New character images every Sunday on devaniart!

And as a reminder, the 5 polls for the second Suikoden plays for 1-5 will be ending at the end of December, 12/31, at 11:00 PM GMT. If you cannot vote in the polls leave your vote in a comment and I will count it towards the total.

Chapter Three: Part Four

He?

Astraea looked at David, but he looked just as confused as she did. She looked at Viki, who was wide-eyed. "I-I—I don't know," she said quietly.

The man's smirk faded. He advanced upon her. "You can't play dumb with me," he said sharply. "When you left he followed you. I tried to follow you as well but couldn't. He did something to prevent me from following you, didn't he?"

"I don't know," Viki repeated herself.

"Where is he?" the man's asked again.

"I don't know!" Viki wailed. "I-I haven't seen him!"

"You lie! He followed you! Do you think he would have left you alone?! Where is he hiding?!"

Astraea felt in that moment that she could interfere and stop this man from threatening Viki or continue watching their confrontation. After a moment she decided, and positioned herself between Viki and the man. "You need to back off right now," she said sharply.

"You are not part of this," the man hissed at her. "This girl is hiding him, and she WILL tell me where he is!"

"I'm telling you I haven't seen him!" Viki exclaimed, shaking her staff in frustration. "I-I last saw you both at the celebration dinner in Nagarea! After that I—" her voice suddenly broke off and she looked at Astraea and David. She lowered her voice as if to whisper, but Astraea heard her clearly. "I went—back. Not forward."

"Back?" the man shifted slightly. After a moment his posture relaxed. "Ah. So because you went—back, that was why I couldn't follow. And he couldn't follow either?"

Viki shrugged. "I…I haven't seen him."

The man was silent for a long moment. Then the smirk returned to his face. "Heh."

"Who are you?" Astraea demanded. "No one threatens my allies and gets away with it!"

The man shifted his attention to Astraea. Though she couldn't see his eyes, his presence was still intimidating. "The girl allied herself with you now?"

"Yes," Astraea said.

"Then I will join you as well," the man said bluntly.

"What?"

"He will come for her—" he pointed towards Viki. "—and when he does I will be ready for him. After spending all this time searching, I intend to remain close by to that girl until he does arrive. Then it can all be settled."

Astraea had so many questions. She looked to David again, and he wore a quizzical expression. "Your armor," he said. "The horns on your helmet. Are you a Black Knight?"

The man shifted his attention to David. "Black hair," David said. "You are Pesmerga?"

The man—Persmerga—seemed coldly amused by the question. "Heh."

"Well I heard Yuber has blonde—"

Pesmerga unsheathed his sword and pointed it at David. Without thinking, Astraea unrolled her knout and swung it. The whip cracked sharply against the center of Pesmerga's blade. "Back off!" she snapped. "Don't you DARE threaten any of my allies!"

Pesmerga frowned at her. "Do not mention that name to me."

Astraea looked at David. "Do you know this man?"

"No, Your Highness," David said. "But I know of him. Pesmerga fought in the Gate Rune War, Dunan Unification War, and the Nagarean Civil War. He's a Black Knight in pursuit of—"

"Don't," Pesmerga interjected.

"Um—he who must not be named?" David offered feebly. He shrugged. "But he's powerful. I know that much."

"He'll come," Pesmerga said ominously. He pointed to Viki. "He'll come for her eventually. Until he does, I'll stay close."

Now David looked perplexed. He looked at Viki. "Um…why would Yu—that guy, be coming after you?"

Viki casted her eyes downward. "I don't know," she said quietly.

"Let's leave it for now," Astraea said, waving a hand. "Whoever this Yuber is, he's clearly not here right this minute." She didn't hesitate to use his name.

"So which country is this?" Pesmerga asked.

"Zelant," David said. "Since you insist on staying with us, we're trying to find a home base for Princess Astraea. Lend us your strength in battle. Please," he added after a moment.

Pesmerga seemed to look him over and he smirked again. "You are not a fighter."

"No, I'm not," David confirmed. "The rest of our party is over there—" he gestured to the other side of Giant's Passage. "So it would be Princess Astraea and you two fighting."

"Viki, would you not be able to teleport us back across?" Astraea asked her.

"Ah…I don't know how I got us over here," Viki said, fidgeting a little.

"After what I've been through to reconnect with you, you had better not teleport away now," Pesmerga said.

"So it will be just the four of us for now," Astraea said grimly, shaking her head. "We'll need to find a way back to the main island. Other than the Old Capital there's nothing here."

