Disclaimer: I do not own the Naturals in anyway . I do own Karliah , the name Blood Harvest , the research on vampires and werewolves , the Coven , Valor , and Undead Vampires , the Collector , and the story itself . I have several OCs and my own creatures that may appear in this story , if you want to use them that ' s fine , but please give credit.
Chapter 7 : Warriors of Old
Arcania - Saladira ' s Office
Andy and Chase walked into Saladira ' s office , first noticing how large and elaborate the room was with a living quarter off to the right side , another smaller tree in a room on the left with various herbs growing around it , the Eye Seal of Arcania was in the middle of the main floor , shelves with various magical and elegant artifacts as well as three large bookshelves that held various books and tomes lined the walls , a giant desk and chair served as both his study and workspace , various chairs and tables for visitors to sit comfortably while he had guests , and a nice view of the mountains through the two large windows behind his desk and another in his living quarters ; it was definitely made to accommodate the archmagister with both his work and for him to live comfortably while attending to his school and the magical community of Reverent .
" Good , you ' re here , Oslow has returned , " Saladira said .
" Sorry for the wait , but I was dealing with a hunt , " Oslow said sitting on one of the couches in the room with a female lycan next to him .
" Whose the friend ? " Chase asked .
" Carene , here is my hunting partner while out deal with the black dogs , we ' ve figured out that dealing with this new variant is best while paired up with a partner . " Oslow said .
" Another interesting development from these new mutts , " Tyson said , he and Lucas were already in the room as was Karliah , Dimitri , and Marcel Carrington of the Elder Council .
" Yes , more information is useful when dealing with new species and variants to already existing species of creatures . " Marcel said as Andy glanced at the two other Chief Officers from the lycan and human community of mages .
" We haven ' t met , " Andy said to the two .
" I ' m Alexandria Delmont , Chief Officer of the human mages , and this is Wendum , Chief Officer of the lycans , we help Councilman Marcel with regulating magic between the three races to ensure safety of the mages and the public they may come in contact with . " Alexandria said .
" And we deal with rogue mages like this warlock who harms people with wild and unlawful magic , as well as , send people to deal with dangerous magic and magical creatures in areas that needs to be handled by the experts in such fields . " Wendum added .
" Hopefully they can help us spread some light into this warlock problem and the black dogs that may or may not be under his control . " Lex said sitting with his legs crossed in a chair to the back of the room .
" How many black dogs have been put down already ? " Lucas asked .
" Dozens already and more keep appearing , it ' s a problem some of the lone wolves like myself ran into while out hunting them , we were getting out numbered and having to pull back in ways we ' ve never had to before . So , we agreed to work in pairs until we can thin out the numbers a bit more , but there must be a big female somewhere in the area that was paired with the alpha male that attacked , Chase , or other females giving birth or ready to give birth to more mutts . " Oslow explained .
" It ' s putting a strain on the Hunter ' s Lodge a bit , as we are having to divide our focus from our normal tasks of dealing with dangerous animals and other creatures in the area and now dealing with the black dogs . " Carene said .
" Dealing with the females would help things , " Oslow said .
" What about vampires in the area , the mages , or even another Hunter ' s Lodge helping out ? " Karliah asked .
" We thought about reaching out to the Hunter ' s Lodge outside of the southern border near the desert , but they deal with a lot more down there than we do , and there ' s still the lodge in Hawthorne City . " Carene said .
" Leave the desert dwellers be , it would probably be better to contact Hawthorne City and get there extra man power that are usually station at Hawthorne during the winter as they always seem to be bottlenecked anyways as few problems show themselves around the city except for an injured animal or two . " Lucas said .
" Lucas has a point here and it ' s definitely useful , " Wendum said .
" Is there any other option ? " Andy asked .
" If Elizah was here , maybe , but his pack is beyond us right now while at the breeding grounds , if we had another pack to go on and knew that would help us then maybe that could also be an option . " Wendum said .
