Chapter 59: Lorenu

“Hello aur staania Dynina.” Martin spoke the words with deep reverence. The same tone of voice that he reserved for his mother Gorgo, for Deia and for Jezima and Meral. “If this is a bad time ... I can call back later.”

Dynina practically lost it all right then as the wail of happiness and love erupted from her and she grabbed Nicha’s entire upper body tightly. Tears continued to pour from her eyes as she gazed at the real time image of a man who was an almost exact duplicate of the man who she had grown so fond of in their time together.

The Pralor Sumar had loved her daughter Sateia shamelessly and with the intensity of a lightning storm that never stopped after she had turned him. There was never any doubt in his feelings or his actions with Sateia and it quickly became known among the many wolf packs on Lycavore that if you even sniffed at Sateia in an odd way, the rebuke would be very swift and very painful. Both of her daughters had inherited their mother’s flawless skin and exotic beauty with shimmering, deep black hair and deeply tanned skin. There were many suitors for them, and those who were also foolish enough to try and take them. Neither option worked out well for the male wolves who thought like that. Sateia had eyes for no one but Sumar and made that knowledge very clear to all who listened.

Shortly after they were mated, a union and celebration that all of the packs attended, two supremely young and arrogant Alphas from another pack who thought themselves superior to Sumar because he was recently turned, had challenged him for her. Neither of those two young males succeeded and when Sumar ended up brutally killing the second fool who had challenged him for Sateia, it never happened again. Sumar was a massive wolf in not only stature but also the aura that he exuded. In all her years Dynina had seen only one wolf of his size before and that was her own beloved mate. Her handsome mate had been an oddity among all Lycavorians because of his enormous size, nearly four feet tall at the shoulder when in wolf form, and it was from him where the dual fangs in their bloodline came from. It was the only known occurrence of this genetic difference ever recorded in the past of their people. It was her own mate who had unofficially begun the changes within the packs on Lycavore with his treatment of her. Her mate loved Dynina so fiercely that it took her breath away at times and this showed in his public treatment of her with affectionate nuzzles and licks and not caring who saw him. This loved was passed on to their daughters. Even after Sateia had turned him, for Sumar to be that size right from the start was unheard of in their history. And even with his colossal size, Sumar still doted over her daughter Sateia as if she was the most precious jewel in the entire universe. This action, more than anything else he did, had earned Dynina’s unquestioned respect and loyalty.

Standing before her now was an almost perfect image of Sumar, right down to the almost wild, shoulder length black hair and piercing dark brown eyes. She had seen images of Martin through the years yes, but nothing ever like this, nothing ever so clear and so close she could almost reach out and touch him. Dynina felt her heart racing beyond control just as it had the day she left Lycavore and watched as the planet of her birth dwindled to nothing in size through the view window.

As Dynina stared at him, her eyes took in the face on the second man in the transmission and her eyes narrowed slightly. She knew this man she thought as she released Nicha’s hands and stepped closer to the transmission.

“Way ... Wayonn?” She gasped finally.

Wayonn smiled from beside Martin and bowed his head slightly to her. “To say that it is a surprise to see you Lady Dynina would be the understatement of the past thirty millennia I believe.”

“Wayonn... son vada carians ... how?” Dynina gasped aloud now. “How is it possible that you are there? You left ... we feared you long dead.”

“That is a particularly long answer.” Wayonn answered her. “However, the more open and important question would be to you; how are you still alive Dynina?” Wayonn asked after briefly glancing at Martin. “Dynina, I saw the casualty lists from the Black Day. I saw your name, Maha’s, all of you.”

Dynina nodded her head slowly. “When did you see them Wayonn?” She asked him. “Carians, I have not spoken your name in thousands of years but it still is so familiar to me.”

“I had ... I made contacts within the moderate portions of the government for the High Coven after we returned and set up on a planet in the Beta Quadrant.” Wayonn answered. “I...” Wayonn stopped as a rush of emotion filled him now as well.

Martin had remained silent up until now and he reached out and put his large hand on Wayonn’s shoulder and squeezed. He looked at Dynina in the transmission. “Forgive us aur staania, it has been a week of revelations in so many ways.”

