FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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CHAPTER 6

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Dawn came, and the outpost was a hive of activity as our small army prepared to depart. In two days we would be at the base of the mountain. Another half a day we would arrive in Rengilar. In order to make it to the next campsite before dark we would need to leave within the next hour. The problem with travelling in such a large group is that it took longer travelling over long distances, not to mention preparations to depart.

Breakfast consisted of some cold flatbread, which we would eat on the march, along with some dried friut. Rather tasty to be honest, if a little plain. Good thing too as I expect I'll be eating that a lot during this journey, along with everyone else.

Once we were on the road we made good progress. The weather was pleasant. Clear skies, warm sun but a cool North-Westerly wind. The wind kept everyone cool as we traversed the rough roads that led to the mountain base. The long walk allowed me a lot of time to think. Not always a good thing. I had the tendancy to get lost in my thoughts when I was nervous. And I had a lot to be nervous about! Why wouldn't I be? I felt like I literally had the world on my shoulders!

The prophecy that had started me on this journey had clearly stated that this fur who had given themselves over to the Demon Lords would lead the world to ruin. What form that ruin would take we could only speculate. But it was clear they had to be stopped. But the one who had made the prediction also declared that a fur born of two noble blood lines would be the one that had to hunt them down. One who bore not one, but two k'tan blood lines within them. Needless to say I was the only one who fit that description.

If it hadn't been for that part of the prophecy I would still be in Aaru now. At first I had wished I hadn't returned yet. I feared I was not yet ready to handle something like this. I had been taught well, no average fur could face me as an equal on the battlefield, you would expect as such when taught by the Deity of War herself. But the dangers that the untamed spirit within me posed were no joke.

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"Urgh!" I grunted as I felt someone kick me in the leg. And then again. "I'm up!" I yelled and began to crawl out in to the dim light of the immanent dawn that was threatening to break over the horizon.

"Time to get to work!" Jan'Zar grinned down at me. A smile that told me I wasn't going to enjoy what ever this 'work' was.

Her appearance was still strange to me. She was furless and rather flat faced. Tall and slender but carried a strength that seemed impossible for her body to have. Her muzzleless face was always caked heavily in war paint. Her black eyes felt like they stared deep into my soul. It didn't help that she had attacked me yesterday, if only to show how the protective runes around the camp protected those within from harm. If it hadn't been for the runes I do sincerely believe she would have killed me!

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"We're going to find out just what we are dealing with inside of you!"

"Indeed." Callen chimed in. The tall, muscular, brown furred wolf walked over join us. "How did you sleep?"

"Good... great actually!" I suddenly realised just how well I had slept. No nightmares.

"Good that means it worked." Callen nodded happily.

"What worked?"

"We had our sister place a ward on you after you went to bed last night." Callen reached out and tapped my fore head.

I wiped my paw over where he had touched me and I felt something smudge under my paw. I looked at my paw. The smell was unpleasant but familiar. Thick congealed blood, the scent of rotting was covered by the fragrent herbs which had been mixed into it. I stared in disgust at the dried blood which covered my paw.

"What the fuck!" I cursed, a little freaked out at the fact I had blood on me.

"Relax!" Jan'Zar scoffed. "Aren't you a warrior? Afraid of a little blood?" She teased.

"I'm not afraid!" I snarled, forgetting for the moment who I was speaking to. "Whose blood is this!?"

"Dinners." She chuckled.

So they had used the blood of the creatures we had eaten last night to draw a ward, or what ever the hell this was, on me. Speaking of which where was Shal'Naresh? She had been the one to do this to me and looking round the camp she was no where to be seen.

"Now then shall we get to this?"

"You expect me to be okay with you covering me in blood!?" Furiously I rubbed the rest of the blood from my forehead the best I could.

"Get over it already!" Jan'Zar snarled. "It was for your own benefit!"