" Definitely another possibility , " Lucas agreed .
" What about Shay and the Starlit Tribe , they came back over with us on the ship from the Northwatch Abbey and was going to bed down around here for the winter , would they help us ? " Chase asked .
" Maybe , " Karliah said .
" Would the Hunter ' s Lodge take that kind of aid ? " Andy asked .
" Yes , on both , especially with how these black dogs act and need to be taken care of before they hurt someone else . " Oslow said .
" I could send Stalker to find Shay while Saladira sends one of the nighthawks out to Hawthorne City with the message to the Hunter ' s Lodge and Elder Council , " Karliah said .
" Do so after the meeting , " Marcel said .
" I agree , " Andy said .
" So , what did Lex and Chase find out ? " Tyson asked .
" The closest gateway to the Kennel wasn ' t just broken open , but looked to have been blown open by some very powerful magic . The actual archway itself was still fully intact , but the seal was completely gone and obsidian chains were in pieces , and there were strange symbols on the archway and around the chamber that contained the gate . Hobgoblins had been drawn to the energy as a group of seven was camped in a room outside of the archway ' s chamber and there was a scrying stone on the ground around their campsite of what appeared to be a mage of some kind searching for something . Whoever did this , whether it be our warlock or not , he definitely has some evil plans with whatever he was trying to do , " Lex explained .
" Were the hobgoblins particularly difficult to deal with ? " Dimitri asked .
" No , Chase and I were able to deal with seven of them in just a few minutes , they are a little educated and strategic compared to the black dogs and skeletal dogs , but still not a real threat at least in small camps . " Lex said .
" Yes , they seem to work with stealth , a little better even though we were able to catch on before they could do anything major . " Chase said .
" Good , we don ' t need excess hobgoblins in the area along with the black dogs that we are dealing with right now , " Oslow said .
" Was there anyone here at Arcania or that studied magic around here skilled enough to do this or would it be in the skill level of this warlock ? " Andy asked .
" A lot of mages in the world would be skilled enough to do this , even the archmagister has the power to open the magical gates , but the trick here is figuring out who is dark enough to have the want to open the gateways of Misery . " Marcel said .
" So , we are looking for someone who has evil intent or someone ignorant to what he is doing ? " Chase asked .
" Not ignorant anymore , from what Lex explained about the chamber you found , this mage knows what he is doing by releasing the alphas of the black dogs and if he is the warlock then he also knows what he is doing by enslaving people with magic . " Archmagister Saladira said making them all look at each other concerned .
" Spring can ' t get here any quicker , " Karliah said .
" You mean so we would have Elizah here to help us as well , " Lucas said .
" It feels like we need everyone here , " Karliah sighed .
" We will just have to handle everything until the alphas can get back from the breeding grounds . " Wendum said .
" Yes , I know , " Karliah said .
" Have we found the location of the warlock yet and who he exactly is ? " Andy asked .
" No , but now that we have some information to work with we will look through the records and annuals here at the school , as he had to of gotten his training either here or with an apprentice and we will send a message out to all of those with license to train and those we know that train mages to check with them as well : vampire , lycan , or human , it doesn ' t matter anymore , he got his lessons from somewhere and he learned them well enough to be able to harness this kind of power , so , someone knows him . " Saladira said .
" And he needs to be found before he hurts more people or does something worse than possibly releasing these black dog alphas . " Alexandria added .
" We will be ready to deal with him when you find the warlock , " Andy said .
" You ' ll have help , Honored Prince , " Lucas said .
" Yeah , I have somethings I need to tell this warlock , " Tyson added .
" All of you need to understand a new development that has come from all three councils of the vampire , human , and lycan community , the Vampire Prince can make his final approval on this and if we could get in contact with Elizah he would probably agree to it as well with everything the warlock has done . But , whoever this guy is , he has made it where we are all in agreement that he has declared treason and has done unspeakable acts of evil just by misusing his powers to enslave people . If he has opened the gateway to Misery and released the black dogs then there ' s nothing else to say , but you guys can catch him dead or alive , it ' s your final choice , sir . " Marcel said .
