FSE

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CHAPTER 3

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"Welcome everyone." I heard his gruff voice declare as he entered, everyone turn to look at my father but I remained as I was, trying not to shrink down into my seat.

I listened to him move across the room, closer to me, I looked to my right as he appeared and stood over me a moment, his gaze meeting mine. He was dressed in a manner similar to Callidus, unlike before when he appeared outside in little more than a loin cloth he now wore a beautiful fur cloak that was made of a golden brown fur. Other than the colour it was identical to Callidus's white cloak, some sort of ornate wear I figured, I remember furs of status wore clothes designed to reflect their status or wealth back in Zangar. He was trying to impress us, or maybe it was just me... it wasn't working. He smiled down at me and took his seat, his gaze still firmly fixed on me, I was grateful when Eric spoke and broke the silence that had fallen over the room.

"I must express my gratitude Lord Kaldor, thank you for inviting us." Eric thanked him.

"Think nothing of it, it has been a long time since Zangar* has had visitors, it seems only fitting that I show my thanks for making the long journey." His gaze fell on me. "And for returning my son to me."

'Returning...' I thought in disdain, like I was a piece of lost property. I didn't know him and he certainly didn't know me. If he expected to impress me with his lavish display of wealth he had another thing coming. The whole thing was impressive, I'll admit that, but the showy display certainly wasn't helping me like him, I wasn't going to be bought. I turned my attention to the plate in front of me, away from him but I could still see him out of the corner of my eye, I didn't miss the slight falter to his demeanour when I turned away. It seemed like my lack of interest hurt him, but that seemed to bring me a little pleasure, I guess I was mad at him after all.

Everyone round the table engaged in idle chatter, Eric asking my father various questions that he figured I wanted to know, but I barely listened to his replies, I just wanted out of here, I sat twiddling my thumbs in an attempt to pass the time. I was thankful for the distraction as Jovani and two other Zangarians appeared with the food. They placed the large platters on the table and took their leave. Jovani began pouring a dark purple liquid into our goblets, Eric sniffed it and was taken aback.

"Lord Kaldor! Is this Garavardian wine*?" Eric asked with an impressed tone.

"Yes it is, and call me Kaldor, I detest titles of that sort."

'Yeah, but that's the only thing you hate about it.' I thought to myself thinking of the lavish display of wealth he had put on so far.

"It has been many years since I've had the pleasure to taste this wine, I must thank you for your generosity!"

"This is a special occasion is it not? As good an excuse as any to drink it!" From the way Eric and my father were talking about the wine I had to assume that it was expensive, another attempt at showing off?

The food was as lavish as the rest of my fathers display to impress, a large roast of meat took centre stage surrounded by various dishes which I couldn't name. Glazed and roasted vegetables, large plates of freshly baked rolls, there was enough food to feed everyone here three times over. Everyone helped themselves, Jason wasn't restrained in the slightest in his attempts to stuff himself with the delicious food, I saw Michael shake his head at Jason's behaviour more than once during the course of the meal.

Over the course of the meal Kaldor attempted to make conversation with me since it was obvious I wasn't going to try. I responded mostly with one word answers and general disinterest, Kaldor attempted to hide the fact he was hurt by my actions, but he didn't do a good job of it. When the meal came to an end Jason was fit to burst, rubbing his bulging belly and letting out a groan of satisfied pain.

"I must once again thank you for a delicious meal Lord Kaldor." Eric said. "But I must admit to being tired, and it is getting late."

"If you would like you may stay here."

"Kind as your offer is, I think it best if we returned to the lodgings you have already provided us. But if I may request an escort..."

"Of course! Callidus, would you be so kind?" Kaldor asked his companion.

"Yes, as you wish." He agreed and stood up, everyone else also rose from their seats, even Jason, albeit a lot slower than the rest of us as he clutched at his bulging stomach and huffed at the effort. I turned to follow everyone out when Kaldor called to me.

