EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth's expression rather quickly went from being concerned, to visibly upset. She crossed her arms and started to just slightly show her teeth. "Left the castle? I know we did not give them permission for that. We need to go get them."

Ahnasha was also upset, but her expression was also mixed with some confusion. "I could expect them to want to explore the castle, but leaving it? Usually when Rhazii gets himself into trouble, he at least tries to give himself some room to make excuses. What would make them want to go into the city?"

---

Julan began to appear while openly glad when Remus started to show himself as being more accepting, but he quickly became afraid when he mentioned meeting Janius the next day. He was hesitant to leave. "Um...are you sure you don't want to see him tonight? I...my father is going to be mad if he figures out we came here. We left a note saying we went to get food from the kitchen, but...we've been gone for a while. I asked him before when he was showing us the city if we could visit you, but he said no, and he got mad when I kept asking about it. If we go back and he knows we left, he'll punish us. I think he's afraid to see you. I just know he'll change his mind if he meets you, though. Anyone would be glad to see their parents again after so long."

Facing the prospect of having to go back to the castle without his grandparents, Julan was starting to get a hint of regret. "Do you think I...did the right thing? We could go back and try to get him to the courtyard tomorrow morning, but...I don't know how to explain why we left." He asked.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With no arguments, Ahnasha and Kaleeth joined Fendros and Janius in heading to the kitchen in search of their children. It was around the time of night that the guard was changing so those that were ending their shifts were heading to the kitchen for their own meals as well. It was somewhat unusual for guests to the castle to take food or drink from the same place as the guards, but any association with the Penitus Occulatus meant that they went unquestioned, apart from a few curious looks. They of course did not find the boys at the kitchen, but that was not immediately alarming, as they could have gone to one of the dining rooms. It would not be until the group had gotten their drinks and started to search around that they would have cause to be worried.

---

Julan, still undeterred by Remus' skepticism, held up his hands as he answered back. "No, I promise I'm telling the truth! My father didn't die all that time ago in the spider cave. He lived, he just couldn't come back here. I'm sure he would have wanted to if he could. I...can describe him for you!"

Julan proceeded to give Remus and Aeramina the same kind of description of his father as he had to Harold, though in a bit more detail this time. He even told whatever he could recall about small physical features, like the shape of his ears and the rough size of his nose. He also demonstrated that he knew that Janius went into the cave as a part of a Fighter's Guild contract, and he repeated everything that his father had told him about his own childhood and what their family had been like at that time. Although, he did not include the parts about Janius' parents that Julan thought sounded a bit insulting. At the very least, it could not be denied that Julan knew quite a bit about someone who had supposedly died years before he was even born. In particular, he knew exactly how old Janius would be down to the day, since his mother was keen on celebrating Janius' birthday every year. That had not always been true, since birthdays had not been celebrated in Kaleeth's village, but she had been doing so ever since she learned about the custom.

After he finished giving his description of his father, Julan struggled for a moment to attempt to find more ways to convince his grandparents that he was telling the truth. "Other than that, um...well it wouldn't really be that hard to prove for sure. My father is right here in the city's castle, with the, um...sorry, I always have trouble saying it. Pen-it-us Occu-latus." He said, slowly and deliberately. "I could take you right to him."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose we can go look for them. I really don't want them to end up breaking something by accident. That could cause some frustration; there are a lot of fragile-looking sculptures and other decorative artwork just laying around. I don't know if the boys really understand how expensive those things can be."

After a moment, Ahnasha chuckled. "Besides, I wouldn't mind a glass of wine myself."

---

Julan was somewhat confused about Jatinha's noticeable sheepishness. He did not quite understand why she would be so hesitant to talk about his father. He had assumed that his grandparents, and everyone else in the house, would be happy to hear that Janius was still alive. Although, he also supposed that Jatinha had never known him, since she was apparently the new maid. He was already feeling a little sad that someone who was important to his father had died. If the maid, Wanda, had helped to raise him, then Julan would have wanted to meet her too.

Regardless, Julan and Rhazii did not have to wait all that long before Herald returned with who Julan immediately identified as his grandparents. They both looked like older versions of the people in the painting, so there was no one else they could be. The man seemed a bit more...abrasive than Julan had been expecting, but he did not read too much into it at the moment. Julan reasoned that he was probably confused, or surprised.

