Impure

Chapter 2: Family Secrets

“…Huh? Where am I?” Leo awoke, then stood in what appeared to be never-ending darkness. He took a deep breath, and tried to step forward. His ankles felt heavy, but was able to walk forward a couple feet before bumping into what appeared to be a wall. He heard whispers on the other side of the wall.
        “You saw by the symbol on his vest! He isn’t an average Kendred Scout!” He heard on the other side, a voice started to reply.
“It doesn’t matter; you saw by his face that he’s a mere child!”
Leo knocked on the walls a bit, discovering it was wooden with bars.
“Wait a minute, this is a cage!” He thought to himself. He grabbed and found a tarp was covering the cage. A sudden shock of pain went up his arm.
“What the hell happened to me?” He looked down in the darkness, hoping to see what was causing the pain, but to no avail.
“Hey did you hear that?” one of the voices outside asked.
“Yeah, it sounds like our friend here has woken up.”
There was ruffling about outside, Leo heard the crumpling of leaves around the small area. A flash of light caught him off guard.
“Gah!” He exclaimed as sunlight burned his eyes. Leo squinted as they adjusted to the brightness. He looked out around and noticed he was at a small camp. He looked down to see his feet were chained to the ground of the cage, and he was covered in cuts and gashes. He looked outside and around the cage. There were two Shedan Guards; A young man with patches of wolf’s fur on him, who was standing beside the cage looking at Leo, and a young girl with the ears and whiskers of a Cat who was sitting on a log next to a tent.
“Hey buddy, having a nice time in there?” The wolf smirked.
“Don’t antagonize him, Jason. Believe me, he’s stronger than he looks!” The cat seemed a bit wary of Leo.
“Ah, fret not, Linette my dear. If he does anything, I still have this.” He gestured to a musket hanging off of his back.
“You realize that there’s a reason we don’t use those, right?”
“Yes my dear. But the accuracy won’t matter from this range!”
Leo reached back for his katana, but it wasn’t there.
“What, were you trying to go for a weapon?” Jason said. He started laughing sadistically. Leo shuffled his feet, and smirked with a secretive realization.
“We took that blade of yours. Linette could really use it in her training. Heh, the only question, what’s with the mark on the hilt? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, it will be a glorious trophy of your defeat!”
Jason started boasting.
“What was that you were saying about the accuracy of that musket?” Leo asked, bringing up the previous topic.
“What?” Jason pondered for a moment. “You think I’m gonna give my secrets away like that? What are you, stupid?”
“Well, I mean it’s not just the accuracy of the gun that matters.”
“What was that, kid?”
“Jason, Please!” Linette cried out.
“Well, I mean, you’d need to be able to keep up with your target. Even in a small space like this, I would probably outsmart you.” Leo smirked
“We’ll see about that you little runt!” Jason pulled up the musket and aimed it at Leo
“Jason, Don’t!” Linette cried as he pulled the bolt back, but it was too late, before he knew it he had squeezed the trigger. Leo quickly ducked and pulled his dagger off of his calf, and lunged forward, latching onto Jason’s Outfit, pulling him into the cage walls. He held the blade to the boy’s neck
“You were saying?” Leo flipped the blade and pressed it’s face against the wolf’s neck, cutting off his air flow.
“What are you… doing?” Jason said with a final gasp. Leo released Jason’s clothes, and he fell back limp, making a large thud as he hit the ground.
“I-is he-?” Linette started to ask Leo.
“He’s unconscious. I pressed the flat side of the blade to cut off his breathing, he’ll be up in a matter of minutes.”
“Why would you spare him?”
“Because I don’t kill if I don’t have to.” Leo stated. He put her into a blank stare. “Though it would be a lot easier on all of us if you would set me free.” Linette sat in silence trying to think of what to do.
“You realize he’s going to wake up and try again, and if he does I can’t promise his safety.” Leo was attempting to persuade her to let him free.
“I guess you’re right.” She cautiously approached the cage, holding out a key. “Here.”
“Thank you for being negotiable.” Leo said. He kneeled down and unlocked the clasps on his ankles, and reached through the bars to unlock the cage door. He walked up to the girl, and extended his hand. “My sword, please?”
“Yes, right away.” She said with a panicked haste. She ran to where she was sitting earlier and brought back the black blade.
