Almost six months went by before the elf mage returned. It was beginning to near the winter for the region the Laine family lived in. The normal breakfast that Cyrus, Colette, and Ari shared was interrupted when a guard arrived to inform everyone that Vandron had returned. The guard explained that there was a stranger with him, and that Ari should be ready to present himself. She looked to Ari as she walked, her shortspear in her grip, and explained to everyone that the stranger was some manner of beast-like humanoid. Colette and Cyrus took this information in stride, but Ari almost tripped when he heard the guard explain in her gruff tone.
“What do you mean that Sir Vandron brought a beast with him?”
“Not a beast, a beastkin” explained Cyrus, with a slight nod from the guard but a head shake from Lady Laine. “Beastfolk are not found in the Henosyrian Empire because the White Sun teaches that only humankind and elfkind, also known as humankin and elfkin are meant to inherit the world. All others who speak are considered a mockery of the civilized peoples; dwarves are begrudgingly tolerated in Henos but they didn’t even make contact with the surface world until hundreds of years after the White Sun Doctrine was written.”
Colette contributed to their talk, as they slowly made their way through the small manor. “The human kingdoms of the continent surround the great desert now, with the exception of the wilds to the North, but the lands outside the desert were controlled by tribes of monsterfolk and beastfolk before humanity was uplifted by elfkind. That is what the White Sun teaches at least, that the first humans arrived in the desert and the sun instructed them to leave and conquer the lands. Your ancestors, the ones who would eventually become the Krazhnori, defied the White Sun and remained in the desert.”
Ari stopped, and everyone slowly stopped as well to look back at him. “Why haven't I heard any of this until now, isn't the White Sun our state religion or something?”
Cyrus laughed before giving more explanation, “No, because the Krazhnori aren’t kin unless they and their parents were born in Henos. It might be the official belief of the Henosyrian Empire, but the belief started as a cult that eventually converted the man who conquered the disparate states of the Henos region. The original religion of the old Kingdom of Henos, the one that granted the Laine family these lands, had more in common with the other human nations of the continent. They worshiped the traditional human pantheon which is more palatable than the White Sun’s lies, not that the Krazhnori worshiped them either.” The group began walking again, and stopped out the open door into the courtyard. Right as the last through the front door, Ari, reached the courtyard a deep and rumbling voice spoke.
“It would be unwise to simply call the cultists of the old sun liars, that fails to truly paint just how insidious their manipulations on the history of our continent are.” The speaker was a massive doglike creature, they towered over Cyrus who was one of the largest men Ari had ever seen, and did so while still hunched. They had black fur that grayed around the muzzle, and had grayish stripes and spots along their arms and legs. In their left hand they held a massive scythe that was made of gnarled black wood with an almost rusted iron blade. As the group decided if they were afraid or not, the creature performed a terrifying attempt at smiling before a horrible laugh escaped their lips.
“Hello, everyone. This is Ruenr, Champion of Gor Asim, he is not a druid himself but with him are manuscripts on the craft that his people have preserved for centuries before even the first humans arrived on the continent. From what he has explained to me, the only mages accepted in his people’s society are druids. Their people learned the art from the mythical first druid, The Lizard of Ages, and the descendants of the first druids people and Ruenr’s have been staunch allies since then.”
“The reason I’m here instead of an actual druid is because teaching outsiders the ways of our people or the agelings is considered heresy. Being the champion of the very god that determines what is and isn’t heretical to our people, I get to mostly do whatever the fuck I want if I can truly say that the ends justify the means” spoke Ruenr after Sir Vandrons introductions.
“Uhm, Lord Champion, why exactly do the ends justify the means here? What are the ends and in this scenario what exactly are the means? Miss Colette was trying to tamp down her fear, and tumultuous emotions at the reveal of who her uncle brought to train the young Ari.
“Ahhh, that is a fun one. Mostly because I am certain that without my intervention, Ari here will commit a genocide on the followers of the old sun cult. Afterwards, he will become so consumed by grief that he falls to madness and terrorizes the continent for thousands of years. Then he is finally killed by a group of the continent’s strongest, but his death releases some plague of a sort that causes famine and disease to spread that pushes back modern society to-”
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“That is enough Ruenr” spoke Vandron, the rest of those gathered simply looked on in horror. Most of the guards, excluding Amsre, were gripping their weapons while alternating between gaping at Ari or the massive beastfolk. Cyrus simply looked at Ruenr with raised eyebrows and a contemplative look on his face, before looking at Ari and shaking his head in disbelief. At some point in the champion’s slow and rumbling explanation, Miss Colette had reached out to grip Ari’s hand and had squeezed so hard that she hurt him. Ari himself just stared incredulously, trying to determine if this was one of Sir Vandron’s pranks. “I am sure that the boy is eager to learn, but why don’t I show you the estate and help you get settled.”
