Dragonkin 4 You're my Mate? No thanks.

Part 8 Bad blood

"You'd better get back home right now before you get devoured by that nest of vipers," Karalinus sagely advised.

"If you meant the great war we had in our far history, Karalinus, I had thought it was a bedtime story to deter us from rebelling against the Gods and to revere our Goddess".

"Kiddo, that's real history, not just a legend passed down to scare kids". Sighing loudly over the phone, Karalinus explains, "Their God and our Goddess had a great falling out as they disagreed with how werekin was to be handled. God believed our race should be annihilated as our ancestors stole the power to shapeshift from the gods and most of the gods are furious about our audacity. They wanted to use us to set an example, to send a warning that no one should ever attempt to steal the powers of gods and live to tell the tale".

I continue the story for Karalinus, "I get that the gods were angry and wanted retribution. That's how the Ancient War started. Their God declared war on us and sent the Nephilim to massacre our ancestors. We were few but powerful and managed to fight to a stalemate. But it's a war of attrition. The Nephilim has far superior numbers over us and they're near indestructible. If the war had continued, we might have been eradicated".

Karalinus drolly comments, "Needless to say, the both of us won't be standing here and having this conversation now".

"Yeah, I read about that part in the bedtime stories. It also states that thankfully our Goddess stepped in and stopped the war. As a safeguard, she bestowed us with additional powers to defend ourselves besides the ability to shapeshift.". Pacing in front of the window, I ask restlessly, "So it just means that the war is over and we survived intact with greater powers than before. It doesn't mean that we're still at war with the Nephilim".

"Kiddo, what you read was just the former half of the story. The latter part is passed down through hymns, not written words, by our historians. I got to know the latter half by chance because one of my previous bedmates was a historian and she was trying to impress me with ancient history. Ahh, what wonderful times, a female with a good brain and beauty. She's excellent in bed too. Too bad I'm now blissfully mated with Phoebe".

"Karalinus, get your head out of the gutter. You're sidetracking," I remind my brother. "What does the latter half say? Is what your historian ex-girlfriend said even true? How did you know she wasn't exaggerating or lying to get you into her bed?"

"Oops, sorry. I get distracted once I start reminiscing the past. Out of curiosity, I checked the facts with other historians and they verified its authenticity. I've not seen or heard of any Nephilim in my life and assumed they've disappeared or died out with the ages. I thought that bit of history has been firmly placed in the past, never to be unearthed or referenced again. Never thought I would be using this titbit of information now though".

Papers ruffling in the background are transmitted, then Karalinus expands, "The hymns describe the God of the Nephilim. He is a fierce and strict God who cannot abide trespasses into godly domain. He acceded to our Goddess' request for a truce but added that our race should never breed with the Nephilim for fear of contaminating his subjects. Doing so would violate the truce and he would wage war against us".

"Look, gods exist much earlier and live longer than us. I have no idea how good the memory is of a god. I only know that gods are bored all the time and love to use us as chips or pawns for amusement. Or at least that's what most of the fairy tales imply. A big war would no doubt serve as a pleasant diversion for them. If the hymns are accurate, we may be heading for war, depending on your actions. Your supposed true mate may be using this as an excuse to learn about us and start another war. I don't trust your savior one bit".