Turning her head, Ravenmother smiled at her friend with a bright expression.
"One minute Hero, I will explain everything to you soon. But currently."
Turning back to the Beast Lord, her happy expression was replaced by grim emotion.
"The grown-ups are talking."
Taking a deep breath, Ravenmother shouted at the Beast Lord. An act Leander would have found crazy, had he not been stunned by her return.
"Lord Decemtal! You are trespassing upon the Undead Kingdom's territory. Your Clan has always held an amicable relationship with my Queen after she struck down the Divine Beast of Shadow and tore out its heart when it invaded your land and terrorised your people. For centuries the border we share has been at peace because of the pact you both signed. Out of the peace we have known, I will give you this opportunity. Leave."
The Beast Lord, Decemtal looked at Ravenmother. The furious expression that had been aimed at Leander softened ever so slightly as he spoke to Ravenmother.
"Ah, Ravenmother. How long has it been since we last spoke, Ravenmother… That you would believe I would allow the death of my youngest son to go unpunished."
Decemtal did not speak much, but his words showed he had no intentions on negotiating. His numerous tails all turned to point past Ravenmother, at Leander – still frozen in place by the unbearable pressure Decemtal was exerting on the surrounding area.
Despite Decemtal's growing aggression, Ravenmother too showed no sign of backing down.
Was it getting darker?
Leander's eyes looked towards the sky, a large black cload had moved over the town blocking the sun leaving a dim light to illuminate their surroundings. Neither creature made a move, until Ravenmother's eyes narrowed.
"You don't know, do you Decemtal? You don't know why your son invaded this kingdom."
Decemtal didn't speak, his icy cold stare piercing Ravenmother. The blackbird continued speaking, paying no mind to Decemtal's glare.
Suddenly Leander realised something.
'How strong is Ravenmother, that this Beast Lord's presence isn't affecting her even in the slightest?'
"Your youngest son, Lewren. He had snuck under the border and sent packs of manyfang to steal from the undead. Some packs went to the villages to ensure that the villagers stayed in their homes, whilst the others went to the mines, to steal… Mining tools? Pickaxes, shovels, hammers, that kind of thing. All of these stolen resources were then taken to the cave he had called his lair and laid at his feet. If he didn't like the quality of the tool, he would beat the manyfang that was foolish enough to bring it to him… And kill them over it. We investigated and when we found Lewren, he struck first. His death was in self-defence. I assure you."
As Ravenmother spoke, Decemtal demenour remained unchanged. Despite this, Leander could feel something changing in the air, the pressure causing him to strain his body in order to stand lessened ever so slightly.
After a few moments had passed, Decemtal looked away from Ravenmother. The rage in his eyes disappeared, regret taking its place as he deeply sighed. His expression was not the only thing to change, as he spoke, regret filled Decemtal's tone.
"I… See…"
Suddenly the pressure that had been crushing Leander as if his entire being was being pressed under the weight of a mountain vanished just as suddenly as it had begun. The shock of its sudden disappearance caused Leander to drop to one knee. Having become accustomed to the strain, it took his mind a few seconds to process the feeling of being free.
Decemtal continued speaking, his regretful tone apparent as he sadly looked back to Ravenmother. His numerous tails began to wind back together rejoining into one as his lips turned downwards.
"My son… How you have failed me… How many times have I told you, that just because we are beasts, is no excuse for having no honour? So, he forced those weaker than him to steal from those weaker than them. Using underhanded tactics… How I have failed you."
Leander – again – slowly began to stand. Without the pressure exerted by Decemtal, he quickly found his footing and without its affect on his mind. Leander was able to truly understand what was happening in front of him.
'Honour, honour?'
Leander remembered something Alfred had said:
'Beasts are creatures of honour, with members of their pack slain. They will come for revenge…'
And that is what happened. Lewren's father, a Lord of Beasts. Decemtal. Had arrived no less than a day after Leander had slain Lewren, but now. Decemtal was preparing to… Leave?
As Decemtal began to turn around, Leander took a step forward calling out to the Beast Lord.
"I don't understand! I killed your son, and you, you're leaving? Just because you found out Lewren had been stealing from people?"
Turning back, Decemtal studied Leander. The beast's gaze seemed to penetrate Leander's very being as they both locked eyes. As he looked into Decemtal's eye, Leander felt the same pressure begin to close around, not his body this time but something, within him.
Refusing to falter, Leander held his gaze with Decemtal until the Beast Lord blinked.
"My son was a coward and stole instead of taking what he wanted. I would have killed him myself."
Leander stood in awe at Decemtal's words, with nothing to say. Leander found he could do nothing but sheath his sword.
Ravenmother hopped forward, unlike Leander, she had some things to ask before the Beast Lord departed.
"What of the remaining manyfang? Although Leander slew many in his fight against Lewren, surely there are still many out there still following his orders."
