World Sphere - 88 - Wolfsguard Bonding Rituals

Chapter 88: Wolfsguard Bonding Rituals

As Pomare Torrent announced that I had gifted the mithril shirt to him, he held it up to show the small crowd. His speech insinuated that this had been a plan by the Torrent family and that he had given me the means to tear the mithril shirt in battle.

With a youthful energy, he made it sound like he had orchestrated this entire thing to embarrass the Bricios. He was trying to turn the Bricios ire to him, but I was still the object of many angry eyes from the continent of Bricios that still remained.

He continued to talk, and when I thought he no longer needed me to stand next to him, I moved to join Gareth and Loriel, who had obviously been waiting for my return. Pomare stuttered as I left his side but soon continued with his pronouncements from the small dais. Clearly this “victory” had raised the status of the Torrent House.

I collapsed on the sofa beside Gareth, who said, “Storme, how are you doing? They paralyzed me with dragon-cursed magic to stop me from saying or doing anything to help you.” He turned and gave a withering look at Loriel. At least it looked like Gareth had broken out of Loriel’s hold.

Loriel said with harsh words, “You would have ended up in the dungeons if you had interfered, Gareth.”

I supported her, “She is right, Gareth. Loriel did you a favor. It didn’t turn out too poorly in the end.” Then I thought again. “I just have the entire Bricio family wanting my head. I had to gift a fortune to the Torrent family for their protection. And lastly, all the nobles in Skyholme know who I am.” I looked at Gareth as we were here because of him. Gareth shrank slightly, but his massive frame had no chance of disappearing.

Pomare finished his grand speech, but many people had left halfway through. Tessa came and sat with us. Several nobles walked by, offering their congratulations, though I probably wouldn't remember a single one of them. When the parade stopped, Gareth leaned into me. “I don’t think I could have outdone him, Storme.”

I laughed, “I wasn’t supposed to best him either, Gareth. They set me up to lose against a ranged attacker without any ranged weapons. Thankfully, my aether shield spell was evolved enough to handle his onslaught.” A few lingering nobles were still around, so I still revealed as little information as possible.

My healing spell and thermostatic aura spell had also played a huge role in winning the fight. Without my thermostatic aura spell, I probably would have suffered incapacitating lung damage. During the fight, the spell leveled evolved twice, each time increasing the temperature range. Now at level eight, the spell had a range of 24” and could handle shifting temperatures in a range of 300 degrees.

Examining my spell matrix on the comfortable couch, I had also made other gains in the twenty-minute fight. Lesser restoration had reached level nine, and my alarm spell had made it to level eighteen.

I was still distracted when Loriel offered. “Do you wish for a ride back to Titan’s Shield on my skyship?”

I considered for a moment. With these events, I had been tied to the Torrent family, so being seen with Loriel no longer seemed as big of a deal. “I would appreciate that, Loriel. The quicker I can leave the capital, the better.” I stood, and my new clothes cracked from being charred.

We all moved out of the large room, eyes trailing us. Tessa walked beside me as we followed two Blackguards to the private skyship docks in the Citadel. Tessa, who had mostly been quiet, said, “My mother will replace your clothes, Storme.”

I looked down. It had been a nice outfit but was now completely ruined. My cleanliness spell had removed much of the ash and soot, but it was damaged beyond repair. “It is fine. I prefer not to owe anyone favors.”

Tessa coughed in disbelief. “Favors? I don’t think I will ever be able to repay what you did for me today. The scales are so skewed in your favor right now. I had thought you were going to ask for my hand.” I saw her blush bright red at her admission.

I ignored her insinuation. “How long before Aelyn is freed?” I asked. Tessa quickly regained herself, sensing I was not going to inquire about being joined to her.

Disappointed, Tessa replied. “I don’t know. My guess is Pomare will order the mage who cast it to break the mark, and it should disappear then. Your Wolfsguard should happen fairly quickly even though he has seven months of training left. There is usually a ceremony where the Wolfsguard accepts your scent and is bonded to you. I have read about it. The Wolfsguard are raised from birth in seclusion by the Blackguard. They are only exposed to their bonded when it is time.” I nodded and hoped I wouldn’t regret today. Everything was changing so fast.

