Soul of a Human

Mor and his team continued their hunt, but while they endured cold and darkness, his family and friends couldn't say they had a nice vacation in the Ice-kin city. With the first hunt in progress, the grand chief finally had time to speak to Dino. However, no apology was forthcoming for sidelining the representative of another Kin tribe, which Dino graciously let go of, as he could imagine why there was a delay and a lack of decorum.

In the week Mor took to get ready, he also explained the more intricate parts of his experiences in the Ice-kin village, namely the changed monstrosities. While Gorn was also there, the big man didn't confirm or deny those outrageous notions.

Now as Dino was sitting in front of the grand chief, this secret was looming over the meeting like a wet fart. The Soul-kin themselves hadn't encountered a single one of them. However, with Mor's descriptions and innovative magic training for the young Ice-kin, Dino knew that the Soul-kin were a perfect fit to help contest those things. In addition, it would be a chance for the Soul-kin to return to their historical power, depending on the circumstances at home, though.

"Now Dinothom, what brings you to my city? Is it the Soul-kin that had taken shelter in the Snow village?" The grand chief asked.

"Indeed," Dino confirmed.

"I see. Then will you stay until he returns from his hunt while not interfering with it?" The grand chief continued.

"Yes, but I would also like to use this opportunity to discuss some things with you," Dino said.

"Oh?" The Ice-kin let out an interested exclamation, nodding for Dino to continue.

"I know of your troubles with the changed monstrosities." The Soul-kin prince revealed, and the chief frowned.

"Are you encountering them too?" He asked.

"Not yet, but my lost kin had told us about them," Dino stated.

"I could have thought about that." The chief sighed. "Well, no matter. My clan chiefs and I are talking about adapting."

Dino nodded. "And I would like to help."

"How so?" The chief said.

"Saying this will get me in real trouble if my father finds out, but a little honesty might be the best in such strange times." The prince stated. "Many of my kin got complacent, and I can only rely on a handful to change that."

The chief looked a bit surprised but quickly hid it again. Such a revelation to other kin wasn't usual. However, it fell in line with what the Snow-scout Lize had to report of her time with the Soul-kin, which made him remember something else.

"I hope that adoptive Soul, who had resided in the Snow village, is part of that handful. He is very promising on the accounts I hear about him. I guess he is because you came here personally instead of sending an envoy."

Dino inclined his head in agreement.

"So what did you have in mind?" The chief asked.

"I would like to send some trustworthy Soul-kin soldiers to your villages." Dino started but was interrupted by the chief.

"No. No matter how honest you are, I can't trust you. Who says those soldiers will not eradicate those villages."

"I want to help." Dino pleaded. "My soldiers can help with those magical effects and get more training in return. Sitting in the defensive installments on our Islands may keep us safe for now, but things are changing, and we need to be ready for it."

"Why are you so sure of that?" The chief questioned.

"You know of the Stone-kin tragedy?" Dino asked, and the chief nodded.

"We are the most magical adapt kin there are. Nothing we know of could do such a thing. Nothing but one mystical being." Dino explained, and the chief's eyes grew wide.

"You just want to scare me so I will agree to your terms. What you're implying is impossible, that thing is nothing but myth and legend." He hissed.

"But what if not?" Dino asked.

"I won't let you trick me." The chief growled, and Dino gave him a flat look.

"I recognize the dagger is out of the sheath." A voice coming from up on the ceiling added, triggering every Ice-kin guard and Morokhan, who were on protective duty, to alert.

"No need for hostilities. We are not here to fight." The voice said.

"Shadow-kin." The chief growled. "Show yourself so I can cut you in half!"

"That would be unwise." The Shadow-kin answered as she dropped out from a dark patch on the ceiling. She looked at Dino.

"How did you find out? We're keeping that secret well hidden." She asked.

"It is the most plausible thing, no matter how impossible it sounds, " Dino said carefully.

"Interesting, your kin are not known for accepting impossibilities." The Shadow-kin stated.

"I got my worldviews changed a bit and am now struggling to adapt and prepare my kin for the coming storm," Dino said to a nodding Shadow-kin.

"The Anomaly, " she said. He is quite an interesting one. Too bad he declined our training once already."

"Hands of my boy," Morokhan growled, picking up on the Shadow-kin's meanings.

"Don't worry. We won't do anything to him. But our offer to give him training still stands," she said. "Please tell him that."

"What do you mean with you kept that hidden?!" The Ice-kin chief hissed.

"We decided that hasty action will do more harm than good, and as long as it stays dormant, we can ease the other kin into this revelation. The prince here is the first of the powerful and influential to prepare. Except for us." The Shadow-kin stated, with a nod to Dino.

"When did you want to tell us?" The chief growled.

"When you were ready. Your kin are the first who encounter the new monstrosities, and after adapting and noticing the pattern, we would have confirmed your suspicions." The Shadow-kin explained.

"You can't tell us straight forward because no other kin trusts you enough to believe it without proof. Proof that we need to find on our own first." Dino mused and got another nod in return.

"So it is the First?" The Ice-kin chief asked.

"It is. It's lying low, and we don't know why, but we are watching it." The Shadow-kin confirmed.

"Maybe it needs to recuperate its magic." Dino mused.

"We have no way of confirming that, mainly because the secret records are spotty at best. Whatever is left from that time was mostly destroyed in the mad scramble for survival." The Shadow-kin added.

Dino thought about it for a moment, then looked at his Ice-kin counterpart.

"I think we should work together. Even if we're only talking for now, it is a first step, " he said.

"You're right, but your soldiers will not enter my villages, " the Ice-kin chief declared.

As he wanted to address the Shadow-kin again, he noticed that she was gone without anyone noticing.

"And that's why nobody trusts them." He grumbled to an agreeing Dino.

The two leaders sat down and started a new negotiation. However, Dino had to concede quickly that he still needed approval from his father, who had a more conservative stance on the whole thing.

This meant the Soul-king believed that as long as they stayed in their floating isles, the Soul-kin were safe from every threat, a sentiment Dino didn't share. Even less so with the new revelations of the changed monstrosities. It might only be a matter of time before something perilous developed the means of flight and got into a city, something more dangerous than the usual flying monstrosities like harpies.

This was the one point where the Ice-kin agreed with the Soul-prince. With the information of the Shadow-kin, who still are seen as untrustworthy but couldn't be dismissed in this case, the two formed a temporary pact. It was more a promise of cooperation if the First went on a rampage and to open up further discussions when Dino had either convinced or succeeded his father.