Chapter 80: The Guardians of Life.
Adesus looked the two newcomers over both curiously and cautiously, she wasn't convinced of their identities yet, yes there was definitely an air of both authority and power surrounding the two but without proof that was meaningless.
Her eyes darted between the two, the female claiming to be Tik eleth the Breaker of Chains certainly fit the bill described in the words of the tome she had read in vivid detail, she was a powerfully built Yautja female who seemed to be a fair bit shorter than most of the other females of her species, even the ones they had seen aboard this very ship.
But it was the alien male that was with her that really kept pulling her eyes, he was shorter than her by about a foot and yes she would admit his description fit the one in those pages near perfectly, white skin, light yellow fur that had a golden sheen to it and bright piercing blue eyes that seemed to punch clear through one's hide and into their very soul, but she had to be sure
The Godslayer was supposed to be a warrior without peers, if this was true he would be able to easily best her in one on one combat and she had always been taught that combat was one of the best windows into someone's soul and that there was.
So while Feris was positively gushing over the pair she stepped forwards towards the alien male who never moved or reacted to closing the distance between them, but his wife certainly did.
"Attempt to lay a single hand or quill upon him and you will lose it," she snarled in a voice that left no ambiguity about whether it was a threat or a promise, it was definitely the latter.
"A Guardian of life would never strike like a coward," she said turning to glare at the Yautja woman claiming to be Tik eleth.
"So how do you strike then?" the male that the tome had referred to as an ooman asked in a deep voice but also speaking perfect Yautja.
"With honour, my name is Adesus Bloodward and my family has walked the path of the Guardians of Life as long as we have drawn breath, if you are truly the Godslayer I challenge you to prove it, I challenge you to a duel of honour, if you are who you say you are you should have no problem proving it," she said turning to face the oddly handsome male who looked at her with what could be a mixture of curiosity and amusement in his eyes though she didn't know enough about his species to make a judgement like that.
"We have nothing to prove to you stranger you are aboard our ship, in our territory, you came seeking us and we responded," the woman claiming to be Tik eleth growled darkly but that's when the male raised a hand to halt her and she glanced at him curiously.
"Very well if that's what it takes then I accept your challenge, follow me," he said and both the Yautja woman and Adesus herself shared the same look of surprise but all he did was simply smile at the woman claiming to be Tik eleth revealing flat wide white teeth.
"When have you ever known me to deny an honourable challenge my love?' he said with a shrug and all she did was give a deep resonating growl before clicking her mandibles together.
"Fine you have me there," she said.
The male turned back to face Adesus, "But if I win and prove to you who I am I expect you to answer my questions, I believe this is a fair trade no?" he said and she nodded in response.
"Very well you have a deal," Adesus said.
"I'll have your weapons returned to you in the arena, it's only right you have a weapon that you are familiar with to fight with otherwise it will not be a fair fight," he said pressing a few buttons on his wrist-mounted computer before turning towards the door and leading off with the Yautja woman following close behind.
Both Feris and Adesus followed behind them and they were flanked behind by two of the colourful soldiers that were aboard this ship, one dressed in bright gold and the other in a mixture of silver and blue, everywhere they went soldiers snapped to attention and saluted the alien male and the Yautja woman as they passed by and they returned each and every single one of them together which Adesus had to admit was nice to see, the pair obviously had great respect for their subordinates, they didn't ignore a single one.
"What are you doing Adesus?' Feris hissed at her in their native tongue so that those around them didn't understand what they were saying.
"I don't trust them, they could be anyone Feris just because they say they are the Godslayer and Breaker of Chains does not mean it is actually so," Adesus replied in Velon.
"And how is fighting him going to prove otherwise?" Feris asked in obvious confusion but then she didn't expect her to understand, this was a secret known only to true Guardians.
She shot her a smile and a little ruffle of her quills, "Don't you worry Feris this will prove to me beyond any shadow of a doubt the intentions of these people," she said and her comrade simply huffed and rattled her quills disapprovingly.
She noticed the Yautja woman glancing at them curiously as she walked and Adesus could see that the woman was incredibly solidly built to the point where she looked like the odd tubials that ran down the back of her head could lift weights of their own accord.
Finally, they reached a large open area that was surrounded by what appeared to be exercise equipment that was occupied by a surprisingly large mixture of different species, none of which her kind had encountered before.
There were more oomans in a mixture of colours milling about working on what appeared to be running machines as well as odd bike-looking contraptions that didn't appear to go anywhere no matter how hard they pedalled them.