Our escorts brought us to an array of platforms with small skyships. Loriel took the lead, and we approached a small boxy ship. We walked up the ramp, and I recognized a young woman who flew into me and gave me a hug. “Leda, it is good to see you too. But isn’t a hug a little too informal?”

She hit me on the shoulder with a hard punch. “We heard the Bricios had lured a big guy into an honor duel. Cilia thought it was Gareth for sure.”

“So did you!” Cilia said from inside a cabin, and she emerged to join us on the deck.

“Yeah, so we both thought it was Gareth. We tried to slip down and check it out, but the Blackguard wouldn’t let us leave the docks. We caught some gossip from the departing nobles that Bricios had lost but cooked the offender with magical fire.” Leda patted my burned wardrobe.

“He was magnificent,” Tessa said in support, taking my arm possessively. I didn’t resist.

“Well, you should know that I am an excellent chef and rarely overcook things, Leda,” I said with a tired grin.

Tessa pulled my arm to bring my attention to her. “I am heading back to my academy.” I faced her, and she pulled my head down into a surprise kiss. I regretted not getting more practice kissing as I fumbled about and wasn’t sure if I should use my tongue or not. I came off as extremely inexperienced. Thankfully, Tessa didn’t seem to mind my awkwardness and smiled when she broke the kiss. “Maybe next time we go on a date, it could be just the two of us?”

Before I could answer, she was retreating down the ramp. I think she didn’t want to give me a chance to reject her offer to meet again. I looked up to find a grinning Gareth and Leda. Cilia rolled her eyes and moved up to the top deck for departure. Loriel was just studying me. She was probably upset the Torrents had laid claim to me.

Gareth finally said, jokingly, “Huh, it was that good of a kiss? Is that grin permanent?” I suddenly realized I was still smiling, and forced my face to relax.

For some reason, I was embarrassed. “I am going to learn how to fly a skyship from Cilia,” I said, leaving them.

Loriel’s skyship had a very simple design. It featured only a single deck and almost no space for cargo in a crawlspace. The bridge was simple with the captain's chair had all the controls within easy reach. She showed me how to direct power from the aether core to the various runes and the simple controls for movement.

Leda came up and was excited to use the navigational pedestal next to the pilot’s chair. The navigation map was tied to the massive aether ley lines that run through Sphere. The problem was the map only covered the lowlands that were under the island’s orbit.

That skyship wasn't designed for speed. It's a medium-sized passenger transport that's been converted into a cozy luxury vessel. There are six cabins on the deck. Cilia mentioned that Loriel was practical when selecting the ship. If she'd bought something the Navy could use, it might have been seized in the next conflict. Instead, she chose a sturdy ship and refitted it for comfort.

I wanted to say that comfort should have been a secondary concern, but I kept quiet. When I built my own skyship, I intended to ensure it was fast and had some offensive capabilities. In the Sphere, you didn’t just need to worry about other skyships. There were drakes, griffins, rocs, giant eagles, air elementals, storm elementals, and many other enemies in the skies.

We landed in Aegis City, a guard rushed over to meet us. Since Loriel was next in line for the Miaden family succession, she didn’t have to pay the dock fee, and the guard looked disappointed as he left. Gareth and I received hugs from Leda and Cilia before we headed to our rooms in the Shiny Platinum. Loriel had remained in her cabin the entire flight, as neither Gareth nor I was happy with her. I would let Gareth stew for a few days before I got him to agree with me that everything was Loriel’s fault.

I was too mentally exhausted to do a dungeon run. Gareth still went, and I spent most of the day sleeping. I tossed and turned in my slumber with anxiety. I even woke to recast my alarm spells and arcane locks. I was paranoid the Bricios would be coming for revenge.

