Grand Game 488: The Inner Council

80 Days Left for Brokering Peace in Sector 12,560

Tyelin has delivered a promissory note for 200,000 gold to your representative, Nicola, thereby fulfilling his Power’s Pact obligations. Your Pact with Blythe is closed!

My reunion with the rest of the wolves was as emotionally charged as the one with my human companions—if for different reasons—and the day flew by as Ghost and I reacquainted ourselves with both Packs. 

Nyra’s introduction to the others was another occasion for tension, but the New Havener handled matters well enough on her own, and no intervention was required on my part. Still, it was close to midnight before all the reunions were completed, and I decided to postpone the recounting of my adventures until the next day. 

“Are we all here?” Safyre asked when everyone had gathered in the large central igloo the next morning. 

Sitting down cross-legged atop a thick stack of furs, I glanced at those on either side of me. Wolves and humans both, we sat in a large circle. 

Ghost, the dire wolf elders, Oursk, and Snow lounged on my left while Adriel, Nyra, Anriq, Teresa, and Terence were on my right. “I think so,” I said to Safyre, who’d sat directly opposite me.

“Then go ahead, Michael,” she replied. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Nodding, I gathered my thoughts.

It was Safyre who I had asked to set up the promised ‘serious discussion.’ She had not demurred for which I was glad. Safyre was already familiar with everyone invited—except for Adriel and Nyra, of course. Tellingly, she had spent more time with any of them than I had, and it was clear to me that the twins, and even Anriq, trusted her. 

But then so, too, did I.

We hadn’t had as much time to speak last night as I’d hoped. Still, we had managed to smooth over some of the biggest misunderstandings between us. The air hadn’t been cleared entirely, though, and much had been left unsaid. 

Chief in my mind was Safyre’s threat. 

It had not been an idle one, I knew. She would leave if she felt I was holding out—and that was something I definitely did not want. So, let’s not mess this up.

Exhaling, I began. “All of you are aware that I plan on reviving House Wolf. Until yesterday, I thought I knew what that meant. A bit of delegation here and there, trusting everyone to do their part, appointing a custodian, arranging a successor, and so on. But at the end of the day, I would still be the one holding all the cards, the only one to grasp the whole picture.”

I sighed. “Today, I’ve come to the realization that I cannot rule alone, that House Wolf cannot be steered correctly if I am the only one who understands what needs to be done. I have decided that House Wolf needs a council.” I scanned their faces. “And that you are it.”

Silence.

“Us?” Terence finally blurted. “You want us on House Wolf’s council?”

“While some of you might not have been my first choice,” I said with a pointed look at Terence that set the others chuckling, “fortune did bring us together.” My face grew solemn. “But on a more serious note, each of you has my trust. And make no mistake, what I’ll be trusting you with is the future of the House no less.”

The laughter died down. 

“There are still a few faces missing,” I continued, thinking of Ceruvax, Algar, Regus, and Farren, “but otherwise, yes, you are it: the inner council of House Wolf.”

“Really?” Adriel murmured. “You’d be so bold as to allow a lich on your council?”

I smiled at her. “But you’re not just any lich, are you?”

She shook her head. “Michael, I’m no Wolf, you know that. If Ceruvax was here… well, I’m sure you can imagine what he’d say. Death should not sit on Wolf’s council.” 

No one contested Adriel’s words, and if anything, I sensed the others agreed with her. Despite my assurances yesterday, an undercurrent of tension remained between the lich and the rest of my companions. 

I was not about to let it sway me, though. “If you haven’t already noticed, there is a dearth of Wolf candidates right now,” I said wryly. “And besides, you’ve more than earned your right on this council. But if it makes you feel any better, we can designate you a visiting dignitary.”

Adriel laughed. “Whatever you wish, Michael. I will serve your House while I can—but you know I will not be around for much longer.”

I nodded, not missing the pointed nature of her last remark. It was not however a subject I wanted to address just yet.