“Do me one more favor.” He asked.
“What would that be?”
“Keep an eye on him.” He gestured to Jason, lying unconscious on the ground.
“Uhh… Yeah…” She stuttered, she started trembling, and stared at the captain’s emblem on his vest. Leo turned and left, keeping an eye on the girl behind him. He sheathed his sword and walked into the distance.

        Leo looked around, wondering where he was. He had lurked around the woods for hours, and it would soon be dark. As he dug through the leafy canvas of the low lying trees, he stumbled upon a path.
“Where in Oblivion am I?” He asked himself. He looked down the path and noticed a small bridge. “This is the path to the village!” He ran up to the bridge to see what way the water was flowing.
“Well, I’m no closer to home, but at least I have an idea of where I am.” He started his trek back to his village with haste. He didn’t know what all had happened in the village, and the thought troubled him.
“Oh please let her be alright.”
        He ran a little farther down the road when he heard a rustle in a bush behind him. He turned to draw his blade, but before he could even grasp the hilt, he had been knocked to the ground.
“Huh?” Leo looked up and realized it was Linda who had ran into him, and was now laying on top of him.
“Gah! Lin- “
“Oh! I’m sorry!” She stood up and looked at Leo.
“Leo? Where have you been?!? She asked him. “The whole village is worried about you! You need to get back there!”
“And what about you, why are you out here?” Leo asked her.
“That doesn’t matter, I need to make sure everyone in my village is ok!” She pointed to a pillar of smoke above the trees, somewhat in the distance. Leo looked at it with great concern, and spoke up. “Here, I’ll go with you, but I should check back home first.” He explained. Linda helped him up.
“ok, I’ll wait for you there.” Linda replied and started running off.
The leaves in the distance started rustling.
“I THINK I HEARD THEM OVER HERE!” Leo heard a voice shouting. He turned and started chasing after Linda. “Linda! Wait!” He shouted. She stopped at the bridge and turned to him.
“What?!” She asked. She was startled. She watched Leo run up to her, and they looked behind him to see two Shedan scouts closing in, fast. Linda extended her arm, and attempted to cast a spell, but only for it to fizzle out. She turned to Leo.
“I’m out of Mana.” She stated.
“I don’t know what that means, but I’m going to assume it’s not good.”
“It means I can’t cast any spells at the moment.”
“Well that’s just lovely, come on, let’s go!” He grabbed Linda’s arm and attempted to run the other way, only to be confronted by a Shedan carrying a Musket, smirking and slowly walking toward them.
“Well, it would appear we’re cornered.” Leo stated. “You know how to fight with a dagger, right?”
“Yeah, somewhat.” She said. The two were almost out of breath.
“Well, take mine.” He handed her the small blade from his calf.
“Why is there blood on this?” She asked.
“It’s his.” He pointed to the one holding the musket. The scouts had stood on either side of the bridge now, and there was no way around without jumping into the river.
“Ok, I’ll take the two on the right,” Leo drew his blade. “focus on the musketeer, he only has one shot, so if you can-” He was interrupted. One of the Shedan had grabbed him, and the other grabbed Linda. They were forced to the ground by the bridges wood railing, and Jason approached.
“You should have killed me when you had the chance, boy” He aimed the musket at Leo. “Any last words?” He asked. “No, eh? Well then, fine by me.” Linda thrusted her body into Leo’s. knocking him to the side. The boy squeezed the trigger, and the ears of the two rang. The pellets from the musket grazed between the shoulders of Linda and Leo, knocked the scouts holding them down backward, and propelling the two off the edge of the bridge into the water below.
“Damn it!” Jason yelled. As he watched the two wash down the river.
        The two gasped for breath as they were swept along the current, with their wounds making it harder for them to swim.
“Linda, hold on to my arm!” Leo yelled to her. She grabbed onto his shoulder, and held on tight, as they heard a loud roar of water in the distance.
“Do you hear that?!” Linda exclaimed to Leo.
“Yeah, hold on tight.” Fighting against the current, Leo drew his blade, attempting to pry it into the ground under the water. He felt it cling to something.
“Ok, we’re anchored.” He said. The strength of the current rushing past them was intense, and his arms were weakening.
He tried to shift his weight toward the shore, and he heard a noise of nightmares. A small, faint, clink of metal. They were moving down the stream again.
