Chapter 37: The Awakening of the Grimfangs

[Imperial Palace — Continuation]

The warmth of the bathing chamber slowly faded behind them. Kael adjusted the ceremonial robe the attendant had brought, still feeling the lingering ache in his body.

The moment he stepped beyond the chamber doors...his expression changed, the softness disappeared, and the emperor returned.

Lytharion remained behind; he had already withdrawn toward the shadows near the window, his golden eyes following Kael without a word. Kael glanced back once; their eyes met.

For a brief moment...neither spoke, and then Kael turned away since he had an empire to rule.

Lytharion lay lazily on the bed muttering, "The venom had started spreading already."

***

[Private Audience Chamber—Later]

A young man stood before the enormous windows; he wore the dark green and silver colors of House Dranvoer, his ceremonial sword hung at his side, and his posture was perfectly straight.

The doors creaked open, and Kael entered with Captain Cedric behind him.

The young duke’s hands were clenched; he turned immediately when Kael entered and then lowered himself into a deep bow.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

Kael stopped several steps away. "Rise, Young Duke."

The young duke obeyed for a moment...neither spoke. Kael studied him carefully; the Young Duke of Dranvoer was known throughout Qashmar.

Duke Lucein Dranvoer.

Twenty-four years old, the youngest duke among the Great Houses. Unlike many nobles...he had inherited his title after his father’s sudden death six years ago. He had gained a reputation for being intelligent.

Reserved and...dangerously difficult to read.

Kael studied the young duke for several long moments before finally taking his seat upon the smaller imperial throne reserved for private audiences as he gestured toward the chair opposite him.

"Take a seat."

Lucein bowed his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

He crossed the chamber and sat before Kael. For several moments...neither spoke. The silence between them was heavy. Kael rested one arm against the throne, his amber eyes studying the young Duke carefully as his voice remained calm.

"Then tell me...why has the young Duke of Dranvoer requested an urgent audience with the Emperor at dawn?"

Lucein’s expression remained serious as his hands rested upon his knees. "I apologize for disturbing Your Majesty so early, but if this were not important...I would not have come."

Kael’s brows furrowed. "Did something happen?"

Lucein hesitated, and Kael noticed something resembling concern crossed his otherwise unreadable face. "Your Majesty...there is something happening beyond the northern territories."

Kael furrowed, and Cedric straightened slightly. "What kind of something?"

Lucein slowly inhaled. "The Grimfang Beasts."

Silence.

Kael’s expression changed immediately; even he knew that name, as did every member of the Wolf Clan. For centuries...the Grimfang Beasts had been the natural enemies of the Wolf Clans. Ancient predators born before the great Wolf Houses had ever established their territories.

They were enormous creatures with blackened fangs, thick bone-like armor covering their bodies, and eyes that glowed like dying embers.

They did not form packs, they did not recognize territories, they did not negotiate...they hunted. And when they awakened...entire Wolf settlements could disappear within a single night.

The last recorded Grimfang awakening had occurred nearly three centuries ago. Hundreds of warriors had been sent to contain them; only a fraction had returned.

Kael’s fingers slowly tightened around the armrest.

"...The Grimfangs?"

Lucein nodded. "Yes."

"They should still be in hibernation."

"They were, Your Majesty, until recently; their hibernation cycle has ended. We first noticed unusual movements along the northern mountain range; at first, we assumed it was natural, but then..."

His voice lowered.

"...we began finding signs of their awakening in places where they have never appeared before."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "What kind of signs?"

"Deep claw marks, broken trees, fragments of their armor, and..." Lucein hesitated. "...freshly abandoned nests."

Kael remained silent. Lucein continued. "But that is not what concerns me most."

"What does?"

"The Grimfangs are not simply waking." Kael’s expression hardened as Lucein said. "They are moving."

He reached inside his coat and withdrew a folded map; he placed it carefully upon the table between them. Kael and Cedric leaned forward; Lucein unfolded it.

The northern territories appeared in ink. Several Wolf Clan settlements had been marked with red circles.

"The Grimfangs were first discovered here." He pointed toward the northern mountains.

"Then here."

His finger moved lower. "And three nights ago...here."

Kael’s eyes narrowed; those locations formed a pattern, not random, a path, like it was leading directly toward the territories where several wolf clans lived.

"That’s..." Cedric murmured. "...too deliberate."

Lucein nodded as he pointed towards another mark. "That is what I thought, and we also found something else."

"What?" Cedric asked.

"Tracks."

Kael looked up. "Grimfang tracks?"

"No." Lucein’s expression darkened. "Human."

Silence.

Kael slowly leaned back. "Human?"

"Yes."

"We found several sets of footprints near one of their dormant territories; someone had been there recently."

Kael’s gaze returned to the map. "Why would a human enter Grimfang territory?"

Lucein’s eyes remained fixed upon him. "That...is exactly what I have been trying to determine, but I have another concern."

Kael waited as Lucein placed his finger upon three separate locations. "Someone has been leaving traces of blood near their nests."