I knew deep down that they were just trying to help. I was still a little pissed off that they hadn't at least asked me first! I inhaled a sharp breath, held it for a few seconds and exhaled it slowly. Almost immediately I felt myself relax and let go of the anger I was feeling. At least enough to let the issue go for the moment.

"Fine! So what are we going to do?"

"Do you know how to meditate?" Callen asked.

"I know how... I'm just not very good at it." I admited.

Master Aceh had taught me how to meditate, it was one of the first lessons he ever taught me after agreeing to teach me martial arts. He taught all of his students how to meditate, but it was up to the students to utilise the skill. I wasn't one of those students. I understood the benefits of it, I just could never clear my mind.

"Don't worry about it, we have something to aide with the meditation." Callen grinned. "Come on over here."

He led me over to the camp fire, which a metal pot was sat over with a clear bubbling liquid inside of it. I could see several bits of foliage floating in the pot, none of which I could identify, but I think somehow that those plants were going to be my 'aides'.

He scooped out a cup of the liquid and gave it to me. I took it and sniffed it. It smelt bitter, as most herbal drinks do. I downed it in one go. It was bitter, earthy and hot. Moments later I felt my head spin and my legs go weak. I quickly sat down because I knew if I didn't I was going to be laid out on the ground one way or another. What ever they just gave me worked quickly.

It wasn't long before the world went black.

Next thing I knew I'm opening my eyes and Jan'Zar and Callen were standing over me. I felt groggy and a little nauseous. Callen offered me a paw and helped me up. Looking round I could see we were still at camp. So what ever they had been planning hadn't worked.

As I looked round something seemed off. I don't know what it was, maybe it was just the lingering effects of what ever I had drank, but there was definitely not quite right here. Everything looked the same. The shelters we had built yesterday. The logs around the camp fire we sat on while eating dinner last night. The forest looked the same, although I couldn't be entirely certain about that, it's not like I had memorised every little detail of the environment around camp.

"So did you find out what you needed to know?" I asked.

"Not yet." Callen replied looking round the camp.

"You noticed something weird too?"

"HA! I'll give him credit for noticing somethings wrong, but he's pretty dumb for not realising!" Jan'Zar scoffed.

"What are you talking..." I looked up and suddenly I realised what she meant. There was no sun. No sky. No clouds. Just and endless expanse of grey. "Where are we?"

"We're in your mind scape." Callen answered.

"So I'm dreaming?"

"Something like that." He looked back at me. "Jan and I are maintaining this place. The herbs are keeping you in a meditative state. While you're under we are helping to keep your mind focused, allowing us to join you in your mindscape. The herbs will keep you under for a number of hours."

"So I won't be able to wake up for a while?" That made me a little nervous. When I was in a drugged sleep that meant I couldn't wake up if I had a nightmare. "So are you the ones making the dream look like the camp?"

"Perhaps a little, but this is you projecting a safe place." He explained. "It's good to know you consider the camp as somewhere safe."

"I guess my little demonstration yesterday worked." Jan'Zar grinned.

She had attacked me out of nowhere. If it had not been been for the protective wards then her weapon would have run me through! I had been completely taken by surprise. Terrified by the sudden and unprovoked attack to the point that I had been frozen in fear. So had that simply been in preparation for this? To give me a place to feel safe in?

"What we need to find is not here." Jan'Zar declared. "We need to leave this place and find it."

"NO!" I yelled surprising myself. A fear had gripped me the moment he had suggested leaving, one that had caused me to involuntarily shout. "Why did I say that?"

"A reflex." Callen answered. "Your mind is trying to protect itself. It's one of the mental barriers keeping the spirit at bay. But we are here to see just what it is we are dealing with."

"And we can't do that unless you let us out of here." Jan'Zar growled impatiently. She was visibly irritated.

"We are here to protect you Malakye." Callen assured me. "So long as we are here no harm will come to you. Now, we need you to let us leave this place."

