The Desolate Mountains (The Divine Elements Book 2) (21 page)

“He will not go outside!”

The roar of a masculine voice echoed through the silent corridor.

“Xar, he is still a child. Do you really expect him to stay bottled up indoors for the rest of his childhood? What about making friends? You can’t expect him to stay alone like that forever…”

A woman’s soft voice sounded out, trying to persuade the other figure.

Shuffling his wings with agitation, the enormous griffin turned to glare at his wife. Seeing that there were no signs of her backing down, Xardoth sighed with resignation and whispered in a gloomy voice.

“Denela, his meridians are crippled and there is no herb or medicine in this world that can ever cure him. This means that he’ll never be able to cultivate and become strong in the future. I also have many enemies in these mountains. What if, one day, one of them decides to capture Rebran? I can only protect him as long as he is near me. He doesn’t need friends… he only needs to be alive.”

“Is that truly the future you want for your own son?”

Denela asked with tears in her voice.

It pained her every time when her son would pleadingly look into her eyes, requesting to go out to play with the other children. Watching his little heart crumple right before her eyes each time she said ‘no’, it tore a bit of her soul apart.

As a griffin herself, she knew exactly what it meant for a young griffin to spread their wings and experience the sensation of air against their body, but for her son, this would forever remain a dream.

Unbeknownst to the two adults who were arguing in the room, a small white lion was currently standing crouched outside the door with tears streaming down his soft, furry face.

…………………………

“Oy, wake up, kid.”

Calron gently murmured, as he patted the young lion’s cheek.

“my… ball… come… back…huh?”

Rebran abruptly opened his eyes, sensing that he was no longer flying.

Rapidly pawing his body and touching the ground, the beast confirmed that he was indeed not dreaming and was actually very much alive.

Rebran thought for sure that he had died already, since it was impossible to remain alive after falling from that great of an altitude.

Curious as to how he didn’t enter the netherworld, the young lion glanced up and gradually came face-to-face with Calron’s massive scaly head.

“Gahh!”

Letting out a frantic yelp, the little lion swiftly scrambled onto his feet and crouched low to the ground. A low growl thrummed from Rebran’s throat, as he threateningly snarled at Calron.

Please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me…

Rebran inwardly screamed with panic, but he made sure that he exuded no signs of fear on the outside. The worst thing one could do when facing a predator was to let it know that you were afraid of it.

Just the mere size of the gigantic golden bird was enough to make Rebran’s heart tremble in fear, but it was actually those cold azure eyes that evoked a primal sense of danger within him.

“Relax, I am not going to hurt you.”

Calron stated with an amused smirk while observing the limbs of the white lion shaking uncontrollably.

“Bahaha, you are scared of this little birdy? He could not even defeat a tiny goblin!”

Tarnila burst out into laughter, as she slowly walked towards the scared lion.

Calron mumbled in annoyance, but did not refute the raccoon’s words as they seemed to be having an effect on the young lion.

Maybe it was because the short raccoon was similar in height to him, Rebran slightly relaxed his body when she placed herself between the golden bird and him. The adorable dark puppy dangling from her neck further dissolved any hostility that he might have towards her.

“Who are you people, and what happened to me?”

Rebran inquired while remaining vigilant in case the dangerous bird decided to change its mind and eat him.

As if knowing what his thoughts were, Tarnila let out a silent chuckle.

“I don’t know what you were doing up there, but that scary bird over there was the one who stopped your body from going splat all over the ground.”

The raccoon calmly stated with a nonchalant face.

He was the one who saved me? Maybe, he is not all that bad… NO! It’s a trap!

Rebran quickly shook his head and once again resumed his ‘threatening’ posture.

As a beast who had never been out in the real world, Rebran’s experience in interacting with strangers was very limited. The only outsiders he had ever talked to were his father’s troops and they never seemed to have anything interesting to say. With so much over-protection in his life, Rebran was highly suspicious of strangers to a baffling degree.

I remember a story I once read about a cat who tricked a fish into his mouth by singing a sweet song. Innocent and gullible, the little fish had happily swam over the edge of the pond where the cat suddenly snapped its traitorous jaws over the small fish. I will not be that little fish!

Rebran swore within his mind, as the growl coming from his throat became louder.

“Well, I give up… I tried my best and it didn’t work. It’s all up to you now, little birdy!”

Tarnila lazily yelled, as she turned around and began walking away.

You damn, pesky raccoon! You did not even try!

Calron cursed inwardly when he saw the old raccoon happily bouncing away.

“woof! woof, woof!”

Suddenly, Avi started to bark at the white lion as if trying to talk to him.

It seemed as if the wolf pup had leapt off the raccoon’s back a while ago and was now trying to communicate with the white lion.

