escape. Even then, the Sycadian air ships may well shoot you down.

Of course, this was not a usual way to get out of the city. It was a decommissioned road and supposedly a dead end. When they came to the block in the road which was a high wall that blocked out the view to the forest, they exited the vehicle and positioned themselves at different points along the wall. With quick movements, they placed small glowing stones against the wall's surface. Lines of light shimmered along the stone, connecting to the other stones, making intricate symbols and seals. The wall shimmered and a hole appeared, large enough for their vehicle to go through. They climbed back into the car and moved through the opening, finally leaving the city behind.

Just as they reached the tree line, a spotlight appeared over their vehicle. Without warning, a laser bullet melted right through the roof and passed into the seat between Cayna's legs. She screamed as more shots were fired but missing, dirt exploding around them.

Without missing a beat, her father put power to the thrusters and sent the vehicle surging forward. Expertly, he weaved in and out of the trees. All Cayna could do was hold on for dear life as red flashes of laser fire whizzed all over the place.

As they moved further and further into the forest, the lasers became sparser. They were leaving the pursuers behind. Cayna began to breathe a little easier. There was no way they could follow them all the way in here.

All of a sudden, a hulking metal giant landed right in front of them. It pointed a giant cannon at them. Her father made a drastic maneuver, barely evading the incinerating beam that issued forth, lighting the forest ablaze. Another beam followed and missed, charring the trees to ash. Cayna shouted as a barrage of missiles launched from the shoulders of the mech unit.

Her father tried to dodge them all as Cayna's mother shouted directions to avoid the projectiles. It was not enough. One hit too close and the vehicle was sent flying. The thrusters couldn't correct the trajectory of their fall and it landed on its side, bouncing off the forest floor several times before coming to a smoking halt.

The safety measures kicked in, the vehicle self-dismantling the outer shell so they could climb out safely. Cayna and her parents ran into the shelter of the forest barely in time as another sweep of the incinerating beam wiped their vehicle from existence, leaving only a smoldering crater.

Instead of the mech giant continuing to pursue, dozens of drones were sent, buzzing above them, searching with cameras and set with auto turrets that shredded tree and stone alike. There was no shelter from them but the earth itself.

They managed to find a steep ravine where the drones could not get a good angle on them. It wasn't over, however. Jetpacks could be heard as shock troops landed on the forest floor and scout drones were sent everywhere to continue searching for them.

Cayna was in absolute terror, tears streaming down her face as she did her best to be brave and quiet like her parents. Their faces were all business, and they were as silent as wraiths, seeming to have a sixth sense of when in danger of being spotted. They seemed to know just how to navigate the difficult terrain. They moved slowly but they did make progress. Step by step they made it down the ravine, further into the dark depths. Maybe in the day light would have been able to reach them but there was no hope of that on this starless night. They still had the night vision goggles that helped but it was slow going and more than a few times all of them almost slipped to their deaths. They could not see the bottom.

They could hear the drones overhead, dangerously close. Cayna didn't dare look up having that fear that be merely looking they would sense her. She kept her eyes in front, where her mother was showing her the way. She looked back at her daughter frequently, her expression somehow sad but reassuring. Cayna tried to smile back but she couldn't bring herself to. It was just too much. The hunters had never been this close before. Why now? Why when life was just starting to become somwhat normal?

At one point, as they made their way in the perilous dark, her mother reached back and took her hand to give it an affectionate squeeze. She'd done this before and even though nothing was said, it always came across as an apology. As if she were expressing just how sorry she was that this was Cayna's lot in life. She did suppose that her parents felt bad about dragging her all around the kingdom without a semblance of a normal life. They never said as much though. Although they were always kind and seemed to be happy, or at least positive, they never talked about those things with her.

Cayna, being the soft-hearted person she was, grew not to ask questions and just trust that her parents were doing what was best for her. She had to swallow a lot of pride and curiosity and trust that they loved her, even though they were obviously keeping many secrets from her.

They seemed to be going further and further and further underground. The ravine was endless, and they couldn't even hear the drones anymore. Cayna got the feeling more and more that her parents somehow knew this place and knew where they were going. Perhaps this had been a hiding place they had used before?

Cayna wondered after these things when suddenly the gloom around them was slightly lifted. Cayna sucked in a breath, thinking the drones had somehow followed them down here but when her mother gave her hand another squeeze, she realized it was to reassure her. Everything was okay. Cayna wanted desperately to believe that.

As they made their way, the air was indeed growing brighter but she didn't know how that was possible. What could possibly be all the way down here that was producing light?

She could hardly believe it when they touched down on solid ground. After walking the perilous edge of the ravine, Cayna's relief was palpable.

"Come, quickly." Her father urged. Cayna and her mother did the same, setting them to side as they no longer needed them.

The urgency in her father's voice made Cayna's anxiety spike again. Were they really still in danger? All the way down here? Then she began to really think about it. If they really wanted to, she was sure that the soldiers could find a way to burrow all the way down to them. That could not be beyond their capabilities with the technologies of the modern day. Yet, it didn't seem as if they were making any effort to do so. What exactly was going on?

The more they walked onwards, Cayna could see that there were unnatural markings in the stone walls around them. The cave they were going through now had etchings of seals, symbols and words in script she had never seen before and some she recognized from the common speech of the kingdom, though perhaps an old dialect. As the light continued to grow, the more coherency the inscriptions became and before long, she was reading something of a story. The story of an ancient legend. A story that had images from her dreams.

Cayna began to be afraid, feeling as if she were walking right into the jaws of an inescapable destiny. She wanted to turn back, to run and never look back. She knew then that going forward was going to change everything and after wanting her whole life for things to be different, she didn't know if this was the change she wanted.

On the walls, the words that she could read went like this:

In the distant past, in the days when the Arch-lights of the Court of the Fallen still walked the world, there was a woman of the Arthurian lineage who communed with Tetriel, Arch-light of Canis. She was disillusioned with the world of Man, wanting nothing more than to be free of their constraints and constant seeking for power. She desired to be part of a loyal family, who would run through the woods and hunt and seek after whatever fancies their hearts desired forever.

Tetriel heard the desires of her heart and presented a way for her to gain all these things and more. She would gain the Arch-light's powers and be free from the confines of Man. The woman made a covenant with the arch-light, promising to serve her in return for the freedom to live as she pleased among the nature she loved so much.

So Tetriel gave her the gift of lupus transformation. The woman found that she could transform into varying shapes of wolf, going from either full animal or into a more humanoid form.

At first, she loved this but soon became lonely and wanted a mate. Tetriel gave her the ability to procreate others of her kind but there would needs be a blood sacrifice. She must taste the blood of those she brought into her pack, and they will become like unto her.

The woman fell in love and so created the first alpha and they in turn turned many friends and family and loved ones. The first matriarch and the first alpha soon became more than a pack. Over time, they became a powerful nation, and their zenith was one filled with the freedom and sense of familial loyalty that the woman always dreamed of.

Then, many began to complain that they could not satisfy all their desires. The younger generations wanted to explore the world and mix with the other nations. The woman and her mate did not approve, knowing that the feral nature of the lycans was often too hard to control among other populations. They were immortal children to an arch-light and therefore had certain responsibilities and rules.

The contention grew and the woman fought hard to maintain peace, but the inevitability of bloodshed could not be stopped. Those loyal to the original order were forced to defend themselves against the rebellious youth. And so began the first Lycan war.