I was fully embroiled in Skyholme politics, and I hoped Pomare Torrent would keep his promise to distract attention away from me. When Gareth got back late that night from the dungeon, I was still exhausted, even though I'd slept most of the day.

Gareth had some good news to share: Lana had successfully imprinted the dimensional closet spell. She had demonstrated it on the delve. It meant she needed to deactivate her lesser dimensional space, but the dimensional closet was much larger. Gareth handed me the spellbook, and I stashed it in my dimensional space.

According to Remy, she'd been studying the spell nonstop to memorize it. Not because she wanted to lend a hand in the delves, but so she could move on to learning illusion spells. I was fine with that, and now I wouldn’t feel the pressure to join every dungeon delve just to carry the loot. I planned to give Lana even more illusion spells down the line so that she could maximize her illusion skill.

Gareth was planning a surprise for my 16th birthday. My coming-of-age ceremony was almost upon me, but it already felt like I was an adult. Gareth was using the planning to get back in the good graces of Fera and I started to feel sorry for her. Gareth was never going to commit to just one woman.

After four days back at academy training, I hadn’t heard anything about my assigned Wolfsguard, Bleiz, or Aelyn’s release. I wasn’t surprised by the possible betrayal; I just focused on my classes and remained alert.

Pomare might have deceived me, as I hadn’t even received a message after five days. Hopefully, the dungeon essences in my dimensional space were real. I planned to bring them to Wynna and Ennet to evaluate before using them. Comically, I did receive dozens of outfits from noble admirers in the capital all hoping to carry favor with me. I kept throwing them into my dimensional space, eventually planning to donate them to an orphanage in Aegis City. Well, most of them. There were a few items that I liked. 

I was settling into my bed after helping the twins with their magic. Earlier in the day, I had imprinted the absolute time spell and was working on evolving it. I had learned this spell as it was a staple of delvers that entered massive dungeons. The spell was a perfect mental time tracker. The first evolution had a day tracker, the second evolution had a date tracker, and the third was a timer to know how much time had passed. The spell was quickly sitting at level three, and I was recasting it, trying to level it further to evolve more, when the door burst open, and Aelyn rushed in.

I jumped up on alert and activated my lightning reflexes spell, ready for trouble. I dodged Aelyn rushing me, going into the overdrive mode of the spell. I was expecting her to be being chased by some Bricio thugs. Aelyn crashed into my bed where I had been a second before. She looked confused.

Gareth would be practicing at Twin Rocks tonight, so there is no point in calling for his aid. I was deciding if we should run or fight the threat. Aelyn untangled herself from the sheets in disbelief that I had evaded her. I faced her to ask where the danger was and finally noticed her neck tattoo was gone. I asked, “Are you?”

She nodded emphatically; this time, I didn’t dodge her as she embraced me in a hug and Aelyn started to cry. She was racked with sobs, which brought the twins from across the hallway. The emotional release took a good half an hour.

When I hadn’t told Aelyn I’d negotiated her release, I was worried it might not come through. But Gareth had let the cat out of the bag the day after we got back, and the past few days had been hell for Aelyn. I was kind of mad at Gareth, thinking he’d gotten Aelyn’s hopes up for nothing. Now I could forgive him.

Mera, Fera, Aelyn, and I went into the kitchen to celebrate, and Aelyn wanted a cake, which I promptly started. After I put the chocolate cake batter into the oven, I turned to Aelyn and said, “It is with great happiness that I return this ring of our union to you.” I pulled off the master’s ring and handed it to Aelyn as a symbolic divorce.

Her face twisted uncertainly. I had only used my control over Aelyn a few times in the past year. All those instances were accidental, due to poorly phrased commands. Since I started wearing the ring, they were considered commands. The funniest incident was when I told her she needed to bathe after a long weapon training session. I was joking as I cast my cleanliness spell, but she jumped into the stream with her clothes on. She looked at me incredulous when she surfaced but we laughed.

