'Hahahaha what a hilarious answer. You were protected by a warrior then hid? More like the beasts were protected and hiding from you. Hahaha' The deep bellow of the former beast king rang in Hayan's mind. His soul had resurfaced while on their walk to the Duke's party since the trip had been dreadfully slow. 'I don't understand how she believed you either. She's either incredibly naive or stupidly trusting. Are you sure you wish to join a family like this?'
Hayan nodded subconsciously to his soul bound partner. 'I do. They'll give me a good chance to understand their world before being thrown into its depths. They are good people too. I can see that she knows there is more to the story but doesn't wish to push to hard.'
'Well, that is a benefit. Despite knowing you for such a short amount of time, she already trusts you and is accepting of your secrets. What an idiot.'
'Or perhaps she's the smartest person yet. From what I can see, their world is not a free-for-all but more like the blood-wolf packs. If her pack gains a strong comrade, they will do better.'
'But how could she know if you'll be a strong ally or a weak link?'
'It's possible that she's experienced both already and knows how to differentiate between the two. Regardless, I will need to play myself down or work in the shadows to avoid being targeted by other groups.'
'Hmm, I think I am starting to understand.' The great white dragon was an intelligent creature, however his views on life were entirely dominated by battle and his experiences in the Savage Lands. That's to say, don't trust anything, just kill everything. Only once, had he broken this line of thought. Ten years ago, when the same boy he watched over now had wobbled into his cave on two unstable feet. While his body had died in a fierce battle later that year, Hayan had saved his mind and soul as it was absorbed into the boy's own soul. As for his majestic form, it had been absorbed along with his soul, allowing the boy to transform at will.
Neither the mysterious boy who had wandered into his cave, the king of beasts, nor the warrior who had taken care of the boy as he grew, understood what had happened. Hayan could absorb souls as he guided them to the afterlife taking some of their power for himself, but never before has their ego remained, nor the complete transfer of their power and body.
'Good, you will come to understand more once we have both experienced this new world. For now I should begin my work.'
Hayan sauntered towards the edge of the rock bluff and sat down with his legs dangling over the twenty meter sheer drop. He glanced back to see Katarina and the remaining soldiers occupied with planning their escape routes and safe zones should the plan not work.
With the others busy Hayan prepared himself, closing his eyes and focusing his mind. He straightened his arms, palms facing the hundreds of dead bodies, more and more adding to the pile as the newcomers fought over the food. Hayan could feel the vibration of lost souls, wandering around the battlefield below. Hayan snapped his eyes open as they glowed an even more icy blue while his hair fluttered in the breeze.
He could see them, every soul that had died here became clear in his eyes. Insects, beasts, and the few humans who had been slain in battle wandered, lost. He slowly closed his hand then tugged, feeling the resistance of pulling on an incredibly heavy object. But it gave way, and in a second, every soul on the blood splattered ground flew towards him, joy and relief in their ethereal expressions. Crashing into his chest, Hayan felt the surge of mana and power as well as small fragments of memories coursing through his body and mind causing him to shiver.
Then it was done, the battlefield cleared of lost souls and a relatively small increase to his power earned. His mind did its best to decipher the plethora of memories and experiences that he had consumed, giving him a minor headache that throbbed.
"Hayan?" Katarina's voice called out from behind him, "What are you doing? It's dangerous there."
Turning his head to face her, Hayan motioned for his sister to come join him. Curious, she excused herself and sat beside him, allowing her legs to swing off the edge of the cliff, gazing over the beasts below. It was a gruesome sight, watching the creatures tearing into the corpses of the deceased.
"What do you think of these creatures? Do you see them as evil beings in need of killing? Or something else?"
The question caught Katarina off guard and her expression grew serious as she thought of her answer. Those dark eyebrows furrowing in concentration and her blue eyes focusing on nothing in particular.
"No, I don't think they are evil, rather, they are just trying to survive another day. Wanting to live can't be evil, can it?" Katarina turned to him, searching his face for any kind of response while wondering what sort of twelve year old asks such philosophical questions.
Hayan shook his head, "No I don't think it is evil. But what about those who sacrifice the lives of others so they may live?"
Katarina noticed her younger brother's hands curl into fists as his expression grew dark. 'There is some history here. Who betrayed this poor boy?' Kat took a second to compose herself before responding. "While I believe that wanting to live is not evil, doing so at the price of another's life is not a good thing."
Hayan turned to meet her gaze, giving her a sad small, "You are a good sister." He stated before standing and leaving her to ponder over what had just occurred.
___
"Who's there!?" The sound of footsteps and chatter echoed outside the temporary shelter as The Duke grabbed at his sword.
"Father it's me, Katarina."
"Katarina? My daughter? You're alive?"
"Of course, you think I would die so easy?" Brushing aside the makeshift door, light spilled into the temporary shelter onto the men inside. In the doorway stood a lady's form in full armour with a sword hanging at her waist and twin daggers on the opposite side.
