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Chapter Four: Reflections

Andulus watched alongside his knights as the pair of wolves rushed toward the seemingly endless horde of drakes, their numbers crashing into the Canai like waves upon stone. It was world altering to see such beings in battle when they had let slip their true combat prowess.

Each swing of an axe from Kaenis saw a dozen of the creatures caught in ice, frozen in place only to shatter into a chilled mist a moment later. The mere touch of the edges of each weapon was enough to seal their fate, made into momentary sculptures of frozen life. The poor creatures even smashed through their own frozen kin to try and reach him faster.

It was the speed that truly unnerved the men that watched the battle, which now seemed one-sided even with the ridiculous odds of two against however many of the creatures that poured themselves at the wolves. They were so fast, agile in a way that Andulus had never seen before, weaving in a blur of attack and defense that made it hard to place them among all the dark scaled bodies of the drakes.

Plumes of fire erupted across and upward from where Kana swept her spear, the blade glowing white-hot as it cleaved effortlessly through bodies that resisted the swords of the knights. Steam now rose from the place the two Canai fought, refusing to let the battle move any further than where they had chosen.

"Lord Andulus...they really are Gods, aren't they?" Asked an older knight at his back, causing a few hushed prayers at the heretical idea, to even admit the existence of such ment lashes if heard by a Tyrn priest.

"I have no answer for you, Sir Edward. By any measure I know, these wolves are far beyond us. We're truly fortunate they fight on our side...I fear we'd offer little opposition." The king replies without reprimand, not in the face of what they saw now. That just two creatures could demonstrate such power, speed, and magic that only story books spoke of turned their world on its head.

Kaenis had once more caused the air about himself to chill, dropping rapidly in temperature to slow the creatures that couldn't handle the icy aura. He knew his sister could shrug off such with her nature let free, negating the bite of frost as her snowy body emitted a soft citrine glow of heat from ears to tail. The runes on each paw glowed hotter, like pieces of iron fresh from a forge.

The siblings fought as perfect complements, ice and fire weaving about one another to end the life of each soulless creature. To even touch one of the Canai now meant being incinerated or turned to shards of glacial pieces, nothing more than ash or flakes of snow in moments. They were unleashed to complete their oath, to end the war that mankind has requested aid in.

"Alright, that's enough staring like fools. Return to the bastion, we must tend to this discovery and uncover why this war began at all. Let's move!" Andulus turned on his horse to shout the order over the sounds of roaring, dying drakes as they wasted the numbers upon the Canai.

The knights gave a few final looks to the carnage, not the kind any of them expected, but with a newfound respect for the warrior-wolves that had answered their call; and, fear. A fear of the terrible power just two of their kind had at their call. The king and his men made haste toward the distant but in sight fort, two knights carrying the barely awake female drake between them on a medical gurney.

Kaenis and Kana would end the threat of the scaled beasts within the first hours of the night, with not a drop of blood to show for it from either side. Nothing survived the sheer cold or searing heat of their strikes or bodies, no blow could land against the centuries old creatures. The world once more knew of the Canai packs, but only Kaenis knew the truth. The mountains the drakes had poured from, where their only female had been rescued...was once where Kana had lived.

-

Andulus came to the gates ahead of his silver knights, but wasn't greeted by the sentries that would be above them, instead there was a quiet that shouldn't be. He dismounted and walked up to press against the studded wood, finding it still held fast and locked from within.

"This isn't right, where are the guards?" Nemean said aloud what they were all thinking, seeing Andulus turn to face them with a grim nod.

"Aye." The king frowned, "Sir Edward, take two men and-"

A scream cut through the air, a woman giving a cry that was abruptly cut off from over the walls. When the knights listened in a startled quiet, more cries were heard on the wind, coming from all over the walled settlement.

"Damn it, what's happening in there!?" Andulus hammered a gauntlet against an oak door, then stepped back to draw the blade gifted to him by Kana. Igniting the moment it kissed the air, the fiery sword swung against the gate, biting deeply into the wood before being pulled free. Each swing was more furious as the king heard the distant screams continue.

Pieces of oak flew away in charred bits as the king hacked at the huge door, rending it apart with grunts of effort and anger. He saw through the hole a fallen citizen, their white and blue attire stained red with blood.

