My name is Alexander Gotti, one of the 5 Fangs of the Kingdom of Ysella, and leader of the shadows that protect the kingdom. I was born into the Gotti family, a long line of people who serve the royal bloodline, and inherited the blessings of the Den Mother, Atla. With the Den Mother's blessings, we have been given the ability to transform into animals of the forest. Some of use can use multiple forms, and others have the characteristics of an animal, and can only use a single form. Most of these details will be further explained as I unfold the story before you, so just you wait and see!
As I slowly drifted back into consciousness, I realized something warm and heavy lay upon my stomach. Ugh, what's laying on me so early in the morning? I wondered as I tried to grab a hold of my situation. As I started to begrudgingly lift my body up, I started to make out the shape of a person in front of me. A breeze came in through the open window, wafting a familiar floral scent, with a hint of......sweat?
"Hey, Serina, wake up before I decide to toss you on the ground." I said to sleeping woman on my abdomen, giving her a light shake.
"Huh?" She replied, rubbing her eyes, appearing rather dazed. "Sorry, Alex, I had to do the Hero Summoning today, and it really took a toll on me. It took not just myself, but 8 other court mages to complete the ceremony. I'm still tired, so goodnight." She said, immediately dropping her head back into my gut.
"Dammit, Serina! At least get in the bed properly before you start crashing out on me!" I barked, to no avail. She was already too far gone. Being the kind gentleman I am, I decided to lift her into the bed myself, and cover her up. To think, the head of the court mages was just drooling slovenly, half awake on her roommate. What a state it shows our country is in. But didn't she say she just did the Hero Summoning? I'm gonna have to ask her about this later.
Now to explain that mess of a woman sleeping in my bed, her name is Serina Legram, the head of the court mages for the Kingdom of Ysella. And to be correct, it's technically our bed. We're childhood friends, Mage and Partner, roommates, and we used to date years ago, though a few of those details will be explained away at another time. To sum her up in a few words, she's a beautiful genius with no self-awareness. If it weren't for her and Vivi, i'd probably never be able to live alone though, so I guess I should be grateful that the worst I have to deal with is putting her to bed properly.
To further explain our living situation, everyone who lives here would be myself, Serina, and my cousin Vivi, though she actually treats both Serina and I as siblings. We've known each other since childhood, so some would actually think we were related with how we act like one another. The three of us live in a quaint cottage, right outside the walls of the capital city Whake on the west side, closest to the castle gates. We all work for the royal family under different positions, so we chose an area not too far from the castle, but also not inside the city with lots of foot traffic and noise. Now, you would think that because there are 3 people living here, we would each have our own room, right? Well, as you noticed before, Serina and I share a room, so we only actually use 2, but we do in fact have 3 rooms in this home.
Well, it's still pretty early in the day, so I might as well make some breakfast. I started toward the the kitchen, grabbing my pants pants on the way,(and I don't sleep in the nude, I wear a shirt and underwear, just to be clear). I guess I should make something easy, I dont feel like spending too much time cooking. I grabbed a pan from the wall and placed it on top of what would be considered a stove-like surface. I think we're out of coffee, so I guess juice will have to do. I opened up our cold box and pulled out some thin sliced boar meat, as well as some eggs, and the all important apple-peach juice Vivi found at the market the other day. I started off by dicing up the boar meat, and whisking the eggs in a small bowl. I poured some mana into the stove-like surface, and controlled the flame to be relatively low, and proceeded to melt butter in the pan, and then put in the boar meat. As it cooked, I seasoned it with salt and pepper, and poured in the whisked eggs, and turned up the heat. Not too long after I had started, the scrambled eggs and boar meat was finished. I distributed part of the food onto a plate, filled a glass with juice, and enjoyed the quiet morning for a good while.
Now then, I wonder what kind of people the summoned Heroes are like? I pondered. it's been so many years since the last summoning, I'm sure there are people who don't even know of it's existence. And if we performed the ceremony, what of the other countries? Are they gathering candidates to become a Hero, or will they too choose to summon them? Looking at this from an outsider's point-of-view, you would think something big is going to take place soon, and to be honest, with the state of the continent as it is, that very well may be the case. Well, these are all things I can worry about another time, for now, I should probably go check on sleeping beauty and get some real answers.
"Mmmmm...." A voice groaned in the room down the hall. "Aaaleex, I'm huuungryyy!" Serina's voice echoed through the hallway. "I smell something yummy in there! Bring it to me!" How can she smell cold leftovers!? Is she some kind of animal!?