“Avi! Avi, avi!”

That was all that Calron could understand from what the little wolf pup was saying.

“How can I trust you?”

Rebran quietly responded as he looked down at the adorable dark puppy with her bright purple eyes staring back at him. It appeared as if Avi’s words had gotten through to him and was beginning to change his mind.

“Avi!”

The wolf pup proudly barked while wagging her tail and pointing at Calron with her small paw.

A bit of suspicion appeared to have faded away from the young lion’s eyes, but a trace of it still remained.

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it. By the way, have you seen a round-shaped thing around here? I was playing with it before and I seem to have lost it. I think it was called a ‘ball’ or something.”

Rebran inquired as he searched his surroundings, looking for his precious treasure.

“Avi… avi, avi. Avi?”

The wolf pup replied while scratching her fluffy head.

“I don’t think so…”

Rebran stated in a dejected voice.

Wait, what in the heavens is going on here? You understood all that from her just repeating her name?

Calron watched with a baffled expression at the scene currently unfolding before his eyes. Rotating his head to glance at the raccoon, he saw the similar look of confusion on her face as well.

Kid, haven’t you realized something yet?

Ezkael’s deep and serious voice sounded out within Calron’s mind.

Detecting something strange from the tone of his Teacher’s voice, Calron grew slightly curious and waited for Ezkael to finish speaking.

Didn’t your friend, Roran, also have a similar case of these crippled meridians?

His teacher’s words caused an explosion to erupt within Calron’s body. The only cure of crippled meridians that he knew of, was the legacy which he had inherited from his first Master.

“The Blood Legacy…”

His mouth subconsciously whispered out the words in silence.

“The Blood Legacy…”

After breaking into the Vajra stage, Calron’s entire focus had been on cultivating his lightning essence. So much so, in fact, that he had completely forgotten about his inherited legacy.

Teacher, how will I even pass on the legacy to him? Master Elias never taught me how, and besides, we know nothing about this beast.

Calron conveyed his thoughts to Ezkael.

That is true. There is something strange about this beast… with his crippled cultivation, there is no way that he should have been able to survive in the wild and yet here he is. Moreover, his mind is still too undeveloped and un-cunning for a beast that is traveling alone. Things don’t add up here, so remain vigilant until we discover the truth.

Ezkael warned his student.

Hmm, this little lion seems to be more trouble than I thought. Should we leave him and go on our own way?

Calron asked while continuing to observe the young lion’s behavior with Avi.

You suggest that after I’ve been telling you from the start not to meddle in other people’s affairs?

The Voice burst out with irritation.

Well, he was about to die… I had no choice.

Calron grumbled, but had to agree with his teacher: he always rushed into things before thoroughly thinking them out.

Let’s drop him off in the city and part ways. Something tells me that this young beast did not come here alone.

Ezkael stated in a calm tone.

That might be a bit difficult to do right now…

Calron inwardly sighed when he saw that Avi was rapidly bonding with the young lion.

As a little beast herself, Avi had no one to play with and although Calron entertained her, it was different from playing with someone around her own age. The white lion was still older than her by a few years, but his mind was similar in age to Avi’s.

“Hey, do you want to help me search for my ball? I promise to let you play with it as well!”

Rebran inquired, as he bent down and playfully nudged Avi’s shoulder.

“woof!”

Avi eagerly nodded her head in excitement, and rushed behind the young lion as he darted into the forest.

The ‘ball’ that her new friend was talking about seemed very fun, and Avi definitely wanted to play with it or eat it, if it was delicious. Of course she wouldn’t tell the lion about the last part.

“Well, birdy, I’m off to take a nap. Come tomorrow to my hut and we will start your training. Until then, make sure those two don’t get into trouble.”

Tarnila shouted from the distance, and vanished from the area in the midst of sparks of lightning.

“WAIT! You didn’t even tell me where your hut is! And why am I the one taking care of the lion as well?”

Calron bellowed out, as he leapt off into the air to locate the raccoon.

“Shit! How is she so fast?”

Calron spat at the ground in annoyance, realizing that the old raccoon had already disappeared from the area.

Now, where did these two brats run off to…

Calron pondered, as he began flying towards the two little beasts’ direction.

With the passing of each day, it seemed like Calron was becoming more and more like a beast nursery caretaker than a fearsome cultivator.

……………………

“So, Xardoth has finally decided to make his move.”

A deep voice reverberated within the large throne room.

“He has an army of beasts camped a few miles away from our city. I estimate that they will be at our wall by next week, your highness.”

A giant eight-foot ape declared as he crossed his unnaturally massive arms across his chest.

“What do the rest of you think that my next move should be?”

Weir asked solemnly, while glancing at the gathered beasts in front of him.