Despite the shouting they had heard before, Julan's face lit up once he realized that he was finally meeting his grandparents. Wide-eyed and with a bright smile, he answered the man enthusiastically. "Oh, there's no tricks Mister Remus, I promise! I'm Kaj-Julan, and Janius is my father. I'm your grandson! I've really wanted to meet you, and I hope my father gets to meet you again too. He's here in the city, over in the castle, but I think he's...afraid to come here."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Upon returning to their room, Kaleeth had naturally noticed that Julan and Rhazii were not in their beds, as they were supposed to be. But, the prominently placed note that Julan had left behind quickly drew her attention. The words on the page were certainly in his handwriting, so she did not have any reason to question them.

Kaleeth spoke in a casual tone to Janius. "Did we say the children could leave the room for anything? They went to the kitchen for some dinner and I don't quite remember if we said they could to that."

---

Julan rubbed the back of his neck, not feeling the need to be as quiet as Rhazii as he answered. "Yeah, he was raised by the maid, and the butler, and the house governor. I don't really know what all of those are. But...that would've had to have been a very long time ago, I think."

Julan smiled as he reached for a cup of the tea that Jatinha had offered them. Back home, there was not always much variety in what they could have for food or drink. They had more than enough food in the clan, but that meant a lot of meals with chaurus meat and mushrooms. For drinks, they mostly had only water, and alcohol that he was told he was not allowed to have yet. Tea was more of a treat. He remembered fondly a pair of Khajiit women that made wonderful tea when they were giving him advice on how to handle some of the changes in his personality that his beast spirit had started to cause.

"Hi, do you know anything about my father? He is the young person in that painting, Janius." Julan said to Jatinha, pointing to the painting on the wall. "I want to know how he grew up here. He doesn't really talk about it much, or say much about it when he does. He told me some about it today, but not too much."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha sighed. "Well...I approve of it more than the alternatives, definitely. I know Lorag is right, so he couldn't keep the title. Sabine...I do think she could do it, but if I am being honest, I do think you would be a better leader. Trust me, if I really disapproved, I would have spoke up in the meeting. Loudly. You won't have to worry about anything from me. If I decide that I don't want to be near the center of attention, or if Rhazii wants the same, then we can just stay away from the politics. You need to just be sure that you're up for this. I know it's not what you want, but you might just be what we need, long term."

After a few more seconds, Ahnasha tried to put on a smile. "But, who knows? Maybe Meesei will figure out how to become our immortal Argonian leader for all time. With all that strange magic she learned, you never know what is possible."

---

Julan spent some time looking around the room after he took a seat beside Rhazii. He had never quite seen a building like it. At least, not the interior of one. Back home in the Silent City, there were many Dwarven buildings that were even larger than this one, but they had an entirely different feel to them. They were not so clean, and almost all of them were crowded, public spaces. It seemed bizarre to him to have so much space for just one family. He was starting to feel distinctly out of his element.

Since Julan was distracted, Rhazii was the first to notice the painting, and the first to see the image of his father in it. Julan had seen paintings before, but never one depicting someone he knew. With how young his father appeared in the picture, it took a few seconds after Rhazii mentioned it for him to even be able to recognize him. His first instinct had been to look at the older man in the painting, but then, Julan supposed that would be his grandfather. "That's...wait, that is him! Woah..." Julan repeated after Rhazii, though for different reasons.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Janius' words were of some consolation to Ahnasha. With as long as the war had been going on, it was hard to think of anything they did as being less than permanent. But, as Lorag was clearly showing with this announcement, these titles were not something that necessarily had to be taken by force. She and Fendros would live long lives. Even if he did eventually become the Champion, they always had the choice to just walk away when the time felt right.

Ahnasha nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. I wish Lorag could just keep the title, but I hate to admit that he is probably right. If even half of what that Altmer said is true, the clans are going to need some stability. At least the Morrowind clans will be happy to learn that you're getting a promotion, Fendros. Honestly though, I think this has been a lot for us all to take in, and we probably all deserve some rest right here and now. We should get back."

---

"Um, well, he doesn't like to talk about back then, brother..." Julan began, glaring briefly at Rhazii. "But, um, he did tell me some things. He said his parents became important with the Legion and got a bunch of land for it where they could raise horses and things. His father was the leader of the, um, Fighter's Guild here, so he had father, um...my father, join it too. That was how he got trapped with all the spiders. He said that his parents weren't around so much, so he ended up getting raised a lot by his maid, butler, and...house governor, I think? Oh, and I know what he looks like. He's Imperial. Obviously. Like his parents. And, um, has light hair. Blonde hair, with kind of thick hair on his face. His eyes are brown, and he's really tough and strong. And I think he's..." He said, concentrating on the last detail that came to mind "...thirty...seven years old."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

What exactly does Janius look like now?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I don't think Meesei would do anything dangerous until she thinks you're ready." Kaleeth commented. There was some guilt in her mind for not being brave enough to accept Lorag's offer, though she knew that she would make for a poor Champion, if the worst came to pass. Unlike some of the others, she was rarely in positions of leadership. "And it sounds like Lorag wants you to to be trained first. I guess Sabine will have to spend a lot of time with you."