“I don’t ... I don’t understand.” Dynina told him her eyes still moist and filled with tears.

Martin nodded his head. “Something for another time perhaps.” He answered gently.

Dynina shook her head, her hands coming to up to her face. “You ... You look so much like him.” She gasped. “So much like your grandfather. It is ... it is frightening staaniketo.”

Martin smiled. “I get that a lot lately.” He said.

Dynina looked at him oddly for a moment as she wiped her eyes and cleaned away the tears. “Martin ... I...”

Martin shook his head slowly as he rose back to his full height. “No.” He told her. “If I have learned anything in this life I have led, it is to never doubt my instincts again. My own son taught me that when I strayed from that path. I don’t doubt my son staania. Not anymore. Not ever again. When he told me that ... when he told me that they had arrived on his ship...”

Dynina moved closer to the transmission. “They are safe then?” She asked the question as any grandmother would ask.

Martin nodded his head with a smile. “They are safer nowhere else in the universe.” He told her. “They are with their family. With their blood.”

Dynina choked up once more and Nicha stepped up beside her again and took her arms, Dynina’s hands moving to cover hers. Nicha looked at the image of Martin and smiled through her own tears. “You have no idea how long she has waited to hear those words Vada Fera.” Nicha told him.

Martin’s held tilted sideways and he looked at Wayonn beside him before turning back to Nicha. “Why do you call me The First?” He asked.

“That is what you are.” Nicha spoke, her tone of voice suggesting awe and disbelief. “To her. To all of us.”

“What I am?” Martin asked.

“Vada Fera Revik rie Arve.” Kenroe spoke in the Lycavorian language as he moved up beside Dynina. They had struck up a unique friendship almost immediately all those years ago, Lycavorian and Darastrixi, and he had been by her side all of this time. “Wer irral daar ar fogah.” He spoke in Darastrixi. “The First King of Three.”

“What does that mean?” Martin asked. “What three?”

Dynina looked at Nicha and nodded her head. She wiped away her tears quickly and looked at Martin. “That does not matter now.” She spoke. “You have many questions. I can see them in your eyes.”

Martin nodded his head. “That would be a good bet, yes.” He said.

Dynina’s eyes narrowed. “What does this mean? A good bet?”

Wayonn smiled and moved to stand beside Martin. “You will find your grandson has a very unique vocabulary Dynina. He can speak six languages fluently.”

“Six?!” A Pralor woman at the table gasped.

Wayonn nodded his head. “Most of the others in Martin’s family speak even more than that.” Wayonn told them. “It will take some getting used to, but you will find Martin and many of those among our people mix humor within our conversations. We have found it helps to put everyone at ease.”

Dynina’s eyes twinkled in delight when she heard this. She waved her hand all around them. “This ... how you are doing this? This is a Mark II is it not? I knew they existed but I have never used one before now.” She asked. “Can you sustain this staaniketo? Your answers ... the answers you seek will take time.”

Martin nodded his head. “Actually it was technology left to those on Earth by Pralors.” He told her. “Pretty cool huh?”

“All of you ... all of you can do this?” Dynina asked surprised.

Martin shook his head. “No. Androcles and I are the only ones strong enough to initiate them alone. It always helps to have others within the connection though, especially those who are strong etherically. It would take more people if Andro and I are not in the communication but they could do it. Wayonn, Torma and I can hold this for several hours at least.”

“We all have information that answers your questions Martin.” Dynina spoke. “We can give you what you seek. Especially your first and most wanted answer.”

Martin’s eyes seemed to grow brighter in the transmission and he stepped closer to her in the transmission. “Then it is Walter?” He asked softly.

“Dymas? He goes by Walter now, yes?”

Martin nodded. “Yes.”

Dynina nodded her own head with a smile. “Your insight does you credit staaniketo.” She told him. “But do not find fault with Walter. He does not know and has never known that he is a vassal.”

“A vassal?” Wayonn questioned.

Dynina nodded her head quickly. “I must start from the beginning staaniketo, but know that Walter is and has always been loyal to you and to your father. That has never wavered. Not even for an instant. He could not be anything else, for he is of Nicha’s bloodline.” Dynina looked at Nicha and then back to Martin. “He has Pralor blood within him.”

