Derek looked at him in confusion. A lot of what Mr Walter said did not make sense to him. Words like duties, jade throne and even heir.
Mr Walter saw the confusion in his face and proceeded to explain. He put his hands behind him and paced around. A habit that was obvious he had whether as a writer or a high school teacher. "There are eleven noble families under the direct rule of the jade throne. Each with its own uniqueness and qualities. Most of them if not all have an affiliation with a certain type of anima that mortals produce. The families in order of power and influence are:
House Nathifa-aka The House of Pain
House Ngina-aka The House of Pleasure
House Tomika-aka The House of Wrath
House Waceera-aka The House of Seekers
House Zora-aka The House of Perfection
House Keita-aka The House of Troubles
House FYnn-aka The House of Greed
House Gamba-aka The House of Strength
House Abbo-aka The House of Preservation
House Clevon-aka The House of Makers
and lastly our own house...
House Thembeka-aka The House of Guardians." As he mentioned the last house, There was a look of pride on his face, and the image of the house turned into a roaring cat. Derek looked at him and wondered why he had that look on his face. Didn't he just say the families were in order of power and influence? What was he so proud of if the family came last.
Mr Walter looked at him and coughed a little. "You know there was a time where we remained unshakable on this list but that was years ago. In the time of your father." At the mention of his father, Derek wanted to ask but Mr Walter stopped him, "You will learn that another day. We have a lot to teach you before then."
"This guy said I should learn about my heritage. Does asking about my father not count?" He thought to himself.
Derek looked at the image of the roaring cat and remembered his pendent. His hand reached for his neck subconsciously but did not feel what he was searching for. He remembered he gave Madeline before and was about to ask. But When he lifted his head, he saw Bastet handing him the pendant, "You shouldn't give this out Master Derek. It is more valuable than you could possibly imagine."
Derek took the Pendant from her, and his fingers ran through its smooth surface. He looked down at the insignia and then the image floating in the air and back at Bastet. He frowned his brows a little.
Mr Walter noticed his expression, "I see you might have observed little similarities with Bastet and the family insignia. You see, Bastet is what some might call an evolved mortal. Humans call them gods, while we call them Familiers. But unlike most, She is the Familys' familiar. As the Famililys' Familiar, she is our insignia. Well, not her! now, you should see her in her threatening mode. She is not cute at all."
"Oh stop with the flattery." She covered her mouth like a shy little girl in laughter. Derek looked at her in a frown. He wondered what part of Mr Walter's sentence was flattery.
Family Familiers are very valued and respected. Even a Writer has to give in, in acknowledgement of their power and status.
"Mr Walter! I have a question." Mr Walter signalled for him to continue. "You said that she is an evolved human. But she does not look anything like a... em... human."
"let me take this one please," She asked Mr Walter and proceeded to explain, "My dear, they are a lot of different planes out there. All with different beings. I come from a world a bit different from this one. A different race if I might add."
Derek nodded his head in understanding but deep down, his heart was in total turmoil. "Different planes? Oh my god! all the theories about different worlds from star trek. So they are actually real." This Otaku had entered fanboy mode again, but he kept his composure this time around.
Meanwhile, in a plane far different from this one, a world where it snowed all year round. A slender man with very white hair that reached his neck sat on a chair under a transparent dome made of glowing blue runes that swarm from one end of the dome to another like fish in water. There was a young girl outside the dome, in the midst of the cold wind that looked at the age of eighteen with no clothes on except for a little to cover her privates. she was stretched on all four limbs by glowing silver chains. There were runes snaking all around his body. From her expression, one could see she was in unbearable pain. But she gritted her teeth tight and endured through it.
By the side of the man in the dome, a little silver lantern floated in the air. The man touched the lantern and the glow increased. The runes on the body of the girl in the snow increased in the speed of their circulation and the girl gave a muffled grunt. Her skin increased in its shade of red and even though she was out in the cold, she was sweating buckets.
"You may enter," The man said to thin air and a shadow materialized beside him and formed into a woman. "You were gone for too long shadower." He said without even looking at the captivatingly beautiful woman.
"Am sorry Lord Jiri, things were more complicated than we thought and the Nathifa family were quite relentless in their pursuit of the boy." Jiri raised an eyebrow when he heard the term boy. He turned to look at the woman and she noticed from his expression his thoughts. "It was not Levinack my lord, but rather a 'human' boy."
"Go on!" He said
"It's a bit difficult to explain, maybe I'll just show you instead." She removed one a bead from the necklace of goomba beads around her neck and presented it to him.
He took it and the bead glowed slightly in gold light. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again sharply. "That is impossible. It cannot be!"
"That's the same thing I thought my lord. But the boy exists. At least the wavelength lanterns point to him."
Jiri stood up from his chair and paced around the confined space. He turned to her and nodded his head a few times. "Good, that's really good. You have done well shadower."
She bowed her head in thanks.
"This is good news to us. Very good news. This is exactly what our family needs now." He turned to look into the snow and he suddenly laughed out loud. He remembered something and turned to her again. "And where is he right now?"
"I am not sure my lord. But before they disappeared, I did feel a familiers' aura."
"Hmm," He put one hand under his chin and thought for a while. His eyes suddenly brightened in realization. "If anyone came to help him, then it is most likely her. So she finally came out of hiding at this time. If it was to help an heir then it makes sense."
He went back to his seat, "Do you know what this means for our family shadower?"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Then am sure you know no one else must find out what we know now. We have to find a way to make contact first. If the Thembekas have found a way to breed Writers outside our race then we must find knowledge on this too. Our Family has become too few and those that are truly talented too rare."
His eyes landed on the girl stretched out in the snow. He reached for the lantern and it glowed some more. But apart from a few grunts, she did not scream. He looked at her and smiled. In his heart in mumbled, "Long live House Waceera."