" What do you think ? " Andy asked Lex .
" It ' s pretty much a go for me after he enslaved the minds of people through magic , if he opened the gate then it just proves that he isn ' t ignorant to what he is doing and has to be stopped . " Lex said .
Andy looked at Chase , his real voice of reason around here and most important ally amongst the people .
" Andy , I would be the first to tell you to not put the life of someone else in your hands , but this guy has already stolen the lives of others and what would ' ve happened if these black dogs that he possibly let loose had attacked someone else that couldn ' t of handled it or if they had done something worse to me , " Chase said .
" Karliah , " Andy said .
" It ' s your call and I will stand by you , " Karliah said .
" Oslow , Dimitri , " Andy said .
" He ' s killed my friends , that ' s enough for me , " Oslow said .
" The warlock has to go , " Dimitri said .
" Very well , we will put him down when we get to him , " Andy declared .
" Then we will let you and your allies deal with it , sir , " Marcel said .
" I will go and send Stalker to Seth and the Starlit Tribe now , " Karliah said as she left out the door .
" And I will make sure the nighthawk is sent out to the Hunter ' s Lodge and Elder Council at Hawthorne City . " Saladira said .
" Then we will go and rest up for tomorrow , " Andy said as the rest of them left the archmagister ' s office .
" I think I ' m going to get Spark and myself some supper , " Chase said to Andy .
" Yeah , I ' m going to the blood supplier myself , " Andy said as they headed to the dining hall after the meeting .
" Are you okay with all of this ? " Chase asked .
" When I made the decision to deal with monks at the Northwatch Abbey it was such a clear picture with those guys harming innocent children and trying to kill me . And I know this warlock is harming innocent people , enslaving them with magic and possibly releasing the black dogs from the Kennel , but it ' s still not easy to make a decision on someone else ' s life . " Andy said .
" I hear you , but we have to make the tough decisions , " Chase said .
" Yes , and I know it ' s the right call for everyone , " Andy agreed as they entered the dining hall .
" Hoo , " Spark came out smelling food .
" Are you hungry ? " Chase asked .
" Whoo , " Spark smiled .
" Okay , we ' ll get us something , " Chase said going to where the humans and lycans got food at while Andy went to the blood supplier .
The two found a place next to Dimitri to eat at since Karliah was dealing with sending Stalker to Shay and the Starlit Tribe .
" Spark , " Chase said sitting a slice of ham , some stew , and veggies on a plate for him to eat and some special tea he had learned about from Lex that helped regulate the fizz ' s energy , keeping him from sparking out of control like he had been doing .
" Hoo , " Spark said going to the plate , eating his fill of the food .
" When did you figure out that Chamile ' s Tea would work for fizz ? " Dimitri asked .
" Lex told me while we stopped for one of the nights out , Spark started sparking out of control again , so , he told me about this Chamile ' s Tea and what was in it to help the little guy . " Chase said .
" An alchemist and herbalist known as Chamile figured it out when people started befriending fizz , it prevents them from wearing out their energy and shocking their friends , making adolescences easier for them . " Dimitri said .
" I now have it down in my notes for when we are out in the wilds for me to make and I keep a little of the herbs on me for when I need them , they are always kept fresh when I can ' t find or buy them from an alchemist . " Chase said .
" We are both learning so much from this world , that it seems as clear to us as our own until something new comes our way that makes us scratch our heads . " Andy sighed before biting into the blood pack to satisfy his thirst .
" Do you need a time out or something to rest , you sound stressed out , bro ? " Chase asked .
" Maybe , I will sleep better tonight with you under the same roof again , " Andy said .
" You were worried , " Chase said .