Following Sir Vandron in, the large beast warrior laughed a high pitched giggling sound that did not match his stature or deep rumbling voice. The courtyard remained dead silent for a few minutes after the two entered the manor, and it wasn’t until the guards came to their senses and returned to their posts with what few servants were passing by doing so shortly after. Cyrus looked down to Ari and broke the silence.
“I don’t see it, I know druidism is strong when mastered but I can’t ever see you as strong enough to defeat the Paladin’s of The White Sun.”
“What did he mean when he said they were worshippers of the older sun?” Ari asked, ignoring Cyrus’ statement and Ruenr’s description of events.
“Well, scholars agree that before our sun grew larger and red, it was small and white. Before it was red the world was much colder, but this was several ages ago. It is theorized, mostly by foreign scholars as they don’t mind being seen as heretical by the church, that the sun transformed from small and white to large and red during the age of giants.” Miss Colette let go of Ari’s hand, but led the group to take a seat at a nearby table after she noticed a servant had brought tea to it. A third chair was added by a guard, and the three of them sat down to continue their conversation with a warm beverage and snacks. “The age of myth, the age of giants, the age of wyrms, the age of beasts, the age of magic, and now the age of man. These are what is accepted as the various historical eras that preceded our own. We are in the age of man. The elfkin were said to be much more common during the age of magic, as they made the greatest of wizards thanks to their extensive lifespans.”
An impromptu history lesson continued for almost an hour, but that transitioned into Cyrus and Miss Colette telling stories about their youth and of Quincy. Ari knew they were talking so much mostly for themselves, he could tell they were both very uneasy. He let them go on and engaged as much as he was able to, as he too wanted a distraction from the terrifying prophecy that Ruenr foretold.
Ari rose before sunrise like he did on most days, and took the sheep out. The young man warmed up and got his blood flowing with various exercises and sprints to ensure that he was prepared for the sparring before breakfast. He returned just as the sun was cresting the horizon, only to find Ruenr leaning up against the pasture waiting for him. The beastfolk was casually using his scythe, blade down, to support part of his frame as he leaned to the side and back against the pasture fence. He didn’t acknowledge Ari until he finished his morning chores, and only then did he speak.
“You are learning your people’s language, but you must also learn Draconic and afterwards the dialect the ageling speaks.” Ari started to ask a question, but Ruenr spoke over him. “Before any of that, we are going to do something different for your morning training. Vandron is waiting for us so we will set out immediately.” The titan of a man then began to run, his scythe vanishing into his shadow as he transitioned from a bipedal gait to the run of a wolf on all fours. As Ari struggled to keep up, he noticed that his comparisons weren’t quite right. He had seen wolves in illustrations and was familiar with dogs, but there was something in the shape and hunch of Ruenr that told him he wouldn’t be considered some sort of dogman or wolfman. He seemed mostly canine at a glance but there was a sort of feline aspect to his movements and appearance. Ari noticed that he was falling too far behind the champion, and tried to ensure he remembered to ask Cyrus or Miss Colette about it.
By the time the two of them reached Vandron’s location, they had been running for almost an hour with no breaks. At certain points Ruenr would get so far away that he would double back to run in a circle around Ari, performing his blood curdling high pitched laugh the whole time. Ari collapsed into the soft beside Vandron who sat comfortably in his strange crib-char, and noticed for the first time the massive square shape with a large fabric covering over it. After Ari caught his breath and managed to suck down water from the skin in his pack, he moved shakily to his feet to lock eyes with Vandron. A sly smile broke out on the ageless man’s face, and Ruenr produced a strange rumbling sound that Ari thought was recognition. Vandron closed the book he was reading, and dismissed both it and his chair as he stood up before speaking to Ari. As he spoke he walked around Ari in a slow and deliberate circle, finishing his explanation right where he started.
“I fight in martial melee combat with my Magestaff, Ruenr uses a Warscythe, and you primarily use a quarterstaff. You will watch me defeat the monster in the cage behind me with just simple combat staff forms, then you will watch Ruenr do the same using basic polearm maneuvers. Afterwards you will attempt to defeat the beast with your quarterstaff, and if you fail you will watch as it mauls you to death.”