Chapter 204: A New Pact

Silence reigned over the battlefield. Tavren was struggling against the golden seal that prevented him from using his mana, several meters away from Aurelith. There were many bodies around him, the bodies of those who had taken part in the challenge and those who had lost their lives in the war. Many were now receiving medical attention while others searched for missing family members. The Beastfolk had gained nothing from the battle, but the arrival of their ancient king had brought an unexpected end to the fighting.

Aurelith looked around. "This is depressing." He raised his right hand. A ball of golden mana formed above his palm and slowly grew larger. This mana was different from normal mana. It felt very lively, and the air around it felt warmer. The Kirin let his hand drop and the mana fell as dust across all of Varghelm. "Kirin Art: Returning Spring."

Amazing things happened. The dead began to rise. Those whose bodies had been torn apart slowly stood up, those who had died in the fallen buildings began to awaken. Those who had died were the rulers and deputies, and they slowly opened their eyes. Aldren, Garrath and the others who had died in the challenge were brought back to life. Even the civilians who had died were brought back, their souls being restored by the golden mana. It wasn’t necromancy. Their souls hadn’t left this world yet, so Aurelith was simply bringing them back. Those who had died in the fighting were restored. Those who had been injured saw their wounds heal. Their bones were reattached, burns faded and their tired bodies were given strength. Within minutes Varghelm had become a city full of life again. The remaining Beastfolk stared in shock at their friends and family.

Tanaka watched with interest. So that is how Malachiel was brought back. The concept was similar. However, Aurelith was different. His mana was not only restoring their bodies but reaching into their souls and pulling them back. The amount of mana he was using was huge, yet he didn’t look very tired while doing this to an entire city.

Aurelith let his hand drop and turned to face Tavren. The Tiger ruler was now well enough to stand, though the golden seal was still on his forehead. "Your Majesty..." "Don’t start." Tavren clenched his fists. "Raise my sister." Aurelith looked up. "Mereth?" "Yes! You have brought hundreds of people back to life. Surely you can bring her back!" Aurelith sighed. "I cannot. She died before today and her soul has left this world. I am also not interested in doing any necromancy." Tavren’s face fell. "So what was the point of all that power?" "To bring those I could back." Aurelith turned away. "Just because I have power does not mean I have to do what you want."

He looked to Aldren who had just risen from the ground. "Your bond has been restored. You are still my chosen king." The Wolf King lowered his head. "Your Majesty." "Good. You will return to your duties. This time you will do a better job at stopping them from killing each other." Aldren nodded. Aurelith turned to Tavren. "You won the challenge, however you will agree with Aldren and do what he says. You may have won but you will not ignore my authority and destroy the setup I have given to the Wolves." Tavren lowered his head. "Understood." "Good." Aurelith turned to the other rulers. "Aldren. I want you to write up a new pact. Bring the Beastfolk peoples together again but this time make sure your pact includes the world outside of Bravelm. I don’t want another fool gathering where they can be tricked into destroying their homes." Aldren bowed. "I will." "Good. I will stay for a while."

Aurelith finally turned to Tanaka. "Now you." Tanaka stood up. "Me?" "Yes. Change back to your human form." Tanaka blinked and changed. His slime form shrank and his human form appeared. His dark hair flowed around his forehead and his eyes stayed the same unusual blue color. Aurelith walked around him and looked him over, as if he was interested in what he was seeing. "Hmm." He placed his hand on his shoulder. "Your power is more condensed in this form. The mana flows differently and your body is much more stable. Why don’t you use this form more?" Tanaka scratched his cheek. "I prefer my slime form." Aurelith looked shocked. "Really?" "Yes." "Interesting choice." Tanaka shrugged. He was used to his slime form. It was nice to move around without worrying about his physical limits. While his human form was useful when dealing with people, he never thought it was better than his original form.