Then there were Yautja like the woman who claimed to be Tik eleth but they were mostly clustered around what appeared to be a variety of weight-lifting equipment of different shapes and sizes, one of their females was currently sat lifting huge handheld weights on a bench while she carefully watched one of the ooman males on one of the bikes nearby, infact so intense was her scrutiny of his form as he hunched over the machine that she very nearly dropped her weight on her own foot.
Then there were little groups of little reptiles that seemed to be clustered together in groups of five or six who seemed to be working together like little cohesive units as they performed a variety of exercises, everything from aerobics to sprint training on the track that ran around the outer perimeter.
Next was a group of large serpentine figures who appeared to be hanging from bars as they did lifts and chin ups though she wondered what the point was if their long bodies reached the ground anyway.
The most curious of all were large black creatures that he had no idea what they were who appeared to be spread out among the other groups, as she watched one of them run vertically up what appeared to be a climbing wall alongside an ooman who it appeared to be laughing at as it spun on the spot and simply walked up the wall backwards on all fours seemingly teasing her.
As soon as they became aware of the group that had entered every single one of the aliens dropped what they were doing and jumped to their feet to snap to attention so they could salute the pair that had entered.
The pair returned it, "Don't mind us every one go back to your training and Seva I swear to the Eternal Huntress if I find tusk marks in that saddle later I'm coming looking for you," the woman who claimed to be Tik eleth said turning to grin at the Yautja woman who was doing bicep curls while staring at the ooman male on the bike contraption.
"Does it still count if the tusk marks are in Trevor's ass instead Grand Matriarch?" one of the oomans on the bikes asked making the male who was being stared at change to an odd red colour which Adesus assumed was a blush reaction to being embarrassed while all of the gathered Yautja and other ooman giggled in laughter including the woman claiming to be Tik eleth herself.
In the centre of the room was a large canvas square that was blatantly set up for sparing, waiting next to it were two uniformed soldiers dressed in the armour of gold, each of them was holding a weapon one being Adesus's sword and the other was a sword of another configuration that she has never seen before, the sword was as large as the figure holding it and they seemed to be struggling to hold due to its colossal weight.
"Thank you Feval, sorry you had to cart it down here I know it doesn't like being handled by anyone but me, hope it didn't give you too much trouble," the alien male said stepping up to the figure holding the massive sword and lifting it from him with one hand which made Adesus's mouth drop open in surprise as he did a figure of eight with the massive blade like it weighed no more than a hollow paper blade.
"I'll never understand how you wield that thing in battle Grand Patriarch but at least it didn't wrap me in vines like it did the last person you asked to bring it to you," the person in the armour said stepping back and saluting him.
The male chuckled and nodded, "Yeah stubborn as the gods who've touched it this thing," the male said and that's when Adesus noticed the hilt of the sword was wrapped in what appeared to be living branches and vines that seemed to weave themselves around the man's hand as he held it.
"Alright take your blade and your side Adesus Bloodward and let us get this done and as you are on my ship I will call the rules, submission or first blood only, no lethal strikes or crippling techniques but everything else is unrestricted, agreed?" the male said turning to face her and gesturing to the figure holding her ceremonial blade out to her.
A hubbub grew in the exercise room with everyone abandoning their exercise to come over and watch this spectacle taking place, "Agreed," she said drawing her blade from her ornate scabbard and discarding it at the side of the square as she moved into a position opposite him.
"Best of three or done in one?" the male asked and she looked at him curiously.
"Why would it take three rounds to settle a duel?" she asked.
"Sometimes they can be over too quick for some so I offer the choice to you," the male said with an odd smile on his features, he was planning something she was sure of it.
"One should suffice," she said confidently as he hoisted her blade up into a ceremonial guard stance lifting the hilt of the word level with her eye line so she could look down the length of it as she planned her first strike and analysed her opponent's stance.
"Very well, my love if you would be so kind," the male said glancing at the Yautja female who raised her mandibles into a smile.
"It would be my honour, my love, BEGIN," she yelled and before Adesus could even blink the male simply vanished into thin air and that's when she felt somthing cool and hard against her throat.
Glancing down she saw her own eyes looking back at her reflected in the bright silver of the blade the alien male held, that was not possible, she hadn't even seen him move but now he was standing behind her with his blade at her throat.
"Winner Jack Mason," the woman claiming to be Tik eleth said and the room erupted into cheers and clapping.
"Is that it or do you need to go again?' the male said withdrawing his blade from her throat and stepping away swinging the sword in his hand as he did.