"I'll... I'll try." I nodded but the thought of leaving filled me with terror.

I closed my eyes and focused. It was difficult getting past the fear that was gripping my chest. But if I wanted to survive in the long term I was going to need to put my trust in Callen. Jan'Zar, her I was not so sure of, although I think she's trying to help in her own way. Even though I get the feeling that she'd rather just kill me.

They wanted to see just what it was that had taken hold of me, so that meant that they wanted to see it up close. I focused my thoughts, pushing my doubts aside and simply placed my trust in my two protectors. They were Guardian Deities, they had fought against the demon lords! A spirit would be no match for them!

"Good job Malakye!" I heard Callen's voice exclaim.

I opened my eyes to see a steel doorway sitting in the middle of camp. I walked over to it tentatively and paced round it. It didn't look like it went anywhere. The doors were just standing there, not connected to anything. Across the double doors was a heavy steel bar which held it securely shut, but upon closer inspection the door itself was not in the best of conditions.

The heavy steel was dented and bent in places. Something had been trying to break through, and what ever it was had to be pretty damn strong in order to bend steel like that! I looked back at Callen and Jan'Zar who were also staring at the door with heavy expressions. They were thinking the same thing I was.

"It's strong!" Jan'Zar grinned; apparently this pleased her.

"Yes. That is a strong defence." Callen moved his gaze from the door to me. "You have a strong will, an average spirit would never have the strength to even put a scratch on it. I've seen other furs take years of training to form a mental barrier like this!"

"Does that mean..."

"We will stop this thing Malakye! Have no doubt about that!" He declared confidently. "Remember, this is your mind! The spirit only has as much power as you allow them! It feeds off your fear and wears you down in order to take over. So long as you remember that it has no power over you it won't be able to take over!"

"Lets go in!" Jan'Zar declared walking over to the door. "Open it!"

"Me?"

"This is your mind, your barrier!" She barked. "Only you can open it!"

"Okay." I walked over and hesitantly removed the heavy steel bar. I gripped the handle and took a deep breath. I felt a paw come to rest on my right shoulder. It was Callen.

"We're right behind you."

With that reassurance I turned the handle and pulled open the door, the heavy bar holding It shut disappeared into the ether the moment I turned the handle. Behind it was a heavy darkness, one which started to spill out around us. The camp site faded from existence as did the door until all that was left was the darkness.

A few moments later the darkness changed, took on the shape of a ruined keep. We stood in the middle of the courtyard. The stone walls were old and in many places nothing but rubble. The keep itself was not much better, but light shone out from the windows. I knew this place. It was the same place that I had been attacked by my doppelgänger! That time I had travelled with Kassandra on the way to the mine to pick up the ore for her grandfather!

"Do you recognise this place Malakye?"

"I've been here before. I had thought I'd just hallucinated it though!"

"This is what your mind associates with the spirit. You are projecting this image just as you did with the camp site. Remember Malakye, nothing here is real. It can't hurt you!"

"If you believe that then you are more gullible than I gave you credit for." Came a voice that was so familiar and yet struck fear deep inside me.

We all turned in the direction of the voice that had come from behind us. Standing there was my doppelgänger! He looked just like me except that his eyes were red! Like me he wore nothing more than a loin cloth. The very sight of him made me tremble in fear. I remembered our last encounter, where I had lost the power to bend fire. He had claimed that it was his power and that I had been using his strength all this time! We fought, and after I managed to escape the keep he had transformed into a giant fiery demon, who was bigger than the keep itself! I had been frozen in fear and unable to move. I was engulfed in flames that had seared the flesh from my bones.

"I see you've brought friends this time. I'll enjoy killing them."

"Kill them?" I looked between Jan'Zar and Callen, both of them stood ready to fight. When had they drawn their weapons? They hadn't caried any with them. Callen stood with his bow, an arrow nocked and ready to be loosed. Jan'Zar wielded a halberd. "He can't kill you can he?"