"Malakye... would you stay for a while?" I stopped dead in my tracks and looked to Eric, who gave me a look insisting that I do as he asked. I sighed before turning round to face my father.

"Thank you." He said, Kaldor's expression showing some amount of relief.

"We'll see you later bud." Jason said giving my shoulder a gentle pat. I watched everyone leave, Jovani followed them leaving me alone with my father for the first time ever. I sighed and turned face him once more, locking eyes with him as I waited to hear him out.

"You... you seemed rather distant at dinner." Kaldor declared, breaking his gaze with me almost submissively, his tone filled with worry.

"It that surprising?" I asked coldly, I almost felt bad at how harsh it sounded, but I made no attempt to apologise.

"No... I suppose not. Truthfully I didn't know what to expect."

"Then what?"

"I don't know... I thought about what I wanted to say since I saw you, but I couldn't come up with anything." He admitted, I almost cracked a smile, it was the same for me. "I didn't even know you were alive, but I know you're Gabrielle's son, you have her eyes and muzzle." The affection in his voice caught me off guard, I had been acting hostile towards him all night, but here he was opening up to me; I was beginning to feel bad. "Tell me, how is she?"

"She died... eight winters ago." I replied, all hostility I had felt towards him was gone at the mere mention of my mother. The way he reacted to the news told me he had expected as much, but the sadness was impossible for him to hide.

"She... she was a really amazing female. She would have been a terrific mother."

"She was..."

A morbid silence fell over us, both of us saddened by the memory of my mother, neither of us wanting to be the one to break it. As I looked at him, grieving a loss years old, I saw that he wasn't such a pompous ass that I thought him to be. Maybe there was more to him than the wealth It seemed like he had really, truly loved my mother, so there had to be more to him since my mother loved him back in return.

"So... how did you two meet?" I asked, the only question I could think of to break the silence, he smiled as he thought back on it.

"I was travelling... I was the same age as you, I always hated these mountains, I felt trapped by them so my father, your grandfather, decided to send me off to satisfy my curiosity and needs with a little 'quest'."

"Quest?"

"That's what he called it, 'go and discover yourself', he said." Kaldor chuckled, imitating his father voice. "I was young and stupid, I called it courageous, but I know better now. I headed deep into wolven territory, and on the Rovarian plains near a watering hole I saw her. She was alone. She was bathing. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her, her red fur was gorgeous, I had never seen any female as beautiful as her. I was enraptured. But moments later she spotted me."

"What happened?" I asked, totally enraptured by the tale.

"Not what I expected to happen, I expected her to scream and run, but she stood there and asked me who I was."

"Really?"

"Really! She was the most courageous female I have ever met, any other wolf would have run or attacked me, we aren't the wolves favourite species, as I'm sure you're aware." I nodded and smiled. "Well... I told her who I was and then asked her why she wasn't frightened of me. She asked if she had a reason to be afraid! Well now that got me, I couldn't stop laughing, but eventually I told her that she didn't. I wasn't going to kill an unarmed female, wolf or not."

"Okay, so what happened after that?"

"Well..." He cleared his throat and shifted, almost like he was embarrassed. "She asked me if I wanted to join her. At first I thought it was trick, that she was trying to get me to drop my guard and fall into some trap, but eventually I relented. I disrobed and climbed into water, she came up to me and began to study me, poking me, rubbing her hand across my scales like I was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. I'd be lying if I said her 'touch' didn't have a reaction." Kaldor chuckled, I laughed. "Lets just finish saying, one thing lead to another."

"That's really how you met her?" I asked almost in disbelief.

"Really! After that we made plans to meet again, and we met several times when she was able to sneak out to see me. I couldn't get enough of her, she had an amazing sense of humour, I could talk to her for hours... among other things." He chuckled, I blushed as I pictured them together, the image making me feel a little uncomfortable. "I still can't believe that you're here!"

"Yeah... well... I am." I replied with a smile, he wasn't as bad as I thought he was.

"You've got her smile as well." He said almost like he was in awe. "I want you to know that you are welcomed to stay here, this will always be your home."

