~~~*~~~

The female Karpatii were instantly pushed behind the men as Mikhail stepped closer to Phai. "You are Carpathian…but I do not recognize you."

"None of us do." One of a pair of dark twins added.

"That's hardly surprising." Phai replied. "According to my calculations it has been at least eighteen centuries since I was last awake. The sarcophagus you found was mine. Truthfully, I was not expecting to be awakened at all but you called and I answer as I am sworn to do."

"We did not call you." Mikhail denied.

Phai smiled a bit though there was no humor in the gesture. "No? Then perhaps you can tell me why I'm awake." She said getting to her feet. The men tensed slightly. "Are you going to insist on a history lesson?"

"An explanation would be nice." Raven said from behind Mikhail.

Phai sighed and nodded a bit. "Very well, but it will take some doing and once I've finished I expect you to answer the question that you ignored." She said giving them a pointed look. "Let us start at the beginning…The Council of Ancients, of which I am a member."

In the distance, a wolf howled out only to be answered by the screeching roar of a large cat. "Ah, good, they made excellent time."

"Who?" Mikhail asked suspiciously.

"My friends." Phai said as she turned to face the tree line a few feet away. A moment later a man walked out of the trees wearing only a pair of jeans and bag slung over his shoulder. "Garm, you look well."

Garm frowned a bit. "I'd have been here sooner if I didn't have to chase a certain cat all over the hills." The large jaguar hissed slightly as he slunk out of the shadow of the trees.

"Enough, you two. I've just begun to explain things and I'd really rather not mediate between you. Just sit there and try not to do something moronic." Phai said pointing to the stone bench.

"I'm never moronic." Garm protested.

Yeah, and I'm a tame house cat. Leif commented.

Phai cast them an icy look and the two males instantly quieted. "As I'm sure you've noticed my friends are not Karpatii. Garm is Lycanthrope and Leif is of course Jaguar." She said turning back to her people. "They also are members of the Council of Ancients."

Phai paused but none of the other Karpatii interrupted. "There are ten races that are considered 'Ancient'. Each of these ten races have a member on the Council. Those races are: Karpatii, Lycanthrope, Jaguar, Merse, Avariel, Mage, Nydiea, Sirens, Nagri, and Yetin. I of course represent Karpatii interests in the Council."

"I haven't even heard of most of those so-called Ancient races." One of the males Phai didn't know the name of said.

Garm scoffed. "Of course, because you know oh so much. What are you? Three hundred? Three-fifty?"

"Garm please." Phai said casting him a quick glance. Garm scowled but obediently quieted. The ancient woman turned back to her people. "We have noticed that many of these races have diminished. Karpatii themselves have diminished as I'm sure you've noticed. We cannot explain it any more than you can. But we know where we are from and that is all we can claim."

Ask them about the Xavier person, Phai. Leif urged.

"I already did. They insisted on a history lesson first." Phai replied.

"This Council…what is it for?" Gregori asked curiously.

"Protection." Garm answered.

Phai nodded in agreement. "All of the Ancient Races were once a part of the same whole. However over the centuries the Origin Race split apart into several others. This was partly due to traitors of the Origin Race who worked to seize control. Every race has its traitors. On occasion these traitors gained power and in order to gain control of the world attempted coups. The Council was created to combat such a threat."

"The deal was; we would sleep if or until we were needed." Garm added. "So we scattered to cover the Earth as fully as possible. I was in…where was it called? America or something…"

"Yes, or 'The States' to use common slang phraseology." Phai answered.

Garm nodded and stretched out across the bench. "Yes, and it was rather crowded too…don't know if I liked it much…"

Phai ignored the comment and turned back to her people. "I believe one of your hunters was chasing Leif here." Phai said gesturing to the cat that was curled up under the stone bench. "All the way from Brazil."

Leif yawned widely. Like he could find me…

Garm smiled a bit and Phai rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're very clever, now go back to sleep."

"Before you said we called you." Mikhail prompted. "What did you mean by that?"

Phai shrugged a bit. "When two ancient bloodlines come together in desperation an ancient compulsion is activated and we are called to waken. I'm not entirely certain when it happened but I assure you it did."

"We assume it was two Karpatii lines since Phai was the first of us to waken." Garm added. "There are few lines that would call to us to waken. Not many can be traced back to ancient times."

"Your own, Mikhail, would be one such bloodline." Phai said nodding to the Prince slightly. "I recognize it even after all these centuries."

Silence seeped into the clearing as the younger beings digested the information that they had just been given. It was…incredible but not impossible. Except for one small detail… "Jaguars do not live for centuries." Gregori stated after a moment.

"No, they don't." Phai agreed with the slightest hint of a smile. "In fact, they are luck to live a single full century. Lycanthropes are not much better off either. But we were able to…work around such limitations."

"Spells and witchery." Garm supplied from where he was reclined across the bench lazily.

Phai nodded in agreement. "It was all in the method in which we chose to wait for our call. While sleeping we were able to preserve them as they were. Freezing time until the spells were broken by their awakening. It took us years to get right. Myself and several mages worked on the problem."

"It tingles…" Garm offered.

'Specially when you wake up… Leif added.

"You survived it didn't you?" Phai asked annoyed.

"Well, yes…but we can still complain can't we?" Garm asked innocently.

"Only if you don't mind the consequences." Phai replied sweetly. "Now be quiet and let me finish or leave. Honestly, you're acting like two children."

"Well…compared to you…" He was silenced by an icy glare. "Sorry, Phai…"