"H-How did you do that!?" she demanded and he glanced over his shoulder at her.
"You've never fought a Dream Warrior before have you?" he said and that's when her mind's eyes sent her back home, to the black-suited figures that moved at impossible speed, that danced between the blades and spears of her fellow Guardians like they were standing still, to images of Adem the leader of Clan Ruara himself.
"You're like him aren't you!?" she snarled dropping into a fighting stance again before launching herself at him with a battle cry that got cut off as the male vanished and she hit nothing but air.
But once again something hard tapped against her throat before pulling her aside, she yelled and turned to swing at him only to find nothing there but air, another tap this time on her left shoulder, another swing more air.
"Stand fucking still and fight me!!" she bellowed in rage swinging blindly but this time her blade struck something hard that hit with such force it sent a shockwave throughout her entire body making her quills rattle.
The counterforce was so great that it lifted her off her feet and sent her flying backwards across the square to crash down hard on her back, when she looked up she saw a hand plucking her spinning blade from the air and Jack Mason was examening it.
"Hmm a fine and well-crafted blade this one, not many non-blessed blades can take a direct hit from mine without shattering," he said flipping the blade over in his hand and catching it by the tip before offering it to her hilt first.
She snatched it from him and then vaulted to her feet again drawing it up again, "Who are you!? What are you!?" she demanded loudly as she launched herself at him, this time he simply deflected her strikes without changing position, but his blade moved so fast it just seemed to appear in the path of her strikes each time.
"My name is Jack Mason and I'm a human Dream Warrior, I'm also the left hand of the Eternal Yautja Huntress Paya, some call me the Godslayer but in truth I never killed Loki, I merely tore him out of one like me and freed her, that gorgous slab of feminine Yautja beef over there is my beloved wife Tik eleth Mason but most call her the Breaker of Chains due to her creating the way of the Unchained Heart a rallying cry to all those of her people who feel as she does, that love should not be confied to a set of rules that hold a heart like chains draped over their soul, together we formed and now lead Clan Mason, a force for the good among the stars, we are defenders of the innocent and the Guardians of the weak and defencless, we have made it our soloumn creed to hunt down the agents of Darkness wherever they hide and drag them into the light to face justice," Jack Mason said never taking his eyes off hers as she danced around him trying to break his guard.
Eventually, she fell back panting and staring at him though he hadn't even broken a sweat, he was just stood there watching her closely, "If you want to know more I can simply show you, or you can keep swinging at me until you pass out your choice," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
His tone was honest and not mocking which actually surprised her, he had so completely defeated her that he could have mocked her mercilessly and there would have been fuck all she could have done about it but instead, he simply stood there offering her his hand.
Slowly Adesus lowered her blade and stepped forwards to take his hand, "Good, now let me show you the truth rather than you hear it, they say seeing is believing after all, now brace yourself this is going to be quite a shock to your system," he said and before she could even say a word he was directly in front of her with his hand to her head.
His bright blue eyes flickered and changed to mirror her bright purple ones and that's when she saw it, his whole life flashed before her eyes like watching a story in extremely fast forwards as his memories merged into hers like dye and water mixing to form a perfect blend, but she could also feel him walking among her memories as well, that's when she realised, this was an exchange, a trade, a life for a life, he was showing her the truth of who he was and in exchange, he was seeing the truth of who she was, there were no secrets or lies here, the only truth, raw and unfiltered.
As he released her Adesus nearly fell to her knees but he caught her and held her upright, "Whoa easy there Dream Warrior memory transference can be quite a trip but you'll be alright, though you might develop an odd craving for smokey bacon crisps as well as a love of strong Yautja girls with a finely carved arse for a little while, but don't worry it'll subside unless strong Yautja girls are your thing of course in which case welcome to the club," Jack said softly with a warm and gentle smile on his handsome face as he steadied her until Feris came to her aid and propped her upright.
"Y-You truly are him, the Godslayer and she is the Breaker of Chains, we truly found you among the stars," Adesus stammered as relief flooded her heart and Jack nodded.
'These two are under the protection of Clan Mason now, they are Velons of the planet Velona and their species and very way of life is in trouble, they have come here to seek the aid of Clan Mason and we will answer that call for aid and mercy," Jack mason said loudly in a voice that seemed not only to ring in your ears but in your very heart and soul.
Every single person present except for Tik eleth Mason snapped into a crisp salute, instead, Tik eleth Mason tapped her own wrist comp, "Bridge this is the Grand Matriarch, set a course for home best speed," she said.
