It was as if they didn't even know each other. Alvo didn't say a word as Macker met with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his granddaughter. Welcoming them to the family. It should have been a giant get together, 200 warnos dancing wildly and laughing, but Cheyella and Mackerovich didn't want that
and neither did their children.
"Mackerovich." Alvo finally spoke as he walked up to his long ago friend. "Your family now, I see."
Mackerovich shrugged. "Suppose." He rubbed the side of his face. "No idea what my grandson saw in your granddaughter."
Alvo looked behind Mackerovich. Shortly after the silver tailed boy was born, his tail had changed to silver as well. He would not have been surprised to see a silver tail, but it was not there. A long sour looking pink tail dragged upon the floor. "Times are changing."
"Everything should," Mackerovich spoke. "My grandson won't live so long. He has a disease, like my son did. We won't be relation forever. Don't get used to it."
Was that jealousy in his voice? Maybe, regret? No, Alvo realized as he looked into Mackerovich's silver eyes. "I wish you never changed, Macker."
"Impolite." Macker frowned. "Alvonovich, do not use my name in such a way." He growled. "I've fought for less."
"I imagine. You should have been a Guardian from what I hear." Alvo looked away. "Then again, maybe not. You'd have to care about the female. And you can't care for anyone anymore." He looked hard at Macker. "I should be thankful you didn't share any inhibitor shards with your son or his family. Your greed wouldn't let you. Your heart is cold and your face shows no warmth." He pulled out the picture of them when they were younger and thrust it into his face. "See this? This was Mackerovich. No, this was Macker. This was my friend. I don't who you are-No-I don't know
what you are," he corrected himself, "but you're not him. You're something else. You're pure evil."
For the first time, in over 600 years, Mackerovich smiled. "Thanks."
Alvo felt a chill run down him as he stepped away. He would be related to that?
____
"Ancient, we need to leave." Bieric insisted. "It's not safe. The new kind are attacking everywhere."
Alvo watched as the young warno pulled him away, trying to make him leave his home. He knew it would happen, the peace on Pagnia had been corrupted. It took centuries but their world had changed even more than he could believe. The new kind, the waryes, were merciless and emotionless killers.
There was no stopping them. It only took one breeding in a family before the whole disease spread further down the line. Children started with simple silver tails, then silver tails and silver hair until a few generations down they turned into full pink eyed bald tailed waryes. His family had been infected once Margonia married Soli. She had been right, he was a decent boy. Kind. Caring. Yet, he still carried the waryes in his blood.
No one in the cities, towns, or even the kingdom itself knew how it started or where the anomaly came from. Why were such a peaceful race that abhorred fighting, turning into ruthless killing machines?
He knew. He knew in his heart that it was the inhibitor. Moving away from green. It converted the heart and soul throughout the generations.
Too much inhibitor power. He had mentioned the theory before, but no one believed him. Inhibitors were pure good, they kept everyone sane and intelligent, no matter what the color. No harsh tone could be used against it. Even now with the waryes attacking and making their stand, little would listen to the ravings of
him. He was an Ancient, he was well-respected, but no one took his words to heart.
Had it been Macker that spread all of it? No, impossible. But over the years, with more warnos finding the extra power, the intelligence it held, it was only a matter of time.
The warnos were doomed. Oh, they'd pull through this war. They might even pull through another. But there were so many waryes and so many warno that were no longer untainted by waryes relation, it could never be the way it had been. One day, centuries, perhaps even a millennia from that day…
The warnos would fall.
"Alvonovich."
Alvo turned around and saw Makerovich. No, not Makerovich, but his great-great grandson. As a side effect, besides becoming pure evil, waryes' lives shriveled to that of a hundred years if they were lucky.
"My great great great great grandfather knew you, warno," The waryes said. "In honor, I will keep you alive. You will be fed the barest of meals and you will work for the rest of your pathetic life, but I will keep you alive."
"Honor? What honor do you possess?" Alvo grabbed his cane and stood up. "I am Ancient Alvonovich and I'll be damned it it's Mackerovich's relation
that seizes me."