“But what is a House?” Teresa interjected.

I turned her way, glad for the distraction. “I’m not sure what you’re asking,” I admitted. “What is House Wolf? It is whatever we say it is.”

Adriel shook her head. “Not quite.”

I glanced at her curiously.

“Houses are—or were, rather—like special factions. They were more than just that, though. To be of House Wolf was synonymous with having awakened Wolf blood. Every House member would have already gone through an awakening and suppressed his other bloodlines.”

Terence frowned. “Then neither Teresa nor I could ever be true Wolves?” The pair already knew they had no Wolf blood.

“Not by the old definition, no.” Adriel shot me a glance. “In fact, the only one here qualified to be a member of House Wolf is Michael himself.”

“What about a player’s Marks?” Safyre asked, looking intrigued.

“What about them?” Adriel asked rhetorically. “Marks don’t factor at all when it comes to House membership. They provide an indication of a player’s relationship with a particular bloodline, Power, or Force, and influence how a player may evolve, but they don’t automatically confer House membership.”

“Interesting,” Safyre murmured, sitting back.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Adriel added after a moment. “Marks are important. They can, if sufficiently deepened, suppress other Marks or even a player’s bloodlines, stopping them from ever awakening.”

Anriq sat up. “What does that mean for me?”

“Under the rules of the old Primes, you too would not have qualified for House membership,” Adriel told him bluntly. “Your bloodlines—all of them—have been suppressed by your Force Marks.”

“But the old Primes are no more,” I said flatly.

Adriel inclined her head, acknowledging the point. “And there are no higher-ranked Wolfs around to gainsay you. So, it’s as you say, Michael: House Wolf is whatever you say it is.”

My lips tightened fractionally. I would not have put it so baldly, but she had the right of it. Now wanting to dwell further on the topic though, I glanced at Safyre and signaled for her to proceed.

Taking my meaning, she moved things along. “Alright. As Michael has said, we are now, each of us, part of House Wolf’s inner council. It will therefore fall on us to decide the House’s future.” She paused. “But before we get to that, there is another matter we must attend to first.” She smiled, somewhat bitingly I thought. “As most of you are no doubt aware, our dear scion is all too fond of his secrets.”

That spurred another round of chuckles.

“The secrets end today,” Safyre continued. “As a member of the inner council, you will be privy to all the House’s secrets.” Her face grew more serious. “There is a ‘but’ however. A big one. Notwithstanding my previous remarks, there are consequences to being one of those in the know. You are all already aware of some of them. You will be branded a criminal and hunted—relentlessly—across the breadth of the Kingdom for the information you hold.”

Safyre fell silent again, weighing up each person before continuing. “But those are only the external consequences. There are internal ones too, restrictions we must place on ourselves to safeguard against betrayal.”

Teresa shifted restlessly. “Betrayal? How can you even suggest that? No one here would betray Michael!”

Safyre waved aside her protest. “You’re missing the point, Tes. It’s not just Michael who would be betrayed, but all House Wolf. Each one of us has already been tainted by Michael’s heresy.” She held up her hand, stilling Teresa’ burgeoning objections. “Oh, I know no one here considers it that, but the new Powers do—and they will spare no effort to wipe out anything that smacks of the ancients. No one will escape their wrath. Not you. Not the dire wolves. Not the arctic wolves. Not even their pups. Everyone will be put to the sword. That is what betrayal will cost us. Do you understand what I mean?”

Teresa gulped. “I do.” 

“There is something else to consider,” Adriel interjected softly, drawing all eyes to her. “Betrayal need not be willingly performed. Everyone, even Michael, can be made to betray our cause. There are players in the Game that can extract your deepest darkest secrets—without consent.” She gestured to the pyre wolf. “Ghost here, can do that to an extent. But there are also others who can do it more fully and more brutally.”

“The lich is right,” Safyre said. “And don’t forget the Powers themselves. What they can do does not even bear mentioning.”