"At once Grand Matriarch," an authoritative voice that must have belonged to the ship's captain said.
"Come let's get you to the conference room where we can speak privately and get you some food and drink, trust me you're going to need it your head will be swimming for a little bit but while you rest a little Feris there can talk and we can get this fully straightened out," Jack Mason said.
"Thank you Godslayer," Adesus said trying to raise her hand in a Velon salute but Jack Mason simply caught it and smiled.
"Please it's just Jack but if you insist on formality as I know you're going to due to your rank Grand Patriarch will do just fine," he said and with that, he led the way back through the ship.
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Jack replayed Adesus's memories back through his head as he walked, even now years later from the very first time he'd done it the power of Dream Warrior memory transference and merging was still as jarring as the first time he'd done it all those years ago.
But that didn't make it any less useful and he was able to sort it into some form of order as he sat down at the circular table after ensuring that his two guests were both seated and he'd ordered some food for them based upon what he'd seen that they liked to eat.
"So the one everyone calls Death Touch is one of yours a Velon," he said more as a statement than a question and Feris and Adesus both nodded in unison.
"He rallied Clan Ruara to his side and with the help of alien mercenaries and others like you he led a bloody coup of our beloved homeworld to overthrow Clan Lunara now the entire planet and its resources are under their and more specifically his control," the one called Feris said.
Jack nodded he'd seen as much in her memories, he turned and beckoned Tik closer to him and she leaned her head to him knowing what he had in mind, to touch his hand to his beloved wife's face and smiled at her warmly as he sent Adesus's memories into her mind.
Tik sat there for a moment mulling it over in her mind and ordering everything together to make sense of it all, their language included until she finally spoke in perfect Velon when she did.
"Pauking cowards, attacking defenceless civilians and non-military targets like that!" she snarled and Adesus nodded.
"So who is this all mother?" Jack asked curiously seeing reference in among Adesus's memories but not really an understanding of her.
"She is an ancient being well technically she's a collection of them forged into one, like a hive mind that speaks with a single voice and purpose, she's a giant sentient fungal being that spans a huge section of our homeworld, she has the ability to blend with other willing beings like myself who act as her eyes, ears and..." she began until Jack answered with a single word.
"Hands," he said and she nodded.
"The Hands of Mycelia we call ourselves, we are the extension of her guidance and wisdom and act on her behalf, helping and guiding others who need us or the all mother's wisdom, it was she who sent us after you into the ocean of space, she said that you'd be able to help us and that you'd be able to save our people," Feris said imploringly.
"I'd love to know how she knew of us?" Jack said and Feris simply shrugged.
"She didn't have time to share those details with me before we were forced to run to the depths of space for fear of being trapped and cut off like the others," she replied.
"So the Velons are actually a collection of seven sentient races that all evolved together on the same home world?" Tik asked and Adesus nodded.
"Each evolved in a different region but all Velons stand as one people, joined together by the blood that binds us all," Adesus explained.
"Interesting to see so many sentient lifeforms evolving on the same planet without destroying each other or vying for dominance," Tik said and Adesus just shrugged.
"It is our way, Velons hold life sacred above all things no matter the shape it takes, we are members of the Velona Sapius but you also have Velona Mycelia who started off life as little more than a single celled organisim hundreds of thousands of years ago and evolved into the organism that spans an entire continant of our world with reach far beyond herself now, then you have the Velona Arachnida from sand home they are simular to a creature I see in your memories Grand Patriarch called a scorpian from your home world, just a lot bigger, then you have Velona Corvus an avian race native to a sector of world we call the Ironwoods as they kinda like high places, they are natural hunters and scouts thanks to their ability to fly and incredible eye sight, next you have the Velona Salvator whom are reptiles much like the species you know as Raptorians only larger but they share a liking of underground protected places, choosing to live in large underground cities, which is far removed from the Velona Panthera whom as a feline race love large open spaces and jungles like their home in the Greenfields, finaly we have the Velona Cetacea and aquatic race who spend all of their lives in the waters of our world keeping our oceans healthy and clear, they remind me of another race from your home world Grand Patriarch one you call dolphins," Adesus said.
Jack glanced at Tik knowingly, "We are going to have a hell of a time with the Beledon over this aren't we?" he said and she sighed and nodded.
"Yeah but we need to face this as a Clan, my love, hiding them will do no one any good and we have just cultivated the trust and diligence of the Beledon we cannot hide this from them, they must know and understand the truth," she said.