"You should feel honored. I am going to be the new king of a new kingdom. The Waryes Kingdom," the waryes said. "Not every day a common man has audience with a king. Besides, we are being merciful. Do not make us look bad. This war is the result of not letting us split. Now that we have split, we'll all be fine. No need to die." He held out his hand. "Come. We will share technology. Our kind has many advancements and plans for the future."
"Your future," Alvo said as he spat at his feet, "I've seen what you do, and I know what you are. You can't trick me. I'd rather die than be slave to your 'helping'. I know your 'helping' will disappear. As did Macker. He died." His voice became soft. "The day I let him have those inhibitor shards to hold. It could
have been me but I thought he had more control." He closed his eyes. "I am partly responsible for this atrocity to every warno. I am one of those naïve men that thought nature was controllable. I deserve death."
"We only kill those who oppose us," the waryes stated. "Don't oppose us, we'll get along fine."
"We won't oppose you." Alvo sat back down slowly. "You know warnos. We can't fight about anything. The only ones who even know how to fight are just Guardians. Just girl guards. Hm." He couldn't help a small chuckle. "A whole army dedicated to nothing but protecting females. My, we are very dead."
He tapped his cane twice. "Tis a shame. No one understands the reason."
The waryes growled. "As I stated-"
"Oh, not now. No, no, you're not many yet. Once you band together, get your technologically advanced brains together, get the power together-" Alvo
stopped in mid sentence and looked back at the waryes. "You will." He groaned and stood up. "I don't want to live to see that day. And-" He held his cane close in hand. "I'm sure before Macker passed on, he would have been proud of this." He squeezed his cane tightly. This is for you, Mackers.
____
"It's so sad about Grampy Alvo." Jenya said. "I visited his house once before he got hurt."
"Jenya," her mother scolded. "We do not speak of the forgotten." She looked over at her husband. "I don't see why we have to attend. He has never said a good thing about our side of the family. Accusations all over the place. He was an awful warno and I don't blame the new king. He tried to smack him with a cane, he was delusional. Do we really have to go?"
"Yes," Soli said to his wife. "Mother would have wanted it, as would have father. He is family, it is as traditional as naming me after father. You don't break tradition." He looked over at Jenya. "Besides, I don't think it's us he didn't like. I always felt he more, well, pitied us. Like we couldn't change what we were."
"I have a silver tail, so what?" Jenya's mother humphed. "You put too much in for that old warno. Besides, they are letting us move into the new kingdom. I think it will be great, we're too different than the ones before us. I love our name too. Shows courage. Waryes."
"Well, warno or not, he showed courage too. He smacked the king before he died," Soli reminded her. "For a warno, that's pretty amazing." He put on his
hat and tipped it to Jenya. "Jenya, come on. We pay our last respects today and then we speak no more of the hurt."
"How come?" Jenya asked as she took her father's hand. "He is only sleeping forever. Sometimes I think it would be nice, but then I wouldn't be able to eat or play. No, only on lazy days would I want to sleep forever. Why is Grampy Alvo wanting to sleep forever?"
"Because Jenya," Soli replied, "I don't think he wanted to live in whatever the future may bring us." He smiled at his daughter. "You always have to keep your hopes high for the future though. I hope this kingdom separation helps everything out. I hope you get to grow up big and strong too over there." He waved his daughter's hand back and forth as they walked. "I don't know how it'll turn out but the future's always exciting. Bad, good, you
never know."
"Like a present." Jenya smiled. "Like a big, shiny present. You don't know if it's something you really want or just socks." She looked up at her dad. "I hope the future doesn't hold socks."
Soli laughed. Whatever the future would hold, the world was changing. Would it be good? Would it be bad? Even though he was moving to the Waryes Kingdom, a part of him felt for those left behind. What would be their future? Would the warnos weak will to fight ever strengthen or would it be the end for the warno race? The waryes would fight; even he felt the call within himself, but a warno couldn't even hit back without feeling intense sorrow and regret.
The only chance the poor race would have, would be from their Guardians. Their tiny army that were raised to take care of the females whose pheromones were too high. They were the only ones who would ever fight.
But the chances of a small army winning against the waryes in the future? Soli tried to hide his chuckle. Oh well, it was time to look forward to the
new future, whatever laid in store.