Martin nodded his head. “Many of us do staania.” He said. “That doesn’t prove anything really.”

“No Martin.” Dynina said pulling Nicha close to her. “He has Nicha’s bloodline within him.”

“But she ... she is with you.” Martin said. “Oh man...” They watched him pull a chair from outside the cone of the transmission and sit down. “I feel a humdinger of a headache coming on.”

Dynina couldn’t help but smile this time. “It is a very long story staaniketo, but one that you must now know.”

Martin looked up at her. “I’ve been getting nothing but long stories lately staania. I bet I got some news that even you don’t know about.” Martin waved his hand as if ushering her towards him. “Hit me with it. Let’s have it.”

VENTORI

DISCOVERY FORWARD BASE

KING’S QUARTERS

“ ... came to me within a year of you leaving Wayonn.” Dynina spoke from the chair at the table. All of them had turned their chairs to face Martin and Wayonn in the transmission and all of them were paying rapt attention. While all of them knew most of the story, this was the first time they were hearing it in Dynina’s words. She had been their unofficial leader since coming here, but she was still a very private individual. She did not avoid direct questions, but she did not go out of her way to answer questions about her past.

“He ... he regretted sending you away even though he knew it needed to be done. You were such a calming influence on him after he became wolf.”

Wayonn nodded his head. “I suspected as much.” He spoke. “I thought he might turn to Avi, Avatar 41, but I guess that is not the case.”

Dynina shook her head. “Oh no.” She commented. “Avi, as you call him now, he knew about all we talked of.” She smiled faintly. “I came to determine it was actually very comforting knowing that he was around. I am glad you discovered him staaniketo.“

“Why doesn’t Avi remember any of this Staania?” Martin asked.

“Sumar told me he was going to delete these memories from his databanks to protect the knowledge that he had sent us away and to where. I can only assume that he did this since you know nothing.”

Martin shook his head. “He never said a word.”

“Avatar 41 would have told you all of this Martin, if those files were in his memory, but I digress away from your grandfather.” She looked at Martin. “He told me that he could feel them Martin.”

“The Scourge?” Martin asked leaning closer.

Dynina shook her head. “Not those vile monsters ... no.” She told him. “He felt the High Coven. The Vampires. He knew that they were coming to Lycavore.” She said. “I believe it was because of some sort of link that he maintained with Xaxon his twin. He could feel what Xaxon was doing where he was, corrupting those he was near. He could not do anything to stop it but he knew the time would come when they would come for us because of Sumar and the others.”

Martin nodded his head slowly. “That stands to reason.” He said softly. “The sick bastard wanted his body back and that was on CS41.”

Dynina nodded her head in agreement. “But Sumar could sense the darkness within him even then. What he had done to his Praetorian Mage was horrific to say the least, but the deaths he was responsible for ... they are incalculable.”

“You will get no argument from us on that.” Martin spoke evenly. “I have seen some of Grandfather Sumar’s memories. They were only bits and pieces, but they were terrifying to see even on a good day.” Martin looked at her intently. “Thankfully, we will not have to deal with him ever again.”

Dynina looked at him oddly. “You have destroyed his Etheric essence?”

Martin nodded his head slowly. “Andro, Murano and the rest of my children.” He told her. “Xaxon will never hurt anyone again. Unfortunately, we still have to deal with his actions through the millennia. That will take time. Andro and Narice have started it, they did something I would never have been able to do and it will continue, but it will take time.”

“You are much like him Martin.” Dynina spoke affectionately. “He never thought in the here and now, your grandfather. He was always thinking to the future.” She looked at Wayonn. “When you did not contact him back within the first century Wayonn, he knew something had gone wrong and he put the plans in motion for us. For our future.”

“What we found when we went back was terrifying.” Wayonn told her. “The Scourge were obliterating everything around them as they swept across our space. I decided not to remain but our ship was damaged as we tried to escape. We ended up in the Beta Quadrant and it took us nearly five hundred years to build a new ship. I sent my son back but by that time events had already been set in motion with the birth of Resumar.”