"Beledon...oh, oh no, oh by the blood Adem what have you done!!?" Adesus suddenly exclaimed bringing her hands to her mouth and snout as the word triggered some of jack's memories to surface within her and she saw exactly what he was talking about with regard to the events that had just transpired on the now non-existent Beledon home world.
"What is it Adesus!?" Feris exclaimed upon seeing the tears running down her friend's face.
"A-A-Adem the leader of Clan Ruara, h-h-he destroyed a planet and killed its people!" she exclaimed causing Feris to falter as her eyes widened in shock.
"W-W-What!?" she exclaimed.
"H-He killed millions Feris! He took millions of innocent lives, men, women...children," Adesus sobbed.
"But...But why would he do such a vile thing, no Velon would do such a thing, not even a member of Clan Ruara!?" Feris exclaimed in horror.
Adesus shook her head and shrugged indicating she was as clueless as her friend and Jack believed her ignorance of this as he'd seen no mention of it in her memories, she was truly clueless as to his motives.
"We believe he took a large number of the species Dream Warriors from them to use for some purpose or to simply bolster their forces, as you might have guessed by now Dream Warriors are considerable warriors but we are not flawless beings, we can be corrupted very easily due to the fact we are often exiled from our parent species due to fear of our abilities, this can lead to them going bad or simply being taken over by dark deities," Jack explained.
"That would explain how he overwhelmed the Guardians so easily," Adesus said drying her tears.
"Could they also be the reason that Mycelia was silenced?" Feris asked and Adesus looked thoughtful as she searched Jack's memories and then nodded.
"Quite possibly he is in possession of some fearsome abilities that I am still struggling to wrap my head around, so it's not outside of the realm of possibility that one or more of their number is responsible for silencing her," she replied.
"There is a conference to be held on our home world in two days among the allies of Clan Mason though its original purpose was to show the leaders of these sovereign peoples what their investment in aiding us with the Beledon has reaped, but I believe that this plea is not something that can be ignored, nor should it be, we will take you to our world and introduce you to them along with the Beledon, once they understand the situation I'm sure they will wish to help especially the Beledon, they are itching for some payback upon this Adem or Death Touch as we know him for what he has done," Jack said confidently.
000
The trip home was thankfully a short one it gave Jack and Tik time to prepare for the arrival of their guests from both the Serpentinus and Raptorians, but it also gave them time to make some introductions to the Beledon, Jack got the feeling he was going to have to enlist the help of one of his newest Seekers for this one.
"Easy Seeker these are not the people who attacked yours," Jack said softly as Ketra stomped around the Temple's courtyard her hoof falls so hard be gean to worry that she was going to crack the stone beneath her.
"But Grand Patriarch they are of his people! How can you tolerate their mere presence in this place!?" she snarled whipping around to face him with thunder on her face and fire in her blazing eyes as she glared at the two Velonans who stood at his side.
Jack glanced at Saviour Jay Mathers who was standing off to one side and nodded at him, the young human man stepped forwards and placed a soothing hand on his wife's massive bicep causing her to flinch until she saw who it was and to calm herself.
"These two are not the ones who did the vilest of things to your people my love, they are not responsible for it, they are victims of his atrocities too," he said softly.
Jack had taken the precaution of approaching Jay first and explaining the situation to him so that he could be of some help with helping to get his wife to see the reason.
Ketra stared at her husband in disbelief, "How can you say such things Jay!? You were there, you saw with your own eyes the death of my home, of all those innocent people!" she exclaimed and Jay nodded.
"I was and it was not these two who did it, it was Death touch and his crew, these two were not among them, the Grand Patriarch has shared with me their memories and I have seen them for myself my love or I would not be standing here arguing this with you, nor would the Grand Patriarch, you know that he would not allow murders and cowards to even look at our system let alone enter it," he said.
Suddenly the Velon called Feris stepped forwards and looked up at the massive angry Beledon Dream Warrior, "The Grand Patriarch has shown us what Adam the man you know as Death Touch did to your people and I do not even have the words to express to you the grief that weighs in my heart over it, Velons are supposed to protect life, to nurture it and to make it grow, not destroy it, I am so so sorry for what he has done to you and all of your people, but that having been said we took no part in it or had no knowledge of this atrocity or we would have acted to stop it if you require proof of my words I offer you the path to walk freely in my memories to see the truth," she said with obvious and very real grief in her voice.
