Chapter 422: A Mistake…?
The small group of the Blood Fang tribe hiked up Mt. Moon Fang at a slow and steady pace. It had been three days since the ambush at Grimstone. They had been traveling from dawn to dusk and tending to their wounds at night. The goblins hadn’t had a true moment of respite since.
Stryg had been asleep for most of it. Tauri had told him wounds had been worse than when had fallen down the pillar during his first year at the academy. He didn’t remember much about his fight with the frost troll king. His memories were in a mess, his mind still trying to sort out the memories Krikolm had shown him from his own.
The youngest of King Alok’s children trailed behind the group. Her hands and feet were bound with rope. Srixa had covered her eyes and gagged her mouth with strips of old cloth. Despite her tall stature, the frost troll girl must have been 13 or 14 years old at most. A child in both their cultures. And yet here she was, a prisoner, having to pay for the crimes of adults.
Some part of Stryg pitied the girl and another part of him hated her for being the daughter of the man who had caused the deaths of several of his tribemates. He understood that the girl needed to be kept alive for the sake of the new pact between the frost trolls and the Sylvan, but if that wasn’t the case, if this troll child was just a prisoner… would he kill her right here? This nameless girl? Would he end her life? For the crimes of her parents? To prevent her from becoming a future threat? It was the logical choice, right? Right…?
He wasn’t certain and that hesitation bothered him more than he’d like to admit.
“Stryg, you okay?” Tauri asked.
“Hm?” He looked up at her inquisitive eyes and wondered to himself when he had stopped hating her. She was an orc, an enemy of his people. But to him, she was just Tauri. When had that changed? When had she stopped being an enemy? Stryg’s eyes wandered down towards her curvaceous legs and her plump bottom and simply stared at her butt.
Perhaps his change of heart had begun the first time he had seen those soft, round—
“What are you staring at?” Tauri frowned.
“Your ass,” Stryg said with hesitation.
“Wha—? You’re supposed to look away, you cad!”
Plum smiled and shook her finger, “Tsk, tsk, when are you going to learn that the Sylvan have no shame when it comes to their sexual appetites.”
“Well, I’m not a Sylvan,” Tauri crossed her arms.
“I know.” Stryg slipped his arm through her own and bit her neck playfully.
“Did you just— bite me?” Tauri said incredulously, but she didn’t push him away.
“Yes,” he said matter-of-factly. “Ah.”
Tauri promptly bit his shoulder. She had no sharp fangs but like other orcs, her bottom canines were more prominent than usual. Though her canines were small, even among female orcs.
Tauri smirked, “Not so fun when others do it, huh?”
Stryg stared at her in surprise and his lips slowly curled into a smile.
“Wh–What’s with that weird smile?” Tauri asked.
Stryg licked her cheek and pulled her in a little closer. He hummed a happy tune.
Tauri swallowed hard. It had just occurred to her that vampires often engaged in bloody bites during lovemaking. And she had just bitten a vampire hybrid…
“Get a room you two,” Plum said with a mischievous knowing grin.
“Plum—!” Tauri stopped mid-sentence and sighed deeply. “I’m glad you’re both alright.”
“Tauri?” Plum asked uncertainly.
“After we were attacked at the bridge, I… I thought I might never see either of you again,” Tauri mumbled. “I’m just glad we all made it.”
Plum smiled warmly, “Yeah, me too.”
Stryg glanced at the frost troll being pulled with a rope a few dozen paces behind them. “Yeah… same.”
“...You’ve been pretty quiet ever since last night. Is everything alright?” Tauri asked.
“I just have a lot on my mind,” he admitted tiredly.
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“Wanna talk about it?” Tauri said gently.
Stryg glanced at the scarlet blade hanging from his hip. “...How much do you two know about Krikolm?”
“It’s the legendary ancestral sword of House Veres. It’s been lost for centuries,” Plum recited. “It’s arguably the most famous sword in the Ebon Realm.”
“Then did you know the sword is bound to House Veres?” he asked.
“To the main bloodline to be precise,” Plum said quietly.
“You’re a Veres. We figured,” Tauri said with a small smile. “How does it feel to be a son of one the Ruling Houses of Hollow Shade?”
Stryg’s shoulders trembled. He closed his eyes tightly and took deep breaths. “If I am a Veres, then my bloodline is responsible for the fall of Lunis. How can I ever proudly talk about Lunis to Melfyn and the other kids at the temple ever again? I am the descendant of the monster, Blue Rose. I’m a hypocrite.”
“Stryg…” Tauri bit her lip. If he was a hypocrite, then what did that make her? The daughter of House Katag?
“You can’t blame yourself for what your ancestors did. Neither of you can. Believe me,” Plum said adamantly.