“What happened?” Linda asked.
“The blade snapped.”
He reached deeper into the water, and pulled up half of his blade. The roar got louder as they approached a waterfall.
“Brace yourself.” Leo roared. Linda tightened her grip, and they plummeted down in the roaring rapids.

        Linda woke up along the side of the river a few minutes later, to see Leo had washed up beside her. She staggered to stand up, but fell over to overwhelming pain. “Am I going to die?” She thought to herself. She looked over at Leo, and noticed an amount of blood coming from his arm.
“Oh my god. Please be okay.”
She quickly crawled over to him, and rolled him onto his back. She tried to shake him away but he gave no response. She placed her head on his chest, and sighed in relief.
“At least he’s breathing.” Gathering all of her strength, Linda stood up, and started to pull Leo off of the sand of the river bank, and into the grass. She leaned his back on a nearby rock so he would be sitting up. She looked back and realized he left a trail of blood in the sand. She traced it to his left wrist, where the broken end of his blade had lodged itself.
        She tugged on it a bit, but it didn’t budge. She looked closer and noticed it had gone all the way through his arm.
“Alright.” She thought to herself. “Keep calm and think carefully.” Linda looked around for something to wrap around the wound and stop the bleeding, but she didn’t spend too long, thinking Leo could bleed out at any minute. She looked down and remembered the skirt she was wearing over her pants.
“Maybe I could use this?” She ripped some of the cloth off, and went back to trying to pry the shard from out of Leo’s Arm.
“Ah.” She nicked herself on the blade. A small amount of blood trickled from her finger. She grabbed firmly onto the blade, pulling it from his arm. A long arrow cut split across her palm. Working through the pain, she grabbed the cloth and quickly tied it around his wound, and yanked it for pressure. Leo grunted as she tied the cloth.
“At least he’s starting to wake up.” She looked up at him with a bit of relief, crossed with concern. She noticed his face had gone pale.
“Hang in there Leo.”
        Leo’s eyes opened slightly. He grunted and tried to lean forward, But Linda pushed him back against the rock. “Take it easy there. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” Leo looked at the trail he had left on the sand. The only thing he could muster was a grunt.
“I wonder if my mana has regenerated yet.” Linda thought out loud. “It probably has a little, but it couldn’t have much.”
“How do you know that?” Leo managed.
She was shocked by Leo’s response “Well, considering how badly you were bleeding, you’d be dead if we had spent too long down here.”
“Where exactly… is “Here”?”
“I’m not sure.” Linda walked back down to the river, and noticed the waterfall just down the river.
“Not too far from home.” She responded. “Now let me see if I can heal you a bit.”
“Are you sure? I mean you look pretty beat up yourself.” Leo commented about her wounds.
“Don’t worry, living with Claire, I got used to it as a child.”
“You’re strong for who you are, you know that?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Linda took a small bit of offense to Leo’s comment. “Are you saying I don’t look like a strong person?”
“No, that’s not it at all.” Leo replied. Linda walked over and sat beside him.
“Then what do you mean?”
“I mean you’re a very nice person. You barely know me.” He paused and looked and Linda’s hand. “And yet you wound yourself to save my life. Your name doesn’t fit you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Leo chuckled a little. “That’s exactly what I said to my Grandfather when he told me the same thing.”
“What does it mean?” She insisted.
“It means I think I’m going to start calling you “Lin””. Leo laughed a little. It was a shallow laugh though; he was still a bit out of it.
“Why? Here, let me heal your wound.”
Linda leaned over and grabbed his wrist, and held her cut hand over it.
        “Forget about it.” He said. “I’ll explain everything later. First we need to figure out what we’re going to do.” Linda nodded. She closed her eyes and whispered. “Lons Fallas.” A Crimson-Gold glow emitted from her hand, as the bandage fell off, and the skin and tissue on Leo’s arm regenerated. Lin looked at the mark on his arm, and her eyes widened.
“I thought you were out of… What did you call it?”
“Huh?” Linda returned her gaze to Leo. “Oh, it’s called Mana, but this particular spell uses the energy of Chi.” She stated, acting as though nothing had happened.
“I will never understand magic.” Leo closed his eye and shook his head. “Ok, do you want me to explain?” Lin asked him.
“Take your best shot.”
