Entwined: A Tale of Two Souls

Prologue

Kingdom of Tier 18 years before the Awakening:

"Hurry now we don't have much time... "

The doctor tells the king as he ushers him down a long, dimly lit corridor. The occasional roar of thunder along with the ominous gray skies indicate a thunderstorm was almost upon them. Storms in Tier could be quite brutal if proper precautions were not taken by the kingdom mages.

"...the queen could be giving birth any moment now and you wouldn't want to miss that, now would you Felix! "

The sky darkens even further as more thunder rumbles through the sky and a flash of lightning illuminates a pitch black crow sitting comfortably on the doctor's shoulder.

"You're wasting your breathe doc," the crow cooed, "big old Felix over here never was one for time management!" he said while cackling.

"Oh be quiet Crow, what was I to do if the elders called for a small council meeting right before my beloved went into labor?" King Felix said as he glared at the bird. "Those crazy old crones... " he grumbled.

"Sir, I am but a bird!" Crow cawed, "I would never dare tell my king what to do!"

He made sure to put emphasis on the 'king' part and at that point Felix would have strangled Crow by his tail feathers if given the chance.

"Ian if your bird does not stop moving its beak I will have no choice but to feed it to Nira,"  said Felix, and for once he hoped the damned bird would talk more so he could do just that.

Running alongside them, in the shadows, amber eyes glinted with amusement.

"I happen to find crow meat rather unpleasant for my taste, but I can always make an exception for an old friend," Nira said, her tail swishing back and forth as they ran down the corridor another streak of lightning illuminates her black striped fur  "after all we have known each other a very long time, I owe the geezer that much at least."

Crow flapped his wings in a fit of annoyance, " Did you just call me old!!!" he screeched, "I am not old, I'm just well aged you muddy mop of fur!"

"I never called you old birdbrain, besides it's not my fault you and your Half are eons older than the rest of us," she snorted.

"Will the two of you sh-" Doctor Ian was cut off as a baby's cry echoed down the hall to the queens chambers.

 A faint blue glow emanated from the cracks between the closed doors.

"Blue, huh? Well that's rare. Powerful, yes, but very rare." Ian said slightly surprised. He certainly didn't expect this and with his age, despite his youthful looks, things rarely surprised him anymore. Perhaps his own surprise perplexed him more than the situation at hand.

"But of course! He is my son after all!" King Felix let out a hearty laugh as he burst through the doors to meet his new baby boy.

He kisses Queen Iris on the forehead and murmurs a well done. She smiles tiredly up at him in return and for a moment they both looked lovingly at their son, who was now fast asleep, unsure of how this bundle of warmth came to be.

The pair had tried for years prior to the queen's pregnancy to have a child with no luck. The elders were relentless in expressing their disapproval of this, saying the queen was "cursed" by the gods with infertility due to her less than noble upbringing. Queen Iris was a commoner after all when she met and fell in love with Felix. Back then he was just a rebellious prince with no desire for the throne, but if changing age old tradition was the only was he could marry the girl he loved then so be it. After his coronation he pulled a fast one on the elders in the midst of the hectic paperwork for change in leadership, and the two were married the next week. It's safe to say the elders never quite got over that little trick, especially since it dissolved arranged marriages within the monarchy. Lets just say the next few years were hell for the newlyweds as far as politics went, but Felix regretted nothing. It was later discovered, however, that she was the lost heiress to one of the most prominent noble families at the time and her half named Onyx, a white tiger, was proof enough for this to be true.

When the queens inability to produce heirs was becoming problematic, the elders even tried to convince Felix to take a concubine, but he refused in a fit of outrage - he would stay true to his beloved. There would be no other for him, even if it was "just physical" as the elders put it.

To this day they have not accepted the queen's rule due to her commoner upbringing, despite her being a high noble. 

The king and queen prayed vehemently to the gods in hopes of being blessed with the child they longed for, and when the queen was finally found to be with child they were overjoyed. They believed to have been blessed by the gods at last. 

If only they knew.

"Dearest, where is his spirit animal?" the king asked, eager to see the new born cub. "You know what the blue light means do you not? I want to see just how powerful this beast is! Now, where is his Half?"

The queen sighed, a smile still hanging on her lips, "Oh it should be just over there.... "  her beautiful complexion paled ever so slightly as realization dawned upon her.

"This can't be..." she said, "...no, no, no, that's not possible!" Queen Iris began frantically looking around the room for anything that moved in the slightest, desperately hoping she was wrong. She feared what the elders would say. She feared how the people would react. But most of all she feared for her son who has yet to experience the wonders of the world and oh there were so many of them....

Tears began collecting in her crystal blue eyes. "F-Felix." she said her voice breaking.

"My love..." he took one look into her eyes and he knew. No words needed to be spoken between them. He just knew.

"There is no spirit animal." he said as more of a statement than a question. As soon as those words left his lips he knew there was hell to come and it was fast approaching. The elders were already in a foul mood during the meeting, but this would cause an outrage among those bastards who were determined to stick to their old ways.

"Ian!" he said with desperation in his voice "How is this possible?? You saw the blue light just as I did! There HAS to be one somewhere! "

Ian briefly looked at Felix and then approached the child, seemingly unfazed by the situation.

"May I?" he asked, reaching for the baby. Felix hesitated for a moment, but gave him the bundle.

If anyone knew what was happening it was Ian, Felix thought to himself..

Ian gently turned the baby around, searching for something, and froze when he spotted what he was looking for. Felix was appalled when he saw the cause of his surprise - three claw marks running down his right shoulder blade. It seemed to glow a pale blue as as the king gently traced the marks.

"As I suspected. very rare indeed. " Ian said in a grim tone.

Understanding dawned on the king's face. "This means there is another." he said. Ian nodded in agreement.

"Who-"
And before King Felix could finish that dangerous question, as if on cue, the baby boys eyes flew open. The king and queen's eyes widened as they looked into his. Ian, on the other hand, was not surprised. This was a long time coming after all. He knew what this was. He knew what it meant, but said nothing to warn the heartbroken parents.

"My dear Xander..." Queen Iris cried.
"...what do the gods have planned for you." the king finished her thought grimly. As if trying to warn them, thunder crashed in a ear shattering 'BOOM' in the distance.

The gods may have blessed the pair with the family they longed for, but in turn cursed the boy with a destiny far crueler than anyone deserved. The queen was indeed infertile after all, so the gods took it upon themselves to take something precious in return for their kindness. 

They considered it a fair trade.