Dynina nodded her head. “Yes they were.”

“It was a painful decision, but I chose not to return to Lycavore and alter the balance of things.” Wayonn said.

Dynina shook her head quickly. “It would not have mattered regardless.” She told him. “And you may have fallen with Sumar that day if you had returned.”

“How Dynina?” Wayonn asked softly.

“Ten thousand Pralors. Ten thousand Darastrixi. And ten thousand Lycavorians.” Nicha spoke now. “All chosen secretly, all chosen by those Sumar had spoken to before he was lost to us Fera, Before Sumar and Wayonn ever left on the mission that brought them to your people.”

“Please don’t call me that.” Martin told her with an embarrassed shake of his head.

Nicha shook her own head. “Do not ask this of me Revik rie Arvy.” She told him. “Do not ask this of any of us. You are the reason we came here to begin with. And it is you alone who we will follow.”

“Me?” Martin asked with wide eyes.

“It is what Sumar asked of me.” Nicha told him.

“And it is what Sumar told me that Dadrien asked of us, of the Darastrixi.” Kenroe spoke now.

Martin looked at him with wide eyes. “Dadrien?” He asked shocked. “How could ... I just found out about Dadrien from my sons. How could you...”

“He knew things.” Kenroe spoke. “Things that only Dadrien would have known about our people and our history...”

Dynina nodded her head now. “He told me of you Martin.” She said with a smile as she continued. “He told me that you would come, your grandfather did. A descendant of blood; his blood, Sateia’s blood, of my blood. A descendant with an unbreakable will, filled with justice and passion and a heart so pure that it would blind one to look into its center. He told me that you would not know who you were for many thousands of years, but that you would feel the call within your blood. He told me that you would never know your father, for he would fall in battle defending us before you were ever born, but that you would speak with him often for advice once he was gone.”

Martin stared at her incredulously. “How do you ... how do you know that?” He gasped aloud.

Dynina smiled brightly. “Throughout time there have always been men who struggled against destiny in order to keep it from happening staaniketo, only to have it break them down to nothing. There have always been men who try to run from destiny’s hand, only to have it swallow them whole. And then there are men like Sumar, like Resumar, like your father, like my grandsons. These are men who embrace their destiny and do not show fear; and these are the ones who will change the very face of the universe forever. Your grandfather Sumar was such a man Martin. I saw that in him the day he took my beautiful Sateia as his wife and mate, and every day after that. You are such a man staaniketo and your son Androcles is such a man. You cannot escape this plain and simple truth no matter how much you wish it so.”

Martin looked at Wayonn and shook his head slowly. “I’ve known her for less than an hour and already she talks like you and Helen.” He said.

Wayonn grinned as he chuckled. “Perhaps now you will begin to listen to us.”

Dynina smiled as she continued. “Sumar told me that you and your children would see the Praetorians reborn into an image of something new. Something new to fight the darkness when it returned.” She leaned forward slightly in the chair she sat in. “He told me that his blood, that Sateia’s blood, my blood, it would all come forth in one of his descendants many thousands of years into the future. In that descendant he would pour all of his memories and knowledge. That he would be one of the first Vrelvel Sargti to ever hold this sacred title and not be born of Darastrixi blood. He told me that you and your son would hold this hallowed title of the Darastrixi people. You and your son Androcles. He knew this Martin, more than fifteen thousand years ago! You cannot deny your destiny, that descendant is you Martin Leonidas.”

Kenroe came to his feet. “Sumar spoke to me Fera. When he came to my world that day so long ago looking for help against the Scourge and we turned him away. He knew even then what would take place and happen. He knew that separately we had no chance against the vile creatures but together, united, we could prevail. We have believed this for millennia and to this day we have not given up hope. He told me that your sons would be the heralds to the return of the Dahakoan! And they would be even more powerful than their predecessors, for they alone with their soul sister, they would carry the Praetorian gene within them.” Kenroe returned to his chair. “And he knew the third Dahakoan would come from the Darastrixi! He could only know these things if Dadrien was with him even then, speaking to him in a way we would never understand.” Kenroe spoke now from his chair. “Androcles and Dorian, and now Laren Ti’shara has joined them. It has come true. All of what we spoke of has come true. All Darastrixi here know this and believe.”

