1 Prologue

Ancient city of Aerinthia, in the province of Solara. 1149AD

NICHOLAI VLADE

"It is impossible to go by the route you are are proposing Klaus" I said quietly as the meeting was gradually becoming tensed, "we need to find a way to live harmoniously with human kind" I added.

"I won't have you reduced our kind to a weakling Vlade! We are a strong people and you reducing us to nothing, very soon these humans will grow the nerves to attack us." Klaus spoke, Glava Klaus was always ambitious and believed he is supposed to be the Czàiya, the leader of the pack but somehow, he wasn't favoured.

"Klaus is right, Czàiya Vlade, if we don't act and stamp our authority now, I fear they might become emboldened." Symon said and nodded to Klaus.

"You sound like weak men trying to prove a point that they are strong men." Krzysztof added quietly and there was silence everywhere.

"How dare you call me a weakling!" Klaus roared standing up with anger "I won't accept this level of insult from this good for nothing goat." He added looking at Krzysztof who simply leaned back and sat cross legged with a smirk on his face.

"And he even has a smirk on his face, do we now gather here to exchange insults and find who has learnt the best?" Róz'a said standing up addressing me.

"I have not insulted anyone, I have only gave a description of what your actions looks like, that you can't see past that might prove me right and what is your take in this Róz'a?" Krzysztof said still shaking his crossed leg.

"I think Krzysztof should apologize to Klaus." Jakób said calmly.

"And why will I do that?" he roared standing up now, "if we are being fair, he was the one who insulted me. Or you all didn't hear when he called me a goat? We can either be adults or children, we definitely can't be both." he added then looked at each person seated right in the eyes before sitting down.

"I want to apologize to both Krzysztof and Klaus, and all who feel insulted, we are all bigger than this and should apply ourselves better, I know tensions are high but that's why we always have to rein in our inner wolf." I said looking at each person who had felt insulted until they nodded back at me in acceptance. "Now, to the issues at hand, I will allow each of us sometime to look critically at it and come up with some course of action that will profit our kind and the human kind." I decided and brought the meeting to an end.

"I don't know what you were thinking in confronting Klaus in such a public manner as you did." Jakób said as he drew closer to Krzysztof speaking in hushed tones as other members of the meeting filed outside.

"Don't be too scared, it's people's inability to speak truth to him that feeds his ego." Krzysztof defended his actions.

"In time, you'll come to understand why people sometimes look the other way when issues like this come up and thread the path of diplomacy." Jakób said softly.

"Diplomacy subvets the truth and often favor the strongest."

"Not knowing how to speak is not the same thing as not speaking." Jakób said and left him.

"What is that suppose to mean? It's the craziest thing I've ever heard." Krzysztof said watching him leave.

**********

I sat down and watched everyone leave except those loyal to me, I had a worried look on my face. "I know you are worried about Klaus because of what Krzysztof did to him, it about time someone told him the bitter truth." Damian said as he approached me.

"Thank you for the support," Krzysztof said and shook hands with him.

"I am aware of his secret plotting and hippocratic tendencies, he will soon let the world think he's the Czàiya and ursup Nicholai Vlade." Krzysztof added and turned to greet Mikolaj as he joined us.

"How are you doing Czàiya? What are you seeing that we are not seeing?" He asked. They've come to know me as a strange man and a very thoughtful person. I have been able to ursher in the season of peace, ending the season of Madness that was filled with meaningless battles and fights.

Knowing I wouldn't defeat my main adversary Constantine who had killed very challenger that has come against him with his mystical powers, Men and Wolves had formed an alliance and even that didn't amount to anything until I vowed to stop him after witnesing the death of my father many years ago while I was still young. My father was a supposed unassuming man whose true strength would have rendered Constantine powerless but my father surrendered easily. I had courted Constantine's daughter and won her affection and married her to the suprise of many. Constantine saw I wouldn't continue in his legacy, so he woke up one day and vanished and so ended the season of Madness, everyone decided that I, Nicholai Vlade would be their leader. "I am very fine Mikolaj, I'm just worry that the web of Klaus is getting thicker, he might throw us all back to the season of Madness," I said suddenly tired.

"Glava Klaus has bought many persons in the council over to his side, they are more loyal to him than to you." Krzysztof said a bit disappointed. "I had to do something, so they can see that their principal was not such a big deal." He added shaking his head.

"You are very correct, we all have to be careful," Jakób said grimly, "I have to run along," he added and left.

"We all have to be careful, there is a storm coming. You all should be at alert, pass on the relevant information and secrets to your heirs, make many contingency plans, send word to the Peacekeepers Damian, inform the Forerunners Krzysztof." I addressed them looking into nothingness as if I was seeing the future "I do not mean scare you all but the future really looks bleak and it worries me." I finally looked at each of them, "you know what to do." I nodded to Mikolaj and they all left.