A King's Legacy Ch. 43

A King's Legacy

Chapter 43

Beyond Saving

Jagón was soothing the last of Aster's tears away as he finished his story, looking his son proudly in the eyes as his own tears fell. Aster was the first to speak between them after the panther concluded his recount. "Father... I, I don't know what to even say to that. I don't know how to tell you how grateful I am for all that you've done, how thankful...."

Jagón gave his son a final squeeze as he abruptly put an end to any such need. "You being my son has been all the thanks I'll ever need. You are truly a wonder as much as a light, my Aster." The panther turned his gaze up to the nearby wolf and finished his statement proudly. "And between you and I, I don't believe you could've chosen a more loyal partner than that Aschefell.... Not exactly what I expected by leaving you in their care, but I certainly don't disapprove."

Aster turned his blurry gaze back to his wolf, and saw that warm, fanged smile shining back at him. Aster was almost as honored by such praise as Stahl himself was. The young and broken king flashed the faintest smile at hearing his father's approval.

Jagón let out a heavy sigh as Aster turned back to face him. The older knight was looking right at his son as he spoke with a tone of finality. "Now, stand closely to your knight, and be prepared to face what battles lie ahead together...." Jagón's gaze took on a sharper, and far darker undertone as it turned to settle upon the golden eyes of King Calium. "I have my own matters to attend to...."

Jagón rose, coaxing his son to rise with him. Stahl took his cue, and came to stand closer to the panther, preparing to assist the general as needed. Jagón nodded towards the wolf as he spoke in a strangely calm voice. "Aschefell... I hope your training together has yielded noticeable results."

Stahl was quick to answer the general. "I think we will manage, Sir Jagón. I'll support you as needed, simply let me know your commands."

Jagón appreciated the younger knight's efforts, but this was something personal for him. He answered sternly. "Just keep my son safe, I can handle what I need to myself." The panther started walking towards Calium, leaving both the wolf and his son behind.

Calium turned, and began pacing away, leading Jagón off a short way to have their bout. Alice simply remained where she was.

Aster watched his beast father head off to confront his human one in conflicted dread. What Calium had done was surely unforgiveable in Aster's eyes.... But try as he may, the young king just couldn't keep the thought from crossing his mind. 'What choice did he have?'

Aster shuddered, wanting to shy away from all of this, but knowing he couldn't merely stand by. He turned to his wolf, and quickly spoke; apologizing of all things. "Stahl, I'm sorry, but I need to handle this... I can't just watch, not after learning my part in all of this. I know what my father said, and I don't mean to run from you again here, after everything that's happened...."

The noble wolf spoke strongly before his king ever needed to explain further. "Go and talk to your family. I don't want you to regret not stepping in, but I don't find it my place to interfere too much.... I think it's best if I simply follow your lead here. I'll be right behind you."

The look of relief that crossed Aster's face was all the thanks the wolf needed. His mate leaned in for a parting kiss, and spun on his heels, rushing off after both of his fathers. Stahl smiled faintly, masking the lingering feeling constantly raising the fur on his neck. The beast simply knew somehow.... He turned to intercept the lurking glare of the god that had singled him out.

===

Flose wasn't certain what exactly to think as the group made their way towards the base of the southern mountain ring surrounding Adamare. The morning had been strange enough as it was, mostly in part because of the previous night's experience, but the day would only get stranger for the human.

He peered back towards Oust silently. Flose was wondering if the others were even aware what was happening with the tiger after all.... When the beast in question turned to meet his gaze, the human nervously looked away. He didn't really feel it was his place to tell the tiger anything... but....

"Is something the matter?" Oust asked honestly enough, not exactly trying to hide anything.

Flose resisted his initial thought to take that as a threat, and instead tried to ease into the situation as gently as possible. "Nothing is wrong, but I have to admit, I'm a little surprised...."

"Wait, what surprised you? Breakfast? I'm glad you liked the Whisker-fish!" Oust had managed to derail the conversation quickly enough. The evident pride at that conclusion didn't go unnoticed by the human.