Contemplating this, Decemtal tilted his head looking to the twin tailed beasts standing at his side. Without saying a word they bowed to their lord before running out of the village. Shaking his head, Decemtal opened his mouth, his words still tinged by the sorrow in his heart.
"I will ensure that any beast that infiltrated your kingdom due to my son's actions will be returned to the Wilds, and I will personally collapse the tunnel my son used to bypass the mountain range. I… Truly am sorry for what has happened here. If there is anything else you would have me do to repay you for this, you may ask."
Ravenmother shook her head, a bright chirp escaping her beak as she deeply bowed her head.
"You are as honorable as ever Lord Decemtal. I will inform my lady of your helpfulness in the face of this disaster, let this be the end of it."
Decemtal reciprocated the motion, bowing his head to Ravenmother.
It truly was a bizarre sight, the Beast Lord Decemtal. A mighty beast that stood the same size as the houses around it, bowing its head to Ravenmother. A bird that Leander had only seen as a slight nuisance before, as she had hopped around his shoulder, and now he saw the dark bird in a new light.
The pig-sized Ravenmother, the dark cloud that covered the sun's light.
Returning from death?
Who, or what was Ravenmother?
"And you, Hero."
Decemtal's voice drew Leander from his wandering thoughts. Their eyes meeting, Leander prepared for the same crushing presence, but as the seconds passed he found himself to be free of such sensation.
"I do not recognise you, but not any man, beast or demon is capable of standing in my presence when I do not want them to. I do hope we meet again, under better circumstances."
As he began to turn, Decemtal added one last word of advice.
"Your soul is awfully damaged, you should have Melaine take a look at that."
And with that, Decemtal departed from the village.
Watching him go, Leander remained standing for minutes until he sat down. Although he didn't need to sleep and couldn't feel physically exhausted, he could still feel mentally drained. A feeling that he was currently battling with, the effort of resisting Decemtal's presence left his mind heavily drained.
Leander shook his head.
"I just, don't understand why he would just leave like that."
Revenmother watched the lane where Decemtal had walked down for a few more moments before turning to Leander, hopping a few times, she began walking normally – it seemed in her larger form, hopping along was not as effective of a way to travel.
"You wouldn't, Hero. You are thinking about it like a human would, but that is a beast and Decemtal is not like most beasts. He loathes underhanded tactics with a passion. To him, honour is something worth dying for."
Leander's memory was patchy, the specifics of what he could remember was spotty at best and completely empty at worst. He could still remember things like the species that lived on the continent of Ozaria.
The humans, the demons, the elves and the beasts.
But Leander found himself unable to process the fact a beast could be anything more than a killing machine. Motivated by anything more than the one to kill and eat.
However, as he thought about it harder, a faint recollection began to bloom in his mind.
Friends, companionship. Something small and cold.
Just as he tried to focus on the thought, it slipped away. Shaking his head he looked back to Ravenmother.
"A beast priding itself in honour? Not a chance."
"You're talking to a bird, and a beast having a sense of honour is a surprise."
Ravenmother chortled as she looked at Leander.
"You were lucky actually. Decemtal is one of a few Beast Lords who can be reasoned with. I shudder to think of what would have happened if you killed the son of a less… Reasonable beast."
Rustling his hair, Leander continued to stare at Ravenmother. Her purple eyes seemed similar, reminiscent of the eyes of the undead, Melaine's, his own eyes. The eyes of the undead all pulsed with a cyan light, where as hers glowed purple.
Was there a connection? Or could this be something obvious his memory was lacking…
"Ravenmother… What are you?"
Tilting her head, Ravenmother spoke, at first confused. She grinned her slightly confused voice taking on a joking tone.
"Me? I am Ravenmother, nice to make your acquaintance and your name is?"
Frowning, Leander looked away.
"I'm serious, I…"
Gritting his teeth, Leander punched the ground.
"I thought you had died when Lewren… Killed you? He, he split your body in half and you just… Disappeared. But you were actually alive, this entire time, why did you wait so long to reveal this?"
Seeing his reaction, Ravenmother softly shook her head.
"Oh, right. That body was one of my weakest in use. I'm sorry about making you worry Hero, I, hadn't considered you don't know."
As she spoke, Leander's eyes narrowed.
"That… Body?"
In answer, Ravenmother smiled. Without saying anything else, she stepped forward in two directions. Ravenmother's body split in half. Strands of inky black connected them for a moment until they had fully separated. The two bodies were smaller than they had been a moment ago, each having taken exactly half the mass of Ravenmother's body.
As Leander's eyes widened, both of the bodies began to speak.
"I."
"Told you."
"I had."
"Eyes."
"Everywhere."
Leander remembered the flock of ravens sat in the rafters of Melaine's throne room, of the raven that had been watching him as he left the castle, the one sat in the armoury listening to Melaine and himself talk.
The sun's bright light shone down onto the village.
Leander hadn't noticed that the dark cloud had disappeared some time ago.