Aurelith finally removed his hand. "Good. Anyway this battle was ridiculous." Tanaka looked tired. "Tell me about it." "It was caused by a brat." Tanaka’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you know who?" "Of course." "Why don’t you tell everyone?" Aurelith smiled. "Because I want you to find them. I know who it is and what they are trying to do but I’m not going to tell you." Tanaka looked unimpressed. "Convenient." "Isn’t it?" Aurelith laughed. "Come on. You have been walking around Bravelm, making pacts and getting involved. I want to see if you are intelligent enough to figure out what has happened without me holding your hand." Tanaka sighed. "You’re quite demanding." "Of course."

Aurelith turned to Aldren. "One last thing before I go. I want Eldoris to be included in the pact." Tanaka raised an eyebrow. "We can already do that. We have diplomatic relations." "No. Not like that." Aurelith’s golden eyes looked back at him. "I want Bravelm and Eldoris to make a permanent pact to protect each other. No submission, no vassalage. They will stay sovereign but if one is attacked the other will be too." Tanaka thought about it. That was a big deal but it wasn’t unreasonable. They had been working towards a closer relationship since the negotiations, and a mutual defense pact would help greatly. "That sounds fine." Aurelith smiled. "Perfect. Now the hard part." Tanaka’s smile faded. "I want Malachiel to personally accept the pact." Silence fell.

Aurelith carried on as if he had said nothing unusual. "I want him to bless Bravelm, just like he blessed Eldoris. I want the True Dragon Lord of Flames to recognise the Beastfolk lands as allies under his protection. I want you to organise it." Tanaka looked shocked. "...You want me to?" "Yes. Bring Malachiel here. Get him to accept the pact and bless them." "Do you realise how unreasonable that is?" "Very." "He’s a True Dragon!" "I know." "I can’t just ask him to come here and bless an entire region!" Aurelith smiled. "Exactly why I’m asking you." Tanaka opened and shut his mouth. He could already picture how Malachiel would react. He was very eccentric, easily distracted and didn’t really care about political situations unless they were really interesting. Asking him to bless an entire region was a whole different story than blessing Eldoris. And Nethaliel would probably make it worse.

Aurelith placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don’t look so worried. You have time." Tanaka looked exhausted. "How much time?" "Until I leave." "That’s not an answer!" Aurelith laughed.

Inside a private home Maelor Sableclaw had just received some shocking news. "The Beastfolk King came in person?" His usual smile was gone. The Catfolk assassin nodded. "He brought the dead back, healed the injured and restored the Wolf King’s rule. Tavren has been forced to submit and there is no fighting." Maelor slowly stood up from his chair. This was impossible. Aurelith rarely got involved with Beastfolk business, and his appearance meant the situation was much worse than Maelor had expected, especially as he had been away from Bravelm for so long. "We are leaving." The assassin nodded. "Now?" "Yes. Pack up any documents we have and destroy the rest. We cannot stay here now he is here."

Maelor walked towards the secret passage behind his home. He had planned for the Tigers and Lions to tear each other apart. The Wolves would lose their rule and the smaller peoples would fight over what was left. He hadn’t expected Aurelith to return and bring the dead back. There was no point staying. They had to get out before the Kirin found out they were involved. Maelor arrived at the passage and set up a teleportation formation. Suddenly he felt something. A massive pressure filled Varghelm. Golden light appeared above the city, creating a massive dome over it. The dome was covered in thousands of symbols and the mana network below the streets fell silent. The teleportation formation flickered and then collapsed. Maelor looked at the formation. "What?" He tried to teleport. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing.

Maelor ran to the nearest window and looked outside. The entire city was surrounded by golden light. Every road, gate and passage was covered. Even the royal teleportation network had gone dark. The destination crystals couldn’t link outside of the barrier. Aurelith had sealed the city. Maelor’s face paled.

Back at the gathering area Aurelith stood with his hand raised. Golden mana was flowing from his hand, keeping the huge barrier up around Varghelm. Tanaka looked up. "Are you sealing everyone in?" "Just until I have finished what I came here to do." Aurelith let his hand drop. He looked out towards the distant city. A small smile appeared on his face. "Now." His golden eyes narrowed. "You’re not going anywhere little cat."