"It's not impossible." Callen admitted. "We can defend ourselves, have no fear, but this is your mindscape not ours. But remember, he only has as much power as you allow him."

"You think that the flesh bag over there has any hope of defeating me?" My doppelgänger laughed. "Now that is amusing! First I'll take care of you two and then..."

He never got a chance to finish his sentence. Jan'Zar launched herself at him in a flash. Before I had even realised she'd moved, she'd covered the distance between them and the blade of her halberd was already plunging into his chest. She had killed him in a flash!

"Don't think it's that easy!" Atop one of the wall battlements stood my doppelgänger. He was completely unharmed.

"Tch!" Jan'Zar made a grunt of annoyance.

I looked back at Jan'Zar whose weapon now looked like it had struck nothing but thin air. When had he moved? Callen loosed an arrow and I watched as it cut through the air towards it's target. My doppelgänger snatched it out of the air with his paw and then glared at the wolf. He opened his maw to speak when the arrow suddenly erupted with a blinding white light.

My doppelgänger cried out in pain and out of the corner of my eye I saw Jan'Zar take off in a blurr. As the light faded I saw Jan'Zar leap twenty feet into the air towards my doppelgänger with her halberd poised to strike. As she came into range she swung the halberd at him, but he leapt out of way at the last second. She wasted little time to continue her assault.

I could now see why she was known as the deity of war! She was relentless, each stroke carried with it deadly accuracy and force, a shrill battle cry that struck fear in me rang out over the courtyard. My doppelgänger was surprisingly agile and narrowly avoided all of her attacks. However Jan'Zar's assault stopped when she was forced to leap away to avoid the sudden mass of flames that erupted around my doppelgänger.

"Hahahahaha!" He laughed manically. "Is that all you have? I expected more from the children of the Deity of Light!"

With a wave of his paw he launched a barrage of fireballs at Jan'Zar. She back flipped off the battlements to the ground below and then leapt backwards to avoid the second barrage of fireballs he launched at her. How she managed to avoid all of them boggled my mind. She moved with such speed and grace that it seemed impossible!

Callen loosed three arrows in rapid succession at my doppelgänger. He saw them coming and created a wall of fire to block their path. As they struck the wall of flames they exploded with light once again, but they barely had any effect this time as they were blocked by the wall of flames. I don't know what that light was but it was obvious that my doppelgänger was hurt by it.

"Jan!" Callen called.

"TCH!" Jan'Zar grunted angrily. "Fine! I've seen enough!"

"Malakye get us out of here!"

"How?" I asked in mild panic. The doors we had entered through had disappeared.

"Make another doorway!"

I didn't waste time with words. Already my doppelgänger was on the attack. A barrage of fireballs hurtled through the air towards us. Jan'Zar and Callen leapt in front of me and loosed another arrow, it burst with a blinding light and extinguished the fireballs in the air around it protecting us from harm.

I clenched my eyes shut, putting my trust in Callen to protect me while I made the doorway to escape. It was more difficult this time. The sounds of battle made it difficult to concentrate. Also I think my doppelgänger was attempting to block my efforts. But remembering Callen's words I focused with all my might and I felt something giveway and the doors of the keep began to open. The doors swung open to reveal a portal of bright light on the other side.

"Get to the door!" Callen yelled and without hesitation I began sprinting towards it as fast as I could.

"I don't think so!" My doppelgänger yelled.

I felt a force of some sort push against me. The force didn't slow me down but the door to the keep began to close. As I ran I tried to will the door to stay open, the doors slowed but I couldn't stop them!

"I can't stop them!" I cried out. "Run!"

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We marched for ten hours, stopping only briefly at midday to allow everyone to eat and rest for a short while before continuing on. Another ten hours march and we would be within sptting distance of the base of the mountain. Everyone was tired after the long day of marching, but spirits were high. Everyone was busy with setting up camp before it got dark. Since the unit I was in command of was relatively small we were done fairly promptly. Once the fires were lit and dinner was cooking I left my second in command, Julius Nancrol, in charge and left camp to find a place to meditate.