“Alright. So Magic is not one in the same as most believe. It comes from two separate Forces, called Chi and Mana.” She explained. “Either force has its advantages and disadvantages. Mana is the force of the mind, and is the combined spiritual energy of your surroundings. It consists of two schools: Conjuration, and Matter.”
“Go on” Leo urged.
“Chi is the very power from your soul itself, and is the force of the body, allowing access to the two schools of Transference and Aura.”
“And what are the drawbacks of either force?”
“Well, for Mana, it’s a term we refer to as “Mana exhaust”, It occurs when the caster or person being affected has a lot of mana built up.  When a non-hostile spell is used on them, It effects their body, making it hard to move and hard to breathe.” She said.
“Spooky, is it Lethal?”
“Only in rare cases, in most you pass out and wake up about an hour later.”
“Ok then, how about drawbacks of Chi?”
“Well, there is full spiritual exhaust, where your movements and vision are impaired. It has a bit more mortality to it than Mana exhaustion, but it’s still very rare.”
        Leo’s hand had healed fully, giving full view of his birthmark. Lin grew a bit cautious.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“I don’t know, this mark… there’s just something about it. It’s almost like it’s calling to me.”
“Oh that? That’s just a birthmark.”
“There’s something different about it though… Maybe if I just-” Lin touched the mark with the cut on her hand, and it glowed brightly. The two screamed as a blinding light consumed them both.

        Leo lifted himself off the ground, squinting. He saw Lin lying on the ground, lying with her back to him. She started moving. Leo stood up and started to run to her. He grabbed his wrist.
“It burns.” He thought. He grabbed the shard of his blade lying beside him, and put it in his pocket. He looked across to Lin, who was now sitting up.
“Lin!” He shouted, hoping to get a response. She turned to look at him, but what he saw shocked him.
        “What’s wrong?” She asked. She looked at Leo, who was tumbling a bit. He seemed off balance. Her eyes widened.
“Leo…” She gasped. She put her hand over her mouth.
“What happened to your fur?” Leo asked her. He gestured to her, as she was no longer covered in fur: she looked like a normal human girl, with pale skin, brown hair, and hazel eyes. The only difference was she still had the tail and ears of a fox, and she had two small black lines on either cheek, just below her eyes.
        “What about you? You look like a Shedan!” She pointed to a tail and pair of ears that Leo now sported, resembling the fur pattern of that of a red fox. Leo looked down and not only noticed the tail, but also that all his wounds had been healed. The mark on his wrist was glowing slightly, and the burning sensation faded with the light. Lin looked down and saw her fur had vanished completely. The two were speechless. The wounds of both of them were completely gone, and not even a scar to prove that they ever even existed.
        Linda broke into a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Leo asked her
“You’re adorable!” She fell back laughing.
“This is serious, what if somebody finds us?!” Leo exclaimed. Lin was too busy laughing. Leo walked over to her, but tripped over his tail, making it hard for Linda to breathe.
“How do you move with this thing?” Leo angrily asked. Some leaves rustled in the distance.
“Did you hear that?” He asked. Lin calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes. Her face was now visibly red.
“Yeah. Just a squirrel” She said. She stood up and walked over to Leo, who was lying down on his stomach. She bent over and started tugging on his ears.
“Ow.”
“Well, they’re real alright.” She stated. She stuck her arm out to help Leo up. He looked at her extended arm.
“Lin, your wrist…”  She looked down to see that the symbol from Leo’s wrist had manifested itself upon her own.
“Okay, let’s forget this happened, and think about what we’re going to do, we’ll figure this out later.” Lin said. Leo solemnly nodded. He looked up at the sky.
“It’s starting to get dark out.”
“Yeah, we should probably set up camp.”
“Ok, I’ll start a fire, do you think you could set up a small shelter?” Leo asked her.
“Yeah, I guess.” She said. Leo walked into the clearing in which they had landed. He gathered some sticks around the edge of the forest, and started to dig a small hole. Lin Headed into a more heavily wooded area.
Leo sparked a couple rocks to get a small flame stared, and then began to blow on the embers. A small flame began to fester, and soon engulfed the smaller twigs. It quickly rage into a large flame. Leo continued to add fuel to it. He used the stub of his sword to poke the flame and rearrange it, allowing it to stay burning.
Linda walked from out of the woods, carrying a large bundle of branches and twigs that she had gathered off the forest floor.