Ahnasha nodded to Kaleeth. "He'll have to. Enchanted trinkets would definitely be helpful; you'd be allowed to use them in any kind of duel for your title if you were Champion. But, I have a feeling that Meesei and Lorag both would still want you to be able to defend yourself without them. As for the idea of you actually one day becoming Champion, though, I also thought about what that would mean. I don't want to think that Meesei, or any of us are going to die in this war. After all we've been though, I think we can all finish it together. But if you stay as Meesei's second, you would eventually become Champion. You'll outlive her by hundreds of years. I won't say that I'm against the idea of staying in a central role in the clans, but...I'll also admit that a part of me was hoping to be able to relax after all of this is over. I think we all would deserve that much."

---

The thought had crossed Julan's mind that his grandparents, or whoever he ended up speaking to, might not believe what he said at first. Even being as young as he was, Julan could recognize that his claims would be surprising. He had come up with a few ways to answer the question, but again, he was nervous enough that he did not say much to lead up to his answer. "Um, in the castle. They're in the castle. Janius, that's my father. Janius Aelius. That's my father. He was born here. He told me his parents were Remus and Aeramina. I guess everyone here thought he was killed by spiders a long time ago, but he wasn't. He lived, but he couldn't come back. He didn't want us to come here earlier, but...I wanted to meet my grandparents. I think he's just afraid. Can I meet them?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The silence in the air persisted for a time after Lorag had left the room. Regardless of how directly or indirectly involved they had been, the meeting gave everyone much to think about. Ahnasha was the one to eventually break the silence after giving a deep sigh. "So that...was not what I was expecting. I never would have thought I would see a day where Lorag was stepping down. No matter how old he got, I always expected he would, I don't know, go down fighting or something. He must have been talking about this with Meesei for a while."

Ahnasha took Fendros' hand in hers, looking sympathetic. "And I know there's a lot of responsibility being put on you. It's not like you're becoming the Champion or anything, but still, you'll be the second highest ranking lycan in Tamriel. How do you think you're going to go about training him, Sabine? I know magic has never been your strongsuit, so...what can we do to make you more resistant to it?"

---

"Yes, hello, um..." Julan began, obviously nervous. He had been going through his thoughts almost constantly for most of the evening about what he would say if his plan had worked, but his anxiety was momentarily causing him to freeze up. He stumbled over his words and looked down at the floor for a few seconds until he finally stopped himself to take in a deep breath.

"Does, um, Remus and...Aeramina Aetius live here? I'm their...grandson." Julan said, quite suddenly. He had at first intended to pace out that revelation after they were introduced, but he was panicked enough to start rushing through his own thoughts.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag looked like he was somewhat less irritated, though he looked no less serious. "Good. If that spell absorption makes you resistant to magic already, then I figure even more magic resistance would make you a tough soldier for them to fight."

There were a few moments of silence as Lorag looked around the room. With no comments from the others, Lorag figured that the matter was as settled as it was going to get for the moment. "Okay, guess that's it. You'll take my spot in the pack, Fendros. I'll keep my role for now, while we're on this mission. But, once we're back at the clan, you'll take over. 'Course, I'll still be doing most of the same things I'm doing now; you're not going to be taking over all my jobs, but the Alpha will be goin' to you first for jobs she'd normally have given me. Just be ready to do a lot more training in a short bit of time. You need to be ready as quick as possible. Sabine and Meesei can help you learn what you need, and Sabine'll train with you until you know you can't lose. Make sure to get all that fear and doubt out of your head and be ready to learn faster and better than you ever have before."

Lorag started to walk towards the door, but as he was stepping past Fendros, he stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. "After Sabine, you'll be fighting Meesei."

---

Julan had a mildly confused expression listening to Rhazii as they started to approach the door. "Um...okay?" He commented. He was not quite sure why Rhazii was spending so much time describing the maid. It was like he paid more attention to her than the people they were actually there to talk to.

Regardless, there did not seem to be anything standing in the way of them approaching the house, so Julan eagerly walked up to the door and started to knock. With all the other people in the house, there was no guarantee that it would actually be his grandparents who would answer. But, he had been thinking for hours on what he would say whether it was them, or someone else.