" Maybe a little bit , but I ' m not going to control you or what you want to do anymore Chase , all I ask is that you be careful and let me know where you are at times . " Andy made sure he understood .
" No problem , partner , " Chase said as he ate his dinner .
" Stalker has been sent with the message to Shay , " Karliah said sitting down with them a blood pack of her own in hand .
" Hopefully , he will get it and help us , " Andy said yawning .
" You are needing sleep , " Karliah said .
" Yes , very much so , now that I don ' t have to worry about Chase being out on his own , " Andy said .
" You said you wasn ' t worried all week when I asked , " Karliah said .
" I didn ' t think I was , but I guess that ' s what happens when the kid is away from home and then comes back safe and sound , you worry even if you don ' t mean to worry . " Andy said .
" I ' m not a kid , " Chase said .
" Really ? " Dimitri asked .
" I ' m not , " Chase said also yawning .
" See , Chase is needing sleep , too , " Andy said .
" Being out in the wilds , where it is cold and you need to keep your eyes and ears open for danger while trying to get some rest is often in conflict with each other , so , you don ' t get the adequate sleep one needs to get by during the day . " Chase said .
" Adequate , have you been reading a dictionary again ? " Andy asked impressed .
" Look , super genius , I have an excellent vocabulary , " Chase chuckled at Andy teasing him .
" Sure , " Andy said .
After dinner everyone went up to go to bed tired from the activities during the day , Andy was needing sleep bad to deal with his stress before it turned into fatigue , Chase and Spark were needing sleep to recuperate from their trip with Lex , and Dimitri was going to check on his daughter after being in the meeting all evening .
Next Morning
After breakfast the next morning , Andy and Chase went down to the hot springs again , grateful for the stress relief before they went back to the library to do some studying , Stevens had brought back the Creation of the Two Worlds , book he had checked out before leaving with Lex to check on the gateway to the Kennels .
" Thank you for taking care of the book and bringing it back safely , sir , " The librarian said to Chase while checking the book back into the library .
" Yes , ma ' am , " Chase said before going to check around at the shelves for anything of interest finding a book called , Creatures of the Underground : Orcs and Goblins , pulling it from the shelf to read over .
" What are you looking for now ? " Andy asked as Stevens sat down next to his partner .
" Just expanding on what I ' ve seen out there in the wilds . " Chase said .
" Orcs and Goblins , " Karliah looking at the front of the book .
" I ' m curious , " Chase stated as he started reading through the book , hoping to find more on them .
" Chase ? " Karliah asked .
" Karliah , let him be , " Andy said .
" Sure , " Karliah said .
Chase kept reading through the book as Spark looked on with him just as curious .
" They are like two peas in a pod , " Oslow sat down at the table in the library with the group .
" Yep , " Andy said finally with enough questions from the , Life and Times of Desmond and Celestia , book he had been studying himself .
" So , is the Prince , " Karliah said .
Chase looked up again wondering why they were still talking about them like they weren ' t there or like he was a child .
" What ? " Karliah asked .
" It ' s nothing , " Chase looking at the list of books he was suppose to be reading on the Sanctified Knights seeing one called , Warriors of Old , he hadn ' t seen it in the library and decided to ask the librarian about it as he went up to the desk .
" Can I help you ? " The librarian asked .
" Yes , I was looking for this book , Warriors of Old , where can I find it ? " Chase asked .
" Up around the balcony at the front , it belongs to the collections on the Sanctified Knight , so , Arcania keeps them together up there , " The librarian said .
" Thank you , " Chase said grabbing his bag from the table .
" Hoo , " Spark said climbing into Chase ' s pocket .
" Where are you going ? " Karliah asked .
" To do some research , " Chase said .
" What is this ? " Karliah questioned confused .
" On the Sanctified Knights , and I can ' t find it here , the books are in the balcony , " Chase said .
" Chase , " Karliah said .
" I ' m not a child , so , quit treating me like one and don ' t try to control me , either , " Chase said walking out of the library .