“They’re a bit rotten, but they should last at least tonight.” She said to Leo. She sat them down.
“Hey, if you’re done with that, could you help with this?” She asked.
“…” Leo remained silent, poking the fire with what remained of his sword.
“Leo?” She walked up to him gently, and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Huh?” Leo looked back at her. “Oh, yeah, give me a second.” He stood up and placed the blade on the ground. He looked at the emblem near the hilt for a second, “What does it mean?” He wondered. He walked over to the brush with Linda.
“Hey, is everything alright?” She asked. She gave a look of great sincerity.
“Yeah, I’m just wondering what I’ll do when I get home, what people will say.” He said. “And then there’s the sword my grandfather worked to give me, and I broke it within a day. I know that doesn’t mean a lot to some people, but with how hard he works, and considering he’s my only real family, it’s hard to get things like this.” He said. He started placing the sticks upright, and forming a box-like shape.
“Hey, what if I told you I could fix it?” She inquired. His eye grew a little brighter. “How would you manage to do that?” He asked.
“Here, let it sit on the fire overnight.” She took it from his grasp, and placed the blade among the embers, and threw in the shard from Leo’s arm from earlier.
        “Alright, let that sit. We need to finish this before we do anything else.” She instructed. They started to put up a small canvas around the sides, to make three leafy walls and a roof. As they started placing down bedding, Leo looked at her, and spoke.
“How are we so calm?” Leo asked her
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Leo looked at the ground. “Most people would be freaking out in this situation. Not to mention, how am I going to explain this back home?”
“I’m not sure…” Linda said. “Could we sneak back into your village? Maybe while everyone is asleep?”
“But where would we go?” Leo started rearranging leaves on the ground in the small shelter, and then lied down. Lin sat beside him.
“Maybe we should just get some rest, and then figure it out in the morning.
“Yeah, I guess that would be best.” Leo said. The two rolled onto their sides and closed their eyes.
        A couple minutes later, Leo sat up
“I can’t sleep.” He said
“Neither can I.” Linda replied. Leo stood up and walked over to the fire, and pulled out the stump of his blade.
“Do you think you could fix it?” He asked.
“I suppose.” Linda stood up and approached Leo. She took the blade from Leo, and touched it to the shard still lying in the flames.
“Nos Riaper.” She mumbled. The mark on her wrist glowed brightly, and the blade started to mend.
“What the-?!” Linda exclaimed. The glow faded, and she pulled out a blade unlike any other.
“That can’t possibly be right.” She said. She held up the blade. Leo gazed upon the blade, and took it from Linda’s possession. It was a sword that had a blade about three feet long, with the last third of the blade bending into a backwards, diamond-like hook. The blade was as silver as the moon, and the hilt as dark as the night sky. The emblem engraved in the blade now a sleek black.
“I think I know what you meant when you said the mark was calling to you.” Leo said. Lin was looking over her wrist carefully.
        “WHAT THE HELL?!?!” They heard a scream from behind a bush. Leo took a defensive stance, and Linda stood behind him.
“Damn it, Garret, sending me on a goose chase into a darkening forest, doesn’t he realize the dangers of this forest? And what’s more? He sends me out with some sort of “Magic Sword” that should apparently lead me to the-”
“I know that voice anywhere.” Leo said. He relaxed a bit as a large blonde man stepped from the bushes. He made eye contact with Leo.
“What the hell?” Darren seemed incredibly conflicted. He didn’t know whether to be concerned or attack.
“Gah. Just c’mon runt. I’m done with all this magic stuff.” Darren threw Leo a sword, similar to the one he had just received.
“And I don’t know what the hell is wrong with those swords of yours, but you better get them checked.” He turned around and started walking off, gesturing them to follow.
“Aren’t you at least a little weirded out by this?!?” Leo exclaimed.
“Kid, there’s been so much going on back in Briarwood I don’t know what’s normal anymore. Just hurry up… And bring your girlfriend with you, Garret has some questions.” A puzzled expression crossed Leo’s face. He looked at Linda, and shrugged. Lin rolled her eyes.

        They walked a narrow path between the trees as a dark sky loomed overhead. Darren cut through the vines as he led. He looked back at the other two.
“You two don’t have any idea what’s going on, do you?” He asked. For once he sounded sincere.