“I don’t…do you want to keep…”  I took the ring and melted it into a blob. The tiny aether crystals poked out of the mass, but I had destroyed the enchantments. Aelyn looked at the puddle and nodded. I wanted her to close this chapter of her life, not keep mementos. Aelyn had been living a normal life, just confined to Hens Hollow. Now she was free to leave Skyholme and return to her life. There was nothing I could do about her mother, and I hoped she could let go.

The twins picked up on something I didn’t and tried to lighten the mood by asking what Aelyn planned to do now. I let them talk as I whipped up some buttercream frosting—vanilla, butter, powdered sugar, and a few splashes of heavy cream. I whipped the mixture and tuned in to the conversation. Aelyn was asking me a question. “Can I remain in Skyholme?” I started laughing, and then she joined in after realizing what she had done.

“Aelyn, you don’t need to ask for permission to do anything. You can stay or return to the lowlands,” I said cheerfully.

Aelyn gathered herself and said, “Then I plan to stay on the dungeon delve team,” she smiled, “But I want to negotiate a raise.”

Gareth chose at this time to enter the kitchen, returning from his additional training with the masters. “Are you all having a party without me?” He said jokingly but immediately pointed at Aelyn, noticing she was no longer marked. “Told you Storme would do it!” he yelled. It was the first time Aelyn let Gareth embrace he in an affectionate hug.

I used my thermostatic aura to cool the cake rapidly when it came out of the oven and covered it in the buttercream. Gareth ate half the cake himself to the protests of everyone present. I could tell Aelyn wanted to say more in private, so when everyone moved to their rooms, I stayed behind with her.

“Storme,” she started, gathering her courage, and continued, “I still feel like I owe you. If there's anything you require of me, just ask.” I simply nodded, though I was thinking about the similarities between Tessa and Aelyn’s debt to me.

“Aelyn, you need time to realize you are free. When we travel to Aegis City, you should talk to Gimble. You will probably need to register as a non-Skyholme resident as he did,” I advised, and she nodded in realization.

Aelyn came in for another hug, which I returned and she whispered, “I still won’t read your thoughts without your permission.” Aelyn left, and I also set my spells and defenses before going to sleep.

We were on the obstacle course in the morning with a happy Aelyn running with us through all the courses in sequence. I think Gareth even let her beat him on purpose, but he did push her. Everyone's mood was high as our entire class wrapped up the morning training, even though we were all covered in dirt and sweat.

I, naturally, used my spell to freshen up. Then someone pointed up at the sky, and we followed their gaze to see a massive Harbinger warship landing up at the small sky dock next to the academy. The huge ship took up the entire platform.

Mia was nearby and said, “That is the Blackguard ship, Absolution. It is the only ship in the fleet that is completely painted black and crewed by the Citadel’s Wolfsguard.” I was a little surprised she knew that, but I now had an inkling of why the ship was here. My thoughts were confirmed when two Wolfsguard came down to the yard and talked to Callem and Callem called me over. Callem knew I was to be bonded to a Wolfsguard, but he thought I would have to wait seven more months for the training to be finished.

“Storme, this is Balken and Logan. They are captains in the Blackguard. They are here for your bonding ceremony to the Torrent Wolfsguard Bleiz,” Callem said neutrally. He knew this was going to happen, but I couldn’t tell if he approved from our conversations.

I walked with the two Wolfsguard to the skyship platform and boarded the ship. There were several Blackguards on board, and I felt like I was under their scrutiny while I was led below deck. I wish I had been given more details about my role in this ceremony. I asked Balken, “What do I need to do?”

The black-haired but graying Wolfsguard looked at me with hard blue eyes. I hadn’t been told anything of the ceremony. “You will go into the sauna and add your urine, blood, and sweat to this vial in equal portions.” He handed me a vial and a small knife. “When you are done, you will come and sit across from Bleiz on the pillow. The Blackguard Saint will handle everything from there.”

