"But they have the Beaststone, and there's no defense against it!" said a voice from the crowd.
"That is what the Cabal wants you to believe. They want you to think that they control the Beaststone, and that nothing can be done against them. But they're wrong… They have a weakness…"
Everyone now listened intently. If Gage didn't commend their respect before, he now most certainly had their curiosity.
"The Beaststone was created by an ancient race of shifters, known as the Blackbloods. It was born from a technology long since forgotten, but the relic itself can be destroyed by a Blackblood." Gage stood in silence waiting for a response.
"But there are no Blackbloods left, your Elder was the last!" another voice grunted from the crowd.
"No, I can reveal that there is another. The Elder's son, Jackson!" Gage said this to a hush around the plateau. A wind blew in as if to cover the shock.
"You know that he is definitely a Blackblood, Gage? Our understanding is that sometimes it skips generations, or doesn't appear at all if both parents are not of that lineage?" said Wild Tusk.
Gage smiled, looking around the room. Lacey watched, her daughter Sho now wide awake and sitting on her knew. Lacey was proud of Gage, he was a fighter, he would never give up, and if there was any chance that he could save Swiftclaw from LoHawk and the Cabal, then he would die trying.
"I knew Jackson when he was a boy," said Gage. "There's something special about him. Something different, and it would lead me to believe that not only is he a Blackblood, but that he is unique amongst his line. Perhaps even more powerful than his father, who we all loved deeply."
"What's so special about him?" Erin asked, as if half listening, but deep down shocked that there was another Blackblood alive who could destroy the Beaststone.
"He can hide his shifting ability," said Gage. "He can turn his eyes to a human color I have never known anything like it."
"That's all? And this… Jackson will destroy the Beaststone and defeat the Cabal because his eyes are a different color?" Havoc scoffed, and several other rhinos joined him, laughing.
"No…" said Gage. "There is more…"
"I can vouch for that," said Bran. "I once saw him tear a redwood tree from its roots to bring down a spy who was hiding in its branches. I don't no any other shifter that could have done it!"
"Let's not get carried away," said White Tusk. "Our clan of Renegades has survived in the shadows. If we are to reveal ourselves to the Cabal it has to be with the explicit knowledge that we can destroy the Beaststone and save all shifter kind. Can you guarantee that?"
"No, I can't," said Gage sounding dejected. "But, if we can find Jackson then perhaps we can draw some blood, and if it is black, and he will help, then we just might have a shot at this. To rid the world of Charles Whitmore, the Cabal, and of treacherous wretches like LoHawk."
There was a loud round of applause, and so it seemed that the consensus among the onlookers and listeners that this a good idea.
White Tusk stepped forward. "For too long have we hid from our enemies. For too long have we watched as the Cabal has controlled all of our kind, now, dear brothers and sisters, it is time to rise up. To rise up and defeat this evil once and for all!"
Another round of applause and cheering, before settling down.
White Tusk then ushered Gage, Bran and Marlow over, as well as Erin, Elizabeth, Lacey and little Sho. "To go on this perilous mission to find Jackson, you have our blessing. And… If you choose to… We would be honored to welcome all of you into our clan of Renegades, the last bastion of hope against the Cabals. Purebloods, bears, and all!"
And so it was that on that plateau high up on top of a mountain, Gage and the others swore an allegiance to the Renegades, to defeat the Cabal.
"I hope you know what you're doing," said Bran to Gage.
"It's our only shot," replied Gage under his breath.
"Do you know where Jackson is?" asked Marlow.
"Not 100%, but I have an idea," Gage said, scratching his jaw in thought.
"Let's hope you can get him," interjected Erin. Her duplicity and secretive ways still obscured from the others.
After this initiation, White Tusk showed Gage and Lacey, as well as the other couples, to their secret hideout. A network of tunnels and caves which burrowed into the side of the mountain. Intricate carvings showing man and beast adorned the walls, fire torches lighting the way.
"Where do these carvings come from?" asked Lacey.
"No one knows for sure," said White Tusk still leading the way, torch in hand. "But there are rumors that this was a secret layer of the Blackbloods thousands of years ago. It seemed fitting that we should hide here."
"What happened to the Blackbloods, why is Jackson the last?" asked Lacey, curious.
"It is said," answered White Tusk. "That the Blackbloods suffered a great crisis many moons ago. Long before the Cabal and the current shifters. They lived for eons, and, tired of their existence, many chose to have their beast forms removed so that they could live among the purebloods. Grow old, die peacefully."
"They all chose to abandon their beasthood?" said Gage, deep down understanding the internal struggle between human and animal.
"No," said White Tusk. "Some remained, they must have otherwise your Elder would not have been born, but their numbers were few. There is also a legend of a great struggle against alchemist who sought to enslave them, but that story has fallen from memory. All I know is that in the last few hundred years, the Cabal have sought to find any remaining Blackbloods so that they could refuel the Beaststone. But… Now there is hope that Jackson can undo this great evil if he is found… Ah!" White Tusk stopped suddenly. "Here you go!" White Tusk pushed open a large thick wooden door.
