Aaron clenched his chest as Garin reported how many of their siblings were lost in the battle. Over fifty of his siblings had fallen, and he could feel the pain of every loss rippling through his soul. He also told Aaron of another interesting fact that didn’t speak well of the humans.

Some of his siblings had died by human hands.

That fact alone wasn’t enough to cause concern, as the battle was vicious and everyone was swinging crazily but the numbers were concerning. Aaron shook his head bitterly and dismissed his brother, watching as Garin stepped into the shadows, vanishing.

Aaron didn’t know how many of his siblings the man had converted into what he called his 'shadows’ but was more than grateful for the result. He knew it was too dangerous to be in the dark, not knowing what was going on around them.

Aaron left his tent, still trying to shake the ominous feeling in his gut, as he went to meet both Foster and Karla. He contemplated what to do with the Orb of Orthus and decided to give it to Foster, as he had been his mentor and felt he owed a lot to the big guy.

When he got the Orb, it made him think of something that was a little unusual. The Orb’s description said it was a named beast, but who the hell named it? Aaron thought of the look in the beast’s eyes and couldn’t help but feel it was older than Mother, which was scary.

Mother was from before the Dawn, when the world was still consumed by chaos.

The humans called the beginning stages of the Dawn, the Age of Terror. A time when wild mana ran through the world and everything on the planet, affecting the humans as much as the local wildlife and animals, causing bouts of madness and hysteria. They lost entire generations of history and information, leading to a dark era where most knowledge was forgotten and had to be pieced together by the survivors.

He had now come across two Great Beasts from the time before, and it made his heart race. What else could be out there, waiting to be discovered, possibly holding the key to what the hell was really going on? He couldn’t help but have a burning desire to know the truth, to know what all of this meant.

Shrugging off his idle thoughts, he opened his Gift as he walked, grumbling again at what was shown.

[Greater Core] Beast shards: 2/1000

‘Stupid Gift!’ He fumed, staring at the embarrassing lack of numbers. How was anyone supposed to understand the damn thing with the Runes being so vague? Arron grumbled as he walked, thinking that he could have done better in the battle.

Cornelius had brought him a pile of cores that was divided amongst the soldiers, with more being given to those who performed greater deeds. The humans had devised this system, so he was pretty sure how fair it was, which caused him to fume even more.

When he first got the cores, he didn’t know what to do. Aaron could feel his core calling out for the beast cores, but he didn’t know exactly what that meant. He thought of eating the damn thing but dismissed it, as he wasn’t that barbaric, or at least, not all the time.

They had discovered that if you crushed them, they would absorb into your core. Aaron had raged for hours and was still grumpy over that fact, thinking it was stupid that the Runes wouldn’t say exactly what was needed. He would have crushed them, as he was killing the beasts, instead of being handed rewards for a job well done.

Aaron shook his head, thinking that at least he got the Great Beast core. Grumbled one last time, he entered the Hunters Guild headquarters to see if Foster was available. A Beast-folk with antlers on her head greeted him, pointing to a side area where he waited.

“Aaron, feisty little runt!” Foster roared as he dashed into the room and grabbed him in a bear hug.

He smiled as Foster shook him around, rattling his brain. The big guy put him down as he struggled to stop seeing doubles, moaning in reply, “Good to see you too.”

Foster’s laughter rolled like thunder as he clapped Aaron on the shoulder, causing him to wince as it was the hurt shoulder.

“What brings you here, kid?”

“I have a gift,” Aaron replied, pulling out the Great Beast core. "To say thank you."

“Thank…” Foster choked back his reply as Aaron handed him the core, and his eyes sparkled. “I can’t accept this kid; it’s… too much.”

“I want you to have it,” Aaron smiled back. Foster was a dear friend, and he gave him so much that it was his by right, as far as he was concerned.

“This is a named beast! Do you know of its value?’ Foster spoke softly.

Aaron smiled as he clasped his shoulder, looking into his eyes. “It belongs to you, friend. I never would have gotten it without your help.”

Thank you...” Foster sputtered at a loss for words.