A loud roar suddenly filled the air. The four turned to see a pack of six Wild Boars charging towards them. "And monsters," she added sheepishly.

The group fought the monsters, and Astraea quickly discovered that Pesmerga was very powerful. It took little effort from the Black Knight to kill the Wild Boars. And she knew the Boars to be strong; after the battle completed, she felt her own strength increased quite considerably. It was surprising but also a relief.

Astraea could hear Sigrun, Denzel, and the other shouting from the other side of the broken Giant's Passage, but because of the distance between them she only heard a scattering of words. "WE'RE OKAY!" Astraea shouted back to them. "WE'RE GOING TO THE OLD CAPITAL! WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"

She didn't know if her siblings could hear her, but she also knew that if they did hear her then they wouldn't be happy with her proclamation. But there wasn't much anyone could do about the current predicament so Astraea, David, Viki, and Pesmerga started moving inland on the smaller Southern Island.

There was a worn path before them that zigged and zagged across the countryside, but it was overgrown. The grass was both green and yellow, and there were whole sections of grass that looked eaten away completely. "Herbivores outnumber the carnivores here," Astraea observed.

"I can see some growth coming back over there," David said, pointing to a patch of grass a distance to their left. "So the predators might be catching up."

"Something doesn't feel right here," Pesmerga announced ahead of them, though he did not pause in his strides.

"What doesn't feel right?" Astraea asked him. Pesmerga didn't respond.

Despite the Wild Boars they ran into before the broken Giant's Passage, the plains were oddly calm. Astraea enjoyed the breeze and the crisp air. And the…quiet was nice. Even though she was traveling with three people she was not familiar with, she was oddly calm.

"What can you guys tell me about yourselves?" she asked suddenly.

Pesmerga didn't respond. Viki laughed feebly. "Oh, there's nothing really interesting about me!"

"So you say," David muttered.

Astraea glanced at him. He met her gaze and forced a smile. "I'm a Silverberg," he said plainly. "You're familiar with my cousin Albert, yes?"

"…Yes," Astraea said, looking away.

"His current behavior isn't anything new," David said. "He takes after our grandfather with his ambitions and his own ideas of what is for the "greater good"." David wiggled his fingers as quotation marks. "My other cousin Caesar—Albert's cousin—is much better. He acts lazy but he's one of the hardest workers I know. That's how he became President of the Toran Republic—"

"Oh, Caesar leads the Toran Republic?" Viki exclaimed, her face brightening. "That's wonderful! Did Lepant choose him as his successor or did Caesar defeat him in an election?"

"President Lepant died while in office," David explained. "Caesar was chosen to replace him."

Viki's face immediately fell. "I—oh. Lepant passed away?"

"Well, he was sixty-nine when he died," David said. "He lived a fruitful life from what I can tell."

"He certainly did," Viki murmured.

Astraea looked at her, remembering how she "went back". She debated if she should press Viki more, but the girl did not seem forthcoming with giving her information. She looked at David. "And you, David?"

"Me?"

"You've talked about your family. What about you?"

David rubbed a gloved hand through his hair. "There's not much to say, Your Highness," he said. "I'm not as interesting as my cousins. Both dead or alive."

"But you're hiding from Harmonia, aren't you?" Astraea asked.

Viki glanced at David with wide eyes. Pesmerga glanced briefly over his shoulder at them but still did not pause. A strained expression crossed David's face for a moment. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and grabbed her hand. "I will tell you," he said, lowering his gaze. "But not right now, Your Highness. Later—after we get you settled—I will tell you everything."

Astraea felt a squirm of discomfort in her stomach. "Why won't you tell me now?"

David smiled wryly. "For my own survival, Your Highness."

The discomfort in her grew. She knew that David had something bad if the largest and wealthiest country in the entire known world was after him. The group stopped in that moment, and all eyes were on David. After a few moments she spoke again. "David. Are we all in danger by being near you?"

He met her gaze. His eyes had a glimmer of sadness to them. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Is this why you want to be my ally? Why you want me to challenge my father to Royal Combat? Because you hope for my protection if I become Queen?"

David lifted his head fully. "Are you not also challenging your father to Royal Combat for survival?"

Astraea saw his point, but he pressed on before she could speak again. "You are the Tenkai Star. Lady Leknaat came to you personally because to tell you your destiny. Viki, Pesmerga, Viktor, Richard—those people have been Stars of Destiny in the past, Your Highness. It it my hope that I am also a Star of Destiny. For my own security, sure. But also because I want to help you."