"OK! Just gimme a second so I can heat it up for you!" I called back to her. Figures after using all her mana like she did that she would be hungry after waking up. I might as well bring her some juice as well. A balanced breakfast is the proper way to start the day......even if it's the afternoon.
I entered the room to see a beautiful girl, lazily rubbing her eyes, in a rather unbecoming w-shaped sitting position. Her hair was down, and rather fluffy after sleeping on it, but she still had a rather dignified, yet childish aura around her.
"Here," I said, as I placed the plate on the bed, "I made pork and eggs, and brought you some juice. You're lucky I made enough with you in mind. I was half-tempted to leave you to your own devices."
"Oh? Is that so?" She replied with a quizzical look on her face. "To think you would think of treating me so poorly, after all these years of me being the one taking care of you. And out of the goodness of my heart, no less!" She puffed her chest out, as if proud of her statement. Though, it would have been more convincing if she didn't have her face stuffed as she did it.
"Well, putting aside whose goodwill is most giving, how was the summoning? Was it a success? Any news about what's going to happen in the coming future?"
"Well, there's a lot to go through, if that's what you want to know." She said, slowly sipping at her juice. "So you might want to get comfy for all this..."
Well, to sum up everything that happened, there were two main points. 1: The summoning was a success. Not only did the ceremony work, but it summoned two heroes, who happen to be siblings. And 2: We can expect word to travel fast that our country managed to reap some rewards, and that others will soon be doing the same, either to bolster their defenses, or to try and maintain balance between us all. But the bottom line of it all, is that the continent across the ocean have started to act.
The Demon Continent of Kalfura is starting to make their move.
"So if they're making moves, what does the Kingdom plan on having us do?" I asked. With all of the Fangs in the Kingdom at the same time, this can't just be a coincidence.
"Well, for starters, you and Vivi are to stay within the capital city until we are all called for. Why are we being called? Simple! The heroes will be choosing one of the 5 Fangs as their confidant." She said, as if it were perfectly normal.
"Confidants? We're the defenders of our country! And they want to send almost half of that strength with 2 fresh heroes, who have neither the loyalty nor the ability to do the same?" I was not exactly happy with this news. The Fangs of the Kingdom are titles given to those who possess great power, those who have performed great deeds, and those who give great leadership. And they wish for us to stop our duties, to accompany Heroes who have no experience, and know little of the world they have found themselves in?
"Yes, that's all there is to it. We are to join the Heroes, help train them, help the country, and prepare for the ensuing war with Kalfura, or even our neighbors. No helping the will of the royal family now is there?" She spoke in a rather curt way. She sounded rather displeased with their decision as well.
"Well, you're right to say we can't say no to the crown, but what was your opinion of the heroes? what were they like?" I asked. If I may have to help them, I might as well learn as much as I can about them.
"First off, you need to not think so negatively of them right off the bat. When you think about it, traveling with them would actually give you more freedom to investigate your own things, since it may be something the Heroes could help with, and would help our country." She stated. which wouldn't be a lie to say so. Having the freedom to roam around without much worry would help further my own goals. "And as for my opinion of them, I don't really have much of one. I only saw them for a few minutes after the summoning before I pass--, before I had to take my leave to replenish my mana." I'm pretty sure she was going to say she passed out from mana loss, but I'm not gonna bother correcting her.
"Freedom to roam, you say..." I pondered the pros and cons of traveling around with the Heroes, but an even bigger issue came forth. "But none of that matters in the end, if they don't even choose me. After all, out of the five of us, You, Owen, and Synder are the most likely to be chosen.. Vivi and I are too....specialized to be of much use, really." Though we may be Fangs, Vivi and I are definitely back-line fighters, who use tracking and stealth over brute force and prowess.
"you're not wrong....but you never know until it happens!" She exclaimed, beaming.
Well, I guess there is no point in worrying about any of it until the day we're all called in. If anything, I could always have Serina herself do some investigating when she's out in the field with them, and can just do my own remote research from the capital. But man,if she's chosen, it's gonna be lonely here. No point in brooding over any of it anyways. Things in life happen for a reason I suppose, so I can't be mad when small inconveniences come about.
Serina took notice of my perplexed look on my face, and decided to chime in. "Are you worried that if I'm gone with the Heroes that I might fall for one and leave you behind~?" She asked with a sly smile.
"Please, we've been separated for how long? You can fall for anyone you want to, I'm not your keeper."
"Boo!" She exclaimed, pouting all the while.
We stayed like this for a while, just talking about mundane things, and how work has been. It's actually been quite some time since we had been able to just relax together like this. With all the work in the shadows I have to do, and the training of new mages Serina has, we actually see even less of each other than usual. It's actually gotten to the point to where we usually exchange messages through Vivi, or just notes on the desk by our bed. So, you know, it's nice to spend time like this, together, peacefully.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Don't tell me..." I had a bad feeling about this. And things were just getting peaceful again!