Anriq lifted his chin. “So, what are you driving at?”

Safyre looked at him. “Just this: there is a price to being a member of this council, a price to knowing all the House’s plans.” She swept the room with her gaze. “If you choose to remain, you must also accede to your movements being controlled.”

Anriq snorted. “My movements are already curtailed. I’m a criminal, remember?”

“And I am a forsworn,” she said. “But the restrictions I speak of will be more onerous.”

“More?” Terence asked disbelievingly.

“More,” Safyre confirmed. “If you decide to stay in the council, you will swear a Pact with the House's leader, giving him the right to decide where you go and when.”

“That would be Michael, presumably?” Nyra asked softly.

Safyre nodded.

“But... but... if we do that, he’ll just force us to stay here,” Terence protested. “Safe and out of the way, just like he wants!”

“It has to be this way,” I said, speaking up at last. 

What Safyre had proposed came as no shock to me, of course. We’d discussed the matter yesterday, and if I was being honest, it was more my proposal than hers. Yet she had agreed to its necessity. “Not just for my sake, but that of everyone,” I added.

Teresa stared at Safyre, looking betrayed. “You made him promise last night not to leave us behind. Now you’re giving him the means to do just that!”

“That’s not what this is about, Teresa,” I said gently. “I will keep my word. You are being given a choice, but like Safyre said, there can be consequences—ugly consequences—to being captured by our enemies.” I sighed. “If you wish to accompany me to Nexus, it’s better to step outside now, and not know everything.” I held her gaze. “You can’t betray what you don’t know.”

The young fighter looked away.

“The same applies to all of you,” I said, addressing the others. “I will tell you everything, but only if you’re willing to pay the price for holding such secrets.” 

In the renewed silence that reigned, I studied the rest of my companions, measuring their reactions.

Terence looked troubled, Anriq not so much—he met my gaze unflinchingly—Safyre appeared resigned, and Nyra was simply bored—none of this was new to her. The twins, then, were the biggest holdout. But despite their reservations, neither so much as glanced at the door.

“I guess that settles that then,” I murmured, when after the drawn-out moment no one moved. “I will be honored to hold your Pacts.”

“How?” Anriq asked abruptly.

I glanced up at the werewolf. “How?” 

But it was not to me he directed the question but Safyre. “How is Michael going to form a Pact with us? I thought only Powers could do that?”

Safyre threw me an opaque look. “That is the same thing I asked him yesterday, but he refused to divulge any details, promising to do so today.” She gestured to me with a gloved hand. “Michael?”

All eyes turned my way.

Ignoring their stares, I took my time gathering my thoughts. I’d not discussed what I had become with any of my tundra allies—not even with Safyre or the dire wolves—and with my Power Mark hidden, none of them had had cause to suspect the truth.

Now, though, the time had come to reveal myself. But for some reason, I still found myself hesitating.

“Trust them,” Ghost said suddenly. “They will not look at you any differently after this.”

I glanced at her. “How can you be so sure?”

“I’m a mind reader, remember?” Her eyes twinkled. “And yesterday, just about everyone wanted to touch me.”

I snorted, caught between scolding and thanking her, and while I couldn’t tell whether Ghost was being serious or not, her words still reassured me. She’s right. There is nothing to fear. Inhaling deeply, I turned my attention inward.

You have unconcealed your Powerful Initiate Mark.

“Inspect my spirit signatures,” I said quietly.

For a drawn out second, no one said anything.

Then the twins gasped, Anriq’s eyes grew wide, and Safyre, who I looked to most keenly, paled. “You’re a Power?” she mumbled.

“Technically I’m not one yet,” I replied. “But I’m on the path to ascension.”

“Semantics,” she muttered, color returning to her cheeks.

Her initial shock had passed, I thought. What will follow in its wake?