Astraea looked down at their hands. His left hand held her right. "And what if you're not a Star?"

"I still want to help," David said. "And I—hope that you may still help me. And help Viktor."

Astraea looked back at him. Viktor and David believed that Harmonians came to Zelant for David. If it became known that David was one of her allies, then she wouldn't have just her father to deal with; she would have Harmonia to deal with as well. But she knew that she couldn't just abandon David, or abandon Viktor. Viktor lost his arm because Bhayankar had been sent out to get her. And though he was acting for his own survival, David was still trying to help her. And he gave her sound advice on what she should do.

And I never would have thought to declare Royal Combat if it weren't for him.

After a few moments of silence, Astraea nodded. "I want the full story of what happened to you, but it can wait. I appreciate you being upfront with your intentions, David. Not a lot of people are so honest."

David's smile relaxed. "Thank you—"

Suddenly, Astraea's right hand began to glow and she cried out at the surge of power that rushed up her body. She snatched her hand away and hugged it to her chest. "Ah, what's wrong?!" Viki exclaimed.

Pesmerga looked towards Astraea's hand. "You have a True Rune," he observed.

"H-How do you know that?!" Astraea sputtered.

"I know many True Rune wielders."

"Y-You have a True Rune?!" Viki rushed over to Astraea, her eyes wide. "Which one, Your Majesty?!"

"Ah, the True Wind Rune."

Viki gasped and slapped a hand over mouth. Her eyes went even wider in horror. Pesmerga shifted slightly where he stood. "That…is not a good True Rune to have," he said.

"Why not?" Astraea asked him.

"I have heard things." Was all he said.

"What was with that reaction, though?" David asked.

"I don't know," Astraea said. "It—reacted like that before. After we fled Niebieska Brama, and before the attack by Bhayankar. But I don't know why."

"There could be an explanation," Pesmerga said. He turned south of their position. "I observed it during the Nagarean Civil War. True Rune wielder are…aware of each other. They can feel each other's presences."

"Feel each…" Astraea let her voice trail off and her eyes went wide. "Another True Rune is close by!"

The group continued traveling south, and it wasn't long before they saw a wall of trees where the dirt path led directly into. Astraea craned her neck and looked around, and the trees seemed to go on for kilometers on either side of them. It would surely take them longer to walk around the forest than go straight through it. As they drew nearer though, she remembered her history lessons about the Old Capital. "Oh, I know what this is," she said. "The Forest of Sighs. The Old Capital is just beyond this forest, and anyone who wishes to travel there must pass through it."

"Why is it called the Forest of Sighs, Your Majesty?" Viki asked.

"Because of the way the wind blows through it," Astraea explained. "Because of how the trees are clustered, a gust of wind through the branches sounds like sighing."

"There is danger in there," Pesmerga announced.

"I don't doubt it," David said. "Since this island isn't populated and we didn't see many predator monsters leading up to here, the bulk of the predators must live in that forest."

"We can manage," Astraea said.

The Forest of Sighs was thankfully not very dense and plenty of sunlight filtered through the branches. But there was also plenty of danger in the Forest and lots of monsters. Aerial monsters to be precise, such as Harpies, DoReMi Elves, and nasty birds. Thankfully Pesmerga's presence in the party made the battles much easier, and Astraea did not need to use the True Rune. The path in the Forest of Sighs was more overgrown than it had been in the plains, but it was still easy to follow. Sometimes the path branched off, leading to dead ends. But at the dead ends they found treasure chests. The first dead end had two treasure chests; one had an Old Book Volume III, and the other had an Escape Scroll. The second dead had two more; one had a box labeled Sound Set 06, and the other looked like it was a small painting that was in desperate need of restoration.

I'll need to take this to an Appraisal Shop. She passed it to David for him to carry.

After wandering through the Forest of Sighs more, they came to a fork in the road. One went east and the other went south. Astraea knew that this fork was more than just one way leading to a dead end, and the other leading to their destination. Both way led to a destination, but to where?

She looked down both paths. The one that led south had a wider path than the one that went east. The one that went east had a thicker grove of trees as well. The one that went south surely went to the Old Capital. But where did the other path lead?

Suddenly there was a low growl deep in the trees to the east. The four immediately readied themselves at the sound. "That was a threatening sound," Pesmerga said, raising his sword.

"M-Maybe we should avoid going that way?" Viki asked.