Andulus raised his sword again before a girl came up to the gates, face dirty except for the lines of tears along her cheeks. She stared at him with eyes wide in terror and relief alike.

"Are you alright, what's happened girl?" The king leaned in,pressed his face close to the rent open part of the door.

"T-the knights, the holy man! They closed everything, a-and then hurt everyone! Said...he said God was coming! Why would...why is this happening!?" The girl began to cry, trying to shut out the images of cruelty and death she'd had to witness while fleeing through the alleys that kept her safe, "She said she'd help! W-where is Kana? Kana! Come help!"

"She cannot come child, she is fighting the monsters! Can you see the levers, the large rods of metal to the left?" Andulus tried to calm the girl, to get her open the gate so help could enter, "What's your name, girl?"

"H-Hervor, sir...she promised she w-would come...if I said her name..." Hervor cried but then firmly rubbed her face with both dirty hands, huffing stubbornly to look where the king said. "I see it, but I...I am not big enough to move it, sir."

"Hervor, you can, I believe in you. Hold fast to the top, hang on it and pull with all your body! You can do this, and I will come in to help you!" Andulus said against the hole in the gate, the smell of smoke now becoming evident as it began to rise from over the walls.

"Okay, I will try." The girl sniffled, stepping out of his sight to grab ahold of the lever with both hands.

"What do you think you're doing, street trash?" A man's voice spoke out on the other side, "Get away from that!"

"You there, come here! I am your king and you'll answer me, what's the meaning of all this?" Andulus slammed a hand against the door, peering through the door.

A Godsworn knight stepped into view, his face hidden by the angel-faced helm of his Order, "We answer to God, and no longer recognize your authority Andulus. You've fallen from grace, from the very Church your own line started."

"You open this damned door, now! This is treason!" Andulus snarled at the knight who ignored his former king, leaving line of sight to grasp and pull away the girl from the gate-lever, "You son of a bitch, you'll regret this I swear to God! Don't hurt her, she's done nothing to you!"

"Nothing for me either, but with her sacrifice God will walk among us soon, you'll become a believer again, my king." The knight scoffed with a chuckle within his helm.

"NO! No you don't dare hurt her, I'll kill you! Do you hear me, I'll gut you!" Andulus roared, beating a fist against the door in helpless fury. The king stood back once more to raise his blade, to try cutting through the door and reach Hervor in time, but he turned to look at his pale-faced knights when a sound caught his ear.

A high-pitched whistle grew in the air, like when an arrow sails through it but far greater. From where they had left the Canai in battle came the growing sight of...a fireball. Like a meteor racing across the earth, it streaked toward them with a roaring crackle of fire.

Before any of the men could speak, she soared over them on wings of screaming fire. Kana dove over the wall to land near the equally stunned Godsworn, who barely had time to toss the girl aside and reach for the sword at his hip. A speartip shoved through his pristine helm before it was drawn, promptly removed in a swift motion to let the traitor collapse.

"Are you hurt, child? Forgive me, I came as fast as I could." Kana exhaled a breath of effort just as Hervor ran into her, embracing tightly to cry against her gleaming armor. The Canai frowned, returning the hold with her shield arm best she could before looking about the area.

Bodies of the townsfolk were strewn about, doors beaten down, and some houses burned where they had resisted too much or too long. Smoke and blood had claimed the quiet human place, and despite the confused or distasteful glances given to her, Kana's heart ached for their losses.

"You came...you came for...me." Hervor cried more weakly, before the strength she'd never had was spent. Kana eased her to the ground, then stepped over to pull the lever that finally opened the partly ruined gateway.

"Beyron, his scent is everywhere. All of this was his doing, he trapped the drake female, created his false army from her blood...and now this. He played us for a fool." Kana snarled out as Andulus stepped inside, his knights following to fan out about him to secure the area, "Kaenis and I realized it too late, she told us in the caves, 'he' being that bastard Beyron."

"He'll die for this, I assure you." Andulus spat at the ground, looking to the resting girl with a shake of his head, then to the Canai with a hurt in his eyes she'd never seen, "Why, Kana? Why is he doing this? These poor people...they deserve no such fate."

Kana looked towards the body closest, that he'd seen through the gate, a young woman cut down while she tried to flee. Above her fallen form was the pale blue spirit, eyes closed and arms crossed about her chest, calm of expression in the long sleep. Others were the same, above each of the human victims were the hovering souls of azure wisps.

