{"sf1_id":915168,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Victernus - Chapter 30","author":"Baumarius","words":1988,"posted_at":"2015-09-27T14:12:00.000Z","tags":["Cybernetics","Science","Transformation","War","Werewolf","Wolf","apocalypse","corruption","dystopia","implants","mind","tf","uploading"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/915168-victernus-chapter-30","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/915168","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=915168\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"            The alien birds of the strange new\nplanet welcomed the trio in the morning, singing their hollow songs happily.\nEvergreen trees covered in a light snow that had just begun to fall surrounded\nthem. Small and red luminescent plants sprouted out of the ground under the\ntrees, giving off a little bit of light. \nAhead of the group, a few reddish elk-like creatures roamed the forest,\nunafraid of them.\n            Namara saw the creatures and then\nglanced back at Athius and Gala. They were holding hands tightly, seemingly\ntrying to give each other some warmth. Seeing this, Namara repositioned himself\nbehind them and then took both of their shoulders, bringing them close to his\nfur. He said, \"Here, this'll help you guys a little...\"\n            Gala smiled and got close to him,\n\"Thanks.\"\n            He continued, \"Now, are you guys\nhungry at all? I could probably kill one of those animals over there.\"\n            Athius raised an eyebrow, \"I am, but\nis that safe? I've never eaten an animal before...\"\n            Namara smiled and nodded, \"People\ndid that all the time before New Selania. I don't particularly like killing\nanimals, but we might have to if we're going to survive - especially if this is\nwinter.\"\n            \"Oh, I see...\"\n            Letting go of them, he directed,\n\"Why don't you guys try starting a small fire? I'll go get one of the animals,\nand then we can roast it.\"\n            Athius sighed and thought about how\nhe would carry out his request. He replied, \"Alright, we'll think of something.\nYou go do your thing.\"\n            \"Okay, I will,\" Namara said as he\nheaded away from them, trekking deeper into the forest. He searched for the way\nthat the animals had gone while still paying close attention to his\nsurroundings - in the case that there was something bigger that was waiting for\nhim. Fortunately, he didn't feel so afraid of this. The birds continued in\ntheir songs, the snow continued to fall, and the sun rose slowly behind the\nclouds above. The only thing that bothered him was the pain of losing his\nfamily, which he tried to shroud with making a better one for Athius and Gala.\n            The broken branches and leaves that\nwere on the ground crunched under Namara's feet. Ahead, he saw three of the\nelk-like creatures eating the glowing plants under the trees. He crept closer,\nhanging onto the bottom of a tree to give him cover. One of them raised its\nhead from eating and then stared straight at him, only to bend back down and\nkeep eating. Namara widened his eyes as he remembered that they hadn't ever\nbeen hunted by him before. He felt bad about the possibility of him taking a life\nof a creature that didn't realize he was dangerous.\n            Before he could advance any further,\nhe heard a lightly-toned whirring sound coming from where Athius and Gala were.\nConcerned, he ran back through the forest, dodging trees left and right. When\nhe reached the edge of the forest, he saw a small black space ship hovering\nover the field. A man was beside it, speaking with the couple. He had short,\nwhite hair and intense blue eyes, and was clothed in some kind of blue body\narmor that was fitted to his seven-foot-tall body. He was strangely familiar to\nNamara, but he couldn't tell from where.\n            Namara left the edge of the forest\nand came out into the field, approaching them innocently. He wanted to know who\nhe was, but before he managed to say anything, the man pointed a gun at him and\nfired. And once again, he fell unconscious.\n---\n            Athius shouted, \"What was that for?\"\n            The man, who had introduced himself\nas King Drac, answered, \"It was necessary. I understand that you are in need of\nshelter, and I can supply that for you on my planet, Valikon. Namara, as you\ncall him, will be taken to the Council to be tried.\"\n            Gala glanced back at Namara and\nasked, \"Tried? What has he done?\"\n            Drac sighed, \"That is not my\nbusiness to understand. Please, both I and the Volnar would like to help you. I\nwill take you to Valikon if you wish.\"\n            Athius watched Gala to see how she\nreacted, and then said, \"I don't think we have much of a choice at this point.\nIf you're taking Namara, we won't really know how to survive out here.\"\n            Drac nodded, \"I know. Please, feel\nfree to climb aboard my ship. I will carry Namara.\" He proceeded to walk past\nthem and haul Namara over his shoulder like he was weightless.\n            Athius took Gala's hand and said,\n\"Come on... Maybe this will be good for us.\" He led her into the open hatch in\nthe side of the ship and then waited for the alien king to come along with\nthem.\n            With Namara over his shoulder, Drac\nstepped up into the ship and then laid him down beside the two. He reached back\nand pressed a button that was near the opening. The mechanical hatch made a\nfaint buzzing noise as it closed. Before heading to the cockpit, he assured\nthem, \"Do not be afraid. The Volnar will take care of you as best they can.\"\n            Athius nodded and sat in the small\ncargo section of the ship with Gala. He replied, \"Thanks.