I climbed up the mountain till I found a rocky, but relatively flat patch of ground about ten paces wide and twelve paces long. I remained standing and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply and moving my arms up over my head, clasping my paws together as if in prayer, while exhaling deeply as I brought my arms down to chest hieght.

Inhaling once more I extended my left leg out to the side and turned my body to face that direction, exhaling and pushing my paws outwards. I pulled back my right paw while inhaling deeply once more, continuing to inhale as I pulled my left one back in afterwards. I exhaled and extended both paws outwards, fully stretched to either side of me.

This technique I was using was designed to allow the user to help clear their mind, replenish their mental and spiritual strength while relaxing their body. Excellent preparation for meditation in order to reflect on oneself, or simply to centre themselves.

All day I had been thinking about my time in Zangar. From how I lost my temper at Hazani the night before. I had been justifyably angry. I may have gone a step or two too far, but no one seemed to hold that against me, other than Hazani himself who had requested to be dismissed from the mission. He had set off back to Zangar at first light. My anger may have been justifyable, but it was not acceptable to me. The spirit within me could use my anger agaist me if I was not careful. It could manipulate me if I didn't watch myself. I also thought back to my fight in the dojo against my former master Aceh. I lost control of myself and if it hadn't been for Aceh's ability to weather my attacks until I had managed to regain control I could have seriously hurt someone.

That last attack... the one which had ended the fight and had seriously injured Aceh. It had caused something to happen that I had not thought possible. That flash of light, as brief as it had been, had been what caused Aceh's injuries. My stronger nen had caused the marjority of the power to be deflected towards him. I had gotten off lightly while he had suffered the worst of it, but it could have just as easily been me.

The light was known as Asurmen's light. It was famous in the stories of Dalton, a wolf who had fought during the demon wars nearly two millenia ago, and was one of the first Daemons ever given the title. Dalton had mastered this power, using his nen to forge weapons of pure light that could decimate demons and demonlords alike with a single blow. The light only occurred when the nen of the one summoning it was in perfect balance with all the elemental properties.

In the instance of when Aceh and I fought, our attacks collided, our nen had mixed and for a brief moment combined to allow the momentary existence of the light. If I could remember how the nen felt duing that moment, there was a chance I would be able to recreate it.

Focusing on that memory I began to gather my nen into the space between my paws. Adjusting my nen to try and balance the elements within it. Nen was the life force of the user, which the user drew from the environment around them. However our bodies didn't take in every element equally, this is part of the reason why Zangarian k'tan could control different elements. Fire, water, earth, and air. These were the four basic elemental properties of ones life force.

I focused on my nen, attempting to alter its nature. But this was no easy feat. It could take me years to even learn how to manifest the light. Decades more to master it. But I had been given an advantage, knowledge towards creating and manifesting this light. And now I had experienced it first paw, albeit briefly, and this knowledge could knock years off of the process.

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In Aaru, within The Hall of Ancestors, I met the spirits of two of my Ancestors. The k'tan from whom I was descended from. Tau'ruc Jarra and Dalton Zaraki. We had spoken at length, asking question about each others lives. They were nothing more than ghosts; pale, semi-translucent figures.

After meeting them we had spoken at length. I asked them questions about their lives together, and they asked me about mine. I have no idea how long I sat in the pich black chamber where their spirits resided talking to them. Hours, days... it was impossible to tell. But eventually they came to a decision.

"So? What is your decision?" Tau'ruc asked his fellow spirit.

Dalton stared at me for a few moments more before answering.

"I am not convinced that he is worthy of my gift. But I will grant it to him. He is my blood after all."

"Thank you." I bowed my head respectifully.

