Chapter 50: The First Bond

Pina was astounded by what she was seeing and experiencing. It was like a scene out of all the stories her father and the elders of the village had been telling since they were kids.

Tales of the time when they were still connected to their bloodline and the power it afforded them through the crests. Today she could see something similar. The majestic manifestation of her inner beast filled her with such a thrill that Pina had to fight the urge to just take off running, screeching for joy and freedom.

But that was a freedom that was about to be shackled, tied down to a man who had just come out of nowhere and completely overturned her world. Pina looked at Kren, her storm-blue eyes catching his own, their gold similar to the same gold her inner beast carried...one of, if not the, mark of a sovereign Beast.

"This will not work if you and your inner beast do not submit to the bond." Kren’s words were spoken calmly, but there was a sheen of sweat on his furrowed brow, and a bloody line on his lips. It caught Pina off guard, seeing him in such a state. He also looked pale.

"I have no intention of caging you. Your life, the one you live on this mountain? That’s the real cage. I’m here to offer you not just freedom from such a mundane and powerless life, but enough freedom that your resting place will be where the sky ends, if we can ever find it."

Those words resonated with Pina. This standoff her inner beast was putting on was because, deep down, she still resented the idea of this bond. All her life she had just wanted to be free, but she had been shackled by responsibilities and her lack of power. Perhaps she was trading one cage for another, but in the end, it was still a much larger cage.

"I accept. You have my loyalty...Your Majesty." Her inner beast screeched once more, a final show of defiance. But it could not stop the light as it strengthened itself, before more spilled out of Kren’s chest, a multicolored stream of lights twisting and dancing around each other in the air before falling in an arc to meet her in her chest. And it was the most powerful thing Pina had ever felt in her life.

ROOAAAAARRRRR!!

Kren’s inner beast opened its eyes. The world almost seemed to end in that instant. The Black Lion’s baleful golden eyes regarded the eagle in front of it as prey, and the eagle hated it. But there was acknowledgement in its gaze.

Once, perhaps, they had stood shoulder to shoulder as equals, one that ruled the skies and the other that ruled the earth. Sovereigns. But too much had changed since then. The storm eagle had grown weaker, and the Black Lion stronger. Even with every attempt to snuff it out, this bloodline stood strong.

The light pulsed, then flashed, shortening until it was a direct line of aura between Kren and Pina. And then everything changed. He could feel her: her thoughts, her feelings, her worries and how tightly they seemed to wrap around her. This bond...it was intimate on a level Kren had never thought possible before, and she could feel him too.

His hopes, his ambitions. The wildness hidden behind his somewhat mischievous gaze. She saw his madness, and she saw the depths of Kren N’Kora Blackmane’s Black Heart. What she saw scared her. It shook her view of the man, no, of the monster in front of her. Pina swallowed. She made to take a step back away from him, but instead her feet took her forward and straight into his arms.

The moment she did so, a pulse of aura spread out from them, and the sounds bled back as reality slipped into focus. Everywhere the aura passed, Storm Eagles glowed softly. It did not matter if you were the oldest with a foot in the grave, or a child who had been born only yesterday. They glowed, and as one they all threw their heads back and screeched, Pina leading the charge as the pulse of aura receded, gathering above Pina’s and Kren’s bound hands.

The aura thickened until, with a flash, it left behind a gleaming silver medallion. On one side was the storm eagle, wings spread out in a manner that looked incredibly lifelike. And behind it, the embossed figure of the N’Kora black lion. And with that, the theory of what would happen if Kren bonded with Pina, the only holder, it seemed, of her people’s sovereign bloodline, was proven true.

The Storm Eagles have gained a crest once more, and Kren has gained the first lioness of his Pride. And pride, so much of it, seemed to swell within Kren. But it was not what you’d expect it to be. Instead, it was power, raw unfiltered power born from their bond. Kren could tell that there were changes that had occurred in both himself and Pina. What those changes were? He’d probably have to check his system. But for now, it was said and done...well, almost.

The bloodied rope around their wrists seemed to burn off, turning into flakes of black ash as their hands were set free. On both their wrists, a tiny tattoo had appeared underneath. On Pina’s, it was that of a lion and an eagle chasing each other, or rather placed side by side. On Kren’s wrist the same tattoo stood, though his seemed to glow with a subtle light.

Kren watched as the village chief took a step forward, undisguised greed and want in his eyes as he looked only at the crest hovering in front of Pina. Kren watched him with a bored expression. It was somewhat amusing watching the man try to control himself as his daughter claimed a legacy he had spent all his life fighting for.

The chief’s eyes met Kren’s. And what he saw there seemed to shake him to his core, enough that his unconscious movement towards the crest came to an end as Pina reached up a hand and finally claimed it for herself.

Once more, aura seemed to blast them all backwards, with even Kren taking a step back. The scent of flames, wind and lightning clung heavily to the atmosphere as Pina’s eyes turned pure white for a second, seemingly falling into a trance, and then it was done. But now Kren could sense deep within Pina the stirrings of aura. It seemed his new betrothed had just taken her first step into the First Awakening realm, and her father’s face turned black with jealousy.