Stryg gripped his chest. “My ancestors are a part of me, aren’t they? Their blood flows through my veins. Blood is the one thing that echoes through time.”
“Blood binds us to our families, true,” Plum admitted. “I believe we owe it to the world to leave it a better place than our ancestors did, but that doesn't mean we should condemn ourselves for their actions.”
“It’s not that simple, Plum,” he said.
She grabbed him by the shoulder and looked him in the eye. “I think it is. …Do you hate me for what my mother did to you?”
“No, of course not! I–”
“Then don't blame yourself for Blue Rose’s mistakes,” Plum said softly.
“It’s not just her mistakes… it’s mine,” Stryg whispered.
Plum furrowed her brow, “What are you saying?”
“I think… I think my birth mother was the sister of the chieftain and First Mother,” Stryg admitted.
Plum blinked. “What?”
Tauri shared a glance with her, then cleared her throat. “O-Oh, what makes you say that?”
“Well, Krikolm is bound to House Veres, right?” Stryg said. “Only the Blue Rose’s descendants should be able to hold it, let alone wield it. When we visited the Blood Fang village I lent Jahn the blade for a moment. It didn’t cut him, which must mean he is a Veres, and since First Mother is his sister then—”
“—She is one too,” Tauri finished.
“Exactly. I think my mother, my true mother, died when giving birth to me. I think Jahn and First Mother blame me for her death… and they’d be right,” Stryg said glumly. “It’d explain why Jahn has always been so distant with me and why First Mother has always been so harsh on me compared to the others.”
“Only if that’s actually the case,” Plum said. “I mean, can’t either of them also be your parent?”
Stryg shook his head. “If Jahn was my father he’d have no reason to not tell me. His family is raised knowing their parentage. It’s why everyone knows the First Mother and him are siblings. If I was his son he would have told me. He probably would have raised me to be the next chieftain like his mother did with him, but he didn’t. He didn’t even tell me I was part of his family…”
“Okay… plausible,” Plum said awkwardly. “Buuuut, what about, y’know, Fiiiirst… Mother?”
“Plum,” Tauri frowned.
Stryg laughed. “Are you serious, Plum? Aurelia of the Blood Fang is a Sylvan Mother, a priestess of Lunae. Romance of any form is forbidden. And in case you didn’t notice, First Mother is the strictest Sylvan I have ever met. She would never betray her vows—”
Vows?
Stryg’s voice caught in his throat. His body stiffened and a cold shiver ran down his spine.
The First Mother he knew would never break a single one of her vows, but wasn’t that why the Lunar Elect had brought her to the Silver Keep to stand trial? They accused her of abandoning her vows 21 years ago.
21 years ago…?
I’m almost 21…
When the council had pressed her for the reason she left, First Mother had claimed she was rectifying a mistake.
Stryg stumbled and fell to his hands and knees.
How could be he so blind? It was there all along. He just couldn’t see it. He couldn’t even fathom the possibility. Aurelia, the First Mother, the most honorable Sylvan of the tribe. The person he admired most.
Why would she…?
Stryg stared at the ebon signet ring on his finger.
“I… I am her mistake…?”
~~~
The remainder of the trip was met with silence. When Plum and Tauri had asked Stryg if he wanted to talk about it he hadn’t responded, almost as if he was in a daze.
When the sun began to fall below the horizon, Stryg found himself walking through the dark tunnel on the side of the mountain, guarded by the Frost Whisper Tribe. Fortunately, the Guardian of the Sylvan, Arden was not patrolling the mountain pass this time.
Jahn led the group through the tunnel without much hassle. They all walked through the tunnel with a now familiar step. Aurelia walked at the front beside her brother. Stryg stared at her long snow-white hair swishing behind her.
A lump formed in his throat.
He had always wanted to meet his parents. He had told her more than once. She must have thought him a fool.
As the group stepped out of the tunnel and into the streets of Evenfall they all abruptly stopped in their tracks. A crowd of hundreds of Sylvan waited at the tunnel exit. Hunters, guards, gatherers, builders, cooks, shamans, Mothers, and more all stood in eager anticipation.
“...Shit,” Aurelia muttered with wide eyes.
“AURELIA!” “FAVORED OF THE MOON!” “THE BLOODED!” “BLESSED MOTHER!” “WELCOME HOME!” Hundreds of voices cried out in excitement.
Arden stepped out of the crowd, riding atop his wolf, and walked over to the stunned First Mother. “It seems word of your visit last week has spread,” Arden said wryly.
Aurelia threw her hood over her head. “Were you a part of this?” she asked angrily.
“No, I am only here to escort you safely to the Silver Keep. The Lunar Elect is very keen to see you,” Arden said.
Aurelia sighed, “Let’s get this over with.”