Nicha smiled at him as she held Dynina’s hand. “I don’t suppose you wish to hear what he spoke of to me to make me believe before he left on his mission?”

Martin held up his hand, shaking his head. “I get it.” He said with a lopsided grin.

“This is a destiny you cannot run from Martin my staaniketo.” Dynina said.

“I was hoping to give it the old college try though staania.” Martin told her seeing the look of confusion on her face and the others.

Wayonn smiled and placed his hand on Martin’s shoulder and then looked at Dynina. “How did you... ?” Wayonn began to ask.

Dynina looked at Nicha with a smile. “We had been using City Ship 41 as the center of our largest settlement. I don’t know what Sumar had Avatar 41 do in order to activate a signal, but two days before The Black Day began, they arrived to take us. Nicha and dozens of Pralor and Darastrixi ships. We had rudimentary space craft by then, but I hid them while they were in orbit so that our people did not detect them.”

“You hid them?” Martin asked shocked. “How do you hide a fleet staania?”

Dynina smiled at him. “I am called by many names here on Lorenu, one of which is Yowa Medwaw.”

“Witch mother.” Martin said. “Wayonn tried to explain to me about you. How you were able to do things...”

Dynina nodded her head. “Ishma can explain it much better than I. There is a scientific description of it, well a theory really. I do not really understand it myself, I just know what I can do.” She told him. “Sumar and I had selected ten thousand men and women. Alphas and Betas both. All of them young and proud and mated. All of them were some of the most intelligent and forward thinking of our people at that time. Nicha and Kenroe oversaw the transports as they came to the surface and then our people left with them.”

“And no one noticed?” Martin asked.

Dynina shook her head. “You must remember, Sumar and I had been planning this for decades. All of those chosen were carefully relocated to one settlement over that time. I cast a memory tryn around the settlement when it became time for us to depart. Essentially anyone who moved through this barrier towards this settlement would forget that it was even there. If it was discovered after we left, this was quickly forgotten when the Black Day began.”

“Magic staania?” Martin asked her.

“You, more than anyone, you should know not to discount what you do not know or understand Martin.” Dynina told him.

“What is it?” Martin asked her.

“Ishma can explain it much better than I, as I said.” Dynina answered. “Have you ever heard the term Esotericism? Ishma says it is a human word that best describes it in layman’s terms.”

Martin’s brow furrowed somewhat. “Eso what?” He asked. “That sounds like something Red would give me to put on aur mida to get rid of a bad case of hemorrhoids.”

It was obvious then to Martin and Wayonn that everyone present in the room spoke the ancient Lycavorian language because all of them burst into hearty laughter that they could not control. Perhaps it was because what they had waited so long for was finally upon them, but the sense of happiness and relief that filled the room was nearly a palpable thing and both Martin and Wayonn could see it. They looked at each other with smiles as Dynina and the others roared with laughter. It took a long moment for all of them to finally get their laughter under control and Kenroe shook his head as he waved his hand.

“Oh... Revik rie Arve ... we have; we have not laughed like that in centuries.” Kenroe spoke trying to catch his breath. “Red? This is the small Hadarian Queen Anja Revik rie Arve?”

Martin nodded his head. “That would be her.” He said.

“Our doctors have waited a very long time to meet her. I understand she is; they say she is the most brilliant medical mind anywhere in the known universe. And Queen Aricia, your Anome with the most fascinating eyes that I have ever seen. Eyes she has given to Dahakoan Androcles. She reminds all of us of Maha the most. So young and exquisitely exotic in her beauty.”

Martin turned his eyes on Dynina and motioned back and forth between her and him with his finger. “See ... this is the very awkward part staania. What you all know.” He spoke evenly. “I have known Walter since I was a baby. How can you know all this and yet tell me Walter is not one of you? That he has no idea what is going on.”

“He does not Martin.” Dynina spoke now. “I swear this to you. He was never aware that I used him as a vassal. It is a form of this Esotericism that I spoke of. The closest term that I can think of that you might be familiar with is scrying.”