“No thanks needed, but a rematch is always on the table!” He glared as Foster laughed even louder.

They talked for a while before Aaron said goodbye, needing to go see Karla. He left the Hunters Guild Headquarters with a little worry in his steps. He was going to get their Mother’s core, and the cores of his siblings and his nervousness consumed him.

What would it feel like to hold Mother’s core.

Trauma was still carried in their steps, even though he and his siblings had endured and tried to gain anything they could from the humans; their situation was not lost on them. They knew what had been done, and although wonder and intrigue still consumed their hearts, all was not forgiven.

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He didn’t know what he would do.

What they would do.

Aaron didn’t know if they should leave or attempt to make a place here. Most of his siblings wanted to leave as soon as possible, feeling they had gained what they could from the humans. Aaron didn’t feel that was entirely true; he felt like being here meant being a part of something greater.

And he was bothered by something else.

What the hell are they supposed to be? They weren’t beasts or animals; they weren’t humans or Beast-folk, so... what were they? Aaron knew they weren’t like beasts at all, as he’d seen the beasts that roamed and had been interacting with the humans. He and his siblings minds and hearts were humanoid in every sense of the word.

Aaron didn’t think they needed the humans any longer and was confident in forging out on their own, but he felt like something would be left behind, which made him conflicted. The humans had mostly brought them hardship and even the loss of Mother’s life, though she was already in bad shape before they arrived.

He was even more confused because he could also feel the forest calling to him, a sense of adventure flowing through his body with every beat of his heart. What were they supposed to do? He was a little bitter about it all because, regardless of their decision, he would play a large part in what their future would be.

But first...

Things would need to be made known.

Wrongs needed to be told.

Aaron met a guard at the castle gates who escorted him through the stronghold to the council meeting room. He didn’t want to meet with the Council, but Karla had insisted, so there wasn’t much he could do. The guard knocked on the heavy doors and stepped back as they opened, and Aaron was ushered in and led to a table in the center of the large room.

“Aaron, are you well?” General Briant greeted him, standing tall at the head of the table.

Aaron stuttered a reply, still unsure how to see the man, “Yeah, great.”

A week had passed since the battle, and he’d been super nice afterwards. Aaron chuckled, seeing that fighting for the man's perceived humanity was a soft spot.

“Good to hear, Karla will be here shortly, so please have a seat,” he said, gesturing at the chairs around the table.

Aaron sat down, looking around the room, noticing Kaznor and the man named Deagon, whom he didn’t know very well, talking in the back, and a few guards stationed by the doors. He heard the doors open and looked to see Karla, smiling brightly as she greeted them.

She wore a blue tunic, matching her eyes, with her blond hair put into a bun, and was positively beaming. Aaron could see the excitement in her steps as the Horde was broken up and the packs of beasts were returning to normal. Although their numbers were great, they were manageable without the madness consuming them.

“Aaron,” Karla greeted him, a warm smile on her face.

"Karla," he nodded back, not really knowing what to say. She was happy, and he enjoyed that, but worry was still eating at him.

Once everyone was seated, she stood beside Briant and spoke clearly: “I called for a meeting because I wanted you to hear it from all of us.” She looked at Aaron sincerely, then around those gathered as everyone nodded, before continuing, “We all wanted to tell you personally: thank you for fighting for our cause.”

“We will honor our promise and hope for a brighter future,” she said, waving to a butler who placed two boxes on the table in front of him.

One of them immediately caught his attention, and his heart raced, a lump building in his throat.

Reaching forward with trembling fingers, he opened the box gently. Aaron stared at one of the most beautiful cores he could ever imagine. He could see the Runes dancing in its surface, with his Sight, and his breath caught in his throat as it held the same golden aura as Mother's had.

Carefully picking up the core, he embraced it as the room seemed to vanish. Aaron held the core, his body trembling as he choked back his sobs, holding it tightly as if to feel Mother one final time, but a knot formed in his gut, knowing it would never be. Though the core contained Mother’s energy signature, it didn’t have a trace of her essence, as she was truly gone.

Gone forever.