“Sorry, but I have no idea. I kind of woke up like this.” Leo stated. Lin remained silent.
“We’re here.” Darren turned and gestured to Leo.
“And kid, if I were you, I’d keep that hood up.” He gestured to Leo’s uniform. Leo put his hood up and tucked his tail into the back of his pants. He stumbled a bit as he walked. He held his arms out for a second to gain his balance.
        They emerged from the forest into a large clearing, in which a large wooden wall could be seen.
“There it is; I’ll lead around front.” Darren said. He looked at Lin.
“And you should stay quiet, we don’t need any more problems. The village is already in a state of panic.”
Lin nodded.
        The three walked along the edge of the outer wall, making their way toward the front gate.
“Hey, it’s Darren, right?” Linda asked.
“Yeah, what about it?” Darren replied.
“Earlier, what did you mean you had it with this magic?”
“You’ll see when we get to the Wallace residence.” He said. He went silent as they approached the front gate. The two soldiers standing guard saluted him as he walked by. They turned their attention to the other two. The stared at them as they entered. Their plated armor gleamed in the moonlight. Lin stiffened a bit.
“Relax. They won’t do anything if you don’t provoke them” Leo told her. The soldiers looked at him, and noticed the captain’s emblem on his shoulder. They turned their attention elsewhere, and allowed the two to pass. Lin took a breath of relief.  
        They walked empty streets. Torches lit the dirt paths as they approached Leo’s house. Darren walked up and knocked on the door. A small wooden panel slid open. “That wasn’t there before.” Leo thought.
“Darren, is that you?” Garret’s voice could be heard speaking through the slit. “Did you find Leo?”
Darren pulled Leo up to the door.
“See for yourself.” He yanked down Leo’s hood. Garret sighed on the other side of the door.
“That is what I was afraid of. Come in.” Garret opened the door. The house was brightly lit with candles and oil lamps. Linda and Leo squinted as the headed in. Darren shut the door behind them.
“Darren, I want you to make sure nobody gets into this house.” Garret instructed.
“Understood.” Darren replied. He stepped out the front door and shut he behind him. He stood in front of the door as to prevent anyone from getting in.
“When did you get that door replaced?” Lin asked.
“Just a bit ago, now we can see who’s there so what happened last time, won’t” Garret answered. “Now, Leo, hold out your wrist.”
Leo did as his grandfather instructed, and extended his left arm. Garret grabbed his arm, and stuck a finger onto the mark. A turquoise glow emitted from the tip of his index finger, and Leo’s form reverted.
“Is that better?” Garret asked. Leo was speechless. He rubbed his eyes, the room got a little darker.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” His grandfather advised.
        “What are you, exactly?” Linda asked.
“I’ll explain after Martin wakes up, it would probably be in everyone’s best interest. If you want you can go see him, he’s in the back room with Connor.”
“What happened to Martin?” Leo asked.
“He’s recovering from something called “Mana Exhaustion.” He was knocked out because of an aura that your friend over here cast on him.” He gestured to Lin. “But fret not, her intentions were pure.”
Leo was still speechless. He couldn’t wrap his head around the current situation. He looked down at his mark
        A loud thud echoed from that back room. Connor was helping Martin walk out.
“It’s alright, I think I can manage from here.” Martin told his father. Connor nodded, and released his son. Martin looked up at the other two. “What happened to you?” He said to Lin. “Are you not fully influenced anymore?” He asked. Lin remembered her fur had disappeared.
“Settle down, we can explain everything.” Connor said.
“This way.” Garret led them into a larger room, and gestured for them all to have a seat on a couch. Connor and Garret set in two chairs across from the three.
        “Where to begin?” Garret said.
“How about with the Morphis?” Connor suggested.
“Ah yes.” Garret nodded. “Tell me, you three, do any of you know what a Morphis is?”
The three shook their heads.
“Alright,” Connor started. “The Morphis was another faction, like the Kendred or Shedan. As each faction has its respected god, the factions got their names. The Kendred, The Goddess Kendrah, The Shedan, The God Shade, and the Morphis, the God Morphos.
Garret took over. “Despite the worshipped god of each, there were still some that payed respect to the other gods. They were still Almian factions, after all.”