" I told you to leave him alone , " Andy said .
" What ' s with him ? " Karliah asked .
" He likes to joke around as much as the next guy , but there ' s a limit , " Andy said .
" But , " Karliah said .
" No , I told you I wasn ' t going to control him and that ' s what I meant , but that doesn ' t mean other people should start , either . " Andy said .
" Yeah , " Karliah said .
Balcony
Chase knew that Lex wouldn ' t be up in the balcony due to having to go out and check into something elsewhere before having to deal with the warlock , but he still decided to go up to do research on the Sanctified Knights . The first thing he noticed was that the place was cleaned up and more organized since the Collector left , like he had tidied up the balcony before leaving and the second was that the calendars and charts were now on a shelf where they apparently belonged when not in use by anyone . Stevens sighed as he looked along the shelves around the balcony until he came to the one titled , Warriors of Old , pulling it out to see what was in it pertaining to the Sanctified Knights .
" Wu uuh , " Spark said worried about Chase .
" I ' m okay , Spark , just a bad day I guess , and I ' m trying to figure this stuff out about the Sanctified Knights . " Chase told the fizz .
" Huu , " Spark said .
" Yes , I guess this has changed me a bit , but what do I do after everything that ' s happened , just ignored it ? " Chase asked .
" Huu Huu , " Spark said .
" No , I ' m not depressed over what happened with the black dogs and there ' s not any damaged from the headaches with this sensitvity thing I have to strong energy , " Chase said sitting at one of the small tables up on the balcony .
" Whoo , " Spark rubbed his head on Chase ' s shoulder .
" Thank you , I will remember to be myself and not to worry about things I can ' t control , and I will also remember to talk to someone if something is bothering me . " Chase looked at the fizz before opening the book .
Chase began reading on the Warriors of Old realizing that they started out as something like a military and protection order that kept small villages and towns from being raided by bandits or harassed by wild animals . Then it evolved into more as some of the towns grew causing the order to station specially trained warriors around the area to serve as a type of undercover agent and even as bounty hunters to track down criminals , wild animals , and evil creatures . By the time Chalin founded the Sanctified Knights , the Human Council of Sages that over saw the care of the human community of Reverent had begun a relationship with the councils of the vampire and lycan community seeing to that proper care for all three races and Reverent was in place to deal with anything harmful in the world . Eventually the Sanctified Knights became skilled in magic that kept them in equal strength to the lycans and vampires until it became apart of the Test of Proving that all of those who had the potential to become Sanctified Knights themselves had to go through that is still used in modern days to validate that one is truly worthy to join the ranks of the Knights . By the time that the Great Alliance was formed to fight in the war against Desolate and the Red Oxen , the Warriors of Old were nothing but a legend , the Sanctified Knights were now fully in power as a defensive force against the problems of the world , but the leader also served as a member of the human council forever after the Knights were recognized as apart of the alliance of humans , vampires , and lycans . Chalin , the first , Sanctified Knight , along with Desmond , the first , Vampire Prince , and Aiden , the first , Alpha Male of the Lycans , all would sacrifice themselves in the end during that war to lock up Desolate and the Red Oxen for eternity ; their closest advisors have told the story that all three thought it was best in order to protect both the world of Revenent and the world of Mundance that are connected by a thin veil of fog and kept separate from the other Planes of Existences that would harm the two worlds we all know and the Great Alliance decided to protect .
" So , this is the third part of the Great Alliance that Seth mentioned , and if it ' s true I am one of them , then this Test of Proving applies to me , " Chase said looking at Spark .
" Huu , " Spark said .
" Just thinking out loud , buddy , " Chase said as Andy came up to check on him .
" Hoo , " Spark said .
" Are you okay ? " Andy asked .
" I ' m fine , Andy , just frustrated at ... " Chase started .
" People trying to control you or treat you like a child ? " Andy asked .