"That would be wise," David said, looking at Astraea. "But shouldn't we address the threat? Particularly if we want to settle in the Old Capital?"

Astraea contemplated this for a moment before she nodded. "Let's go."

The group moved east, towards the sound. Pesmerga took the lead with Astraea behind him, Viki behind her, and David behind her. The four watched their surroundings carefully, looking for the beast who had growled at them. But they couldn't see anything.

The path opened to a small clearing. Astraea saw the path continue across the clearing, but as they made their way across the clearing the trees around them suddenly came alive. Two large blurs burst from above—one from the left and one from the right—and landed on the ground in front of the group blocking their path. When they straightened, Astraea cried out in fright.

Werewolves.

Two werewolves stood before them. One had dark brown fur and golden eyes, and the other had silver fur and brown eyes. Both stood on their hind legs and had their arms spread wide in a threatening manner. Claws at the ready. They looked ready to attack.

"I knew there was something off," Pesmerga said. "Something felt abnormal in the air."

"C-Careful!" David shouted. "If they bite or scratch you, you'll be cursed as well!"

Astraea's breathing was unsteady as she moved to stand beside Pesmerga. Of all the things she expected to encounter on her journey, werewolves never crossed her mind. She raised her right hand towards the werewolves in warning. "They must be the ones eating the herbivores," she said. "But we didn't see any carcasses."

"Werewolves leave little behind from their prey," Pesmerga said with a smirk. "They need meat—organs, specifically—to satiate themselves. And if there's a chance their prey survives, they will also be a werewolf. They take no chances…unlike vampires."

Both werewolves flinched when Pesmerga said 'vampire' and suddenly they both lunged forward. Astraea stepped in front of Pesmerga and the others to shield them. "The Shredding!" she shouted.

The True Wind Rune's symbol rose into the air, and the powerful spell came forth. It stripped the bark off nearby trees and slammed into both the brown werewolf and the silver werewolf. Each went flying through the air, slamming into trees. The trunks split in half, causing the trees to collapse and both werewolves and fall into the brush out of sight.

"TROFIM!"

The scream of a woman startled Astraea and she lowered her arm. Down the path across the clearing she saw a beautiful woman in her early thirties wearing a blue shapeless dress racing towards them. A blue solid veil covered most of her blonde hair, and her blue eyes were wide with terror. Disregarding the four, she ran into the direction the brown werewolf had fallen and brushed aside the brush to get to it. "Trofim, are you all right?!"

"Ma'am, get away from it!" David shouted. "That's a werewolf!"

"I know!" The woman shouted back to them. She knelt down beside the fallen werewolf. "Trofim, hang in there!"

"Ah—wait," Viki said suddenly. "I-I think I know her!"

Astraea looked at her, but before she could speak shadows fell down upon the ground. She heaved out a gasp of alarm as two dozen werewolves suddenly surrounded them on all sides. All of them had looks of rage on their faces. The four huddled together, their weapons ready but otherwise not moving.

From the direction the silver werewolf had fallen, the trees seemed to bend on either side. Astraea's mouth dropped open in shock when a black werewolf twice the size of the others emerged from the trees on all fours. Its eyes were dark and narrow, and it held the scruff of the silver werewolf's neck in its mouth like a mother carrying its young. It carefully set the unmoving silver werewolf on the grass, and two werewolves quickly tended to it. The giant werewolf moved into the clearing and the other 'wolves moved aside for it. The 'wolf stopped directly in front of Astraea, fixing its gaze upon her. Astraea stared back at it, not knowing what to do but not wanting to back down.

This is my fault. I brought us down this path. I have to get us out of this!

Strangely, though…even though it was a werewolf she was facing, she saw clarity in the dark gaze. She heard growls rumbling in its throat, but not…menacingly. After a few moments the giant werewolf drew back and rose up onto its hind legs. It was so big that its body blocked out the Sun.

Then it reached up—and rubbed its forehead. Astraea gasped as she felt the familiar power in her right hand again, and the giant werewolf was suddenly surrounded by light. All around them, the other werewolves reached up and rubbed at their own foreheads, and their bodies were consumed by light as well.

What's going on…?

Just as quickly the light was gone…and the giant werewolf was gone. In its place was a tall man with a solid build. He looked to be in his thirties—possibly forties—and he had shaggy black hair that fell into his eyes. His skin was golden and she saw scars on his arms. He wore a fur-line black jacket over black clothes. His jaw was locked and his expression was hard.

And…underneath his bangs, Astraea swore she saw the bottom part of a head rune.

