ZINA (Five Hours Ago; Before the Second Round Of Torture)
Did it resemble sothing familiar?
Zina mulled over the question that seed to hold a double aning. Even though her mother alleged that Zina had seen the Deford twice, that was factually incorrect.
Zina had encountered the Deford twice, but only seen the monster once. The first encounter was when she was still blind and that happened when she died in the hands of Xalea Borne—an event that seed to be ages ago.
The second encounter was when the deford attacked during Daemon’s coronation as Alpha King of the Arctic North. Even then in the scurry of her putting her body between the creature and Daemon, she barely had the ti to study its features carefully as it had been lightening fast.
But she still did see so features, and the one thing that stood out for her was how the Deford looked like a werewolf that stood on two legs. In that manner, it could be said to resemble closely a Lycan shifter.
Unlike other kinds of shifters, Lycan Shifters possess the ability to retain their human appearance when they tap into their wolf side. While the human appearance is altered in that their face takes the shape of their wolf, their fangs distend sa as their claws amongst many other little features, they generally still look human.
But the deford can’t be said to look entirely human. They indeed walk on two feet and swing two hands as well, but their skin is greyish like decaying mould. They are more ugly looking as they drool without control, and they are even taller.
"They do remind of Lycan Shifters," Zina answered her mother, "they share a general appearance although the fine details are missing."
To her surprise, her mother nodded as if that was the answer that she was indeed seeking from Zina.
"The stories that our ancestors passed down to us say that the Deford was created out of greed." She said, her face looking haunting, "so know it, so doubt it, many don’t know it, but the deford were in fact werewolves. And to be more precise the class of Lycan Shifters."
Zina jaw threatened to drop on the floor from surprise. She had imagined that like every other world like theirs, the Deford creature were simply their own devil. Yet it would seem theirs was an artificially created demon.
"Lycan Shifters?"
Her mother nodded, "Spending years here I’ve learnt a lot from conversations had and gossips gleaned from. And I’ve added that knowledge to what my own father taught ."
"Your father... my grandfather was the Alpha of the Screars Pack?"
Her mother nodded, "A true blood. He possessed the power of the screams although not much of it. I as his daughter possessed nothing of the scream but he taught a lot. Zina, the deford were once shifters."
"But silver can’t harm them. Nor does wolfsbane. Can it still be said that they are from werewolves?" Zina asked with voice tinged with rightful disbelief.
Maybe it was the gap in ti, but speaking with her mother made it seem like the so called much that they knew of the deford from history was far insufficient. And that would make sense after all for even then at the ti, the deford originated from the recluse west.
Following that, it could be said to be logical that the Screars Pack being a Western Pack knew more about the Deford than any other region. But then again....
"Yes they were werewolves just like us." Her mother answered, "They were a group of Lycan Shifters in fact who were dissatisfied that they remained as Lycan Shifters for a long ti.
"At the ti, there was an obsession with becoming Supre Wolves, yet none of the could attain the rank. Many said it could only be bestowed by the goddess, and naturally, many were bitter about that fact. So a man approached them, promising to make them a wolf greater than all wolves."
A wolf greater than all wolves... that was not the first ti she was hearing that peculiar tagline.
Zina listened to all that information, gulping it one by one. "Just like Master." She said under her breath.
"Exactly," her mother said with a shrewd smile, "and just like Master, he was not entirely werewolf either, nor was he human."
Zina rembered the strange appearance of the thing that crawled on the floor. Distended upper limbs, missing lower limbs. Sparse teeth and hair... sothing monstrous and evil like a ball rolling on the floor.
"But how is it that our pack has this knowledge that the whole world seemingly doesn’t know a thing about?" Zina voiced her confusion, "How does our Pack rember everything that happened centuries ago in such vivid details?"
"It’s the Runes, Zina." Her mother answered simply like that was answer enough, "mories, the screams of our ancestors, the power of the Night Mage who helped in creating it, visions... the Runes traps all of them. I cannot fully explain for lack of ti, but it is powerful enough that it has the ability to freeze ti. It is how I can communicate with you without our captors knowing. And its power can only be used by a true blood of the Pack."
Zina gulped the information but didn’t ask anymore on it. Briefly, she wondered if her power to see visions sohow stemd from it. She was learning that her pack were far from simple even though executed... but more than that, she was learning that Master might not have the upper hand after all in this struggle.
No, it was the knowledge that her mother possessed that might just have the upper hand. Unwittingly, the half-man had left her mother in close contact with a weapon whose secrets were only whispered of amongst true blood of the pack. The result of keeping it a secret being that the whole world didn’t know of the full power of the Runes.
"So we can simply use the Runes to destroy the Deford?" Zina said excitedly hoping and wishing that the solution was that simple... but she knew that was hardly the case.
If it were that simple, then no one would have been attempting to reawaken the very evil that scorged their world centuries ago.
"The Runes can only petrify them as I said before, and to be able to achieve that you need to be a Supre Shifter like our second ancestor was." Her mother said dashing all her excitent.
Zina was a re level five shifter—her abilities was certainly beyond that.
"To bring them to an end behind re petrification," her mother said grimly, "you must use the very thing that created them. The staff which was bestowed upon you during your birth, and the oak tree which the deford are nestled on and draw life from ."
"Use them? How?" Zina asked, confused.
"Get your staff for Zina. Then I will tell you how." Her mother said with a sense of urgency like the projection would break anyti soon.
"But...but they intend to break . They want to unleash the Deford using as a vessel."
"Then allow them to break you," her mother said with eyes that spoke of untethered ruthlessness, "let them break you and release them. On your birth, I managed to put a little of the power of the runes within you. It’s been protecting you since then and tethering to you. It’s allowed for this projections to happen so rest assured that no matter how much they break you, you will have your ti of lucidity. And during that ti, you must rember my words and act on them."
Zina stared at the woman before her in awe mixed with confusion. Her mother was tired, exhausted even. And who wouldn’t be if they were in her shoes? Zina feared she might have long given up if it was her.
Yet, her mother still stood strong... motivated even.
She approached Zina and clutched her shoulders, "Suffer for now, daughter. Soon, I will make everything alright, and for every pain that has been caused to you, I will return it a thousand fold."
Zina felt her motherly love alright, but she felt the woman held sothing from her. "How is it that you can so easily use the runes even when I’ve heard you are without a superior wolf as well? Zelkov told your portalled him....?" She trailed.
But before her mother could answer her, Zina found herself thrust back into the physical world like she was never gone.
Rose still stood before her, together with Rowan who leered down at, taunting her with Daemon’s so called impending marriage.
That was when Daemon’s letter beca clear to her—he was going to be there in the West by twelve midnight. All that was left was to devise a ans to get the staff Zina was sure he must be in possession.
And then she mad her mother would end this for good.
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