Ketra snorted and glanced at Jay who simply nodded and patted her arm gesturing for her to go ahead, "Very well Velon I will see the truth for myself but know this if I find you lacking or deceiving the Grand Patriarch or even my own beloved husband will save you from my vengeance," she said stepping over to the smaller woman and pressing a massive hand to the side of her head.
Ketra's eyes flickered and took on the colour of Feris's as their minds merged and the memories were transferred between the pair, as swiftly as it took hold Ketra released her and her eyes flickered back to normal.
She stood there for a few moments trying to make sense of what she could see and then she just seemed to sag like a balloon deflating, "Your home is a beautiful one," she said finally.
"Thank you and yours was as well, it is a tragic and true loss to the galaxy and I mean that from the bottom of my heart," Feris said.
Ketra nodded and sighed heavily, "Thank you hand of Mycelia," she said and then she turned to face Jack.
"I apologise for my anger Grand Patriarch, I should have trusted your judgement, these two are innocent of any wrongdoing and are the victims you said they were," she said and Jack nodded.
"I forgive you Seeker and for what it's worth I understand, it cannot be easy seeing the faces of those who look so very like the one who harmed your people in such a vile way, but the many are not accountable for the actions of the few, he is as much a criminal to them as he is to us and they want him brought to justice just as badly, hence why they sought us out in the first place," he said.
Ketra nodded and then she turned and hugged Jay to her chest lifting him off his feet as she did so, obviously taking comfort in the arms of her human love as much as they struggled to wrap around her massive frame.
"My people must be made aware of this development," she said and Jack nodded.
"That's exactly why I came to you first, I'm going to need your help here to show your people that the presence of these two is not a threat but a boon, that they will help you and us to get the justice that is so richly deserved," he said.
000
The reaction of the Beledon court was much the same as Ketra's was at first, cries for justice and vengeance ringing throughout the large chambers as the two Velons stood before them with even the rather stoic Adesus looking somewhat nervous before the collection of massive angry Beledons.
But thanks to both Ketra and Ava's efforts the lords and ladies were brought to quiet, well that and a bellowing roar from Tik eleth for silence in the court, nothing quite got the attention of people like an angry Yautja woman at full volume.
Once this was achieved both Ketra, Ava, Jack and now Ryan who had joined his parents in this endeavour circulated around the room sharing the memories of the two Velons to the lords and ladies freely to prove without any shadow of a doubt that these two were innocent and there was no guilt by association here that just because they shared a species did not make them either complicit or knowledgeable of the crimes.
This went a long way to silence the decent and opened the road for discourse as rather rapidly the group saw the truth, "...think of it like this my noble lords and ladies, what if Clan Mason were to judge the entirety of the Beledon people by the actions of those lords and ladies who tried to attack your own people as well as us as we tried to save the innocent?" Jack said walking around the large open circular centre of the massive wooden table that occupied the room.
"But that would not be fair! Why should we all be treated like criminals for the actions of a few!?" Lady Layla exclaimed from her husband's side and Jack spun to point at her.
"Exactly! That's my point exactly, to judge someone on nothing more than the way the look is vile, just because these two ladies right here share a species with the ones who hurt the Beledon does not mean they are responsible for him or his actions, he alone is responsible for them and they have come here for our aid in preventing the same thing from happening to their own world which affords us the opportunity to bring him to justice for what he has done to both worlds!" Jack said.
There were murmurs among the lords and ladies as they digested this information and that's when Tik spoke up as she strode up to join her husband in the centre of the room, "We gave the Beledon people our words as Grand Patriarch and Matriarch that there would be Beledon hands that wielded the blades that helped dish out justice to those responsible and we are now making good on those promises, we are going after these villains and we want your people among us so that when the mighty hammer of Clan Mason comes down Beledon hands will be among those upon the haft that wield it to punish the guilty," she said placing her massive hand on Jack's shoulder.
There were instant cheers and snarls from all those gathered as the very real possibility of pure justice materialised just outside their grasp, all they had to do now was take it.
"We stand with Clan Mason! Our knights will take up this mighty hammer and they will bring it down right on the heads of these villains, never again will they spill Beledon blood!" Lady Layla yelled jumping to her hooves alongside her husband who punched the air and brayed loudly, pretty soon they were joined by all around the table.
Jack turned to Tik and smiled up at her, "You really know how to stir a warrior's heart, my love," he said with a grin.
"You stir hearts and minds, I stir fires and passions, my love, now all we have to do is convince the Raptorians and Serpentinus," she said and he nodded, yeah that was going to be a whole other kettle of fish indeed.