They led me into a dark cargo hold on the lower decks and pointed out a door. Beyond it, I saw glowing red stones that were the only source of light. A bucket and ladle were nearby. I added water to the stones as I was locked in the dark, hot, and humid room. It didn’t take long for me to break a sweat. I scraped my skin until the vial was a third full, then carefully added urine to fill it to two-thirds, and finally, I pricked myself and dripped blood to fill the vial.

I came out with my sample, and Balken took the vial and knife, leading me to another room. Inside, a dozen Blackguard in uniforms lined the wall. Three large mats were on the floor, two occupied by Wolfsguard. One had a young male with corded muscles and bright green eyes who watched me as I sat opposite him. We already had something in common, even though my green eyes were darker. I offered him a smile which he did not return. To my right, on the last mat, was an old elder with nearly completely white fur.

The elder took the vial and began to turn it in her hand, mixing my fluids. The elder brought out a bowl with a white powder. She slowly poured my fluids into the bronze bowl. The white powder absorbed my fluids and turned black. The elder, or Saint as Balken had called her, spoke, “The markers of those you are sworn to protect, serve, and die for if required.” She held out the bowl, offering it to Bleiz, “Do you, Bleiz, sworn of House Torrent, accept these markers and your charge, Strome Hardlight?”

The green eyes of the male wolfkin studied me, but didn’t move to take the bowl. His dark gray, almost black fur rippled, showing his muscles underneath. The Saint repeated, “Do you, Bleiz, sworn of the Torrent, accept these markers and your charge, Strome Hardlight?”

I studied Bleiz’s green eyes and could see a struggle in them. I asked a question, “Why do you hesitate?”  The Saint looked at me and then back at Bleiz.

The elder nodded at Bleiz, “You may answer your future master’s question.”

Bleiz’s voice was hard as he spoke. “We were told ever since we were a pup and could understand speech that the harder we worked, the higher the status the person we would be bonded to would be. And now I am being bonded to a boy, not even of the Three.” He turned coldly to the Saint, “I am the strongest of my training pack. I earned the right to be paired with someone equally worthy.”

The Saint raised her eyebrows in what I guessed was humor, “You have no rights.”

“Then I wish to be Blackguard, the unaffiliated. Instead of being bonded to this boy,” he said with some anger.

I turned to the Saint and asked, “I am sorry, but I do not understand the bonding and acceptance process. Can you explain?” 

The Saint looked at me and nodded while Bleiz continued to stare at me. “The powder in this artificed bowl is given to the Wolfsguard from an early age. It is a loyalty power but has no markers. Over time it saturates the body, waiting for the markers. This ceremony adds the bonded markers or blood, sweat, and urine to the powder, so when the Wolfsguard inhales the powder, it permeates their body and forms the bond.”

I was feeling a bit uncomfortable now. This was slavery in its highest form. “Can we forgo the bonding ritual and just have Bleiz be my bodyguard?”  The twelve Blackguard along the walls tensed.

The Saint shook her head, “No, they are here to make sure the ritual proceeds. Any failure in the process will result in Bleiz’s execution.” She added, “Two years ago, someone tried to slip their sweat into the powder of a wolf pack being trained and close to maturity. At the first bonding ceremony, the Wolfsguard rejected the bonded and was killed. The remaining members of that training pack, were also killed.”

The Saint turned to me, “Do you know why it took so many days for this ceremony to happen?”

“No, as Bleiz said, I am not of the Three,” I said. She nodded.

“After your victory over Baladan, the Bricios lost four Wolfsguard to an accident and tried to claim Bleiz. But he was already marked for you by Pomare. Then, someone invaded the training yards and attempted to bond the entire class to themselves. We discovered the plot and killed the man. Otieno Bricio claimed the entire class was possibly tainted and was to be put down again as had been done in the past.” My blood chilled. Was this a form of revenge for the Bricios? Kill 23 Wolfsguard just so no one could bond Bleiz?

The Saint nodded as she saw I grasped the meaning behind her words. I turned to Bleiz, “What would make me worthy of bonding with you?”