"Sir Alex! Sir Alex!" A man yelled from outside the front door. "We have an urgent message to deliver!"
Well, I guess I can't just leave them at the door like this. "OK, let me open the door for you." I walked over and opened the door to see a young man in full plate armor, obviously exhausted, waiting there. I waved him inside and prepared some water for us all.
"Thank you, Sir Alex!" He said as he took the glass i extended to him.
"So what's so important that you had to come to my residence for me specifically?" Normally if anyone needed to send me a message. they would send a raven, or a castle spy, so a normal guard coming here is rather strange.
"Yes! Sorry for the intrusion and my late introduction. My name is Thatcher Root, and I'm on the guard detail for the foraging and hunting teams today. Apparently Lady Vivi went out to catch a beast that's been making trouble in the woods, but has been gone for over 2 hours! The higher ranked guards told me to get you directly, as they have a bad feeling about what may have happened!"
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"A bad feeling? What could go wrong with Vivi? I can't imagine her having a hard time with a mere animal." Though she may not be well versed in hand-to-hand, from afar, even I can barely stand against her. I can't see her having an issue if she was cautious and fought from a distance.
"Well, you see, after she had gone to investigate the creature, we found the remains of large boar and Greater Buck ravaged in the forest."
"Hmmm...large boar can be taken down easily enough with coordination, but Greater Buck are not just fast, but sturdy..." Now I'm starting to see why they were worried...if something strong enough to take down multiple Greater Buck and large boars is roaming around, Vivi might not be enough to handle it. "OK, I understand the situation well enough. Let me get ready and I'll head over to the forest, I'll track her scent in wolf form, so you can go back to your duties. Thank you, Thatcher."
"No, thank you, Sir Alex! I will be one my way then!" He saluted Serina and I and headed out.
"I'm coming with you, Alex." Serina said out of nowhere.
"I can handle it with just Vivi, so you should rest. Aren't you still tired from the mana loss?" Though I knew she was strong, I still worry about her well being. She can be a real hard-head for someone with such a calm composure.
"Vivi is not just your sister, she's also my sister. Plus, what's the point of still being Contract Partners if I don't ride into battle with you once and a while?" She grinned from ear to ear, as if her explanation was as clear as day.
"If you insist, then I wont stop you. Get ready, we're gonna head out quickly." As I finished, she was already getting changed into her adventurer's robes.
"Gotcha!"
Since time was of the essence, and we needed to track Vivi down in the forest, using my wolf form would be the best call. To prepare for that, I put a few potions, daggers, and my bow and arrows into my special saddle-bags. Because I can't personally carry something as a wolf, and Serina being a mage with just a staff, we had a bag specially made for me long ago, which is now used by most Contract Partners that can be mounted. Now to explain what happens to the items on my person, like my clothes and small weapons, once I transform, they seem to fade out of existence, then come back in the same state as they were when I return to normal. That being said, things like food, and other perishables don't fade away. As to why these things happen as they do, we can only say it's the will of the Den Mother.
After donning my cape and short sword, i finished packing miscellaneous goods into the saddle bags and waited by the door. Not even a moment after I had finished, Serina exited our room in her adventurer's robes. They were brown robes, descending to just above her knees. Underneath she wore simple cloth pants, matching the robes, and shoes made of leather. On her back was the staff gifted to her by the Queen upon her ascension to becoming a Fang of the Kingdom. It was a staff slightly taller than her, made from the Tree of Beginnings, inside the Forest of Balka, home of the Den Mother, and subsequently the Gotti family. It was originally a brown colored wooden staff, but was stained to a brilliant white, with a golden mana crystal affixed to the top. The crystal, might I add, was foraged from body of Greater Dragon that a hero many a century ago had slain. Needless to say, her staff was almost an art piece more than it was a weapon.
"Lets go!" She exclaimed. we both nodded, then head out the door.
I changed into my wolf form lowered my body for Serina. She traipsed over and set the saddle on my back, then mounted me. After situating herself and grabbing hold of my neck, we were set to search for Vivi the Lost.
As I sniffed the air, my nose followed the lingering scent Thatcher had left, and it pointed us South of the capital, towards the Evergreen Forest. Evergreen Forest was a common hunting ground for the Kingdom due to it's abundant animal population, and healthy vegetation. Because of the periodic hunting and the monitoring the hunting teams do on the ecosystem of the forest, the fact that a creature strong enough to pose a problem appearing from nowhere seemed even more unusual. With all that in mind, I darted towards the area at break-neck speed.