"Kat!" The Duke shot up, rushing towards his daughter and embracing her tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright. What happened?" Standing only half a head taller than his daughter, the Duke only needed to tilt his head down slightly to meet her gaze.
As Katarina explained the events of the previous days in plenty of detail, the other men mingled amongst the Duke's men, offering healing and support for the injured. At that moment, Hayan entered the shelter, immediately becoming the center of attention, especially to the Duke.
"You! You're the one who saved us!" The Duke interrupted his daughter as he caught sight of the white haired boy. "Why are you-" Realization spread across his face as turned back to his daughter. "What's going on?"
"Sigh, perhaps if you'd listen to my story you would understand what was happening. This is Hayan, your newly adopted son and my brother. Don't worry though, I will be the one to raise and look after him. I won't let your wife-" Hayan noticed the word wife was seeping with scorn, but The Duke seemed to pay no mind to it. "-be bothered by him."
The Duke raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "It sounds more like you only want him to be my son in name." He glanced at the boy, recalling exactly what had happened before while considering the proposition. "You will take full responsibility for the boy and should he ever cause any issues you will solve them yourself, correct?"
"Yes father."
"And what of a husband, what will happen to him when you get married. I doubt another man would be willing to accept both you and the child."
"I've told you before, I don't plan to marry."
The Duke stared at his daughter thinking that this wasn't exactly the reunion he wanted, but he let it slide. "Sigh, fine. I will accept it as payment for saving my life. But he will only be my son in name and it will be known that he is your responsibility should anything happen. I can't just fully trust him but I am in his debt."
Hayan watched a smile burst across Katarina's face as she hugged her father in thanks. Hayan understood that her father had a much more reasonable approach in not trusting him straight away. A difference in upbringing perhaps.
"Boy, be aware that you are likely ruining my daughter's future. I hope you make it up to her." Ludwig mentioned as he turned to Hayan.
"I will, thank you... Sir."
"Hmm, you'll have to teach him proper etiquette too. So, are we leaving?"
"Not yet, we have a beetle to catch."
___
'Sigh, it seems I'll have to play my pieces more carefully.' Once again, Hayan sat on a rocky ledge watching as Katarina, her father, and the soldiers snuck around the large crystalline beetle. The scouts chose a good spot for the battle, surrounded by pillars of stone, giving the beetle few escape routes.
'Did you hear the girl's voice when she mentioned her father's wife? Killing the wife might do her a favour if you're trying to get on her good side.' The White dragon's soul mentioned in his mind.
Hayan seriously considered this option before disregarding it. 'While Katarina would appreciate it, I don't believe her father would. Besides I don't believe it would be morally right. I can't see my own soul but I'm confident an act like that would taint it. Oh, it's finally starting.'
"RANGERS! FIRE!"
Six large arrows rained down onto the beast from its front, left, and right side. While the projectiles snapped against the beasts tough shell, the impact was enough for it to be pushed around. Another volley of arrows came down, pushing it further back the way it came, then another, and another.
The beetle clacked in anger as it turned around moving away from the continuous onslaught of heavy-hitting projectiles. But it fell right for Katarina's plan. Stumbling back the way it came, guided by the force of the arrows, the crystal beetle marched into the awaiting jaws of Katarina's squadron.
Hayan chuckled at its stupidity. In the Savage lands the crystalline beetles were known for their size and shell, as well as their simple-mindedness. It's mandibles could slice through stone as if it were butter and it could withstand strikes from a stobear. The issue was its one great weakness. It seemed the people from beyond the border knew of this too.
As the beetle stepped between two stone pillars, Katarina leapt onto the insect's head as her men dashed in front of it, blocking it's path and grabbing hold of it while trying to avoid its Snapping pincers. Drawing the twin daggers that hung at her waist, she swiftly plunged them into the two fleshy eyes of the beetle as a screeching cry rang from the insect.
But Katarina wasn't done. Hayan felt the flow of mana through the daggers as flames burst from the blade deep into the beetle's body roasting it from the inside. The shell did an incredible job at keeping things out, but once something got in, it was in for good.
The beetle toppled to the earth with a ground shaking thud, its insides thoroughly fried but it's carapace practically untouched.
'That was efficient. It seems that strategy is the human's best resource out here.' Hayan observed as Katarina flipped off the corpse and twirled the blades back into their sheath after wiping them clean in one swift motion. She glanced at Hayan, giving him a wide grin that he reciprocated but on a much smaller scale.
But an observation popped into Hayan's mind as he watched the soldiers packing up the body for transport. 'The human's rarely use their mana. Do you know why that is?' Hayan asked the white dragon in his mind.
Hayan felt the subconscious shrug of the former beast king, 'beats me. But it's something I've noticed too. Unless they are the designated magic users or simply incredibly powerful, they'll save their mana until the last possible minute.'
'Hmm, perhaps an issue with their mana regeneration.' Hayan stood, brushing himself off. 'Seems like it's finally time to get out of this Savage land.'