" Yeah , I ' m starting to learn things about myself that I don ' t understand and when I ' m trying to find answers , I don ' t need people questioning everything or trying to stop me . " Chase said .
" I know , I feel similar somedays since the transformation , everyone expects something of me , because I ' m the Vampire Prince and it gets frustrating when people keep things from me that I need to know and thinks I can ' t do the job . " Andy said .
" We are two thirds of the same circle , " Chase said .
" What ? " Andy asked .
" Look , " Chase put the book down in front of Andy to read .
" This is ... " Andy said .
" It ' s only a few pages long on what ' s known as the Warriors of Old , Lex mentioned them to me while in the tunnels to the gateway , so , when I looked at the study course with a book on them that I was given by Jezelle over the Sanctified Knights I thought I would search for the book and see what I could find out . " Chase said .
" Hmm , and this place is ? " Andy looked around the balcony that Lex normally studied at and occupied .
" According to the librarian , it ' s where all of the books and tomes on the Sanctified Knights are kept , something about the school wanting to keep all of the information together in one spot . I wonder if they do that with everything when it comes to the books , tomes , and other stuff used to study on topics , as it seems the library is on more general topics while everything else is more specialized . " Chase said .
" So , you ' ve noticed , " Andy said .
" Yeah , " Chase said .
" Some books are printed twice to keep the topics together like that book I was reading on Desmond and Celestia , it ' s down in the library for people to use in general studies and apparently it ' s also in a spot for stuff on the Vampire Prince . Dimitri informed me while you were gone that a lot of books get printed multiple times and sent out to the different archives and bookstores as well . " Andy told Chase .
" Then we will have to be more diligent in the searching of what we need to find out . " Chase said looking back through the shelves looking for anything else on the Warriors of Old to add to what he just read , but not finding anything .
" I agree , " Andy said .
" Hoo , " Spark said .
" I was looking to see if there was anything else , " Chase said finding a book that had , Test of Proving , on it that he pulled out to read next .
" Are you going through with it ? " Andy asked .
" With what ? " Chase asked .
" This Test of Proving ? " Andy asked .
" If it seems worth it and I ' m actually one of the Sanctified Knights , then yes , I ' m going through with it , " Chase said .
" Alright , " Andy said .
" Andy , do you still trust me ? " Chase asked .
" With my life , " Andy said .
" Then know , no matter what happens , I will help you deal with whatever darkness or evil that is coming our way and this is the way I feel like I can help out with this the most " Chase said .
" What brought all of this on , Chase ? " Andy asked .
" I guess seeing everything that has happened , it ' s like you said , going out to the Northwatch Abbey was so simple and straightforward , but ever since this started with the warlock and we ran into the black dogs where I got injured and then with going out to the gateway with Lex . It seems like everything is boiling to something big and I feel like I need to be ready and stronger than what I was when we first left Storm ' s house or when I was trained in Meridia or even when we went out to deal with the Monk Order . " Chase said .
" So , this new development with you being a Sanctified Knight and the studying is helping you get stronger ? " Andy asked .
" Yes , and the lessons on how to survive out there in the wilds better , being able to hunt and field dress fish and game , cook when I need to , and gather herbs and vegetations that can be consumed instead of loading myself down with a bunch of food seems like it would help , too . " Chase said .
" You , Spark , and some of the lycans we occasionally travel with are the only ones who need stinky , people food anyways . " Andy teased him .
" Yeah , Honored Prince , " Chase said making both of them chuckle .
" When are you going to start those magic lessons ? " Andy asked .
" Soon , maybe , in the morning , as the classes for adult beginners start in the morning . " Chase said .
" Ah , then I get to watch you become a student of magic , wait until I tell Storm and Harris about this , " Andy said .
" Don ' t even think about it , Andy , " Chase said .
" Why not ? " Andy asked .
" What happens in the Naturals ' family , stays in the Naturals ' family , no exceptions , Vampire Prince , " Chase declared .
" Sure , " Andy said .