"No... well, yes, I really did like them, but that isn't what I'm talking about." Flose was being patient.

Corper was not. The bear answered flatly as he turned back towards the pair walking a few strides behind him and the fox. "He's talking about the serpent you're still holding."

Oust glanced at the coral snake resting across his left shoulder, its tail end securing a loop across his upper bicep. The tiger looked back to Flose as he answered his mentor's statement. "You said I could let her rest on me for as long as I wanted...."

Of all the things Oust was expecting from the human in response to that, what he received was enough to make him stop walking and breathing all together.

Flose's mouth twisted up into an unstoppable smile, a small snort escaped from him, and a true bout of laughter passed over his lips a moment after.

Oust's smile grew wider than ever when he realized he'd genuinely made Flose laugh. The beast's bared fangs didn't seem to faze the human at all in that moment.

"Alright... but back to the issue at hand." Rust was finally chiming in, keeping a good deal of distance between the pair behind him as he continued, "Oust, why are you still holding it? Shouldn't you let it go or something?"

Corper sighed quietly, bringing his group of youths to a short rest while they hashed this out. Oust defensively responded to the fox. "She can go if she wants to... it isn't like I didn't give her the choice back at camp. I think she likes resting on me, and I like letting her rest on me...."

"Well, she does." Flose answered on behalf of the serpent. "She thinks you're warm and she feels safe with you. She enjoys where she is."

A chirping at his own shoulder made Flose chuckle again. He spoke apologetically to Mercy. "Sorry, but I don't think I can make him do anything."

"Make me do what?" Oust was nothing short of curious about what the cardinal had to say about him.

"Mercy isn't exactly a fan of your new friend, considering she's part of her diet. She essentially wanted you to leave her behind." Flose answered honestly.

"I vote for that." Rust was quick to make his opinion known as well

Oust gazed towards the fox slyly and asked a question with a hint of mischief. "Are you scared of her?"

"No! I just...." Rust was having difficulty finding a better excuse.

Oust was eager for a little payback from all the ridicule he had endured by the vulpine. The tiger took a small step towards the adolescent, and Rust quickly took a larger one back. Oust chuckled a bit, knowing he was going to enjoy his revenge a little at a time.

"It isn't that I'm making a decision for you either way, young one, but I do have to question your reasoning here." Corper spoke up on the matter at last, wanting to begin climbing the mountain sooner as opposed to later. "Why did you bring her along? You left her on that rock back in camp for most of the morning, so when you retrieved her as we departed, even I was a little surprised."

Oust frowned a little as he started to worry that his mentor would make him leave the serpent behind. He answered meekly. "I just like her presence is all... I figured she wouldn't have come if she didn't want to."

"You do know she is still a wild feral first and foremost? And a venomous one at that? There are many ways this could go badly." Corper was making sure his student was making an educated choice, but he would not force the matter either way.

"Well, usually you'd be right about that. In most cases, taking a feral from its habitat isn't beneficial to anyone involved, and only leaves them frightened, angry, and confused. It is a little different with her though." Flose had come to Oust's defense for the second time that day, something that didn't go unnoticed or unappreciated by the tiger as the human elaborated further. "Because I connected with her, she has since gained more clarity and reasoning. Where normally the communication barrier would make this impossible, actually being able to explain everything that's happening to the ferals and having them understand it makes a large difference."

Flose looked back towards the serpent and finally settled the matter. "So, how about we just let her decide? I can ask her opinion, but I honestly don't think it will be too big of an issue if she tags along once I help get a few rules in place for both sides. My settlement is close, so she won't be far from home if she wants to return."

Corper stared towards the smaller human with an unreadable expression for a moment before he answered. "Alright, as long as everyone knows what they are doing, I don't mind the company. You will both be responsible for her safety and her actions if this proves to be a poor choice though...."

Rust groaned nearby as Oust perked up in transparent hope. Flose never realized that the tiger's reaction made him smile. The human carried on with his task of informing the serpent. After the reptile was well aware of Oust's intentions, she made her decision.