“When?” she demanded.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I could become a Power a week from now, a month, a year. It all depends on—” 

Safyre slashed her hand downward. “No. I mean, when did you become a Powerful Initiate? Since before we spoke at the wolves’ valley?”

My eyes widened. “Of course not! I would’ve not kept something like that a secret for so long.”

The suspicious glint in her eye did not dim.

“It happened while he was in Draven’s Reach,” Adriel said, jumping in.

Safyre’s stare swapped to the lich. 

“Michael told me you were an elite,” Adriel went on, “And that you’re someone who was once sworn to one of the new Powers. Is that true?”

Safyre nodded curtly.

“Then, I take it you know how one earns the Power Mark?”

Again, Safyre merely nodded.

“Well, we don’t,” Teresa interjected loudly. “Care to enlighten us, lich?”

“Why not,” Adriel murmured. “It has always been an ambition of mine to educate unruly children.”

Teresa reddened at the rebuke but didn’t back down from Adriel’s challenging stare.

The lich chuckled. “That one is going to be trouble,” she said in an aside to me.

Teresa’s flush deepened, but I steadfastly didn’t react. While I appreciated Adriel coming to my rescue, I wasn’t about to redirect Teresa’s ire my way. I have enough people angry at me as it is.

“There are two ways one may step onto the path of Power, young lady,” Adriel began, and to her credit, her tone was only slightly condescending. “The first, and perhaps easier, is to reach level two-hundred and fifty.”

Terence’s gaze whipped in my direction. “You’re a tier six player?” he asked in an awed tone.

I shook my head. I could well understand Terence’s amazement. When we’d parted ways, I had only been rank fifteen. To gain another ten ranks on top of that—in what amounted to little more than a month—was a nearly impossible feat, even for me. 

I’d come close, though.

“Not yet. I’m rank twenty-three at the moment,” I said, knowing that none of them would be able to overcome my deception skill and successfully analyze me.

Terence’s face grew puzzled. “Then, how—” 

“The second method of becoming a Power,” Adriel said, speaking over him, “is to kill a Power.”

This time around, Terence, Anriq, and Teresa were too stunned to voice further questions. 

“There was a Power in Draven’s Reach?” Safyre asked quietly.

“Not a new Power like you’re thinking,” I answered, “but a stygian one.”

Her brows creased. “There are stygians in the dungeon?”

“There were stygians in the dungeon,” I corrected. “Including a harbinger and a void sapling.”

Safyre’s face went blank. “You killed a harbinger?”

“I did,” I replied, “but not without assistance. Adriel helped. As did… a few others.”

Safyre pursed her lips at my evasive response, but all she said was, “I see we’re going to have to wait for the full tale to hear all the details. But for now, I’ve heard enough.” She scanned the faces of the other players in the room. “What about everyone else? Has your curiosity been satisfied and can we proceed with the Pacts?”

Anriq and Terence nodded, but Teresa was not done yet. “What about the packs? Michael may be able to bind us to obedience through a Pact, but what about the dire and arctic wolves?”

“Like I said yesterday, no wolf will dare disobey Michael,” Anriq replied before I could.

Teresa rounded on him. “You didn’t explain why, though.”

“As a Pack Protector, Michael’s Wolf Mark is stronger than even an alpha’s,” he said softly. “Pack hierarchy demands they acknowledge his dominance.”

“Really?” Teresa asked.

Duggar rose to his feet, as did Snow. All the pack elders had been following the conversation closely, but inhibited by the players’ inability to speak mind to mind, they’d been relegated to the position of silent observers.

Yet, they could still communicate without words—which is what Duggar and Snow were choosing to do now. Going down on their bellies, both alphas submitted to me.

I inclined my head, acknowledging the gesture.

“That clear enough for you?” Anriq asked, smirking at Teresa.

She glared at him. “It is,” she said in a clipped tone.

“Good,” Safyre said. “Then there is no point in delaying further. Let’s proceed with the Pacts.”