"Thanks... but..."

"I understand, too soon?"

"Well... I'm not sure if I'm staying." I admitted, the look of hurt once again flashing across my fathers face, and for the first time I felt bad about it. "Eric and the others... they've been good to me. Their..."

"Like family?" Kaldor finished, I simply nodded in response. "I suppose I can't argue with that, but I hope that sometime in the future you can consider me your family as well."

"Yeah... maybe, but can I ask, why the lavish show?" My question seemed to catch him off guard, after a moment of surprise he chuckled.

"Saw through that did you? Well I was nervous, I wanted to show you..."

"That you're a pompous ass?" I cut him off, once again catching him off guard. "The whole wealth and power bit doesn't do it for me."

"Is that why you were so distant at dinner?" He asked. Once again I nodded, he sighed and shook his head. "I guess Jovani was right, be myself he said, I guess I was anything but." He stood up and in one swift motion undid the cloak he wore and let it fall to the ground, leaving him in just his loin cloth. "That's better! I hate that damn thing, haven't had to wear it for years!"

"It looks important." I commented as I stared down at it.

"Oh it's just the ceremonial garb that I have to wear for special occasions, since I'm the head of the house. Callidus enjoys wearing his, I was never much for that sort of thing, too stuffy!" I shook my head and chuckled, it was like Kaldor had had a complete personality change, he was the exact opposite from what I thought he was. "Say, while your here how about a tour? I want this to be your home, so you might as well know your way round the place."

"I suppose that would be okay." I smiled, earning a smile back.

I followed Kaldor as he lead me through the sequence of caves that made up his home, they were extensive, if this 'home' was above ground it would probably be larger than Rovarian Village*. The first room he took me to was the kitchen, it was huge! Two large fires roared in two separate alcoves on the far side of the room, large wooden counter tops providing surfaces for working on, and the amount of food that was visible from where I stood would have fed me for over a week possibly more. The tantalizing smell of foods and spices made my mouth water, it was just as well that I was still full from dinner.

There were a few other rooms on the level we were on, most of them were originally for entertaining back when the Anaris household used to host grand parties for various guests from afar. Back in it's day this settlement was a major player among the settlements of the tribal lands, providing essential ores and metals and even weapons to allies. I could easily believe that fact, the amount of wealth hanging on the walls in these vast tunnels was incredible, the number of weapons was enough to arm a small army. As it turned out the Anaris family had a long and proud history of being blacksmiths, and at one point were considered the finest smiths in all the tribal lands.

Eventually we made it to a large hall with large metal doors and a stair case, apparently this was the main hall and entrance, the door we had entered by was the back door. He lead me up the stairs to a room filled with comfortable furniture, couches and chairs, I felt myself relax in this room, a large fire burned in the fireplace at the far end of the room, all the couches and chairs facing it. It was the first room I had seen that was not adorned with expensive tapestries and weapons, instead soft looking fabric hung from the walls giving it a comfortable feeling.

"This is the family room." Kaldor explained. "This area of the house is meant for the Anaris family and close friends."

"It's nice." I admitted, this was more like a home than the rest of place.

"My mother hated all the weapons mounted on the walls, so she made sure they weren't put up in the family areas." He explained before leading me to another wooden door on the other side of the room, the door lead to a long tunnel, lit with the usual torches mounted on the walls, but I couldn't make out the end of the tunnel, it seemed to go on forever, wooden doors appearing on either side at regular intervals.

We walked for a couple of minutes before stopping in front of one of the wooden doors, I noticed that every door had a distinguishing mark or symbol different to all the others, this one had the symbol of an anvil. Kaldor pushed open the door, I had no idea what he was going to show me, the symbol made me think of weapons but that just made me more surprised by what I saw. I followed Kaldor into the room, a roaring fire burned brightly giving light to the otherwise dark room, revealing the most luxurious bed I'd ever seen. Clad in thick, green sheets, with pillows and mattress, a four poster bed and a large wooden chest were the only things in the room.