"I'll give you this warning." Dalton stated sternly. "There is a small chance that you will suffer permanent damage, either physically, spiritually or mentally. But a greater chance that you will attain memories and experiences that will help you achieve your goals. It will be confusing, but after a few days the after effects of the mingling will settle down."

"Will it hurt?" I asked.

"It might. Also you will suffer flashbacks for the next few days. The memories will feel real to you. While you may feel physical pain, no actual harm will befall you." He explained. "Now are you ready boy?"

Both Tau'ruc and Dalton moved so they stood either side of me. Tau'ruc to my right and Dalton to my left. I nodded and closed my eyes, preparing myself for what was to come. I felt a chill spread through me, filling me up entirely only to be replaced by a rising heat which seemed to explode though my body.

What I experienced was hard to explain. Memories flashed before me, but I couldn't make them out as they flashed across my mindseye at an incredible rate. They ran through my mind like a blur, overwhelming my senses with a tirade of experiences. The few memories I could clearly make out were the ones shared by both Tau'ruc and Dalton. But they too ran together, impossible to tell each one apart, but I could sense the emotions from those memories far better than I could any of the others.

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After the mingling various memories of both Tau'ruc Jarra and Dalton Zaraki came to me as flashbacks and in my dreams. Battles they had fought, times they had made love. Memories of their families and lovers had become my own. I had gained knowledge of their battles and skills, including memories of a time Dalton Zaraki had forged a sword out of the light. I had tried a numerous times in the past to try and manifest the light, hoping it could be used to aid me in fighting the spirit within me.

My attempts to manifest the light had failed. This time I had more than a vague memorie from someone elses past to go by. But time and time again my attempts failed. I didn't expect to successfully manifest a powerful technique like that just because I had sensed it for a brief moment. It was more than likely impossible for me to even manifest it.

But I was not disheartened. I would keep trying. Once I understood what I was missing, some technique or trick I didn't know order to manifest the light. I would spend some time meditating on it later. Searching the memories that I had received from Dalton himself for some clue.

Once I had finished training I descended back down towards camp. As I descended back to camp there were a number of warriors gathered waiting. Amongst them were the other warlords and my father. I suppose they were all curious as to what I was doing up there. No doubt they had sensed me using my nen.

"Is everything all right?" Kaldor asked.

"Everything is fine." I assured him. "I was just training."

"Okay then!" He smiled. "Dinner is almost ready! I don't know about all of you but I'm starving!" He turned and headed back towards the center of camp, most of the others drakes followed his lead. Apparently my explaination had been enough for him.

"If I may enquire Master Anaris, what training were you doing exactly?" Malnark asked.

"That might be difficult to explain. I can't execute it in practice, let alone use it in a fight."

"Perhaps I can help?" He offered. "While I may not have your natural ability I have many years worth of experience."

"Do you have much experience on altering the nature of your nen."

"In reference to using different elements?"

"Essentially yes." I nodded.

"A little, but unfortunately not much. The foremost expert on that topic would likey be Master Stern. But he is back in Rengilar."

"I see."

"But I will assist in any way I can." He assured me. "I'm not sure what you were attempting to do but it felt... facinating."

"I am trying to forge light." I smiled.

His expression was amusing to watch. The confusion that turned to vague understanding to stunned realisation. He was probably one of the few drakes in Zangar who would understand the reference to what I just said. He was very well educated and intelligent. Out of everyone in Zangar I expect that probably only he and Callidus would understand. We said no more. I simply walked away. He didn't try to stop me. He just stood in silence as he processed everything.

After eating most of the warriors went to sleep. There were those given watches, but this far up the mountains the danger was minimal. As before we rose at the crack of dawn and continued our journey. Like the day before the journey was uneventful. We made good progress though. By the time we reached the next planned campsite we still had a couple of hours worth of day light left. Tomorrow we would reach the base of the mountain and that was when things would start to get interesting.