It was late in the evening when the family returned home. Gregor had insisted on taking his daughter to the circus, then to the art exhibition, and had even dragged the whole family to a nearby lake to go fishing. The catastrophes of several centuries ago had left the world in ruins. But the Reclamation Army, through constant struggle, had forced nature to obey the will of the state. Where once there was nothing but sand and death, now there are fields teeming with life. Where there was once a drought, there are now rivers. The Dynast’s will and ancient technology both contributed to reshaping the ruined world and bringing it back to life.
They lived on the middle level of the fortress, a few dozen meters above ground level. Many representatives of noble families lived here; the entire street was filled with homes made for them. Artificial lights above and around the street created an image of the sun, one that became an orb of darkness in the evening and slowly lit up at dawn. Genius engineers had created the dome above the main street in the form of a sky. At day, it was blue, but at night it changed color to black and got speared with the countless faint white dots, imitating the night sky.
Kalaisa had saved enough tokens to buy a small, two-story house; otherwise, they would have been forced to live in the Wintersong’s main keep. The fortress of the Ice Fang Order had twenty separate keeps, one for each noble household. As Wolfkins grew up, they ended up being adopted into one of the noble families, unless they were already members of one of them. Aranea remembered Wintersong Keep fondly; several knights gave her piggyback rides when she was younger, but her mother insisted that having so many warriors around had been a bad influence on her. Dad told Aranea to go to her room, and the girl stormed to the second floor. Once inside, she fell to her knees, pressing an ear against the floor. Her hearing was far stronger than her parents knew, and sometimes she used this to spy on them.
“You think she is angry with my decision?” Kalaisa asked, and Aranea wanted to run downstairs and scream that her mother was wrong. But this would mean revealing her secret. She will make it up for this by cleaning her room. Someday. Maybe.
“Of course not, but she is going through a phase. When I was younger, I fought with my parents all the time,” Dad replied, and Aranea picked up on the sound of a knife cutting through meat. “Remember yourself at her age.”
“At her age, I was busy bullying and dominating others,” Mom whispered so quietly that Aranea could barely make out the words. “It’s not something I want to remember. It’s not something I can ever hope to atone for.”
Aranea heard a noise and understood that her parents were sitting at the table. There was the sound of a chair being moved. That probably meant that Dad moved closer to Mom. Recognizing and visualizing sounds was a necessary skill for becoming a knight. A hint of nervousness in the voice of a panicked enemy might allow a knight to win him over with a clever offer of surrender. A scratch of metal might mean a reload and an opening for a sudden advance. At least that was what Keyl told her, and what Aranea was desperately trying to learn.
“You can’t simply take a piece of your life, cut it off, and throw it into the Abyss. All your choices have shaped you into the person you are today,” Gregor said softly. “The nightmare is over, Kalaisa. The dawn has come. You must accept who you are, all of you, and move on. For her sake as well. She has the right to make her own choices. She has the right to make her own choices, unfettered by your fear. Aranea is not you. And not me.”
“I am still against her going to training. What if… what if she ends up like me?”
“You mean she ends up being a wonderful person who cares for her fellow people? A wonderful wife and caring mother? Truly, a horror,” Dad said with a hint of fun.
“No!” Kalaisa raised her voice. “You know what I mean.”
“That too will be because of her choice, and if the worst happens one day, we will get through it. As a family. But we have no right to lock her away from the future just because we are afraid. This will only lead to resentment, to bitterness, and…”
“Eventually to anger,” Kalaisa finished for him. Aranea heard some noise, and Mom continued. “The mere thought of losing her like… No point in thinking about it. You are right. It’s time to accept things and move on. I will call Ygrite tonight and apologize for what I did… before. Sis told me she became a warlord again after I left,” Kalaisa sighed, sounding worried. “Do you really think he’s involved in all of this?”
“I know that he has something to do with it,” Gregor responded in a serious tone. “I’m just not sure how much. I pray, for all our sakes, that my doubts are false, but if I am right…” He went silent for a moment, then said. “Maybe I should go to the Investigation Bureau and tell them everything about the situation. But I owe him enough to try and reason with him. Thrice he saved my life. Stay safe, please. While you are in the fortress, no one can hurt you.”
“It’s only a month,” Kalaisa responded. “Everything will be fine. Get to the bottom of this and come back.”
