"I agree. All resources are vital, but the most important is the human resource. Unfortunately, our competitors thought so as well." The 7th was still going on with his story.
Mane had a frown on his face. Any person of average intelligence should be able to tell how the story will end. It was obvious that the two brothers had broken the balance of power. They may have been weak since they were kids, but the threat of their potential was enough for them to be wiped out.
"As I said earlier, Kreech had several resources. Many predictions concluded that these resources were going to last for a very long time. The only unpredictable resource was the human resource. There was no way one could predict the kind of talents that would be born to a family. Usually, the closer a person is to the main family, the stronger their talent. For instance, the son of the Main Family's Head would be expected to be born with far greater talent than the son of a branch family head. In my family's case, not only did they get two new talents, they got two whose talents exceeded everyone belonging to their generation by a couple of notches."
"As I said earlier, no one could predict such an outcome. Every generation is blessed to have a few geniuses appear. On my continent, there were three major powers. Each of these powers had kept each other in check by secretly clipping the wings of their competitors. Assassinations were a common occurrence. This kept the number of geniuses each side produced in check. It sounds crazy, but no planet is truly peaceful. Kreech had all its wars in the dark. These were no wars born of greed, selfishness and ambition. They were conceived from one very real fear- the fear of death. Each power feared that when one of them got too strong, they were going to be swallowed. They all cherished their lives too much to take any risks. It was a basic need- the need for survival."
"My brother and I were infringing on this basic need. It would have been fine if it was just as two. But for the past few years our House had been producing geniuses. They weren't at my level. They weren't even at my brother's level. Wyverns are weaker than dragons. But a nest of them, can take a dragon down. A single bee is no serious threat. But a colony of them, now that's a different scenario. So as my House celebrated their rise, our enemies plotted our downfall. After my eighth birthday, when my brother was barely seven, we were ambushed. The two major powers- our competitors- put their differences aside as they united to rid themselves of one very real threat."
"What they did not know however- or at least we thought they didn't- was that although my family celebrated its rise, they prepared for their fall. They weren't fools. They knew that a massive influx of geniuses was not something they could keep hidden. The House was a big one. The Head and Elders knew that not every member was loyal. So they had planned for such an eventuality. They had spent massive resources on a teleportation circle, a large one that could safely transfer all their geniuses to another continent. They had a contract with an ally on that continent. 'Take care of these geniuses. When they are bloom, they would rid you of your enemies as thanks'. They agreed."
"You see, the contract stated that when we were finally strong enough, we would work for our allies unconditionally for a period of five years. It was more than enough time for them to use us to dominate their continent. By the time five years were up, they would have no threats to their rule left. As for whether we would have posed any threat to them after we were free, it wasn't even a question. The contract was soul bound. We had to return whether we liked it or not. The only alternative would be to die. Besides, our thirst for revenge would make it impossible for us to live peacefully anywhere. So for months the prodigies of our family trained and were drilled in preparation for the attack: what to do when the alarm went off; the route to take; hidden channels; shortcuts; and finally, where the teleportation circle had been drawn."
"Each of us knew that if there were to be an attack, our loved ones would die. We would be the only survivors, the remnants of our House. So we prayed that this worst case scenario would never occur. It did."
Once again the 7th took a break. Mane sat with his limbs akimbo, patiently waiting upon his master. This time, unlike the first, the break lasted for just a couple of seconds. The resumption was almost immediate.
"We were attacked. I watched from afar as those I had grown up with lost their lives. I didn't need to And our enemies seemed to know everything we had planned. The routes to the circle had been cut off, all shortcuts were choke full of assassins and there was no channel that remained hidden. I'm sure you've already figured out why."
Mane nodded. It was obvious that there were traitors even among the high level figures.
"Our plans had one huge flaw. It relied on the loyalty of all involved in its conception. But it wasn't so. Some of our elders had betrayed us. By a stroke of luck, some of us still managed to make it to the circle. My brother and I were part of this lucky group. Unfortunately, the circle was attacked after we had activated it. Because the coordinates were tampered with, we were teleported to random locations. Only three of us got to our allies safely. My brother was not so lucky after all."
The 7th finally ended his story.
"I'm sorry master." Mane was saddened by his master's words. It was always an awful thing to experience- war. He had never been thrust into one, but he didn't need to in order to understand its repercussions. As for problems with teleportation circles, Mane knew that 'random' teleportation was just that- random. You could be teleported into the middle of an ocean, where only death would be your companion; you could be teleported underground and die because of the lack of oxygen; you could be teleported into the arms of a dangerous beast. His master must have been very lucky to still find himself at the right place. As for his brother, Mane was sure he died. His master would have said so otherwise.
"Don't be. I killed them all- personally."