"No, they did not. I shall right this wrong for them, for you." Kana hefted her spear, then launched into the air towards the keep she suspected the cowardly murderer hid.

"Kana, wait!" Andulus reached out, called out after the Valkyrie as she blazed across the air to find the traitor, "See to her, find anyone else in need and bring them back to the gates if possible!" He ordered his loyal knights as he ran after the she wolf, sword blazing with renewed flare as he tried his best to catch up.

The Valkyrie crashed into the first Godsworn with the flat of her shield, smashing armor and crushing bones. A swift outward swing of her spear removed the head of the man who'd stood at attention with him outside the keep. The double-doors fared little better when Kana kicked them inward hard enough they snapped off their hinges.

"Beyron!" The Canai stepped inside with a furious snarl, azure eyes glowing in the dimly lit space as they searched for the treacherous cleric. It was a short effort, as he stood in open view, behind the stone table with the map of all their hard-fought battles still marked out, "You will answer for these atrocities with your life!"

"We must all pay for our sins, but I'm afraid it's not me, not today. No...today, I will show the world God, let her walk among us once more!" Beyron declared, arms swinging out to his sides as he only smiled at Kana from beneath the dark of his hood.

Kana ignored the mad ranting, striding forward with a heft of her spear to suspend it in the air for a moment, catching it against with an upward bend of her arm to hold aloft. Even as she approached he made no effort to stop the growling wolf, and it was only when Kana stood opposite Beyron at the war-map, arm drawing back to stab with her spear did he move.

Beyron side-stepped swiftly, revealing a large round mirror he'd hidden behind himself. Within its silver frame was a Canai female, with a strong build and gleaming armor, but it wasn't a snowy coat and sky-blue eyes that stared back; charcoal-black fur covered areas not adorned in golden, form fitting armor. Eyes of piercing molten peered out between cascades of black hair, above a broad grin that displayed sharp fangs.

Kana couldn't move, only stare wide-eyed at the figure that was some twisted reflection of herself, "What...is the...meaning of this?" She growled as just speaking was an incredible effort, the longer she kept eye contact with the mirror being her mind began to race, the visions of screams and fire returning. Pain lanced through her head, along her body to sap her strength, dropping her spear and shield as her arms fell to her sides.

"Poor, deluded creature..." The midnight-black wolf spoke, speaking with Kana's voice but lacking a kinder quality, the amusement of this moment dripping from each word, "You really have no idea? How they have lied to you...kept you under watch, kept you in the dark?"

Beyron moved away now, leaving the room through silk curtains to his private chambers once more. Kana's eyes watched his retreat before they were forcibly turned back to her doppleganger.

"What...are you talking...about? I do not...ngh, understand!" Kana snarled at the figure in the mirror, who only sighed as if in genuine disappointment.

"I know, that is not your fault. You have been deceived for so long, by those closest to you. But, that will soon be rectified...no longer will you be their slave." The dark wolf was lit not by the candles about the room, but by some faded red light wherever she spoke from, serving only to highlight the wrong aspects of her features.

"Kana!" Andulus called from outside the keep as he ran up the stone steps toward them, carrying aloft the blazing sword given to him by the Canai.

"N-no...do not...come here...!" Kana whined as loud as she could, teeth clenched as if two strong hands clasped her muzzle shut, panic rising in her chest, to be helpless for the first time in her life. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes, which still couldn't look away from the nightmarish wolf in the mirror.

The knight-king stepped over the broken doors when he saw Kana from the back, "There you are, you shouldn't have taken off like that. Where is Beyron, have you found him yet?"

When the flame-lit sword lowered at his side, coming just into view for the dark Canai, she screamed in rage, "You give this mortal my blade? The weapon of our father was not meant for anything but the Ending." The pain lacing Kana's body doubled, like fire in her veins, causing her to cry out between her grinding teeth.

Andulus side-stepped to stare at the thing in the mirror, eyes wide before they glared for the pain clearly inflicted by it upon his Valkyrie. "Be silent, demon! You want this sword back, take it with you to Hell!" He drew the fiery weapon upward, back high only to hurl it toward the mirror.