Are you OK up there? I asked Serina. A thing to note is that, Contract Partners have the ability to speak telepathically, but that is only possible when in animal form.
Yes, I'm fine. It's a cold day, so the wind is a little chilly, but it's no problem. She replied.
Though I couldn't share her feeling of the cold, being covered in fur and all, I still noticed the low temperature before we left. It must be the end of the warm season.
We were gaining ground towards the forest, the air pressing my fur down against my body. Serina's golden-brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, flowing gracefully in the wind, her robes fluttering. I began to speed up slightly, and could feel her rustling on my back, getting into a better position. It must have gotten colder, since she decided to lower her body and nestle herself into the back of my neck. It felt rather warm there. Pleasant, really.
As we approached the edge of the forest, I began to slow down, reaching a halt as we entered what was a sea of trees. I could smell blood in the distance, but it was not a familiar scent. Thank Atla that isn't Vivi's blood. But it would be nice if it was, so I could track her down easier. I thought, reprimanding myself for even joking about wishing harm upon her. After a few moments of though, I inhaled deeply and let out a howl.
Hrroooo!.....Yip! Yip! After a few moments, the sounds of a high-pitched yip echoed through the trees.
It's Vivi! I communicated to Serina. She's a few kilometers ahead of us! Hold on tight! I told her as I made a mad dash towards the sound.
I quickly dashed between trees, running right through bushes and foliage, disregarding anything in my path. As we closed in on the source of the sound, I spotted multiple carcasses of the native wildlife, as well as a few low-ranking monsters. I started to hear the sound of gusting winds, like the sounds of a winged creature. But the forest isn't home to any flying creature strong enough to do this kind of damage... I thought to myself. Within a few moments, I found myself in a large clearing with a red fox darting around, avoiding some kind of aerial projectile. What I found myself more focused on though was a different story.
I was now standing in front of a Cursed Wyvern.
"What's a cursed creature doing in the Evergreen Forest!?" Serina exclaimed. I had already transformed back into my human form, so she was standing on the defensive, her staff directed at the creature.
"I'm not sure, but we don't have the luxury of finding that out right now!" I replied. "Vivi! Get behind that large tree behind you! Serina, I need you to give me some suppressive fire and keep that thing occupied for a few minutes! I'm going to go check on Vivi and figure out the next plan of action!" I darted towards the location I specified, making sure to avoid all the new found attention I was receiving.
Once behind the tree, I found myself with a petite female with red fox ears and a bushy tail. If she weren't covered in sweat, and panting like an animal, you would say she was rather cute.
"Looks like you found yourself in some trouble, huh?" I teasingly taunted her.
"I expected a tough fight, but I didn't expect a freakin' wyvern in the woods" She was so exhausted it was hard to hear her between her huffing. "I'm soo going to kick Synder's scaly butt the next time I see him."
"Just because he's a Dragonewt does not mean he's related to wyverns, dummy. Plus, this thing is a Cursed Wyvern, so it's not like he could tell it stop anyways."
"I'm still not happy about this. How'd you know I was in trouble anyways? And why is Serina here as well? Doesn't she have her duties today as a Court Mage?" For someone who was just running around like a mouse being chased by a cat, she sure can hammer someone with questions.
"As to how I know, your security detail became worried upon finding Greater Buck corpses lying around, so they came personally to get me. As for Serina, she tagged along because you're our sister, and she couldn't let anything happen to you if she could help it. Why she isn't at the castle though. Well, that can wait for later." The important matter at hand is how are we to deal with this flying menace before us. "I brought my bow with me, as well as some throwing daggers. You think you can stop him from going above the treeline for me?"
"He's fast, and maneuvers well in the air, so I can't completely stop him. But if you just need it to stay at a lower altitude, with Serina, it'll be cake."
"Good to hear." As she gave her affirmation, I changed into my raven form and used the trees as cover as I rose through the sky. Serina,I'm going to get above this thing and figure something out. You and Vivi try to keep it within the clearing.
Understood. Please be careful. OK, Alex?
Please, if I were careful, I wouldn't be where I am today. And with that, I was finally above the wyvern, and it didn't seem too pleased about it either.
"Form and Fire! Water Shot!" Before the wyvern could even move, it was shot in the back from a barrage of water blasts. "Vivi, I'm going to keep hitting it with water, so keep it in range for me!"
"I'm on it!" She replied, swiftly firing arrows barely grazing the flying reptile. Though she was more than capable of hitting her target from that distance, the arrows I had brought with me were not strong enough to pierce it's skin, so she probably went with scare tactics so it wouldn't find that out itself.