Kael’s expression immediately hardened. "Blood?"

"Fresh, not enough to belong to a large beast and not enough to be accidental; it looks as if someone is feeding them."

The room became silent. Kael stared at the map. "You mean someone is provoking them."

Lucein nodded as his gaze remained fixed upon the map spread across the table. "Yes, Your Majesty, the Grimfangs have remained isolated for centuries. They rarely leave the northern mountains, they hunt within their own territory, they hibernate for years at a time...and, under normal circumstances, they have no reason to come anywhere near the Wolf Clans."

His finger traced the line connecting the mountain range to the northern settlements.

"But if someone deliberately awakens them..." His expression hardened. "...and continues driving them toward our territories...they could turn the entire northern region into a battlefield."

Kael’s eyes darkened. "And if the clans are forced to fight, they will become so occupied defending their homes...that they won’t have the time to ask who created the chaos in the first place."

Silence.

A heavy uncomfortable silence.

Then Cedric spoke; his voice was low. "For centuries...humans have regarded the Wolf Clans as enemies; the hatred between our peoples has survived generations. If someone from the human territories is deliberately provoking the Grimfangs...then their objective may be much larger than simply attacking one clan."

Kael’s gaze sharpened. "They want the Wolf Clans to destroy one another...or they want the Grimfangs to do it for them."

The words settled heavily across the room. Kael stared at the map. For a moment...he said nothing, then Lucein spoke.

"Since when have all these things been happening?"

Lucein hesitated. "This has been happening for nearly three months."

Kael’s eyes widened. "Three months?"

"Yes," the young duke nodded. "The first reports began arriving almost three months ago. We simply did not have an emperor during that period."

Kael’s expression became colder. "Does that mean you will stop protecting the empire? You should’ve informed me when I saw the Heir of House Vaelric."

Lucein’s jaw tightened. "I apologize, Your majesty. We did not want to create a panic. The High Mage attempted to contain the situation; he sent mages to reinforce the northern settlements, he placed protective barriers around several villages, and he also tried to redirect the Grimfangs back toward the mountains. But...the creatures kept returning."

Kael’s fingers curled against the table. Lucein lowered his gaze. "The Imperial Council believed the High Mage could resolve the matter without alarming the Empire."

Cedric’s expression hardened.

"Three months... of allowing ancient beasts to approach our borders, and they decided the Empire didn’t need to know?"

Lucein didn’t answer because there was nothing to say. "If this continues, Your Majesty...Qashmar will eventually be forced into open conflict; the northern settlements will fall first, then the smaller Wolf Clans, then the larger territories will send their armies, and once the Grimfangs realize that blood is coming from every direction..."

His voice dropped.

"...They will stop retreating; they will advance."

The Imperial Chamber suddenly felt much smaller. Kael looked down at the map again.

For three months, someone had been preparing this, someone had been feeding the beasts, and someone had been pushing them toward the wolf territories.

And while the throne of Qashmar remained empty...the threat had been allowed to grow. Kael finally spoke. "There must be a way to return them to isolation; there must be something."

Cedric frowned.

Lucein nodded. "I have searched the records, and there is...one method."

Kael looked up immediately. "What is it?"

Lucein’s expression became grim. "The Grimfangs do not obey ordinary beasts. They follow their King and Queen. If the king and queen remain alive...the rest of the Grimfangs will continue to follow their commands."

His voice lowered.

"But..."

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "...but what?"

"No one knows where the King and Queen of the Grimfangs reside."

The chamber went still.

Kael stared at him. "What?"

Lucein nodded grimly. "We know the territories they have occupied, but their nest...no one has ever found it."

Kael’s expression hardened. "Not even the High Mage?"

"No."

"The Imperial Archives?"

"Nothing, Your Majesty. Three centuries ago, when the Grimfangs last awakened...the Wolf Clans searched for their king and queen; thousands of warriors entered these mountains, and entire clans disappeared, but they could not find the king and queen. And without killing them...the Grimfangs could not be forced back into hibernation."

Silence.

The implications settled heavily over the room. The Grimfangs were already awake; they were already moving toward Qashmar’s territories.

Someone was deliberately provoking them, and now...the only known method of stopping them required killing two creatures whose location had remained a mystery for three hundred years.

Cedric’s expression became grim. "Your Majesty...What should we do? If we cannot find the king and queen...then how are we supposed to stop them?"

Lucein’s jaw tightened.

"If the Grimfangs continue advancing...they will eventually reach the northern territories, and once they begin attacking...the Empire will be forced into a war it may not be prepared to fight."

Kael remained silent; his eyes stayed fixed upon the map. The northern mountains seemed to stretch endlessly beneath his gaze.

Kael clenched his fist, then a thought entered his mind. A being who had existed long before the Empire. A deity who had watched the birth of kingdoms. A Lord who knew secrets that no mortal archive had ever recorded.

Kael’s fingers tightened further, then, barely above a whisper....

"...He must know."