07-29-2010, 10:35 PM
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500+
Nothing would ever be enough. Even if both of them had laid their lives down in the service of this clan, it would not be enough. The fear and the hate was too great for them to ignore it, or to believe they were within the realm of power to change such a thing. Gabriel did not doubt that he would never see true peace within his lifetime—for threats came from both in and outside of Inferni constantly. If they cut down one monster, another would rise in his place. This was the way of things, as it always had been, and as it always would be.
He saw her face fall and his jaw set. Gabriel was a hard man. He had been cut out of stone by tooth and claw and made rough by desert winds. This was perhaps why, despite as doggish as he appeared, it was the wolf that he had always resembled the most. Within him the coyote had become wicked as it needed to be, but the wolf had given his body strength. Perhaps long before he had realized it, his blood had recognized the need for such things. Gabriel was, after all, made of royal blood and royal blood knows of its destiny even if it is never told. God had chosen his path and formed him this way. God had made certain that Gabriel would be strong enough to face the devils that came in the faces of his brothers and his greatest enemy.
His mother had made herself queen through conquest. She was still a barbarian, and still as vicious as ever, but he saw the change in her that perhaps her enemies did not. Between the time he had known her as a boy and now, Kaena was fading. She was in the twilight of her years and would soon become useless on the battlefield. He could not afford for her to risk the history of everything he had known much longer. She and she alone carried within her the tales of Inferni and of those who had come and gone with it.
He wondered, as he regarded her, if she perhaps forgot sometimes that she was a living relic. In doing so, his thoughts traveled to her children and his siblings, scattered to the four corners of the world as they were. As a boy he had believed that nothing would ever change. Since then, he had exiled two of his kin, scarred one as a madman, and killed the third. This too, was perhaps the destiny of all royal blood.
Gabriel spoke to his mother as he always did, in that quiet and reserved tone, telling her things that he was certain she knew all ready. He confided within her his fear of a successor, lamenting on his son’s absence. The Aquila used few words, though they were carefully chosen and measured, for he knew their weight. The air was heavy with them, but in speaking he felt this same weight leave his shoulders if only for the moment, and was relieved.
Nothing would ever be enough. Even if both of them had laid their lives down in the service of this clan, it would not be enough. The fear and the hate was too great for them to ignore it, or to believe they were within the realm of power to change such a thing. Gabriel did not doubt that he would never see true peace within his lifetime—for threats came from both in and outside of Inferni constantly. If they cut down one monster, another would rise in his place. This was the way of things, as it always had been, and as it always would be.
He saw her face fall and his jaw set. Gabriel was a hard man. He had been cut out of stone by tooth and claw and made rough by desert winds. This was perhaps why, despite as doggish as he appeared, it was the wolf that he had always resembled the most. Within him the coyote had become wicked as it needed to be, but the wolf had given his body strength. Perhaps long before he had realized it, his blood had recognized the need for such things. Gabriel was, after all, made of royal blood and royal blood knows of its destiny even if it is never told. God had chosen his path and formed him this way. God had made certain that Gabriel would be strong enough to face the devils that came in the faces of his brothers and his greatest enemy.
His mother had made herself queen through conquest. She was still a barbarian, and still as vicious as ever, but he saw the change in her that perhaps her enemies did not. Between the time he had known her as a boy and now, Kaena was fading. She was in the twilight of her years and would soon become useless on the battlefield. He could not afford for her to risk the history of everything he had known much longer. She and she alone carried within her the tales of Inferni and of those who had come and gone with it.
He wondered, as he regarded her, if she perhaps forgot sometimes that she was a living relic. In doing so, his thoughts traveled to her children and his siblings, scattered to the four corners of the world as they were. As a boy he had believed that nothing would ever change. Since then, he had exiled two of his kin, scarred one as a madman, and killed the third. This too, was perhaps the destiny of all royal blood.
Gabriel spoke to his mother as he always did, in that quiet and reserved tone, telling her things that he was certain she knew all ready. He confided within her his fear of a successor, lamenting on his son’s absence. The Aquila used few words, though they were carefully chosen and measured, for he knew their weight. The air was heavy with them, but in speaking he felt this same weight leave his shoulders if only for the moment, and was relieved.