\"\n            Drac smiled and then left them\nthere. There was a small window on the floor where they could see the planet\nstill. A few seconds after they got settled, they saw that the planet appeared\nto be getting smaller and smaller beneath them. Some part of Athius felt like\nhe was leaving something behind, but the majority was unified in one notion:\nthat he had finally found a place to belong. He sat beside Gala and put his arm\naround her, assuring her that everything would be alright.\n            Gala sighed and placed her arm\nbehind his back, feeling the deep scars that his dad had left him. She felt a\nlittle bit of pity for him as she traced them with her hand softly. Overcome by\na sense of fullness, she rested close to him and nodded off to sleep in his\narms.\n---\n            Several hours later, King Drac stood\non a balcony that overlooked the city he ruled. Greenish-blue buildings rose\nout of a mountainside, and at the very bottom were sandy beaches that welcomed\nthe ocean in. It was sunset, and the green-colored sun cast its beautiful rays\non his face. Namara was propped over his shoulder, resting quietly.\n            He turned to Athius and Gala, who\nwere standing behind him together, and said, \"This is what I will give you. I\nknow it cannot compensate for what you have lost, but it is all I can do now. I\nwill assign an assistant to you who will help you learn of our ways, and then\nafter that, whatever you want to do is up to you.\"\n            Athius smiled, \"I guess we'll see\nwhat happens then. It will be enough for now... I can't speak for the future, but\nI am grateful. Gala?\"\n            She agreed and looked over the vast\ncity before her, \"I think so too. But...\" She focused on Drac, \"Please make sure\nthat Namara is tried rightly. He is our friend.\"\n            Drac fumbled with a ring on his\nfinger and said, \"I cannot make any promises, but I will do what I can. Take\ncare, the both of you.\" When he finished speaking, he pressed down on the top\nof the ring. His surroundings dissolved around him and were replaced with a\ndifferent scene. He stood alone with Namara in a city made of thin sandstone\nthat was built into a land full of waterfalls. Exotic trees were scattered\nalong the untouched ground below. He himself was under a canopy on a platform\nraised high above the ground, but still lower than the closest waterfall.\nA small beige cot rested below the canopy, held up\nby wooden sticks. He laid Namara in it and then watched the sleeping werewolf\nbriefly. He knew what had happened, but he was not in a position to save him -\ndespite being the king of the Volnar. It was a tough place to be in.\n            He scanned for the closest tower and\nthen walked along the edge of his platform, heading for the Council as he had\ndone so many times before. But, never before had he felt sympathy for what the\nCouncil considered to be a murderer. Shaking his head at these thoughts, he\nstepped up on to a bridge that led him across the river and straight into the\ntower. The tower rose up for hundreds of feet, and contained within was the\ngroup who decided the fate of countless billions.\n            A great wooden door carved with the\norbits, planets, and sun of the system that Valikon resided in marked the entrance\nto the tower. Drac pulled both doors open and stepped into the colossal room.\nThree Volnar dressed in white robes with golden trim stood in a half-circle,\nfacing Drac as he walked in. Above them were hundreds of others, looking down\nat them from the edges of the tower. The only light was in the immediate area\nof the three, leaving the others in darkness.\n            Drac spoke solemnly, \"Council of the\nSeers, Namara has arrived.\"\n            The hooded woman in the center asked,\n\"Where is he?\" Her voice resounded throughout the tower, and the Volnar along\nthe walls - known as the Echoes - repeated her question so that Drac would be\noverwhelmed with sound.\n            He waited for the sound to cease\nbefore continuing in annoyance, \"Arch Seer, he is unconscious right now, and is\nrecovering. He has accomplished what you have set him out to do. What is your\nplan for him now?\"\n            The lady replied, \"I sense\ncompassion in your bones. You wouldn't give that to a murderer, would you?\"\n            Drac tightened his lips and then\nspoke, \"He has done nothing wrong. His actions do not stain his conscience like\nthe others. He will not understand his punishment, if that is what you wish to\ngive him.\"\n            She shook her head, \"We make no\nexceptions to what has already been set into law.\"\n            The Echoes funneled their voices\ndown again, \"No exceptions.\"\n            He growled in frustration, \"When\nwill you stop destroying entire societies like this?! It is senseless! We have\nonly one enemy. If you get rid of everyone else, the Volnar will be alone.\"\n            The Arch Seer nodded, \"This is what\nwe plan to accomplish. The Imperial army has been a thorn in our side for as\nlong as we can remember, and we must stop others from rising up. Every Volnar\nknows that we are the only race of beings capable of achieving true consciousness. The others must be\nput out so that we may all fulfill our destiny. Besides, we enjoy seeing the\ntorment of the individuals who carry out these acts.\"\n            A rage sparked within Drac, but he\ncould not voice it without being shredded by the Echoes. He asked another\nquestion, \"What choices does Namara have?\"\n            She smiled, \"We have decided that he\nmust either live out the rest of his days confined to the Realm of Smoke or as\na slave to our people. His thoughts will be reduced to that of the creature he\ntried to become. Of course, to soothe your obvious affinity for this person, we\nwill let him decide.\"\n            Unable to think of a way to protest\nthis without getting himself killed, he bowed and dismissed himself, \"Then I\nwill bring him here, and I will return when we are both ready. Farewell.\"","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/915166-victernus-chapter-29.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/915170-victernus-chapter-31.json"}