Connor picked up again. “But the Morphis were a very special people. They were rumored to have the power to transcend humanity, and even nature itself. They had a blessing that would allow them to take on the incarnation of nature, it was a gift from the gods for the way they respected and accepted all. But those rumors were true.”
Garret looked to Leo.        
        “Do you understand what I’m trying to say to you? Leo Wallace, you are a descended Morphis, that’s what that mark on your wrist represents. I was waiting to tell you at a better time, but it’s best you know about it now with a war approaching our doorstep.”
Martin interrupted. “But sir, I thought the war was resolved.”
“No my boy, sadly there is little room for peace in the hearts of those who lead us. Briarwood was the only village willing to make a treaty, and we’re still being attacked.”
        “Does that make me the enemy?” Linda asked.
        “No.” Garret replied “Your village and Briarwood will merge. And you aren’t a full-fledged Shedan anymore, thanks to Leo.”
        Leo sat staring into space, trying to wrap his head around everything.
        “How does that work, exactly?” Linda asked.
        “It’s because you attempted to save him, even if it meant causing injury to yourself. You made a sacrifice for him.” Garret paused for a moment, as the others let their minds wander. “In the ancient times, the Shedan always went out of their way to attempt to gain the Morphis abilities, but to no avail. My guess is that you were fully influenced, and his mark realized you were from an opposing faction. You made a sacrifice to save an enemy, and were rewarded.” Garret explained.
        “That and considering that he bares the symbol for “Fox” which is probably why you recovered and converted so quickly.” Connor added in
        “There are other marks?” Leo asked.
        “Yes my boy, so many more. The most common falling under Fox, Wolf, and Feline.” Garret said.
        “Ok, I understand that Garret knows all this through ancestry, but dad, when did you learn all this?” Martin asked his father.
        “That’s a story for another day. Right now you all need to understand what’s going on.” Connor responded.
        “Alright, but what does any of this have to do with me?” Martin asked. “I don’t mean to be rude by I mean, why was I called here?”
        “It’s because you have faint heritage too, but not as strong as Leo’s.” Garret responded. Martin looked up in awe.
        “What do you mean? I don’t have a mark or anything like that.” He said.
        “No, but the power is still within you, and it may someday awaken.” Connor responded.
        “Does this mean you’re like this too?” Linda asked Connor.
        “No, as it comes from his mother’s side.” He responded.
“You keep mentioning this “Power”, but what does it do?” Leo asked. He was starting to get a bit more serious.
        “Hold out your left hand. Wrist up.” Garret instructed. Leo did as he was told, his mark rolled over revealed, a jet black darker than the night sky.
        “It seems… darker… than usual.” He said.
        “Leo, pay attention! Repeat after me. “Nos”.” Leo closed his eyes.
        “Nos.” He repeated.
        “Vulpes.” Garret eased. Leo repeated the words Garret spoke.
        “Now, say them with no breaks, Linda you do the same.” Garret told them. As the two pulled their arms out, they beckoned the call.
“Nos Vulpes!” The two shouted, and their forms changed. Leo sprouted once more the ears and tail of a fox, whilst Linda turned to a more Kendred-like appearance, with only two marks on her cheeks.
        “This phrase will allow you to restrain or unleash your form at will. Saying it once will make you “Cursed” and once more will revert you back to normal. Though you should get used to walking in those states, both with and without a tail.” Garret explained. His tone changed as he closed his eye and crossed his arms.
        “I still don’t understand.” Was an expression the youths each had on their faces.
        “Why did you keep this a secret?” Leo asked his grandfather.
        “Because I wanted to protect you. We lived in a small town before Briarwood, and they didn’t take too kindly to your father’s form changing when he was young.” Garret explained. Leo nodded.
        “I think it’s best you all head to bed.” Connor said. “You have a long day tomorrow, and after today, I think we all need some rest.”
        The three nodded, and Linda and Leo held out their arms again, once more chanting.
“Nos Vulpes!” The two changed forms back to their originals. Martin walked to the door.
        “Where are you going? Connor asked.
        “I thought we were headed home.” Martin responded.
        “No, we’ll spend the night here. You three can head to the upstairs bedroom, Garret and I have a few things to discuss. My room will be the one on the eastern side of the house if you need me.” Connor stated. The three went upstairs and assorted sleeping arrangements. Garret and Connor stayed downstairs discussing tomorrows events.