The man suddenly advanced upon her. She sucked in a sharp breath, but then he swept down before her in a full kneel. "Princess Astraea Reiser," the man greeted. His deep voice had an edge to his forced politeness. "I humbly apologize for this reception, but it wasn't wise for you to come here."

Murmurs broke out around them and Astraea looked around. She realized then that almost all of the werewolves were gone. In their place were people; men and women who were also kneeling. The only werewolf who remained was the silver one, but that one appeared to be unconscious. Astraea looked back at the man kneeling before her. "Who are you?" she asked.

The man stood up fully. "Mahihkan," the man said. "These are my people. I am their Alpha. We do not wished to be bothered, so for your own safety I must ask you to leave, Your Highness."

Alpha? Astraea blinked in confusion. Pesmerga stepped forward. "The Red Moon Rune. You have it."

Mahihkan looked at Pesmerga and then looked at Astraea. He raised his hand and pushed his bangs back. With his forehead exposed, Astraea saw that on his forehead was a rune that looked like a red and white crescent moon, with the crescent facing towards the right side of Mahihkan's body. "I see no point in hiding when it will benefit you to know," Mahihkan said. "That soldier is correct. I wield the Red Moon Rune. The rune responsible for the existence of werewolves in this world."

"But we're not bad!" The blonde-haired woman exclaimed, emerging back into the clearing. A man with shaggy dark brown hair was sagging against her body and his arm was around her shoulders. Astraea was amazed that she could walk so easily while carrying someone much heavier than her. "W-We just want to be left alone!"

"Indigo is right," Mahihkan said, his tone tense. "That is why we made our home here, on Zelant's deserted island. We also made sure to cause irreparable damage to the bridge to the mainland. This is our haven. Safe for ourselves and safe for humans."

Astraea looked around at the people around them. Many of them looked tense while others had looks of sorrow on their faces. "You are all…werewolves?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Mahihkan said. "But none of us are a threat. The Red Moon Rune is merciful, and helps those who are given the werewolf curse." He rubbed his fingers against his forehead, and the Rune's symbol rose into the air. Mahihkan lowered his hand away from his forehead, and Astraea saw that he now held something in his palm. When she leaned in close, she saw that it was a rune!

"This is the Rabid Fang Rune," Mahihkan said. "Birthed from the Red Moon Rune. A rune like this will help anyone afflicted with the werewolf curse from going rogue. From giving in to the madness of their curse. They will be able to switch between human form and their true forms at will. Most everyone here carries this rune on their bodies."

"Ohmygosh!" Viki cried out, pointing towards Indigo and the man she carried. "I know you! I remember you! Nagarea! The werewolf who joined the Liberation Army!"

Indigo looked towards Viki, and she stiffened and her eyes went wide with shock as she stared at her. Astraea glanced at Mahihkan, and she saw that the man was also looking at Viki peculiarly. "I-I'm not here to disturb you," she said. "I'm trying to get to the Old Capital."

"The Old Capital is that way," Mahihkan said, pointing back the way they came. "We will not attack you, Your Highness, but we ask to be left alone. I know you have power; I can feel the power of your True Rune. But whatever you are involved in, my pack will not have involvement. Please leave us in peace."

"Lord Mahihkan, Ulrica needs assistance," one of the women said who was knelt beside the silver werewolf.

"Take her away," Mahihkan said. He looked back at Astraea. "I again apologize that my people attacked you—"

"It's fine," Astraea said. "None of us were scratched or bitten."

"If any of you are, feel free to come back and I will give you a Rabid Fang Rune," Mahihkan said. "Otherwise, please leave us in peace."

"How did you know who she was?" David spoke up.

Mahihkan glanced in his direction before looking at Astraea. "Even though we isolated ourselves, we know the faces of the Reiser Royal Family. And we have heard of what you have been through. But please leave us in peace." He looked towards Indigo. "Is Trofim all right?"

"Yes, Lord Mahihkan," Indigo called to him, though her expression was strained.

"We must go and take care of our companions," Mahihkan said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Astraea said, stepping forward. "If you want to be left in peace, then why do we need to worry about getting a Rabid Fang Rune from you?"

Mahihkan paused in his tracks and looked at her over his shoulders. "Because not all werewolves are like us." Then he turned and walked away.

The rest of the werewolves went down the path, giving them dirty looks. Four carried the fallen werewolf, Ulrica. The four were left standing alone in the clearing.

It was Pesmerga who broke the silence. "So rogues are on the path ahead of us?"