"She will stay with you for a while. She likes being more awake, and the longer she stays nearby and connected with me, the more she will continue to learn and understand. Remember that it goes both ways though, you have to be willing to grow with her. I'll help you both understand what you need to about the other whenever you need, though." Flose ended his statement with a genuine offer to the tiger.

Oust was beyond grateful for how it all worked out, but perhaps a little more grateful that Flose was so ready to help him with his task. The beast answered the human ecstatically. "I really appreciate that! I promise, I'll keep her safe. Thank you for relaying everything... you really have such an incredible bloodskill!"

Flose felt himself fluster just the slightest at the uncommon praise for his skill but managed to mostly brush off the compliment smoothly enough.

"Alright... with that settled, you three ready to continue? I'm starting to feel a little too on edge for my own comfort...." Corper gazed off toward the mountain just before them with a sense of alarm as he spoke.

"Nervous about meeting the humans?" Rust was poking fun as usual, but Corper quickly corrected his pupil.

"No... something isn't right. Something unsettling rolls down the mountain wind... a trace of some scent I just can't plac--" Corper's eyes went wide, and his tone sharply changed as he immediately took a stance familiar to his students. He was giving orders to the younger ones with him immediately. "Rust, Flose, keep a large distance back. Be ready to move out of range if needed. Oust, beside me, NOW!"

"Master? I--" Oust didn't get to finish. He was already being interrupted.

"Master huh? Well... it seems your wardrobe isn't the only thing that's changed since the last I saw you, baby brother."

===

Calium abruptly stopped a short distance from where he and the panther had started off from, keeping his back to the Aloran knight trailing him. Jagón came to a halt when the human king began to speak in a tone bearing little remorse. "If closure is what you seek, I do not have that for you."

Jagón felt his temper flare, but he answered firmly, yet calmly. "My words would only fall short. I'll seek that closure with my steel instead."

The battle-tested panther gripped the hilt of his longsword, pulling it free from the sheath on his hip with a single hand close to the pommel. He held it towards Calium as he brought his second hand up to the weapon, gripping near the base of his sword with this one while readying his stance. The beast general spoke decisively as he pointed that blade towards the fallen human king. "I have but a single answer I need from you here. What happens if I slay you in this place?"

Calium smiled authentically, strangely eager for this. He gave the panther an honest answer. "My soul would crumble, and it would be consumed by other souls in time, piece by piece. The same that happens to any soul that falls here."

"I am glad you are aware of your fate. It should make it easier for you to accept." Jagón charged towards Calium without further pause. The panther spoke in validation as he cursed the foe before him, readying his sword. "You chose this end the moment you harmed one of my cubs."

Calium flashed a genuine smile at such hypocrisy. The king had been looking forward to this match for a long time now. He wouldn't be holding back anything he had left. The human drew his own sword, leaned into his lunge, and spat back at the larger panther as they clashed. "It's only a problem when it's your own child, then?"

Jagón swung diagonally, his sword carving through the air as it fell towards the king's neck. Calium expected as much, a positive about being smaller than most beastmen was they tended to try striking down on you first. A golden shield intercepted the panther's steel.

Calium was swinging his own sword towards the knight's heart faster than Jagón anticipated he could move. The seasoned knight managed to lower his longsword in time to stop the swing. He answered the human after, their blades crossing in a steady dance of flashing steel with the occasional golden shield making an appearance. "I won't allow anyone to harm my family and merely walk away unscathed!"

Calium scoffed loudly as he countered with both his weapon and wit. "How many human children did you cut down in that war? How many of our families and bloodlines fell to that very sword of yours? How many of our children did you really take from us?"

Calium ducked in as Jagón swung his sword above him. The panther was using his reach advantage well, but Calium was proving to be a hard target to hit. The king thrust his sword forward, and Jagón barely turned in time to avoid the brunt of the strike. The edge of Calium's steel just barely cut into the hide on the panther's bicep. His words cut far deeper.

Jagón raised a powerful paw and kicked hard against the human's armor, connecting with his breastplate. Calium was forced to take a few steps back from the unanticipated move, but never completely lost his footing. The panther snarled his defense. "I was following orders. I had little choice. Either fight in the war or be dubbed a traitor and let my children suffer for my lack of resolve. None of us had much of a choice."

