Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

The girl humbly took up a bowing position, waiting for the person entering to sit at the table across from her. Once she had heard him completely settle, a gentle, comforting voice filled the room. "Raise your head daughter."

"Yes, father."

His eyes were a faded gray, similar to that of a cloudy day threatening rain, the same as her own. Before her sat a document that had been rolled up. She reached for it and unfurled the sheet.

"We received that news a few weeks ago, Kalliope."

Kalliope\'s ears twitched. She could pick up on the faint hint of sadness that colored the man\'s voice. She quickly read through the document and fought the urge to rip the parchment to shreds.

"So, brother is dead then." She growled.

"So, it would seem. We believe someone from Eroa betrayed him to Alorek. However, we do not know who that might have been. Unfortunately the mission was not as…private as we were lead to believe and there are many dozens of people who may have done so." Her father stated.

Once again, Kalliope swallowed the anger in her heart and took a series of deep breaths. "How did he die?"

Her father paused before continuing. "Forced combat, against a minotaur under King Zethis\' command. His body was consumed by the beast and as such we have been unable to retrieve anything for funeral rites."

"I see. At least he died in battle."

"It would seem that he was granted one honor in death at least."

Both beastmen sat in an uncomfortable silence. Their ears twitched simultaneously as the door opened once again and a gorgeous woman who bore a striking resemblance to Kalliope entered. It was her and her brother\'s mother, one of her father\'s five wives.

Kalliope and her brother were the only two children between her father and her mother. As such the anger of the loss weighed even heavier on her heart.

She glanced at her mother whose regal form betrayed no emotions, as befitting the first wife of the head of the Gray Wolf Clan. However, the unmistakable salty scent of tears brushed past her nose. On the outside, her mother was as strong as steel and as graceful as a bird, but this pained her greatly to lose her eldest child and only son.

"I will avenge brother. Send me father." Kalliope demanded.

"No. You are stronger, faster, and even smarter than your brother was. But you lack the two most important things that your brother had hand over fist above you."

Frustration welled up into her throat. "And what is that…father?" Her anger and rage were barely contained as her words came out with such a growl they could almost be heard as the warble of a beast than the speech of a person.

"Experience and common sense." Her father pointed out. "What good is knowledge if you don\'t have the ability to put it to use? What good is strength, if it cannot be harnessed? What good is speed, if you do not know where to run? Your brother knew these things, but you do not."

She could not argue with that. It was true. She lacked worldly knowledge. She was among the strongest of her peers, but that meant little in the real world. She was not like the monster king of Alorek, whose power was such that he did not need clever tricks to win. And despite that, he still did.

The one man in the world who had the strength to not be clever, still was. So what could she do?

Compared to her brother, father, mother, and even the weakest warriors of her nation\'s army, she was still a pup.

"I understand, father. May I leave?"

"No."

Kalliope had already started to shift her position so she could stand, but halted at her father\'s words. She eyed him cautiously, not knowing what he was going to propose.

"I will be sending you to Fort Sella near the border with Alorek. There are frequent skirmishes there and it will teach you much of true battle."

"And of my time in the academy?"

"It is finished. I have spoken with the king personally and you are being considered as a graduate with full marks. Congratulations."

"Father! I still have much to learn! There is…"

"You are still going to be learning. In fact, an old friend of mine is currently at Fort Sella. He will be overseeing your training."

Her eyes started sparkling. Her father was an abrupt and gruff man to most people outside of the clan so he did not have many close relationship outside of the clan. However, he referred to every Gray Wolf as \'family\' and none were called \'friends\' so it was definitely someone outside the family. This left the options slim as to who it may be…

"Is it…" Kalliope began.

"It is Sir Kalivas."

Despite the somber nature of the start of the meeting, Kalliope could not contain her excitement. Kalivas was a hero among the people of Eroa, and a very close friend of her father. He had left his clan due to the distaste they had for his mark, but he became a powerful warrior that the Kingdom relied upon.

"I can\'t believe it…Uncle Kalivas is going to train me?!" She squealed.

Suddenly the mood shifted to a much brighter one. There was no one in the kingdom who was better suited to teaching her how to fight in a real battle. Kalivas and her father, Atil, were old friends from battles long past and as a pup, Kalliope had seen him fight many, many times. While she did mourn the loss of her brother, he was able to die honorably in battle, as all Gray Wolves wish.

So the best way to honor his memory would be to do as her father commanded and venture to Fort Sella and train.

She bowed deeply to her mother and father. "Thank you, father, mother, for this opportunity. I shall not disappoint."

"You better not. I have put a lot of faith in you and pulled a lot of favors with the king to grant you exception from the Academy. Be grateful and learn well. I do not wish to have a second child follow the path of my son. Honorable though it may be, death is death."

"Yes father. I understand."

Kalliope bowed once again and left the room quietly. She swiftly walked through the halls and past dozens of servants as well as children who were running through the halls. The compound of the Gray Wolf Clan was always packed with people and children. Like many of the great clans in Eroa, they had many relatives and many children.

Were it not for her mother\'s complications with Kalliope\'s birth, she may have been one of a dozen rather than one of two. Unfortunately, those thoughts brought her down from her excitement as she remembered that she was now one of one.

Kalliope dodged past the children and made her way outside to the family\'s private garden. It was a place reserved for her father, his wives, and their children as a way to escape the chaos of the rest of the clan. She sauntered over to a large, smooth stone that stretched over the pond and gentle stream that ran through the garden.

For comfort, she grabbed her tail and cradled it in her arms. It had been a long time since she had done that…likely since she was a child. She stopped pretty early because her brother had started making fun of her for seeking comfort in her tail \'like a baby,\' and that angered her to the point that she stopped just to prove to him that she was not a baby anymore.

Those fond memories filled her mind as she stroked the fur on her own tail.

"Don\'t worry brother… I will train with Kalivas… and I will gain the strength to feed Zethis\' head to his own beasts. I swear it." A brief surge of mana burst from her body, standing all her fur and hair on end for a moment before returning to normal.