As I flew above the enclosure, I contemplated what to do. Because of it's speed and agility, magic spells are harder to hit it with, and because of it's tough defenses, our current projectiles wont damage it enough to finish it off. What can we do to end this quickly...?
Actually, now that I remember, Serina said she was going to use water magic for the most part, and if I should have my wire in my sleeves, so just maybe...
Without much more thought, I relayed a message to my partner. Keep dousing it! I have some wire on me, so I'm going to dive on it and finish this!
Good to know my predictions were correct. I will make sure it's drenched, just try to stay dry, or else it might get ugly for you as well.
And with that I turned back into my normal form, and dove towards the wyvern. As I fell, I pulled out a long length of metal wire and threw an end of it towards the beast. It wrapped around the neck of the wyvern, making it thrash about. Lucky for me, Serina stopped flinging spells at it, and Vivi was keeping it from flying away with me.
"Sorry about this, buddy, but you chose the wrong girl prey upon" And with that, I channeled a large amount of mana into the wire, sending a powerful electric shock down the line. Almost instantly, it fell towards the ground, emitting smoke, letting out an ear-piercing shriek.
With that, we put an end to the forest menace.
I walked over to the motionless body, keeping my guard up. As i drew closer, the smell of burnt flesh became more prominent, the sound of sizzling water and boiling blood could faintly be heard. Upon arriving at the large body, I looked it over, checking it's breathing and pulse, and confirmed it to be dead.
"it's dead now. We should report back to your team and have them recover the body and send it back to the castle for the mages to investigate it. Cursed creatures are hard to come by still in one piece like this." Because of the difficulty some Cursed creatures can be, usually they end up in rough shape from long battles. Unfortunately for this one though, it was against people who don't like wasting too much time.
"Alright, they shouldn't be too far from here, I could hear them talking from afar about our encounter, so they should be prepared to gather it quickly."
"Wasn't that nostalgic, you two?" Serina had chimed in. "It's been so long since the 3 of us got to work together like this. It always feels reassuring, knowing that I don't have to worry about what might happen to you two. Rather, I have to feel sorry the one who happened to cross you." She smiled at us, like an older sister would to her siblings accomplishing their goals.
After consulting with Vivi's team, and thanking Thatch for coming to get us so quickly, we decided to take a leisurely walk back home, and discuss all of the things going on. Normally we would never be able to talk like this, unless it happened to be a holiday, or we were all summoned to the castle. And due to the nature of our jobs, Vivi and I don't usually interact with the Court Mages, so we don't get to interact with Serina much outside of the house. So times like this call for us to spend as much time as we can together, like an actual family would.
Serina explained why she was not at the castle, and about the situation with the heroes. The heroes consisted of the older brother and his younger sister, whose names we still don't know, since someone happened to pass out before she could learn them. The fact that she even knew that much was due to the gossip some of the maids were talking about as she left in a haze. On the bright-side of all of this though, until we are all summoned to the castle, we are officially on standby, and are free to do as we please.
For the most part, Vivi was rather lucky to be in the area. She had planned on taking an expedition to northern region of Ysella to hunt some larger game for the coming cold seasons. Fortunately, or unfortunately if you're her, tensions around the northern border has become strained as of late, so the whole thing had to be postponed. Being dejected as she would be, she heard that a team had already headed for Evergreen Forest, and decided she would join them to kill some time. And honestly, if she didn't join them, who knows what would have happened to them if they had been the ones to encounter that wyvern? I guess Lady Luck was smiling on them today.
As for myself, I had actually been what would be considered transport duty for merchants who dealt in magic ore from the capital to Blont, a town known for it's innovative applications for the ore. Being that I'm leader of what are essentially assassins who lurk in the shadows, you would find it odd that I would be tasked to be something like a guard, but that's where my animal forms come in handy. Because I can change between the forms of a bear, raven and wolf, I can essentially hide the fact that I'm their at all by scouting from the skies, or traversing in the plains/forests around the roads, either dealing with anything that poses a threat myself, or change paths to avoid it all together.
Once everything was all said and done, I traversed back to the capital to rest and prepare to do some intelligence gathering, when I found myself with a disheveled mage on my abdomen.
We continued on, talking about the mundane things going on in the country, politics, the tension at the borders, as well as what we should eat when we got home. Walking down the dirt path back to the city, with the evanescent sunset behind us, casting a serene orange-red light on the horizon. With the enticing scenery, and cool breeze, we marched on to the invisible beat we set, carrying on without a care in the world.