"This will be your room, should you ever want to stay."

"R-really?" I stammered, turning my head to Kaldor and then back to the room. Several stalagmite and stalactites had formed round the edges of the room, giving the room a more circular feel. The room was almost as big as the hut I'd had back in Rovarian Village*. "This is mine?"

"Yes, this room used to belong to your great, great, great, great Grandfather, Xerxes Anaris. He was the most famous and talented black smith Zangar* had ever seen or has seen since his passing. His skill was said to rival that of Gallium."

"Gallium... as in the Guardian Deity*?" Kaldor nodded and smirked.

"That chest once belonged to him as well, you are free to use it and keep anything you want from it, it's our families custom."

"I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with that..."

"It's you're choice, I can always get you another chest for your own belongings if you want."

"I'll think about it."

"Come, I've got another room I want to show you."

I followed Kaldor further into the series of tunnels that formed his family home, my family home, the door he lead me to was unlike the others since it was a set of double doors, each one emblazoned with the family crest in cold steel and a pair of large rings set in place to be used as handles for the doors. He shoved open the doors and they creaked in objection. The room was lit with a gentle blue light that came from the walls itself.

"What is this light?" I asked as I walked to the wall and touched the rock, it had been worn smooth just like the rest of the walls but was slightly warm to the touch.

"That's Anglaor*, or more commonly known as Angel Rock*. This room was built in a large seam of it that runs through the mountain."

"It's beautiful." I smiled almost transfixed with the beautiful light it gave off.

"This is what I wanted to show you." I turned to see Kaldor standing in front of the largest smithy set up I had ever seen. A large furnace sat next to an anvil and along the other wall was an array of finely crafted weapons. "Our family has a proud history as blacksmiths, and is a tradition that continues to this day. If you wish to become part of this house, you will need to learn the basics and craft yourself one of these." He held up his right arm showing the golden wrist guard he wore, the orange gem set in the centre glowed fiercely in the blue light. "It is a right of passage, a tradition, but only if you wish to stay here." I was about to speak when he silenced me with his paw. "I know you have your friends, and that there is a strong possibility that you want to remain with them. But whether you chose to take part in this tradition and join the Anaris clan or not, you will always be welcome here."

"Thank you." I could feel tears building in the corner of my eyes as I felt the urge to cry, how had I thought that Kaldor was nothing more than a rich pompous ass? He was giving me the choice, he didn't expect me to stay here out of principle, he wanted me to choose to stay here. He didn't say any more, he just smiled at me.

"How about I show you the basics?" He asked and walked over to the furnace, the coals long gone cold since their last use. As I approached I watched him wave his paw over the coals and fire shoot out from his palm and light the coals.

"You... you can control fire?"

"Didn't you know?"

"I had heard stories." I admitted, thinking back to Eric's story about the Anaris clan back in Rengilar*. I looked at my own paw and wondered if I would one day be able to control that power, without feeling unfiltered rage, I had lost control and had tried to hurt my friends. I suspect the same thing happened back when Rose had been killed by Vireon. Was this a cursed power?

"You've experienced it haven't you?" He asked, suspecting something from my reaction and long silence.

"Yes..."

"A power summoned out of desperation?" He asked and I nodded. "A power you couldn't control?" I nodded again, my eyes fixed on my paw, imagining the blood I had spilled while being out of control.

"Yes..."

"Don't worry, with training you can learn to wield it like any other weapon, it is not a power to be feared Malakye, it is part of who you are and you must embrace it, not fear it." I felt his paws come to rest on my shoulders, the gesture gave me a sense of confidence, a feeling of safety that I had only felt with my mother. "Perhaps we shall leave the smithing lessons for now, you must be tired, I can have someone take you back to your friends."

"No... it's all right." I muttered, finally getting a grip on myself. "I... I'd like to stay here... tonight." The smile Kaldor gave in response made me smile back. It reminded me of when my mother used to smile at me when I was just a cub.