“I will.” Aranea heard her father stand up and move up the stairs. She quickly jumped into bed and pretended to sleep as he knocked on her door.
“Come in,” she answered in a fake sleepy voice.
Gregor surveyed the room, clicking his tongue disapprovingly at the sight of toys scattered everywhere. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to his daughter.
“Sorry for leaving you like this, furball.”
“It’s only a month.” Aranea smiled. “But… I’m going to miss you. Call, at least sometimes.”
Dad smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
“I will. And when I get back, I will try to persuade Kalaisa to allow you to train.”
“Really, really?” Aranea jumped, and her father gently made her lie down. “No lying?”
“No cheating, no lying, and no weaseling out. But you’ve got to promise me something as well. Listen to your mother, do not go to the lower city without her, and clean your room finally.”
“I promise!” Aranea shouted, and Gregor left with a smile on his snout.
****
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When Aranea woke up late the next morning, the light of the artificial sun was already visible through the window. Her father had gone on his mission, and the first thing the young cub did was clean her room. She put all her toys back into a box and put the books back on the shelves, arranging them in alphabetical order. The girl placed an ear to the floor and understood that Mom was still asleep. She carefully went downstairs, filled a bucket with water, grabbed a broom and a rag, and returned to clean her entire room. This was usually her mother’s job, but Aranea felt she owed it to Mom for yesterday. Besides, she had nothing else to do. As she was finishing the cleaning, Mom came in.
“That… is unexpected.” Kalaisa looked at the suspiciously clean room. “What happened? Who bit you? If you broke something, you can tell me; I won’t be mad.”
“I wanted to help,” Aranea mumbled stubbornly, annoyed at being caught. “Besides, it’s boring here, with Keyl and the others still at school.”
“Honey, I am sorry.” Mom came closer and hugged her daughter. “I know it seems unfair, but we truly tried to get you into school. But they only accept children who are at least nine years old.”
“I heard about it. Stupid law.” Aranea clenched her fangs. “Keyl told me about it. He constantly teases me about being the largest student in the class. It sucks.”
“I can talk with his parents…” Kalaisa started, but Aranea almost jumped in panic and grabbed her mother by the waist.
“Don’t you dare! It’s bad enough that he always loses to me. If I snitch on him, he will stop talking to me altogether.” Aranea desperately looked into the eyes of her mom. “He is not bad, Mom; he trains all the time, and he was the one who introduced me to the other cubs. We tease each other from time to time; it’s no biggie.”
“Loses,” Kalaisa said thoughtfully. “I assume you don’t mean in games.” Aranea wanted to lie, but she knew Mom would find out. Instead, she stubbornly looked at the floor. Kalaisa took her daughter by the lower jaw, making eye contact. “So those bruises weren’t from the fall, then, am I right?”
“Mom, it was just a game!” Aranea protested the implication.
Bruises and scratches on her always healed up nearly instantly. But a few days ago, when she fought against Keyl with a wooden sword, she stumbled and slammed her nose straight into the stone wall. A sharp edge sliced the skin on her snout. Keyl freaked out and wanted to call a medic, blaming himself for wounding her, but Aranea convinced him to stitch the wound together the way the teacher showed him in the class. The young boy knew enough about medicine to do this, and in a few hours, the wound was gone, leaving only a few bruises that her mother noticed later. It took Aranea quite some efforts to convince Keyl to train with her afterwards; the stubborn boy was afraid to hurt her. As if he could!
“Besides, it was technically a fall damage! Keyl is too slow to touch me anymore!” she boasted.
“Too slow.” Something akin to fear showed in Kalaisa’s eyes. She led her daughter to the bed and made her sit. Kalaisa sat down on the floor in front of Aranea, winced at the poorly mopped floor, ran her finger along the underside of the bed, sighed at the sight of dust, and said, “I... need to tell you something. You know the meaning behind the terms ‘New Breed’ and ‘power’, right?”
“Of course!” Aranea eagerly nodded. “We are New Breeds. Humans who look different from other humans. Power is that supernatural ability that someone sometimes has.”
“Yes. And…” Kalaisa took a deep breath. “The point is, you know how cubs of the Wolf Tribe grow so much faster than cubs of the Ice Fang Order? It is because we, all who come from the Wolf Tribe, have a passive power. The power, known as the Descendant of Ravager.”