Aaron shivered as the last sob almost tore free, and tears rimmed his eyes. Breathing rigidly, he tried desperately to control himself and reign in his emotions. With a final growl, he fought it back and started to clear his head, hearing Karla calling him in the background.

“Aaron, are you okay?”

“Shut up!” He roared.

Karla jolted, eyes wide, as everyone jerked to attention, the guards stepping in slowly, but Aaron didn’t care anymore and was dripping with malice as it was time to speak his mind.

“Go to hell!” He spat. “Who the hell do you think you are to murder children, to chase them from their homes?”

A…Aaron, we—” Karla fumbled, holding a sad look as she trembled, but Aaron cut her off, not finished with his rant.

“Shut the hell up!” He growled, “You even go so far as to use our Mother against us! Holding our Mother’s core and those of our siblings hostage and dangling them over our heads! Just to help yourselves!”

“We were only—”

“Liars!” Aaron roared over her. “You didn’t have to do what you did; you chose this! A murderer is still a murderer, even if they dress pretty!” Aaron fumed, tremors wrecking his body, as Karla looked stricken. He could see the guards getting closer, so he slipped the boxes into his shadow, where they quickly vanished.

General Briant counseled Karla as he looked at Aaron coldly, no longer holding any pleasantness in his eyes. “You will watch your tongue boy!”

“You have gone far enough!” Deagon growled, rising from the table as Kaznor backed up with a worried look.

Aaron chuckled at it all.

They were just filthy humans doing what they did best, lying to themselves to make them the heroes. Always a fight to save humanity, no matter the cost. Grimacing, he turned to leave as the guards blocked him with murder in their eyes.

“Let him leave,” Karla whispered.

With a final huff, he left through the doors and quickly walked through the stronghold towards the exit, several guards pacing his every move. Coming to the large doors exiting the castle, he heard a shout and turned to see Karla running his way.

“Aaron, wait!”

Aaron stared at the women as he tried to control his wildly beating heart, still struggling to reign in his own emotions. She caught up staring deeply, with her typical worried look and tried to speak to him gently.

“It wasn’t like what you think—”

He shook his head with a scoff, not letting her finish. “Stop, Karla. You know what you did was wrong, but still, you try to lie to yourself.”

“I was onl—”

“Using poor, defenseless children for your so-called brighter future?” He shot back, oozing sarcasm.

“That—”

“Not wh—

“Shut up!” She screamed, her fists clenched with rage.

Aaron fell back in complete shock, as he’d never seen the small woman angry, and it was kind of scary. He thought of Verona and her scolding, and started to think of her as an angel because the red face in front of him was absolutely terrifying.

“It wasn’t like that, Aaron!”

“Then why didn’t you give us the cores, Karla?” He shot back.

“The Council—”

“To hell with the Council, this is about you and your decision!”

“…,” She stared, unsure how to reply.

“My thoughts as well,” Aaron mumbled, turning to leave but then paused, deciding he would let her know a little truth to help her sleep at night. “I can feel it.”

“Feel what?” She looked at him flustered.

“The loss of my siblings,” he explained, staring at her full of sorrow. “I can feel every one of their deaths through our Bond, like a tare in my soul.”

“Aaron…,” she gasped, her lip trembling, seeing the pain in his eyes.

“Do you know how many we lost in our battle?”

“I’m not… sure, no.” She whispered.

“How do you think it was when you came to our nest, to feel our siblings dying around us, to... feel our Mother’s death?” Aaron asked, choking as he spoke, feeling all his emotions resurfacing.

“Aaron, I’m sorry... We... are sorry,” Karla pleaded, looking at him with tears welling in her eyes, as if she could feel the pain trying to tear out of his body.

“Sorry is such an easy word,” he snorted. “But ask yourself, Karla, would you do it over if you had to save your stupid City?”

She put her head down with a troubled look, staying silent.

Aaron chuckled, expecting no less. He turned, opening the door, and left the stronghold into the fresh afternoon air, breathing a sigh of relief, feeling as if a huge weight was off his shoulders.

He almost thought he heard a faint sob behind him.