“Scrying?” Martin asked. “As in magical scrying?”

Dynina nodded her head. “As I told you, Walter is of Nicha’s bloodline.”

Martin nodded his head. “And how did that happen again?” Martin said.

“Walter is what you would call my great, great grandson Martin.” Nicha spoke now. “I ... I married a Lycavorian within the first two years here. He is very handsome and...” Nicha stopped and smiled shyly. “He turned me and two years later I gave birth to our first child. A boy, Menoa. He in turn became mates with a Lycavorian girl many years later. Their first child was a girl. My granddaughter Jaclena. This took place over the course of perhaps a thousand years. Well, Jaclena became the mate of a Lycavorian. It was around this time that Dynina had devised a way for us to get several volunteers back into the Alpha Quadrant among our people. They were slaves to the High Coven by now, but it was a very simple plan and no vampire thought to question it when a few more slaves came back from a work detail than what left.”

“They volunteered for this?” Martin asked in disbelief.

Dynina nodded her head. “Every mated pair here volunteered for this staaniaketo.” She told him. “That ought to tell you how strong their faith is.”

“Jaclena and her mate met secretly with Resumar Revik rie Arve.” Nicha spoke. “Their first child ... their only child ... this was Walter.” Her voice had dropped several tones now and she looked at the floor. “He was sent to Earth with the Ten Thousand. With your father.”

Martin sat back in his chair quickly. The story of the Ten Thousand was legend among the Lycavorian people, both on Earth and Apo Prime. Many Lycavorians had recently taken to naming their new born children with a second name after a member of the Ten Thousand in some way through the years. It was where his father’s Spartan legend began. It was among the oldest and most revered legends in all Lycavorian history and had been since the inception of the Lycavorian Union. The Ten Thousand were why the Spartan mentality and way of life had found its way into the stars. “Grandfather Resumar knew this?”

Dynina nodded her head. “Yes.”

Martin looked at Nicha once more. “And your ... your daughter and her mate?” Martin asked.

Nicha shook her head sadly. “They died when the rebellion began, fighting beside those they had come to call friend and family.” She spoke softly. She looked at him. “This is why you cannot ask me not to call you Revik rie Arve. They died fighting for what they believed. What we all believe. They died fighting so that you would come.”

Martin shook his head. “Tefarie lae.” Martin said softly.

Nicha met his eyes and shook her head with a warm smile. “There is nothing to forgive Revik rie Arve. We honor her memory every day, as do her eight brothers and sisters.”

Dynina watched him carefully as he sat there in silence for a long moment contemplating what Nicha had told him. He was looking at the floor and did not see the small smile and proud look on her face for he probably would not have approved. So far, he was everything she had ever dreamed he was, everything Sumar had told her he would be. Finally, he looked up at her.

“And Walter?” He asked finally.

“As with most of the Spartan women who our fetuses were implanted into, the virus in our blood changed them during their pregnancies.” Dynina spoke. “And with this came Etheric ability. The children absorbed their mother’s memories and they in turn absorbed the memories of their new babies. It was one of the main reasons Spartan women were almost as feared as their men.” Dynina explained. “Walter’s Spartan mother turned her husband, the man you know as Panos. They then swore to Walter when he was only six months old that they would honor his true mother and father and their sacrifice, and keep the secret. And this they did, from that day forward.”

Martin nodded his head for he knew this to be true personally. “That they have.” He said softly. “That they have.” He met her eyes. “So Panos and Hestia knew all along?”

“They knew what they were. Just as your father did. Just as all the Ten Thousand knew.” Dynina told him. “And they accepted it without doubt. They just did not know the entire story. Nor did your Praetorian Mage Helen. On the journey here, Nicha and I became inseparable.” Dynina continued. “She had lost a sister to the Scourge and I had lost a sister to disease many years before. This bond between us grew as the days and years passed and it was because of this bond that I could reach across the etheric realm and scryed Walter. Because he was of her blood I could follow his trace etheric essence to where he was. This allowed me to see and hear with his eyes and ears. All that he did. All that he saw. This is how we discovered your father had fallen.” Dynina said softly. “This is also how we knew that you and your mother yet lived.”