"You will fail, king of men. This world will end, all will become ash." The wolf's last words resonated outward before the sword struck the mirror, then the stone wall behind in a deep burial. The moment glass shattered outward, the candles glowed brighter like they'd been suffocating before.

Kana wavered in place, then began to fall backward before Andulus rushed in to catch and lower the larger wolf into his arms and the floor.

"Kana, are you okay? What was that?" He brought up a hand to caress the side of her face, seeing her blink away the already fading pain and visions.

"I...do not know, but...thank you." She smiled softly at the man that had saved her from whatever nightmare had just happened, then anger began to restore her strength, "Beyron! He went through...those drapes!"

"Right, I'll find him, so remain here for a moment. For me, okay?" He smiled down at the alabaster wolf, heart skipping to see her safe and those blue eyes upon him for a moment longer. The king eased her to settle fully upon the stone, then rose to reclaim the sword from the stone pillar, which ignited once more in his grasp.

Andulus cut through the curtains to reveal the hidden chambers behind, another space he nor anyone was allowed to enter prior. Now, the air within smelled of burned flesh, with no light of candle or torch inside to show anything more. He stepped further inside, holding the flame-wreathed sword out before himself to illuminate the space. Fine cushions arrayed in some arranged way about a flat, floor-sat table with a blood covered dagger upon it. Several vials were strewn across the floor, broken as they led to the back of the chamber.

Beyron sat crumpled against the far wall, arms at his sides with two empty vials in each hand. Beside him were two bodies, women that had been his personal attendants this whole campaign. They were barely recognizable, burned to blackened bones.

The hooded man lifted his head at the encroaching light, "Ah...Andulus I had hoped...to see you again, before the...end."

"You speak to me as if we're friends, cleric. Yet you've murdered how many, to what end? What was all this for?" The king knelt before the now wheezing priest, able to see now his face was aged somehow, eyes sunken with a weariness, a terror he hadn't seen before.

"I was...a fool, to believe there was a God." Beyron chuckled in a pained gasp, reaching up a burned hand to tug away the hood over his head, revealing the crimson pawprint of a large wolf branded there. "You see...she saw the weakness in my soul, ngh...the jealousy I held over your position...ah-" Beyron coughed hard, drawing in a pained breath, "I thought, perhaps...at last I found a God to worship...s-something real, tangible for all...m-my sacrifices, a life spent for the Church."

Andulus's features tightened at the brand mark, watching the cleric die in front of him, "You had a faith I lacked, Beyron, and I am sorry I made your station harder with that...but, to have hurt, taken lives from those innocents. That thing in the mirror was no God, it merely needed a pawn to free itself."

"Yes...yes of course, that was clear." Another fit of coughing, a trickle of blood on the lips of the dying priest, "For so long I'd heard the whispers...I thought God, instructing me to His will...the drake woman, ha...her blood, that magic made...the army, the stage to unite man, to a common foe."

"Your hands are stained with so much blood, Beyron, using another race for such selfish ends...what God of ours would ask for such vile actions?" The knight-king sighed, shaking his head at the unfolding truths of the broken man before him.

"It matters not...all in vain, it was her doing. All along, ha..." He nodded weakly to the attendants, "Had me burn them first, get her strong enough...to act through the mirror, a portal...but it wasn't enough...ngh, the people...blood, fire...it's all she wants." Beyron groaned in pain, clutching his hands into fists with a hard cough, "...isn't gone, just waiting. Sakana will try again-"

"What was that name? Sakana?" A gauntlet grasped the collar of red robes, pulling the man upward for a pained gasp, "What have you done, Beyron? Where did you hear that name?"

"She herself, ngh...where else? Sakana made me pay...pay the price for my misstep, trying to see for...ngh, myself the sight your wolf possesses." The man shuddered as the king released him, gasping for his last few breaths, "You fawn over a lie...good king, she will...be the end of...you."

"What did she want, what is her desire in all this?" Andulus demanded, but already the dim light was gone from Beyron's eyes, the man slumped against the wall staring at the king he had envied, and betrayed. He sighed with more questions, fears than before, but left the chamber to find Kana had gone to stand outside on the keep stairs.

Kana's head turned to see the king of men join her, standing beside the wolf who surveyed the smoking place, "I ask you not to stop me, do not interfere in what I do now. If you care for me, as I care for you...let me give back what was stolen."

