Chapter 118 The Shadows
Margaret walked away from the table; the little space between her seat and the table was restricting her. She wanted to explain this as best as she could. Everyone else listened intently, even Richard was completely focused. They all knew that understanding themselves was one of the keys to get stronger.
"All other wolves bring out the representation of whatever they are from the spirit realm into a physical translation," she said, gesticulating as she spoke. "Like my sister's wolf. It is known as the wolf of concealment, therefore her wolf is able to conceal things, herself, objects she touched and such things," she paused and looked at everyone. "Melissa's wolf does a different thing entirely," she almost whispered.
Melissa sighed, her interest piqued at this point, she already understood all she said up to this point and for once she clearly understood the essence of being a wolf. It wasn't as if those wolves in her subconscious were strangers or beasts. They were just entities existing in perfect synchrony with their spiritual signature- The Aether.
To put simply, the wolves within them are eternal, but they can only represent themselves through their own living form. Hence, Lena was a part of her in the same way her soul was a part of her. She crossed her legs, focusing on Margaret
"The kind of wolf Melissa has only appeared three times in wolven history and it has always been alongside a kind of Richard's wolf," Margaret continued. "Legend has it that it is the same wolf and the same people getting reborn and reincarnated across time to save the wolven species in time of danger. This is why the three times such wolf has appeared won't come as a shock."
Melissa looked at Richard instinctively and he glanced at her too. It seemed that they had more history than they'd initially thought, but how the hell in the world did Margaret know this much about wolves? She didn't seem like a wolf with an innate ability nor was she someone who confronted violence that much. Yet her knowledge on wolves was vast.
"The first time was during the blood wars, when we fought for our freedom from humans," she raised a finger.
Melissa knew this bit of their history. Then, wolves weren't a kingdom per se. They were only a small irritating part of the human world. Due to their insane strength and speed, they were used as the labour force which later became slavery quickly. The wolves had risen from the pits and sewers to fight for their freedom and break away from the oppression of humans. The wolf that had led them then was called Lycan. He was said to possess the hands of the gods on his chest.
"The second," Margaret announced "was during the Ashening," she put two fingers up.
The Ashening was their war against the vampires. A war that forever changed the climate of most of the wolf realms. The wolves were settled in then, and they had three main kingdoms. This war involved the use of so many weapons that three years after the war, its ashes still fell from the sky.
"The third was during the Dispute," she raised a third finger and a little murmur arose from the room. "Yes, your great grandfather," she pointed to Melissa.
Eruca exhaled. The dispute was just a political war amongst wolves and it was a named event because it relieved the wolves of bad leadership. It was during this time Dunham absorbed Vance and two other packs that were allied to them now. It was Melissa's grandfather that made the Dunham pack the largest in the continent. These times were very harsh times but were always era defining.
Melissa was starting to understand that her rebirth wasn't just because she could beg a goddess very well, but because it was planned. It was as if something like this had to happen for her to grow, for her to be able to navigate her own story. She exhaled, the explanation, though enlightening, added more to the mystery.
"These three times were obviously era defining and the wolves leading them had the same common denominator, they all possessed the Aura," Margaret said. "And beside them was someone who possessed the Shadows," she said, pointing her index finger at Richard.
Beatrice cleared her throat. "Let us say all this is true, what is the aura?" She asked. "We are still yet to understand it," she said.
"It is Melissa's spiritual soul transformed into a material weapon," Margaret explained. "She can use this aura as she sees fit. It is a conceptual forcefield in a spiritual world. Whatever her aura touches can be plagued with different affects as she desires. That is why she can sense emotions, sense danger and even use the aura as a forcefield. It also improves her prominence, her presence and all," she said.
"How do I tie into all these?" Richard asked.
"Your ability is the direct opposite of hers. While she uses the aura, you can hide yours, dispose of it, bury it," Maragret explained. "When you summon darkness, you are actually erasing the aura of everything in the area. When you use it for travel, you disperse your own aura and rearrange it somewhere else," she said.
Richard raised his eyes.
"Therefore, you are on different sides of the same coin. You need each other much more than you think. You are fated mates and Melissa is a fated Luna," she concluded and walked back to her seat.
Everyone was silent for a while , lots of thoughts ringing through their heads. Melissa sighed and inhaled. "This feels like a heavy topic," she said standing up. “I am not sure how to react to that, but I'd advise you not to attach any fate to me. I am Melissa, just Melissa,"she said. "Anyways, I think we should all take a break," she said.
Richard nodded. "I need to eat actually, so thanks,"he said with a smile.
Beatrice stood up and stretched, then everyone dispersed from the room one after the other for probably an hour break.