These were the elite Nobles within his city, and the group that directly served under him. Each one of them was at least at the peak of the Vajra stage, and some had even broken into the Saint stage.

“This is not the first time that an enemy Beast King has tried to invade our city. We need to face him head-on and fight a full-on battle.”

A lizard-type beast spoke out, as its tail tapped against the floor.

“If we do that, we put our citizens at risk. Our best strategic move is to bide our time and fight a defensive battle from within our walls. We can minimize the loss of our troops this way.”

A large turtle stated in a calm and cool voice.

“You are forgetting that Xardoth’s elite troops belong to the griffin race. They can easily fly over our walls and massacre us from the inside. Have we considered any diplomatic talks?”

Another beast refuted while shaking her head.

Soon, the Nobles burst into a series of arguments on what the next course of action should be.

“Just challenge him to a one-on-one battle, your highness.”

A smooth and equally powerful voice sounded out, overpowering the voices of the others in the room. A dark panther prowled ahead to the front, as he bowed before the Dragon King.

“Jarken…”

The other Nobles whispered amongst themselves when the mysterious panther appeared.

Although most members of the Nobles were somewhat equal in power, Jarken was a beast with a special bloodline and his bloodthirstiness was something that even they feared.

If anyone had to decide who the most powerful among the Nobles were, the name ‘Jarken’ would be the first thing that would come to their mind.

“You think he will accept that?”

Weir asked with a slight smile on his face.

Jarken was the closest person he had whom he could call a friend besides Laris. If not for his nature of disappearing and travelling throughout the Desolate Mountains, then Jarken would have been made in charge of his army instead of Laris.

Many thought that the powerful panther was a cruel and cold-hearted beast, but Weir knew that Jarken was one of the most intelligent and caring beast among them. His reputation of a savage beast spread a few years back, when Jarken had mutilated an entire group of bandits.

Some had their limbs chewed off, some with their intestines spilling out of their stomachs, and the rest simply had their bodies severed into several parts. Towards the end, none of the five hundred bandits resembled their original form, and their gut-wrenching cries of agony had haunted any that came close to the newly formed graveyard.

When one of the Nobles had found the panther in the middle of the night, Jarken had his jaws clenched around the head of the Bandit Leader, and crushed it while staring into the eyes of the Noble. The rest of the Nobles soon arrived and gazed at the carnage around them.

With his dark coat of fur stained red, the large beast let out a savage roar and ripped the flesh off the Bandit Leader bit by bit.

That scene had been so deeply etched into minds of the Nobles that many were scared to even be in his presence.

The only ones who knew the reason for the bloodbath that day was Weir and Laris.

“He will. His goal is to defeat you, not the city. The troops are there in case you don’t face him and to forcefully draw you out into battle. When he comes to the city gates, challenge him to a battle, and he will definitely agree. His griffin race is already very few in number, and he will not want to risk their lives.”

Jarken spoke in a calm and collected voice.

“Sigh… why does he have such a grudge against me? We will discuss this matter later, and don’t let any news of this matter leak to the citizens yet. Dismissed.”

Weir said in a tired tone.

“You seem to have a lot of things on your mind.”

Jarken chuckled once the rest of the Nobles had left the room.

“Not many things… just a single person… let me tell you about him.”

Weir stated while rubbing his forehead.

………………….

“Fuck! Where in the heavens did the little master go?”

The black lion cursed out loud, while inspecting the various shops in the city.

The tracks had let them into the marketplace, but after seven hours, they still had not found any traces of the young white lion.

“Let’s stay at an inn tonight, and we’ll resume the search tomorrow morning.”

The black lion commanded his subordinates, and they began walking away with worry in their hearts.

Their little master was very innocent and weak. The guards sincerely hoped that no misfortune had befallen on the young griffin.

…………………..

“Hahaha, you are so slow!”

Rebran laughed while glancing back, as he continued to sprint ahead.

“awwoooo!”

Avi howled in excitement, as her tiny legs rapidly tried to catch up to the lion.

This was the first time that she had ever run this fast, and her wolf instincts were kicking in, allowing her to swiftly speed up across the rough terrain and keep track of everything in front of her.

Her bright purple eyes shined with a mysterious glow, as the dark fur on her body fluttered in the wind.

However, it was at that moment, that Avi saw several figures standing still ahead of Rebran. The young white lion had not yet discovered their presence.

“AWOOOO!”

Avi let out a loud and panicked howl, hoping her new friend would stop but Rebran continued to race ahead.

Racing directly towards the group of obscured figures.

Avi had a feeling that these were dangerous people, and wanted to hurt them.

She let out another desperate howl in an attempt to call out to her guardian and protector.

Calron!