His green eyes narrowed, considering, “If you can strike me in combat once, I will take on your markers.” Well, he was cocky, for sure, based on a small confident smile I might actually relish this.

“Since you're neutral, will you tell me anything you notice me doing today?” I asked the Saint.

“What happens at bonding is never spoken of outside of the bonding,” she said, but I could see her smile slightly as well.

Bleiz spoke confidently, “If you fail to strike me before I strike you five times, I want to be raised to the Blackguard instead.”

Without hesitation, I said, “Agreed.” Bleiz waited till the Saint nodded as well at the terms of the duel.

“You will have to talk to Pomare Torrent if the bonding does not proceed. I am not certain if he will grant you another,” she said in warning. I nodded and gave a confident smirk. How was I getting into so many duels lately?

Balken came and gave each of us a knife. The blade was well-made and had a six-inch edge. I turned it over in my hands, exploring it with my metal senses.

Bleiz stood maybe an inch shorter than myself, just over six feet. His dark-furred frame rippled with lean muscle. I took no chances and immediately put my lightning reflexes into overdrive mode. The floor was cleared and the twelve Blackguard appeared amused by the contest. When we were positioned, the Saint said, “Begin,” Bleiz flashed toward me.

He was extremely fast, but I was moving at 2.6 times my natural speed. I dodged the quick thrust, parried his slash, and stepped back. Bleiz was not the only one surprised in the cargo hold. The surrounding Blackguard shifted uneasily at my display. I think the were judging how they would have fared if they were in Bleiz’s shoes. Bleiz had been planning to land two hits and probably gloat before finishing the duel. Now, he had no hits and was shown to be the slower of us two.

“Are you human?”  He asked with some disbelief in his tone.

“Yes,” was all I said as I lunged at him. He was on the defensive immediately and even managed to evade my first two attempts to cut him. My third and fourth caught him on the thigh and bicep. I pulled away, and the Saint held up her hand for Bleiz to stop.

Two cuts in his fur were bleeding steadily. I walked casually up to Bleiz and healed the wounds with a touch. “Bleiz, just know that you will always be free to voice your mind in my employ. I see the bond going both ways. You protect my back, and I will protect yours. Hopefully, our bond will be built on mutual trust and friendship in time.”

He still seemed uncertain, but soon the cushions were returned with a motion from the Saint, and the ritual proceeded. The bowl was handed to Bleiz and tapped with a brass scepter. The powder formed a cloud in the bowl. Looking at me one last time, this time with respect but uncertainty, Bleiz inhaled the cloud in the bowl to his face. As he started to inhale, the cloud seemed to rush into his nostrils.

I still felt a bit dirty about doing this, but the alternative was that the families would use Bleiz as a pawn. The Saint stood and hovered over Bleiz for a moment, then turned to the room, “The bonding was a success.” I felt the tension leave the Blackguard along the wall. I guessed there had been more than a few failed bondings in the past.

She turned to me, “You may leave with Bleiz.”

I held up my hand to pause, and asked Bleiz, “You have aether and can use artificed items?”

He nodded. “I have been trained in their use but have none of my own.”

“Then you will be able to use these items.” I produced the invisibility necklace and the long sword from Baladon. “The necklace requires a tiny flow of aether to work. You are to remain invisible and meet me outside the barracks in the evening. I do not want anyone to see you leave the Absolution.” He nodded obediently, put on the necklace, and disappeared.

I bowed to the Saint in respect and left myself to return to my academy classes after using my cleanliness spell to freshen myself. When I returned to spellcraft, I started imprinting my next spell aether fortress with Selina’s help.

My mind drifted, and I honestly had to respect Pomare. He had kept his part of the deal, Aelyn was free, and I now gained another ally in the shadows. Based on the notes, I suspected Bleiz had been trained as an assassin. I guessed the Bricios had killed enough of their own personnel Wolfsguard, with plans to add Bleiz to their ranks. It was just another one of the Bricios' plans that I foiled.