“What does it do?” Aranea asked impatiently. Power, she has a power? That’s awesome!
“Each time you dominate… winning against another being, someone who is close to you in strength or stronger than you—you yourself get stronger. And not just physically. Your size increases ever so slightly. You heal faster and run faster. You also start to… think differently; it becomes easier to notice certain things or to react to certain things.” Kalaisa fell silent again, tapping on her own jaw, and lost in thoughts. “You played with a lot of cubs, am I correct? It was not just Keyl?”
“How do you… Yes,” Aranea said as she lowered her gaze to the ground. “Keyl once told the others how he always loses to me and asked them to train him. Oh, they agreed to train him. But the other cubs also showed up to watch our next training. After Keyl lost, they even challenged me.” Her eyes beamed. “And I won! Unlike me, they train all day long. Yet I was faster and stronger than them! Who cares what kind of techniques or styles they use if they are too slow or weak to pull them off? Anyway, long story short, they bought me an ice cream as a prize, and since then we have only played football. Most of the time. But every now and then, some older students will show up and challenge me to an honorable duel, as they call it,” Aranea laughed. “I lose some, I win some. No one gets hurt, honest!”
“Aranea.” Kalaisa took her daughter by the shoulders. “I do not approve of this, but neither am I angry at you. Do not let the thirst for victory get into your head. And never fight because you are angry at something or someone. Because if you do…” Kalaisa paused, as if searching for words, and said, “I do not think that you share my personal power. Otherwise, I would have noticed your strange growth much earlier. But you clearly have something inside of you. The power within you may be a weak current, but it flows in your blood. And if you go too far towards the thirst for dominat... winning,” Kalaisa corrected herself. “You might end up in a situation similar to mine.”
“I do not understand, Mom. What do you mean? Look at you!” Aranea pointed at Mom’s arms, arms that were the size of tree trunks. Mom’s claws pierced the steel with the slightest poke. Despite her enormous size, Kalaisa walked as silently as a cat and just as gracefully. Who would not want to be like that?
“I won too much and tried too hard, and now the Spirit of Rage is standing right behind my shoulder,” Kalaisa said, smiling as she saw her daughter’s puzzled expression. “I will explain it to you one day.” She promised. “Just not today. Anyway, while your father is away, you must stay in the fortress for a while. No sneaking outside, not even for a quick glance. You and I have to stay here until Gregor gets back.”
“But all my friends are outside! Keyl and the others are all going…” Aranea tried to reason with her mother, but Kalaisa was adamant.
“I am sure that they will wait for a single month. I can invite them here for dinner if you want.”
“NO! Just no! If Keyl ever learns that I told an adult about him losing to me… He will hate me!” Aranea screamed in panic. Friends don’t snitch on each other. This was her rule. “And then I will have no one to play with, and he will feel hurt!”
“If he truly is your friend, he will…” Kalaisa started talking, but Aranea howled in a gesture of begging, fell to her knees, and Kalaisa relented. “Fine. But don’t go outside. At least not without me.”
Aranea promised her mother that she would be good and that she would obey. She even intended to keep this promise. Just not today. Because her pride was on the line. Today was supposed to be a big game, and she promised to be there. For today, Aranea dressed herself in black pants and a brown jacket.
She sneaked out of the house while her mother was still sleeping. It was dark outside, aside from a few lampposts and the stars above, but Aranea crossed the street without fear. Who in their right mind would dare cause a ruckus in this place? The Ice Fangs were the heroes, the ones who were always ready to help anyone. Their city was part of the Core Lands, a place where free healthcare was actually available to every citizen. People from all around the world were coming here due to how professional the doctors were. And the Sword Saints! Only one of the legendary heroes of the Ice Fang Order was currently in the fortress, but for any villain daring to sneak, this was one Sword Saint too many.
The guards, two regal-looking wolfkins geared in blue power armor made in the image of a knight, let Aranea go to the city. They advised the young cub to stay on the roads for safety. Aranea eagerly nodded and ran to the elevators. She had listened to the knight’s instructions countless times by now, and today was nothing new. Sometimes she even wondered if they actually knew why she was sneaking out. She left the fortress when the elevators reached the ground level, waving to a couple of knights from the Summerspring household.