"Give back, Kana what are you saying?" Andulus asked with worry at those words, gently touching an arm, "You aren't leaving me...leaving us all, right?"

"No...but this will come at a cost. I will perform my rites as a Valkyrie, for your people instead of mine. Too much life was lost today, and this is my purpose...natural, or not." Kana smiled sadly to the man at her side before she took a few more steps away from him.

Kana withdrew a small, ceremonial dagger from an armored thigh, holding it up toward the dark, nighttime sky, "All-Mother...All-Father...I am of you both, I know now. For the lives taken today, I offer part of mine...for the now blind I offer part of my sight...please accept this sacrifice, and restore the lives of these innocents!" The sky boomed, an aurora of light opening the clouds to bathe the wolf in an aurora once more.

Andulus flinched as Kana turned the dagger upon herself, and ritually blinded her left eye. He clenched his fists tightly, throat tight to see the Canai take away part of herself, forever the sight of one of those powerful eyes, just for his people. He looked up with thunder clapped overhead, and one by one, the warm light of the heavens reached out to the waiting souls below.

Each was restored to their body, made whole and safe from burned down home or injury alike. The people began to awaken as if from a sudden sleep, the memory of their death wiped clean just as it was from those that survived. The clouds cleared away for a calm, cool night to preside over the realm at last, and Kana turned to smile at the king with one gleaming blue eye beneath a faint aurora above.

"I have never felt worthy, my Andulus. At last, I could give something of value to this world...to prove that I have a purpose, a place in it that no one can take away. Whatever I am, I choose to be." The wolf stated both as promise to herself, and the man she believed in closeby.

Andulus tore away some cloth from his cloak to gently wrap about Kana's head and eye, tears along his own face as he whispered to her, "We are all in your debt, Kana...I will stand by, defend, and honor you until my final breath."

Kana tilted her head inward, down to kiss Andulus. A long, lasting bridge of their lips at last between them, with no pretending or facades left between. The two embraced, holding to one another as they shared a deep, sealing kiss beneath a sky of lights. Only after a long moment did they part with a soft gasp and smile brightly.

"I am yours, Andulus. For every season, for any battle, yours to rely upon...I...I love you." Kana said in a hushed oath, smiling wider than the man thought she ever might, "You...more than anyone have made me feel alive, that I am not just a warrior...I want to preserve life, this life with you."

"We shall then, together, no matter what comes. My beautiful Kana, you've given me purpose anew...I love you with all I am, we shall make this world a better, kinder place." He smiled, and kissed the unexpected love of his life once more under the cascading lights. Two peoples, different races and beliefs between them, held to one another with a feeling of relief and belonging at last. They could share the weight of their past and burdens, and find comfort in someone else for once, instead of shouldering everything alone.

"Hey uh, if you two are done, we need to sort this mess out yeah?" Nemean called out from near the bottom of the stone steps, shrugging with a knowing grin at the clinging pair.

Kana released her love and stepped toward the other knight with a growl, "Tell anyone and you regret it, do you hear? That...that was a private moment!" The wolf pouted, ears pinned back to be caught showing such affection.

"My Lady, I take this to my grave." Nemean laughed, bowing to the pair.

"Tell our men the drakes attacked, were repelled by our combined efforts. Nothing more, old friend." Andulus grinned like a fool between the knight and wolf.

"It will be done, Andy, once I tell them how I heroically lead the defense, of course." The knight winked, then turned to carry out his instructions while whistling.

"Andy? He calls you that?" Kana smirked at the blushing king, who tried to shout after his friend only to have the Canai lean in close to lick his cheek, "Cute, especially seeing your face become so red...Andy."

"Come on, Kana, not you as well?" He sighed with an embarrassed smile, laughing as they looped arms about each other to descend the stairs and aid in the relief effort. A lot was to come now, planning for a future without a threat of war, creating a lasting union between Canai and Mankind. Their bonding of course, to announce and handle the reactions of both peoples, but nothing would prevent their happiness. It was time now, for peace, love, and the return of the Canai to the wider world.

They would have to enjoy it all, for shadows always lie in wait when there is a brilliant flame. Secrets had been uncovered that for now Kana kept at the furthest of thoughts, questions to confront Kaenis about...but that could wait, there was time enough for the Valkyrie to set down her spear, and live a life earned and fought for.