Inside there was a cozy room cut out of the rock. Bedding, some food, and a fire. Even a small bed for Sho.
"Thank you, White Tusk," said Lacey, kissing him on the cheek.
White Tusk blushed. "It's my pleasure. I hope one day I can host you all under better circumstances." He shook Gage's hand. "Good night, and remember, that tomorrow another day breaks, and perhaps hope shall sing as the sun rises!"
Once alone, Gage and Lacey talked for a while by the firelight. They held each other, and told Sho happy stories as she fell asleep. Then, they retired to their own bed, feeling the warmth of each other under the thick blanket.
"Will you find Jackson?" said Lacey.
Gage looked over at his daughter sleeping soundly. "We have to," he said. "Without him, there can be no future for any of us."
* * *
Jackson was happy. Each day he felt reborn. He and Sharon were very much in love, and he adored her young son, Tom. Jackson would home school the boy until they found a place of their own. The house in the thick forest was far too remote, and so after six months or so, Jackson had agreed to move closer to a pureblood school, while still living in a less obscure part of the forest.
Their days were filled with laughter. In the day, Jackson and Sharon would be there for Tom, answering his questions about the local wildlife, and swimming with him in the river nearby at the foot of Jackson's garden. It flowed ferociously in places, but to the side was a little pool where they could all play together safely.
At night, Sharon and Jackson talked. They made love. They thanked their lucky stars for whatever force of fate, God, or chance had thrown them together. They had found their own little Eden, a place which was heaven to them. Little did they know that their peace, quiet, and contentment was about to be disturbed.
It was Sharon who first noticed it. She was out on her own in the woods, just a few minutes from their home. There she was picking some berries which Jackson had shown her. She was going to keep them for an afternoon picnic. Jackson meanwhile was in the house reading to Tom from his old worn copy of The Hobbit. A gift from his own father, the Elder, when he was just a little boy.
Sharon moved quietly between the trees. In the past, she would have found that untamed part of the forest frightening, but she had grown to love the protection of it. The house was completely cut off from roads and civilization If she didn't know better, she would have said that she, Jackson and Tom, were the only people in the world.
That was, until she heard the rustling in the bushes.
It was subtle at first, a slight movement which disturbed the quiet of the forest floor. Sharon initially dismissed it as a small animal, but then she began to experience a feeling. It was dread. Like someone had walked over her grave. It took her a moment to figure out why she felt that way, but finally her subconscious mind allowed her in on the truth: Two eyes were staring out from a clump of huge ferns. Two piercing eyes.
She didn't scream. She'd lived in the forest before meeting Jackson, all be it a more human-friendly region, but she'd come across wolves and bears before. She knew that she shouldn't run. That would invoke the chase reflex in such animals, all she could do was back away slowly in the hope that the animal wasn't hungry.
Then she heard another noise. Another pair of eyes gleamed out.
Rationality gave way to panic finally as a third figure moved through the trees to her left. Dropping the berries in her basket, she turned and ran, screaming and shouting. Jackson heard her, and within seconds he had leapt off the first floor balcony of his house, landed on the ground and transformed into a huge fearsome bear. He then roared through the jungle.
Sharon came running towards him, her eyes white with fear. He charged passed her and leaped into the air towards the three creatures chasing her. He knocked into the largest - for if the biggest falls, the smaller often run - and stood on top of the creature, bearing his teeth.
"Jackson!" the bear underneath growled. "It's me, Gage Swiftclaw!"
There was a moment of silence before Jackson replied: "Why are you chasing my mate!"
"Jackson," said Marlow, now in human form to the side of him. "We didn't mean to frighten her. We're here to speak with you about clan business."
"And what of my clan?" said Jackson. "I left that behind long ago, will it not leave me in peace, likewise?"
"Your father…" Brans said, interjecting.
And Jackson did not need to hear anymore. He had felt it. An emptiness in his heart. The Elder was gone.
Jackson returned to human form, his eyes filling with tears. Sharon ran to him, wrapping her arms around him. "What's wrong?" she said.
"My father is gone…" replied Jackson. "Please, forgive me all. Come, to my home, it is near."
And so the four shifters and Sharon walked quietly to Jackson's house in the woods. There, they shared a drink inside, talking of Swiftclaw, of the Elder, of all that had happened. Sharon and Tom sat nearby, listening intently.
"We need to know if you're a Blackblood, Jackson," said Marlow.
"And what if I am? You want me to destroy the Beaststone? Even if I can, it is a suicidal mission." Jackson was feeling aggrieved. He hadn't come to terms yet about his father, for he had never been given the opportunity to make amends.
"I know this is hard," said Gage, sipping a bottle of beer. "But you're father spent his entire life protecting Swiftclaw, in fact he died to protect it. Now that passes on to you. Without you, without the Beaststone destroyed, we have no hope. LoHawk will continue his xenophobic policies, and the Cabal will continue the Tournament, keeping all shifters under their control."
"Tell me…" Jackson took a pause before continuing. "Did he die well?"