Calium corrected the beast. "You had a hard choice, but a choice all the same.... Did those human adolescents that died on your blade have more choice left than you? Their choice was taken by your cowardly one, the same as their lives and homes were taken by your fangs, your spells, and your blades."

Jagón repeated his stance. "Any beast that refused to fight would die. We were life-oath bound. We tried to sway Alocer after we had our revenge on the first human kingdom, but his rage at what your kind took from him would not be sated... We were following orders we couldn't disobey. I had to think of my sons...."

Calium spoke unyieldingly. "Some orders should never be followed. No true king would require such blind devotion of their knights. You should've slain that tyrant before it even became our problem, but don't worry, I handled it myself recently...." The human king turned his gaze away from the panther towards something a short way behind the beast as he finished that statement. "You chose murdering our entire species over the life of a single mad beast king. Were you thinking of the sons of Adamare when you accepted that as the better option? Now that you have raised one of our children... can you face him, and tell him the same?"

Jagón's gaze followed Calium's own. They settled on Aster, his eyes low for a moment as he listened to the two hash it out. The panther sucked in a short breath and cursed in a whisper as he realized his son had been there the entire time. He found it difficult to find the words. "Aster... I--"

"His name is Solis, Solis Aureus." Calium interrupted flatly.

Jagón turned back to the human king and growled out a reply. "NO! No matter what happened back then, and no matter what you say here, he is MY son! His name is Aster Venatus, and that name will ALWAYS belong to him! It is a name he is proud to bear, one he worked hard to earn with his bravery in revealing himself. He fought well for that name, and his place among us. I won't have that belittled before me."

Jagón pushed off towards the fallen king once more, moving in for another bout. Calium eagerly intercepted the knight again. Another flurry of blows were exchanged before they stalemated with one another yet again.

Calium called out tauntingly, but honestly. "Damn. Had you fought with your king back then, I would've had to work a lot harder to stall. I probably wouldn't have got to have that last drink. You're a lot better at this than that rotten bastard ever was. He got what he deserved in the end. You losing a son to that war seems justice enough in my eyes, if I'm being truthful."

Jagón pressed in, swinging directly towards Calium's head in his determination to end him. The human king caught it effortlessly with a shield. Calium raised a second shield over his free hand and stepped in to jab a rapid and solid fist into the beast's gut.

Jagón was losing his balance, but countered effectively before he did. The panther released his sword with his right hand, and quickly brought his elbow down into the back of Calium's skull, jarring the king severely. Jagón fell on his back as Calium fell to his hands and knees.

The human king weakly cradled the back of his throbbing head as he stuttered out the only insult he could muster in a frustrated tone. "F-Fuck you... "

"Fuck... you." Jagón answered in his own strained voice between gasps, his breath hard to find after that reinforced gut punch. The pair resentfully rose to their feet and paws respectively, eyeing down one another in bubbling angst and hatred, but with a degree of mutual respect for their capability all the same.

Calium recovered just a little before Jagón did, using the opportunity to rush in with another swipe of his blade. A golden shield barred the fallen human king's path before he got too close. Calium's brow lowered in annoyance.

"That is enough." Aster had finally intervened, tired of seeing those two go at each other.

Despite it being Calium who was stopped, it was Jagón that spoke first. "Aster... You don't need to get dragged into this."

"Respectfully, I feel it's a bit too late for that." Aster answered his adoptive father truthfully. He turned to his birth one as he finished his statement. "You've both gone more than far enough here."

Calium answered his son this time. "They went too far a long time ago, Solis..."

Aster snapped back without hesitation. "And you did not? Murdering an innocent cub is pretty well within my definition of 'too far...' and so we are clear, my name will be Aster Venatus as long as my father, Jagón Venatus, allows it. It is part of who I am, something I worked tirelessly for the honor of bearing, as he said. I will not choose between the two. I will not deny either part of myself, as surely as I will claim Solis Aureus as the name my mother once gave to me."